Sabtu, 28 Juni 2014

? PDF Ebook Coyote Blue: A Novel, by Christopher Moore

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Coyote Blue: A Novel, by Christopher Moore

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Coyote Blue: A Novel, by Christopher Moore

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Coyote Blue: A Novel, by Christopher Moore

From master of subversive humor Christopher Moore comes a quirky, irreverent novel of love, myth, metaphysics, outlaw biking, angst, and outrageous redemption.

As a boy, he was Samson Hunts Alone—until a deadly misunderstanding with the law forced him to flee the Crow reservation at age fifteen. Today he is Samuel Hunter, a successful Santa Barbara insurance salesman with a Mercedes, a condo, and a hollow, invented life. Then one day, destiny offers him the dangerous gift of love—in the exquisite form of Calliope Kincaid—and a curse in the unheralded appearance of an ancient god by the name of Coyote. Coyote, the trickster, has arrived to reawaken the mystical storyteller within Sam...and to seriously screw up his existence in the process.

  • Sales Rank: #195398 in Books
  • Brand: Moore, Christopher
  • Published on: 2008-03-18
  • Released on: 2008-03-18
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 8.44" h x .70" w x 5.50" l,
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 320 pages

Amazon.com Review
This is an accelerating comedy with shadows setting off the wry, polished humor. Trickster deities thrive on contrariety, which is why one finds them bringing life into dead landscapes and disorder into order. A Santa Barbara insurance salesman's too-tidily-contained lifestyle, far from the Crow reservation he grew up on, is an irresistible target for Coyote, who wants to make sure his chosen people don't forget him. Coyote descends on Sam Hunter like one of Job's plagues, albeit a charmingly disingenuous one. "Why me? Why not someone who believes?" asks Sam, suffering from god-induced chaos. "This is more fun," says Coyote. He's right.

From Publishers Weekly
A lonely Crow Indian turned yuppie insurance salesman seeks the power of an ancient Indian god to give him enough courage to approach the woman of his dreams.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
"There ain't no cure for Coyote Blue," writes Moore ( Practical Demonkeeping , LJ 1/92) to explain the mystifying and outrageous chain of events that alters Sam Hunter's life forever. As a teenager, Samson Hunts Alone runs away from the Crow Reservation to avoid standing trial for murder. Twenty years later he has changed his name, become a partner in a successful insurance agency, and all but forgotten his Indian upbringing. Coyote, an ancient Indian god known as a trickster by the Crow, is determined that it is time for Sam to fulfill his destiny as storyteller for his tribe. To that end, Coyote leads Sam on a merry chase--interfering in business, disturbing the neighbors, introducing love, and inciting a motorcycle gang to riot, all in a fantastic plot to lead Sam home. This novel is at once irreverent, spiritual, and wonderfully fresh in approach. An absolute must for adults and mature teens alike.
- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Most helpful customer reviews

86 of 93 people found the following review helpful.
Coyote Blue will leave you "howling" for more Moore!
By David J. Gannon
Christopher Moore's novels have an underlying theme to them. They are vehicles that poke fun at various "legends" of the paranormal-vampires (Bloodsucking Fiends), Godzilla (Lust Lizzard) and so on-while concomitantly poking fun at the "California Lifestyle" of type-a personalities espousing New Age psychobabble.
In Coyote Blue the legendary figure being skewered is Trickster, an ancient Native American god know generally for bollixing up the works in whatever situation he inserts himself. The "works" targeted by Trickster here is the life of Sam Hunter, the Southern California makeover of the former reservation baby known as Samson Hunts Alone of the Crow reservation in Montana.
The plot involves Sam's involvement/Tricksters interference with Calliope, a classic, comic version of the hippie child of hippie syndrome so common in LA, the setting for this farcical tale.
The book continues in the vein of Moore's works in general--looping, fantastic flights of fancy, complex yet entertaining plots, and frequent wise guy humor that leaves the reader laughing out loud.
This book differs from his other efforts only in that the story line is more controlled and more thoroughly constructed than is usual. It gives the book the feel of an actual, complete novel in the traditional sense.
However, one does not read Moore to experience novelistic integrity-one reads Moore to laugh one's head off. This novel, like all his others, scores a bull's-eye on that score.
If what you are looking for is a lot of laughs and a rollicking good time, Moore is your guy and this book will satisfy those cravings in droves.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Self help is great, but sometimes we need Coyote.
By A Customer
Before I encountered this book, I thought I already knew all about Coyote, the trickster god of the Native Americans. He's the one who sticks out his foot and trips you once you've hit your stride. He's the one who turns up the heat in your comfort zone until he blasts you out. Moore puts a spin on him, however, that gave me a lot of fresh material to think about. There is something in this book that will appeal to everyone--satire, humor galore, love of all sorts, Las Vegas, bikers, a traveling miracle salesman, a Crow shaman who wonders himself if his visions are in fact now actually the D.T.'s--and last but not least, Sam Hunter (nee Samson Hunts Alone)who thought he'd already found himself until Coyote came along. In a rut? Read this book. You'll find yourself looking forward to having your world turned upside down.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Moore enthusiasts will enjoy this early novel.
By Mary Whipple
If you are already a fan and need a Moore "fix," this novel will keep you thoroughly occupied with its wacky charm, its light-hearted approach to cosmic issues, and its skewed, but respectful, treatment of Native American life and traditions. Coming after Practical Demonkeeping, his debut novel, it has many of the elements for which Moore has become so (justly) popular with his later novels, though its plot and characters are not as fully developed, and the book is not as outrageous or crazily funny as those.

Sam Hunter, the main character, is a 35-year-old California insurance salesman, a Crow Indian whose real name is Sam Hunts Alone. Having attacked a policeman as a teen, Sam became a fugitive from the Crow Agency, and now, twenty years later, leads a totally predictable, boring life--that is, until Old Man Coyote (the trickster), Sam's spiritual helper, arrives, bringing "chaos--the new order in his life."

A beautiful woman, her biker-druggie-ex-lover, and an assortment of wackos, stir up the action, as Sam tries to figure out who he really is and, with Coyote's "help," learn what he is capable of. Lots of wild action and some potentially hilarious scenes are reined in, a bit, by Moore's focus on Sam's Indian traditions and why they are, or should be, important to him, a subject serious enough to curtail the uninhibited flights of craziness that we now expect from Moore. This is fun, but it's a somewhat more thoughtful novel, overall, than the outrageous, campy stories for which Moore is now famous. Mary Whipple

See all 249 customer reviews...

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Rabu, 25 Juni 2014

~~ Download Ebook The Age of Innocence (Enriched Classics (Pocket)), by Edith Wharton, Maureen Reed

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The Age of Innocence (Enriched Classics (Pocket)), by Edith Wharton, Maureen Reed

The Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece of unfulfilled romance set against the backdrop of old New York.

THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:

¥ A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information

¥ A chronology of the author's life and work

¥ A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

¥ An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader's own interpretations

¥ Detailed explanatory notes

¥ Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

¥ Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

¥ A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

  • Sales Rank: #4116145 in Books
  • Published on: 2008-05-06
  • Released on: 2008-05-06
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 6.75" h x 1.20" w x 4.19" l,
  • Binding: Mass Market Paperback
  • 448 pages

Amazon.com Review
Somewhere in this book, Wharton observes that clever liars always come up with good stories to back up their fabrications, but that really clever liars don't bother to explain anything at all. This is the kind of insight that makes The Age of Innocence so indispensable. Wharton's story of the upper classes of Old New York, and Newland Archer's impossible love for the disgraced Countess Olenska, is a perfectly wrought book about an era when upper-class culture in this country was still a mixture of American and European extracts, and when "society" had rules as rigid as any in history.

Review
"There is no woman in American literature as fascinating as the doomed Madame Olenska. . . . Traditionally, Henry James has always been placed slightly higher up the slope of Parnassus than Edith Wharton. But now that the prejudice against the female writer is on the wane, they look to be exactly what they are: giants, equals, the tutelary and benign gods of our American literature." --Gore Vidal

From the Publisher
8 1.5-hour cassettes

Most helpful customer reviews

215 of 217 people found the following review helpful.
Passion and the outsider
By EA Solinas
It was a glittering, sumptuous time when hypocrisy was expected, discreet infidelity tolerated, and unconventionality ostracized.

That is the Gilded Age, and nobody knew its hypocrises better than Edith Wharton.... and nobody portrayed them as well. "The Age of Innocence" is a trip back in time to the stuffy upper crust of "old New York," taking us through one respectable man's hopeless love affair with a beautiful woman -- and the life he isn't brave enough to have.

Newland Archer, of a wealthy old New York family, has become engaged to pretty, naive May Welland. But as he tries to get their wedding date moved up, he becomes acquainted with May's exotic cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, who has returned home after dumping her cheating husband. At first, the two are just friends, but Newland becomes more and more entranced by the Countess' easy, free-spirited European charm.

After Newland marries May, the attraction to the mysterious Countess and her free, unconventional life becomes even stronger. He starts to rebel in little ways, but he's still mired in a 100% conventional marriage, job and life. Will he become an outcast and go away with the beautiful countess, or will he stick with May and the safe, dull life that he has condemned in others?

There's nothing too scandalous about "Age of Innocence" in a time when starlets acquire and discard boyfriends and husbands like old pantyhose -- it probably wasn't in the 1920s when it was first published. But then, this isn't a book about sexiness and steam -- it's part bittersweet romance, part social satire, and a look at what happens when human beings lose all spontaneity and passion.

Part of this is due to Wharton's portrayal of New York in the 1870s -- opulent, cultured, pleasant, yet so tied up in tradition that few people in it are able to really open up and live. It's a haze of ballrooms, gardens, engagements, and careful social rituals that absolutely MUST be followed, even if they have no meaning. It's a place "where the real thing was never said or done or even thought."

And Wharton writes distant, slightly mocking prose that outlines this sheltered little society. Her writing opens as slowly and beautifully as a rosebud, letting subtle subplots and powerful, hidden emotions drive the story. So don't be discouraged by the endless conversations about flowers, ballrooms, gloves and old family scandals that don't really matter anymore.

In the middle of all this, Newland is a rather dull, intelligent young man who thinks he's unconventional. But he becomes more interesting as he struggles between his conscience and his longing for the Countess. And as "Age of Innocence" winds on, you gradually see that he doesn't truly love the Countess, but what she represents -- freedom from society and convention.

The other two angles of this love triangle are May and Ellen. May is (suitably) pallid and rather dull, though she shows some different sides in the last few chapters. And Ellen is a magnificent character -- alluring, mysterious, but also bewildered by New York's hostility to her ways. And she's even more interesting when you realize that she isn't trying to rebel, but simply being herself.

"Age of Innocence" is a subtle look at life in Gilded Age New York, telling the story of a man desperately in love with a way of life he hasn't got the courage to pursue. Exquisite in its details, painful in its beauty.

96 of 98 people found the following review helpful.
A book that should be shared between mothers and daughters
By A Customer
I find it interesting and in some ways disturbing how few (openly at least) female viewpoints are expressed among the reviews of this book. Indeed, some of reviews make it appear that there are quite a few males out there who believe females are a sexual "tabula rasa" on which they can write their judgements of what constitutes morally appropriate behavior.
This book must be understood not simply as art, but as a psychological statement, namely that sexuality exists within each of us from infancy on and parents and society deny that at their own risk.
When I was the age of the girls in this book there was no one with the courage to come forward and openly depict the flowering of female sexuality. I lived with confusion and shame about my body and my desires, hurtful feelings that lasted until I was well into my adulthood.
I came across this book in a store one day while looking for something else. I spotted the title and I vaguely remembered a news story about some people wanting to ban it, so I thought I would look at it out of curiosity. The images in it were so beautiful I almost started to cry right there, it was as though I found vindication for the very core of my being.
After taking it home, I decided to share it with my nine-year old daughter with whom I had just recently had "The Talk". It was wonderful being able to show her how her body would change and how she would be beautiful even as she changed from a girl into a woman. It is true there are already books out there that are supposed to address the issue, but so often they take a clinical approach that is scary in its own right. The artistry of this book, combined with the photographer's selection of natural-looking girls (you will not find made-up or coiffed girls in the pages of this book), will, in my opinion, help any girl appreciate her changing body.
Mothers, share this book with your daughters, it will help make so clear the many changes they are going through and how they are positive. No girl should ever have to feel shame of her own body and this book is an important step.

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful.
Newland Archer, "a man to whom nothing was ever to happen."
By Mary Whipple
Newland Archer, the protagonist of this ironically entitled novel set in the late nineteenth century, is a proper New York gentleman, and part of a society which adheres to strict social codes, subordinating all aspects of life to doing what is expected, which is synonymous with doing what it right. As the author remarks early in the novel, "Few things were more awful than an offense against Taste." Newland meets and marries May Welland, an unimaginative, shallow young woman whose upbringing has made her the perfect, inoffensive wife, one who knows how to behave and how to adhere to the "rules" of the society in which they live.

When Newland is reintroduced to May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, who has left her husband in Europe and now wants a divorce, he finds himself utterly captivated by her freedom and her willingness to risk all, socially, by flouting convention. Both Ellen and Newland, however, are products of their upbringing and their culture, and they dutifully resist their feelings because of their separate social obligations. Various meetings between them suggest that their feelings are far stronger than what is obvious on the surface, and the question of whether either of them will finally state their feelings pervades the novel.

Wharton creates an exceptionally realistic picture of New York in the post-Civil War era, a time in which aristocrats of inherited wealth found themselves competing socially with parvenus, and social rules were changing. Her ability to show the conflict between a person's desire for freedom and his/her need for social acceptance is striking. As the various characters make their peace with their decisions--either to conform to or to challenge social dictates--the novel achieves an unusual dramatic tension, subtle because of its lack of direct confrontation and powerful in its effects on individual destinies. This is, in fact, less an "age of innocence" than it is an age of social manipulation.

Wharton herself manipulates the reader--her best dialogues are those in which the characters never actually participate--conversations that they keep to themselves, confrontations which they never allow themselves to have, and resolutions which happen through inaction rather than through decision-making. Filled with acute social observations, the novel shows individuals convincing themselves that obeying social dictates is the right thing to do. Though the novel sometimes seems to smother the reader with its limitations on action, Age of Innocence brilliantly captures the age and attitudes of the era. Mary Whipple

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** Download PDF Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, by Jeff Guinn

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Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, by Jeff Guinn

Bestselling author Jeff Guinn combines exhaustive research with surprising, newly discovered material to tell the real tale of two kids from a filthy Dallas slum who fell in love and then willingly traded their lives for a brief interlude of excitement and, more important, fame. Go Down Together has it all—true romance, rebellion against authority, bullets flying, cars crashing, and, in the end, a dramatic death at the hands of a celebrity lawman.

This is the real story of Bonnie and Clyde and their troubled times, delivered with cinematic sweep by a masterful storyteller.

  • Sales Rank: #74102 in Books
  • Published on: 2010-03-09
  • Released on: 2010-03-09
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.20" w x 6.12" l, 1.12 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 480 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Journalist Guinn (Our Land Before We Die), in this intensely readable account, deromanticizes two of America's most notorious outlaws (they were never... particularly competent crooks) without undermining the mystique of the Depression-era gunslingers. Clyde Barrow, a scrawny kid in poverty-stricken West Dallasin the late 1920s, stole chickens before moving on to cars, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Buck. In 1930, he met 19-year-old Bonnie Parker, and during the next four years Clyde, Bonnie and the ever-revolving members of the Barrow Gang robbed banks and armories all over the South, murdering at least seven people. Bonnie, who fancied herself a poet, wrote, Some day they'll go down together, and they did, in a Louisiana ambush led by famed ex–Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. With the brisk pacing of a novel, Guinn's richly detailed history will leave readers breathless until the final hail of bullets. 16 pages of b&w photos. (Mar.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
All those who read Guinn's account of Bonnie and Clyde were impressed by the unprecedented level of detail he brings to the story. But a few seemed to think that all of Guinn's data got in the way of the chase. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel admitted that the level of detail posed the book's "only problem," while acknowledging that "the legend still stands under its own power." Indeed, reviewers were generally pleased by Guinn's ability to add new layers to Bonnie and Clyde's brief, hardscrabble lives and to shed new light on their impulses without weighing them down. Reviewers were particularly interested in the idea of the duo as heroes of the Great Depression, with obvious anxiety that that era might not seem so distant these days. Yes, reviewers are prone to provide enthusiastic reviews for a newspaper's books editor; yet Go Down Together is still a strong book.
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

From Booklist
Almost 75 years ago, the four-year murder and robbery spree of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow ended in a hail of bullets on a desolate Louisiana road. During those four years, the Barrow Gang held up a few banks, knocked over numerous grocery stores, killed several police officers, and successfully cast themselves as latter-day Robin Hoods struggling against an unjust social order. This work strives, successfully for the most part, to strip away the sensationalism and view the couple and their exploits accurately. Less lyrical than Paul Schneider in Bonnie and Clyde: The Legend behind Their Lives (2009), Guinn, an investigative journalist, uses a conventional narrative approach and utilizes primary sources effectively. Here, Bonnie is revealed as a petite, intelligent, but frustrated young woman whose thirst for excitement made her vulnerable to a more worldly and big-talking Clyde. Despite her image as a gun-toting moll, she apparently never fired a shot at anyone. Guinn describes Barrow as an almost comically inept thief who was physically weak, belligerent, and out to avenge himself upon a “system” that he believed mistreated him. For both crime aficionados and general readers with an interest in the era, this book is of great value. --Jay Freeman

Most helpful customer reviews

114 of 123 people found the following review helpful.
I couldn't put this book down.
By Pathfinder
This is unquestionably the best-researched book on Bonnie and Clyde, especially since the author got access to 2 unpublished manuscripts by Bonnie's mother and sister. All you have to do is look at the notes in back to see all the research the author did. . . but more than that, it's a great story that grabs you a few pages in and doesn't let you go. It's VERY different from the movie, which was entertaining but had very little to do with the real story. The truth is even more fascinating. I had no idea that Clyde had been raped in jail, and his attacker was the first man he killed . . . or that Bonnie was a smart student who won writing contests in school. But they both were from a filthy West Dallas slum, and just like today, it's almost impossible to escape from your fate when the cards are stacked against you from the git-go. But they really did love each other, and in the last few chapters, when they're just barely evading the authorities and all shot up, you can't help but feel sympathy for these young killers. I know you shouldn't, but Guinn is such a good writer that you do. I loved this book.

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful.
Honest and Accurate Depiction of Bonnie and Clyde
By Michael A. Coluccio
Even though I've always been interested in U.S. crime, especially during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, for some reason I've never had more than a passing interest in Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Simply because so much material has been published about this murderous duo, however, I have read a number of books about them. I can state in all honesty that "Go Down Together" has to be the single most in-depth study of these two outlaws written to date. Every crime attributed to this pair is closely examined, evaluated and supported by historical data - official police and/or FBI files, interviews, newspaper clippings, and manuscripts (some of which were unpublished) of criminal associates and family members. This is an extremely accurate, objective narrative of two youths from the wrong side of the tracks who blasted their way into infamy during the early Thirties. Again, I'm not a Bonnie and Clyde buff, but if you are, this book is definitely something you will want to read.

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
Exceptionally well crafted dual biography of Bonnie and Clyde
By Jerry Saperstein
I have no idea of how I stumbled across "Go Down Together", but I am certainly glad I did. While I enjoy mysteries and police procedurals, I don't consider myself to be a crime buff. My experience with Bonnie and Clyde was limited largely to the classic 1967 movie and bits and pieces that I had acquired here and there.

Guinn is very serious about his subjects, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. He fills 82 pages with notes, bibliography and acknowledgments. It was his good fortune that he secured access to two previously unpublished manuscripts by family members. Guinn acknowledges that the historical record of the infamous pair is incomplete and cluttered with lies, exaggerations, questionable recollections and much else that isn't true.

Clyde and Bonnie - the way the pair was known until the movie - were children of poverty. Though most impoverished kids made it out of their West Dallas slum neighborhood without robbing a corner grocery or killing someone, Clyde Barrow didn't. Petty thefts and stealing cars became a way of life for the poor boy and he was packed off to prison.

Texas wasn't a congenial state to the poor in the 1930s. (What state was?) The agricultural markets had collapsed followed by the financial markets and the economy as a whole. Social mobility wasn't what it is today: back then, if you were born poor, you generally stayed poor. Texas prisons were harsh environments and young Clyde Barrow was assigned to Eastham, a farm run from the notorious Huntsville prison. There he was continually raped by another prisoner. Clyde demonstrated his outlook on life by murdering the perpetrator.

Released from prison, Clyde put together a "gang" that was incredibly inept. Clyde and his successive "Barrow Gangs" never really achieved much success. But he had one person who never left his side: perky, would be poetess Bonnie Parker. Their relationship and dedication to each other is the real subject of this story.

Clyde was the boss of the "gang". Bonnie was his woman, always present, but never really a part of the actual commission of the crime. She didn't shoot anyone or even rob anyone.

Unlike the movie and many stories, Guinn shows there was little glamor in the lives of these fugitives, both of whom were in their early 20s. Much of the time, they slept in primitive camps, eating Vienna sausages from cans, often cold. They were constantly on the run, always with an eye out for police, of whom they killed several without much reason, other than Clyde's not wanting to go back to prison.

Clyde and Bonnie supported themselves largely through the gang's robberies of grocery and drug stores and gas stations. Occasionally the gang robbed a bank, usually without great financial success.

The Depression era media played up the exploits of Clyde and Bonnie because crime news was cheap entertainment and there was more than a hint of "Robin Hood" in the story of the poor kid from the slums striking back at the capitalist class. None of Clyde's gang was really making a social statement: crime was just how they made their living, though both Bonnie and Clyde basked in the publicity they received.

It was an era of gangsters. While Al Capone was perched at the top, bank robbers like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and others captured the attention of the nation, stoked by lurid, glamorizing stories in the press. Bonnie and Clyde wanted to be part of the upper echelon of crime, but they never rose above small-time criminal activities, no matter how much they were written about.

Guinn paints an intimate portrait of Clyde, Bonnie and their families,whom they were very close with. The unhappiness and despair of the Depression comes through as does the love of the respective mothers for their wayward children. Siblings of both Clyde and Bonnie spent time on the road with them. Clyde's brother, Buck, in fact, was a part of the gang and was the first to die.

There is much here. Guinn has done a first rate job of research not only into the lives of Clyde and Bonnie, but into the times, the West Dallas slums, the lawmen (using the term loosely) charged with protecting the public against criminals,the generally brutish society of the time in rural Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states where the gang operated.

Clyde and Bonnie eventually became too great a nuisance, having killed a bunch of police officers and a murderer with a badge was set on their trial. Frank Hamer was a sometimes Texas Ranger who had killed more than 50 men as a "lawman". Eventually with the help of a traitorous member of the Barrow Gang, Clyde and Bonnie met their end, perforated with bullets as a half-dozen lawmen ambushed them.

The story, told with greater historical accuracy than most accounts (though the author is quick to point out that the entire truth is hard to reach)is compelling. These two young kids captured the attention of the media and the populace in a two year crime spree. They weren't noble. They weren't victims of society. They were two young kids who decided to lead a life of crime because they wanted to.

It is a strange story, well told and infinitely interesting. The fatalism of 23 year old Bonnie Parker, crippled for the last year as the result of a car accident caused by the reckless driving of her lover Clyde Barrow, knowing that one day soon she would soon die with him is unnerving.

Jerry

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~ Free Ebook The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, by Jean M. Twenge, W. Keith Campbell

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The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, by Jean M. Twenge, W. Keith Campbell

Narcissism—an inflated view of the self—is everywhere. Public figures say it’s what makes them stray from their wives. Parents teach it by dressing children in T-shirts that say "Princess." Teenagers and young adults hone it on Facebook, and celebrity newsmakers have elevated it to an art form. And it’s what’s making people depressed, lonely, and buried under piles of debt.

Jean Twenge’s influential first book, Generation Me, spurred a national debate with its depiction of the challenges twenty- and thirty-somethings face in today’s world—and the fallout these issues create for educators and employers. Now, Dr. Twenge turns her focus to the pernicious spread of narcissism in today’s culture, which has repercussions for every age group and class. Dr. Twenge joins forces with W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, to explore this new plague in The Narcissism Epidemic, their eye-opening exposition of the alarming rise of narcissism and its catastrophic effects at every level of society. Even the world economy has been damaged by risky, unrealistic overconfidence. Drawing on their own extensive research as well as decades of other experts’ studies, Drs. Twenge and Campbell show us how to identify narcissism, minimize the forces that sustain and transmit it, and treat it or manage it where we find it. Filled with arresting, alarming, and even amusing stories of vanity gone off the tracks (would you like to hire your own personal paparazzi?), The Narcissism Epidemic is at once a riveting window into the consequences of narcissism, a prescription to combat the widespread problems it causes, and a probing analysis of the culture at large.

  • Sales Rank: #22565 in Books
  • Published on: 2010-04-13
  • Released on: 2010-04-13
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 8.44" h x .90" w x 5.50" l, .69 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 368 pages
Features
  • inflated view of self

From Booklist
Twenge and Campbell, psychologists and authors of previous books on self-admiration, team up for a thorough look at a troubling trend that has broad cultural implications. They begin by chronicling changes in American culture that have brought us Botox, fake paparazzi, and MySpace. The authors distinguish between self-esteem and narcissism, drawing on scientific research, but focus on narcissistic personality traits “among the normal population” and cultural narcissism that goes deep into social values. The authors debunk myths about narcissism—that it is necessary in order to be competitive and that narcissists are actually overcompensating for low self-esteem. Although young girls have been hit hardest by the narcissism epidemic, with unrealistic notions of physical beauty, the scourge has affected us all—witness Wall Street greed and the mortgage crisis with its overblown sense of materialism and entitlement. The authors argue that the nation needs to recognize the epidemic and its negative consequences, and take corrective action. Individuals can start by practicing gratitude, and parents can teach their children friendship skills, with the emphasis on others rather than self. --Vanessa Bush

Review
"The other night, when I was reading Twenge and Campbell's excellent and timely new book, my husband was busy framing a fake "Sports Illustrated" cover, with a picture of our 7-year old over the caption, "Player of the Year." "The Narcissism Epidemic" will hew close to the bone, rouse, and provoke many readers as it shines a spotlight on an important -- and highly costly -- trend in our lives. Rooted in hard data and illuminated with revealing anecdotes, stories, and solutions, "The Narcissism Epidemic" is both a pleasure and an education. But enough about this book. Let's talk about me." -- Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., author of "The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want"

"An important and illuminating book. Drs. Twenge and Campbell expertly analyze many strands of American culture and reveal an alarming tapestry of psychocultural narcissism. They also offer sound strategies for slowing this epidemic." -- Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., author of "Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel" and "So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids"

"Phenomenal..."The Narcissism Epidemic" clearly and succinctly identifies the dangerous disease and the catastrophic ways it threatens our society and future, and reveals urgently needed solutions at every level. The chapter on parenting alone makes this book priceless and should be compulsory reading." -- Patrick Wanis PhD, Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior & Relationship Expert, author of "How to Find Happiness"

"Filled with important, disturbing research detailing the alarming cultural spread of narcissism today -- a serious social problem to which many people are unwittingly contributing without realizing the disastrous consequences. The authors give sound advice and provide an important resource for anyone who cares about compassion, empathy, and emotional connection rather than ME, ME, ME!" -- Karyl McBride, Ph.D., author of "Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers "

""The Narcissism Epidemic" is a must read, an essential antidote to a culture spinning out of control. Filled with facts, fascinating examples, and written in a highly readable style, Twenge and Campbell's outstanding book shows how narcissism has been on the rise and has taken over almost every part of our lives and how we can rescue our culture from ourselves. An outstanding accomplishment by two people who truly care about the debacle of self-worship. It should be read by anyone interested in the future of our country" -- Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., author of "Anxiety Free: Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You"

"A must-read for anyone who is a parent, a relationship partner, in the workforce, in school, or on the job market. Twenge and Campbell not only define narcissism but detail its antecedents, consequences, and underlying processes in a way that brings together so much of what one sees in modern western culture. Grounded in research and peppered with media and anecdotal stories, The Narcissism Epidemic offers practical, much-needed solutions to coping in the age of entitlement." -- Kathleen Vohs, Ph.D., University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professor, Editor of "Self and Relationships: Connecting Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Processes"

"This insightful book shows us how the epidemic of narcissism touches almost all aspects of our lives. Twenge and Campbell's astute analysis and salient anecdotes powerfully map the problem and the high price we all pay. They expertly show us the kinds of actions we can take to free ourselves of the epidemic's ruthless grip and how the future wellbeing of humane society depends on our doing so." -- Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Wheelock College and co-author of "So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids"

"The evidence Twenge and Campbell have compiled is compelling and appalling.... Twenge and Campbell marshal statistics, polls, charts, studies and anecdotes to assemble a complete picture of the epidemic's current state of contagion, brought on by the Internet, reality television, a booming economy, easy credit and other developments over the past decade. The authors dismantle the prevailing myths that have made us inclined to tolerate and even encourage narcissism: that it's a function of high self-esteem, that it's a function of low self-esteem, that a little narcissism is healthy, that narcissists are in fact superior, that you have to love yourself to be able to love someone else." -- "New York Times Style Magazine"

Review
"The other night, when I was reading Twenge and Campbell's excellent and timely new book, my husband was busy framing a fake Sports Illustrated cover, with a picture of our 7-year old over the caption, "Player of the Year." The Narcissism Epidemic will hew close to the bone, rouse, and provoke many readers as it shines a spotlight on an important -- and highly costly -- trend in our lives. Rooted in hard data and illuminated with revealing anecdotes, stories, and solutions, The Narcissism Epidemic is both a pleasure and an education. But enough about this book. Let's talk about me." -- Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want

"An important and illuminating book. Drs. Twenge and Campbell expertly analyze many strands of American culture and reveal an alarming tapestry of psychocultural narcissism. They also offer sound strategies for slowing this epidemic." -- Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., author of Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

"Filled with important, disturbing research detailing the alarming cultural spread of narcissism today -- a serious social problem to which many people are unwittingly contributing without realizing the disastrous consequences. The authors give sound advice and provide an important resource for anyone who cares about compassion, empathy, and emotional connection rather than ME, ME, ME!" -- Karyl McBride, Ph.D., author of Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

"The Narcissism Epidemic is a must read, an essential antidote to a culture spinning out of control. Filled with facts, fascinating examples, and written in a highly readable style, Twenge and Campbell's outstanding book shows how narcissism has been on the rise and has taken over almost every part of our lives and how we can rescue our culture from ourselves. An outstanding accomplishment by two people who truly care about the debacle of self-worship. It should be read by anyone interested in the future of our country" -- Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., author of Anxiety Free: Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You

"Phenomenal...The Narcissism Epidemic clearly and succinctly identifies the dangerous disease and the catastrophic ways it threatens our society and future, and reveals urgently needed solutions at every level. The chapter on parenting alone makes this book priceless and should be compulsory reading." -- Patrick Wanis PhD, Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior & Relationship Expert, author of How to Find Happiness

"A must-read for anyone who is a parent, a relationship partner, in the workforce, in school, or on the job market. Twenge and Campbell not only define narcissism but detail its antecedents, consequences, and underlying processes in a way that brings together so much of what one sees in modern western culture. Grounded in research and peppered with media and anecdotal stories, The Narcissism Epidemic offers practical, much-needed solutions to coping in the age of entitlement." -- Kathleen Vohs, Ph.D., University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professor, Editor of Self and Relationships: Connecting Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Processes

"This insightful book shows us how the epidemic of narcissism touches almost all aspects of our lives. Twenge and Campbell's astute analysis and salient anecdotes powerfully map the problem and the high price we all pay. They expertly show us the kinds of actions we can take to free ourselves of the epidemic's ruthless grip and how the future wellbeing of humane society depends on our doing so." -- Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Wheelock College and co-author of So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

"The evidence Twenge and Campbell have compiled is compelling and appalling.... Twenge and Campbell marshal statistics, polls, charts, studies and anecdotes to assemble a complete picture of the epidemic's current state of contagion, brought on by the Internet, reality television, a booming economy, easy credit and other developments over the past decade. The authors dismantle the prevailing myths that have made us inclined to tolerate and even encourage narcissism: that it's a function of high self-esteem, that it's a function of low self-esteem, that a little narcissism is healthy, that narcissists are in fact superior, that you have to love yourself to be able to love someone else."-- New York Times Style Magazine

Most helpful customer reviews

353 of 390 people found the following review helpful.
Me, me, me!
By Danno
"The Narcissism Epidemic" is an often thought-provoking critique of modern American culture. We're definitely more obsessed with ourselves than decades ago, and it's certainly an uncomfortable experience to read the many examples here and recognize family members, friends, and loved ones. Yet despite the fact that both authors are academic research psychologists, there's an awful lot less psychology in this book than meets the eye. Truth be told, while there are a lot of good research studies on narcissism, both Twenge and Campbell are willing to go far beyond the data to extend their hypotheses to such areas as MySpace, online flamers, and dating websites. A wealth of social psychology and evolutionary psychology research explains these areas far better than Twenge and Campbell's thesis, yet this research is all but ignored by the authors. Many of the chapters rely on the tried-and-true anecdotal approach used in academic critiques of pop culture, often implying empirical support by associating them with unrelated research articles. I'm also annoyed at the almost total lack of chapter references; instead we are given a website to download this information from.

The book ignores much of the social structure that supports narcissism and allows it to flourish. Yes, the parental and educational influences are clearly labelled. But codependency isn't probed. Nor is the general lack of assertiveness among many people. Narcissists can't run rampant within a society unless they are allowed to. In the chapter on the cult of celebrity, for example, the role of gossip mags as reinforcement for the celebrity narcissist is mentioned. But what about the consumer of such magazines? Some of their support may be that they are allowed to participate vicariously into the lives of someone far more famous and glamorous than they are.

There's also more than a hint of generation gap angst. College students' narcissism is detailed, but media hungry professors are ignored. Academicians who use the classroom as a soapbox to speak outside their area of expertise are absent. The motives of contemporary youth volunteers is questioned, yet the motives of social protesters in the 1960s isn't. (Anyone who attended any protests knows that it's a great way to meet people and present an image of political awareness!)

Still, this book does document a pressing social problem, and does it well. It also contains a series of suggestions for reducing or preventing narcissism in your children, your family, and even yourself. This sets it apart from many other finger-wagging books. I enjoyed this book because it forced me to re-examine some of the way I look at certain people in my life. But while Twenge and Campbell do an excellent job of describing the current state of narcissism today, they don't do as good a job convincing me of their central thesis. Narcissism research is superb in demonstrating how narcissists react angrily to criticism and feedback, and how they view themselves as entitled to special treatment. It does not do a very good job of explaining online rudeness, why we obsess over celebrities, behave immaturely, refuse to effectively discipline our children, or treat our current lives as transitional. I recommend this one as an excellent read, but one that must be read with an eye toward alternate explanations.

229 of 255 people found the following review helpful.
I'm Afraid I've Caught the Narcissism Bug?
By James R. Holland
For some time I've been wondering what the attraction of social networks such as MySpace and Facebook and dozens of imitators are all about. My children and most of their friends spend hours and hours on these "tell-all" websites. If I wish to know what my kids are up to, I can check their websites and the websites of their girl friends. My daughter ended up with some stalker problems and wisely cancelled her Facebook listing. I don't check my son's social sites often because I know I may not like what I find posted. Most of it is harmless news, but some of it is too personal for dear old Dad and Mom to want to know. Much of what is shown on many social sites may come back to bite the subject of the material on their rear ends. Employers often check the listings about potential employees.
Some of my peers spend more time updating their social website listings than improving their business websites. I know that the number of so-call "friends" pictured on their social sites must require them to spend several hours a day corresponding. The business friends justify it as networking and self-promotion for their businesses. I have my doubts. I suspect those friendships are miles wide and a fraction of an inch deep.
This book is about the fact that the Narcissism Epidemic has hooked millions of people into becoming "Me Addicts." These youngsters are the product of our American culture that glorifies wealth, beauty, glamour and fame and who have been told by their parents and teachers that they are truly outstanding individuals despite any flaws. The "Love Yourself" educational programs they have been brainwashed with throughout their school careers have gone amuck. The students have been protected from reality and turned into spoiled, entitled, and lazy adults. They have traded reality for a world of fantasy. They feel they are entitled. They don't realize that accomplishments come from hard work. They believe there really is "free lunch" for everyone.
The book's four sections contain seventeen chapters. They describe the problem and it's symptoms and at the book's conclusion offers several possible solutions. The part of the book that I found most interesting was how "the Narcissism Epidemic" is partially responsible for the current economic crisis. "The American society (and political system) actively promotes living beyond your means. You want to appear to be richer, cooler, or more successful than you are. There are no payment for the first 12 months!" That's why the amount of plastic surgery done annually has exploded in only a few years. "The number of plastic surgeons, for example, has tripled since the mid-1970's while the number of physicians has merely doubled." Government policy encourages living beyond one's means by rewarding people for taking on too much debt through easy credit and taxing the heck out of savers. The economic system is broken and needs to be redesigned to reward the producers and savers and instead taxing consumption.
This very readable book will make its readers wonder if they too are prisoners of the Narcissism Epidemic. While not exactly a page-turner, it is hard to put the book aside for very long. It's full of interesting insights, research results and tests to help you determine your own degree of infection. It confirms many of the feelings and suspicions we've all felt about the current media obsessions with wealth, fame and celebrities.

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful.
Love to Love Me, Baby! (An educator's review)
By Kevin Currie-Knight
"Narcissism is the fast food of the soul. It tastes great in the short term, has negative, even dire, consequences in the long term, and yet continues to have widespread appeal." (p. 259)

For all intents and purposes, The Narcissism Epidemic is something of a sequel to Jean Twenge's previous book, Generation Me. Wheras that book focused on the younger generation's (and gen y's) increase in narcissistic behavior, this book focuses on the same trend as a nation- and worldwide phenomenon. From our ever-increasing obsession with fawning over the lives of the rich and glamorous (Real Housewives of Orange County, anyone?) to our rampant consumerism, this book tells the tale of a nation in a very strange state of decline. In a sense, we are loving ourselves to death.

The first few chapters start off with the hard numbers. Twenge and Campbell have administered, and chased down, several experimental studies which demonstrate a very clear trend towards a more narcissistic attitude in the population. Young people list "being famous" as an important life goal far more frequently than their predecessors, the rise of platic surgery has increased FIVEFOLD in the past ten years (which COULD be explained by the fact that it has become more affordable, but the increase is so large that this explanation is unlikely to be the MAIN one). More and more newspaper articles and tv shows focus on narcissistic themes than in years past. Infintitely more people, when given the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, yield results consistent with narcissism than in years past. In other words, the rise in narcissism is thoroughly documented here.

From here, our authors talk about everything from whether narcissists tend to suffer from low self-esteem (quite the opposite, as many self-help gurus and educators have yet to figure out), whether narcissism helps one get ahead in life (only if you are a entertainer, it seems), and whether narcissism has its root cause in the well-intentioned self-esteem mmovement of the seventies and eightgies (you betcha!).

As an educator myself, this last point was one of the most fascinating for me. While students today often do not think twice about cheating, disrespecting teacher and peers, or expecting grades without doing the work, we continue to mistakenly believe the problem to be low, rather than way too high, self-esteem. All the while, Twenge and Campell are careful to distance themselves from the view that we should NOT praise our kids or ignore their self-esteem, which is far from what they are saying. They are simply pleading for moderation. Praising a child's virtues is different from overpraising their every move. The authors use the obsesity analogy: just as recognizers of the obesity epidemic do not want us to stop eating, but only eat in moderation, recognizers of the narcissism epidemic are only suggesting that we praise in moderation (while also encouraging hard work) rather than going overboard like we have been.

There are also some timely chapters on how narcissim played a key role in the 2008/2009 recession. While everyone is quick to blame the banks, consumers, and the government, we seem squeamish about criticizing what the three groups had in common: unbounded and irrational greed! Consumers were buying houses and things they did not need so as to satisfy increasing desires to live high on the hog (without having to earn it). Banks focused on quick profits rather than prudent investments in their willingness to dupe consumers into predatory loans. The government just wanted to see everyone own a house (which somehow became a right rather than a privilege to be earned). Twenge and Campbell do a great job in showing that for each group, the culprit was greed, narcissism, and a belief that everyone could have everything without having to (as in years past) exercise hard work and prudence.

But how to stop these trends? Unlike the previous book, Generation Me, the Narcissism Epidemic focuses many of its pages to offering suggestions on how we get out of this dizzying mire of narcissism. Most chapters conclude with a section called "Treatment for the Epidemic" and the last sixth of the book is made up of chapters offering "Prognosis and Treatment." Some suggestions are - or should be! - quite commonsensical: teach your children prudence, work-ethic, and that it is not always about them, regulate the credit industry, teach prudence and humility in school, participate, and encourage others to participate, in social clubs that nurture a sense of community. Some are interesting but quite fantastic: tone down the fevered pitch of product advertising, make "less is more" a new societal catchprase, tax luxury items more heavily (as a libertarian, I am not a great fan of government regulation.)

[One suggestion that Twenge and Campbell infuriatingly left off the list is to let irresponsible spenders feel the full consequences of their action. As it stands now, the government is doing the opposite by penalizing those not in debt by forcing them to "bail out" those who are. Message: narcissists are more important and deserving than the average Joe.]

Whereas I gave Twenge's earlier book a three star review, I am giving this book five stars. Unlike the previous book, this book was more cohesive, well-documented, and contained focus not only on the problem but on possible ways out. As an educator, I urge every parent and educator to read this book so that we can see exactly what the misguided self-esteem movement has led to. As a citizen I urge everyone to read this book to get a sense for the import of narcissistic values and how they threaten to make a great country significantly worse.

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Sabtu, 21 Juni 2014

^ Ebook I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, by Kyria Abrahams

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I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, by Kyria Abrahams

I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, by Kyria Abrahams



I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, by Kyria Abrahams

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I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, by Kyria Abrahams

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Kyria Abrahams’s childhood was haunted by the knowledge that her neighbors and schoolmates were doomed to die in an imminent fiery catastrophe; that Smurfs were evil; that just about anything you could buy at a yard sale was infested by demons; and that Ouija boards—even if they were manufactured by Parker Brothers—were portals to hell. .

When Kyria turned eighteen, she found herself married to a man she didn’t love, with adultery her only way out. “Disfellowshipped” and exiled from the only world she’d ever known, Kyria realized that the only people who could save her were the very sinners she had prayed would be smitten by God’s wrath. Written with scorching wit and deep compassion, I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed manages to be hilarious about the ironic absurdity of growing up believing that nothing matters because everything’s about to be destroyed..

  • Sales Rank: #1300330 in Books
  • Brand: Brand: Touchstone
  • Published on: 2010-12-01
  • Released on: 2010-12-01
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 9.00" h x 1.00" w x 6.00" l, 1.12 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 352 pages
Features
  • Used Book in Good Condition

From Publishers Weekly
When Abrahams was growing up, her world was neatly divided between those who would live forever in a paradise on earth and all the "worldly" people her Jehovah's Witness family prayed for. Her congregation forbade Christmas and Halloween, aggressively shunned anyone who left the fold and taught children that birthday parties were of the devil. For kicks in her early teens, Abrahams would go witnessing door-to-door with her pal Lisa, a die-hard J-Dub. This acerbic, witty memoir chronicles the first 23 years of Abraham's life with candor and a good dose of comedy. Unlike other memoirs written by the disenchanted, Abrahams musters some affection for her decent but screwed-up family, and even for the religion itself. Where the story hits a rough patch is in her account of her late teens and early 20s, when she dropped out of high school; rushed into a disastrous teen marriage; fell into alcohol, drugs and adultery; and finally "fired Jehovah as [her] personal bodyguard" and became an apostate divorcée. None of this is particularly funny, and Abrahams's tale of self-destruction ends abruptly enough that readers will wonder how she managed to pull herself together. (Mar. 3)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Given that Abrahams is now a stand-up comic and spoken-word poet, it makes perfect sense to begin her very funny memoir with her performance debut at the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Kingdom Hall, at age 8 (her presentation was about freedom from demon possession). She describes the children’s books she read as a child as a cross between “Dr. Seuss rhymes and tales of how sinners would scream and gnash their teeth at Armageddon.” In her world, Smurfs were “little blue demons” and yard sales were enticements from Satan. As a bored teenager with OCD, she didn’t know what to do with herself or how to make sense of the world. On the verge of 18, she married a 24-year-old part-time college math teacher because, even if his interest in her was, at best, halfhearted, she wanted a boyfriend and didn’t know any other Jehovah’s Witnesses who liked her. Anyway, she reasons, “this is what adults did, and I was an adult.” It wasn’t long before she longed to be out of the marriage. Between threats of suicide, she tried to be “disfellowshipped,” or shunned, by her congregation, which proved surprisingly difficult to accomplish. Abrahams is a natural writer whose prose flows effortlessly as she easily mixes throwaway humor and painful memories in a compelling narrative. --June Sawyers

Review
"Kyria Abrahams, former teen bride of a doomsday cult and seeker of salvation in slam poetry, tells the terribly funny story of her improbable life with candor, wit, and an unsparing eye for the perfect detail. Brilliant." -- Janice Erlbaum, author of Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir

"The funniest book I've ever read by a disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witness from Pawtucket. Very funny. Very, very funny. Very, very, very funny." -- Janeane Garofalo

"Amazingly vivid and profoundly compelling. Twisted, touching, absurd, hilarious, and honest. A new kind of memoir." -- Wendy Spero, author of Microthrills

"Kyria Abrahams can do the 'coming-of-age in a sea of eternal hellfire' story like nobody else. Her tale of an adolescence in the ranks of the Jehovah's Witnesses is irresistible, thanks to her hilarious, sweet, and knowing narrator." -- Bob Powers, author of Happy Cruelty Day!

"Miraculous...hilarious....Simultaneously affectionate and aware, Kyria recounts a childhood and young womanhood that at once seems completely universal and breathtakingly bizarre." -- Adam Felber, author of Schrödinger's Ball and panelist on NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!"

"This acerbic, witty memoir chronicles the first 23 years of Abraham's life with candor and a good dose of comedy." -- Publishers Weekly

"A natural writer whose prose flows effortlessly as she easily mixes throwaway humor and painful memories in a compelling narrative." -- Booklist

"Undoubtedly the cleverest lapsed Jehovah's Witness yet, Abrahams offers a graphic, mordant, wickedly distaff take on her life." -- Kirkus

"Hilarious, raw, and touching...Abrahams emerged to write about her experience in an honest, funny, and somehow relatable way." -- The Comedians

"Abrahams provides readers with a profound anecdotal look of growing up as a Jehovah Witness" -- Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round

Most helpful customer reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
excellent, excellent book..
By lisa
this book made me deeply sad while at the same time deeply comforted..
unlike the author i wasn't raised from birth as a witness but i spent a little more than 20 years as one.. from about 14 to 35 years of age.. my expierence differs in some aspects but what is consistent in all former witness stories is that upon deciding you no longer want to remain a witness (regardless of your reason) you cease to exist to those you formerly called family.. poof! you're gone from their lives.. those who once loved you no longer speak to you.. you are cut off as if you had died.. except you havnt.. you are alive and well and maybe, just maybe, a better person.. but that doesn't matter..
as my aunt who raised me from 14 years of age said "it would be a compromise of my faith to continue to speak to you"..
if i returned to the fold all would be forgiven but barring that she could no longer have anything to do with me.. and she hasn't..
i cried with sadness and relief when i read the last paragraph of this book:
"these worldly, godless poets had loaned me money when i hadn't asked for it and had given me a place to stay.. when the people i had known for 23 years stopped talking to me, the people i had known for 23 days helped me move"
this was my expierence as well.. when my family completely turned away from me it was a "wordly family" who took me in.. they never asked where i came from or why i was alone in the world.. they just took me in and loved me as if i were one of them.. amazing..
the author does a beautiful job of laying bare her tormented soul while a witness and then the difficulties of trying to fit into a world she knows absolutely nothing about.. the real world.. its a mysterious place to those of us raised in a closeted society like J.W's.. i applaud those who despite not knowing how to live in the world take a leap of faith and jump anyway.. its terrifying and intimidating and overwhelming but the feeling of freedom, of being able to finally breathe is worth every scary moment.. as this author confirms you will find your way.. people will help you and there is good in this world..

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
A Hilarious Yet Sobering Look at Where Being a Jehovah's Witness Led The Author, and Her Life as an Apostate
By Rachel Kramer Bussel
Kyria Abrahams' I'm Perfect, Your Doomed, is a hilarious look at her youth as a Jehovah's Witness. With impeccable wit, she explores the precepts of the religion, as well as what her childhood was like immersed in it. At first, she doesn't question anything, and wants to obey every single rule because that's all she's known. It's clear from the first few chapters that part of being a Jehovah's Witness is about only associating with other Jehovah's Witnesses.

She takes us on a tour of the kinds of people she grew up with as part of her worship, seemingly full of eccentrics. Of one man, whom the congregation strongly suspected was gay, she writes, "We all know I'm sublimating my true sexuality, he seemed to be saying, so let's at least have a laugh about it. Also, I am dying inside." Sex, in fact, proves to be what ultimately gets her disfellowshipped; she has an affair, but when she tells her husband, he wants her to stay. She's young, alone, and has turned to cutting and alcoholism, neither a happy topic, but both she manages to use her humor to cut through what could be a very sad story. In this way, Abrahams manages to mock herself and her situation, while making for an engaging story. She winds up finding herself within the slam poetry scene, full of its own eccentrics, but of a different sort. The gap between her former life and her poetry one is powerful, and she makes it clear that she's struggling (not stumbling, the Jehovah's Witness term for causing someone to falter from their faith) with who she really is, outside the confines of what she's known her whole life.

Abrahams takes us inside her life as a Jehovah's Witness, from going door to door to recognizing, as she gets older, just how different she is from her peers. When she witness a birthday party, she's genuinely shocked that it is not the bacchanalia she's been prepared for. This and many other revelations cause her to slowly lose her grip on the religion. She doesn't portray it as a single catastrophic event, but a slow realization, via the Internet (remember AOL chat rooms?) and a stint in a mental hospital, that she is not happy and wants to try something new.

Some of her best lines have nothing to do with Jehovah's Witnesses; they're just plain funny. "I knew the snowsuit was embarrassing and almost always unnecessary, but it was like wearing a warm mug of cocoa over my entire body."

We don't quite get to find out how she came to be a comedian, but that's okay. Her glossary at the end offers more than enough humor (in fact, numerous laugh out loud moments). Feel free to read it first. Of "Field Service," the practice of preaching door-to-door, she writes, "Possessing a quiet reverence for creation and a personal sense of the divine, only without the quiet or personal part."

I would have liked to know what her current spiritual beliefs are and if she has any contact with her family (presumably not since she's been disfellowshipped), but she manages to end on a hopeful note, one that sees her starting life over. While I'm sure Jehovah's Witness who might read this (even though they're not supposed to) would find it potentially offensive, I don't think Abrahams' humor is meant to completely poke fun at her former religion. Rather, she knows it's an oddity amongst most Americans and yet was still involved with it for just over half her life.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Time to put on your big girl panties, Kyria...
By slharper
I purchased this book through my Kindle on the advice of my brother. My brother and I are both former JW's, so this book caught his eye, and then he suggested it to me. I should've borrowed the book from him instead of wasting money on it. Damn, I should've bought Anne Rice. Anywho, I started this book 100% on Kyria's side. Honestly, reading her book seemed like taking a page (several pages, actually) from my own diary. As others have noted, though, about halfway through I started to lose sympathy for her. There are plenty of things for which a JW upbringing can be blamed. Low self-esteem... yes! Insecurity... heck yes!! Feeling like you're a bad parent because you're not bringing your children up "in the truth"... Amen from the congregation on that one!!! However, a JW upbringing cannot be blamed for bad decisions. I think most women would agree, regardless of their religious background, that sleeping with your friend's boyfriend is not cool. Yet, Kyria's explanation of her bad decisions is that since she was told EVERYTHING was a sin, she has to see for herself what is ACTUALLY right or wrong. Um, girlfriend? Some of this stuff is just plain common sense and decency. As someone who was raised as a Witness, baptized as a Witness, disfellowshipped from the Witnesses, reinstated to the Witnesses, and has left yet again, I can still say that Kyria needs to put on her big girl panties and take responsibility for her actions. At some point, you are to blame for your problems, not your parents and not society. You know, it's kinda funny how she leaves Penn for the very same behavior she exhibits... blaming everyone but yourself for the problems in your life.

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