I have been struggling with reading this book for days. I am on page 104 (there are 250 pages), and I think that I am calling it quits. Boy, was I eveI have been struggling with reading this book for days. I am on page 104 (there are 250 pages), and I think that I am calling it quits. Boy, was I ever looking forward to reading it. Norman Ohler's previous book "Blitzed" was so phenomenal, that I thought "The Bohemians" would be equally so. Nope. I think the problem with this book is that there wasn't a whole lot of material to write about, and the information that Ohler acquired wasn't so interesting. There's plenty of filler here that's not really needed....more
What a disappointment this book was! I (almost) always enjoy reading books by food authors such as Ruth Reichl, Bill Buford, et al. Not this one. I diWhat a disappointment this book was! I (almost) always enjoy reading books by food authors such as Ruth Reichl, Bill Buford, et al. Not this one. I didn't like his use of profanity that popped up here and there, and the way the book is set up as a series of small paragraphs (more like essays). Needless to say, there's not much essence here....more
I did not (unfortunately) get too far reading this book. I found the style to be deadening, and lost interest right away. I couldn't even finish the fI did not (unfortunately) get too far reading this book. I found the style to be deadening, and lost interest right away. I couldn't even finish the first chapter. And, speaking about this chapter there's a discrepancy (two pages apart) with how many children Albert Ballin's father (Samuel) had with his second wife, Amalia. This is not good. The book was not proofread, and the three outside editors the author used to "look over" the manuscript before submitting it to the publisher obviously did not see this glaring error. I was really looking forward in reading "The Last Ships from Hamburg," but it was not to be....more
I could not get into this book, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading it. It's boring and plodding.I could not get into this book, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading it. It's boring and plodding....more
I just gave up on this book with one hundred pages still to read. First of all, I read the hardcover edition, and the translator is different than theI just gave up on this book with one hundred pages still to read. First of all, I read the hardcover edition, and the translator is different than the one who is listed here. I actually wrote to the publisher telling him that the text is riddled with numerous errors: typos, misplaced punctuation, different font size within the the same paragraph, punctuation added to every abbreviation/acronym (examples: T.V., A.T.M., B.M.W.), "no one" constantly looking like this: "no-one," and other weird stuff. I started to lose interest with facts that really didn't interest me nor did I care about them. I don't know who would even want to go to any of these countries on a vacation? Unless you speak the language of the actual country or you are lucky enough to find somebody who speaks Russian (provided you do), you would need a guide with you at all times to be your translator. I was really looking forward to this book and now I can't wait to return it to the library. Quite a disappointment. Not recommended....more
I never heard of Adam Platt before, but since I have read numerous other books in the same genre I thought this one would be equally good. Nope. I gavI never heard of Adam Platt before, but since I have read numerous other books in the same genre I thought this one would be equally good. Nope. I gave up on it last night after only reading about sixty-five pages. He's no Ruth Reichl (I have read EVERY one of her books) and she reigns supreme. Platt's writing began to grate on me and after a while I was no longer interested. It's certainly NOT hilarious (I'm sure the publisher wrote this) as I barely cracked a smile. Fortunately, it's a library book and it's going back today....more
I could not get into this book. The style of writing was off-putting. Maybe I read thirty pages before I called it quits. Too bad as I was really lookI could not get into this book. The style of writing was off-putting. Maybe I read thirty pages before I called it quits. Too bad as I was really looking forward to reading it. ...more
I was really looking forward to reading this book. Since I have read numerous books on the OSS in the past, I was intrigued to find out that missionarI was really looking forward to reading this book. Since I have read numerous books on the OSS in the past, I was intrigued to find out that missionaries had helped the war effort for the Allies. None of the previous works ever mentioned this nugget of information. Unfortunately, I struggled with this book. I found the writing to be very dry, and it just didn't keep my interest. Also, I only got through one or two chapters before I decided to call it quits. It's hard to stick with something if it doesn't resonate....more
I think that Mary Norris should just stick to copy editing and forget about writing books. Of course, I haven't read anything else that she has writteI think that Mary Norris should just stick to copy editing and forget about writing books. Of course, I haven't read anything else that she has written, but after slogging through "Between You & Me," I'm not going to bother. Oh, how I really looked forward to reading this book. As a proofreader by profession, I thought this would be most enjoyable. Alas, it was not to be. It's downright boring, NOT funny, and very tedious. I didn't get too far. By the third chapter, I had had enough. I can't see how this book would appeal to anyone in the general public. Not recommended....more
It's hard to believe all the five-star reviews here. I found the writing to be irritating as it's definitely not for adults, but for elementary schoolIt's hard to believe all the five-star reviews here. I found the writing to be irritating as it's definitely not for adults, but for elementary school children. Everything is overly simplistic, repetitious, and sensationalized. Somehow I stuck with it to the end even though it annoyed me. I have never read any other Brad Meltzer book and if he wrote them all like this one then I have no intention of reading them....more
I only read seventy-five pages of this book before I decided to call it quits. Shaun Greenhalgh is not a writer and it shows, badly. The book would haI only read seventy-five pages of this book before I decided to call it quits. Shaun Greenhalgh is not a writer and it shows, badly. The book would have been better off if somebody else wrote it. It's boring and plodding. ...more
I don't know why I bothered finishing this book. It was really a waste of time. The premise sounded interesting: two women writers, their love storiesI don't know why I bothered finishing this book. It was really a waste of time. The premise sounded interesting: two women writers, their love stories, and how there was supposed to be some kind of bond between them even though they never knew one another, being that they're more than a century apart. Neither woman had any depth and, frankly, I didn't care about either one....more
The first half of the book was definitely more interesting than the latter half. By the time I had reached the end, I was tired of it and stopped readThe first half of the book was definitely more interesting than the latter half. By the time I had reached the end, I was tired of it and stopped reading it. It began to bore me. At first I thought it was interesting reading about a political activist in China who wanted to come to the United States, but then I wondered how many people would even be interested in something like this. It's a good book for people to see how new immigrants manage whenever they come to another country. Other than that I don't see much relevance here....more
This book is badly in need of a proofreader. I found numerous errors in just about every chapter with either words missing, misplaced punctuation, misThis book is badly in need of a proofreader. I found numerous errors in just about every chapter with either words missing, misplaced punctuation, misspelling of names, wrong words used, etc. The book started out okay and then I thought it became tedious. I don't find the author Mary-Lou Weisman to be all that funny as other reviewers have noted....more
I only made it through thirty pages before I called it quits. I do not like the author's style of writing at all. It was boring to me. The book needs I only made it through thirty pages before I called it quits. I do not like the author's style of writing at all. It was boring to me. The book needs editing help (funny that the author is an editor but he didn't edit his own writing) plus proofreading. I found so many mistakes with missing words and one section where it's 1939 and then August 1914 is thrown in only to go back to 1939. Too bad. I was really looking forward to reading this book....more
I'm so glad that I did not purchase this book, but received it instead from my local public library. What a slog it was. I actually did finish it althI'm so glad that I did not purchase this book, but received it instead from my local public library. What a slog it was. I actually did finish it although I don't know why I stuck with the book as it irritated me so much. It's very repetitious (the author constantly writes the same thoughts ad nauseam), and after a while they became very tiresome to read. There were two things that really annoyed me the most, though. The first one was her excessive use of similes. (I call this filler). Just about every page and sometimes every paragraph had these pesky comparisons. Aargh! The second annoyance was her ridiculous verbiage when she was explaining something to clarify it even more than it needed to be. Example: "misrepresented exaggerations." Huh? There have been many other books written about this subject that are so much better. Keep yourself separated for sure from this one....more
I seem to have trouble reading this author's books. She previously wrote "The Spy Who Loved" and it did nothing for me; in fact, I don't remember anytI seem to have trouble reading this author's books. She previously wrote "The Spy Who Loved" and it did nothing for me; in fact, I don't remember anything about it. In "The Women Who Flew for Hitler," it just seemed to drag. I did not finish the book having read one hundred pages and then deciding to call it quits. Maybe there's too much extraneous detail that did it for me, which I call filler. I guess it was just not my cup of tea....more
I don't know why I even requested this book from the library. Generally, I'm interested in people who become chefs and what brought them to that vocatI don't know why I even requested this book from the library. Generally, I'm interested in people who become chefs and what brought them to that vocation. Years ago, I read many books on fascinating chefs that were well written. This book is not one of them. Alice Waters should just stick to cooking and forget about penning a memoir. I could only get through half before I finally gave up. I found the writing to be juvenile, boring, with tons of name-dropping. It seemed very stilted to me. I couldn't care less about what she did, who her friends were, the people she met along the way, etc. This is definitely not a good piece of literature....more
I love reading about polar exploration and every time a new book comes out on this subject, I immediately reserve it at the library. Ice Ghosts was onI love reading about polar exploration and every time a new book comes out on this subject, I immediately reserve it at the library. Ice Ghosts was one that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Unfortunately, it wasn't that terrific and I almost quit reading the book but decided to persevere. It started out keeping my interest and then began to deteriorate. There's too much peripheral excess that can be rambling and plodding. I don't like metaphors and the author uses plenty of these which are definitely not necessary. You get the idea from the first part of the sentence. The latter part of the book displays the author's political leanings and that's a big turnoff. I believe this is Paul Watson's first book. He should just stick to reporting....more
I actually got to page 161 and then called it quits on this book. What a disappointment! I definitely would not call this book captivating as one of tI actually got to page 161 and then called it quits on this book. What a disappointment! I definitely would not call this book captivating as one of the reviewers on Amazon did. It's more like plodding and pedantic. You know it's bad when it takes you one half hour to read ten pages when normally it should take much less time to read that amount. The problem is that every sentence is a fact and so the entire page is dense with way too much information. Why would you need an entire chapter on Bamberger's philanthropy? Just stating that the was heavily involved in it is enough. But the excessive details is mind-numbing. This would be a good reference book if somebody needed to do a report on Louis Bamberger. I felt that the first part of the book was better than the latter part. It would have been nice to discover more about the man, himself, but unfortunately he left no diaries (he was very private) nor other documents. He really did not want the world to know about him. If you're from Newark, New Jersey then this book might interest you. For the rest of us, don't waste your time....more
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