Doris Colmes takes us along on her wild ride through the white-water torrents that shaped the twentieth century. As an active participant, she was personally and deeply involved: From a rich little German Jewish kid, to learning first-hand about American racsim as a young Holocaust refugee in New York’s Harlem. Then, on to elite Brookline High, to attempted sexual assault by Dad, to college, to date rape, to back-alley abortion – and (whew!) marriage to a nice Jewish boy from a good family...but it doesn’t end here. Some of her adventures were inadvertent (Holocaust, parental abuse), some were fueled by desire. Some hilarious, some sad, some sexy, some scary, some illegal, but all instructive. As the story unfolds, so does the author, both emotionally and spiritually. The lessons learned along the way are passed along to the reader. And particularly now, after 9/11, these lessons are of the utmost importance. They give simple instructions for the survival of this planet that each of us, individually and collectively, can implement.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Read Indeed!,
By Ennika Kaldsdottir (Reykjavik) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Iron Butterfly: a trip through the twentieth century (Paperback)
Quite simply, this is one of the best books I've read in ages.
Doris Colmes is not a towering figure of the 20th Century. She didn't hobnob with the Roosevelts, shoot a Kennedy or shoot up with Jimi Hendrix. She didn't give Einstein helpful hints about relativity nor Oppenheimer tips for designing the Bomb. She didn't march alongside Martin Luther King in Selma or scold the poor while ladling out soup alongside Mother Theresa. What she did do was live private her life so attentively, honestly, and vividly that her report equals those characters' in an important way; in another way it outshines the apocryphies of the towering figures "under" whom we all shared that century, whose stories have been overmagnified into unavoidable hypocrisies. No hypocrisies for Doris. You get it "warts and all." These are real people. Nobody's perfect. But everybody's a part of, and forms the milestone events of which Doris was also part, from a childhood of quietly daring the Nazis to dump her into a concentration camp for sitting on a park bench, to a full grown adult, daring enough to dump the cozy life of a pampered millionaire's wife and go find real meaning among the folds and contours of poverty and uncertainty. Doris relates here story with such a knowledge of human nature that you can see her behind her own words, quietly watching you read. The point the story of her life makes is self-evident on every page: we all count. Every one of us, every day, everything we do. It takes a brilliant soul to relate that message so that it keeps us turning the pages. I certainly kept turning the pages. In fact, I took the book with me wherever I went... walking down the street nearly bumping into people, busy reading. Sometimes uttering about it out loud. I now have a little waiting list of friends lined up to borrow it. Don't wait for the movie!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read Bestseller,
By Ani Corné (Florence, Italy) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Iron Butterfly: a trip through the twentieth century (Paperback)
This book has fascinated me from line one to the last. It is beautifully written; in a style one rarely finds these days. The reader gets a pretty good idea of who the author is and can picture all events quite vividly. I loved the many details regarding music and political events, but apart from all that, the story of Doris Colmes' life is so unusual, so fascinatingly told that it leaves the reader with great insight into a wonderful personality. Recounting her past in a very candid way - not even shying away from very personal issues -, Mrs. Colmes gives the reader an account of world events spanning several decades. This book is a must-read and I hope it will be translated into many other languages, so that a worldwide readership can enjoy it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing with Danger, Dreams, and Life,
By Gretchen Olson (Amity, Oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Iron Butterfly: a trip through the twentieth century (Paperback)
It's been a long time since a book followed me from the bedroom to the bathroom, to the kitchen to the car, to the waiting room, grocery line, traffic jam. The Iron Butterfly has been my dear companion this past week and now exhibits all signs of well-worn love - folded page corners, underlined passages, crinkled cover. Thank you Doris Colmes for this gift of delectable literature, so finely crafted I felt the ocean caressing my toes and the pointed schoolgirl stares stabbing my soul. I ached for your grief, rejoiced in your cunning strength, shook my head at your gutsy, live-life-to-the-fullest tango. I found myself exhausted, impressed, amazed, cheering, closing my eyes, afraid of your next move, but peeking at the next chapter. Thank you for dancing with words. Thank you for a brilliant performance.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
