'Tis: A Memoir

Amazon.com

The sequel to Frank McCourt's memoir of his Irish Catholic boyhood, Angela's Ashes, picks up the story in October 1949, upon his arrival in America. Though he was born in New York, the family had returned to Ireland due to poor prospects in the United States. Now back on American soil, this awkward 19-year-old, with his "pimply face, sore eyes, and bad teeth," has little in common with the healthy, self-assured college students he sees on the subway and dreams of joining in the classroom. Initially, his American experience is as harrowing as his impoverished youth in Ireland, including two of the grimmest Christmases ever described in literature. McCourt views the U.S. through the same sharp eye and with the same dark humor that distinguished his first memoir: race prejudice, casual cruelty, and dead-end jobs weigh on his spirits as he searches for a way out. A glimpse of hope comes from the army, where he acquires some white-collar skills, and from New York University, which admits him without a high school diploma. But the journey toward his position teaching creative writing at Stuyvesant High School is neither quick nor easy. Fortunately, McCourt's openness to every variety of human emotion and longing remains exceptional; even the most damaged, difficult people he encounters are richly rendered individuals with whom the reader can't help but feel uncomfortable kinship. The magical prose, with its singing Irish cadences, brings grandeur and beauty to the most sorrowful events, including the final scene, set in a Limerick graveyard. --Wendy Smith

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

'Tis a blessing that the author narrates his own work. McCourt follows up his Audie Award-winning performance in Angela's Ashes with another brilliant reading as he chronicles his return to post-World War II New York. Like all good storytellers, McCourt has good stories to tell; 'Tis pulses with grim adversity and quiet triumphs--character-shaping moments that gain the listener's empathy. What makes McCourt a great storyteller is his ability to give these moments just the right amount of humor and perspective. His lyrical tones are wise but not weary; he's survived life's challenges to tell his tale. And while it may be trite to credit McCourt's verbal skills to his Irish heritage, these war stories were undoubtedly polished amongst friends in the pubs. 'Tis is Grammy material, and a perfect example of how an author's voice can enhance the written word. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --Rob McDonald

Book Description

Frank McCourt's glorious childhood memoir, Angela's Ashes, has been loved and celebrated by readers everywhere for its spirit, its wit and its profound humanity. A tale of redemption, in which storytelling itself is the source of salvation, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Rarely has a book so swiftly found its place on the literary landscape.

And now we have 'Tis, the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant to brilliant teacher and raconteur. Frank lands in New York at age nineteen, in the company of a priest he meets on the boat. He gets a job at the Biltmore Hotel, where he immediately encounters the vivid hierarchies of this "classless country," and then is drafted into the army and is sent to Germany to train dogs and type reports. It is Frank's incomparable voice -- his uncanny humor and his astonishing ear for dialogue -- that renders these experiences spellbinding.

When Frank returns to America in 1953, he works on the docks, always resisting what everyone tells him, that men and women who have dreamed and toiled for years to get to America should "stick to their own kind" once they arrive. Somehow, Frank knows that he should be getting an education, and though he left school at fourteen, he talks his way into New York University. There, he falls in love with the quintessential Yankee, long-legged and blonde, and tries to live his dream. But it is not until he starts to teach -- and to write -- that Frank finds his place in the world. The same vulnerable but invincible spirit that captured the hearts of readers in Angela's Ashes comes of age.

As Malcolm Jones said in his Newsweek review of Angela's Ashes, "It is only the best storyteller who can so beguile his readers that he leaves them wanting more when he is done...and McCourt proves himself one of the very best." Frank McCourt's 'Tis is one of the most eagerly awaited books of our time, and it is a masterpiece.

Download Description

The sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Angela's Ashes, " McCourt's glowing memoir chronicles his story from impoverished immigrant to brilliant raconteur and schoolteacher--a tale of survival as vivid, harrowing, and often hilarious as its bestselling predecessor.

Customer Reviews:

Love <3.......2007-09-18

I love this book. While Angela's Ashes was somewhat depressing but 'Tis is hilarious and enthralling. Throughout the book all you can think is how much you want to hug him. and you'd like to think you'd be the pretty girl that would give Frank a fair shot. Anything this man writes is pure gold that's for sure.

not as good as Angela's Ashes.......2007-09-05

Tis is not nearly as good as Frank McCorts other work. I it sometimes talks about when he was a kid. But for the most part is not as good.

A Natural Born Storyteller.......2007-06-23

The only thing more pleasurable than reading Frank McCourt's memoirs is listening to him read them! Wonderful! You will not be disappointed.

'Tis.......2007-05-04

"`Tis," an Autobiography of Frank McCourt's life, tells how he made his way in life as a young immigrant living in New York. It also explains how he survived the chaos and mayhem without much money or family. Yet it also tells of his struggle to get through the army, how he learned to write and then explains his way through college. Written with passion and full of memory, "`Tis" is an outstanding book that is recommended for any young person about to go on their own in the world. Frank McCourt wrote this book as a sequel to Angela's Ashes, which is an autobiography about Frank's life as a child in Ireland. Full of twists, drama, deaths and love, "`Tis" should be on everyone's top ten list of books to buy. After he wrote this book he wrote "Teacher Man" which is a summary of his life as a teacher and how it changed his life and who he thought he was going to be. -Daniel Archuleta

Excellent.......2007-04-01

This is a great book. Not as good as Angela's Ashes but if you reade the first you will want to read this one.

Average customer rating:

'Tis
Tis
'Twas a dissapointment
The Irish.. at home in New York
Good, but language offensive.

'Tis : A Memoir

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000CC49IK

Customer Reviews:

'Tis.......2007-07-24

Having fallen in love with Frnak McCourt's literary genuis after reading "Angela's Ashes", I looked forward to reading "'Tis". A friend of mine had bought the book and loaned it to me.
I was really enjoying it until I reached page 33...where it all just went berserk!! Page numbers, chapters, all out of sequence and NO WAY to rectify it to even make it readable. Here's how the pages go: page 33(supposedly END of chapter 4) then on the back of page 33 begins 42 (and the beginning of chapter 7)!! the next page is 35,and on the back of THAT page is 38...AND the beginning of chapter 6!!! And on and on it goes...and there is no way to make sense of it, nor to READ it.
What a disappointment...and what a disservice to a wonderful author!!
And SHAME on Simon and Schuster!!!! And WHAT A RIP-OFF!!!

Tis.......2007-05-12

After Angela's Ashes, I had to find out how Mr McCourt advanced in life
after a very neglected childhood.
From an Irish background, myself, I never knew the poverty and
drinking effect on families. This was an eye opener.

'Twas a dissapointment .......2007-03-25

The memory of the sheer enjoyment I had in reading Angela's Ashes slowly and painstakingly became dissipated as I plodded through `Tis.

`Twas it because the author in Angela's Ashes was in and remained in, the child-perspective zone while writing A.A. and in `Tis was writing in the grown-up-perspective zone? `Twas it that in Angela's Ashes there was a central theme, which I would call `suffering' and in `Tis I could detect no central theme; even the suffering was gone? `Twas it because in America the author had it too good? `Twas it that the abundance of humanity in A.A. had vanished in `Tis? `Twas it that as author you can only once mourn the loss of your mother by writing A.A. and then there is nothing left to write? 'Twas it that in the process of integrating into a new country he needed to lose contact with his own roots? `Twas it....

I think the author is a child at heart and that's where he feels free to express himself. I think at that place lies his great creativity and in particular his monumental and unforgettable work, Angela's Ashes. Angela's Ashes made me feel young again. Thank you Mr. McCourt.

The Irish.. at home in New York.......2006-12-07

I'm not sure what it is, other than abject poverty, that makes the Irish migrate. But everywhere I come across them, I'm glad of it.

Frank McCourt has that uncanny knack for self-hypnosis which enables him to step back into his own personal history and write, with the hindsight of age.. of the freshness of youth.

As a young man, I worked in Oxford, at a place that was more or less a refuge for Irishmen abroad. I was taught how to milk a goat by a Kerryman... at a time when I most needed it.

All of the guide books I ever read, said avoid Limerick, and every book that Frank McCourt has ever written screams 'Go there !'.

This book takes you in the footsteps of young Frankie McCourt arriving in a foreign country, that is really his ancestral home.

It captures the uncertainty and unquenchable enthusiasm of youth.

Good, but language offensive........2006-03-21

My husband and I enjoyed this book for its history of living in New York and the struggles involved in finding employment and trying to keep a marriage alive. However, the language and hugh amount of the need to continually turn to alcohol to solve problems seems to get in the way of a good story.

Average customer rating:

An Engrossing, Memorable Recitation By Frank McCourt From His Bestselling Memoir
Do I detect an Irish Brogue? ;)

Tis Unabridged: A Memoir

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0743551745

Book Description

FROM THE PULIZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ANGELA'S ASHES

Frank McCourt's glorious childhood memoir, Angela's Ashes, has been loved and celebrated by readers everywhere. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Rarely has a book so swiftly found its place on the literary landscape.

And now we have 'Tis, the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant to brilliant teacher and raconteur. Frank lands in New York at age nineteen and gets a job at the Biltmore Hotel, where he immediately encounters the vivid hierarchies of this "classless country," and then is drafted into the army and is sent to Germany to train dogs and type reports. It is Frank's incomparable voice that renders these experiences spellbinding.

When Frank returns to America in 1953, he works on the docks, always resisting what everyone tells him. He knows that he should be getting an education, and though he left school at fourteen, he talks his way into New York University. There, he falls in love with the quintessential Yankee and tries to live his dream. But it is not until he starts to teach that Frank finds his place in the world.

Customer Reviews:

An Engrossing, Memorable Recitation By Frank McCourt From His Bestselling Memoir.......2007-07-18

Of his three well-written memoirs, "'Tis" has been the one of Frank McCourt's which I have unjustly underrated in the past (There are a complex scope of reasons, but looking back now, I recognize that it is definitely a credible - if somewhat artistically unsuccessful - sequel to "Angela's Ashes".). Much to both his - and his publisher's credit - Frank McCourt has been the one solely responsible for spellbinding audio versions of all three memoirs, told with ample grace and wit, via Frank's distinctively rich Irish-American brogue. Those who've enjoyed hearing Frank recount his youth in "Angela's Ashes" will be equally entranced with this recording of "Tis Unabridged: The Memoir". However, the scope of detail in "Tis" may not be nearly as enchanting as in "Angela's Ashes", since Frank deals unflinchingly with his own bouts with alcoholism, his rocky, romantic relationship with his first wife, and the harsh dissolution of that marriage, as well with his jobs from dock longshoreman to hotel porter and a reluctant U. S. Army dog trainer stationed in West Germany at the height of the Korean War. For those who truly admire not only Frank's elegant prose, but his rhapsodic voice, then this will be an important addition to their collection of McCourt memorabilia. Otherwise, potential purchasers may choose instead to buy the printed versions currently available of "Tis: A Memoir".

Do I detect an Irish Brogue? ;).......2006-01-11

I listened to this book as read by the Author. I recommend that, as I read Angela's Ashes and enjoyed it a lot as well, but there is something special about the reading by the author that adds a diminsion to the work that you can't quite catch reading it.

Up front, many are uncomfortable with this work and Angela's Ashes because of the language, which is quite blue in places. I don't find it the most endearing quality myself, but as a memoir it captures the language of the army, the loading dock, the teachers lounge and the bar. Be warned up front, if you are not comfortable hearing swearing, then this is NOT the book for you.

That having been said, listening to McCourt read, I caught the poetic, lyrical, stream of consciousness attributes that I knew were present in Angela's Ashes, but hearing the cadence, the lilting roll and flow of the language; there are parts of this book that come close to poetry. It is an amazing and endearing quality that is rarely achieved in most modern literature.

McCourt has a rare transparency with his insecurity, his dysfunctional relationships, his family dynamics, his romance with his first wife and his transition to teaching and moving toward writing is very revealing and almost has a therapeutic value as you listen and can recognize the human condition in general.

My one criticism, is that, perhaps, this book stretches a little long for the material he includes. The actual narrative events can be condensed to a very short story line. It is the embellishment, the thinking out loud and the dancing around in what becomes a farily discernible pattern by the end of the book to where, it "almost" becomes a little tedious, although this is faint criticism when weighed against the overall impact of the book.

A very entertaining listen and read! It is hard to follow-up on a Pulitzer Prize. The goal is lofty and the expectations overwhelming. My opinion is this book does not surpass its progenitor, but it certainly comes close and provides more of the same type of reading and entertainment.

I look forward to reading, and hopefully hearing the next installment.

Average customer rating:

One of the last women from the golden age of Hollywood Maureen O' Hara's autobiograhy 'tis a triumphant delight worth reading
A True Irish Lass....
How Bitter Are My Memories?
A Great Read-- Maybe Because it's mostly Fiction?
Maureen O"Hara, one classy lady!

'Tis Herself: A Memoir
Maureen O'Hara , and John Nicoletti
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743246934

Book Description

"You are about to read the tale of the toughest Irish lass who ever took on Hollywood and became a major leading lady....In a career that has lasted more than sixty years, I have acted, punched, swashbuckled, and shot my way through an absurdly masculine profession....As a woman, I'm proud to say that I stood toe-to-toe with the best of them and made my mark on my own terms. I'm Maureen O'Hara and this is my life story."

-- From Chapter One of 'Tis Herself

In language that is blunt, straightforward, and totally lacking in artifice, Maureen O'Hara, one of the greatest and most enduring stars of Hollywood's "Golden Era," for the first time tells the story of how she succeeded in the world's most competitive business.

Known for her remarkable beauty and her fiery screen persona, Maureen O'Hara came to Hollywood when she was still a teenager, taken there by her mentor, the great actor Charles Laughton. Almost immediately she clashed with the men who ran the movie business -- the moguls who treated actors like chattel, the directors who viewed every actress as a potential bedmate.

Determined to hold her own and to remain true to herself, she fought for roles that she wanted and resisted the advances of some of Hollywood's most powerful and attractive men. It was in the great director John Ford that she first found someone willing to give her a chance to prove herself as an important actress. Beginning with the Academy Award-winning How Green Was My Valley, she went on to make five films with Ford and through him first met the great John Wayne, with whom she also made five films.

In O'Hara, Ford had found his ideal Irish heroine, a role that achieved its greatest realization in The Quiet Man. And in O'Hara, John Wayne found his ideal leading lady, for she was perhaps the only actress who could hold her own when on screen with "The Duke." Ford, however, was not without his quirks, and his relationship with his favorite actress became more and more complex and ultimately deeply troubled. The on-screen relationship between Wayne and O'Hara, on the other hand, was transformed into a close friendship built on mutual respect, creating a bond that endured until his death.

Writing with complete frankness, O'Hara talks for the first time about these remarkable men, about their great strengths and their very human failings. She writes as well about many of the other actors and actresses -- Lucille Ball, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, John Candy, Natalie Wood, to name a few -- with whom she worked, but ultimately it is about herself that she is most revealing. With great candor and a mixture of pride and regret, she reflects on just how this young girl from Ireland made it to America and onto movie screens all around the world. There were missteps, of course -- a troubled and deeply destructive marriage, a willingness to trust too readily in others -- but there were triumphs and great happiness as well, including her marriage to the aviation pioneer Brigadier General Charles F. Blair, who tragically died in a mysterious plane crash ten years after their marriage.

Throughout, 'Tis Herself is informed by the warmth and charm and intelligence that defined Maureen O'Hara's performances in some sixty films, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Miracle on 34th Street to The Parent Trap to McLintock! to Only the Lonely. 'Tis Herself is Maureen O'Hara's story as only she can tell it, the tale of an Irish lass who believed in herself with the strength and determination to make her own dreams come true.

Customer Reviews:

One of the last women from the golden age of Hollywood Maureen O' Hara's autobiograhy 'tis a triumphant delight worth reading.......2007-03-04

I happened to come across `Tis' Herself' an autobiography by Maureen `O Hara with John Nicoletti by mistake really. I was looking for a book on Olivia De Havilland from `Gone with the Wind' and actually thought Maureen `O Hara was the actress who played Scarlett `O Hara's mother in this 1939 classic movie. The woman I had in mind was actually Barbara O' Neill who played Ellen mother of Scarlett. I really didn't know anything about Maureen `O Hara until I read this book. From the blurb it told me of Errol Flynn and how she had out-fenced him. I knew Olivia De Havilland starred in many films with Errol Flynn, so this book was taking my fancy. Even though it doesn't mention much on Olivia, it seems she was a lovely woman. That's really all I need to know. You see, I have seen a few of Errol and Olivia's films. They were `Robin Hood' and `Captain Blood'. I'm so glad Maureen and Olivia share the same book together. I'd still like to read something on Olivia though. In 1939 Maureen made the film 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', and missed out on working with Alfred Hitchcock again for 'Rebecca' . Another film she missed out on was 'The King and I'. She was considered for the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn, but Audrey refused to have anyone but herself sing the tunes from 'My Fair Lady'. So yet another movie offer that didn't come to frition.

I knew I had to read this book that my grandmother got for Christmas in 2006, and let me borrow when I read the review 'An essential book for anyone interested in the golden age of Hollywood' - Mail on Sunday.

Maureen's real name was Maureen FitzSimons. Only it was too long for movie screens or billboards so got changed. One thing I loved was the talent of her family members. They all loved the theatre and opera. Movies were not really Maureen's thing, and it's a shame that nothing really came of her stage career. Instead she was cast in 'Jamaica Inn' an early Alfred Hitchcock picture. She found working with Alfred a great experience but adored Charles Laughton. Maureen didn't have much experience with men but she certainly was popular. She found herself married to George Brown for a time but got that annulled. The next man in her life was Will Price who was an alcoholic. He was also a big spender of money. Together they had a daughter together. Maureen called her Bronwyn and I actually like that name too. Named after Anna Lee's character Bronwyn Morgan in 'How Green was my Valley'. Life was indeed hard with a husband who charges everything to your name and leaves her with nothing. It's a marriage that lasted an amazing ten years. There was even a point where Maureen might have undergone an unnecessary medical procedure at the insistence of her husband's friend and ended up dead. It does seem that at every point Maureen had to keep her wits about her to save being drawn into traps.

Maureen starred in five pictures for renowned director John Ford. A brilliant it seems but less likable person. He is described as an enigma. Of his films I've only seen `The Grapes Of Wrath', and `My Darling Clementine'. He certainly wouldn't be a director I'd want to work with after reading about him in this book. He could have been in love with Maureen that wouldn't surprise me. I have seen a few John Wayne films, and Maureen O' Hara had an incredible friendship with this American icon. I've seen `Blood Alley' with Lauren Bacall and `Rio Bravo', so more John Wayne films are in store for me so I can see this amazing pairing. `The Quiet Man' does indeed sound interesting. Howard Hughes also features in a small role in this book, unlike he did for Katharine Hepburn. I was very glad to also see a short mention of Ava Gardner. Natalie Wood has taken my interest now too and the short life she led. I've only seen her in `Rebel without a Cause' with James Dean, but `Splendour in the Grass' and `West Side Story', and `Miracle on 34th Street interest me too. Hayley Mills `The Parent Trap' is another one. Walt Disney also plays a small part, as does John Candy in `Only the Lonely'. How interesting to be writing this thirteen years after John Candy's death. Doesn't seem that long ago.

Maureen 'O Hara will never tell what she whispers to John Wayne in 'The Quiet Man'. I find this similar to 2003's 'Lost in Translation' with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Director Sofia Coppola doesn't know the answer and would never tell if she did. It's for the audience to decide for themselves. Maureen also made sure scandalous magazine 'Confidential' went out of business, never to return again. She also soared to great hights without Hollywood as a high flying aviator's wife to Charlie Blair. I'm delighted with the level of insight in this book and love that Maureen is still alive to share her experiences. Thank you so much. You must be an inspiration to us all. I can't help but think wish you had better luck in films but you've survived to tell your story, and it is special. I have many more movie stars to discover if I so desire thanks to you. Here's hoping you reach one hundred and two years of age. Maureen fills 369 pages full of thoughts, no one else can now recount. She could fill many more empty pages if she wanted to. Thank you for this wonderful story of your life that isn't over yet.

A True Irish Lass...........2006-08-21

After reading "Tis Herself," I have more respect for Maureen O'Hara than ever before. I realize now why John Wayne held her in the very high regard that he did for over 39 years and how she came to be his very best friend during that period. John Wayne was part Irish and they both had a tremendous work ethic; likewise, during filming - it was strictly business while the cameras were rolling and they always knew their lines.

Throughout the book, I kept waiting; kept expecting to encounter signs of personal ego and pettiness in Maureen O'Hara that a few reviewers have described here. I found their criticisms to be so unjust. Frankly, I'm wondering if they read the book at all or had their own personal agendas! For Maureen O'Hara was anything but petty! The book is an honest and revealing account of many events that went on in Hollywood, but in many instances - she did not "name names." And think of how she could have destroyed some of these careers if she had spoken while they were still alive?! She was generosity in itself. At the height of Hollywood's Golden Age, she was a huge star - and she remained surprisingly down to earth.

I had always presumed that Maureen O'Hara had been this beautiful Irish lass that was discovered by a Hollywood agent, traveling in Ireland, and that she became an overnight star. Actually, she was discovered by Charles Laughton of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame fame;" she came from a theatrical family; and she took music, dance, and drama lessons six days a week from the time she decided that she wanted to be an actress at the age of six. She trained herself to be very disciplined from a very early age.

Likewise, I don't believe many readers can understand what it was like in the late 30's and 40's for a young, inexperienced Irish woman, who had been protected all her life. There weren't any televisions in Ireland at that time to expose her to the sophistications of Hollywood and how some men can often be deceitful before marriage. She spent her youth either taking drama, music or dancing lessons or else was with her family. She was raised in a catholic school (with probably lots of guilt encouraged by the nuns daily) and she was rushed into an unconsummated marriage by an older man when she was about 18.

Maureen O'Hara had the marriage annulled - only to discover that her next husband was an alcoholic. So is it any wonder that in an age where divorce was still somewhat frowned upon, she was expecting a child, and image was everything in Hollywood, that she held off on the second divorce? Plus, I imagine that with the very long hours and back to back movies and promotions that she was required to do, that she didn't have to endure her husband's company that often.

I am glad that she found happiness with Charles Blair. Ironically, we purchased an albatross from her after his death. I never met her, but I probably would have just ended up talking about John Wayne anyhow! LOL We restored the plane and I know that her husband would have loved to see how the plane was outfitted with jet skis. In the book, she mentions that her husband was killed due to certain knowledge that he had from working with the CIA. Given what I personally know about the organization during that period, I wouldn't be surprised one bit.

She endured such maliciousness from John Ford that I was appalled. In our present times, his behavior would have landed him in a lawsuit! And yet, she forgave John Ford in the end as well. He was a creative genius and yet - so often I feel that it isn't good for anyone to have that much power as they begin to push people more and more in an attempt to have boundaries set. And it made me wish that Duke had knocked Mr. Ford on his can just once when he berated Maureen! I'm sure that he would have liked to!

I think if Maureen O'Hara had one fault - it was that she was too trusting. She allowed her financial manager to continue handling her money - even after he handled it so badly when she was married to her second husband. (However John Wayne fell victim to allowing his funds to be mismanaged as well, so I suspect that many actors were prey to this at that time.)

And did you know that it was Maureen O'Hara who first pitched the idea of Mary Poppins to Walt Disney? Again, I would have had everything in writing! (Disney probably made the movie just to get back at her!) Walt Disney was a genius in many ways, but he was noted for disregarding contracts and paying his employees very poorly. If her contract stipulated that she receive top billing in "The Parent Trap," it was only right that Disney do so. Good grief, it had nothing to do with her relationship with Hayley Mills - she liked her, but it had everything to do with business. Do you think that Julia Roberts wouldn't expect the same thing today?

I honestly could not put the book down and read it in about 4 hours. I literally wept when I read about her final days with John Wayne. I remember watching her on television when she petitioned Congress to award him the "John Wayne - American" Congressional Medal of Honor. What wonderful words! She knew that those three words would mean more to the Duke - than any flowery speech. In fact, I would bet that those three words inscribed on it meant as much to him as the medal itself. I was so in love with John Wayne - a little girl as a 6th grader with a huge crush on a man 50 years older, but throughout my life he has remained the image of what a true man represents.

I came away from "Tis Herself" knowing exactly why the Duke considered Maureen O'Hara his best friend. She was beautiful and feisty and down-to-earth....and still a lady. Is it any wonder that Charles Blair, John Wayne, Charles Laughton and so many others have worshipped the ground she walks on?

How Bitter Are My Memories?.......2006-04-07

Never have I read such a bizarre and self-absorbed celebrity memoir (and I've read a bunch). I expected to come here and read the glowing reviews by O'Hara fans. Instead I find most agree with me, even when they like the actress. Maureen O'Hara, Lovely Queen of Technicolor (as she never ceases to remind the reader) is paranoid, bitter, in denial of reality, and full of invective. She purports to be hurt and angry that Disney teen star Hayley Mills was given billing over her in "The Parent Trap," despite O'Hara's contract clause stating that she must have star billing. How could she not realize that, as Disney was making the movie for the teen market (who could not care less about a middle-aged actress), there was no way she was going to get star billing?

As ever out of touch with reality, O'Hara relates her idyllic childhood in the briefest of terms, until she was swept away at age 17 by Charles Laughton to star in "Jamaica Inn" in 1939, after having won every acting award Ireland bestows. The beautiful Maureen is also pushed into two early marriages, one unconsummated with a man she barely knew and wedded while in the midst of packing to go overseas, and one with an alcoholic couch potato who stole her money and threatened to kill her, yet she stayed with him ten years and had his child. There is no thoughtful introspection on O'Hara's part on why she let herself be a total doormat for these two men. But, with ever-magical thinking, claims she is a "tough Irish broad" and was the only woman "ever to go toe-to-toe with Duke Wayne and hold her own." Perhaps some introspection would be helpful here. What is more important: Pretending to be a strong woman on film or really being one in real life, not merely an ornamental Kewpie doll "rushed into" two marriages she didn't want without a peep of protest?

Maureen does dish some mild dirt, nothing too outrageous, about stars such as the wicked Errol Flynn, Lucille Ball, and Charles Laughton, and an unnamed major leading man she caught embracing legendary director John Ford (semi-outing him in the process). Ford, with whom she has the strangest relationship ever committed to paper, looms large in this memoir. Ford's behavior towards O'Hara ranges from silly and annoying to creepy and insidious to downright nasty and illegal. He breaks into her house, steals her things, leaves her cryptic threatening notes, sends her love letters, punches her in the face for no apparent reason, has her dragged through piles of sheep poop during a scene, etc. I am seriously not exaggerating. Still, she refers to him as "Pappy" and never hesitates to be his leading lady over and over again. Enabling behavior, anyone?

O'Hara never misses an opportunity to let us all know that she is the World's Greatest Actress and just generally the Bee's Knees. Why, oh, why is everyone out to get her? From the U.S. government to the catty witches of Hollywood to Elsa Lanchester and everybody in between, poor Maureen will never get her due. She will never win an Oscar because everyone is plotting against her. Her third husband was mysteriously murdered by the CIA. Elizabeth Taylor stole her moment in the spotlight by presenting an award to Roddy MacDowell, one that she expressly FLEW IN FROM IRELAND to bestow!!!!!! The horror!! The paranoia drips from these pages like Irish whiskey.

If you are looking for an entertaining Hollywood read, look elsewhere. If you are a fan of Miss O'Hara's, I suggest you skip this book and remember her as the leading lady in those nice Technicolor movies where she pretended to be the strong capable woman she wasn't offscreen.

A Great Read-- Maybe Because it's mostly Fiction?.......2006-03-20

This book was exactly what many star's autobiographies are like-- Self serving, yet entertaining. I could not put this book down, although I wonder if everything Miss O'Hara says is true.. Aside from the needless bashing of Joan Crawford, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball (according to M.O. Desi didn't really want her) and Walt Disney, this book is an interesting look into Hollywood's Golden age by a fiery, and talented actress.

She doesn't hesitate to tell you who she thinks is gay, rude, self absorbed, etc.

I was particularly amused by the way Maureen explained her marriages-- as if she played no part in their demise-- OR THEIR beginning!! And also in the fact that she was so bitter about not receiving top billing for The Parent Trap over H. Mills, who is obviously the star of that film, who cares if she IS a kid? Kudos to Walt Disney for sticking to his guns.

Overall, a great read, I recommend it.

Maureen O"Hara, one classy lady!.......2006-03-18

Tis Herself is a beautiful book about the lovely actress Maureen O'Hara behind and in front of the scenes. She shares some of her most cherised memories and also some very tough ones. She captures your heart from the first page to the last page and it's very hard to put down. The book will make you want to watch her movies all over again because now you have background information on what went on behind the making of these movies, plus what was going on with her personal life as well. My all time favorite was the "The Quite Man", find out how long it actually took to get this movie made, how important it was to the stars and director and go behind the scenes as the movie was made. Fantastic! She came out of Hollywood with life long friends such as, John Wayne, John Ford, Roddy McDowell. I just wished the book had never ended. It was a beautiful read.

The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon

Average customer rating:

Interesting personal account of recent surgical history
Man with a heart, a real heart.
Compelling at times
I am a transplant recipient and need this book
An Egomaniac's Puff Piece

The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon
Thomas Starzl
Manufacturer: University of Pittsburgh Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 082293714X

Book Description

Given the tensions and demands of medicine, highly successful physicians and surgeons rarely achieve equal success as prose writers. It is truly extraordinary that a major, international pioneer in the controversial field of transplant surgery should have written a spellbinding, and heart-wrenching, autobiography.
Thomas Starzl grew up in LeMars, Iowa, the son of a newspaper publisher and a nurse. His father also wrote science fiction and was acquainted with the writer Ray Bradbury. Starzl left the family business to enter Northwestern University Medical School where he earned both and M.D. and a PhD. While he was a student, and later during his surgical internship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, he began the series of animal experiments that led eventually to the world’s first transplantation of the human liver in 1963.
Throughout his career, first at the University of Colorado and then at the University of Pittsburgh, he has aroused both worldwide admiration and controversy. His technical innovations and medical genius have revolutionized the field, but Starzl has not hesitated to address the moral and ethical issues raised by transplantation. In this book he clearly states his position on many hotly debated issues including brain death, randomized trials for experimental drugs, the costs of transplant operations, and the system for selecting organ recipients from among scores of desperately ill patients.
There are many heroes in the story of transplantation, and many âpuzzle people,â the patients who, as one journalist suggested, might one day be made entirely of various transplanted parts. They are old and young, obscure and world famous. Some have been taken into the hearts of America, like Stormie Jones, the brave and beautiful child from Texas. Every patient who receives someone else’s organ - and Starzl remembers each one - is a puzzle. âIt was not just the acquisition of a new part,â he writes. âThe rest of the body had to change in many ways before the gift could be accepted. It was necessary for the mind to see the world in a different way.â The surgeons and physicians who pioneered transplantation were also changed: they too became puzzle people. âSome were corroded or destroyed by the experience, some were sublimated, and none remained the same.â

Customer Reviews:

Interesting personal account of recent surgical history.......2001-03-11

This book, by transplantation pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl, is an easy read, a wonderfully inspiring story, and an interesting history of modern surgical medicine. I was compelled to write the review because of several reviews that disparage Dr. Starzl and this book.

The book is an inspirational story of a young mid-westerner, with no connections or wealth to help him in his journey, who innovated, struggled, competed, succeeded, and eventually became THE transplant surgeon in the world. The reason Pittsburgh is a transplant mecca is that Dr. Starzl is there.

Now, certainly Dr. Starzl's personality has a reputation that casts him in a negative light - I don't know the man, but I suspect that great succeess also breeds great resentments. Whatever his failings are, his contributions are beyond dispute.

Dr. Starzl's ability as a surgeon has also been questioned. Again, I have never operated with him, but the success of his transplant program speaks for itself. Also, if his only contribution was to innovate and educate a generation of transplant surgeons, then that by itself would be a fine legacy.

Finally, some reviews bash the book, so here goes my actual book review:

The book is an extremely personal account, with all the beauty and failings that are an inherent part of such a personal endeavor. Yes, he settles old scores. Yes, he portrays himself as the greatest man on earth. Yes he does not dwell on important social and ethical issues that confront modern surgery. However, these "problems" with the book are also what makes this book such a wonderful read - it is really like a conversation with a great man. He lets you in on his most secret fears (he hates operating), his most painful memories (his father's health and death, his failed family life, his second wife's history of physical abuse), his greatest triumphs (successful liver transplantations), his greatest failures (failed surgeries, inability to get along with colleagues and superiors in academia, his family/children). This is such a personal account that any other perspective on it completely misses the point. Dr. Starzl pours his heart out, which is what makes this book so interesting.

I've recently read the autobiography of Francis Moore, the great chair of Surgery at Harvard. It is such a boring book ! It offers nothing personal, nothing intimate, just a dry listing of accomplishments and people who were involved in them. One learns more about Dr. Moore from Dr. Starzl's book than from his own autobiography.

In conclusion, this is a very captivating account of a personal journey. For all his failings, Dr. Starzl is not afraid to reveal himself, and the result is a compelling and inspirational book that most readers will thoroughly enjoy.

Man with a heart, a real heart........2000-12-28

Dr. Starzl saves lifes not only with his skills, but with a real heart. A genuine human being.

Compelling at times.......1999-03-31

The author disparages several people in this book, including those who are not alive to defend themselves. This reflects more negatively on the author than on the persons he criticizes. Nonetheless, the book is compelling at times, particularly where the author talks about the patients he has helped, or those he has tried to help but who did not survive. The author was and is clearly a major figure in a field which has done much to prolong and improve the lives of many people. If the book accomplishes nothing else, hopefully it will encourage its readers to provide for the donation of their organs after death, or those of their loved ones.

I am a transplant recipient and need this book.......1998-05-30

Dr Starzl wrote an excellent book of the history of organ transplantation. Without his work in the late 50's many more people would have died. To me he is the real hero. Anyone who can give it a bad review does not live it everyday like my wife and I do. I wish I found it sooner. many thanks Dr. Starzl

An Egomaniac's Puff Piece.......1998-03-17

This has to be one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. There were frequent references to trivial incidents in the author's life (e.g. a surprise 50th birthday party), but there was no overarching sense of the major accomplishments and setbacks in transplant science during the author's illustrious career. By the end of the book, I was left with no sense of the next medical frontiers in transplantation, or the ethical dilemmas they would engender. Starzl would have done far better to coauthor with a journalist, the better to highlight crucial issues and establish context.

Attacks on old professional enemies and odd turns of phrase about people's ethnic backgrounds were also off-putting. Knowing that Starzl can hold a grudge for decades made me take his chracterizations of even his friends with a few kilograms of salt.

Book Description

The Spanish edition of the #1 New York Times bestseller, TIS is the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant with rotten teeth, infected eyes, and no formal education to brilliant raconteur and schoolteacher. Saved first by a straying priest, then by the Democratic party, then by the United States Army, then by New York University-- which admitted him on a trial basis, though he had no high school diploma-- Frank had the same vulnerable but invincible spirit at nineteen that he had at eight, and still has today. And TIS is a tale of survival as vivid, harrowing, and often hilarious as ANGELA'S ASHES. Yet again, it is through the power of storytelling that Frank finds a life for himself. TIS blesses readers with another chapter of McCourt's story, but as it closes, they will want still more.

Customer Reviews:

Altamente recomendado.......2006-12-20

Apenas recibi este libro hace unos dias, y hasta ahora lo he disfrutado mucho. No es tan crudo como "Las cenizas de Angela", y conserva la manera tan particilar en la que McCourt narra sus historias. Es un alivio saber que la situacion del autor no es tan apremiante como en su obra anterior. No lo he terminado de leer todavia, pero es un libro que estoy disfrutando mucho. Mas adelante, cuando termine de leerlo, actualizare mi opinion sobre este, pero por ahora puedo recomendarlo con toda seguridad. **************
01/27/07
Ok. Al terminar de leerlo puedo decir con seguridad que el libro ha cubierto todas mis expectativas. Definitivamente ha sido una lectua muy placentera.

Average customer rating:

'Tis a Memoir abridged
Frank McCourt
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Product Description

Audio Book Club Edition. Abridged on 4 cassettes. running time 6 hours. Read by the author.

Samuel Francis Smith: My Country Tis of Thee (The Sowers) (The Sowers)

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Samuel Francis Smith: My Country Tis of Thee (The Sowers) (The Sowers)
Marguerite Fitch
Manufacturer: Mott Media (MI)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Francis Scott Key (Sower Series) (Sower Series)

ASIN: 0880620498
Release Date: 1987-08-03

Product Description

A New England pastor, he wrote the lyrics to "America: My Country 'Tis of Thee."

2 FRANK McCOURT Books : 1. Angelas Ashes: A Memoir 2. 'Tis : A Memoir (Unboxed Set of Memoir Books)

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2 FRANK McCOURT Books : 1. Angelas Ashes: A Memoir 2. 'Tis : A Memoir (Unboxed Set of Memoir Books)
FRANK McCOURT
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WL8CHA

Product Description

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3 Memoir Titles By Frank McCourt (1-3) : 1. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 2. 'Tis : A Memoir 3. Teacher Man: A Memoir

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3 Memoir Titles By Frank McCourt (1-3) : 1. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 2. 'Tis : A Memoir 3. Teacher Man: A Memoir
Frank McCourt
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SMMVRA

Product Description

3 FRANK McCOURT Memoir Books : 1) - Angela's Ashes: A Memoir / 2) - 'Tis : A Memoir / 3) Teacher Man: A Memoir. , in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.

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