Both Sides Now: One Man's Journey Through Womanhood

Book Description

The courageous and heart-wrenching story of a man's decision to risk it all to be true to himself.

Imagine waking up one morning in the wrong body-and that body is the wrong gender. What would you do? Would you experience the world differently? Would your politics change? Would you just accept that this was how you were destined to live out the rest of your life? Or would you fight with every ounce of strength you have to find your way back home- to the body that is familiar and comfortable, to the person you know yourself to be?

Both Sides Now is a vivid and compelling account of how one man's search for wholeness led him through multiple, complex, and life-threatening surgeries that transformed him not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Born with the body of a female, Dhillon Khosla never felt fully at ease in his own skin. He knew very early on that his true identity was male, but spent nearly twenty years repressing this knowledge and trying to embrace his female form. Shortly after turning twenty-eight, he came across an article about men who were born with female bodies and had undergone surgeries to reclaim their male identity. As soon as he began reading their stories, Dhillon felt flashes of recognition stirring within and-for the first time-hope.

In this spellbinding memoir, Dhillon discusses openly and honestly what it has been like to live first as a woman and now as a man. Through anecdotes from his work in the courthouse, and his experiences on dates, in bars, and at strip clubs, he shares unique and profound insights into the sexes and our social mores. He also shows us that experiencing life as both genders leads to the understanding that the spiritual consequences of our actions are far more important than the political ones. But ultimately, Both Sides Now is a story about what it truly means to love oneself: the willingness to endure numerous trials and tribulations to be true to your inner voice, even in the face of extreme adversity, and no matter what the cost.

Customer Reviews:

Damn!.......2007-10-04

I started off whizzed off at this book 'cause I wanted 'Both Sides Now' for MY memoir title. Khosla doesn't mention Joni Mitchell once, grr. I suspect he prefers stronger stuff, at that. OK.

From the text: "I had been in Reno for two days [of sex shows, cigs, booze and gambling], and yet I felt as if I had become somehow aged. Like that little boy was on his way to becoming a man."

There it is: Khosla is a yuppie, lawyer, aspiring indie rocker, tattooed tough dude - totally superficial. His revelations are rarely internal. He's a wall-punching, skirt-chasing MAN.

So, that's the idea. Little genuflection, a lotta physical descriptions. His world rocks on appearances, appointments, accomplishments. No doubt here, Dhillon is a DUDE.

I wouldn't date 'em myself, but, hey, I don't trust MEN.

So ... the chronicle of his journey is ... perfect, crystalline. Terse. Male. Shallow. Feral. Uncompromising as as a credit card.

a true inspiration.......2007-01-05

This book changed my life...I mean really. The writter struggled with the very same things I did...that is until I read his book! After reading it I aquired the same courage that he did and solved the same problem. I only wish that books and other information such as this had been made avalible sooner. I found it hard to put down. I laughed and cried along the way. I would recomend this book to anyone struggeling with similar innertermiol and you will no longer feel alone!

A fantastic, emotional, page-turning read........2006-09-06

READ THIS BOOK! You don't have to be a transsexual, homosexual, male, or female to get a lot out of this book. I'm a married heterosexual female and read this book with an open mind, and am so glad I did so. Kholsa's transition from a female body to a male one that matched his male brain offers insights on the societal and biological constructs of gender and how our bodies are hard-wired to think and behave in certain ways by our hormones, our sociology, and so many other things. The fact that Kholsa has experienced both sides can help you learn more about yourself and the opposite sex than you ever thought possible.

Written in gorgeous, dramatic prose that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours. Fantastic! A great choice for your book club, too---sure to inspire hours of lively discussion.

Living in and through his body.......2006-07-10

Dhillon Khosla, in his book, Both Sides Now, offers readers an intimate chronicling through which he presents his bodily transformations from female to male. His chapters are broken down by the month and range from July 1997 (when Khosla is twenty-eight years old) to November 1999, moving readers through various steps in his transitions as a transsexual man.

Although not exclusively focused on the various medical and surgical procedures Khosla undergoes (including, but not limited to a full mastectomy, testosterone shots, hysterectomy, and metoidioplasty) Both Sides Now does center heavily on such bodily transformations. Khosla's memoir makes evident the extent to which he lives in and through his body, and the utmost significance it is to his well-being (mental, emotional, physical, etc.) that his body not only match his gender identity as a man, but also that others in the world receive him as a man and his body as male.

Many may not understand the depth of the despair Khosla feels whenever he is addressed as "ma'am" instead of "sir." I certainly don't purport to fully understand the utter dejection Khosla conveys at such instances. But, to his credit, Khosla tells his story in such a manner that demonstrates to readers the necessity of such bodily transformations for him, if not for readers themselves.

With this said, I would expect Both Sides Now to appeal to other transsexual men looking for affirmation for their own choices to undergo various sex-alignment surgeries, while possibly being met with some skepticism from those transgender and genderqueer people who find themselves in various relationships to the question of hormones and surgery, whether in favor of some surgeries but not others, against any hormones and surgery whatsoever, and all other possible options.

An element concerning his various surgeries that I especially appreciated was Khosla's descriptions of his pre-surgery routines and his post-surgery recuperations. Khosla gives us several glimpses of the processes circumscribing surgery--from researching surgeons, scheduling appointments, finding the money to pay for surgeries that health insurance won't cover, getting home after surgery, dealing with drainage bulbs and catheters, as well as adjusting to the external physical changes (or lack thereof) accompanying surgery.

The struggles to find money to pay for transsexual-related surgeries are certainly not a new topic within transsexual narratives, nor are the concerns about post-operative satisfaction. However, I did find Khosla's discussion of various pain medications and post-op recoveries (with and without complications) to be rather unique. It is in large part due to his struggles around surgery that he is able to so convincingly sway readers as to the vitality of surgery for him. (And, I doubt that we were even privy to the most gruesome details his post-op experiences.)

Another element that could have proved unique would have been if Khosla had said a little more about how his race came into play in his transition (he was born to an East Indian father and a German mother). We get glimpses of his racial identity in relationship to food, language, and growing up outside of the U.S., but never really in terms of his sexual or gender identities (with the exception of the name he chooses for himself).

[Hopefully race will figure more centrally in the book I picked up alongside Khosla's, Max Wolf Valerio's The Testosterone File: My Hormonal and Social Transformation from Female to Male.]

One great read.......2006-06-15

This is much more than a story about a man born in a woman's body who then went through life threatening surgery and alot of sole searching to become the person he is today. It is also a study in determination and perserverance. I saw Dhillon Khosla on the View and immediately bought his book. I could not believe that he was born a woman. When I received his book I read it through in one night (something new for me) because I had to know the whole story. While this book will interest those who feel they too are trapped in the wrong body,it is also the story of an incredible journey full of sandtraps and brick walls. The intimate story is told with intellectual honesty and is an excellent read.

Average customer rating:

ýCancer: How teens feelý
Quite a fine book.
A Story of Hope- I hope you'll read it!!!
The story of a 15 year old girl in High School
From a Teen-Agers point of View

Both Sides Now (Readers Circle)
Ruth Pennebaker
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Illness | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

School | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0440229332
Release Date: 2002-07-09

Amazon.com

Fifteen-year-old Liza is the antithesis of the stereotypical teenager. Buttoned-down and straight-laced, Liza thinks carefully before she speaks, jogs regularly, and doesn't waste her valuable time on tantrums or tears. "If you don't plan, you'll get taken by surprise, and I don't want that to happen to me. I want to plan for everything so that I can have a good, successful life." But the one thing that Liza could never have planned on was her mother Rebecca getting breast cancer. With her mom's diagnosis, Liza is abruptly launched into a world without rules or meaning. Her characteristic sense of responsibility shot, Liza flunks driver's ed, forgets to fact check an important school newspaper article, and gets drunk for the first time. Suddenly, she begins to understand how her mother must feel, having to take life as it comes, and not being able to control every outcome. "Maybe I never understood anything.... Everything I knew--about Mom and Dad, about myself... has been wrong. It makes me feel stupid for the first time in my life. I'm not as smart as I thought I was. That's clear."

Young-adult author Ruth Pennebaker has penned her best book to date. Writing in a way that is wholly accessible to teens, her characterization of Liza is complex and solid. Though this is mainly Liza's story, a smattering of paragraphs are written in Rebecca's voice, giving the novel an added bittersweet quality--especially when the reader discovers that Pennebaker herself is a cancer survivor. Both Sides Now is a commendable addition to a small group of titles recently published about mothers, daughters, and cancer that includes Joan Abelove's Saying It Out Loud and Karin Cook's What Girls Learn. (Ages 12 to 18) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Liza thinks she and her mother, Rebecca, are as different as a mother and daughter can be. Liza, a successful high school junior, works hard at keeping her life under control while maintaining a positive outlook.

Rebecca, who gave up writing after her book was rejected, recently completed grueling treatment for breast cancer. When tests reveal that more painful treatments are needed, it seems to Liza that Rebecca has given up.

As the control of Liza’s once predictable life unravels, she sees her mother’s courage and strength in a whole new light. Perhaps they can share the pain of the unknown together.

Customer Reviews:

ýCancer: How teens feelý.......2003-09-24

Both Sides Now is a book about a woman who has breast cancer. She has two daughters, one a sophomore in high school, and the other one about 9 or 10 years old. The younger daughter really doesn't understand what's going on with her mom. Now Liza (the sophomore), understands and has a hard time coping with it on top of teenage problems! Liza wants to be able to talk to her mom about what her views are about it, but her mom has to many mood swings. The publicity of everyone wanting to know how her mom is doing. On top of that she's dealing with a lot of things with her friends.

I personally don't like this book, because it's not an interesting subject for me. But if you like things about cancer, or ways teenagers cope with things this would be a good book for you!!

Quite a fine book........2002-07-25

Liza, at fifteen, is no typical teenager. She jogs, studies hard and gets straight A's, is very responsible, and doesn't drink or smoke. She's nothing like her mother Rebecca, who spent two years working on a novel she couldn't publish. But then everything changes when Rebecca's breast cancer, thought cured, reasserts itself. Within a month Liza flunks driver's ed because she can't concentrate, gets into huge trouble when she forgets to read a school newspaper article before publishing it, and gets drunk with a boyfriend. Her family is all torn apart with worry over Rebecca, who may not survive her cancer.

All of the story is written in the first person present tense, like Ruth Pennebaker's other two novels. Most of it is from Liza's point of view, but there are some interesting vignettes narrated by Rebecca. The doctors cut off both her breasts trying to stop the cancer. Then they decided to do a stem-cell transplant, a very extreme treatment that keeps you on the brink of death for weeks. It almost kills a person, but it might just save their life.

At that time Liza overhears her parents fighting. "I haven't stopped hoping," Rebecca says. "I'm just hoping for something else not." Some time later she tells her children that she's decided not to have the stem-cell transplant. It's not worth it, she says. The story ends there, leaving it up to the reader to decide whether or not Rebecca survives her cancer. At the back of the book you discover that Ruth Pennebaker is a cancer survivor too.

It was a fine book, though I liked the other two better. My favorite character was Liza's best friend Rory, a "slut" who's slept with eleven guys since entering high school. You can see how Rory's slutishness is really a result of underlying insecurity, but the wholeschool condemns her. All of the characters were well-drawn. I would recommend.

A Story of Hope- I hope you'll read it!!!.......2002-02-16

The book Both Sides Now is a great book! It is definitely one of the best books I have read! The story centers on Liza, a teenage girl, and her mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. This story is a story of hope and courage that should relate to us all.
I liked this book because it showed how and illness effects everyone in the family. I especially like the way Liza put her life back together when it fell apart. I think that everyone should read this inspiring book. It can help you realize the difference between giving up and moving on.

The story of a 15 year old girl in High School.......2001-12-01

Both Sides Now by Ruth Pennebaker, is the story of a 15 years old girl named Liza who is a sophomore in high school. This book states all the problem's she's encountering in her personal life, all the way from her mom fighting breast cancer to how much she despises the cafeteria food. She expresses a lot of her internal thoughts which gives us a great over view of her personality. In some cases this book was so surprising i had to go read over, because I couldn't believe what I was reading. I think this book was writen for a teen age girl, because it seems like this book could relate a lot to the problems that a teen age girl would encounter. I don't think a guy could find much intrest in ths book, so I would recomend this book to any girl who is intrested in a good story.

From a Teen-Agers point of View.......2001-01-13

Both Sides Now, by Ruth Pennebaker is a story of a high school girl named Liza and her experiences as a sophomore in high school but moreover, how she deals with her mother's case of breast cancer. The novel is written through Liza's point of view but every now and again we get a peak into the mother's side of the story. It was nice to understand what she too was going through, but I did not enjoy these little inputs. Each entry was extremely negative and brought down the optomistic and upbeat tone of the novel. Perhaps, the reason why these entries were inserted was to do exactly that: to show the sad side of breast cancer, the reality of it. Yet still, I did not appreciate them and I think that I would have given the book five stars instead of only four, had it not been for those diary-type entries. The novel did an almost perfect job at displaying what a high schooler goes through. This was displayed in everything from dealing with friends, getting drunk for the first time and flunking out of drivers ed. I could relate to Liza as I too have gone through some of her same feelings. Because of these things, and Ruth Pennebaker's strong voice, Liza was able to come alive. The reader cheers for her when she kisses her boyfriend and cries with her when the boy in her driver's ed class laughs at her. Pennebaker has a natural way of writing and it defiantly works well with the book. I enjoyed the way you could "see" Liza thinking. She would occationally corrected herself when she spoke which is the way we really think. "Right now, I'm not even sorry I have a hangover. I'd rather think about how much my head hurts--I'd rather think about anything on earth--than what's going on in my life...I've never understood it before--but maybe that's it. Anything's better than hurting this much. Anything." (p. 195) I am glad that I read this book because it helped me better understand what a cancer patient goes through. We must read things like this to better appreciate life and to value what we have so we do not take it for granted.

From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath

Average customer rating:

an ecletic yet wide-ranging poetry anthology from "both side
Excellent collection of poetry

From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath

Manufacturer: Scribner Paper Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Criticism | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 068484947X

Book Description

The Vietnam War, America's longest -- and in some ways most devastating -- conflict, changed the course of a generation and left millions wondering, "Why?" Here, in the first-ever collection of poetry from both sides of the war, Vietnamese and American poets use their art to ponder this haunting question. Chronologically arranged to mirror the progression of the war, From Both Sides Now brings together a wide variety of opposing views, with poetry by American and Vietnamese soldiers, orphans, widows, priests, monks, political figures, and antiwar protesters. In addition to including extraordinary works from well-known poets such as Bruce Weigl, Margaret Atwood, Yusef Komunyakaa, Sharon Olds, Robert Bly, Allen Ginsberg, Grace Paley, Philip Levine, and W. S. Merwin, editor Phillip Mahony has scoured the globe to find amazing and, in some cases, never-before-published poetry by North and South Vietnamese soldiers and poets and the first postwar generation of Vietnamese-Americans. Together the words of these poets cohere to a modern, many-voiced epic about the most important event in recent American history. Poignant and accessible, the poems collected here will leave an indelible impact on all readers -- not only poetry lovers but everyone who lived through, and those who want to learn about, the Vietnam War.

Customer Reviews:

an ecletic yet wide-ranging poetry anthology from "both side.......1998-12-28

Mahony has done what no one before him was able to do--get a "big publisher" in this case Scribners and Simon & Schuster to publish a Vietnam War Poetry Anthology in both a hardcover and paper edition and make it available to a variety of markets. Except for W.D. Ehrhart who got Avon to print an early anthology in l985--which was promptly "dumped" , no American publisher has touched the subject of Vietnam War poetry. Now we have Mahony's From Both Sides Now with its multi-faceted approach and a pretty sharp intro by its editor. A fine text for classroom use since it affords a view of veterans from both sides, as well as other more well-known poets including Sharon Olds and Philip Levine,etc. The anthology is well-organized, and in some cases especially poignant since it presents poems by poets whose work is not known to the American public. This is an extremely accessible book, rich with the real loss and melancholia of our longest war.

Excellent collection of poetry.......1998-12-13

This book was exciting in two ways. One, the poetry was wonderful, combing poets who are quite famous with poets who are published here for the first time. Second, it recreated the Vietnam experience in a way I hadn't experienced in years. I especially enjoyed reading the dozens of poems in this book that were written by young Vietnamese-Amercan and Amerasian poets.

Average customer rating:

Possibly The most Beautiful Lyrics Ever Written

Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell , and Joni Michell
Manufacturer: Scholastic Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0590456687

Customer Reviews:

Possibly The most Beautiful Lyrics Ever Written.......1999-06-06

Joni Mitchell, feminine/insightful social voice and poet extrodinaire.

This book is yet another example of her gift for words, through simple yet deeply profound lyric she says more, expresses more, shows more than others who toil for months even years to write a Children's book and still don't measure up to her talent. (When you got it you got it)

The illustrations depicting a caterpillar's metamorphosis is appropriate with it's metaphysical imagery. Illustrator Allan Baker captures the magic of these classic lyrics beautifully.

Why not for children? Life & Love & all of the above, as a critic I argue that children are multi-dimentional and capable of appreciating the spontaneity & playful rhymes that make this book a welcome addition to any child's (or adult for that matter) home library.

"Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air and feathered canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way."

This book is a visual treat and a treasure for any fan of Ms. Mitchell. If you haven't come to appreciate her songs/writing, get this book and see why her style has been refered to as "A Lyrical Miracle!" Finally a kid's title with substance.

Todd-Michael Phillips

Creative directoer CyPress Green Publishing

"A kaleidoscope of the mind"

Average customer rating:

Adoption Loss

Soul-stirring, Thought provoking, Eye opening..

Touching and honest story

Finding Me in a Paper Bag

Finding Me In a Paper Bag: Searching For Both Sides Now
Sally Howard
Manufacturer: Gateway Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974059404

Book Description

Left as an infant in a brown paper bag on a farmer's porch and later, having to surrender her only daughter after being raped, the many layers of this powerful and inspiring story addresses: baby abandonment laws, rape, the results of an unsuccessful search and the great mystery that drives us to discover our origins.

The reader will experience how it feel to never know a real birth date, nationality or genetic past. Foundlings and Safe Haven babies must live their lives alive, but unknown.

The only book published written by both a foundling/adoptee and birthparent who does a duel search for both her mother and daughter at the same time using whatever means possible; psychics, angels, and an intermediary. The results will surprise you.

Customer Reviews:

Adoption Loss.......2007-09-09

As an adopted adult I found this book a very interesting read. My heart went out to the author who was an abandoned baby and had little or no chance of finding her birthparents. She later went on to relinquish a child herself whom she was later reunited with. I found it interesting that although she was adopted herself it didn't seem to give her much insight into her daughter's psyche. She came at the relationship very much from the angle of a bithmother. I felt it quite sad that she couldn't have tapped more into the invaluable resources that being adopted gave her to understand her daughter. I really enjoyed this book and is a valuable insight into the mind of a birthmother. It also shows that reunion is a very difficult and emotional process for all involved. People need to go into it with their eyes wide open and expect the unexpected, read as much as you can on the subject and gets lots of support.

Soul-stirring, Thought provoking, Eye opening.........2006-05-12

The author spent hundreds of hours and traveled many miles trying to uncover the secrets of her birth. Being slipped into a flimsy paper bag and deposited on the porch of a lonely farm house would make anyone wonder: Why? Why not in a nice basket, on the steps of a church, on a door step in the city? Or on the steps of an orphanage? Did the young woman who placed her on the porch and scurry away know whose porch she was leaving her baby on?

Sally's quest to find the answers took her to several states, into libraries, police stations, hospitals, churches, courthouses and into many homes interviewing people who were around at the time of her abandonment. She consulted psychics and others.

Sally's also writes poignantly and vividly of her search for the daughter she gave up for adoption, its ups and downs and twists and turns, that are typical of all too many adoption searches.

Read the book. Think about what it would be like to be abandoned in a paper bag, a ladies hatbox, the back seat of a car, under a stairwell, in a garbage can or a dumpster. Sadly, it happens all too often. And when it does, chances of the abandonded baby ever finding out who she or he is are practically nil.

Who wants to be identiied as being so callous, thoughtless or unfeeling? Accused of such unconscionable, and in many abandonment cases, criminal behavior? Hardly anyone, apparently. Very few abandoned babies are ever claimed by their families. They are left to wander through life ever searching, seeking, peering into unknown faces, looking for their own.

Touching and honest story.......2006-04-20

As an adoptee I know the hurt and pain that goes along with that but I have never seen it written about more honestly and clearly than in this book. It is a very touching story and a remarkable book. I cried and laughed and felt with Sally every step of the way. It is a great book and a great read and it will especially touch the heart of anyone involved in adoption in any way.I would recommend it to anyone and I have loaned out my book many times.

Finding Me in a Paper Bag.......2003-10-29

Of all the books I have read about adoption or from a birthmother's point of view, this is the most honest. As the mother searches for both her birthmother and her only daughter she gave up for adoption she lets the reader experience what she is going through. Searching for answers she shares her research with the reader. The 50's era are discussed, bonding verses attachment delved into. A grown up Safe Haven baby, she gives a voice to all those now being legally abandoned in hospitals, mostly with no questions asked.

Average customer rating:

Zero Stars
Watered-down idolatry...and not much more
an incongruous and pitiful effort
Reads like a last-minute book report.
Both sides together!

Joni Mitchell -- Both Sides Now
Brian Hinton
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1860741606

Book Description

The first book to analyze Joni Mitchell's controversial life, career, songs and the strange times they so exactly chronicle.

Customer Reviews:

Zero Stars.......2007-06-13

This is the most badly-written, poorly researched biography I have ever read. Brian Hinton calls himself a "fan" - but he clearly invested little effort in detailing the life of one of the most important song-writers in the history of music. The vast majority of this book are quick summaries of her songs, and detailed accounts of her touring schedule. It is boring beyond comprehension.

There is a DVD called, "Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind". It is a Canadian made documentary and it's very good. Hinton obviously saw the film, as he borrows nearly all of his quotes from it verbatim. I cannot believe Joni Mitchell authorized such a shoddy and appallingly-written rag such as this.

Watered-down idolatry...and not much more.......2003-02-01

Because Hinton's is the first Joni Mitchell biography I've digested, I was hoping for something that didn't leave a cheap, plastic taste in my mouth. The known parts of her life that are inspiring to me were reduced to banal fodder mentioned in passing, while darker aspects became reasons for the author to step up to her vehement defense--these outbursts were nauseating and usually at the expense of someone else, leaving many questions largely unresolved. Hinton tends to shuffle back and forth between regurgitation of objective fact and jarring personal opinion. Incidentally, I like what one reviewer said about this book reading "like a last-minute book report". The fact that he completely destroys my favorite JM album in his woefully amaturish musical critiques doesn't help either. This book does not do justice to an artist such as Mitchell.

an incongruous and pitiful effort.......2003-01-28

In starting this book I had such high hopes and expectations - especially given its billing as the "first" full length book to examine Joni's art and life. But almost immediately I was disappointed, confused, and even offended by what a disgraceful work this is.
There are many reasons to fault this book but chief among them are its virtually endless stream of gratuitous (and obnoxious) opinions, its numerous irrelevant passages, and its many erroneous or questionable "facts". What was often most difficult to read were the "critiques" of the selections on each of her albums. More often than not it seemed hard to believe that this man had any appreciation of, knowledge of, or feeling for her music; at times one wondered whether he was just making up these "analyses".
His sense of the historical background and cultural milieu was comparably incredulous. Either he hates most of what the epochs (from the sixties onward) represented and/or he managed to live through them basically clueless all the while.
He seems to have a rather jaded attitude toward Joni herself. A biography need not be favorable to be accurate or fair. Yet he seems to have managed to craft a rather jarring triumverate of failings: he's inaccurate, unfair, and unsympathetic!
The photos comprise one of the few positive aspects of the book. Despite all the negative aspects I've enunmerated, I've kept my personal copy. Maybe I'll eventually reread it.....at which time I will hope to find it less obnoxious, offensive, and uninformative.

Reads like a last-minute book report........2000-10-28

The bulk of this book is made up of quotes taken (and endlessly repeated - verbatim) from a great Cameron Crowe interview with Joni from 1979. Save yourself the trouble & just read that.

Both sides together!.......2000-08-14

Being a long-time fan of Joni, I approached this book with interest but quickly realised I should adopt caution. Not only was it constantly repetitive... (yes, you just told us the opening song of the tour gigs two pages ago!)... but it was full of contradictions: so who WAS Carly Simon's "You're so vain" written about? Most embarrassing of all was the author's misunderstanding of the American term "suspenders" (the British equivalent is "braces" - i.e. elastic supports for men's trousers (pants)).. and thus wrongly accused James Taylor of being a cross-dresser! And as for the 1996 report that Joni gave birth at the age of 52 in 1996.... really?

Both Sides Now: Ecclesiastes and the Human Condition

Average customer rating:

Both Sides Now: Ecclesiastes and the Human Condition
Peter Barnes
Manufacturer: Banner of Truth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

A compilation of short essays

Both Sides Now
Connie Corcoran Wilson
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

A compilation of short essays.......2004-11-08

Both Sides Now is a compilation of short essays, advice on life, poems, memoirs and more from a junior high teacher and a writer of forty-seven years. The slice-of-life vignettes resonate with empathy for the everyday trials, as well as individual empathy and worry for the larger events that shape the flow of things all around us. A smattering of black-and-white photographs illustrate this compilation of thoughts about daring to get one's ears pierced (long after becoming a mother to teenagers), the dilemma of which to choose, paper or plastic, to true tales of child-raising and more compile the bits and pieces of prose. The poetry encompasses a timeless quality that offers the chance to clear one's mind and contemplate in between the passages of insights. "Words": If fewer words were spoken, / If fewer words were said, / If deeds alone were the mark of a man. / Not the "catch of an eloquent plege. // If fewer words were spoken / If fewer words were said / If, for all the fake forensics, / There were simple words, instead. // And a man stated just what he started to state / Without false fuss or further ado. / If you weren't a politician / I'd probably listen to you.

Average customer rating:

Both Sides Now
Ces Cassidy
Manufacturer: O'Brien Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Emigration & Immigration | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0862782317

Average customer rating:

Both Sides Now
Joni; Alan Baker illus. Mitchell
Manufacturer: Scholastic Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GZZ1BC

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books