Jack Baeten Baeten itibaren Mae Pa, Mae Sot District, Tak, Thailand
As much as I have read, this is the only book I have ever read twice, and each time it meant something totally different. The first time was freshman year in college and it offered a world of freedom and carelessness. I saw in it a young man out on the road without a care, leaving everything behind. The second time I read it was after graduating from college and had been working for a year. I read it, and realized something totally different about the author. He was able to be wild only because he had the safety of his aunt's shelter to which he could return. His adventures were short-lived. It showed me this time that not everything is what it at first seems, and that you must live your life as you see fit, not according to someone else's (i.e., a drug addict's) summer plans. I also began to understand the two parts to your life: professional and adventurous. It does not have to be a one or the other, all or nothing game.
A good book. Loved the satire of American-Arab relations. However I found it hard to like the main character.
This story a third person narration; parts are told from the point of view of Jan Aldrin, Buzz Aldrin's daughter while parts focus on the astronauts. It makes the story more accessible and interesting. It captures both the perspective of the astronauts and the perspective of the Americans watching from home. It's hard to imagine the impact of the televised broadcasts from space. When I was in grade school, shuttle launches were still important enough to stop school for - we gathered around the set in the library to watch. Now, I wonder if they even discuss the space program. This book includes good illustrations - detailed but not flashy. I particularly like the schematic of the Saturn V rocket and the timeline at the end of the book. I wish we had read this book before visiting the Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, KS last week. (Of course, I didn't own the book then, and we had not intended to visit the Cosmosphere - we'd planned to swim instead but found the indoor water park closed to the public.) Maybe the exhibits would have been more interesting to my daughter.
Winston has finally updated her household organization classic for the 21st century. Some great concepts and ideas in this book, it can really get your house and life in order. But bear in mind that the author has no idea what it's like living with children so some bits in the book made me snort with laughter, LOL.