He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter's Quest to Know Him
by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton
He Wanted the Moon (3/11/2015)
I thank the author of this book for sharing her story. It is told in a wonderfully honest, true, and brave way. I would recommend it to anyone who is touched by any mental disease and especially bipolar disorder. The first part of the book which tells her father's story is remarkable. That her father left such a detailed record of his work and illness is amazing! It gave his daughter a light into her own life.
The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem
by Ken Budd
Full Circle (5/25/2012)
The life of Ken Budd as a "Voluntourist" is compelling and and while being his own personal journey I found it really resonated with me. He came to a time in his life when he felt a need for something more. This need led him around the world where he was filling needs of others. The whole coming full circle is wonderful to read. Thanks, Ken Budd, for sharing this part of your life!
Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth
by Lisa Napoli
Radio Shangri-La (4/10/2011)
When I had the chance to get this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy, I couldn't wait for it to come. As the author described of herself, I have been feeling much the same "itch" to go somewhere very different and have my eyes opened to what life could really be. This book was to describe her experience and this was the book for me! I found that her writing style was flat. It didn't describe Bhutan with the excitement that made me able to picture it and want to go there. I found the same in the way she wrote about her relationships with people, both those she became close to and those she met casually. It could be I was wanting too much, but I would not recommend this book and have read several other books of this kind that I keep forefront and dying to visit those places.
Murderers in Mausoleums: Riding the Back Roads of Empire Between Moscow and Beijing
by Jeffrey Tayler
Murderers In Mausoleums (10/4/2008)
Get out your Atlas as you follow Jeffrey Tayler's travels in Murderers In Mausoleums. The author takes you on a sometimes too detailed trip describing history at great length and spending too much time talking about the landscape as he traveled. While I found that interesting, I would have preferred more about the people he met and the discussions they had about "why democracy isn't thriving" as we Westerners think it should be. Overall, not what I expected from the book jacket description, but interesting nonetheless.
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