... lecture class. One may ask; what drives Greg to still go on with his life? This can be depicted in the beginning dedication of the book. "To the memories of my father, James A. "Buster" Williams, and my "truly mother," Dora Weekly Smith. They gave me the strength to live this story" (No page listed). This dedication is unmistakably Greg's own words after his experiences as ... succeed and he did. Everything taught in a history, sociology, or psychology class is addressed in the book Life on the Color Line. Many topics are introduced and discussed in Life on the Color Line by Gregory How...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Life It is an age old question that has stumped every mind in history: What is the meaning of life? This little book is filled not with answers to the meaning of life, but with questions. Bradley Trevor Greive, the author of the book, begins by pointing out that as a species, we are constantly contradicting our thoughts, actions, and needs. " Why are we so overly impressed ... are not? Why do we get so hung up on what we don't agree on, when in fact it's our differences that make life interesting?" These are a few passages from the book that make its readers stop and think, "Why do we d...

• Word Count: 464
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and Adventures of Henry Bibb," I thought that Bibbs commitment and love for his family were drawbacks in his life. One reason why I believe that is because as I was reading the book I noticed that he wanted to escape but every time he escaped, his first thought was to go back after his family. I think that it was great that he wanted to ... he enjoyed her company. Henry could not help but to fall in love with Malinda. When I started reading this book my first thought on Henry Bibb with his slave marriage and child, was that he was very happy. I thought this because in the book Henry go...

• Word Count: 946
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... affected him, and how they helped him get to where he is now. "When we're connected to others, we become better people." (Pausch, The Last Lecture) Finally, the culminating theme of this book is seizing every moment. Achieving your own dreams while helping others achieve theirs, staying optimistic when overcoming obstacles, forming and maintaining healthy relationships, and being courageous are ... how they should live their lives too. One literary device that Pausch uses to exaggerate his themes is the use of metaphors. "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the han...

• Word Count: 935
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... think about it. That makes heaven a sort of perfect world. However, I think one of the themes of the book was about how there's no such thing as a perfect world, and that is why she can't have the one thing that she yearns for: a chance to feel and be human again. Susie says that ... where her dead body lay and they hold candle light vigils in her memory at the spot where they believe her to be. As Susie says at towards the end of the book, "These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections - sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at a great cost, but often magnific...

• Word Count: 1240
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... , haveing to live in a small house cramped with eleven other siblings, his difficult childhood, and the search for his mother's past and the hidden identity within his soul. James brought this book to life. I really liked the interesting arrangement and the unique way this book was written. It was a book that held the story of two people that were different in colorand who lived completely different lives,yet ... they were son and mother. I enjoyed the chapter when he discovered more about the Shilskys and himself. "Whatever I'm looking for, I've found it." This ... inspiring and great ...

• Word Count: 482
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . While many people throughout history have written many autobiographies and biographies St. Augustine of Hippo is very selective about which narratives he includes in his book The Confessions. Saint Augustine says "I pass over many things, hastening on to those which more strongly compel me to confess to thee,", so we know he passed over a large ... to an end, after his struggles to free himself from pride, sensuality and other sins, with his return to his home at Tagaste. Augustine's tone in this book is very inspirational and at the same time very agnostic which is probably what made...

• Word Count: 656
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... do I have? There are so many amazing pieces of wisdom in Randy Pausch's book, but a few in particular stood out to me. Pausch talks about brick walls on several occasions. He says "The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want ... zone, and I often assume that if I ask for something a little out of the ordinary, so to speak, the answer will probably be no. So I do not even ask. Reading this book has reminded me that the possibilities of asking greatly outweigh the fear of bein...

• Word Count: 830
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 's A Bird In The House book. Vanessa has seen throughout the book there are three types of death; physical death, death of a relationship, the death of a previous life or the death of a dream. Vanessa has been through a lot of family deaths. Some of these deaths have been un-preventable, such as the stillborn baby sister of ... for example Michael. Grandfather Conner tried to split them up, argued with him, said he was probably married, and he was right. Ewen and the European woman he had a relationship that split up because Ewen wanted to go back to his hometown, to return to his family....

• Word Count: 665
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... lived together at first, but when Nettie's husband starts abusing her, she leaves to become a missionary in Africa and find her roots. In the beginning of the book Celie is telling the story through her diary entries, and later Celie and Nettie are writing letters to each other, so it is like two stories going on ... as part of life. Nettie also never lets Celie lose hope of one day leaving the farm and going off to live in her own house. Some of the things she deals with in the book are morbid and tragic. However, the characters never lose hope and never stay sad for very long; they are...

• Word Count: 1071
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... gather whatever personal strength she can gather and to banish her inner demons. In the book She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb demonstrates how the personal struggles one faces in life can transform an individual for the better. Throughout the book, Dolores is consumed in a world of self destruction and suffering due to the unspeakable past that torments her. Her journey into adulthood is a harsh account of abandonment ... a worse state than before. At age 10, Dolores is forced to grow up having nobody by her side to help cope with her troubles except for her food. Towards the end of the bo...

• Word Count: 1108
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of Dorian Grey is a novel written by Wilde in 1890 (Shuman). It's a dark story about deception, beauty and love. Wilde breaks social norms with this book. He writes about the main character Dorian having many love affairs with young men ending in their suicide. Dorian turns evil and gets wrapped up in lies. He ends up murdering an old friend. ... These examples of homosexuality in Wilde's writing only gave more proof to the courts when the convicted him of sodomy. One of the book's characters, Lord Henry Wotton, is similar to Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. Dorian was warned of Lord...

• Word Count: 1066
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of Pope Benedict XVI: Let God's Light Shine Forth,"" is a collection of passages consisting of former pope, Benedict XVI's early teachings and spiritual beliefs. The book begins with an engaging biographical sketch of the life of Pope Benedict and is organized into several topics and uses excerpts from various accounts of his writings, interviews, publications, ecumenical doctrines, and other sources to ... He knew that God's love would ultimately prevail over the evil and corruption that was present in the world during this heinous time. Soon after the war ended, Joseph, along with his...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of achieving big things in life, and usually those are the ones that separate themselves from the rest of the world. These people are called legend makers; people who never gave up on their aspirations. In the book called The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho he illustrates the story of a guy in which for some reason believed that ... of gold and jewels. Santiago still wanted to be with Fatima, so he planned to go back to Al-Fayoum with the treasure to be reunited with Fatima, who expects him. According to the book it is not possible for a person to live their lives happily without ever ...

• Word Count: 1205
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... feared that she was a grenade, she lived her life as she was not terminally ill and embraced everyday that she had with Augustus, like it was her last." Throughout the book, another important message was to live everyday, as it is your last. "I tried to tell myself that it could be worse, that ... Augustus or taking an adventure to Amsterdam, Hazel and Augustus embraced each day as it was there last. They took on new adventures together and lived as they had all the time in the world. Lexie Lubov, stated that, " Teenagers will take life lessons away from this book. It will teach them ho...

• Word Count: 607
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... " to have children with people who had lighter skin. The problem throughout the novel is a man trying to find his identity which becomes the main theme of the book. In the book, "I finally made up my mind I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name raise a mustache, and let the world take me for what I would"(Johnson 490). By ... blacks, Johnson was very educated so it was easy for him to adapt to the white culture. In the book though, he has the advantage of experiencing the good and the bad of both black and white cultures. When the...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... covered were the impacts that the anthropologists had doing an ethnological study on the local dwellers, the dependence on the anthropologists as Nisa has shown in the introduction for tobacco or the payments that were provided at the successful commencement of the interviews. This ethnographic portrayal of the !Kung is restricted mainly to the words of Nisa, which is subject to her own cultural prejudices and biasness. The outcome is that the book only ... give a partial view of the !Kung culture and ... ...

• Word Count: 524
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Cather is an excellent depiction of life on the Nebraska prairies and the deep connection one can have with the people and place they grew up. The base of the novel is the narration by Jim Burden about his life and memories on the nebraska prairies with he people that he grew up with. Since that is the base of the book the themes of nostalgia and longing are present throughout ... the novel. The past is something which cannot be relived but stays with one throughout their lives. The theme of nostalgia plays an intricate role in how the lives of the characters are formed and remembered. ...

• Word Count: 986
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of young boys lacking of a father figure in their life occur in both of the Wes Moore's life. The role fathers' play in the book The Other Wes Moore may appear to be small as both of the Moore's fathers were not around for the majority or even basically the entirety of their lives. The first Wes Moore may have only got to know and speak with his dad ... for a few short years during his childhood, but throughout those years, he learned what kind of man his father was and how he handled certain situations. Wes Moore states in the book how he still has a vivid memory of a moment during his...

• Word Count: 1233
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Jane Fulton Alt was able to capture the beauty of smoke and fire in her photo book, The Burn. She opened the different side of fire and how it symbolizes the stages of life and what makes life. The book encompasses the cycle of life and the spectrum of emotions a person possess. Incidentally, the photo book tells more about German history and its ... culture than expected of a book of life. The book is divided into three parts by poems the photographer wrote. The first section is "Smoke" - the beginning of the book and the ... beginning of life. The ... ...

• Word Count: 1087
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... another her life takes a turn. She faces many hardships but they make her stronger. Throughout the book Jacobs touches upon many topics like religion, the differences between the North and the South, and feminism. To begin with one of the most controversial topic touched upon throughout the book was religion. Jacobs described how religion was used by slave owners to control their slaves. Jacobs wrote ... under their thumb. Another topic in the book was the difference between the North and South. Although the North and South are portrayed as completely different during the civil war, Jaco...

• Word Count: 815
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and it is interesting and excited and kept me reading it for 3 long days. Toward the end, it gets complicated and many answers were left unanswered, but that doesn't matter much. Because since the very beginning, a diary came drifting to the shore of Canada soil is already a mystery. The book address many different aspects of life, and it is not limited to just a certain group ... of people, a worker, a father, a mother, a teenager, an adult, a Japanese, A Canadian, an American, a writer, a husband, a wife, a nun, a soldier. This book does not discriminate anyone. Let me tell ... briefl...

• Word Count: 1068
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... but also for their children. Accountability is evidence in mothers so therefore they do their best to continue their lives. For example in the book something like beautiful Asha as a mother said; "I am working hard, slowly, deliberately now to finish the work I began so long ago ". That shows how responsible they feel about their lives even though it will not happen overnight it ... is so high they are patient, kind, without any boast. When there is no one to hang out with, she is there the gentle hand is still there, still guiding still showing the child how to live, for example in the...

• Word Count: 1137
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... an example of this character will be explained further within this thesis. What I believe risk taking to be is having the possibility of getting harmed, also being in a dangerous situation. Patrick Lanigan, the main character of this book, took many risks throughout the entire book. He wasn't afraid to leave his wealthy family behind. He didn't show very much fear of getting caught, until he ... sensed "shadows" following him day and night. Taking a risk for him meant, the excitement of life on the run, it meant having to hide from people ... who might recognize him, and having someone...

• Word Count: 602
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . He was unable to accept something, deal with it, and move on. "The Reverend the sole survivor in a company of dead men who have marched along beside him all his life since then. No wonder he could not flee from the same jungle twice." -Adah P.491, The Poisonwood Bible The reason for the writing of this book is for a release. A catharsis which is so desperately needed by ... the women under Nathan Price's influence. Without this emotional purge, they could have never left the jungle of Kilongo. And each would have lost what they gained so ... her birth as a half-brained twin. She proce...

• Word Count: 808
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School