Synopses & Reviews
Just out of high school in 1977, her personal life already a mess, Tracy Crow thought the Marines might straighten her out. And sure enough, in the Corps she became a respected public affairs officer and military journalistand#8212;one day covering tank maneuvers or beach assaults, the next interviewing the secretary of the navy. But success didnand#8217;t come without a price.
When Crow pledged herself to God, Corps, and Country, women Marines were still a rarity, and gender inequality and harassment were rampant. Determined to prove she belonged, Crow always put her career firstand#8212;even when, after two miscarriages and a stillborn child, her marriage to another Marine officer began to deteriorate. And when her affair with a prominent general was exposedand#8212;and both were threatened with court-martialand#8212;Crow was forced to re-evaluate her loyalty to the Marines, her career, and her family.
Eyes Right is Crowand#8217;s story. A clear-eyed self-portrait of a troubled teen bootstrapping her way out of a world of alcoholism and domestic violence, it is also a rare inside look at the Marines from a womanand#8217;s perspective. Her memoir, which includes two Pushcart Prizeand#8211;nominated essays, evokes the challenges of being a woman and a Marine with immediacy and clarity, and in the process reveals how much Crowand#8217;s generation did for todayand#8217;s military women, and at what cost.
Review
"Crow's is an engrossing story, and her impeccable storytelling skills bring her battles and triumphsand#8212;in the military and at homeand#8212;vividly to life."and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
"Eyes Right provides fascinating details about Marine life, from training exercises in the high desert to the intricacies of relationships with superiors, subordinates and officers."and#8212;Shelf Awareness
Review
"You might not know that the female-soldier memoir is a genre. Perhaps you don't know that because so few of these true accounts were written by professional writers like Tracy Crow, enlisted women who later became creative-writing professors."and#8212;Village Voice
Review
"This book will be of interest to military and Marine Corp historians as well as feminists and female Marines and soldiers."and#8212;Therese Nielson, Library Journal
Review
"What's refreshing about this memoir is the absence of finger-pointing or assignment of blame. Crow tells her story in a clear voice devoid of self-indulgent apologia. With humility and clarity, she covers both the betrayals she encountered and the self-discovery she made in the aftermath of the maelstrom in whose center she found herself."and#8212;Lorrie Lykins, Tampa Bay Times
Review
and#8220;A riveting memoir!and#8221;and#8212;Fred Leebron, author of Six Figures
Synopsis
In this eloquent and wholly absorbing memoir, the renowned scholar Donald Keene shares more than half a century of his extraordinary adventures as a student of Japan. Keene begins with an account of his bittersweet childhood in New York; he then describes his initial encounters with Asia and Europe and the way in which his role as a Navy interpreter complicated that experience during World War II. He captures the sights, scents, and sounds of Japan as they first enveloped him and writes of his postwar travels and the well-known intellectuals who later shaped his academic career. A fascinating tale of two cultures colliding, "Chronicles of My Life" is also a thrilling account of the emotions and experiences that connect us all, regardless of our individual origins.
Synopsis
I sometimes think that if, as the result of an accident, I were to lose my knowledge of Japanese, there would not be much left for me. Japanese, which at first had no connection with my ancestors, my literary tastes, or my awareness of myself as a person, has become the central element of my life.
In this eloquent and wholly absorbing memoir, the renowned scholar Donald Keene shares more than half a century of his extraordinary adventures as a student of Japan. Keene begins with an account of his bittersweet childhood in New York; then he describes his initial encounters with Asia and Europe and the way in which World War II complicated that experience. He captures the sights, scents, and sounds of Japan as they first enveloped him, and talks of the unique travels and well-known intellectuals who later shaped the contours of his academic career.
Keene traces the movement of his passions with delicacy and subtlety, deftly weaving his love for Japan into a larger narrative about identity and home and the circumstances that led a Westerner to find solace in a country on the opposite side of the world. Chronicles of My Life is not only a fascinating tale of two cultures colliding, but also a thrilling account of the emotions and experiences that connect us all, regardless of our individual origins.
About the Author
Tracy Crow is an assistant professor of creative writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the nonfiction editor of Prime Number magazine. Her essays and short stories have appeared in a number of literary journals and been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes. Under the pen name Carver Greene, Crow published the conspiracy thriller An Unlawful Order, the first in a new series to feature a military heroine.