This book will keep your interests suspended in a state where bed time no longer matters, reading it until it is done and the re-skimming the chapters. Based in my home town of HOUSTON, TX. It gives you perspective on the true heros of the health care system.

This book has confirmed my interests in becoming a doctor and it will serve as a symbol of my ability to serve and my longing to be the best in the field of my choice.

Having a child featured in this book, I have read it several times. Lisa did a fantastic job when she wrote this book. You will find it to be a very insightful book. Having lived through this ordeal myself, I know that Lisa tried very hard to make sure that her facts are real and accurate. If you enjoy stories about the medical field I trully believe that you will find this one hard to put down until you have finished it.

I love books about the problems of the Medical community. This one was very good. The author included factual information along with true like human interest stories of real people in Houston, Texas in the 80's. I left this book at a book exchange at The Plaza Las Glorias in Cozumel, Mexico on 10-28-00 around 9:00am and it was gone by 11:00am. I would love to know where it went. I hope Amazon prints this.

Excellent! The only word to describe it. The book is very well presented and also well written. A MUST for every home with such simple and easy to prepare recipies. I would recommend this book to everyone and really worth its price in gold!

"Show Me A Hero" is a compelling story of public housing reform that went on in Yonkers, New York from 1988-1998. The author told the story in a very captivating way, giving the insight of several people, not only the political perspective, but also from the perspective of the people that lived in the public housing. The city of Yonkers was handed down a court order that it had to build public housing on the white, middle-class part of town. This became a huge political battle and nearly ripped the town apart, while eventually ruining the career of the then mayor, Nick Wasicsko. As much as the white, middle-class residents didn't want the new public housing complexes in their neighborhoods, the people living in the public housing really would have preferred to be surrounded by their own. They felt uncomfortable and like they were not part of the community. This story closely follows the lives of several families who moved from the run down public housing to the new housing, townhouses, that they hoped would offer them a better life. Many times these people felt more threatened and afraid in their new homes in the middle-class neighborhood, than they did in their old apartments that were surrounded by violence and drugs. It was very interesting to get some understanding of the vicious cycle that poverty can create--children having children, absent fathers, the sick and elderly, all contributing to these lifestyles. Lisa Belkin wrote this story using a combination of documented facts, common knowledge on how people felt, and did so from a journalistic approach. This is the result of six years of work she did observing, researching and following these families. I think Yonkers did a lot of things right, and also has a lot to teach the rest of the country about how to do it better.

I found this book to be very entertaining and would recommend it.

One may not think a story of segregation would be that engrossing, but Ms. Belkin had a way of capturing the story from numerous angles. For instance, the author described the political climate and the history of Yonkers so well you could almost feel like you were there and you knew the individuals involved in the conflict. She describes how the youngest mayor ever elected to office in a city as large as Yonkers had an uphill battle from the time he was inaugurated. The struggle between the young mayor, Nick Wasicsko, his city council, and the judge that declared Yonkers to be guilty of deliberately discriminating against minorities, was fascinating. The tension between the warring parties held my attention.

Ms. Belkin continues to appeal to the reader by describing individuals living in Yonkers' public housing system. I began to understand their plight and how desperate they were to get out of a bad arrangement. Even though there are many characters introduced in this story, it is easy to keep track of them because Ms. Belkin does a wonderful job of describing them in detail and personalizing their quandary in the housing projects.

A well done look at the diversifying of America. Lisa Belkin, a NY Times reporter, gives us this look at the city of Yonkers, NY and the ramifications of a Federal Court Justice requiring said city to provide public housing on it's East Side, the good side of the tracks.

Belkin has taken the events in a chronological order from many different views: Nicholas Wasiscko, voted in as the youngest mayor of any major U.S. city; Judge Sand, the Federal Court Justice; Mary Dorman, a citizen from the East Side who joined in with the protestors; Alma Febles, a single mother with young children from the West Side; and Norma O'Neal, a health care provider from the West Side who's eyesight was deteriorating at a rapid rate are some of the main characters in this unfolding crisis.

The United States Justice Department filed suit against the city of Yonkers and was soon joined by the Yonkers Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. in claiming that the city had systematically kept the Black citizens down by continuing to provide Public Housing on the West Side of the city only. They claimed this created a ghetto environment that led to a lack of advancement of the population. When Judge Sand issued his 163 page opinion, it quickly became a hot topic within the city residents and the upcoming Mayoral and Council race debates.

Nicholas Wasiscko, who had wanted to be the mayor of Yonkers since his early teens, saw this as a means of separating his views from his opponents and declared he would not follow the decision if elected. The election was a very close one, but he won. As he began overseeing new city council meetings, large throngs of citizens began appearing and protesting the ruling.

Eventually, the City lost all of its fights within the court system and Nicholas decided it was time to do the right thing as mayor and be a leader where necessary. He pushed for acceptance and compliance with the ruling. This led to many confrontations for him within his city council and outside with the citizenry.

The plan was for three sets of townhouses to be built on the East Side and a lottery of eligible West Side project residents that would determine who would live in them. The stories of Alma Febles and Norma O'Neal are followed closely for the ten year process from the beginning of this book to the end. Mary Dorman's metamorphoses from protestor to integrator to cheerleader of the West Enders.

Belkin does a wonderful job of allowing the reader to make their own decision as to whether or not the decision by the judge was correct or not; whether or not the plan worked. She gets all of the facts in place and does so chronologically. The participants become more well rounded as one goes through the book. It is very cleanly written; she takes a large amount of information and dispenses it clearly. Even with the numerous sides to the story, it doesn't wander into various tales; Belkin keeps the reader on the important track.

3.5 stars

Lisa Belkin does a wonderful job weaving a narrative about Yonkers's desegregation struggle (or at least part of it). In her effort to achieve more than a dry rendition of the crisis, which paralyzed Yonkers for several years she left a few things out. Among them are the following: the Black and Hispanic communities in Yonkers in whose name the case was brought; the Yonkers school system (yes it did start as an education case); the political structure, including former Mayor (and now Republican leader) Angelo Martinelli; the moderate citizen groups, including Canopy and the Fair Housing Council; the court's monitor Joe Pastore, etc. Reading it, one is left with the impression that the collision (or cataclysm) was inevitable. It wasn't. As in Kosovo, political leaders played on people's ethnic fears and racial divisions for narrow political gain.

Yet, the impossiblity of having a true narrative is well documented in Janet Malcolm's recent book, The Crime of Sheila McGough. As in Rashomon, it depends on what you are looking at, and, perhaps, what you are looking for.

This is a well written book that encourages thinking about important social issues. The City of Yonkers was forced by the courts to desegregate housing after years of discriminating against minorities. The decision was made to have small groups of cluster homes scattered throughout white neighborhoods. All hell broke loose in the white communities after the court decision. Whites feared a minority presence and a decline in property values and fought viciously against the homes. Poor families hoped for a safer, better place to live and raise their families. A balanced and complex story, well wrought, with an interesting cast of characters from politicians to single mothers desperate to move their families to safer neighborhoods. All the answers about the future of public housing aren't here, but certainly a clearer concept of the issues involved, from personal to political, can be gathered from this fascinating story.

I've never written one of these before, but I just read that reader from New England and I had to respond. I think we read two different books. The one I read captured the chaos and heartbreak of the city I have lived in all my life. I was at a lot of the meetings and clashes that fill this book, and reading Belkin I felt like I was there all over again. More important, I learned so much about the behind the scenes wrangling that I didn't know. One dimensional? No way. She peered into people's souls. Did she streamline? Yes. And as a reader, I thank her. The point was the essence of a city in chaos, and she painted that portrait in gritty and riveting detail. It wasn't her job to make sure everyone in town got their name in her book. As for Hollywood, I don't think they'll have the guts to make this movie. There are no pat happy endings here and no easy answers. Just a story that I couldn't put down.

I saw the author on the Today Show and I'm so glad I did. What a delightful book! Belkin understands what it really means to be a modern parent: How you feel tugged in all directions and sure that you are screwing it all up. I loved her message -- that you should do the best you can and it will turn out okay. And I also loved the way she wrote about that. I laughed a lot, and cried a little, and I nodded in recognition all the way through. I'm also the mother of two young children and most of all I was grateful for the short, snappy chapters, which is all I have time to read in my life. I'm getting this for my mother, and my sister and even my mother-in-law for mother's day.

Anyone who has ever struggled with the complexities of having a career and being a devoted parent at the same time will be able to identify with the many anecdotes that Lisa Belkin relates. She covers a myriad of situations that career mothers face in the everlasting struggle to balance "life's work." The book is a fast and relaxing read that makes one realize that as hard as you may try, you "can't do it all."

I received a copy of this book to review for my website. And the book changed my life.

When I first picked up the book Life's Work I put it down, deeming it not appropriate for BlueSuitMom's working mother audience. How wrong I was. Initially in the introduction I was put off by this sentence "Not a one of us seems to be able to give 100 percent of themselves to their job and 100 percent of themselves to their family and 100 percent of themselves to taking care of themselves." I read the line and decided she was wrong ... there are so many of us that can and do have it all. However, I didn't get the point ... the point she was making is that inevitably there are times when our balancing act glitches. When sometimes "life and work collide."

Had I finished reading the introduction I would have read that the point is that we can work, have a family and take care of ourselves but sometimes they all can't happen at the same moment in time. Sometimes one has to come first. Sometimes there are dare I say "sacrifices."

However, when I finally picked it up again I read that "No one can do it, because it cannot be done ... So let's start forgiving ourselves when we can't do it ... So what if the house isn't as clean as it should be? So what if that last business report was not the best you've ever written? So what if you're eating takeout for the second night in a row, or haven't been to the gym in weeks, or sent your children to school in crumpled shirts on school picture day? ... I'm not saying that none of these things matter. They all matter, but not all the time ... even I know that 100 percent plus 100 percent plus 100 percent equals more than any one person can do in a day. So what?"

This might have been the most powerful message I've read in a book -- ever. Because today I vow that this will change my life. From now on, I'm not going to stay awake until 3 a.m. stressing out about why I'm not good enough. Why do I have to spend countless hours worrying that it isn't good enough. Some days I send out newsletters to BlueSuitMom readers with typos. And probably no one notices (okay maybe some of you do since you write to say hey this link is wrong or this tease didn't actually exist in the newsletter). And today I am saying "So what if it wasn't the best." This is a radical thought since normally I will agonize for hours that heaven forbid Rachael made a typo or put the wrong link in. In fact, I profusely apologize to those who write in ... but from now on I will give you the right link and repeat to myself "So what." I've learned that sometimes our best work can't be perfect.

It isn't that I don't care about producing the best source for working mothers on the Internet; it is just that sometimes I will remember that no one can be perfect. And for years I've always strived to be that exception. I'll work until the middle of the night and then wonder why I don't have as many friends as I want or have the time to religiously stick to the gym.

But from reading "Life's Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom" I've now decided that I can't have it all 100% of the time. I can maybe only have 95% of it all. And for today ... that will have to do.
And I hope that Belkin's message will get through to all of you as well. Sometimes we can't do it all. Sometimes we have to skip out of a meeting to attend a child's play ... sometimes we have to fake being sick ... sometimes we just need to give ourselves a break.

I'm sure that all our readers will enough reading Life's Work ... the best part is that the chapters are only a few pages long. It's the type of book to keep on your desk and read when you actually find that five minutes of time for yourself. And if you are saying you don't have that five minutes I encourage you to read the chapter entitled "September 11, 2001." I certainly needed the reminder that there are some things in the world that we can not control ... but what we can control is our reaction to things like guilt.

I want to hear what you have to say. How do you deal with guilt? Am I the only one awake at 4:30 in the morning because I've only slept for 4 hours tonight? Feel free to write me at .... Let me know if I can publish your response in one BlueSuitMom or better yet share your "So What" moments on BlueSuitMom's message boards ... and don't tell yourself you don't have the time ... since we all have the same amount of time. It is up to us to decide how to use it. And if you don't want to start the dialogue ... that's okay my response is now "SO WHAT?"