John Paul GodgesCritiques

This book was amazing. I expected it to read much like a history book, but it is so much more personal than that. I am not sure that it was more special because it was a Goodreads giveaway, but I do not think so. From the beginning the story grabbed me. The author states that this introspective of his family was a way for him to learn what America was, and who Americans were and are. He defines what it means to be American in a way that many people, I think, have forgotten--or maybe never really understood at all. I felt a deep connection to his mother's family, because I remember that I grew up in much the same way, though under different circumstances. I grew up as a child of the '70s, but still on a farm where we picked our own crops and shared the rest; where my grandmother's house would always be filled with the various scents of canning spices and holiday goodness; where my grandfather could be heard coming in from the field--the thump of his boots on the porch, the squeaky screen door, and the squeal of my grandmother when he goosed her lightly and kissed her cheek. This story made me remember sitting on the front porch and watching the old cars slowly go down the road, listening to the crickets and frogs at night, and listening to my grandfather's stories of how HIS grandfather came to America and how much of a blessing it was to live in a place where we could all be ourselves and be what and who we wanted to be.

This book is a reminder that while we may disagree politically, culturally, and religiously, there is always a place for the American dream in America, and we should never forget that we do live in a great country.

This was a bold, bravely honest depiction of how immigrant families of Polish and Italian origin blended to form a first generation American family. I enjoyed every moment of the read.

This book is a gutsy exposé of a Polish immigrant family, its trials, struggles, disagreements and connections. It runs a gamut of issues from mental illness, homosexuality, individualism, marriage, poverty, Catholic religion and success into an interesting chronology of the Godzisz family over the 20th century. Although listed as an independent author, John Paul Godges is an experienced editor and a fine writer. There are many philosophical musings embedded in the text and the pride of the Godges family shines through the clouds of discord.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I won this book thru Library Thing and I am so grateful that I was able to get an autographed copy. I started this book and finished it in one day; I literally could not put it down. The author is one of six very different siblings and the book covers his family ancestry and his childhood. It reminded me of Forrest Gump in a way, showing the family dynamic in relation to the events that were going on in the world at that time. I felt almost as if I was there with the author and really liked his style of writing. This book is so much more than an autobiography, not just your typical blah blah blah, but showing the progression of him and his siblings. My heart went out to him when he was writing about his mentally ill sister, Geri. I can relate to this very much, I have a sister who is mentally ill and I thought the author did a great job in painting the portrait of mental illness. I highly recommend this book and it will make a wonderful addition to my library.

I liked reading this book because I could relate to it. My husbands family came from Poland and Italy and they are Catholics. I would recommend the book but it did take me quite a while to read it. It dealt with topics that happen in real life but people don't want to talk about which was mental illness as well as being gay. It is definitely a book that I would pass on to a friend.

This is a great book! I really enjoyed reading about the family as they have progressed through the history of America. It was a well written book that provided entertainment value as well as historical perspective.

I just finished this book and I have to say that it was an absolutely wonderful read!!! It is about his mother's side of the family which emigrated from Italy and his father's side of the family which emigrated from Poland. His mother was born in the USA to a recently arrived immigrant family where as his father had to choose between his homeland (Poland) and the possibilities in the USA at the age of 11.

John Paul Godges manages to answer the question that he asks in the beginning of the book (What does it mean to be American) and keep it relevant and answer the question to the very end. It is a wonderful book not just on the changes in America but also how different people reacted to them.

It is amazing how open he is not just about his family but also from what each family member says and does with there life.

Again I have to say the book is wonderful and would be a good read for not just people that like history but also anyone interested in human interaction.

Everyone is believable in their frankness, and you can picture each one of them. (There are also photo's that help with this).

Thank you so much, Mr. Godges for writing this book. Your book seems like a song of America. There were lyrics to songs that I hadn't sung for so long. When I came to them, I sang along. Both sides of my family have been here for hundreds of years, yet so many of your family's experiences are mine too.
I loved how you told the story of one your mother's side of the family and then your father's and finally focused on your own immediate family one by one. Your mother could have been my child hood friend's mother easily. Your father, joining the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan as an escape from his broken family could have been my father. He joined it in Indiana when his mother and father divorced and his mother could no longer feed here children. Your sister Geri could have been my Aunt Pody. You told the story of Americans the way that it should be told as a memory of all the good and the bad, all the tragedies and celebrations of family. You also expressed the feeling of pride of being an American.
You don’t have to be an American Catholic to appreciate this book, you just need to share in the common experience and learn what is good from it and how to improve it.

Thank you again, Mr. Godges for writing this song to America.

I received this book from GoodReads and the opinions above are my own.

Honestly, the original reason why I wanted to read this book was the cover picture. The young man standing in front of a US CCC truck. I'm not exactly sure why, but when I first saw it it peaked my interest.

Of course, that was only the original reason and the book itself wound up mightily surpassing the photo on its cover.

I have nothing in common with the author. Both sides of my family have been here in the US since before there was technically a US of A, whereas the author's family was one or even no generation removed from Poland and Italy. And yet in some sections of the book every few pages I'd find myself nodding or whatever because something that the author described was part of my childhood too, though it wasn't always in the exact same way. In the case of the Beer Barrel Polka it wasn't a recording but a piano roll, and now for the rest of the week I'm going to have it stuck in my head thanks to the author.

Aside from the lingering music in my head I was impressed with just how well the author manages to write both a memoir of his life and his family while also writing a pretty good book about American History. Oh, and I thought it was pretty well written too. It flows well except at the very beginning where sometimes it seems a bit jumpy with a jarring change between whose eyes we're seeing one particular story, but on the whole it's an enjoyable read and even a pretty quick read too (which cannot be said for even some of the very best memoirs). I even loved that the author was able to write every one in his big family, from aunts and uncles to brothers and sisters in such a way that I was able to keep all the many people in the story pretty much straight. A sign of a good book, and a skill that even some fiction writers I have read aren't able to do.

Everyone needs to read this. It's touching, and interesting, and c'mon, doesn't the cover just say 'read me, or else'?

One of the reasons a lot of people give for not reading books on history is that they are not relevant to their lives. I have to agree with them that most history books are boring recitations of dates, wars, treaties and the important figures of those eras accompanied by dry analyses. It is difficult to imagine what life would have been like for ordinary people during those times.

John Paul Godges offers a different take on history. He writes about 20th century history from the point of view of his family’s history. Starting with his maternal grandparents’ experience immigrating from Italy through his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary party, he illustrates the important events of the previous century.

Suddenly, history becomes relevant. Thanks to the Godges family, readers experience vicariously the major events of the 20th century and how they impacted the lives of ordinary people. Instead of the “immigrants came to America seeking a better life”, we are treated to stories of what life was like in Europe and what “a better life” actually meant once people arrived here. Likewise, the turbulence of the 1960’s had different effects on different people as illustrated by lives of different members of the family.

I learned a lot about the immigrant experience from this book. I hadn’t realized that some immigrants came here only temporarily to make money and then return home or that sometimes they went back and forth a few times before settling down. I was also surprised to learn how readily they helped each other with loans of money.

Ending a story such as that of the Godges family is always difficult. The author chose the celebration of his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary which is a logical endpoint but I felt that he lost focus in this chapter. All the preceding chapters in the book followed the lives of the family members along side the events of the 20th century. In his final chapter, Godges chose to get very personal and talk about the dynamics of his family. It would have been more consistent and more satisfying for the reader if he had used the anniversary party as an opportunity to look ahead to the next generation and talk about the differences and similarities between their lives and the lives of those who had gone before them.