Rating: 
Summary: Intimately examines the connections among us all
Review: "I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project" is a superb and unusual book that manages two wonderful things: it confirms the universality of the human experience and it amply demonstrates that everyone, EVERYONE has a story to tell.The experiences told in this eclectic and endlessly absorbing collection are varied and run the gamut of experiences life has to offer. There are stories of love, loss, regret, joy, sorrow, and growing up. The subjects that bring on these emotions are as varied as a pet bird, a sharp slap from a parent, a new piece of clothing, a weekend alone at the beach, a party in which the increasingly annoying guest of honor gets his face pushed into the cake, a reconnection with a former lover, a loose car tire, and a harrowing audition for a sleazy adult film. Some of the stories are flatly told, facts laid out on the page. Others take loving care with the details. Either way, the accretion of all the stories gives the reader a most satisfying sense of membership by the end of the book--membership in the human race.
Rating:
Summary: Intimately examines the connections among us all
Review: "I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project" is a superb and unusual book that manages two wonderful things: it confirms the universality of the human experience and it amply demonstrates that everyone, EVERYONE has a story to tell. The experiences told in this eclectic and endlessly absorbing collection are varied and run the gamut of experiences life has to offer. There are stories of love, loss, regret, joy, sorrow, and growing up. The subjects that bring on these emotions are as varied as a pet bird, a sharp slap from a parent, a new piece of clothing, a weekend alone at the beach, a party in which the increasingly annoying guest of honor gets his face pushed into the cake, a reconnection with a former lover, a loose car tire, and a harrowing audition for a sleazy adult film. Some of the stories are flatly told, facts laid out on the page. Others take loving care with the details. Either way, the accretion of all the stories gives the reader a most satisfying sense of membership by the end of the book--membership in the human race.
Rating: 
Summary: I thought my father was god
Review: A nice collection of real life stories from all walks of life and time, each with a twist and an element of the unexplainable. Big downside - the stories are so heavily edited it seems like they were all written by the one person (which I feel defeats the purpose of the book). A great idea but I'd have liked to have seen a bit less editing and sanitization!
Rating:
Summary: Life changing stories...
Review: A very deeply touching book. It has inspired me to reach out creatively with my projects because for some reason, I feel more at ease with the mystery of life. The essence of who we are as americans and more importantly, as humans, can be grasped here. When you read this, I'm sure you'll know what I'm trying to say here. It is a new foundation to stand on to fearlessly be human in a world where nothing always makes sense, where pain exists, and where true laughter ripples through the fabric of our humanity.
Please read this and be inspired too.
Rating:
Summary: Give this book to someone you love
Review: After spending most of my life in college reading books of all kinds, I found this to be one of the very best reads I've ever come across. I have not been able to resist reading stories aloud at dinner time, cocktail parties, neighborhood gatherings, at home in bed with spouse, at the bedside of an ailing friend - all to great reviews and requests to borrow my copy. The stories are lovely, moving, painful, hilarious, and will stay with you, keeping you warm and aware throughout your day. I am buying a whole case of books for gifts.
Rating: 
Summary: A marvelous collection
Review: At first blush, I was not impressed with this collection of true-life vignettes collected from NPR's National Story Project. I would leaf listlessly about the book looking for something -- a sentence, a title -- that would catch my interest, and reading the piece (none of the selections, I think, are any longer than four pages) in a second or two. Initially I was disgruntled by the style and voice of some pieces; they would not have been out of place in the "Life In These United States" Reader's Digest feature. I don't know why I did not shelf the book and pick up something else, but I am glad that I persevered (uncharacteristic for me: I am quite superficial and fickle, overdependent on first impressions) because as I kept reading, I found something within me responding to these stories. Reviewers here have heckled the abundance of sentimentality and reductive life lessons that pulse through these pieces, but they're seeking a literary sophistication from texts that never aspire to anything more than the urge to tell a story. (In the words of one writer included in the collection, "What do you do with a story like [this]? There is no lesson, no moral, barely even an ending. You want to tell it, hear it told, but you don't know why.") With that provisio, the patient reader will find pieces here of quiet movement, emotional honesty, jaw-dropping coincidence (a lot of these), eerie dreaminess, and everyday wonder. I especially like Joe Miceli's "Taking Leave," with its glimpse of a world I hope I never know; Mary Grace Dembeck's "Act of Memory," which made me cry; "Your Father Has The Hay Fever" by Tony Powell, which is as lunatic as anything by S.J. Perelman; "Table For Two" by Lori Peikoff, and Nicolas Wieder's "Ballerina," stories of love, coincidence, and hope.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I expected too much -
Review: Based on the sample stories recited as a monthly feature on NPR, I purchased this book ro read while on a couple of long plane rides, thinking the short stories would be well suited to the task of keeping the mind entertained among the numerous waits and between the various interuptions becoming a standard of airline flight. For the first several stories, I felt I was on the right track. But my initial enthusiasm soon waned, as the repeated themes and predictability of outcome of most of the stories became more apparent. Surely, there are some real gems in this catalog of American life, but other efforts range from the plain to the rediculous. I'm sure that Paul Auster had a difficult task in selecting among the many entries submitted, but eliminating a few of the "miracle" tales would surely have made it a better read. The organization of the book unfortunately emphasizes the sameness of many of the stories by grouping essays about objects, or war, or whatever, one after another. I suggest that an interested reader pick stories at random, to keep the topics fresh...
Rating:
Summary: Not worth reading
Review: Chicken soup for the soul series has it all over this book. It tries to copy those short stories, but it misses the mark big time. With the exception of a handful of stories, most of them are just plain dumb. Many are just sad. Depressing. I was left with that, "HUH?" feeling after reading many of them. I like to read. I rarely consider reading a waste of my time. I bought this book and consider it a waste of my money. Even if someone GAVE me this book, it really isnt worth my time. I noticed many of the rewiews gave it 5 stars and that kind of influenced my decision when I bought the book. I wish someone had written from this perspective so I might have had a feeling that it wasnt like chicken soup books. I hope I can help someone else not waste their money.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth reading
Review: Chicken soup for the soul series has it all over this book. It tries to copy those short stories, but it misses the mark big time. With the exception of a handful of stories, most of them are just plain dumb. Many are just sad. Depressing. I was left with that, "HUH?" feeling after reading many of them. I like to read. I rarely consider reading a waste of my time. I bought this book and consider it a waste of my money. Even if someone GAVE me this book, it really isnt worth my time. I noticed many of the rewiews gave it 5 stars and that kind of influenced my decision when I bought the book. I wish someone had written from this perspective so I might have had a feeling that it wasnt like chicken soup books. I hope I can help someone else not waste their money.
Rating:
Summary: God, Reader's Digest, and Reality TV
Review: For those readers who liken this accomplished, rare book to reader's digest; or whose complaints point to the storytellers' lack of literary skill, and their self-indulgence, I urge you to turn off your televisions. You have missed the subtleties of this book altogether, and suffer the misfortune of not recognizing the book's contribution to the history of our time. See...Sarah Fox's full review of this book, for exemplary insight into the value of Auster's collection. Think Harry Smith, Studs Terkel--have you listened to the traditional folk songs from this country, read Terkel's accounts of real life lived by real people in America? Are we at a point, post-historically, when actual stories told quietly and personally, and I might add bravely, move us not in the least? I challenge those negative reviewers to write their own stories, using Auster's original guidelines. How might people judge your work? Is there a reason why they should?
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