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Half the Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son
From the author of the best-selling King Leopold's Ghost, this haunting and deeply honest memoir tells of Adam Hochschild's conflicted relationship with his father, the head of a multinational mining corporation. The author lyrically evokes his privileged childhood on an Adirondack estate, a colorful uncle who was a pioneer aviator and fighter ace, and his first exploratio...more
Paperback, 248 pages
Published
January 7th 2005
by Mariner Books
(first published 1986)
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Because I liked "To End All Wars", I was curious about the author, Adam Hochschild. This is an older book, published in 1986, and is a sort of memoir of his childhood, and in particular of his rocky relationship with his father. He had a privileged upbringing as the only son of older, wealthy parents. His family had made their fortune in worldwide mining interests. Much of the book takes place in a secluded estate in the Adirondacks. I think the author perhaps had the plight of many only childre...more
What a contrast to Trace's book that arrived and I read between reading Chapters 16 and 17 of this book!
Whereas there were lots of ambiguous sentences and printing errors in her book, but the emotions aroused kept me reading, in this autobiography the sentences and chapters were beautifully crafted and easy on the eye and ear, but there was for me little emotional involvement.
The differences between an explosive and difficult life full of feelings that Trace experienced (see One small sacrifice)...more
Whereas there were lots of ambiguous sentences and printing errors in her book, but the emotions aroused kept me reading, in this autobiography the sentences and chapters were beautifully crafted and easy on the eye and ear, but there was for me little emotional involvement.
The differences between an explosive and difficult life full of feelings that Trace experienced (see One small sacrifice)...more
Here's the thing: when I read a memoir, I'm looking for emotion, for the dirty details (obvious or implied), for a taste of what it's like to be that person and live that life for just a moment. Adam comes from a family background experienced by very few, especially back when he was growing up. Instead of showing us that lifestyle, I think the shame of the extreme wealth and privilege he struggles with in the book (and obviously up to his authoring of the memoir) prevents him from flinging back...more
Beautifully written, very moving. It unfolds so elegantly and thoughtfully, I wanted it to go on much longer, but Hochschild is a master of saying what he needs and wants to say without rambling.
Touching memoir that weaves the history of colonilaism and priveledge with the story of a father son realtionship.
Haunting memoir about a son's relationship with his father.
Not the most exciting book... But definitely a well-written autobiography that focuses mostly on the boyhood relationship between a son and his emotionally distant father.
My friend Adam Hochschild's revealing memoir. Moving.
May 11, 2013
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Hochschild was born in New York City. As a college student, he spent a summer working on an anti-government newspaper in South Africa and subsequently worked briefly as a civil rights worker in Mississippi in 1964. Both were politically pivotal experiences about which he would later write in his book Finding the Trapdoor. He later was part of the movement against the Vietnam War, and, after severa...more
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