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"  Man trouble and how to overcome it was the general theme of this month&amp;#039;s nonfiction round. The ready-for-central-casting, opposites-attract saga of magazine writer Lily Burana (Strip City, Try) and her gentleman officer barely edged out Leslie Morgan Steiner&amp;#039;s brave account of her deeply traumatizing, almost fatal marriage to an abusive spouse, while writing teacher Diana Joseph&amp;#039;s essays about the men in her life seem to have suffered by comparison for their lack of a compelling narrative line. 1. Lily Burana I Love a Man in Uniform (Weinstein Books) By the time Burana marries Mike, the punky former stripper has left her Lucite heels (and her anarchistic sympathies) behind. She joins her officer husband at West Point, yet just as she falls in step with this comically regimented world, 9/11 brings the reality of military life into distressingly sharp focus. Burana is ravaged by mixed emotions: her fear for Mike&amp;#039;s safety, her fury over Abu Ghraib, and her fierce loyalty to the soldiers. With a skillful blend of humor and poignancy, she provides an intimate look into a misunderstood community. Whether muttering threats about Donald Rumsfeld or teaching burlesque dancing to anxious army wives, Burana proves that patriotism comes in all (cup) sizes.\u2014Mallory Kass, New York City Burana&amp;#039;s memoir of her struggle to fit into an army wife&amp;#039;s role is 368 pages of early &amp;#039;90s riot-grrrl, I-am-postmodern-feminist-stripper clich\u00E9. Her story, which I wanted to find fascinating, was obscured by the self-absorbed histrionics of this overly defensive whiner.\u2014Regina Kim, Brea, CA 2. Leslie Morgan Steiner Crazy Love (St. Martin&amp;#039;s Press) Young, trusting, and in love, Steiner made some hard decisions and paid a dear price for them. The author goes deep here, from her first meeting with her future abuser through their courtship and eventual wedding. She meticulously recounts each fateful decision that drew her squarely under his thumb, still believing all the while: He needs me, he&amp;#039;ll change, I&amp;#039;m doing this for us. Finally, a near-death beating at her husband&amp;#039;s hands provides the impetus for her to escape her nightmare marriage and scrape together the dignity and resolve to get her life back. This is an insightful and courageous memoir.\u2014Sheila Macfarlane, Schoolcraft, MI The beginning of this book gives the impression that girls who go to Harvard and vacation at Vail don&amp;#039;t get abused, and men who wear Brooks Brothers don&amp;#039;t do the abusing. Steiner&amp;#039;s introductory line\u2014&amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t look the part&amp;quot;\u2014had me wondering, Seriously? Who does? But Steiner shows us that she is indeed not a typical victim. Her lack of denial and full awareness that what her husband is doing to her is wrong puts her in a different league.\u2014Anna Taleysnik-Mehta, Falls Church, VA 3. Diana Joseph I&amp;#039;m Sorry You Feel That Way (Amy Einhorn Books) I&amp;#039;m Sorry You Feel That Way possesses a great combination of humor, sorrow, and frankness. As the subtitle\u2014&amp;quot;The Astonishing but True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother, and Friend to Man &amp;amp;amp; Dog&amp;quot;\u2014suggests, its autobiographical essays are about what it&amp;#039;s like to be so many different people at once. Joseph makes no apologies\u2014 she is who she is, and the people in her life are who they are, for better or worse. Deal with it. It&amp;#039;s this edgy attitude that makes her book so enjoyable.\u2014Jill Martiniuk, Charlottesville, VA Glib and boastful about her poor parenting skills, Joseph did not incite much empathy in me. She vaguely alludes to having had some emotional problems (depression?) but neglects to give us much evidence for why she has acted the way she has. If you&amp;#039;re going to air your dirty laundry, give us the whole story.\u2014Sheila Macfarlane, Schoolcraft, MI For details on becoming a Readers&amp;#039; Prize juror, e-mail us at eagerreader@elle.com. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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