No comments about Voices & Visions.

5 comments about David Brinkley.

1. From 1956 to 1970, before the days of Dan Rather on CBS, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley said "good night" to each other at the 'finis' of NBC network news, leaving everybody watching feeling a kind of contentment that "all's right with the world." After his first eighteen years spent growing up, working for the small town newspaper, in North Carolina, his tenure fin the world of television news saw him through four wars, three assassinations, two wives, twenty-two political conventions, eleven presidents, 2,000 weeks of canvassing and reporting the news to the American public and one moon landing, he is on terra firma at last. Born in Wilmington, and educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee, he spent most of his life on the Washington, D.C. scene. He had a soft Southern drawl and a knack for brevity, using just the right word or phrase to sum up a situation. This memoir as such is mostly about politics and his role as observer of the leaders then and now.
   
   He was in the press corps. "Even though I was in Washington covering the White House for the last years of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency and reported from the White House every day when there was any news and traveled with him on several trips, we only knew, as everyone knew, the U. S. Treasury paid him one hundred thousand dollars a year." Perhaps no form of governments needs great leaders so much as democracy. The political history of the 20th century lists six men as the best leaders: Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. The first four were tyrants; had it not been for the final two, western civilization might have perished.
   
   In March 1946, Harry S. Truman's private pullman, the 'Ferdinand Magellan,' passed on to him after Roosevelt's death, on a private train at Washington's Union Station pulled out with his guest, Winston Churchill, his press secretary, Charles Ross, and others as the Truman-Churchill Express to St. Louis. Churchill was noted for writing his own speeches and used Lord Byron as a part of this particular appeal: "He who ascends to mountain tops shall find the loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow.
   He who surpasses or subdues mankind must look down on the hate of those below.
   Though far above the sun of glory shine and far beneath the earth and ocean spread round him are icy rocks
   And fiercely blow contending tempests on his naked head
   And thus reward the toils which to those summits led."
   
   David had grown up watching the Tennessee Williams' plays and movies about the South with its drunkenness and cruelty. "I survived early radio at NBC, and it survived me. The grand old names in radio never made it in television." There had been only one 100-wattt AM radio station in the small town of Wilmington He called a spade a spade. His sister Mary Driscoll worked as legal secretary for Joseph McCarthy, who he called the "Grand Champion American Liar." He routinely pronounced "him to be what he was, a loudmouthed liar." He said, "had he been truthful, ...he might have been a great political figure. But it was only one lie after another...."
   
   The 1956 Democrat Convention was the first he covered. Adlai Stevenson from Illinois was the candidate to run for that party's choice for U. S. President. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee was chosen with the help of Al Gore's dad, Senator Albert Gore, as Vice President. They lost. The 1960 election used "multimillion-dollar mainframe computers bigger than four-door Buicks" to count the votes.
   
   He wasn't impressed by President Nixon ("Before Nixon was forced to resign the presidency, he chose Spiro Agnew as his vice president, only to begin still another degrading and humiliating episode in American presidential politics."). He observed, "While eight years later, Nixon was one of the most intelligent presidents of modern times, he never seemed happy or seemed to enjoyed what he was doing. He always looked mournful and it is difficult to find a photo of him with a smile on his face." He didn't have anything good to say about Agnew, Gerald Ford, or Jimmy Carter. He called Eisenhower the Republican party's first president in twenty years. At the 1964 Convention, the agenda had them denouncing the John Birch Society, an even harder-line right-wing fringe group, along with the klan, and the Communist party."
   
   This memoir was just a beginning; David Brinkley also wrote EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO MY OPINION and BRINKLEY'S BEAT: PEOPLE, PLACES AND EVENTS THAT SHAPED MY TIME.



2. As a non-native English speaker who has been watching ABC's "This Week" all these years, I've always found David Brinkley's manner of speaking concise and easy to understand with short sentences and simple vocabulary. This was far cry from many other loud talking heads, including David's own colleagues on his Sunday program. He taught me how English could be spoken plainly but precisely and effectively. His memoir is written exactly the way he spoke. He gets to the point without being wordy and beating around the bush.
   One thing I liked about this memoir is that he wrote more about his professional life than personal, which was of little interest to me. This memoir is also a history of American TV journalism, filled with episodes that were new to me. I was particularly interested in learning what he had to say about Joe McCarthy, whom David's own sister served as secretary for many years. Quite a bit is written about Kenndey brothers, too, including JFK assasination. So glad he published this memoir before he passed away.



3. I was quite excited to get David Brinkley's book, as I have enjoyed his newscasts for years, particularly the early conventions. As it turns out, this is a "Chatty-Cathy" book that rambles on about his life, with his TV persona somewhat as an afterthought. The book is quite readable with his enjoyable laconic style, but at the end, you don't know much more about him, TV, the process of TV news, or the events to which he was an eyewitness....at least not more than you already knew or could surmise.
   The book was a pleasant interlude, but somewhat a bit of froth



4. Having grown up with the Huntley-Brinkley report and watching them at all the conventions, I truly enjoyed this book. Especially interesting is how Brinkley trashes Jesse Helms.



5. To me, Brinkley always seemed a cut above the modern TV journalist / anchor -- more sober, more professional and less interested in focusing the attention on himself rather than his subject.

   David Brinkley tells his life story in this quick book. Growing up with the new medium of television, he and his partner (Chet Huntly) wrote much of the playbook for the way network news and tv interview shows are conducted.

   This is an interesting story that tells not only of Brinkley's growth and development but also of the maturation of the tv news industry. Along the way, Brinkley was witness to many seminal events and has of course met many of the notables of his era.

   The man's integrity and dedication to the profession of journalism shines through in this book. I can't imagine Sam or Cokie or Dan or Peter writing this book. Too much would be devoted to image and the their impact on the news. Brinkley was able to achieve the incredible credibility he enjoyed because he was made of different stuff -- this is the story of a darn good journalist who understood the difference between covering the news and entering it.

No comments about Nixon and Kennedy.

No comments about Play as I Please: Humphrey Lyttelton in Conversation with June Knox-Mawer (BBC Radio Collection).

5 comments about Stalin: Triumph & Tragedy Part 1 Of 2.

1. Harold Shukman is a professional historian, an Emeritus fellow of St. Anthony's College, Oxford University and a prolific author of major works on Rasputin, Stalin, Trotsky, and is an expert on the communist-socialist period of Russia in general. This 110-page work, published in 1999, is highly readable and covers its complex material with expert balance, selecting and compressing the extremely rich detail and competing interpretations (held to an absolute minimum) with ease. The overall impression is very factual and objective, the author's attitude to the man Stalin confined to very brief comment on pages 1 and 98. All in all this is an ideal introduction to the man and the period, suitable for GCSE (age 15/16) students, first year undergraduates, or the interested layman. Mr Shukman all but ignores the complexities of Soviet economic disasters, but this would require a much larger book. (Anyone interested in a selection of basics would do well to try `Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell, professor of economics at Stanford University, a book which is an veritable education in itself. Anyone interested in professional analysis covering the period of Lenin's NEP to the point of Soviet collapse, by two top Soviet economists, would do well to consult `The Turning Point' by Shmelev & Popov (English translation, 1989).) It should also be borne in mind that the large bulk of previously secret archive materials of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (terminated: 1989) is still being declassified and carefully studied, so the fact that reports of these atrocities apparently get worse as the 21st century progresses is simply due to the process of the full truth taking time to get its boots on. In 2005 an analysis of the Soviet Gulag (concentration camps) gave a tally of 43 million Russians killed: 30 million died in the camps, 13 million died in the freezing transport trains en route. A good summary of the period of East German socialist tyranny has yet to come to my attention, but the 2006 German film on DVD `The Lives of Others' (Das Leben der Anderen) will do if you want a dramatic sample of life behind the Iron Curtain under der Stasi.
   
   Although the books in this series can seem expensive on a cost per page basis, it is the quality that counts, and as a fast overview they represent good value. This book on Stalin makes an interesting comparison to another in the series: `Mao Zedong' by Delia Davin. This is especially instructive in revealing some of the Soviet dominance of China in the twentieth century, which killed millions of peasants there too. But what really burns me is that socialists are so holier-than-thou.
   
   CONTENTS
   Chronology (birth of Stalin 1878, to death 1953)
   
   1. Introduction
   Thumbnail sketch of his career, as the `outstanding mediocrity'
   
   2. Beginnings
   1878- : Georgia, home and education; Lenin and Trotsky; early criminal tendencies
   
   3. Party worker
   1903- : armed bank robbery; journalism; Bolsheviks and Mensheviks vie for party control
   
   4. Power
   1914- : war and Revolution; Molotov; the Red Guard, state and party apparatus set up, Cheka secret police; German-Soviet peace pact made at Brest-Litovsk in 1918 at huge cost to Russia
   
   Photographs: including his police mug-shot and one with an unpopular former colleague airbrushed out (the Marxist approach to history!)
   
   5. Lenin's Heir
   1918- : Lenin orders murder of Tsar and his family; Lenin's NEP (New Economic Policy); The Red Terror, Orthodox churches and priests destroyed, Stalin and Trotsky clash; peasant farmers suffer State collectivisation; Lenin dies; Trotsky deported; Stalin rules)
   
   6. The Great Turn
   1929- : kulak farmers resist State robbery of grain for the cities and are dekulakised by Stalin (class warfare!); millions starve or are killed by the NKVD secret police; first Five Year Plan for industrialisation; economists face firing squad for pointing out flaws in plans; Stalin's private life)
   
   7. Stalin the Executioner
   The 1930s: State and party purges of opponents; the `Big Lie' re-writes history from Marxist view; Stalin aspires to become a god; law courts controlled by party; powers of NKVD secret police enlarged; Trotsky assassinated in 1940, in Mexico by NKVD using the `ice pick to the head' technique; 7 million enemies of the State shot; Moscow underground Metro opens - so it's not all bad then)
   
   8. The Nation Revived
   1939- : Nazism and Stalinism - mutually hostile but similar in many ways; Hitler and Stalin make secret pact to allow USSR to annex Polish, Ukrainian, and Baltic territory; Hitler invades USSR in 1941; war excuses any degree of Soviet tyranny over its own people; church partly restored to boost national feeling; Churchill declares existence of the `Iron Curtain' in 1946; communist party purge - 2000 shot in Leningrad; paranoia affects his judgement, retreats from public exposure; targets Jews to create a scapegoat; dies 1953; his top henchman Beria is executed by the new rulers
   
   Conclusion
   Russian memories today are short and selective - many hanker for the basics provided for all by Stalin but forget the starvations, fear of the Gulag, and injustice of the secret police.
   
   Notes (chapter references to more academic works and sources)
   
   Bibliography (main general sources, some by insiders, eg Molotov and Trotsky)
   
   So: people aren't equal, you can't make them equal, and it's wrong to try.



2. This book is four-star worthy because of Volkogonov's look inside Soviet archives and his insider position. Perhaps it sounds and reads a bit heavy not just because it's written at least somewhat to an academic office but also because it's reflecting Stalin's bureaucratic personality in that way.
   
   One of the best parts of this book was the chapters covering the period between the purges and Stalingrad, where we see just how paralyzed, thinned out and more the post-purge Red Army was.
   
   That said, I do agree with many reviewers that this book was a bit heavy, and more designed for professional use. And that said, I've got books far more footnoted, and one on the history of the Goths that has at least as many names unpronounceable by many modern American lips.
   
   It would be interesting to have a revised edition based on 20 more years of looks at the Soviet archives, and with better editing.



3. The book is the detailed biography of Stalin. Not an easy read, it is probably more suited to be a dry academic reference text, rather than bedtime reading. But I enjoyed it.
   
   Starting and finishing it is tedious, the book is just too big. But each chapter may be read separately, depending on what topic interests you most. Assasination of Kirov, Stalin's disposal of colleagues on his way to power, his policies during war, Stalin's last years - these and other topics may be read separately.
   
   No historical book can be absolutely objective, and this one carries opinions and impressions of the author. There is very little personal input, though. And there is no hype that often accompanies bokks on tyrants.
   
   As I said, I like the book. I learned a lot and actually re-read a few chapters.



4. 
   There are literally hundreds of books on Joseph Stalin to choose from. But if you are looking for a basic entry-level book that is easy to read and for a low price, I would definitely recommend this one.
   
   Although this book is short (just a little over a hundred pages), it contains the most significant information about Stalin's personal and political life; his youth, early adulthood, rise to power, the insanity of his murderous crimes, his own personal paranoia and ultimately, his execrable death. Some of the events that are reported in this book are quite fascinating, in my opinion, which make this book a very interesting read. Stalin's relationship to his comrades and a few family members are also accounted.
   
   From my perspective, this enlightening biography on Stalin is perfect for those who don't have the time or motive to read an encyclopaedia-size book on the former dictator. I think that high school and College students will particularly enjoy reading this book.
   
   Fantastic work!



5. I agree with a_reader_999 (review elsewhere on this page) that Mr. Volkogonov allows his judgement to be clouded by his own Leninist views, blames everything bad on Stalin, and like a lot of Marxists, still lives in denial. For someone having spent his whole life on something, accepting defeat can be a very giant step indeed, so one tends to be sympathetic, but it does not make for quality objective history writing. But minus the diatribes and the nitpicking, this work provides a lot of details for the history buff, and is also quite interesting reading.

No comments about Interview With Gloria Naylor.

No comments about The Last Lion: Alone Part 2 of 3.

No comments about Making the Horse Laugh.

No comments about A Life in the Twentieth Century : Innocent Beginnings, 1917-1950.

1 comments about Butter in the Well (Butter in the Well Series).

1. One of the best "first settler" accounts I've ever read! Hubalek's story of Swedish immigrant, Kajsa, who settled in Central Kansas was riveting. I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole book. Stories of rattlesnakes coming through the dugout ceiling, prairie fires, the joys of newborn babies and the heartaches of losing loved ones.... Reading Hubalek's book shows that starting life as a homesteader was very tough, and the story was so real that I was working the sod right with her. Be sure to read the whole 4-book series, and her other two series as well.