5 comments about Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics).

1. First off, let me clarify that what follows is a review of a particular edition of Plutarch's Lives, the current (2001) edition from Modern Library Classics. It is not a review of the book itself and will not provide any information on the relevance of this wonderful classic or the many lives it includes or the ingenious structure of paralleling the lives of Greeks and Romans or the importance of this text to the history of biography. Several other reviews here do a fine job of that and I see no reason to cover the same ground. Moreover, I've noted rather a lot of confusion about this edition in reviews here on Amazon (see particularly the reviews associated with the hardbound Modern Library volumes). I am still researching the Dryden edition, but thought I might offer a few comments to provide clarity and a better understanding of this edition for those whose buying decisions are based on the nature and quality of a particular translation.
   
   "The Dryden Translation" - this unusual phrasing (which appears on the cover) has become the traditional descriptor for this version of the Lives. In fact, Dryden is not, properly speaking, the translator of this book. In one article in Wikipedia he is described as an overseer for the edition and in another as editor-in-chief, but he is also described as having simply "lent" his name to the enterprise. I am still researching this, but I should not be surprised if Jacob Tonson, the publisher, was not more involved in editing than was Dryden.
   
   Dryden's primary involvement in the project seems to have been his "Life of Plutarch" which is included in this edition only by way of a two short excerpts in Clough's Preface.
   
   Arthur Hugh Clough's Preface and Revisions - Clough was a nineteenth century poet. Clough's preface was, for me, a major reason I became interested in the Modern Library edition. I found the preface quite intriguing. It is a solid piece of work from an individual who was neither a full time scholar, nor a particularly notable prose writer. In a couple of cases, the argument at the very beginning of the preface for example, he seems to drop his thoughts without fully completing them. But this is a minor problem in an otherwise well thought out and informative discussion of Plutarch and his book.
   
   The text itself - One of the reviewers here on Amazon calls this Clough's "train wreck" assuming that the difficulties in the text must lie with Clough because, concludes the reviewer, Dryden is a much better prose writer. Few would doubt that Dryden was a better prose writer, but I strongly suspect that the translation in this case (not Dryden's as I have already pointed out) was aided by Clough's hand. I am having trouble getting a copy of the original (pre-Clough) "Dryden" translation, although I should very much like to do a comparison. Once Clough's version came out, publishers seem to have had no reason to go back to the original which provides at least some indication that Clough had resolved some of the problems with the text. As a result, the pure "Dryden" editions are older and more expensive.
   
   I find the text quite readable. It is not a "modern" translation (I hate using the word "modern" here because I think of Clough as a modern, perhaps I should say it is not a twentieth or twenty-first century translation). This text is clearly more given to complex clausal structures than waht we would expect of a popular translation today. I think it more than has its merits. I'm not sure but that the complex clausal structures might not have their own virtue in a text like this. Certainly one of the interesting qualities in Plutarch is a kind of questioning of sources that the syntax of this edition brings out rather nicely. I say that, however, as a non-classicist with little or no Greek, so I cannot be sure whether it really does reflect the original.
   
   My chief concern with the text would be that it lacks annotation or other textual apparatus beyond an index. This is particularly peculiar given that the cover states that it includes notes by Clough! I am trying to get my hands on an earlier edition of the Clough revision to see what it might contain in the way of notes. Nonetheless, I'm not quite sure what to make of the Modern Library advertising notes on the cover, but providing none. Until I know better what these notes might entail, I'm loath to make any judgment.
   
   Introduction by James Atlas - I wish I could speak more highly of the Modern Library introduction, but I am afraid I felt it was lacking on many levels. It fails in anyway to clarify the nature of the translation. One would think that it would at least contain some mention of the relevance of this particular text (why reprint it now?), of the curious assignment of Dryden's name as translator to a book that he did not translate, and of the role that Clough played as a nineteenth century editor of a seventeenth century text.
   
   Additionally, and perhaps most warranting concern, Atlas's introduction covers such similar ground to Clough's Preface (even using many of the same quotations) that it feels rather curiously redundant.
   
   The cover - I cannot close without commenting on the cover. It looks like wallpaper for a nineteenth century classicist's study. Quite honestly, I like it.
   
   I've given the book four stars because I see no reason to visit the sins of this particular edition upon the text as a whole, and the text has plenty of merits both as a translation and as a classic of literature.



2. Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan.
   
   Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today.
   
   If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.



3. This is one of the most incredible pieces of literature in human history, yet is one of the most often overlooked.
   Plutarch is not as much a historian as he is a moralist, and it is his examination of the lives of some of the most important historical figures of the ancient world for their moral roots that is so incredibly engaging.
   Oddly enough, I was first introduced to the works of Plutarch through the fictional novels of Louis L'Amour, who often has one charcter encouraging another to read various classical authors.
   For a interesting peek at the lives and morals of some of history's most intriguing figures, Plutarch is a great place to begin.



4. Plutarchs historic portrayals of the lives of the gretest men in BCE western history, is truly inspiring. From the passionate warrior kings Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar to the Athenean states men Dion and Draco, the list goes on, each text providing an insight to lives that were lived to the fullest potential.



5. After having read McCullogh's splendid series on Rome, I turned to this fat, dense book with great expectations. I was not disappointed: the stories are endlessly fascinating, from their basic details on ancient history to the bizarre asides that reveal the pre-Christianised mind-set of the author.

   Like all great books, this one can be read on innumerable levels. First, there is the moralising philosophy that is perhaps the principal purpose of the author to advance - each life holds lessons on proper conduct of great and notorious leaders alike. You get Caesar, Perikles, and Alcibiades, and scores of others who are compared and contrasted. Second, there is the content. Plutarch is an invaluable source of data for historians and the curious. Third, there is the reflection of religious and other beliefs of the 1C AD: oracles and omens are respected as are the classical gods. For example, while in Greece, Sulla is reported as having found a satyr, which he attempted unsuccesfully to question for its auguring abilities during his miltary campaign in Greece! It is a wonderful window into the mystery of life and human belief systems. That being said, Plutarch is skeptical of these occurances and both questions their relevance and shows how some shrewd leaders, like Sertorious with his white fawn in Spain, used them to great advantage.

   Finally, this is a document that was used for nearly 2000 years in schools as a vital part of classical education - the well-bred person knew all these personalities and stories, which intimately informed their vocabulary and literary references until the beginning of the 20C. That in itself is a wonderful view into what was on people's minds and how they conceived things over the ages. As is well known, Plutarch is the principal source of many of Shakespeare's plays, such as Coriolanus and Julius Caesar. But it was also the source of the now obscure fascination with the rivalry of Marius and Sulla, as depicted in paintings and poetry that we still easily encounter if we are at all interested in art. Thus, this is essential reading for aspiring pedants (like me).

   Of course, there are plenty of flaws in the work. It assumes an understanding of much historical detail, and the cases in which I lacked it hugely lessened my enjoyment. At over 320 years old, the translation is also dated and the prose somewhat stilted, and so it took me 300 pages to get used to it. Moreover, strictly speaking, there are many inaccuracies, of which the reader must beware.

   Warmly recommended as a great and frequently entertaining historical document.

5 comments about Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford.

1. Like others have said this is just a re-hash of Henry VIII and his wives. I would have enjoyed it if this was all it was about because it has so little of actual "Jane" in it that it's amazing to me that it's titled that way. There are just interruptions of: "Jane MAY have been there..." "Jane MIGHT have heard that..." "Jane MAY have thought..." I can't believe the publisher ever let this get through. What "true story" is she writing about if there isn't anything certain to tell? I skimmed and put it down. Truly disappointing.



2. I will admit that I know absolutely nothing about Jane Boleyn, the infamous wife of George Boleyn, other than what I've read about her in historical fiction books. This book pique my interest because I wanted to learn more about the woman who sent her husband and his sister to their deaths based on her testimony. Julia Fox worked to disabuse the reader of the old legends/myths that still prevail today.
   
   Jane Boleyn is a book written about a woman that Fox presumably did her research on. How much of this is historically accurate, I don't know. At this point, I don't care because this book was interesting and fascinating. Not only did Fox tell the story of Lady Rochford, she explained customs and ceremonies that went on in the Tudor times. Here is a woman of some means married to a man whose rising star was linked with his sister, who the king favored. This is a woman who danced with the king's own sister and his wives and attended to them during their years of being the king's wives. This is a woman who survived the great fall of the Boleyns and managed to escape the king's wrath till she overstepped her bounds with his fifth wife, Kitty Howard. Then she met her end, ironically like her husband's.
   
   This book disabuses of the popular notion that George Boleyn hated his wife and that she was a horror to those around her. She was a young noblewoman who was caught up in the schemes of more powerful men than her. Even her father, a respected peer of the realm couldn't save her. This is a woman who was in the midst of the court for many years and who kept her counsel wisely to herself. Fox just merely reconstructed her to show her argument that this is a woman who fought to survive those tumultous years in Henry's court and managed to slip up at the end only because of her inclination to help Kitty Howard. Fox presented the argument that Jane couldn't deny her queen and thus willing was sent to her death simply because she served her queen.
   
   It is a very interesting perspective on this woman and definitely enlightening. It is also a very fast-paced read and if there were a lot of grammatical errors, I didn't pay much attention to them. However, there is one thing that I did notice about this author's writing style, she tends to repeat herself several times in a chapter. That did get annoying after awhile, but not to rate it any less than a four star. It is very enlightening and entertaining reading. It gives a fresh perspective of what it is like to be an outsider of the royal marriages and still be privy to those secrets.
   
   5/27/08



3. I agree with several of the other reviewers. It was a rehash of Tudor history with Jane being inserted into it. I quit after the 3rd chapter. Very disappointed!



4. I enjoyed Ms. Fox's writing style. She does a good job of converting non-fictional material into a fictional-style telling of a story. However, the editing is HORRIBLE! By the time you get through wordy lines of text, poorly placed commas and interjected "by the way" thoughts, you've forgotten the intent of the sentence. Had the editor used more periods, the flow would have been easier to establish.



5. For readers familiar with the Tudor saga, this book is little more than a retelling. Author Fox tries oh-so-hard to convince us that she has new information and a fresh point of view, but she doesn't. I grew tired of reading passage after passage like this: "We don't know if Jane was a guest at the [INSERT EVENT]. But if she had been, she would have feasted on [INSERT FOOD] and rubbed elbows with [INSERT NAMES]." A big disappointment!

3 comments about Julius Caesar.

1. This book was written for someone who has never read and Roman History. Since I thought this was a new book, with new information, I was not happy to be reading a book that treats it's reader like a novice. Nothing new. there are better books, including Colleen McCullough's series.



2. Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about Caesar and next to nothing about the Roman Republic. This book certainly changed that. Personally, I'm a fan of history in its purest form: meticulously researched, free of romantic speculation, and presented as objectively as possible. However, even though this book is written more like an action novel than a textbook, I enjoyed it wholeheartedly. I couldn't put the book down and despite being a fairly slow reader, finished the book in 2 days. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to get started with Roman history and anyone else merely looking for a fast paced, action packed story of one of history's most incredible figures.



3. Philip Freeman's Julius Caesar is a fascinating and well-written book. Prior to reading Freeman's book, what I knew about Caesar I had learned from Shakespeare. While Shakespeare was a wonderful playwright, he was not a historian. Freeman's book provides a highly readable account of Caesar's fascinating life-- from master military leader and engineer (he designed, and he and his troops constructed, the first bridge across the deep, wide, and swiftly flowing Rhine in just a few days) to his years as chief priest of Rome when among other things he redesigned the calendar to the one we still basically use today. As I read the book, I was struck by the similarity of some of Caesar's campaigns to the present-day war in Iraq.
   
   As Freeman states in his introduction, his book doesn't come to "praise Caesar overmuch nor to bury him among the tyrants of history." Rather we are left to form our own opinion of this controversial man. I not only recommend this book to novice Caesar historians, such as myself, but also to more knowledgeable readers of ancient Rome who will undoubtedly learn something new about this remarkable man and his times.

5 comments about Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness.

1. I can truthfully say that this is the first book I have ever read about A. Lincoln. I loved it! It had intimate deatils and insight looks into the depression of the former President himself. I would reccommend this book to anyone wanting to read something "different, appeal'n" on Lincoln. Great book.



2. Carl Becker said that every man is his own historian, and so it seems fitting that Lincoln be reinterpreted in the light of modern approaches to depression and mental illness. What is most admirable about this book is the author's respectful approach to Lincoln and the past; he insists on viewing Lincoln's behaviors in the context of the mores and culture of his time, which were far different from those prevailing today. The author persuasively argues that there was a romantic connotation to melancholy back then. This, combined with the cultural acceptance of greater emotion from single young men, explains some of Lincoln's publicly expressed emotional troubles as a young man
   
   On the other hand, the author insists on defining Lincoln as suffering two "breakdowns." It's not clear what relevance this modern term has, nor can the author distinguish between mental illness and the culturally acceptable level of melancholy and love-sickness a young man was permitted to manifest at the time.
   
   In short, given the lack of data (most notably the inability to interview the subject, Mr. Lincoln) and the different culture back then, why even try to import these modern day notions of depression to the 1830's-1860's?
   
   Still, the book does make three points exceptionally well, which makes this a very worthwhile effort.
   
   First, he destroys the idiotic notions that Lincoln was gay by virtue of close emotional relationships with men that were permitted and encouraged by the culture back then. Superficial modern day notions of sexual identity have no place in a different time with different (and perhaps healthier) approaches toward the permissibility of emotional intimacy between men.
   
   Second, he argues that Lincoln's struggles with melancholy were part of his larger struggles against adversity that toughened him up for the greatest trial faced by any American President since Washington. This is an old theme, but it is well constructed here. On paper, hugely successful men like Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, and General McClellan should have been the ones to lead successfully during this crisis. But in some ways their previous success was a curse. The depressive's realism and ability to solider on during adversity is perhaps far better preparation. A fascinating point and one that is completley lost in modern Presidential races.
   
   Third, the author argues that Lincoln's mental makeup allowed him to resist the compromises and stop gap measures that seduced men like Buchanan, Douglas, and Crittenden. Lincoln saw that the country had to recognize the evil of slavery and put it on the path to ultimate extinction. This was, of course, Lincoln's greatest insight, though I'm not convinced that his melancholia necessarily predisposed him to accept it. But there is some appeal in the contention that depressives can be curiously more disposed to realism in a world that is frequently evil and unfair.
   
   This is an insightful book, though the ability to analyze Lincoln's psyche given the absence of data and intervening culutural changes is, of course, a doomed venture.



3. This is a beautifully written book about Lincoln--the complete man. Joshua Wolf Shank does a lovely job of describing how Lincoln learned from his bouts with depression and could only have persevered through his difficult, war-time presidency with the wisdom he gained from his melancholy. We often think of Lincoln solely as a pillar of strength; seeing him at his weakest paradoxically deepens his image of strength.



4. Over the years, Abraham Lincoln's story has been told so many times in a reverential, almost worshipful, way that he has come down to us as more of a larger-than-life demigod than as a living, breathing, human being. Putting all the tales together, one might easily conclude that Lincoln was simply a great leader; a brilliant orator; a humble humanitarian; and a man with few, if any, faults. But Abraham Lincoln was much more than that. He was once one of us: a man whose thoughts, feelings, fears, troubles and concerns were much like ours and, like us, he had to live his life day-to-day struggling with his own personal demons.
   
   This author takes us inside the living Lincoln and, based upon the recollections of those who knew him both intimately and casually, lets us see a side of Lincoln which is largely unknown today. To some extent, we get to see Lincoln as he saw himself and as he saw the world around him, much of it long before he came to national prominence. In a sense, we get to glimpse the real Abraham Lincoln up close and personal, warts and all.
   
   According to this author: Virtually all of Lincoln's friends, associates, and acquaintances perceived him as a man suffering from a deep sadness which most termed a "melancholy," but melancholy as the term was understood in the mid-19th century. According to the evidence, this melancholy often overwhelmed Lincoln, sometimes to the point that he locked himself away and at times considered suicide. This may, in part, be due to the fact that for most of his life Lincoln considered himself an abject failure and struggled mightily to overcome what we might now call depression.
   
   What appears to have kept him going was that he felt he had to do something worthwhile for mankind, although he had no idea what that something might be. Of course, as we all know, he eventually concluded that to save the Union slavery had to be eliminated one way or another. He hoped that this could be done peacefully over time, but his actions and words created an impression of him among Southerners which, upon his election as America's 16th President, precipitated America's Civil War.
   
   I truly enjoyed this book and learned a lot more about Lincoln, his life and times, and the sequence of events which brought about the Civil War. I must admit, however, that I found the book to be something of a difficult read, primarily because it cloaked Lincoln's mental illness in the language of the past rather than in modern day terminology and, as a result, would frequently would go off on lengthy explanations in relation to more modern theories. In my view, the book would be much more lay-reader friendly if the differences in language were explained up front and modern terminology then used throughout.
   
   In any event, although I don't think this book is for the casual reader, I feel it is a work which may very well help shape the way Lincoln is viewed in the future. So, if you are interested in Abraham Lincoln, I highly recommend it.



5. Lincoln's Melancholy is one of the best studies of the mental depression that troubled Lincoln throughout his life. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk draws on both scholarship and personal experience with depression to produce a sensitive and insightful account of Lincoln's struggles.
   
   Shenk's research is so deep that he even examined changes in Lincoln's penmanship to reveal a mood shift while Lincoln was writing a letter. Such care is evident throughout Shenk's book.
   
   Readers interested in Lincoln's personality should find Lincoln's Melancholy rewarding. The book documents that depression is unpleasant but, in one case history at least, was no barrier to a productive and fulfilling life.

5 comments about Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century.

1. Make no mistake the late, lamented Hunter Thompson was always something of a muse for me going way back to the early 1970's when I first read his seminal work on outlaw bikers, The Hell's Angels. Since then I have devoured, and re-devoured virtually everything that he has written. I have reviewed many of those efforts elsewhere in this space. As I noted recently in reviewing his 2004 work Hey, Rube, a screed on the misadventures of a gambling freak (himself), not all his efforts have been equally compelling. That was the case in my panning of Hey, Rube but here we are back on much more solid `gonzo' style from the old days. Maybe it is because this work is in the form of a memoir and thus intentionally places the good Doc's actions in the center of the writing that puts this effort in the mold of his better compilations like the Great Shark Hunt and Songs of the Doomed.
   
   Thompson uses his patented stream of consciousness trope to create amusing stories starting from the then present (early 2000's) and his then current doings and splices them together, in some segments randomly, to events as far back as his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. Along the way we find him at age nine in trouble with the FBI, and none the worst for the confrontation. Later, it is down and dirty in Rio with the crazies. Throughout, we find him incessantly testing his beloved guns and various `hot' motorcycles at various and sundry appropriate and inappropriate times.
   
   Additionally, we have some compelling and insightful stories as this radical journalist tours the news breaking global spots, taking trips to places like Vietnam just before the fall, Cuba, Grenada just after the invasion and elsewhere wherever the journalistic action might be and a story, in the Thompson style, might develop. Needless to say there is plenty of ink about sex, drugs and rock and rock including his deeply affecting and traumatic tangle with the law in Aspen the early 1990's. That, my friends, was a close call.
   
   And throughout, as usual, there are pithy political comments about the various idiots-in-chiefs, their henchman and hangers-on that he spent his life hammering. Maybe not hammering your way, definitely not my way, but his way. His fateful run for Sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket in 1970 probably accurately set the tone as a lifelong description of his politics. For those who have read other works by Thompson some of the signature language may be old hat as he meanders along in this volume. For others it is a chance to learn the lingo. Damn, especially this election year, I miss him. Read on.



2. Mr Thompsons autobiography is somewhat lacking compared to his other works. It seems, that he in his later years didn't have that much new to say, and this volume shows it very clearly. It deals with the legend of HST, not the man Hunter Stockton Thompson, and only plays the same tune that we've been hearing since F&L in Las Vegas, only in a strongly diluded form.
   
   A great drawback is that he recycles a lot of stuff from his earlier work, which if you're a fan/reader of his you can't help but feel a bit cheated about. The book isn't that long as it is, but when half the material already has been printed before, and therefore probably, for fans at least, is on your shelf already, it gives the feeling of the good Mr Thompson not really making an effort writing this volume.
   
   It's not all bad though. There are highlights in the book. His description of his childhood is enjoyable and very biographical. The last chapter is also very enjoyable, although not that good as biographical material, it does for a good reading.
   
   It starts out legitimate enough, but quickly turns to his rambling and at times incoherent style of writing. Worth reading if you're a completist. I would recommend the compilations of his letters "The Proud Highway" and "F&L in America" as biography instead. They are much better.



3. This book (2003) and "Hey Rube" (2004) appear to be the last of HST's books. While "Hey Rube" contains lengthy discussions of gambling on professional football and basketball (including "March Madness"), this book is more far-ranging, containing everything from Thompson's reminiscences of his youth to his (highly negative) thoughts on George W. Bush. There's even a chapter from "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972," one of the finest political books ever written.
   
   The quality of the writing on the recent pieces is not quite up to that of his best from the past, but is still infinitely better than the mindless slop produced by other contemporary "writers." The man was an artist.
   
   As always, one of the disturbing things about Thompson is his ability to assess politics correctly in real time. Reading back, you think "Why didn't people take this man seriously at the time?"
   
   "Indeed," as Doc would say.



4. It's true, there are lots of parts of this book that can be found in other books, but this is still the best HST book I've read. It's sort of like a greatest hits. The new parts however, are the best part of this book.



5. By far simply one of his best collections. It seems the good doctor saw what was on the horizon and unforunately he was right. The world is a lesser place without him and we should all cherish every word. His insight was frightening an accurate. BUY THIS BOOK!

5 comments about Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, (Vintage).

1. I had read Robert Caro's book on Robert Moses, and I found Master of the Senate to be an equally well-written and insightful read about an even more complicated figure. Readers get a real sense of the dark character of Lyndon Johnson. The book also offers a revealing view of the inner workings of the U.S. Senate. His portraits of Richard Russell and Sam Rayburn are particularly poignant. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in 20th-century U.S. history, and for anyone who enjoys monumental biographies.



2. Anyone know? This is a masterful book series. The one on LBJ's presidency should be the best.



3. Despite what you think of LBJ, and I don't think much of him, Robert Caro's series on Johnson far surpasses any other books that have come before or after on Lyndon Johnson. In all three of Caro's volumes, he includes mini biographies of important people in Lyndon's life. In this volume, Senator Richard Russell, jr. of Georgia is given his due, and his importance as friend and adviser to LBJ. Also, the first 100 pages include a history of the US senate that could stand alone as a book unto itself. I can't wait for Caro's fourth volume, alas it probably won't be out for another five years.



4. Caro is a master writer. I found his book 'The Power Broker' about Robert Moses easily one of my top ten reads of all time, five star all the way. Johnson to me was not quite as interesting, but nevertheless this is a top notch book showing how Johnson came into the Senate and transformed it. No matter what one thinks of Johnson, if one is a student of American politics, this is a worthwhile book as it shows the influence of one man and what can be done. He was no saint, but he did manage to get things done. I am slowly working my way through it, it's been about 2 years, I keep picking it up and putting it down, but learn something every time.



5. I used to worry Robert Caro wouldn't live long enough to complete his epic biographical history on Lyndon Johnson. Now, 25 years after the first volume, I worry I won't live long enough to read it all.
   
   Published in 2002 and still as of now Caro's latest installment, "Master Of The Senate" weighs in at close to 1,100 pages. It details Johnson's time in the Senate, where he rose to become the Majority Leader. Caro spends 100 pages explaining how the Senate was designed and operated as something of a brake on populist excitability, a vessel for cooling passions. A sort of sluggishness evolved, Caro explains, until the guy with ambition from Texas arrived and changed everything by smashing tradition to bits.
   
   Caro's overriding distaste for Johnson, clear especially in "Means Of Ascent", remains in force here, but another strain emerges, too, of Johnson the difference maker, the guy who got things done. You almost might see him, flaws and all, as a kind of archetypal American in his cussed indomitability, brutish, charming, needfully effective.
   
   When LBJ's mother asks about Adlai Stevenson, the Democrat who twice ran for President in the 1950s, you can't help but chuckle at his reply: "He's a nice fellow, Mother, but he won't make it 'cause he's got too much lace on his drawers."
   
   Better than "Means To Ascent" but not the classic that "Path To Power" was, "Master Of The Senate" suffers from things that make Caro such a great writer, like his ability to draw up seemingly endless detail and find a coherent whole. He can't stop writing about a handful of topics. Each time he goes back to the well he draws up something different, but it's too often the same well.
   
   Caro believes Johnson was the difference maker in making civil rights happen, even though he championed a watered-down version, because he was the only man who could push civil rights through the Senate and its stubborn Southern wing. It's a debatable point, especially since the force of change was already there, Johnson or no.
   
   More problematic for me was the book's unrelenting focus in its second half on the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which ultimately accomplished little, and on Johnson's bid for the 1956 Democratic presidential nomination, which he didn't get and wouldn't have mattered if he had. So much time is spent here that Caro is left to sum up the three remaining years of Johnson's Senate career after the Civil Rights Act's passage in less than 30 pages.
   
   One great thing about "Master Of The Senate" is Caro's articulation of Johnson's ambition as both poison and antidote for the Senate, in how he worked his fellow senators, racist zealots like Richard Russell and liberal lions like Hubert Humphrey, to get what he wanted.
   
   Johnson may have been one of the toughest figures ever to take control of our tough nation. Tough enough, in fact, that I think he'd even like Caro's books about him, warts and all. If one man's life was ever a testament to the power of one's own will, it was Johnson's, and in Caro that will to power has an able chronicler.

5 comments about Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future.

1. For anyone interested in beginning to understand the dynamics of Zimbabwe's recent electoral crisis, this book is essential. Meredith goes into Mugabe's long history of violence,who like Mao sees violence as essential for politics. From the war waged against opposing guerilla forces because of political differences, the slaughter of 10,000 in Matabeleland, the seizure of white farms, threatening judges who ruled against the ZANU-PF government, and electoral violence, what we are seeing is nothing new, as Meredith reminds us. He also hints at the ethnic and racial tensions driving the politics and violence, something too often forgotten in today's media coverage. For example, Mugabe's ZANU-PF has its roots in the rural Shona ethnic group, while the Movement for Democratic change is much more urban and has many white supporters.
   
   The book is also relatively short (about 244 pages) and easy to read. Meredith provides a huge amount of detail without wasting too many words (or the reader's time).
   
   I think the book could have used a bit more of an introduction into Zimbabwe's and Africa's history more generally for the uninitiated to allow us to compare Mugabe's rule to how politics was conducted in the past in the country and the wider continent. For example, some readers might not realize the importance tribal and ethnic divides play in many African countries. However, any ignorance in this regard could be fixed by reading Meredith's other books on Africa.
   
   Usually in biographies authors try to psychoanalyze their subject. Fortunately, Meredith does not try to do this. He provides insights using quotes and sources, not psychobabble. This is not only good academic practice, but also creates an alarming effect in the book in which Mugabe himself often seems somewhat distant, except through his public statements. That indeed appears to be how he is in real life, alienated from his nation, isolated from the people, and removed from reality.
   
   I hope he comes out with another revised version when Mugabe finally falls from power.
   
   [note: this book is a revised version of "Our Votes, Our Guns". It says this clearly on the front cover and back, but just to warn future readers...]



2. 2 stars is not a judgment on the quality of this work. No, the low rating is due to the misleading title of the book. As an earlier reviewer suspected, this book simply is a "revised and updated" version of "Our Votes, Our Guns" -- which I already own! Needless to say, I would not have purchased this book had I known that. Yes there is a small footnote on the BACK OF THE BOOK, but you don't see that until the book arrives.
   
   Furthermore, Meredith doesn't even provide and introduction telling one just what parts he has updated or revised. I'm sure this version contains valuable commentary on events since the earlier book, but there's no easy way to find the new material.
   
   Overall I'm sure the book still is a valuable introduction to the insanity that is the Mugabe regime (that's why I gave it 2 stars rather than 1). If, however, you have read the earlier "Our Votes, Our Guns," save your money and wait for "Dinner with Mugabe" to be released.



3. great book. i'm not really a book guy. i had to read an african book for a class so i chose mugabe.
   
   this book easily held my attention. i read every word of it in a few hours. i knew nothing about modern zimbabwe. this book changed that.
   
   if you want to read a book that in 3 hours will make you an expert on a very relevant and important current world issue.. pick up mugabe.



4. I served briefly in Mugabe's Zimbabwe as a transiting diplomat in 1998 after the bombings of our East African embassies. I was astounded how someone could spit in the face of the economic forces that provided him with the lavish lifestyle he so enjoyed. This book does an excellent job of portraying the nascence and subsequent decay of one of the world's most corrupted minds. The breadbasket of Africa was turned into desert by this man. Everyone should read this book.



5. As a Zimbabwean who had to leave the country due to it's current troubles, it was very difficult for me to pick up this book and look for answers to some of the many questions I had about what went wrong in my homeland. However, I came away fascinated by Martin Meredith's careful piecing together of the last three or four decades of Zimbabwe's history. He has assembled a brilliant account of the rise and rule of Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, and has, for the most part, accurately detailed the major events that have occurred since Mugabe came to power in 1980. The book is not only an account for Zimbabweans, but is written so that any person who is not informed of Zimbabwe's present crises will receive an in-depth look of all that has gone wrong in what was once "the breadbasket of Subsaharan Africa."

   On an aside, this book bears a strong resemblance to another Amazon listing: "Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe" by Martin Meredith. Although I have not read this second book, I believe that they are one and the same book.
   by Martin Meredith

5 comments about Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream.

1. Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Johnson is not a lengthy tome, and it covers the life of one of the most interesting, practical, effective, troubled and troubling figures in American politics sometimes in too cursory a fashion. Anyone who has read what Caro has written (so far!) in his multi-volume biography of Johnson will naturally wonder how some critical events are almost completely absent from this biography, and others get only the slightest attention. But you can't be brief without cutting. Prof. Goodwin's insights into Johnson's character seem a little shallow compared to Caro's--sometimes, they sound a little too much like Johnson's own rationales. On the other hand, the book's rather positive tone on its subject is a worthwhile contrast to Caro's strongly critical take, and there must have been much to the charm, humor, and charisma of Johnson which is absent from Caro but reflects better here. Finally, in the absence of Johnson's years as vice president and president from Caro's epic--can I wait another ten years?--Goodwin's strong focus on those years is very useful. Of course she is an excellent writer and the book is a fun read; her understanding of the mechanics of the executive branch and the presidency's interaction with Congress benefits very likely from her close association with Johnson, and provides much illumination into how government can be utilized in the hands of a powerful, determined, energetic, and strong-willed leader. For anyone interested in Johnson, the successes and failures of the era, or the history of American government, it's a must-have and it is certainly an excellent, enjoyable read.



2. Goodwin takes on Lyndon Johnson in a biographical sketch that has a very familiar and intimate attachment for her. She served as an aide in his administration, 1967, and then later after him leaving office was asked to worked on his memoirs. There is no question that she liked and was fascinated with Johnson. Within her book she examines the power and coercive nature that moved him from small town Texas to the power halls of Congress, Senate and the Office of the President. Within the Congress and the Senate, Johnson's natural abilities really come to fruition allowing him to gain control over the Congress then the Senate. This allowed him to move legislation through faster and more efficiently than had previous been accomplished. Goodwin shows how, at this time and place, these branches of government were ripe for this kind of leadership to flourish. I'm not sure that this kind of individual control could or would happen again. Stalled in the Vice-Presidency under Kennedy, Johnson moved into the doldrums. After the Kennedy's assassination, he was brought quickly back into action and with decisive steps would bring the Nation back from mourning. His work on Civil Rights was tremendous and would have insured his place forever in the history books as one of the great Presidents but for Vietnam. Vietnam consumed him and Goodwin explains how the abilities that helped him in the Congress and Senate turned on him and would eventually run him from office. Out of office, with only the Texas ranch to occupy his time, he would deteriorate mentally and physically. Finally Johnson would succumb to death on January 22, 1973 after Nixon announced the dismantling of the "Great Society".
   
   The book is a fascinating look at the political arena of the turbulent 60's and what was happening within the walls of the White house. It is an interesting look at the endless pursuit of power and decisions that created the roller-coaster ride of Lyndon Johnson. The one area that I felt that Goodwin lingered too long on was trying to psychoanalyze Johnson. She tries to determine what made this tremendously talented man function as he did and why he made such good and bad decisions. However she does the good biographer approach of not holding back the good or the bad but letting the readers see the man as he was. The book is well worth the read and addition to the history shelf.



3. I liked this book and learned alot about 'the man' LBJ that I did not know. Is it over analyized from a 'psychology' standpoint - I dont know. I think it is important to understand the inner workings of a persons mind - even from that persons early childhood - to fully understand how a person will act later in life, especially in very difficult situations.
   
   BTW I did not see anyone write in their review that this book was originally published in 1976 - only 3 years after LBJs death. Im not sure if the 1991 edition is revised. Interesting as well in the original 1976 edition the author has her name as Doris Kearns (not not Doris Kearns Goodwin) although she was already married to Goodwin.



4. When I bought this book, I was warned by a cousin of mine, who teaches history at GW, that the book would contain a lot of phsycology, and he was right.
   
   Now, this is still a very good book, second only to Master of the Senate in terms of biographies about LBJ, but I found the phsycology a little bit boring. That is the only thing that prevents me from giving the book 5 stars.
   
   There is a lot of interesting insight, helped along by the fatc that Goodwin knew LBJ, and interviewed him repeatedly. I would advise everyone interested in LBJ, the Presidency, Civil Rights, or Vietnam to read this book. It is great.



5. An amazing biography of a man who might have been one of the best presidents in our history had he not been seduced into the disaster of Vietnam.
   
   Goodwin had unprecedented access to Johnson and weaves her personal insights into a well told story about a fascinating man.

5 comments about Ike: An American Hero.

1. Michael Korda's beefy biography of Dwight Eisenhower is a must read for anyone who thought of Ike as just the avuncular President of the quiet 1950's. Korda's portrait of Eisenhower paints Ike as an intelligent and thoughtful leader in both World War II as Supreme Allied Commander and in his many Post War roles. When Eisenhower took over the presidency in January 1953 the post war peace had all but unraveled with Korea raging, the French losing their grip in Vietnam, and the Middle East a boiling cauldron of activity. Ike's stalwart character appears to have been a great force in keeping this potential incendiary period in check.
   
   Korda paints Eisenhower as a simple but forthright and principled individual. I was particular impressed with the resolute character of Eisenhower and his strong sense of duty in whatever assignment or job he undertook during his career. As Korda says, "while Eisenhower was the last president born in the 19th century, he was a 20th century thinker." As supreme commander of European theatre during World War II and as President of the United States, Eisenhower never seemed to get raddled no matter how difficult or bleak the situation appeared. It is not hard to see how Eisenhower commanded such world respect during the War and the Post War period. One wonders what the situation would have been in Iraq if Eisenhower had been the chief executive today?



2. The first 1/3 of the book is spent on the first 45 years or so of Ike's life, which is remarkable for its dullness. He really did nothing of note or of interest until WW2. Then, most of the rest of the book is dedicated to war-years (which is already well-trodden ground). Relatively little space is dedicated to his two terms as President, which I find appalling. Four years at war get almost 500 pages but 8 years as leader of the most powerful country in the history of the world get maybe 50? A very imbalanced treatment, IMO, and very disappointing.
   
   On a lesser note: the habit of the author to drop (un-translated) French and German phrases is pretentious and annoying. The author also makes a few attempts to dabble in psycho-history, which I've never been able to take seriously. Aside from these minor points, the writing is o.k.
   
   I'm sure one wouldn't have to work very hard to find a better treatment of Eisenhower and his work.
   
   Not terrible but not recommended.



3. Once Korda reached 1945 in IKE, it feels like he filed all his research away and said, "Let's wrap this up!" Unfortunately, Ike still had 25 years left in him. Consequently, Korda's biography feels incomplete. Furthermore, for all the space Korda accords to Ike's WWII years, he pays scant attention to the Holocaust. What did Ike know about the Holocaust, about the Final Solution? What was his reaction to the liberation of the concentration camps (Korda mentions Ike's presence at just one, a sub-camp). In light of the preeminence of Holocaust studies in the past 15 years, Korda really could have shed new light with a discussion of Ike and the plight of the Jewish people. Similarly, the creation of Israel receives no mention in this book, even though Ike, as Supreme Commander of the AEF and, later, commander of NATO, would have seen, heard, and possibly opined on "The Palestine Question." In short, if well done, a 900-page offering from Korda would have been more edifying than a 700-page tome.



4. Excellent Presidential Biography that was both appropriately critical and complementary. This book is a must for anyone interested in both the military history as well as the Presidential biography.



5. I've always thought Ike was one of our two greatest generals, the other being Geo. Washington who kept our country together. If one can imagine the egos that Ike had to work with, i.e Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Patton, Montgomery, and even MacCarthur, it would seem that this would be an almost impossible task in itself. But then to be asked to construct and conduct what was perhaps the greatest military endeavor of all time, and to get all of these "egos" to work in harmony, would see to be beyond comprehension. This is probably not a biography in the true sense of the word as Korda treats some things a little superficially, but does cover the war years in great detail. I have no doubt that as history continues Eisenhower will be considered one of the greatest military genius of them all. He not only had to perform militarily, but politically also. He did that. I would certainly recommend this book to any student of history, particulary of World War II.

5 comments about Houses of the Founding Fathers.

1. I found this book to be very interesting and one which told me more about people with whom I am acquainted and, importantly, people important to me about whom I knew little. The photography is stunning.



2. This book has not only stunning photos and info about the houses, but also tons of history. It's like "If Walls Could Talk" for all of our founding fathers' homes. Family life, politics, business, & more went on in these homes, and this book delves into all of it. However, it does ignore the slavery issue, since it isn't PC to be reminded that most wealthy landowners, North & South, had slaves; including the founders.



3. This book is a gem of photos and text about all sorts of Americans and how they lived. Most impressed that it did not just cover the usual presidents



4. The photographs were great and the short info pertaining to the individuals and their properties were interesting and informative. Well written, well photographed and a pleasure to have in our living room for others to see.



5. Houses of the Founding Fathers
   
   This book is long overdue, and well worth the wait. The photographs and text, along with the history tidbits interwoven throughout give a real sense of the life and times of those men and women who created our country. The authors have gone beyond presenting the basic architecture styles to bring us into the everyday aspects of life of our Founding Fathers and their families. The perspectives and lighting of the photographs make us believe that 'we are there'. The authors have obviously done their research and made this book easy to follow with timelines, facts, features, and explanations of how the houses came into being in the first place - and how they have fared over the past two centuries. For anyone interested in American History - this book is for you!