5 comments about Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War.

1. This book is not only an outstanding objective analysis of the life of Wernher von Braun, but also an excellent history of German and U.S. rocket development. As an author of two non-fiction books myself, I can attest to the enormous amount of work that goes into research for a book of this type. Dr. Neufeld provides a great deal of new and fascinating information on von Braun's early career as the architect of the Nazi rocket program that led to the bombing of England with the "buzz-bomb" and V-2 rockets that were developed under his guidance. Neufeld's study of the U.S. rocket program under von Braun's leadership is no less compelling. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of rocketry and the space program.



2. "Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War" was a very interesting and informative book. I have only now discovered how controversial von Braun's life was from these Amazon reviews as well as from this book. While this may be sad commentary on my narrow view as an engineer, I always admired von Braun despite knowing that he worked for the wrong side during the war. Before I really get into the fray let me just say that this book appeared scholarly, well written and should be read by admirers and critics of von Braun.
   
   I felt this book contained almost too much detail, and often found myself "speed reading" over certain details of his family life but never those concerning his controversial life. I believe this fine book was the result of a fairly unbiased point of view and find myself agreeing with the book's closing remarks.
   
   I was also very saddened to read that great efforts were made by his influential friends to convince federal authorities to award his life's work with some grand gesture. It was further saddening to learn that several figures in government circles having the power to influence this decision refused to do so because of his early work in Germany. It is only clear to me now that von Braun was never completely forgiven for developing the V-2, and only permitted to use his talent for our side during the cold war. Perhaps he should have been greatful for that alone, but I believe he wished for much more.
   
   When he was finally awarded a great civilian medal for his technical and managerial accomplishments (by President Carter), the man who received this hard won gesture was a fragment of his former self. He was described by friends as a "skelton wrapped in skin" while enduring relentless pain under the equivalent of hospice care. Of course, camp workers were denied anything like hospital care, but I really feel he paid the ultimate price we all must, and with what I believe was a heavy heart. He must have understood full well that he was never forgiven for his early work and probably never would be. He ultimately suffered a painful and protracted death of cancer.
   
   As an individual inspired by von Braun's accomplishments I think he made as great an impact on the history of space and rocket research as one person could possibly accomplish. He had a grand vision of man's future in space, and shared that vision with all of us brilliantly. We were made a part of his dream and I believe the country remembers how special those days were as we closed in on the moon. The price he was willing to pay to accomplish his personal goals for that future supported war efforts in two countries and pushed the barriers of technology. That, in part, is the reason the author calls him the Faust of 20th century. He is acknowledged by everyone to have been a compelling public speaker, a talented engineer and an excellent manager, but I think he was also a very great American.



3. Neufeld inadvertently provides evidence that the Apollo moon landings were a hoax. Chapter 15 describes an absurdly misorganized, disorganized and impossible schedule that reduces the actual time to build and test hardware to a mere five years. Piled atop the emerging anomalies of impossible moon footprints absent moisture binder, suicidal moon rover wheelbase for 1/6th gravity, persistent lack of information regarding the workings of nickel porous plate water sublimators, ridiculously small fuel tank for the 10,000 lb. LM ascent vehicle required to climb 60 miles to 4000mph, silence and absence of ESA SMART-1 lunar survey photos that don't reveal Apollo landing sites, etc., Neufeld's book would be better if it honestly explored Von Braun's masterful ability to lie both to Hitler and the American people while ironically serving them thus to fulfill their eager delusions.



4. ...''Nazi, schmazi''. Said Wherner von Braun. ''WHERE THE R0CKETS G0 UP, WH0 KN0WS WHERE THEY C0ME D0WN, THAT'S N0T MY DEPARTMENT!!!''



5. Sadly this is the same old BS against the German people, written I would guess, by a Jew or a self-hating German. Don't take my word for it, look for yourself. Here we have a book that purports to be a definitive work but is just full of unsubstantiated speculation from the author. Just look at page 145 for example: "Recent research has demonstrated that the mass shootings of Jews in the East were widely known among the German populace." Now, I'm no Holocaust denier, but to say this kind of thing is just irresponsible. What "research" is he talking about? He doesn't say. Does the author really believe that the average citizen had access to this kind of information? He admits that listening to foreign radio was "dangerous" but what he should have said that if you were caught you could be killed. And who have believed BBC radio anyway? Did any of our guys believe Tokyo Rose? How many average citizens went to check up on their local Japanese concentration camp during WW2? No one who wanted stay out of a camp themselves, that's who! Do I know what is going on right now in Cuba? Or in CIA camps in Poland? No I don't, and neither do you. The same was true with the German people, and I'm tired shabby "research" from people like this guy. I want my money back!

5 comments about Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War.

1. A great book that goes into the background of both men and goes into the bond of these two men. They would unlike many other officers, would go out of their way to support the other in any way possible and to coordinate together, making the war more effective for the Union. Their simultaneous attacks, Grant against Lee and Sherman against Johnston and the Deep South, would be the most effective campaigns in the war.
   
   The book is well written and researched. One detail I have an issue with was how the author says that England was hurting because of a lack of cotton, due to Union blockades of Confederate harbors. What I was taught, and seen nothing to contradict this at all save this, was that the English had stock piled cotton for years and during the American Civil War they no longer had a need for cotton and so they had no need to buy Confederate cotton.
   
   The only other complaint I had was how the maps were all at the beginning of the book instead of being in the chapters that they had to do with. But over all this was a good book.



2. This book was a well-written account of a remarkable relationship between two ordinary men who became extraordinary as a function of circumstance. I learned a lot from this easy read. It doesn't disappoint.



3. This book was OK if you haven't read any other books on Grant or Sherman or on their campaigns. However, if you've many of the excellent books that have been printed over the past 15 years on the campaigns of Grant and Sherman or the excellent biographies on the same individuals, this book pales in comparison. So, I would recommend getting some of the other books out there on this topic. (See my listing of these books for examples).



4. I loved this book! After reading various books on the Civil War, I was looking to explore more about Sherman and Grant, 2 Generals I find to be fascinating. With no pretense, I happen to come across this book. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! It reads like a novel, it is not the usual dry history you often find. His style reminds me almost of Shaara. The author also did a good job describing the campaigns these two fought in, both together and separately. I also liked how the author delved into their past, to give the reader some background on these 2 men. If you are looking for a really good book on the Civil War that is really easy to read, then I highly recommend this one.



5. This is an excellent read with excellent insights into the personalities and temperments of the two great Union generals in the Civil War. The personal observations shared between Grant and Sherman show how much of the strategy of 1864 was a combination of the minds of these two military giants.

5 comments about Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle.

1. some of these reviews with one or two stars attached are perfectly accurate. they express far better than i can just how bad this book is. the author is so smug and full of himself as to be laughable. the author becomes a parody of himself, if thats possible, maybe better said- he is everything he claims to hate. i felt pangs of embarrassment for him. awful.



2. This book is almost completely unreadable, a puff piece, really, navel-gazing by yet another grown child, raised in wealth and privilege, who turned his back on his family in order to drop out of society during the turbulence of the late 1960's.
   
   Peter Coyote's personal life story is nauseatingly boring, a life without any particular real angst or pain, a life in which one must import and manufacture angst and pain. One is reminded of Candice Bergen's autobiography Knock Wood, in which she admits that as a very young actress, a director tried to elicit some kind of sense memory within her, one of grief and loss, and she had nothing in her past upon which to draw upon the needed emotions. Coyote's life and self-realization in Standing Where I Fall just isn't very interesting, and beyond being some kind of catharsis for him as the author, there isn't much here to interest any reader.



3. Peter Coyote, was that incredibly cool "older brother", born just in time "to do" the sixties in all its guts and glory, that later generations would look back on with envy. Tall, dark, handsome and talented Coyote (are you really surprised that's not his real name) from out east lands smack dab in the heart of San Francisco just at the moment when the town is experiencing the labor pains that will soon give birth to hippiedom. We begin the journey of the sixties when Coyote was a twenty-something grad student sharing digs with the daughter of legendary Americana painter, Thomas Hart Benton, and continue to watch in fascination as he becomes an active participant in street theater, the Diggers (a band of revolutionary artists), the drug scene of Haight-Ashbury, radical politics, commune life and a lover to many lovely young women. Coyote and his friends drifted outside their urban existence when they took to the road like modern day gypsies in a beat up school bus carrying their caravan into the wilderness. It is there that they attempted to build a walden pond utopia in northern California; shooting and growing their own food, making their own clothes and birthing & raising the next generation, on a rustic farm. In his tell-it-like-it-was warts and all style, Coyote depicts how the unhygenic conditions they lived in lead to a bout with hepatitis and his baby daughter getting sick from eating dirt from the ground. Despite that rough road of youth, Coyote came out alive, and with his political & social beliefs mostly intact. Unlike many who never made the journey back from their drug addled and counter-culture adventures, Coyote, has made hay with the 2nd half of his life as an actor, political activist and can stake a claim to one of the most recognized voices in commercial television, audio and documentary narrations. Oh yes, and he can write.



4. I've read several books on this era, books I consider definitive. Specifically, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Ringolevio and Hell's Angels, by Hunter Thompson. This may be a late addition but it actually points out a quite amazing fact, my claim of which I'm certain will be looked upon as utterly outrageous. But I've read this book and I know psychology. And I've read between the lines. The fact is this. If it weren't for Peter Coyote, the sixties would NEVER have happened. Not anywhere remotely resembling what happened. It would have been a rather disjointed affair and wouldn't have gone anywhere but Peter Coyote's involvement in the Diggers was what changed the world. And I'm not talking about any butterfly effect. I'm talking about an entirely NEW WORLD that was the inevitable result of Peter Coyote's having done what he did, all those years ago. HE himself never made such a claim. He simply states, in no nonsense terms, the specific things that he was involved in, things that were done BECAUSE HE MADE THEM HAPPEN - things that snowballed into an entire counter culture. The movie Forrest Gump was about a retard who caused world events to unfold. Peter Coyote was NEVER a retard but he has had more effect on the world than ANY HUMAN BEING ALIVE TODAY and more effect on the world than any human being in the last century save for Nicola Tesla. And I mean any politician, doctor, scientist, entertainer, what have you, Peter Coyote stands head and shoulders above anyone you can name as having some kind of effect on the world.



5. I lived through the '60's, but on a different, more acceptable level....married to a student. I did, however, live in Vancouver's "hippie district", and had a half-hearted admiration for those who thumbed their noses at society's norms. This book gives me a better insight to the ideals and the guts to live those ideals the hippie culture evoked. Peter Coyote's book was honest, insightful and informative. He creates a feeling in the reader of having been in San Francisco and in the communes. I couldn't help but being impressed by his knowledge, abilities and his joy at being what he had been.

5 comments about A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler (P.S.).

1. This book is well-written with characters vividly brought to life. It also has exciting history tidbits I didn't know.
   
   The author did a great job of keeping the story moving along, without getting trapped in the long-winded prose, providing only insightful excerpts.
   
   The author also did a great job of providing short bios of other famous people that Holman interacted with.
   
   The only thing I wish the book had were maps of James Holman's travels (which I did find on the author's website).
   
   I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Had a hard time putting it down.



2. IMHO, Lt. Holman, the blind traveller, was one of the greatest hoaxers in history. You'd have to be pretty gullible to believe this guy was really blind. Medicene was not advanced enough at the time to determine with certainty what his true condition was, and Holman, a talented storyteller and writer, used this fact to retain a military pension and obtain membership in an honorary order of the crown. Not having to work to earn a living afforded him the opportunity and time to travel around the world at his leisure. Faked afflictions were not an uncommon practice back then (they still are today), and it's obvious that many of Holman's activities and descriptions in this book would be flatly impossible for a blindman to do. Read with a grain of salt.



3. Jason Roberts has done a fantastic job researching and writing about a forgotten "celebrity" of the early 19th century, a man made historically obscure largely by misconceptions and prejudices against the blind.
   
   James Holman would not become blind until age 25. He was an ambitious, thoughtful, assertive, resourceful, moral man who was willing to work hard and pay his dues to rise up the social ladders that were such an integral part of British society. Holman's ambition was tempered by his unquenchable, sincere, and respectful curiosity about other lands, cultures, people, languages, literature, and science - a remarkably open-minded man for the time. Holman reminds me of a wandering and gregarious Henry David Thoreau, though he was not as philosophical, he was certainly just as fond of intense observation, quiet and solitary contemplation, and sharing his thoughts in written form, even if he wasn't fond of living by a pond.
   
   Holman's travels around the world and his writings would be remarkable even if he were sighted, healthy, and independently wealthy. That he was none of these makes this story not only more fantastic but compulsively readable. At the time, anyone who declared an interest in traveling the world on foot and horseback, alone, for pleasure and curiosity, would have been thought out of his senses and possibly locked up for his own good. But Holman was not out of his senses, even with the loss of his sense of sight. What is even more amazing, partly because it is so understated, is that Holman manages to pull it off without drawing much attention to his blindness or to his own accomplishments. For Holman, the subject is the world, not himself. By all accounts, he was a man with whom people around the world liked to be in company, and it's easy to understand why. But then, as the author states, Holman was a man who could form attachments and perhaps more importantly let them go, as needed. But as much as Holman relied on the hospitality and generosity of people, he never took advantage. He never overstayed his welcome or stayed in any one place merely for comfort or convenience.
   
   I must agree with other reviewers at being surprised that this book is not available on audio. But such things are not controlled by the author or even the publisher. This is a fine book of narrative history and biography, and includes ample excerpts from Holman's writings. There are also chapter notes and a bibliography, but strangely, no index in the hardback edition I read.



4. It amazes me that such a highly reviewed book about a blind man is not available in audiobook on Amazon! Who better to be inspired by this book than the visually impaired? I was hoping to buy this book for my mother's birthday, but since she is blind she relies on audiobooks, and I will have to search somewhere else.



5. I just finished reading this book and I loved it. Not only did I learn about Mr. Holman's amazing life, but I got a clear sense of the period in which he lived. All in all a great read. I recommend it to all, but especially those who love history.

5 comments about Life is Just What You Make It: My Story So Far.

1. Osmond comes across as a shy and anxious performer in this often unemotional book that covers his career but lacks some inside details.
   
   The first chapter is kind of an overview, which helps to know his perspective. But then the first third of the book is about the early years during which Donny can remember little. He says pretty much nothing about Andy Williams, a 60s star who Donny claims the family had never heard of before they were invited on his show (how could they not have known this TV star with hit records and how they have performed with him every week for five years and not have some stories to tell???), he praises his parents over and over (even though they did push him by refusing to let him stay home as he wanted and at one point even deceived the tutor so they could illegally work the kids longer), and he tells very little about his faith.
   
   He is too glib and distant--but he at least admits to his shyness from a young age and often wishes he would have grown up differently. There is little insight here into his personality, other than that he is extremely anxious. He needs to open up more and try to explain more about his faith that he claims guides him instead of simply claiming he is a "Christian" (his faith is not considered traditional Christianity). And then he needs to explain the inconsistencies of how his family has lived compared to what that faith teaches.



2. I found that this was an excellent account of Donny Osmond's memoirs of his life and of his enccounters with social anxiety. I recommend this to anyone who is a Donny Osmond fan.



3. As a life long Osmond fan, I was captivated by this book. Donny really put himself out there, the book was honest, written with feeling,I really understood the grown up Donny and felt the fear he must have felt when he was going through his Social Phobia. I am glad that he wrote it the way he did. People get the wrong impressions and they run with them. I feel that fans and the entertainment industry let Donny down. Everyone wanted the gorgeous teen aged boy, he grew to be a handsome man, a loving husband, a good father and a fantastic artist. This book gave you a true picture of who Donny is and that above all he is human just like the rest of us. I have even read this book again because it was very interesting. We see the glamour and the fun part of being famous, but it has its nightmares and is very hard work. What I admire about Donny the most is that he hasn't let success change who he is, he could have done something drastic to be in the front pages amd he has chosen not to. As of this date he is married to Debbie for 30 years now, how many celebrities can say that.



4. Am not a big reader but loved to hear how Just like others Donny has not had a perfect life, A must for all Donny fans and those who just want a insight into his life.



5. LIFE IS JUST WHAT YOU MAKE IT: MY STORY SO FARas I read donny's book, i couldnt help but feel partly responsible for Donny's downfall from super stardom. I was devastated to learn of Donny's marriage to Debbie and felt so betrayed by him that i put my Osmond albums and posters away and turned my back on him for what I vowed would be forever. It made me sad to read how hard it was for him to go from being on top of the world to a has been at the age of 21. And a broke has been as well. At times through out the book, i felt Donny was feeling sorry for himself but then, thats understandable too. Something I was absolutely delighted to read about was the family home. I always pictured the Osmond clan all living in one big giant mansion. As each brother got married, he'd just move his wife in. Well that wasnt quite right. they bought an entire apartment building and knocked out some walls to accomadate them. I also was touched by the story Donny wrote about briefly about the relationship between his mother and Elvis Presley. I am glad i read this book. although i dont listen to or care for his music anymore, I do, from time to time see him on TV and will watch. I was very disappointed in him when i saw him insult Rosie Odonnel about her weight. Totally rude and uncalled for. He explains in his book that he thought her words of praise and love for him was her way of mocking him and he lashed out. I don't buy it. He said too it was a joke. Ask any fat person if they've ever heard a fat joke that was funny. I lost alot of respect for Donny that day. However i was amused at Rosie. She over exaggerated his comment and for weeks, every guest she had on her show, she'd ask them if they saw the show where donny called her a big fat pig. Guess he picked the wrong fat girl to pick on. I would definately recommend this book to Donny fans.

1 comments about The Autobiography of General Ulysses S Grant: Memoirs of the Civil War.

1. General Grant's firsthand accounts of the campaigns that won the Civil War. Grant discusses his strategy and tactics, accompanied by maps and detailed descriptions of his actions. An indispensable source for anyone who is interested in the history of the Civil War.

5 comments about Virginia Woolf.

1. Literary biography is a tough genre to master, but Hermione Lee has tackled one of the toughest subjects imaginable and emerged triumphant. Even those who have never picked up even an essay or short story by Virginia Woolf feel somehow familiar with her work; Michael Cunningham's The Hours: A Noveland the film based on that has taken her story and turned it into part of pop culture (albeit at a very high level.) That makes the task of producing an unbiased evaluation of Woolf's literary contributions and a balanced view of her life (both subjects of heated debate among her admirers) far more difficult than penning a standard literary biography.
   Far from being scared off, Hermione Lee rises to the occasion and delves deeply into every primary source on which she can lay her hands. The result is a triumph. She is able to weave these into a compelling narrative, never allowing the vast mass of detail to distract her or bog down the pace of the book (quite an accomplishment, given the 800-900 or so pages...)Whenever the reader is poised to ask of Lee how she reaches a given conclusion, within a paragraph the answer is presented, deftly and effortlessly.
   The result is a highly accomplished biography and one that should serve as a model for any other aspiring literary biographer. The Woolf that emerges is one that stands apart from the existing biographies, all of which have their own flaws (written by a family member, with all the flaws that brings; written to demonstrate that Woolf was first and foremost a victim of sexual abuse, etc.) Lee's Woolf is an independent woman who constructed a life that suited her, however little understood it may have been by those around her. Even her suicide, the darkest days of World War II, make sense in the framework of Lee's narrative, which deals with her previous mental breakdowns, her experiences during the Great War and her fear of being trapped forever in a half-world unable to write.
   Even for those not familiar with Woolf's novels or the Bloomsbury Group, this is a very accessible book. Indeed, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the entire period in English literature (which saw a dramatic changing of the guard, from the oeuvres of Tennyson, Hardy and Yeats to those of Woolf, Joyce and T.S. Eliot). It can only help the novice reader approach Woolf's own works with greater understanding and confidence.



2. this is the best biography of Virginia Woolf to date. The book is broken into four parts based on four broad periods in VW's life: 1882 - 1904; 1904 -1919; 1919 - 1929; and 1929 - 1941. The chapters, however, are theme-based; for example, Chapter 15 is "Bloomsbury"; Chapter 19 is "War"; Chapter 24 is "Monk's House"; and Chapter 37 is "Fascism". This then serves as a wonderful reference book to go back to read about specific events (war) or themes ("Bloomsbury") without having to search through an index for disjointed entries. Of the four biographies I have read of VW (Quentin Bell's, Hermione Lee's, Julia Brigg's, and James King) I recommend this biography as the one to start. King, 1994, was willing to write more about her personal relationships (read, "sexual") and is a good follow-on.



3. Of the many literary biographies I've read, only Peter Ackroyd's "Dickens" seems to me as "definitive" as Ms. Lee's terrifically compelling book. One finishes it with the sense, however illusory (see Janet Malcolm's extraordinary "The Silent Woman" for a convincing argument that it must be), that the Virginia Woolf found in its pages is essentially identical to the actual woman who lived and wrote and died. Anyone with even a slight interest in her must consider this book essential reading. I found it a real page-turner throughout its considerable length despite being unconvinced of Woolf's literary eminence (except for her sparkling correspondence) and finding her character unattractive (i.e. snobbish, frigid, a false friend, etc.) even by the usual standard for writers.



4. Probably the best bio of Woolf we are likely to see for some time. Lee has succeeded brilliantly and gracefully in that most elusive and troublesome task of capturing the "spirit" of another human being and then conveying that without simplification or reduction. What is most moving is that Lee allows Woolf her complexity and contradictions, her courage and cowardice, her generosity and meaness, without indulging in a sort of inconoclastic glee in smashing received images of Woolf as victim or feminist icon (or any other of the several and various "Woolfs" to be found these days.) Lee's bio is a stunning feat of sympathetic imagination and rational scholarship which ranks with the other "best" bio of the last 20 years or so, Deirdre Bair's marvelous and beautiful "Simone de Beauvoir." I am grateful to both of these writers.



5. I am taking this book slowly and am nearing the end. It is terrific and I find, on the days I take off from reading it, that I miss Virginia Woolf and want to go back to the "place" that is her life. I thank Ms. Lee for giving me a closer intimacy with Virginia Woolf.

2 comments about Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean.

1. Harrrr... maties! As a huge pirate fan I love this book! Blackbeard Rules!!



2. Writing a whole book exclusively about Blackbeard would require a good deal more material than currently exists. The author does an excellent job of collecting together a good deal of the material available and organizing it in a chronological fashion. However, that is probably at most half of the book, the rest is rounded out with general pirate history from the period, as well as pictures and movie stills from the Blackbeard documentary. Ships sanded their decks before going into battle for the added traction it yielded; this book offers that added traction in the history of a notorious pirate.
   
   The only fault I can find in the author's delivery, almost to the point of distraction, is the constant use of Thatch as Blackbeard's real name. Most author's that I have read over the past 10+ years favor the use of Teach as the preferred name. That aside, I found the story line well paced and easy to read. The added bits of pirate history, including the obligatory references to Anne Bonny and Mary Read, were well placed in the chronology to give the reader more of a reference to the time period.
   
   The author has omitted an index, but does include a Sources and Further Reading page. The bottom line is that this is as good a biography of the pirate as I have found, and an enjoyable read to boot.
   P-)

5 comments about John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.

1. John Paul Jones was a historical figure, but I really did know much about him until reading this very well written story. I gave this book to a number of friends this year as a holiday gift. Jones made two voyages around England during the Revolutionary War sailing ships procured for him from France. There have been modern ships in the Navy named Ranger and Bon Homme Richard, but I did not know until reading this that those were the names of Jones ships during those famous voyages. After reading this you will know the answer to a great quiz show question which is who is the patron, that the ship, Bon Home Richard was named after. I look forward to reading the story that Evan Thomas just released describing American naval heroes of WWII.



2. I have to admit I bought this book because it was in the closeout bin and I got a deal on it. I next have to admit that it sat in a pile of books to read for at least three months before I got around to reading it. But on starting it, I was highly impressed. It's well paced, factual, well researched without being dry and scholarly.
   
   First, I had no idea that his battles were fought off the English and Scottish coasts and that he was considered to be a pirate by the English- I always thought he fought battles off the American coast.
   
   Second, I had no idea that he was so closely tied with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and the closing stages of the French monarchy- nor that he served under Catherine the Great in helping her to gain a passage through the Black Sea.
   
   Third, the personality of the man, greatly flawed in its insatiable desire for glory and honor, was balanced by an ability to fight-- and to WIN.
   
   America wasn't a third-rate, fourth-rate or even a fifth-rate naval power during her Revolutionary War. America was essentially a "no rate." But Jones gave America victories when most others (with a few notable exception) did not. And he forced the British to bring home more of Her navy to protect home waters.
   
   For those who have read any of the Horatio Hornblower or "Lucky Jack Aubrey" works of fiction, I recommend that they also read this book.
   
   War is mostly waged by ordinary men- with fears, hopes, desires and needs like all of us. However, in every major conflict there a very few, like John Paul Jr., son of an English landscape gardener, who do more than their duty would dicate. For John Paul "Jones" it was his desire to be covered with glory and honor as well as his desire to build a winning AMERICAN Navy that caused him to push himselves and others far beyond the normal limits.
   
   To "Jones", the thoughts of marriage, children, even his health were secondary to these.
   
   I salute Evan Thomas for an excellent work about the father of the American Navy.



3. If you want to understand how the modern navy was born in America this is one of two books you will need. Understanding the mentality that drove our early navy to their few successes is a harrowing story that is told best here. This focuses on our lake fleets as well as our ocean fleets and does so in a very concise manner. The prose is very good and the information is well referenced. Anyone looking for information on the history of American navy will be well served with this book.



4. Don't judge this book by it's cover! (The cover is beautiful...)
   
   I'll begin with the good things in the book. It has a decent overview of Jones' life and accomplishments. A first-time reader about Jones will find the catalog of his daring exploits both interesting and exciting. Evan Thomas's narration of the sea battles and manoeuvers are as thrillingly told as any of O'Brian's or Forester's epics. However, besides the battles, this book doesn't do much but echo the author's malicious conclusions about Jones.
   
   Thomas seems to think that he is writing a Doctoral or Master's thesis and that we, as readers, continually forget what the main point of the book is. Don't be decieved, the author is not a fan of Jones. In striving to be "historically fair", we are faced with a book mainly about Jones's glaring shortcomings. Thomas has made it his goal to make sure we know that every single thing Jones did (from his letters to his heroics) was motivated by his "demon pride" (p. 310). It seems every paragraph begins or ends (sometimes both) with a scathing statement about Jones' lust for glory. Instead of stating the facts in an interesting narrative, we are faced with a continual repitition of Thomas' main thesis: Jones was not a hero, but a vain, glory-seeking upstart who wasn't even a good seaman. Often we get a sense that the thesis is wearing thin and completely falling apart. In order to buttress that, Thomas redundantly restates it lest we forget and start forming our own conclusions. Heaven forbid great men did great things for great reasons!
   
   I have read scores of historical biographies and none have been as vitriolic towards their subject as Thomas is to Jones. Granted, Thomas does an effectual job belittling everyone, but I thought the part of the title "Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy" meant he liked Jones. It must have been added by someone else, for it doesn't reflect the author's views.
   
   As I said previously, the book isn't without merit. It's battles are told very well, and the overview of Jones' accomplishments (and failures) are great. However, I would recommend reading another account of Jones that didn't seek to villify him and call it "historical fairness" (or whatever the term for giving more pages to his faults rather than his accomplishments is). If you want your conclusions dictated to you, read this book. If you prefer to draw them yourself, look elsewhere.



5. I am unaware of any hero from the American Revolution who was not flawed in some way, and John Paul Jones is no exception. But as always, the truth of their lives is much more compelling than the mythology of their lives: the actions and quotations invented about them by storytellers, which seemed to be necessary in order to cement their greatness in history (and probably to sell pamphlets and books), have only served to freeze them into short, individual moments of otherwise longer careers and lives.
   
   There is a certain tragic sadness about the life of John Paul Jones, and Evan Thomas captures that sadness in this excellent biography. Jones was a man who, without a doubt, possessed a brilliance of naval tactics--tactics that provided the American cause with tangible cachet at its darkest hour--but a man who could never quite claim membership in the rarified company of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. Jones is the blue-water twin of George Washington: ambitious, dedicated, domineering, persevering, far-seeing, and challenged at every turn by lesser men, but the ducks of fate would never quite line up in his favor to boost his confidence beyond the flaws of his personality.
   
   Evan Thomas' telling of Jones' story makes no apologies, spares no remonstrance. Thomas describes Jones through manic highs and lows, with revelations that can cause the reader to wince at Jones' more pitiful moments. But then a battle comes and Jones stands boldly, for honor not for gold, and sets aside his demons for a greater cause. Jones recognized his flaws and wrestled with them throughout his life. If anything, this struggle makes Jones greater--fully human and fighting to rise above his faults.
   
   Aficionados of 18th century naval literature will appreciate Thomas' descriptions of the battles. Neophytes will appreciate Thomas' use of modern language and the glossary of 18th century naval terms in the back of the book.

5 comments about Nothing to Do But Stay.

1. It often happens that our own stories are intimately entwined with someone else's story, and that to understand who we are, we have to tell another person's story first. This is true for Carrie Young, who has written a marvelous memoir of her mother.
   
   This warm, hopeful testament to a woman's courage tells the story of Carrine Gafkjen, who--all alone, and with the single-minded, strong-hearted independence that is often obscured in men's stories about women--homesteaded 160 acres of North Dakota prairie. That was in 1904, and Carrine Gafjken spent the next eight years working for money in the winter and returning to her homestead in the summer. By the time she was thirty, she owned 320 acres of productive land. In 1912 she married Sever Berg. They sold his homestead and took up residence on hers, and over the next decade she bore six healthy children, the last of whom has told us her story in a style that is as strong, clear, and direct as Carrine herself. This is story with no frills or fancy lace, a story of hard work and tough times, but through it all runs hope and love for the land and a firm belief that perseverance will win out in the end.
   
   To my mind, the best books are like this one, valuable in ways too many to count. I not only learned important things about life on the Dakota prairie, but I learned some very good ways to tell a story, to give voice to someone who can no longer speak for herself and who must live--if she continues to live--chiefly in the words of a writer and the heart of a reader. Carrie Young is a fine teacher for any aspiring writer, and her stories about her mother's life are instructive examples of story-telling at its best.
   
   by Susan Wittig Albert
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   www.storycirclebookreviews.org
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



2. There's no plot here and certainly no white knuckle drama. The book is a series of essays, each chapter relating an event or way of life experienced by the author as a child growing up on the North Dakota plains during tbe early 1900s. From education to farm life to holidays, each was covered with love and humor. I felt like I was getting to know my own grandmother as a child. My only wish was that there were more photographs, but considering the time period it was wonderful to have a few.



3. I stumbled on this book in a used book store. It is the amazing story of the author's parents and their life in rural North Dakota. The book has adventures, anecdotes, and gives the reader a real sense of how families existed in the early 20th century. This was a very entertaining story, although perhaps you can't tell from this review. None of us who have read it could put it down, from my 78 year old mom to my sister who is reading it to her 7 year old daughter.



4. I loved this book. Its a compendium of short pieces about the author's mother, who was a frontier woman with a wonderful outlook on life. I also loved the descriptions of her husband, who had to drive the children through snow, to get to their respective schools, and the descriptions about how the kids were settled in the schoolhouse overnight, while wild mustangs banged against the door. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I would send my children to a schoolhouse way far away, with food for a week. Can you imagine what they did after school let out... all by themselves? I wanted to hear more about this. The descriptions of quilting are wonderful.It is a great book if you are in the mood to feel cold, hungry, and in North Dakota with the snow beating down upon you. Also if you enjoy descriptions of sumptuous meals at holidays, replete with Norwegian recipes!



5. The author is the youngest of six children of hard-working Norwegian-speaking parents, and the account of the struggles her parents went thru is awesome. Sometimes I thought the author indulged in hyperbole, and I would have appreciated a little more exactitude, but it no doubt is true that life during the twenties and thirties in northwestern North Dakota was a hard and demanding one. The first part of this book is the best, as the author relates the fantastic efforts necessary for the kids to be educated. There is a lot of discussion of Norwegian food, and those of you who are of Norwegian descent will gobble that talk up, but for me I could not get too interested in how her mother went to extraordinary lengths to prepare, under primitive conditions, the food she was so good at concocting. There is less talk of the interesting political events during the time than I would have liked. Appam, North Dakota, which was apparently a home town to the family during these years, has, according to my 1958 atlas, a population of 18. I would like to have learned whether it was a bigger place when the author was a child. But the upbeat attitude to her childhood was a real plus for this book--not the dreary catalog of hardship one sometimes gets from depression sagas. I liked this book.