5 comments about The Architect of Desire: Beauty and Danger in the Stanford White Family.

1. 
   Suzannah Lessard is to be complemented on this reflective and perceptive account. The family skeletons are unquestionably out of the closet, as she narrates the heartrending story of Evelyn Nesbitt, Harry K Thaw and her own ancestor's intertwined lives.
   
   If you have read "Ragtime", this is the non-fiction truth behind the tale.
   
   The murder of the brilliant architect - the "White" in McKim, Mead and White, whose clients included the Teddy Roosevelt White House -shocked New York's 400. This book deals not only with the events as they unfolded but also their repercussions in the author's family. Well written and poignant.



2. What would it be like to be descended from one of America's most celebrated architects? For that matter, what would it be like to be descended from a man whose lurid, predatory sexual practices were once front-page news?

   Members of the Stanford White family have had to deal with those issues for almost 100 years now, since White was gunned down at Madison Square Garden in 1906. For the most part, the White family did not discuss their illustrious pater familias, but Stanford White is ever-present, in all respects, in their collective lives. How the family did (or did not) deal with this mixed legacy would manifest itself over the next four generations.

   Suzannah Lessard, a great-granddaughter of Stanford White, addresses this legacy squarely. She does not attempt to suger-coat White's personality, which combines breath-taking artistic genius with a self-indulgent predatory streak that ultimately led to his destruction. Through the book, she weaves multiple tales about her family, which includes stories of mental illness, sexual abuse, and emotional repression. She does this with remarkable candor.

   This is a Social Register family. They are related to the Astors, the Winthrops, the Chanlers, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, etc. They own a magnificent property, designed by Stanford White, on Long Island. On the surface, it would appear that this family has the world as its oyster. Suzannah Lessard shows that no amount of social prominence and privelage can protect a family from the problems that can face us all.




3. Powerful, lyrical writing builds the story of Stanford White one layer at a time. The writer, his granddaughter, is uniquely qualified to tell the tale of genius gone awry. You'll remember this story long after you finish it -- a sure sign that you've experienced not just a book, but true art.



4. This book defies a brief explanation. I sensed deep passion in the author as I read her words, a passion for her family's weaknesses and strengths, a passion for knowing herself, a passion for the power of architecture, and a passion for her great-grandfather, the infuriatingly complex architect, Stanford White.

   Stanford was generous and careless, creative and self-destructive, maniacally disciplined and utterly irresponsible. While he selflessly gave his heart and soul to his massive stone buildings, he thoughtlessly shattered the hearts and lives of the people around him. Even while he was racked by ill health, he drove himself in his work life AND his recreational life as if he were immortal. He either believed he could never die, or knew he surely must and so didn't care.

   The sexual portrait of Stanford can be rather harrowing: The countless love nests he set up around New York; his systematic debauchery of young women (many of whom fell in love with him); the attorneys he hired to hush things up; the endless supply of cronies he found to join him in his nocturnal plundering--his appetites--and his ability to feed his appetites--knew no limits. As for Evelyn Nesbit, the celebrated beauty who arguably played a role in Stanford's murder, I'll just say she wasn't the first girl to ride in his red velvet swing.

   Finally, two notes. This author presents architecture, and its impact on the human psyche, in a beautiful, moving way; she breathes life into the bricks of Stanford's buildings. And her depiction of the Gilded Age is superb. It's the stuff of a great trashy Summer novel. Except it's real. And probably still goes on today.

   I should also warn future readers that there's a fair amount of incest in this book.




5. I initially read this book on a library loan as a small part of research for a project I was doing. Now I'm back at Amazon to purchase it. It's one I want to read again in leisure time, to savor, not only for the wealth of history it provides, and the painfully honest look into family self-deceptions, but for the absolutely beautiful writing it offers. The courage she shows in telling this story, and the honest treatment of her family (which I expected her to protect and make excuses for) and painstaking fairness to other characters, sometimes at the expense of her own history, is breath taking. Many of Ms. Lessard's descriptive passages are almost musical in quality, without ever falling to sappiness, and they bleed a depth of insight that one sometimes grasps only at a second glance. Her metaphorical passages are the most beautiful - I will never forget many of them. A joy and a privilege to read. Again.

5 comments about The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (Penguin Classics).

1. This review is for the audio book version of this amazing autobiography. Cellini is an incredibly arrogant individual, but his story is entertaining and gives a fascinating look at the Renaissance and many of its major characters. Even though he is not the most likable man in the world, there were many things to admire about his strength of character. It is easy to see why he had so many enemies, though I'm not sure he understood why. His descriptions of the courts of Italy, France, and the Church give us priceless information on how they functioned. I noticed that historians like Durant referenced this work a lot in their histories. This also affirms to me that human nature has always been the same.
   
   The reader for this audio book is Robert Whitfield, whose characterization is exactly what I would imagine for Cellini. He had that touch of arrogance in his voice one would expect from a major braggart, but it was not too grating and easy to listen to. The translation by John Addington Symonds was also excellent and very easy for a modern ear to understand.
   
   I highly recommend this audio book for anyone that loves a good story. It has action, adventure, romance, intrigue, and about anything else one would look for in a good book. The audio book is 15 ½ hours long, and the time went by quickly.



2. It's a bit annoying to listen to Cellini talk about himself for 400 pages in such a manner. He's not a literary genius, so it's a bit hard to get through. But, Cellini's life is anything but boring. I also found him very witty and amusing. You have to be into the Renaissance, or history, to enjoy it.



3. Benvenuto Cellini was a leading figure of the Italian Renaissance. He was close to the Florentine court and participated in royal intrigues. He was a major artist in a period of major artists, creating numerous works of beauty that can still be seen today. (His most famous work is the statue of Perseus holding the head of the Medusa, which stands in the piazza outside the Palazzo Vecchio. His description of the making of this work is one of the highlights of the book.) He had numerous love affairs with titled women and numerous feuds with powerful men. He was also a murderer and an unconscious sadist. And he wrote it all in what is one of the great autobiographies of all time. Parts of the book are chilling, such as when he regrets having beaten his beautiful model, not out of guilt or remorse, but because the beating had left her so swollen and bruised that she was no good to him as a model now. Other parts are disgusting, such as when he describes a parasite he vomited. At other times one wonders if he really thought he could get away with such tall tales as swearing that while under the protection of a necromancer he saw the Colosseum full of dancing devils. Cellini was a complex man and a great artist and a great writer. His autobiography is essential reading if one wishes to understand the Renaissance. I consider Cellini's autobiography to be almost as essential as Homer and Shakespeare. Five stars, of course.



4. If youre a fan of picaresque autobiography, this book is the best. Crimes and misadventures galore. Benvenuto uses his talent to win the patronage of the pope and king of france and then runs the favoritism into the dirt through paranoia, murderous rage, and a viscious slandering tongue. artists, and writers will find much to love in this book.
   
   this is not a history book. but a book from history. a real historian would know the differance and would appreciate it appropriately.



5. This autobiography resembles a popular life in the American wild west (not what one would expect of an iconic Renaissance sculptor/goldsmith), or so it seemed to me when I read this translation in the early 70's.
   
   It's a rare, remarkable work that remains memorable over the years. The saga of a vibrant genius (and the pleasure of reading this work) still remains.

2 comments about Painter in a Savage Land: The Strange Saga of the First European Artist in North America.

1. PAINTER IN A SAVAGE LAND; THE STRANGE SAGA OF THE FIRST EUROPEAN ARTIST IN NORTH AMERICA is a top pick for any art history collection: it offers a well-researched yet lively survey of one Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, the first European artist to travel around the U.S. capturing its wonders I pencil and paint. In 1564 he and three hundred other French Protestants landed off the coast of Florida - he was one of the few to live the experience, returning home to create dozens of illustrations of America's Native Americans. A powerful, highly recommended art history, this also deserves a place in any collection strong in early American history.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Miles Harvey once again provides an example of excellent storytelling; not only does he give life to an important but relatively unknown period in our collective history, but he excels at crafting a story that subtly ties the past to the present.
   I like his exhaustive research, and how he can stick to the facts while exploring possibilities and make relevant the lives of people who previously felt so distant.
   His treatment of indigenous Terra Floridians speaks to his ability to examine people and places from more than one perspective. He knows how to engage a reader!

5 comments about Last Man Down: A New York City Fire Chief and the Collapse of the World.

1. Number one fact: Picciotto probably sensed the opportunity to make a few extra bucks from his ordeal in September 11, and seized the opportunity.
   
   Number two fact: It's strange to NOT like a book about September 1, but I did not like this book at all. Not because of the selfish and auto-congrulatory mode, but due to the literally (or lack of) characteristcis of the book. I think it's badly written, even with Mr. Paisner at the helm.
   
   As for Picciotto actions those days, only people under that kind of stresssful situation could know how they would have acted... Generally, I think he did the best he could for his city and for his companions and for the civilians he encountered.
   
   For all his detractors, I put the question: if he had died along with the shocking number of victims, even with all his "faults" he would have benn considered a hero, ego or no ego involved. Am I right?



2. I had wanted to read this book for a while, so I purchased it. Richard Picciotto is not the best writer, but he does give you a sense of what it was like to be under pressure and trying to survive the tower collapse. He doesn't pull punches as to who he blames for the loss of firefighters that day. Lack of adequate equipment, department cuts, etc. I think to a certain extent he has a valid point, but I also know that there were many other factors involved as well. Mr. Picciotto's focus is understandably on his personal experience and his emotions around what happened that day. I am glad that I read it, but I have to be honest and say it is what it is. Mr. Picciotto will probably not win a Pulitzer, but he calls it as he sees it and he was there and I wasn't.



3. I just recently read the paperback version of this book. The first half of this book is pretty interesting and heart pounding in detailing what it was like to be in the World Trade Center while it collapsed. The second half was very disatisfying. It was very self-serving and is mostly about Mr. Picciotto praising himself and his actions and criticizing absolutely everyone else. I also find it interesting that Mr. Picciotto said how hard it was for him to return to the site and that it took him a very long time do this. However, in the acknowledgment at the end of the book, he returns barely a few weeks after the collapse and with his collaborator of this book. He had already found the time to get a book deal and co-author!



4. As a firfigther who understands chain of command and the need to work with in an Incident Command System, this book perfectly explains how one FDNY Battalion Chief breaks all the rules, chosing to respond to the World Trade Center Disaster rather than remain responsible for his own Battalion, risks the lives of members of 110Truck to "sprint" to the 35th floor of the North Tower, ABANDONING them on the way to freelance some more in the burning tower, only to ultimately become stuck in the collapse of the North Tower where he goes on to shout at and berade a PAPD Officer who's lost his partner, a K9, to the collapse of the bulidng. This book is a shameful and embarrasing for all American firefighters, those silent heros who risk their lives daily.



5. I have had this book for a few years but have not been able to read it till recently.The story is quite interesting and astonishing (especially as it is a true story) but the writing is somewhat repetetive - I think this is done to make the story longer - and the Firefighter seems to be too full of himself always going on how great he is and how well he did what a good leader he is ...... and so on.Entertaining and interesting but the way the story is written spoils it.

5 comments about Descent into Darkness Pearl Harbor, 1941 (The True Story of a Navy Diver).

1. Commander Raymer did a fantastic job setting the mood of this story in the first chapter as he described his first dive into the sunken Arizona (it was the first ever dive on the ship), months after it had sunk. His descriptions are so vivid, I often pictured (what he experienced) as if I were there.
   
   Other reviewers mention Raymer's escapades into early WWII Honolulu and his encounters with the the locals, but this story really focuses on what the divers did, hazards they overcame, and innovations they devised as they fought to return the heavily damaged warships back to the fleet.



2. what a great book! i couldn't put it down. commander raymer and the men working with him were brave heroes.this book gives a glimpse of life in hawaii in the early forties as well as the navy's diving program in its infancy.not to mention the unique problems of salvaging the ships that were damaged in the pearl harbor attack.i highly recommend this book.



3. 
   Most books on WWII center around specific battles. However, Commander Raymer gives the reader a somewhat different perspective of WWII. Although, Raymer discribes several important engagements and the sinking of his own ship by Imperial Japanese naval forces, he also concentrates on the overwhelming and depressing daily tasks of the Navy salvage diver stationed at Pearl harbor shortly after the infamous attack. His objectives; recover bodies, raise or salvage the flagship U.S.S. Arizona, and other capital ships such as the U.S.S. California, U.S.S. West Virginia, and others.
   
   His writing style is simple, and straight to the point. His ongoing descriptions of the scenes he saw and experienced in Hawaii and through the divers helmet port are well worth the read!
   
   If, you liked the movie; "Men of Honor" then I guarentee you will like "DESCENT INTO DARKNESS!"



4. This really is a first-rate account of a process that has largely been ignored by writers and historians. I think it's a "given" that diving around sunken, fully armed and fueled battleships would be dangerous, but until I read this book I didn't realize just how MANY different hazards there were. For example, who would have known that it's dangerous to enter a previously-sealed but empty compartment that contains rust? (the formation of iron oxide [rust] depletes oxygen in the space)

   The reader gets a firsthand account of the daily lives of salvage divers, and how frequently solutions to problems were devised on the spot. Rather unexpectedly, readers also get a firsthand description of what life was like "on the ground" during the Guadalcanal campaign.

   Anyone wanting to know more about the Pearl Harbor attack really should read this book. Many people tend to think of the battle as being over when the last Japanese plane returned to its carrier; in truth, the battle had just BEGUN.




5. I recieved Descent In to Darkness as a Christmas pressent from my sister. I could not stop reading the book. I have always been a huge history buff as well as a great interest in diving . Febuary of this year (2002) I went to Maui to visit my cousin. While in Maui I got my scuba certification. My last day we flew over to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona. It was very moving because I had more of a conection to the Arizona due to Raymer's detailed report on Pearl Harbor and the Arizona in the salvage eforts to raise our Pacific Fleet.

5 comments about Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages.

1. I read this book when it first came out and just re read it. The people then are just like people now. A gossipy fun book



2. The story of five marriages none of which quite fits the pattern of what might be considered to be a truly successful one i.e. one in which the mutual love and help of each other through the years helps both not only achieve their own private realization in work, but most importantly create a loving warm family with children who themselves form such a family. Instead we have Jane and Thomas Carlyle, Ruskin and Effi, Dickens and his mother - of -twelve he abandoned, the working Lewes and great George Eliot, each of whom is a story told well indeed by Rose who has a power of narrative and human perceptiveness that are outstanding.
   I found this work to be a very enjoyable ' read' but not a great and inspiring one in regard to living my own life.



3. The author avers that every marriage is a narrative construct. Phyllis Rose describes the courtship and decision to marry of Jane Welsh and Thomas Carlyle.
   
   The extraordinary and almost exclusive connection of John Ruskin with his parents is depicted. The thought-out plan of Frances and Charles Kingsley in the first four weeks of marriage is presented by way of contrast to the circumstances of John Ruskin and Effie Gray. Effie and John were troubled both by their own relationship and pulls and ties from their respective families. Ruskin was never to express remorse for his behavior. He did not understnd that he was partly at fault in the break up of his marriage.
   
   The views of Effie and John could not be reconciled. The story of the Ruskins anticipates MIDDLEMARCH. Ruskin admired John Everett Millais. Effie was a model for one of the paintings of Millais. The Ruskins and Millais and others spent four months together on a sort of extended reading party in Scotland. After six years the Ruskins reached a stalemate. Effie sought practical advice from Lady Eastlake whose husband headed the Royal Academy. She advised her to confide in her parents. There was a dramatic flight and the serving of papers. Ruskin's domestic calamities were less important to him than Turner's death. Eventually Effie and Millais had eight children.
   
   Harriet and John Taylor were Unitarians. They had an enlightened circle. Harriet was introduced to John Stuart Mill by her minister to divert her attention from marital incompatibilities. The Taylors and Mill formed a triangle. Two years after her husband's death Harriet agreed to become Mrs. Mill. Both Harriet and John Stuart Mill had been made lonely by exceptional intelligence. Mill's mind was a marvel, but he initiated nothing. Harriet served an executive function in the production of his books and articles. Mill's autobiography was written as a defense of his wife.
   
   Catherine Hogarth attended a birthday party Charles Dickens gave himself. She was twenty. Dickens was astonishing for his outpouring of invention. Ambitious men marry young. Dickens had devoted male companions and in the early years of his marriage enjoyed domestic happiness. After 1850 Dickens changed. He craved emotional intensity with another person. At the time of starting LITTLE DORRIT restlessness tormented him. He turned to the theater, to acting. Her met Ellen Ternan and began a sentimental attachment. In later life Kate Dickens felt she and the other children were wicked not to take their mother's part.
   
   The domestic life of George Henry Lewes and George Eliot centered on work. George Eliot seized her identity as a writer from her union with Lewes. The couple was spared the pursuit of respectibility.
   
   Notes, bibliography, and a timeline appear at the back of the book. This book has been well-known and lavishly praised since it was issued. Nothing about it changes the high estimation bestowed previously. The book lives up to all of the anticipated pleasure envisioned in the reading of it.



4. I loved this book when it was first published in the 80s for all the reasons put forth by the preceeding enthusiatic reviewers. So was startled to see it had only a 3 star rating when I visited Amazon a short while ago, searching for a second-hand copy.

   Why this book has been out of print for so long is totally mystifying. For, you see, I'm not alone in my love of it. - every person I've loaned it to has had nothing but praise for it.

   But most telling of all, each person has liked it so much that they've passed it on to a friend of theirs, who's evidently done the same, in a never-ending chain of handovers.

   Hence my search for yet another second-hand copy earlier today, But, more to the point, isn't this the best recommendation any book can genuinely have: being handed on from person to person with the exhotation : "You'll really love this book. . . you've got to read it now!"




5. Why did Phyllis Rose write this book? In her prologue, she states her opinion that marriage is the most creative thing we do. She says that marriages ("parallel lives")are fascinating because they "set two imaginations to work constructing narratives about experience presumed to be the same for both." Then she set out for 300+ pages in what amounts to little more than a gossipy complian-fest of "He did" - "She did". We get to hear all the wives gripes about their sexless, loveless marriages, then we get to hear about all the mens' whines about their frigid, shallow wives. Never once does Rose entertain the idea that one or more of her subjects may have been homosexual and were using marriage as the conventional way to get through their lives. Nothing does she tell us of what made these marriages so particularly and peculiarly Victorian - I know plenty of people right now in the year 2002 who have arranged their lives in much the same way as these Victorians.

   Reading this book, all I could think of how it reaks of 1980's feminism: self-centered, self-serving. Rose flips sides faster than a pancake when it's convenient to her argument (whatever that may be.) One minute she cries for a woman who must marry a distateful man just so she can get out of her parents' house, but she doesn't find it strange that a woman's brother stick his nose into the private business of her relationship with other men. Go figure!

   After finishing the book, I could only ask myself: Why was this book written???

1 comments about Outlasting the Trail: The Story of a Woman's Journey West.

1. Outlasting the Trail: The Story of a Woman's Journey West Excellent. So real that I felt like I was right there watching Mary and her family during each crisis and each small joy. Including and using Mary Rockwood Powers' own letters for this story created the sense of being there with Mary and her family. The story tells of what is required of Mary and the choices she must make to keep her family safe. These real letters to her mother reveals Mary's inner thoughts and factual happenings. Mary's faith in God and her mother's love keeps her moving forward regardless of her own fears and despair. I cared about this family as if they were my own ancestors.

5 comments about Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart.

1. I am writing my thesis (roughly 80 pages)on Mary Stuart and I have to say that, aside from primary sources, this book was by far the most valuable contribution to my research. Guy's treatment of Mary's life is balanced, detailed, and well contextualized. It's also beautifully written, so that reading it doesn't feel like research at all. I would recommend this book to anyone researching Mary Stuart, but more impressively, to anyone with a simply recreational interest. I wish I could thank John Guy personally. Superb.



2. This artful and unbiased treatment of the Queen of Scots, along with Antonia Frasier's earlier work, is a must for any historial, professional or amateur, who wishes to resolve, refine or at least consider the still debated questions concerning Mary, her ability to rule, her relationships with the scottish nobility, and of course, the dynamic of her relationship with Bothwell and her guilt or innocence of the killing of Lord Darnley. As a retired prosecutor of murder cases and somewhat of an expert on conspiracy, Guy's book provided me with the evidence I would need to review a case against her. There is enough well-researched detail to satisfy the close scrutiny required in reading a work on this already broadly treated enigma.



3. Guy's life of Mary Queen of Scots is written in a "Just the facts, ma'am" spirit that, while not slaking my thirst for a more judgmental approach, did allow me to form my own.
   
   
   
   The predominant tone is one of a knight gallant leaping to Mary's defense, such as in the lengths to which he goes to prove that the documents incriminating Mary in her 2nd husband Darnley's murder were forged, but to his credit he doesn't skirt over the unsavory details of her life, and in fact adds to them. But I must say, it is time for historians to discard the objective approach of the 20th century and let their belief in the supernatural once again reign, as we are once again entering supernatural times ( they all have been, really, but the devil's greatest trick -- you know the rest ).
   
   
   
   The six-foot, redheaded Mary -- too bad Nicole Kidman didn't play this part -- was thought by almost everyone in her time to be a "witch." I'm tired of this kind of accusation being glossed over as a mere superstition of the past, that feminist theory has rendered forever outmoded. Is it perhaps the heathen present and not the religious past which is ignorant? Why did this charge follow her so doggedly?
   
   
   
   It is clear to me, as a Christian who believes in such things, and has some experience with witches myself, that the relationship between Mary and Bothwell was indeed one that can only be described as a Satanic seduction, something that the Scottish nobles and even the populace immediately apprehended when they posted the famous drawing of the mermaid and the hare ( with, as Guy points out, phallic swords surrounding it ) all around Edinburgh. Bothwell was the Colin Farrell of his day, except murderous and unstoppably ambitious for political power, and there is no doubt that the relationship between him and Mary was based entirely on his sexual hold over her. He barely tried to conceal that he didn't even love her.
   
   
   
   It is fascinating to think that one of Catholicism's last, best hopes before the Protestant takeover was defeated by a mesmerizing appendage, but those who can read between the lines will clearly see the evidence of its truth. And what is a witch if not a woman who lets lust drag her and her countrymen into the abyss? Bothwell, who should be remembered as one of the great hommes fatales of history, had absolute power over Mary and within months destroyed her life and her hopes. His involvement in the assassination of Darnley is much less disturbing than an anecdote Guy relates where he literally kills with a single blow one of Mary's loyal retainers -- the old man had dared to wish her good luck on a journey.
   
   
   
   And yet even this didn't stop her from marrying him. Didn't even faze her. She persisted in her "love" for Bothwell even in the face of the unanimous disapproval of her court and of the people, until she was like a cornered rat, alone with her morbid obsession. The once-noble and cultured queen was reduced within months to a frumpy mess, her looks gone, being heckled by peasants and shouting crude obscenities at them from the roof of her castle ( Guy shows how Bothwell's vulgarity infected her ). The story ends with Bothwell and Mary being forcibly separated and pledging their eternal fidelity to each other -- which he instantly broke with a Danish woman, whose dowry he stole! This finally ended his rake's progress.
   
   
   
   What this book made me realize is that the rivalry between Elizabeth and Mary has been entirely trumped-up. They were not rivals; Mary was nothing more than a cautionary tale for Elizabeth, who was much more evil than Mary but also much more shrewd. ( Elizabeth's real rival was the ghost of Isabella of Spain, as she, with the help of her cryptic spies, undid the effects of Isabella's glorious reign. ) The real story here, which hopefully future historians will take up, is the stunningly rapid descent of Mary into blind sexual insanity, and how it forced the last bastion of the Catholic faith in the British isles to deliver herself meekly into the hands of her enemy. Catholics treat Mary almost as a saint due to her supposed piousness in captivity; she should be considered the greatest of traitors. Would history have been entirely different if she never met Bothwell, or is a witch is a witch is a witch?



4. It is harder to imagine a woman history has been kinder to than Mary Queen of Scotts. She is always the tragic women, betrayed by those she loved, and executed by her cruel, vicious, and nefariosu Cousin Queen Elizabeth. Guy does little to change this classic tale, despite the fact that history doesn't match up with it. Mary Queen of Scotts knowingly married her second husband's murderer and assented to the murder of Elizabeth who kept Mary alive, albiet in a very comfortable captivity, at great risk to her own [Elizabeth's] life. I don't think Mary, Queen of Scotts is a totally unsympathetic figure; she loved bad men and was betrayed by them. She was betrayed by her half-brother the earl of Moray, and she died with great courage. That said, she is not a flawless saint, no matter how much Guy wishes to make her one. (Also he makes the errenous assumption that if the the casket letters are fake, which he convincingly shows to be forgeries, Mary is automatically vindicated from the murder of her husband. Something on which the evidence is quite inconclusive.) For a more balanced look at Both Queens, I would reccomend both Jane Dunn and Alison Plowden's duel biography. And please do not say history has not been kind to this woman.



5. I thoroughly enjoyed John Guy's biography of Mary Queen of Scots. The only flaws are that Guy insists that Mary's prayers before death were for a public show of her Catholicism. I don't think so - people about to die don't act that way. Also, he says that when Mary was kidnapped and raped by Bothwell, she must have enjoyed it because she did not cry for help. Sorry, but studies of rape victims have shown that even today women are afraid to go to the police. In those days, a woman was heavily stigmatized when violated against her will. But other than those flaws, this biography is a work of profound scholarship, depicting the details of Mary's daily life as I have never before read anywhere else. Guy also shows that Mary was a clever and even a savvy politician, as clever as Elizabeth her rival, although she fell through treachery and one lost battle. Very sad but very enlightening. Recommended.

5 comments about Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever.

1. Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, one of the most prominent figures in Democratic Party politics of the late 20th century, has written several books since leaving office about his view of current American politics. In Why Lincoln Matters Today More Than Ever, he does so again, but this time through the lens of the past through the eyes of Abraham Lincoln. Cuomo argues that while Lincoln died in 1865, the usefulness of his view of America is still very much alive. Cuomo sheds light both on how Lincoln developed and articulated his views and on how Lincoln's view of society might be used to analyze current American political issues, including the war in Iraq.
   
   How much the reader enjoys this book will depend on what he or she expects to find here. The title might suggest that Cuomo is offering a non-ideological general examination of Lincoln's significance in modern decades in general. That reader might be disappointed in this book. But if the reader is looking for a book by an articulate, prominent liberal who knows and admires Lincoln and who applies what he believes are Lincoln's lessons about very specific political issues, then he or she will enjoy this book very much. Readers who've enjoyed Cuomo's earlier analyses of American politics such as Reason To Believe will enjoy this book, too.
   
   Like Reason To Believe, this book offers Cuomo's view of current politics, but this book does so with an eye toward answering the question: what would Lincoln say about that? Not surprisingly, Cuomo argues that Lincoln would agree with a modern liberal perspective on a wide range of issues facing America going into the 2004 presidential election. More importantly, he argues that President George W. Bush--like Lincoln, a Republican wartime president--has not operated according to Lincoln's principles on a wide range of topics. And, all the worse for Cuomo, where Bush has followed Lincoln's lead, he's done so on the issues where Lincoln didn't proceed as Cuomo thought best--particularly in the efforts to curb civil liberties during wartime by both presidents.
   
   The 2004 election, which Cuomo clearly had in mind when writing this book, was a notably polarizing one in the eyes of many. Partisan reaction to this book will almost certainly break down along the same lines. What's more, the issues discussed here are still very current today, as are the divisions. Cuomo's use of Lincoln in these debates may need to be taken with a grain of salt, but his command of Lincoln and strong ability as a writer means he makes his case very effectively for the most part. While this book will certainly provide ammunition for liberals in current American politics, it will also provide food for thought--or for argument--for people of all political stripes with an interest in the American politics of the past, present and future. More importantly, it is a fresh reminder of how enduring and relevant the views of Lincoln remain--a point on which both Democrats and Republicans for once can agree.



2. Cuomo applies the moral and rational perspective of Lincoln to the present day issues. Needless to day he does not find Bush & Co in line with what he thinks Lincoln would have done. He contrasts Lincoln's consistent evoking of a higher moral purpose, and his intellectual integrity to what we have now. The book ends with a draft of what Lincoln might have said to Congress in 2004 if he'd been newly elected.
   
   People who dislike this book call it a screed, full of Bush-bashing, etc. To which I say "the facts are biased." However, any fair reading of Lincoln's morality, his invoking of religion, and of course, his eloquence all are in evident contrast to the current leader.
   
   Cuomo's suggestion for Lincoln's 2004 State of the Union address contains this: "What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, our missiles, or the strength of our gallant and disciplined armed forces. These are not our most important safeguard against the terrorizing of our fair land: Our principal reliance must be on the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms."
   
   In the moral wasteland we now find ourselves, it is good to be reminded that we, at least once in our history, had a leader that could summon us to consider our situation from the highest moral perspective.



3. This book should be required reading for todays politicans. It gives the reader an understanding of the mistakes being made by the government today.



4. This is very short, easy to read commentary on the greatness of Lincoln, and on how Abe's speeches and actions can be relevent today. Needless to say, in the comparisons between the Great Emancipator and the current Administration, Abe easily overwhelms Bush II,&Co. Gov. Cuomo's main point is the Lincoln's actions and words were for all time, and addressed to everybody,literally in all lands. His thoughtful, last resort approach to war is contrasted with the current deceptive drive to war in Iraq. Cuomo suggests that FDR and Lincoln had a lot in common in attempting to aid those who have troubles helping themselves. He also states that Lincoln's ecumenical religious approach is in sharp contrast to today's GOP. All in all, a thoughtful argument, and the author's criticisms are never overwrought. In fact, he seems to make a special effort to maintain civility throughout the book.



5. Mario Cuomo's essential approach to Lincoln is "How would Abraham Lincoln have responded to the challenges present in today's America?"
   
   This, of course, leads to some very biased presentations of the facts in order to present Abraham Lincoln in as positive and liberal a light as possible. Missing is the fact that Lincoln was forced to write the Emancipation Proclimation in order to appease the strong Abolitionist wing of the Republican party and other such instances where Lincoln was not the brightest Presidential star. While I do think that within the pantheon of Presidents, Abe Lincoln definitely ranks up there with George Washington, and FDR as one of the greatest Presidents, I also think that a book that is trying to present a case for Lincoln should focus less on the present occupier of the White House and more on the former. Cuomo simply makes it too obvious that this entire book is one enormously jaded propoganda piece for the Democratic party. The true parts on Lincoln doesn't even begin until 50 pages into the work because the author is too busy talking about all that is wrong with the current Republican-lead government in Washington.
   
   I consider myself a Democrat and see the importance of the role of the federal government, but this book should focus more on what Lincoln did right to change his own age and how that went on to impact American down to the present period and less on what he might have done had he been alive today.

5 comments about Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection.

1. This is the book for anyone wanting an accessible introduction to the mystique surrounding the famous Italian violin maker Stradivarius. Rather than trying to take on such an overwhelming and near-mythic character head-on, Toby Faber wisely decides to focus his work on the instruments themselves, carefully placing Stradivari's biographical and the violin's technical details throughout. As the title states, the book examines the `life' of six of Stradivari's instruments from their creation to the present day, exploring along the way the tastes, the desires, and the obsessions of generations of players and collectors. Although hundreds of Stradivari's instruments still exist, Faber has selected these particular examples because of their complex histories and their connections with famous historical figures. While at times his writing seems to trudge along when the instruments' stories become impossibly intertwined, Faber's style of story-telling is engaging and effective for the topic; this is a book that both specialists and novices will enjoy. Interestingly, he ends the book by questioning the ordinarily unassailable value placed on old instruments, noting that some antique violins seem to have lost their sound. He ends by saying, "One day, supplies of the great classical violins will run out. We need a new Stradivari." Fortunately, this enticing last line is addressed by a perfect companion book to Faber's: John Marchese's "The Violin Maker" (2007).



2. Interested in learning violin structure and repair, I felt the need to know a bit about the famous violin makers of the world. I highly recommend this book as it was very informative and actually a great read as I felt drawn to know more and more about the great Stradivari. Jim



3. I was out the other week searching for new books to read and came across Stradivari's Violins. A self-avowed classical music fan, I started leafing through the pages to see if the book would spark my interest. Well, a day and a half later and the book was completed, leaving me wanting for more! An outstanding read, the book chronicles the birth and subsequent history of five violins and one cello, over the course of time and history. If you are interested at all in history, music history, classical prose, or any genre in the history/music categories, this book would be a great read. It appeals to a large audience I think, and for fans of the movie the Red Violin, this book would make a great companion piece, although that movie was about a violin not covered within the pages, the Red Mendelssohn. Now in paperback, this book is definitely a bargain!



4. this book is a must for all music lovers. it is factual without being boring and mr faber does a great job telling his story. i couldn't put i down and i don't even play an instrument. a great read!



5. I have no disagreement with the genius of Stradivari or the excellent qualities of his extraordinary violins and other stringed instruments. However it should not be overlooked that Stradivari was not entirely unique: equally fine instruments were made in Cremona at about the same time by Giuseppi Antonio Guarneri. In fact, many famous virtuoso violinists have chosen to play Guarnerius rather than Stradivarius violins, a fact not generally known to the public. At one time Polish virtuoso Henryk Szeryng owned two Stradivarius and one Guarnerius violins. Eventually, he donated the two Strads to worthy musical institutions and kept only the Guarnerius. Szeryng treasured his Guarnerius so much that, when he travelled, he bought two seats -- one for himself and one for his Guarnerius.
   
   The mystery behind the greatness of Stradivarius violins is actually a somewhat broader mystery: How did Cremona Italy in the late 17th and early-to-mid 18th centuries produce two artisans who made the greatest violins ever made? And why did this artistry end when they died?