5 comments about Walking the Trail: One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

1. This is such an amazing subject matter, I expected a richer more robust adventure story about the Trail of Tears. This book really let me down, it was tedious, sappy and boring.



2. What a wonderful job Ellis did in writing this story. He mentions Cherokee history then and now, describes the road he's walking on, the people he meets along the way (to include the proverbial weirdoes that make good travelogues so appealing), the emotional ups and downs of physical exertion. Even the daily weather and how it affected his mood was well described.
   
   I especially appreciated his story about the crow and how the crow became the symbol of the Cherokee Nation. I went to visit the Musuem of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina because of this book. That was money well-spent and very educational.
   
   The phrase that sticks out in my mind (I read this book two years ago) is his phrase "Men and boys will always want something from a woman." That is so true...



3. There are not enough words to describe what this book meant to me. How about just repeating...wonderful, wonderful, wonderful......I so wish I knew him.



4. I found this book captivating! Once I started glancing at a few sections, I had to buy it and interrupted another book I was reading - I couldn't put it down. The intertwining of his experiences in tracing the Trail of Tears, symbolically backwards returning to the original Trail's origin as those who were forced to walk 900 miles to Indian Territory in 1838 never could, with bits of Cherokee history and traditions was very well written. The imagery and sounds were real and you get a little of the sense of his journey. This is a must read for anyone with Native American, and especially Cherokee, blood in their heritage. Others will perhaps gain an appreciation of our country in 1838 and 150 years later.



5. For the trip of your life, read Walking the Trail. It's filled with heart, information, adventure, soul, beauty, saddness, humor and haunting stories. The story of the Cherokee and the author's step by step journey along the Trail of Tears is the story of the human condition.

5 comments about Let's Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning (Thorndike Press Large Print Biography Series).

1. This is a surprisingly well written biography by an actor whom we thought was only a pretty face. He tells us some inside facts of his thoughts, his life and marriage and how he has grown and changed. The tittle says it all and then he fleshes it out. I'm giving this book to a lifelong friend who was a huge fan of Kirk Douglas 50-60 years ago.



2. I could not put the book down ,I had to read it from cover to cover . He is a one of a kind person It shows how you will always go back to your roots



3. I have read past books by Kirk Douglas which were much better, mainly because they told a story, and this book is mostly ramblings. It is okay to pick up and read a bit from time to time but not a book you will be engrossed in.



4. Kurt does it again. At ninety he is still feisty and funny. And his life- story which he has told in two previous books is only enriched by another retelling. He opens with the story of his ninetieth birthday party, a gala family event in which he laughs and is laughed at as well as celebrated and appreciated. The little kid from Amsterdam did not do so bad. He may have started out as a poor hungry kid robbing eggs from the neighbor's chicken coop but he with a lot of moxie and ability made it to the top of the American entertainment world. In this book which comes across as a series of small essays or talks he wanders all over the place but always interestingly. He in his long career knew a lot of remarkable people and he tells about many of his old buddies. He also in the course of this speaks about how much he misses many of them, one of the sad consequences of a very long life. He also speaks about the tragic death of his youngest son, whose grave he visits twice a week.
   Kurt did not make it the easy way. A heart attack, a helicopter crash which set him back a lot, a stroke which took his speech from him. The stroke however did not take away his will and through great effort much help he fought back to speak and think clearly again. Part of his wake- up process was a decision to explore Judaism which he had sort of forgotten about in his prime acting years ( Except for his yearly Yom Kippur synagogue visits, and the movies made in Israel which he is a staunch supporter of) His strong desire to help young people to educate them to moral dignity and lives of contributing to making a better world is also expressed here. Also he tells the story of his fifty- three year and running marriage to his second wife,Ann, and how this has been the great love story of his life.
   Kurt has guts and heart .He is a tough, caring person, who will always of course be most known for some of his remarkable performances on the screen ( Lonely Are the Brave, The Champion, Spartacus, The Clown, Lust or Life) but his works as a writer also have great entertainment and educational value.
   A wonderfully enjoyable little book by a great human being.



5. 
   You have to be tough to face your own mortality and Kirk Douglas faces it feisty, reflective, and sometimes furious. In addition to great stories from his life that he hasn't told before, this book tells of the things that, 90 years on, move his heart and his soul. I was surprised, delighted and stirred all the way through.

5 comments about All Too Human: A Political Education.

1. In this moving look into the White House, Stephanopoulos carefully treads the line between worship for his idealized boss who embodied all the dreams and hopes Stephanopoulos had for his country, and distraught disappointment at the human flaws that caused this man to dally with a certain females and to lie to his aides about it. For Stephanopoulos, the crime here is not the actual act, but the fact that his boss let his people lie for him - without even realizing they were lying. This lack of trust and respect was crushing to the young idealist and it shows through in every page of the book. He mourns for what could have been, but wasn't; he hangs his head for the mistakes made by his "all too human" boss. He does not, however, descend into mudslinging - he obviously still adores his former boss, even if he did turn out to be a little less large than life.



2. This book is interesting in two ways. The first is the rise of a working class immigrant's son to the position of political advisor of the world's most powerful statesman. The father of Stephanopoulos was an working class immigrant yet his son was able to become a Rhodes scholar and reach the position in politics he did. The American success story. It is also interesting, from a much more cynical perspective, in that Stephanopolous' political advice was all politically motivated and absolutely none (with emphasis on absolutely) had a basis in the actual non-political benefits or costs (or efficacy). Extremely cynical. One comes away wondering whether it is even possible for the political process to produce socially beneficial policies instead of just politically expediant solutions.



3. First, my standard disclaimer: I am a political moderate and social conservative. This book is an average look at what happens in political inner circles, specifically the Clinton white house. I was a little disappointed that Stephanopoulos did not take more risks to write about subjects that the general public did not already know. It seemed that much of the reason for the book was for the author to exonerate himself from any wrongdoing.



4. George Stephanopoulos' memoir of working in the White House during Bill Clinton's first term in office makes you feel like a fly on the wall of the Oval Office. Written in that hypersmart, jargon-fluent style familiar to "West Wing" viewers, "All Too Human" is an engaging, candid companion to readers of any political stripe, in part an impassioned defense of one of America's most infuriatingly bipolar personalities, in part a cautionary tale of power trumping principle.
   
   Among the best and brightest that made up Clinton's 1992 campaign staff, no one burned brighter than Stephanopoulos, a senior advisor to the President at the tender age of 31 whose charge included Congress (he formerly worked for House Majority Whip Dick Gephardt) and satisfying Clinton's critical liberal base.
   
   Stephanopoulos makes no bones about being a true believer. He likens his work with Clinton to being an altar boy for the Greek Orthodox priests of his youth. "It's Nazi time out there," Clinton explodes when the Republicans campaign against him in a special congressional election in Kentucky. Stephanopoulos seems on board with this Hitlerian characterization of the GOP.
   
   Yet Stephanopoulos' passion is tempered by a cool calculating side that finds much common ground with the president, too much, he comes to find. "The last temptation is the greatest treason/To do the right thing for the wrong reason," goes the Eliot verse Stephanopoulos keeps on his desk, in a cramped room he coveted for its proximity to the Oval Office. Even when he manages to get the president to save affirmative action or appease other liberal concerns, it all comes back to a base sort of pragmatism. Is Clinton doing it because it's the right thing to do, or for the political benefit? What about George?
   
   Stephanopoulos' candor is this book's greatest asset, candor about the calculating Clinton, his prickly wife Hillary, and especially himself. He recalls a moment in the first campaign when he caught himself telling a small child that her father is "a bad man" for lying about Clinton. Stephanopoulos wants us to see him, and his boss, as good people, but like the title suggests, with some intrinsic flaws.
   
   While the first half of the book is marginally more interesting as a whole, as the Clinton team finds their way into the White House amid bimbo eruptions and fights its own party to pass a budget through Congress, the second half has the book's most interesting figure, the one man Stephanopoulos paints in entirely black hues: Dick Morris.
   
   Morris could be a Dickens character, "a small sausage of a man encased in a green suit with wide lapels, a wide floral tie, and a wide-collared shirt." As unctuous as Uriah Heep, Morris twitters on about his access to the president, all the time sizing our narrator's back for a place to stick his knife. Stephanopoulos, who views Morris as nothing less than a Republican mole, does likewise.
   
   "I have no home. I have no one left to talk to," Morris tells Stephanopoulos at one point.
   
   Get a dog, Stephanopoulos finds himself wishing he had the nerve to reply.
   
   Morris has claimed Stephanopoulos misrepresented him, but I find the depiction very close to the bone from what I've seen of this fellow commentating on Fox News.
   
   There are flaws in the book, like Stephanopoulos' shorthand with the facts. He seems to assume the reader is as well-versed as he is about the Clinton years, which has him skirt over a lot of material or peripherally refer to things like Tammy Wynette being upset with the First Lady as if we all will know the rest of the story. There is also a fatal Yuppie self-absorption in how Stephanopoulos whines about his trials. A lot of people deal with mega-stress. Not so many have a movie actress ready to draw them a bath.
   
   But "All Too Human" is a good read, and buttressed by Bob Woodward's "The Agenda," one gets an immersive sense of life around Bill Clinton in his first term, a time of great possibilities, hopes, and, inevitably, more than a bit of frailty.



5. The subtitle of this wonderful memoir taught me more about politics in 400 pages than I'd learned in 40 years. A diehard liberal and a political fanatic, someone whose views would normally make me sneer and scoff, Stephanopolous paints a picture of the stresses, ins-and-outs, spin, activities and the vital scope of the world inside the Oval Office. Every newsworthy event or program is canvassed for its political ramafications; the very definition and refinement of the word "politics" is reinforced on every page; the mistakes that lead to triumphs, and the feel-good preparations that lead to disasters are all here in stark detail. Stephanopolous proves himself a very sensible man, and even his staunchly liberal views are sidenotes to the greater energies, arguments and preparations that occur inside the White House. I occasionally disliked S's speaking his own platform (which he did sparingly), or telling how political parties are constructed to blunt the other even when their plans are sensible, but all in all I learned more from this book about the workings inside the White House than from all my prior readings and public education.

No comments about Martin Van Buren: The American Presidents Series.

5 comments about The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography (Thorndike Press Large Print Paperback Series).

1. I read very few "star" auto-biographies so have little to judge this one by. But I must say, I was impressed. The writing was good, the story seemed to be truthfully told and it held my interest. I have always enjoyed Kirk Douglas the actor and was pleased that I was able to enjoy Kirk Douglas the autobiographor. Mr. Douglas has certainly led an interesting life and has seemingly been able to keep his prespective on life. As I said, I am impressed and highly recommend this one.



2. This book tells the story of Kirk Douglas, from his humble beginnings in a small upstate New York town to his years in Hollywood. Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky, the son of illiterate Jewish immigrants. As a Jew, his father could not be hired in the mills or other up-and-coming enterprises in town, so the only work available to him was to go about in the street collecting old rags which he sold to paper mills. Much of this story focuses on the relationship between Issur and his father-Issur felt that his father never gave him recognition, support, or respect. All his life, he struggled in vain to get a single pat on the back from his father. In any case, Issur's life wasn't at all tragic. He showed talent for acting at an early age, managed to get a scholarship to attend college, and then went on to acting school. It was during summer service in a theatrical company that he chose his stage name Kirk Douglas, which he later took as his legal name. This book goes on to tell of Douglas' successes on the big screen and marriages and affairs.
   
   In addition to the struggle for approval with his father, another recurring theme of the book is Douglas' battles with anti-Semitism. The book is no great literary classic, but it can be engaging, and does tell an interesting story for Douglas fans. The details of his early life as the son of poor Jewish immigrants are particularly interesting for the documentation they provide of this little-known chapter of American history.



3. I was quite surprised to like this book as much as I did. As Kirk Douglas' autobiography, I expected it to be a little egotistical and over-explanatory. You know, typical celebrity autobio stuff.
   
   Kirk describes his humble beginnings (a ragman's son) quite capably. He also describes his successes and failures in what appears to be a candid and honest manner. His life has been remarkable, and his written story is believable.
   
   I hope to read his second book soon.



4. Born in 1916, little Issur Danielovitch grew up in upstate New York, the poorest of the poor. Son of illiterate Russian/Jewish immigrants, taunted by the other children, Issur breaking past every barrier imaginable became the great Kirk Douglas. This is his life story from birth through 70 years of age(before the stroke).
   
   As his life story unfolds in this well written account, you will feel like the tales of his climb out of poverty are being told to you by an old friend. Kirk doesn't hold back. He's as open about his misdeeds as he is with his fine accomplishments.
   And he doesn't hesitate to name names either!
   
   He talks about everything. From his troubled boyhood and distant relationship with his father, his dream of making it big on stage, his time spent in the service, his escapades, his loves and family, relationships with the rich and famous, his good-will tours around the world, and of course his films. It is nice that the films are discussed chronologically, and you will know exactly where he was physically and emotionally during the filming. Almost all the films are touched upon and some including "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", "Lonely Are The Brave", "Lust For Life" and Spartacus", have whole chapters devoted to them. The directors, other cast members,and Hollywood in general, do not get away scott free either.
   
   His writing is funny, poignant, inspirational and heartfelt. There are times when you may not even like the things he has done, and other times may get you thinking deeply or angered about life's circumstances. But you know that he's being about as honest as they come.
   
   There are also many personal photos included of his family, fellow actors, and the good-will trips he made for the United States.
   
   Closing the book after the last page, I was sad to be at the end. Kirk Douglas's words touched me as much as his work in film, and...made me feel not only proud, but lucky to be an American. I am looking foward to reading his other works as well.
   
   "The Ragman's Son" is highly recommended for fans of Kirk, aspiring actors and writers(this is a great example for writing memoirs), and for those who loved to be touched or inspired by a good book.
   
   Way To Go, Issur...Way To Go!
   Enjoy....Laurie



5. Kirk Douglas story of growing up one of the seven - children in an Amsterdam New York Jewish family, and of working and fighting his way to the top of his profession is in one sense a typical American rags to riches story. It is the triumph of ability and will and courage, and another startling example of how the American dream can be realized. It is also on a parallel track a story of assimilation in America, of denial of one's own identity.This is also often part of the American reality. In Douglas case however this was modified by his return to his Jewish religion and identity after having gone through a serious accident. This story has something of the energy and vibrancy of Douglas' screen personality. It is rich with anecdotes including many celebrity anecdotes as Douglas and his wife were long a part of Hollywood's social world. The question of his morality in relation to women , his many 'conquests' is a real one. But all in all he beside being one of the best American actors in the past half - decade has made a very positive contribution to his society.

5 comments about The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series).

1. Although I've always known that Billy Graham was a charismatic evangelist, I didn't realize just how spiritual, humble, forgiving, and influential he was until reading this book. Not only was he allowed into the "inner sanctums" of powerful United States politicians and other movers and shakers, but he was also admitted entry into places in the world where others would not have been allowed. At the same time, he cared about "the least of these" and always felt his #1 mission in life was to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
   
   Although he could easily hobnob with the presidents and their wives, he never lost his humility and the sure knowledge that God is in control of our lives. Whether golfing with a Bush, swimming with Johnson, or praying with Nixon, he did so in a spiritual role, not a political one. As the authors bring out, Graham didn't need fortune or fame. He saw himself as their pastor, their advocate with the Father. Presidents aren't as free as the rest of us to go to the Baptist church around the corner or the Catholic one downtown, so Billy Graham felt it was his responsibility to go to them...and go he did. Plus, I learned that no matter who the president was, Graham believed that he was God's divine choice and was thus supportive, even after Clinton's misdeeds and Nixon's Watergate situation.
   
   The most recurrent theme that I picked up is that regardless of what he was exposed to, Dr. Graham remained the evangelist sure of his purpose. Interestingly, however, the pundits and press and other religious leaders all had their criticisms...even when he was clearly doing what the scriptures admonish us to do. They even criticized him for being too forgiving, too conciliatory, not judgmental enough. HUH???
   
   Sure of his mission, I've got a feeling that Dr. Graham doesn't worry about such criticisms. His message is that everyone wants to be loved and that God loves us each and everyone, even the ones who disappoint, hurt, or criticize us.



2. A fascinating read and deservedly praised, I found this book hard to put down until Chapter 31 on Billy's acquaintance with the Clintons. That chapter had a false ring - a different tone from the rest, that smacked me in the face. With so few comments there in Billy's words, as were heavily used in the chapters about other presidents, the writers droned on and on in their attempt to paint the Clintons as good as the rest. After their fairly even-handed (and exhaustive) work on both the humanity and duplicity of Nixon earlier in the book, I was unpleasantly amazed. Of course, most of the others are dead and gone, while Mrs. Clinton is running for a third term as co-president, and this makes it worse. The chapter sticks out as an effort to rub some of Billy's good character onto the Clintons by association. It didn't work.
   
   Several times during that chapter, I did put it down in disgust, wondering what happened here? I know spin when I see it. For what purpose did the writers, after relating so much that sounded genuine about all the presidents up to that point, think they needed to con readers into accepting that; while we were subjected to an amoral sex offender and his socialist wife for eight years, they were really just as normal, good Christians as all the others. Pandering to them in such a book included the writers' insinuations that Billy Graham supported the Clintons and approved, for example, of abortion and homosexuality along with them, which he emphatically did not. The way the writers gloss over the criminal conduct of the Clintons, a pass they certainly didn't give Nixon, defending and excusing them on and on ad nauseum, speaks volumes. The comparatively few words of Billy himself on that period, when it was he being interviewed for the book, is noticeable, too, in a look at the chapter. Note that Hillary bragged on several occasions what a personal help Billy had been to her, with no corroboration from him other than a meeting in 2005 in which he mentioned "private time". Yet by this point, we know his own self-imposed rules about that. Hillary's stories of "huddling with" Billy are as blatant lies as so many of her other stories, judging by what Billy himself says. But her stories are presented as accurate with no input from him, in contrast to the rest of the book.
   
   In giving the writers license, Billy was too trusting - as he often was because of his basic love for and trust in people. But I was so put off by this whitewash, I had to put the book down for a few days. Later I glanced back through the chapters, because I had also been struck by the short space given to President Reagan's term in the White House after he and Billy had been friends for 30 years. Yes, I was right - amazing how little space was given to those more recent years, compared to presidents before him.
   
   I learned a lot that was new; Carter's dislike for Billy despite professing the same religious beliefs, LBJ's real fondness for him. I was entranced by the new look at Eisenhower, saddened at the way Nixon took advantage of a genuine friendship, pleased to learn things I hadn't known about Bush 41 and the whole family. For the writers to push their personal bias in my face near the end came close to spoiling a great read for me. It is a wonderful book except for Chapter 31.



3. This biographical piece is considerably different from other works written about Billy Graham's life. Just As I Am (autobiography) and other histories of the Billy Graham Crusades evolve into hagiographies where Graham has faults but these are downplayed. This book tries to be as balanced as possible portraying some glaring weaknesses such as Graham's heavily favoring various presidents and presidential candidates, even in public, while not legalistically endorsing them.
   
   The insights into various presidencies is also very informative and shows them in ways that are probably consistent with what can be publically known but with nuances that may have been previously unknown. Certainly other Graham biographies have not entered into this level of detail.
   
   On balance, this is a genuine attempt to present Graham as he really is, particularly in relation to the presidents of the past 60 years. Those who are looking for a spiritually uplifting journey may be disappointed. That does not appear to be the point of this book.
   
   But for those who are not fans of Graham, and would like to know him better, this limited biography is very valuable



4. Given the enormous financial and investigative resources available to Time magazine reporters Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, it shouldn't be too much to expect historical accuracy in this biography. Then again, Time has been an uncritical cheerleader for Graham's ministry since the day in 1950 when publisher Henry Luce visited the young minister, then a houseguest at South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond's mansion, and decided to join William Randolph Hearst's efforts to "puff Graham." Time has a substantial investment in Graham's ministry, having run more than 600 stories about his career. Unfortunately, historical accuracy isn't one of the strong points of a book that is otherwise a pleasant enough read. People make mistakes, of course, but when they tend to fall in the same direction, one begins to suspect a hidden agenda. On the other hand, simple sloppiness can't be ruled out, as when they place Graham at Bob Jones College in Greenville, S.C., for his first year of higher education. When Graham dropped out during his freshman year that school was located in Cleveland, Tenn. The subtitle tells you all you need to know about the story between the covers. The book begins with Graham's rocky relationship with Harry S. Truman and ends with his fatherly embrace of George W. Bush. Those attracted to the preacher will find nothing to dislike, but also little that is new. This is the same generous tale told by Graham's publicity team in countless books, articles, movies, advertisements, TV appearances and, of course, crusades. According to this account, from Eisenhower forward, all of the presidents have sought Graham's counsel in varying degrees, and discovered a deep well of comfort and spiritual wisdom. The authors make mild forays into Graham's political mistakes and spend a long while on his purported close friendship with and later betrayal by Nixon, but the poking is gentle and Graham emerges as an older but wiser hero. The mistakes and omissions are telling, however. Careful to paint Nixon as the agent of darkness, they write: "The beloved Ike, Nixon charged, was `a far more complex and devious man than most people realized.'" Thus they imply that Nixon was even nasty to sweet old Dwight Eisenhower. But this can only be a deliberate misquote. In his book SIX CRISES Nixon actually concluded the sentence "and in the best sense of those words." His intention was to PRAISE Eisenhower. It is important for Nixon to be the sinner because the preacher the authors have chosen to present was supposedly suckered into long-term support for Tricky Dick, and was devastated when he learned that Nixon had deceived him. Much to Graham's enduring dismay, his back-room politicking had been tape-recorded and would come back to embarrass him over and over again through ensuing years. Nor have all of Nixon's notorious tapes yet been released. Graham's support for civil rights is painted as enthusiastic and heartfelt, but his actual record is far from clear. The authors repeat Graham's assertion that Martin Luther King, Jr., endorsed his arms-length approach to integration, without corroborating evidence, and neglect Graham's reaction to "I Have a Dream" in 1963. Graham conducted a press conference the next morning and said, "Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children." Concerning King the authors also claim that he delivered volumes by Gandhi disguised in Billy Graham book jackets to imprisoned Freedom Riders in Mississippi. This is another example of either the authors' incautious research or eagerness to hitch Graham's wagon to King's star. According to Taylor Branch, writing in PILLAR OF FIRE (which the authors cite as their reference), the transporter of disguised books was Rev. Edwin King, a white preacher of no known relation to MLK. Lest it be overlooked elsewhere as it is in THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS, Graham's nonprofit enterprises have profited nicely from the high profile that presidential palavering has, in no small part, afforded him. While his annual personal income from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association only totalled a bit over $500,000 in recent years, he enjoyed a well-appointed "log cabin" estate in Montreat, N.C., with high tech communications gear and an indoor swimming pool, a vacation home in the posh country club community of Pauma Valley, California, and controlled tax-exempt properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars in North Carolina alone. Nor do these figures include income from books, recordings and television appearances, and may not include the receipts of the individual LLCs created for each of his crusades. To top it off, he bragged that he "never paid for a suit or a hotel room," though he seems to have preferred lodging in various mansions, both public and private, to the common discomforts of life in commercial rooms. THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS offers comforting fiction disguised as history. It is, without doubt, a book written for believers.



5. This book is a must read for people who want to learn about ultimate influence

5 comments about The Great Republic (Random House Large Print (Paper)).

1. This book looked promising but I'm sorry to say that I have not gone past the first few pages.

   Churchill's writing style is very dry (no matter what they say) and his sentences about historical events are full of summaries and platitudes. I'm not sure where he gets his facts from. If one doesn't have the facts, one could at least have an opinion and be funny about it. Churchill is neither.

   I bought it thinking it would be a good introduction to American history written by a great man (I am still a fan of his speeches), but this is not the right book. I don't know why it even got published - its edited form should already have given me a clue that the whole unabridged work was unreadable.




2. This excerpted work is a light summary of American History from the perspective of a good friend and ally. It is not, however, a book that would have been taken seriously had it not been written by Churchill. To students of U.S. history, it will seem too superficial in most places (eg. Industrialization), too romantic in others (eg. the Civil War), and downright misleading in still others (imagine anyone describing Jefferson as 'frugal'!!). Having said all that, I enjoyed it precisely because it is our cousin's celebration of his own American roots.



3. I couldn't bear to listen to this audio book for more than 15 minutes before I put it away for good. Winston Churchill's grandson appears to be unable to read complex sentences out loud. He ends sentences where commas occur, only to continue in suprise that there is more to read. His introduction is also incredibly pompus.



4. As histories of the U.S. goes, these selected excerpts from the mind-boggling works of the great, the heroic Winston Churchill, is rather skimming and selective (try Paul Johnson's masterpiece "A History of the American People".) What's good fun, however, is that it makes me remember afresh that history has always and will forever be interpretative!! I sometimes forget that fact as American media and academics so often shove "flavor of the month" history, in all its changist glory, down our throats. This early account of American history and current events as written in the early 1900s can be splendidly candid and even startling in its un-PCness. Discover how much and yet how little the American psyche has changed over the decades and exactly what people thought of America and Americans way back then.



5. The Great Republic is essentially Churchill's historical overview of America contained within his History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Normally acknowledged as one of the great political statesman of his, perhaps any, age, Churchill was also quite the historian. His complete works span over 50 volumes of material. These excerpts of his larger work provide us with a unique perspective on American history from an alternative vantage point, although not entirely foreign. Churchill was, in fact, intimately connected with Amercia. As the introduction provided by his grandson (appropriately named) Winston S. Churchill reveals, three of Churchill's ancestors were actually passengers on the Mayflower. He had even more recent connections through his mother who was an American. Churchill was a great admirer of what he affectionately called 'the Great Republic' (thus, the title), and so his endearment of our country is also the result of embracing his own heritage.

   Only half of this edition is taken from Churchill's original history. Obviously, the work has a Euro-centrist perspective of America and its events. But this is part of its unique charm, added with the fact of the man who had written it is highly regarded world-wide. The span of history covered begins with the Europlean effort to find alternative routes to the East Indies, resulting in America's discovery. It ends at the beginning of the twentieth century having little to say of these times. Because American history was not the focus of the original work, much history must be expected by the reader to be left out. The themes discussed are almost entirely political, as one would expect. The central focus of our history it turns out is our Civil War. It seems that it is not only historians in America who have such a fascination with this epic. More emphasis is given this historic confrontation than that of our Revolutionary War (after all, what Englishman would glory in that story). Nevertheless, the greatness of Churchill as an historian is fully evident here.

   The latter half is a collection of Churchill's writings and speeches regarding America covering a span of over 50 years. Here we find how America was viewed by the prominent politian. He is certainly credible enough to have formed an opinion of our American customs and habits considering his background and his numerous trips to the New World. The topics vary covering our eating habits and social customs to our landscapes to our common language and heritage to opinoins on Prohibition and War. These, or course, act as a history of America in the first half of this last century. On the whole, The Great Republic is an exceptional and brief read in American history.

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 Life On The Mississippi LP.

1. Twain's account of his years on the Mississippi is part travel book, part memoir, and part historical work, with a few sketches, stories, and tall tales tossed in for good measure. There is even an outtake from the not-yet-published "Huckleberry Finn," along with extensive excerpts from historical and contemporary accounts by other authors. This smorgasbord of material makes for an uneven book, but much of it shows Mark Twain at his humorous and humanistic best.
   
   The kernel of the volume (and its best, most cohesive section) is in chapters 4 through 17; this material appeared in the Atlantic magazine in 1875 and recalls his early life as a crew member on steamboats in the early 1850s. His adventures as a young man are fraught with danger, full of comedy, populated by a number of ornery, mischievous, and reckless characters, and occasionally embellished (although Twain is a bit obvious when he's fobbing off a yarn). As Twain later wrote in "Puddn'head Wilson, "if there was anything better in this world than steamboating, it was the glory to be got by telling about it."
   
   After he published the series in the Atlantic, Twain added another 46 chapters; much of it an account of his homecoming (incognito--or so he'd hoped) to the Mississippi River in 1882, when the steamboat had been rendered obsolete by the railroad. Many of these descriptions are unusually (for Twain) melancholy; he remarks upon the relatively emptiness of the river traffic and notes the transformations to the river and its banks that had made steamboat travel safer but less adventurous. His new journey provides opportunities to relate a number of stories--some allegedly told to him on the river and a few unpublished tales that he deemed relevant and worthy of inclusion.
   
   The material from other sources, unfortunately, tends to bog things down--and there are about 10,000 words of it commingled in the text and included as appendices. Twain gathered newspaper articles and historical documents; he also included travel writing from earlier visitors, primarily Europeans distracted by how Americans and their homes were horribly uncouth and dirty. (You almost get the feeling that Twain would have smacked "the once renowned and vigorously hated" Frances Trollope upside the head if he'd had the chance; she provides Twain with the most interesting, if snooty, descriptions of traveling along the Mississippi early in the century.)
   
   The material Twain wrote, however, more than compensates for the dryness of the extraneous stuff. As always, he is quotable, witty, amusing, and provocative. In spite of its excesses, nobody has done the Mississippi better.



2. Mark Twain (1835-1910) grew up along the banks of the Mississippi River, and he captures the feel of the mighty river during the steamboat era in this superb narrative and memoir. I particularly liked the earlier chapters, as Twain describes his youthful tutelage as an aspiring steamboat pilot in the years before the Civil War. Readers see what it was like guiding a steamboat over a river full of dangerous snags and sandbars - in clear daylight, through thick fog, and on moonless nights. The author then jumps ahead to his middle age - describing life along the river and in the South after the Civil War, and including politics, epidemics, and the supplanting of steamboats by railroads. The book's second half lacks a bit of the magic found earlier, but remains eminently readable and informative. This is a remarkable narrative by a great writer.



3. I've been reading a lot of classic literature recently, and I also recently saw the Mississippi River for the first time...so this book seemed liked the perfect one for me to read right now.
   This is a "non-fictional" book by Mark Twain. (I guess that means based on some truth but embelished in various ways?) In it he recalls the years he spent during his youth as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Then he suddenly jumps forward many years in the book to when he is an older man. As an older man, he decides to go back and travel on the Mississippi River again. He finds the river much changed. The course of time (the Civil War has come and gone, the expansion of the railroad, and the forces of nature) have greatly changed life on the river. The once thriving steamboat trade has almost disapeared.
   Besides his personal recollections, he also includes other interesting stories,history,folklore, talltales, and such. It is written in typical Mark Twain style - his dry sense of humor will bring a smile to your face. I really enjoyed this book.



4. This book--at times disjointed, rambling, self-referential, and irreverent--is decades ahead of its time. It's an interdisciplinarian's dream as Twain takes on economics, geography, politics, ancient and contemporary history, and folklore with equal ease. Mostly though, one appreciates his knack for exaggeration, the tall tale, and the outright lie. It's a triumph of tone, as he lets you in on his wild wit, his keen observation, and his penchant for bending the truth without losing his credibility as a guide.

   The book's structure is also modern: He recounts his days as a paddlewheel steam boat "cub," piloting the hundreds of miles of the Mississippi before the Civil War, then, in Part 2, returns to retrace his paddleboat route. Although a few of his many digressions don't work (they sometimes sound formulaic or too detailed) most of the narrative is extremely entertaining. Twain seems caught between admiration and disdain for the "modern" age-but he also rejects over-sentimentality over the past. He writes with beauty and cynicism, verve and humor. Very highly recommended!




5. In Life on the Mississippi, Twain recounts his river experiences from boyhood to riverboat captain and beyond. Encompassing the years surrounding the Civil War, this book is an excellent source of 19th-century Americana as well as an anthology of the mighty river itself. Replete with rascally rivermen, riparian hazards, deluge, catastrophe, and charm, Life on the Mississippi is another of Twain's stellar literary achievements.

   Wit and wisdom are expected from Twain and this book does not disappoint. It is equally valuable for it's period descriptions of the larger river cities (New Orleans, St. Louis, St. Paul), as well as the small town people and places ranging the length of America's imposing central watershed.

   The advent of railroads signalled the end of the Mississipi's grand age of riverboat traffic, but, never fear, Life on the Mississippi brings it back for the reader as only Samuel Clemens can. Highly recommended.

5 comments about The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II (G K Hall Large Print Book Series).

1. A man is sitting at a book-covered table in the Central State Archive of the October (1917) Revolution in Moscow. The surviving diaries of the last imperial family of Russia are there, unclassified at last. Reading them, his thoughts carrying him back and forth in time, the man is moved when he finds pressed flowers in the journals of the tsar's daughters: "Souvenirs of a destroyed life".
   
   Edvard Radzinsky is that haunted man, sitting at a table strewn with memories of a broken dynasty. "The Last Tsar" is the product of his research and his sadness. A playwright, Raszinsky is well-qualified to explore the human depths of the lives of Tsar Nicholas II, his family, and the others who were part of their doomed world.
   
   The book gained a great deal of publicity when it was first released here for its sensational assertion that two of the family may have escaped execution on that terrible night in 1918. And this work of popular history merits the attention. This book is likely to become the definitive work on the last years of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.
   
   Rarely is a work of history so beautifully written, so thoroughly researched, and so permeated with emotion and insight. A great debt is owed to the translator for her lyrical and poetic voice while retaining a sense of historical authority.
   
   Radzinsky's attitudes and feelings are juxtaposed with those of the two main characters of the story-- Tsar Nicholas and his queen, Alexandra. The inclusion of the author's feelings is unorthodox in a historical work however, in this case, it's a success and it offers a perspective that is both personal and realistic.
   
   The tone of the book is conversational rather than scholarly. It is not difficult to imagine Radzinsky weeping as he sits at the table covered with diaries, though he does not say he did. Certainly, the depth and honesty of his feelings are so evident that we find it difficult to hold back tears ourselves as the tragedy of the Romanov family unfolds.
   
   Radzinsky has a deep respect for the dead Tsar and his wife, but he clearly loves those children. They are the classic innocence, doomed by the destruction of their grand and insulated world.
   
   In the early 90s, exhumation of what is assumed to be the family's grave revealed only nine skeletons. Although the accepted number of victims has always been put at eleven. Even more recently, two bodies were found nearby to the execution site and burial site that some experts believe to be the missing bodies.
   
   The book and the forensic examination raise again the persistant belief that not only the Princess Anastasia, but also the Tsar Evitch Alexi, heir to the Russian throne may have survived the execution. However, these most recent exhumations near the main burial pit appear to show that neither Alexi nor Anastasia survived.
   
   One of the participants in the execution later wrote that Alexi and his four sisters remained alive after the shooting had stopped.
   
   "This had amazed the Commandant", he wrote, "since we had aimed straight for the heart. It was also surprising that the bullets from the revolvers bounced off for some reason and ricocheted, jumping around the room like hail."
   
   That night, the children were wearing clothing into which the family diamonds had been sewn. Seeing that the bullets had not done its jobs, the killers decided to finish off the children with bayonets. A strong, although essentially circumstantial case, is presented that Alexi and Anastasia may, in fact, have survived.
   
   This conclusion appears to have been recently overturned by the finding of the two bodies near the main burial site.
   
   "The Last Tsar" was written as the Soviet Union, the author's homeland itself, was collapsing. The two Russian Revolutions, those of 1917 and 1989, are often intertwined in the book. In the lonely archives and libraries of a dying country, Radzinsky fell into a no-man's land of historical whirlwinds where huge and incomprehensible became understandable. He offers insights into the character of Russian history where, ". . . great and terrible events. . . are usually due to someone's stupidity or laziness," and to the apparently cyclical nature of history.
   
   "Oh, our bitter, bitter revolution," he writes.
   
   This is a book about processes. The tragedy of a family, the drama of a world turned upside down and the mechanics of research and writing are among the subjects.
   
   Radzinsky's superb use of diaries and letters, his simple straightforward arguments and his penetrating thought-provoking style combined to make a very entertaining and convincing book.



2. I absolutely loved this book. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. This was the first biography about Tsar Nicholas II that I had ever read. It gives excellent background information about the country, its history and the politics, so even if you're not at all familiar with Russian history/politics, you can still follow. Excellent purchase!!



3. The history is all there in detail. Very interesting, particuarly if you are into tzar history like I am. However, the book is really hard to read. It usually takes me no longer than a week to read a book, but this one actually took me almost 2 months.



4. With Radzinsky the art comes before the history and that's why this is my favourite addition to the "Romanov canon". This is not to overlook how thrilling in terms of new material "The Last Tsar" was when it was first translated and published (the "Yurovsky Note" comes to mind), and all those lovely until then unknown archive sources. These opened up new avenues of thought and allowed Radzinsky to theorise in a way I found compelling. Except, how much of it could be trusted?
   
   This is the problem with this subject in total. It's an epoch in recent history in the process of being re-constructed, after 70 years of communism in effect shut Russian imperial history down. A detailed picture of imperial Russia at the end of empire is in the process of being written. But in Radzinsky's account I caught the flavour of the times and that's more important to me than measuring his facts, weighing his sources. Most serious readers on this subject know enough in 2006 to discount the more imaginative flights in this book, and for everyone else it's a glorious, rackety, heart-rending read.



5. This was a great book written during the time that the Romanov bones had been uncovered. It gives an interesting portrayl of Nicholas and Alexandra. Most interesting of all is the love story between Nicholas and his former mistress, Mathilde Kschessinka, who years later would meet a woman claiming to be the daughter of the Tsar (Anna Anderson) and she would recognize her as his daughter because of the 'Emperor's look'.
   
   It is somewhat dated however. Since this book has been published, Russian and American scientists have argued passionately amonst themselves as to whether the remains of Grand Duchess Marie or Anastasia are missing. Then the bones were tested for DNA and proved a match and then they were compared with the tissue of Anna Anderson 'proving' she was not a Romanov. However, these tests are not as valid today as they were then. For more on that, visit my website: http://www.geocities.com/anastasiagrandduchess/
   In 1998, the bones were interred in the Cathedral of Saint Paul, although the Russian Orthodox Church rejected the authenticity of the remains.