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 This Just in: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV.

1. I got the book to have it signed by its author Bob Schieffer. Unfortunately, the book was not in a good condition at all. Half of the front page was ripped off and there was a "low prize" button on the cover that I could not get off.



2. Schieffer is a good storyteller and has seen a lot of important news from the last 40 years. He also manages to have something nice to say about nearly everyone he discusses. This book is certainly not a spiteful political diatribe, and is generally very pleasant.
   
   I gave the book 4 stars because of one small point that nagged me as I read the book. For the Nixon era, he interviews many of the important players in Nixon's administration, or at least consults their memoirs, including Nixon himself, Melvin Laird and H.R. Haldeman. The one glaring exception is Chuck Colson, who has written very thoughtfully about the role he played in the Nixon administration, is very contrite for the crimes he committed during that period, and has done a world of good in this country's prisons since having served his own time. Colson very candidly described the m.o. of the administration as a flawed "ends justifies the means" mentality. Why would Schieffer not interview him, or at least consult the significant body of work Colson has produced on the subject?
   
   In general though, I thought it was a very evenhanded and fair-minded account, and Schieffer deserves kudos.



3. Bob Schieffer who spent his life in journalism and was the anchor of 'Face the Nation'. He offers a behind-the-scenes account of his more than forty years in journalism, including coverage of the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Capitol Hill. Mr. Schieffer also discusses his reporting of Kennedy's assassination, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, Watergate and September 11, 2001.
   
   You can tell that he enjoyed his career as a journalist and seems to be honest in his recollection of his career. And his brushes with those he interacted with. Though he does name drop and seem to let us know when ever fate favored him. Other then some of the few self-serving statements on his personal life and social climbing, his anecdotes are still worth reading. Even though he seems to never have met a person he didn't like. Do not expect to learn anything new, but it will jog your memory of many familiar events.



4. I enjoyed this book because it gave an insider's perspective on many of the most important news stories of my lifetime. Having worked for a CBS affiliate in the early 80s, it brought back many memories. But what I took away was a sense of Bob Schieffer's genuine, unflashy but solid character. I've never met him, but I watched his work over the years as the "backup" anchor for CBS News. Stars have come and gone, but he has always handled that duty with quiet grace. He was never one to grand-stand, to wax with righteous indignation or pomposity. He's never tried a special sweater or a silly signoff (remember "Courage"?) to boost his ratings. I'll bet he never even owned a blow dryer. Just did his job, said his piece, bringing hard work and common sense to the task. To me, this book was a heartening reminder that the basics really can pay off in the long run.



5. Bob Schieffer is not only an outstanding reporter and anchor but an excellent story teller as well. His accounts of the history he has seen make the reader feel a part of the story. Highly recommended to anybody interested in knowing more about the stories that have shaped our lives.

No comments about Note-Books of Samuel Butler (Large Print Edition).

No comments about The Private Life of Napoleon Volume III [EasyRead Large Edition].

No comments about The Life of Samuel Johnson Volume I of II[EasyRead Large Edition].

No comments about A Manhattan Tales (Isis Nonfiction).

No comments about 7 Years in Tibet (Ulverscroft Large Print).

No comments about The True George Washington (Large Print Edition).

No comments about The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau Volume 2 [EasyRead Large Edition].

4 comments about Diana: Her New Life.

1. I love Andrew Morton's writing style. This is such a touching story. Highly recommended.



2. but just as good. This book is an update on Diana since her separation from Charles in 1992 and what the future could hold for Diana as a single woman.

   Unfortunately, only a year after her divorce, we got the answer, and it wasn't good.




3. Without question, this is a book sympathetic to Diana's side, and justifiably so. The grey-suited eunuchs of Buckingham Palace have never done the monarchy a favor by meddling in the marriages of the royal family. Morton tells the tale of Diana, her remarkable courage and resourcefulness, and her feelings of alienation, in the face of a smear campaign that would have shriveled us lesser mortals. Diana is a flawed, but nevertheless feeling, human being who did not deserve the ill treatment she received at the hands of her prince and his minions. This is an interesting book to read in light of what's happened since the book's publication in 1994. One can believe that Diana's death may not have been an accident.



4. I loved this book, I felt as if I was there writing the book as it happened,rather than reading the book years after it happened.