No comments about A Personal Record (Large Print).

5 comments about The Education of Henry Adams (Large Print Edition).

1. Note that this review is for the audio book narrated by David Colacci. I have been on a kick the last year or so of listening to the `classics' on my daily commute. This book has been on several lists of great books and I decided to give it a try. I started out wondering why this book would be considered so good, but after a few hours of listening I learned to appreciate the unique writing style and personality of the author.
   
   The narrator was perfect for the part. His voice and manner of speaking fit the style of the book very well. He sounded just like I imagined Adams himself would have sounded if he had read this book.
   
   I have always been a fan of history, and his perspective as a minor participant in several great events was fascinating. From the Civil War to the Teddy Roosevelt administration, he provided several interesting insights into those events. He knew many of the key players. His overriding theme of obtaining an `education' was also interesting and he looked at it much more broadly than most people would. He lived at a time of great technological change, especially from a perspective of power and seemed concerned that society was not ready to handle that much power. He saw the source of power switching from Christianity (The Virgin Mary) to the dynamo.
   
   I initially didn't like him. He seemed almost too humble and didn't seem to have a strong opinion of right and wrong because he wasn't sure which was which. In the end I appreciated his perspective and thought he would have been an interesting person to know, though I wouldn't consider him as a great leader. I also would have liked to have him talk more of his personal life; note that this book omits the years 1872-1891, which would have included his marriage.
   
   Overall I recommend this book for anyone interested in history and a unique literary style. He was clearly an intellectual and it gives a good snapshot of the intellectual views of that era.



2. I bought this version and started reading it, but ended up buying another version. This version is poorly printed - the pages are overlarge for a paperback, and the margins at the spine are too narrow. Because of the width of the page it wasn't possible to read one line without moving my head, and since the book didn't lie flat I would have to peer into the spine area to get the last word on any line on the left hand page. Pick another version that's easier to read.



3. The main problem I had with this book was the format. The 7-1/2X9-15/16" and the very narrow margins made reading difficult for me. I had to bend the binding back to read the end of a the very long line of text on the left page and the beginning of a line of text on the right. I also often had to use my finger to return the to the correct start of the next lenghty line. The truly made reading less enjoyable than it should have been. I suspect I would rate it higher in a more standard format book.
   This will be one of my book club's readings this academic year and I can review it after the meeting within 12 months. I suspect many of us in the club will give it higher than 3 stars - which as I have indicated is marred by the difficulty in the physical (visual) reading.
   
   
   
   
   a
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   



4. It took me a few months to grind my way through this, and I must conclude that unless you are a serious student of history--a professor or grad student, or highly-motivated undergrad--you are not going to get much out of this book.
   
   I've got undergraduate and masters degrees (in computer science), am fairly widely read, and have a pretty good knowledge of history. Nevertheless, I usually could not figure out what Adams was getting at in his overly poetic abstractions. As other reviewers have pointed out, Adams can never simply describe concretely what he sees, but instead has to formulate some sort of generalization, as when the "dynamo"--a machine he sees at a World's Fair--becomes a symbol for the sweeping forces of mechanization and industrialization. That sounds insightful, but did he really need an entire chapter to describe how it upheaved his soul?
   
   Adams wrote this book for his close circle of friends, not the general public. This manifests when he casually tosses around the names of obscure people without explaining who they are, as if we are just supposed to know. I often kept Wikipedia open as I read.
   
   Unless you are already an expert on 19th-century U.S. history, be prepared for a hard slog and, I regret to predict, a lack of fulfillment.



5. "The Education of Henry Adams" is a difficult book to review. But be forewarned: "The Education" will not appeal to many readers. It is hardly a book you'd bring to the beach or try to read for leisure. I first came across the book in a foreign policy seminar I took in college. While my professor took great pains to tell us how important "The Education" was -- it was named by Modern Library as the greatest non-fiction book written in the 20th Century -- the book was just boring to a 19-year, and almost certainly beyond my limited means and interest. Recently inspired by a blog series on the New York Times web site about "The Education", I decided to dust off my old copy, hoping that a few years wiser, I would be able to get through the whole thing, and even more importantly, have a better appreciation for Adams' book. After finally finishing it -- including the many detailed footnotes in the Samuel' edition -- I can safely say that while several parts of the book were very interesting, I would not recommend "The Education" to everyone.
   
   "The Education of Henry Adams" is for all intents and purposes, a very unusual autobiography of Adams -- though I am sure Adams would disagree with that label -- told in the third person, chronicling the interesting life of a man born into an extraordinary family history, who led a fascinating life, but who never quite fit into the changing America as the 20th Century began to dawn. Henry Adams was a historian and one-time professor of history at Harvard. Born in 1838, Adams was the great-grandson of John Adams, the grandson of John Quincy Adams, and the son of Charles Francis Adams, the esteemed Minster to England during the Civil War. The book is written in such a manner that each chapter covers a year or series of years in Adams' life, beginning in 1838 and ending in 1905 (though Adams himself died in 1918, he ended the book in 1905; further, the book does not cover the 20-year period of his marriage to Marion "Clover" Hooper, who tragically killed herself in 1885 following a long depression).
   
   Part of what makes "The Education" so compelling -- at least to me, is that the book serves as an eyewitness account of some of the most important events and periods of American history between 1840 and 1900. Adams offers very insightful and sharp observations of many of the great events of his time; though, it is important to note that Adams was in Britain for the entire Civil War, serving as a private secretary to his father, so Adams does not offer great analysis of what was going on in America during the Civil War. Perhaps not coincidentally, some of the most boring chapters in "The Education" are those covering the years 1860 to 1870.
   
   More than anything else, however, "The Education" is a story of a man who felt out of place in the fast-changing America of the late-19th and early 20th Century. From Adams' perspective, the book is a tale of his pursuit of an "education" in life that would help him adapt to, understand, and live in the new America. Throughout the book, Adams laments his abject failure in accomplishing this objective, and generally considered himself a failure unable to live in the United States as it entered onto the world stage as a super power. Reading the book, it was very interesting to me how Adams conceived himself as a man of the 18th Century, and I think his inability to live up to the political successes of his ancestors -- who could?! -- was hugely depressing to him as he went through life.
   
   "The Education" has several chapters on numerous recurring themes which Adams well examines and often lampoons, such as American politics and the U.S. Senate (his chapters on the pitiful Grant Administration and the state of U.S. politics are extremely funny and pretty much on-the-mark, even 130 years later), the conduct of diplomacy (given Adams' family history and his own interests, he had a tremendous background in diplomatic issues, and was best friends with Secretary of State John Hay), and the rise of technology and its affect on the United States (his chapters on the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the 1900 Paris Exposition are two of the best chapters in the book). Regarding the latter area, Adams was both intrigued by and terrified of emerging technologies like the faster locomotives, cars, and other devices, which he called the "dynamo". In several passages, he predicted that while new technologies would advance civilization and America's standing, they would also reap devastating results for the world. Given the birth of the Atomic Age and what has happened since, one could argue that Adams was incredibly prescient.
   
   Despite the book's many pluses, it is not without its considerable flaws. Perhaps I am just not educated enough myself, but the book is extremely hard to read today. First written by Adams around 1903, "The Education" does not all translate well to 2008, and I had to read many of the passages and pages multiple times to understand what Adams was trying to say. Further, while Adams' wit and self-deprecating humor are amusing at first, it becomes very grating as Adams seems to refer to himself as a failure on every single page. Finally, there are certain periods of Adams' life -- particularly his lack of service during the Civil War and his marriage (which he does not mention once in the book) -- which he disappointingly did not discuss much at all.
   
   As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, "The Education" is not a book for everyone. It takes a good deal of time to fully read and digest, and its themes are fairly nuanced and not always terribly exciting. That being said, if you're a student of history and interested in learning about American development between 1840 and 1900 from one of the 19th Century's great historians (Adams wrote a nine-volume history of the U.S. during the Jefferson and Madison Administrations, which, to this day are considered the gold standard in early American history books), you should consider checking the book out. If you do want to read "The Education", I strongly recommend that you purchase Ernest Samuel's edition. Samuels wrote a three-volume biography of Adams, and knew more about Henry Adams than anybody else. Samuels also included a wealth of detailed footnotes throughout the pages; while many people like to avoid footnotes, they are quite valuable with a book like this where Adams is constantly referencing old German words and 15th Century French figures as if his readers were all supposed to know them! So, the Samuels edition (the one with the green cover and published by Riverside Editions) is the edition you want.
   
   I liked "The Education" and I would like very much to read his forgotten histories of the Jefferson and Madison years, but I have to admit that I don't know if I could ever make it through them considering Adams' writing style!
   
   Three stars.

No comments about Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee (Large Print Edition).

4 comments about The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (Large Print Edition).

1. John Muir was a genius of natural understanding, and this book doesn't really explain why. His life is beyond explanation. But he sure can tell a tale! It's a fascinating look at new immigrants to the U.S. in the 1800's. John Muir is such a man apart that every page is mindblowing. He has thoughts and experiences that will appeal to nearly every reader. His schooling was remarkable, his work ethic unrelenting, his desire to learn insatiable, his boldness irrefutable. He relates his thought processes in a way that opens the window to his soul, and you learn to know a man who you really want to know. His instincts, thoughts, motives, and wonderings guide the reader's mind to productive and beneficial thoughts.
   I loved this book!



2. The central symbol of Muir's abusive father is the father's decision to become a lay preacher, and thus his determination to study the Bible all day, while dumping all the farm chores on young John. This puts John at the bottom of a new well, hacking through the rocky ground in search of water. While the holy father urges him on between inspirational readings. One wonders if the father was reading of Jesus's encounter with the woman at the well, offering himself as the living water.

   John concluded it's time to get the heck out of Wisconsin and away from his dad, to roam around the mountains and forests of the great unexplored Western U.S., appreciating the water where God placed it in plain view.

   Muir's experience of being forced to work like a Calvinist, while his dad sat around like a pietist, presents a juxtaposition which can be applied to other relationships we all come across in our lives. That, and the lesson that you need not be a perpetual victim of a rotten childhood. Muir certainly overcame it.




3. I wouldn't recommend this as a first book for those who are interested or curious about Muir (try _My First Summer in the Sierra_ or _1000 Mile Walk_), but it gives a lot of insight, for me at least, on why Muir turned out the way he did. He had a cruel, strict father and had to endure a lot of pain and hardship, which made his latter wilderness travels so much easier and free in comparison.



4. John Muir, one of the great leaders of the ecological movement in America, tells of growing up on a farm in Wisconsin. He gives detailed information about the wildlife he sees growing up, which is interesting but does get a bit tedious. It was interesting to learn how Muir became interested in being an inventor; before reading this book I hadn't known of his inventions. It gives some insights into how he came to love and appreciate nature, and hints at his later desire to protect all things wild. Near the end of the book he writes, "I wandered away on a glorious botanical and geological excursion, which has lasted nearly fifty years and is not yet completed, always happy and free, poor and rich, without thought of a diploma or of making a name, urged on and on through endless, inspiring, Godful beauty." Certainly Muir's writing recalls Thoreau, and his spirit has lived on through the writings of such diverse people as Rachel Carson, Jack Kerouac, and Adolph Murie. This book is not one of his classics, but if you're interested in Muir or life on the plains before they became completely tamed, it's worth reading.

No comments about Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois, Volume 2 [EasyRead Edition].

5 comments about A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

1. First let me say that I am a huge Maya Angelou fan! I couldn't wait to add "A Sung Flung Up to Heaven" to my library. When it arrived, I poured a cup of tea and dug in. When I finished, I felt a little cheated. It seemed that she rushed through this book, leaving me wanting more. It's a lovely book overall, but I expected more detail, more artistry... more Maya... in this final installment. I wanted more personal perspective on her relationships with Malcolm X and Dr. King. I'm still a big fan, but this book missed the mark a bit for me.



2. When a representative of Random House contacted Angelou with the suggestion that she write an autobiography at the tender age of forty, she demurred, and he lay down a challenge by saying that she might be right to refuse, for writing autobiography as literature is nearly impossible to do. Angelou picked up that challenge and met it squarely, for her six-volume autobiography does indeed qualify as literature. As has been noted in several reviews of her other books in this series, she writes not the dry facts of her existence but rather the colorful and expressive interpretation of those facts. Instead of recounting happenings, she paints for the reader her interpretation of them, their significance, and their place in her universe. History may underlie her writing, but it is the view that Angelou has of those historical events that gives her books interest and meaning.
   
   A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN is the concluding volume of Angelou's autobiographical writings, and, by itself, it is of limited instruction for the reader. It is quite brief, easily read in a single sitting. The first short chapters present a skeletal synopsis of her personal history. The final chapter gives wing to her philosophical view of humankind. In between, the reader is given a glimpse of the frustrations leading to the Watts Riots and of the despair occasioned by the assassinations of Malcolm X and of Martin Luther King. This volume also continues earlier books' insightful descriptions of King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, adding much to the understanding of these men by the general public.
   
   This slim volume is indeed the conclusion of the other five books that comprise Angelou's autobiographical works detailing the first half of her life. It is no more logical to begin reading this book without having first read the others than it is to read the final chapter of a novel before enjoying all of the preceding chapters. If one is to comprehend this book fully, he must begin with I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS and follow with its successors until he reaches A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN in the proper course of things.
   
   If a criticism must be lodged against this book, it is only that its brevity is such that it scarcely warrants being published as a separate volume. It could easily have been appended to the preceding book, ALL GOD'S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELING SHOES. The fact that the end of the book comes so quickly forces the reader to wonder whether Angelou tired of her writing project, ran headlong into an ultimate publishing deadline, or wished to eke out a bit more recompense from her publisher by forcing one additional volume through his presses.
   
   Some of the preceding autobiographical volumes have been described as having perhaps a bit too much virulence against Whites, perhaps a little too much hyperbole concerning the enduring effects of historical slavery. Some of Angelou's statements reveal a "reverse racism," to use one of her own phrases. Of course, the social climate in the United States during much of Angelou's life hardly engendered loving relations between White and Black citizens, yet the non-aggression of a Martin Luther King grew and matured in this environment, making Angelou's strident condemnations of the White population as much a factor of her own personality as of her social environment, and, after many pages, that stridency becomes tiresome. This final volume, however, is free of such hostility and is much more accepting of good people regardless of their color.
   
   In brief, if one has read the first five volumes of Angelou's autobiography, then by all means do finish with this sixth one. On the other hand, picking this one up and reading it first will deprive the reader of an accurate appreciation of Angelou's artistry, in both its strengths and its weaknesses, as a prose writer and may well leave the reader with a complete mis-perception of Angelou's autobiographical books. Angelou's autobiographical series is one of those things that really should be experienced in the order of their creation, and doing so will give the reader a captivating view of this most unusual author and poet.



3. I am an avid fan of Ms. Angelou and actively collect her books. Please continue to provide her works, especially her older books.



4. About the book: She tells her story in wonderfully simple, delightfully entertaining narrative. As a very young woman when I read her first autobiographical installment (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings) I became an ardent fan of her craft. Her story gave me entrance into a sisterhood; some of her poetry still stirs and inspires me.
   
   However, in my listening experience, most authors (even some of my favorites) should NOT read their own works for audio publication. Maya Angelou is no exception. Instead of being transported into her experience, I heard a reading--and not (in my opinion) a particularly memorable one.
   
   Nevertheless, Ms. Angelou remains, without doubt, a voice of the time and a woman of vast accomplishment. Well dang, one person can't be perfect in all things now can they?! LOL!



5. THIS POEM WAS THE BEST POEM I HAVE EVER READ AND I LOVE TO READ IT OVER AND OVER SO I GIVE THIS POEM 5 STARS

No comments about It Was Like This....

No comments about First and Last (Large Print Edition).

No comments about Darling Girl: Letters from Oliver Spalding to His Wife Violet (Ulverscroft Nonfiction).

No comments about Life of John Milton (Large Print Edition).