5 comments about It Doesn't Take a Hero : The Autobiography of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

1. I picked this book up in a used bookstore and bought it because I was curious about General Schwarzkopf's life and how he became the man he is.
   
   His life is very interesting and I learnt a lot from it regarding leadership to the extent I used one of his war stories in my book " Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude."



2. This book was surprisingly good. It was straight forward. He said a lot of things that I hadn't expected to hear from a man in his position. My guess is that he received a lot of "poop" for it also.
   He has a lot of heart and a lot of good emotions.
   I have read some negative stuff about him also but all in all he seems to be a pretty good man - and a pretty good story teller.
   I haven't checked yet but if he has written something else, I would probably buy it. I think he has brains and insight and I don't think that he would be a paen to the established order - He would be loyal to his country of course - but I feel that he would tell it as he saw it without being afraid to be critical - if he felt criticism was necessary.
   I would like to see him write something on military history - past wars or battles or something like that.



3. "Cometh the hour, cometh the man" is an adage that was penned for men such as General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
   
   It is very easy for Englishman to prefer British heroes over those from other countries. Some might say it is even easier for United States citizens to acknowledge the achievements of their own citizens whilst deprecating those of any other nation. Eisenhower, for example, was a great man - but so was Montgomery!
   
   This book, however, is about a man who is not in open comparison to any. He tells an account of his own life which, as others have already stated, is so honest as to be brutally so. How odd that the fickle finger of fate is able to steer any man towards his ultimate destiny. What if Eisenhower (or even Montgomery) had joined the Navy?, what if Norman Schwarzkopf had railed against his father's wishes and "not" joined the US Army?
   
   But they did and I am unable to avoid that cliché which demands that "the rest is history." Having said that, I would suggest General Schwarzkopf's contribution to that history is as great as any man's.
   
   Other reviewers have sought to express their views in their own ways and quite rightly so! Some of those reviews give the reader a quick impression - "it's a great book" and all that, whereas others seek to paraphrase the book and, is so doing give the reader a better impression of what is found within it's pages.
   
   Me, well, for the very first time in a long time, I feel as though I have read a book. Just think about that. Take a moment to look at any of my book reviews, then click on that button which says "see all my reviews" and you will see what I mean. Some of those books are on subjects I feel very passionate about. Some are great books and well worth the 5 star rating given. Others are less than ordinary and not even worth the single star one is required to donate to the charitable cause that best describes that particular offering in print.
   
   Then I find a biography from a retired general who came to prominence during the first Gulf War, the biography of a man who recognised it does not take a hero to order men into battle, the biography of an ordinary bloke who did good, served his country and the cause of freedom well and expects nothing in return.
   
   Buy it. Read it. Only then will you also appreciate what I mean by having "read" a book. There will come a time when you will read it again.
   
   NM
   Retired British Army major.



4. "Cometh the hour, cometh the man" is an adage that was penned for men such as General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
   
   It is very easy for Englishman to prefer British heroes over those from other countries. Some might say it is even easier for United States citizens to acknowledge the achievements of their own citizens whilst deprecating those of any other nation. Eisenhower, for example, was a great man - but so was Montgomery!
   
   This book, however, is about a man who is not in open comparison to any. He tells an account of his own life which, as others have already stated, is so honest as to be brutally so. How odd that the fickle finger of fate is able to steer any man towards his ultimate destiny. What if Eisenhower (or even Montgomery) had joined the Navy?, what if Norman Schwarzkopf had railed against his father's wishes and "not" joined the US Army?
   
   But they did and I am unable to avoid that cliché which demands that "the rest is history." Having said that, I would suggest General Schwarzkopf's contribution to that history is as great as any man's.
   
   Other reviewers have sought to express their views in their own ways and quite rightly so! Some of those reviews give the reader a quick impression - "it's a great book" and all that, whereas others seek to paraphrase the book and, is so doing give the reader a better impression of what is found within it's pages.
   
   Me, well, for the very first time in a long time, I feel as though I have read a book. Just think about that. Take a moment to look at any of my book reviews, then click on that button which says "see all my reviews" and you will see what I mean. Some of those books are on subjects I feel very passionate about. Some are great books and well worth the 5 star rating given. Others are less than ordinary and not even worth the single star one is required to donate to the charitable cause that best describes that particular offering in print.
   
   Then I find a biography from a retired general who came to prominence during the first Gulf War, the biography of a man who recognised it does not take a hero to order men into battle, the biography of an ordinary bloke who did good, served his country and the cause of freedom well and expects nothing in return.
   
   Buy it. Read it. Only then will you also appreciate what I mean by having "read" a book. There will come a time when you will read it again.
   
   NM
   Retired British Army major.



5. I went into this read thinking that this would be another in a long line of self-serving autobiographies from officer blow-hards that are so full of themselves it is disgusting. I expected, like I have read in so many other memoirs, a tale where the main character is bigger than the times he served in.
   
   Not so with General Schwarzkopf. He is truly an American hero who was given an impossible mission during the first Gulf War and he pulled it off partly due to a sense of history, in part due to political accument, and in no large part because this took a lot of balls.
   
   The General starts the book out with a touching portrait of his childhood; his formative years were spent living in the Middle East, learning the customs, an appetite for the cuisine, and the art of falconry.
   
   He is no Gen. Eisenhower, to be sure, but he is still a larger than life figure that served our nation during a pivotal time in our Middle Eastern Diplomacy.
   
   "Stormin' Normin" is neither falsely self-effacing, nor does he "toot his own horn." He is what he is, and his not only has his biography born testimony to his greatness as both an officer and as an American, subsequent interviews with the gliteratti have done nothing but illumine the brightness of his "star(s)."
   
   A great read for the history buff, or a lover of biographies of great Americans.

5 comments about Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama.

1. Stephen Fox (who, I assume, is either a Yankee or has Yankee sympathies) has written a superb, sympathetic and pretty well true (I have read with interest the review by O.J. Semmes and I respect it) thriller based on the exploits of Captain Raphael Semmes (O.J. Semmes's great great grandfather) and that of his principal and most important command, the C.S.S. Alabama, the extraordinary Confederate raider that wrought havoc amongst Yankee shipping during the War for Southern Independence. It's the sort of book that's almost impossible to put down as, though one knows how the ship's story ends - sunk off Cherbourg, France, by the U.S.S. Kearsarge, on Sunday, the 19th of June, 1864 - the Alabama's creation at Liverpool and her career at sea makes for endless fascination, as does the life of Captain Semmes himself. For this Britisher, however, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the careful cataloguing of the Confederacy's many supporters who were 'over here,' some of whom I knew of but about some of whom I knew next to nothing. Any present-day supporter of the cause of the Confederate States of America should remember with pleasure the parts played on 'our' side of 'the pond' by such as (in alphabetical order) James Dunwoody Bulloch (an uncle of Theodore Roosevelt), William Ewart Gladstone, M.P., Henry Hotze, the Laird ship-building brothers of Liverpool, William Schaw Lindsay, M.P., Senator James Murray Mason, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Senator John Slidell, James Spence, and, of course, the Revd. Francis William Tremlett and his sister, Louisa. These fine folk played their parts in the great drama and I am proud of all of them, British and American, but it was Semmes and his ship that nearly turned the tide of history and, despite losing the last battle, had lasting effects on both Great Britain and the United States. Read this well-written book: you'll love it like I did!



2. Raphael Semmes is/was my great great grandfather. It is a matter of pride, if of no other significance, that I share a birth date of September 27th with him. An appreciable amount of my 78 years has been consumed in correcting error and wrongful expressions relative to Raphael Semmes, often by authors who borrowed liberally from his memoirs. For example the use of the words "notorious" instead of "famous"; the term "pirate" by authors better deserving the term; "rebel" by persons purporting to be historians. Fox appears, at times, to have used the philosophy of no proof to the contrary in his conclusions, especially his conjecture that one of Semmes's children had been born out of wedlock. This musing was based upon his time at sea and the unlikelihood of a 10 month pregnancy. Had one read all the error in the advertising of the book, this would come as no surprise. Semmes's character is best described in the words of Warren F. Spencer who wrote a factual book about Semmes during the Mexican War and the War between the States: "One other person inspired me to complete this writing:Raphael Semmes. His personality comes through all of his writings; his strong intellect constantly challenged me. I have learned from him the meaning of honor and the value of sacrificing one's self for the sake of one's convictions. My travel through Raphael Semmes's life has, in the sunset of my career, given me a new meaning to this period of my own existence. And for that, I thank Raphael Semmes". Spencer provided an accurate recounting of the life of a good man. The value of Spencer's thoughtful approach is well expressed through words of John Paul II: "People have always needed models to imitate, and that need is all the greater today, amid such a welter of confusing and conflicting ideas".



3. This book is an outstanding account of the little known actions of the Confederate Nany during the war between the states. The book is very well written and offers a "Southern Perspective" of Captain Semmes actions during this tragic time. I found the book riviting and highly recommend it to history buffs.



4. ~Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama~ is a fluid and captivating tale of the Confederate Raider helmed by the Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes. This book, in particular, focuses on his almost two-year stint as captain of the infamous Confederate privateer, the Alabama.
   
   In 1860, the Union strategist Winfield Scott devised a shrewd plan to strangle southern commerce with a naval blockade. The Confederates answered by building up their tiny Navy, though they never really could effectively counter the formidable power of New England shipbuilders. The South lacked the shipyards and iron foundries to build great ships, and had to turn to England for naval implements of war. One such ship was the CSS Alabama that set sail from Birkenhead, England in 1862 after being built by John Laird Sons and Company.
   
   At the onset of the war, Semmes was first placed in command of CSS Sumter. That tour would last six short months. He raided commercial shipping while eluding pursuing Union warships. In January 1862, the Sumter required a major overhaul. Semmes attempted to have her repaired at Gibraltar, but the arrival of U.S. warships ended her career, and Semmes narrowly escaped to England, where he was promoted to captain. There he acquired a sizable commercial vessel. He then went to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic and had that vessel converted into a formidable warship that became world-famous as CSS Alabama.
   
   The CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, England in 1862. At capacity, it had a crew of some 145 officers and sailors. All told, the Alabama sunk 62 vessels, mostly merchant ships. Its captain was the illustrious Raphael Semmes. Stephen Fox gives a nice background to Semmes' life leading up to the war. Semmes had spent his early years in the U.S. Navy, and was married to an northern woman. A native of Maryland, Semmes practiced law in Alabama. When Alabama seceded in 1861, he served the Confederacy as a blockade runner and had great success raiding Union merchant vessels in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Playing cat-and-mouse games in the vast gulf of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Alabama preyed upon Union commercial shipping. The ship bounced around ports from the Caribbean to England to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
   
   On 11 June 1864, Alabama arrived in Cherbourg, France. There Semmes requested permission to dock and overhaul his ship. Pursuing the raider, the American sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge lied in wait. Eventually the two met, and though the Alabama fired more shots at the Kearsarge, the Union ship plowed a deadly shot at a section of the Alabama's waterline sending the ship hurling to the bottom. The Union ship received the vacating crew of the Alabama.
   
   All things considered, this is an intriguing and fascinating account of Raphael Semmes and the notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama. The book is engaging and it has some nice pictures and illustrations, which enliven the narrative.



5. first off...it bugs me to no end that official and customer reviews refer to both Semmes and the CSS Alabama as "privateers." The Alabama was a ship built and comissioned in England by the Confederate States of America, and Semmes, her captain, was a Confederate Naval Officer. What she did, and did quite well, was commercial raiding, which was to destroy the enemy's commerce whenever possible. The Union ships did the same when they found Confederate blockade runners, and one can say they were performing the nautical version of what Sherman and others were doing on land.
   
   That said, this is one outstanding book. I'm not partial to historical biographies, and even less to military ones, but I tore through this one in two days. Military, political, and sexual intrigue--a real flair for characterization---Fox has all of the ingredients for an old-fashioned potboiler--and this is all a true account of an overlooked Civil War navy commander of whom little was thought until late in his career.
   
   Semmes and the Alabama are both fascinating characters--but the supporting roles of the crew--and those that love them--and those that plot aginst them--and the exotic ports of call the lovely Lady Alabama finds herself in and her many harrowing escapes until her final battle--all make for a book you can't put down.
   
   Most historical tomes by Brown history professors aren't devoured like the latest beach novel. For me, this one was, but it was a far more satisfying experience.

5 comments about Hill 488.

1. DEFINENTALY A BUY. this is a great book, even though the fighting starts half way through. Once the fighting started i couldnt put it down. Literally. I was up for 3-4 hours straight finishing it off. great for anyone with a love for touching war stories. this book hits real deep. Semper Fi. (this is the son reviewing on mothers account)



2. This book is a welcome change from any thing about Nam to come out of Hollywood.The courage,selflessness and grit will leave you feeling proud to be an American.



3. The ghost writer botched a decent history by trying to combine separate venues; i.e., history and story telling. Tried to immitate what was thought to be a Marine in combat - missed the mark - if you are interested in an intelligent first hand narrative of a Marine under fire read Eugene Sledge's "With the Old Breed" - you'll never forget that one.



4. Great read, this book tells an interesting story with a good buildup and appropriate detail. Not specifically a history book since it's more a personal retelling of a specific incident, it reads a bit more like historical fiction, and is thus interesting and worth reading for more than just history buffs. Of course, it is a true story and almost an unbelievable one at that.



5. I could not put it down so I stayed up late into the night reading. This is a great story about an incredible battle. Though the first part of the book was background info, I appreciated it because I was born at the end of the Vietnam area and therefore am not familiar with many of the historical details that the book included. Once the action starts you will not be able to put the book down. It is the most riveting story that I have ever read and I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Nineteen Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership.

1. A friend loaned me a thirty-year old copy of Nineteen Stars and I loved every page. I kept thinking I wish I had had this book when I was a new Army officer. We can argue about whether leaders are born or made, but no matter where you stand on the issue, it is unquestionably helpful for leaders at all levels to understand, and where appropriate, emulate great leaders. I bought my own copy of the book and I plan to save it for my infant grandson.



2. I served with Cotton Puryear, the Author's Son, in Desert Storm in 1990-1991. Cotton was the XO of G Troop 2/3 ACR (and a very good one - obviously learned some lessons from Dad). I was a green 2LT just out of the basic course. Cotton loaned me his copy of the book, it was one of the first books on Military leadership I read outside of a classroom and it was exceptional. It was particulalry appropriate for me as a young officer soon to face combat to learn from the greats. The book is very readable and I think should be at the top of any aspiring officer or business executives list who want to learn lessons in leadership from some of our greatest military leaders. Cotton - if you read this send me an e-mail! Brave Rifles!



3. It is written in such a way that you don't have to be a military historian to enjoy reading about Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, and Patton. It talks about these men as people and explains who they are not just what they did. I have recommended this book to many people.



4. I read this book slowly, marking it up and making notations throughout, as principles expounded came to light. These men had to make high pressure decisions, the result of which were stupendous! They were in positions that required sterling character. The ramifications of their conclusions were paramount. The fate of the free world hung on the balance the situation was desperate.

   In this study of 19 stars of military character I truly found gold nuggets of wisdom. Principles that are invaluable tools which will assist you to set the sail in your life, and then to get to where you want to go.




5. "Nineteen Stars" is not intended to be the definitive biographies of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Marshall, and Patton, but rather a study of their leadership styles illustrated with specific examples. Puryear provides enough background information on each general to put the various decisions and actions into an understandable context. As a study of leadership and management styles of four successful but very different military leaders, this book accomplishes its goals. Puryear gives the reader adequate appreciation of these general officers and the contributions they made, not to just the war effort, but to the military in general.

   Again, this is not intended to be full-blown biographies on these military leaders, but rather a leadership study for young officers and officer candidates. However, this book will serve as an able introduction to the lives of these fascinating men, and will probably inspire a broader audience than just military members to look into more indepth works on these key leaders.

4 comments about Lincoln and the Court.

1. I found Brian McGinty's book on Lincoln and the Supreme Court a well written, comprehensive review of events and legal thinking on several levels. I learned a lot about the history of race relations in the U.S. from the earliest days of the Revolution through the 1870s, and why the Dred Scott decision was such an important event. I learned a lot about how the Supreme Court developed as an institution, the many personalities that made up the Court over this period, and how the growth of what was a young nation was reflected in the kinds of issues the Court considered. There is a lot of interesting insight about American politics through the middle of the 19th Century, and the personal relationships that influenced the advent of the Civil War, its execution, and its aftermath.
   
   There is a good review of various areas of the law that were important at the time, some of which, such as Admiralty, of less general interest today, but others, such as Civil Liberties and habeas corpus, very much current.
   
   McGinty provides good support for his professed esteem for Lincoln. There is much in this book about the personal and political relationships Lincoln had, and how Lincoln showed wisdom in managing the many forces seeking to influence the course of his presidency and the war.
   
   There is a lot of information packed into the 315 pages of text. McGinty expresses himself well and clearly. Sometimes he uses 10 words when 7 or 8 would suffice, and sometimes he summarizes things he had just explained a few pages earlier, but the reader won't lose track of who the characters are.
   
   As a general reader, I found this an interesting history of the Supreme Court and the Civil War, and I thought it a useful addition to my knowledge of Lincoln's life and philosophy.



2. I found this to be an outstanding work in legal and constitutional history, bringing a fresh perspective to this topic that already has been well covered by others. See, e.g., James F. Simon, "Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney." I think there are several reasons for the outstanding success of the book. First, the author takes his time and thoroughly discusses his topics--no quick summary of a case and then moving on here. Second, the author is extremely through in covering his topic--not just Lincoln and Taney, although that is an important theme obviously, but also he discusses topics such as Lincoln's appointments to the Court and how the Court continued on dealing with these issues after Lincoln's death. Finally, the author writes so effectively that even familiar material becomes interesting and stimulating.
   
   All of the major cases are examined (habeas corpus, trial by military tribunals, Legal Tender, McCardle limitations on jurisdiction, and Texas v. White holding that the Union was never dissolved). Several chapters stand out, including that on Dred Scott (one of the best treatments I have seen) and the Prize Cases, which I used to think were quite boring. In addition, each Justice is profiled in depth, and a Gallery section contains excellent full-page photographs of each. Lincoln's challenge in making Court appointments is well covered, presenting the President with the opportunity to secure solid votes to uphold his conduct of the war, but also the need not to antagonize the border states he sought to keep in the Union. The author's attention to the post-Lincoln Court allows him to offer a fine assessment of Taney's successor, Salmon P. Chase, who managed in the Legal Tender Cases to vote exactly opposite the position he had taken as Secretary of the Treasury.
   
   The book is supported by 29 pages of notes, an excellent bibliography and index, as well as being a beautifully-printed volume to boot. Sometimes taking a new look at an old topic can result in important insights--such is the case with this book.



3. A nice overview of the Supreme Court, encompassing the years just prior to Lincoln's election, his term in office, and through the cases decided after his assassination but on matters that arose out of the conduct of the Civil War. The era's critical legal disputes, from the infamous Dred Scott decision to the Test Oath cases, are reviewed. Of special interest to today's reader is the discussion of the validity of sentences imposed on civilians by military tribunals.
   
   This book is a good reminder of the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the rule of law, during our country's Civil War. It also provides useful short character sketches of the various justices who served at that time and the role politics played in the selection of these same men, including Roger Taney and Salmon P. Chase. (More attention, rightfully so, is paid these two flawed but historically important chief justices.)
   
   Brian McGinty provides a good legal analysis in prose that while not soaring is more than adequate to the task. One significant overstatement, I think, is made on page 245, when the author writes, "Although his own views on racial equality had evolved over the years, he [Lincoln] never denigrated blacks." While Abraham Lincoln was ultimately a great man on racial issues, he did say certain negative things about blacks during his life, such as in his famed debates with Stephen Douglas.
   
   (As an aside, the use of the word "denigrated" is interesting in that it is derived from the word "nigare" or "black". It means to "blacken" or disparage.)



4. I am not much for political history or biographies. Given a choice between reading Sears' Gettysburg and Goodwin's Team of Rivals, my choice is reading Gettysburg. That fact needs to be explained as I found this a difficult book to read but a very rewarding learning experience. My difficulty has nothing to do with the author's skill as a writer but my preference as a reader. This is a book about judges, most of them old, and their ideas on how the law should be applied. President's have problems with the court when the court's idea conflicts with the Presidents. Lincoln was no exception but he faced a greater danger to the nation and the court's actions could have had a much greater impact than they normally do.
   
   McGinty starts with a series of portraits of the judges and how they had achieved their position. He manages to make them both human and inform the reader of their outlook in an interesting an informative manner. He covers personal quirks, deeply held beliefs, family and background showing us these men as both human and political beings. This provides a very firm foundation for a somewhat technical discussion of the cases and issues that follow.
   
   The chapter on the Dred Scott case is one of the best in the book. Having covered Lincoln's opposition to the Court's decision in a prior chapter, the author walks us through the issues and the Court's decision. He insures that we have the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of their reasoning based on their personalities and the law.
   
   The next major case is Merryman and once more, the author takes the time to cover the issues, the history and the decision. Again, this is a very good chapter and fully explains the issues and what happened after the decision was made.
   
   I was very impressed with the introduction and the author's ideas of the Court's view on secession. While never tested, it has given me a new series of ideas to think and talk about.
   
   This is not an exciting book to read, unless you enjoy reading about legal precedent. However, it is well written and thought provoking. As my title says; this is not an easy read but it is a rewarding one that will give you an additional perspective on the Civil War.

2 comments about Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War.

1. This is a great all-round reference to the world of Civil War espionage. It has an almost encyclopedia-type approach, giving the names of every known spy, both male and female, and on both sides of the war. It profiles their tactics, equipment, motives, and, for many, their fates, and tells real-life stories of dashing heroics and close escapes.
   
   In short, if you want to read about the spies and espionage of the Civil War, this is your book.



2. If you want an excellent look at the cloak and dagger world of spying, during the American Civil War,then this is a great start.If you're a history buff on warfare,then this book will not disappoint you.I enjoy reading about military history and the social actions leading to the declarations of war.Battle areas are interestingly called 'theatres'.And i'm always fascinated by the inter-play of the opposing armies and the power-brokers behind the scenes.If you have a keen sense of European social history,you will be intrigued by this look at the American internecine war of the 19th century.For those who want a complete understanding of current American political diplomatic strategies,domestic and foreign,you have to understand the American Civil War.

2 comments about Lt. Charles Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoir.

1. 
   
   Louis Kraft writes sensational books, my first knowledge of him came from GATEWOOD AND GERONIMO (New Mexico Press, 2000), which was also a History Book Club selection. And for being an "independant historian" he has turned out several very good books of history, this being a notable one.
   
   Unless one has read on the Apache wars in Arizona Territory, 1878-1886, the name Charles B. Gatewood may have very little meaning. But finally due this book and the efforts of Mr. Kraft, Lt. Gatewood is at last receiving some well deserved historical attention.
   
   Within a couple years of being posted to Arizona, Lt. Gatewood was in charge of the Apache Scouts and pretty much the key man concerning operational relations with the Apaches. Now, from Mr. Kraft and the University of Nebraska we can read Lt. Gatewood's 'recorded experiences', but only up to a point, for Lt. Gatewood died before he could complete them. What we receive here though is a valuable primary source printed for the first time.
   
   Have interest in the Indian Fighting Army in late Arizona Territory Apache Wars? Then you cannot pass this book up.
   
   Recommended.
   
   Semper Fi.



2. Louis Kraft does exactly what you're supposed to do with a memoir--he illuminates Gatewood's own words and Gatewood's life. Gatewood's description of meetings with the Apache, of life trying to manage the reservation, is absolutely priceless but Kraft puts the lieutenant into the broader context of his time and circumstance. Gatewood is a man worth knowing, and Kraft does an excellent job of introducing him to us. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
   Deb Goodrich,
   Publisher
   Kansas Journal of Military History

5 comments about Some Survived: An Eyewitness Account of the Bataan Death March and the Men Who Lived Through It.

1. This book is a must-read. These guys literally went through hell. You must get this book, it is outsading. If you feel terrible about how your life is, read this book. You'll realize how good you have it.
   
   Well written book. Hard to put down.



2. I am reviewing the 1984 hardback edition of this book which was entitled "Some Survived. An Epic Account of Japanese Captivity During WWII."
   Although this is not the first book on The Death March I have read, it is probably the best. It is well written and easy to read. The thing I liked best was the fact that not only did it give, in great detail, an eye witness account of the atrocities committed by the Japanese on American POW's in the Phillipines, it went on to describe life in the camps after the march, then on to a very detailed description of their treatment on the 'Hell Ships' that took the prisoners to prison camps in Japan.
   This is not a book of despair only. It is also of faith, guts, determination, and final victory by Manny Lawton and a few others that survived this horrible period of time. It also prompts us to remember those that didn't. God Bless them.



3. This is one of those books that just makes you churn inside. The abuses and suffering are never ending during the length of the book. The detail provided could only have come from someone that was there. Mr. Lawton explains in vivid detail the degree of torment these guys endured. YOU NEED TO READ THIS!



4. On April 8, 1942, Manny Lawton was a 23 year old army captain stationed on Bataan when orders came down to surrender to the Japanese who had invaded and captured the Philippine Islands in the opening months of World War II in the Pacific Theatre. Lawton and his fellow U.S. troops and their Filipino allies were compelled to endure a six-day, sixty-mile trek forever after known as the Bataan Death March, during which approximately eleven thousand men died of exhaustion or were murdered by the Japanese by bayoneting, clubbing, or simply shooting their prisoners outright. By the time the war ended in August 1945, about 57 percent of the American troops who surrendered to the Japanese on Bataan had died in confinement at the hands of the enemy. Some Survived: An Eyewitness Account Of The Bataan Death March And The Men Who Lived Through It is an important historical documentation and seminal contribution to World War II Pacific Theatre reference collections.



5. This is an amazing report of an American soldier held captive by the Japaese in the Phippines and the island of Japan itself for three and one-half years after his capture in World War II.
   How he could remember the details of brutal beatings, starvation and resulting illnesses is almost beyond belief. His experiences with fellow prisoners runs the gamut from the highest heroism to utter selfishness. Every day he looked forward to freedom, only to be repeatedly disappointed until that memorable day when he met the invading U.S. forces and he knew that he was free ,atlast! The dscription of his home coming is heart wrenching as it was for all of us on our return. This book's contents are enough to make almost anyone swear to never buy another Japanese produced article.

   met h

5 comments about Toussaint Louverture: A Biography.

1. Toussaint Louverture who lived from roughly 1744 to 1803 was the preeminent leader of Haitian independence, a model of a rebel, and a paradox of a person. He was a self educated slave who was freed shortly before his uprising in 1791. In 1793 he allied himself with the Spanish against the French but later changed sides and fought alongside revolutionary France, whose Jacobins had freed the slaves in 1793, to help expel the English who Toussaint noted had not freed the slaves of their colonies. By 1799 he was master of the island and was forced to put down a rebellion by mixed-blood freedmen (known variously as `mullatto' or `coloured'). By 1801 he was in charge of the whole island but the next year Napoleon sent an army to wrest it back to France. Toussaint was kidnapped and whisked away to die in France while his former slaves fought on and eventually gained independence in 1804, only the second independent country in the New World and one of only a few independent black countries in the world.
   
   This book is a very readable masterpiece of writing drawing mostly on secondary sources to flesh out the fascinating life of the former slave and rebel leader. The story pays close attention to the class and ethnic destinctions on the island, showing the great degree of animosity between the French, the creoles, the free Gens De Colouer (coloreds) and runaway slaves. This is a fascinating portrait of the New World, the Carribean, a French colony and slave life and rebellion. Toussaint was an ardent Catholic and persecuted Voodou. The last chapter is a lively discussion of the problems Haiti has faced since the time of Toussaint, a story that can also be found in `Why the Cocks fight'.
   
   A riveting and important book.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



2. Well known for his trilogy of historical novels chronicling Haiti's struggle for independence from France (ALL SOUL'S RISING, MASTER Of The CROSSROADS, and THE STONE THAT The BUILDER REFUSED), author Madison Smartt Bell is familiar with the primary and academic sources on the people and events that led that country through its chaotic and bloody triumph to becoming the first black state in the Western Hemisphere. Of those men, the most important of all was Toussaint Louverture.
   
   Madison Smartt Bell's TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE: A BIOGRAPHY is a necessary addition to a subject only few have dared to take on. As a biography it provides a sober and ubiased account of the former slave and self-taught veterinarian who, at age 50, would also prove himself a brilliant leader and military genius.
   
   Unlike most others who've written about the man, Bell provides much detail on Louverture's early life and ambitions. He presents a Louverture who was shrewd (the man ably manipulated the interests of both the British and the Spaniards) and level-headed, but who was also just and often disgusted by the bloody excesses of the slaves' rebellion.
   
   What makes this such an excellent work is in the way Madison Smartt Bell fleshes out Louverture's world with an indepth look into the various social classes and ethnic groups of Saint Domingue, the role religion and spiritualism played in the daily lives of the slaves and the strong influence of Voudoun on the rebellion--something that, depending on the situation, Louverture would either persecute or encourage. By highlighting the social and ethnic groupings of upper-class white landowners ("grand blancs"), lower-class white laborers and merchants ("petit blancs"), those of mixed race ("gens de coleur"), freed blacks, and the slaves, Bell shows how each one was antogonistic towards all the others and makes a strong point of presenting Haiti's war of independence as something much more complex than a slave uprising.
   
   Highly recommended.



3. After finishing another great work from Bell, I felt like there could never be enough written about this overlooked and distingushed figurehead named Toussaint. Bell chooses a subject which is quite frankly haitian, but who is more importantly american and borne of the spirit of enlightenment. This book unveils the complexities that surround this great leader who was free, propertied, owned slaves and was a devout catholic who was belived to also practice voodoo by the time the revolution started. A worthy read for those not only interested in haiti but also how leaders emerge...



4. The French Revolution, as all great revolutions, had effects on world politics and the struggle of other peoples whom awoken to political life in the afterglow of that event. The fight for freedom in French Santo Domingo (now Haiti, the name that I will use to avoid confusion hereafter) led by Toussaint to a point just short of independence is a prime example of that effect. Without the revolution in the metropolis it is very unlikely that at that time the struggle in Haiti could have been successful. The history of the times was replete with unsuccessful slave rebellions. Why it was successful in Haiti and how that success was accomplished, mainly under the leadership of Toussaint in its decisive phases, is the subject of Mr. Bell's book. Mr. Bell's scholarship and necessary updating of Toussaint's story compares very favorably with that of the eccentric Marxist, later Pan-Africanist, historian C.L.R. James.
   
   The freedom struggle in Haiti, a tropical island well suited to intensive agricultural development for the new international market in those goods necessary for the embryonic industrial system, was above all the struggle for the abolition of slavery. The fight against that servile condition that even many revolutionaries, white and black, and former revolutionaries of the time broke their teeth on. Today that freedom struggle, successful in its way in the Haiti of the early 19th century, remains a shining example of the only really successful fight against slavery by the slaves. So it pays to pay particular attention to the fight.
   
   The forces which pushed the French Revolution forward in the metropolis had their its own set of priorities, among them the fight to move the population from a condition of subjugation to a monarch to citizens of a democracy. I have noted elsewhere how important that changed social status was to the historical and psychological development of modern humankind. Nevertheless that same psychology applies to the struggle in Haiti although even more so under conditions of chattel slavery. Thus, the events in French had their reflection in the colonies particularly in Haiti. One can observe in France the changes in attitude and policy from the early revolutionary days when all classes were good fellows and true through the rise of the leftist Robespierre regime based on the plebian masses, its eventually overthrow and establishment of the Directory and then the various manifestations of the regimes of Napoleon. That regime and its treacherous colonial policy attempting was a very far drop down hill from the early heady days when even moderate revolutionaries were in both places prepared to go quite far to eliminate slavery in Haiti.
   
   There is something of a truism in the statement that great revolutions throw up personalities fit for the times. Certainly revolutions shake up the traditional order of things and let some who might have stayed dormant rise to the occasion. That is the case with Toussaint. For most of his life he was a middle level functionary on his master's estate respected by not slated for greatness. Early on, as the struggle against slavery heated up among the black slaves he exhibited the military, social, political diplomatic and other skills that would eventual thrust him into the leadership of the liberation struggle, This is really saying something special about the man because in the context of that Haitian revolution with the initial disputes between British Spanish and French interests and then the conflicting interests on the island itself between white, black and mulatto would have driven a lesser man around the bend. That it did not do so and that in his errors that which at times were grievous, especially around his seemingly obsessive commitment to maintain the French connection, does not take away from the grandeur of the experience. A cursory look at the latter developments on the island and the seemingly never ending series of tin pot despots who in their turn devastated the island only brings out Toussaint's fascinating role, warts and all, in the earlier liberation struggle in broader relief.



5. Madison Smarrt Bell writes a incredible Book on a True Leader who was bold and Revolutionary in how he commanded. this Book on this Man is long voerdue. Toussaint Louverture lead the Greatest slave Revolt. Toussaint is a Towering Figure in the History of Defending yourself and this Book is a Must read for all generations now and in the future.

5 comments about Murdering Mr. Lincoln: A New Detection of the 19th Century's Most Famous Crime.

1. A well written book with a flair for the extreme. The author has taken numerous facts about the assassination and it's particpants and stretched them with assumptions that are conceivable but not proven. A wonderful story, but a disclaimer should be attached allowing readers to understand that some facts have been stretched to offer the story of a dynamic conspiracy, a thrilling hunt and final solution. A great read and it would certainly make a great movie, ala Otto Eisenschiml.



2. The editorial review says it all:
   
   Conspiracy theorists and Civil War buffs may want to take a gander, but overall this book adds little to our understanding of the assassination.



3. Those interested in the politics behind the war will find Higham's work at times fascinating and horrific. The book really brings home what happened apart from the battlefront. As revered as President Lincoln is today, he made some decisions that would make 21st century citizens of a democracy cringe. Alternatively, Lincoln's detractors and political opponents did the same. It seems unfathomable to me now that Lincoln could have been hated by so many, and this book really pierces the veil of the myth surrounding his presidency and the unity of all those in the Union.

   When one really ponders what Lincoln did - suspending the writ of habeas corpus, prosecuting publishers printing unfavorable information, trading with South, etc. - one realizes that Lincoln - just like everyone - is neither complete hero nor complete villain - but a convoluted mix of gray areas.

   But a reflection on Lincoln is not an intended objective of this book. Nor does it foster an argument that Lincoln deserved death. The focus here is the plot to de-throne Lincoln and make peace with the South, hatched by shadowy Confederate sympathizers, fringe Confederate spies, the European aristocracy, and some out-and-out crazies, like the chief villain George Sanders and assassian John Wilkes Booth. This objective is fulfilled in excruciating detail.

   Also deeply disturbing was the revelation of the "Young Americans" Hitler-youth-type organization, the assertion that Stephen Douglas planned for a military coup d'etat over Lincoln, and the whole affair between Confederate exiles conspiring with British/Canadians to incite war with England.

   A fascinating story is marred by the author's continuous barrage of trivial details. He throws so many names, places, and things at the reader that even the most astute Civil War scholar would be overwhelmed.

   The book reads like a novel and while that is good for easy reading, one has to wonder how the author dug up so much granular information 150 years later. The source notes - a paltry half-dozen pages at the end - do nothing to convince me that the author did in fact thoroughly validate the accuracy of his assertions. Personally, while I think the book does contain many facts, I have to consider it more a historical novel, like Gore Vidal's "Lincoln", than a history. "Dark Union", another recent and similar book on Lincoln during the war, is much better annotated.




4. Charles Higham has long seen conspiracy theories under his bed. For most of us, going to bed means counting sheep and drifting off into a restful sleep, but for Higham it must be an entirely different experience. Perhaps his sheep all wear swastika armbands on their legs, baaing in syncopation with goose-stepping spies on their way to conspire with their Hollywood friends. Now, after a long and fruitless career hacking out spy laden fiction about Hollywood's brightest stars, he turns his attention to Abraham Lincoln. The switch from Hollywood figures to political icons is consistent with Higham's long rumored belief that every celebrity was not only a Nazi spy, but a closet homosexual intent on destroying the pillars of democracy. No matter - Higham's book is without merit. This book is no more than a long supposition bracketed by historical gobbledygook and pounds of manure shoveled up from Higham's seemingly endless supply of self-created excrement. Surely, he needs some fiber in his diet, and a backbone to go with it. A soul would help, too. But we need to keep in mind a fundamental truth when considering Charles Higham's long and lucrative career - he has the right to publish what he wants. Freedom is everything, and we need to accept that, even if it means that any deranged fool raised in a leper colony by a homosexual Franciscan monk from Mars can bellow about the conspiracy that occupies his dreams. Yes, they shoot horses and diseased cattle, but not people, and so the diseased are allowed their bellowing. Such people have the strength of their beliefs, and no dialogue from the rest of us will convince them that they are wrong. We should pity them. In any event, it appears obvious that Higham has reached the end of his career. He will still publish, of course, but he is much reviled. His "lack of journalistic integrity" (as historian Tony Thomas so aptly stated) is well known. At best, we should all pray that one day such illnesses are defeated and that one day Charles Higham will finally rest in peace.



5. Charles Higham's research connects various Copperhead merchants to the Confederate Secret Service, but fails to convincingly tie any of them to John Wilkes Booth. The book is worth reading primarily for its exploration of a new angle to Lincoln's assassination: Copperhead commerce with the South, reluctantly approved by Lincoln as necessary to the Union to finance the war, provided a cloak for an assassination conspiracy.

   Mr. Higham almost certainly has several things wrong. He assumes the plot to kidnap Lincoln was always phony and a cover for murder. But why would Booth write in his diary, "...we sought to capture (and changed to murder at the end)"? Why would Arnold and Surratt, years after they were safe from the law, provide details of Booth's planned abduction? It's also a huge stretch to say Surratt traveled 24 hours from Elmira, N.Y. to Washington on April 13-14 and spent only 5 hours in the city, most of which was devoted to getting his hair cut and watching a transvestite show.

   Finally, as with every single historian to have written on the case since 1865, Mr. Higham is willing to assume that Booth entered Lincoln's box without having determined in advance that Parker, the guard, would be absent. This, despite his precise timing of the gunshot to coincide with a laugh line in "Our American Cousin" and with Paine's assault on Seward. Booth acted according to a presumption to which he was not entitled, i.e. Parker would not be guarding Lincoln. He had to have known this.