No comments about Lincoln's Men: The President and His Private Secretaries.

2 comments about Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen.

1. This is one of the best books on Boudica yet, and if you only read one, this should be the one you read. There is relatively little known about the woman that has become so important in some many ways to so many segments of society, and what is "known" should be treated with caution. Hingley and Unwin do an excellent job of showing what we do know, what we don't know, and what we might know but should think critically about in the context of the story of Boudica. They manage to create an interesting story without compromising on the evidence, avoiding what so many do when they say all the right things about biased sources and then mostly ignore what they just said and relate what those sources say as fact. Instead, Hingley and Unwin weave the critical assessment of both written and archaeological courses into their discussion in a way that keep it relevant to the story they tell. This story is given substance by the up-to-date discussion of current archaeological research on the period, which provides as useful review for professionals and interested others alike. The second half of the book was also interesting, providing a review of the ways in which "Boudica" became transformed into "Boadicea", the cultural icon variously of the right, the left, and the centre. This is far more standard in this type of literature, but nonetheless valuable in terms of what it brings to the table.
   Probably most importantly, they manage to do all this in a highly readable fashion. Tackling the deconstruction of assumptions of Roman superiority, the inevitability of Romanization, and the uncritical use of written sources can often get mired down in jargon and so sail beyond what most people understand or care about. However, this book does it in a way that is both accessible and convincing. Nice job all around!



2. This book could not be given enough stars. It takes a fascinating episode in history, the revolt of the Queen of the Iceni of Britain in AD 60-61, and looks at it from historical, archaeological, literary, and mythical points of view. It shows how Boudica has went from simply the best-remembered of many contemporary British female warlords to variously being portrayed as a sadistic villian, a feminist hero, and a champion of British nationalism and politics. Overall, the book examines the real Boudica's role in history and her subsequent impact on modern Britain in a manner that is both informative and enjoyable to read. It is a fine source on Queen Boudica, the Celtic 'Woman of Victory' from every perspective!

1 comments about More Time For Politics: Diaries 2001-2007.

1. Commenting yesterday evening on the current infighting within the governing Labour party, a famous British tycoon said that whether in a business organisation or in a government if the team are not all on-side you're sunk. The latest volume (2001-7) of Tony Benn's diaries brings us the latest thoughts of the most celebrated serial dissident in British politics. Throughout his long career as successively the Rt Hon Anthony Wedgwood Benn then Viscount Stansgate and latterly plain Tony Benn, the author has been a cabinet minister, almost deputy leader of the Labour party, and longest-serving member of the House of Commons. He is now well over 80, widowed and retired from Parliament, no longer in robust health but still phenomenally active with speeches, broadcasts, interviews and journalism, and of course as articulate and nonconformist as ever.
   
   Benn is not an intellectual of the stamp of Richard Crossman, whose background and career were similar and whose diaries were in their time as famous. By political instinct he is a man of the people, by temperament a perfect gentleman. He is almost a kind of English Chou En-lai, but less cerebral and with a passionate commitment to the politics of consent. The strongest thread running through this volume is his detestation of the politics of Tony Blair, which he represents as manipulative, messianic, egotistical and deeply undemocratic. On every page this diary prompts, but does not resolve, the question `How is representative democracy compatible with any kind of effective action?' He laments the slowness of the earnest left-wing talking shops, he knows what Labour committees can be like, specifically the one immediately after 9/11 which he had difficulty in getting to discuss that pivotal event because it was concerned as usual with leaflet distribution, but when it comes to what he perceives as Blair's answer, namely just ignore everyone else and `do what you think is right', every instinct in his makeup revolts.
   
   That Blair achieved the electoral success he did largely through contempt for the processes of the party he led I don't doubt, and I wish Benn had addressed this matter with the candour he shows elsewhere. He is pretty dismissive himself of rigmarole and flummery, and I have to quote one jewel of his typical style, following the death of John-PaulII
   
   `The election announcement has been delayed, the royal wedding has been delayed, because the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Prime Minister want to go to Rome and therefore couldn't be there for the wedding. The whole thing is a complete farce really.'
   
   As well as the manner in which Blair drove through his policies, Benn is of course in complete opposition to the policies themselves. `Modernising the poor out of existence just won't work' is memorable and, one suspects, true, as the inherent nature and particularly the ongoing cost of the `reforms' become evident. Again I wish Benn had addressed the public perception that the kind of socialism he represents is cumbrous, but he is more concerned with attacking what `New' Labour has put in its place, which it is hard to view as any model of efficiency either, though of course some are still trying to. He opposes the war in Iraq as you might expect, but also the campaigns in Afghanistan and in the former Yugoslavia, and he charts his own descent into disillusion with Israel, of which he had once been a fervent supporter.
   
   Benn will talk to anyone, and his interview with Saddam is given in extenso here. He is on friendly terms with Conservative opponents, and his patrician courtesy and impeccable good manners have even made him good buddies with Dr Paisley, despite his open support for Sinn Fein and a united Ireland. What complete oafs he makes some of our leaders seem, and while on the topic of Mr Bush I recall another delicious remark regarding the President's supposed fondness for giving people nicknames `I wonder what nickname he gave Tony Blair.'
   
   More than in previous diaries, we meet the family man here, now elderly, living alone and bereaved of his beloved American wife Caroline de Camp Benn. There are numerous accounts of how he was reduced to tears, and I have no difficulty with this image of him despite the composure that he so rarely loses in public. There are several photographs of the clan, and also numerous accounts of his interactions with his children and grandchildren. One particularly interesting facet of the diaries is of course that one member of the cabinet appointed by his abhorred Blair is none other than his own able and adored son Hilary, currently Secretary of State for International Development and uncannily reminiscent of his father in face, voice and gesture. We hear a bit of their conversations, but not as much as I would have liked to hear. You could not make Tony Benn stay on-side for any government or Labour party establishment if he did not happen to agree, but this is something different.
   
   In a touching postscript he leaves open, as he obviously must, the question whether he will ever publish another volume of diaries. I am still left unclear and tantalised as to how his precise way of operating would make modern governing possible, or how he would, in the top job, cope with any such figure as himself in his cabinet. However the warnings he sounds about the decline of democratic process are loud valid and clear. It is not just the fault of Blair, or of New Labour, or of politicians in my own opinion. It is a matter of our own inertia and complaisance as citizens and electors. Benn rightly castigates the House of Commons for dereliction of its duty to keep a rein on the executive, and from America I don't hear many voices from either side of the political divide averring that the Congress is doing much better in that regard. Tony Benn you do a great job and don't kill yourself doing it.

5 comments about A Radical Line: From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground, One Family's Century of Conscience.

1. I had the pleasure of having Judge Stein for my law school class last fall. She was an excelllent professor for Civil Procedure, really connecting with the class. Despite her extreme politicl views, she never injected any of them into the classroom setting. Thai Jones's book chronicled his family's pursuit of sticking up for ideas in which they believe. While I do not condone the violence that other group members used, I admire Judge Stein's courage to stand up to those she opposed.



2. It is quite a feat to tackle writing a book about your parents and grandparents without succumbing to sentimentality, or in some people's case, bitterness. Thai Jones succeeds in keeping an even-handed, slightly amused tone to his family story, and some family it is. His parents, Jeff Jones and Eleanor Raskin, were two members of the Weather Underground, and the author was himself born on the run, so to speak. His first memory is of the FBI hauling his parents away when they were finally busted and he was age four. I don't envy him that memory.
   
   And prior to Jeff and Eleanor were their respective parents, radicals of the Old Left, with their own strong opinions, which didn't necessarily match up with those of their offspring. That inherent tension gives the story some of its punch.
   
   Of course, the most dramatic part of the book is the tromp through the New Left, SDS, and Weatherman (later, the Weather Underground). Jones draws on family memories, other participants, and reliable sources, but there may not be a whole lot new here for anyone who has read other memoirs such as Bill Ayers' or seen the Weather Underground documentary. Still, he provides yet another perspective which helps us triangulate on that over-heated era.
   
   My main cavel about the book is its scattershot time-line, which bounces back and forth between different family members and different years. No doubt, some of this is done for dramatic effect, but it undercuts one's ability to get a clear picture of the linear order of events. And the confusion is made worse by Jones' almost exclusive use of first names for the main family members. A little journalistic insertion of last names, now and then, might have kept me better on track.
   
   When all is said and done, I couldn't shake the feeling, from Jones' account, that both of his parents had a screw loose in the judgment department. The author's mother succumbs to the more revolutionary than thou guilt-tripping of the Weatherpersons, and leaves her first husband and abandons her law degree. At the time, I'm sure, it seemed like the right thing to do, but when you get right down to it, she flipped and joined a cult.
   
   Jones' father, one of the most macho gun-wavers of the Weatherman leadership, can't keep from buying stand-out-in-a-crowd used cars, all while living "underground" and trying to remain inconspicuous, of course. This recklessness is topped off by his growing dope plants on an apartment fire escape in Hoboken, apparently to make a little cash while on the lam. This, needless to say, catches the eyes of the authorities and they're on the run again.
   
   All in all, A Radical Line is an entertaining read. Slight flaws and family quirks aside, it provides a compelling portrait of two and a half generations of rebels.



3. This is a wry, smart book. Jones cleaves historical and personal stories into an astonishing narrative -- one that spans a century of American power and protest. That he does so at all is impressive; that he does so without any navel-gazing self indulgence is a miraculous breath of fresh memoir air. Jones' book is a stark and often critical look at his own family line, as well as a brilliant contextualization of everything from moral outrage and political movements to sex, drugs and car chases.



4. These people were evil, violent and remain unrepentant to the present day. There is nothing to be gained by reading this poorly-written account of their misshapen lives.



5. I read "A Radical Line" in a single weekend and it really was as advertised - a crash course in American protest movements. My parents lived through the sixties and they have bored me for years with stories from "back in the day". Reading this book - written by someone in my generation - showed me why that ancient history is still important today - maybe more than ever. The author tells the story through the people in his family, and when he describes the anger his parents felt because of American atrocities in Vietnam, it reminds me of the way I talk to my friends about the war in Iraq.

5 comments about A Lady, First: My Life in the Kennedy White House and the American Embassies of Paris and Rome.

1. I've always enjoyed Ms. Baldridge's books, and this was no exception. I was expecting, knowing nothing about it beforehand, that it would be yet more nostalgia about the Kennedy White House. Thankfully, it wasn't. That period of her life occupied part of the book, but not even the major part. Actually, I enjoyed most the part about her time working for Tiffany & Co. It's great bedside reading.



2. I had this on my shelf for several years before finally reading it--and now I regret waiting so long! This is a captivating story told by someone uniquely placed in several high-level positions: aid to David & Evangeline Bruce in France; aid to Clare Booth Luce and Henry Luce in Italy; and chief of staff to Jackie Kennedy. In addition to this, Ms. Baldrige was the first woman executive at Tiffany's, and held a high level position at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. But what really endears her to the reader is Ms. Baldrige's way of telling hilarious stories on herself--the things that go askew during a dinner party, for example. She took her work very seriously, but is modest enough to tell stories on herself that can make one dissolve in laughter. I came away from this book with a higher appreciation of all that she has done. She is very likeable!



3. 
   
   The product arrived in excellent condition, within the specified time period, and I am very happy with it.
   
   Thanks



4. Oh! how I wish I had a life like Tish Baldridge's! She is a gutsy and classy lady and I admire her for that. I loved to read that book because it goes to show that dreams come true when we put the energy and efforts for them to materialize.



5. Tish Baldridge has led an interesting and amazing life. She wasn't blessed with great wealth or beauty yet she managed to live and work on the upper echelons of American political and social society in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and onward.
   Baldridge takes you through her beginnings in the midwest, her education at Miss Porter's and Vassar as one of the less financially advantaged students, her life in Paris and Rome working for such trend setters as Clare Booth Luce, her days at Tiffany, her years in the White House with Jackie Kennedy, and her life after.

   Here's what is great about this book and her story: her life didn't begin and it didn't end with her association with Jackie Kennedy. Camelot fans will get great glimpses into those years from her vantage point. But there is a lot more to this book...

   I would highly recommend this book to women who love biographies on the Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn set. I also would recommend this book to women who enjoy the story of a self-made woman and a survivor and anyone interested in the social history of this era. I would not recommend this book to most men and I would caution all readers to note that this is a book filled with details of food, flowers, gowns, and jewels and not policy making or congressional bills. You learn about the parties that Jackie Kennedy went to in the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis not about the policy nuances behind the crisis.

   I gave this book as a present to several female friends and they loved it.

5 comments about Taking Heat: The President, the Press, and My Years in the White House.

1. Fleischer was George W. Bush's Press Secretary from 2001 through 2003, facing the White House press daily through some of the most tumultuous times in American history including the aftermath of the bitterly contested 2000 election and of course September 11.
   
   This memoir of the time, which could have been a quickly-assembled hack job, is instead thoughtful and interesting. Fleischer provides just enough personal information to frame his story (New York city kid who grew up liberal in a family of Democrats), spending more time describing the more important and interesting interplay between White House staff and the press.
   
   Fleischer's key points about the press are that it is
   
   --conflict based (its not news if it doesn't involve conflict)
   --deadline driven (at the cost of fact-checking and completeness)
   --homogeneously hampered (almost exclusively produced and controlled by liberal and Democratic writers and editors).
   
   He backs his ideas up with examples, including some he used from the press briefing floor in daily combat with the press.
   
   With those caveats, Fleischer expresses his respect and admiration for the press honestly and without rancor or reservation. Likewise he describes his admiration for Bush and his policies, words which have more impact in the light of the intervening years of Bush bashing that has become universal in the press and among liberals and Democrats, and even amongst a fair number of former Bush supporters in his own party.



2. The value of this book to me, quite frankly, was no more than a dollar. Most of it is complaining about how stressful his job was. There is no insight into how the Bush administration works, no apology for Fleischer's years of deliberately hazy answers to important questions during the Iraq invasion, and almost no memorable content.
   
   The one chapter which made this book worth a dollar was a long transcription of his favorite repartees with Helen Thomas. Even Fleischer had to admit she was the toughest character in the press room. I give him credit for having that deep respect for news reporting, and I give her credit for making his book interesting. Helen, I'd pay much more than a dollar for a book by you. Keep it up!



3. Ari provides an interesting book in his autobiography as President Bush's White House Press Secretary. I always hate to review books like this because they are so politically charged and ideologues on either side tend to get in a huff over what you say. I will endeavor to keep this as neutral as possible. This book sets out to accomplish many objectives but only hits half of them. First and foremost it is one of the best looks at the role of the press secretary and the sheer stress the job has on a person. Whether you like or hate President Bush there is no one who can deny that the role of press secretary is a hard job especially under a tight lipped and secretive white House. Andy Card's goal as chief of staff was to keep leaks to a minimum which frustrates the press leaving their only source of information the press secretary. When the press secretary is instructed not to discuss military matters it becomes even more adversarial. One of the interesting things learned from the book is what viewpoint the Press Secretary is supposed to have. I found it fascinating that he is only there to represent the views of the president and that does not necessarily have to be the wishes of the branches of government that report to the president.
   
   One of the other objectives was to provide a critical narrative of the press and give insight into the White House Press Crops. I found his look at the White House Press fascinating and he really does put you inside the room of the toughest reporters in the United States. He illustrates well his points about the adversarial nature of the press and the desire of the press to create conflict which leads to stories. Many times the same questions are asked over and over hoping for a slip that the Press Secretary cannot afford to give. One of the angles that I think he does handle poorly is the bias of the press. While there are voluminous studies to show that the press is slanted right Ari seems to not acknowledge that all media is biased in one direction or another. The White House press does not give passes to any president. People today do not trust the news they get from the press and rightly so due to the biases that are present be they Fox News or MSNBC. While he highlights the point of on the liberal media it is done far better by Benard Goldberg in his book Bias.
   
   Finally Ari tries to make a defense of President Bush and his policies/leadership style. Some of his book seems to be aimed at knocking down the arguments in the Price of Loyalty. While this is another viewpoint again the truth probably lies in the middle. Some of his defenses of trying to shift blame to the press for starting up the Iraq war are fairly ludicrous. Ari does not sit in on any of the national security briefings and the president preferred himself to comment on those matters leaving Ari in a hard position to comment on them after the fact. One of the things he does refute well that many agree with is the loyalty that Bush shows to those who are loyal to him. There is a clear look that Bush's leadership style does work within his White House and he is respected by the staff. Ari also seems to take it upon himself to set the record straight and show the country that Bush did not think of the war in Iraq in a vacuum that many other people including the press also had the same idea along the way. He is largely successful in this although he glosses over one of the critical mistakes. The landing on the USS Lincoln with the banner Mission Accomplished was one of the great errors in the press of fighting the war and it is skipped over here. I think Ari is right in saying that the press views any war that is long as a quagmire and Vietnam and any war where we win quickly is Desert Storm and must be over in a week. There is a lack of reality by the press which filters to the country.
   
   Overall an excellent book and very well done. Ari provides unique insight into the Bush White House and while it is biased it does not make it useless. He raises critical questions that require issues to be reexamined and while he is loathe to critize his former boss for the things he did wrong we still see a good look at Bush the man and the President.



4. When I found this book (on CD) in the sale rack I thought maybe I'd found a rare jewel. Figuring the early Bush years were old news and this book was sent to the sale rack been because of that.
   
   First off Ari should have never read his own book. He came off as a real complainer. A man who had written a book to continue to make excuses for his decisions. Notice I didn't say mistakes. He rarely stated a move of his without showing us how he was forced to do so. It was very sad. Even at one point the old Clinton administration pushes him around.
   
   The few moments he gives us of true inside action where wonderful. There may have only been three in the whole book. The Colin Powell condom story was one of them. Ari that's what the reader wanted in the book.
   
   What scared me was that Ari came off as extremely angry at the press. There is one woman reporter who he mocks endlessly in his vocal impersonation of her. I hope she doesn't hear the CD version or she is going to be super mad. Ari spends a very long chapter expaining how the press is unfair and bias. He uses graduation numbers instead of true stories. We all saw the press eat Bill Clinton alive...so it was hard to believe they were nicer to Bill then they were to George. That chapter should have met the shreader.
   
   Ari did show some spots of careless reporting but his use of "you should have believed the White House" was a weak response. After past White House administrations trying to "out sly" the press Ari should have known the press would not simply take him at his word. He came off sounding like a naive high school student.
   
   Several of the world stituations that happened while Ari was in office where handled with amazing skill in real life but Ari made it sound like he was rolled over. The moment where Bush took the megaphone in NYC was the most powerful moment in his presidency. Luckily I saw it because Ari barely mentioned it.
   
   Ari ducked and dodged the press for years. He's mad that he did it. He's still mad at them. The amazing strategies the Bush administration used to keep the American people informed are not mentioned in this book. I wanted to learn something. Instead I see Ari scolding a press member for a inaccurate story that hurt the White House then giving the same guy a hot breaking story in the next breath by accident AND letting the guy run it. What was his reasoning? It sounded weak and also like bad management.
   
   Was Ari out of his league? The book makes it appear so. Luckily I watch all this on television as an American citizen. I know the book paints the wrong picture. To the public Ari did a stand up job and he worked well to keep the American people informed. So next time you write a book Ari stick to your guns and be proud of what you did. It would make for a much better read.



5. Absolutely rip-roaring hilarious!! It appears that he is actually not trying to be comedic but when one reads "I will always admire the President's calm and self control" (pg. 140, referring to Bush listening to "My Pet Goat" after being informed that his contry is under attack), it should be obvious that we are in the presence of a comedic master or an idiot who manages to be very funny. Either way, one of the funniest books I have read! Minus one star for some tedious passages trying to show himself in a good light without being funny.
   The dialogues of george bush that are presented are totally unrealistic and seemed to be calculated to put him in a good light. For eg., he says Bush was a superb military commander as he left all the major decisions to the generals but then conveniently ignores Shinseki. In fact, most of the Iraq war dialogue is very funny now that we know more about what actually happened.

No comments about Opportunity Time.

No comments about President Theodore Roosevelt's Conservations Legacy.

5 comments about Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist (Library of World Biography Series) (Library of World Biography).

1. This was an excellent book for those wanting a concise and relatively short summary of Mussolini's life (1883-1945), nicely framed within the political events of the times. It objectively discusses his strengths and weaknesses, his supporters and foes, his rise to power and his inglorious decline and death. A quick read at 165 pages.



2. This book is brief but passionate and objective. The narrative flows easily and the reader is given a very good introduction to the Fascist era and its Duce. Highly recommended.



3. the book is what it is advertized as--a weekend read of benito mussoilini. The author does a nice job of giving the reader a big picture view of the times and reasons for mussoilini's rise to power. I recommend the book to anyone who has never read any history of mussoilini--only heard of his death and being hung in the city square. It gives a nice reference point for conversations on WWII from Italy's perspective.



4. Short, solid introductory biography written with craftsman-like prose, which places Mussolini in historical context and is especially good at noting the political and cultural boundaries that limited his "totalitarianism."



5. How can such profound scholarship read like a novel. Best buy I've made in ages, and I buy much.

5 comments about Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.

1. I'll spare the details that others have provided and simply at my 2 cents:
   
   This is, simply, a great biography. I found it an incredibly easy read, despite its astonishing depth (and length). The sheer detail and volume of primary sources is fascinating but nothing can outdo the awesomeness of the book's subject matter. Roosevelt springs from the pages and looms like a giant over the history of the United States. His astonishing memory, his endless reserves of energy, his expertise in such diverse fields, and his rigid morality make him seem more like a legend than a man and the book conveys a sense of u
   
   This is a must read for students of American history or those interested in the great presidents of US history.



2. My Son commented to me that I give a lot of 5 Star reviews. Yes, I do. And why not, every Saturday I pore over the New York Times Book Review. I also subscribe to the London Review of Books. Before I purchase a book I do research it.
   I've read Edmund Morris' narrative of the formative years of Theodore Roosevelt. I've learned the following:
   1. Theodore was born to wealth and privilege in 1858 before the Civil War.
   2. Teedie fought ill health with asthma and through sheer will overcame its disabilities.
   3. He disciplined and willed himself to extraordinary study to graduate from Harvard.
   4. At a young age he saw himself as a Patrician seeking to help humanity as a New York City Police Commissioner and later Governor of the State of New York.
   5. He survived the death of his wife and mother on the same day.
   6. He became the leading American to begin an appreciation for life in the great outdoors. This later led to the development of the National Park System when he became President.
   Edmund Morris brings all this to life with a fiction like narrative. But what makes the book great is that is was a real. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this book. OK Scott, it does rate 5 Stars!!



3. This book details what an extraordinary man President Roosevelt was.
   Physically and intellectually, there was never a president like him or perhaps, anyone else. His leadership skills were second to none as well as his integrity. He was one of a kind and the mold was broken with his passing. Beware, reading this book may make you feel somewhat inadequate. But, reading this book will also give you great insight to a great man. A role model in many ways.



4. I could not put it down. A wonderfully written book about an exciting president, with great photos included. I enjoyed it so much, that I started the sequel, Theodore Rex, immediately after finishing. I recommend it highly.



5. What a tremendous biography, or actually one third of a biography, as this is the first of a projected three volumne work. It is hard to imagine someone having a career like this today, although to be fair to our own times, Teddy Roosevelt was a dynamo by the standards of his own era as well.
   
   The books only covers Roosevelt's life up until he becomes president, but because of Roosevelt's statue, drive and intellect, and Morris' thorough research, expert analysis and superb writing, it is also a very exciting view into America in the second half of the 19th century. A total of 700 pages and at the end I could not wait to start the next volume, Theodore Rex (Modern Library Paperbacks)