No comments about Andrew Johnson and the Uses of Constitutional Power.

1 comments about Winston Churchill - The Photobiography.

1. Plenty of biographies have been written about Churchill's life: so why the need for yet another? Just take a look at Michael Pateson's unique Winston Churchill: Personal Accounts Of The Great Leader At War to see the difference. For one thing, comments Churchill made about himself have been paired with previously unpublished, firsthand accounts of those who knew him to provide plenty of detail on Churchill's military background and how it changed his life and perceptions. Paterson adds the recollections of Churchill's superiors, fellow officers, and more to provide fresh material which is not covered in other books. Secondly, Winston Churchill follows a chronological order focusing on his military campaigns, which provides the ability to appreciate the changes in Churchill's strategic thinking over the decades. Finally, Winston Churchill provides plenty of technical references for further study, making it one of the most detailed biographies about Churchill in print. Very highly recommended.

1 comments about Thaksin: The Business Of Politics In Thailand.

1. Pasuk is one of the most renowned economist in Thailand. Her books are mostly in English (in collarboratin with her husband, himself also a renowned thinker, Chris Baker). Now they take on a subject of Thaksin Shinawatra, arguably the most famous prime minister cum businessman in Thailand.
   Most of Thaksin's biographies in Thai are, I dare say, bias. They always portray him as a white knight, a self-made billionaire, and a man with a perfect happy family, intentionally overlooking his early failure as businessman and his well-connected background. While this book has admitted that it has not been written with 100% objectivity, it turns out to be the most objective book about the subject. It sheds the up and down of his business and political life, as well as the good and bad of his policy.
   One of the most revealing aspect in this book is the discussion of "Thaksinomics" and "dual track" policies, both of which make him a rising star in internatioal politics. Anyone who is interested in such subject should not miss this book at all.
   However, there are flaws in this book. Foremost is that most of the inputs come from newspaper, and writers add few inputs from their thoughts. Secondly, this book wrote about in 2004, and it would miss the most landslide victory in Thai history by his party. Also, it did miss his fall because of waves of corruption scandal.
   I hope that they would write a revised version, once everything is settled.

No comments about Woodrow Wilson: Life And Letters, Youth 1856-1890.

2 comments about The Lincoln Nobody Knows.

1. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in studying Lincoln or the Civil War. The author does an excellent job in presenting a mostly unbiased opinion. By stating in the introduction that he allows room for error in his opinions, he sets himself aside from the fanatics and characterizes himself more as a historian in search of the truth than as a man trying to paint Lincoln as he thinks he should be viewed. Moreover, the breath, not sacrificing the depth, of this book is incredible. It covers Lincoln's family and personal life and carries the reader all the way through his assassination. The Lincoln Nobody Knows presents Lincoln as both a down to earth man and as a complex, indispensable historical figure. It causes one to revaluate what he previously held to be fact about Lincoln and it allows room for interpretation-the author doesn't always give an opinion for the reader. Most are "inclined, quite naturally, to discover in Lincoln the beliefs that they themselves espouse," (57). This remains feasible since Lincoln will always be an enigma, but to his credit Current presents sound facts for his arguments and presents both sides, drawing upon many respectable sources. He begins by describing Lincoln's personal and family life-his mother's possible illegitimate birth all the way to Lincoln's relationships with women and Ann Rutledge specifically. It then goes into his involvement in the beginnings of the civil war, his policies and their changes, and the way he conducted the war. That being done, the author finishes by discussing his larger role as a politician, an emancipator, a commander in chief, a martyr and a myth. All of this does well in presenting the multidimensionality of Abraham Lincoln, and it makes one realize that there are not easy answers to questions about good old Abe. It is important to note that much of this text is controversial and a portion of it has implications beyond his contributions to American history-it attempts to define who Lincoln was as a man, not as an idol.



2. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in studying Lincoln or the Civil War. The author does an excellent job in presenting a mostly unbiased opinion. By stating in the introduction that he allows room for error in his opinions, he sets himself aside from the fanatics and characterizes himself more as a historian in search of the truth than as a man trying to paint Lincoln as he thinks he should be viewed. Moreover, the breath, not sacrificing the depth, of this book is incredible. It covers Lincoln's family and personal life and carries the reader all the way through his assassination. The Lincoln Nobody Knows presents Lincoln as both a down to earth man and as a complex, indispensable historical figure. It causes one to revaluate what he previously held to be fact about Lincoln and it allows room for interpretation-the author doesn't always give an opinion for the reader. Most are "inclined, quite naturally, to discover in Lincoln the beliefs that they themselves espouse," (57). This remains feasible since Lincoln will always be an enigma, but to his credit Current presents sound facts for his arguments and presents both sides, drawing upon many respectable sources. He begins by describing Lincoln's personal and family life-his mother's possible illegitimate birth all the way to Lincoln's relationships with women and Ann Rutledge specifically. It then goes into his involvement in the beginnings of the civil war, his policies and their changes, and the way he conducted the war. That being done, the author finishes by discussing his larger role as a politician, an emancipator, a commander in chief, a martyr and a myth. All of this does well in presenting the multidimensionality of Abraham Lincoln, and it makes one realize that there are not easy answers to questions about good old Abe. It is important to note that much of this text is controversial and a portion of it has implications beyond his contributions to American history-it attempts to define who Lincoln was as a man, not as an idol.

No comments about Thirty-Six Years in the White House.

No comments about Catherine the Great (Life & Times) (Life&Times).

No comments about Adams: An American Dynasty.

1 comments about Churchill: An Illustrated History (Readers Digest).

1. One of the better biographies of Churchill. Considerable in depth information and well chosen Chuchill quotes.

No comments about La Familia.