No comments about Watergate: The Fall of Richard M. Nixon.

1 comments about Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet.

1. Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic To Prophet by Wayne C. Temple (historian and former editor of the "Lincoln Herald") is a uniquely comprehensive study of an often-overlooked aspect of the man who saw the United States of America through the turmoil of the Civil War. This scholarly and seminal treatise focuses in-depth specifically upon President Lincoln's religious views. Extremely heavily researched, filled with references to primary sources and black-and-white photographs of portraits, places, and documented evidence, Abraham Lincoln From Skeptic to Prophet leaves no stone unturned in its search to uncover precisely what Lincoln believed during the different phases of his life. Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic To Prophet is an impressive work and a "must-read" for anyone studying the life, times, and personality of Abraham Lincoln.

2 comments about Mr. Jefferson's Army: Political and Social Reform of the Military Establishment, 1801-1809 (The American Social Experience No. 6).

1. Theodore Crackel's " Mr Jefferson's Army" is an excellent study of Thomas Jefferson's reform of the US military. Jefferson " republicanized" the military by downsizing and making it more efficient. He removed hostile Federalist officers who were adverse to republican principles. Jefferson is often critisized by people who like a standing military and bureaucracy. Jefferson saw both as hostile to liberty and the Republic. Crackel details how Jefferson remodeled the military by creating military academies such as West Point, and the Army Corp of Engineers. Jefferson saw the military no different than other aspects of society- to be republicanized. Overall a great read.



2. This is an excellent military history book showing how a Republican Predsident stood down a chiefly Federlist Army. When Thomas Jefferson was elected President of the United States after John Adams the army needed political and social reform.

   There was a need for a military academy to produce trained officers for all branches of the service. This is when the establishment of West Point came into being. Jefferson and his Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn went to work whipping the army into shape, a respectable force of 9000 men.

   Prior to the Jefferson Administration the army consisted of patronage to the Federlist Party... no doubt from the influence of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. Now, the task at hand, was to reform this military establishment. West Point was to become the training academy for the otherwise poorly prepared sons of the Republican faithful.

   What once was paradoxical, Jefferson long viewed antithetical to a standing army, would create a military school. Jefferson is the man of paradox personified. Reading this book we see Jefferson come to terms with his army. Only later in James Madison's administration who became indifferent an inadequate to its maintainance undid much of what Jefferson and Dearborn created.

   This is an excellent book with solid research and well documented. We get an idea of what it was like in a day at West Point early on after its inception.

   This is an excellent work of military history of the United States.

1 comments about The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt.

1. Many excellent historians have taken on the subject of Theodore Roosevelt but, in my opinion, the first rank belongs to Edmund Morris and Professor H.W. Brands. Their knowledge of and passion for the topic of TR is unsurpassed (although their styles are quite different). Brand's "Selected Letters ..." is not really for the casually interested although they will indeed find his widely flung correspondence entertaining and informative. The more devoted student of TR, however, will really find this book interesting and useful. It offers up a more private and candid Roosevelt and, as such, provides some of the context and color behind the large and small historical events of his life.

2 comments about Churchill (Life & Times) (Life&Times).

1. This book is a great account of Churchill's life; how 3 wars made him famous, his rise and fall in British politics, his private life and other subjects. Churchill had an interesting life. Haffner had an interesting way of telling and writing. Together it makes this book one that you should read.



2. This powerfully written and informative biography of Winston Churchill tells the story of a monumental British figure who was to influenced the world of the 20th Century. European journalist and Churchill biographer Sebastian Haffner was one of the foremost figures in European writing and influenced Churchill's policy towards Germany and the Nazis. In this major examination of Churchill's life and accomplishments, Haffner provides a passionate and involving probe of the man whose methods and motivations changed the political shape of European history.

1 comments about Roosevelt the Explorer: T.R.'s Amazing Adventures as a Naturalist, Conservationist, and Explorer.

1. H. Paul Jeffers' Roosevelt The Explorer: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazing Adventures As A Naturalist, Conservationist, And Explorer is an outstanding biography of American President Teddy Roosevelt and one which focuses specifically upon his work in the areas of conservation and exploring. Dwelling on Roosevelt's enthusiastic appreciation of nature, and his struggles as President against tough opposition in order to create a system of national parks and to protect America's forests and wetlands from the depredation of development, Roosevelt The Explorer is a thoughtful, environment-oriented, biographical study of a truly great American leader, family man, outdoor enthusiast, and human being.

1 comments about The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole: Scoundrel, Genius and Britain's First Prime Minister.

1. The author's style is so casual and "chatty" that the overall work lacks a feeling of authority. It's clearly well-researched so the presentational failings are keenly felt.

5 comments about PT 109 : John F. Kennedy in WWII.

1. As Daniel Schorr in the new forward to this book suggests, World War 2 brought out the best in many men, and the ones who manned the motor torpedo boats were among the bravest, setting out in small plywood boats to fight an enemy in often large ships. The ordeal that Kennedy and his crew went through after PT-109 was destroyed is a story of courage that will last the ages. It is obvious that Robert Donovan was very careful to get the facts straight as he wrote this book, it is a great war story. For me it was a page turner, written in an easy to read, flowing style. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, a gem of a book about a small piece of American history, a fascinating account indeed. Kennedy is portrayed, and rightly so, as a compassionate and intelligent young man.

   In a very fine afterword to this 40th anniversary edition, Duane Hove give us additional details of Kennedy's military service, and also interesting text on the history of the PT boats before, during, and after the war, and also where you can see PT boats on display today, only a few of these magnificent boats remain with us.




2. I was about 10 when the Saturday Evening Post ran a serialized version of Donovan's book. I'll never forget coming home from school the day the next edition was due, and dropping everything to read the next installment. With the passage of 40 years, and a rather older perspective, I can see that the book isn't perfect. Other reviews pick on the flaws. But it's great regardless. If you've never read the story, or like me want to relive a bit of the past, I recommend it highly.



3. This was an exciting book on John F. Kennedy. It had lots of action, and suspence. John F. Kennedy had a lot of willpower, that was surprising. The bravery was outstanding in this story. If you like action and adventure I could not recommend a better book. I gave this book a five star rating, because it was truely a good book. Even though this was an old book, it was exciting. This would be a very good book for kids, because there was not a lot of hard words.



4. The 40th anniversary edition of PT-109 is an enjoyable read despite its many flaws. The story is true and sheds light on a young John Kennedey and a small part of naval warfare in the Pacific during WWII. Yet, Donovan's writing is simplistic at times. It is somewhat obvious that when he wrote this book he did so under the gun, or in other words under a very tight deadline, something he admits in the beginning of the text. Another point of contention is his glossed over view of Kennedy. I guess when he was writing of the then sitting president it was hard to escape, but Donovan praised Kennedy at virtually every turn of the page. Something that frankly gets in the way. It would have been better to tell the story of Kennedy -- flaws included. What young man at war is --or is-- expected to be perfect? Nonetheless, PT-109 is a worthy read for WWII buffs. If you enjoy reading about the war in the Pacific, this will help carry you through the other obvious downfalls of the book.



5. Human beings are capable of incredibly noble acts when they are faced with the most terrifying circumstances. Such was the case with Lt. John F. Kennedy in command of PT 109 in the South Pacific during WWII. Faced with the alternative of action or death he rose to the occasion and was able to save the lives of his shipmates through great physical trauma and hardship.

   Without going into the details of the incidents described, I would merely say that this is a good example of what the best of us are capable of doing when forced to think and act or face death. If stories of this kind interest you, this book will gratify your desires.

No comments about Martin Van Buren And The American Political System.

3 comments about Encounters with Lincoln: Images and Words.

1. The drawings in this book are simply breathtaking in their detail. These lifelike images reflect the human side of a man we only see in formal portraits.
   
   Do yourself a favor and listen to Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" as you gaze at these beautiful illustrations. It's a moving experience.



2. "Encounters with Lincoln" is a book for all ages about a man for all ages. It captures the image of Abraham Lincoln in different stages of his life, in a range of settings, and with a variety of media, including colored pencil, watercolor, pen and ink, scratchboard, tempera, and graphite pencil.
   
   Encounters with works of art, Thomas Trimborn writes, are uniquely personal. They invite responses from those who experience them. That is particularly true of the images in this book. About twenty offer face-to-face encounters with Lincoln--the young man, the steadfast man (shown in five merged images), the thinker, the melancholy man, the humorous man, the determined man, the eloquent man, the reader, the speaker, the wearer of spectacles, the recipient of tributes. One image, titled "His Eyes Say It All," prompts readers to turn to earlier pages to look again at those transfixing eyes. Trimborn also presents images of persons whose encounters with Lincoln through the years have shaped our perception of the great and complex man, such as Frederick Douglas, Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg, Mahalia Jackson, Martin Luther King, and John F. Kennedy.
   
   Thomas Trimborn is by profession a musician and music educator at Truman State University, but he is obviously not confined by his discipline or by the walls of his university. To accompany his excellent artwork, Trimborn has crafted a compelling and historically accurate narrative. "Encounters with Lincoln" makes an excellent gift, as my brother-in-law and his grandson, to whom I gave a copy, attest.



3. Lincoln's image is familiar to virtually all Americans. Yet our easy cultural access to the face so closely identified with the American pursuit of freedom and equality also carries its own limitations. Our photographic record of Lincoln does not begin until the late 1840s, and that legacy often seems to mask as much as it discloses. Historians have lately become more intrigued with Lincoln's darker side, portraying him as moody, unhappy, hamstrung by depression, even suicidal. Any serious scholar of Lincoln knows the sources that can lend support to such inquiries. As is often the case, however, historians committed to deconstructing Lincoln's character become preoccupied with fragments that poorly represent the whole of his humanity, the reflective depth of his spirituality, and the playful yet sophisticated nature of his intellect. In this wonderful volume, Thomas J. Trimborn explores the many sides of Lincoln's character and thankfully never loses sight of the whole. His images--at once haunting, amusing,and inspiring--take us beyond the familiar photographic record and give us a chance to better understand why the nation's sixteenth president is placed at or near the top of nearly any presidential ranking one cares to examine. Trimborn's nimble prose provides fascinating context for his work, but the book is clearly about the art. Make no mistake, this is a frank celebration of Lincoln as author of our modern conceptions of freedom and democracy, but it is a celebration that in the end convinces us that Lincoln deserves every bit of the praise that issues from Trimborn's insightful progression of character studies. Most importantly, the artist presents us not with otherworldly iconography, but a human being whose greatness stemmed from a clear sense of his own limitations. He doubted, he feared, he hoped, and thankfully for us, he fueled his leadership with a capacity to change, to learn, and to explore. The man who in 1861 remained unsure of his racial views and not yet committed to emancipation eventually called the nation to a revolutionary understanding of its political heritage in his address at Gettysburg. Trimborn takes us beyond verbal description and gives us a fresh opportunity to feel Lincoln's passion and purpose. Offered in an affordable format and accessible to all ages, Trimborn's keen artistic vision deserves a prominent place in every Lincoln collection.