5 comments about Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln.

1. This book is an exemplary view of Abraham Lincoln's young adulthood in New Salem and Springfield between 1831 and 1842. The book begins with an introduction, than an explanation about the evidence that the historian of Lincoln's early life must sift through, and then it examines such important and interesting elements of Lincoln's early adulthood life as his numerous failed experiences with women, the tension between his honorable and ambitious external life and his tendency to mock religion and insult political enemies in his private life, as well as his professional successes and failures as he began his political life. This book is an excellent resource to any fan of Lincoln and any history student curious about the early life and formative years of Lincoln's political education. The book is easy to read and provides many fascinating quotations of personal letters that provide an aid to the authenticity of the author's occasionally startling claims.



2. Honor's Voice is terrific in two respects: both for its insights into Lincoln and for its insights into effective communication. I recommend it to anyone who uses words for a living, and for anyone who wants a fascinating, insightful look into how Lincoln crafted some of the most important speeches in our nation's history.



3. This book staggered me. Its careful research is combined with acute observations by author Wilson, on topics ranging from a fateful wrestling match that made Lincoln's reputation in a frontier village to Lincoln's bewilderment when courting Mary Todd. Wilson here produced one of the finest volumes ever to appear in the crowded field of Lincoln books. For anyone interested in how Lincoln's pre-presidential years shaped his conduct in the White House, Honor's Voice will be rewarding. It is one of the most significant Lincoln biographies I have ever read.



4. This is one of the most astonishing books I have ever read. I love history and yet this portrait of Abraham Lincoln is so much more. Had he been a Blacksmith, he would have been a hero. This was a man, a real man - no the greatest of men...who could not dissemble, lie, cheat, even when it came to marrying a woman that he knew (after they became engaged) would risk ruining his very life. He entered into a promise...and he would not go back on it. Of course, in those times, Breach of Promise (please read Anne Perry's book on this), was a serious offense against a woman's honor. But Lincoln carried this same integrity into everything he did no matter how difficult or huge - like the Civil War. I would hope that any student of American history would not miss out on this very important Masterpiece. As the cliche goes, if we do not learn from our own history, we are doomed (you know the rest....).



5. The reason this shouldn't be the first Lincoln book you read is that the author presupposes that the reader already has a basic command of Lincoln's life story. This book really speaks to those who are familiar with the various bits of Lincoln lore that permeate our culture: his wrestling match with Jack Armstrong, his courtship of Ann Rutledge, his off-and-on-again relationship with Mary Todd, and various accounts of his bookishness, his depression, and his early flirtations with agonisticism, among others.
   
   Having said that, I like this book more than any of the standard Lincoln biographies I own (I have the Thomas, Donald, and Sandburg bios.) The very best thing to read, of course, is Lincoln himself (his collected speeches and writings), but of the biographies written by others, this may be my favorite.
   
   The author dissects several of Lincoln's often-told formative experiences. In one example, he will explore the story of the wrestling match with Jack Armstrong, and ask:
   
   -- When is the earliest surviving account of the story, and what is the source?
   -- How has the story evolved over the years?
   -- How true is it? What does the evidence show?
   -- What is the significance of the story?
   
   For those who don't know the Jack Armstrong story, it is basically as follows: Lincoln was getting harassed by a gang of toughs in his town, and to deal with it, he challenged their leader, Jack Armstrong, to a wrestling match. The match was widely anticipated and witnessed, and Lincoln had the better of Armstrong. Afterwards, Armstrong restrained his allies, saying that Lincoln had won fair and square, and afterwards, he was a loyal friend to Lincoln, as were his associates.
   
   Like so many stories in the Lincoln canon, it's become a parable. It is a lesson about courage and forthrightness and insisting on fair play. In Lincoln's case, it also fills out the legend about his own physical strength, and how he became popular in his home town.
   
   Wilson's book analyzes many such stories. The anecdotes have varying degrees of truth, though on balance, most of the standard Lincoln tales do appear to be based in fact, even if they have become embellished over the years.
   
   You will like this book if you already enjoy the history of Lincoln, and if you like a little skeptical scientific inquiry thrown into your reading material. The reader is asked to travel along with the author as he gets to the bottom of the various issues surrounding Lincoln, and it's an enjoyable journey.
   
   I personally feel that this book is much more pleasant than as a mere exercise in critical history. I found that the dissection of these stories brought Lincoln much more fully to life for me. You get a much more multi-faceted view of the man because you aren't really relying on one author's perspective, as tends to be the case in other Lincoln biographies.
   
   It's an unusual work of history, and not the first Lincoln book to read, but it truly is outstanding. Highly recommended.

5 comments about George W. Bush: Portrait of a Leader.

1. It amazes me that even one person can like this president. He has done nothing but bury this country into the ground in which it will take years to recover from. This is what a customer wrote in the positive reviews on this book. I am trying really hard not to laugh and cry at the same time.
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------
   "I applaud the great leadership abilities of our President and I am sure many Americans will join me. Among the achievements that are behind him (and I am sure that there is time left during the presidency for many more):
   - Has made healthcare affordable for all Americans
   - Has created millions of jobs with joblessnes at record lows
   - Has won the war on terrorism
   - Has brokered lasting peace in the Middle East and Far East
   - Has made all countries in Middle East embrace democracy, with
   some of them already prosperous democracies in a short span
   - Has secured the trust of both the aisles of the Congress to
   legislate policies beneficial to all Americans into law
   - Has made cheap sources of energy available to Americans
   that we can all use into the foreseeable future
   - Has made American economy strong at least for the rest of this
   century
   - Has made budget and trade deficits a thing of the past
   - Has made America the leader of the free world after a period
   when we were thought as a pushover by terrorists
   - Has restored America to play its destined role as the leader of
   the free world
   I am sure there are many more that can be added to this list. Let us all wish our President continued success."
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------
   WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!? Are you kidding me? Every single one of these so called achievements are so obviously false. It makes me wonder if these supporters of his actually have any common sense at all. What is it that they see in this guy? Makes me sick to think that half of America voted for this guy(twice). Thankfully, we only have a few more months of this garbage to take.



2. I don't believe George Bush is a good leader. I think he'd be hard pressed to achieve mediocre. But having said that, reading this book touched me...Bush supporters, for whatever reason, try very hard to create a decent person out of the pieces of George Bush. The authors' use of soundbites, and quotes taken from speeches created by slick PR men. They spiced it with a bunch of staged photo ops and dished out a Potemkin Bush to pin their respect and hopes upon. This is truly touching in its naivete. Who can't sympathize with the authors and their desire to make the President a better man than he is. They want so much for him to be the kind of leader they hoped he would become, that they imagine hints of this in the most trivial and staged of incidents. And I wholeheartedly agree, in a way. I would much rather have a President of whom I could speak proudly, a man I respected for his intelligence and ability to see through the political pettiness and indeed take the course best for America. That's the president I want, that's the president they want. Neither of us have him...but the authors are trying to build one out of sticks and straws. For a long time, I prayed that George Bush would grow with the office. It never happened...but that's not something for those on the left to smirk and joke about. It's a shame for all Americans. And from this book, we can see how deeply those on the right have been wounded by the President's lack of integrity, leadership and ability, to the point where they will hallucinate a leader where none exists. It's sad, on all sides.



3. People who hate Bush will hate the book. People who like Bush will like the book. 'Nuff said.



4. This book was a wonderful read. I am just glad the left-wing cowardly traitors that are reviewing this book, that they certainly did not read or for most of them - did not have someone read it to them, are not leading this country. These liberal cowards would have invited our enemies to attack our country; as long as they did not kill any innocent unborn babies - that right belongs to the pro-choicers. Anyway, real Americans with faith will enjoy this book. Thank God for a President with convictions, morals and values. Oh yeah, I keep hearing about how stupid, unintelligent, or ignorant our President is. I wonder how many of these traitors are Yale and Harvard graduates. Thank you President Bush for not allowing these cowardly Americans to destroy our country.



5. Portrait of a leader? The name of the author of this nonsense should be enough to set off a very loud alarm. Karen Hughes is not by any stretch of the imagination an objective journalist. She was, in fact, instrumental in getting this moron elected in 2000. If I could have rated this book "negative five stars" I would have done so. Knowing what we now know, "Portrait of a Leader" will be remembered as a curiosity and nothing more. It does have value, though. Anything that tries to portray our half-witted president (the "First Fool" as I call him) as a capable, intelligent commander-in-chief, is going to be chock full of unintentional humor - and this book is no exception. Truth be told, it's an absolute scream. For a more realistic look into the career of this disgusting president, please read, SHRUB: The Short, Happy Political life of George W. Bush by Molly Ivins and Lou DuBois. It's alot funnier - but for all the right reasons.
   
   Tom Degan
   Goshen, NY

5 comments about JIMMY CARTER: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-Presidency.

1. The preface starts off indicating the original idea for this book: as a campaign book and biography. So put on those rose-colored glasses and read about Jimmy in third-person. I don't like the posturing, this book reads like it was written to impress rather than give the reader a glimpse of who Jimmy is. Seems to me the author was too close to the president to offer an objective viewpoint. His early life is glossed over and it's just the 'character building' traits which are revealed. I thought Colin Powell's "My American Journey" and Anderson's "Che" did a much better job of revealing the person, and telling the story.
   
   An odd part of this book was the long family history in the beginning. Maybe this was one facet Jimmy inserted, but it just went off on a long tangent.



2. Bourne shows how the the Carter family values and the values of the South shaped Jimmy and the impact that these values had on his presidency. His father's frugality and work ethic are manifest throughout Carter's life, while his mother's racial tolerance and kindness are as well. But his blind devotion to principle and weak managerial skills hindered relations with Washington power brokers and ultimately damaged his presidency.
   
   Some of the most interesting reading is how Carter won the White House, coming from a complete unknown and total outsider to become the most powerful man in the world. And Bourne does an excellent job describing the election campaign. A surprising subtheme of the book is how some of the elements of the Reagan revolution were foreshadowed in Carter's policies, such as the emphasis on a strong defense and confronting the Soviets.
   
   One weakness of the book is the author's hatred of the Reagan administration. He can hardly mention Reagan's name without calling him racist, a charge that is baseless as far as I know. He also assumes that the charges that Reagan interfered in the Iran hostage release in order to win the election are true without discussing the evidence. As far as I know, the evidence for this is controversial at best. Finally, the discussion of his administration could have been better organized--I could not determine if it was chronological or thematic.
   
   The book reveals the complexity of Carter. Although he participated in Southern Baptist Home Mission Board outreach programs, he was either pro-choice or pro-abortion. Although he did more for blacks as governor of Georgia than any previous governor, he was also a supporter of the arch-segregationist George Wallace. Although he was willing to sacrifice almost anything for principle, he ran some awfully dirty campaigns for office in Georgia. Bourne is to be commended for not shying away from describing these complexities.
   
   Bourne was the health advisor for part of the Carter administration, so this is definitely an insider view of his presidency. But Bourne does a good job describing all of Carter's life, from childhood to Navy service to Georgia politics to the presidency to post-presidency, ending with Carter's 70th birthday in 1994.
   
   Overall, a good biography, although it inevitably suffers from being written by an insider and by the lack of historical distance from the main actor. But you will come to know Carter in his glories and his failings.



3. I'm a Republican who nevertheless admired Jimmy Carter greatly, and I am saddened by his recent petulant rants agains President George W. Bush. He has every right to diagree with him but succumbing to the conspiracy theories of the wacko left is unseemly for a former President. Bourne needs to write a sequel.



4. Over the last several years I've read more than 35 presidential biographies, usually taking the advice of Amazon readers who have steered me toward the best available choices. While not among the very best of biographies, Bourne's effort is near or in the top ten presidential biographies.
   
   Jimmy Carter is probably the most intelligent president of my lifetime, an extremely hard worker, ambitious, very religious and thoughtful about his religion but also willing to compromise his principles to get ahead. He is also stubborn and not willing to be shown up. He has usually viewed himself as an outsider, and while this helped convince Americans to elect him president, it did not prepare him to work well with Washington politicians and insiders to achieve many of his goals.
   
   Along with describing Carter's life prior to the presidency, the first half is fascinating for its description of race and politics in the South during the 60's and 70's, laying out an outline of how to win the presidency through a grass roots campaign, the suspicion that Carters religious beliefs caused, and as a reminder of issues that campaigns focused on in the 70's (election ethics, environmental issues, education reform, national health insurance, and other populist sorts of themes) - the four year campaign for president is told in detail (150 pages), and in ways it seems overly long, but this is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Carter's life. The strategy and effort to elect an unknown governor to be president is pretty fascinating stuff.
   
   I started to fear Bourne would run out of energy and pages to provide much detail about Carter's presidency. I was wrong. He captures the problems Carter and America faced, the often ineffective policy implementation of the Carter White House, and Carter's unwillingness to compromise or "play the game" with Congress. Carter's post-presidential years are cevered well.
   
   Bourne has been a Carter advisor for nearly 30 years, but his book is balanced and thoughtful. He is not shy about criticizing Carter. Bourne writes well, and kept my interest throughout the narrative. In some ways the book appears to be published on the cheap. Double spacing between sections doesn't happen. There is no table of contents or chapter names. Despite these few limitations this is a highly recommended presidential biography.



5. I walked through the isles of my public library looking for something to read. There was a large book with the words ' JIMMY CARTER' written on it that was sticking out of a shelf. I picked it up and decided to read it. This has been one of the best choices for reading I have ever made. Jimmy Carter is an extrodinary man, who's life is a lot more detailed and complex than I would have thought. This biography traces his life from birth, through the Navy, State Senatorial duties, Governorship and his Presidency. Jimmy Carter is shown as the admirable and honest man that he is. A real role model for all, Jimmy Carter is amazing, and so is this book.

5 comments about Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose.

1. Japan Unbound is a must read for anyone trying to understand Japanese culture today. This book looks at the economic, social and political transitions taking place in the post boom years of Japan. I did not go into this book expecting to like it, but was forced to reconsider this position with every page.



2. I have met many visitors to Japan who are extremely impressed with the hospitality and the politeness of the people. The society itself is also a highly advanced technologically and its people enjoy a high standard living that most enjoy. However, what Nathan does is that he takes his readers to a troubled Japan that is seldom seen by the outsiders. Nathan does his best to present the reasons why Japan is in the state it is in. Although it has one of the world's strongest economies, there is a sense of despair that many Japanese feel despite its modernity.
   
   As Nathan points out, it is a country that is still seeking to define itself in many ways, and this is clearly seen among the young adults in Japan. I believe that Nathan's views Japan's societal problems mostly stemming from a spiritual void (although he does not use this term). This void exists in Japan largely due to its defeat of the Pacific War and the Emperor renouncing his claims of deity. Nationally, during the Pacific War, the Emperor was the rallying cause for the country and there has been no cause to arise from that time.
   
   The generation that grew up after the war had a clear goal in mind which was to rebuild the country. Now that the country has been rebuilt, there appears to be no national cause to give oneself. The pursuit of most Japanese is individual prosperity and its people have adopted a materialistic philosophy that has not adequately filled that void. This is displayed in the lives of many broken families, absentee fathers, and a growing number of purposeless young people that Nathan documents in this book. Despite this though there are a few individuals in various stratas that are seeking to influence the future direction of Japan.
   
   Although many of the examples that Nathan provides are extreme, such problems and people are commonly known in Japan. It was a very perceptive and informative read, about a country that is still attempting to redefine itself amongst its own people and in the modern world at large.



3. The book provides a first look at changes in Japan's past 60 years, focusing on the situation of the country's soul at the end of 2002. Personally, I think the author was a bit negative about the future prospects of Japan, emphasazing the problems of families and education. Even if things are changing in Japan, the country, on my view, is still the most accountable in the World. For people who wants to understand the country and how it became what it is now, the book is a good start, providing a solid beggining from which further reading should follow.



4. Japan's history and culture is deeply rooted in its 1400 years of interaction and trade with its Asian neighbors, and especially with China during after the Tang dynasty of 618 to 907. This Asian orientation was the basis and has strongly influenced the development of Japan and contributed to the Japanese "identity". This Asian orientation continued until 1853 when Japan embraced both its past and while simultaneously embarked on a new path to absorb and adopted western or modern technology and culture during the so called Meiji period named after the emperor of that period. This continued until 1945 when its empire crumbled in war. With a fresh start but with its industrial infrastructure and with many government agencies and educational system still somewhat in tact after the war, it entered the second phase of its modern development becoming the world's leading financial power and creditor nation by the late 1980's. But after this financial run up the economy stalled, stocks and real estate prices fell sharply, and Japan entered a decade and half long period of economic stagnation and adjustment.
   
   That brings us to this new 250 page book. The author is a Japanese speaking Harvard educated American scholar with four decades of Japanese experience. He has lived in Japan for many years and is eminently qualified to write the book. The book is short and uses a combination of interviews, personal observations, and references to Japanese writings to provide a sense of a country in transition.
   
   He discusses the issue of the "unique" cultural identity, the politics, youth violence, the modern Japanese corporation in a state of flux, the family, and a number of other subjects. It is clear from the book that Japan is in the midst of another change or renewal. The people are turning again to nationalism, seeking pride in their country, and have a desire to re-establish Japan as a country respected by China and America but working more independently. In the background are lurking many social changes and a breakdown in the school systems, unemployment, changes in the family, and a dramatic increase in youth crime rates - all that are new for Japan that was previously a strongly structured and a more predictable society.
   
   This is a well written book. It manages to be both educate and entertain with many stories, insights, and humor. It brings up to date on what is happening in Japan today in 2004.



5. This book is really interesting in that it highlights some of the issues Japan is grappling with at present. I do feel that Nathan presents things in an idealistic way when it meets his own views - as with the example of the apple orchardists in central Nagano prefecture. They might seem more connected to him - but perhaps that is what he wanted to see? There are certainly disconnected families in Nagano, despite the appearance of tradition.
   On the whole its interesting and good to see some discussion of Japan's internal issues.

5 comments about Grant and Twain: The Story of a Friendship That Changed America.

1. This book is a perfect introduction for beginning history buffs. It's simple and written for the average lay-person who may not know much about Twain or Grant (that would be me, by the way). It is a quick read and thoroughly enjoyable. My dad warned me that it would be a dry reading but I found it pleasurable.
   
   I don't know that much about U.S. Grant and Mark Twain, or also known as Samuel Clemens. I have read "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn" (but will admit that I read them as a kid and didn't understand all the nuances that Twain was referring to in this book, but plan to re-read them again sometime soon as an adult to see what I missed as a kid). But I know next to nothing about Ulysses Grant. All I know of him is that he was a great general and was one of the U.S. Presidents. And this book, written more about him and his last days, is absolutely fascinating in that regards. I was almost tempted to buy his memoirs when I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday. (I think my dad has the book already.)
   
   However, like a lot of the reviewers in here, I find the subtitle of this book a bit misleading. I kept waiting to hear more about this deep friendship between the two men and waited in vain. Yes, they were good friends, but there were little mentioned about their friendship. This book was more about their two life-stories between two different men who were born a decade a part. Their life-stories run parallel to one another and Twain met Grant close to the end of Grant's life-time.
   
   This is just a fascinating read on two men who shaped US history, one through war and one through his penmanship. Both have strong convictions and both seem to be men of interest.
   
   Like I said, this is perfect for the beginning history buff. If you're a history buff, this book is a little gem for the library as well.
   
   3/19/08



2. I decided to read Mark Perry's treatment of "Grant and Twain" for several reasons: First, I loved Perry's duo-bio of Marshall and Eisenhower; Second, I had read individual biographies of Ulysses S. Grant and Samuel L. Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain already, having been intrigued by both men and their roles in the Civil War and Gilded Age eras of America. (Think of the old television series "Wild Wild West!" with anachronistic secret agent James West and side kick Artemis Gordon traveling around the growing country by that behemoth of high tech, The Railroad System, at the commission of President Grant himself, dealing with criminal arch genius villains and their Jules Verne-esque technologies in the middle of carpetbaggers and con men and normal everyday people trying to make an honest even moral life in it all).
   
   And so I did read "Grant and Twain" and I am glad I did and I find myself wanting to review it not just to share it but to draw out the uncomfortable and til now not quite articulated thoughts I had on Grant and Twain in my earlier readings of the details of their lives.
   
   And I DO recommend it and give it five stars. I give it five stars for a) Perry's lovely method and focus of comparing two famous men side by side for new perspectives, b) His revealing a, to me, hitherto unknown connection between the two men, c) His focus on the 15 or so months where Grant wrote his famous Memoirs (which I am now, finally, going to read) and Twain facilitated him, and d) Early hints in this Perry work of some themes about war and democracies more fully realized in the Marshall and Eisenhower work.
   
   The "dissonance" I allude to in the title of this review is that, while Grant and Twain are FAMOUS, their lives were full of downs and ups and arguably each died in unhappy circumstances. Grant died of cancer, using the writing of his memoirs to energize himself to see it through to the end as his last campaign, though incidentally creating what Perry characterizes as the United States' greatest work of nonfiction. Grant wrote his memoirs partly as a result of having been misled by a business partner and having to pay off debts to retain Grant's sense of dignity and honor. Oh yes, and Grant's eight years at president were a bit marred by constant financial scandals of government officials he'd naively trusted to be honorable in the positions he'd given them.
   
   Twain died of old age basically, but was embittered at the end of his life at the deaths of his wife and oldest daughter, and disgusted with the reliable dishonesty and exploitation and hypocrisy of men. And oh yes, near bankrupt from inept business dealings as well.
   
   So when I first read the bios of these two great men it bothered me... was dying in pain and embitterment a worthy end for great men like these? For heaven's sake what could the rest of us aspire to? Life is so complicated when there is not a 'lived happily ever after' ending to biographies like these.
   
   I could barely stand to re-read the "sad bad bits" in the stories of both men... skimming along quickly at times to the interesting action bits such as the when Grant decides to write his memoirs and who to have publish them; the point where Twain finds the inspiration needed to complete the story of Huckleberry Finn (quietly dedicated to General Grant at the very front, according to Perry's convincing analysis, who characterizes Huck Finn as the United States' greatest work of fiction).
   
   And yet having completed Perry's book, I have became satisfied and at peace with the mixed happinesses of the lives of both these great men. The Gilded Age was a time after the Civil War where the pursuit of the dollar became rampant. "The Rise of Silas Lapham" was published in this era by Twain's good friend William Dean Howells. Twain lived next door to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The thrashing of the United States about attitudes to slavery and commerce continued to dominate this century.
   
   And yet in all this dissonance death and discord... two great men married, raised families, pursued careers, pursued concepts of professional honor and dignity, faced literal and figurative life and death often and unpredictably, and at the end, died. They "won" because they became "famous" and they became famous because their names became household words. But are they to be emulated for having become famous? Are they to be emulated for the clarity and brilliance, the insights of their most famous literary works? Are they to be emulated for the example they set of sheer persistence if not bravado making a life with what they were given. As all of us are challenged to do?
   
   Well done Grant!; well done Twain!; and well done Perry!



3. Mark Perry's GRANT AND TWAIN: THE STORY OF A FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED AMERICA is one of those books where the old adage, "never judge a book by looking at its cover," comes to mind. However, never judge a book by reading its title may be a better term. The subject matter of U.S. Grant and Mark Twain is quite interesting, and Perry parallels Grant and Twain's lives. Unfortunately, Perry does not show how the two men grew closer as friends during Grant's last few months of life in 1885. The entire aspect of the book concentrates on Grant's life and death experiences while completing his memoirs, and how Twain completes his most famous, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Possibly, this book is a tie into the story behind Twain's opening passage to Huck Finn (The book's premise almost resembles the Citizen Kane story, and how the movie revolves around the mystery behind Rosebud).
   
   Perry attempts to elaborate on the lives of these two monumental figures in American history. Perry offers a short biography of the two men, and Perry credits personal accounts from family and friends as to the friendship between the two men. However, the story revolving around Twain and Grant's friendship never quite meet in this book. There is a sense of disconnect in Perry's attempt to cite how their friendship changed America; the stories are separate from one another, and their is not one inkling of emotion on how one felt about the other. The narrative dwells on Twain helping Grant publish his memoirs.
   
   As a recommendation for reading about U.S. Grant or Mark Twain, GRANT AND TWAIN: THE STORY OF A FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED AMERICA, should be read after reading Grant's memoirs and Huckleberry Finn.



4. Mark Perry's "Grant and Twain" may well be the only work in which the personality of Mark Twain plays second fiddle to another. Whereas Twain was a giant of literature, Grant was a giant of humanity and this book offers plenty of evidence in that regard.
   
   U.S. Grant was such a mass of contradiction. He was a soldier with a distaste for war, yet he possessed little fear in battle and deployed his forces with vicious ferocity. He was a man of great ethical conviction, yet as president he headed one of the more corrupt administrations in our history. With a clarity no doubt inspired by Grant's writings, Perry explores those contradictions and how they made his relationship with Twain noteworthy.
   
   A lesser historian might have just focused on Grant's final year of life, and how he approached his final illness with dignity and stoicism. But Perry finds deeper meaning in the ways that the mutual admiration between Grant and Twain came to influence them both.
   
   Twain's effort to finish Huckleberry Finn dovetailed nicely with Grant's reluctance to write his memoirs. Grant's perspective on the South helped Twain flesh out some of the nuances within his work. The novel had stalled in the writing process and in fact had been shelved by Twain as having no promise. Meanwhile, Twain moved from basically looking for a publishing coup (that of winning the rights to Grant's memoirs) to a more nurturing role as writing mentor to the General. Twain's numerous business failures were legion, but Grant's writings were a notable exception. Perhaps that was due to the respect that Twain held for Grant prior to their association, or more a reflection of the admiration that he developed as the ailing ex-president applied himself to the task of putting his memories to paper.
   
   Grant began his memoirs after being diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. As time elapsed, the effort to give his perspective on his military career and the Civil War became a counterpoint to his illness; perhaps even to the point of prolonging his life somewhat.
   
   Grant and Twain is excellent history. It's informative, readable and enjoyable. And to it's credit, this book will (should) foster renewed interest in reading Huckleberry Finn and Personal Memoirs by U.S. Grant.



5. Grant and Twain is a good book, informative, insightful, and concise enough.
   
   Mark Perry starts by giving us very good sketches of the lives of the two principals up to the point of the story, including some surprising (for me) details about their personal lives. He then goes into their relationship, how it came to be, and the affect it had on their great works of literature. The books influenced by their time together, Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Grant's Personal Memoirs, are considered to be classics and the best that either of the authors ever produced. In fact, some think that Huckleberry Finn is the best American novel ever, and that Personal Memoirs (about the Mexican and Civil Wars) is the best American book ever written on military events. Perry records many conversations Grant and Twain had with each other and with the other folks surrounding them, including families and associates. It makes you feel like you are there, and gives some personal insight into what these gentlemen were really like. We find that they were both quite remarkable as private figures as well as public figures. The story of their relationship rides to a great extent on the heroic drama of Grant racing to finish his book before dying of cancer, to ensure the financial security of his family. Perry, at the same time, paints a fascinating sketch of what Twain called the Gilded Age, a time of great industrial progress along with great corruption in the U.S.
   
   It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

5 comments about LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

1. Many,many, many layers. Author Woods sets out to create the ultimate LBJ biography, and partly succeeds. On the plus side, it is obvious that he put a considerable amount of work into looking into both older and fresh research, coming up with new facts or forgotten ones about one of the most complex American presidents. As some of the professional reviews indicated, Woods created a comprehensive set of information. In addition, Woods does not leave LBJ off the hook historically, but is far more balanced in his overall assessment of LBJ as compared to other bios, probably partially as a result of the passage of time as well as author effort.
   On the negative side, this weighty book (around 900 pages text) could have used some serious editing. Besides the numerous small factual errors (which state a Senator is from), several paragraphs are simply a mess and should have been cut. Probably could have removed some passages about the Kennedys - this is, after all, a biography of LBJ, and should be focused on his relationship with them.
   I found this book informative, but I think I am still waiting for a more definitive LBJ bio to emerge.



2. Randall B. Wood's brilliant biography of President Lyndon B. Johnson was ten years in the making, but came out at exactly the right time. As is the case with George W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson's administration was undermined by a war that became deeply unpopular: "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" became a popular chant, and though the sloganeers of the sixties were better than those of today, the sentiment is exactly the same. As Wood shows, the Vietnam war had profound consequences for LBJ's administration, in the same way Iraq is having disastrous consequences for George W. Bush.
   
   There the similarity ends for the two presidents from Texas. LBJ's days were marked by what may be called a "revolution from below." Profound attention was paid to the needs of the poor and blacks in Johnson's Great Society programs. nd in a glaring difference with what is occurring today, the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 really changed the lives of the less well to do, so that far fewer of them went into bankruptcy, as they had in Johnson's growing up years in east Texas. The ush years have been, by contrast, marked by the increasing inaccessibility of the best medicare care to the poor, along with profound pressures on middle-class and poor Americans who just can't afford to pay for private health insurance.The Bush administration has been inclined to ascribe rising medical costs to innovation that allows doctors to do more. But this is only part of the story. The other part is a tendency for Washington to allow the healthcare industry to charge more and more.
   
   What is most fascinating about the Woods biography is the demonstration that Lyndon Johnson was profoundly influenced by his family's embrace of early 20th century progressivism.And it wasn't always easy. his father, deeply in debt, and an alcoholic to boot, stood up against the Ku Klux Klan. He very easily could have been murdered. As a state legislator, Sam Ealy, Jr. always voted against moneyed interests in the state. LBJ's mother, Rebekah, had been a reporter for an Austin newspaper, a prolific reader her entire life, and probably would have felt comfortable with today's social justice Christians. In his early twenties, Johnson spent more than a year teaching and becoming the principal of a small school made up of poor Mexican children. He never forgot them.
   
   The book is not all about doing good. Johnson's womanizing, abusiveness and egoism all come out very clearly, but Woods's complex, 900 page biography carefully and intelligently demonstrates the full measure of Johnson's prolific talent. "He (LBJ) is far ahead of most of the intellectuals--especially those Northern liberals who have beco0me, in the name of the highest motives, the new apologists for segregation," writer Ralph Ellison wrote in a magazine interview i early 1967. "President Johnson's speech at Howard University spelled out the meaning of full integration for Negroes in a way that no one, no President, not Lincoln nor oosevelt, no matter how much we love and respected them, has ever done before."



3. Informative and absorbing, "LBJ: Architect of American Ambition" is certainly one of the best bios I've read in a while. Woods' narration, though somewhat uneven at times, never loses focus on the long reach of Johnson's ambition, which is apparent from his boyhood to the halls of Congress, and throughout his controversial presidency. Not content with only explaining his forceful and often manipulative methods, Woods allows the reader to dive into LBJ's mind to explore the (largely) altruistic motivations behind his eccentric, almost schizophrenic behaviors.
   
   Heralding over an era that he envisioned as a continuation of FDR's New Deal, LBJ's dreams came crashing under the events of the tumultuous 60s; that of Vietnam and urban riots. To paraphrase a comment once made by the father of a friend of mine, no political figure fit the mold of a Shakespearean Tragedy as LBJ did.
   
   While I agree that the editing was most certainly shoddy and that Woods' standing as a historian gives him little room to allow such careless mistakes, I must respectfully contend that the book should not suffer anything more than a 2-star deduction as other reviewers have done. Save for situations in which an author is purposefully misleading or misconstruing the facts to push foward an agenda, such errors seem more benign in nature, and as such, context should be the focus. Should I use this book as a source for a future paper and/or project, I'll be sure to take note to double-check for accuracy; but as a more casual reader looking for a book to bring this character to life, I found that Woods' overall style accomplished that objective.
   
   This book tells his story in a way that is sympathetic to his cause, but unflinching in revealing Johnson's flaws in more ways than one. With such a larger-than-life character as its subject, I can only hope a revised edition is not too far ahead in the future.



4. This is a substantial book--both in its length of 884 pages and the character of the man that it records. LBJ was an enormously controversial President--albeit not as much as this fellow that is presently "Occupying" the White House. He was hated on the left for his hawkishness on the Vietnam War. He was hated on the right because he was an FDR Democrat and was big on civil rights. Something that conservatives fought tooth and nail during that period of time--I know, I lived thru that period of time, and I remember it quite well.
   
   Johnson was a tragic figure. A President who tried to do very much good for poor people and civil rights, but was brought low by the Vietnam War and his fear of being labeled a "Communist appeaser" by the rabid right of that time. Time does not see to have improved the right's disposition--or judgment for that matter.
   
   Woods records Johnson's lamentable personal infidelities towards his wife, his overbearing and immature egotism, and his larger than life presence in his social and political environments. Despite all of his many faults, he always maintained a sincere and deep concern for the least amongst us. Along with his egotism, he was also a profound idealist. He truly believed that by promoting the right government policies that he could help change and transform America for the better. And he was capable of delivering. Whether it was civil rights, the war on poverty, job corps, the beginnings of environmental oversight by the federal government. He was a true successor of FDR.
   
   A fair and sympathetic book about a most interesting man and extremely able President. If you believe that the civil rights legislation was a worthy endeavor, then you might want to read this book to get some idea of one of the two--along with Martin Luther King--main architects of the civil rights revolution of the 60's. Additionally, Woods gives a very good overview about how Johnson was pulled deeper and deeper into Vietnam--against his better judgment.



5. Almost all reviewers acknowledge that this book is well written but filled with factual errors. The real debate is over how important the errors are. I think they are very important for two reasons. First, the number of errors and kinds of errors suggest the author does not have a grasp of his subject. If this historian knew his period, he would not have made most of these mistakes in the first place, and if he did, he would have caught them himself in a less fatigued moment. Didn't he even read his own manuscript? Accuracy is the responsibility of the author, not the editor. These errors just would not have slipped by a competent historian, not in these numbers. Second, if the reader finds that what he or she knows about is wrong, how can the reader have confidence in what he or she doesn't know about? The short answer is one can't. There is no way of knowing if what this author says is right or wrong. For these reasons, the whole book is unreliable. Interesting as it is, and it is very interesting, one just can't have confidence in it. This is not trivial. This is not an editorial problem. This is fundamental. Too bad. The author is trying to make an important argument that needs making. In more reliable hands, this book would have been an enormous contribution to the literature, perhaps a masterpiece.

No comments about Abraham Lincoln's Extraordinary Era: The Man and His Times.

5 comments about The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories.

1. The author, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, a British newspaperman, came to the States without preconceived judgment of the Clintons, an attitude which changed as time passed. He observed the difference between public utterances and private behavior too often screened from view by a fawning press which persists even unto today. Barnum said you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time, but the Clintons et al made a pretty good stab at it --. No one should go to the polls to vote without having read Pritchard.



2. This is a chronicle of how the Clintons and their twelve years in the governor's mansion of Arkansas and two terms in the office of the Presidency have left our democratic institutions in shambles. From a perch at the pinnacle of the Dixie Mafia, Hot Springs Arkansas, they have taken the nation on a descent down into "anti-democratic" hell, from which the Republic may never recover. This book is a virtual catalogue of how they did it: an unimaginable tale of corruption and abuses of power that, in comparison, will make the Monica Lewinsky scandal seem like a Sunday school picnic.
   
   Ambrose Evans-Pritchard a reporter for London's Sunday Telegraph uses his considerable investigative skills and his diplomatic immunity from the Clinton terror tactics to weave a series of tales that will literally make the reader's hair stand on end. Everything here has the ring of truth. But even if it did not, and a tenth of it is correct, then we are already living deep inside a "well-regulated" police state.
   
   One word of caution to the reader: A great deal of this is circumstantial and hearsay evidence, however, as will become obvious to any astute reader: in a "soft police state," after witnesses have been intimidated, cajoled and murdered; documents have been tampered with, lost or shredded; drug money has been laundered and reinvested; subpoenas have been ignored or squashed; secrecy and plausible deniability have been invoked to shield everything from the public; we have a sycophantic incurious press, and public officials have been muted, silenced, bribed or coached into lying -- all up and down the line -- there isn't much else left but hearsay and circumstantial evidence. Plus, there is so much of this kind of evidence that its preponderance and very cross-confirmation alone takes on a life of its own, that is to say, it lends to these stories a kind of credibility and credence of its own.
   
   In each of the scandals included -- from the Okalahoma City bombing cover up, to the reasons for Vince Foster's and Jerry Parks murders, to Dan Lasater, Don Tyson, and the Stephen's brothers cocaine empire -- run by the Clintons out of the Arkansas Development Finance Administration (ADFA) -- to complicity in a contract to murder Colonel Terry Reed -- this is in every respect a blue print for how to turn our democracy into the world's largest "soft police state."
   
   In short, this book is nothing if not the anatomy of a "soft police state" in the making, with the State of Arkansas taking the lead in the descent into irretrievable corruption. How does it happen? The subtext of this book gives us a step-by-step manual for how its done: When unchecked power, secrecy, a complacent public, weak kneed and corrupt political authorities and ruling elites, a press that will not face the reality before it, and large illicit sums of drug money, collide; and then collude: morality and civility are the first to go out the window. And then our democracy is in grave if not mortal danger.
   
   Like a snake lying coiled waiting ready to spring on its prey from the grass, unwary citizens were enticed, lured, seduced or co-opted inside the circle of the Clinton corruption. Once inside, the noose is tightened and the trap door slammed shut. There are no exits except to "go on the lam" as Colonel Terry Reed, L. D. Brown, Patty-Ann Smith and Dennis Patrick did; or to play ball and pretend to love it, as Patsy Thomasson and Bob Nash, and so many others did; or be committed to jail or suicide as was done to Sarah McClendon; or be banished to purgatory as Paula Jones and Monica Lewinski were, or indeed give up your life as Vince Foster, Barry Seal and Jerry Parks did.
   
   The author's thoughts are best summarized on page 316 when he is discussing the issue of Mena, Arkansas:
   
   "What makes [the Iran Contra affair] so fascinating today is evidence that the CIA's base of operation was actively involved. The idea that an outwardly liberal and progressive Democrat like Bill Clinton was secretly assisting Oliver North's crusade against the Revolucion Sandinista is so shocking that the American press has dismissed it out of hand. But it is precisely because Mena turns the world upside down that it matters so much. If true, it validates the inchoate suspicion felt by many Americans that things are not what they seem. It suggests that the political rhetoric of the two parties in Washington is mere window dressing, while the real decisions are made in secret collusion without democratic accountability. To examine Mena is to examine the institutional condition of the United States. As for the president, it exposes him as a remarkable counterfeit, willing to betray his liberal principles for self-advancement."
   
   This is truly scary stuff. Five stars



3. I just read this book for the second time after having read it a few years ago. It's amazing how time dulls the memory. I had forgotten about all of the scandals and crimes associated with the Clintons and it is chilling that after all of this time the Clintons still have not been held accountable and at this time Hillary is even in the running to become our next president.
   
   Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has written a well-documented and well-researched book from years of investigation and interviews. He has meticulously laid out the evidence for the Clintons association with the Oklahoma bombing, Vince Foster's death, the sad murder of Kevin Ives, the "Dixie Mafia" and even Paula Jones.
   
   I can understand why those who are enamored of Bill Clinton will not like this book but in typical left-wing form those who have given this book only one star and complain that it is filled with lies offer no facts to refute those supposed lies.



4. I purchased this book after hearing review after review of it from my family members. Needless to say, they were right - this book is an absolute bombshell of information that pinpoints most, if not all of the ethical and legal faux pas raised by the Clinton Administration and the organizations under that regime. Some of the highlights include how the FBI blundered Waco, how the Murrah building was most definately more than a one-person job (but was apparently ordered not to investigate it as such), how Clinton was dealing in cocaine trafficking and how the Clintons managed to cover all of this up with the help of the liberal media.

   ... Ambrose Evans-Pritchard documents everything he asserts based on facts of witness testimony, comparing FBI affadavits, and other documents related to these cases. If there is any flaw with the book is that Pritchard couldn't 100% tie all of the incidents to Clinton, though 95% of the crimes mentioned in the book can be easily seen how they tie to Clinton or to someone high up in the Clinton administration.

   I reiterate - this book is a must-read to anyone who is sick and tired of hearing how great the Clinton Administration is, and should be read by those people who continue to profess how wonderful Clinton was.




5. To the people who read this book, you really should do some research on the author, who was sure that he was going to be killed by Clinton's "Death Squads" while writing this. It's a perfect book to feed the conservative paranoia that the Clinton years cultivated. The guy couldn't even have a successful affair without getting caught, how he could have managed all that he is accused of in this book is borderline absurd. And the section regarding the advanced knowledge of the Oklahoma bombing is just plain ridiculous, especially when you compare it to the recent allegation of the Bush administration's advance knowledge of 9/11 activities. It's easy to dislike Clinton when you're a conservative, I understand, and this book certainly gives you fuel for the fire. But no one should take anything in this book as entirely factual or of any journalistic value. The elaborate footnotes and "documentation" are an almost comedic exersize in logical thinking. But hey, I'm not going to knock a book that so many people like. The only thing I object to is its classification as a "non-fiction" book.

No comments about The Sack of Rome: Media + Money + Celebrity = Power = Silvio Berlusconi.

5 comments about Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House.

1. The author appears intent on taking lemonade and trying to make lemons out of it.
   
   The book relies primarily upon the "167 interviews" the author conducted with Clinton's friends and associates. The anecdotes and perceptions of the interviewees are informative and well worth reading. But as someone who has followed the Clinton post-presidency through membership in the library/foundation, news articles and interviews, too much appears to be missing from the source information out there about the foundation, the library, the 9/11 investigation and other topics mentioned. Questions are raised for debate (Is Clinton's work in Africa just a means to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize?) only to be answered by the author's style of this friend/associate says this and this friend/associate says the opposite. Such questions would appear trivial if the author concentrated on Clinton's actual record and wrote about Clinton accomplishments in Africa and elsewhere in more detail. While constantly mentioning Clinton's speeches and speaking fees, the author barely mentions the content of what Clinton says, which from viewing a video or obtaining a transcript here or there of some of Clinton's speeches, is a major oversight in any book claiming to cover Clinton's post-presidency. Clinton's eloquence and passion on the issues facing the world rise far above the comments about him presented here.



2. Every former president develops a nostalgia for the
   good old days in the White House. The end of the
   second term brings such a definitive landing
   that readjusting to ordinary life becomes a trauma of sorts.
   
   The book begins by posing the question as to why President Clinton
   could not have sought a third term. The answer to this
   question is unknowable. President Clinton is presented as the
   proverbial risk taker who thrives on grappling with "chance".
   
   The author describes the various speaking engagements of
   President Clinton throughout Europe. His efforts to eradicate
   AIDS in Africa are seen as a critical point in the
   post-White House years. Parts of the book provide an
   important glimpse into President Clinton's personal life.
   For instance, he likes expensive mechanical watches and dresses
   well.
   
   A White House portrait of President Clinton was drawn by
   Simmie Knox- a noted African American painter. A portion of
   the book deals with President Clinton's 2004 surgery.
   Overall, the book is a fair testament to President Clinton's
   post White House years



3. She's one of the best biographers that we have. That's all that this biographer has to know.



4. She's one of the best biographers that we have. That's all this biographer has to know.



5. If you were a Bill Clinton fan, you'll find this book to be overly critical and full of too much innuendo. If you are a Republican, you will be dissatisfied with this book as being too Democratically oriented. If you are a Democrat who cannot forgive Bill Clinton for getting involved with Ms. Lewinski, this book will be right up your alley.
   
   Everyone who saw me carrying this book was puzzled by the title, which means to suggest that Bill Clinton is not very welcome with many Americans but is loved abroad. But I'm not sure that's accurate. I daresay that if he could run for president again his standing in the polls would be much higher than that of President Bush or the apparent nominees from the major parties. That title gives you a tip-off that Ms. Felsenthal has an agenda . . . which is to remind everyone that the Democrats didn't do very well after Bill Clinton fell from grace.
   
   Although Ms. Felsenthal interviews a lot of people who were once close to Bill Clinton, she never identifies which ones are now major Obama supporters . . . which undoubtedly colored their views. I believe that's poor research that harms the value of what she wrote. In particular, I was struck by how many of the most negative comments came from prominent Obama supporters. Since the interviews took place during the campaigning, could it be that some responses had a political motive behind them? I don't know, but I'm skeptical.
   
   She also seems to be quick to take credit away from the leadership roles that Bill Clinton has played. She is much more impressed by Ira Magaziner's hard work on helping reduce AIDS in Africa than in Bill Clinton's ferocious fund raising for the same cause. The truth is that both are needed, and the two men have worked as a team for a long time. One doesn't take away from the other.
   
   From that, you get a sense that Ms. Felsenthal has an extremely high opinion of what an ex-president should be able to accomplish: Raise tens of billions annually, solve the world's most difficult problems single-handed in a few years, and never be seen in public with anyone who ever indulges in improper behavior. Well, that would be nice. I suspect that the George W. Bush period of being an ex-president will yield a more reasonable set of expectations. In that context, Bill Clinton's first years out of office will have to be re-examined.
   
   I did like the photographs.