5 comments about Pure Goldwater.

1. I live here in AZ and allot of things here are named after Goldwater. Some streets, buildings and foundations. And living here 12 years I know nothing about him! Only that he was a senator. My curiosity got the best of me and I ordered this book (audio book so I can listen on my way to work). And in finishing this book I feel I have a very intimate, honest, and broad look in to Goldwater's life. From the lil notes that he jotted down that were discovered, to whole letters written to and from the president!... It really shook me at the core, very raw stuff. Goldwater really had some simple and firm beliefs that once I was exposed to it (this book), I am now a firm believer. To go a step further, I considered myself a Democrat. After exposure to Goldwater's thoughts on many issues I realized how dead wrong I was on my stance as a Dem. I actually think now that I am a Republican or even a Libertarian (can't believe I just said that). More to the point, I'm a Goldwater believer now. To think, I almost cast my vote down the wrong path, & I am glad that I read this book in time for the election.



2. Pure Goldwater is just what the title indicates, vintage, pure Goldwater. How good it was to read about my conservative, political hero once again. This book was a delight to read. Sen. Goldwater's character, honesty, and leadership traits shine throughout the book. You always knew where the good Senator stood on issues - he didn't waffle; the book does an excellent job bringing his noble traits out. There were few people in the 1960's his equal, and even fewer today. In your heart you know he was right then, and he is just as right today. Bravo for such a great book. Pure Goldwater should be mandatory reading for US History students.



3. For those of us of a certain age, Barry Goldwater was the prickly candidate for president in 1964, whose "extremism in defense of liberty" speech turned away millions of voters. But Goldwater stayed around long after that and it's a good thing he did. "Pure Goldwater", a neatly arranged compilation of his journal entries (along with some letters and speeches) reveals a much more complex and attractive man than the public got to know more than a generation ago.
   
   The title of the book could not have been more appropriate. Here we see Senator Goldwater in all of his frankness, lambasting presidents with whom he worked, yet revelling in the love of his family, photography, flying and service to his country. In reading "Pure Goldwater" it's not hard to be in agreement with him on one page and subsequently want to wring his neck on the next. He seemed always to be on the cutting edge of the day's events, even when he was doing some of the "cutting", himself. It's fascinating to see him comment on every president from FDR to Clinton and there was much about most of them he didn't like.
   
   Much of the book centers around his relationship with Richard Nixon and the trials and tribulations of Watergate and perhaps the most intriguing part of the book follows his recollections on summing up Nixon's chances in the Senate for impeachment survival. I remember that day well and how it changed my mind about Senator Goldwater. Here was a true statesman rising to the occasion in a most difficult time in our nation's history.
   
   Barry Goldwater's seeming drift to the left regarding such issues as women's choice and gay rights no doubt sent shivers up and down the collective spines of his conservative colleagues. But Goldwater reasoned well and was always practical and this will be a big part of his legacy...a conservative man ahead of his time. "Pure Goldwater" is a pure joy to read and I commend John Dean and Barry Goldwater, Jr. for allowing us this terrific look at the senator...as told through his own words. I highly recommend it.



4. What a Gem! Honest, thought-provoking, riveting and well-written. Pure Goldwater gives an insightful look at an important time in history. Entertaining and politically relevant during this election year. Conservatives will love it, and so will just about everyone else.



5. Let me state from the get go that I am a Senator Goldwater and President Reagan style Republican.
   
   What I think this books value is in 2008 is how it sheds alot of light on Senator Hillary Clinton who was a Goldwater girl as well as Senator John McCain who in his pre 2008 years was more Goldwater minded than most people know. But he has gone off course so badly and isnt the same open honest straight talking express man he once was.
   
   Also of interest to me was how Libertarian minded Senator Goldwater was and not the conservative Republican of recent years which is right wing Christian close minded mode. I say this as a Christian who is Goldwater mode.
   
   This is a book that anyone interested in sanity, smaller government, and Constitutional law should read. Sadly so many people probably see Goldwater as some right wing zealot. Thats President G. W. Bush, not Senator Goldwater.

5 comments about One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment/Movie Tie in to the Movie "Glory".

1. A good fundamental book for understanding how Robert Gould Shaw came to command the Massachusetts 54th, but one that offers little about his relationship with the regiment or the issues that shaped its legends. Because this book (and point of view) formed the basis for the motion picture "Glory," many of its shortcomings were repeated in the movie and in subsequent public perceptions about the composition, behavior, and fate of the first all-volunteer African-American regiment formed in the American Civil War.
   
   I strongly endorse this as a starting point for Americans interested in the life of Robert Gould Shaw but recommend they continue to "Blue Eyed Child of Fortune," a collection of his personal correspondence. "One Gallant Rush" tends to portray Shaw as a sort of doomed saint rather than a complex character succumbing to the moral and political aspirations of his family, his own ambition, and the then-prevailing attitudes about the worth and importance of African American soldiers (and men).



2. This book was at least partially the basis for the movie Glory, which starred Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, Matthew Broderick, and Denzel Washington (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). The movie is reasonably historically accurate, though there are parts where they took liberties with the truth. The book sets the record straight in a number of ways.

   The book, however, is largely a biography of Robert Gould Shaw. Shaw was born a child of privalege, and raised to be an abolitionist and a devout Christian. When the war started, he saw it as his duty to enlist, first serving in the ranks of a New York regiment, and later securing appointment as a Captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. When the Emancipation Proclamation was announced and the recruiting of Black soldiers began (this was part of the actual proclamation) the governor of Massachussetts decided to recruit his own regiment of Blacks, and appointed Shaw to be the colonel. The regiment served briefly in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, before leading the charge on Fort Wagner, to the south of the city, in which Shaw was killed and the regiment decimated.

   This book, as I said, is mostly a biography of Shaw. Since he wasn't anyone particularly prominent, and since he only lived to be 25, there's not a lot to say, and the book is as a result rather short, about 150 pages. Shaw comes off as committed, intelligent, perhaps a bit naive, but brave and skilled. It's an interesting character study, and an interesting but brief account of this one action in the siege of Charleston. There isn't, however, much else to the book, so be warned, it's rather thin. If that's what interests you, however, it's worth the effort.




3. Having seen the movie Glory for the first time this past weekend, I couldn't help but wonder about the 54th and its Colonel Shaw. So, when I got my hands on this book I had very high expectations. I have to say that I was very happy with the quality of this book. It has just enough sentiment for Colonel Shaw and his family, yet it also portrays the 54th as the heroes I believe they were. I would recommend this to any history buff, or to anyone who finds that they had the same thirst as I after seeing Glory on television. Great book..



4. Matthew Broderick portrayed Robert Gould Shaw, in the movie "Glory," as shy, idealistic, tenacious. In real life he was all these things and more: more complex, more a product of his age and social class (what we today call "classism" was universal then), struggling to escape the iron grip of his abolitionist mother, wrestling with notions of race which we today would call "racism." Burchard's book is still the best for bringing him back to life: sharing army life with his friends, courting his future wife, organizing and forming the first black regiment to serve as a regiment of the line (the rest were mostly used for bushwhacking or manual labor). He surely knew before accepting the job that he would face unpopularity, uncertainty, and execution if captured. Twenty-five-year-old Robert showed awesome moral courage in taking it on, and one of the virtues of this book is that it makes Robert's record believable, first in his choice, and then in sticking with loneliness, exhaustion, discouragement, fear of death, and obstacle after obstacle, to prove that "Black Men can fight as well as White Men" and therefore can meet the coming demands of citizenship. Another virtue, for older students maybe, lies in its portrayal of the "classism" and "racism" which formed the unexamined background of most Americans in the 1860's, against which we can measure how far we've really evolved since then. All in all, an excellent book for young people in American History courses, to supplement the movie "Glory" which is often used to illustrate the Civil War and its human side.



5. Robert Gould Shaw was that shy, stubborn hero of the movie "Glory": a Boston aristocrat, reared among abolitionists, struggling to break free from the iron grip of his mother, a good soldier, a born leader. Peter Burchard's book is still the best for bringing the young Colonel to life before our eyes: reading military history in his tent, courting his future wife, fighting on great battlefields, and displaying awesome moral courage as well as physical courage. A complex and in some ways a heavy-burdened young man, he took on the uncertain, unpopular and dangerous job of organizing, training and leading the nation's first black regiment. He certainly knew before he took the job that in order to prove that "Black Men could fight as well as White Men" he would probably have to lose his life along with many of the men who would come to trust him. The story of how he battled every kind of prejudice and misunderstanding, as well as the common hazards of poor food, boredom, cold, homesickness, and the grief of leaving his wife of just three weeks, makes for a well-presented saga; 140 years later it's still worth pondering. It proves that one cheerful, rather ordinary young man--a dedicated man--can make a difference.

1 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright (Reaktion Books - Critical Lives).

1. As a non-specialist who is admittedly rather ignorant of architectural history, this book was perfect for me. It avoids both excessive detail and incomprehensible jargon, yet covers the principal steps in Wright's 60-year career. I really got an idea of what he did and accomplished and what was so unique about it, which was exactly what I hoped to find. (McCarter's other book on FLW is huge with such long descriptions of interiors that I felt intimidated to open it.)
   
   Essentially, Wright approached his buildings as personal works of art designed for the purchaser after long conversations on their desires (with a few glaring exceptions, due to a sudden excess of FLW's arrogance). He designed them from the inside out, with the greatest attention to detail as total works of art down to the furniture and even the clothes of residents, kind of like Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk, but for living space and quality of life. He also strove to orient them wrt the sun and other natural contours of the landscape. The range of buildings is far too complex and varied to describe here, of course, and I could have used more pics in the text to supplement McCarter's wonderful descriptions (easily available on the internet). I finally get it and will study his legacy in greater detail. Also, many of his homes were designed for the middle class, rather than exclusively for an aristocracy of the rich.
   
   The wider context is also covered in just the right detail, that is, how Sullivan mentored Wright; how Wright rebelled against the neo-classical fashion as exemplified by the great Burnham; how he hated Corbusier, Mies van der Rowe, and Gropius. Finally, Wright's establishment of the two Taliesin campuses and their unique apprenticeship environment is covered, as are his many writings - a huge part of his legacy as passed on to students. (It makes me wish I had studied architecture.)
   
   While McCarter obviously loves the man and his work, he does not shy from criticizing him, particularly as his self-critical sense seemed to fail him late in life, partially as a result of the constant sycophantic praise of his entourage and the strange domination that his third wife exerted. It is a very rounded portrait that appears fair to me. He also covers Wright's bitterness at what he felt was a lack of recognition, particularly as some of his greatest triumphs came late in life.
   
   Warmly recommended. This book is a wonderfully light though substantial meal, as a preparation for deeper inquiry. It is an ideal intro.

4 comments about A Fire You Can't Put Out: The Civil Rights Life of Birmingham's Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth (Religion & American Culture).

1. As a student of the civil rights movement, this is a must read. The book explores the life and times of a great man who made it possible for Rev. King and others to make the changes that were made in Birmingham. Andrew Manis has written a great history book that covers not only Rev. Shuttlesworth's life but you get a sense of what people felt during this horrible time in U.S. history. You will see how Rev. Shuttlesworth had "set the table" so that Rev. King was able "serve the dinner" in Birmingham. Without Rev. Shuttleworth's persistence, President Kennedy would never be able to have said, Eugene Connor was the best thing that happened to the civil rights movement.



2. The story of Fred Shuttlesworth is a powerful, dramatic story that everyone interested in the black freedom movement should read. Manis' compelling portrayal captures the spirit and spirituality of a great unsung hero. The book has been honored by the Lillian Smith Book Award, the South's oldest literary prize, and deserves a wide reading.



3. A compelling portrait of a real unsung hero. Emerge Magazine says it well: "The greatest battles of the civil rights movement come alive in this biography of the man Martin Luther King Jr. called "one of the nation's most courage freedom fighters." Manis is to be congratulated for bringing us this powerful story.



4. This is a real page turner of a biography--a book you can't put down. The contest between Fred Shuttlesworth and "Bull" Connor is classic, full of violence and poignancy. Manis has done the nation a service by putting his magnifying glass on Fred Shuttlesworth's heroics, and rightly explained them from the context of black religion. This book should be made into a movie!

4 comments about Douglass: Autobiographies (Library of America College Editions).

1. This is one of the most eye opening pieces of literature that I ever had the pleasure to read.I really feel that if everyone read this book the there would not be such a problem with racism. I think that the book has not recieved the commendation that it deserves because many people are afraid of its contents and what it means to their lives - their ancestors were the cause of much of the horror and abuse that follows the abomination of slavery. It is one of the best books that I have ever read and I would certainly recommend it to those who are not too scared to read it. As for it being a piece of abolitionist rubbish-No way!Douglass was certainly not the only writer to portray his life of slavery in this context- they all can't be lying. Also, what right have we to be so critical of his life- This is his autobiography, not a pamphlet to try and rouse the masses against slavery and racism.



2. This is one of the most eye opening pieces of literature that I ever had the pleasure to read.I really feel that if everyone read this book the there would not be such a problem with racism. I think that the book has not recieved the commendation that it deserves because many people are afraid of its contents and what it means to their lives - their ancestors were the cause of much of the horror and abuse that follows the abomination of slavery. It is one of the best books that I have ever read and I would certainly recommend it to those who are not too scared to read it. As for it being a piece of abolitionist rubbish-No way!Douglass was certainly not the only writer to portray his life of slavery in this context- they all can't be lying. Also, what right have we to be so critical of his life- This is his autobiography, not a pamphlet to try and rouse the masses against slavery and racism.



3. This book lacks everything which it needs. Past the third chapter, the story begins to roll, but before that, it reads very much like an abolitionist pamphlet. I am very much in favor of what the novel tries to express, but the blatant way in which the message is conveyed takes away from the entire book. For a look at the institution of slavery and several examples of brutality from the Frederick Douglass' life, this is a good book, but do not expect to be moved or to feel as if you experienced the horror of the time. It could have been done better.



4. Fredrick Douglass provides a remarkable look at the daily life of a slave. He explains the mechanisms used to maintain the slave system and how it affected the people involved. Many of his observations about education and economics are still valid. The writing style is not dated or affected. The stories are interesting and move quickly.

3 comments about Witness to the Civil War: First-Hand Accounts from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.

1. This book gives a timelessness to the reality of the Civil War by seeing it through the eyes of the people who were living through it at the time. The illustrations are amazing and easily take you 150 into the past. Any history buff will want to have this book!



2. Witness to the Civil War is the Smithsonian's abridged compilation of the 1895 Frank Leslie's Illustrated History of the Civil War. Few have or could do it better. Rivaled only by Harper's Weekly, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper utilized correspondents (we today refer to as "embedded") to bring news and pictures from "the front" to eager readers, many of whom had husbands, fathers and sons engaged in the conflict. This book gathers the best of this coverage into a single volume, not so much as a comprehensive history but to illustrate and describe the major events.
   
   The book combines contempoary text (in italics) and illustrations with modern observations and color photophrapy, the latter ensuring flow and context. The illustrations appeal both as art and as history, albeit with occasional exageration stemming from the rhetoric of the time and admitted Northern bias. A gallary featuring the likeness and thumbnail biography of forty-two Union officers (pages 104-109) is particulary interesting. The net result is an engrossing collection that adds life to the history as seen through the day's press.
   
   While Frank Leslie and his wife are profiled at the beginning of the book, I was disappointed not to find more detailed information on the specific correspondents and artists who contributed the stories and illustrations in the book. Notwithstanding, the book is nicely presented and would be a great supplement to any Civil War buff's library.



3. The Journalist in every war are underrated because they do not fit the mould of Fighting men. Where would we be without them? Would only the Victors tell the tale of the Battle? History must have the unbiased reports of the Journalist. That is what makes this book valuable to me as a civil war historian.

5 comments about John Adams: Party of One.

1. James Grant provides a refreshing new analysis of John Adams that captures his role in the revolution accurately. Adams developed as his own party throughout the years following the revolution. This book can truly stand on its own and covers all the years of Adams life. From his law days in Boston, to the drafting of the Massachusetts constitution to his years as a diplomat in Europe the early years are well covered. The second half looks closer at his time in high political office from vice presidency to presidency to the retirement years. Overall it tracks closely the integral characters of his life. From Abigail to John Quincy to Alexander Hamilton the author develops each well and shows how they impacted John Adams. The one drawback is there are a lot of modern references which are not needed however they are not enough to knock a full star off. If you want a new perspective on John Adams this is a great way to go.



2. First and Foremost, Adams is a fascinating subject, and Grant is a highly qualified historian.
   
   However, it is disappointing that several of the reviews of Mr. Grant's book find it necessary to compare it to D.McCullough's effort. Certainly the latter did create a mania of sorts a few years back, which in turn led to a golden period for historians with a Revolutionary preference.
   
   But having read both, the one thing that seems clear is that Adams is difficult to contain.
   
   Grant's work is a nicely crafted, eminently readable depiction of John Adams, and one that features many interesting and unique observations regarding the revolutionary that Americans have only recently, it seems, elevated to an appropriate level amongst the founding deities.
   
   But too often, Grant's book begins to develop around a certain point about Adams' life or achievements, only to suddenly trail off, leaving the thought unfinished, and the reader wondering if perhaps they'd skipped a page. Yet,this is no brief inquiry. Grant covers the great expanse of Adam's adult life, but fails to acutely identify very many of the key productions of that life.
   
   It is as if there is too much about Adams to be treated adequately in this sort of Comprehensive Biography.
   
   McCullough's work in many ways suffered from the same affliction, but I would measure his prose a little more lyrical, if somewhat less inquiring.
   
   Both authors are absolutely convincing in terms of identifying Adams as a major force in the shaping of the nation, a bold and dynamic personality who left his large fingerprints clearly evident on so many chapters of that formation, and definitely deserving of Franklin's famous assessment of the man's virtue and insanity. Each one of the chapters of Adams' life are so worthy of their own in depth analysis that the soup to nuts biography only serves to (as George Clooney's character says in O Brother Where Art THou) arouse the appetite of the reader without taking him or her to bed.
   
   Grant would have done well to get his fingernails a little dirtier on issues like the Alien & Sedition debacle; the Paris years with Franklin; etc., instead of leaving them too soon. Too many unanswered questions. Too many superficial or unfinished portrayals. Adams deserves more.



3. I found a lot here not available in other recent books about John Adams, and I read one chapter in this book then a chapter in a longer book. Two examples on information covered only here are details of the loans he arranged in Europe after teaching himself the financial trade, and his role in the beginning of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
   
   This is not a shorter version of a more detailed book, but a complete biography by an author with expert knowledge of the financial world of John Adams. I recommend this book to anyone interested in John Adams.



4. Written with clarity and grace, supported by thorough research, and characterized throughout by scholarly care and respect for both primary and secondary sources, this is the large biography of John Adams to read. It is half the length of David McCullough's tome, but far more scrupulous in its treatment of Adams, especially in its engagement with the rich historical scholarship on the subject. Even an expert can learn from this admirable book, and I did.



5. John Adams: Party of One by James Grant is a different look at John Adams than the recent bestseller from historian David McCullough. Grant does often quote from primary sources, but not nearly to the extent that McCullough did. This should make the biography less challenging to readers that found the frequent shifts between McCullough's modern style and primary sources difficult. However, Grant makes the text less accessible by some use of vocabulary unfamiliar to the general audience.
   
   The book is worth reading because it gives a look at Adams using primary sources that have not been available previously just as the next Adams biography will do (the Massachusetts Historical Society has spent years compiling Adams' papers and has yet to complete the task). Grant goes out of his way to give a balanced look at John Adams. In some matters, he is highly supportive of Adams' efforts and methods, such as securing loans in The Netherlands. In others, Grant is highly critical of Adams such as his lack of tact as a diplomat. Granted, that particular opinion will not get much argument. One thing that is unusual for most recent biographies, Grant often discusses Adams' faith and religion, keeping its presense throughout the biography unlike, for example, Walter Stahr's biography of John Jay where his noted strong faith disappears for chapters at a time.
   
   As already mentioned, Grant's style does not lend itself to a general audience, at least one that does not wish to have a dictionary handy. Grant brings a highly analytical style, which makes this biography more than a simple narration of Adams' life. The danger with this is that the objectivity can be lost in favor of only citing sources that support a particular point of view. Grant slips into this commentary several times, which could be a distraction if one does not enjoys this style of biography. The stylistic issues raised in the preceding can be considered positives or negatives depending on the reader's own personal preference.
   
   In this reviewer's opinion, this biography of John Adams will not appeal to everyone. It will be heartily enjoyed by some for its analytical and direct style, but may be a disappointment to others who are looking for a milder approach. However, this reviewer endorses an attempt at reading this biography because of the quantity and perhaps quality of what it has to offer.

5 comments about After the Ball: Gilded Age Secrets, Boardroom Betrayals, and the Party That Ignited the Great Wall Street Scandal of 1905.

1. "After the Ball" is a biography of James Hazen Hyde (1876-1959), Gilded Age aesthete, sportsman, patron of the arts and heir to the majority shares in The Equitable Life Assurance Society, which his father Henry Baldwin Hyde had founded in 1859. The emphasis is on the decisive event of James' life: His battle to retain control of his father's company that played out over the course of 1905 against Equitable's president James Waddell Alexander and its ruthlessly ambitious 2nd vice president Gage Tarbell. That battle commanded 115 front page articles in "The New York Times" alone and resulted in the passage of New York's Armstrong Laws in an attempt to regulate the insurance industry. Author Patricia Beard knew James Hyde's only son Henry Hyde -Henry was godfather to her son- which explains the late chapter dedicated to Henry Hyde's life.
   
   James Hyde became the majority shareholder in The Equitable at the age of 23 upon his father's death in 1899. Henry B. Hyde had planned that his son serve as 1st vice president under the tutelage of James Alexander before assuming the role of company president at age 30. But Henry had ill prepared his son for the murky realities and unbridled ambitions of the business world. And James was ill-suited to the job, being by nature a man of arts and letters and high society. James idolized his father and took his legacy seriously but didn't understand his responsibilities until it was too late. In 1905, frustrated by James' ability as majority shareholder to stifle his plans for the Society, unscrupulous, dogged Gage Tarbell recruited malleable and unstable James Alexander as his ally and launched a campaign to force The Equitable to mutualize (give shareholders voting rights) with the intent of ousting James. They expected James to resign, sell his stock, and move to France. Instead, he put up a fight.
   
   "After the Ball" provides a blow-by-blow account of The Equitable crisis and the attempts to resolve it, from James Hyde's lavish 18th century France-themed ball in January 1905 until his self-imposed exile in France a year later. Although it occasionally bogs down in minutiae, the battle for The Equitable is a page-turner. Histories of Henry B. Hyde, The Equitable, James' later life in Paris and New York, and his son's service in the OSS during World War II bookend the drama. Prominent industrialists and financiers from Wall Street's boom years of the 1890s-1920s are the cast, and The Gilded Age itself is a character. James' flamboyance, active social life, and ostentatious wealth exemplified the ideals of the era. He was praised for successfully juggling his business, social, and artistic pursuits. But he couldn't. "After the Ball" is the story of a doting father who gave his son an empire but neglected to teach him how to rule for fear that his image would be tarnished in the boy's eyes. It's the story of a son who inherited great wealth and power but little motivation to comprehend or exploit them and so fell victim to those more willing.



2. Well-written, interesting and sheds new light on a long-forgotten subject. The author has the gift of understanding and writing well about both Gilded Age high society and finance, and uses her gift to good advantage. Occasionally the inner manueverings in the Equitable drag a bit, but this is a hardly noticeable defect. Five stars +; buy and and read it with enjoyment.



3. 
   This is a well presented and gripping account of the clash of the titans of industry of a century ago. It shows them in their true, unsavory, colors, albeit a tad muted....
   
   We find the anything-but-poor, yet unsuspecting Mr. Hyde (heir in his 20s to the Equitable Insurance fortune) shaken from his elite complacency and thrust into the eye of a storm that is kept stirred by the machinations of Equitable board member Henry Clay Frick, one of the more amazing and alarming capitalists from Pittsburgh's steel days.
   
   In a bid to oust Hyde from control of the mega-insurance concern that his father founded with wit, skill and sleight of hand, Frick engineers a negative publicity juggernaut that calls Hyde's personal financial ethics into question and ends up in the courts. The Equitable goes into receivership-with some luminaries like George Westinghouse in temporary control-until, beset by the scandal, Hyde sells out, shakes the dust off of his well-heeled shoes, and departs for Pre-World War I Paris. He remains a Francophile expatriate for the remainder of his days.
   
   There is more to the story and some of it is here, and well worth the reader's time and attention, especially since Ms Beard had access to some privately held family papers and files that cast the story in a Schubert pink spotlight, with few shadows. The author, a personal friend of Hyde's granddaughters and a member of the same giltetry social set, goes easy on some of the tale. What is left on the cutting room floor is even more fascinating than what made it into this book.
   
   For, shadows there are, and there is oh so much more of the story to be told, ranging from the Johnstown Flood (this family is connected to the infamous South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club) to the crafty ire of Mr. Frick's European counterpart, the equally effective and furiously ambitious harridan, the Archduchess Isabella of Austria-Hungary (again, an extended family connection).
   
   What a yarn and all of it, true!
   
   Perhaps Miss Beard will muster the courage to follow up this book with a prequel about Mr. Frick's very similar, skillful machinations regarding Mr. Hyde's future father-in-law, and a sequel that more fully addresses the irony of World History that found Mr. Hyde's son among two generations of this extended family who served diligently, on both sides of W W I and W W II, some as top level spies. Then again, perhaps not.
   
   But if not, one hopes that other historians might take note, there is so much more to be told! This is a real life E Phillips Oppenheim novel. It would find as its centerpiece, Hyde's father-in-law, a rags to riches success - an orphan who rose to the top of the tree, on both sides of the Atlantic and who had his hands in many a pie, industrial and diplomatic....
   
   Now...The only question is: Who will be the first to tell it?
   
   Perhaps Martha Sanger, or Teresa Carpenter or Les Standiford or - of course - the incomparable David McCullough!
   
   If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.



4. "After the Fall," Patricia Beard's clear-eyed look into the excesses at the tag end of the Gilded Age, focuses around a costume party thrown in 1905 by then 23-year-old James Hazen Hyde, who was expected to accede to the presidecy of the Equitable Life Insurance Company when he turned thirty.
   
   It never happened. Instead his enemies, in the company and outside it, used the ball as an excuse to start a power play that would bring him down. As sometimes happens, however, they brought themselves down as well.
   
   The book is almost like a musical comedy in structure. The title is somewhat misleading as the ball itself comes in the middle of the book (imagine the ball as the big production number that brings the curtain down on act one). It begins with James's father, Henry, skips quickly through James's adolescence and early manhood (there'll be a production number having to do with James's hobby, racing horsedrawn carriages), the premature death of his father, and his rise to the first vice presidency of the insurance company, where, or so his father had hoped, he would be tutored by the interim president, James W. Alexander, who was nearing retirement age.
   
   When the curtain rises on act 2, you will encounter an array of schemers, some driven almost batty as they struggle for power, and a parade of the gilded age financiers, J. P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman, Henry Clay Frick, and James Fortune Ryan, as well as President Theodore Roosevelt, ex-President Grover Cleveland, and Charles Evans Hughes, who would some day be, thanks largely to his investigation of the scandal, Chief Justice of the United States.
   
   You'll maybe hear patter songs in your head as the robber barons form committees, make deals, break deals, and leak their doings to the press, as they scheme to acquire the faltering company for themselves.
   
   And when the curtain comes down on the tale as the chastened but hardly impoverished Hyde leaves for France--saying his goodbyes aboard the ship that's about to sail perhaps--it comes down, as well, on the Gilded Age itself.
   
   Notes and asides: The afterword, about Hyde's later life and that of his son, who was in the OSS during WWII should not be skipped.



5. A well-researched history book that reads like a novel is a rare find, but this is one. In an era when corporate greed and corruption are once again a part of everyday life, it's also a nice reminder of where years of deregulation and laissez-faire policies got us last time. James Hazen Hyde was a product of that time: spoiled, overly entitled, shamelessly extravagant in a city where poverty was widespread, and fond of business practices that have since been made illegal. But he was also the victim of even greedier - and smarter - associates, and Beard does a great job of portraying a rather unsympathetic character sympathetically.
   
   Hyde's downfall seems to have been a lack of ambition or interest in learning the business he inherited, coupled with an overeagerness to reap the benefits of his father's financial success. Illustrating the latter is the party that serves as the book's climax, an incomprehensibly extravagant affair by the standards of any era. Beard argues that Hyde's detractors had already been hoping for years to bring him down, and the ball simply served as a welcome excuse to do so. Whether she's right or wrong about that, the event certainly proved to be fertile ground for scandal. In a classic case of "the truth is never juicy enough," rumors began circulating that Hyde had paid for the ball with company funds (he hadn't) and that the already-obscene cost was four times as much as it really was. Despite being guilty of nothing worse than bad taste, Hyde was soon bought out of his father's company and out of Wall Street society. Investigations and reform legislation followed, but those who were guilty of real wrongdoing were never punished.
   
   Beard's overview of the financial events and disputes will probably be too simple for those with a strong knowledge of finance and business, but it's perfect for the rest of us. In any case, she is clearly more interested in Gilded Age high society and how it set the stage for James Hyde and his party, and her research in that area is impressive. The era's many excesses leap off the pages, with various Vanderbilts and Roosevelts making cameos throughout, making the greed and injustice palpable without anything approaching preachiness. Hyde himself becomes a somewhat tragic figure, living off his inheritance in Europe, outliving the damage to his reputation but emerging as a walking anachronism on his return to New York in the 1940s.
   
   Sad, but very well done!

5 comments about From May to September.

1. Jim Lynch doesn't just TELL you--he TAKES you to the Eastover Resort of five decades ago. He recreates the experience of that time and place and we work along with Jim and his pals. We enter the resort, we become involved with the waiters, the kitchen help, the hostesses. I loved every minute of 'being there.'



2. This is a well written book about a time when people worked and played hard and had fun. Reminiscent of "Dirty Dancing" and of the feelings of each of us who grew up (and sometimes matured) during the 50's.



3. I preordered this book thinking that I was buying the next book written by Jim Lynch, author of "The Highest Tide" (I highly recommend this book). "May to September" is a memoir, which reads like a amateur writer reflecting on the glory days of their youth. I tried to persevere and read it anyway, but the author was unable to pull me into the story.
   Sometimes authors can reach readers through common history or shared interest, but since that isn't the case for me, the writing left me flat. I suspect that readers connected to the story or the author, will find it worthwhile, but since I'm neither, I was disappointed.



4. An amusing history of a young man's summer employment in the Berkshire mountains. A wonderful return to a time when people could laugh, cry and love without concern for political correctness.
   
   Well done, Jim.



5. If you are of a certain age and feel the pull of place and the people who formed you, then you will find From May to September will evoke memories of your college years and the people you knew. Eastover was a wonderful place in our collective history and the author's love for that place and those people is palpable. The book is fun and funny and bittersweet because the time is past. Most importantly it is well written or it would not be such and enjoyable read.

5 comments about From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kennedy.

1. I find this book wonderfully written by Mrs Connolly and a never before seen insight into what happened that day. As the (then) only surviving member of that car, it was something that is much appreciated to hear what her opinion was.



2. My husband and I had the opportunity yesterday to get our copy of "From Love Field" signed by Mrs. Nellie Connally. What a treat! She is so elegant and eloquent, and gracious to all of her fans. She spoke personably with every single person in line and made everyone feel like they were of interest to her. I started reading her book as soon as I got in the car, and read straight through til I finished it. It is a wonderful book, exactly what you would expect from someone who lived through that horrible day. I got exactly what I expected to get from reading it, and even more. I especially appreciated the speeches that President Kennedy wasn't able to give being reproduced in the book. This is a book I will always cherish, along with meeting this great Texan, Mrs. Nellie Connally.



3. Of the many volumes on the subject, I find this book to be the best. Told with charm and grace, Nellie Connally relates the events of November 22, 1963 as only an occupant of that ill-fated Presidential Lincoln could. Devoid of conjecture or theories, we are simply presented with the facts. The Connally's viewpoint from the jumpseats is sobering. Pivotal moments, from Mrs. Connally's last words to President Kennedy to Governor Connally' near fatal wounds to Oswald's emergency room visit after the Jack Ruby shooting are covered in a comfortable format; making one feel that Mrs. Connally is relating the events to you personally. Thank-You, Mrs. Connally.



4. The former First Lady of Texas takes an infamous blot on our history, an event that quite literally changed the world for generations to come, and put it in completely human terms. This is what happened to her and her family. This is how she remembers it. What's more, it's how she experienced it -- from both the front seat of the Lincoln Continental and the corridors of Parkland Hospital. This makes it an invaluable historical record, and a moving account written by a woman who had been fired upon in an open car and held her bleeding husband in her arms. Perhaps it is "slight." I would not have wanted her to embellish or alter her memories of those tragic days just to accommodate readers who measure a book's worth by the number of pages. I did not consider the photographs, the reproduction of her notes nor President Kennedy's undelivered speeches "filler." They lent texture and veracity to her story. And I do not see how anyone can say there is nothing "new" here. She is the only one of those three surviving passengers who discussed what happened at this length with the public. That in and of itself is "new." I appreciate this lady's gallantry and her generosity in contributing her family's history to our country's history. And I was also moved by her son John's recollections of the funeral. It was poignant to read a man nearing 60 recalling the awe, pagentry and pain he experienced while still a teen.



5. THIS IS A VERY DISAPPOINTING BOOK - IT COULD HAVE SERVED ITSELF BETTER AS A MAGAZINE ARTICLE - THERE IS TOO MUCH REHASHING OF OLD INFORMATION AND WHAT'S KNEW IS SLIGHT.
   SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET IT OUT OF YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY.