1 comments about Lincoln in the Times: The Life of Abraham Lincoln, as Originally Reported in The New York Times.

1. Two of the best of Lincoln's men, David Herbert Donald and Harold Holzer, have edited a book every person interested in Abraham Lincoln and/or newspaper coverage in the Civil War era should own.
   
   While a solid effort throughout, I found the second half of this book the most interesting. The reports printed in the New York Times on the last days of the war through the assassination conspiracy and its aftermath have a striking immediacy.
   
   The report carried in the Times on Walt Whitman's talk on Lincoln given in New York City, some twenty-two years after that dreadful day of April 14, is an especially fine close to a valuable book on our nation's greatest president.

No comments about Abraham Lincoln and the Union (Library of American Biography Series) (Library of American Biography).

2 comments about Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln.

1. This important reference book evaluates the dependability of quotations attributed to Lincoln. They are listed alphabetically by name of the person who claimed to hear Lincoln. A copious index to this nearly 600-page book gives further assistance in locating alleged quotations. The book was compiled by two Lincoln experts and is authoritative as any Lincoln book can be.



2. I can not imagine how many hours of checking and rechecking it took for the Fehrenbachers to compile this book. They offer not only the words of Lincoln as recalled by others, but also their opinions on the probable accuracy of the person who recalled the words. I found quotes I had never heard and I noted that some quite famous "quotes" were debunked. This is as close to the "real words" of Lincoln we are able to get outside his writings and newspaper reports of his speeches. Of course, written words, carefully crafted speeches and spontaneous spoken words are all different. Thanks to the editors for massive amounts of careful work.

5 comments about The Explorer King: Adventure, Science, and the Great Diamond Hoax - Clarence King in the Old West.

1. An absorbing biography of famed geologist Clarence King.
   I must admit that while not totally ignorant in the sciences, I had never heard of the man.
   
   In his early twenties he accomplished many outstanding feats while climbing, mapping and geologizing in California's high Sierra Nevada mountains. Then, at the age of twenty-five he was placed in charge of the fortieth parallel scientific expedition across the western U. S. The culmination of his career was uncovering the great diamond hoax in northwestern Colorado.
   
   All this field work and close observation of the natural and physical world lead King to his own geological theories of time, space and evolution. For the first half of his life the man was highly regarded and respected for both his demeanor and scientific contributions. Sadly, the second half of his life he basically "fell off the planet ".



2. This book does not discuss in much detail the USGS and the second half of Clarence's life but it places you in the times of King and during some of the most interesting parts of his adventures in the West. I really enjoyed the book and found that the author created an interesting angle by carefully reviewing King's upbringing, religious beliefs and how he squared his religious convictions with an education and career in science during the mid 1800s.
   This is not a historical tome but a fairly light read where the author keeps the material interesting. It is like a rock skipping over the surface of his life. A good read that leaves me hoping others will write additional books to tell other parts of his story.



3. As a geographer with an interest in the opening of the west I looked forward the this book. Unfortunately it is poorly written and repetitious, and half-way through King's life the author appears to lose interest in the subject. There is nothing about the rivalry between King's Survey and the other great surveys led by Powell, Hayden and Wheeler that lead to the establishment of the U. S. Geological Survey. Nor is there any mention of the political fighting between King and Ferdinand Hayden that led to King's selection as the first director of that agency. A major disappointment.



4. For me, this book was an introduction to the daring and storied adventurer scientists of the mid-nineteenth century. I bought it with great anticipation and, after reading the dust jacket, I began with a novice's eagerness on a journey of which I knew little. The first chapter was set in Washington D.C., after all of King's great adventures had been accomplished, in the parlor of Henry and Clover Adams accompanied by their usual guests and friends, Clarence King and John and Clara Hay. These five were such fast friends that they were referred to in the inner circles of Washington as the Five of Hearts. And the glue that held them together was King himself, with his great raconteur tales and his abundant charm. Adams called him the most remarkable man in their circle--tremendous praise considering Adam's circle of friends.
   
   What a unique way to establish your protagonist and to whet the reader's appetite for the adventure to come.
   
   Unfortunately the first chapter is as good as this book gets. It is not that the story is not worth reading. For the most part it is. One learns a great deal about geology, surveying, the geography and topology of the West, and the sense of adventure that any white explorer felt in going into these new, wild and dangerous territories. It is that the telling of the story turns flat--never matching, or coming close, to the rip-roaring story telling, charismatic, fast living, adventure filled life of Clarence King. The book is a polite scholastic treatment, if you will. It reminds the reader not of a book, but rather, of a dissertation.
   
   If this were not enough, the author devotes only three pages of the last chapter to the surreptitious last half of King's life and his marriage to a black woman who bore him five children. This relationship he kept secret to the world, with only his most devoted friends having an awareness. This would have been fertile ground to develop even more the complex character and turmoiled person that was King. The author, however chooses to pass by this last 29 years of King's life; instead retreating into the scholastic realm with which the author is most comfortable--the retelling and analysis of a speech that King made at Yale, his alma mater. With this, the book abruptly ends.
   
   It is like a Doctoral student who doesn't quite know how to end his thesis and submits it to the jury of peers hoping that it will be enough. I don't think that it would have earned the degree.



5. This book caught my attention from the very beginning, first linking King with the 19th century Washington DC social and political establishment and then telling how he made his way out West in a time when that journey was an adventure in itself. It was fascinating to learn how King, whom I'd never heard of, was the first to scale and then name many of California's highest peaks. Having grown up in California, hiking, camping and skiing in the Sierras, I loved reading about the familiar towns and geography and learning how Clarence King was such a factor in that area's history. Some great accounts. A shame that King had so much going for him and then gave in to temptation in the end.

No comments about John F. Kennedy In His Own Words.

3 comments about Lincoln's Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut.

1. James Duffy's biography on Admiral David Farragut proves to be interesting and easy to read. The book basically summarized Farragut's career without going into great details. The book deals more or less with Farragut's military career with few insights to his personal life. The book gives a pretty clear understanding of Farragut's role in the Civil War and the amazing amount of the time he spent on the Mississippi River after capturing New Orleans. His pet project of taking Mobile had to wait two years. The book was also reflective in revealing his relationship he had with his stepbrother, Admiral David Dixon Porter, another famed Union naval leader. The author believes that Porter was quite jealous of Farragut and tried his utmost to undermined him.
   
   If there was a singular weakness, the book doesn't covered much about Farragut's life during the peace time but then, the subtitle of the book is "Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut" so that where the main focus remains.
   
   Overall, I found this book to be pretty well researched, well written and easy to read. Its easy to introduced this book as a nice introductionary book on the career of Farragut and no doubt, helped put him among the great seamen of our nation's history.



2. I was not sure whether I wanted to read a biography of Farragut after having read Loyall Farragut's biography of his father, but I enjoyed Duffy's book. He does not blindly glorify Farragut's memory, but clearly shows why David Farragut's long career in the Navy and perceptive intellect made him one of the most effective military leaders during the Civil War. Duffy is also one of the few authors/historians to portray Adm. David Dixon Porter in a negative light by shedding light on Porter's attempts to upstage and undermine Farragut's accomplishments via his connections in Washington.



3. I read this book when it was first published in 1997 and although I had never heard of Admiral David Farragut I had heard "Damn the torpedoes..." from some where (I'm an Australian!). I found this book to be a very easy to read biography of a very interesting man. I have very limited knowledge of naval matters (I was a grunt) but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable to read and the battle scenes were vivid and easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anybody who has an interest in the American Civil War.

2 comments about Historia Viva (Living History).

1. Aunque ella ha perdido la elecccion de 2008 todavia es buena historia de su vida, especialmente 1992 - 2000 con su esposo, el presidente Bill Clinton.



2. De Hillary solo tenía las ideas preconcebidas que habilmente la prensa ha dejado filtrar; una mujer inteligente, pero fría y calculadora. Con esta autobiografía he podido comprobar que ella es mucho más que eso, es incluso una persona que ha realizado en su vida lo que varias. A pesar de ser una persona eminentemente política, es en el buen sentido de la palabra, el de trabajar para los demás, de tener metas y lograr cambios. Me enorgullece pertener a su mismo género.

5 comments about Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues: The Arthur Alexander Story.

1. This is a great book that provides clear and concise insight into the life of Arthur Alexander. The story behind the singer, the songwriter and a true influence behind some of the greatest figures of rock and roll. This story should be made into a movie so everyone can learn about this unsung hero. Richard Younger has researched Arthur's life, the people he affected directly, and the soul of this talented man. READ THIS BOOK AND LEARN THE STORY OF A MAN WHO DESERVES TO BE RECOGNIZED AND REMEMBERED!!!



2. After being a fan of Arthur Alexander in the early sixties he seemed to drop out of sight, occassional records but very little else seemed to appear, this book puts the record straight and fills in all those gaps. It also goes a long way to answering the reasons that he did not make it to the position in the music scene that his undoubted talent deserved. The book is very well written by Richard Younger who obviously felt very deeply about the subject, he deals with the problems that AA encountered in his music career and his private life. It was sad that at the very time that AA was begining to make a comeback and he was again showing the talent that was always there he was taken from us. He had become religious during the last few years and this seemed to have a calming effect on him and I am sure that he would have again had big selling records. Thank you Richard for an insight into the life of Arthur Alexander through the highs and lows.



3. Arthur Alexander was always a mystery man - till now! Richard Younger's biography of one of the most distinctive and influential black singers of the 60s sheds sympathetic illumination upon the life, the music - and the demons - of this woefully underrated singer/songwriter (the only writer to have songs cut by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan). AA's hugely-satisfying vocals married to his distinctive soul-country arrangements (his reputation was founded on just four 1962 Dot-label singles) emerged moments before the UK beat boom swept the globe and was crucial in its influence on the Beatles and the Stones. Younger's book explains how it all came about, taking us on a roller-coaster ride through AA's life of musical and personal extremes. With a series of revealing interviews he transports us to the heart of the Alabama music scene and charts Arthur's role in the foundation of the Muscle Shoals/Fame recording empires. Whether you're a long-term Alexander devotee, a soul music buff, or simply a Sixties survivor, then you'll find this unputdown-able tome a tonic that'll have you listening with a fresh ear to those perennial Alexander classics.



4. Fans of soul music will find Richard Younger's Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues to be a fine biography of one Arthur Alexander, a singer/songwriter who may not be well known by name, but whose songs influenced the 1960s rock musicians. A fine coverage of his life and achievements is presented in a lively survey of soul and rock and roll music.



5. Fans of soul music will find Richard Younger's Get A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues to be a fine biography of one Arthur Alexander, a singer/songwriter who may not be well known by name, but whose songs influenced the 1960s rock musicians. A fine coverage of his life and achievements is presented in a lively survey of soul and rock and roll music.

1 comments about The Life of Herbert Hoover: Masters of Emergencies, 1917-1918 (Life of Herbert Hoover, Vol 3).

1. It is hard to imagine today, but there was a time not so very long ago when America came perilously close to running out of food. Three years of World War I, European pestilence, international speculation, and the imbalance of American farming and processing interests had taken their toll on the globe's food supply. In the spring of 1917 President Woodrow Wilson became painfully aware that the projected output of American grain and meats would not meet domestic and allied needs for the coming year of the war as the United States entered the fray. Having made the fateful decision to enter the war, Wilson went on to assume even greater powers: the appointment of a czar who would, in effect, tell Americans what and how much they could eat.

   It did not take long to identify the candidate for the job. Herbert Hoover, the self-made mining millionaire who coordinated emergency food relief services for Europe during the first three years of the war, returned to America a hero and accepted Wilson's invitation to manage American food. Hoover's personal credentials were impeccable: magnificent administrator, philanthropist, and friend of business. While Hoover the man was acceptable to the Senate, his mandate-outlined in legislation known as the Lever Act-was another matter. The Senate refused to accept price controls, and sent Hoover on his way to battle with what it believed were sufficient restraints.

   When one takes the long view of this work, the third volume of Hoover's biography, what gradually dawns on the reader is the sense that Hoover, with an international sense of the size of the crisis, was prepared to execute war powers in ways that had not been seen since Lincoln. Neither the Senate nor the business community had truly taken the measure of this man, though biographer Nash strongly implies that Wilson knew exactly what he was doing and was pleased with the results. Hoover, for his part, saved the western world from starving with a three pronged attack: he essentially usurped the authority of several cabinet departments, he mobilized public opinion, and he stretched the Lever Act through bureaucratic legerdemain into a virtual Magna Carta.

   If Congress had balked at price controls on staples such as wheat and pork, Hoover found another means to achieve the same end. Having calculated modest prices for food staples that would avoid inflation and speculation, Hoover found provisions in the Lever Act permitting him to issue government licenses to farmers, granaries, packinghouses, mills and even grocers. Those who refused to operate within the Hoover price structure were refused licenses. To attempt to do business without a license was risky, because Hoover, for all intents and purposes, was also acting secretary of transportation, controlling rail and water priorities. Unions, farmers, and particularly the meat packing trust howled, but Hoover had prepared for that eventuality.

   Hoover's heavy-handed methods worked as well as they did because he had wisely joined food conservation to war fervor. One of his first acts as food administrator was a public awareness crusade, pitched specifically at women, to limit portions of food served at meals, to designate national meatless days, to establish new ratios of flours for breads, etc. Millions of households signed pledge cards to observe the Hoover guidelines, and for a time a "clean plate" ethic seized the country. In the face of this domestic crusade, the whining of Swift, Armor, Wilson, and other food producers over reduced profits seemed petty and even unpatriotic. There were a sizable number of Americans who found the entire concept hokey, but Hoover was able to hold together his pantry army just long enough to see through till the end of the war.

   There were, of course, many factors Hoover could not control. The British were not pleased with Hoover's mandate that they buy up excess American pork and acquire a taste for it. The army demanded more shipping space for combat troops, limiting Hoover's capacity to export. The winter of 1918 was among the worst in American history, creating massive delays in rail and shipping traffic. And, curiously, the end of the war arrived sooner than Hoover had planned, causing a glut in food supplies. That the war ended when it did may have been a political blessing in disguise for Hoover, for his magnificent balancing act was beginning to crumble. Congress and industry could be caged only so long. But in his eighteen-month tenure the food czar had essentially done what he set out to do: feed the western world without interruption and speculation.

   One immediate question is: how did Hoover get away with this? One gets the sense that a lot of government officials rolled over and played dead during Hoover's heyday, such as the Secretary of Agriculture, David Houston. One answer may be that while most officers of government were at least dimly aware of the magnitude of the crisis, they realized that to do what was necessary-usurp commercial powers to an unprecedented degree-would involve the political suicide of the perpetrator, and they were happy to oblige Hoover as he took the fall. Interestingly, Hoover never seemed to have considered his tenure a political risk. On the contrary, he evidently saw his government service as his emergence onto the American political stage, and of course events would show this to be fortuitous. In its description of this tenure of Hoover's public service, the book serves up questions for the volumes to follow: How did Hoover regain his credibility in with Republicans, and major business interests in particular, such that he could be nominated for the presidency in 1928? Another: how did Hoover's wartime experience impact his presidential management of the Depression? And finally, would America of the third millennium accept a "temporary czar" in a national crisis such as the unleashing of weapons of mass destruction? Put another way, is Hoover simply a historical anomaly or a paradigm for future crises?

No comments about The Last Lincolns: The Rise & Fall of a Great American Family.