No comments about The Correspondence of Ezra Pound and Senator William Borah.

2 comments about Nathan Boone and the American Frontier (Missouri Biography Series).

1. Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone, was a prominent person in early 19th century Missouri. Following in the footsteps of his father he took up residence on the frontier and made a hazardous living as a trapper, long hunter, surveyor and soldier. He became a militia captain in the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk war of 1832 and participated in early U.S. army explorations of the Great Plains. His life was interesting and exciting and moderately important.
   
   The author has turned out a well-written and researched scholarly biography of Boone. I was impressed with his ability to make Boone and his family come alive and to string together a coherent narrative from many sources. The book is an significant contribution to the history of the American frontier, especially for its insights about White relations with Indian tribes such as the Osage, Potawatomi, Sauk, Wichita, and Cherokee. Boone was a competent, unspectacular exemplar of the American frontiersman on the Middle Border.
   
   Those with an interest in the frontier history of Missouri and nearby states, especially the uneasy relationships between Whites and Indians will find this book worth reading.
   
   Smallchief



2. While Daniel Boone has become an icon of the American frontier experience and a celebrated pathmarker of America's westward movement, in this informative and entertaining book R. Douglas Hurt makes the case that Boone's youngest son, Nathan, deserves a place there as well. Born in Kentucky in 1781, Nathan Boone learned the skills of the hunter and woodsman from his father and developed both an affinity and an aptitude for the environment very early. He continued his father's wanderlust by moving westward to Missouri as a young man and remaining on the outposts of the United States throughout his life. In so doing, he earned a livelihood as a hunter, trapper, guide, surveyor, and military officer.

   The central feature of Nathan Boone's life, and the core of this biography, was his military service. During the War of 1812 he led a company of rangers on campaigns in the Old Northwest. In 1832, at the age of 51, he organized his own company of Missouri Rangers for the Black Hawk War. This time, at the end of the conflict Nathan Boone transferred to the regular army's dragoons at Fort Leavenworth. He remained on active duty from 1833 until forced to take a final leave of absence in 1848. He maintained his commission, even if not on active duty, until 1853 when health finally prompted his resignation. Serving under Stephen Watts Kearny on the Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma frontier suited Boone just fine. He also acquitted himself well as a captain in the dragoons and was called upon to lead several expeditions during his active service to patrol the region. He did not, however, accompany Kearny's Army of the West in its invasion of New Mexico and California in 1846, remaining behind on garrison duty in Oklahoma.

   This is a straightforward and competent biography. Capably researched and written, it rescues from nearly complete obscurity a figure of moderate significance in the American West in the mid-nineteenth century. Proceeding chronologically, it also excels at describing the role of the army on the frontier in those periods when war was not taking place. As such it is a welcome addition to the historical literature. It is also a worthwhile addition to the "Missouri Biography Series" in which it appears.

No comments about Women of the War: Their Heroism and Self-Sacrifice : True Stories of Brave Women in the Civil War.

5 comments about Jeb Stuart: The Last Cavalier.

1. Burke Davis gives readers often-overlooked insights into the early life and career of the famous cavalier, including his courtship of his wife (whose father was a Union general) and his motivation to fight for Virginia. The Stuart-Cooke family is an excellent example of the bitter division of loved ones during the War, with Stuart and his brother-in-law choosing to fight for the Confederacy while his father-in-law continued to serve the Union. A fascinating account of the war as well as a great bio and a must-read for serious historians



2. One of the most tedious and enervating reading is a book in which practically every second page is loaded with citations from letters written to, by or about the person who is the subject of the book. Frankly speaking, if I can return the book and get some refund, I would do it gladly. This is not a reaserch but a correspondant's report. In short- minus one star!



3. The book starts out very well, establishing basic background and geographical history in a very easy to read anecdotal style. The remainder of the book essentially details General Stuart's exploits on and off the battlefield.

   You certainly get the impression that he was a dashing figure, but unfortunatley the author does not delve deeper into the man as much as I would have preferred. You get a sense for him as a Confederate soldier who cared very much about his duty, but not why he cared so much.

   I gave it four stars because it is a good read, and for the perspectives provided of many of the eastern battles and the cavalry's part in them.




4. Book rather good written, but as all books of the USA shipped, the printed paper and is of rather poor quality. In Europe we are used to recieve best quality. So also after many years you still can enjoy reading.



5. This is the third civil war book by Burke Davis that I have read, and it is just as good as the others. Davis gives a complete and well researched account of the life of Jeb Stuart, but his main gift is that he can really tell a story. You will be interested from the beginning to the end, and in the process, you will realize that you have learned a thing or two.

2 comments about The Last Cowboy: The Personal Story of a Vanishing Cowboy.

1. Davis Ford has compiled a labor of love, this by capturing the thoughts, ideas and personas of an era that is quickly leaving us. Just as Tom Brokow has referred to those who participated in WWII as members of a great generation, so are those whom Dr. Ford memoralizes in his book. You can almost hear the campfire crackle as the cowboys discuss their lives in a time soon to be remembered only by the false pictures generated by Hollywood of men who are truely of the ages. Everyone who has even sat astride of a horse, or watched John Wayne in action, needs to read this book to hear the true story of the American west and the men who made history, and won a country, in their own quiet way. This book will be read 100 years from now by those who want to know the true story of the American west and those that left their own personal brand on our country.



2. In his excellent book, The Last Cowboy, Davis Ford creates a colorful mosaic not only of Leroy Webb but also of many other authentic cowboys - as well as the development of an entire region. The format of the book enhances the story with quotes encased in barbed wire, action pictures, regional maps and appropriate quotations interspersed in the text. The Last Cowboy is an outstanding chronology of an era told through ancestral history, geographical details and economic facts woven into telling the life story of Webb. It is a pleasure to read this well-researched and well-crafted history, augmented by humorous anecdotes and the personal observations of the author.

No comments about Unlocking the Doctor's Little Black Bag: A Personal Account of the Adult Life of a Doctor.

1 comments about Hot Rod Pioneers: The Creators of the Fastest Sport on Wheels.

1. Wow, did this book take me back. If you consider yourself a hot rod guru, how can you not have this book on your shelf. Ed Almquist (to whom the industry owes a great debt of gratitude) gives a first-hand account of the men and events that shaped hot rod history. Big Daddy Don Garlits writes a great Intro. And I noticed it was published by the Society of Automotive Engineers -- who better to publish a hot rod book?

   It only took me about a week or two to get (even though it said something like four weeks). Hundreds of photos of the most memorable rods in American history. You should really see for yourself and let me know what you think.

3 comments about Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery.

1. I picked this up in a general English language bookstore here in Bangkok, without any expectations, encouraged only by the fact that James McPherson strongly recommends it on the back cover. It's a beautifully researched, well-written, engaging, and convincing overview of Lincoln's attitudes to slavery and emancipation.
   
   The author has a strong thesis and a clear point of view, but whatever your views on Lincoln are at the start, you won't feel bullied (always my experience when I read anti-Lincoln books). The author demolishes all the old arguments for the view that Lincoln had no interest in ending slavery.
   
   The opening chapters were the best and clearest single summary of the build-up to the civil war that I have yet read.
   
   Let me mention two things that I did not understand before I read this book, that I now understand fully, and that most people still have serious misconceptions about.
   
   First, it is often claimed that the civil war was at least partly, and perhaps mostly, caused by an argument over 'tariffs' and only partly by the debate over slavery. Striner points out that John Calhoun, the most famous opponent of the tariffs, was at first very much in favor of them. He later reversed his position. Why? Because it dawned on him that federally funded projects might not just lead to things like roads and railroads (which he was in favor of), but also to publicly funded emancipation of slaves (which he was against). People like Calhoun also felt (and stated at the time) that the tariff issue was just a test case for blocking the power of central government in general, and that their only goal in blocking that power was to prevent any future constitutional interference with slavery.
   
   Second, I used to think that Lincoln 'only wanted to save the union' and saw emancipation as a means to that end. I now see that that was a very simplistic view. The threat to the union only arose in the first place because of the argument over slavery. Lincoln was against its expansion into new territories, because he (rightly) felt that its expansion meant its perpetuation, while its containment in the slave states held out the possibility of its extinction. Through his entire political career after the repeal of the Missouri compromise, he was driven by that desire to bring about the eventual extinction of slavery.
   
   Once his election had caused secession (because of his anti-slavery stance) he then insisted on saving the union, but not if that meant compromising his goal of extinguishing slavery, his original purpose in entering politics in the first place. His goal was to preserve a union still dedicated to what he considered its original principles of human equality and freedom. This account of his thinking seems to me to make far more overall sense.
   
   If you are cynical about Lincoln, or about politics in general, read this book and feel free to take a more positive view.



2. It has become fashionable in recent decades for historians and commentators from the extremes of the ideological spectrum to depict Lincoln as a cautious racial conservative, even a racist, only brought in the end to reluctantly embrace the destruction of slavery as a measure to win the Civil War. In such a view, Lincoln is far from the traditional "Great Emancipator"; instead he is limited to following in the wake of those persons more forward-looking, more morally courageous than Lincoln himself. Richard Striner's book persuasively demolishes such a picture and, on the contrary, portrays Lincoln as a dedicated enemy of slavery (and a friend to racial equality, at least in 19th century terms) who labored consistently and at great length to at last crush the hated institution. Striner does this with a careful survey of Lincoln's career from his earliest political days until his death. And Striner boldly takes on each of the quotes from Lincoln speeches and writings that are usually used to "reveal" Llncoln as a racial conservative who adopted emancipation much against his real will, showing those quotes in their broader contexts, describing not only what else was going on at the time and what else Lincoln was simultaneously doing, but also examining those quotes in context of what else was said in that particular speech or document. Lincoln was a politician of great skill, willing to publically advocate a course seemingly adverse to his real goals but, in the long run, laying down a pathway towards accomplishing those goals. And, perhaps more than any other American president, Lincoln was a master of language, sometimes crafting a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph that superficially says one thing while meaning, upon close examination, something else.
   
   Stiner also provides a valuable look at the very real fears that Lincoln and his associates had in the years leading up to the Civil War that slavery was on a road towards expansion, not extinction. Moreover, Striner shows that the South's leading spokespeople on the subject of tariffs (sometimes cited as the "real" underlying cause of Southern secession, instead of the uncomfortable issue of slavery) privately admitted that their real concern was slavery, with tariffs providing a convenient stalking horse at a particular moment. The shadow of slavery lay darkly over antebellum America, and Striner's book retores the portrait of Lincoln as a dedicated leader in bringing the country forward to the end of the "peculiar institution".



3. I met the author through a friend, and was intrigued at the wonderful conversations I had with Striner. As we discussed "Father Abraham," which at that point had not yet been released, I was very anxious to get ahold of it. Having finally acquired the book, I am nothing but impressed at the detailed information that backs every assertion made, and the very much conversational style writing that Striner uses. The book is an easy read and really gets the gears turning in your mind.

2 comments about Presidents of the United States of America.

1. We went to the Smithsonian Art Museum - Washington, DC - Aug 2007. They said that a book was no longer available that contained all the Nation's Presidents' paintings that they had on display. I figured I'd find an old book, but was very happy to find a book that contained most all of the paintings I saw, plus a better description of each of our leaders while they spent a term in office. I was impressed to see them up close at the museum, knowing the artist was just as close. Now I have this book as my souvenier and historical reminder of all our presidents images - done by a reknown artist - and their history. It's just what I'd asked for at the museum. They could sell a lot of these books if they had them on hand. Why wouldn't they stock them?



2. I ordered 2 different books on U.S. Presidents for my daughter's schoolwork, and this was definitely the best one. Very informative and concise, there is a two page spread on each president with one of the pages having a good sized color portrait of that president. Each article gives their name, order, years of presidency, a copy of their signature, and an overview of their life from childhood until death. This book is put out by the White House Historical Association and is a wonderful choice if you are looking for an informative glimpse of our current and past presidents. An entertaining read for children and adults.

2 comments about South Pass, 1868: James Chisholm's Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush.

1. This is an invaluable book because it is a first-person account of a moment in history--South Pass, Wyoming in 1868. The writer was sent by his Chicago newspaper to send back stories for newspaper readers in the East and Midwest eager for news and information of the expanding West, and especially any discovery of gold and untold riches. If you like very well written prose that takes you back to a time long gone, and to a subject that continues to resonate in the imagination, you will love this book. It takes you back to that time and that place in a way no history book can because it was written at that time and place by an astute contemporary observer. Put this one on your shelf next to "Journal of a Trapper", "The Santa Fe Trail," and "The Sweet Smell of Sagebrush."



2. Except for a few splatterings of philosophical and somewhat impertinent ramblings, James Chisholm's journal of the 1868 Wyoming Gold Rush at South Pass is a colorful first-hand glimpse into life during this time period.
   Chisholm was a reporter from the Chicago Tribune whose assignment was to report on the activities of the Sweetwater Mines. Traveling by train from Chicago to "end-of-the-track's town" Cheyenne, Wyoming his reports of vigilante hangings, killings and life in Cheyenne are paramount for this time and place.
   As the railroad advanced westward, he took leave of the train at Green River and continued north by horse and wagon to South Pass in search of the gold mines. Chisholm is very descriptive of geographical landforms, the people he encounters, the demeanor of the miners, experiencing the climatic elements, getting lost, accidently setting the prairies on fire (twice), his callous viewpoints on Indians, glowing reports of the Wind River Valley for future economic potential, his two exploratory trips into these Wind River Mountains and the overall profile of the gold mines.
   An insightful read.