1 comments about The Autobiography of Mother Jones.

1. I was assigned this book for class, and I wasn't too fond of it. It's not that I think Mother Jones' efforts were unimportant. From what I read, she seems to have been a very brave and passionate woman, totally selfless in her cause. We could use more people like her today.
   
   But the book itself was awfully repetative. If you weren't alive during the time that the events happened, which of course you weren't, and if you don't know much about the subject, the events seem to repeat themselves over and over. Mother Jones goes to an overworked, underpaid coal mining town, leads the workers in a strike, the company owners do all they can to supress their efforts, until at last one side wins. Wash, rinse, repeat.
   
   I think that Mother Jones and the Labor Movement are excellent things to read about, but I think it would be best to read a book with more historical explanation. I would prefer one that gave information about the individual towns and people she helped, and those involved in the cause, so that they would not all blend together.

1 comments about All-American Anarchist: Joseph A. Labadie and the Labor Movement (Great Lakes Books).

1. Libertarians today are often considered extreme conservatives. Their opposition to taxation and government regulation is widely regarded as a defense of "big business" and the popular press, to the extent they mention libertarians at all, tends to see them as a branch of the Republican Party. But liberarianism is actually a radical philosophy with deep roots in the history of American reform movements, most notably abolitionism and especially the labor movement. Detroit labor organizer Joseph Labadie was a radical printer and tradesman who helped found both the Knights of Labor and the later AFL, particularly its Michigan wing. But Labadie also came to realize that the state was no friend of organized labor. Unlike modern labor historians who try to wrestle America's labor movement into a Marxist paradigm (Philip Foner and his intellectual heirs come to mind here) Labadie came to believe that true socialism would find its best expression in free markets and anarchism. This fabulous biography by Carlotta Anderson covers Labadie's extensive career.
   
   Joseph Labadie was a self educated printer who lived in Michigan and migrated to Detroit. The boom and bust cycle of the early 19th century caused tremendous economic hardship upon workers and Labadie quickly fell in with trade unionists and members of America's very diverse socialist party. He was a founding member of the Knights of Labor and remained throughout his life an advocate for the working poor. But Labadie also felt education was the key to any successful social reform and he practiced what he preached. A careful reader, he soon had mastered the works of Adam Smith, Herbert Spencer, Thoreau, and especially the writings of Josiah Warren and Pierre Joseph Proudhon. Reading the latter, he came to realize that demanding workers receive their fair share of production was in fact a type of property right. (This was the basis of Proudhon's famous paradox, namely that property is both theft and liberty.) The way to insure that workers received their due was to destroy government privileges which allow businesses to skim value from their workers. Ever the idealist, Labadie was not content to simply end government established "monopolies." He also thought that government itself could be abolished once people realized their true interests.
   
   Labadie continued his work for over 50 years. Beyond hs efforts to establish workers' equality he defended those who were victims of an unjust legal system, wrote prodigious amounts of poetry, protested US entry into World War II, and advocated alternative health care. But his greatest legacy was the collection of letters, newspapers, tracts and broadsides that he and his wife collected over the years. These became the basis for the justly famed Labadie collection at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Much of America's radical history would have been lost were it not for this gentleman anarchist who was widely respected by all of Detroit.
   
   Labadie's influence, however, extended far beyond that of his collection. His son Laurence also became a prolific anarchist writer. Long after individualist anarchism had died out and trade unions had succumbed to begging the state for monopolistic privileges of their own, Laurence kept up the lonely fight for freedom from government and proper renumeration of workers. But the 20th century also saw a variety of different issues arise and the younger Labadie addressed these as they came up. Nuclear war, integration of schools, and agrarian reforms including the beginnings of the modern organic health movement all received his incisive commentary. In the process he created a body of work which went on to inspire modern libertarianism.
   
   On the whole then, Anderson's volume is an excellent introduction to American labor history as seen from the perspective of one of its most prominent (but now largely forgotten) proponents. But it is much more than that. This book illustrates why American historians consistently fail to understand and appreciate America's labor movement. Instead of trying to explain how labor was co-opted by "capitalism," they should understand that for 19th century workers, true free market capitalism was their ideal. If anything, the movement was co-opted by an older economic system: merchatilism. Although not widely recognized, this is in fact the economic system that characterizes America today. Ms. Anderson has done an admirable job of presenting an historical alternative that was never tried. She is to be commended for this. All students of American history and especially labor history should read this book.

No comments about Grandpa's Gone: The Adventures of Daniel Buchwalter in the Western Army, 1862-1865.

No comments about Personal Traits Of Abraham Lincoln (1912).

No comments about Civil War and Reconstruction (Eyewitness History Series).

4 comments about The Campaigns Of General Nathan Bedford Forrest And Of Forrest's Cavalry.

1. This book delivers more details on the battles than what was available in Jack Hurst's book. It has little about Forrest's personal life (none after the war as it was written in 1866). At close to 700 pages it gets a little too detailed in places but is overall a very good book.



2. I have read many different books written by people that lived in the era of the War Between the States, and this one has to be one of the best that I have read on one of the most audacious leaders that came out of the war on either side. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading this book. There were plenty of maps, and since the book was written under the watchful care of Nathan himself from his notes during the war, I believe it is one of the most complete works of this nature. I highly recommend the book to anyone. It is not just another boring read!



3. A meticulous and detailed account of the military operations that Gen. Forrest was involved in, showing the skill he had in combat, and the man that he was. Also provides short insights into many of the men that served under him. At times, I wished there were more (and more detailed) maps, so that I could follow the movements of Forrest's Cavalry and their enemy more precisely. Provides fair treatment of analysis of both sides of the war, as well as some feelings and evidence that dispute some of the myth and legend surrounding Gen. Forrest. I would suggest re-reading the introduction after you finish reading the book, as it works as a good post-commentary. This book is excactly what I was looking for to learn about cavalry operations during the Civil War.



4. The book was written for the most part by a contemporary of General Forrest's, himself a Confederate general. Nathan Bedford Forrest read the proofs, suggested some changes, and approved of the product. It is easily read and gives great insight into this greatest of all cavalry wizards.

5 comments about Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People.

1. In 1868 after the war Harriet Tubman was induced to dictate her autobiography. In the various editions the story changed, becoming more militant over the years. She also needed the funds from the sale of the book.
   Tubman was and is a great American hero. That can not be denied. But with the exception of a few newspaper articles, a few letters and this book, much of what we know about her has been passed from one author to another, each changing or embellishing the story as she or he saw fit.
   Unfortunately there are some exaggerations, and or glaring mistakes in this book. Being that she was illiterate it could be that the story was just told wrong. I would hope so.
   
   The Combahee River Raid during the American Civil War is a good example of the problems with her story.
   While the raid did take place historians to this day have no documented proof of exactly what her role was and how extensive her involvement in the planning. Unfortunately the reports by the Union commanders are missing. In addition certain parts of the narrative, which are presented as fact, simply didn't happen. The raid never came within five miles by water of the railroad. Only private buildings, farms, plantations, mills were burnt or destroyed. No governmental supply depots were even in the area. Unfortunately this brings into question of what really did happen.
   What we do know is she was on the raid, she had a major role in the raid. Most importantly over 750 slaves were freed. Many of these freed slaves eventually did serve in the Union cause.
   A good story, but don't take all of the facts for fact before you really do your homework.



2. The book made me realize that enyone can do anything they wish. I wish it would have gone a little deeper into the life of harriet tubman, however I thought it was still a good book.



3. A very informative book. Prior to reading this book, I had assumed Mrs. Tubman took her people to the North, the land of "Freedom". I was wrong, Mrs. Tubman had to take her people all the way to Canada, to be free. In the North, with the passage of the fugitive slave act, Harriett Tubman knew her people would/and could be 'captured' by Northern slave catches, ( who frequently captured free African-Americans as well) and sold them back into slavery) Traveling at night, hiding in the swamps, carring laudnum to keep the crying babies from crying and giving them away, and a pistol for safety, and risking her very life should she be captured.

   I regret there was never more recorded history on Harriett Tubman. Her bravery, and heroism are awe inspiring. She risked her life 19 times, to save her people, and bring them to Canada, for Canada was the end of the Undergound Railroad.

   Mrs. Tubman serves as a true American Hero, that went far beyond and above, what the vast majority of us would do.

   I take my hat off to you, Mrs Tubman. God Bless you.




4. Harriet Tubman was born to a free man and a slave woman. Her life was hard and she abhorred slavery for her people. She sustained a head injury while helping an escaping slave. Her free Black husband was not supportive of her activities. Learning she was to be sold, Harriet planned an escape, however her brothers made her return. She finally did escape, using the underground railroad. Harriet was a family woman, and could not rest until she helped her sister and brother escape. The Blacks truly considered her their female version of the Biblical Moses.



5. I thought that this book was great. I enjoyed that it was written by someone in Harriet's time, except that some of the terminolgy is confusing. If you read this book, you will learn a lot about Harriet, and her adventures, but remember the dictionary!

No comments about Harriet Tubman: They Call Me Moses (Biographies for Young Children).

5 comments about For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut.

1. Scott Carpenter and his daughter were "inspired" to write this book in response to Gene Kranz's characterizations of Carpenter in "Failure is Not An Option." Ordinarily, a "defensive" book is not especially interesting. Kranz accused Carpenter of having too laid-back a personality, and that he would be found laying on a beach, strumming a guitar and contemplating. Kranz biggest beef was a blow to Kranz's pride, when Carpenter essentially told the media that for a period of time on his Mercury mission, Mission Control, Kraft and Kranz did not know where Carpenter was...
   
   However, this is a well-written, well-paced entry into the history of America's space effort, and is fun to read "against" the Kranz book.
   
   My grandpa used to say that there's no such thing as a one-sided story. Getting so many different strong personalities to work together to get us into space was quite an accomplishment, and both these books (and others) help us understand the "miracle" that we pulled off.
   
   It was one of our nation's greatest and proudest accomplshments for so many reasons.



2. M. Scott Carpenter and his daughter Kris have certainly written a fascinating biography that is unlike most others I have read about astronauts. For starters, it is written mostly in the third person. I asked Scott about that recently and he said that was a decision by Kris to do that. I must say, it was risky to go that route with an autobiography. But from the standpoint of what the story was trying to tell, I think it was worth the risk since this is more then just a biography about Scott as it discusses his early life, his relatives and the early developments of the Mercury space program. As such, you get so much more here then just the life story of a Mercury astronaut.
   
   Carpenter's life was certainly an interesting one. Born in New York, he moved back to Colorado as a very young child with his mom while she battled the effects of TB (a battle which she fought for far longer then anyone would have predicted as she didn't die until after Scott's Mercury flight). His father remained apart from his life for the most part as he spent his childhood being raised by his grandparents on both sides of his family. A well grounded education, coupled with living a very healthy youth in Colorado produced a smart individual with the body of an athlete who could have done anything in life he wanted when WW2 provided him with the calling to join the military. Unable to see combat in the big war due to delays in his flight training, Scott's flying talents didn't get utilized until Korea when he was part of a P2V Neptune patrol bomber unit. Later, he became a test pilot until a lucky set of circumstances landed him in a prime spot as one of the Mercury 7 astronauts. But then again, that is still just the beginning of the story.
   
   Scott's Aurora 7 flight is told in the first person and it gives a full description of what happened in orbit from his perspective as well as discussing some technical problems that weren't fully understood until after the flight (such as a fault with the attitude control system on the spacecraft, which resulted in a higher fuel useage when operated in automatic mode). To me at least, this description coupled with information printed in other sources paints a much more accurate picture IMHO of what happened to get Scott about 200 miles off course then what has been described in other early biographies about the space program. It just goes to show it is always a good idea to get the story from more then one viewpoint.
   
   Not too much is discussed about Scott's work on the Sealab project (certainly not in the depth that Mercury was discussed). But it is mentioned since that more then anything seemed to have more to do with his not flying another space flight then what happened on Aurora 7 (read it and make your own conclusion). Scott certainly has a unique perspective among other astronauts from the Mercury days and it seems to me that if he were a lot younger and flying shuttle missions, he might make a perfect mission specialist, even though he could certainly fill the role of a commander or a pilot as well.
   
   Probably the most insight I got from this book was a looking into the life of a military family from the 1950s, while they were trying to raise three young children. Those readers who have been in similar situations (regardless of the branch of service) will probably recognize the situations where the wife tries to raise the children at home in base housing while the husband is off to some of the most interesting duty stations in the world and dealing with his own set of challenges as an officer in the Navy. It certainly shows that the plights of military families are by no means unique (and my mom had similar tales to tell from her days as an Army wife while Dad was off on TDY assignments).
   
   Throw that same family into the media circus known as the Mercury program and things get a bit more interesting. At that point the families that were hoping to live a private life, raising kids and serving their country got thrusted into almost a rock star status. They had more money as a result, but not every change was good and marriages tended to suffer as a result (Scott's marriage was no exception).
   
   So if you are just looking for something that JUST talks about an astronaut's experiences in the Mercury program, this book probably isn't for you. Granted you do get a lot of useful Mercury information, but in addition you get an almost complete tapestry on what made Scott Carpenter tick and the lives he touched. You won't get the cliches of "Duty Honor Country" either. We all know that astronauts are patriots, but the book doesn't rub the reader's nose in it. Probably the closest I can compare this book to in terms of other astronaut bio reads is the Neil Armstrong biography "First Man". But both books are unique in their perspectives.
   
   For the sheer enjoyment I got reading this book, I do give it five stars. I agree it isn't a read for everyone. But if you don't go in with any preconceived notions, then it makes for a much more enjoyable read.
   
   My own copy is the original hardcover, but the most recent printing of the book includes a special epilog chapter which talks a bit about a similarity of emotions that were experienced during the reentries of Aurora 7 and STS-107. The outcomes of the two were very different, but people who weren't alive during the Mercury program don't remember that there was a bit of public uncertainty that existed when Scott's spacecraft landed long with low fuel. Mercury control had more data, but the press and the general public didn't know much at all. Fast forward to February 2003 and a similar uncertainty fell over the public when Columbia didn't arrive at KSC when it should have and nobody knew anything until the first footage of its breakup appeared on national TV. In terms of the Carpenter biography, this epiloge doesn't seem like a good fit. But, by using one experience to shed emotional light on the other, it does help showcase what families of astronauts feel and experience when loved ones take the ride into space knowing full well that they may not come back alive. As such, it is helpful to get the family perspective as well.



3. If your reading the other Mercury books, add this one to the list.
   Getting the book basically for the shipping is a great deal.



4. Life at NASA is not always rosey. NASA experimented with different programs and each mission helpted to determine their research progress in the main mission to be the first to do things in Space. NASA uses young, ambitious people as guinea pigs. When my son Jeff had his first NASA job, he told me he was a glorified computer operator. They used his hard-earned experience at the University of Chicago to catagorize the information coming to base at Boulder, Colorado, from the flawed Hubble telescope. He'd spent years at Kitt Peak in Arizona (his professor getting all the credit) as a grad student in astronomy, and this task was important to him so that he worked for half-salary that year. Was his work appreciated? He was kicked out the door as soon as the Hubble was corrected. So much for job security.
   
   It takes pioneer spirit to have the courage for those experimental 'flights' Scott Carpenter and his colleagues achieved. He was the 4th American in space and the second to orbit the earth. In May, 1962, he made history in the tiny spacecraft 'Aurora 7' which malfunctioned in one of its scanners , forcing him to "overshoot" the expected landing site by 250 miles. This led to a lifetime of controversy.
   
   This book, written with his daughter, explains in detail this ill-fated flight which made him famous or infamous. He clears up lingering doubts about that flight while telling history 'as he lived it.' When things don't work out exactly as projected, it is always the main person involved who takes the blame for its 'failure' as in the case of Jeff, who is again on NASA's payroll at a Center of Excellence in Nashville for which he took tours of students to the Pasadena Jet Propulsion Lab several times a year. Now that phase is over, and it seems that his job is in jeopardy again.
   
   After Project Mercury, Scott went on to take part in Naval Sealabs as an undrewater explorer and researcher. From high above the earth to deep below the ocean, he has traversed time from one dimension to another. He is one of our greatest Space hereoes, 'Commander Carpenter and his flying machine.' He's endured quite a journey and paid dearly in his personal life. Re remarried in 1988 and had son Zachary.
   
   His fellow "Right Stuff" astronauts included John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Al Shepard, Gordo Cooper, and Wally Schirra. "Journeys so perilous that farewells were in fact small prayers. 'Good-bye' is itself an invocation that God attend every step, and with 'audieu' and 'Godspeed' for that matter -- for speedy journeys bring travelers home sooner rather than later. And home soon is always good." Keep faith, Geoffrey.



5. Carpenter spends a large portion of this book refuting what Chris Kraft wrote in his book, "Flight", too large in my opinion. I did find his story interesting and I think he could of told his story without making specific rebuttals to Kraft. On the positive side, this book is a nice addition to my NASA library since it focuses so much on the Mercury missions, compared to the many books written on the Apollo program.

4 comments about This Storied Land: A Montana Memoir.

1. Having been born in extreme SE Montana, the life described was similar even if the "Others" was not. A lot of their day to day experiences brought back my Grandparents life....I have shared this book with others who come away with the same feelilng - great book.



2. After hearing stories about my Mother spending her childhood summer in Plentywood MT. this is a pleasant companion piece to read.



3. Plentywood, Montana, situated 20 miles from Canada and 20 miles from North Dakota, needs someone to bring again to life the triumph and travail, success and hardship, dewdrops and hailstones, beliefs and blasphemies, windmills and windstorms, breezes and blizzards, homesteads and haunts, childplay and chores, weddings and wakes, romance and routine, cowpaths and coyotes, whispers and wails, that reside and resurface in the memory of the hardy people who have scratched its stubborn soils with hoe and plow. Now, finally, comes a talented writer who tells all of this so well. She is my cousin, and since her life and stories overlap mine, I admit I am prejudiced in her favor. As a fellow native of Plentywood I also admit to being incurably loyal to my birthplace. However, just take my word for it. If you have never seen Sheridan County, Montana you will still feel these stories tugging at your heartstrings. If you are so lucky as to have been born there I know you will not be able to resist reading this book. -- Paul Abenroth, Walla Walla, WA



4. This book was a pleasure to read and re-read. The prose is beautiful-melodious and clear. The picture of a time (childhood and adolescence) and a place (Montana) contains layers of memory and imagery. Each chapter presents a discrete aspect of life on a farm in Montana, while the entire work holds the tension of familial secrets, revealed at the end. I delight in this book because of its style and content and recommend it most highly. I'll be using it in a writing class as a model of composition.