2 comments about JFK for a New Generation.

1. Conover Hunt-Jones suprised me with this book, as I wasn't expecting much. Very well written with some good photos, I especially liked the way she tells of the impact of JFK's death on future generations ('70's, 80's, '90's).
   [...]



2. Although this book is intended for the "next generation", I found it well worth reading, and was impressed with Ms. Hunt's thorough and detailed coverage of the assassination, and its aftermath, including an examination of every possible theory as to "who killed JFK". Being a large-size "coffee table" book, there are, of course, many photographs, which adds immensely to its impact. "JFK for a New Generation" is a great addition to the subject for both newcomers and oldtimers alike.

4 comments about Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.

1. As Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter left the White House in early 1981 they faced an uncertain future. Like many people who retire, they just weren't sure what to do with themselves and all of their free time. To make matters worse, they still had to deal with the hurt they felt after having lost the 1980 election. The decisions they made about their future have vaulted Jimmy Carter from having lost his bid for reelection in a decisive manner to one of the most beloved figures in the United States. In 1984 President Carter was no where to be seen at the Democratic National Convention, twenty years later Democratic Presidential candidates beat a path to Plains, Georgia to try and obtain his blessing. Along the way the Carter's learned many valuable lessons that apply to anyone who may feel that their productive years have passed. This book is the story of what they learned.
   
   This book was published in 1987 and was I believe President Carter's third post-Presidential book and Mrs. Carter's second book and both of them had become quite good writers. They are both open and honest about their feelings and concerns, especially Rosalynn and because of this their narrative reaches the reader on a very personal level. Many of the activities they describe were only possible of course because of the office Mr. Carter held and because of the Carter Center but they go to great lengths to point out many worthwhile activities that anyone can participate in. Reading this book will definitely make you stop and think about all of the things you could be doing to help others and I think that was the Carter's goal.
   
   Part travelogue and part handbook for volunteerism this book will give you the warm fuzzies all over. You will feel sad with the Carter's and laugh with the Carter's and you will feel as if you had known this former first couple for years. You will in fact feel like you have traveled with the Carter's and maybe even helped them build a Habitat house. If you are looking for a retirement gift for anyone, this would be a perfect choice!



2. Collaboratively written by former American President and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Jimmy Carter, and his beloved wife and former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, Everything To Gain: Making The Most Of The Rest Of Your Life is a revealing and inspiring memoir about personal challenges they've had to face and overcome; the satisfaction of their work with Habitat for Humanity; their struggles to promote peace and human rights; and the personal steps they've taken to enjoy physical and spiritual health at home. Everything To Gain is enthusiastically recommended as a deeply rewarding and heartfelt encouragement to living our lives to the fullest.



3. ... even former Presidents and their First Ladies, as Jimmy and Rosalynn show us in this, their entry in the self-improvement / retirement advice category.

   Of course, anybody who's not a Dem is likely to be unwilling to take any such advice from the self-styled peanut farmer and his wife. So, I'm going over my stock of acquaintances, trying to remember who voted for Carter.

   The book would make a great gift not just for recent retirees, but also those whose life has just gone through change, whether it be a layoff, a disabling illness, or the death of a spouse.

   Sure wish my father had read it, twelve years ago, when my mother died -- so many ideas for him! Instead, he simply curled up in front of the TV.

   Jimmy and Rosalynn show how devastated they were by their 1980 defeat, then, step by step, how they rebuilt. Parts of the book delve too far into global health and other policy issues, but chapter after chapter, they introduce new activities, like a flower opening!

   If you're tired of fist-pounding self-improvement tomes, here is one that feels like a gentle friend, sitting beside you, arm around your shoulders, sharing the same problems you're having, and showing you several ways out of the "box" you've built for yourself. Read it and relax, then, go out and make the most of the rest of your life -- whether it's the next ten or next fifty years.




4. Despite the fact that this nearly broke up their marriage, this book is not what I hoped for when I picked it up and began reading. I missed the old Mrs Carter who had a wry story about her life on the campaign trail. I will never forget the many adventures that she detailed in "First Lady from Plains" which is a superior book in every way. The time she was trapped in bathroom stall and had to crawl out of it. Then there was the time when she had to cut her way out when trapped in a car by her seatbelt. Funny stuff and real human interest. If bizarre things can happen to the first lady of the land the can happen to anyone, can't they? The book I wanted to read was a kind of sequel to the masterful "First Lady from Plains." This clearly is not that book, though I hope Mrs. Carter will consider writing it one day real soon.

5 comments about George Washington and the New Nation: 1783-1793 - Volume 3.

1. After a brief lull at Mount Vernon, the victorious general of the Revolution found himself harnessed unwillingly into the first presidency of the infant United States. Flexner handily traces Washington's first term, from the foundation of a new government on an untried Constitution to the internecine warfare in his own cabinet that threatened to split that government and sink the republican experiment.



2. I was somewhat disappointed when I received this book. When I looked for it on your web site, I did a search, and had asked for only hardcovers, so I missed the part on this item that indicated it was a hardcover. I normally collect only hardcovers, and would not have spent $38 on a paperback book. Now, I still have to keep searching for a hardcover version, and I'm stuck with this paperback.
   
   Admittedly, this was my own oversight, so I can only blame myself, but maybe you can fix the problem with your search engine, so when looking for ONLY HARDCOVERS, that is what the result gives.



3. This book is the third in a series by Flexner on the life of George Washington. I highly recommend this series for anyone seeking to really understand the founding fathers. Flexner draws his material from many different sources to dovetail the life of Washington with those around him. His attention to detail makes the book a facinating read from cover to cover. It is quite a journey you are taking with a great man. I am so glad that Flexner took the time to put together such a magnificent compilation of data. I feel so much more appreciative of George Washington for all that he did to hold our nation together in its formative years after reading this book. A must read for those who love history!



4. This the third installment of a four volume series by James Thomas Flexner on the life of George Washington taking us through the years 1783 - 1793.

   We see Washington returning to his beloved acres... Mount Vernon, after the British are finally leaving the American shores. Washington is exhausted and wants to retire and live out his life in the resplendency of his home and family. We begin to see Washington open up so to speak, relaxing in his quiet country life. But again the matters of the New Nation are begining to pull and strain the rather reluctant Washington to a leadership roll.

   Being a very popular figure in early American life... Washington now is growing in popularity and as such is called to lead the Constitutional Convention for ratification of a new and untested government. Washington is elected to become the First United States President. Flexner gives us a lot of detail and put into the writing feelings and emotions felt at the time.

   From the writings that were written about Washington from his peers and thoughs of Washington to others, we again see Washington's fallibility, a man wrought with insecurity and heavy responsibilities trying to cope with a newly emerging government. Even present that others from overseas were watching and waiting for the new government to fail, but proving to them a government viable and alive. But, alas, Washington is now aging and retirement is begining to take hold once again in his life.

   This volume take us through Washington's thoughts and thoughs of Jefferson and Hamilton and how does Washington really feel. Washington is now working harder than ever trying to forge this fledging government into a working model of that written on paper. We see Washington's self-doubts again arise... troubling him with insecurities. Then again, who can he trust, to give correct counsil and if he left too soon would the government fail. If he stayed too long, would he be no better than the Kings he fought. We feel Washington's dilemma.

   I found this book to be very well written with sound documentation.




5. George Washington and the New Nation is actually the third in a four volume set, and continues to follow the life of George Washington after the Revolutionary War. From the years immediately following the last withdrawal of British Troops, up through the end of his first term as the President of the United States.

   Flexner does an excellent job of describing the man behind the legendary hero. Through the actual writings of Washington, and those of his contemporaries, we see not only the "Great General" and the "Father of Our Country," but also see Washington as fellow human being, just as fallible as the rest of us.

   This is also a remarkably telling book about the nature of politics and how in over 200 years, very little has changed. As distrustful as we are of todays politicians, Flexner's book puts those of Washington's days in an even less favorable light - and he uses their own words to do it.

   Through this book (and the other volumes in the set) I gained an even deeper appreciation for the one who was "First in War...First in Peace...and First in the hearts of his Countrymen." I heartily encourage this book and this entire set to all.

1 comments about Montana 1911: A Professor and his Wife among the Blackfeet.

1. Translated for the first time from the original Dutch into English, Montana 1911: A Professor And His Wife Among The Blackfeet presents the diary of Wilhelmina Uhlenbeck, the wife of anthropologist and linguist C. C. Uhlenbeck, who traveled to Montana to conduct fieldwork among the southern Piegan Indians. Her diary is reproduced in full, chronicling her perspective of the three-month stay, and also thoroughly supplemented with notes, an introduction to Blackfeet and their mythology, a biographical sketch of the couple, and a selection of the writings of C. C. Uhlenbeck that parallel the text from his wife's diary. Black-and-white vintage photographs illustrate this remarkable hands-on, up-close and personal perspective of Native American daily life and culture. Montana 1911 is a very highly recommended original source material for Native American Studies collections.

4 comments about Nine Years In The Saddle.

1. In _Nine Years in the Saddle_, James V. Lee has told an important story. More than just the life of his father, it is the tale of an American hero. "Dud" Lee was a hero, not because he was some glossy rendition of a Hollywood ideal, but because he was an average, real person who survived and thrived in rough times. Thankfully, James Lee has written about those times. As editor of Doing It Write!, an e-newsletter for writers, I've seen my share of historical books. With _Nine Years in the Saddle_, you'll feel as though you're sitting by the fireplace, listening to Dud himself talk.

   Dud's life, although only one or two generations ago, is foreign to modern teenagers. Bootlegging, lion hunting, working from ranch to ranch ... it all feels like something from an adventure book or a history tome. Knowing that this was a real person, the author's father no less, brings the story into reality. Few books have been written about the real people who lived and worked, and survived, this era of American history. By writing it down, and backing it up with pictures, Lee has preserved this slice of a time past. Helen Ginger




2. NINE YEARS IN THE SADDLE is a story about the life and times of Dud Lee, how he survived during the depression, bootlegging and hunting mountain lions in Chiricahua Mountains in Southeast New Mexico, and his time punching cows. It's the authors way of telling a story of a man he'd longed to know, and did so after their airport meeting when his father was eighty-one years old. A truly enjoyable read -- a story that will make you laugh and at the same time tug at your heart strings.



3. Mr. Lee,

   Your book, which I purchased last Friday from Hastings in Bryan, is as we speak, history...you were right, it was as great a read as you warned, I wasn't able to put it down for long...

   I feel sad that I will never have the oppurtunity to meet such a rounder as your father...

   I visualize many of the scenes described in our book and I personally think that a good screen play is waiting to be discovered in your writtings!

   I have the "signed" copy of your book in my library in it's place right in there with my printings of "Lonesome Dove" and "Texas"...

   I look forward to reading your next book when it "arrives".

   See ya in the movies............:)

   Respectfully,

   Ken "earl" Havel




4. Very interesting reading

5 comments about Right or Wrong, God Judge Me: THE WRITINGS OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH.

1. this book is a decent account of John Wilkes Booth, but there is nothing that has not been already examined in countless other books pertaining to this topic. The book does not give as much detail about booth as one would expect. If you really want a great book about John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assaination, and the several weeks that followed, i strongly recommend "American Brutus" by Michael W. Kauffman, this was one of the best books ive ever read on the subject.



2. "Right or Wrong, God Judge Me" is a fascinating collection of all the known existing hand-written documents left by John Wilkes Booth. Most of his written materials were destroyed by family, friends and acquaintances in the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination for fear that the holders of the documents may be accused of being an accessory to the crime. What is printed here (many for the first time) are those documents left by JWB that managed to be preserved. These materials include letters written to a friend William O'Laughlin (brother of Michael O'Laughlin who was a co-conspirator) when JWB was a teen-ager, poems written in autograph books of fellow actors, information on his theatre work and financial investments written to his business partners, love letters to Isabel Sumner, and a lengthy pro-Union speech intentionally preserved by brother Edwin written only a few days after South Carolina seceded from the Union. In the latter as well as the famous "To Whom It May Concern" letter also published here, JWB explains his sympathy with the southern cause, the influence of watching abolitionist John Brown hanged, his feelings towards his country, his personal views on slavery, etc. Two pocket diary entries written while he was a fugitive (surprised at the negative reaction his deed received from the public) as well as a sarcastic letter written to a doctor who would not help him as he was fleeing authorities on an injured leg are the last entries in this book.
   
   What makes this book even more fascinating than reading the words of one of the most notorious men in American history, is the incredible research completed by the editors. Every document, including letters of only a couple sentences, are followed by many footnotes detailing the people, places, and events in JWB's life pertaining to the document. This information includes theatre reviews, most in praise of Booth's performances, especially his sword fighting. The dangers and hardships actors endured traveling to shows in those days is explained. The editors also include historical background and context to the documents. Even the letters on his theatre schedule and investments were interesting because of the additional information the editors provided. I felt as though I was following JWB's life through these letters and footnotes. I've come away from this book with a much better understanding of what motivated JWB to commit his crime. Anyone interested in Booth and the Lincoln assassination needs to read this book. The 171-page book includes a section of illustrations, including photos of three of the handwritten documents.



3. The title is a promising one, if you're interested in JWB and the Lincoln assassination; and the compilation is thorough, if what you want is to have the complete known products surviving from JWB. The problem is that 90% of what does survive (thus 90% of this book) is really insignificant stuff that sheds very little light on the man's ideas, opinions, or thoughts. It's mostly brief, impersonal, non-revealing notes written to confirm theatrical engagements, &c., &c. Much of it is repetitive variations on a few business-oriented themes. Too bad this is al that survives from him!



4. This is an interesting book regarding the state of mind of the wealthy and famous actor of the time. The book carefully places his letters chronologically and also backs them by giving historic references and explanations of the events that surrounded the man. How his "flowery-like" letters could ever hint at a man struggling with the problems of the country isn't told in them. It's ironic from such writing that this man who had fame, fortune and social approval also had a deep and ever growing anger against northern politics. His inner anger seemed depressed awaiting a chance to explode. This book easily portrays Booth as a caring man yet also one who sympathized with the Southern cause. It briskly explains his premeditated thoughts of assassinating Lincoln and has little information regarding putting his thoughts into motion. Yes, this book is about his letters and offers a quick coverage of the events surrounding Booth before and after the killing of Lincoln. For those looking for a complete biography this book isn't the one. For those looking for added insight who may have already read about Booth before, this is a great bonus of information.



5. In my opinion "Right or Wrong,God Judge Me" is a blessing;mostly for the masses growing up believing only one side to a twisting and tragic tale.John Wilkes Booth is humanized,he is presented as a multi dimensional conflicted individual,far from the "mad man" we were all taught to despise for his repulsive crime against the US government and Lincoln. The evil I once thought he posessed is not the main struggle of his personality;his struggle seems to more or less be over his love and jealousy of brother Edwin and his fears of being loved and admired.His heart is tormented by the carnage of the Civil War,which in turn causes him to side with just about anyone who hates Lincoln. As I found by reading the book,he was not as mad as I once believed,but seemed more a sad and lonely man admired mostly for his looks yet he seemed to be upset about the sexual objectivity given to his person,hence he burned fan mail sent to him by rather amourous ladies,I feel from reading this book that he needed more than theatre and adoration from screaming females;he wanted to be taken seriously and make a difference in the world.Unfortunately he chose a rather brutal means of attaining this goal. I do think that his appearance can somewhat color judgement.Do we feel more sorry for him because he was extremely handsome? I wonder if he would have been homely if he would have gotten as much sympathy? Maybe not,but still I understand his mentality better and why he turned out the way he did.

2 comments about Will Rogers & Wiley Post: Death at Barrow.

1. The authors have spent years researching Will Rogers. In this book, they provide insight into the friendship of Will Rogers and Wiley Post. A friendship which ended in their untimely death when their plane crashed in Alaska. The book tells the biography of Rogers and Post. Will Rogers has been writtten about and spoken of often. However, it is hard to find articles about Wiley Post. This was what I was seeking when I read the book, as Wiley and I descended from the same Post family. The book contained articles which I'd never heard before. Very well written and interesting.



2. IF YOUR INTERESTS TEND TOWARD HISTORICAL FIGURES AND AVIATION, THIS IS AN INTENSELY INTERESTING BOOK. THIS IS NOT ANOTHER REHASH OF THE POST/ROGERS CRASH IN BARROW, BUT RATHER A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ALL THE PERSONALITIES AND HISTORY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE CRASH AS WELL AS HOW THEY ALL TIED INTO THE TRAGEDY. THE AUTHOR BUILDS A FASCINATING, FACTUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ACCIDENT AND A CONVINCING CASE AS TO WHY IT HAPPENED---AND IT'S NOT WHAT THE AUTHORITIES OF THE TIME WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE.

1 comments about Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger.

1. Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger. By David M. Kennedy. 320 pp. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1970. $30.
   
   David Kennedy is the McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Reflecting his interdisciplinary training in American Studies, which combined the fields of history, literature, and economics, Professor Kennedy's scholarship is notable for its integration of economic and cultural analysis with social and political history.
   
   Professor Kennedy teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the history of the twentieth-century United States, American political and social thought, American foreign policy,
   American literature, and the comparative development of democracy in Europe and America.
   
   He has had ten books published to date and written over twenty articles with two on Margaret Sanger. He has received numerous awards including the John Gilmary Shea Prize (for Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger, 1970 and the Bancroft Prize (for Birth Control in America), 1971.
   
   His 1970 book, Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger, embraced the medical, legal, political, and religious dimensions of the subject and helped to pioneer the emerging field of women's history. It is a highly critical study of Sanger's pre-World War II career that can still be appreciated by readers in today's society. It is not a true autobiography
   of Margaret Sanger but a chronological listing and explanation of the events that occurred involving the American birth control movement which she was a crusader for. To fully
   understand Sanger's involvement in the birth control movement the author lets us know who Margaret Sanger was and the events that caused her to become a leading birth control advocate,
   feminist, and activist.
   
   Margaret Sanger was born in 1879 in Corning, New York, one of eleven children of Irish-American parents. Her mother was Catholic, her father a radical follower of the freethinker Robert Ingersoll and single-taxer Henry George. Sanger later attributed the family's lack of prosperity and her mother's death at forty-nine to her parents' having had so many children.
   
   The inequality she observed between them stimulated her
   lifelong social activism.Margaret, with help from her sisters, attended Claverack College, after which she went to nursing school. She did not immediately use her medical training because, she later wrote, William Sanger "pressured" her into marrying and leaving school in 1902. William Sanger, an
   artist and architect, moved the family (soon to include three children) to suburban Westchester.
   
   While he commuted to New York, Margaret grew restless as a result of her isolation and full-time housekeeping. In 1910 the Sanger's moved back to Manhattan, and Margaret began working as a visiting nurse on the Lower East Side. She became active in radical politics, joining the Socialist party and working with the Industrial Workers of the World in supporting several militant strikes. From this network she absorbed feminist ideas and came to agree with Emma Goldman that women had a right to control their sexual and reproductive lives. Her work as a nurse with the poor further convinced her that birth control was vital to women's health and freedom.
   
   In 1912 she began to write and speak on sexual and health issues under socialist auspices and was encouraged by her enthusiastic reception. The censorship of one of her columns by the U.S. Post Office in 1913 brought her more publicity. In 1914 she published several issues of the Woman Rebel, a radical feminist newspaper, and Family Limitation, a pamphlet intended for mass distribution and containing explicit instructions for contraception. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she fled to Europe, where she studied with Havelock Ellis a sexual
   psychologist.
   
   She returned to the United States in 1915 to find a nationwide birth-control movement under way; the charges against her were dropped. In 1916 she and her sister Mrs. Evelyn Byrne, who was also a trained nurse, and a third woman, Fania Mindell
   established a birth-control clinic in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn as an act of civil disobedience, since providing birth control remained illegal. Clinics were now opening throughout the country, in defiance of the laws against them, and attracted many clients. Sanger became increasingly angered by the Left-wing party's refusal to make birth control a priority and decided on a strategy of making legalization of contraception a single-issue campaign. Distancing herself from her left-wing friends, she now sought support from physicians and academic eugenicist's. Their influence replaced that of the feminist and socialist movements, then in retreat, and Sanger sometimes used eugenic arguments for birth control that it could help reduce the birthrate of "inferiors."
   
   In 1921 she established the American Birth Control League, a national lobbying group, which became Planned Parenthood in 1942. Very much needing personal recognition, Sanger thought of birth control as her own invention and her leadership as irreplaceable. Her aggressive campaigning, however, did play a large part in the legalization of contraception by many states
   between the 1920s and 1960s. This movement was not the true success she had fought for, because contraception became understood, not as a woman's right, but as a medical matter
   requiring a doctor's prescription.
   
   This book was extremely well written, well researched, and well organized. The book was fair to the material it was interpreting. The author points out that "despite all her defects of posture and policy, Margaret Sanger, it could be argued, had been indispensable to the ultimate success of her cause. Mrs. Sanger then slipped quietly from the position of leadership after twenty-five years. So effectively had she educated society that it seemed no longer to need her."
   This book held my interest all the way to the end. It reinforces my belief that Margaret Sanger should be considered a hero for women's rights. This book is a real contribution to the subject of birth control and to Sanger and helped me understand Margaret Sanger more as a person and a female.
   
   Rachel Dvorkin
   Roosevelt University
   Schaumburg, IL

1 comments about The Black Citizen-Soldiers of Kansas, 1864-1901.

1. First of all, a disclaimer. My grandfather, Horace Baker, wrote this book, so its interest to me is probably more than to most. This book was originally printed in 1927 and saw very limited distribution. Contrary to what Amazon says, Dr. Ferrell is not the author. However, what Dr. Ferrell did do for this reprint was to add some pertinent endnotes to link my grandfather's close (and sometimes incorrect) view of what was happening to the bigger picture of the Meuse-Argonne battle. Also, some helpful maps and a few photos have been added as well. About the text itself: Horace Baker's text begins on arrival at the front and ends with the armistice. It is well written with a simple, usually matter-of-fact style. There are a few purple passages but they do not distract too much from the facts and there are even a few bits of humor. It is very readable and flows easily.
   
   The recurring themes are the same that sadly occur thoughout most wartime experiences: exhaustion, hunger, exposure to the elements, fear, and violent death.
   
   I would recommend this book for anyone who has serious interest in The Great War. I also recommend Dr. Ferrell's book "America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918" as a companion to this in order to understand what was happening on a larger scale.

5 comments about Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives.

1. Amazing book. I've never read one like it. Quite interesting. Honest experiences. An eye-opener. Anyone interested in history will enjoy this. I am.



2. In this beautiful, historical collection of slave narratives and photographs, we are given a look inside the lives of actual slaves being interviewed as part of a project conducted by the Works Progress Administration. With more than forty interviews, UNCHAINED MEMORIES is a work of art that provides a well-rounded look at the lives of slaves. It includes insight into their living conditions, thoughts about slavery, their families and even the details of actual slave auctions. It is a sometimes sad collection, but much needed to help us understand the progress our ancestors have made in the world.

   Through their accounts, we are able to see the pain and suffering as well as the spirit and pride of those born into slavery, learn from it, and pass it along to our children. This is a wonderful resource for not only African American families, but for anyone interested in history and the period of slavery and its impact upon the African American race. It is compiled with the grace and dignity deserving of a people who have been through so much!

   Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers




3. This book is hard to read. It is hard to wade through the cruelty.

   There are stories here of families being split apart by an uncaring master class. Children were callously sold and permanently separated from their parents. Husbands and wives were similarly split up.

   Frankly, it makes you sick.

   Then there are the stories of brutality. Again it makes you sick. How could the slave owners have sunk so low?

   If you are looking for well written stories that bring the institution of slavery to life for you, this is not the book. What you get here are very short and very simple reports by individuals. There's nothing here that you didn't know already. This is not a great work of literature.

   This is just a punch right in the nose to make you wonder how slave owners could have been so cruel.




4. "...Oh freedom, Oh freedom, Oh freedom over me. And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free"
   __Old Negro Spiritual

   The words of the spiritual above must not have been uttered to these beautiful human beings who have graciously allowed interviewers from the 1930's Governments Works Progress Administration to chronicle their life stories. For if the words above had been uttered, the slave experience, from an intimate and painful point of view, would never have received the credence they due. Tales of slavery are still passed down from generation to generation, and traditions still are followed but to see a book like Unchained Memories is special. Quite simply, this is a beautiful book. I'm so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read it and experience it and learn from it. I can treat the book as a textbook, a factual accounting of the lives of former slaves who have wonderful stories that they don't mind sharing with the world. For that reason alone, this book has earned a permanent place on my coffee table, for all who enter into my house to experience. Something about the actual words of former slaves bound in book form validates an agonizing time in American History.

   Unchained Memories is well researched and magnificently laid out. At the beginning of every chapter is an introductory text that accounts for the tenure of the time, followed by a poignant quote and then brief narratives begin. My one regret is that the narratives are so short, when biographers obviously spent a great deal of time with these people. I am grateful that there is an extensive bibliography at the back so that I can, at some point, go and read the entire account by the former slave. Oh where will I find the time? If you read this book, I would highly suggest that you get a copy of the HBO documentary of the same name and watch it as well. There is nothing like "hearing" the words spoken by African American actors of today in the vernacular of the time.

   I'm glad that Unchained Memories was published, and quite fittingly made its debut during Black History Month. These former slaves are the reason why Black History Month is perpetuated now and a fitting tribute for remembering from whence we as a nation have come.




5. An exquisite pictorial and narrative exploration of the institution of American slavery, this book provides readers with the opportunity to experience from personal recollections what it was like to live under conditions of slavery. The text format, an artistic balance of photographs and primary sources, is composed of interviews with former slaves conducted in the 1930s by the Federal Writers' Project. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of slave life - auctions, work, family, special occasions, providing a deeply etched portrait of hardships and abuses as well as examples of strength of character and quiet dignity. A worthy addition to one's library!