5 comments about Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey.

1. I hesitate to rate any book five stars, but will do so when it satisfied all my expectations and gives me far more. Pvt. Sneden's journal does exactly that.
   
   In the context of civil war journals, in my humble opinion, it rises above many others for three reasons. First, Pvt. Sneden is simply an excellant writer. Not surprisingly, the journal is no example of modern grammatical rules, but of course, that would not be expected in this context. Still, I found Pvt. Sneden to be one of those writers with a gift for painting a picture in words. It is one of those books, unlike many historical primary sources, that you do not find yourself rereading parts to try to figure out what the writer is trying to say. Secondly, Pvt. Sneden had an extremely unusual perspective for a private soldier. He acted as a map maker and had been attached to headquarters units for most of the period covered in the book. This allowed him to comment based on many perspectives as he traveled through multiple commands in each campaign. Likewise, he gave some insight to the conduct of the general officers he worked for mapping. Thirdly, Pvt. Sneden Had a hobby of drawing pictures of almost anything he tripped over on the battlefield. The analogy I would draw would are to people these days who always have a camera and will take a picture of anything that strikes them as an interesting shot.
   
   Besides those positive aspects of this book specific to Pvt. Sneden, there are two other aspects of this book that makes it exceptional in my opinion. First, as to primary sources, I would submit that most readers would agree that the most important factor in evaluating them is veracity. In other words, the memoirs of a politician I would guess would never be taken on face value due to the bias of the author. In this book, even describing his time as prisoner, Pvt. Sneden in a very large seemingy presents a vey balenced picture of his experiences. There might be some comments put in after the war for dramatic effect, but the editors flag them. Even flagged as possible exagerations, Pvt. Sneden established his credibility to a sufficient degree with me that I would not so easily disregard such comments.
   
   Secondly, the editors do an excellant job providing the backdrop to Pvt. Sneden's journey through the war.
   
   In my humble opinion, this book should recognized as excellant primary source material writing about the period. Likewise, I believe it well worth the cost of anyone with an interest in the period.



2. The finding of primary source material is of great value in the field of history as it can give us a glimpse into the past through actual eyewitnesses. This book gives us a chance to see the American Civil War through the eyes of Robert Sneden of the 40th New York Regiment. His skills as a cartographer produced some remarkable depictions of some of the battlefields, land features and prison scenes that alone are worth studying. As the compilers of this book stated, his memoirs and drawings were quite substantial.
   
   Sneden's observations offer us a glimpse into camp life (though he was spared most of the front line activity), some of the personalities of the war, the unfolding events of battle and perhaps most descriptive of all, life in the numerous prisons he stayed in, including those in Richmond, Salisbury (though briefly), and Andersonville. Once again it is his remarkable sketches and drawings of these places that capture our attention, though of course his written descriptions can be quite vivid and detailed, especially concerning some of the gruesome features of battle and prison life.
   
   Sneden wasn't so much writing a history as he was detailing his day to day activities and observations during his time of service and captivity during the war. But it is these types of accounts that can offer new insights into historic events that we otherwise may never have known about and in Sneden's case especially his drawings. Of course even these types of sources need to be carefully scrutinized for factual errors as well.



3. Do you ever read book and have trouble putting it down? For Civil War buffs this is it. While RK Snedon rambles on a bit at times, there can be no better insight into the maelstrom that was the Civil War. The drawings are fascinating as is the courage and positive attitude of an individual faced with obscene circumstances.



4. I always look for first hand information in journals. These are the journals by Priv. Sneden. The pictures that he drew are wonderful and his first person accounts of his journey throughout the Civil War are sad & touching. It is worth it all to read a first person account of his stay at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Both his books, "Eye of the Storm" (his journal) and "Images of the Storm" (drawings of his journey) are prized books to treasure and will be passed on through generations. What a wonderful gift Priv. Sneden left behind.
   My heart aches for this wonderful young man who realized nothing
   from his legacy.



5. Eye of the Storm is a rare opportunity to see a new yet original view of camp and prison life. You will find yourself drawn to Sneden's original illustrations time and time again. The more you study them the more you see. It makes you want to see more and larger versions of his drawings. Brayn and Lankford have done a good job in not tainting Sneden's work while at the same time pointing out some important historical questions. I marked over twenty parts to use in reference and speeches.

3 comments about John Quincy Adams (American Profiles (Madison House Paperback)).

1. John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, the second President, was one of America's greatest diplomats. He made a name for himself as the country was being formed, especially with his defense of "the rules of law" against the will of the majority. He was one of the last of the old Federalists. He was a foreign minister to Holland, Portugal, and Prussia, and was Secretary of State under Monroe (where he was the main force in establishing the Monroe Doctrine). He became the sixth President in a controversial election that was decided in the House of Representatives.
   
   Parson's short (272 pages) but thorough and well-written biography of Adams is a job well done. She details the accomplishments of his life, but focuses primarily on the man himself. Adams was a stern man (his portrait reminds me of some evil Dickens character, Marley perhaps), and not well-liked by the public. He believed that one should not "run" for a political office, but should just accept it if offered (imagine that today!). He hated Andrew Jackson and slavery, and fought hard against both. This is an excellent book on an interesting man.



2. After reading this well written biography, I experienced the sorrows, joys, and accomplishments in the life of one of our country's greatest statesmen.



3. Lynn H. Parsons has written a biography that is blessedly free from 'academic speak' or the sense that he is only writing for other historians. This is definitely a biography for even the most casual lover of history. Parsons' familiarity with JQA allows him to introduce us to that prickly character as one would introduce an eccentric friend--always aware of the eccentricities but never apologizing for them. Adams (and his father) are two of the greatest of America's early statesmen and two of it's worst politicians. Parsons presents the genius and the folly and allows us to weigh our opinions--tho' its clear where Parsons' affections lie. It is hard to imagine that anyone will (or could) write a better one volume popular biography of JQA. Parsons clearly could tell us much more, but he chooses not to bog his narrative down in the kind of historical detail that glazes the eye of the casual reader. For serious historians this is a valuable book because it doesn't get lost in its own importance--the writing is direct, succinct and keeps the reader aware of the difference of the attitudes of Adams and his contemporaries to our current sensibilities. Parsons ends with a note that JQA's only monument in Washington is a small plaque in statuary hall in the Capitol. I would argue that Adams' best monument in DC is the one he would be proudest of--the Smithsonian Institution he fought so hard to help establish. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.

1. Like its companion volume Generals in Blue, Generals in Gray is an important resource for both the Civil War buff and the serious historian (which is not to say that the two can't be one and the same!). In this volume, which was actually written before Generals in Blue, author Ezra Warner has written the biographies and rustled up the photos of all the general officers confirmed by the Confederate Congress, and a handful of those who weren't for one reason or another.
   
   There were 425 men who served as Confederate generals. Nearly one-fourth of them died in the war. Boy generals, men promoted before they reached the age of 30, were plentiful, and nearly half of them were killed on the battlefield. Looking at their photographs, one can scarcely fathom the experiences they endured at such young ages. They look like college lads.
   
   Several of the generals profiled by Warner especially stand out for me. There's William Flank Perry, for example, the philosopher-general, who enlisted as a private in 1862 and was commissioned a brigadier in the war's final months. After the war, he taught philosophy at Ogden College in Kentucky until the turn of the century. There's Alexander Reynolds, who at war's end entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt, and so must've known the tragic Federal General Charles Pomeroy Stone, of Ball's Bluff infamy, who did so as well. There's General John McCausland, who with his huge handlebar moustache and heavy eyebrows looks for all the world like Yosemite Sam of cartoon fame. And there's the boy general Thomas Benton Smith, a youngster whose fate breaks my heart. After he and most of his brigade surrendered during the Battle of Nashville, a Federal colonel tried literally to beat Smith's brains out. His brain exposed, in a coma, Smith was expected to die. But he somehow survived, only to spend the rest of his life, some 48 years, in an insane asylum.



2. .....but this one sure is. The Civil War is still a current event for many of us. For four long years, both sides were carried by their armies, and led by their Generals. Now, lots of us know about Lee and Jackson, but there were a total of 425 Confederate Generals over the course of the war, and some even I've never heard of. Of these, 299 were serving as General Officers at the end. A total of 77 were killed in battle; the rest died of natural causes, resigned, got fired, etc., etc.
   
   They're ALL here, at least the ones that we can't argue about whether they were really a General. [There are others about whom we can argue, for various reasons--a separate book has come out in recent years...see "More Generals in Gray"]. While Lee has has more biographies than I can count, and many have at least one, for most of these guys, this is all we've got. Here we get pictures, pre and, where appropriate, post war careers, grave sites, and a study of just what the man accomplished [or didn't]. Robert E. Lee gets three and a half pages, but all get a good write-up.
   
   They were a varied lot: six General Lees, six Jacksons, eight each of Smith and Walker. Professional soldiers, lawyers, politicians, even three preachers [Polk and Pendleton, you know; read this and find the third]. Some were heroic, some were drunks, a few were both. Some brilliant, some inept, one or two both. The post war lots of the survivors were as various as the men; poverty and wealth, glory and apostasy, and all points in between. Trivia: Who was the ONLY Confederate General born in Texas? Who was the last living Conferderate General? ONE man answers BOTH questions. [OK, I'll give it to you...Judge Felix Huston Robertson of Waco died April 20, 1928]. The very first American Indian to wear General's stars AND the last General to surrender...he's here, in all his glory.
   
   I can go on all day. The late Ezra Warner, Illinois native and California investment counsellor, published this in 1959...it needs to stay in print forever. While I've had this, and the companion "Generals in Blue", for years, only recently has a trade paperback made it readily available, and affordable. A "thank you" to the publisher, and a huge, everlasting, "THANK YOU" to Mr. Warner.



3. This book is a must for any Civil War buff. Learn the good, bad and the ugly about all general officers of the army of the CSA. I keep this book, and its companion, Generals in Blue, handy when I am reading historical accounts of battles of the Civil War. How often, while you are reading, have you yearned to get additional information on a particular general? These books are perfect to provide more information, when you want it.



4. I remember first reading Generals in Gray as a teenager and have often referred back to the book over the years.

   Warner gives a synopsis of each general , usually containing the following information:

   1. Birthplace and birthdate.
   2. Pre-Civil War life.
   3. Battles served in, promotions, woundings, death (if applicable).
   4. Postwar career (if he survived the war).
   5. Death and place burial.
   6. Brief mention of the general's competency (or lack thereof).
   7. Relationships with other generals (superior, subordinate).

   I have often found the book to be extremely helpful when reading a book on a particular Civil War battle. Doing so helps me to better understand the general when studying a particular battle.

   Whether you have a serious interest in the Civil War or a novice, I highly recommend the book as an excellent reference!




5. Warner does an excellent job in giving short biographies on all 425 Confederate generals, including a picture of each general. An excellent reference guide and a must have for your Civil War library.

5 comments about Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman.

1. I am reading all the presidential biographies in order and just finished this book.
   
   Overall, I thought it was just "okay." I like my books to be in chronological order. This book was organized loosely chonological, but by topic. It made following the chain of events rather difficult. Also, the auther wrote the dates like this: 29 March 1917. Rather than March 19. That was a stumbling block and a distraction.
   
   This read more like a textbook than a biography, which made it rather flat and dull. He devoted page upon page to the intracacies of war finance, but breezed over and barely mentioned the death of his wife and his debilitating series of strokes in the twilight of his administration.
   
   If I can identify with the subject of a biography and feel as if I KNOW the subject, I can say "this is a great book." And, as corny as it may sound, I feel sad at the end when the president dies. In this book, there could have been several instances where I could have "felt" the book -- when his first wife dies, when he dies, etc. I didn't feel that at any point in the book, which means I didn't get close to Wilson.
   
   If you are reading all the presidential bios like I am, this is a good book to get a general idea of what Wilson was like so you can move onto Warren G Harding. You'll probably need to go back and read the multi-volme bios available on Wilson to really FEEL him or to undertsand the complexities of the events leading up to and including WWI.



2. The writing in this book is good, but in places it jumps around in time. It is also slow paced and not light reading. However, it covers Woodrow's life pretty well for a one-book volume.



3. "God helping her...she can do no other!"

   Unlike our current prez, Wilson was no war monger. He earnestly sought peace even as he committed our boys to the 20th centuries first horrific war. This is his story and I highly recommend it.




4. Kendrick A. Clements "Woodrow Wilson" delivers what it promises -an excellent introductory study of our 28th president - in just 223 pages of text. Some readers may want more intimate details about Wilson and the people in his life; for them there are 11 additional pages of pertinent bibliographical information. Clement's brief book, nevertheless - billed as the 'best available one-volume biography' on Wilson - provides the reader with that essential information that prompts many historians to rank Wilson in the top tier of U.S. presidents. We learn, for example, that Wilson (our only Ph.D. president) was one of just a handful of our truly intellectual presidents - i.e., he loved books and ideas and was a voracious reader of books and a prolific writer of books. He was the son of a Presbyterian minister who'd instilled in him a love of his fellow man and a desire to serve his fellow man. Wilson - like Theodore Roosevelt before him - came to believe that the federal government is an organ that must be involved in helping those unable to help themselves. As president he pushed through legislation that protected workers, women, and children from abuse and exploitaton in the workplace. He believed in the capitalist system and in the prerequisite free market conditions; consequently, he fought against any practices employed by business or industry designed to create monopolies or restrict free competition. As president he felt obligated to be deeply involved in both legislative and executive branch activities - in order to better realize his domestic and foreign affairs goals. Wilson was a decent man with a wide range of significant accomplishments: after acquiring his Ph.D. (political science) at Johns Hopkins University, he distinguished himself in a number of capacities - as a college/university professor, university president (Princeton), governor (New Jersey) and U.S. president (2 terms). While he was in office women got the vote, the Federal Reserve Bank was established, the mechanism for funding government activities was changed (the graduated income tax was adopted to suplement less effective tariff and excise tax revenues). When U.S. entry into World War I became unavoidable, Wilson vowed that the war should end with something positive - namely, with a non-punitive peace (provided for in his '14 Point Plan' for peace)and with the creation of an organization that could prevent world wars in the future (he proposed the League of Nations). Because U.S. congressional opposition was more powerful Wilson failed to achieve these goals - but he did win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Nevertheless, Wilson was correct in warning the world that a punitive peace would cause serious trouble in the future (aka Adolph Hitler), and he was correct in predicting that the world would eventually be forced to create a collective organization of nations (aka the United Nations) to resolve international disputes and to punish nations who violate international law. We now see that Wilson was also important as the transitional president who helped the United States abandon its 19th Century isolationist positions - and he did his best to push the country into the modern era (20th Century) when it would eventually accept and assume its duties and responsibilities as a leader among nations.



5. Woodrow Wilson. Here was a president who put himself in the middle of European power politics in order to achieve the goals he had in mind. This book helps to suggest a man of action and persuasion at a time when most Americans were fed up with affairs that didn't concern them. Woodrow Wilson is regarded with respect, but at the time he was proposig the League of Nations as the answer to the world's problems, he was criticized left and right. We now know that his policies for peace and security were right, and if Wilson was president today, we could be made certain that the world would be at peace. This book, which was written in such a way as to paint a picture of a daring, courageous president, is by far one of the better books on Wilson that I have ever read. I would recommend this account of our 28th president to both the serious student of American Presidential History, and also to the laymen reader. This book is more of an outline of alreay well-known facts, and serves as an introduction into the life of one of our country's greatest presidents.

5 comments about Joshua Chamberlain: The Soldier and the Man.

1. On the back cover of this book, a review states: "Chamberlain's fans may not like everything Longacre says, but they will find this a significant contribution to the scholarship on the Maine General." I'll admit to being an unabashed Chamberlain (JLC) "fan," but the main problem I have with this book is not so much with what Longacre says as it is with how he says it. While reading chapter after chapter, I became sick of Longacre's inclusion of what I'll call "unsympathetic insinuations," that is, his incessant habit of interjecting his own (rarely positive) opinions and conclusions when ascribing JLC's motives for numerous significant events in his life and career. Longacre never seems to miss an opportunity to paint Chamberlain as an self-aggrandizing, opportunistic, personal promoter; or to find fault with those authors whose works are more flattering to the subject. I have read several more worthwhile studies of JLC that I would recommend to the reader ahead of this work. They include: Soul of the Lion: A Biography of General Joshua L. Chamberlain, by Willard M. Wallace, 1960, reprinted by Stan Clark Military Books, Gettysburg, PA, 1991; In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War, by Alice Rains Trulock, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 1992; and The Twentieth Maine: A Volunteer Regiment in the Civil War, by John J. Pullen, Morningside House, Inc., Dayton, OH, 1991. In my view, all of these present a more honest and forthright biography than this sometimes sanctimonious, often-times backbiting diatribe which has been unleashed against one of the most noteworthy and commendable wartime heroes in the history of the United States. Am I a "fan" of JLC? You bet. Is this book "a significant contribution to the scholarship on the Maine General?" I don't think so. If you want to read a work about JLC which comes across strongly as an attempt to take down "the hero of Gettysburg" a peg or two in the eyes of the reader, then buy this book. If not, I suggest you look elsewhere for a better chronicle of "Joshua Chamberlain: The Soldier and the Man."



2. The biggest problem with this biography was the minimal amount of time and pages devoted to Chamberlain during the 50 years he lived after the Civil War, thus rendering Longacre's subtitle "The Soldier and the Man" to be misleading at best. I wanted to know more about how Chamberlain's Civil War experiences shaped his four terms as governor of Maine, presidency of Bowdoin, and numerous businesses he was involved in. Those experiences and topics were barely covered and with superficial analysis.
   
   The second major problem was a shortage of information -- about Fannie Chamberlain (Didn't she write any letters?), Tom Chamberlain, Joshua Chamberlain's actual speeches and articles, etc. The Civil War was unquestionably important, but not the only thing in his long life.
   
   And the book suffered from too much psychological speculation based on the author's opinion and from typos and printing errors.
   
   Overall, I was obviously disappointed and wouldn't recommend this book. I am continuing to look for a better, more comprehensive Chamberlain biography.



3. This book really should have been called 100 Reasons Why Ellis Spear Hated Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Another person commented that this book is like reading a National Enquirer account of a person's life. This book is a prime example of how our modern society has become obsessed with tearing down celebrity figures simply because they are celebrities. Chamberlain was not a man without flaw but the author interjects quite a few sniping opinions in a book that should have been written objectively. I don't buy biographies to read what the author thinks of the person -- I buy biographies to read a detailed but objective account of the person.
   
   Why the author uses Ellis Spear as a primary source over and over again, I just don't understand. Why the author attacks Fanny Chamberlain as a woman and wife, I don't understand. Fanny was a flawed person as well but she was not solely responsible for their marital troubles and I'm very tired of reading about her as a cold-hearted villain.
   
   The one good point about this book is it introduces some new material and it points out that Chamberlain suffered from bouts of depression, something I haven't seen many Chamberlain biographers do.
   
   However, if you want a more accurate picture of Chamberlain and the 20th, I recommend sticking to John Pullen. If you're looking for a more accurate picture of Fanny and Lawrence as a couple, I recommend sticking to Diane Monroe Smith. Both manage to write about the Chamberlains without interjecting so many personal opinions.



4. This book is an unfortunate and biased view of the personal and military life of Joshua Chamberlain. The book is presented in a typically 21st Century journalistic fashion that seeks to over-scrutinize and under-source faults of a 19th Century person to make him "more human". This book is filled with many "statements" from various accounts that suggest many of Chamberlains actions and deeds were embellished and/or fictionalized, often simply on one persons say so or on more that a few occasions, a non-specific hint, rumor or innuendo.
   This is not to suggest that Chamberlain was not a man without fault, just that in this authors eyes, little of what Chamberlain says or does is given any credibility, especially if refuted by any other source, no matter how weak. His only test for credibility is the mere existence of any question of events, actions, comments, etc. The fact is - Chamberlain was human; time, technology and points of view limit our ability to really know or believe every minute detail and every person who conflicted anything related to Chamberlains life, except apparently to Longacre who like many in the various vehicles of today's media seeps bias with less regard for truth and more for digging dirt. The broad strokes of Chamberlain's life suggests a noble, educated, respected and occasionally heroic life. This book is an unnecessary and weak effort in throwing mud at what a majority of authors and public felt was an good and honorable man. The world and our nation wants and needs heroes and heroines. Which ones would survive the microscopic moral compass of todays media? What value exists in always tearing them down?
   
   Pass on this book.



5. Being a Civil War fanatic and scholar I had a tremendous interest in Joshua L. Chamberlain, and most of that interest is from the Killer Angels and the movie Gettysburg. I took this book from the perspective that I knew nothing of Chamberlain. I found Edward Longacre's biography well written and well researched even if his main source of material was Spears memoirs. Longacre dispels many myths of Chamberlain and presents facts to show perhaps a different perspective of the man's career. Sure, Longacre agrees that Chamberlain was a terrific and courageous soldier, arguably one of the best in the union army. But he also understands that JLC had his flaws and can be criticized for being selfish at times. I think the average reader plants the image of Chamberlain from "Gettysburg" or Killer Angels in their brain as they read the book, and that is whythe reviews are mostly poor ones. We must remember that anything Chamberlain wrote after 1865 about the War should be taken for some inaccuracies. Longacre is right that Chamberlain is a romanticizer and prefers the good story over the correct one. I assume Longacre made some mistakes and for that I took a star away but I truly enjoyed this book because it didn't portray Chamberlain as a godly hero but rather as an incredible human being.

3 comments about Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln.

1. With Herndon's Informants Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis have made a tremendous contribution to Lincoln scholarship. Much of what we know of Lincoln's pre-presidential years, especially, was compiled through interviews and correspondence by Lincoln's last law partner William H. Herndon. Although many of these items were published decades ago in Emanuel Hertz's anthology The Hidden Lincoln, that collection's limitations have long frustrated Lincoln students. The only alternative was the expensive and awkward-to-use microfilm verison of Herndon's papers available from the Library of Congress.
   
   Now, however, Wilson and Davis have made this treasure trove of firsthand information available in an affordable and convenient format. Moreover, they have carefully tried to reproduce texts exactly, retaining oddities of spelling and punctuation, a feature entertaining to ordinary readers and valuable to scholars. The book's presentation of documents in chronological order is welcome. Scholars will probably be the main consumers using this product.
   
   This volume is a major contribution to Lincoln studies.



2. Forget authors, historians with agendas. Read what the people who actually knew Abraham Lincoln said about him.
   
   Before Lincoln's body was cold, William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner for 17 years and friend for longer, began interviewing Lincoln's friends, family members, enemies, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. His goal was to collect as much information as possible about his friend, so he could write a completely truthful biography. "Warts and all" Herndon said. Unfortunately, Herndon soon realized he could not use some of the information he collected because it was very personal and Lincoln's image would be tarnished. Fortunately, some of this information he could not use you will find in this book. While 98% of this book contains very interesting information about all aspects of Lincoln's life. It is the remaining 2%, the unsavory stuff, that is so fascinating! For instance, I was surprised to read about the number of Lincoln's friends who told stories about Lincoln's involvement with prostitutes (before his marriage). Some friends even speculate about Lincoln maybe having one or two illegitimate children. This book contains information I never learned in school about Lincoln!



3. In the preface to his "Life of Lincoln", William Herndon expounded that when writing the history of Lincoln's early life "the whole truth concerning him should be known" and there should be "nothing colored or suppressed." Having set the standard Herndon failed to follow it, for there were something's even Herndon must have felt should not be put into print. Scholars wishing to explore Lincoln's early life beyond the insights offered by Herndon's biography had to turn to examining the letters and notes collected for over a twenty year period by himself and his collaborator Jesse Weik. This often proved to be a daunting task. As the editor's in their introduction noted even though available on Micro roll film specific documents are "very hard to locate" and even if located are "very hard to read." To further complicate matters the index to the Herndon collection prepared by the Library of Congress is "neither accurate nor complete." What Editors Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis have done in their "Herndon's Informants" is to transcribe all of the known Herndon, Weik letters and notes into a readable and properly indexed Documentary Edition. What they have also done is create a masterpiece of scholarship that will be used by students of Lincoln for decades to come. "Herndon's Informants" offers the student the complete Herndon collection, unabridged and un-editorialized. To anyone who has a strong interest in learning more about Lincoln's early life this is just about all that is available and it simply must become a part of your personal library.

No comments about Lincoln's Men: The President and His Private Secretaries.

2 comments about The Interesting Narrative in the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Norton Critical Editions).

1. This review is neither of Equiano's text itself, nor of the editorial material (both are excellent for teaching). When I ordered this text for my class, I was dismayed to discover numerous proofreading errors which generated some confusion among students. These tend not to be mispellings, but much worse: substitutions of one word for another, or omissions of important words, as though the whole text had only been run through a spell-checker. Some of these are embarrassing (Equiano's report of "the mortifying circumference of not daring to eat with the free-born children" [33-34]) and others more serious (the omitted word in the crucial sentence "I own offer here the history of neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant" in the first paragraph). There is probably one major error for every page of this text. I don't think this has to do with fidelity to the London first edition of 1789, although I haven't checked. The errors seem to have been introduced at Norton. So, sadly, despite Werner Sollors's excellent introduction and the useful maps prefacing the text, I can't recommend this book until Norton gets its act together. Use the texts in either Henry Louis Gates's "Pioneers of the Black Atlantic" or Vincent Carretta's "Unchained Voices" instead--the notes to the latter make it the teaching edition of choice.



2. "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudiah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, written by Himself" is the story of an African man, Olaudiah Equiano (slave name: Gustavus Vassa) who was (evidently) born in 1745 in what is now Nigeria. He was captured by African slave traders, taken to the Atlantic coast, and sold into the slave trade. He was taken to the Caribbean, then Virginia, and eventually Europe. He served a ship's captain and sailed the Mediterranean and on a voyage to explore the North Pole (Greenland). He obtained his freedom and became an author and early anti-slavery activist. The publication of this book made him the best-selling black African author ever (up to that time). This book became a prototype of the "up-from-slavery" autobiography (typified by Frederick Douglass) and is a classic among Atlantic slave narratives.

   The book is autobiographical and arranged chronologically, the author detailing events of his African childhood and his years as a slave and eventual self-emancipation. One notable thing about the book is the extent to which it is a travelogue: Equiano clearly enjoys telling travel tales more than decrying the horrors of slavery. His depictions of being a "stranger in a strange land" (e.g., the first time he encounters a clock, a painted portrait, books) are memorable.

   The Norton edition is filled with related texts pertaining to Equiano and his times: articles and excerts by other writers about Africa, slavery, abolition, Equiano's birthplace, his literary influences; a useful map; a diagram of a sailing ship, etc. A good choice among several editions of Equiano's book.

4 comments about Benjamin Banneker: Surveyor, Astronomer, Publisher, Patriot.

1. This biopic of Bejamin Banneker (Ben Bey) is very revealing and gives the reader a look inside of Banneker's personal life (even though some of it might be merely educated guess work regarding his intimate relationships). Some conjecture and innuendo is tossed around a bit irresponsibly but overall one of the best if not the best work on Ben Bey. This has to be one of the first books about Ben Bey that mentions his hereditary extraction (Malian & Fulani). I didn't know upon Banneker's expiration his house and most of all his works were burned to ashes by his racist enemies. Depriving the world of a first hand look into his accomplishments. Cerami also explains the close friendship of Ben Bey and Benjamin Franklin in detail. I believe Charles Cerami portrays Ben Bey and his scientific genius better than all the biographies before it.



2. Benjamin Banneker:Surveyor, Astronomer, Publisher, Patriot, by Charles A. Cerami has expanded our knowledge of this renowned 18th century African American. To those familiar with the contributions of blacks to American society, Benjamin Banneker's accomplishments are well known. He was a free black man, son of an African, his grandmother, an indentured servant from England. He built a wooden clock using a pocket watch as a guide. Later on in life, he parlayed his scientific and mathematical skills into the creation of an almanac. He then went on to become an integral part of the team that surveyed the area that was to become the nation's capitol. He wrote letters to Thomas Jefferson critical of the latter's racist views, and even received a response. The author covers this ground well. We are aware of how stunning Banneker's achievements are, given that he was a black man living in a nation where the vast majority of black people toiled in slavery. Even a free black was a degraded, stigmatized creature in white eyes. The author, however, lifts Banneker out of this limiting context to elevate him into the company of truly original thinkers. Thus, Banneker becomes more than a brilliant black man who rose above his station to live the life of the mind, a pursuit which, if he were white, would not have garnered much attention. Banneker made an assertion that no one had made up that point (at least not with his degree of logic). He speculated on the existence of life on other worlds. The author presents an excerpt from Banneker's writings as proof that this humble black farmer was far ahead of his time. Indeed, such a revolutionary thought would not be adopted by scientists as a credible theory until well into the 20th century. Charles Cerami's work is of monumental importance because now we have a new insight into the depth of Benjamin Banneker's intellect. Hopefully, this book will be so widely read that Banneker's role as the man who memorized the plans to Washington, D.C. will not be his ultimate achievement in the popular imagination. Hopefully, scientists, historians and lay enthusiasts will recognize the significance of Banneker's thinking in regard to the possibility of life beyond our precious, little world.



3. Benjamin Banneker:Surveyor, Astronomer, Publisher, Patriot, by Charles A. Cerami has expanded our knowledge of this renowned 18th century African American. To those familiar with the contributions of blacks to American society, Benjamin Banneker's accomplishments are well known. He was a free black man, son of an African, his grandmother, an indentured servant from England. He built a wooden clock using a pocket watch as a guide. Later on in life, he parlayed his scientific and mathematical skills into the creation of an almanac. He then went on to become an integral part of the team that surveyed the area that was to become the nation's capitol. He wrote letters to Thomas Jefferson critical of the latter's racist views, and even received a response. The author covers this ground well. We are aware of how stunning Banneker's achievements are, given that he was a black man living in a nation where the vast majority of black people toiled in slavery. Even a free black was a degraded, stigmatized creature in white eyes. The author, however, lifts Banneker out of this limiting context to elevate him into the company of truly original thinkers. Thus, Banneker becomes more than a brilliant black man who rose above his station to live the life of the mind, a pursuit which, if he were white, would not have garnered much attention. Banneker made an assertion that no one had made up that point (at least not with his degree of logic). He speculated on the existence of life on other worlds. The author presents an excerpt from Banneker's writings as proof that this humble black farmer was far ahead of his time. Indeed, such a revolutionary thought would not be adopted by scientists as a credible theory until well into the 20th century. Charles Cerami's work is of monumental importance because now we have a new insight into the depth of Benjamin Banneker's intellect. Hopefully, this book will be so widely read that Banneker's role as the man who memorized the plans to Washington, D.C. will not be his ultimate achievement in the popular imagination. Hopefully, scientists, historians and lay enthusiasts will recognize the significance of Banneker's thinking in regard to the possibility of life beyond our precious, little world.



4. I can't believe the genius of Benjamin Banneker, the man. I always knew his name through his famous letter to Thomas Jefferson. In the pages of this fascinating biography, I discovered his excellence in so many professions, especially astronomy. His speculations on light and stars were revolutionary and opened the door to modern astronomy. He is a true American hero.

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