1 comments about Gouverneur Morris: Author, Statesman, and Man of the World.

1. A solid biography of one of the best of the second tier of Founding Fathers. A most interesting life, with feet (given one was a peg leg) in the two most important revolutions of the late 1700s. Gouverneur Morris was at the deathbeds of John Paul Jones (in Paris) and Alexander Hamilton (in New York). George Washington admired his talents.
   
   I enjoyed most Professor Kirschke's tracing of Morris' direct influence on the final drafting of sections of the U.S. Constitution.
   
   While the author, in closing, compares his subject's career to that of Adlai Stevenson, I disagree. This comparison does not do full justice to Gouverneur Morris' many and varied contributions to our country's early history.

3 comments about Harry Agganis, " the Golden Greek": An All-American Story.

1. The Greek-American community owe Dabilis and Tsiotis a great debt of gratitude for the service they have provided by publishing the stories of Agganis and Kyriakides.



2. Arguably New England's finest all-around athlete, Harry Agganis' life represents the ultimate greek tragedy. Blessed with unprecedented athletic talent, Agganis was struck down in the prime of his life. His love of sports was equalled only by his love of family. Nick Tsiotos and Andy Dabilis capture the true essence of Agganis. This is must read for all sports fans.



3. A great look at the life of an exceptional young man who's legacy should be passed on.

No comments about Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt (NG Adventure Classics).

No comments about Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs.

1 comments about They Rode with Forrest and Wheeler: A Chronicle of Five Tennessee Brothers' Service in the Confederate Western Cavalry.

1. I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend, as Thomas Burr Fisher was his great-grandfather. That being said, I am a bit partial regarding the subject matter. I will say, however, that the account provides a very personal, detailed view into the lives (pre & post war) of the Fisher family; a family that was mirrored by many others in the South during this time period. I appreciated the overall picture the author painted - from the major events such as battles to the mundane - describing the first car T. B. Fisher purchased, for example. The story provides insight into a family that was very close-knit but quite modern in their thinking and ideas regarding progression. This is a gem for all Civil War buffs and for those interested in true Southern culture both before and after the War.

1 comments about Christina Olson: Her World Beyond the Canvas.

1. HELLO, my name is JIll Dalfonso. And yes Deborah is my mother. I really think that this book is great. And not just because she's my mom. My mother spent hours and hours trying to make a plain manuscript into a miraculous book. My mother's other books have been used as teaching guides in other colledges. Ithink that this book is just prefect for this. It has every quality that teachers should look for. I believe that it is intersting for every age and type of reader! Thank You!!!

5 comments about A Crisis In Confederate Command: Edmund Kirby Smith, Richard Taylor, And The Army Of The Trans-Mississippi.

1. The book is about the conflict between Kirby Smith, the Commander of the Confederate Trans Mississippi, and Richard Taylor, the Commander of the Confederate Army in Louisiana. Both learned their trade working with Stonewall Jackson before they were sent west. Kirby Smith wants to draw the Union Army into the interior and then concentrate his forces to defeat them. Taylor wants to attack quickly and defeat them before they can do any damage. This difference in vision leads finally to a complete breakdown in communication and trust between the two generals. The book was easy to follow. I was interested in the military aspects of the campaign, which were not covered because the author did not consider them as important to the conflict between Smith and Taylor. There were several maps that gave a good background for the campaigns. There were several battle maps, but only those battles where either Smith or Taylor was in command were included. Its outstanding feature is the study of Kirby Smith in command of a huge department and his inability to see the big picture outside the Arkansas Front. I would not recommend this book as an introduction to the Red River Campaign or the Civil War in Lousiana. It is an excellent study in command, demonstrating how the lack of trust can destroy military oppertunities.
   The South won this campaign because the Union forces also fell into a similar pattern of distrust between General Banks and Admiral Porter who did not cooperate and distrusted each other. They were also at the end of a long supply line and the water level was falling



2. The war between general officers can be as interesting as the war between the armies. Bragg's problems as commander of the Army of Tennessee with Polk and Hardee, Hood undercutting Johnston in 1864, the often-contentious HR problems of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Pope McClellan feud and Halleck maneuvering against Grant are well known. Each of these is the subject of books or devoted chapters in numerous histories of the war. The concentration on the war east of the Mississippi misses one of the worst feuds between generals during the war. Richard Taylor and Edmund Kirby Smith were both proud, competent men that were sure they knew what was best. After the fall of Vicksburg, the Trans-Mississippi became Kirby Smithdom. Isolated from the Confederacy, subject to conflicting demands and directives from Richmond that might be impossible these two men fought the Union Army and each other to a standstill. This is their story both during and after the war.
   
   Neither man seems to have had real warm feelings for the other. Taylor was responsible for Louisiana and reported to Smith who commanded the Trans-Mississippi. The author gives us a full and careful review of the two men, their war experiences and political support. This allows the reader to fully understand the root of the problems and appreciate the extant of their bitterness. Taylor's handling of CSA forces during the Red River Campaign is brilliant. He defeats a much larger combined arms force isolating each and almost destroying both. Smith may or may not have robbed Taylor of victory by removing troops to defeat an army advancing in Arkansas.
   
   This book assumes the reader knows very little and carefully explains the position of the parties, their options and the results of the choice made. This is one of the strongest parts of the book and keeps the reader fully informed, allowing us to make informed decisions. A second strong point is covering the post-war history of both men and how the story grew and changed. This is being done more often in better histories, is well handled and very valuable.
   
   Richmond is part of the problem and the shadowy presence over the Trans-Mississippi. The source of power, Smith and Taylor supporters battle there too. However, Richmond has an agenda that fully supports neither and causes problems for both. In the end, as was done elsewhere, Richmond refuses to support either side. This book is not an expose of the Confederate Departmental system but it shows all the problems this system caused and that Richmond refused to resolve.
   
   This is not an easy read but it is a worthwhile read. The author's words do not jump off the page, grab you and pull you in. They build a solid reliable narration that is full of information and is very logical. This is a book that those interested in the Trans-Mississippi and/or the Confederate high command should read.



3. First let me state that while this is, indeed, a wonderful book, it is NOT for the casual reader, nor is it meant to be the first book one ever reads about the Civil War. Most people know nothing of the war beyond Lee, Grant, and the fact that there was fighting in, and around, Virginia. If that's you, stop here.....There was a whole different theatre of operations called the Trans-Mississippi Department, commanded by a little known Floridian, General Edmund Kirby Smith. From his headquarters in Shreveport, LA, Smith oversaw Confederate operations in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and what is now Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. Didn't know the Civil War involved Oklahoma? It's quite a story, complete with the first American Indian General. Were there Confederate Mexicans? Sure were, some with high rank.
   
   General Smith was as much a Governor-General as he was a General, and he faced impossible conflicting demands from different parts of his domain. Part of his difficulty was that many of his senior leaders were Robert E. Lee's incompetent rejects. This book is mainly about Smith's problems with the one who was NOT incompetent, Lieutenant General Richard Taylor. Before the war, Taylor was a rich, high society Louisiana plantation owner. His father was President Zachary Taylor, and his sister was Jefferson Davis' late first wife. Taylor was a vain and unpleasant man, but a tough fighter. Smith and Taylor were like gasoline and fire. They were both loyal to the South, and wanted victory, but had fundamentally different views on how victory could best be won. Basically, Smith wanted to concentrate on Arkansas and Missouri, Taylor on Louisiana. Dick Taylor's Red River campaign was a masterpiece, but he blamed Smith for lack of the support needed to make his victory complete. Finally Taylor's insubordination went too far, and he was relieved. Had these two great men been able to cooperate, would the final outcome of the war been different? Who knows, but I doubt it. For all their problems, the Department lasted till the very end, and was the last to surrender. After the war, Taylor got into politics, and continued to sling mud at Smith until he died in 1879. Kirby Smith lived till 1893, the last full General to cross the river; he spent his last 18 years as mathematics professor at the University of the South, accorded the status of "grand old man" [ though he wasn't that "old"]. He maintained his bearing as a Christian gentleman, and never spoke out against Taylor, or anyone else. The whole business is a sad, but fascinating, chapter of the war.
   
   Jeff Prushankin has written a winner, fully deserving five stars. It is for the specialist, not the general reader [as my son says, for people like me] With that caveat in mind, if this is your cup of tea, get it and prepare to enjoy.



4. Compared to Civil War operations in Northern Virginia, comparatively little has been published regarding operations west of the Mississippi River. In this work, the author Jeffery Prushankin provides a comprehensive overview of the events in the Trans-Mississippi area as viewed by Department Commander General Edmund Kirby Smith and by his subordinate General Richard Taylor. The text offers an informative account of the antagonistic relationship between these two generals and the consequent military results.
   
   The text opens with a brief narrative of the backgrounds of the two generals. Taylor received a political commission as a colonel of the Ninth Louisiana Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general and briefly served under General Stonewall Jackson. Under Jackson, Taylor adopted Jackson's philosophy that "The value of the initiative in war cannot be overstated" resulting in the tactical strategy that the best defense is a good offense. Kirby-Smith graduated from West Point in 1845 and served in the war in Mexico. In May 1861, he received an appointment as chief of staff to General Joseph F. Johnson. He learned from Johnson and adopted Johnson's tactical and strategic philosophies. The opposing tactical/strategic philosophies of Smith and Taylor, was one of the items contributing to the many confrontations between Smith and Taylor.
   
   As a brigadier general Smith was sent to command the Department of East Tennessee where he promptly repeated the mistake of his predecessor by concentrating on Arkansas."His propensity to favor the defensive often led to sluggish or ill-timed concentration that made his strategy ineffective." Taylor assigned to Louisiana, by October 1862 was operating as an independent command thereby setting the stage for confrontations.
   
   The text narrates how in 1863 with the mounting threat to Vicksburg and reduced Federal threat in central Louisiana, Smith chose a politically expedient path and ordered Taylor to strike the Federals west of the Mississippi. Their consequent failures along the Mississippi subsequently reflected badly on both Smith and Taylor and only added to the burgeoning dispute between Smith and Taylor. By mid-1863 Smith was not providing the type of leadership required in the Trans-Mississippi. Smith's failure to support Taylor lead to serious problems for the Confederates in 1864 and also resulted in additional serious problems between the generals.
   
   The text provides a brief account of the Red River campaign which Taylor executed receiving inconsistent support from Smith. Disobeying orders, on April 8, 1864, Taylor attached the Federal Army under General Banks at Mansfield, Louisiana, stopping the Federal advance. The next day Taylor fought and defeated Banks at Pleasant Hill after which the Federals began to retreat pursued by Taylor. Meanwhile, Smith following his Arkansas strategy didn't support Taylor and withdrew infantry and cavalry from Taylor for Smith's pursuit of Union General Steele back to Little Rock. Taylor pursued General Banks to Alexandria, but lacked the necessary manpower to defeat Banks; Banks ultimately escaped. Smith's campaign against Union General Steele resulted in victory at the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, but it did not "enhance the condition of the Confederacy in the Trans-Mississippi." The dispute between Smith and Taylor became quite bitter with Taylor blaming Smith for the escape of General Banks and the Federal Fleet under Admiral Porter.
   
   Taylor asked to be relieved from command. Smith removed Taylor from command on June 10, 1864. Amazingly, on July 18 Taylor was promoted to lieutenant general and was reassigned as commander of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana. The author gives a short narration of Taylor's effort to cross the Mississippi and assume his new command together with a brief summary of his and Smith's activities to the end of the war. Smith surrendered in Galveston on June 2, 1865 while Taylor had surrendered May 6, 1865 at Citronelle, Alabama. After surrendering Taylor went to Washington to lobby for the release of Jefferson Davis after which he worked as a lobbyist for the Democratic Party and as an outspoken critic of the Ku Klux Klan. Smith traveled first to Mexico City where he was unwelcome, then traveled to Cuba eventually returning home.
   
   In 1879 Taylor published his memoir titled Destruction and Reconstruction which helped nurture the Lost Cause myth. In his memoir Taylor described Smith's policy as one of "sheer stupidity and pig-headed obstinacy...." His memoirs were relied on by countless former Confederates "for their own reminiscences of the war."
   
   Despite their acrimonious relationship, Smith and Taylor produced a great Confederate military accomplishment in the Red River campaign against a superior Union force. Unfortunately, Smith's cavalry raid on St. Louis resulted in little of military value.
   
   The reader of this book will find it a source of much information on an often neglected area of operations. It gives fascinating portraits of opposing strategies and personalities. With the Red River campaign a great Confederate accomplishment, one can only speculate on what would have been accomplished if Taylor and Smith had worked harmoniously together.



5. Okay, so I am biased. The author is a friend. But I read a LOT of history, and very little of it is nearly as well written.

2 comments about Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett.

1. Richard Layman's very detailed biograghy of world-famous American detective-story writer Dashiell Hammett, written in the early 1980's, is nearly a lost relic today. Thanks to Amazon, you can buy this book, and peruse this flighty gentleman's wild and crazy life. Hammett's 1929 "Maltese Falcon" novel changed the entire literary world, as the first authentic "hard-boiled" detective story. It's success was astounding, and world-wide. Movie offers followed(three film versions were made), and Hammett became very wealthy. Unfortunately, wine, women,and smoking damaged his already fragile health, and eventually dried up-up his writing career. Admittedly wasteful with money, Hammett abandoned his wife and family, moving to New York, and then to Hollywood, and installed himself at the penthouse at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Working for Universal, MGM, and Paramount Studios, Hammett cranked-out screenplays and advised producers for a few years, helping turn his "Thin Man" into a huge movie hit(He was paid for work on the first three of six "Thin Man" films). Hammett complained that, at MGM studios, he was bothered by Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, who pestered and distracted him. Hammett had many girl-friends, and a long-term relationship with writer Lillian Hellman. His brutish behavior and sporadic drinking ruined his career; and, of course, he had invested and saved nothing. By the end of the 1940's, he was not only broke, but under investigation for being a Communist. Hammett eventually does jail-time for his liberal politics, and dies sadly in debt. "Shadow Man" is an unsentimental, detailed report on a true American icon. It is also a valuable lesson for us all. Dashiell Hammett was a poor boy who rose to the top(he earned a million dollars in the 1930's), fell to new lows, and died without a penny.



2. The author was aided by other researchers in gathering facts about Samuel Dashiell Hammett's life. He followed leads, found answers to questions, and interviewed anyone who claimed to have known Dash. SDH worked at different jobs before joining Pinkerton as a detective. He joined the Army in 1917, and contracted a lung disease and TB during the 1918 Flue Pandemic. His disability pension wasn't enough for his family; he studied at a Business College and started to work in advertising. He then began to write for publication. In spite of his lung disease he smoked and he drank.

   SDH began to gain success by 1923 with his short stories; he was too sick for any other work. His advertising job ended when he collapsed with bleeding lungs; he also had hepatitis. He renewed his literary efforts, and success followed. He then wrote longer novels, and gained more wealth and fame. He left his family and moved to New York's literary milieu. He indulged in liquor, women, money, and fame; he was "Nick Charles", not "Sam Spade". Drinking handicapped his Hollywood career, and flushed away his talents. Recycling his writings on radio during the 1940s earned him money; this ended after his refusal to testify in 1951. The next ten years were spent in poverty. After his death in 1961 he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, far to the left of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

   (This book repeats sentences on the bottom of page 161.)

No comments about WILMINGTON (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)).

1 comments about Out of the Wilderness: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

1. The author has purposely addressed the dearth of readable and manageable accounts of Lincoln's life and career. Young people and adults alike will find this book valuable. Although brief compared to the usual tomes written on this subject, the reader will gain a good understanding of the formation of Lincoln's character and magnitude of what he a accomplished. The author's style is smooth and engaging allowing the reader to think about the subject matter rather than struggling from one paragraph to the next. I found that the end of the book came quickley and without great labor. The curious reader will come away from this book with a desire for more knowledge and understanding of this great man.