4 comments about Blood, Tears, & Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War.

1. This is an excellent Civil War book from a narrative standpoint. It is one of the best and most compelling I have read. It digs out great story nuggets about Ohioans in the Civil War, and admirably presents the thesis that the war was first one in the West. Recommended to anyone.



2. I'm not much of a Civil War buff, but I got a copy of this book as a gift right before Thanksgiving and it was a quick, wonderful experience. General Sherman was right . . . WAR IS HELL! The details on how bloody this Civil War was and what led up to this dramatic cross-roads in our nation's history makes it very valuable reading. Ohioans and those from the midwest (called the West then) played the pivotal roles in this war. Being the "smartest" wasn't always the best when it came to picking the right Generals and planning a good strategy. Sounds like some recent history in America! Lincoln had his struggles in this war. There are lots of good details on the personalities and styles to make things very interesting as well as informative. Suggest it highly if you like American history.



3. I have at least four ancestors who fought in Ohio regiments, so I was excited to pick up this book. It provides a wonderful overview of the people (military, civilian, politician) and places that became important before, during, and after the Civil War. The book covers a lot of ground so there are no in-depth descriptions, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It has many citatations from newspapers, diaries, first-person accounts, and other original sources. I appreciate the Web page references that end chapters. It has lots of illustrations and an easy-reading style. It's 600 pages but the text is large and widely-spaced.
   
   It suffers problems that I'll attribute to lackluster editing from the small publisher. I found some page numbers missing... not the text, just the page numbers (page 90 has no number, and there are no pages marked 91 and 92). An island in the Mississippi is called "Island Number Tenth" and then later "Island Number Ten," and isn't listed in the index at all. The brief phrases used to tag various people are often repeated, sometimes in separate chapters and sometimes on the next page. For example, page 347, "with Meade only nominally in charge..." and page 348, "Meade would remain head--nominally--of the army..."
   
   In spite of these issues, I'm enjoying this book and I'm glad to have it.



4. This is a superb, work -- in league with the best historical writers of our day in both substance and style. Bissland has done his homework in crafting a spell-binding glimpse of Ohio's significant role in the Civil War.
   
   I found his character descriptions to be most insightful and colorful. The depictions of Grant, Steedman, Rosecrans, and John Brown were especially riveting. His short bios of the main players were rich with detail and fresh anecdotes. They were never dry and plain -- always juicy and enticing. I loved the alliterative description of Brown as " an avenging angel on assignment from God. I didn't wanting to stop reading in the midst of any new character description.
   
   The author is almost poetic in his economical painting of snippets, often catching the reader off guard, e.g., "small conflicts flickered on the horizon like heat lightening" and my favorite: depicting Foote's gunboats as "enormous Hostess Twinkies with quills."
   
   The work is well-researched and appropriately documented, using an array of fascinating primary sources, including many diaries and early newpaper accounts. While the book subtitle suggests a narrow geographic view, I highly recommend this book to those beyond the midwest.

5 comments about Crazy Horse: A Life (Penguin Lives Biographies).

1. While musing over what to write for a review of this atrocious attempt at literature, one of my students said, "just say it sucked." IT SUCKED!



2. As he states in this volume, it's less a biography than a testament to the impact Crazy Horse had on his own people during and after his life and what he means to Americans today. Illusive yes, but Crazy Horse is a symbol of all that could've been for natives of the plains. He was an Indian who never capitulated, who never gave up on his way of life or on his dreams and those dreams, both figurative and actual, guided him through life and into the walk with the spirits. What does this man mean to us all? He's more than a simple representation. He's an embodiment to self-determination. He's an example of charity and caring of a leader who placed his own people ahead of all else.
   
   Unlike Geronimo, who spent time in prison and then ended up selling autographed photos of himself for a dollar apiece to the very white people he'd sworn to kill, Crazy Horse avoided contact with Whites until his last days and never accepted their systems or their ideas of justice. He only came to the reservation because his people were starving. He only talked to the Fort's doctor because his wife had tuberculosis. He never allowed his photograph to be taken and wasn't known for talking much.
   
   He took his responsibilities very seriously as a shirt wearer and did everything he could to provide for the poor of his tribe despite preferring to be alone and preferring the open prairie to population centers.
   
   I can't help but draw parallels between another mythical figure after reading this tightly told tale. Jesus was said to express great concern for the poor and Crazy Horse was told in a vision that this was his mission in life. Jesus was a symbol for his people of a spiritual life outside the realm of Rome. Crazy Horse was a symbol of a way of life on the plains, free to pursue the Sioux ceremonies and religious observation. Jesus was killed through the betrayal of a friend and stabbed in the side by a Roman spear while hanging from a cross. Crazy Horse was restrained by his friend, the tribal policeman Little Big Man, when he was bayoneted by a soldier. In death, both Christ and Crazy Horse are rallying points for more than just their own people, but for people everywhere.
   
   CV Rick



3. Larry McMurtry (Telegraph Days, Lonesome Dove) brings his clean and concise writing style to this brief but illuminating life of Crazy Horse.
   
   This compact little biography is one of the Penguin Lives series that features what Penguin Books web site describes as an "innovative series of biographies pairing celebrated writers with famous individuals who have shaped our thinking." The series is worth looking into for its other biographies of Churchill by John Keegan, Buddha by Karen Armstrong, and Saint Augustine by Garry Wills among others.
   
   In the case of Crazy Horse not a heck of lot is really known about the man. As McMurtry points out, most of what we know about Crazy Horse and most Indians derives from their contact with whites and Crazy Horse generally avoided whites to the fullest extent possible. He was a brave warrior, a leader of his people at times, but not truly a chief, a loner, an iconoclast within a tribe of iconoclasts.
   
   Crazy Horse is an iconic figure who captures the imagination. His life of some 35 or so years spanned the rapid transformation of the West from the free days of the nomadic Plains tribes and limitless buffalo herds to the confinement of those peoples on poor reservations and the destruction of the herds. Crazy Horse never really yielded to the whites unlike nearly all other Indian leaders, not that it mattered much in the grand scheme of things because no strategy was going to change the ultimate outcome. Crazy Horse declined to go to Washington, resisted any restraints, refused to attend the parleys with the whites.
   
   He did ultimately sacrifice his own freedom when he brought his 900 or so followers after the brutal winter of 1876-1877 - just months after the twin victories over Crook at Rosebud and Custer at Little Bighorn. Crazy Horse was killed, probably by the bayonet of a white soldier as he resisted his final arrest. His death was a blessing as the whites planned to ship him to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, a tiny prison atoll in Florida.
   
   Unlike other popular authors, notably Stephen Ambrose, McMurtry resists the temptation to let his imagination roam too freely and sticks mostly to the known facts and reasonable deductions to be drawn from them. Those facts however immutably established Crazy Horse as perhaps the single most romantic and heroic figure of the great American Western epic. He lived free, defeated Custer, the great white romantic figure, and then died young "in the last moments when the Sioux could think of themselves as free. By an accident of fate, the man and the way of life died together...he came to be the symbol of Sioux freedom, Sioux courage, and Sioux dignity." (Page 17, hardcover edition)
   
   Highly recommended for any reader with an interest in the American West.



4. I don't generally go for books on tape,but decided to give this a try. I was exceptionally pleased with it. I guess just about anyone who has read anything of the West covering the period from the 1830's to the end of the century;knows something about Crazy Horse. There are so many references and they vary so much,one has difficulty in trying to separate fact from legend.
   Mc Murtry puts on his historian hat for this one and tries ,and I might add very suscessfully,to sort it all out. To attempt such a thing,could result in a very long book with reams of details and references;but McMurtry has managed to avoid that;and comes up with a concise,easy to follow book that covers the whole Western Indian experience centered around one of the most prominent Indian leaders at the time.On top of that he builds into it references of other books where the "story" may differ;and where there is differences or actual unknown details;he addresses them. He also refrains from "making up" details and introducing them;which would do nothing but add to the confusion.
   When you finish this book ,you will be left with the impression that you now know the story about as well as one can possibly know it,particularly at this stage of the game.



5. Crazy Horse has been one of my American heroes ever since I read about him in "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West" by Dee Brown back in the 1970's. When I discovered that Larry McMurtry, a favorite author of mine, had written a biography of Crazy Horse, the book immediately made the top of my TBR list! And glad I am that I did immerse myself in this brief but rich biography. As usual, McMurtry does not disappoint - nor does his subject.
   
   Despite extensive writings about the great Sioux warrior Crazy Horse, there is actually a dearth of hard facts about his life. The man was born around 1840, at a time when the nomadic way of life of the Plains Indians was dying....or to be more accurate, at a time when the traditional way of life was stomped out though the US government's broken promises, lies, ineptitude, and the sheer number of US soldiers with rifles and their seemingly never-ending supply of ammunition. Manifest Destiny was very much a reality and it could not be fulfilled while nomadic tribes roamed the Great Plains hunting buffalo, "impeding progress," the westward march of settlers, the building of the railroads.
   
   What kind of written historical record would there be of a man who lived the life of a Sioux warrior, "raiding and hunting on the central plains?" He rarely had contact with whites until the end of his life. And what translations exist are appalling.
   
   Worm, his father was an Oglala healer; his mother was thought to be the sister of Spotted Tail, the Brule leader. From the first, Crazy Horse, called Curly as a boy, marched to the beat of his own drum. He was a loner and although he lived in the traditional way, he was not interested in the usual rituals of purification, like the sundance rite. "He took his manhood as a given and proved it in battle at an early age."
   
   He went on a journey as a young man, to seek a vision. Never orthodox in his beliefs or behavior, Curly did not purify himself in the ancient ways nor did he speak with a holy man, such as his own father, before making the trip. The vision or dream he achieved on this quest, and the interpretation, were to prove very significant throughout his life. There are enough consistent reports about this episode to prove its authenticity.
   
   The author takes the known facts about the period, as well as material garnered from documented interviews with Native Americans and whites who knew Crazy Horse, and recreates here a vivid portrait of the warrior, the human being who cared first and foremost for his people - for the very young, the sick and elderly - the man of such moral authority that he sparked deadly jealousy amongst some of his own men. "Among a broken people an unbroken man can only rarely be tolerated." Crazy Horse "became a too-painful reminder of what the people as a whole had once been."
   
   McMurtry, also paints a clear and accurate picture of the place, the times, the large Native American councils, of the Ghost Dance, the battles, the parlays, the betrayals. He recounts a much reported conversation Crazy Horse, near the end of his life, had with his old friend He Dog. General George Cook wanted all the Sioux at Red Creek "to move across the creek, nearer to White Butte, so he would have them handy for a big council. He Dog thought it might be best to do as he was told." Crazy Horse did not want to make the move for his own reasons. He Dog, concerned about what the move might mean for their friendship asked Crazy Horse if "such a move on his part would mean they were enemies now. Crazy Horse laughed, perhaps for the last time; then he reminded He Dog that he was not speaking to a white man. Whites were the only ones, he said, who made rules for other people. Camp where you please."
   
   Larry Mc Murtry invites the reader to camp where we please amid the recountings and recollections of the life of the legend who was Crazy Horse. This is a brief but beautifully written story of a life...and of a death. It is also a tribute to a great man.
   
   Apparently Penguin has published a series of brief biographies called "Penguin Lives." James Atlas, the editor, plans for six volumes a year from "celebrated writers on famous individuals who have shaped our thinking." The list includes the Buddha, St. Augustine, Joan of Arc, Dante, Mozart, Jane Austen, Dickens and Chekhov. Unfortunately I only see two women on his list. I sincerely hope this grave omission is corrected.
   JANA

1 comments about Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy.

1. The three best things about this book are the extensive primary research, the author's clarity, and his unrelenting fairness to all his subjects. Every time Owens describes any peculiar behavior--whether by William Henry Harrison, other American politicians or by Native Americans leaders--he explains it in its context and then goes on to point out if it fits with the circumstances or if the actors are being inconsistent or hypocritical. While most historians work to understand the nuances and characters of their subjects, Owens is unique in explicitly laying these out along with the logic of his assertions. This helps the reader to really understand the motivations of these frontier people instead of just having to accept an author's implicit assumptions. To paraphrase a line from The Razor's Edge, Owens gives the reason and the intent--most historians just give the reason.
   
   Besides the historical quality and the impressive research, Mr. Jefferson's Hammer is just a highly enjoyable read. Owens writes very vividly and uses lots of colorful language. The last two chapters, which describe Harrison wheeling and dealing for land and build up to the death of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, have the pacing of a novel or at least a popular history. The author also has a snappy way of characterizing people and actions that make the book a lot of fun to read.
   
   One somewhat noteworthy omission is that the section entitled "Everyday Life in Early Indiana" hardly mentions farming (except a couple of lines in passing), which one would suspect would be the most sizeable component of everyday life. He discusses ideological and cultural issues that are more related to the narrative, but it just seems that he could have included more about farming in that part or renamed the section.
   
   That, however, is a small complaint about an issue that does nothing to detract from the author's intent to explore the rationale behind and the unfolding of U.S. and Indian relations on the frontier. I really love this book and think anyone interested in U.S. history would do much to clarify and add depth to their understanding of this period by reading it.

1 comments about America's Rasputin: Walt Rostow and the Vietnam War.

1. Milne's biography of Rostow demonstrates the futility of creating a independent state without having any support of the native population. Rostow thought that is possible to end the Vietnam War by merely bombing North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese fearing for their industry would stop supporting the Viet Cong and bring NVA troops across the border and thereby an independent South Vietnam could be preserved. But this theory backfired and the North Vietnamese will strengthened and chaos erupted in South Vietnam. Still Rostow stayed true to his theory and persuaded Johnson to ignore offers of a bombing halt by Harold Wilson, Henry Kissinger, and members in Johnson's own cabinet. The only weakness of this book is that Milne ignores the influence of Thomas Schelling on members of the Johnson cabinet and their decision to bomb North Vietnam. Nevertheless one can see elements of Rostow's theory about bombing in order to create a stable state in John McCain's rhetoric about bombing Syria and Iran in order to create an American backed Iraqi state.

5 comments about Waiting for the Morning Train: An American Boyhood (Great Lakes Books).

1. Bruce Catton made a name for himself writing some of the most comprehensive books on the Civil War. As an educator and writer, his career will forever be viewed by formal academic standards. However, in Waiting for the Morning Train, the formalities and objectivity are swept away, and we are left with a wonderful story of a boy growing up in rural Northern Michigan. He captures a moment in time, not only in the historical sense, but also from the perspective of a young man coming of age. He substitutes facts and discipline with observations and thoughts, and along the way, creates what is my favorite piece of his work.



2. This book is generally considered a memoir of growing up in rural northern Michigan in the early 1900's, and it is; but it is also a lament for the 20th century. Catton contrasts the optimism of the America of his youth--it's faith in progress and in the future, it's belief that Americans could solve any problem with hard work, right thinking, and the guidance of Divine Providence--with the reality of national and world events that transpired from World War I through the Viet Nam era.
   
   The mood of the book is reflective and even melancholy at times. I felt Catton was a concerned and discouraged man as he wrote this. He saw unlimited technological power as a frightening development and he had little faith in the ability of America or humankind in general to exhibit self-discipline in the use of such power.
   
   It's a very thought-provoking book, and extremely relevant to today's world even 35 years after publication.



3. I never met Bruce Catton, but I corresponded briefly with him in the mid-1970's. The same qualities that marked him as a correspondent--courtesy, graciousness, and gentle humor--illuminate this lovely memoir of a great historian.

   Catton grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, "a city upon a hill," as he correctly notes, very close to Lake Michigan, where the old certitudes held seemingly invincible sway over virtually every aspect of one's daily life. Catton's father was the superintendent of Benzonia Academy, whose main building is now Benzonia's library.

   The memoir, which recalls the years between the author's birth and his graduation from high school, is a series of reflections on what it was like to be a boy just as Michigan's logging era was drawing to a close, when sleepy Benzonia, along with the rest of the nation, was about to drift into the maw of the violent twentieth century. Catton writes of boyhood ambitions and boyish pranks, of the rich history that made Michigan's Lower Peninsula what it was, and especially of the Civil War veterans whose stories would later prompt Catton to devote years of his life to recording the history of that great conflict in rich anecdotal detail.

   Though unabashedly nostalgic, "Waiting for the Morning Train" is neither saccharine nor bitter. Catton was far too experienced a writer and historian to let his emotions get the better of him. This is, nonetheless, a rich and moving memoir of a time which, though it may seem virtually within reach, we will never see again.

   I recommend this book highly as a gift for yourself and, perhaps, for that reflective friend who can appreciate personal history told with universal appeal. Bruce Catton was, quite simply, one of the greatest writers and historians this country has produced, and in many ways this deceptively modest little volume represents the zenith of his literary achievement.




4. Bruce Catton was born in 1899 in Bezonia, Mich., a town of about 300 people then and now. Catton tells a lot about lumbering, tho he himself had little to do with lumbering. He graduated from Bezonia Academy in 1916, there being 11 in his class. The Academy closed in 1918. The book ends when Catton goes to college. It is a pleasant book to read, since Catton is a fine writer. But Jimmy Carter's book on his rural childhood I thought a more fetching read.



5. My interest in Waiting for the Morning Train lay not so much with Bruce Catton's being a giant of Civil War literature, but rather with his subject: Benzonia, Michigan, the place at which my family has taken vacation for decades (and where several family members now permanently reside). I could see the waters of Crystal Lake, the snow-covered hills of Beulah and Benzonia, and the lush birch, maple and pine forests of Northern Michigan as Catton knew them in his youth. Readers of Waiting for the Morning train will not only catch a glimpse of the spark that ignited Catton's pasion for the Civil War, but more importantly the story of a land that, if one tries hard enough, one will still find. Catton's boyhood stomping grounds come alive with tales of logging, weary travel by train and the fits of small towns being brought into a more modern era. The subtitle is An American Boyhood, and in Catton's childhood memoirs the reader will not only witness Catton's growth to manhood, but also the nation's emergence from adolecence to adulthood.

5 comments about Jackie Style.

1. Jackie Kennedy's Francophile roots made her a unique style icon as the US First Lady. Her appeal mesmerized the public because of the distinctions of her mannerisms, dress, and general image unlike many of her counterparts past and present. Jackie's timeless style appeal is a great place to start for ideas on creating one's own look inspired from a classic icon. The best style is your own and makes the most of your natural looks. Depending on the message you want to give the world ... Jackie and Sophia and Audrey Style are great resource to start.



2. I liked this book alot. I have read numerous volumes about Jackie and this one makes a refreshing change. The approach is both light and informative. The information given is different from the usual stuff and is presented in just the right amount of detail. I particularly enjoyed the anecdotes about Jackie's life during the eighties and early nineties, also the insight into her interior decor taste. The detailed illustration credits were also appreciated. The book is good quality and enjoyable to read.



3. This is a interesting book about JKO, but certainly not the best on the shelves. Keogh makes to many shallow assumptions throughout but, the reader can feel that the author maintains respect for JKO. It is also interesting how she decribes JKO's interior designing style, which I loved. She even has pictures of JKO's dressing room in the White House and her drawing room at 1040 Fifth Avenue, which is a VERY beautiful room. Keogh encompasses many aspects of JKO's style, her love of literature and art, and most of all- her family. A good read, worth the price.



4. I was attracted to this book by its feel and the promise of learning more about that certain "something" Jackie radiates. After mentally debating the price, my lust for more Jackie style information won out and I purchased it. It is a substantial book in many ways but weak in others. The beginning of the book is awkward as the author describes what Jackie was thinking after her husband won the Presidency. How could the author know? The authors assumptions immediately made me question the rest of the books authenticity. As I read through the book however, the author changed tactics and began to describe the first lady using research that was factually supported. She discusses Jackie's upbringing, her role as young woman, and beyond. Though most of the information has been written about before, several aspects were elaborated on to add a new twist and make them more interesting. For example, I had read many times about Jackie winning Vogue magazines Prix de Paris competition, but never in the detail Keough gives. There are a number of photographs in the book but unfortunatly the way they are presented lacks impact. Many are black and white, others small for the page, few are new, and in general they don't have the luster that they could. For example, p.182 has a full size, black and white photograph of Jackie with flowers fully covering her face. If this is one of the never seen photographs Keough promises well I can see why. Another page is devoted to a full color photo of Ari Onasis. Since the full color photos of Jackie are few why not make it one of her? Pamela Keoughs previous book Audrey Style had a much better selection of pictures that made an impression! There are also some line sketches of Jackie in a pillbox. The sketch looks more like Anjelica Houston. The information in the book is broad. The author has obviously done alot of research and she relays the information with her fresh perspective. But many readers will wish for more information about Jackie's STYLE not her life history. For those just beginning to read about Jackie this will be a good introduction but to those familiar with her and the books about her this will be a rehash and retelling.



5. Pam Keogh's clear and stunning portrait of Jackie Kennedy Onassis gives the reader aspects of this complex and intriguing woman from the inside out. It is a warm and visually beautiful view of JKO that goes beyond what she wore where. If you want a glimpse of the private Jackie, buy this book!

5 comments about Hardtack & Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life.

1. Hardtack and Coffee provides an excellent picture of Army life in the mid-nineteenth century. The sketches illustrate the text superbly. This is a useful handbook for students and teachers as well as an intriguing introduction to the Civil War.



2. I am a Civil War reenactor, and this book has been an excellent source of ideas for first person scenarios and ideas for living history. It is an insightful, unique record of the soldier's life for living historians or students of history. I would highly recommend this engaging book.



3. This engaging book fills the void that other Civil War histories leave, and that is an understanding of the everyday experiences of the foot soldier. "Hardtack and Coffee or the Unwritten Story of Army Life" by John D. Billings is an exhaustive and fascinating look back at the flesh, bones, and blood of those lines and arrows on the maps of Civil War battle strategies.

   The book is filled with anecdotes, observations, and songs arising from the era. (I very much appreciated the introduction which details the election of 1860 and started the whole terrible tragedy that ensued over the next half decade.) The generous amount of illustration truly helps evoke the period. "Hardtack and Coffee" is a perfect companion to Bell Irvin Wiley's "Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union" and "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy". And it is a perfect part of anyone's Civil War/American History library.

   Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS




4. I'm one of those men with the "Civil War Itch" who can't get enough reading, can't get enough time on the battlefields. This book is hands-down one of my favorites in my extensive collection, re-read several times and dog-eared. It's something I always put in my bag for air-travel reading, because you can pick it up and put it down when you need to...the author and the illustrator both were participants in the Conflict, so you know it's accurate. The content is educational but not stuffy, since it was written to explain to soldiers' families what exactly Union Army life was like...and the humor still carries through to this day. After you've read the historical studies or walked a battlefield, THIS is the book you want to read to put yourself in the shoes of the everyday soldier--and it's easy to do with the author's skills. For me, the best chuckles are the chapters "Jonahs and Beats", and "The Army Mule". A must-read for those wanting more than just a general's biography or an order of battle.



5. This is the best book on the life of the Civil War soldier. The other reviews attest to this, so here is something different.
   Charles W. Reed, the illustrator, was ALSO a Civil War veteran.
   He served in the Ninth Massachusetts Battery and won the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg for saving his commanding officer, Captain
   John Bigelow, who had been seriously wounded in the fight at the
   Trostle Farm on 2 July 1863.
   My favorite chapter was the one on the army mule.
   Buy, read & enjoy this book!

5 comments about George Washington: A Life.

1. Everyone in business can take lessons from politics. This is where great leaders are made. The life of George Washington is fascinating!



2. This is an excellent, one volume, scholarly approach to the life of George Washington. Writing about Washington, and even reading about him, has its difficulties. You immediately are confronted with the myth of the man, THE founder, who seemingly overlooks the shoulder of every leader since then. You are also confronted with the idea that maybe he is not as great as he has been described, that Washington was simply a poor military leader, slave owner, who happened to be at the right place at the right time.
   
   What this 450+ page biography attempts to do is to show why and how Washington became the singular colossus of the United States, while showing him as a complex individual. In this sense, what makes this book different is that Randall has come up with a third way to understand Washington. He shows why some of the early biographers would write of Washington in almost mythological terms, for what he achieved, both personally and professional was so unique. And Randall shows why some of the 20th century's early biographers would have an interest in de-mythologizing Washington.
   
   What Randall pieces together, with a fine, and inviting writing style, is a study of who Washington was, in as close a portrait as possible. He does this by relying heavily on primary sources such as letters, to and from Washington. So the reader will get a fair representation of what Washington was like, put into context of his time, his family, the social expectations on him, and as much as can possibly be ascertained, what Washington's views of himself were. Washington was a very private individual. This made the type of leadership that he wanted to project: quiet, calm, confident and organized; easier to follow and to believe in. Unfortunately, Washington's private personality has made interpreting him much harder for the generations that have passed, hence why he has been mythologized into someone greater than he could be, and at times, debunked by critical scholars. Randall simply, and effectively writes of a man, above his peers, of his time.
   
   This book was written in 1997. Since 1969, the University of Virginia has been editing Washington's papers. As of 2008, most of Washington's post Revolutionary papers, including his two terms as President, have not been edited. Because Randall's book relies heavily on primary sources, the reader will be able to tell a marked difference in the quality of the sections dealing with Washington's early adult hood and as a General, than his later life. So in many ways, this is half a book, a great detailed, one volume account of Washington's early life. But because the biographical community is still years away from having access to much of the primary sources of Washington's later life, the important Presidential years in this book have little to add to a general understanding of his life.
   
   That said, this is a fine, one-volume biography for the general reader who especially wants to understand why Washington's leadership worked so effectively. The reader will come away with a greater understanding of Washington as a driven businessman, military leader, politician, and family man; in many ways ashamed of his lack of formal education compared to his peers; but with unique character and understanding of his age, meshed with his personality, that no one else was capable of putting together on a personal level. The reader will see, probably because of the importance that Washington placed on personal character, why he picked subordinates so poorly at times, either in the military or in politics, for at times Washington valued loyalty over competence or trustworthiness. But Randall also does an effective job of telling why Washington's early life, his development of self control and work to understand and respect so many different types of people made him uniquely qualified to lead the first real Republic in nearly 2000 years.



3. The Angel Hunter
   From a purely entertaining position I enjoyed this book. I was not looking for piles of facts that I could attempt to verify and decide if I had caught the author in a mistake. I couldn't care less about such trite. I wanted to be entertained by the story of our first president.
   
   There are many subtle inferences where Washington is portrayed as an almost metaphysical figure. He seems, from what is written in this book, to realize that his sole purpose on this earth was to lead David to slay Goliath. I will not say this book is the last one you'll ever want to read about the good General; however, if you are willing to spend some time contemplating the long term historical impact of the actions of George Washington this book is for you. If you want a deluge of dates and accurate accountings of personal, lineages, and politics from this period in US history look elsewhere. This book is about a man. And if you allow him, Willard Sterne Randall, will inspire you with the life of George Washington.



4. Recently I have decided to learn about U.S. history by reading a biography of every President. My goal was to find a single volume biography of George Washington that was historically rigorous enough to be worthy of an academic course on the subject, but also written in an engaging manner. While Willard Sterne Randall's offering is more or less satisfactory based on these objectives, I finished the book believing that there must certainly be a better single volume biography on Washington available.
   
   The strength of the biography is that it does a good job conveying a real sense of Washington's life up to the Revolution. A generous use of quotes from Washington and his contemporaries are well placed, to not only provide a historical biography, but to give the reader a real sense of Washington's personality, character, and the issues that ultimately led to him leading the Continental Army. Mr. Randall is also successful at providing a balanced look at George Washington, and the reader gets a real sense not only of Washington's strengths, but also of his surprising weaknesses and failures that seem forgotten in the mythical image the majority of Americans have of the first President.
   
   Unfortunately, these strengths do not continue throughout the entire work. The presentation of the Revolution and Washington's presidency lapses into more of an overall American history than a biography, often bogged down in forgettable facts that do not aid in a better understanding of George Washington, the man. Those looking for an in depth look into Washington's presidency will also be dissappointed, as the information provided is little more than what would be included in a high school American History course.
   
   Ultimately Mr. Randall's attempt is only satisfactory and it would certainly not be my first recommendation for a one volume history of George Washington. Those interested in the early life of Washington will be pleased, but those more specifically interested in the Revolution and his Presidency should look elsewhere. Mr. Randall probably should have made this into a two volume effort and maintained the strengths of the first part of the book throughout the entire biography.



5. Willard Sterne Randall's "George Washington" is a well researched and written one-volume biography of America's first Commander-in-Chief and President.
   
   To his credit, Randall provides considerable insight into those aspects of his life that made Washington such a driven man and compelled him to succeed later in his life. There is no mythologizing here and the author shows the young Washington to have been an extremely ambitious, driven and almost greedy young man, hungry for fortune and fame. Of particular interest is Washington's strained relationship with his mother.
   
   Randall also reveals that Washington treated his slaves poorly, failing to properly clothe and house them, causing some to run away. Returned to their owner after a reward was posted, they were punished, only to run away again, for Washington did not consider them as living human beings but rather as his property. Furthermore, as Commander-in-Chief he initially refused to allow African-Americans to serve in the ranks of the Continental Army, despite the fact that a good had been serving since the beginning of the war.
   
   To his credit, however, Washington later reversed this decision and allowed African-Americans to fight for Independence. And he eventually freed his slaves, although Randall shows that this was more from economic rather than moral considerations.
   
   Randall's biography shows how Washington evolved in an extremely competent military commander with considerable expertise in all aspects of the Continental Army and military operations. Of particular note is the Commander-in-Chief's devotion to building a military intelligence apparatus that served him and America well during the war.
   
   The author also reveals the immense obstacles Washington faced in first trying to build an army, second trying to maintain it in the field, and finally bringing it to battle against the British. Certainly there was little love lost between Washington and the Continental Congress, which not only interferred in all aspects of military operations to the detriment of the war effort, but failed to keep the Army paid and supplied for much of the war.
   
   Randall's "George Washington" is not, however, with shortcomings. Despite his research the book contains a number of factual errors. Furthermore, the author has a tendency to repeat himself, often on the same page, causing the reader frustration and even a bit of confusion. Finally, the bulk of the book is spent on Washington's formative years and the Revolutionary War, with only four of twenty-one chapters devoted to his post-war years. Still, an author cannot please everyone.
   
   Nonetheless, this is a very good one-volume biography of Washington and well worth reading.

No comments about Memoirs of General William T. Sherman.

1 comments about Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman, Caroline Healey Dall.

1. Caroline Healey Dall's (1822-1912) diary, written over 75 years, encompasses 45 volumes and most of the prominent people and ideas - Transcendentalism, slavery, women's rights - of the 19th century. As editor, Helen Deese has focused on the years from 1838 to 1865, distilling Caroline's output into one volume, well annotated and footnoted with a general introduction and summary prefaces to each new section.
   
   The late 1830s and 40s were heady times for a young, devout, affluent, intellectual Unitarian like Caroline. Most of Boston's elite were Unitarians and the Transcendentalist movement, with its rejection of hard-line Calvinism, was blossoming. By the age of 18 Caroline was hobnobbing with the likes of Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody (sister to Nathaniel Hawthorne's new wife) at Peabody's bookshop. She knew Emerson and Theodore Parker, the Unitarian minister whose denial of Biblical miracles and the divinity of Jesus created a furor. Always ardent, Dall was swayed by Parker and passionate in her defense of him. The Transcendental idea of finding God in everyone and every natural thing had a profound effect on her whole life.
   
   Her early years were sheltered by class and family, leaving Caroline free to pursue a life of the mind. She had a strong will and intellectual self-confidence to match, though these were frequently undercut by her demanding father, for whom her efforts were never enough, and her exasperated mother who found her domestic skills wanting. Fuller and Peabody, as well, were sometimes critical of her vocal participation in meetings of her elders. The reader will sometimes share their impatience, though her parents do seem rather cold and erratic.
   
   But when Caroline entered her 20s circumstances changed drastically. At the beginning of 1843 she looks back on a tumultuous year: "I was an heiress, somewhat a blue [stocking] - flattered and caressed and with few anxieties save - for the characters of my brothers and sisters, the sufferings of the poor - and a heavy care of my own reputation."
   
   Then her father, a merchant and speculator, went bankrupt, a younger brother died and the man she loved rejected her. Caroline became a schoolteacher in Georgetown, near Washington D.C. Unitarianism was suspect and slaves were ubiquitous. The diary takes on a deeper, more mature character over this difficult period. Although she stayed only a year, it was enough to change her laissez-faire attitude about slavery and to get her engaged to a likeminded, but weaker willed minister.
   
   From this point Caroline's diary is increasingly intense. While her father's financial affairs improved, her relations with him deteriorated over her abolitionist writing and activity, which he feared would harm him in business. Her husband was often disturbed by her forward behavior and his own politics made it difficult for him to keep a post. Caroline grieved that he could not provide her the emotional support she provided him, and poverty, pregnancy, drudgery and emotional turmoil all took their toll.
   
   Deeply ambitious, she was thwarted by gender, but was also a product of her times. "I desire to be a perfect housekeeper - but am always afraid lest in a higher love of better things, I should omit some necessary trifle. I would not add to the reproaches cast upon literary women...." Still, she read and wrote voraciously, publishing numerous articles (though she was mortified when she had to publish "for bread") on books, lectures, issues and ideas.
   
   As the years passed, her convictions became tempered with experience and her moral view - particularly on marriage - became more complex. But she remained proud of her iron will and steadfastness. Discussing Margaret Fuller's autobiography, she reflected, "Margaret says, `the lasting evil was to learn to distrust my own heart.' I could never do that. Instant is the decision of my nature in a given case, and I have never once had occasion to revoke or dismiss it." And "When my husband first knew me, he used to say that I reminded him, of two passages of Scripture, `for judgment - am I come' - and ` he shall judge the quick and the dead -` so trenchant were my decisions, and so absolute my convictions."
   
   Brilliant and rather Puritan, Caroline would not have been an easy person to live with. But her honesty and acute self-examination over the course of a difficult marriage make her absorbing and appealing. Personal passages - including a horrific birth, a long self-examination in comparison with Margaret Fuller, despair over relations with her parents and husband, wrestling with her feelings for another man - will capture the general reader.
   
   Caroline always intended her diary to survive her and be read by others, if only her children. Indeed, at the end of her life she arranged to donate them to the Massachusetts Historical Society. But except for some self-consciousness in the earliest sections, it never reads as if there's an audience in mind. Some of it is so raw and painful, in fact, it's surprising she did not rip out more pages (she did remove some). But that's part of the honesty that makes her interesting and sympathetic.
   
   Those interested in the political and social events of the time will find day-to-day mentions and interactions with most of the prominent politicians, literary and religious figures. Neither Caroline nor her editor explain much about the historical context of these interactions so those not already well-versed in 19th century history may find themselves googling some occasionally cryptic passages.
   
   But Deese's notes are extensive. She identifies everyone and every work or speech alluded to. For historians, the diary is a treasure trove. For everyone else it's a moving and fascinating portrait of a lonely, passionate, idealistic and conflicted woman who was very much of her times.
   
   --Portsmouth Herald