5 comments about Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

1. If you're fat and found dieting is genuine starvation...blah, blah and you can't fill yourself now-you're real and not head tripping, you'll be interested to know that Mary Rowlandson could never feel physically full after the captivity. She points out that the Bible even mentions that syndrome. I recently switched to Creationism because everything in the Bible eventually turns out to be true scientifically. There is a malfunction from going too hungry that we haven't medically figured out yet. It is there in our faces. Mary and her Bible is to behold. The Lord used her. He used her to prove he is always right. She is for the year 2007. She went through that horror for our times. Not hers. "Twiggy" body is anti-christ and causes a real disease of perpetual hunger.



2. 
   Mary Rowlandson, a Minister's wife in New-England as it says underwent a cruel and inhumane treatment from the Indians that took her captive. This is a story of sorrow and pain, of faith and truth, of tears and reflections, and of grief and hopes. The Indians poured their wrath and anger against this helpless small community demonstrating to them what kind of human beings they were; probably all of them were not like them, but in reality I have little enthusiasm to lift up any merciful praise towards these Indians when reading this painful story.
   
   Mary describes these Indians as `cruel and barbarous Salvages'. As her Per Amicum recalled from the scriptures "Thus all things come alike to all: None knows either love or hatred by all that is before him". A sad Catastrophe! (p. 6). They furiously attacked with guns, burning the houses which such a calamity that was said: `the smokes were ascending to Heaven'. They went to the first house where five persons were taken: the father and the mother and a sucking child, to whom they knocked on the head and the other two that were carried alive. We can see the nature of these attackers when they shot and wounded one which when down on the ground begged for his life, but they would not hearken to him, but knocked him on the head, stripped him naked and split open his bowels (p. 10).
   
   They were `Barbarous Creatures according to Mrs. Rowlandson's narrative, they put down everybody with wounded and bleeding bodies..."and our hearts no less than our bodies." (p. 12). The sorrow they produced can be gathered in her words when she said: "I must turn my back upon the Town, and travel with them into the vast and desolate wilderness, I know no whiter. It is not my tongue or pen can express the sorrows of my heart and bitterness of my spirit that I had at this Departure: but God...I went on foot after it, with sorrow that cannot be expressed." (p.13); but for these Indians was just one more thing...'they, like inhuman creatures, laughed, and rejoiced to see it.'
   
   In the midst of it all, miraculously, one of these salvages struck her as a lost star or beam of light by offering her a Bible he had from the Medfield fight, where they committed sacking and looting. He took it from his basket and gave it to Mary. She interpreted it as a gift from her merciful God in the middle of this valley of darkness (p. 16).
   
   I cannot help but mention what these barbarians did to a pregnant woman in miserable conditions. "Being so near her time, she would be often asking the Indians to let her go home; they, not being willing to that, gathered a great company together about her and striped her naked, and set her in the midst of them; and they had sung and danced about her (in their hellish manner) as long as they pleased, they knocked her on the head, and the child in her arms with her. When they had done that they made a fire, and put them both into it..." (pp. 17-18). Words speak for themselves.
   
   It is very interesting how these Puritans were similar to their English ancestors but more `pure' in the sense that they were very devoted to their faith in a distant, almost forgotten world.
   
   Her puritan faithfulness could be noted when in the middle of her struggle she could cite the prophet Jeremiah, quoting from the Bible his chapter 31, verse 16:
   
   "Thus says the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy."(p. 18).
   
   Mary Rowlandson sees her captivity as a sign of God in many ways, some of them even contradictions. For instance, at one point she compared herself with the biblical story of Lot in Sodom and recalled when she was removed as the wife of Lot when looked back resulting in being transformed as a salt stone. In this case she saw herself looking back from where she was coming and no matter what we know about her past as a person, she compares herself in this case with Lot's wife which was not a good example as a woman. Eventually she probably wanted to point out the mercy God had protecting her as a humble servant.
   
   On the 'other side of the river' she compares herself with Job, who was a totally different person than Lot's wife. He was a righteous man that was tented by Satan in order to prove to God that he was not 'as good or perfect' as he looked then. Thus on page 21 she cited...'now we might say as Job, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.'
   
   She sees herself again as under the guidance of God, and as a living sign going like Job through a time of testing and character building for the sake of God's Kingdom. She cites Job again on page 27:...'Yet upon this, and the like occasions, I hope it is not too much to say with Job, have pity upon me, have pity upon me, Oh ye my Friends, for the hand of the Lord has touched me.'
   As Job was a sign to Judeo-Christian generations, Mary Rowlandson assumed herself going through that process almost like a sign for future generation of puritans, trusting always in the redemption promised by God, as when she cites the prophet Isaiah: 'For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.'(p.29), or...'Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the Enemy'(p.43).
   
   It amazed me that while she was believing that she deserved what was happening to her, nevertheless she was an incredible spiritual strong woman that never lost her hope to be delivered by her merciful God, citing: 'Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thy eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the Land of the enemy' (p.45). She believed her suffering was coming to pass at the end of the road. She had, as all humans do, times of doubt and sadness, but finally she always found refuge in the Word of God, the Bible, which I have no doubt that for her in those terrible days was like living a 'practical seminary' where she studied the scriptures as never before; a divine sign and purpose for her, taking in to account how under such hardship surrounded by pagans, she could amazingly conserve that Bible during this dangerous journey in the jungle as a captive.
   She was finally experiencing that Valley of Shadow as a puritan witness redeemed back to life also as a resurrectional sign in her life.
   
   This was the most popular personal account of its day- why did Puritans want to read this narrative? What sort of Puritan values or beliefs does this narrative promote?
   
   I found it peculiar to read how being a Christian herself, she does not mention the passion of Christ and her symbolic suffering as a puritan for the Lord's cause among the Native Americans. The puritans were impacted throughout this narrative because she compared herself to the times of the Old Testament where the Jewish nation was brought out of Egypt and experienced hardship in a dusty dessert for 40 years trying to reach, as a chosen nation, the promised land, believing herself that God wanted her to be submitted under such suffering to be greatly rewarded later on.
   
   The same way this narrative was important for the puritans because the image of Mary Rowlandson represented the messianic purpose of 'puritan chosen people' which came through hardships from Europe into the New-promised-English-land with that earthly utopian idea of 'a city over a hill'.
   As the chosen ones to 'purify' the Gospel, the puritans saw in this narrative an opportunity to show off the infinite mercy of our Creator even to the Native-Americans; coming undoubtedly inside a 'puritan vessel' full of hope, perseverance and faith that indeed redeem.
   
   Alejandro Roque.
   
   
   
   



3. Because it is a first hand account-and who better to tell the story than the person who lived through it?
   That's why I take offense at the reviewer who said this book is too one-sided. Hello? Would YOU care to live through a New England winter without any modern conveniences? Would YOU like to be taken captive by hostile savages and have your life distrupted and your child die as a result? Perhaps it's not politically correct these days to see indians as savages but excuse me-they raped women and killed children. They burned homes and tortured men. Like it or not that's how many of them were back then. (Notice I didn't say ALL so don't get your dander up.)
   This book is a look at a person's life and her perspective on it. How she dealt with a tragedy of unknown modern proportions. How she lived through it and what she learned from it.
   Fascinating stuff, in my opinion.



4. I loved all of this witches acounts of Wheetamoo, greatest sachem ever! but she was sooooooo one sided! I hated how she talked about the Sachem Wheetamoo. I wish that she was more two-sided and it is NOT understandable of her harsh words tword Wheetamoo or any of the FRIENDLY indians The author is a mean witch with a b!



5. We, Chapman Billies, Inc. published this edition and Trafalgar Square distributed it for us at first. It has never been out of stock. Of course we think it should get 5 stars, otherwise we/I would not have put our money behind it. Mrs. Rowlandson tells of the attack on her village, the wounding of her youngest child, their being kidnapped,forced to go with her captors for several months in a New England winter, and watch her child die before being ransomed. To expect her to be an enlightened 21st century woman as she tells her story is to be, Ugh, un-brave.

1 comments about The Grand Old Man of Maine: Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914 (Civil War America).

1. While some in the Civil War community complain of "Chamberlain fatigue," it is difficult to gripe about this marvelous new collection of postwar correspondence from one of the most articulate officers on either side of the conflict.
   
   Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain survived the Civil War - including a horrible wound at Petersburg - to become one of Maine's most prominent citizens. His postwar career included four terms as governor of Maine, a stint as president of Bowdoin College, numerous business enterprises, and perhaps most importantly, many years as a writer and lecturer on his Civil War experiences.
   
   The correspondence included by editor Jeremiah Goulka covers nearly every aspect of Chamberlain's personal and professional life. Chamberlain's heartfelt letters to his family, especially those to his wife Fannie, reveal him to be a loving, thoughtful husband and father. His relationship with Fannie, stormy and difficult though it was for many years, survived numerous crises until Fannie's death in 1905.
   
   Chamberlain's Civil War experiences transformed him, and his separation from the army often left him feeling restless. In 1870, Chamberlain wrote to the King of Prussia and offered his services in Prussia's war with France. In 1898, Chamberlain contacted the Secretary of War to volunteer for the Spanish-American War. Even with all his postwar positions and projects, Chamberlain never quite filled the space in his soul left empty by the end of the Civil War.
   
   Critics of Chamberlain, in his lifetime and in our own time, claim that he inflated his role at Little Round Top in an attempt to horde the glory of that important engagement. At least one letter included in this volume refutes this criticism. In a January 1910 letter to Union veteran and author Oliver W. Norton, Chamberlain says of his brigade commander, Strong Vincent, "He was a noble man, and I have not known an abler commander in his grade. Nothing could exceed his skill and energy in taking the position on Little Round Top and the confidence he inspired in his subordinates. To this the result of the fight on the left at Round Top is very largely due [emphasis added]."
   
   The correspondence also clarifies an often incorrectly reported fact concerning the July 1913 fiftieth anniversary reunion at Gettysburg. Chamberlain, while he visited Gettysburg in May as a member of the planning commission, did not attend the July reunion. Chamberlain's doctor strongly urged him not to go due to his declining health, and he stayed behind in Maine.
   
   Rather than being castigated for his prolific eloquence, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain deserves the timeless thanks of everyone who studies the Civil War. Jeremiah Goulka deserves thanks as well, for his skillful editing, and for giving us a deeper understanding of a genuine American hero.

1 comments about Standing on a Volcano: The Life and Times of David Rowland Francis.

1. Journalist Harper Barnes' biography of David Rowland Francis,
   American politician and diplomat whose career ranged from St. Louis in
   America's heartland to the depths of Russia during the Bolshevik
   revolution (1917-19), is full of surprises. As the youngest mayor of
   St. Louis and governor of Missouri at the turn of the 20th century, he
   lead progressive Democrats and fathered the St. Louis World's Fair in
   1903-04. Appointed ambassador to Russia by President Woodrow Wilson, he
   endured terrible hardships during its revolutionary period, aided by his
   articulate and loyal friend and valet, African-American Philip Jordan.
   Much of the Russian story reads like an exciting spy novel. Wonderfully
   researched and well written, it is a compelling account that enriches
   both United States' and international history. It captivates the reader
   and offers heretofore unknown insights into not only a remarkable
   American but United States foreign policy at a pivotal time in world
   history.

1 comments about The Legendary Mizners.

1. I think that before anyone moves to Florida, or does business in Florida, they ought to read this book. If you've spent any time there this book will be very funny. The Art Basel enthusiasm which has made Miami hot in recent years has a distant echo in Mizner's clients for whom he created charming amalgams of various Spanish styles.
   At least they got a big house out of it, whereas what those who purchased at Art Basel acquired is open to some question.
   This book clearly shows that a certain kind of classy hucksterism is endemic to the Florida experience of art, or architecture. But it does it by telling a very amusing and in the end, sad story. Appropriately enough Boca now has Mizner Park, which is naturally is not a park at all, but a shopping mall. The Boca Museum is in there too, and the many works-on-paper contained therein, as well as drinking-fountains with their own dedicatory plaques from benefactors, show that Mizner's spirit of genial elitism continues.

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

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



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



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



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



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

5 comments about Rebel Private: Front and Rear: Memoirs of a Confederate Soldier.

1. This book is a very enjoyable and powerful read. The "War of Northern Aggression" has never seemed such a real happening to me before. It makes well-known battlefield names come alive. Fletcher was a very practical, down-to-earth man and the reader is exposed to the practical everyday concerns of a Confederate soldier. The plight of the wounded is nearly felt by the reader. Fletcher candidly discusses taking food from women and children in Union territory and scavenging the dying. He even expresses regret that he had refrained from shooting an enemy soldier because he appeared very young and he wonders if it hurt his nation's cause. There are very exciting stories about being captured and escaping from a moving prison train. After the war, he heard a North Carolina soldier ask Fletcher's Texas cavalry unit if they had any bacon. When one answered yes, the man said "Grease and slide back into the Union." After thinking about it a while, Fletcher saw the wisdom in that statement and did just that. He became a highly successful lumber entrepreneur. I highly recommend for students of military or Southern history or anyone who likes true adventures.



2. An outstanding view of the War Between the States from the point of view of an "ordinary" soldier.



3. Perhaps if the writer had put his thoughts to paper soon after the events described he might have remembered a few details! We barely find out anything about his weapons, his leaders, his thoughts on seccession etc... While the small details of camp life and escaping are interesting a better book on that subject is Prison Pen.



4. Excellent, first had observations made by a common private in during the Civil War. The author IS NOT a professional writer. This makes it all the more valuable. The author is not writing the book to entertain, or to pass along old, gory war stories. This is a story by a simple man trying to tell us his point of view, simple as that. This account is quite valuable to anyone interested in the study of this horrible conflict. Recommend it's reading and recommend you add it to your collection. I do wish there had been more like this one.



5. This is a good, first hand account of the life of a Confederate soldier. Fletcher writes of only what he seen during the war. The only judgement he cast is upon his leaders actions at Gettysburg. This book will definitely change your perspective on the life of a common soldier.

1 comments about Ted Turner Speaks: Insights from the World's Greatest Maverick (Speak Series).

1. The last review, sounds exactly like what Turner fought against, control freak zealots. He isn't mental, he is brilliant.
   
   In a media world where people like Rupert Murdock are put on a boat for a photo op, people like Ted Turner actually support the crew and stay onboard for the whole race, all 31,000 miles of it.
   
   Regardless of money my friends, that separates the men from the boys.
   
   Who would you want to be behind in the battle field?

5 comments about General Washington's Christmas Farewell: A Mount Vernon Homecoming, 1783.

1. George Washington's public career was long and one of the most important in history. However, his decision to resign his commission and return to private live in 1783 (although it proved to be a temporary return) is one of the most important events in both the founder's life and in that of America. Comparisons with the Roman Cincinnatus in this matter are appropriate. But must a reader be reminded endlessly of the similarities?
   
   Weintraub documents in this work Washington's last journey home as the leader of the American army and what he hoped would be the last in his public life. It was a hard and grinding trip for as most of us know, roads and weather were not easy to get through in December in the northeast. In voluntarily giving up his commission, Washington guaranteed his premiere place in our history. But by making such a public display of his resignation, he also proved how conscious he was of that place and how later generations would view his career and character.
   
   Weintraub gives the reader none of those contradictions. He takes one of the greatest events and turns it into one of the dullest stories ever told. And in the end, he gives us none of what went on once Washington reached home. What was that Christmas like? What happened at Mount Vernon in the days following his return? In this telling, there is only a timeline of events, quotes from speeches, and a very dull listing of dates, facts, and names. (In keeping with the major complaints of how American history is taught in schools.)
   
   One can only wish that this book was interesting and search for other accounts that document feelings, struggles, and sacrifices that make this story human and important.



2. The year 1776 tends to be lodged in the minds of those who have studied American history. But does anyone remember what happened in 1783? With relation to the revolutionary war, GENERAL WASHINGTON'S CHRISTMAS FAREWELL chronicles George Washington's concluding tenure as one of the most distinguishable military leader, which covers the last few months of 1783. Historian Stanley Weintraub paints a picture of America's first president as a compassionate and unselfish man who wholeheartedly was concerned about preserving life and liberty for his country and the people he led; he bridges the gap between Washington as the larger than life founding father to the Virginia farmer who longed to return home.
   
   The book begins with Weintraub's story about his visit to his grandsons' first grade class at Thomas Jefferson School where he was surprised to hear how much these young and inquisitive minds knew about the American Revolution and its key figures. But the most fascinating aspect about this story is that the Washington family's Christmas was not documented, but with the culmination of sources that derived from Washington's letters and addresses and a series of publications, Weintraub weaves a unique narrative that reflects upon the hardships of 1776, but the success thereafter with the ratification of the Peace Treaty of Paris. The last two chapters are quite moving because Washington's farewell address, which was written by Thomas Jefferson, is included within the passages, and provides accounts from Thomas Mifflin and James McHenry who had attended the ceremony; the scene was emotional, and depicted a man approaching the twilight of his life.
   
   GENERAL WASHINGTON'S CHRISTMAS FAREWELL does not revel with new material about George Washington. However, Weintraub acknowledges a moment in history that commemorates the end of a monumental career of one of history's unforgettable leaders, and shows how he was influential and instrumental with regard to the founding and birth of the United States of America. Indeed, this is another piece of history worth reading.



3. The author makes a few sidetrips to explore a little background and history that bring the times alive. He explores how Washington was the heart and soul of the American cause as his farewell tour home from the war - from West Point in New York to Mt. Vernon - provided a foundation for unity, dignity and sense of common purpose for a new nation to be.
   
   It's a slice of history that tells much more than the title implies, and it shows a very human side of a man who continues to surprise us with how worthy a model he is to follow. It's poignant without being maudlin, and is a history that appeals to both mind and heart. Highly recommended.



4. This is a wonderful retelling of George Washington's return to Mount Vernon at the end of the Revolution. It humanizes Washington like few books ever have. Mr. Wintraub even manages to build up suspense as you wonder whether ex-General Washington makes it home in time for Christmas.
   
   This is the second Christmas-themed history by Mr. Weintraub, the other being SILENT NIGHT, about the informal truce in 1914. Each time, Mr. Weintraub brings out the significance of seemingly minor events. It is truly masterful.



5. The author does a good job of detailing why George Washington was a great man. Rather than become a King or dictator after the War of Independence, he returned his commission to the Congress and returned to Mount Vernon. This was after eight years of separation from his home. His only desire was to depart from the public stage and resume his private life. This was unlike most people who would have clung to power. Washington wanted to become a private citizen again. This book details his change from a military general to a private citizen.
   Washington takes control of New York from the departing British,
   says farewell to his soldiers and other officers, returns the commission to the Congress in Annapolis, and gets home in time for a Mount Vernon Christmas Eve. This brief period says alot what Washington was and why people wanted him to be their leader.
   Weintraub does a good summary job of describing this two week episode in the life of the first American President. By his example, the military would always be controlled by the civilian government. The importance of Washington is shown in this short story and good read.

3 comments about Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson.

1. One of my favorite books that has helped challenge and shape my spiritual and philosophical outlooks on life. Sanford goes to great length explaining and detailing Thomas Jefferson's views on controversial topics such as the right and nature of Man, nature of God, separation of church and state, religious freedom, deism, Christianity, materialism, morality, and the afterlife. Sanford provides many citations, including Jefferson's personal letters, diaries, personal Jeffersonian Bible, and other primary sources. Sanford carefully places Jefferson's views in historical and cultural context, but yet there's no sugarcoating anything here. It's a great read and I recommend it for any open-minded and mature individual interested in learning about the beliefs that motivated Jefferson and our founding Fathers to create the US Constitituion and a free society.



2. Sanford writes a well-documented but accessible account of Jefferson's religious ideas. Other books on Jefferson's religion extract his ideas from his letters, papers, and speeches, but Sanford goes deeper, tracing the roots of Jefferson's ideas and the influence Enlightenment philosophers played in shaping his thinking. Sanford's book reveals how Jefferson's ideas about liberty, rights, and democracy sprang from his profound belief in God. Sanford's book also shows the contradictions and complexities of Jefferson's beliefs: that he loved Jesus's teachings even while doubting his divinity, that Jefferson attacked immaterialism in religion while believing in the afterlife, and that he contributed to and regularly attended churches while blasting the corruptions of the church and clergy on the Christian faith. I highly recommend this book to understand Jefferson's religious ideas, but to get historical context for the development of this ideas, I recommend as a companion book. "Sworn on the Altar of God" by Edwin Gaustad. Together the two books give a complete potrait of Jefferson's religious life.



3. This book is an excellent look at the deep roots of spirituality, not religion, of one of America's most important founders, Thomas Jefferson.

   The book is both informative and very interesting. It's a great book to keep for future reference as well.

   It points out that Jefferson, like many of America's key founders, was not a Christian, but was a Deist. That is, he believed in God based on reason and nature, not on the Bible, Torah or Koran or any other man made book.

   This is a book that will stimulate your brain and cause you to expand your mind!

   Robert L. Johnson

2 comments about Equations of Motion: Adventure, Risk and Innovation.

1. The book is a wealth of information about Bill's life. The photos are good, and probably a number of ones never published. I was on a pit crew for him in 1958. He was truly remarkable then, and, as the book, says, still is remarkable.
   
   A must for the aviation and sports car buff.



2. Bill Milliken is the father of modern vehicle handling and a god among racing engineers. In "Equations of Motion" Milliken details his exploits in aviation, auto racing and fundamental vehicle research. Growing up in 1910's Maine, Milliken 'ginned up a variety of motorized machines ... He was one of the first test pilots to fly at 40,000 feet in a pressurized B-17 ... After the war he raced Bugattis and Millers up Pike's Peak and helped found modern auto racing at Watkins Glen, ending upside-down half the time, but all in service of his day job -- revolutionizing the dynamic design of aircraft and automobiles. Milliken -- 95 at the publication of this book -- is an inspiration. Unlike most autobiographies, even of people with a fraction of his accomplishments, Milliken never preens or puffs. Instead he just tells it (and shows it -- hundreds of fascinating illustrations) with characteristic Yankee modesty and understated humor.