5 comments about RFK - A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy.

1. one star is too much, the book doesn't do anything tern RFK?s legacy. the arguments are false, and the book is boring.
   DONT SPEND EVEN ONE CENT ON THIS BOOK.



2. My title tells it all and to spent too much time on a review is to assign this an importance it does not merit. If you are interested in any thoughtful analysis of RFK you will not find it here. The focus is on lurid one source and second hand tall tales and obviously the author has an axe to grind. If you love the National Enquirer and Fox News you will probably like this and there's no saving you. If you want to learn more about this complicated man and his era, this will fill you with disgust.



3. RFK fans may not like this biography because it ain't a biased one. And this may be the first attempt to write a cruel and honest account of RFK's life. I've read some reviews here, and people who did not like this book are commeting that it is just gossip plain and simple. It must be remember that Heymann spent 7 years researching for this book. RFK was not the liberal icon that many thought he was. Many of the things he did wasn't only because he cared (I do believe he did care) but also for political ambition. He had a dark side (which he did use a lot with LBJ) and also a good side. The dark side is shown exhaustively in this book, and in the end, as amanzingly as it seems, Heymann writes a sympathetic image of RFK. Another thing, just because it is shown that RFK was not very different from his brothers when it came to sex doesn't mean that it is not truth (and who says otherwise must known that Heymann did much more researched in this subject than the others biographers did), this is a "candid" biography after all. People who bought this must not be naive and have an idea of what they'll find when they read it.



4. Mr Heymann has an interesting interpretation of the word 'integrity'. I was simply aghast at some of the bizarre assertions that the author seems to accept as fact. Check the sources (and I did!) and you'll not find much to back up his rather bold claims. Many of those interviewed or quoted have rather questionable motives and a lot is second hand information or hearsay.
   
   Also many of RFK's own comments were taken completely out of context. When asking "Where are all the women?" on the '68 campaign trail this was not in a sexual context. As far back as the early '50s while running JFK's senatorial campaign Bobby would often say that he preferred women in a campaign because he thought they tend to work harder.
   
   This is NOT an unbiased biography. For a completely unbiased account of Robert Kennedy's life I refer you to Evan Thomas' 'Robert Kennedy: His Life'. It takes a look at both 'Good' and 'Bad' Bobby but sticks strictly to the facts.
   
   The most exhaustive and indepth RFK biography is of course Arhtur Schlesinger's 'Robert Kennedy and His Times'. Not from a completely objective standpoint as it's written by a Kennedy friend but ultimately reliable and informative.



5. I picked this up for $2 used. I paid too much. This book is an offensive hatchet job, full of ridiculous claims that the author makes no attempt to substantiate. People simply make claims about RFK, and Heymann prints them. I know Bobby was no saint, and I don't expect hagiography. But this biography goes way too far in the other direction. One source compares Bobby to Caligula. At that point, I stopped reading the book. Save your money -- even if it is just $2.

5 comments about Bad Boy: A Memoir.

1. Bad Boy
   By Walter Dean Myers
   Review by Kareem Joey
   
   
   
   Bad Boy .Hoops .Fly jimmy fly, what do all of these great
   Books have in common? They were all written by Walter dean Myers a high school dropout!
   
   Bad you are a thrilling book full of suspense and hard ships. IT starts while Walter was just a little boy. Even though his life was hard he somehow mad it through. The hardest part of waters life was probably his home town. Life in Harlem in the 1940s was rough. There was always crime and fights. The neighborhood was dirty and thee houses were rigtty.But Walter somehow made it thought. His main problem while he was growing up was his love for reading and writing. This is a problem because his bad and friends do not approve of his hobbies they begin to make fun of him and he begins to grow a hard outer shell.
   
   
   He than becomes a bully. Towards the end of the story his anger calms and he starts to not care what people think of him. He then follows and becomes a famous writer. Though his father still doesn't approve his mother tries to keep him inspired. This Book teaches you to follow your dreams no matter what people think about you. They should not a have a say in you're future because only can decide what you do in life



2. This book is a good book for teens to read. It's that kind of book that us as kids can relate to.....Once i read the first chapter i was hooked! I would strongly recommend this book to any of my closest friends! I am glad to give this book a good review.



3. "Bad Boy" the story of Walter Dean Myers life in the streets of Harlem and the challenges he faced from drugs, gangs and the feeling of having no hope to ever succeed. Walter jumps you head first into how the struggle of being a young African American and how you must survive. Walter at a young age was considered very intelligent his only problem that held him back was his speech defect. In which he was teased for and caused him anger in which brought him down the path of violence. Much of Walter's life was something he fought for or strived for, something that really didn't expect with a kid that had so much rage and anger he had such passion for reading and writing. Many times during the book he would talk about how he would lock himself in his room for hours and just read and write poems, stories or just about anything that he could think of. Walter Dean Myers paints a vivid picture of the challenges a young kid in Harlem had to deal with in hopes of finding himself, it is a story that will change the mind of everyone.



4. On the back of this book it says that teens will see them selves in Myers. Well they weren't lying when they said that, I saw myself completely in some of the contents of Myers teenage years. For example the reading, through out the book Myers discovered that he had a very good talent in reading and writing. He also was a class clown who always got into trouble, but why doing so he made the people around him laugh. Anyway Myers didn't want to be made fun of(don't we all) about being able to read and write so he hid it from everybody. Their are things that I am good at that I don't want people to know. Myers also told what it was like being a black boy in an integrated Harlem back in the 1930s and '40s. It was hard for him, and one of his friends in the book, whom was white, got invited to a Party, and the host wouldn't let Myers go because he was black. Myers had a hard bringing up, he didn't go to school often because he did bad and didn't want to do good. Look at him now though, he is an award winning author, and wrote other amazing books like Fallen Angles, Somewhere in the Darkness, and Monster. Myers showed us all how he was brought up and the problems he had, and with his writing he showed us who he is now. This powerful book can help a lot of struggling teens



5. Teens can really get inspired through Myers words. I also think that many teens will be able to relate to the different situations that he went through as well as learn how teens grew up in the 40's and 50's. The best part is learning the culture of Harlem as well as learn a first hand experience about the Harlem Renaissance.

5 comments about Out On A Limb.

1. Here is this book in a nutshell: Shirley Maclaine, one-time Hollywood A-lister, finds herself in her early forties (during the mid-1970's) and as many people do upon reaching this hypothetical mid-point in life, Shirley Maclaine feels an inner motivation to seek out answers to humanity's heftiest questions. Does life have meaning? What happens when we die? Has she been on the right path? Is there a God? Is there anything beyond or outside the visible world? While all these are normal, natural, respectable inquiries that anyone with any substance surely makes at some point, the unfortunate fact is Maclaine asked these questions in the time and place she did---California in the '70's---and like the proverbial P.T. Barnum maxim about a you-know-what and his money, this financially-secure starlet soon fell into the clutches of a number of cons and frauds and fake "channelers" who filled her head with non-sense, even as they emptied her bank account. Toss into this retro-New Age tale a trek into the wilds of Peru, some asides about UFO's, an affair with a married British MP (later revealed to be a disguise for Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palma) a friendship with what was surely an emotionally-scarred young man whose mental issues Maclaine confused with "depth" and you got it all. Maclaine is perhaps to be commended for her courage in presenting her experiences and newfound convictions before the public, and for clinging to her beliefs while being made fun of by those who do not hail the legitimacy of spirit channelers who charge mega-bucks for their services, but what it all comes down to is this: she asked good questions and got (expensive) bad answers in return.



2. I thought this book was amazing when it first came out, when I was literally a teenager and first starting to think about life and what it all meant. I believe I have re-read this book over the years at least 6 times, and I always get something from it. For some reason this book is like an old friend I go back to again and again. I also loved the movie, love the ideas it presents, the way you watch Shirley struggle - as we all do (I am now 42, and can really relate to where she was at that time) - with relationships, friendships, family, and the search for spirituality and meaning in this life. I thought her love affair with Gerry was touching, how there was such a connection that she couldn't understand for a long time (though I am a little judgmental when it comes to affairs with married men, so I wasn't so comfortable about that part). We've all been drawn toward someone or repelled from someone so strongly and had trouble shaking the feeling, so it was interesting to see that it all may be about far more than what is happening on the surface. The movie was sweet, and sad, and funny, and touching, and really humanized celebrity in a way that brought home that we're all just people struggling to find our way. I've read nearly all of her books, with The Camino being the last. For some reason that was just too "out there" for me. A really good follow-up was It's All in the Playing, documenting Shirley's experience while filming the movie. It also discussed John Heard, "David" in the movie, who is such a tremendous actor. He wasn't much of a believer in the subject matter when approached to do the movie, and it was very interesting to read the behind-the-scenes of it all. So I would recommend this book whole-heartedly. Interesting and thought-provoking, both.



3. Shirley supplies her fans with the usual information one expects to find in a Hollywood tell-it-all book and so much more. Now you'll find out not only who's slept with whom but who they slept with in previous incarnations!
   
   Yes is was Shirley MacLaine, well-known Hollywood actress, dancer and last surviving member of the infamous "Rat-Pack" who almost single-handedly brought "New Age Spirituality" into the American mainstream with her '83 autobiographical best-seller `Out on a Limb'. This easy to read and highly entertaining 377 page book is a veritable everything you ever wanted to know about the New Age compendium that brought the concept of channeling and reincarnation into mainstream consciousness in unprecedented fashion.
   
   Shirley's revolutionary book came along when the time was ripe for an alternative approach to the divine. A large portion of the population had given up on the Sunday go to church ritual to hear about how the experience of God had touched the lives of people in the remote past. They hungered for something more recent, more accessible and most of all more experiential. Ms. MacLaine provided just that, a contemporary spiritual quest encompassing a myriad of belief systems and personal encounters with living, illumined teachers dispensing wisdom. All this blended with numerous, always eerie and invigorating synchronistic occurrences (meaningful coincidence) that so enthrall us made `Out on a Limb' a sure hit with the public-at-large.
   
   Unthinkable as it may seem, her simplistic, naïve understanding of spirituality has now become the norm for many, especially within the Hollywood elite and has caused a paradigm shift in modern day society that is still evolving. I'm not sure whether the positive brought about by this new mindset outweighs the negative backwash of spurious information and shallow thinking brought about by this book, but it is change nonetheless.
   
   Whether you agree with Shirley or not is not the point. She stands alone as an agent of change, new age guru, spiritual guide, cultural phenomenon and a sociological event that cannot be denied no matter how many people sit back and laugh at her beliefs. Many years from now long after you and I are gone this book will still be read and recognized as an important milestone in the history of the `New Age' movement. Ah..., the power of Hollywood stardom.



4. Shirley supplies her fans with the usual information one expects to find in a Hollywood tell-it-all book and so much more. Now you'll find out not only who's slept with whom but who they slept with in previous incarnations!
   
   Yes is was Shirley MacLaine, well-known Hollywood actress, dancer and last surviving member of the infamous "Rat-Pack" who almost single-handedly brought "New Age Spirituality" into the American mainstream with her '83 autobiographical best-seller `Out on a Limb'. This easy to read and highly entertaining 380 page book is a veritable everything you ever wanted to know about the New Age compendium that brought the concept of channeling and reincarnation into mainstream consciousness in unprecedented fashion.
   
   Shirley's revolutionary book came along when the time was ripe for an alternative approach to the divine. A large portion of the population had given up on the Sunday go to church ritual to hear about how the experience of God had touched the lives of people in the remote past. They hungered for something more recent, more accessible and most of all more experiential. Ms. MacLaine provided just that, a contemporary spiritual quest encompassing a myriad of belief systems and personal encounters with living, illumined teachers dispensing wisdom. All this blended with numerous, always eerie and invigorating synchronistic occurrences (meaningful coincidence) that so enthrall us made `Out on a Limb' a sure hit with the public-at-large.
   
   Unthinkable as it may seem, her simplistic, naïve understanding of spirituality has now become the norm for many, especially within the Hollywood elite and has caused a paradigm shift in modern day society that is still evolving. I'm not sure whether the positive brought about by this new mindset outweighs the negative backwash of spurious information and shallow thinking brought about by this book, but it is change nonetheless.
   
   Whether you agree with Shirley or not is not the point. She stands alone as an agent of change, new age guru, spiritual guide, cultural phenomenon and a sociological event that cannot be denied no matter how many people sit back and laugh at her beliefs. Many years from now long after you and I are gone this book will still be read and recognized as an important milestone in the history of the `New Age' movement. Ah..., the power of Hollywood stardom.



5. Shirley Maclaine's willingness to risk ridicule with her candor is to be commended. She powerfully states what many people fear to speak of. This book inspired me and in fact, if the title had not been taken, may very well have been the title for "Blessings In The Mire." Because she is such a celebrity figure, Maclaine risked more than an average joe. By expressing her beliefs, she opened herself up to the skeptics, the critics, the hecklers. If for nothing else, Ms. Maclaine should be commended for her candor and bavery, but with this statement aside, the book stands on its own for being extremely thought provoking, for creating dialog between believers and skeptics, and for being an extremely well written volume. KUDOS to to Shirley Maclaine for her skill and talent as a proficient author. She is NOT "just another pretty face."

5 comments about Toujours Provence.

1. I enjoyed Mayle's first book A Year in Provence a lot better than this book. If you want to learn about French food and meals then this book will help you. But it is not as funny as his first book.



2. Mayle's style is light and breezy; he does the joie de vivre thing as in his first Provence book. This book is really an elaboration of the episodes in A Year in Provence. Mayle does insert new characters and gustatory adventures that keep the reading lively however.
   
   There are many charming anecdotes in this book. Mayle is a first-class storyteller who drops alot of French words throughout his narrative in English. This, along with his modest humour, really make this a decent read.
   
   Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts



3. Peter Mayle is a great writer in his descriptions and the way he makes you a part of his life in Provence, specially if you don't understand the language or the habits of the «Natives»!
   The best book I ever read!
   Doris Veillette Hamel, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada



4. Having survived French bureaucracy, endless home improvement, goat races, hunters, Massot's dogs, summer visitors, and other hazards during A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle brings us more of the same in Toujours Provence.
   
   This time Mayle takes a more illustrative approach. Beginning with a pharmaceuticals marketing brochure that depicts a snail whose "horns drooped" and whose "eye was lackluster," Mayle educates us about health concerns and approaches in Provence--including house calls. Anecdotes relate Mayle's love of picnicking Provence style (with chef, wait staff, and linens); his quest for singing toads, truffles, and napoléons (the coins); his pursuit of Pavarotti and pastis; and, of course, his passion for the region's fresh foods and fine vintages.
   
   With a few exceptions, such as the history of pastis and the more sobering story of summer drought and forest fires, much of Toujours Provence will seem familiar territory to readers of the first book. For the most part, Mayle is in fine form, writing that Bennett, "looking like the reconnaissance scout from a Long Range Desert Group . . . had crossed enemy lines on the main N100 road, successfully invaded Ménerbes, and was now ready for the final push into the mountains." Some anecdotes, like "No Spitting in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape," end brilliantly, while others, such as "Napoléons at the Bottom of the Garden," fall a little flat.
   
   Judith Clancy's delightful artwork is back, but what is missing from Toujours Provence are the quirky characters we came to love or at least wonder about. Most are mentioned or make a brief appearance, but mainly they are relegated to the background. Even Mayle's neighbor Massot (". . . it would be difficult to imagine a more untrustworthy old rogue this side of the bars of Marseille prison"), to whom half a chapter is devoted, is here more caricature than character. We know no more about him, or Faustin and Henriette or Monsieur Menicucci, than we did at the end of the first book. By now, Mayle's circle has expanded , but no one he meets, from the toad choir director to the flic, is nearly as interesting as his neighbors or his builders from the first book.
   
   Like an adequate movie sequel, Toujours Provence carries on in the same vein as its predecessor, with a slightly different or reduced cast and a little less originality and wit. Perhaps more appropriately, I should say it's like a wine slightly past its peak--still worth drinking, but somehow not quite as enjoyable.



5. Slowly, I'm working my way through Peter Mayle's books though these books could more rightly be described as his love letters to Provence.
   
   Toujours Provence begins where his first book A Year In Provence ended. Now a seasoned resident of this region of France, he broadens his view to give us an affectionate portrait of the French in all their regional peculiarities.
   
   At once amusing and educational, this book gives the reader the sense of what it would be like to see France as a resident, not a tourist.
   
   I know I've entertained daydreams of living in France of Italy, at least for a summer. Mayle's books make me want to act upon that fantasy.
   
   This book is my perfect choice for bedtime reading. Not because it's boring and makes me sleepy. Not because it's easy to put down when sleep calls. Reading this book is a calm interlude in my busy life. Mayle has a droll humor and a flair for understatement of the incongruous situations that develop. I find myself smiling, and I can feel the stress melting away.
   
   Toujours Provence, like its predecessor A Year In Provence, is the perfect armchair vacation.

5 comments about Ann Margaret: My Story (Cassette).

1. I had the audiotape version, read by the author, and was surprised at how hokey it sounded, given that she is an actress. I mean, I expected a better reading. Not sure how well it represents her, but the book makes her come across as a bit shallow. I've enjoyed her movies, but found this book a bore.



2. This review is based on hardcover 1994 publication...

   Accomplished actress, entertainer, wife, daughter, mother -- Ann-Margret writes an informative, entertaining autobiographical picture of her life, loves, losses, heartaches, and continued triumphs. Candidly, this performer tells of her successes but is also honest about her bouts with alcohol - and her triumph over the illness - more than once. It is interesting to note pride in her heritage from Valsjobyn, Sweden, her birthplace... with a close and loving relationship with her parents and their immigration to the US.

   To read Ann-Margret's autobiography is to cry, laugh, & cheer... reading of her downs but mostly ups, with her loving husband and manager Roger Smith, who battled his own nerve disease to remission, and remained at Ann-Margret's side to support her personally and professionally, through hard times and more good times. The loss of her father to cancer; the death of Elvis Presley; her accidental fall from a platform at a performance in Lake Tahoe and finding the astounding strength and determination to come back to the entertainment world so quickly from so many injuries suffered in that fall... tells of the inner strength, stability, astuteness, professional, unselfish and loving human being that is Ann-Margret, who always keeps her positive focus within reach.

   Ann-Margret's career began at an early age; even though a "natural talent", her success came with a lot of very hard work, high standards, and fortitude based on a mannerly upbringing and strong support by her parents, friends and husband Roger Smith. Ann-Margret describes in her bio a close and soulmate relationship within the scope of personal as well as professional essence with legendary Elvis Presley. Her upbeat description and tales of her co-stars, including "Duke" John Wayne; Claudette Colbert; Bette Davis; George Burns; directors, producers, along with many supportive individuals.

   Her range of talent is wide -- in song, dance... acting on stage, movie screen and television, along with her comedy performances among which are Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, and the great George Burns. Acting roles she assumed were highly challenging and to her credit she glowed with each performance, in differing genre delving into in-depth characterizations -- her repertoire includes but not limited to "Bye Bye Birdie", "Tommy", "Streetcar Named Desire", "Carnal Knowledge", "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles".

   This reader has always been a fan of both Ann-Margret and husband Roger Smith, ignoring the tabloid garbage... cheering and admiring the fortitude of both of these talented persons and their lasting relationship...

   And to Ann-Margret I say... thank you for writing your biography, even though it took me some years to get to reading it among my large collection of books. And, I am so glad I did... I am proud to be a "forever fan" of yours. God bless you.




3. This is a really good book well written, flows nicely and great story.



4. She has always been one of my most favorite entertainers. She is a truly remarkable woman and reading this book reinforced that fact. I enjoyed every page. Well done, Ann-Margret!



5. Ann-Margret gives us a wonderful and candid portrait of one of the most fascinating actresses in the business, her strengths and weaknesses, her wins and losses in both her professional and personal life. I have a great deal of respect for her as an actress, a lady and a woman. A good read.

5 comments about Roberts Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan.

1. Interesting book on a small action in the war in Afganistan. Brave troops can't overcome poor leadership.



2. Very moving story! I am glad that Mr. MacPherson did not give up and saw this book through to its conclusion.
   This is a story is taken from multiple viewpoints to form a more complete understanding of what happened atop Takur Ghar. As this story unfolds you are able to see in your mind everything that happens. Also interesting is the benefits and ills of modern technology and how it affects modern warfare. A great book and a must read!!
   
   It will surely remain a lasting tribute to all those brave soldiers and airmen who lived and died through it.



3. "Roberts Ridge" tells it like it is! Rather hard to follow at times, and that's partially the fault of the author. But, in his favor, given the convoluted command structure that was in place at the time of the ill fated recon & subsequent rescue attempts on Takur Ghar, he does the best he can. I was constantly going back through the text trying to figure out who was calling which shots during this action. The book does provide an insider's look at the "Fog of War" and the confusion resulting therefrom. It also is an outstanding tale of courage and fortitude on the part of the Navy Seals, USAF Spec Ops, and Army Rangers who were involved in this combat operation. And there's sadness inasmuch as the casualties incurred by all the fine US forces involved need not have happened. JKBelew in Texas, an Old Marine & lifelong military history student.



4. This book pays a great tribute to American commandos during a battle on a mountain high altitude, ice, wind at night in Afghanistan lead by special forces commandos. The spirit is high. Fierce combats. The ennemy is dreadful. Very nice work.



5. WOW!! What an incredible story. This is a book you will not soon put down. A thrilling account of America's finest special forces and their attempt to resuce Navy Seals ambushed in Afghanistan. The story is full of detail. I can get a little confusing with who is who due to all the soldiers the involved this account, but nonetheless it is a well documented and well written book.
   It really is a book our youth should read. It will give them and all of Americans an inside look at how courageous, selfless, honorable, and down right tough as nails our soldiers truly are! They are truly our proud and our brave!!
   Rangers Lead The Way!

1 comments about 84, Charing Cross Road.

1. Like many people I saw a movie first. Naturally due to media constraints, you expect certain amount of the book to be homogenized. So I wanted to read what was missing. To my amazement very little was missing or modified. I don't normally read this sort of book. So I was surprised at finding myself wanting more when it finished.
   
   Also until I read the book I did not realize that Charing Cross Road was a real place. The whole book is based on a collection of correspondence between Helene Hanff, an avid book reader, and Frank Doel an agent for British bookseller.
   
   My wife has taken this one step further and is collecting all the books that were mentioned in the correspondence. Some of these books appear to have been reprinted due to this publication.
   
   If you can find it there is a book called "The Library of Helene Hanff."
   I wonder what became of all the other people described in the correspondents after the book.
   
   The Library of Helene Hanff Limited Edition Signed

5 comments about William McKinley (The American Presidents).

1. Kevin Phillips has been a political and economic commentator for more than 30 years, and written many books. William McKinley was elected to two terms and avoided any major scandals. America became a world power in his terms. McKinley was the best of the seven Ohio-born presidents. McKinley's reputation declined after 1932 with the changes in tariffs, the gold standard, and the power of corporations. Phillips lists six beliefs about McKinley that he calls "calumnies" (p.4). McKinley's inscrutability, avoidance of written commitments, and oratorical style shows "great political skill" says Phillips (p.5). McKinley was a progressive Republican (p.6) and deserves a better reputation. McKinley's children died young, his wife developed epilepsy (p.25). [This book lacks a map of Ohio in McKinley's times.]
   
   Chapter 1 tells about Ohio and William McKinley. After the Civil War McKinley became a lawyer and entered politics. Chapter 2 describes a Modern McKinley. He was sold "like soap" in 1896 (p.30). Victrola records passed on speeches. He was the first president to visit California. The first permanent national labor union (printers) and the AFL started in Ohio, so did the United Mine Workers (p.32). McKinley defended striking coal miners in 1876. Tariffs kept American wages high (p.37). McKinley refused to profit from his political policies (p.39). The tariff questions of revenue and protection were recurring political issues (p.43). Then came the issue of silver currency (pp.51-52). Phillips explains the interests behind the conflicts.
   
   McKinley was popular with the party rank and file, and was nominated on the first ballot. The many recessions affected voting for Congress (p.64). Phillips doesn't mention the reason for Bryan's many campaign stops (p.75). It was to talk directly to the voters. Major northern cities backed McKinley (p.77). There were similarities between Bryan and McKinley (p.83). McKinley's term saw America become a world power (p.87). [This seems a little premature.] There was an entente with Britain. Expansionism was an American tradition (pp.88-89). The naval victories at Manila Bay and Santiago Cuba helped McKinley's popularity (p.96). It was a short and successful war. The Platt Amendment kept Germany out of Cuba (p.105). The annexation of Hawaii was to keep Japan out (p.106). Fear of Germany affected Britain's politics. McKinley's plans for tariff reciprocity died with him (p.123). McKinley intended to recommend an income tax (p.124). McKinley was friendly with labor (p.125). McKinley's cabinet continued with Theodore Roosevelt (p.127). McKinley had introduced Granger resolutions (p.128). Roosevelt enacted the Elkins Act and the Hepburn Act. There were threats to nationalize the coal mines and steel industry (p,129). McKinley enacted an arbitration system in Ohio. McKinley also began the naval increase (p.132).
   
   Chapter 6 concludes the reconsideration. Senators were chosen by state legislatures and were against progressive legislation (p.135). McKinley's assassination prevented him from achieving his political objectives (p.136). McKinley sought affection and popularity, but this was mistaken for weakness (p.138). McKinley's strength was shown by his running the State Department and the War Department (p.139). [Or did he put men there who he could override?] Those who knew him admired him (p.140). McKinley's thinking was formed by the Radical Republicans (p.141). Politics changed with the theories of Herbert Spencer (p.142). Phillips compares McKinley to Lincoln or FDR (pp.156-157), but admits McKinley was a "near great". This short chapter explains why. [McKinley's portrait was on the $500 bill, I think it should be re-issued.]



2. I was very disappointed by this book. As someone who didn't know much about McKinley, I read it with the aim of finding out all the basics about him - who he was, what he did, how he died. Yet after reading it I feel like I know little more than before.
   
   The entire book seems to be written as a rebuttal of other biographers' lackluster opinions of McKinley. Liberally interspersed throughout the narrative are refutations of supposedly popular beliefs about McKinley, from his education to his influence on his successor, Teddy Roosevelt. This would probably appeal to someone who has read several books on the topic, but it is a strange pick for the American Presidents series, which should be a basic primer for the uninitiated. The book says little about what specifics McKinley accomplished in his presidency, says little about the Spanish American War, and says nothing about his assassination, except for where it happened. I feel like I now have to go and look him up on Wikipedia to find the information that was not included in this book. If you are not already quite familiar with the topic, I'd recommend reading something else on the subject first.



3. This is yet another entry into The American Presidents series of brief biographies, under the general editorship of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. One of the more intriguing facets of this series is the sometime use of eminent authors. Here, Kevin Phillips, a political commentator who once projected a Republican majority, writes an interesting work on McKinley, to some extent a political essay as much as a biography. His contention is that McKinley was one of the few really top notch presidents from Lincoln's assassination to FDR's service.
   
   The book argues that McKinley's rise in politics--from the Ohio state political world to president--was largely self-orchestrated. That he took control over his political ambitions (and was not a mere puppet of Mark Hanna, his key political operative later in his political career).
   
   Earlier in the book, his family background is described as is his solid service in the Union Army during the Civil War (indeed, he served with Rutherford Hayes, another American president--and another Ohioan).
   
   As his political career developed, Phillips argues that his political views were more "enlightened," for want of a better term, than many of his Republican peers. He had some sympathy and provided some support for workers; he seemed to have recognized the value of blacks and women having political rights; he exhibited a much more nuanced view of tariffs than standard pro-capitalist Republicans.
   
   When he became president there was one new aspect to his administration--no owing political bosses Cabinet positions and so on; some predecessors were hamstrung by deals made with party leaders in order to gain the office. His defeat of Bryan in the critical 1896 election helped realign politics. Phillips argues that there was another realignment--of America's international role after 1896, presided over by McKinley.
   
   All in all, an interesting take on McKinley as a person and as president. I think that Phillips does make a case that McKinley, while not a great president, might well be ranked as near great. One can be critical of McKinley's imperialism, illustrated by the Philippines and Hawaii. But he laid the groundwork for Teddy Roosevelt's presidency (indeed, Phillips says that Roosevelt's presidency needs to be coupled with McKinley's for something like a McKinley-Roosevelt extended administration from 1897-1909). At any rate, a useful short biography of William McKinley. A strong addition to the series.



4. Kevin Phillips is an odd choice to author a biography on Republican William McKinley but not a surprising selection given that Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. is the general editor of this presidential series. The author is a former Republican who worked in the Nixon administration and, like many Nixonians, grew disillusioned with the party and chose to serve penance as a far-left commentator for NPR and other leftist organizations.
   
   The author pursues a thesis that elevates McKinley to the rank of Near Great presidents as judged by occasional polls of historians (polls championed originally by Schlesinger's father, a progressive professor at Harvard who selected fellow progressives to rank the presidents with the unsurprising result that progressive presidents topped the list, ipso facto).
   
   With his bifurcated background, the author denounces McKinley's "middle class" heritage and views, instead touting a hidden progressivism the author espies in McKinley that coulda, woulda, shoulda emerged had only the president not been assassinated. The entire argument is off-mark not only because the author attempts to rebrand McKinley as a liberal progressive but also because recent polls of historians are no longer skewed completely to progressives and have already elevated McKinley, which is the cause célèbre of this biography (i.e. the two most recent polls both list McKinley at #14 all time, which is the rough position the author champions). The author's passion for developing this thesis is the reason that some reviewers lament that the second half of the book is less a biography and more a disjointed argument that McKinley is really a progressive.
   
   As a youth, the author developed an affinity for McKinley. While a member of the Nixon administration, the author shared many values with McKinley but, once he grew older, the author identified with progressives. In this book the author has attempted to translate his own philosophical journey to McKinley. I was not convinced by the argument but then I believe it is fatuous to hold that a president needs to be progressive to be considered successful.
   
   For those interested in McKinley or Teddy Roosevelt, the book is a decent introduction. The author does a good job painting a portrait of the culture and times that forged McKinley. The writing, especially in the beginning when he explores McKinley's Ohio heritage, Civil War service, and initial foray into politics, is well-crafted. Also, the author does an excellent job explaining why the Republicans pursued tariff protections so vigorously during this time period - a position at odds with the party today but understandable given the context of an emerging industrial nation.
   
   Bottom-line: I recommend the book for a quick read given the caveats detailed above but note that the second half of the book is more of a dive into the psyche of the author than an overview of the president.



5. I have read 18 of the books in this series, and this one is by far the least satisfying. Most of the other volumes maintain a balance between the personal life of the president, and his administration and policies. Phillips leans so heavily in the latter direction that I hardly felt I knew anything about the man himself. And can you imagine a book about an assassinated president that contains NO ACCOUNT of the actual crime, and not even a mention of the assassin? Phillips was too busy trying to raise McKinley's sagging reputation (especially in relation to his successor, TR) to give us more details about his life, family, and untimely death. I learned a lot about tariffs, the gold standard, and our relationship with Britain, but not much about McKinley.

5 comments about King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis.

1. On the one hand, this was immensely readable. On the other hand, the negative things Levy has to say turn out to be for personal reasons. You have to wait for the afterword at the back of the book to find out that he and Lewis didn't see eye to eye and Levy felt hurt by this. Hence, the dirt. It's the Mommie Dearest Syndrome. Christina Crawford, we learn when we read that book, actually had made up with and was very close to her mother at the time of Joan Crawford's death. Then, inexplicably, Crawford left Christina out of her will. Hence, the dirt. So if Levy had (a) just skipped the afterword altogether, (b) put it up front as a preface so we could go into the book knowing the motivation, or (c) eased up on some of the vitriol, it would have been a better book. I'll read more books on Lewis, but I won't be reading anything else by Levy.



2. Whether you love Jerry Lewis or hate him, you won't be able to stop reading this definative biography that corrects years and years of misinformation and paints a brutally honest picture of the entertainer. It's certainly a warts-and-all bio, filled with unflattering information, but its leveled with a real appreciation for Lewis's work as a comedian, actor and director. This biography gets beneath the skin and gives you a real insight to Lewis. He's not a monster but he's also not someone you'd want to spend a lot of time with off the pages of this excellent biography.



3. We all grew up watching Martin & Lewis movies and Jerry's solo projects, but there were those National Enquirer stories in the 1970's about Jerry being nasty to old people. Then a good friend of mine told me about when he worked at the Vegas Aladdin and saw Jerry Lewis completely lose his mind on a group of little children who'd talked their way backstage during a telethon to give him a donation. Jerry screamed every type of profanity at them. (A humiliated Chad Everrett hustled the kids to his limo for a ride home and my friend said he trembled in rage to keep from throttling Jerry).
   When I saw Jerry on stage in the 1990's, I was stunned by the amount of swearing he did--even as I've seen him in interviews swear he never cusses on stage!
   Obviously, any honest account of Jerry Lewis will have to try to reconcile the sweet, clumsy "nine-year-old" clown and the rampaging, egocentric monster. Shawn Levy has done that and I admire his book for not going too far one way or the other. I picked up the book to read about the unseen film, THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, and for any insight into the Martin & Lewis split (I'd also read Nick Tosches' DINO), and I'm glad I did.

   For the people (including Jerry himself) who would dismiss this book as a "hatchet job," you only have to look at Jerry's behavior and quotes himself to see both sides of him: Jerry not only disowned one of his sons for talking to the Enquirer, he completely wrote him out of every biography of him ("Love hard, hate hard"); Jerry's dismissal of all women comics as "unfunny" and "predominately here to have children"; his recent interview with Bill O'Reilly where he declares that JFK never had an affair with Marilyn Monroe--because Jerry did! (Even O'Reilly, a man not known to be caught unawares, blinked, speechless).

   Jerry's wretched behavior, whether drug-induced or simply chosen, can't diminish his contribution to entertainment, only diminish one's opinion of him as a human being. And I don't think Jerry cares what you think about him.
   I can just see him as Buddy Love (a creation mistaken for Dean when it was really Jerry), lighting up a smoke and saying, "I've done it all, baby."




4. Jerry Lewis is a genius, pure & simple. Read this tome & you'll discover a man as complex (and misunderstood) as Wagner. This IS Wagnerian... absolute glory & absolute dispair. It encapsulates what Jerry has always been about, but this isn't just shtick. It's the real deal. One would wish for someone as hell-raising & life-affirming as Lewis to lead a life-as-party existance--- he hasn't. And you'll read why. Still & all, he's called the shots for however many decades straight & how many people can say THAT? This man is a giant, & shall be remembered as such. I love you Mr. Levitch!!!



5. Jerry Lewis' films represent to me the best and the worst of that genre: at times he's able to evoke the most joyous emanations from the human voice box, in individual scenes, projecting through brilliant technique and artistic temperment some of the most beautiful, balletic images ever captured in that medium; at other times, he seems to trash the entire industry by indulging himself in some of the most laborious and unfunny bits one can imagine - the "what was that?", "why didn't he just..." response from the fans inevitable.
   On the small screen, he could host and perform in greatly successful fund-raisers, singing, dancing, ad-libbing at a level most comedians could only dream of; and at the same telethon, drop his pants while a diva sings.
   This book effectively brings out such artistic (and personal) highs and lows.
   For this historians, Levy writes of events I had long ago aassumed never could have taken place, i.e. a 1958 and 1961 stage reunion with Dean Martin.
   But through all the twists and turns, the wonderment and the disappointment, Jerry emerges as the natural successor to Chaplin and Laurel. At the end of that charity event with the the embarrassing boxer display interlude, he sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" with enough emotion and grace to temporarily make fans of his most carping critics.

1 comments about The Life & Works of Chopin.

1. Not having known very much at all about Chopin, I cannot vouch for the accuracy in the Naxos entry in their CD and cassette Biography series; but I can vouch for the enjoyment (NA 421912) afforded me.

   Written and produced by Jeremy Siepmann, this audio-bio not only tells the strange story of Chopin's life but also includes generous examples of his music, drawn from the bottomless pit of Naxos musical CDs. An excellent idea was to use actors for the voices of Chopin (Anton Lesser), George Sand and other females in his life (Elaine Claxton and Karen Archer), and other male acquaintances (Neville Jason). It is the kind of reading that would fascinate even if the work were fictional.

   His letters are particularly fascinating, especially as they are read dramatically by the small cast; and one would rather hear about all his faults--physical and psychological--from people who knew him well. Perhaps his strange epistolary relationship with his Titus is dwelt upon a bit too much, but such are the times (then and now).

   My only criticism in a negative direction is the length of the musical examples. I do not really think the entire "Revolutionary Etude" had to be played or the entire "Funeral March"; a minute or two with a fadeout would have been fine, especially on repeated hearings where one wants the facts. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

   By the way, the listing above of this work as "abridged" is simply inaccurate since the text (I am told by the publicity person at Naxos) was written specifically for this recording and is by definition "unabridged."