2 comments about The Inner Jefferson: Portrait of a Grieving Optimist.

1. yet another broad look at jefferson, from political career, near-romantic encounters, family life, friends & correspondences. the writing is crystal clear & fast-paced. you get a snippet of tj's sharp epistolary hand. no huge controversies being discussed here altho i think there were some defenses made for the slavery issue. pick up this book. it's one of the better ones for introducing yourself to tj. good b&w photos of his favorite haunts & some skeletons in the closet.



2. I'm about two-thirds of the way through this book. The content is highly interesting, but it's kind of a difficult read. Definitely not the lighter, "speedy" read of an Ambrose or Vidal book. Burstein is very analytical, with somewhat of a sociologial and/or psychological perspective to this analysis of Jefferson. There is a early section on Love/Emotion (?) which is a bit laborious. However, I will continue to work my way to the end, and do feel that I've gained much insight into Jefferson's background, family life, political affiliations, intellectual interests, his love of the Parisian salon-type intercourse, and so forth.
   This book is definitely NOT for the reader of lighter history.
   Dry and laborious at times.

5 comments about Jefferson's Vendetta: The Pursuit of Aaron Burr and the Judiciary.

1. A lively account of a notable trial in U.S. history. Mr. Wheelan writes like a reporter (which he has been) more than a more measured historian. Here President Jefferson is the bad guy with Chief Justice Marshall saving the day. Burr is presented as a mis-understood rogue with political enemies in high places. I do not accept the author's version of the first presidential election of Jefferson, which gives an exceedingly favorable bent to Burr's actions. Burr also killed Hamilton, which does not cause the author much pause.
   
   In my mind, John Marshall is our country's greatest jurist. This book does help in showing an important example of his fine work.
   
   
   



2. In the early nineteenth century, former Vice-President Aaron Burr -- the recent killer of Alexander Hamilton in a duel -- was up to something. Maybe it was an attempt to conquer Spanish Mexico and set up an American empire. Perhaps it was a plot to separate the western territories (and Kentucky) from the rest of the Union. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was neither, Historians still debate the matter. But whatever it was, it ended up with Burr on trial for treason, with Chief Justice John Marshall presiding over the trial (and President Thomas Jefferson a behind-the-scenes prosecutor). Burr was eventually acqutted (probably more for lack of specific evidence and creditable witnesses -- Burr's co-conspirators did not inspire confidence in their own integrity) but it was an extraordinarily dramatic event in the early American Republic. Wheelan tells it story well, although he is clearly not sympathetic to Jefferson. I regret to say that Wheelan's accuracy is made suspect by errors he makes: in the space of four pages Wheelan writes that James Wilkinson (the comanding general of the US Army and secretly a paid Spanish agent and the chief Government witness against Aaron Burr) had in 1775 accompanied Benedict Arnold in his famous march across the Maine wilderness to attack Canada (Wilkinson had actually been among the reinforcements reaching Arnold the next year) and also that Westchester County is in Connecticut (a statement that would amaze thousands of New York State taxpayers). But, overall I found Wheelan's account to be a gripping narrative about both conspiracy and trial.



3. I don't know why Mr. Wheelan has such a sore spot about Jefferson. I would just warn readers that if you read this book, make sure you read many other historical books about these same characters. If you happen to read this book, and have not read other material about these characters, you will come away with a slanted view about Thomas Jefferson, and the other historical characters in this book. There are so many writers who, for reasons of profit or ideology, have taken upon themselves the job of rewriting history to their own liking, or that of their publisher. This book has several historical mistakes, but the overall tone reminds me of some of our current extremists who take a one sided view about many issues. Jefferson was a flawed human being, that is clear to anyone who reads history. But to paint him in this light is unfair. Burr, on the other hand, was not a nice guy. He was the kind of man Bush would have been if he had lived during that time. Power hungry, instigating failed military missions, and willing to kill to get his way. Yes, that is harsh, but painfully true. Be wary of revisionist history. I give this book four stars for its inventiveness; it does have some entertainment value. Wheelan writes well, but perhaps he should switch to fiction and stop trying to turn Jefferson into someone he was not. Thomas Jefferson was a man who would not tolerate tyrants and insisted on civil liberty. Not perfect, but not the character created in Mr. Wheelan's book.



4. Every society has a moment in time where a decision affecting civil liberties has enormous repercussions. For example, laws giving the government power to curtail political assassinations were abused by Stalin and Hitler to consolidate their dictatorships. This book covers the issues and personalities involved in the courtroom battle over whether the United States would adopt the British doctrine of constructive treason in which merely thinking that it would be desirable to have the King killed would be sufficient grounds for capital punishment. Jefferson, who intensely disliked his former vice-president Burr, sought to press treason charges for an alleged plan to cause the western regions to sucede from the United States. Faced with shaky evidence, the prosecutors urged that the Constitution be interpreted to enable them to convict Burr on the basis of constructive treason. The book cogently describes the societal and personal issues at stake, and how Chief Justice Marshall navigated the intense political and judicial issues involved in the grand jury proceeding and trial. The author does an excellent job of setting the matter in its historical context and does so in a very readable style.



5. This is a part of history I had not studied before, and the same story is told in the earlier "The Jefferson Conspiracies" which continues on with the death of Meriwether Lewis and the rest of the career of General Wilkinson the really corrupt and treasonous person in both books. Both books are very readable, I found some of the points more clear in the other book. Both books feel Wilkinson betrayed Burr to hide his own involvement and would have killed him rather than see him go to trial. The second book speculates the same may have happened to Lewis as he was traveling East because he felt he was being framed in the same manner as Burr (thou in this case apparently competely innocent), and Wilkinson may have thought he was also going to provide evidence of his corrupt land deals.
   
   This book tries to portray Burr as an innocent, which is hard to believe. While it is clear with just 50 men on there way to live on land owned by Burr , no treasous armed uprising against the US or Spain had yet occurred, (rather than the thousands of armed men approaching New Orleans that Wilkinson claimed). But it seemed that both Wilkinson and Burr solicited British and others for help with attacking Spain with Burr to be King (not President) and perhaps to divide the western territory from the US so at least in todays standards treason had occurred. Back then the Federalist were considering withdrawing New England from the union as well and before it was made illegal (but only a high misdameanor) there were US forays into Spainish terrority Jefferson at least wanted Spain to worry about a rogue attack from the US,such thoughts were not unusual in those days.
   
   It is clear that Wilkinson was in Spain's payroll, and was traitous. Both books argue Jefferson shielded him by letting him have a phoney Court Marshall rather than an investigation by Congress. The one book claims it is to protect himself and his support of his star witness against Burr. The other for the national interest, from New England threatening to leave the Union and Britain invasion from Canada , the country could not stand for the distraction, plus Wilkinson's contacts with Spain made him useful with negotian about Florida and Mexico. He escaped conviction again in 1815, which even President Madison found troubling.

No comments about Wounded At Gettysburg.

No comments about From Huntsville to Appomattox: R. T. Coles's History of 4th Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A., Army of Northern Virginia (Voices of the Civil War).

No comments about Battle-Fields of the South: From Bull Run to Fredericksburgh; With Sketches of Confederate Commanders, and Gossip of the Camps (Collector's Library of the Civil War).

No comments about The Papers of John C. Calhoun, Vol. XXVI, 1848-1849.

No comments about Black American Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary.

1 comments about The Illustrated Gettysburg Address.

1. Lincoln at Gettysburg in the midst of the Great Civil War dividing the nation, and causing the loss of so many American lives redefines the goal of that nation, and promises it a new birth of freedom. In it he sets forth the ideal that will bind the nations wounds, and bring it together again in pursuit of that freedom and justice that is its founding goal. Lincoln at Gettysburg redefines America to itself , for the duration of that war and for the generations to come. He tells a people the essence of what it is in solemn deep and heartfelt tones that will reverberate not only in the hearts and minds of his own countrymen but throughout the world as a whole .
   Lincoln at Gettysburg is the American soul in liberty being told to mankind who may be inspired too to at last come to the day when government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth.

1 comments about John McIntosh Kell of The Raider Alabama.

1. "Drawing upon obscure newspaper interviews and other rich source material, Delaney has produced a splendid bio of a Confederate naval officer. Kell was the driving force behind much of the success that raphael Semmes enjoyed with his raider Alabama. Delany fully depicts Kell's exciting life, giving thorough attention not only to the war years, but also the pre- and postwar years as well." This review from America's Civil War magazine (March 2003) pretty much describes the book. It is a good, concise read for anyone interested in the naval aspects of the American Civil War, especially the role of the Confederate commerce raider Alabama.

2 comments about Conversations With Lincoln.

1. Charles Segal's book entitled "Conversations with Lincoln" offers a unique view into both our country's early history as well as the personal and political struggles that Abraham Lincoln endured throughout his tenure as our nation's leader. While many authors have explored various aspects of Lincoln and his administration, Segal's innovative approach provides an objective assessment of the political and social dynamics that surrounded Lincoln's decision-making throughout his presidency. By chronologically organizing excerpts from personal interviews and narrative accounts, "Conversations with Lincoln" captures Lincoln's valiant effort of uniting the United States while steadfastly working to protect the integrity of the Constitution. Lincoln's own thoughts provide rare social commentary as well as vivid insight into one of America's greatest leaders. I sincerely recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a more accurate perspective of both Abraham Lincoln and the United States during this extraordinary time period.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In particular, I thought the author gave us a unigue look into the selection of a President's cabinet. Also, Lincoln's ups and downs with the various General's during the Civil War was clearly depicted. The conversations with approach is a good one that is vastly different than the normal biography.