5 comments about Thomas Jefferson: A Life.

1. If one can get past the fact that Willard Sterne Randall's prose is ponderous, uneven and repetitive (he shows improvement in his latest biography of Alexander Hamilton), a reader will certainly be able to appreciate the diligent research, remarkable detail and exploration of Thomas Jefferson's early life as given us by the author. The early life and formative years of America's third president has never been rendered better or in greater detail, and the first few hundred pages of this book --up to Jefferson's first years in France-- are absolutely worth reading.

   Randall strikes one as somewhat prudish when it comes to exploring the more human frailties of his mighty subject, almost smugly downplaying Jefferson's sexual relationships throughout his life, and dismissing, with a scholarly sniff, the notion that Thomas Jefferson might have had an intimate relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. Scientific tests performed after the publication of this almost epic biography have raised some relevant questions, and though certainly not the centerpiece of Jefferson's life and myriad accomplishments, it is evidence of the author's almost protective prose.

   Nonetheless, the complex Thomas Jefferson, a pixilated, self-absorbed genius who was also voraciously patriotic and far-sighted, is clearly painted for the reader. His ability to compartmentalize his many desires and inner conflicts is fascinating --apparently, the many facets of Jefferson seldom, if ever, communicated with each other. Yet, to watch Jefferson studying law, natural science and the classics (to name but a few fields in which he would become an authority), molding himself (with a good deal of generous patronage and good fortune) into an indisputable man for all seasons, is marvelous. No recent biographer has brought this much life to Jefferson's early days, through his tenure in the House of Burgesses to budding revolutionary; from the crafting of the Declaration of Independence to his role in France.

   It is a shame Randall does not give us more balance in presenting the whole of Jefferson's life, but the founder of the University of Virginia was more than complex.

   In his book, "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson," Joseph J. Ellis rightly describes Jefferson as such, and Randall's earlier effort offers the reader an even grander panorama --indeed, Jefferson's entire life-- through which to observe this eccentric, frustrating and frustrated champion of an American agrarian utopia.

   Thomas Jefferson cannot be praised highly enough, and Randall needn't have put Jefferson's overall image on a modest pedestal. But enough of the essential Jefferson, if any parts of him can be truly known, are shown here to the reader through Randall's minute research and sweeping presentation (Randall's stinting on Jefferson's life after about 1790 not withstanding).

   The book isn't without faults (it isn't exactly a page-turner), but the observations offered equal or outweigh Randall's sometimes brilliant, often bumbling, prosaic narrative. Jefferson outshines the author, and like a Sphinx, raises more questions than are answered. Still, this may be the closest modern readers of a single volume biography will get to Jefferson's many worlds. Five stars for Jefferson, less two for Randall's uneven effort.




2. If this is the best single volume biography on Thomas Jefferson then there is a lot of work left to do. Biography is about what men and women accomplish, what they do with their lives, how they live life and how they handle success and failure. This work of Randall's falls very far short on almost all scores.

   To write over 560 pages of text and dedicate only 30 or so to his eight years as President of the United States and even less to his retirement when he did much valuable scientific work is really to miss the essence of what this man was all about. This man loved his country and contributed mightily to it. He formulated thoughts and ideas that still hold true today. Many of his policies are still in force. So where are they?

   Not only does the author leave out so many of the crowning achievements of Jefferson's contributions to our American form of government, what he does cover is not adequately communicated. The writing is dull, cumbersome and boring. It is disjointed, uneven and confusing. Worse Randall actually plays with the facts. He denies Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings, a fact proved by DNA testing. He contends that the election of 1800 was really no big deal. And of course he would never admit to Jefferson's playing with freedom of the press. How silly. How misleading.

   Of course Thomas Jefferson was a complex person. He was a politician; he always stood where the wind blew. But a biography like this, containing several material misstatements of fact while omitting some of the man's most amazing contributions to the foundation of our country, does no one any good at all. It misleads the reader, misrepresents the facts and denigrates the incredible life that was lived.




3. Mr. Randall seems to be in possession of vast amounts of information on Thomas Jefferson, and he desperately wants to share it. The problem is that he can not decide how to organize the information. We are presented with chronological narrative that suddenly changes to subject related narratives then digresses into topics that relate to people discussed as part of an anecdote. As if this weren't enough much of the same information is discussed multiple times. The editing on this book was poor and the writing is disjointed, very hard to follow. Information presented ranges from the important and interesting to the mundane and boring. I give the book 3 stars only because of the amount of information contained in this book, other than that it would have been a low 2. Having read and enjoyed Mr. Randall's book on George Washington I found it hard to believe I was reading the same author.



4. I particularly like this biography of Thomas Jefferson because it is written a manner that is easy and interesting to read. The author includes a few descriptive works to make the images come through. He will say, "On a cold morning in March Jefferson rode of to ...." Rather than just giving a date and destination. The author writes about Jefferson's travels in Europe telling us about the vehicle Jefferson was driving and what the roads were like. He also uses Jefferson quotes about the chaotic noisy hotel he stayed at. The experiences seemed not so dissimilar to my own European travels. I was able to connect and feel the experience personally.



5. The latest review of this biography is two years old. Maybe it's time for a new one, with a different perspective from the other very helpful reviewers.
   
   In writing a biography of Thomas Jefferson, Randall tackled an insurmountable problem: either the book must be interminable, or it must be incomplete.
   
   Jefferson's long, active life spanned the most interesting political era of modern times. He participated fully in that era, not as a mere observer, but often as a prime mover, from the days of the British American colonies, through the growth of the need to be independent, to the struggle for that independence, through the long and difficult period forming and stabilizing a nation unlike any other, through the growth of that nation into a continent-spanning empire.
   
   Committed and tied to Virginia, he was an untitled aristocrat. Yet he was even more committed to the Union. He actively opposed slavery, yet owned slaves, one of whom - probably the half-sister of his deceased wife - was his unofficial and only concubine for many years (the only relationship legally allowing them to live in the same home and have children together).
   
   One of the truly brilliant lawyers of his day, Jefferson drafted revolutionary documents, and founded them upon legal principles. He was a great political/legal theorist, who would override his own theories to benefit his country.
   
   His interests and accomplishments were legion: designing a better plow, pushing for tax-supported public education, founding the University of Virginia, architecture, agriculture, English prosody, trade, etc., etc.
   
   He challenged England's George III, worked closely with Franklin, Washington, Adams, Madison and Monroe, outmaneuvered and outlasted Napoleon, and on and on.
   
   For the biographer, the bottom line is that any readable biography of Jefferson will be incomplete. One element of Randall's work worth appreciating is the very complete 32-page index. The better, more interesting biographies tend to focus on one or two aspects of Jefferson. So it may not be fair to criticize Randall for not covering all the bases. But it is fair to criticize something like his treatment of Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings.
   
   Many readers will want to dig into some of Jefferson's own writings. The Declaration of Independence reveals him as one of the great stylists of the English language; so reading him is a pleasure, and always informative. For someone who wants more than Randall has provided, but does not want to get bogged down, I'd recommend The Library of America's one volume selection, "Thomas Jefferson: Writings" or a similar collection which includes "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," his brief Autobiography, and, even though parts may not interest today's reader, "Notes on the State of Virginia."

5 comments about Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life.

1. I must admit; I didn't get very far, but this book is a self serving pack of lies by an apologist for the intransigence of the Arab world. For example, she refers to the "forced migration" of 1948 without ever mentioning that the ones doing the forcing were Arabs who promised their people that if they would get out they would "push the Jews into the sea". Nor does she mention the origin of the name "Palestinian" (hint: it is a Hebrew name).
   
   The saddest thing about the Arab world is that 1000 years ago they had the most advanced civilization on earth, and entirely due to problems of their own making they now preside over one giant hell hole.
   
   But if she came out and admitted this the Hashemite family would be in danger of losing their position of privilege in Transjordan.
   
   I would recommend that anyone who reads this book should also read "Warrior" by Ariel Sharon. At least he knows the history of Israel, Syria, and Egypt.



2. Here is a glimpse into Middle East history from someone who was there! My own family members have enjoyed reading it as much as I have; I think shall too!



3. Leap of Faith is interesting from the young all American becomes Queen standpoint. It really is amazing that a fairly regular young American woman gains the attention of the King of Jordan and becomes Queen.
   
   It is too bad she was not willing to be more real in her telling of a great story.
   
   The book ends up preaching about Queen Noor's view of the political world and quickly becomes tiresome and boring.
   
   It could have been a very exciting story given her exciting life but she had to go preach to us instead.



4. Unfortunately the autobiography is boring and somewhat distant and impersonal. Actually, overall the writing is uninspired and quite frankly, flat. Queen Noor, obviously a beautiful, intelligent, well-educated woman uses the book as a platform for spouting some pretty blatant untruths about the modern history of the Middle East. I guess I should have expected that, but it was disappointing nonetheless. I might have gritted my teeth and gotten past her politics if the love story was interesting. But it wasn't simply because the writing was so unemotional and disconnected. As I read the book, it was as if I could hear someone speaking in a monotone voice and it was almost sleep-inducing.



5. This biography is not great literature. It's centered in the most complex and violent regions of our times but rarely scratches the surface. Noor's diplomacy in describing people and events - always the high road, even in the midst of deceit and betrayal - is maddeningly constant and obscures rather than reveals. So what's to like about the book? It's an extraordinary story of a young western woman who embraces the east: it's people, culture, religion and thought. It's the story of her love for King Hussein, who in a world of the powerful, is largeless powerless but for his integrity in the struggle for peace. Her perspective, is that of the Palestinian Arab. Their voice needs to be heard. This book is a thoughtful start.

5 comments about Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl (Vintage).

1. Not since Albert Goldman's ELVIS has a dense, full length biography of a sexy, glamorous larger than life legend been written with such sadistic relish, such delicious malicious bitchery and pure venomous guile.
   
   There's no question that Leni Riefenstahl, the stunningly beautiful German woman who made hypnotic propaganda films for the Nazis, was guilty of moral cowardice and hypocrisy, if not during the war, then certainly afterwards. She persisted to the end of her life in wanting to have it both ways -- saying in effect "I didn't know," and at the same time "I was too scared to stop Hitler -- too scared that I would be next." She claimed to have legions of Jewish friends before the war, but she never tried to help them when things got bad, even though she had lots of Nazi influence and power. And she always seemed weirdly out of touch with the human results of Hitler's evil deeds.
   
   The problem is, Steve Bach doesn't know when to quit. He sneers at Leni Riefenstahl not just for the big things -- not strangling Hitler with her bare hands, the way he seems to imagine he would have done -- but for the little things too. The book is full of catty little remarks like, "Leni was always conscious of her hypnotic effect on men" or "Leni didn't mind having handsome, powerful men buy her presents" or "Leni's fearless mountain climbing only made her feminine allure more overpowering to the distinguished male cinema artists who indulged her every creative whim."
   
   It's hard to tell whether Bach hates Leni for being heartless and callous or for being beautiful, talented -- and very knowingly seductive.
   
   There is a much more serious issue here than the hissy ALL ABOUT EVE style bitchery of a jaded Hollywood insider. Bach insists on judging a German film maker by a far more rigorous standard than he would ever apply to the film industry in Hollywood today -- or seventy years ago, for that matter. When Leni goes to Hollywood he brags that the left-leaning Hollywood of 1938 treated the lovely German visitor with scorn -- but how did they treat Margaret Mitchell when she came to town the very next year? Bach has nothing to say about why those same "leftists" failed to prevent the making of a racist epic like GONE WITH THE WIND.
   
   If Leni Riefenstahl shares any part of the guilt for Auschwitz -- and I agree that she does -- then David O. Selznick is equally responsible for the murder of Emmitt Till, the bombings in Birmingham, and all the other hate crimes perpetrated in the Jim Crow south. Bach is in a big hurry to compare Leni to the Stalinist film maker Eisenstein -- arguing in a feeble and half-hearted way that Eisenstein "probably" rebelled at what he was doing. But why not compare Leni Riefenstahl to D.W. Griffiths, or Margaret Mitchell, or David Selznick? All of them dealt in racial hate. They looked the other way while helpless people were tortured and murdered, too. But mentioning America's poisonous history of racial hate would reflect badly on Bach's own milieu. Bach's beloved Hollywood elite never questioned the racial status quo in the Jim Crow south -- at least, not until long after blacks had begun risking their lives to bring the horror of their situation to national attention.
   
   What's really going on here is not genuine, humanistic outrage, but elitist hypocrisy. Bach hates Leni Riefenstahl because he knows that, for all their tiresome liberal cant, just about everyone in Hollywood (and the book world, and the world of leftist Manhattan politics) has the same rat-like survival instincts that Leni had. None of the liberals who demonstrate their courage by hating her guts now ever had to look Hitler in the eye. But they know who would have blinked first. And they know themselves too well to ever show mercy to someone just like them.



2. After reading Jurgen Trimborn's admirable but somewhat inaccessible biography of Riefenstahl, I sought out this book in hopes that it would be friendlier to a Riefenstahl novice such as me. It certainly is an easier read and a much better starting place.
   
   Steven Bach, of Final Cut fame, writes from the standpoint of a motion picture enthusiast. He also has a POV where Riefenstahl's Nazi associations are concerned and he doesn't hide it. For Bach Riefenstahl is the living version of Klaus Mann's Mephisto, a careerist willing to do anything and associate with anyone to advance her "art." He also makes the case (clearly building on Trimborn's work, among others) that Riefenstahl not only had no problem with anything Hitler did or said, she likely agreed with most if not all of it.
   
   Bach's style is that of a gossipy Hollywood bio, which is fine by me, but he's no fan magazine hack. He knows the power of the snide observation and, best of all, how damning Leni's own words were. At times Riefenstahl comes across as downright delusional about her artistic abilities and men's lust for her. To hear her tell it no man so much as entered the same zipcode as Leni Riefenstahl without falling madly in love with her.
   
   Some may have disagreements about Bach's assessment of Riefenstahl's artistic contributions. I've only seen clips of her work so my own opinion is somewhat limited. Bach does make a good case the Riefenstahl either stole the ideas of others or took credit for their work. Bach doesn't buy the argument that the art is more important than the character or actions of the artist. He also doesn't buy that Riefenstahl was much of an artist.
   
   This is no love letter to Leni. It is an entertaining read. Gossipy, slightly bitchy (as one reviewer here has aptly noted), and full of telling details and quotes, this is a easy entry into the myths and controversy that make up Leni Riefenstahl.



3. There have been many attemps to stain Riefenstahl's image along the years, and this one is not the most successful at all. It serves little purpose to the academic bunch. It ashames those that search for objectivity. It ashames those that perceive that Bach has waited for Leni's death (102 years old) to publish this piece of propaganda.
   
   Bach fails on piercing the German mindset that prevailed in the pre-Shoah years. From Triumph of the Will (1935) to the final solution (1942) there are 7 years that searchers will keep on investigating otherwise than in this failed book. Years that can't be blamed on Leni.
   
   Mr Bach, Leni Riefenstahl is a victim of her time. Don't try to bury her merits as an artist into this pile of ordure you have written. The reasons for the Shoah have to be sought somewhere else.
   
   Look for Fiendlander's works for example and leave Leni aside. That's too cheap and un-academic. It's 2008 now and we don't need Leni's head to be cut off to please the masses. She was an artist. We need a deeper insight. The kind of insight that explains how such a German cultivated country faced a cultivated Jewishness in such a violent, deranged manner as to lead to a Shoah. And for that, Mr Bach, Leni's influence plays little relevance.



4. Riefenstahl biography reveals a multi-faceted conundrum. The sexually-charged and Nazi-friendly female filmmaker in a man's time (1930s-40s) , place (Nazi Germany), and business (movie making, especially as a director and producer) made two of the greatest movies ever made-- or denigrated. "Triumph of the Will" recorded and glorified the 1935 Nazi party rally in Nuremburg and Olympiad (actually a pair of movies focusing on the nationalistic results and the athletic beauty of the competition) documented the 1936 Berlin Olympic games, at which Hitler and Nazi racism were spectators if not headline participants.
   
   For these, Riefenstahl was rightfully praised as a film maker and rightfully castigated then and later as a propagandist for Hitler's Aryan racist regime. Riefenstahl was an insider whose work was funded and assisted directly by Hitler, Goebbels, Speer, and Bormann, but in the post-war settling of accounting claimed to be either blissfully unaware of the atrocities or outspoken against them--neither likely given her intelligence and her sponsorship.
   
   But "LR" had a life before and after Hitler, which Bach's book covers well. Interestingly she started her career in front of the camera, and finished her career as a pariah from the mainstream because of her questionable political history and her insatiable egotism which made her impossible to work with.



5. Of all the existing books on Leni Riefenstahl--and there are a lot of them out there, including Riefenstahl's own self-exculpatory memoirs--Bach's treatment is in my opinion the most lucid, judicious, and detailed. Unlike many film enthusiasts who try to excuse away Riefenstahl's work for Hitler and the Nazi party, Bach bears down hard on this period in Riefenstahl's oeuvre, situating it in the context of world history, film history, and Riefenstahl's personal development. Riefenstahl is one of those insoluble artistic paradoxes: her best, most creative films were done in the service of one of the most evil ideologies ever invented. Bach is at his best dealing with this material. He spices things up with a few too many details of Riefenstahl's romantic adventures, which are ultimately unedifying and completely irrelevant to any assessment of her importance as a historical figure. Nonetheless, Bach has produced a stunning book which deserves to become the standard account of the subject.

1 comments about African Lives: White Lies, Tropical Truth, Darkest Gossip, and Rumblings of Rumor from Chinese Gordon to Beryl Markham, and Beyond.

1. I went into this book with the intention of ripping it to pieces. I came away disagreeing with the message and impressed at how well Mr. Boyles writes.

   Any professional writer should read this book, if for no other reason than to explore some of the better subtleties of the trade. This book is well written, clear, it moves admirably well considering the subject matter which I previously would have thought to be prose-proof. It shows how enjoyable even subjects that one would previously have had no interest in can come alive for a reader with the right author.

   Buy this book.

5 comments about Lincoln's Other White House: The Untold Story of the Man and His Presidency.

1. It must be difficult-given the plethora of books on Lincoln-to shed new light on an old subject. However, Elizabeth Brownstein does. Through careful and thorough research, Ms. Brownstein addresses issues hitherto unexplored. Lincoln's summer home...provides a suitable setting to describe Lincoln's activities outside the White House. One learns, for instance, that the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was completed here. One also learns that, far from being a retreat from the hustle and bustle of Pennsylvania Avenue, the home facilitated Lincoln's open-mindedness about receiving virtual strangers at virtually any hour of the day or night and resulted in serious sleep deprivation.
   
   However, it was in the other topics addressed in the book that Lincoln's character is at its most illuminating. His fascination with weaponry, his patience in his dealings with his wife, and his ability to establish collegial relationship with people of vastly differing temperaments are all thoughtfully explored...The characters highlighted are dispassionately analyzed in such a way as to enable the reader to be part of the scene at all times. For instance, Lincoln's wife, so often pilloried...is given a fair hearing and is properly depicted as a courageous soul confronted by agonizing choices and exaggerated expectations of the First Lady's performance as a suitable consort of the most admired President in American History...Mrs. Brownstein provides a valuable service for readers interested in the less dramatic, but no less insightful, clues about Lincoln the President, confronted, as he was, by the unprecedented challenges associated with his era.



2. I have read a number of books on the Civil War in Washington...Fine as those books are, they do not accomplish two things that are splendid contributions of your book on the weekend home that the Lincolns made of their cottage at the Soldiers' Home.
   
   First, we often forget the huge personal burden that the war place on Lincoln and his belief, strong in the summer of 1864, that he would be defeated in the next election and that the gains in the war would slip back into Southern control. We can see in your book how his days and nights in the cottage helped Lincoln to hold on to and expand what he had until victory in the 1864 election was assured.
   
   The other is the loving relationship of the President with his wife, Mary Lincoln. We often hear of her oddities and running up of debts. What we do not hear of, and what admirably is stressed in your book, is what you describe as "the mutual affection and mutual dependence" that always linked them despite their great differences in character. Respect for Mary Lincoln, and her contributions to the greatness of Abraham Lincoln, is something we could use more of in writing American history.
   
   I will not go on expect to say that I think I have already indicated the greatness of your book, and my hope that librarians and readers everywhere will have an opportunity to benefit from its revelations and the new light it brings on the life of one of our very greatest Presidents.



3. I especially enjoyed the fresh approach to Lincoln and to his wife Mary Todd, who comes across in this new book as an elegant, urbane, and gracious `Republican Queen.' The account of the Lincolns' marriage and their home life at the White House and the Soldiers' Home, from observers such as the Union Army soldiers who guarded him for three years, is fascinating. The book is based on extensive research and is enriched by fresh anecdotes about Lincoln, by Whitman's and abolitionist Longfellow's poetry, and letters and memoirs of the diverse personalities with whom Lincoln interacted, particularly his generals and cabinet members.



4. The author has done a wonderful job showing what a real human being that Lincoln was. A friend of mine borrowed my book and liked it so well that
   she went out and immediately bought 5 more to give as Christmas presents. It is just the right size for a gift book and so well written anyone will be proud to own it. I have also bought 6 more copies to give all my family for Christmas. Everyone should read it, everyone will enjoy it. written by Malcolm Kelly, a Kentuckian proud or both Mr and Mrs Lincoln who were born in this state.



5. Interesting angle on Lincoln presidency. Many of the momentous occasions of this era took place at a location most Americans are totally unfamiliar with. This book goes a long way in revealing another White House which played a very big role in the life of our greatest president.

5 comments about Forgotten Spurgeon.

1. This is truly a great work on Spurgeon.
   
   It is by no means trying to give a complete look at his life, but rather is focused at highlighting a few key controversies and aspects of his life that are often obscured in modern analysis of Spurgeon. That is the stated goal of the book, and it suceeds at this.
   
   Even though it is limited in scope, as I have mentioned, it still does a pretty good job at painting a picture of Spurgeon as a whole.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the man named Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It is fairly short and is an enjoyable read with many quotes from Spurgeon's sermons.



2. The main thing Iain Murray believes is forgotten about Spurgeon is his Calvinism. That however can be considered a liability or a great benefit. It is sometimes forgotten that Spurgeon was a convinced believer in the Evangelical Gospel as articulated by Calvin, the Puritans and many others. Murray ask us to see his public ministry, his revivals and his controversies through this important lens.
   
   In doing so Murray also explores a number of ministry issues of the modern day and makes a preferred present path clear based on the examples of Spurgeon. His early chapters about Spurgeon's revivals and preaching of the Gospel and interaction with Arminianism come with applications to the present practice of preaching, and these, as well as the other chapters, read with Murray's own strange blend of academic information, historical facts, hagiography and devotional octane.
   
   My honest evaluation is that the book has a lot to commend it, including an exploration of parts of Spurgeon's life discussed in few other places; including copious quotations from the pen of Spurgeon himself.
   
   The liability is simply the dryness that creeps into the prose at points. Murray's thorough historical mind bored me at times and made me hunt for a considerable number of great nuggets amidst a sometimes laborious text. I found the latter chapters more of a labor than the first chapters. The first 113 pages I found mostly easy to read, and after that some of the chapters were a labor, especially those on the Down-Grade controversy, though even these chapters have some good parts sprinkled throughout.
   
   It is a good and useful book, but not in any sense essential.



3. "The Forgotten Spurgeon" is not so much a comprehensive biography of Charles Spurgeon as it is a description of the major challenges Spurgeon faced as a preacher of the Gospel.
   
   The 3 main challenges mentioned in the book are:
   
   1. 1850s - Diluted evangelicalism and resistance of churches and press of the era - Churches were more concerned about maintaining a "pleasant" sort of Gospel that does not really challenge hearers.
   2. 1860s - Calvinism vs. Arminianism - the challenge of the two extremes of God foreordaining who would and would not be saved and the possibility of losing one's own personal salvation.
   3. Late 1880s - Early 1890s - Down Grade Controversy - The Gospel and Churches were in danger of being watered down by heresy.
   
   Murray describes how Spurgeon confronted these controversies which eventually led to his persecution and opposition by ministers, the press, and other sources. Interestingly, doesn't this sound familiar to what true Gospel preachers and believers around the world experience today? Just food for thought!
   
   Again, "The Forgotten Spurgeon" is not a true biography like the excellent biography Murray produced on Jonathan Edwards. Instead, the title deals more with the controversies Spurgeon faced during his ministry.
   
   Still, an interesting and informative read. Recommended.



4. My good friend, a while back, let me borrow this book, as well as another Murray book on Spurgeon, Surgeon V. Hyper-Calvanism. After finishing that book, I was sold, both on Murray's writing, and on my interest in this 19th century preacher. However, it must be stated, in my opinion, The Forgotten Spurgeon is the weaker of the two books.
   
   Early in this book, Murray makes it clear that this is not an adequate biography, but more like a character study of Charles Spurgeon. Murray looks at the major controversies surrounding Spurgeon's ministry to help to illustrate the kind of man he was, and what kind of theology he held. Reading the pages, it's difficult to believe a so well balanced person existed. He seemed supremely committed to scripture, not necessarily to a theological camp.
   
   Spurgeon is referred to as the `last of the puritans.' He came right at the `end' of the reign of Calvanism in the church and contended passionately for its preeminence. Spurgeon saw many pitfalls and dangers in the rise of liberal theology and Arminianism; in fact, many of those predictions of danger have indeed found their way into the church.
   
   Spurgeon's life is fascinating, inspiring and offers many, many great lessons for the church today. Murray does a good job of communicating many of those lessons and painting a picture that's easy for us to learn from. Unfortunately for myself, it often seemed perhaps more dry than it needed to. During a short series of chapters discussing the `Down-Grade Controversy' it became incredibly difficult for me to keep awake. Constant accounting for denominational discrepancies is a tiresome thing to read, however it still ended with, I believe, an important lesson from Spurgeon.
   
   The Baptist Union at the time was becoming more liberal with its theology, which to Spurgeon, foreshadowed some grave consequences (again, many of which have come to fruition). However, even at the risk of standing completely alone, Spurgeon remained with his conscience. He did not budge from what he believed Scripture to say; he saw loyalty to God and scripture to be the only right loyalty.
   
   All-in-all, I wouldn't recommend the book to a completely casual reader; it requires some set of understood ideas. It will also likely require some level of commitment to get through as some parts seem drudging and hard to follow. If you're interested in Spurgeon or even the grassroots of many of today's major controversies and issues in the church, this book has lots of great information with a usually great articulation.



5. Charles Spurgeon is quoted today in all types of corridors within Christendom. Various statements from within his poetic, powerful, and Christ-centered sermons are lauded by Arminians and Calvinists alike. As a result many today wonder if Spurgeon was a type of third party theologian, devoid of doctrinal controversy and strong theological conviction. Ian Murray aims to bring to light some of the specifics of Spurgeon's life and ministry that have been strangely overlooked:
   
   "The only way to deal with Spurgeon's theology is to accept it or forget it: the latter is what I believe has largely happened in the 20th century. And Spurgeon without his theology is about as distorted as the cheap china figures of Spurgeon which were offered for sale by charlatans more than a century ago."
   
   In The Forgotten Spurgeon Murray interacts with Spurgeon's thought and teaching. The overt aim is not biographical; however, the historical contexts from which these various scenarios arise cannot be avoided. What follows is an informative and interesting survey of one of history's most impactful ministries.
   
   The book is centered on three major controversies in Spurgeon's ministry.
   
   The first was during Spurgeon's younger years and centered upon his dealing with a diluted gospel message. Spurgeon's Calvinism sparked outrage among the religious as they had thought such theology was already laid to rest. His popularity only served to fuel this controversy.
   
   The second controversy sprang forth from a sermon that he did on Baptismal Regeneration in 1864. This resulted in a prolonged debate on matters outside of just the role of baptism with respect to salvation.
   
   Finally, Spurgeon encountered, in his later years, what was called the Down-Grade movement. This effort to dilute the gospel of its heavenly distinctiveness served to consume the elder Spurgeon until his death at age 57.
   
   The truth of the matter is that Spurgeon was embroiled in controversy from the day he began preaching. His messages were biblical and so therefore theological. This, along with his corresponding popularity, caused a significant reaction by those around him. The Forgotten Spurgeon is a helpful book in restating the record and helping us to see Spurgeon as more than a happy, soul-winning, quote machine. He was a pastor, a preacher, an ambassador for Christ, and so therefore, a defender of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

5 comments about Victor Hugo: A Biography.

1. Graham Robb is one of that rare breed of scholars, who write what they want to, unfettered by institutional constraints, and write to an intelligent, literate audience that genuinely wants to learn. Much of Victor's Hugo's work is inaccessable to the English language audience. Robb's presentation and interpretation of many different aspects of his literary career show how much he enjoyed the Hugo's work, and his enthusiasm excited this reader. He did a masterful job of integrating history, the stange personal life of Hugo, and his massive literary output. This will become a classic source of information about Victor Hugo.



2. I spent a week in Paris last year, and returned home wanting to know more about this Victor Hugo whom Parisians still revere as a God. And Robb's book did the trick! Since reading it I've tried to find an American to equate him with, but fall short: I must make do with a composite of Thomas Jefferson (for statesmanship in opposition to the crown), Henry David Thoreau (for drawing strength from nature for his writing) and William Jeferson Clinton (for his sexual appetite).



3. This is the most enjoyable biography I've ever read, portraying someone who truly was larger than life. It's as complex, entertaining, and riveting as the man himself. Bravo! Now, how can we get Hugo's complete works translated into English?



4. Graham Robb's magnificent bio of Victor Hugo has won numerous awards, and deservedly so; Robb has steeped himself in Hugo's works and life. It's all there - Hugo's greatness, his megalomania, his politics, his poetics, his personal life - stripped of the many false accretions of previous biographies. Robb sees Hugo clear, and he sees him whole. My only reservation - and I think it is a fairly significant one - is that Robb assumes that his readers are already familiar with Hugo's immense literary output (not just Notre-Dame de Paris and Les Miserables, but dozens and dozens of other books of poetry, novels, biography, politics, etc.). And Robb also assumes that his readers know something about the tortuous and very complicated course of 19th century French politics, from the Revolution to the Third Republic. This is a lot of background to assume of the general reader, and so - by all means get the book, it's the best existing biography of Victor Hugo, but be prepared to do some additional reading if necessary, to fill in the background that Robb takes for granted.



5. Well-researched biography, maybe; however, I found Robb's patronizing tone towards his subject to be distasteful, offensive. A more objective account--without a lurking sneer behind it--is in order.

1 comments about Woodrow Wilson: Princeton to the Presidency.

1. Dr. Maynard (on the faculty as Lecturer of Johns Hopkins as well as Princeton at the time his book was released) has written one of the more truthful, composite portraits of Woodrow Wilson. It is refreshing to see the depth of research, with references to older historians and Princeton alumni, who verify Wilson as the uncompromising and egotistical college president. The damage that Wilson did to Princeton continues to this day. And not only is it revealed that Wilson and his father were "a good hater" (to quote them both) but his first wife Ellen also had a terrible temper; and there is plenty of evidence.
   
   I was disappointed that the author did not go into Mary Peck's affair with Wilson more thoroughly; he also completely ignored the affair Wilson had with a Princeton professor's wife. Maynard's treatment of Wilson's doctor, Cary Grayson, was too kind; Grayson was a major player with Wilson's second wife, Edith, in the cover-up of Woodrow's almost total incapacity as president, due to his last stroke. Although, because of his art education at Princeton and the University of Delaware, he devoted many interesting pages to the proposed architectural design of the Quads.
   
   Nevertheless, the book is a page-turner. It almost reads like a novel...because in this case, the truth about Wilson seems almost stranger than fiction. This book brings more evidence to light about the truth of Wilson as a racist, a liar, a man who could not compromise, a man with tunnel vision, a man who didn't know how to raise money for the college, and a man who constantly bickered with the trustees over the Quads and almost everything else he wanted to introduce to the campus. He would not compromise on any issue, whether academic or political. And he couldn't keep friends; as his own father was quoted as saying, "I never had a friend who was faithful to me." Like father, like son.
   
   We see a picture of Wilson living with a tortured ego in a psychological "twilight zone" who could not be a friend with anyone who disagreed with him about anything. He had an exaggerated sense of self-importance and a craving for domination in everything.
   
   The author, as a former student of Princeton himself (B.A. in Art History), covers the preceptorial system Wilson brought to Princeton, which is still advertised on their website, as Wilson's "brainchild," although I do not believe it facilitates excellence in education; it pressures students to "BS" their way through the course material. And the Eating Clubs Wilson opposed, are still there, albeit, they are now co-ed and less in number. Wilson wouldn't agree, but fraternities would have had a better socializing effect on students than these Clubs.
   
   I wondered if the author would still have a job at Princeton after such a tour de force. So I was not surprised that he ended the book with what amounts to a three paragraph apology for Wilson, in which he attempts to vindicate Wilson's twisted educational vision for Princeton, by stating "Princeton University itself has finally come around to the blueprint that Wilson put forward one hundred years ago..." The author closed his book saying that "history would prove him (Wilson) right," confirms the author's vested interest as a former student and now on the Princeton faculty. A good read, but with that vested interest, one has to wonder if all the drama and fireworks presented for the previous 340 pages, is a chimera covering his own loyalty to Princeton...just putting a good face on Wilson's rocky road from Princeton to the presidency.

2 comments about Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.

1. For the first time, I came to know Lincoln not as an iconified hero, but as a funny, direct, engaging and committed human being as I read this book. The author has thorough notes of very detailed research and tells a story that others omitted or overlooked. It made me want to read much more about Lincoln, especially more of the piercing wit and emotional perseverance shared in this book.



2. A Marrin is a wonderful author. He makes history come alive. He writes in an interesting manner and doesn't have a lot of excess verbage. I have several of his books and have enjoyed each one of them.

3 comments about Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy's Guide (Eminent Lives).

1. 'Democracy in America' was a smash hit in France when first published in 1835, an expression of their intense desire to create a democratic society based on the example of Americans.
   
   Americans still love the Tocqueville idea; it is the strongest proof by a European aristocrat that "democracy" was invented in America. Epstein writes, "Americans didn't have a history to rewrite. Setting out very nearly as a tabula rasa, they charged themselves not with changing an existing society so much as with making an entirely new one."
   
   Alexis de Tocqueville wrote the ultimate 'Do-It-Yourself' guide to freedom, a superb portrait of Americans, their quirks, habits, ideas and attitudes. These are also basic English qualities. In America, far from the daily rule of lords, ladies and other layabouts, this natural decency and innate distrust of authority blossomed into an unparalleled freedom.
   
   Epstein understands Tocqueville wrote an astute portrait of how Americans use democracy. But, it didn't inspire the French to copy and improve upon the American precedent. Tocqueville rejected Montesquieu's idea "that forms of government engender modes of behaviour (monarchy, honour; aristocracy, moderation; republicanism, virtue; despotism, terror). Tocqueville showed that things often work the other way around, with modes of behaviour just as likely to engender forms of government."
   
   In other words, the naturally rebellious English flourished in America and created a decentralized government with constitutionally limited powers (see Amendment X to the US Constitution). American democracy is due to evolution, not immaculate conception. It is still evolving and improving, as seen in the change from Dred Scott to Brown vs. Board of Education.
   
   These books, both Tocqueville and Epstein, are a valuable balance to 'Vice' by Lou Dubose and Jake Bernstein which describes how Vice President Dick Cheney schemed to give the presidency unimpeded power to conduct foreign affairs and declare war on their own whims and falsehoods. Epstein cites Tocqueville's strong opposition to centralized authority that has been a feature of France for at least 1,000 years and is now an obsession of the Bush administration.
   
   Anyone who wants to understand democray in America should read this brief but astute insight into the mind, character and nature of Tocqueville. The nature of the imperial presidency changes, from respect for democracy to worship of power. As Epstein shows so clearly, it is the basic decency of Americans that keeps their democracy alive, well and growing. Democracy is what people make it and what they are comfortable in living with; it is not a gift of government or any other paternalist.
   
   Like a great guidebook to a city or country, Epstein has written a great guide to the genius who came, saw and understood the exceptional nature of Americans. In these times, it is an invaluable resource to understand the current debate between a president who thinks "I'm the decider" and the rights of Americans to make the vital decisions about their lives, well-being and destiny.



2. The editors of the Eminent Lives series chose well when they selected Joseph Epstein to write this brief biography of Alexis de Tocqueville. His research and writings about Envy, Snobbery and Friendship have served him in his task of "getting at the quality of mind" of his subject. Tocqueville was an ideal friend, loyal, generous and abiding. Born an aristocrat at the beginning of the inexorable advance of equality, he knew about envy and snobbery from both sides of the fence. While Equality was the "idee mere" from his observations of democracy in America and the revolution in France, his sympathies favored Liberty although he recognized the dynamic tension and irreconcilability between them. He wrote that democracy and equality discourage both brilliance and great crimes while fostering mediocrity and comfort. Liberty allows the means to excel but few benefit and many suffer. A spectrum of political opinions find confirmation in his books. Epstein projects a clean, sharp picture of the man and his ideas. Informed by Tocqueville's works and other biographies, this is not a digest but a distillation enlivened by Epsteinian wit.



3. Joseph Epstein has written a very useful brief (205 pages) biography of Alexis de Tocqueville, author of "Democracy in America" (1835). This is one of two new Tocqueville biographies--the other being the long-germinating volume by Denis Brogan. The author strikes a very nice balance between covering Tocqueville's life, while also devoting some attention to his major writings. So while there is a discussion of "Democracy in America" it is not as extensive as if the book were a commentary on it alone. Other Tocqueville writing efforts, especially his book on the causes of the French revolution and uncompleted second volume on the actual revolution itself, are discussed as well. But basically, the book is a fast paced review of Tocqueville's life, political career, and relationship to various French governments (including his service for a brief time as foreign minister). Several times the author touches upon Tocqueville's central dilemma--the relationship between democracy, liberty and equality. The discussion of Tocqueville as an aristocrat commenting on democracy and equality is quite interesting. The book has no notes, bibliograpy or index--but does have a brief note at the end regarding the most valuable sources the author found on the topic. The author's writing style is quite pleasant and enjoyable. Quite a lot of info packed into a relatively short book--enough of a taste to let the reader know whether it is worthwhile to invest in one of the longer treatments of Tocqueville's life.