5 comments about Theodore Roosevelt: (The American Presidents Series).

1. This is the second volume in the new American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlessinger, and like the first on James Madison, provides excellent, although brief insight into one of America's most fascinating characters. The prime focus of this book is on TR's presidential and post-presidential years. Limited space does not allow for anything more than a brief summary of Roosevelt's early life, which may actually be his most interesting period. Still there is enough to give the reader a basis for understanding Roosevelt's revolutionary power-expanding actions as President. Auchincloss does a wonderful job of filling this short volume with all of the important events of Roosevelt's life while keeping to a very enjoyable and readable style. It is a good introduction to Roosevelt and will leave you wanting to learn more.



2. This book serves as a good introduction to Theodore Roosevelt to either satisfy or stimulate one's curiosity before indulging in a lengthier biography. This is a "short" bio, and not meant to be a treatise on T.R. The author was better with his Penguin Lives book on Woodrow Wilson, but he seemed to have more fun with Roosevelt.
   As a subject T.R. is especially enjoyable, but more for his forceful character than for any of his objective accomplishments (for which the author notes several, e.g., negotiating the peace between Japan and Russia, and his national conservationist orders, etc.).
   The author addresses Roosevelt's sense that his presidency was relatively unspectacular, and since war time presidents receive the most historical attention (e.g., leading to positive evaluations for Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, but negative for Wilson due to his post war failures), Roosevelt felt himself cheated from his place of greatness due to being a peacetime president.
   As this author notes, many of T.R.'s beliefs had long lasting value (especially, I feel, his beliefs on the limitations of capitalism as spoken by a pro-business chief executive). Those who followed him, though, soon abandoned these attitudes. The reason for this seems to rest with T.R. He accomplished much emphasizing the forcefulness of his personality and took credit for improvements as being uniquely his. Since he can be the only T.R., his philosophy could not be transmitted to others. When out of office, he was no longer "T.R." and his so-called system collapsed as with a deck of cards. He was ultimately left a shell of his former self.
   What if Roosevelt had toned down some of his tendencies? Might he have extended his influence over the next administrations and the country? If so, might this have led to a different result in how America influenced the developing European disputes that resulted in the First World War? These are some of the questions that remained with me from reading this book.



3. A nice concise summary of the life of Teddy Roosevelt. Auchincloss does a good job of detailing the essentials of his life. Roosevelt was a Republican with a progressive bent. The author showed how his policies were often at odds with the pro business Republican party. However, TR managed to compromise and get a program through Congress that was progressive. He also used power overtly as in the Panama Crisis, even though it was for the good of the country and world.
   
   The American Presidents series are all nice reads. Although some presidents do not merit the full book, TR certainly deserves more space and attention. He was truly one of the better presidents as the author points out.



4. The short biographies that form the American Presidents series do an admirable job in capturing the heart of the accomplishments and characters of our country's leaders. Some of the volumes succeed further in offering, in addition to an introduction, challenging reassessments of their subject's place in history. Bunting's book on Grant and Diggins's study of John Adams are in this latter category. With a leader as complex and energetic as Theodore Roosevelt, (1858 - 1919), the task of a brief portrayal is daunting indeed. Louis Auchincloss has generally succeeded in offering a portrait of TR and his presidency that will serve for basic information. For a more complex and detailed view, the book should encourage the reader to explore further.
   
   The American composer Scott Joplin wrote a delightful ragtime called "The Strenuous Life" in honor of TR but with a hint of satire as well. The phrase aptly describes TR and his era. A sickly child born to great wealth, the twelve-year old TR took seriously his father's injunction to "make your body!" as well as his mind. TR became a dynamo, moving out west to become the owner of a cattle ranch in Dakota in the 1880s and leading the fabled charge of the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In the midst of a busy life, TR found time to write about 40 books, including his autobiography and innumerable letters.
   
   In his politics, TR developed a unique position as a Republican party regular and as a progressive. He served in the 1880s' as a New York State assemblyman and as Governor of New York, among other accomplishments, before being called to the vice-presidency. He became the 26th president upon the death of McKinley in 1901, and then was elected to a term of his own. TR famously declined to run for a second elected term, a decision he lived to regret.
   
   TR's presidency had many accomplishments, striking out in as many directions as the man himself. He was a trust-buster who believed in American capitalism, individualism and business. He was also a famous conservationist. In foreign policy, he was a mixture of calmness and bellicosity, acquiring the Panama Canal, expanding the Navy, and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for settling a dispute between Russia and Japan.
   
   Following his term, TR took a lengthy safari as a big-game hunter in Africa and upon his return became disillusioned with the presidency of his chosen successor, William H. Taft. TR bolted the Republican party and, alas, took the progressives with him. The split in the GOP between its progressives and its conservatives has lasted to this day. The immediate result was the election of Woodrow Wilson to the presidency.
   
   Auchincloss tells the story of TR simply and well. But I came away from this book curious to know more. In particular, I would have liked to learn more about TR's writings, some of which are available in a two-volume set published by the Library of America. Auchincloss evidences a certain skepticism about TR, pointing out ways in which TR's America, as well as TR's values, differ from contemporary America and from the choices of many contemporary Americans. As explained by Auchincloss, these values, which seem closely interrelated, center upon TR's elevation of the worth of toughness -- "machismo", -- his sexual restraint and even prudery, and his views on the relationship between men and women, which today would commonly be regarded as sexist. I remain fascinated with TR's strength, vigor, and sense of purpose, combined with his high powers of intellect. His forcefulness and belief in our country, tempered as it usually was with prudence, still has much to teach us.
   
   Robin Friedman



5. Want to know more about American presidents? The American Presidents series is one approach. This volume in the series focuses on the old Rough Rider himself, Theodore Roosevelt. First, a confession. I have read 2 of the 3 volume set by Edmund Morris. Obviously, I have an interest in depth (the second volume alone features 555 pages of text). But most people would welcome a shorter--but still good--view of TR. And this volume will meet the needs of such people.
   
   Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has a standard Introduction to each volume. With respect to TR, some of his observations are apposite. On page xv, he says: "Great presidents possess, or are possessed by, a vision of an ideal America." Surely, that describes Roosevelt. At another point, Schlesinger says that (Page xv): "To succeed, presidents must not only have a port to seek but they must convince Congress and the electorate that it is a port worth seeking." Both observations seem to fit TR, where they did not fit Warren Harding or Chester Arthur or Rutherford Hayes or Benjamin Harrison or. . . .
   
   The book begins by describing TR's rather well off childhood. Some problems. His beloved father dies prematurely. He had physical ailments. To address the latter, he exercised and even spent time in the Wild West, building himself up physically.
   
   His public life began in rather exotic positions, such as president of New York City's Board of Police Commissioners. He was named as Assistant Secretary of the Navy after William McKinley's victory in the presidential campaign of 1896. After the Maine's destruction and the road to war with Spain, he resigned and, as we all know, became head of a group of troops named "The Rough Riders." After estimable service in Cuba, he returned as a war hero. The governorship of New York and then nomination as vice president to William McKinley (perhaps to get him out of New York?).
   
   He became an accidental president after McKinley's assassination. The book chronicles his views and actions as president, when he was known as a "trust buster" and as the advocate of a "Square Deal." He was known for many accomplishments (some of which might raise eyebrows), such as the construction of the Panama Canal (as some Senator said years later, "We stole it fair and square!"). He left the presidency, followed by his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. Then, the tale of his disillusionment with Taft, his Bull Moose campaign, his disgust with Woodrow Wilson is depicted.
   
   Auchincloss is a fine writer, and this book reads well. For those who want a "quick and dirty" introduction to TR, this will fill the bill.

5 comments about Confessions of a spy: the real story of aldrich ames.

1. Ames was unduly lucky to have not been "netted" much sooner. Mr. Earley gives us a very well written piece of work.Ames was certainly not Kim Philby or 007;but He did get away with His betrayal for some years,and that alone makes it worthy for any 20th Century Historian. The little tidbit of a quite 'hot potato'betrayal story on Henry Kissenger is worth the cost of the book alone.Earley is also fair to Ames'American employers at CIA who finally pinch "the mole".



2. Step by step we are moving to the truth.
   The fiction is banal. Hence - one star for the book. The reality is amazing. Hence - 5 stars for the next book on the Ames-Colby case. The next book will be based on Dekov's memoirs.



3. I was reading "See No Evil" by Robert Baer and he briefly mentioned Aldrich Ames and decided to read a book on him. While looking for books, I was pleasantly surprised to find one written by Pete Earley. I had read "The Hot House" a couple of years ago and found Earley to be a very clear and detailed writer. I really could not wait to receive the book. My expectations were high and they were met and exceeded. The book details Ames' life from birth, it details his parents, his entry into the CIA, and ultimately his betrayal of the country. The thing I love about Earley is that he leaves no loose ends. You're never left saying, "but what ever happened to..." or "I wonder who that is...". He's a very clear writer who introduces every subject in the book. He explains the facts sharply and thoroughly, and the pacing is perfect. Earley not only gives you the details, but draws you in with a story line that adds suspense. Earley is similar to other great non-fiction writers such as Stephen Ambrose, Jon Krakauer, Simon Winchester, Mark Bowden, or Kurt Eichenwald in that he takes a real event and tells it gripping way.
   
   On the negatives, there was not an index in my book which made it difficult at times. Also, Earley was not able to get interviews with everyone involved, in particular Ames' first wife, but at the time I'm sure not everyone wanted to participate with the media.
   
   The most important aspect of the book is that Aldrich Ames cooperated with Earley with face to face interviews while awaiting trial and later through letters. But Earley did not take everything Ames told him at face value, he is not lazy or sloppy, he fact checked and questioned everything. He even fact checked with Russian KGB which demonstrates how dedicated he was to the subject. Is it definitive? Definitely not because it came out so quickly after Ames arrest (before revelations of Robert Hanssen) but it is an excellent book.



4. This is the only text I have read that provides a compelling and nuanced explanation of why Ames betrayed his country. The short answer is that he needed the money because he was living beyond his means. As a result of his work recruiting and handling spies he no longer believed it was wrong for a person to betray their country. Earley's well-written book explains how he arrived at that point. It also provides the reader with a credible look at what it is like to work for the CIA, and what it is like to work as a spy.



5. This gives the best account of Ames' CIA career, particularly prior to the time he began to work for the Soviet Union, and corrects errors in several earlier books such as Wise's.

5 comments about Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary.

1. This is an extremely well- written and pleasurable book. It tells the story of the making of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Each of its chapters is presented as a dictionary entry beginning with the word 'Adventurous' and concluding with 'Zootomy'. The entry by entry device does not disturb the narrative flow of the book. Hitchings tells the story chronologically and provides excellent background biographical material. He gives a picture of Johnson's early years which in some sense complements and completes the picture given by Boswell in the English language's most well-known biography.
   The picture Hitchings makes of Johnson is of an enormously vibrant figure , a man of tremendous energy who while condemning himself all the time for his 'sloth' was doing the work of many men at once. Hitchings in telling this story gives a very vivid picture of London life, especially London low- life in the late eighteenth century. His recounting of the friendship of Johnson with the poet Savage, about whom Johnson wrote his most interesting 'life as a poet' gives a sense of the tremendous disorder , dirt and yet attractiveness of that world.
   Johnson despite his lonely dedication to his scholarship was an enormously sociable person, and this book is peopled with dozens of remarkable characters among them the actor Garrick, and the Dictionary's as it were patron, Lord Chesterfield.
   The creating of the Dictionary was a tremendous labor. Johnson originally thought it would take three years but it took ten. The achievement was great, and as Hitchings makes clear it was not an etymological one alone. The 'Dictionary' is as Hitchings sees us a work of thought and of morals, and above all a work of Literature.
   Hitchings traces the various aspects of the works creation, and reception, its importance to English Literature and Language.
   This is an outstanding and highly recommended work, written with the intelligence and perception which a close association with Johnson's work would seem to almost necessarily bring.



2. When Americans say dictionary they usually mean Webster. In Great Britain, the Oxford English Dictionary would more likely come to mind.
   
   A few may realize that for more than a century the term meant Johnson to our ancestors.
   
   For most, dictionary is like the 10 Commandments--writ in stone, accepted without question and its origin rarely considered.
   
   So, for many it may be hard to realize there was no such authoritative reference before Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was published on April 15, 1755. There were earlier attempts that bogged down in the complexity of the task and it took Johnson eight years (five more than he anticipated) to complete the project.
   
   Hitchings gives us an entertaining and impressive glimpse into Johnson's world, his enterprise and its impact on history. The chapters are arranged alphabetically like words in a dictionary and are replete with humor, insight and intelligence.
   
   Johnson's seminal work was supplanted by the OED but its legacy to that work will be more apparent now to readers of this book. Though he admired the man, Hitchings tells us Webster loathed Johnson's dictionary and strove to separate his own work from English language authority.



3. If you're a lexplorer like me, if on the way to looking up "occurrence" for the seventy-third time to see if it's two c's or two r's (both) and an "e" or and "a" (an e) and get sidetracked first by osmometry, and then of course osmotic, then you are going to love this book. Did you know that as late as 2000, American jurists were consulting the Dictionary to try to figure out what the founders meant by the word "declare," as in "declaration of war?" Divided into chapters headed with definitions from the Dictionary in alphabetical order, written with affection, respect and not a little glee, this book is going to make you want to go out and do like Robert Browning did, read the Dictionary from cover to cover in preparation for a life of writing poetry.
   
   Did you know that a turtle is a word "used among sailors and gluttons for a tortoise?"



4. This is an extraordinary book itself--part biography, part intellectual history, part cultural history, part criticism and part paean. I suppose it must be all these things to convey to the reader the extraordinary magnitude of Johnson's achievement as well as the extraordinary nature of Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth century polymath who 250 years ago created, single-handedly, the first great dictionary of the English language and in so doing produced a work of lasting greatness while at the same time laying down the standards by which lexicography is practiced even today.
   
   Hitchings 35 chapters all begin with a word and a definition from Johnson's Dictionary. (Some letters are represented more than once, others not at all.) Thus we have chapters with titles like "Adventurous," "Amulet," "English," Lexicographer," "Patron," and "Philology." Johnson's definition of the word lexicographer is worth quoting. It reveals not only the self-deprecating man but also his emphasis on etymology. To Johnson, a lexicographer is "a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original and detailing the signification of words."
   
   Johnson began work on the Dictionary in 1747, commissioned by a coalition of printers and booksellers. When he began, he confidently estimated that he could complete the work in three years. (In fact, it took him eight years.) He was to be paid 1,500 guineas (¤1,575), in installments, about ¤150,000 in today's money. The task dragged out because Johnson soon realized "the moral importance of the work and the philosophical difficulties of rationalizing language."
   
   Johnson's innovation as a lexicographer was to infer meanings from actual use. Thus he read great swaths of English literature, searching for and recording examples of how writers actually used words. For the most part, lexicographers still follow Johnson's methods, though now they include spoken as well as written examples. By the time he had done, Johnson had approximately 110,000 quotations to illustrate 42,773 entries. (He used only half the quotations he collected.) Previous dictionary writers had simply taken their word lists from other works. Johnson did look at previous attempts and then abandoned that approach in favor of his perusal of English writers.
   
   Early on, Johnson sought the patronage of the Earl of Chesterfield, a wealthy young aristocrat with a known interest in the arts. In an age before large publishing houses, contracts, copyrights and royalties, patronage--that is, financial support--was about the only way a writer could make a go of it. In the event, the Earl was of little or no help. Nonetheless, as the dictionary neared publication, Chesterfield let it be known that he would like the Dictionary to be dedicated to him. Johnson's reaction is famous. In a letter to the Earl, Johnson asserted that "[t]he notice which you have been pleased to take of my Labours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it, till I am solitary and cannot impart it, till I am known and do not want it."
   
   Homer nods and even Johnson makes mistakes. His definitions are sometimes inaccurate or more complex than the thing defined. He defines "pastern" as the knee of a horse. It is not. His famous definition of "net"--anything with interstitial vacuities--is unnecessarily difficult. He also includes a number of unusual words, words which are today unknown and were unusual even in his own day. Examples include `amatorcultist,' a `little insignificant lover'; `bellygod,' `one who makes a god of his belly'; `deosculation', the `act of kissing'; `mouth-friend', `one who professes friendship without intending it' (one can see reason for reviving this word); `mouth-honor', `civility outwardly expressed without sincerity' (this one, too); `potvaliant', a person `heated with courage by strong drink'; `schiomachy', `battle with a shadow'; `shapesmith', `one who undertakes to improve the form of the body'; `vaticide', a `murderer of poets' (who would do such a thing); and `goldfinder,' a word used, humorously, by those who empty toilets. Still, despite its defects, Johnson's Dictionary was the standard for a century. The poet Robert Browning felt it necessary to read the thing through as a means of preparing himself for his career as a poet. And many other writers felt the same sort of respect for Johnson's work.
   
   Such was Johnson's authority that no one felt the need to replace his Dictionary until 1857, when it was more than 100 years old. In that year, Hitchings writes, "London's august Philological Society decided that a new English dictionary was needed." Work on that dictionary, which was to become the Oxford English Dictionary, began on 12 May 1860. Completed with an army of assistants, the work on OED continued for 68 years. James Murray, the principal lexicographer, "worked with Johnson's Dictionary open on the table beside him in his Scriptorium. . . . In the end the OED reproduced around 1,700 of Johnson's definitions, marking them simply `J'. His layout and method of definition were also followed."
   
   Even though the American Noah Webster despised Johnson, his reach extended across the Atlantic in his own day and touches us even now in the twenty-first century. According to Hitchings, American legal scholars, particularly constitutional scholars, consult Johnson's Dictionary to understand the meanings of words current at the time of the founding of our Republic. Hitchings cites the February 2000 case of Campbell v. Clinton. This action was brought by seventeen members of the US Congress, who argued that in authorizing approximately 4,500 air strikes in Yugoslavia, President Bill Clinton was declaring war, and, constitutionally, only Congress could make such declarations. The meanings of both `declare' and `war' were called into question, and the courts decided to "consult the dictionary which would have been the standard authority at the time when the Constitution was drawn up in 1787. That standard authority was of course Johnson."
   
   Though it is now more than 250 years old, the great work continues to influence the affairs of men. Hitchings has written a spellbinding account of both the man and the work.



5. Dr. Samuel Johnson created the first comprehensive English dictionary almost single-handedly, and this book traces the story of it's creation. Hitchings wrote his doctoral thesis on the same subject, and this book seems to be an expansion of his original work - I originally read the British publication but have since learned that this American publication is the same with a different title. The author is obviously well-researched on his subject, and this book is entertaining and informative, though sometimes slow and dry. The frame of the book is Johnson's life and the chapters are charmingly titled by a word and definition from the dictionary that is relevant to the chapter's subject matter, but the true meat and real delight of this book are the choice words and definitions Hitchings gleans from the original work and the anecdotes of Johnson's life that give glimpses into his mind.
   
   The writing of the dictionary was truly an achievement, and Hitchings traces Johnson's ingenuity, labors, and ultimate impact with great care. In every paragraph it is obvious that Hitchings is an expert in his material and he treats the subject matter with respect. In addition to the many historical facts he presents regarding Johnson's life and career, Hitchings seems to take delight in sharing as many definitions as he can squeeze in, especially the odd ones, and draws many conclusions about Johnson himself from how they were written. In fact, I had the impression while reading it that it was the peculiarities of the Dictionary that got Hitchings interested to begin with. The fact that he is obviously an expert in his subject and presents his proof, from the dictionary, other contemporary sources, and Johnson's extensive writing, with every deduction makes this story both believable and interesting.
   
   The only real fault in this book to me was the fact that Hitchings' writing is at times a little too dry and too fond of long words. Parts of the book drag and feel repetitive, though when I went back to figure out where the repetition was, I couldn't find it. It just felt that way while reading it, that I just wanted Hitchings to get to his next point already. Hitchings includes an immense amount of material with Johnson's life - history of dictionaries, circumstance of and commentary on life in the 18th century, and definition after definition - so the book felt very long.
   
   The best part of this book is the joy of entertaining definitions. My favorites are the confusing ones, like "to lie with" meaning "to converse in bed," and the list of words with vastly different meanings than they carry today, such as "urinator" meaning "a diver, one who searches underwater." Hitchings shows his own flashes of humor and personality in his work, just as Johnson did, by sharing his favorite anecdotes of Johnson and his own tart remarks on Johnson's writings, such as the above definition of "to lie with," where he points out that Johnson "could certainly have been more straightforward." For anyone who enjoys words and their various meanings, it is well worth a read.

2 comments about Meteor of War: The John Brown Story.

1. This book reads very well and covers all of John Brown's life and death, then also the huge range of responses to him and his career. The connections that Zoe Trodd and John Stauffer make between John Brown and Timothy Mcveigh is provocative. No one who buys this book will be disappointed.



2. I agree with the reviewer above - John Brown is one of those figures that noone really understands so a full length work with sources and analysis of Brown's writings like this has been a long time coming. I teach a class on the coming of the Civil War and my students have already been taught, like most Americans, that John Brown was at best a well-meaning madman. But this book shows the various John Browns of history and myth, so that, whether you agree with the actions of Brown, you will at least understand them better and see him as a complex and human individual. The Harvard authors have a sense for biography and history, and do convincing close readings of John Brown's own writings. Fascinating sources and great prose by the authors, good analysis of art a bonus. It's a good story and told well. I have some criticisms of the politics behind the book but this doesn't detract too much from the overall quality.

5 comments about The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank.

1. This is one of the best books I have ever read. A must read for all ages. These ladies are some of the most courageous people in the world. They perserved knowing that their demise could be any day. But living was too important to them so they dug deep within themselves to keep their spirit alive and they succeeded. Hooray for them!!! Miep Gies is also a very courageous person. She is right up there with these ladies. "Anne Frank Remembered" by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold is also a wonderful book. If you are looking for excellent reading and a time frame for the life of Anne Frank, then by all means read this book. I don't know if I could handle the pressures that these ladies went through to live, and I hope that I never have to endure their suffering, but if I do, I will take these 7 women with me and draw on their strengths and spirit to keep me alive.



2. "The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank" by Willy Lindwer was originally a documentary. The author and filmmaker's encounter with the women who knew Anne Frank, after her family was captured, left him with more material than could ever be told in a documentary. It is collected here in this powerful and necessary testament to the legacy of Anne Frank.
   
   The book begins with a slight overview of Anne Frank's life. It then gives way to the stories of six women who knew her - some before her deportation to the camps, and all of them during her final days at Bergen-Belsen. The collection begins with the reminiscences of Hannah Elisabeth Pick-Goslar, Anne's childhood friend (who she wrote about in her diary), who later threw her Red Cross packages across the barbed-wire fence of the camp when they miraculously encountered one another again. The stories the women have to tell are similar - their treatment in the camp, the way they met Anne and Margot - and all of them were inexplicably touched by her life. Some felt an overwhelming sense of failure at not being able to do more to help these poor sisters, but there was little they could do, especially when both were fighting typhus and had little will, or strength, to survive. At least one even made comment that had Anne known her father was still alive, she might have fought a little harder to see her beloved Pip once more. Anne was the 'apple of her father's eye' and his life after the liberation of Auschwitz was to let her words bear testimony for her.
   
   These women all have powerful and miraculous stories to tell. The fact that they survived the death camp is a miracle in itself. One of the women's husband survived Auschwitz with Otto Frank and many of them had the privilege of meeting him after the war; and one had the sad 'honor' of confirming Anne and Margot's deaths. Perhaps the story of Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder is the most compelling for her witness to not only the girls' final days, but to their deaths as well. Both the Frank girls died of
   typhus a few short weeks before the liberation of the camps. "The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank" is a crucial examination of an amazing life cut short by unimaginable cruelty, and to the miracle of those who survived to tell it in their own words.



3. Anne Frank's name is one of the most known names in the world. She stuned the world with her diary. But there were still so many unanswered questions about what happend after they were betrayed? Everyone knew that she died at a consintration camp, but what did she die of and so many other questions ligered in the minds of the millions of people who have read her diary. Finally Willy Lindwer took up the challenge of finding out what happend in the last 7 monthes of her life. I recomend this book to anyone and everyone, but I recomend reading her diary first. This book picks up where her diary left off and continues to the day that she died.This book is told by the women who knew Anne Frank and her family at the concentration camp and not only tell what they know happend to her, but their story as well. It is truly and amazing book and a must read!



4. "The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank" is only periphally a book about Anne - but it is pointedly a book about Anne's experience in those last months of her life. With the exception of her close friend Hannah Goslar, who talks about her at length, Anne is mentioned only in passing by the other interviewees, all of whom were acquainted with her. But their individual stories of what they endured in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen is also her story, and illuminates her time in the camps as she herself would have - but never got the chance to. A good addition to a library of Anne Frank material, or an excellent compendium of personal experiences during the Holocaust, whichever way is more valuable to the reader.



5. "How can I find tranquility?
   Years later, the tumult of the men resounds,
   The swishing of their whips,
   Above the people being pushed along,
   And stamping of boots,
   Cries of anguish.
   I have seen so many go to a desperate death,
   Across a dirt path, on which their weakened feet
   Dragged them to the gate
   Smoke cannot speak,
   From the chimneys they slip out, formless above my head,
   And are taken by the wind,
   Robbed of their bones.
   Since then, despite my clothes, I am naked.
   And remain exposed to synonyms.
   Therefore it is not tranquil within,
   The whips are still lashing,
   And at the most unexpected times,
   The packing paper pictures come forth,
   Chilly, yellowed, gray from smoke,
   And stiff with death at night when I want to sleep."
   Ronnie Goldstein- van Cleef,
   
   This novel was an eye opener for me of the Holocaust and all that the Jewish people were made to bear. Death looked them all in the eye, and from day to day, no one knew if they would see another day. They were humiliated and dragged down, stripped of their self-esteem and their strength as never before in their lives. Husbands were separated from wives, and some children from their parents. Many got sick and died before reaching the gas chambers. Many looked already dead in skeletal form breathing their last breaths.
   I applaud the six women who gave interviews from this book. These women saw Anne Frank and her family and sought to help them any way they could. These were brave women, who endured the suffering of the death camps and came out alive. Hannah Elisabeth Pick-Gosslar, Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper, Rachel van Amerongen-Frankfoorder, Bloeme Evers-Emden, Lenie de Jong-van-Naarden, Ronnie Goldstein-van Cleef, we thank you for sharing this horrible time of your life. It must have been very hard to relive, so thank you. Thank you so much for your courageousness.
   Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 07/03/07)

5 comments about Letters from the End of the World: A Firsthand Account of the Bombing of Hiroshima.

1. This is one of the most powerful first hand accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima that I have ever read. My copy was quickly passed around from friend to friend and it impacted everyone who read it.



2. there are evidences to show everything the author wants to tell. i can understand the whole project of the bombing of Hiroshima. a truely fantastic book!



3. Please read this book, and think Fallujah.
   
   First published in Japanese a few years after we dropped a nuclear bomb upon Hiroshima, a previously secluded and untouched shelter for families and children, this book remains a prophetic and instructive text for us today of the necessity to do everything we can for peace and the end to all killing and warfare.
   
   Thou shalt not kill.
   
   This first hand account was written by a father whose family was destroyed by our bomb, including small children, home, etc.
   
   His wife died from radiation sickness a few weeks after we bombed their small city. To confront and control his radical and permanent loss, her husband, an historian at Hiroshima University, wrote to her letters regarding all that he knew about the event and its aftermath, using all of his formal academic skill as historian and first person victim of our bombing. These are his letters to her.
   
   For another historical source, you might also read Hiroshima by Takaki, an academic historian working in the United States. For another primary source, you might find the eyewitness chronicle entitled Barefoot Gen by an artist who as a small boy survived our nuclear atack on Hiroshima while losing his entire family as does Professor Ogura here. Barefoot Gen may be the most accessible to the American reader for its graphic nature; Professor Ogura may be the more poignant though no less powerful first person account to the mainly literate reader. It all depends upon your personal learning style; the truth is one and the same.
   
   Please study carefully and prayerfully this work of a grieving father and husband, so dispassionately and professionally presented as letters to his dead and dying wife, and fight with all that you can for peace, that our present carnage against civilian populations may forever cease and we may live in permanent and abiding peace free of this murderous sin and the national psychosis which drives us into unjust though materially profitable warfare, which provides us permanently only the continual guilt of the suffering and death here so clearly and truthfully and painfully portrayed.
   
   Thou shalt not kill.



4. The only thing that might change the minds of those who support America's use of atomic bombs against Japan is the testimony of those who survived the attacks. Gen. Eisenhower, Adm. Leahy and others in the military and government expressed depressed disgust over the use of nuclear weapons against civilians, and Capt. Robert Lewis (co-pilot of the Enola Gay) later met with a group of the Hiroshima Maidens in the U.S. to express his regret and donate money for their medical costs.
   
   "Letters from the End of the World", along with "Hiroshima Diary," present the attack on Hiroshima in terms of the human cost and suffering of civilians. More lives were lost in the fire bombings of Japanese cities and the destruction of Dresden but both the immediate and long-term effects of the use of nuclear weapons constitute a horrific act.
   
   We now know that the use of violence against civilian populations tends to strengthen a resolve to fight to the bitter end. Yet, it remains a tactic by some and an accepted consequence by most. The use of nuclear weapons against Japan were not the deciding factor in ending the war. It was already over.
   
   As long as governments and citizens choose to accept the slaughter of civilians as a collateral consequence to conflict, atrocities will continue. Self-satisfied, unexamined clucking about the unfortunate inevitability of civilian deaths in war is a moral crime in itself. Especially since the 20th century heralded in an age of increasing civilian death tolls in all conflicts.
   
   Capt. Paul Tibbets (pilot of the Enola Gay) went to his grave with no regrets about Hiroshima. To his credit, he met with at least one hibakusha (disfigured survivor of the attack). Tibbets rightly stated that all war is immoral and leads to immoral action. We'd better find a different way to settle differences.
   
   Hiroshima today is a gleaming, modern city that somewhat mutes even a visit to the Atomic Bomb Dome. Even the memorial museum does not convey the horror of August 6th, 1945 the way the witness testimonies do. I can't imagine someone reading this book and not being moved.



5. Unforgettable. horrifying. a reality check for those who think war is "like in the movies". the writer takes u there in the exact moments as people encounter the bluish white flash. eg. a woman strolling the shopping district is suddenly engulfed in the biggest lightening bolt she's ever seen and a family sitting down to dinner one minute then thrown into a cataclysm of blindness, fear and disorientation. it is truly a look into the end of the world.

1 comments about John Adams Movie Tie-In.

1. Don't get me wrong, this is a terrific book. David McCullough has written another winner. And Edward Herrmann is still my favorite narrator of audio books. But the engineers must have been on strike because all throughout this audio book you can hear Mr. Herrmann breathing through his nose, smacking his lips and exhaling.
   Still, I'm glad I purchased this audio book in spite of the strange recording. It's wonderful.

2 comments about Napoleon (Profiles in Power Series).

1. This is my first book on Napoleon, though not my first book on French history. Ellis' book has many good insights and seems to me well-written. He arranged his book according to themes, rather than on a timeline. This is difficult, however, for the beginner, as a basic knowledge of Napoleonic history is assumed. At the end of his book, Ellis recommends Felix Markham's "Napoleon" as a good introductory work, and I will take his advice, then perhaps reread Ellis, as I think it deserves to be read with the details of Napleon's history already in the readers mind.



2. This slender tome is an elegant overview of Napoleon's political and cultural impact on 19th Century Europe. It is not a political or cultural biography of Napoleon, but instead, a collection of essays which addresses Napoleon's roles as a soldier, statesman and patron of the arts during the first French Republic and first French Empire (1792-1815). Ellis demonstrates Napoleon's acquisition and retention of power during the first half of the book. He closes with several fine essays which show how Napoleon's power was depicted artistically and what - if any - was Napoleon's legacy to France and to Europe. This is unquestionably a book of interest to those familiar with Napoleon's career, early 19th Century European history, or both.

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 John Jay: Founding Father.

1. I enjoyed reading about John Jay. I remembered his treaty as being far more unpopular than in the book. Overall the book is an excellent and detailed account of Jhn Jay's life. I would highly recommend it.



2. I have read many books about the founding fathers over tha last several years. I am also a lawyer and this book was written by a lawyer about John Jay who was also a lawyer. Throughout the book you could see how Jay's training as a lawyer affected the things he did, how he thought and of course it was crucial in how he drafted and negotiated two treaties with England and the New York state constitution. Of course you don't have to be a lawyer to enjoy this book-it isn't written in legalize.I do think anyone reading the book will learn something new about the revolutionary period as the book follows Jay from New York lawyer to a representative to the Continental Congress to President of the Congress to representative to Spain and France and on through his time as Chief Justice of the Supreme court to two term Governor of New York. He interacted with all the founding fathers and was particularly close to Hamilton, Adams and Washington. I thought this was an excellent book and was particularly good at showing one of the great Federalist leaders of the revolutionary period.



3. "John Jay, Founding Father" by Walter Stahr is a welcome addition to the biographies of America's founders.
   
   By examining Jay's key roles as President of the Continental Congress, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, one of three negotiators of the peace treaty with the British empire (along with Franklin and Adams), a Federalist Papers author, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, negotiator of Jay's Treaty, to preserve peace with England in 1794, and governor of New York, one can better appreciate the times and the greatness of the men who shaped events around Jay. In his concluding chapter, author Stahr rightly places Jay as seventh, behind Franklin, Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison in importance to the successful founding of America. Painting the portrait of a humble man of faith, one gets the impression that Jay would not have minded such an assessment - as opposed to his contemporaries, some of whom fought hard to ensure history viewed them more favorably.
   
   Mr. Stahr is a fine writer and "John Jay" is well-researched, leaving the reader to wish that Stahr would consent to taking another leave of his practice of law to write about another prominent American - especially as the U.S. today has a surfeit of attorneys and a dearth of historians possessing both common sense and a good pen (keyboard).
   
   I am indebted to Mr. Stahr's parents in Orange County, California, for recently telling me of their son's book, which I purchased on Amazon soon after hearing about it. Mr. Stahr's father is himself a prominent attorney and was one of the early key supporters of a previous employer of mine, former Congressman Chris Cox, now Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
   
   Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a California State Assemblyman, he served as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense from 1986 to 1988, retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel, and is the co-author of "China Attacks."



4. For all of you fans of "John Adams" and "Founding Fathers" this is a book to add to yoru collection. Stahr writes and authorative account on the life of a man that history has downplayed.
   
   While he much lesser known than Sam Adams, Aaron Burr, and (even) Paul Revere - John Jay was a critical member of the brotherhood that help to found our country. it is laughable that many of us have heard of those three, but have no clue on Jay's contributions. Jay was a co-author "The Federalist", a diplomat with Ben Franklin, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and negoiated a treaty with Britian (The "Jay Treaty"). Make no mistake, John Jay was not a minor player in the founding of America as he was often in the middle of the action.
   
   Stahr highlights the important career of John Jay, and recognizes the contributions that he made to American history. Stahr's biography is both well-written and insightful and helps tell our nation's founding from a slightly different angle.
   
   My recommendation read Stahr's "John Jay" and follow it with Chernow's Alexander Hamilton. Both are excellent accounts of two important (and close friends) New Yorkers that helped shape early American political thought.
   
   Grade "A"



5. During the American revolutionary era, few men (if any) exceeded John Jay in both longevity and diversity of public service. As a young lawyer, Jay attended the First and Second Continental Congresses as a New York delegate, during which he developed from a moderate patriot to an ardent separationist. He served with the rebel New York convention before and during the British occupation of New York City, and later served as President of the Continental Congress, ambassador to Spain, peace commissioner in Paris, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, first Chief Justice of the federal Supreme Court, ambassador to Great Britain, and governor of New York. Throughout this time, he also gave steady counsel to those in executive leadership of the nascent United States. In 1801, Jay stepped down from 26 years of uninterrupted public service, and retired as a revered elder statesman to spend the final three decades of his life in relative seclusion on his farm in lower New York.
   
   Stahr set himself a difficult goal in becoming John Jay's biographer. Even in Jay's own lifetime, the New York statesman had a reputation for deep reserve, sometimes interpreted even by his friends as coldness. Jay's correspondence is neither as voluminous nor as self-revelatory as are the letters and documents of other American founding fathers. In what documents remain, Jay sticks to the facts relative to the issue at hand, rarely expressing his passions or personal insights into his life and times. In that light, Stahr's biography is a notable achievement, well-written and as engaging as could be expected for a biography of such a quiet man. Perhaps the book's most significant weakness is a tendency to skim quickly through analyses of Jay's importance in his various capacities; for example, the final chapter summarizes and analyzes Jay's entire life in a mere three or four pages. As good as Stahr's biography is, there is still room for one that will explore fully the significance of this remarkable, capable, and iron-willed founding father.