5 comments about Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned.

1. There used to be (or still is if you are a conspiracist) a lot of mystery surrounding Rasputin and the collapse of the Russian Empire during WWI. I became intrigied after seeing the HBO version of Rasputin and swept away by the magic of Rasputin in Edvard Radzinsky's account (be it true or false...). I felt compelled to find out more and this book came highly recmmended at Amazon so...

   Moynahan starts off with the clear, descriptive and simple writing style of the brilliant book on the last Romanov's by Robert K. Massie. Then somewhere in the middle of the book, he descends abruptly into a vitrilic foul-mouthed tirade at Rasputin - which is in shocking contrast to the start of the book. As the chapters kept on unfurling with this pure vitriol, my respect for the biographer and patience with the book deteriorated. Then suddenly, towards the end, Moynahan suddenly finds compassion for Rasputin in his (sensationalised) theory for Rasputin's death. However, Moynahan had lost my respect by then and the book was thrown into the bin - I couldn't bring myself to even subject it to the people at my local library where I usually donate books.

   ... If you want to read a masterpiece on a good biographer turned bad - this is the book for you. If you want to learn about Rasputin, there are other books on the market which are infinetely more informative!




2. ...but worthless as a historical biography. This book is a collection of the most salacious gossip from the latter days of the Romanov Empire. It is both entertaining and gives some insight to the "mood" of St. Petersburg at that time, but is filled with "inaccuracies", from references to Rasputin's youth as a time of living in primitive poverty to refering to him as a monk to descriptions of a life style of unrestrained, wild debauchery. In fact, his father was a land owner, Rasputin grew up in a nice home in a town that benefited from being located by rivers (making commerce an important part of the town), was never a monk, remained married to the same woman, brought his two daughters to live with him in St. Petersburg so they could have an education, and for a complex set of reasons, allowed himself to be a scapegoat. While he admitted to "falling into sin", those incidents were a very small part of a very complex and interesting person/life.



3. Although it has its errors, this is an engrossing biography about Rasputin. Full of new information and little-known facts, it's not afraid to shy away from the nitty-gritty, it's not afraid to give us the dirt on this guy, without all the false romanticism about Rasputin being so saintly and such. But this is an honest portrait of Rasputin, giving him credit where credit is due. I like this gritty lurid style of writing, which doesn't downplay or leave out the salacious sensationalistic stuff. There is no doubt that you will be convinced of Rasputin's iron hold on the Russian royal family due to his supposed supernatural powers, which included healing the Tzar's hemophiliac son and heir to the throne, Alexei. But, alas, there would never be a new Tzar, as through his scandalous public and priavte life Rasputin unwittingly contributed to the Romanov dynasty's fall. I recommend this book especially to people who enjoy reading a good bio about unusual personalities from the past.

   David Rehak
   author of "Love and Madness"




4. The reason Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra became a modern classic was because it presented its story through the dispassionate historian's eye. The sensational tone of this book makes one think that 70 years of Soviet disinformation on the Romanovs all found a home in this volume. One would do better to stay with Massie (no lover of the Romanovs) and read books like A Gathered Radiance to get a more nuanced picture.



5. Instead of a book that is only re-telling really what we know or have heard of Rasputin, this is remarkable in its history and life of a very interesting person.

No comments about Romance of a Little Village Girl (Paso Por Aqui : Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage).

2 comments about Grant and Twain: The Story of an American Friendship.

1. Despite the author's best efforts, I thought the premise of the book -- that Grant and Twain's friendship was of great importance in both men's lives -- was not well proven in the book. However, the intimate portrayal of Grant in this short book was very interesting to me, and earned the book 4 stars in my mind.



2. This book explores the personal and business relationship between US Grant and Mark Twain, and attempts to advance the thesis that these two men, who were such towering figures of the mid to late 19th century, were profoundly influenced by each other. As a narrative this book succeeds--especially in Perry's description of the dying Grant. His portrait of the ex-president and savior of the Union is touching, and definitely makes the book worth reading on that merit alone. Perry's recounting of the relationship Twain and Grant shared is also interesting, demonstrated mainly from Twain's point of view.
   
   The thesis which is central to this book, unfortunately, was not confirmed for me in Perry's argument. The central argument seems to be that Twain was a deciding factor in Grant's resolution to write his memoirs, and that somehow it may not have happened had Twain not intervened. Perry points out that Twain brought the subject up to Grant several years before the project was actually started, but that alone was not enough to convince me. In fact, Grant was writing a series of articles for the Century magazine, and was already in process of making a deal for the book. Twain's publishing company more or less stole the deal away from Century. And while Twain was able to secure a much better financial compensation plan for Grant than he otherwise would have gotten, this, too, can hardly be attributed purely to the friendship the two shared. The memoirs made both men a lot of money.
   
   There is little doubt that Twain revered Grant and that Grant, in turn, appreciated and was fond of Twain. I just couldn't see, however, the link Perry seemed to want to build between Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Grant's memoirs, and for me that left the premise of the book flawed. Certain elements of the argument also break down under closer scrutiny, for example Perry's claim that the 'GG' appearing at the beginning of Huck Finn stands for 'General Grant,' and that the book was somehow dedicated to his friend.
   
   Perry also attempts to draw parallels between Huck and Grant, which to me seem very far-fetched. He claims that "Grant's journey [South down the Mississippi after he captured Vicksburg] was intended to free the slaves" and that "capturing Vicksburg, Grant had transformed the war for the Union into a war to free the slaves." This is much more than I can swallow. The Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect 7 months before this event, and had been declared almost a year before. If there was a battle that changed the course of the war it was Antietam, not Vicksburg.
   
   In short, Huck Finn was not General Grant, nor vice-versa. I just can't wrap my mind around that one, and that makes the whole of Perry's argument seem fairly weak. That having been said, the book is very well written, the narrative is excellent, and only the historical analysis/interpretation seems to break down under scrutiny. I bought this book before reading it (something I don't often do), but I can honestly say I don't regret it. Though I'm not convinced by Perry's argument, this book was worth reading.

1 comments about Truth Comes in Blows: A Memoir.

1. This is a well-written evocative memoir. Painful to read in places. Someone once said that we read to know that we are not alone. This sums up my feelings about this book. I'd add that we read in order to get enough distance to empathize. "Turth" is an elegant tale about struggling to grow up in sometimes dire emotional circumstances. It's especially refreshing because it is not a mewling, raging therapy session as so many similar stories are today. It's a painting of a time (Depression era America) and place (industrial burgs of NYC) and an attempt to come to terms with great suffering in a dignified manner. And it's so much more.

2 comments about Sal Si Puedes (Escape If You Can): Cesar Chavez and the New American Revolution.

1. Am forever indebted to my mentor Bea Brickey for getting me involved with the United Farm Worker union locally, and for instilling in me the importance of getting involved and living by Christ's motto that what you do to the least of them you do to Christ.

   The book begins with a reminder form Cesar Chavez himself, who said in 1992 two years before his death that "The rich have money, the poor have time". The reader is reminded that patience was his tool of success.

   The book is just shy of 400 pages and is a humbling as well as an energizing read. The title Sal Si Puedes is from the San Jose barrio where Chavez' farm workers union work was birthed. The book was begun with a three year stint the author had in the late 70's with Chavez with much appreciated postscript that brings the reader up to date with the events that incurred since the 60's and 70's.

   Bea would spend hours passing on the wisdom that Chavez and the other UFW activists had taught her. How she and her husband were often taunted by San Joaquin farmers and called commies and pinkos and how Chavez and the other UFW workers who simply wanted decent working conditions and a living wage were taunted like this as well. How migrant workers were/are exposed to high pesticide levels and that in one breath the farmers denounce the "slave" labour workers for wanting decent housing and wages, while bemoaning the fact that they can't find American who will do the damn stoop labour for slave wages.

   This is a book I am passing on to a lot of people, since I believe it is so important that we as citizens, stand up for what is right and that sometimes people have to have their comfort levels challenged.




2. Sal Si Puedes, by Peter Matthiessen, is an excellent chronicle of the adult life of the farm workers' revolutionary, Cesar Chavez. This Biography written by Matthiessen is from the day he meets Chavez to the time he passed away in 1992. Chavez was a activist for the rights of all farm workers, and believed that union representation was not only a privilege, but a right of all workers. With the installment of the Bracero program, non American people brought into the united states were allowed to work in the fields, because Lobbyists in Washington were successfully able to determine that no American was willing to do the back breaking manual labor of picking and harvesting the fields in California. This book was simply put, is the best book that I have read in my young adult life.
   One thing that I enjoyed in this biography is the use of language. I found the linguistics easy to understand. With the easy language and prose writing, this made the biography an easy read. Because I spent a short time of my later childhood in Delano, Where the book took place, I knew exactly where everything was, and with his descriptive, powerful words, I felt like I was back in Delano. Stepping out of my own skin and looking at the book from a non-Californian's perspective, the description and detail is awesome.
   Another thing I liked about the book was the accuracy of the historical fact. Family members of mine lived in the time of the farm workers movement, and after having discussed the biography with them, they, too, agree that the accuracy and detail of events that took place are superior. The chronicling of not only the personal life, but also business life of Chavez was easily understood, and Matthiessen did an excellent job with this Biography.

1 comments about Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France (P.S.).

1. Moore's book (which could also have been called "Equality," although not "Fraternity") may not break new scholarly ground, but it is fairly even handed on the more controversial aspects of the French Revolution and above all it brings to life a number of women who participated in that event and whose hopes for a more equitable life for women were dashed but who, often, continued to believe in the revolution's principles. She tells a number of good stories movingly, with flashes of humor and historically imaginative empathy for all concerned. The women she describes, or most of them (for the women she includes had a range of political views), would have been cheered by the recent Bastille Day celebrations, to say nothing of the mere fact of a woman's candidacy for the French presidency in the recent French election. This is a moving as well as an entertaining book.

5 comments about Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician.

1. Modern day Constitutionalists, in their passion to defend this document against ill-conceived modern-day dilutions, sometimes make the mistake of viewing the Founding Fathers of the United States as a pantheon. They were heroes, to be sure, but they had feet of clay and sharp disagreements. Some of the issues for which a compromise was found in the Constitution are worth revisiting today.
   
   Alyn Brodsky has done a first-rate job of portraying this complex individual---Benjamin Rush, a curious combination of man of peace and man of war. He was one of the firiest firebrands in the pre-Revolutionary War days (his prolific pamphleteering helped to persuade those who had been obedient servants of the monarch, bringing to critical mass those who considered themselves defenders of the God-given right to liberty.) On the other hand, his humanitarian side is demonstrated in his pioneering work in the abolition of slavery, his visions for publicly funded schools (at which girls would study the same acedemic subjects as boys), his selfless work among the poor afflicted with Yellow Fever Plague in Philadelphia, his compassionate treatment of mentally ill patients, and due to his insight into the link between criminality and mental illness, his outspoken championing of prisonhouses as centers of reform rather than humiliation.
   
   Particularly moving was the revelation, through letters Benjamin Rush had written to both men, of the antagonistic rift that developed between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the years after the War. It pained Benjamin Rush, who worked hard to reconcile these close friends. A testament to his success at doing so, and to the character of Benjamin Rush himself, is found in a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Adams when Benjamin Rush died in 1813: "...a better man than Rush could not have left us, more benevolent, more learned, of finer genius, or more honest." Adams reply to Jefferson: "I know of no character, living or dead, who has done more real good in America."



2. Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician draws a fascinating picture of one of the United States "Founding Fathers" and "Founding Physicians". Although from humble background, Dr. Rush was able to get the best possible medical education in the world and practiced in Philadelphia for the majority of his adult life. In addition to teaching at the new Medical College in Philadelphia and thus training a whole generation of physicians, he actively participated in the deliberations of the First and Second Continental Congresses and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a tireless writer, contributing articles on the need of independence from England and the structure of the new government. His contributions were in his own name, but often under another name, in part because of the strength of his beliefs (religious, medical, and political). Rush was a prolific correspondent and he played a crucial part in the reconciliation of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson after their retirements from active politics. Alyn Brodsky presents a sympathetic, but critical, appraisal of a key figure in the emergence of the United States. Further, the history of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War is wonderfully told through the eyes of one who participated in the Revolution first hand.



3. I feel bad saying this, but I was severely disappointed with this book. As a physician and early American history buff I was really looking forward to learning more about Benjamin Rush.
   
   In general it seems that the author, despite putting out what appears to be a finished, presentable biography, never really dug into source materials to find out who Benjamin Rush was and why he was important. Repeatedly, we hear of Rush's fame and accomplishments and influence, but the details are missing.
   
   We hear what a great doctor Rush was, considered the preeminent physician of his times, according to the author, but all the author writes about is how Rush tortured his patients with medical treatments we now know are harmful, such as bloodletting, giving cathartics, etc. Rush is known as the "Father of American Psychiatry", his book on psychiatry was bible for many many years, and his observations on mental illness were in many ways way way ahead of his times...yet not a word of this is mentioned except in the last ten pages of this 365 page book. This subject desperately needed to explained. This is why he is important for heaven's sake.
   
   Furthermore, I think it would have been fascinating to have gotten a better feel for what bloodletting and giving cathartics was about, we needed some good old source material, firsthand observations and then-current thoughts, as well as an expose of the tools employed, etc. Rush, it is clear, considered himself first and foremost and physician. He dedicated his life to the practice of medicine, he was considered a top academic lecturer. We are told all the top American physicians for the next half century were either disciples of Rush or disciples of his students.....but we don't really get a feeling for why.
   
   His political contributions and inolvement were similarly neglected. Although he wasn't the political calibre of Hamilton or Jefferson, he was definitely a major player. Much of the earlier portion of the biography seemed to focus on explaining the political events occurring around Rush during the fight for independence. The focus should have been Rush. There's a lot of negativity surrounding Rush early on in the book, but how he seems to know all the important figures in the Revolution and why they respect him is not explained.
   
   There also weren't any pictures or illustrations. I could go on. On the bright side, at least the book reads well. If you want to learn more about Rush, you should probably choose another book. Sorry.



4. In addition to a number of factual errors, e.g., that General George Clinton had been a governor of N.Y. in pre-Revolutionary times when it was Clinton's father who had served as governor, and the occasional disparagement of Benedict Arnold as a military commander, the picture which this biography paints of its subject is much too flattering. Rush was not a very pleasing personality nor was he particularly influential in any positive sense as a "founder". Moreover, many details of his life have been omitted. For example, there is no mention of the relationship between Rush and Paine or what became of the son that was institutionalized. Rush's medical practice, in light of the general ignorance of the subject at the time Rush was practicing, does not warrant the extensive treatment which the author gives it. I wrote to the publisher on these subjects and pointed out a number of editorial errata but received no reply.



5. According to our documented family tree, Dr. Rush was a distant relative relative for whom our grandson, Bengamin was named. This book let me know even more about this man, physician, diplomat, the first Surgeon General of the United States and signer of the Declaration of Independance. Compared to some of the "guick on the scene and as quickly out of favor, contemproray "heros," we presently have, our county and world would do well to encourage the development of simaliar heros today!

5 comments about The Rebel and the Rose: James A. Semple, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and the Lost Confederate Gold.

1. I really enjoyed reading this book. The depth of the "detective work" done by the authors is outstanding. The mystery and the relationships amongst all the individuals was developed and explained very well. Thank you for bringing this portion of the Civil War into such outstanding light.



2. For any Civil War or history enthusiast, The Rebel and The Rose is by far one of the best novels written to date. The author's writing keeps the reader locked in to each page desperate for more. While historically the whereabouts of the lost Confederate gold remains a mystery, you have to enjoy the detail for which is was written.
   The book is very enjoyable, a fun read with facts and intrigue and lost rebel gold! This book is one of my absolute favorites in my Civil War collection!!



3. Explores events which are mentioned in passing elsewhere, uncovering fascinating story. Hated to finish it, because much mystery remains. Presents facts more sympathetic to Jefferson Davis than generally understood, and adds to understanding of turbulent end of war.



4. The author takes a thoroughly documented time period (the civil war/reconstruction) and brings to light a fairly fresh story. I enjoyed the author's style which was interesting and full of detail without reading like a text book. He brought the involved figures to light well and I found the subject interesting and informative.



5. The Rebel and the Rose is an extraordinary - and true - tale of the final days of the Confederate government, its exit from Richmond, the Confederate treasury money and the relationship between Julia Gardiner Tyler and James A. Semple. For all the books over all the years written of this era, The Rebel and the Rose manages to uncover a little known story full of interesting details and mysteries. The research put into this book is impressive. Highly recommended for those interested in the Civil War and history in general. You wont be disappointed.

No comments about American Jewish Women's History: A Reader.

5 comments about The Dream of Water.

1. I don't like giving a synopsis or summary of the book. Thats what reading it is for. What I do like to discuss in reviews is what kind of effect the book had on me. The mood and atmosphere of the book was on the depressing side, but that's okay. Because life is like that sometimes. Like Kyoko Mori, if you don't confront a problem correctly, it will fester in your soul until you come to terms with it. The book was realistic. I like putting down a book and knowing it isn't "too good to be true" because it is true, and I don't end up in a fantasy land.

   The book does deal with alot Kyoko's negative experiences and views of the Japanese culture. I love Japanese culture, and I think her views are totally valid. I can accept the good and bad. Why be closed minded? Kyoko even comes to appreciate and understand some of the seemingly "rude" behaviors of her Japanese friends, and can enlighten us outsiders to what might seem to be odd behavior.

   Good book. It was nice for Kyoko to let go of some of her personal demons and share this very personal and painful story. Maybe we can all be as brave as her and launch head on into what we've been dreading and fearing.




2. This is a book I relish so much, I limit myself to a chapter a day just to stretch out the enjoyment and savor each sentence. I am an American who has lived in Japan for seven years, and it is so interesting to see the view through her eyes -- she really does capture aspects of Japanese culture that are below the surface, not normally visible, but nonetheless palpable. This girl definitely has a way with words!



3. The main watered down version of this book to save people the trouble of reading it: My past was traumatic, and I hate Japan. GO UNITED STATES!
   In other words? Stupid, biased, and well... BAD

   This is just like her book "Polite Lies", Ms. Mori just wants to display Japan in the lowest level doesn't she? All right, your past was traumatic. Thank you. Now either get OVER it, or just LEAVE JAPAN ALONE! I'm Japanese, just like this author but lived in the United States for seven years (from when I was 3-10) and have been living in Japan since. Now, as I am living in Japan NOW and not what? 25895039 million years ago (that's the impression I get from her book) I can tell you that the information is WRONG. Her writing style is well, beautiful and imaginitive, but her information? CATCH UP BEFORE WRITING A BOOK AND ACTING PERSUASIVE! If she's trying to lower a foreigner's view of Japan, she's probably done a fine job of it. So as a warning to all foreigners readning this book: IT'S A BUNCH OF LIES!

   She also has a load of stuff on the Japanese school system that is so wrong. It's a perfectly fine system okay? Quit bashing on it! It seems she didn't even go through it because she spent half the book boohooing about how bad it was and how EXCELLENT her AMERICAN influenced private school was.




4. In this intensely personal memoir Kyoko Mori visits her home town of Kobe, Japan, in an attempt to come to terms with her mother's suicide and her estrangement from her father.
   
   She came to America at 20, seven years after her mother's suicide, and even then knew she would never return for more than a visit. Her memoir begins with an account of the immediate aftermath of her mother's death - the shrouded atmosphere of shock and grief, her maternal grandparents gentle consideration, her father's jarring insensitivity.
   
   It then jumps to 1990, as Mori, now an American, readies for departure from Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she teaches creative writing at the university. She has always been ambivalent about the country of her birth. When people ask her if she 'goes back,' she winces at their terminology and replies, ' 'I'd like to visit sometime, but there are other places I'd rather travel to if I had the money.' '
   
   The trip is a sabbatical, justified as research for her stories and poems. She will spend four weeks sightseeing. Letters to her family are only sent from the airport: 'I could never get on the plane this morning if I had to see my family first thing upon arrival.' The people she has arranged to meet on arrival are, instead, Americans living in Japan and it is an American family she stays with.
   
   Mori skims over her four weeks traveling. She remains an outsider, treated as a foreigner. The Japanese she meets don't even expect her to speak Japanese. The reader pictures her in her American running shoes and sports clothes, a contrast to the Japanese women in dresses and lipstick, aloof in her tourist personna. But Mori begins to think she would feel alien anyway, even if she had not become so determinedly American. Kobe, where she grew up, is a modern, westernized city with little of Japanese tradition about it. The private school she went to, run by westerners, encouraged her non-conformist creativity. Even Japanese art does not move her.
   
   Upon her return to Kobe she agonizes over calling her father. She longs to see her other relatives - the maternal grandmother, aunts and cousins her father had forbidden contact with at the age of 13. Her paternal aunt and cousin who gave her so much sympathy and love in the difficult years after her father remarried. But she is Japanese enough to know that she must call her father first otherwise the others will feel awkward.
   
   The narrative is haunted by the guilt and grief she still feels over her mother's suicide, the bitterness she carries for her father. Until we meet him, it's easy to feel impatient with Mori as well as sympathetic. Sure, he was a cold, even viscious parent - depriving her of family, threatening to take her out of the school she loved, beating her for speaking her mind, full of psychological cruelties - but she also provoked him with her rash impetuosity. Perhaps Mori should be an adult about it and reconcile. How can he hurt her now?
   
   Then we meet her father and his callous behavior is as breathtaking as it is sad. The stepmother really is like something out of Grimm's fairytales. In their presence Mori becomes like a child again but the years have taught her restraint. Reuniting with her other relatives, she finds it frustrating that Japanese language and custom makes emotional expression difficult. But in the end she also finds a delicacy, even a liberation, in this. Breathing room.
   
   Mori's language is simple, unadorned, affectingly graceful. Her narrative engages the emotions as it struggles with big questions of coming of age and coming to terms with anguish that will never be resolved. In the end she remains an alien in her birthplace and the reader understands a little more about what that means.



5. Whine, whine, whine. Get a life woman, and stop detailing every boring thing your father ever did to you.