5 comments about Good Time Girls: Of the Alaska/ Yukon Gold Rush.

1. I bought this book at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks bookstore. My dad, Class of '51 at UAF (we were there for his 50th reunion), had told me some stories about "The Line" and he had had his first job with the gold mining operations, so I was curious. There's not a lot of gory detail here. It's about people and places, but it's quite a colorful history. Though never officially legal, prostitution was tolerated and it flourished in Alaska for more than 50 years. And some very famous characters pop up, like Wyatt Earp and the "Birdman of Alcatraz". Definitely worth the time.



2. Well, the men mined the gold, and the women mined the miners. All had unhealthy jobs but it would appear that more womem made money than the men from this book. It is also interesting that many of the women ended their trade by marrying the miners. So while to some they were "soiled doves" to the miners they were princesses.
   
   Still interesting that the town tollerated this business until very recently. An enjoyable read.



3. I was disappointed in this book, it seemed more like a history of the men of the Yukon and Gold Rush . There were some stories about some of these women in there, but they were not very interesting to me, just sort of dry and lacking the quality that you could see and picture the people-which is a quality I look for in books of a historical nature. If you like just a history of cut and dry facts about the Gold Rush and the men etc., this might be ok, but overall, the book failed to be interesting to me.



4. The Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush, a time at the turn of the century, when the gold camps were booming and the dust flowed like wine. Leaving behind law and many of the constraints of the Post-Victorian era, men and women went north to find adventure and wealth. Most found death among the cold frozen mountains and rivers but a few survived to find money, power and, sometimes, even love.
   The women found it easier to mine the miners then to mine the mines. Women couldn't work claims in most cases and most of the normal jobs didn't pay well.
   If a woman wanted the wealth and adventure she was searching for she ended up becoming a Good Time Girl. Men outnumbered women ten to one and were always willing to pay for the company. Dance hall girls and prostitutes were among the pioneers who opened the new regions, became rich entrepreneurs and powerful women who, in some cases, changed the towns for the better.
   But their history cannot be written in a vacuum. As many of them left behind no written records we have to use police logs, old photos and stories left behind by the more respectable women and men of the cities. The book deals with the conditions and events that made the Far North so much different from the lower forty-eight states where many of the women came from. Why did the cities, in many cases, allow a red light district? Why did they give them police protection? How did the women influence the towns and change the very future of the frontier? Why did so many women turn to be Good Time Girls?
   With tons of humor, happy endings and sad ones, the chapters within this book give a detailed look at the history of the independent women who faced hardships, lost fortunes and the dangers of a wild land to find a future.



5. I had to read this for a book club and didn't make it all the way through. I will give credit for a well researched book. It is a history of endless short accounts of the miners and the women who serviced them. While there are a few interesting characters, the information was limited and left you wanting to know more of the story.
   
   This will be of interest of someone who studies the history or who has visited Alaska and seen the locales of the stories to make a connection.

4 comments about Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife, 1844-1939.

1. Orlean Puckett: The Life Of A Mountain Midwife by Karen Cecil Smith provides the reader with an exemplary life story of a strong and determined mountain woman. Orlean Puckett (1844-1939) was a bride by age 16, gave birth to 24 babies, and survived the Civil War (during which she was harassed and besieged by Home Guard troops). Becoming a midwife at age 45, Orlean Puckett successfully delivered over a thousand babies. This superbly documented, painstakingly researched, very highly recommended biography offers a clear glimpse into a truly remarkable turn-of-the-century life and would make an excellent addition to Women's Studies reading lists and American History biography collections.



2. This is a delightful book informing one of the past times when a midwife was an important part of the mountain community. Karen has done a wonderful job of getting interviews from those who knew Aunt Orlean and imparting that information to us. A picture of the past is brought to us, and one cannot help but feel admiration for such a strong woman. Thank you, Karen, for such a picture!



3. This book presents a picture of a strong mountain woman who, after giving birth to and losing 24 babies, decided to become a midwife in southwestern Virginia. It was not so much the midwifery that drew me to this book, but the account of the mountain men's role in the Civil War and the Home Guard Troops that reeked havoc on the women and children left behind. Interviews of men who helped construct the Blue Ridge Parkway and accounts of the old mountain ways of doing things like sheep shearing, making soap, bartering chestnuts, etc. made this an interesting read. In Orlean Puckett's time, neighbor helped neighbor. Puckett was a strong woman with a good attitude and a quick humor. If she were living today, she's the kind of woman I'd want to spend lots of time with. The author did an excellent job of capturing the essence of mountain life from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Times and people have certainly changed but fortunately, because of this book, we have a recording that will endure for future generations to read, learn, enjoy, and appreciate.



4. an absolutely amazing story. To be able to go back in time and learn what it was like then can only give you food for thought and prayers of thanksgiving

5 comments about Mao Zedong: A Life (A Penguin Life).

1. Only about two hundred pages, Jonathan Spence does a very noble job summarizing one of the most powerful, mysterious, fascinating, and frightening persons of the twentieth century. Though if one is looking for a book that goes into detail about any aspect of Mao's life or policies, it is best to look elsewhere. This book is a straightforward and unabashed introduction and quick overview of Mao's life and work and ideas. Perfect for people curious about Mao and twentieth century China who want to read more than an abstract, but do not necessarily need or want to tackle a big and detailed work. Just the facts and little commentary. Spence does a good job balancing any bias against or for Mao and his policies and deals mostly with the reasons for them and overall consequences.



2. If you going to attempt a 180 page biography of someone of this stature, one must sift thru and present only the most relevent and important details. This did not happen. A decent book, but lacked details on some very important areas, while giving too much time to unrealted topics. Example: Mao becomes the head of a small, isolated band of communist guerilla fighters. Very well, now how does he transform from that, into the head of state for a billion people? the book doesnt say. In this biogarphy, Mao goes from that cave-living nobody into meeting Stalin and ruling China in about 2 paragraphs. From cave-dweller to world leader in 6 sentences. We get more than 6 sentences about his last secretary's personal life.



3. "The American moon and the Chinese moon are the same moon" noted Mao - the American moon was not BETTER. This is my first book on Mao and the way in which Mr Spence underpins this brief overview of Mao's life with examples of Mao's poetry and philosophy adds to understanding of this hugely significant figure in the World's history. The descent into senility (for want of a better term} and the confirmation once again of the dictum power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, are sad perhaps even tragic conclusions to what began as a noble inspirational life. An enjoyable, informative and concise read.



4. As leader of China for over a quarter of a century, Mao Zedong is one of the dominant figures of modern history, one whose shadow continues to fall on his country today. In this book, Jonathan Spence offers a short introduction to the Chinese leader's life and times, one that seeks to explain how the son of Hunan farmers became the ruler of the most populous country in the world.
   
   That Spence succeeds is a tribute to his command of the subject. He concentrates on Mao's intellectual development, analyzing his writings in order to shed light upon the key points in his life. Spence sees Mao's organizational skills as key to his rise within the Communist Party during the hard years of the 1920s and 1930s. Once in power, Mao consolidated his rule behind an image of himself as the simple, determined leader of a revolutionary movement, an image he sought to impose on the movement as a whole. Yet his increasingly absolute position fueled a self-absorption that, once in power, contributed to the great disasters of his rule.
   
   One of the leading historians of China, Spence presents the details of Mao's life with confidence and erudition. While much of the treatment is perfunctory (what else is to be expected in a biography of less than 200 pages?), within the space available he provides a good overview of Mao's life intertwined with coverage of the complex and dramatic history of twentieth century China. For readers seeking to learn about the interesting times which Mao shaped, this is a good place to start.



5. Jonathan Spence is probably the leading Western scholar on Chinese history, and for that reason alone this book is worth reading. Spence provides the reader with a concise overview of Mao's life with an appropriate amount of commentary on issues that help the reader understand Mao's personality. This focus on Mao as a person (instead of Mao as an historical actor) is, in my opinion, the book's strongest feature.
   
   I'd like to spend a second or two dealing with what some of the other reviewers of this book have said, because I think several of them have missed the mark. Some people seem to be disquieted because Spence spends so little time covering the historical aspects of major events, such as the Long March, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. However, the point of this book is not to give a detailed account of Mao's role in modern Chinese history, but rather to provide an image of Mao that readers can get their hands around. Spence accomplishes this task nicely, and reviewers misunderstand his purpose when they criticize this book for its lack of coverage of such important events.
   
   Another set of reviewers are disillusioned with the book because they feel it does not adequately show how Mao went from a middle-peasantry childhood to become the leader of China. I don't know what these reviewers think the book is missing in particular; I think Spence does a good job of capturing the essence of Mao's life through time, and Spence stops at each categorical change in Mao's life to explain what was going on that led to Mao's upward shift in stature.
   
   I give this book three stars because I think it is a book without a definable demographic in terms of readership. The content is too surface-level to be of much use to even the moderately informed Chinese history student. At the same time, Spence's sense of irony and paradox will probably be lost on the novice reader because of a lack of contextual understanding. Additionally, Spence leaves unexplained things that not all readers will understand (such as the role of various political bodies that get brought up). So it is that, in my opinion, this book is at times too advanced for the novice, and yet generally too introductory for the more experienced.
   
   I myself didn't learn a whole lot about Mao's life that I didn't already know. Spence's scholarship is very good, however, and there were a decent amount of details that I didn't know beforehand which I found interesting. Spence is very even-handed in terms of moral judgement, which is an important distinction between this book and others that present Mao as either a Saint/Savior or an Antichrist. As a concise biography I think Spence accomplished the worthy task of providing an image of Mao that readers can understand, and on that basis I would recommend this book to people looking to get a better feel for Mao the person.

2 comments about Paul, Least of the Apostles: The Story of the Most Unlikely Witness to Christ.

1. Not a good book! Pauline usually does good work (I have recommended them)--but someone missed the boat on this one. The book has grave historical and theological problems (contrary to history and the Catholic Faith)
   
   Some Catholic bookstores found the problems and have pulled the book from their shelves. One even I read contacted everyone who purchased it and gave their money back for the book return--with an apology.
   
   This book is unfortunately contains teachings contrary to the Catholic Faith and to history. For instance he goes against the teaching of the Church (and history) regarding the Primacy of St. Peter! He says on pg 106 that James "replaced him, not only as head of the church of the city but as the head of the Christian Movement" and later infers that JAMES had primacy over Peter -- which is contrary to the Church and to the very words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. Others have found other problems with the text as well but this one is a BIG one and flys in the face of history and the Catholic Faith. Thus he does not come from a Catholic perspective (in fact most of the sources he quotes from are Calvanistic Protestant sources--this is not so much the problem --as rather the cause of his mistake regarding Peter). Normally this publisher puts out some good Catholic books...someone must have missed this one...
   
   (I know from my long theological experience which includes a degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville--but one does not need a degree to see that this is contrary to the Teachings of the Church!!)



2. Excellent work on the life of Paul. The author made a trip through the places where Paul preached. It is readable and informative. Decaux presents Paul with a fresh perspective. He writes from a Catholic viewpoint and presents a sketch of Paul fully in line with the Catholic faith, as well as Scriptural scholarship. The author follows Paul through his journeys and captures the spirit of the apostle.

5 comments about Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend.

1. Mr. Dearment has provided an excellent read. The data is presented in a well thoughtout manner while the writing style is easy to read and comprehend. It seemed like there was less of Bat's later life presented then earlier days but that may be because there was more to present. I tend to read mostly non-fiction, historical books and found this to have been a very worthwhile project to read.



2. This is probably the best biography of Bat Masterson out there. It is also a good history of 19th Century Kansas is that interests anyone. I learned that alot of western history took place in Kansas so I may want to travel there and check out the sights thanks to this book.



3. This is a well researched and written book about a western icon. Unlike many westerns, this one is a very interesting read - sharing not only the life of Bat Masterson but the gunfighters and others who lived around them and their experiences. For example, a whole chapter is on Jim Masterson and his experiences in southern Kansas and Colorado in the late nineteenth century. Although the book does an excellent job of covering Bat during his Dodge days and especially his two years as sheriff of the county and the "battle of the Plaza" afterwards, I especially liked the stories about his late years in Denver and New York, including his close calls with possible gunfights during that time. Yes, Bat Masterson did not kill 27 men, and only one is credited to him, but it is clear from this book, that the reason for this was that most people stayed clear of him because of the recognition of his prowess with a six gun. This book is not only a history of Bat Masterson but an excellent history of the gunfighters who crossed his path. Consequently, I highly recommend this for any individual interested in that period of US history.



4. Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend
   I have been watching the old Bat Masterson TV series recently and I got curious about who he really was. This book is very well written and full of stories and excerpts for other biographies and newspaper articles to create a pretty complete picture of William Barclay Masterson.



5. I not being one to read novels much at all, found this book very easy to read! I liked the fact that the author used historical documents to support his book, and had learned a great deal about Bat Masterson himself. The author also includes a lot of other characters that Bat had associated with during his time. I also come to learn that Bat had really been involved in a lot of small town politics, which in a sense was surprising to me for the life style he led.
   
   I have not read other books of Bat Masterson, but I feel I don't need to after reading this book.

4 comments about Etty: The Letters and Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-1943.

1. Etty began life with the same silly angst and shallow aspirations that we endure each day. Then came the war and her experience as a Jew in Holland. The transformation of this young intellectual to a woman of great depth takes the reader on a soul journey of such transcendence that one's paradigms are forever changed.

   Add to the story a great and musical quality of writing and a brilliant mind . You have Etty, my heroine, my mentor.




2. A young woman who is running out of time writes about her experiences as a prisoner of the Nazis in a concentration camp in World War II in 1940s Europe. She responds to the demands of society and of life as she finds it in both its pedestrian and hopeful forms, while also musing about what a distracted God might be doing up in heaven as so many innocent people perish at the hands of so many cowardly and sadistic oppressors. Ultimately she converts to Catholism and she dies in a concentration camp at the age of 29. Even with the crushing and depressing burden of a predatory society of captors constantly hovering over her, captors to whom she would soon sucuumb by her physical death, she wrote about life, social roles, her relationships with others and God prodigiously before her life was stolen from her in a dark place and a dark time by the human forces of evil. The strength she must have called upon to do this work while living in day to day oppresssion and unrelenting misery is stunning to imagine.



3. I read this book over twenty years ago and it remains one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. I leant it to a client who lost it so I must buy another. Thankfully it's still available.



4. This book is one of the most touching and inspiring books I ever read. This book will touch the heart of anyone - whether Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. and even an atheist!
   
   The battle of a soul in those dark days (the German Occupation in the Second War World) trying to keep sane, asking herself how not to loose hope and remain human, avoiding hate, in spite of all what is going around her. This is a journey of a Soul from focusing in herself changing to focus in the world around her.
   
   I bought the book also for 3 friends of mine as a New Year present!
   
   P.S.: Since my English is NOT my mother tong (I'm an Israeli), I'm apologizing in advance for spelling (and other mistakes). Thank you for understanding.

5 comments about Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust.

1. This book will be enjoyed by all who read it for it is a story of survival from the ashes of the Holocaust. This book is also an excellent book club selection that will spark much thought and conversation.



2. My father's story parallels Joseph Berger's in eerie ways...they were both at the Schlactensee DP Camp and the Landsberg-Am-Lech DP camp...Berger's mother's story of her youth could be my grandmother's, from an unpleasant step-mother to the flight East to Russia. My father was born during my grandparents' refuge in the USSR, and crossed illegally with his family into Poland after the war ended. I have always been close to my grandparents, but this book brought clarity and insight into topics they don't generally discuss...the duality that immigrant survivors (the displaced persons) felt between their new lives in America and the tragedy and loss left in Europe. When I look at my grandparents' happy faces at family occasions---graduations, weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties---I wonder if the events make them remember times similar back in Lithuania. Berger's story, beautifully written and researched, is a must-read.



3. Joseph Berger has written a story that needed to be told, but he has included too much extraneous material about his own life. Much of what he tells reveals what it was like growing up as the child of a refugee, but who cares whether or not he dated in high school?

   The best parts of this book were those about his mother's life and about how she managed in the United States as a refugee. Berger's writing is more journalism than story telling. He's got all the facts, but none of his descriptions flare above the mundane. His mother's reminisences are far more artistic, and reveal more than the words on the page.




4. New York Times journalist Joseph Berger has created a masterful, evocative and moving account of the ever-present duality of his life: his identity as an acculturated American child of Holocaust survivors. This duality gives his account of his mother's life and his own evolution from a bewildered refugee child into an accomplished American a poignancy and power. "Displaced Persons" will stand as an important contribution, not only to our understanding of the long-term implications of being a survivor of the Holocaust, but of the unique burdens, pressures and responsibilities children of survivors inherit from their parents.

   Berger is acutely aware of "the unmentioned sorrow that was the subtext to everything [his] parents said or did." Haunted by memories, devastated by enormous loss, handicapped by their arrival in America in their twenties and driven to provide security for their families, Holocaust survivors often perceive their children as replacements of beloved family members who perished and as repositories of hopes and dreams denied them. Worried about their children's safety, happiness and future, Berger muses about his parents' perspective, "What could I say about the dread and suspicion with which they encountered a world that had proven maliciously fickle?"

   As the author emerges from childhood, he begins to chafe from his mother's protective, controlling instincts and desires to assert himself as his own man. Berger's wrenching analysis of his status becomes the overarching theme of his memoir. "I saw myself now an an American...I would no more be the timid refugee boy with one leg planted in the fearful shtetls of Poland, with a mother ever vigilant that no more perils come to the remnants of her kin." It is this unspoken loving tension between Joseph and his mother, Rachel, that gives "Persons" its dynamism.

   Alternating between two narratives, one his own and the other the gripping account of his mother's survival, Berger deftly intermingles past and present. Aware of his distinct heritage, the young Berger recognizes others in his impoverished Manhattan neighborhood who share his background. "We knew one another, knew in our young bellies that our parents were the same dazed and damaged lot, had the same refugee awkwardness, the same whiff about them of marrow bones and carp." Now attempting to wrest coherence in America, Holocaust survivors tend to frustrate Berger with their problem solving techniques. Berger prefers the American way of standing up directly; survivors "were always scraping by on a willingness to do what was necessary to survive, even if that meant surrendering pride or principle."

   Raw emotion floods "Displaced Persons." Rachel's symbolic mourning of a dead child in Warsaw at the onset of World War II serves to remind us that she has no "mental picture" of the actual murder of her family. Unspoken grief undulates throughout the memoir. Berger's stoic father Marcus scarcely articulates his unfathomable sense of loss; nearly half a century passes before he can utter the names of his sisters. Guilt ebbs and flows in Rachel's description of her survival. Anguished over refusing to bring non-kosher food to her hungry brother during World War II, she has never forgiven heself, calling it "the worst thing I ever did in my life."

   Yet life surges and humor emerges in Berger's descriptions of growing up in New York City in the 1950s and 60s. With both parents working at dreary, tiring jobs, the author experiences a freedom of movement he admits he would never conceive of allowing his own daughter today. His descriptions of his initial exploration of Manhattan reveal the sheer joy of discovery, the incredible exuberance of youthful hopes and the awesome sense of possibilities Berger recognizes in his new home. Berger's frantic disposal of an illicit girlie magazine carries universal appeal; he becomes an American everyboy. His struggles with self-confidence, academic competition and sexual frustrations are those of not only his generation, but of those before and after.

   Written with conviction and compassion, "Displaced Persons" is that kind of memoir that not only describes, but instructs. Through the author's descriptions of his resolute, stubborn and proud mother, survivors attain an identity beyond that of suffering and loss. His own life's story shapes our understanding of the purpose of our national experience and the sacredness of an American identity. Treating both the Holocuast in its past brutality and its implications for the second-generation children of survivors, the memoir blends sorrow and joy, heartache and hope, pain and redemption.




5. i loved this book. i felt as though i was right there with him and his family through every phase of their lives. this book had everything going for it, sadness, chaos, happiness, tragedy. it was so personal and you just felt as though the author let you in to share with him.

5 comments about The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga.

1. this is the best book about the kennedys.
   it'svery complete. the book ends when jack becomes president, i hope she will write a follow-up. there are a lot of rares photos.
   she's tells us mainly about the golden trio( jack, joejr and kathleen).
   i suggest all the fans of the kennedys to buy it.



2. I was thoroughly enthralled, gripped and engaged in this story of three generations of the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys. The story begins in 1863 with the baptism of John Francis Fitzgerald in Boston and concludes almost 100 years later with the inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The families' roots are traced back to the great immigration following the Irish potato famine in the 1840's. From immigration to becoming the American royal family in just three generations is a remarkable achievement that is chronicled in fascinating detail in this comprehensive, definitive narrative.
   
   Even though it is more than 800 pages, the book is not a dry history text, but rather an intriguing glimpse into the lives of the charmed and sometimes tragic lives of this huge Irish Catholic clan. Nothing is omitted, from the affairs of Joseph Kennedy, to the flirtations of Kathleen, the appalling lobotomy of Rosemary, and the sexual antics of John F. Kennedy. The political shenanigans of the elder Fitzgerald provide an interesting examination of Boston politics in the early 1900's...rife with graft and insider manipulation.
   
   The author's writing style is rich, powerful and mesmerizing. For instance, to describe the ascent of JFK into the limelight of American politics, she writes: "For his capacity to arouse the questing imagination of his fellow citizens, and of much of the world beyond America's borders, was to elevate the family saga past the borders of mythology. By the beginning of the fifties he already contained all the elements which his leadership was to be compounded, forged in tumultuous experience, anchored and given direction by his often resented but always unbreakable links to his extraordinary family."
   
   The level of detail and insightful analysis into the complex characters and relationships in the family is well worth your investment of time in reading this tome. A book you won't soon forget.



3. Dr. Goodwin writes wonderfully about American politics, the Irish Catholic immigration and integration into the polical landscape of Boston, and two families, both with terrific strengths and well noted weaknesses. The writing on Rose Fitzgerald and Joe Kennedy, Sr are particularly good. One gets a visceral feel of destiny as the desire to succeed, almost at any cost, throughout her well researched and written work. Much has been written about "plagarism" or a lack of proper footnoting (corrected in the paperback edition). I would encourage all potential readers to not allow such an unfortunate circumstance in her many years of teaching and writing to get in the way of reading this important piece of U.S. history. This book is a well researched and incredibly well written and readable account of immigration, politics and the rise of 19th Century immigrant families to economic, social and political prominence.



4. Another book I bought for my wife's birthday from Amazon. My wife is an ardent reader and enjoys Doris Kearns Goodwin. My wife loves to read about all different types of people. In fact she is on the back porch now reading a book. This book was in excellent shape and the supplier shipped the book right away, and for a reasonable price.
   Thank You, William D. English



5. 
   
   I have a couple other recent books by this author, and coming upon a hardcover copy of THE FITZGERALDS AND THE KENNEDYS at the local Goodwill for .75 cents, how could I lose.
   
   I was in high school when Jack ran for president, and as many others I was for him all the way. Too young to vote, however, and though down through the years of military and college I have continued to have memories of him (he was my commander in chief during those military years) I no longer have 'stars' in my eyes as back then. But I do still admire the practical politician he was, and think had he been allowed to finish his second term this country might be much different than it is.
   
   This book is excellent history and politics as most reviews here will admit, however, I personally do not feel or see the Kennedy family as 'royals' as some put it. Favored family they may have been up to a point, but never royals. Where do people get this feeling? Also, Doris has been given the rap of caring or fawning too much on this family, but my feeling as a sometime writer would be, why write on any subject you dislike. A writer has to have some affinity to the subject being written about, and in many cases, as was recently said of David McCullough when writing JOHN ADAMS that he fell too much in love with his subject. I suppose that is a danger present in any biograpy, but I would rather read a sympathetic, factual bio than a hateful, factual bio. Why bother to write of some figure from history if all you are going to do is trash them due to subjective dislike.
   
   As far as plagarism, who cares in this instance. To loosely paraphrase what Abraham Lincoln said of Grant 'he fights better drunk than my other generals who are all sober. Send him another keg'. So with Doris I say, IF she plagarised, she still writes better history than most other writers. Love her work and the subjects she picks for her work, FDR and Lincoln, especially.
   
   Having had a mother who claimed to be Irish (now deceased) and an Irish wife (very much alive) I am glad to have this book in my home library; maybe on a lesser historical plane I can learn something of practical daily use from this large book. Hah!
   
   Semper Fi.

No comments about Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford.

5 comments about Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom-Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop.

1. This book is a very serviceable biography of John Chrysostom, the most famous preacher of the ancient church. It chronicles the entirety of John's life, from the monasticism of his youth, to his subsequent tenure as a priest in Antioch, his bishopric in the imperial capitol, and the quarrels with the bishop of Alexandria and the empress that eventually brought about his downfall.

   Kelly does an excellent job of showing John's character. We get to see that those things which in some ways were the best of John's traits, his forthrightness and lack of fear, were the very things which due to his intemperate nature led him into conflict with those who were easily made jealous and those who did not care for their misdeeds to be honestly spoken of.

   There is, however, one serious flaw in this book. Kelly seems undecided about who his audience is. He alternates between gripping narration and lengthy passages (sometimes several pages in length) wherein he dissects the arguments for and against the authenticity of a particular sermon of John's or the dating of one of his writings. In my opinion, the book would have been strengthened had Kelly simply based the main text on what he believes to be correct, and moved the disputation either to end notes or to an appendix.




2. 
   
   "John's career ended in failure. ... The tragic episcopate of John Chrysostom opened the struggle of supremacy in the East..." W.H.C. Frend
   
   
   
   
   
   John Chrysostom:
   
   Recognized to be among the most powerful orators of the ancient world, John Chrysostom was the most prolific of the Fathers, leaving us with many sermons, letters, treatises and apologetic works. He was an incredible speaker whose sermons often moved his audience to tears or applause.
   
   "Although not a formal polemicist, John Chrysostom influenced Christian thought notably. He wrote brilliant homilies, interpreting the Bible literally and historically rather than allegorically. His accomplishments as a preacher and theologian are marred by a virulent anti-Semitism." (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2001-05)
   
   
   
   J.C., Golden Mouth:
   
   The Principal of Oxford's St. Edmund Hall, described his book as, 'the Story of J.C.,' defining his selected offices as, 'Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop.' While the words of Fr. Sydney Griffith, one of the foremost Patristic scholars, are most fitting in the review of this book, I quote and apply them. One does not mean to complain immoderately, nor to appear ungrateful for what is on its own terms a good study of an important topic; nor does one want to review a book the author never intended to write. But here is the place to plead for a broadening of perspective on the part of students of early 'fathers.'
   
   Kelly recomposes the life of John Chrysostom in chronological order from his youth and its ascetic stage for his further development as a preacher. Later his pick as Archbishop of Constantinople and his career therein the capital.
   
   He remained a great orator and a moralist preacher but was socially and politically oriented. Kelly exposed the court politics and John's struggle to be faithful to his cause, by criticizing Empress Eudoxia, and inviting problems with Theophilus, who has consecrated him. John's conflicts led to his condemnation at the Synod of the Oak. John was eventually sent into his final exile, where he died on the way.
   
   
   
   Non-vindicated John:
   
   J. Kelly, described by The NY Times as, 'not only a distinguished church historian but also an elegant stylist,' remains for me and many, a reference on early Christian Creeds and Doctrines, in the first place, and expected to bring to the tragic career of the great preaching orator new lights to his thought, and vindicate his patristic literature as; "There is little original in his thought. He preserves throughout the moralizing tendencies of his Antiochene teachers," alleged to him by two great patrologists J. Danielou, and RPC Hanson. Earlier in the same chapter, J.C. is described as the friend of Theodore of Mopsuestia, and pupil of Libanius and of Diodore of Tarsus, and cast heavy shadow on his ethics as more Stoic than Christian! (J. Danielou, Historical Theology, Pelican, 1970, p.107)
   
   
   
   A Story, not a Biography:
   
   In his preface, the oxford scholar gives a version of his elaboration on the 79/80 lectures in Oxford devoted to J.C., but were not published because of Kelly's non satisfaction of his own treatment, and few years later, he modified them to chapters 2,3, and 16 of Golden Mouth. The author who explored Chrysostom's teaching on baptism, original sin, grace and free will, redemption, etc., in his classic 'Early Christian Doctrines', would not even quote himself, in reference. At least, John's treatise on the priesthood, which has been popular, though not accepted by mainstream Protestants, could have been given a brief parallel with St. Gregory Nazianzen who inspired John, but spoke in a different theological language.
   
   He concluded, "I should like to have included some tentative presuppositions underlying John's thinking, and certain of his theological ideas which still need clarification. Ultimately he decided to leave this task to 'younger scholars.'
   
   
   
   Biographer J. Kelly:
   
   The late Master of ecclesiastics J.N.D. Kelly is the Principal of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, was Canon of Chichester Cathedral, a Fellow of the British Academy, and since 1966 a member of the Academic Council of the Ecumenical Theological Institute, Jerusalem. He is the author of Early Christian Creeds, Early Christian Doctrines, Jerome, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, etc.



3. A comprehensive treatment of this Eastern Father of the Church. We have not had a study like that of J. N. D. Kelly, unless you count the originally German 2 vol study of C. Baur, translated in 1959. An eminent historian writes about an eminent (and tragic?) personality of the late fourth and early fifth century. Kelly succeeds in making real the (imperial and episcopal) politics of the early 5th century. In addition there is enough of the theology of the time which will influence later christological developments.



4. Kelly is easily recognized as our time's authority on early church matters. Here in similar fashion as his worthy work on Jerome he tackles Chrysostom.
   
   He breaks it down nicely into three major components of his life: ascetic, preacher, bishop.
   
   The politics of the church and interaction with secular authorities dominate his life, as it does most. John certainly had his prinicples and he chose not to break them. It got him into disfavor with many, thus cumulating at the end in action taken against him. That easily summarizes his end, the buildup of resentment and hatred catches up.
   
   He certainly exhibited a passion for the underpriviledged and sick and devoted his preaching and resources to this. His ascetic beginning permeated this and fueled much of his preacher/bishop energies. This will bring enemy retaliation.



5. J.N.D. Kelly presents a faithful portrait of the great Bishop of Antioch. He highlights John as a solid expositional preacher who rejected the allegorical method of intepretation as popularized by Origen. You learn of Chrysostom's reservations about being worthy enough to be ordained, and his initial interest in the monastic life.
   
   You also learn of how long periods of harsh fasting ruined his digestive system, and how for this reason, he preferred to eat alone. You learn of the turbulent and divisive times in which he served as a bishop in Antioch and then in Constantinople.
   
   You also read of his strict views about the role of women in the church and of how strict he was with the monastic communities and with the priests in Antioch and later in Constantinople.
   
   Chrysostom's sermons were powerful and held the attention of the people, even though some of them were fairly lengthy. You also learn of his friendship with Olympias, a godly woman also given to virginity and asceticism.
   
   Finally, you learn about Chrysostom's enemies from within Arianism, and from his fellow clergy, especially Severinus, Eudoxia, Theophilus, and others.
   
   We see that Chrysostom's spicy sermons sometimes got him into trouble, ie. exile.
   
   We also read of his sad death.
   
   The book is occasionally bogged down in historical minutiae, but I thought Kelly did a good job of showing how Chrysostom was affected by the times in which he lived and how he himself affected the times. I also appreciated how Kelly was able to defend the historical reliability of much of the material that we have about Chrysostom from that time period. A very good book.