5 comments about Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters.

1. This book gives good insite on the life of Howard Hughes. If you are interested in specific information on business or aviation this may not be the book for you. But Howard Hughes was much more than business and aviation. He was a psychoanalyst dream. A very interesting case study in Obsessive Compulsive disorder also another overlooked aspect of his psyche was the relationship he had with women. He would sometimes keep women all over town on payroll to be on call at all times; these women would be on payroll for years sometimes perhaps outliving their best years (hollywood being youth orientated). Women he pursued who never showed interest were seen as conquest. Such as Ava Gardner who by her own definition could never love him because he smelled. However they remained lifelong friends. Yet interestingly when the women he was interested in were married he made it his personal problem to see that they got divorced to the extent of hiring private investigators and such. Howard could have also been considered a voyuer. He would hire investigators for the women he was interested in (some may not have been mutually interested) and spy on them to the point that bugs were planted in their bedrooms. Those who turned him down like Elizabeth Taylor (who was still a teenager were offered money. What is the saddest is his last years. You work your whole life so that you can enjoy your wealth in your golden years but for Howard his golden years consisted of self imposed imprisonment. This was a detriment because the people who were his true friends such as Dietrich (who was loyal and saved him from economic ruin many times)and his aunt Annette (who was there for him in his early years after his parents death)he kept away. So he was neglected at the end. Surrounded by people who never really cared about him just his money.



2. What a life Hughes Led! The author did a wonderful job of writng so that I couldn't put the book down. Hughes was the ultimate wheeler dealer. I felt sorry for him as a child with his parnoid mother who raised him to fear all illness. But when he grew up he had no excuse for his behavior in treatment of women. He was fortunate in business, always thinking in larger terms. This book was overall as interesting as Tutankhamun by Hoving; it was as thrilling as riding on a roller coaster driven by Hughes.



3. I've read several books on Howard Hughes, but this one by far is the best.
   
   Richard Hack really looks beneath the surface and into the very soul of Hughes, painting a disturbing yet realistic human portrait of him along the way.
   
   Highly recommended!



4. "Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters", by Richard Hack, New Millennium Press, CA 2001. ISBN 1-893224-35-X, HC 444/391 pages includes Prologue 18 pgs., Source Notes etc., 35 pgs., Index 19 pgs., 35 B & W photos, 9 1/4" x 6 1/4".
   
   Hack, an established biographical writer is also a columnist. His profligate "Hughes" is an obvious work of love, having woven an intricately enmeshed & alive chronicled narrative composed of myriads of infinitesimal minutiae which unfold to reveal profound intimate particulars of a legendary uncommunicative man known for privacy, secrecy and excesses.
   
   The book's organization is superb, in some respects resembling that of "Citizen Kane" and beginning with a Prologue entitled "Death by Neglect" and followed by 20 chapters narrating Hughes' life, with a final chapter "And the Winner Is..." detailing his Will, the myriads of ludicrous & bizarre circumstances which ensued thereof, some obviously fraudulent. All in all, many rumors about Hughes are herein shown to have been on target, i.e. his need for absolute control, obsession with Hollywood's stars/starlets underaged or otherwise, secrecies & phobias; -- but the book's inestimable value is its exposition on his early childhood development, erratic education, circumstances behind his wealth & revealing unpropitious events shaping his bizarre lifestyle, including a misguided smothering maternal overprotectionism.
   
   We learn of his STD (Lues), OCD, microphobia, codeine & Valium addiction, recluse behavior and eventual demise. Surprising to everyone, the bulk of his estate per Will, as early as 1925 and again in 1938, provided for the charitable, Howard R. Hughes Medical Research Laboratories. While attending Harvard Medical School, I witnessed on two occasions Hughes' late night limo arrivals to PBBH for medical evaluation, learning only of a kidney ailment (medicinal) and appointment with Dr. G. Thorn then studying "electrocortin" (later renamed cortisone) and who also treated some Hollywood's stars with newly discovered 'cortisone'. This book is a treasure trove of intimacies once privy only to the FBI, CIA and sealed court testimony files. A very good, intimate and stimulating read, but lacking much detailed information on aerodynamics. Even an encounter with Amelia Earhart is noted for one of his speed trial events.



5. Very interesting, depressing book. Can't help think about all the women that guy used. To say he got what he deserved is an understatement! Such a sick, manipulative man...Everyone he used, to get ahead, also deserved what they got! Such devotion to this man...and just for money!
   His eccentricities were amazing & made me want to wash my hands every time I put the book down. BUT....Do I have the only copy of this book where pages 325 to 348 were repeated? Then starting again, on page 373?
   Pretty dissapointing, with the Author the Publisher or BOTH! Would like to fine pages 349 to page 372!!!!!!!!!! Can anyone help?

2 comments about William & Rosalie: A Holocaust Testimony (Mayborn Literary Nonfiction).

1. "William & Rosalie: A Holocaust Testimony" is the personal story of William and Rosalie Schiff who were a young couple struggling to stay alive during the Nazi holocaust in which German antisemitism motivated the torture and murder of their families, friends, and neighbors. Now both in their eighties and living in Dallas, Texas, their story is effectively and accurately narrated by Craig Hanley is a seminal biography detailing their experiences, the loss of their families, their years of torture at the hands of their Nazi captors, and their struggle to find each other after the war ended. This is a riveting, harrowing, dramatic, true story, the stuff of which block buster movies and television mini-series are made from. "William & Rosalie" is a welcome and informative addition to the growing body of Holocaust literature, made even more valuable as the survivors of that generation are now dying off and the attempts by neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, and Islamic anti-Semites at denying the Holocaust are continuing unabated. Enhanced with family photographs, a 'Key to Inter-Chapter Photos', and a selected bibliography of suggested further readings, "Williams & Rosalie" is particularly distinguished by an underlying message warning of the dangers of prejudice and ethnic hatred. Now academic or community library should fail to include a copy of "William & Rosalie" in the Judaic Studies or Holocaust Studies reference collections.



2. This is a well-written and riveting story of love, endurance, suffering and God's provision. The explanations of the atrocities committed by the Nazis to William, Rosalie, their families and friends is horrible and hard to absorb, but reading it is only a fraction of the pain that these two brave people endured.
   
   Having met, listened to and visited with both William and Rosalie, I can attest to the scars that they carry as well as the passion they have for sharing their stories with others. They continually re-open old wounds by telling people what happened to them in hopes that the true story of the Holocaust will never be ignored or forgotten.
   
   I strongly encourage you to get this book, read it, and learn from it. We must NEVER FORGET.

5 comments about The Girl with the White Flag.

1. Title: The Girl with the White Flag: An Inspiring Story of Love and Courage in War Time
   Author: Tomiko Higa
   Genre: Memoir
   
   Synopsis: Tomiko Hiko was seven years old on the island of Okinawa when Allied forces land. Decades later, she discovers a picture of herself as a child, carrying a white flag and surrendering to enemy forces, with a line of Japanese soldiers behind her. Finding the picture triggered repressed memories, which were compiled in this short memoir of the war years, particularly the invasion. Separated from her family, she faced the enemy alone.
   
   Quote: "Remembering Father's words to die with a brave smile, the author waves at the camera."
   
   Grade: B+
   Review: I first read this book in high school, and it is one of the few I picked up at that time that I remember vividly. I have to come back to it every few years to see if it is as moving as I remember it. OF course, it always is. It's a great book the other side of Okinawa, family, love, war.



2. I just googled this book to show to my friend becasue its recommended as a childrens book and when i read it in 4th grade (im 24 now) this book scared the poop out of me. I dont think its a ppropriate for young children. I still cringe thinking about some of the chapters where she is forced to squezze puss from her amputated friends limbs. Ewwww! Amazing story but i think you should be a bit older before you absorb the ferocious atrtocities of war.



3. This book with its unadorned account of survival through the terrible battle of Okinawa is an important reminder of just how cruel war is, especially to those caught in the middle. Little Tomiko struggles against all odds and lives to tell this amazing story of desperation and courage. Not for sensitive kids; I would recommend this to middle schoolers and older - this is the real thing, not just a video game. Heartbreaking and horrifying, but with beautiful moments and miracles.



4. I thought this book was okay. You would like it if you liked learning about Japan during WWII, but I found it badly written. The end is unsatisfactory and the way it was written, even though it was non-fiction was boring to me.



5. Excellent moving tale of young girl's survival during battle of okinawa. An excellent book for teachers to use in their classes. Having lived in Okinawa and studied the battle, the book lends a gentler more personal insight into the plight of the Okinawans who were often forcibly removed from shelters such as caves to make room for Japanese troops. Over 100,000 civilians perished in the conflict.

1 comments about The Buccaneer Explorer: William Dampier's Voyages.

1. As a descendant of William Dampier, I am collecting everything about his life and works. The more I read, the more impressive are his achievements.

3 comments about Cochrane: Britannia's Sea Wolf.

1. This book was first published in 1978 but has now been re-released to the benefit of all who enjoy a fast-paced historical account. After reading this book I am amazed that it has taken nearly twenty years to be re-released. What a great story Mr. Thomas tells of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, later the 10th Earl of Dundonald. From his birth through to his death covering all his exploits in numerous sea battles and actions, so many in fact that you find it hard to believe that he survived.

   The book covers Cochrane's battles during the Napoleonic Wars during which, on many occasions, he sent his ship in action against overwhelming odds. It was during this period that he was recognized, as one of Britain's most daring and successful captains. It was also during this period that he made many enemies, although he pressed hard in every action and took many risks, he always considered the well being of the men under his command. This later led to his single-handed campaign against corruption in the Admiralty.

   Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Cochrane commenced an extraordinary career as a mercenary admiral. He subsequently commanded the navies of Chile and Brazil and launched campaigns against their protagonists, Spain and Portugal. After finishing his 'little wars' in South America he took command of elements of the Greek navy in their war against the Turks. In all these campaigns Cochrane again showed that he was one of the best naval commanders of his time.

   The narrative flowed along smoothly and although I have no great knowledge of maritime history I had no problems in following this story. In over 350 pages of text along with a number of black & white plates and a few maps Mr. Thomas tells a wonderful and exciting story. This is the type of book, which I am sure any person who has a love for history or who enjoys the novels of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brien will just love. A must for any serious student of naval tactics or Napoleonic warfare.




2. As the blurb on the back cover says: forget Horatio Hornblower, forget Jack Aubrey. Even the license given to them as fictional characters can't surpass the facts of Lord Cochrane's extraordinary life. A supremely creative tactician and breathtaking improviser at sea (it was no less a person than Napoleon who nicknamed him the 'Sea Wolf') his story ashore is worthy of a book in itself.

   This book has it all: blood, guts and glory pitted against both the enemy abroad and the corrupt establishment at home. Once read, there's no forgetting this man and his story.




3. This book is remarkable historical background for anyone who enjoys the Jack Aubrey, Lord Ramage, Horatio Hornblower sets of historic fiction.
   The biographer details many of the challenges met by those fictional characters, including the pervasive corruption of the British admiralty system, which fictional heroes endure and which Thomas Cochrance fought against his entire life.
   Donald Serrell Thomas highlights a few of the many ship-to-ship actions from 1793-1808. But he spends as much time investigating the politics of the pre-reform parliamentary system where a few powerful purses controlled the representation from numerous "rotten boroughs" -- one of which elected Cochrane.
   The author also outlines the details of a remarkably modern-sounding stock market fraud case, in which Cochrane was found to be a co-conspirator. The author thinks (as most of Britain came to think) that Cochrane was innocent, although another recent study came to an opposite conclusion based on the same evidence.
   If you're a fan of the "Sharpe's Rifles" series, read "Sharpe's Devil" before you read this book. But read both!

5 comments about Joan of Arc: A Life (Penguin Lives).

1. The Penguin Lives series are not traditional biographies. They are short essays on the meanings and mysteries of a person's life, at the time they lived and in the present for us. They are for people (like me) who would not, could not read an 900 page book containing every detail of Joan's life, times and trial. There are plenty of those big biographies out there if you need them. But for people who want a little thoughtful insight on how a teenage girl in 1431 was able to accomplish the unheard of, unprecedented things she did, this book is perfect. This is a book I will always keep and reread.



2. It's a bad mistake to trust Mary Gordon to tell the objective truth about anything. This is a woman who sneers at democracy and bashes men for a living. Predictably, she reinvents Joan of Arc in her own image. That is to say, she imagines Joan as a sex-hating, social climbing fascist who despises her own humble origins and drools over the aristocracy.
   
   Don't believe me? Check out the interminable passage about how Joan never menstruated. That's Mary Gordon's idea of "purity."
   
   Joan's real purity came from caring about her family, her friends, and her country, and giving her life for them. But Mary Gordon dismisses Joan's family with a sneer, saying they were "one more thing she had to escape from." Tells you a lot about Mary Gordon's feelings about the old neighborhood (The Irish are so frightfully vulgar in Queens, my dear.) Tells you nothing about Joan of Arc.
   
   Then there's the problem of men. Common sense tells you that Joan of Arc got along well with soldiers, that she brought out the best in them simply by believing that even the roughest character was capable of compassion and decency. Boy oh boy, is that beyond Mary Gordon's comprehension! Men are pigs, you see, and they betrayed Joan of Arc. Uh, yeah. Only the amazing thing is that they ever followed her in the first place! Joan worked miracles because she believed in men.
   
   Mary Gordon ought to try it sometime.



3. In this book, Mary Gordon brings Joan's story to life. I can see that she really understands the character of Joan but does more than just tell her story. She explores the mystery that people saw in Joan. Such as the contradictions and mysterious desires that propelled her from obscurity to glory. I began to understand what drove Joan to do all the magnificent things she did. Mary Gordon tells this story in a way that makes me feel like she actually knew Joan and her feelings. She uncovers those feelings and created a better understanding of the mystery of The Maid of Lorraine.
   
   I have never heard the story of Joan's life depicted in such a descriptive manner. Mary Gordon told Joan's story and makes it some what adventurous. I learned a lot from this book but there were some things that could have improved. I think she should have made it more suspenseful and should have added more action. She had quotes and really didn't create it in a story form. It would have enjoyed this book more if these qualities would have been added. But over all it was a heart warming, emotional story.
   Kayla,lake havasu city,15



4. Even being a brief book, the writer accomplished the hard task of turning Joan's life into a sometimes boring narrative. Anyway, if you're looking to start knowing the basics, this is a good book to start.
   
   The chpater at the end where the writer spent time writing about dramatization in books and movies about Joan's life is utter useless, in my opinion is totally desnecessary and the worst part of hte book.
   
   Also, do not expect detailed accounts of the battles.



5. La Pucelle is not well served here. This is a pretty mediocre, superficial treatment of Joan's life. Gordon brings a novelist's flair to what amounts to a somewhat stream-of-consciousness extended essay. Gordon likes Shaw's play, SAINT JOAN, and you can see how Shaw's view of Joan's voices/religious identity clearly shaped Gordon's perspective. Stick with Regine Pernoud's various books on Joan, which are superior in every aspect to this flawed offering.

3 comments about Crowned in a Far Country: Portraits of Eight Royal Brides.

1. Crowned in a Far Country contains seven chapters about eight royal brides, covering their life from childhood and family background through marriage to later years. It provides a number of interesting details about them.
   
   It reads well. The author is Princess Michael of Kent, who is herself a member of the British Royal Family and who probably has a different point of view on royal marriages than other authors of similar books.
   
   I can recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.



2. I found the book to be informative, easy to read yet the writing was somewhat simple, without depth. What I mean is, that the stories were interesting (to me or any other royal watcher) yet I wasn't captivated.
   It was a book which gave me information, but I can't say "I couldn't put it down"



3. image coming to new country to married someone you never met.dealing with person who is now your husband.this book show how each women find a place in new country ,husband world and the royal family.how they had to deal with court life.

5 comments about Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America.

1. After enjoying listening to Ivan Doig's autobiographical books, I was anxious to hear more and chose the "Winter Brothers" book on tape. The common theme that ties the two stories in this book together are fairly solid, but for me the two stories together were frustrating and less easy to follow than his other books. Although a major problem was the fact that the reader didn't use much of a voice change to differentiate between Doig and Swan (maybe in this case reading the book would have been better), I at times found myself wishing that the Swan entries could be less interrupted. Also, while Doig is an artist with word descriptions, they were occasionally a bit distracting. On the positive side, the descriptions of the Northwest setting and the character of Swan and his relations with the Indians were fascinating and educational. And even though I wished for the Swan story to be less interrupted, it sounds like Swan was a very prolific diarist and it was nice that Doig did the gleaning of the most interesting parts for us and filled in the background context that so enriched them.



2. I've enjoyed this delightful book more than once. Doig writes a travel narrative as he retraces the life and journeys of a fellow named Swan who left detailed daily diaries of life on Washington's Olympic Peninsula during the 1850s. This book provides an insightful look at the Pacific Northwest and the early interaction between settlers and the native Northwest Coast Makah tribes at Neah Bay and Cape Alava. This book is a must-read, just like Doig's "The Sea Runners" and Annie Dillard's "The Living," if you are to understand the Pacific Northwest of the past or present. Doig (via Swan's experiences living on the reservation as an English teacher to Makah children) discusses Haida native art and mythology as well as whale-hunting and potlatches. Just an awesome and insightful read, especially for a cold winter evening by the fire. Makes me want to pull out my copy and read it again, and again, and again.



3. 
   Ivan Doig found gold when he came across the unpublished diaries of James Gilchrist Swan in the Manuscripts Section of the University of Washington library. Swan was a pioneer on the Olympic Peninsular, living mainly among the Indians at Neah Bay and Cape Flattery, the western-most edge of the contiguous United States. Doig spent one full winter season, 90 days, living on the Peninsular, during which he kept a daily journal of his own, almost all of it incorporating an examination of Swan's 1862-1898 diaries. It's a fascinating book.
   
   Doig, a prodigious writer himself, is ever in awe of the sheer massiveness of Swan's diary. Spread across dozens of pocket-sized (for the most part) diaries, comprising two-and-a-half million words, and spanning four decades, Swan's magnum opus recorded daily life, from the mundane ("swept out the schoolhouse again") to the (for him) magnificent (the Smithsonian finally gets around to publishing his manuscript on the Makah Indians). "The diaries dazzle and dazzle me" [Doig writes] "first simply by their total and variety." Again and again he reminds us of Swan's quantitative achievement, describing in loving detain the physicality of the diaries: their varying sizes, the neat handwriting, the care he took in recording weather information. He also quotes freely from them, in random clips, interesting encounters with people on the Peninsular: Indians come to him seeking advice, friends share drinks with him in a saloon, fishing and hunting trip companions shoot the breeze with him about the latest gossip. The diary seems a perfect marriage of the simple data of day-to-day life and Swan's loftier reflections on what they all might mean. Doig has obviously gained much from his 90 days spent with Swan and his extensive diary, and he makes us eager and willing companions in this exploration. It's my favorite of Doig's books. Highly recommended.



4. Generally, I love what Doig has written, but I had trouble getting into this book. I hung in and completed it; and by the end, I was sorry to finish it. I guess I'm saying I prefer his fiction.



5. Ivan Doig is a poet who writes lovely stories and autobiographical tales of old Montana. He is right up there with Wallace Stegner, but his prose and stories are more resonant.
   
   Washington Post said a few years ago that Ivan Doig is one of the 'finest writers' in America. I agree. Had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with Ivan and his wife, Carol, at a Stanford Old West seminar in 2000. What a terrific and humble guy.
   
   I recommend you read one of Doig's TRILOGY first. They are semi-biographical about his family settling from Scotland into the Two Medicine high country of Montana last century. "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" is #1, followed by "English Creek", my favorite. Fabulous writing, period.
   
   Assuming you read and like "Winter Brothers", you will love Doig's others novels and autbiographical books. He is a treasure to the art of writing.
   
   Peter B. Liebowitz

5 comments about Darwin, Marx, Wagner: Critique of a Heritage.

1. Before reading this book, I loved Darwin, disliked Marx and hated Wagner (how could you not!). After this book, nothings changed except that I actually found myself defending all three against Barzun's onslaught.

   This book can read two ways. First as a biographical synopsis of the three writers and their cultural backdrop, and second, as an outdated diatribe. The reader should ignore Barzun's polemic (?) and read it as a history. This, of course, is Barzun's strength and he does not fail to meet high expectations.

   The polemic is of course outdated. The whine over materialism taking the magic and mystery out of life has been rehashed too many times. He is especially hard on Darwin, who he seems to think can be blamed for Herbert Spencer.

   Read the book anyway. Not only is the writing superb, the point of view is interesting and if anything it will challenge you. Though not an easy one, it's terser than most authors could do given the subjects.




2. Jacques Barzun's book was first published first in 1941, which is almost the moment the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis came into being and made the expression of Darwin doubts or criticism such as are manifest here virtually impossible in a university humanist. And yet sixty years later, at a time when Ernst Mayr, one of the original 'synthesizers' can unrepentantly produce his "What Evolution Is", Barzun's critique reads as insultingly fresh as the day it was written, with a putdownish suggestion that Darwin wasn't too swift. The Darwin propaganda machine has almost made thinking obtuse here, and Creationist red-herrings can be as reprehensible. The Darwin debate has left everyone befuddled, and this essay on Darwin (and Marx), agree or not, shows a clarity that is unusual.
   His work seems out of place now for a man who was prominent in a major university, but if one reads Bowler's The Eclipse of Darwinism, describing the waning of Darwinism at the turn of the century, it will perhaps evoke the perspective that Barzun still reflects in this book. (In fact, the same can be said of the Marx essay, which reflects the Marx debate, perspectives almost forgotten after the Bolshevik revolution). In fact, even by the late 1860's Darwin himself knew he was in trouble with natural selection.
   It is noteworthy how little science Barzun discusses, which makes the book suspect for some, or certainly open to challenge. But in reality it bespeaks a certain clarity that has been lost, and which was clearly present in the decades of the appearance of Darwin's book, when even many of Darwin's supporters, even Huxley, realized they had a hypothesis to deal with, not a certain dogma.
   The quote below is as cogent for the current Darwin debate as it was originally. Note how little anything changes.

   "Some obviously feared that ifnatural selection were discarded evolution would be endangered. They thought the twotheories inseparable and foresaw a rebirth of superstition. But dropping natural selectionleaves the evidence for evolution untouched. It was not even a question of droppingnatural selection, for natural selection is an observed fact. It was a question of seeing--as Darwin came to see--that selection occurs after the useful change has come into being... "




3. I picked up "Darwin, Marx, Wagner" at a used book store while in the middle of Barzun's latest tome "Dawn to Decadence." In "Darwin" a much younger Barzun argues with passion against the arrogant materialism prevalent at the turn of the century. "Nature is a sieve, and it works"--this is Barzun's pithy summary of Darwin, Marx and Wagner. For Darwin the sieve is kill-or-be-killed survival of the fittest, and "it works": humanity is the pinnacle of evolution (and not just the human species, but the most powerful of humanity). For Marx the sieve is an inevitable class struggle, which "works" when it produces a utopia for the working class. For Wagner the sieve will sift out all previous art forms in favor of his own pure self-important music drama. Read this book and consider the philosophical implications of realistic materialism and its cruel might-makes-right vision of progress--in science, politics and art.



4. Just about anything written by Jacques Barzun ought to be read, and Darwin, Marx, and Wagner is no exception. Barzun is not so much unique as he is hoary - a man born in 1907 who could study the 19th century as fairly recent history. Barzun does a magnificent job of getting to the crux of the ideas behind these great events/documents of history. He strips away the common assumptions about groundbreaking work on the part of Darwin and Marx, and shows how they built extensively on the work of predecessors. Comments which deride Barzun as a conservative or hopelessly mired in the past completely misunderstand the purpose of his writing, or the his grasp of the subject. Of particular value are the final chapters after each thinker, summarizing their legacy, and where things stood after them. Barzun is the voice of experience, reason, and history.



5. "The attack on Marx is so crude and uninformed that one suspects that the author did not even read some of Marx's basic writings, and the use of ....Michael Bakunin as a source for Marx's character is questionable at best."
   
   - Bakunin and Marx were quite alike and this is most likely that which underpins their discord - in other words, it was not so much Marxism contra Anarchism, but rather a conflict between the cults of personality that were Marx and Bakunin. If you've read works by both authors you probably would have understood why Barzun renders the two analogous - perhaps your attack on Barzun is so "crude and uninformed that one suspects that the [reviewer] did not even read some of Marx's [and Bakunin's] writings.."

No comments about Abraham Lincoln's Extraordinary Era: The Man and His Times.