No comments about Kit Carson's Own Story of His Life (Southwest Heritage Series).

No comments about Abolitionists Remember: Antislavery Autobiographies and the Unfinished Work of Emancipation.

5 comments about Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend.

1. My enjoyment of the Who's music, curiosity about the legend of Keith Moon, and my interest in drummers and drumming in general led me to check out this rather massive book. By the time I reached the final chapter I was both sad that the story was over and completely emotionally drained, and not exactly sure I was glad to have learned all I had about Moon. Having grown up with an alcoholic/drug-dependant family member, far too much of what Fletcher described of Moon's problems was painfully familiar to me. The way he treated those who cared for him, particularly the women in his life, was quite terrible and sometimes difficult to read about.
   
   Fletcher pulls no punches and presents both Moon's greatnesses and his weaknesses. He illustrates where and how Moon was a genius on the drums yet also where, when and how is performance was sub-par. He does not sugar-coat anything. Still, the end result is not as tawdry and cheap as some celebrity biographies I've read, for the reader gets the impression that Fletcher respects the subject matter instead of simply looking to provide cheap thrills and sensationalism. He also works hard to disprove some of the wilder stories and legends of Moon's behavior and stick with the facts, which may disappoint some who hate to see the legends shattered, but there is still much madness and mayhem that is apparently quite true.
   
   If you are a Who fan and/or interested in the story of one of the most legendary drummers of rock music, you owe it to yourself to check out this book. Just be forewarned that you may find it difficult to look at Keith Moon in the same light ever again.



2. When I was 14, 30 years ago, I discovered the Who. Not long thereafter, I started fiddling about with the drums. Keith Moon was my inspiration, because listening to him made it seem the drums were important, that they were as an intregal part of the music as any other element of the ensemble. That serves as testamment, everso redundantly, what he meant to music. First and foremost it should be made needlessly apparent that Keith Moon was an incredible musician. This book would lead me to believe that drumming came as naturally to Keith as walking.
   This book paints a portrait of someone that was so many things to so many people. It's a disappointment that Keith could be such an arse, yet it's as if he always redeemed himself by being his jovial, generous way, and of course what he made for our listening enjoyment.
   This book is excellently researched. Having been someone that thought they knew much about the legend of Keith Moon, there was much in this book I'd never heard and/or read. It was revealing, and disturbing to see how much Moon actually made his self destruciton a full time job. I sympathize with Kim, Mandy and Annette. It's sad to realize how badly he treated some people, disspelling this idea of such a jolly fellow, always the loon and funmonger. Fletcher does an admirable task of breaking down who this guy was, that I empathize with him, where in reading this, he like I, must have had difficulty coming to grips with that as much we loved Keith, that sadly he was the orchestater of his demise. Yet at the same time I can't help but to feel more than ever for Keith Moon because certainly he needed help that no one seemed able to give him, and was perhaps destined to die before he got old.
   God bless you Keith Moon. God bless the Who.



3. ...as the book was entitled in Europe is a thick one, but this is the definitive biography of one of rock's greatest drummers, and one of its most outrageous personalities.
   
   There have been books written about the Who, and about Moon. "Full Moon," written by his longtime personal assistant Dougal Butler leans heavily on the more salacious aspects of his time with Moon the Loon, but has its moments.
   
   This is deeper; Fletcher examines Moon's early life, his influences, both musically and comedically, and the events that brought him together with the three iconoclasts that would make up one of rock and roll's pioneer bands.
   
   Moon's drumming technique, mostly his own is well-examined here, along with those of his contemporaries, and the bands of that era, both famous and unknown are stacked up well against the Who in their various incarnations.
   
   Fletcher gets a good insight into the Mod movement, which has been look at elsewhere, but also the many things that interested and drove Moon himself...he was an early Carnaby Street regular, whose appearance and style would have put Austin Powers to shame!
   
   Moon's health problems are also examined, especially the mental ones: Keith was obviously a hyperactive child, but growing up in post-war Britian, that kind of affliction was considered something you grew out of. Some of us did, like myself, but with Moon is stayed, and I think it can now be said he suffered from some form of manic depression.
   
   This made for great energy, whether playing a powerful, improvisational style of drumming or coming up with bizarre ideas and practical jokes. It also made for great publicity, something his Who mates now seem to regret a great deal.
   
   Moon is such a fascinating figure--one of the nicest people one minute, a complete jerk the next. The way he treated his wife Kim, and later Annette Walter-Lax would have him in jail today. How they both dealt with him I have no idea.
   
   But it's obvious he is troubled; unable to get offstage and just be himself, the self-blame he takes for the accident that causes the death of a close friend, and the loss of his marriage. He sometimes becomes a pathetic figure, alone and terribly lonely amidst fame and fortune, the latter of which he blew in huge quantities.
   
   Townshend once said he believed that Moon was never truly happy, and never had one true close friend. That may be. At least at the end Moon was trying to clean up, get off the booze, etc. But sadly, an overdose of a drug he should never have had his hands on ended his life.
   
   Whatever the case, this book tells the story and tells it without pulling any punches about one of the greatest drummers in rock history, one who should not be remembered just for his lunacy.



4. For me that's a true statement! I first heard of THE WHO when I saw them on the ABC show Shindig, and I thought this is the band I've been looking for! It was a shame that at that point in time American AM radio were not playing their records. That didn't stop me from getting my local TSS record department manager from ordering songs "I Can't Explain", "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere", "My Generation", and "Substitute" for me. He automatically ordered a copy of "I'm A Boy" for me when it was released. He knew I'd want it. The next release was "Happy Jack" and it became a hit in the states. I watched their massive hits success in the U.K. from the beginning. But what made these four guys so special to me was not Pete Townshend's outrageous guitar playing though I thought he was better than the rest. It was not John Entwhistle's masterful bass playing. He too was by far the best I had ever heard. It certainly was not Roger Daltrey's singing though when he sang lead on songs such as "The Kids Are Alright" or "So Sad About Us" (why that song was never released as a single, I'll never know)I thought he had a better voice than McCartney. No, what set this band apart from all the rest was Keith Moon's drumming! He was and remains the greatest rock and roll drummer in the world, dead or alive! This book, his biography is fantastic! Yeah there's a dark side to him, and it is well exposed throughout! But when I read about him and the locomotive records with the speakers hidden in the hedge to scare the little old women in his neighborhood as they walked by, I broke out in uncontrollable laughter! It's the type of thing my friends and I would have done as kids. His drug problem and drinking problem no doubt contributed to the horrible way he treated his wife. Such is the behavior of so many of the so called celebrities that we place on pedestals in our minds! The Who were never the same after "Who's Next"! It was not too long after that that Keith moved to California. There might be a half a dozen good songs in "Quadrophenia". But really, the energy was gone! When Keith died, for me rock and roll died. The Who have never been the same band! (Sorry Kenney Jones, you know it and I know it)! True, for some years I enjoyed the occasional rock song, from Van Halen, Madness, or more recently Smashmouth. But there will never be another Keith Moon. I saw The Who twice. In 1968 at the Westbury Music Fair where I met Roger Daltrey. The group had me out of my seatand on my feet from the first chord of their classic song "Substitute". Wow what a show! I saw them again at Forest Hills in 1971 when they opened their "Who's Next" tour. That album remains the best album ever done, and "Live At Leeds" remains the best live album ever done, especially with all the songs now included with the CD that weren't with the original album. This book is terrific! Everyone should own a copy! Because of it I feel as though I actually knew Keith Moon! And I am thankful for the "Live At The Isle Of Wight" DVD that I have seen over and over with great enjoyment! If you have never seen Keith Moon, rent it or buy it! Check out also "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" and see The Who performing "A Quick One (While He's Away)"! Wow what a performance! They stole the show, thanks in great part to Keith's playing. They performed that when I saw them at the Westbury Music Fair! I Love You Keith!



5. I've read this book and I have to say not only is it a bunch of garbage but I would like to know who gave the author his degree in clinical pyschology?! I would also like to know where the author gets off giving out personal addresses?! The author is a rock'n'roll wannabe. This is his claim to "fame" and a poor one at that. Anyone knows an author should be objective and not try to interject his own personal, misguided views into a biography. Avoid this trash like the plague.

5 comments about The Roosevelt Women.

1. This book is so good, I can't put it down. It should be on the reading list of every college student doing Women's Studies, as well as regular history courses. Thanks to Book Notes for interviewing this author on C-span, I can continue my education with these wonderfully insightful books.



2. This was a pretty well written biography of the women of the Roosevelt family. It includes TR's mother and sisters and a few others you don't ordinarily read about, such as his second daughter, a niece, his second wife. The author does not go into any great depth for any of these women, but she gives a good overview of the lives of each. Well worth reading.



3. This book really held my attention. While I must admit that I still get a little confused with the Roosevelt family tree, this book gave me just enough information about the Roosevelt women. It's refreshing to read about the women behind the men!



4. In The Roosevelt Women by Betty Boyd Caroli, the author gives us a fascinating look at the Roosevelt women from primarily the Oyster Bay branch of this venerable family. Most of us have a general knowledge of presidents Theodore Roosevelt (TR) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). We also have some idea of the contributions of Eleanor Roosevelt to the world stage. The story of Eleanor Roosevelt and her female kin (grandmother, aunts and cousins) is in some respects even more remarkable than that of the Roosevelt men.
   
   The book starts with Martha "Mittie" Bulloch Roosevelt, TR's mother. This beautiful Southern Belle married the senior Theodore Roosevelt. While often times spoiled, fragile and frivolous, she was also a caring mother and patient teacher to her children. According to Caroli, she withdrew from "family competition" in order that her plain daughters would "feel superior to her, to develop both wit and charm sufficient to outshine her inordinately good looks." Though she never lived to see her four granddaughters, they all credited her for her contributions to the Roosevelt family.
   
   Mittie's daughters, Anna Roosevelt Cowles and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, provide the most engrossing characters in The Roosevelt Women. While not well schooled, they were both bright, articulate and politically astute women. They surrounded themselves with powerful, witty and intelligent men and their houses were the center of lively and sparkling conversation. In later life, Corinne became a published poet and a public speaker. While these sisters were trailblazers in many ways, they were content to stay in the shadow of their more famous brother, TR, and never flaunted their relationship with him. Yet, they did everything in their power to help TR reach his political goals. It has been said that if Anna, Corinne and Teddy were all alive today, the women would make better presidential material.
   
   Subsequent chapters cover the lives of Mittie's daughter-in-law, Edith (TR's second wife), Eleanor Roosevelt, Corinne Robinson Alsop (Corinne's daughter), Alice Longworth (TR's oldest daughter), and Ethel Derby (TR's youngest daughter). "Princess Alice" is probably the most colorful of the group and was considered the "other Washington Monument." TR once said of his wayward and headstrong daughter "I can run the country, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both."
   
   The Roosevelt Women is a very readable book, and often seems more like a novel than a work of nonfiction. But this is by no means the complete story of all the Roosevelt women, as there is very little on the Hyde Park side of the family (Eleanor Roosevelt was an Oyster Bay Roosevelt before she married her 5th cousin, Franklin) Sara Delano Roosevelt (FDR's mom) does not rate her own chapter. Also, there are no women covered in depth after the generation of Mittie's granddaughters. Still, these criticisms aside, this is a book not to be missed by any true Roosevelt fan.



5. This is a simply wonderful book for what it tells us both about the women of the Roosevelt clan and the men. Caroli's story lends great insight to both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and the relationship between the two.
   
   The book is set up as a series of smaller books, each one on a particular Roosevelt woman. The great thing is how Caroli connects these women to each other and to the politics of the time. It is interesting to see how different these women were as well as similar. For many of them, their most important relationships with men (outside their brothers/fathers) were not their husbands. Bamie, Corinne and Alice's husbands all take a backseat to other men - often the political magnets of the day. Not that scandal haunted any of these women (except Alice, who courted it). There were some genuine love matches - Edith and Theodore really had a strong, passionate marriage.
   
   Caroli begins with Theodore Roosevelt's mother, Mittie. Mittie is often an overlooked figure and this book brings out who she was and why. It also gives great insight to the childhood of TR and how the Civil War affected him quite differently than you'd expect. Mittie's sister, Anna Gracie, is also a huge force in the life of the young Roosevelts and we see this chapter.
   
   Then Caroli covers TR's sisters: Bamie Roosevelt Cowles and Corrine Roosevelt Robinson. Both these women played down their role in their brother's political life, but this book shows how involved they actually were. Both these women contributed greatly to the political future of the US. These women were also the models for the next generation and where they went for advice and help.
   
   The fourth "book" talks about Edith Roosevelt (TR's wife) and Sara Delano Roosevelt (Franklin's mother). What is interesting here is the comparisons that Caroli draws between these two women. Edith was seen as the perfect wife and companion while Sara was vilified as the evil mother-in-law. Yet Caroli manages to show them as real women, beyond that basic stereotype. I especially find it interesting how involved Sara was in creating the woman we know as Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor, in the beginning of her marriage, needed the advice and guidance of the older woman, although she would later outgrow it, hence the later picture of Sara.
   
   Then Caroli covers Eleanor Roosevelt, but here it is interesting to see the background to the political life we know so well. Eleanor, although Franklin's wife, is also Theodore's niece (the daughter of his brother, Elliot) and connected to both sides of the family. With this generation we see the split between the "Theodores" and "Franklins" politically and then moreorless socially (although there is never a complete severing of ties). Theodore's family had always been staunch Republicans, but Franklin was going to be the golden boy of the Democratic party, which would rub hard on the "Theodores."
   
   Next we see another niece of TR's, Corinney Alsop [her name is Corinne, but the family called her Corinney and to distinguish mother and daughter, Caroli does as well], the daughter of his sister Corinne. Corinney followed in her mother's shoes as a political speaker and activist, even serving in political office herself (one of the few to do so and the only of this generation). Corinney also kept some of the best relationships with the "Franklins" and even voted for him at one point.
   
   Finally we cover TR's daughters: Alice and Ethel in the last two sections. Ethel's life revolved around family and her activities more confined than some of her cousins. Alice, while not an activist in any sense, was one of the best known figures of Washington for her outrageous behavior and tongue. Alice would literally say anything. The stark contrast between these two sisters is brought out as we see Ethel as the more dutiful and responsible and Alice as the butterfly, always seeking attention, yet these two were constant friends throughout their long lives.
   
   This book is definitely worth your attention for several reasons. First, it showcases these oft-overlooked political figures of the Roosevelt clan. Second, it gives new insight to the men who rose to political heights on the shoulders of these women. Lastly, it is just plain entertaining and well-written - a completely enjoyable read.

5 comments about Our War:: What We Did in Vietnam and What It Did to Us.

1. Harris starts his book by saying he's still angry that the US dared to ignore HIS wishes and fought a war! Hey, Dave, some of us veterans are still mad that YOU and your ilk cost us the victory we deserved and what you did condemned millions to death, imprisonment and misery. He opines that it is a Good Thing the Communists won, ignoring the misery and despair of the boat people, Khmer Rouge slaughter of 1/3 of Cambodia, etc. and all other lessons of history. WIllfully perverse loserama book. Lighten up, dave, and admit the error of your ways



2. David presents this book as a "reckoning" for those of us who lived through the years of the Viet Nam war. That is, a sort of emotional catharsis. In some ways, it worked for me. In some ways, not. Perhaps it is good for those of us who lived through the fear. And for those of us who are left scared by the experience of those years. But the message will be lost on those who thought, and still think, that the war was a good idea. For me it brought back the full impact of the total distrust in government that the era made a permanent part of my psyche. But did I need that? I'm not sure. David's book did not change my head... But for younger readers (folks under 30) who did not live their early-adult years in the fear of being forced to kill or be killed. And for the still remaining supporters of the war, the book is highly recommended. David has done a good job of telling the story of what the war did to us. Not just as individuals, but to the country, and its poitics. Not to mention what it did to S.E. Asia. Reading "Our War" didn't help me, as a person. I _was_ pissed, and I'm _still_ pissed at what our government did to me and my generation; and hope to remain that way. So, I guess David's book failed in its attempt at "reckoning." We've already had our noses rubbed in that war. But the book works on other levels. And the results of the war echo though today's branches of government. Worth a read. --del



3. Twenty-five years after it ended and the Vietnam War still brings-up intense feelings from people who lived through that period. Harris stood up for his beliefs and he paid the price for not going along with the government line. I had the opportunity to meet him shortly after he was released from prison and found him to be sincere and steadfast in his support for non-violent resistance to an unnecessary war. I thought that Harris did an excellent job of explaining the moral underpinnings of the anti-war movement and how his stand against the war evolved. This is required reading for anyone seeking clarity about those times, whether they fought in Vietnam or protested at home, or weren't even born yet. Anyone who still blames the anti-war movement for the outcome of the Vietnam War needs to read the Pentagon Papers and the numerous books detailing the prolonging of the war for political purposes by LBJ, Nixon, Kissinger and McNamara. A lot of people died because the United States government was unwilling to admit mistakes had been made and we should never have been over there in the first place. I had friends who went to Nam and never returned. I knew others who volunteered, survived their tour of duty and came back convinced of the injustice of the war. And I had friends who stood up, refused to serve and went to prison. All of us who survived would benefit from reading Harris' thoughtful accounting of those dreadful times.



4. The "Vietnam Syndrome" is not buried forever, contrary to former President Bush's pronouncement after the Persian Gulf War. My heart goes out to the "loserama" reviewer of this book. Victory? For whom? The Vietnamese we were supposedly helping? No one ever wins a war. The only way to avoid condemning "millions to death, imprisonment and misery" in the future is to face ourselves. It is the American Dream that causes our wars. We have gotten the government we deserve; one that protects our vulgarly excessive way of life with brute force and cruelty. And most of us like things that way. We veterans are both victims of the empire and recipients of its ill-gotten bounty. We have to lead the reckoning.



5. This is a great book, an important book, a powerful book more important now than ever. David Harris speaks truth and uses words the way a surgeon or an artist uses their tools. Acknowledging that, as a country, "we get what we do" goes a long way toward answering the question, "Why do they hate us?" long before 9-11 ever became the symbol for "What's wrong with this picture?"
   
   "When a nation acts, all its citizens are joined insolubly in responsibility for the consequence of their national behavior." Truer words were never spoken.
   
   "While it may be an accurate conclusion, calling the war a mistake is the functional equivalent of calling water wet or dirt dirty. ... In this particular "mistake," at least 3 million people died, only 58,000 of whom were Americans. These 3 million people died crushed in the mud, riddled with shrapnel, hurled out of helicopters, impaled on sharpened bamboo, obliterated in carpets of explosives dropped from bombers flying so high they could only be heard and never seen (talk about cowards!) they died reduced to chunks by one or more land mines, finished off by a round through the temple or a bayonet in the throat, consumed by sizzling phorphorous, burned alive with jellied gasoline, strung up by their thumbs, starved in cages, executed after watching their babies die, trapped on the barbed wire calling for their mothers. They died while trying to kill, they died while trying to kill no one, they died heroes, they died villains, they died at random, they died most often when someone who had no idea who they were killed them under the orders of someone who had even less idea than that. ... All 3 million died in pain, often so intense that death was a relief. This war was about us. We made it happen. It was ours. And, even at this late date, any genuine reckoning on our part must include assuming the full responsibility of that ownership. Nothing less will do."
   
   So read David Harris's indictment of the Vietnam War. The more things change, the more they remain the same. This book should have received a Nobel Peace Price. It is a work of art, a labor of love.
   
   Now, more than ever, it is important to read, and understand, what this author was trying to say.

4 comments about Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown.

1. Most interesting. A story of the founding of Jamestown from the Indian point of view. It is a family tradition that we are descended from Powhatan, and the story meant a great deal to me.



2. The major theme of POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH: THREE INDIAN LIVES CHANGED BY JAMESTOWN revolves around truth. For each story that has been told about Virginia's Jamestown settlement or Pocahontas in general, its has centered on the Captain John Smith and Pocahontas legend and myth that has been overly romanticized in novels and in movies. At this time, no scholar has made the attempt to intertwine the Indian voice within the English story of Jamestown. However, Helen Rountree attempts to provide the Native American voice, but from letters and accounts by English colonists and foreigners. It is unfortunate that the Indians did not record their accounts of the arrival of these new world settlers, or as Rountree suggests, invaders. Nonetheless, Rountree places the three major participants' semi-biographical accounts at the forefront of this study in order to incorporate their contribution to the settlement as well as the invasion of white colonists to the Indian landscape.
   
   Rountree examines these three major actors and their way of life from anthropological perspective. Indeed, this is an historical narrative that deals with ethnohistory, but one that is " about one side only" (p. 6). Historians study their subject matters in order to get to the bottom of how an event occurred and its end result - think in terms of the past while writing in the present. Rountree takes the same approach, and studied the Powhatan side with why and how they acted the way they did. Rountree is critical and frank about past accounts of the Jamestown story as told by historian, William Strachey, HISTORIE OF TRAVELL INTO VIRGINIA BRITANIA and his plagiarized version of John Smith's narrative, GENERALL HISTORIE, which takes an English perspective that downplays the Indian presence. Rountree clarifies misconceptions that have been told within past narratives.
   
   Chronologically, the book covers the period from 1607 to 1644. With these periods, one has a time frame to work with. Rountree provides an in depth analysis of the inception and deterioration of relations between natives and colonists of the Virginia Company's settlement in Jamestown and the wars that concurred in 1622 and 1644. The book shows how life was like before the colonists, and the significance of Powhatan daily rituals. Rountree's expertise in so-called "digging deep" to the root of origins from an anthropological point of view allows the reader to understand how life was simple and structured for the Powhatans. Rountree suggests that life only later became complicated when the Indians had to provide and teach the colonists how to survive. In the process, both Indians and colonists discovered that their lifestyles and environments were different than what they had been accustomed to.
   
   For the sake of understanding, POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH will allow readers of history to see the bigger picture of the Jamestown story that took place three centuries ago. Although this history has already passed, its legacy and myths continues to engage readers. Helen Rountree should be commended for taken the task to reveal the real Pocahontas as human as possible and not as a Disney cutout, and to emphasize the predominant role of chief leader, Powhatan, and his successor or "brother", Opechancanough as essential actors in American history.
   
   
   
   



3. Everyone is familiar with the story of Pocahontas and British explorer/adventurer John Smith. They are romantic stories fed to us by the likes of Disney (10 yrs ago in the 1995 film) and countless romanticized versions in historical fiction novels. This "documentary" book exposes the truth about what really happened in the span of time that John Smith, Jon Rolfe and the Virginia Company founded Jamestown and dealt with the Indian tribes headed by Chief Powhatan and his brother Openchancanough. Since Thanksgiving is fast approaching, this makes a fine book to read if you are interested in the earliest British colonial period of the 1600's, when the pilgrims fist arrived in the Eastern coast of the United States. This period has been romanticized by movies and novels, evoking a thrilling time of danger, intrigue and romance, when Indians and colonists sparred and sometimes made peace, even made love. Princess Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She was only fifteen or so when she first met Jon Smith and a romance was highly unlikely, even if perhaps the girl felt an attraction to the supposedly attractive adventurer. John Smith had traveled across the globe to foreign lands as a British explorer and was in his day a bad boy. That he may have gotten into trouble with Chief Powhatan and his people is probably true. Pocahontas was a diplomat, a healer/medicine woman and regarded as a peacemaker. Even if she didn't do a dramatic a thing as offer herself up as sacrifice to save John Smith's life, she did for a time lessen tension between the natives and the colonists. She married Jon Rolfe, a British nobleman, was converted to Christianity, learned to read and speak English. She journeyed across the Atlantic, leaving behind her old life in the tribe and became a popular figure in London society. She became a lady. Most people forget about this phase in her life and it must have been a very interesting story within itself. Did she miss her old life ? Was she as respected in London or did she experience a form of racism because she was not a white English lady ? Powhatan's life is documented well in this book. He was a very influential man in his time and he, too, was able to negotiate with the English. Jamestown brought these people together. They hoped that Jamestown would be an independent, Utopian society where English and natives could live and prosper. Unfortunately, Jamestown succumbed to disease and death. The dream died and conflict between natives and colonists resumed. If you're a big history buff, this book is for you.



4. I am fortunate to have read four excellent books on the Pocahontas / John Smith story. As I have read one after the other each has added seasoning, each has distilled the myth from the acts, each is a different perspective on THE seminal moment at the beginning of European history in America.
   
   The first book I read was "Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream" (Kindle Edition) by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. We learn from a thorough biography of Smith at what a full and tumultuous life he lived. If even one half of what Smith wrote about his exploits was true, then his life was one of the most storied and lucky of the century. No matter how you look upon his pre-American exploits, by the time he sets foot in Virginia he is a well seasoned and experienced soldier.
   
   The next book was "Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma" by Camilla Townsend. Full of very important information about Pocahontas, the author tends to vilify Smith as a boastful liar, her sympathies towards Pocahontas run as deep. We learn much about the Powhatan people and the times they lived in.
   
   The third book was "Love & Hate in Jamestown" by David A Price. He tends to take both Pocahontas at her word (the very few we actually know of) and almost all of John Smith's many words....at face value. All three of these books are very well researched but each draw very different stories and conclusions.
   
   Coming now to the fourth and probably the finest of them, "Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives changed by Jamestown" by Helen C Rountree, I think that I have finally realized as accurately as I can who these people were and what happened at Jamestown. Whereas Townsend tends to reveal a degree of rage and resentment against Smith, Rountree does not get as caught up in the heated debates that still go on among Pocahontas/Jamestown writers and scholars. Having worked among the remnants of the Powhatan natives for 35 years, Rountree has absorbed their history and it is well integrated with mountains of scholarly research.
   
   What do we learn from Rountree's book that might have been missing in the other three? First, her objective was to tell the reader what happened to the three main characters and she succeeds to the fullest of the known evidence. Their stories are, with the exception of Pocahontas, that of long lives (Opachancanough might be have been close to 100 when he died) and of seeing a completely unstoppable change to their society. We must remember that Native American tribes by their very nature spent parts of their histories fighting with and either conquering other tribes or in turn being conquered by them in turn. Some tribes were wiped out, others brought into submission to a Great King, like Powhatan. The changes that the Europeans brought to the Natives of America was very unlike their previous history, a history that might have been as old if not older than the Europeans. Powhatan died with an uncertain notion of whether his people could push the smelly white strangers off their lands. Opachancanough died knowing that their civilization was doomed.
   
   One of the most important insights that Rountree presents comes close to the end of her book. She states that in the final uprisings against the Jamestown area settlements, the Powhatan natives were largely supplied by young men who had never known a time when their ancestral lands were all their own. They grew up in an embattled and bloody time of transition when the end of Amerindian culture was making itself known.
   
   Keeping this in mind, the life of Pocahontas, as short and sad as it was, exposed her to the most striking of contrasts. Can you imagine what her father would have thought had he been convinced to visit England? Would he have been able to absorb the sense of enormity of European society, positioned as it was with cities full of rank and foul airs, open sewage, filthy children running amok in the streets, clouds of black smoke coming from coal fires. Would he not have imagined Europe as a hellish nightmare? Certainly Pocahontas was astounded but what is amazing is that it appears that she actually liked being in England, if not in the smoldering big cities. Her feisty nature relished the changes that she had been pushed into. This is a strange aspect to her personality that is hard to understand.
   
   Much of the book relates the relentless waves of incompetent settlers who came to the Jamestown area. What is clear about this story is that the White Europeans were going to come and nothing was going to stop them. Not sickness, nor hurricanes, nor savage natives, nor starvation. They would come and more would follow and the superior technologies of gunpowder, steel and huge sail boats, coupled with animal husbandry were more than a match for the hunting/gathering subsistence native life.
   
   One comes away from this history wondering if it could have been another way and I suppose the answer is no. The clash of civilizations was inevitable, with swashbuckling Captain Smiths eager for exploring new and hopefully cleaner lands more than enough motivation to get out and go. That so many native lives perished as a result and thousands of years of history pulverized is a sad legacy to the memory of Pocahontas, her father and her uncle. But, it is what happened and we should know of their lives. Rountree's book is full of insight into these people as they tried in vain to deal with these strangers. The mythologies about Smith and Pocahontas I think have been finally put to rest and need not be resurrected again. The real story is much more gripping and important. Excellent book.

5 comments about The Riddle and the Knight: In Search of Sir John Mandeville, the World's Greatest Traveller.

1. What a disappointment . After reading one of Milton's other books I was excited to get this for Xmas. The book is a soft introduction to some of the history of both the Middle Ages, the Middle East, but thats it . I felt that the author had stumbled onto a possible winner but in the end it didnt pan out but had to publish a book to justify his travels ( and perhaps his advance ). Best I can say about the book is the bibliography. This alone was worth one star , otherwise I would have only given a rating of one star. Not a recommended buy



2. A fairly irritating book about an important subject, this book is loaded with a collection of traveling non-sequiturs that are collated and vaguely related to findings of the author as he makes the same trip that Sir John Mandeville made starting in 1322. Mandeville wrote a book after his 34-year journey called The Travels that influenced many important people after him. For example, Christopher Columbus, influenced by Mandeville's book, proposed his voyage to the new world to Queen Isabella of Spain and was turned down. Months later, after Isabella had read Mandeville's book she was approached again by Columbus and she changed her mind, funding his history making voyage to the new world. Mandeville's book was used by many others as a reference for hundreds of years until somewhere in the 1800's when he and his book were discredited and Mandeville generally became known as a fraud, never having actually traveled to the places he claimed to have visited. In The Riddle and the Knight, Milton's trip to all the same places starts off with the promise of getting to the bottom of a very old debate, "Did Mandeville actually take the trip he claimed he took? By actually making the same trip today, what could be found to either prove or disprove Mandeville once and for all?" That's a great idea but the writer got bogged down including almost everything that happened to him on his 20th century journey whether it added to proving Mandeville's journey or not. On page 189, Milton is staying in a monastery in Egypt and two U.N. peacekeepers stumble upon the ancient institution. One of them is an American who is remarkably like Gomer Pyle. Halfway through this jewel, I paused and thought, "This episode will have no bearing whatsoever on what Milton is doing with his story." True enough, it didn't. It was simply a loud and colorful, intrusion into the quiet life of the monastery Milton was staying in. "What the heck. Let's put it in the book." Milton was fair in citing the frequent number of times that almost every ancient author would plagiarize one another and that Mandeville was not much different. Unlike the book's title, The Riddle and the Knight, any references to a riddle somewhere in the book were sparse, casual, and hugely unfulfilled. The author also missed the opportunity to properly observe that all early discoverers and travelers were at some point liars who all knew that keeping the attention of those who listened would sometimes require mention of the strange men foreign lands who have no heads, or really giant women from another distant land or strange elixirs that have remarkable healing powers. It's all part of giving the audience what they want or need to hear, from P.T. Barnum to Ripley's Believe It Or Not to the nightly news.



3. This book wears two faces: 1) a travel book, and 2) an attempt at some serious historical research. The author, Giles Milton, a professional writer/journalist, sets out to retrace the path of the legendary fourteenth-century traveler and writer, Sir John Mandeville. Milton's ostensible goal is to rehabilitate Mandeville's controversial reputation.

   Sir John Mandeville was the alleged author of one of the most famous early-renaissance books. From about 1350 to 1800, his "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville" was incredibly popular and influential, rivaling the Bible and Euclid's Elements. Then, about 1800, scholars began to question whether "Mandeville wrote Mandeville" -- or indeed whether there ever was such a man. His book is still in print (see Penguin Classic, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville), and is even making something of a comeback,

   Mr. Milton is a good writer, and as a travel book his work is quite entertaining. Minimally, it gives us a chance to compare the Middle-East-now with what it was in Mandeville's time. For those who like travel books, that might be enough to make the book worthwhile. Some woodcuts taken from a 1481 edition of Mandeville are real gems. (Penguin should have included these.)

   But as serious historical research I have problems with the book. Mr. Milton tries to convince us that Sir John Mandeville really did exist. The historical evidence he presents is weak, at best, and consists chiefly of a barely legible epitaph in St. Albans Abbey. But even here some rigorous scholarship is missing. (What is the earliest mention of this epitaph? To whom is it attributed? Have other scholars noted the inscription, and at what dates? What are their opinions regarding its authenticity?)

   My overall impression is that Mr. Milton was not able to gather the evidence he was hoping for, and so had to temporize. I was particularly disappointed that the second edition does not address any of these weaknesses.




4. A fascinating read! The satisfaction comes not in finally putting to rest the historical debate whether Sir John Mandeville ever made his epic pilgrimmage but rather in going along with Milton as he makes his journey. Settle into your favorite armchair and take off on a most engaging travel narrative. Along the way you will decide for yourself the truth about Sir John's narrative, which is exactly the way all such quests should be pursued.



5. This book was awesome! So much adventure and neat information. I liked how Giles Milton included his travels in following Sir John's book to find things -- it was like being on a scavenger hunt from the past. The only thing that would have made this a better book would have been some color pictures of the churches visited! It was a slight disappointment that the Mandeville book was not real...but a fun to follow!

5 comments about Woodrow Wilson (Profiles in Power Series).

1. John A. Thompson, author of the Reformers and War: American Progressives Publicists and the First World War (1987)and a leading authority on the Progessive Era and First World War, has written a superb and compact biography of Woodrow Wilson, the best one-volume biography of Wilson that we have. Thompson's insightful account focuses on Wilson's leadership style and assesses both its strengths and weaknesses. As president of Princeton, governor of New Jersey, and president of the United States, Wilson exhibited both firmness and flexibility, and idealism and a practicality. Examining the abilities and the limits of political leadership in American democracy, Thompson carefully weighs the degree to which Wilson's successes and failures were a result of his own actions and a consequence of other factors beyond his control. This is a masterful achievement.



2. Few figures in American history have as polarizing effect on people as Thomas Woodrow Wilson. While he accomplished a great deal during his term, his legacy is haunted by a glaring failure. John A. Thompson takes a concise, yet surprisingly thorough look at the political career of the 28th President of the United States in the Profiles in Power Series.
   
   Woodrow Wilson seemed to be an unlikely candidate to one day become president. As the son of a presbyterian minister, he often placed his faith ahead to political feasibility. After serving as the president of Princeton, his progressive ideals led to his election as governor of New Jersey. His popularity led to his nomination as the democratic candidate for president in a year when the republican electorate was split between Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft.
   
   Among his accomplishments as president were the Child Labor Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. Wilson is also commended for his role as a leader during World War I. While various factions including former President Teddy Roosevelt called for American involvement in the war, Wilson exhausted every possible means for peaceful resolution. Supporting by George Washington's farewell address statement to avoid European entanglements, Wilson pressed forward in negotiations. Only when Germany refused to discontinue attacks on merchant ships was Wilson's hand forced into war.
   
   After the allied victory, Wilson became a key figure in establishing the peace in Europe. Wilson was the first president to travel to Europe during his term in office. It was during his work in Europe that he attempted to implement the League of Nations. Wilson was humbled in the eyes of the Europeans that exhaulted him when the U.S. senate refused to ratify American membership. In a show of partisanism that was uncharacteristic in its time, republican senators refused to accept the League of Nations as it was.
   
   Wilson is one of the key figures in American history, whose only major failure was a project so ambitious that many considered it utopian. His interests were not political but universal and international ideals. World War II was among the problems foresaw and could have prevented. I was certainly enlighted as to the facts of the Wilson administration through this book. While there are certain omission such as much of Wilson's youth, the book is recommended to those seeking to expand their knowledge of Woodrow Wilson.



3. This is not a full biog of WW. Its a look at his way of using power, mainly at Princeton and as Pres of the US. That leaves out quite a bit! There is very little in the book on how WW dealt with Congress, even during WWI (though more on this subject is here regarding the League of Nations.) There is VERY little about domestic concerns during WW's presidency, esp. with regard to race. Thompson is not only a bit too sympathetic toward his subject, but far too deferential to William Link's previous assessments of WW as well.



4. An excellent short but complete biography of Woodrow Wilson, a thoughtful peace loving man born into a pious and academic household. He was born in 1856 and lived in Staunton, Virginia, a Southern Border state. He grew up in a time that he saw the ravages caused by the Civil War. His quest for peace and reform was always intense - no more wars. He tried studying law, but did not like the and quiet thoughtful man made him a natural for Princeton although he brought many interesting new ideas for educational reform. He became President of Princeton University from 1902 -1910. Leaving Princeton, he was also thought of as a reformer when he became governor of the state of New Jersey from 1911-1913, His race for President was both smart and surprising (Taft and Roosevelt split the ticket). Wilson ran a good race, but was behind - he had a lots of luck and political maneuvering to get the nomination. That was interesting, as well as when he became president - how the federal reserve system was developed - his greatest achievement. The book's description of his presidency (1913-1921) and his poor cardiovascular health gives a clear picture of how he presided over the country - by sheer will. He knew he was very ill, but "paced" his meetings, avoided many by prioritizing, and would not talk business at home. World War 1 was beyond his control and his wish for isolationist policy failed because of the global political winds. The League of Nations and 14 Points take on an interesting angle when compared with the United Nations today.
   
   Another interesting part of his life is when his first wife dies while he is in office - he goes on through his deep depression. He courts and marries his second wife while still in office. She and his doctor cover up how ill he is. When he has his most debilitating stroke, his second wife actually becomes the "first woman president" - although the country did not know she was running the country. Can one imagine a President getting away with that in today's media and talk show programs? He was not functioning as President - she took over, making the decision to do so as well as decisions written on papers passed through his office. Basically she was President of the U.S. for the last 17 months he was in office.



5. This biography is focused exclusively on Wilson's political life. Within those constraints, while being short and concise, it is very analytical and insightful. The author analyses why Wilson did what he did. While sharing with us some notable opinions on these subjects, he always offers his own objective and analytical views as well. Excellent book - I learned something from almost every page.

4 comments about Eva Peron: The Myths of a Woman.

1. This book on Evita is quite different on the part that it was written by someone who went to that country to study how Eva Peron affected the society around her decades later.She is well rounded in her studies of Evita and the different takes on the different myths that surround this girl from the pampas is very interesting.Don't ask me why I gave it Four stars! I'm a man and I love Eva.But,it seems suitable...Okay? Respects to Julie Taylor..of course!



2. As the title indicates, this is not so much a straightforward and linear biography of Eva. Rather, this book is an examination of the myths that have sprouted up around Evita ("Evita," meaning "little Eva," was her nickname)in her own country and abroad.

   The author, an anthropologist, brilliantly points out that what people believe about Eva, and the myths they construct around her, often have less to do with what Eva actually did in her real life, but with what people perceive she represented. Often, judgments and interpretations of Evita are meant to reflect well on the one who is doing the judging - whether it be the Peronists, the anti-Peronists, or foreigners.

   The author discovers that Argentines have an unusual tendency to keep their national figures "alive." Few other people, says the author, see it as natural that the myths of long-dead leaders, as well as their bodily remains, would play a part in present day politics. Understanding Eva, who she was and what she accomplished, is often made difficult by this very fact - Argentines are fascinated with their own history and often force it into whatever shape they see as most fit. The author points out that the average Argentine is aware that his own version of his country's history may contradict that of his neighbor's.

   The author also argues that while Peronists and anti-Peronists often believe they have different value systems, in fact they share many of the same values. Proof of their shared value system is that Evita is often interpreted in terms of her womanhood. The opposition sees Evita as a violation of the Argentine feminine ideal, whereas the Peronists see Evita as the definition of the feminine ideal. In both cases her gender and sexuality are made the forefront of her character and the judgment laid upon it: the opposition insists that Eva once worked as a prostitute and many of them claim so to this day, despite the fact that there is no evidence to support such a claim. Some Peronists suggest that, due to her heavy work schedule toward the end of her life, Evita did not have the time to have sexual relations with her husband. In both evaluations of her character her sexuality, her virginity, is important, and can therefore be seen as a result of the Catholic value system that permeates all Hispanic cultures. Evita is thus judged against the archetype of "Marianismo" (The Virgin Mary, and her accompanying ideals and virtues). The author also argues, as indicated by the book title, that the myths surrounding Evita are not only linked to Argentine ideas of womanhood, but international and cross-cultural ideas of womanhood and the "mysterious" powers often subscribed to them in relation to their ability to give birth, and their alleged potential for "corrupting" influence if not controlled by a man or male-dominated institution (the opposition often complained that her husband, the President, did not keep Evita "in check"). The author further argues that there is evidence that all peoples are likely to subscribe to women spiritual and mystical powers, and that this equation has led to the "saint abroad" - the belief held by many foreigners that Evita's followers saw her as a saint. The most popular example of this "saint abroad" can be found in the musical "Evita," most vividly in the song "Santa Evita" ("Saint Evita").

   One of the most fascinating things about this book is the revelation that Evita's followers, the "Descamisados" (Spanish for "the shirtless ones"), generally do not see Evita as a saint, instead they see her in a rather pragmatic light - when asked what Evita meant to them and what she had done, the poor often listed the laws she had advocated and helped to pass, rarely is there mention of supernatural or saintly powers. It appears that it was Evita's opposition and the middle class of Argentina that created the myth that Evita's "gullible" followers saw her as a saint and the possessor of mystical powers; thus the middle class of Argentina created what the author terms a "myth of a myth."

   A word of "caution" - this book is not always an easy read. I believe this book is the author's thesis work, and is therefore often full of words that necessitate the aid of a dictionary. Obscure and veiled references and phraseology abound. Often, particularly toward the beginning of the book, the author's paragraphs will consist of one thought repeated several times with different word usage. This book may be something of a struggle for the "lay" reader, myself among them. There are passages in this book that seem as though they are written in another language, perhaps even written with the intention of confusing the reader. But in all, this is a very well written and well-researched book, one of the best examinations available of this fascinating woman (and I have read most of them). Understanding this book is worth the effort for anyone interested in deciphering the myths and meanings behind the myths of the late, great Evita.




3. As many writers that I know Miss Julie have that terrible lack of sensitivity that give you being out of touch with poor people.
   Evita wasn't a myth. Evita was a leader who did soemthing for her country and her people. That's why people still love her. it will happen the same with George Bush if he will die trying to help poor people Can any no argentinean understand that the people love back those leader who love them? is so difficult to understand? that wasn't a myth she actually die at 33 years old because despite her cancer she still goes to work for those whom have the needs.
   Do that for your voters and then write about a myth.



4. Julie M Taylor's well-researched book is not a biography but an anthropological study of the many myths surrounding Evita and their origins. It is loaded with a tremendous amount of information pertaining to Eva Peron, Argentine society and its history. At first glance, it is somewhat surprising that such a young woman like Eva Peron would become the victim of so much fanatical hatred and adoration. For those that despise her, she is a harlot, a murderess dictator who crushed anyone who opposed her and got in her way. For those that love her she is a mother, a saint, a revolutionary. What is even more interesting is that these images took on a life of their own. These colorful myths have clouded Eva's true history to such an extent that it has been stated by many that Eva Peron's story has forever left the world of "reality" and entered that of "fantasy". Several of the myths discussed here have made their way into history books and biographies. These accounts have sold this mis-information as fact when in reality it couldn't be further from the truth.
   
   Julie Taylor's book explores every one of these myths in detail and gives us an explanation as to why Eva Peron inspired them and why the public chose to believe them. In most instances, Eva's sexuality and beauty had a lot to do with it. In other's, it was Eva's unconventional, non-feminine behavior which isn't surprising since at the time, woman were never seen taking an active role in politics. Eva offended the non-Peronist men of the time because this was one of the first times in their history where a woman was giving orders. The Aristocracy on the other hand was shocked to see a woman of no class, loose morals and with no formal education rise to a position of wealth and fame. In other words, a woman of Eva Duarte's background has no right to achieve that level of power. What I find interesting is the simple fact that had Eva Duarte been born into a privileged class holding a hereditary title or had she been born a man several of these myths would never have been born.
   
   This book is highly recommended to those interested in learning more about this strange, complex woman known throughout the world as Evita. She will forever remain an enigma but Julie M Taylor's book gives us a unique glimpse into her tumultuous life by dissecting the numerous myths surrounding her persona shedding some light as to why people react so differently when Eva Peron's name is mentioned. It may also help you better understand this remarkable woman's actions and the erroneous myths her actions aroused. Even if your attitude towards Eva is indifferent, this book may surprise you since its purpose differs from the many other books written about her. It isn't an opinion but a factual analysis about a woman whose life and personality have become mythological.
   
   Thanks to JM Taylor's "Eva Peron: The Myths of a Woman", the real woman behind the myth is revealed. She is unmasked as even far more remarkable than her legend. Whether you think she's a harlot, a saint or a fiery revolutionary, her impact on a nation cannot be denied. This woman deserves her legendary status, she earned it

2 comments about Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier: The Life, Death, and Celebrity of Amos Humiston.

1. It was a time in history when folks back home held romantic images of gallant heroes for "The Cause". It is no wonder this powerful human interest story snowballed into a nation wide hunt for the children who's loving and courageous father died fighting to reclaim freedom of liberty for his country.

   Mark Dunkelman vividly paints a splendid picture of Amos Humiston and his family, taking us through a journey of their trails and tribulations. Mark Dunkelman's painstaking research comes togther with a marvelous, moving, and timeless human-interest story.




2. So much of history focuses on the leaders, generals, and other famous persons of the era. Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier is interesting because it focuses on a common man, Amos Humiston, and his family. He is Gettysburg's unknown soldier because he was found dead holding a picture of his three children. There is nothing else to indicate his identity. The picture is used to identify Amos and locate his widow and children. Amos' attention to his children's picture during his last moments makes him and his family celebrities. While Gettysburg is Amos' defining moment in history, the author tells us the full story. Amos' years on a whaling ship were an adventure, but also a lot of hard work. If whaling was tough, it was nothing compared to the War. We follow Amos and his New York regiment as he marches and marches and marches and fights. After Amos' death at Gettysburg, the story continues with his widow and children and how his death changes their lives. If you like history and want the perspective of the common man, I recommend Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier.