2 comments about The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves.

1. There are many excellent studies of black Civil War soldiers and equally good editions of letters and reminiscences from black veterans. (In fact, following the 1989 release of the film "Glory" about the black Massachusetts 54th, there was something of a flood of such books.) But until now, there really hasn't been a good study of the reactions of southern slaves to the war. Andrew Ward, familiar to Civil War buffs from his excellent River Run Red (2005) has changed that with his The Slaves' War.
   
   Mr. Ward's book is perhaps best described as a hybrid between straightforward narrative and oral history. In ten well-written and organized chapters, he transcribes the chronological reminiscences of slaves from both eastern and western theaters of the war. The witnesses come from all walks: house and field slaves; skilled and unskilled; men, women, and children; slaves who eagerly followed the course of the war, and slaves who wanted nothing to do with it; slaves who were rented by their masters to dig fortifications, and slaves who remained on the farm while their white owners went to the front; slaves who remained convinced until their dying day that they'd met Lincoln on an incognito journey through the south he made before the war, and slaves who actually did observe Jefferson Davis on a regular basis (one black preacher humorously prayed: "Shake Jeff Davis over the mouth of hell, Lord, but don't drop him in"); slaves who welcomed blue-coated soldiers as harbingers of Jubilo, and slaves who, frightened by their masters' tales of northern barbarism, were frightened; and slaves, always and everywhere, distrusted by masters worried that all the northern-spawned talk of abolition would spawn rebellion south of the Mason-Dixon line.
   
   Ward tells us that he surveyed thousands of recorded interviews, memoirs, obituaries, diaries, and letters in compiling The Slaves' War. It's both remarkable and a bit disconcerting that this material hasn't been mined until now. Hopefully Ward's revitalization of these slaves' voices, with all their eloquence, hope, fear, pain, joy, anger, pride and even humor, will spark more research into this too neglected Civil War perspective.
   __________
   * This joyous cry was raised by plantation slaves upon the news that the Confederacy was defeated. But as would prove all too often the case in the post-war years, the joy of freedom was quickly shadowed by threats. Immediately after the slaves shouted their thanksgivings, "a white man come along and told them that if he heard them say that again, he would kill the last one of them." From Addie Vinson's reminiscences, p. 263.



2. This is a superb telling of the story of the Civil War with running commentary in the actual words of slaves who saw it, fought it, endured it and lived to tell about what it was like for them and their fellows before, during and after the war. For anyone interested in the war, it provides a unique and invaluable perspective never seen before. For anyone interested in African American history, which of course should be every American who wants to be politically awake, this is a wonderful opportunity to let the people speak for themselves, a most welcome change in historical writing about these terrible and awesome events. Must read.....

1 comments about Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici.

1. Sometimes, it seems to me that it would take a committee to produce an adequate biography of Lorenzo de' Medici. He was a many-sided jewel of a man, flashing his facets in so many directions that no single author could be the master of all of them. He was a sportsman, diplomat, political boss, essayist, poet, musician and connoisseur of all the arts. On the personal level he was a dutiful husband and loving father of a large family; he also had a reputation as man with a voracious appetite for extra-marital sex. Some 2,000 of his letters survive, along with more than 20,000 addressed to him by people from all over Europe: ambassadors, popes, princes, dukes, kings and their consorts, as well as friends and ordinary people from all walks of life. The sheer volume of material by and about Lorenzo is overwhelming.
   
   Doing justice to such a complex and many-sided life in a single volume intended for the general reader would be a tall order for any writer, and I suspect that scholars of Renaissance history in general and the Medici in particular will look down their noses at this effort. Most of the author's sources are in English, thus ignoring much of the voluminous biography available in Italian; he makes very little use of archival materials (only two such sources are cited, both available on-line), and worst of all, for scholars at least, he doesn't use footnotes. Although there are some notes annoyingly appended to the bottom of some pages, and other notes hidden at the back but not indicated in the text, many sources for the "facts" (if they are indeed facts) presented are undocumented and may leave even the general reader wondering where the information came from.
   
   But despite these criticisms (which may not matter to most readers) this is a very well written and absorbing narrative. Unger is especially good at telling the various dramatic stories that punctuate Lorenzo's life. He emphasizes the political side of Lorenzo, however, perhaps to the detriment of the many other aspects of his life. I would have liked to have read more about Lorenzo's poetry and other literary works; seen more attention to his patronage of music, and perhaps read more about his complicated love-life, commented on by many of his contemporaries.
   
   

5 comments about All But My Life.

1. Despite the horrors around her, and fellow prisoners dying and becoming mentally unbalanced every day, young Gerda Weissman managed to survive several Nazi camps from the late 1930s through the grisly end of World War II.
   
   Imagine being a teenager, wrenched away from your beloved parents, older brother and home -- and never seeing any of them ever again. It would be enough to make anyone unstable, not to mention bitter. Yet somehow, Gerda emerges from her horrifying ordeal stronger than she began. As her body heals in a hospital run by the Allies during the spring of 1945, Gerda begins a relationship with Kurt Klein -- a young soldier who urges her to tell her story.
   
   Now an elderly woman living in Arizona, Gerda Weissman Klein is able to see just how far she's come from the young Jewish girl living a priviledged life in Poland. Yet at the same time, her writing style allows readers to see clearly just how that same persona has managed to live such a rich, eventful life to the fullest all of these years.
   
   I've read many Holocaust memoirs, though I must say that Gerda's story is beautifully and distinctly told.



2. I read this book a long time ago and just got done listening to the book on tape for the second time. It is the most powerful representation of the Holocaust I have found. Please read this book if you want to learn about the Holocaust from a gifted author and survivor.



3. This book was gripping and I could not put it down until I finished it. It's so hard to believe the hardships so many endured for being Jewish. A must read. Beautifully written with rich detail.



4. I have read many of the holocaust books out there but this is the one I pass on to friends to read. Especially moving is the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the book. I wish all schools made this mandatory reading. What a way to learn history! This author is quite an incredible woman.



5. This is one of the first Holocaust survival stories that I read. It is by far one that has stayed with me in the most detail.
   
   I'm not going to give the story away I'm just going to say you will cry and rejoyce in this story. It will touch you to core of your very being.
   
   I must read for EVERYONE!

5 comments about A Remarkable Mother.

1. I purchased this book for my 86-year-old mother for Mother's Day.
   She said she enjoyed it very much and learned more about Mrs.
   Carter than she knew.



2. Loved the book. It was an easy afternoon read. My husband and I took turns reading it to one another while sitting on the dock sipping cold beer. It is one of those days you hold in your heart. Laughed, cried and hated to see the end. Miss Lillian was some kind of woman!



3. This was a quick read, but well done. Mr. Carter's mother was definitely her own woman, but Mr. Carter treated her always with respect and love. A great tribute.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was lovingly written by a son who adored, respected, and loved his mother very much. Lillian was such a force in the White House, and it sounds like everyone from every country who ever met her just loved being with her. She's was a woman that we could all learn from....she didn't take from anyone...even the President. The book was inspiring to me...she went into the Peace Corps at 70....enough said....very good book!



5. Very quick service. I got this book for my mom for Mother's Day and she loved it. I recommend it to anyone and use Amazon.

5 comments about Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. Alison Weir is my favorite author and I decided to read this book after seeing the movie "The Lion in Winter". As always, Alison Weir does a great job! Eleanor was definitely an interesting person, as was Henry. Great book!



2. This is the first book by Weir that I've read.
   I picked up the book thinking it would be cool to read about a powerful woman in a time where women were considered unworthy of attention. I guess I had assumed that there would be much more accurate information about her life & times than there acutally is. I find the book to be more about the realm and kingdom in general and Henry II, Louis VII & other powerful men in particular. I found that I was reading entire chapters devoted to Henry or Louis with no mention at all of Eleanor. It's understandable that there's not a lot of evidence or extant documentation about her life; I almost think Weir wastes her time writing about a subject that has so little documented evidence. I am enjoying the historical aspect of the book, but I'm a little disappointed in her "story" (or lack thereof). I'll certainly read more of Weir's works, but my expectation will be much lower.



3. This was a very interesting bit of history but it is wrtten like a textbook. And, the last third of the book was poorly written. Editing seemed to be forgotten. It was just a bit wordy and too long.



4. A woman ahead of her time. Compelling biography that sheds light on both Eleanor of Acquitaine, as well as much information about the age in which she lived.
   
   Who needs soap operas - the lives of royals are always intriguing - scheming, treachery, and plots abound within the royal family and amongst friends and neighbors. A good read, well researched, a fascinating character with a plot line that spans the reaches of both France and England for 80 years - with a Crusade in between.



5. This book purports to be a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and in that respect it is deceptive. As the author states several times throughout the work, there is virtually no source material on the subject. How then to fill almost 400 pages on a subject for which there is no reliable history beyond the obvious?
   
   First, the author fills the book with general 12th century history and facts. There is every bit as much, if not more written about Henry II, the second husband of Eleanor than there is about Eleanor herself. In truth, the book should have been entitled "12th Century European History." The author writes extensively about the Second Crusade, undertaken by Eleanor's then husband, Louis of France, but has virtually nothing to say about Eleanor's role. Understandable, since there are no sources that speak of it. The book deals primarily with the political and martial dealings between the various Kings, Dukes, Earls and Counts of Europe and England.
   
   Second, the author writes generally about the role of women in 12th century Europe and tries to compare and contrast Eleanor's activities in an attempt to paint her as a much more politically savvy and active member of society than most women of the age.
   
   Finally, the author takes very flimsy historical information and tries to expand it to fill the historical gaps and flesh out the subject of the "biography". To her credit, she uses this technique very sparingly and avoids wholesale fiction.
   
   With respect to the author's writing style, I found it to be very dry and at times, merely a recitation of historical facts running for pages at a time. The plethora of names and titles were at times confusing, a situation that was compounded by the style utilized by the author.
   
   We know about Eleanor's family, her titles and estates and and the rough timeline of her marriages, divorce, children and death. Beyond that, with respect to Eleanor herself, we know very little. We do not even have a reliable likeness of her appearance. To sell this work as a "biography" is to give the word a definition with which I am unfamiliar.

5 comments about Mao: The Unknown Story.

1. I dont like Mao, even hate him.
   
   But, reading this book makes me disappointed - I found that the way the book is made follows very Mao' style as described by the authors themselves.
   
   Some history facts are completely black-white overturned, for example,
   1. the india-china war: please refer to Mr. Neville Maxwell's India's
   China War.
   
   2. the writer stated: Mao summoned his former wife, which deteriorated
   her metal illness.
   The fact is that, someone else revealed Mao's whereabouts to her
   because of sympathy. And Mao punished the man just because of this. It is clear that there is no reason for Mao to make such an appointment, can not be more inscrutable.
   
   3. the nuclear weapons:
   why make the promise that China will not use it first? isnt it completely defensive?
   Then the authors' fiction on Mao's nuclear ambition is not justfiable.
   
   The authors' bias, and efforts of pulling everything evil and making everything evil about Mao can be sensed sadly here. (Not sad for Mao, but for such a kind of writing.)
   
   
   What to say? Read more - this is my sincere advice.



2. This is a horrible book. I am surprised that the author has a doctorate degree yet her logic is totally problematic and her sources are questionable.
   
   Firstly, as some reviewers have pointed out, the logic of the book is absurd: I want to prove Mao is evil --> I will collect facts to prove it, whether or not they are supportive. A lot of times the author is forcing some facts to prove her negative opinion about Mao although they don't prove anything.
   
   Secondly many of her facts are unfounded as well --- you don't know exactly what the sources are and can't verify them. I myself have a doctorate degree --- you have to footnote your sources so that peers can verify them. Rather than a biography based on rigorous research, the book is filled with bias, guess, misleading and fabrication, which are already proved by other scholars.
   
   The author was a "red guard" herself and had the privilege of studying abroad as one of the first group of students sponsored by the Chinese government when the cultural revolution ended. I am puzzled what had turned her into the other extreme --- she hates Mao so much that she even loses the ability of unbiased independent thinking, a critical attribute of scholars. In summary I can't agree more with a statement made by another review --- this book "uses propaganda to fight propaganda".



3. I am blown away by the amount of information about Mao and how much damage he did to China. This book is very long and people with short attention spans should avoid it. Despite being listed as 864 pages, the book is only about 621 pages. The rest of the pages are the bibliography, sources, and interview credits (except for mainland China which they didn't name for obvious reasons).
   
   The book is of course, anti-Mao. Given that leftists and liberals try to portray Mao as a good guy, it is a welcome breath of fresh air.
   
   Mao's whole life is chronicled here, from birth to death. His rise to a communist leader, the fight against the Nationalists, his family, his victories and defeats, dealings with the Soviets, his attempts to make China a nuclear world power, his disastrous policies that lead to 35 million Chinese starving to death. The book shows Mao was a psychopathic dictator, and even people within his own communist party were opposed to him, especially during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Famines that Mao caused. I have a new measure of sympathy for the Chinese people who suffered so much under Mao.



4. I bought this book because I was hoping to read a new account of one of history's most glossed over mass murderers, but I was very disappointed by the lack of simple foot or end noting of the authors' sources. One can not write a book that calls into question the veracity of some of the most prominent events and people of the 20th century and then not offer actual evidence. There are many better books than this about Mao that do offer sources. Read those instead.



5. 1st of all i think that the book was great. 2nd of all id like to point out that previous comments about men wanting to sleep with Mao is disgusting. In some countries you could be seriously punished for acting gay. 3rdly i think most of the reviews saying the book was bad are extremely baised. The people writing them "Worship Mao" and "Only read one page to tell book was bad." You definetly shouldnt allow these people to influcence your opinion about the book they are total Newbz. Mao killed thousands of people. If some of you remember in the early 50's the "Great Leap Forward." Mao killed millions in a forced famine. What a great guy to want to sleep with.

5 comments about The Greatest Generation.

1. I doubt that Mr. Brokaw will see this review.
   I bought the book but have not read it because I cannot get past the title.
   I am 85.
   I was a 20 year old, 128# kid out of North Dakota when I joined the Air Corps, the United States Army Air Force in 1942 and after an excellent training I went over to the Mediterrean and flew 94 missions in three different airplanes. I was one of 17 that came back of the 45 that went over.
   
   I do NOT agree that we were "The Greatest Generation". We were an "Ordinary Generation" faced with an "Extraordinary Problem". Yes, we rose to it.
   
   But the implication I get from his title is that the present generation would not and I repudiate that. I think the present generation would do what we did and I think calling us "The Greatest Generation" insults all other generations.
   ----------Maj. Charles E. Dills USAFResRetInvol.-------
   
   I was a thoroughly broke orphan with little to no prospects.
   Using the GI BIll, I got an MS at the George Washington University and a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from Harvard University. I got a home 43 years ago from the GIBill and we still live in it. I was well thanked. I dress up at least twice a year and attend local ceremonies to remember the 28 other kids that were not as lucky as I was. I give talks to whomever will listen giving the warts as well as the fun. I don't remember their names but I will never forget what they did.
   I am not a hero. I am an average person that was caught in a certain niche of time.
   [...]



2. Tom Brokaw did a great job of showing how ordinary people faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges became extraodinary.



3. I think Tom Brokaw should be applauded for writing this book. A lot of reviewers have commented the contents, which I will not say much.
   
   This is not a book that I can read in one-shot as it is a collate of several stories. Some people have complained about the book for lacking in substance. But, I think the beauty of the book is the "awareness" or appreciation created by these short stories. If people are intersted WWII history, they can always consult their history text books or some of non-fiction books devoted exclusively on the topics. I think the theme of this book is very different from those "well-researched" book. And, I think it will probably reach a wider audience as the book is an easy reading without some details that you will probably not remember after reading them.
   
   So, I will say, for someone who look for poetic writing, go to Shakespear. If someone look for exact facts/figures in WWII, go to their history text book. For those, who want to have a picture what the previous generation, it's a nice starting point.



4. Not a lot here, but really, how hard would it have been to compile some couple-page biographies of heroes who served in WW2?



5. I wanted to love this book and place it on a pedestal. The concept of young adults (such as my father) steeled during the Great Depression, rising to the occasion in World War II to do what needed to be done and often more, and then coming home to better themselves, their families, communities, and country is a wonderful story. If not the Greatest Generation of all, they were among the best that our country can produce. In fact, while the era was tainted by injustice at home, the men and women of this generation were the ones that really led the post-war battles for social equality. Being a baby-boomer myself, Brokaw's book adds a lot of substance and meaning to the adults around during my childhood. I wonder how many of the often distant and stern and sometimes opaque men of my neighborhood and elsewhere were heroes with stories as inspiring as those told by Brokaw. My father never talked much about the War and I wonder what he could tell me of his time in Europe.
   
   In the sense of being a tribute to its subject, "The Greatest Generating" is a success. Unfortunately there is a big "however." Basically, "The Greatest Generation" is a 5 Star concept that fell short in execution. The book consists of many profiles that are several pages in length. Each one generally tells the story of where the person came from, his or her service during World War II, re-entry into civilian society, and how the whole process affected one's life, ambitions, and ideals. Most of these are interesting to read and Brokaw does convey his message that they were people to be admired with something to teach younger generations. However as I progressed through the book, the individual parts of it seemed stronger than the whole. The problem is that the profiles appeared more and more repetitive and superficial as the book went on (I recently read Brokaw's "Boom" and had similar criticisms). Often, just as a subject person became very interesting and his story moving, the book would go on to somebody else. Perhaps Brokaw should have covered few people in more detail, but I am sure he felt overwhelmed by the number of stories to tell. This book is good, just not up to my expectations. Based on a 5 star concept and 3 star execution, I give it 4 Stars.

5 comments about Illuminations: Essays and Reflections.

1. 
   
   Benjamin is arguably the twentieth century's most important thinker--if there is anything left to say about our lives, it is surely in this book.



2. I picked up this book primarily for the purpose of reading Benjamin's critically acclaimed essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", as well as for his darkly poetic - and even apocalyptic - "Theses on the Philosophy of History". These essays are among Benjamin's most highly esteemed and are the last two selections in the book; regardless of whether you start with them or with the first essay, "Unpacking My Library: A Talk about Book Collecting", you are likely to be drawn into Benjamin's literary world quite quickly.
   
   In many ways, Benjamin's writing style is quite unassuming; reading even his most profound insights is like reading a letter from an old friend. His writing comes in layers; one must make time to savor his presence. This book covers a range of subjects, from critical literary essays (the aforementioned "Unpacking My Library", as well as essays on Kafka, Baudelaire and Proust), to more hermeneutical reflections ("The Task of the Translator"), to straight up philosophy/theory ("The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and "Theses on the Philosophy of History").
   
   The 51 page introduction by Hannah Arendt is absolutely fantastic. It does not simply provide an overview of Benjamin's life, but sets that life within the culture of early 20th century Germany, focusing especially on the time between the two World Wars. She notes the influences of Zionism and Communism (and Marxism) on Benjamin's thought, as well as the broader cultural influence of a quasi-secularized Judaism in a culture where non-baptized Jews were still kept out of university teaching posts. Her introduction, like Benjamin's own writing, contains deep touches of the intimately personal (she selected the various essays that make up this volume).
   
   In many ways, Benjamin was a deeply religious thinker. A friend of Gershom Scholem's (the founder of the modern-day study of Jewish mysticism), Benjamin and Scholem corresponded for a number of years. Although this particular volume pays little attention to his religious thought, "Theses on the Philosophy of History" (the final selection in the book which, in light of Benjamin's suicide, gives Illuminations a bit of a haunting finale), witnesses to Benjamin's poetic-religious insights:
   
   "The soothsayers who found out from time what it had in store certainly did not experience time as either homogenous or empty. Anyone who keeps this in mind will perhaps get an idea of how past times were experienced in remembrance - namely, in just the same way. We know how the Jews were prohibited from investigating the future. This stripped the future of its magic, to which all those succumb who turn to the soothsayers for enlightenment. This does not imply, however, that for the Jews the future turned into homogenous, empty time. For every second of time was the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter."
   
   Highly recommended.



3. I have nothing to add to the reviews below except to note for scholarly interest that the essay 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' included in this collection is not Benjamin's final version. (Neither is this title a good translation of the German: 'Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit'. Zohn's translation in the selected writings is better: 'The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility'.) The text in this collection is the 1935 manuscript, as originally published in 1936; the text collected in the Selected Writings, Vol. 4 is the final 1939 version that, as far as I can tell, was not published in Benjamin's lifetime. The difference between the two texts is slight, consisting mainly of some additional sentences here and there and some changed words. At least one of these revisions is, I hypothesize, the result of Adorno's criticisms of his letter to Benjamin of 18 Mar 1936.
   
   Otherwise, for most purposes, this is the best collection of Benjamin's essays available for an introduction to his thought. This volume collects some of the best of his essays that are otherwise spread throughout the selected writings published by the Harvard U.P.



4. In 1940 Walter Benjamin committed suicide at the Franco-Spanish border fearing that he would be unable to escape the grasp of Hitler's regime. He left behind perhaps one of the finest collections of literary theory of his era, complete with lucidly brilliant essays on Kafka, Proust, Baudelaire, and general Marxist theory.
   
   In this wholly excellent collection of essays, a remarkable introduction to Benjamin's life and work is provided by the late philosopher Hannah Arendt, who overviews his political formations and literary output. It's a model form of critical essay writing.
   
   Perhaps the most famous essay in this collection is Benjamin's `The Task of the Translator,' widely regarded as one of the most important and thoughtful contributions to the field.
   
   "No poem is intended for the reader, no picture for the beholder, no sympathy for the listener."
   
   He argues that translation is a mode, and that the translatability of the work is the primary concern in the process.
   
   Also included is an analysis of the philosophy of history.



5. The depth of Benjamin's pessimism has, I think, been underestimated.
   
   "The story is told of an automation constructed in such a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. A puppet in Turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. A system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. Actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet's hand by means of strings. One can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. The puppet called "historical materialism" is to win all the time. It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight." Walter Benjamin, First "These on the Philosophy of History", p 253.
   
   One can measure how far the contemporary Marxist (better said, the post or semi-Marxist) left has fallen by how many books have appeared, since the fall of the USSR, enthusing over the radically Universal and allegedly 'Progressive' nature of early Christianity. Walter Benjamin, who was first to place the wise but ugly dwarf (Theology) in the beautiful puppet (Historical Materialism) would be amazed (or perhaps not, see the letters between Benjamin and Scholem) to learn that puppet and dwarf are on the verge of switching places! That is, now the ugly dwarf (historical materialism) wants to hide in (and of course direct) the beautiful puppet of Christian theology. ...Crazy, you say? But even Habermas, the Keeper of the Flame of Critical Theory, has on occasion made somewhat similar noises. The best place, btw, to start reading about this new 'political-theology' probably remains Jacob Taubes.
   
   But perhaps this emergent trend is really not so crazy after all. The only reason the Church became so cozy with Capitalism was its fear of Atheism. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended that fear. Now Christianity faces Capitalism alone. Or not, if the detente being proposed between the left and the Church is actually consummated. But every detente is a conspiracy of enemies to destroy an even greater enemy. The Church was with Capitalism because it had to defeat atheism. Now it is likely that the Church will join (a moderate) Socialism in trying to contain the 'soul-destroying' ravages of capitalism. This is only another move on the chessboard of History. ...But what did Benjamin think of History?
   
   "A Klee painting named "Angelus Novus" shows an angel looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating. His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress." BENJAMIN, Ninth Thesis on History, p 257.
   
   Picture this Angel, wings pinned back by the wind, shoulders forced back because of that - the Angel of History is almost in the position of the Crucified Christ; except that this crucification does not end. It is this tone of almost ontological despair that was new to the left. This Crucified Angel is the perfect image of the left-wing theoretical pessimism pioneered by not only Benjamin but also Adorno and Horkheimer that split the intellectual left into two camps: the revolutionary and the cultural. And though no one is likely to admit it, the cultural left has quietly come to think of revolution itself as but another 'progressive' force piling up bodies.
   
   It is one of the little ironies of history that this despairing fantasy described contemporary reality exactly. The Angel of History is the image of dialectical knowledge. Rather than seeing disconnected events this Dialectical Knowledge grasps History as One (single catastrophe). Always facing the past ('the owl of Minerva takes flight at night', Hegel said; meaning that dialectical knowledge is retrospective) the 'contemplating' Angel is overwhelmed by historical action - the storm that has been blowing since the expulsion of humanity from paradise - and can never Himself achieve effective action. His knowledge grows in lockstep with the accumulating horror, but each new historical event only results (i,e., gets 'caught in the wings' of our Angel) in more contemplation. So we see how theory (our Angel) is 'irresistibly' propelled into the future. And we also see that the Knowledge dialectical theory gains is precisely equal to the debris the storm hurls at our Angel's feet. With an irony that strives to be equal to the wind blowing from Paradise Benjamin ends this meditation by calling this storm progress.
   
   This is perhaps why Benjamin insisted over 50 years ago that the dwarf Theology must guide the puppet Historical Materialism. Theory can never be equal to action; circumstance piles upon circumstance so rapidly that theory cannot effectively act, and if it does act (presumably) it only adds to the debris. Thus theology (myth) must guide materialism's hand because theoretical knowledge is powerless to help. Benjamin quotes the following remarks of Willy Haas, with approval, in his large Kafka essay;
   
   "'The object of the trial', he writes, 'indeed, the real hero of this incredible book is forgetting, whose main characteristic is the forgetting of itself [...] The most sacred ... act of the ... ritual is the erasing of sins from the book of memory.'
   What has been forgotten - and this insight affords us yet another avenue of access to Kafka's work - is never something purely individual." (Benjamin, Franz Kafka, p 131.)
   
   (The last sentence was Benjamin's own.) Theology is a non-individual forgetfulness. Thus myth (theology) is the only forgetfulness worthy of the name. What needs to be forgotten by all of us is the unsurpassable fact of the futility of theory...
   
   It is difficult for most to look such despair in the face.

5 comments about Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor.

1. Having read and enjoyed his biography of Cicero I immediately wanted to read his follow on book about Augustus when it came out. It is a solid piece of biography.
   
   However, I was a bit put off when he started his book with the dramatic scenario of Augustus' wife poisoning him. This is generally considered by classicists (disclaimer: I have a graduate degree in Ancient History) as a bit of character assassination from the time period and not likely to be truthful. The author by the end of the book does readdress this scenario and say that this is questionable. Beyond this my only nit-pick is I would have liked to have seen more time spent with Augustus when he was Augustus. Over half the book covers his early life as Octavian. Interesting and important to be sure, but to cram his very lengthy and highly successful Principate into less than half of a biography was disappointing.
   
   Having said all this he covers the material and writes it in a readable fashion. There aren't that many biographies of Augustus out there considering his importance, and I would say this is one of the better ones.



2. Very good read. It gives great insight into the life of Rome's first emperor. The book is very well reserched.Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor



3. Although a well-written and well-researched book, it becomes obvious very quickly that Anthony Everitt does not like his subject: Augustus. This shouldn't have surprised me, considering Everitt's unflattering portrayal of Caesar in his previous biographical effort (Cicero).
   
   Despite Everitt's disdain (and the challenges inherent in reading a book from such a biased perspective), I recommend this considering the amount of rich, historical detail present.
   
   Silvestre Vallejo



4. `Augustus' by Anthony Everitt
   
   In this eponymous titled work Mr. Everitt tells the remarkable story of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. Clearly, it is brilliantly researched, extremely well written and a really enjoyable book to read. Anyone looking for an entry into ancient history would be well served reading this book. Mr. Everitt does spend an inordinate time on Octavian, Augustus' name before he became emperor, however the book remains a comprehensive source of information not only on the life of this truly unparalleled Roman leader, but the Julio-Claudian family overall. The family lineage, which is a difficult feat for anyone to successfully describe, is very well laid out and clearly organized in both text and helpful chart inserts.
   
   I had read Everitt's earlier work on Cicero and was immediately hooked on his writing style. Fans of the aforementioned book will not be disappointed with his follow up, `Augustus'. Enjoy.



5. Any list of most successful politicians throughout history must include the Emperor Augustus at the top. Victorious at Actium in 31 BC after the chaos that followed the death of Julius Caesar, he was the most powerful man in the Western world until his death in 14 AD. Anthony Everitt's lucid biography gives a great description of the times and political life of the man who established the Roman Empire.
   
   I found this book particularly satisfying after reading "I Claudius" and viewing the HBO production "Rome". The author provides an excellent description of historical context for this fascinating rise from obscurity to preeminence.

5 comments about Profiles in Courage.

1. Profiles in Courage is a book I have heard of many times but never read, nor browsed. What a shock upon finally picking the book up to discover what a hodge podge of quotes and this's and that's the book is. And now, upon a little research, to discover that there was much debate as to whether Kennedy even wrote the book. At best Profiles in Courage would get a B if turned in as a high school senior thesis paper.
   
   I am not anti Kennedy and actually until reading Profiles in Courage have always held him in high regard. Who of the right age can forget - "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." This making the exposure to Profiles all the more bitter.
   
   I now must admit I have not read the whole book. I don't know if I have the stomach to. I have only read through the Chapter on Daniel Webster and although I am one to read to the end no matter what, I am not sure I can.
   
   The most irksome quality of the book is the incessant quotes pertaining to the definition of words which I suspect were used to lend this missive an air of scholarship. This claim of scholarship is echoed by the dropping of terms here and there, like Gresham's Law. When the discriminating reader encounters such it always invokes the opposite of its intention.
   
   I also object to the major tenet of the book that when someone is elected to public office to represent the views of his constituients it is considered courage to once having reached office to change his stripes and decided to do whatever one wants instead of representing the people who elected him. A better view of courage is to have those that when they find they can no longer do what they were voted in to do, resign from, what Kennedy considered the most prestigious of private clubs, public office, and then do whatever it is that they fell so strongly about. Has this ever happened? I am unsure.
   
   In short, Profiles in Courage, is propaganda supporting a privileged class. If you must go to the library and give it a once over. It is an easy read. But it is certainly advised that you do not financial support this error by purchasing it.



2. What President Kennedy shows in this book is a series of examples to all our modern politicians. It's a book to read and keep in mind.



3. It's the 50th anniversary of the publication by John Kennedy of the book `Profiles In Courage' and its subsequent winning the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. The non-fiction political tome features Kennedy's interpretation of eight U.S. Senators who placed the interests of the country and what was morally right regarding some momentous decision over the wishes of their political party and own potential self-advancement to higher office.
   Is there anyone presently in the Senate with presidential aspirations who can offer the same courage and moral convictions to do what's right in the manner the eight figures from history the future 35th president chose to write about to further the public trust at the risk of their own political career?
   Kennedy began the book in 1954 while in his first term as a U.S. Senator but undergoing convalescence from a surgery on his back to relieve stress from the injuries he received in combat during World War Two. There's still debate on how much of the book was actually written by Kennedy or what part was researched and prepared by underlings of his staff. But most experts agree that the senator supervised the editing of the material and selected which of those who were to be profiled.
   The book was positively received and it helped place Kennedy into national prominence. The Massachusetts senator used that notoriety to offer his name as a vice-presidential candidate at the 1956 Democratic Party convention. He then became one of that party's frontrunners for the 1960 presidential election which he ultimately won.
   It's apparent that when JFK served in the Congress he had contempt for the workings of the political patronage system when trying to obtain a consensus to solve the nation's problems as a congressman, then as senator. Most historians agree that he disliked the `good ol' boy' networking that future running mate Lyndon Johnson used as the Senate Majority Leader in making deals to please all sides on a matter and wanted those in that legislative body to take the moral high ground when debating the issues facing the nation to get legislation passed. That's why Kennedy decided to write the book for the next generation of politicians who would come after him to feature those who had taken a courageous stand as an inspiration to the succeeding groups of leaders.
   Kennedy acknowledges the responsibilities felt on any politician, especially one who is a senator, to keep everybody happy. He cites three specific pressures put on all leaders, including himself, to keep everyone satisfied.
   He writes that all senators want to be liked by the voters, they have a desire to be re-elected and feel the enormous pull of special interest groups seeking legislation that is favorable to their specific cause that can adversely affect the tough decisions they must make.
   So who did Kennedy select as standing up for principles and not continuing the status quo that ultimately wrecked their own political aspirations for the betterment of the country?
   They were John Quincy Adams for breaking away from the Federalist Party, Daniel Webster for speaking in favor of the Compromise of 1850 that delayed the start of the Civil War, Thomas Hart Benton for staying in the Democratic Party despite his opposition to slavery and Sam Houston for opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
   Also included were Edmund G. Ross for voting against the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Lucius Lamar for his attempt to mend ties between the North and South during Reconstruction, George Norris for coming out against arming U.S. merchant ships before the U.S. officially entered World War One and Robert Taft for criticizing the Nuremberg Trials that prosecuted high-level Nazi war leaders under what he considered ex post facto laws that were forbidden by the U.S. Constitution.
   It's obvious the eight senators Kennedy selected decided to make a courageous, yet unpopular choice on an issue to put the interests of the nation and world over their own political aspirations at a time of crisis. How come we don't have any leaders like those eight today?
   The United States Senate is called the last great place for oration and debate as the issues facing the nation and world are discussed by one hundred of the nation's political elite. But can a U.S. Senator be elected from that office today directly to the presidency by taking a potential career-ending stance on today's hot button matters? No one has successfully done so since John Kennedy did in 1960.
   That doesn't bode well for Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John McCain, Barrack Obama and any other potential future candidates from that legislative body as we approach the 2008 presidential election. Many have tried since JFK's triumph and all have failed, the most recent being John Kerry in 2004.
   It's going to be extremely difficult for this current brood of senators, be they male or female; Republican, Democrat or independent; to exhibit the same virtuous characteristics of those Kennedy profiled to get elected as our next president under our current political structure of stalemate government gridlock that forces them to refrain from taking any courageous stand on the issues that need immediate resolution.
   That's a loss for all of us.



4. John F. Kennedy makes an excellent contribution to history with this book. It describes the lives of several distinguished Americans who, in the course of history, have shaped the face of the United States. All these biographies are interesting. History becomes very much alive with this book, and Kennedy does an excellent job in showing how men can contribute to the life of a nation. What is even more noteworthy is that that is what he himself did. This new edition of the book has an excellent preface by Caroline Kennedy, herself an eminent legal scholar.



5. 
   I read this book quite a while back and found some great food for thought. One of my primary takeaways was that be careful when judging others motives.
   
   Kennedy (or whoever wrote the book) poses a primary question: Which is better...the man who will not compromise at all, or the man who bends but does not break?
   
   The argument is that the man who does not compromise may be considered true to his cause, but may get little done. The man who compromises to get things done may not be 100% true to his cause but is able to forward some of his ideas.
   
   The author(s) leave it up to the reader to decide (judge) if the path is right. Or, are both paths right? This is good food for thought for a critical thinker!
   
   What the author(s) is pointing at is that each man and woman must choose their own path in a situation according to their beliefs, values and morals, even if it may cause political and/or other ruin.
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking