No comments about Lieutenant Simmons of the 95th (Rifles): Recollections of the Peninsula, South of France & Waterloo Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars.

5 comments about Unknown Soldiers: The Story of the Missing of the First World War.

1. When I agreed to review Neil Hanson's book, I expected something far, far different. Something perhaps more along the lines of an epistolary format or the utilization of a more conventional fictional format. What I got was a meticulously researched, well-written, captivating horrifying, narrative history that took me to the Somme in 1916. Hanson focused on three soldiers: A Briton, a German, and an American. "Their tracks, faint as smoke in the wind, intersect time and again, but they are united only in death, for each was killed on the Somme, within gunshot sound of each other."
   
   Hanson uses more than the diaries and letters to explain the cost of war from the soldier's point of view. He researched the heck out of this battle, topic, and time as evident by the 96 pages of footnotes.
   
   In an essence, Hanson is giving faces to the three million unaccounted-for soldiers from WWI. He also explains how the world remembers those unknown soldiers ever since. "The grieving families of such men were deprived even of the consolation of a funeral and a grave site, and for them, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier became the grave and the gravestone of their lost loved ones. In almost every combatant nation, an unknown solider was also buried at some national shrine and, just as in America, at once became the focus of a pilgrimage that continues to this day
   
   I admit that, as a predominately fiction reader, the quote marks around quoted passages versus dialogue sometimes tripped me, as did the switch in point of view with a sentence. I had to often re-read paragraphs, sometimes, chapters, to be sure of what was happening. But the structure works--well, very well. I came away from this book with a new respect for fighting men and women everywhere. I also came away with an intimate new knowledge of trench warfare that on one level I'm not sure that I wanted to know but on another level compelled me to keeping reading.
   
   I thought I kind of knew what WWI was like, but I had no idea. This book should be compulsory reading in every high school or college worldwide.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: An eye-opening story of the soldiers of World War I. Check his web site to see what else he has written.



2. This book was recommended to me by my best friend, and he is rarely off the mark, I bought the paperback edition, and I'm very glad I did. We are both very much interested in "bottom up" history with an emphasis on line soldier accounts, esp. when it is in their own words, and in this respect, Hanson does a terrific job.
   
   The stories of the three soldiers are sensitively told. The reaction of their families is also well done, and he expresses well the heart break that must have been theirs to learn that they would never know the final resting place of their sons.
   
   The back story of the evolution of monuments to Unknown Soldiers in Great Britain, France, and the U.s. is also very interesting. It was also very enlightening to see how many of Europe's leading statesmen and artists - writers, etc. - lost sons and brothers in WWI. It at least gives the impression that it was not a "rich man's war, poor man's fight."
   
   My only (minor) criticism is Hanson's habit of stringing quotes from disparate sources together in the same paragraph, without a hint as to who said them, without looking back in the endnotes.
   
   I highly recommend this book to all.



3. `The Unknown Soldiers' revealed how a brilliant and simple idea gave the families of those killed in WWI, but not located or identified, an opportunity to center their grief at a tangible location and get a measure of closure. Thousands of families suffered even the loss of the fallen bodies of their loved ones; then after the War, someone's mother had the idea of an unknown grave to symbolize ALL the missing. Though it was a little slow to catch on with the hierarchy, once it did, there was a ground swell of support and ceremony that was unprecedented in England, and the idea spread as well to their allies. The outpouring of the general population of the warring countries toward their `unknowns' was amazing and very moving. It was apparently an idea just waiting to happen. It reminded me of our experience of visiting the Vietnam War Memorial a couple of years ago on Memorial Day; it felt like being in church as families left notes and some cried at the wall, even though the Vietnam War had been over for more than 30 years!
   
   The book follows three very brave and articulate soldiers through the War until their deaths. An American, a Brit, and a German corresponded with their love ones about the hell that they were in, and gave some detail of what they were going through. It frankly made me angry when I read of the commanders well behind the lines feeding thousands of men in some cases to almost sure death for territory that could be measured in yards. Sometimes, the territory that thousands died for switched hands several times during the War so that their deaths were for naught. At some point for each of the three soldiers, the letters stopped, and the families knew that the worst had happened. It was heart-breaking to read about. It is hard to imagine what the vets went through, and for so long; and the vets were often very young, late teens or early 20's.
   
   This was a good, sobering book about a noble idea that came out of a terrible time in our modern history.
   
   
   



4. This was an excellent book , well researched and beautifully written. I felt I knew each of the soldiers , Paul, Alec and George and I grieved at their deaths and the waste of their young lives as though they were my own sons and not just men who died over ninety years ago.
   I was fascinated by the History surronding the burial of the unknown soldier , the building of the Cenotaph and indeed the story of the first Rememberance Day.
   I highly recommend this book to any who want to learn more about this period in history.



5. This is a fascinating book. It is by turns sad, gross, uplifting, and a constant reminder of what can go wrong. While some may find the details a bit overwhelming, they are part of the whole, and for me, could not be left aside. The author crafted a memorial to this era, and to this war.

No comments about A Virginia Yankee in the Civil War: The Diaries of David Hunter Strother.

5 comments about The Long Road Home: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in Italy in WWII.

1. The Long Road Home is the fascinating, if somewhat racy, account of Fred Cederberg's travels from his home in Canada to the war in Italy. Cederberg spares few details of the courage and the horror of war, and shows how love and lust often bloomed among the destroyed buildings and shattered souls. Cederberg's memoir is first-hand and first-rate, a must-read for anyone interested in seeing how our boys fared in the forgotten war in Italy.



2. This book ranks with the other great classic memoirs of World War II: The Forgotten Soldier, If You Survive, The Other Side of Time, The Road to Huertgen, and the greatest, Those Devils in Baggy Pants. Cederberg writes in a manner that vividly describes the force and horror of war, painting images in the mind that are not easily forgotten. An excellent read!



3. This book is not about warfare by the usual rules, of people being nice as seen in "Saving Private Ryan." It may even upset some folks. But, it is like the stories sometimes told by combat veterans in the Legion Halls after they've had a few beers, are feeling relaxed and are with someone they trust.

   It is a story about soldiers who were fiercely proud to be Canadians. Americans were fighting for grand ideas such as "saving the world for democracy" and the Four Freedoms of Norman Rockwell. Canadians were there to do a job. They did it, with kindness, compassion and brutality as the occasion required. Sgt. Cederberg never brags about being Canadian; it was tacitly assumed that if one had to ask, they couldn't understand even if it was explained to them.

   Read this, and you'll understand why Americans described Canadian soldiers "going about their job like hockey players."

   They are like the Australians and Israelis, known for having an incredible espirit de corps. Americans are great for show, such as Patton insisting that all American troops wear ties and show proper respect for officers. One American mucky-muck, appalled by the easy-going attitude, remarked to a Canadian officer, "Your troops don't seem to have much discipline, such as saluting officers." In reply he was told, "Well, when a salute is needed I wave at them, and they generally wave back." So much for formal procedures. But, when it came to fighting, they were unsurpassed.

   The US has a formal definition of a country, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, Salute to the Flag, and a national anthem which is played more than Coca Cola commercials. Canadians are less formal, but no less proud of their country. It's called pride.

   In another story, Cederberg tells of the Germans firing propaganda leaflets which showed a naked woman sitting on the edge of a bed, while a soldier without his pants is getting ready to take off his shirt. The message was that while British troops were in Italy, others were having fun in England. "That a Canadian?" one of the men asked Cederberg, who replied, "It can't be, the guy's wearing a tie."

   Don't ever mistake the Canadians for the British. As Cederberg writes, "I went out that afternoon with Albert and Alex-Joe, drank six pints of mild and bitters and threw up twice (once after punching out a Scottish corporal who had insisted we were a disgrace to British arms).

   "He had it coming," said Alex-Joe. "because we aren't even British, we're Canadians."

   Time and again, that spirit and typically Canadian humor shows through. So does the grim determination to get the job done. When stationed near an Italian town, they were warned that lone Allied soldiers were sometimes attacked by die-hard fascist youths. Sure enough, a Canadian was knifed in the neck. When his buddies couldn't find his attackers, they went back to camp.

   A few minutes later, the Canadians began a mortar barrage on the town. Officers tried to stop it, and were gently restrained. Once they learned the reason for the barrage, they joined the cover-up to protect their men. When the Italian police came to investigate, every weapon was spotless with no sign of recent use. They left, empty handed. The Italians buried their nine (or 34) dead (depending on whose version was accepted). There were no further assaults on Canadians.

   Wonderful book, wonderful story. Rest assured, Spielberg will never make a movie of it. It's too good, and too real.




4. The book is a novelization of Mr. Cederberg's experiances in Italy during the second World War. I couldn't put it down, I kept imagining myself there. A fantastic book. I hope this is not Mr. Cerderberg's last.



5. Mr.Cederberg brings his experiences to life as you read this book.A very vivid tale as Cederberg shares blood,sweat and tears,in the Italian theatre of World War Two.

4 comments about Prisoner of the Rising Sun.

1. One of the few true to life books written by a WWII POW. As a history buff I find the first hand accounts in this book of the authors experiances and the others he came in contact a first rate story of America's darkest time. A must for all those who want to know more about POW's of the Japanese.

   Having been stationed in the Philippines and traveled to Battan and Corrigidor it brought the meaning of those visits a little sharper in focus.




2. William Berry has written a well-detailed, although brief, look at his attempted escape and captivity after the fall of Correigdor. While not a scholarly look at these events, the author gives a good account of his capture, escape and trek through the jungle, recapture and liberation by American servicemen from Bilibid prison in Manila. He painfully recounts the agony these men went through as they were crammed, up to 13 men at one time, into a 10 by 10 cell and forced to sit, without flinching, and stare at the wall all day.

   As a recaptured prisoner, Berry and his two comrades somehow survive the war, as the usual penalty for escape is execution. They were sent to the maximum security prison in Manila for "special prisoners", and many prisoners stopped here only long enough to be sentenced and shot. Berry, who was a fledgling lawyer before enlisting in the Navy, saw these skills save his life and the lives of his friends when being sentenced, not so much his arguments, of course, but rather how he shaped it to fit his audience (A Japanese tribunal)

   This book does not take long to read, but it is an interesting tale, and well worth the time invested. But, if you want greater scope and detail of Americans in Japanese captivity, read "Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavan Daws, an extremely informative and well-written look at the horrors these men had to endure daily.




3. The author of this book is my grandfather. I found this book to be inspiring as I am also a soldier. I am in the Army and found this book to give me a greater appreciation of my profession as well as bring a greater understanding of my grandfather's life and why he is so proud. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand what POWs in the Philippines went through. I have lent my copy of his book to several of my friends and they all gave it great reviews as well.



4. This is an excellent first hand account. It is rather well done, more so than several others I have read. I do wish we had more like this one. Very inspiring. I felt it gave even a greater insight to the war in the Pacific. Recommend you add this one to your collection.

5 comments about The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Society.

1. This book might be approached as an examination of how a well-known personality is transformed for a human being into a cultural icon. Sequentially and chronologically Connelly takes his readers through that process using Robert E. Lee as the item of investigation. Along the way, Connelly makes commentary on the differences between the cultures of the north and south and how Lee's legion spread because of those cultural differences. That context has been well-established by numerous writers. Connelly simply uses it for a closer examination of Lee. For example, on page 102 he quotes another historian, Bradley T. Johnson in writing "Environmental factors had forced North and South to develop contrasting socieites. The North, 'invigorated' by constant struggle with nature, became materialistic, grasping for wealth and power. The South's 'more generous climate' had wrought a life-style based upon non-materialism and adherence to a finer code of 'veracity and honor in man, chastity and fidelity in women'"
   This book helps a person to understand how history evolves in the process of retelling over a period of several generations.



2. Connelly argues that Robert E. Lee's heroic image was largely created post-war by a small group of Virginians, and goes on to give what he regards as a more accurate assessment.
   
   While agreeing that the post-war canonization of Lee imposed some distortions upon historians which modern scholars do well to avoid, several things about this study didn't convince me. Firstly, Connelly spends little time analyzing Lee's popularity during the war, which rose after the Peninsula campaign and remained high through the end; Lee and his army were a significant image and source of morale to all Southerners, not just Virginians, at that time.
   
   Secondly, Connelly makes various statements about personalities and psychological quirks -- Mary Custis Lee was "unpleasant", Lee was morbid and death-obsessed -- in the presence of limited supporting evidence and of no discussion of the mentalities, religious faith, and social norms of the time. (His idiosyncratic assessment of individuals includes a characterization of Fitz Lee as the worst of Lee's cavalry commanders -- even considering the shadbake incident, that seems like too strong a statement when one considers that Fitz' competition for the worst would include candidates such as Grumble Jones and the luckless Lunsford Lomax.)
   
   This study does reveal the ugly post-war squabble for the portrayal of history in all its inglory.



3. I must say that the Marble Man is a good read. I can say this from two perspectives. First, I read the book and thouroughly enjoyed it. Second, Dr. Connelly was my professor and advisor at the University of South Carolina from 1986 until 1988. I cannot express enough what an experience it was to sit in one of his classes and listen to his lectures. It was like being transported back in time to the battle or period we were covering that day. The students would wait with anticipation before he arrived and didn't want to leave when the class was over because the transportation back in time would end when we'd leave the classroom. I remember Dr. Connelly's assessment of Lee quite well. While Lee was a good general, he did tend to be wasteful with resources and has become overrated with time. I strongly encourage the reader of this review to read anything written by Dr. Connelly. He was an amazing man.



4. I found the book "The Marble Man" to be disappointing in several ways. The author, Thomas L Connelly, attempts to illustrate that the modern notion of Robert E. Lee as a selfless leader, great general, noble gentleman, and devoted family man is the result of a vast Virginian conspiracy.
   Connelly's composition leaves something to be desired. The prologue, chapters, and epilogue seem to be thrown together in a way that shouldn't be described as "seamless". He is repetitive with quotes, often using the same quote from the same person several times (sometimes to convey different meanings). Throughout the book, one is waiting for the big "hook", or the "zinger" where Connelly will finally show his indisputable truth that Lee is not what he seems to be. This never arrives.
   Connelly is certainly a well known historian, but not much of a Theologian. The "God thing" is throughout the book and really bothers/baffles Connelly. At various times he identifies Robert E Lee as a Calvinist, an Episcopalian, and a Puritan. Lee was a very devout Christian and attended the Episcopalian denominational churches most of his life. Connelly describes many of Lee's beliefs as "other-worldliness" and a "fixation on death". No time here to go into this in depth, but Connelly scratched the surface of something his just doesn't get.
   One huge goal of many post modern historians is to bring the great down (no evidence necessary) and to elevate the base. "Lincoln was a homosexual"..."Clinton a great leader for his time" The beat goes on.



5. I generally enjoy anything written by Thomas Connelly and this book was no exception. It is a very academic approach to dissecting the reasons why we revere Lee as a great leader of the "Lost Cause" for Southern Independence.
   
   Many of Connelly's assertions will be unsettling for those hardcore fans of R.E. Lee. I myself was uncomfortable with some of what Connelly serves up as the reasons for Lee's eventual canonization in American culture.
   
   But it is also hard to ignore some of the well argued reasons for Lee's place in history. I was particulary intriqued with Jubal Early's role in creating the "legends" surrounding Lee. Early was certainly one Southern General who might have been expected to despise Marse Robert. And indeed, Connelly paints a portrait of a man driven to place Lee on a pedestal to in some small way, regain his commander's affection.
   
   And of course there were deeper seated needs that Southerners had for enobling the "Lost Cause" by revering a leader, whose moral character and leadership were unchallenged.
   
   Connelly does a good job of making the reader really think about the motivations of those people who created some of the myths surrounding Lee. In the end, they needed to believe in the greatness of Lee, because the greatness of the cause was so suspect in the end.
   
   Connelly's treatment does not diminish Lee. Instead, the real man begins to emerge from the marble of time and history. And indeed, the real R.E. Lee was a very great man indeed.

5 comments about Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968.

1. Runway Visions is a memoir of a young pilot who volunteers to go to SE Asia and fly Hercules C-130 supply missions during the Viet Nam war.

   David Vaughan tells a compelling tale, one that haunts me. It is not a story full of heroic rescues, though there is a little of that. It is the tale of a man looking back at himself and trying to make sense of what he did and saw. He holds little back.A difficult book to describe, but one that this reader found very satisfying. One of the best books I have read in a long time.




2. I found David Kirk Vaughan's book about his experiences as an airlift pilot in Vietnam impossible to put down. His descriptions of action in and out of the cockpit are done such that they are very easy to understand, even if one is not a pilot. Yet, even the experienced military aviator will find some intriguing action there for him too.

   Vaughan's description of landing at the "golf course" is but one example. Written in such a manner that the novice can appreciate the extreme difficulty of such a task, an aviator will nearly be in disbelief, especially after seeing the landing strip in one of the several photos that the author took during his tour and which are included in the book.

   Of course there is plenty of action outside the cockpit, too. Again, I found Vaughan's descriptions superb as he related his travels throughout Thailand, Vietnam, the Phillipines and back "home" in Taiwan.

   If one wishes to have a better understanding of the life of a military transport pilot or to have a record of Vietnam war airlift action, then this is a must buy!




3. I bought this book because I am going into the Air Force Reserves as a C-130 pilot. I, of course, found it very interesting and informative, but I don't think I would recommend it to any non-pilots and would hesitate to recommend it to a non-airlift military pilot. A lot of people would find the topics he discusses very boring as compared to a fighter or bomber type memoir book. Nevertheless, I thought the stories he told were awesome - he talks about almost every mission the Hercules performs - hauling mail, booze, troops, dead bodies, ammo, and medical litters of injured troops. He also details the short-field capability of the C-130 flying into all of those fields in 'Nam. There are several hair-raising stories that he depicts where they are supplying the Marines at Khe Sahn during Tet and others where he is landing in bad weather, runways with craters, dirt strips, etc. He also mixes up the book with some details of the social life in Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines (he parallels the airlifting stories with stories about a chick he "hangs out" with in Bangkok.)

   Anyway, I thought it was a great read, but I doubt most folks would think so unless they were very into the C-130 - like me.




4. Runway Visions is the appropriately titled story of Captain Vaughan's experiences and "bringing up" as a C-130 aviator in Southeast Asia from February 1967 to April 1968, from a newly ordained aircraft commander (AC) at Dyess AFB to "new guy" novitiate in the right seat, progressing to the left seat as AC with a crew, and both seats as an instructor pilot, to check out the "new guys". Early in his fifteen-month tour, he is introduced to the harrowing landing required of An Khe Golf Course, relieved by the construction of a new runway nearby (An Khe Main), then back to the dread of the Golf Course when the new runway is closed for further improvement. Missions to Khe Sanh during his tour are described, the crew's Christmas dinner at the chow hall providing signs of the future siege.
   Airlift operations during this time in that part of the world have been little documented, so this journal of a C-130 pilot is a welcome addition to the literature of military aviation for the period. Most pilots seem to have the most vivid impressions of their landing strips, regardless of time, place, or aircraft flown, and this book would be welcomed by many, especially those who know that runways are not always straight and level, or paved and lighted. Perhaps it would prove an awakening for those who don't, and should, as well.



5. I bought this book to find out and learn what my Dad went through as a flight engineer on C-130s in Vietnam (he had two tours there). He would very seldom speak of his experiences there; he did tell me of a time when mortar fire damaged the aircraft, how high the pucker factor got, the repair he and the loadmaster did, and taking off with the cargo ramp down with enemy fire coming up at them. Or the time he witnessed the aircraft in front of them crashing into a mountain. Or the time they had to carry body bags out. Though this is written from a pilot's perspective I felt a connection with my father. It is well written, but it helps to have some knowledge of aircraft (I served a career in the USAF as an aircraft mechanic) and of military procedures. The way the author describes his fears and anxieties will hold you in it's grip...especially when he describes "Runway Visions". Intense.

No comments about Lincoln's Man in Liverpool: Consul Dudley and the Legal Battle to Stop Confederate Warships.

5 comments about Through My Eyes (Hellgate Memories Series.).

1. I just got "Through My Eyes" and I am already on Chapter 10. I simply love it! Weckstein's anecdotal style makes this a very quick, enjoyable read. The paragraph describing "S.O.S." made me laugh the hardest I have in a long time. I laughed so hard, my wife had to come and check on me to see if I was OK. As the webmaster for the 91st Division, I highly recommend this book.



2. I wrote the Foreword to this book. Leon Weckstein and I both served in the 363rd Infantry. His book follows the trail of the 91st through training in Oregon. In April, 1944 the 91st shipped out to North Africa for Operation Vendetta, then to Italy where it fought out the war. Weckstein knows what it was like to endure combat in the mountains of Italy. Those who don't should read his book. For those veterans of the 91st, my book, POWDER RIVER! is now out of print. The original history published in 1947 has been reprinted by the Battery Press and is once again available.



3. I'm glad Mr. Weckstein wrote down his WWII memoirs. I wish that more veterans would follow his lead. There is much to learn about human nature & the privilege given to glimpse into the private hell of wartime active duty is a sacred trust. However, Mr. Weckstein's needed an experienced writer to make his story more palatable. He uses one recurring dream-sequence where he imagines his German counterpart which goes on & on... & on. I would have appreciated more reality about his comrades. To be sure, Mr. Weckstein is a hero with a story that must be told. However, there are better 1st person WWII narratives.



4. Leon Weckstein has written a book that lets one see the Italian campaign from the viewpoint of a single soldier. It is exactly the book that I needed to know more about what my own father experienced as an enlisted man in the 91st Division. Weckstein's description of his experience enhances what my father told us of his experience and means much to us. Though my father was in the 362nd Infantry and Leon was in the 363rd, their experiences were probably similar since the units were working on the same objectives as they fought to dislodge the Germans from town after town and from the mountain tops along Highway 65 in Italy.

   Weckstein's courage, skill and love of the Italian people all make this a worthwhile book.




5. It is always an interesting look at history when you read it first hand from those who were a part of making it happen; like WWII veteran Leon Weckstein does with his well told chronicle of war in Italy "Through My Eyes." Not only does he take us through those campaigns and battles as an eye witness, but he gives us some insightful and emotional views of what happened.
   
   This is not your normal memoir taken from some diary or journal - his story reads at times like an action novel with feelings and sensitivity. His choice of phrasing and words makes for some good reading; however, the actual events he writes about and his personal relationships are what drive this book. How fate, divine intervention or perhaps his own actions stopped the destruction of the historic landmark "The Leaning Tower of Pisa" is something that caught my fullest attention. I had first laid eyes on that tower as a 19 year old teenager hitch hiking across Europe in 1965; it is hard to imagine what a great loss to the world that destruction would have been. He did have orders to destroy the place and its fate was in his hands for a period of time. What happened makes for a great story but there are several other instances and experiences in his book which are enthralling and will hold your attention.
   
   Weckstein has natural storytelling ability for describing what he experienced. This is truly a gift for the ages. We are fortunate to have had men like him to sit down and tell their stories. This is real history about real men in war. A must read for all history and WWII buffs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book and it is on my personal list of books you might consider reading!

5 comments about Slavemaster President: The Double Career of James Polk.

1. James Polk is usually the least familiar president to appear on historiansý top 10 lists. But for William Dusinberre, Polk firmly holds a spot near the very bottom. For Dusinberre, Polk and his ideological brethren set the country on a course that unnecessarily led to the Civil War, the violent fall of the South, and the self-destruction of his own class.

   Polk annexed Texas and was the instigator of the Mexican American War, which led to acquisition of most of the southwest for the United States. Polk also took the Oregon territory, which encompassed much of what is now the northwestern United States. Dusinberre suggests that there was a certain inevitability to some of this, but the way it all played out, and the final border results were far from certain. Polkýs overly aggressive expansionism was, to Dusinberre the worst possible way for the country to stretch from sea to shinning sea because it infused militarism and obstinacy into the debate about the future of slavery.

   Dusinberre convincingly argues that Polkýs, and the Southern ruling classesý mores about slavery as a tool of social order, southern honor, and states rights were all subservient to the economic benefits reaped by slave owners such as Polk. This economic incentive was so great, that it blinded Polk to what Dusinberre believes to be the inevitable fall of slavery. A more forward-looking advocate of the Southern ruling class could have promoted a plan for a soft landing and perhaps sought alliances with moderates, rather than painting everyone who had any problems with slavery as extreme ýabolitionists.ý

   Polkýs military adventurism, intolerance for even discussion of issues related to slavery, and insistence that slave ownersý so-called rights should be expanded (or the South would lose its dominance in the Senate) was coupled by his implicit threat of secession in the event of almost any sort of compromise. Dusinberre argues that before Polk and his war, different gradations of opinion existed in the south, but afterward existed only unithought. The Civil War followed.

   SLAVEMASTER PRESIDENT is not really a biography as much as it is a study of how slave ownership may have affected the ideology of pre-Civil War southern Democrats such as and including Polk, and how that ideology in turn contributed to the conditions that led to the Civil War. It is a compelling argument. Dusinberre also achieves a heart-rending description of slave life on the Polk plantation. The book achieves what it set out to do.

   Still, I would have liked the book to be a bit more biographical. Dusinberre expains up front that his book ýdoes not discuss Polkýs role as a congressman in President Andrew Jacksonýs war against the Bank of the United States. Nor does it portray President Polkýs part in securing the Tariff of 1846, nor his diplomacy with Britain, which led to the establishment of the northwestern boundary dividing the United States from Canada. These stories,ý explains Dusinberre, ýhave been told elsewhere.ý Maybe they have, but there is remarkably little popular literature on this influential, if wrongheaded president. I am satisfied with Dusinberreýs book such that it is, but it also left me wanting to read more about Polk.




2. For American history buffs in general, and Civil War enthusiasts in particular, William Dusinberre has produced a volume worthy of your attention. Dusinberre argues with great vigor that James Polk helped to plant the seeds of civil war while he was President during the late 1840's. While pursuing the Presidency, Polk presented himself as a moderate on the issue of slavery. All the while, he was quietly engaged in the buying and selling of slaves for his Mississippi plantation. Dusinberre argues that throughout his four years in office, Polk advocated policies designed to perpetuate slavery for the forseable future. He cites in particular the annexation of Texas as a major issue. The book also chronicles the appalling working and living conditions many slaves were forced to live under and the total disregard that most slavemasters (Polk included) for the slaves family lives. In most instances, if it was a profitable transaction, slaves were sold off to the highest bidder and families were torn apart. Polk always portrayed himself as the benevolent master but the facts seem to dispute his claims. The book can be slow moving and at times I wondered if I would have the endurance to finish it. But I am glad I did. This book gives us an entirely new perspective on the events of that period and as such is a welcome addition.



3. I'm not sure if I would have been better off reading a general bio on Polk first, becuase this book is very biased, as the author admits. The argument is that Polk's policy was stronly influenced by him being a slaveowner. That Polk had conflicting interests because he ran several plantations in Tn and Miss and he was using the money from the plantations to secure himself a post-presidential retirement.

   The book is organized in an interesting way. It begins by describing Polk's plantations and what it was like for the slaves , plus gives details regarding the overseers,a nd Polk's policies regarding purchasing and selling of slaves. Polk endeavored to hide what he was doing from the general public and his reasons for selling and guying were definitley not always patriarchal, but monetary.

   Polk died a few months after leaving office, and none or few of his papers were destroyed, hence we have a record of what ocurred on the plantations.

   the second half of the book covers the main aspects of Polk's presidential career --annexation of Tx and the MX War. The author discusses the events through the lens of slavery and tried to argue Polk's descisions were heavily influenced by Polk being a slaveowner. the author presents many what-ifs, discussing a vairety of other scenarios that could have happened during Polk's presidency had he made other choices. I found these diversions to be a strength of the book instead of an irritant. The book gave me a lot to think about,a nd it was particulary interesting to learn the details of what Polk plantation life was like.




4. This book was not written by a fan or supporter of this Tennessee president, but released by a Yankee group who hides behind "Oxford" so we might think Mississippi or England. Not so, William Dusinberre must be fuddies with the university professors who tore apart Nathan Bedford Forrest in the same way. Overlooked completely he status and the part these Tennesseans played in the history of this nation. It's best to consider character assassination with the conflicting thins these writers emphasize while leaving out the real story, the facts of the matter. James K. Polk had been Governor of Tehhessee and Speaker of the House of Representatives before becoming U. S. president. It was not a secret that he owned slaves to work on his cotton plantation in Mississippi. We didn't have such in Tennessee, but I have an old post card of the 11th President's bust which stands in the State Capitol in Nashville. We visited Polk's ancestral home in downtown Columbia, Tennessee. It was not out in the country, though a famous one is in that county owned by a female physician. She did not have slaves. Forrest's family were fine, upstanding natives of Chapel Hill, not so far east from Columbia. It infuriates me when I innocently find weird subverted stuff like thos on the public library shelves. I wish the reference librarians who ordered these fiction pretending to be non-fiction before putting them out for just anybody to read. Polk was duly elected and in the White House from 1845 to 1849, before the Civil War. He was not responsible for that war.
   
   This person from Cape Town used the false writings of professor Wayne Cutler when he came to this Republican town, and thought that what he was reading was truth. Polk was a Southern Democrat. What would he write about Huey B. Long, George Wallace, and other governors who stood tall for what the South stands for. The politics of slavery did not have any substance whatsoever in the war which divided this country. It was states' rights -- the Southern states, which Northerners would not understand. I learned more than I had planned that there is a conspiracy going on to deride Southern leaders and presidents. They were statesmen and war heroes and lived to be a part of the history of America. Modern history-writing is all wrong, when the author makes up "facts" as he is inclined, and not factually.



5. This is a not uninteresting, well written and well researched look at a very narrow aspect of the life and career of James Polk, detailing very thoroughly his role as an owner of a deep-south plantation and his relationships with his slaves. If that interests you, this is an ideal book for you to read. If you're looking for an in-depth full life biography of James Polk, or even a book that gives much insight into his career as a politician and president, or any other facet of his life than that of slaveowner, this is definitely NOT what you're looking for.