1 comments about Bushveldt Carbineers: the War Against the Boers in South Africa and the 'Breaker' Morant Incident.

1. This is Witton's "Scapegoats of Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant's Bushveldt Carbineers" under a new title. Witton was the third Carbineer alongside Morant and Hancock who were prosecuted for murder in the midst of the war.

5 comments about Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal.

1. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral is one of two excellent works to be published this year on WWII Pacific carriers, battles and the men who commanded them. John Lundstrom has obviously put a great deal of effort into setting the record straight on Admiral Fletcher and his contributions to our early victories in the Pacific. His work is well documented and thoroughly researched, and adds new sources that had not previously surfaced in World War II histories of that period.
   
   The book demonstrates how Fletcher became the target of severe criticism for his actions, primarily by others who hoped to improve their own reputations or deflect criiticism as a result. Lundstrom pulls no punches, however, by describing both Fletcher's strengths and failings in the events of December 1941 to September 1942. He repeatedly demonstrates that misinterpretations of Fletcher's actions, particularly by Admiral King in Washington, resulted in Fletcher's eventual downfall. At the same time, he explains how some noted historians played down or ignored Fletcher's important contributions, that sealed the US victories at Coral Sea and, particularly Midway.
   
   John Lundstrom's book is an excellent read for anyone wanting to know more of the early war in the Pacific. It is also an important source for any serious student of the period who wants to gain insight both to the actions of the war and the politics inside the Navy at that time.



2. This is a long overdue look at Adm Fletcher and his role in the critical first year of the war. I always found it odd that the victor of the three most important battles fought by our fleet in WWII was quickly shunted aside and treated with disdain by postwar historians. John Lundstrom does a fine job of exposing the biasis and backbiting within the navy at the time that resulted in Fletcher's downfall.
   Mr Lundstrom is an eminent historian of this subject and has produced a first rate, readable and important work. It deserves a place with the best accounts of the wartime Pacific Fleet to appear in many years. It clearly shows Frank Jack Fletcher for the fine leader and fighter that he was.



3. I've belatedly gotten around to reading the FJF bio, and it's absolutely indispensable to understanding the first year of the Pacific War. With due respect for The Big E, Fletcher and Yorktown (CV-5) lugged most of the flattop mail in the six months after Pearl Harbor, and with his Guadalcanal experience, he became the leading practitioner of carrier warfare in the US Navy--and in the world.
   
   If you don't read anything else, go to the Conclusion for an education in how history gets written, especially by Recognized Historians with agendas. As an example of expositive historiography it will stand alone for a long-long time.



4. This account of the World War II career of Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher is a needed corrective to the misinformation that has been served up to the public over many years. Samuel Eliot Morison took a dislike to Fletcher, possibly because the admiral failed to cultivate him at the time he was writing his history of World War II. The inaccuracies, omissions, and critical tone toward Fletcher in his volumes have been reflected in the works of other authors.
   
   By writing the latest and possibly most detailed account of U.S. Naval operations in the Pacific from the start of the war through the Guadalcanal Campaign, Lundstrom has given us an updated history of this vital period when the Pacific War often hung in the balance. Many aspects of the naval war not directly involving Fletcher are discussed. Thus this book goes much further than merely providing a defense of Fletcher, it gives us the basis of a potential successor or even replacement for the histories of the U.S. Navy in the first year of World War II written by Morison and others.
   
   John Lundstrom is well qualified to perform this task by having written three major works on naval operations during December 1941 to late 1942. His previous work has clearly helped him make this book a success. He has done significant in-depth research of this period of the war by using original sources apparently not consulted by others. The result is a book which provides new details on many aspects of the Pacific War at sea. Minor negatives are a somewhat dry writing style and insufficiently detailed maps.
   
   "Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" reminds us that it was Fletcher who commanded the U.S. forces at Coral Sea, the first battle to seriously slow the Japanese advance and which paved the way for the decisive victory of Midway. Fletcher, not Morison's hero Spruance, was the senior commander at Midway who made many of the critical decisions that resulted in the turn of the tide in the Pacific.
   
   Lundstrom explains why Fletcher's controversial withdrawal of the carriers from Guadalcanal was a wise decision. These carriers represented three quarters of the total U.S. aircraft carrier inventory and Fletcher was under orders not to risk them unless the potential results justified it. At Guadalcanal, the circumstances did not justify that risk.
   
   There has never been an official history of the U.S. Navy in World War II, only Morison's semi official history. While Morison's work is well written and valuable, it was produced too close to the events it describes so it contains errors and omissions. A replacement is overdue. With some revisions, "Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" could serve as the first volume of a new multi volume history of the navy's role in World War II. John Lundstrom would be the man to do this job.



5. I'm still reading this book, but have jumped around a bit including reading of the conclusion. The style is similar to that of Lundstrom's two "First Team" books, which I also own. By similar, I mean that the book is generally readable, plausible, even-handed, and meticulously documented. The bibliography is very impressive. One of the most useful aspects of the book so far is its discussion of the various decisions in the context of the information available to the decision-makers at the time. What was and was not available is described in detail, with references. An interesting facet of the book is that it touches on and sometimes explictly discusses the "politics" of both the Navy and of naval history. I find these political dynamics to be quite similar to those seen in large present-day organizations (like my current employer).

5 comments about Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq.

1. Because I am a birder, a friend bought me this book. It is perfectly aimed, not a pure birding, and no ranting about the war. Shows the power of nature and appreciation of nature to put a lovely perspective on even the most ugliest of wars. I wanted to know what the birds he referred to looked like so am ordering the birds of the middle east. one might wish photos or more realistic drawing of the birds, but I think that would detract from the journal-like nature of this cute little book.



2. This is a small, beautiful book. The natural phenonomena and bird-life that Jonathan Trouern-Trend desribes with such simple elegance in Birding Babylon is both comforting and poignent as it all takes place in Iraq near the beginning of our most recent conflict there.
   
   I salute Mr. Trouern-Trend, both as a fellow "birder" as well as a poet. His writing is spare and unembelished, yet the warm sentiment he awakens in the naturalist' heart is undeniable. Here, again, poignance was the feeling he inspired, as well as admiration for a job well-done.
   
   I love this little book. I bought 3 more copies as soon as I read it to give to friends.
   
   Thank you, Sergeant Trouern-Trend. I salute you! Beth Hall, San Diego, CA



3. Being a bird enthusiast, AND having a son in the US Army inspired me to buy (and read) this book. I had originally bought it to give to my son (who enjoyed watching birds...mostly raptors....as a child), I decided to read it myself and was amazed at the species of birds this soldier was seeing over there. Sounds like (in addition to his mission) he did have some downtime and had some positive things to say about the region, which was nice. It has to be hard to be away from your family and friends for so long....and Jonathan found a way to stay busy and keep upbeat. Kudos to him, and God Bless our military!



4. This started out as a soldiers blog, and has more of a travelogue feel, rather than a war correspondent feel of it. The author is most interesting when presenting his walks around the camp, and finding birds in back of the laundry camp and travels. And exotic birds they are: such as Squacco heron, Greater spotted eagle, Egyptian Vulture, purple swamphen, whiskered tern, and blue-checked bee-eater. What is missing however any introspection about the war, Sadam's effect on the environment, or contrast of being in a war zone and observing nature.



5. This book and Jonathan Trouern-Trend blog inspired me during a difficult time and was an inspiration for my own project.
   
   I remember a few years ago listening to Public Radio and hearing him speak for the first time. I was driving down the road listening to him speak on the radio, crying and profoundly inspired all at the same time!
   
   During this time in our dark history his work has been an inspiration and a comfort for many. There is something incredible in a person when they can rise above such trauma and destruction to produce something so beautiful.
   
   I am also impressed with how he describes the resilience and potential of nature to serve us with healing under any circumstance. I look forwards to more of the same from this author!
   
   [...]

1 comments about Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War.

1. FOR ME THIS WAS A PAGE TURNER. I FELT LIKE I WAS THERE AT THE TIME THESE LETTERS AND SPEECHES WERE WRITTEN. VERY EASY TO GET LOST IN THE TIME PERIOD. IF YOU LOVE THIS SUBJECT, YOU'LL ENJOY THIS BOOK.

5 comments about Lee: The Last Years.

1. Lee: The Last Years was well worth reading. A must for anyone who wants to know a little more of the Rest of The Story about a fine American, though much misunderstood.



2. Bracelen Flood clearly does extensive research in order to render this intimate and engrossing portrayal of Lee.



3. I've long considered myself a student of Southern history and the Civil War. Heck, I've been a historian at museums so I think I have a pretty good knowledge of the Civil War era. Furthermore, I live in Virginia and have been to the campus of Washington and Lee University. However, nearly every page of Charles Bracelen Flood's work on Robert E. Lee's post-war years is full of information I've never heard about. Flood has used many differing sources to pull together a wonderful, highly readable account of Lee's years after the war, how he came to be President of Washington College, and his role in the reconstruction of this country. What jumps out off the pages is that for as much as Lee has been studied and idolized for his exploits on the battlefield, his postwar years as President of the college should get just as much press. While Lee did not think defending his native state was wrong, he did wish for both North and South to reconcile as quickly as possible. After reading the book, I still do not think Lee is the god that some people hold him up to be, but he does stand out as a good man who wanted to bring the nation back together while also helping his fellow Southerners get back on their feet. While Flood's writing can be unimaginative at times and I thought he threw in little stories and vignettes that he didn't need too, the book is excellent overall and should be a must read for anyone interested in Lee. However, the book is such an easy, good read that I think almost anyone should pick it up.



4. Outstanding biography of the man. Much has been written about the general, this book brings the humble father, husband and Christian man to life.



5. Lee: The Last Years
   
   This is a wonderful book about a wonderful man. Although Robert E. Lee is most remembered as a General, for most of his adult life, he was an engineer and educator (although in the army). Mr. Lee could have become very wealthy after the war by simply allowing his name to be used commercially. However, he wanted to make a contribution and did so by accepting the position as President of Washington College. He seldom spoke of the war and brought no military flavor to the College.
   
   There is an argument that Robert E. Lee is responsible for more American dead than any other single individual. The difficult part of this book is tying to tie that Robert E. Lee to the man he was in his last five (5) years. He played Santa at Christmas, broke up a lynching, stroked the ego of his horse Traveller, was a good family man, looked out for the under dog and took care of his students, even when they were in trouble. How he handled all these situations, often minor by standards of the war, brings out the essence of the man including his character, values, wit and subtle humor.
   
   I have read/studied history and biography for 40 years. I have spent more time on Robert E. Lee than any other individual and this book someway brings all my study of Mr. Lee together and puts it in perspective. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in American History. Thanks Mr. Flood.

5 comments about One Soldier's War.

1. This is a grisly account of the two Chechen wars (1990s and to this day) Mostly this is an account of how the Red Army fights, but there is ample insight into the religious nature of the conflict. The stories of the brutality among fellow members of the Army is astonishing, even among the oficers. The treatment of Russian prisoners, young soldiers utterly unprepared to fight a war, by the Muslim Chechen warriors, is equally astonishing. This was complete savagery. The Red Army has not learned from WW II; they're still just throwing people at the adversary and they're not so amply supplied with bodies anymore. The book is a series of independent vignettes and not in time order, nor clustered together by subject. It is a reporter's notebook.



2. It is just a coincidence that I finished reading this sad and terrifying book while at the same day news tell us:
   
   "MOSCOW -- Missiles, tanks and other heavy weaponry rolled through Moscow's Red Square in the annual Victory Day parade Friday. President Dmitry Medvedev said "the true purpose of weapons and military equipment is to give reliable defence of the homeland....We must treat very seriously any attempt to sow racial or religious enmity, foment the ideology of terror and extremism or meddle with other states, particularly any attempt to revise boundaries"
   About three million Second World War veterans are still alive, their pensions are small and many live in poor conditions... Mr. Medvedev's first decree after taking office was to order that all Second World War veterans receive housing by 2010."
   
   So here we have it, full hypocrisy and how it is to be the soldier. "All Quiet on the Western Front" comes to my mind, because "One Soldier's War" is as much terribly shocking, candid, and will testify forever about nonsense of wars, espceially wars against insurgencies and ethnic nations seeking independence.
   Just consider this excerpt, young soldiers' line of thinking:
   "...It would be realy cool if they led Yeltsin and Dundayev out onto the landing strip and let them get struck into each other. Te one who cripples the other wins. We stand around and cheer them on: we cheer our guy and the Chechens cheer theirs. And no war, no corpses. That would be much simpler and more just than this arrangement, where the wrong people do the fighting."
   
   This statement is a pure gold essence, like the whole book, showing how armies serve to fulfill agendas of leaders, politicians and presidents.
   "One Soldier's War" is a must read, it took my breath away from me.. Deeply personal, and well translated, it shows total and terrible demoralization of Russian soldiers during the wars in Chechnya. Although you will not read a lot about merciless fighting and horror of it (this is quite obvious and vivid background of the book), the bulk of the text presents what was happening to the conscripts within their units, death stalking them almost with the same intensity as on the battlefields. Ramifications of such wars are immense and summarized with passion Babchenko. Total disarray of Russian army reflects for sure the state of Russia after USSR collapse in 1991, no doubt. But is it better now? I am not sure.



3. I have been going back and forth to Russia on a regular basis for the last 13 years. I have had the fortune to make the aquaintance of many ex and active Russian soldiers in my wanderings of the regions there. I find this book to be one of extreme exaggeration and an over dramatic amature attempt to shock the reader into a kind of unthinking, stupified, state of horror. While some things are accurate in the big picture such as the conscription of new recruits, the "on the job" training style, atrocities commited by both sides, for the most part this book is making a "grain of sand into a beach". That is a quote of my friend who fought in both Chechen wars. If you want a good but inaccurate, unprofessional biography of someones experience there, this is the book for you. If you want a more, this is not the one. Worst 20 bucks I ever spent, and I'll mark it down to propaganda.



4. Lots of stories about Russians soldiers stealing, scrounging for food and brutalizing each other while at the same time accepting that their fate is to die at anytime at the hands of the Chechen rebels. Little about the overall story in Chechnya (1st or 2nd war). But it's quite clear throughout that the Russian soldiers are absolutely terrified of "the Chechens." Although I might be sympethic, this book makes the regular Russian army look pretty bad...
   
   This book could have been very good had a different approach been taken to its purpose and construction.



5. A disturbing insight into Russia's two wars in Chechyna seen through the eyes of conscript Archady Barachenko. Not short on stomach-churning graphic descriptions of atrocities and the general brutality of this under-reported conflict where the soldiers fear of being killed was only surpassed by their fear of being captured by Chechen rebels. Russian army does not come out of this well either in terms of the abuse it metted out to its own soldiers.
   Not for someone wanting analysis of the campaigns, stategies etc as this is purely focussed on one young soldier's day to day determined efforts to stay alive. Sometimes a difficult read as the translation struggles to convey the desired impact.

5 comments about Eleni.

1. Author Nicholas Gage tells the story of the Greek civil war and how it personally affected him and his family. Most notably this book describes how politics, fear, greed, and desperation combined to culminate in the brutal torture and execution of his mother, Eleni, for the crime of merely saving her children from starvation or forced separation.
   
   My brother highly recommended this book to me. I was a little put off by its length and the obscurity of its subject (I had never even heard about the Greek civil war), but as the story unfolded I found myself completely engrossed in it. The first 100 or so pages were just a little difficult absorb because of the necessary build-up of the scenario and the characters. I also struggled throughout the book to get a grasp of the numerous greek names of people and places. However, these were minor inconveniences to pay for the huge reward of learning about this incredible and disturbing experience.
   
   Nicholas Gage very eloquently describes the cruelty and injustice that war tends to inflict on so many innocent victims. Everyone could benefit from learning about this story that he has so vividly portrayed in Eleni.



2. I have owned this book for over 10 years. Every time I read it I thought of my maternal grandmother (that was her generation) and all the other brave Greek mothers before her and cried like a baby. I passed it onto my second husband who is not of Greek descent. He loved it and really liked the name Eleni. That was about 5 years ago (we've been together over 6).
   Our second daughter was just baptised Eleni in the Greek Orthodox church. It was the only name we could agree upon. My aunt & uncle came from Greece and told me a story of when my uncle was a little boy. He was injured by an unexploded bomb and was taken to a hospital in Athens. His grandmother went to visit him. She had been born and raised in Athens, although now living about an hour outside of the city, so she knew the short-cuts to the hospital. On her way to see her beloved grandson she was shot dead, mistaken for a man in disguise. This was at the beginning of the civil war. I had not heard this story before, and had no idea who my paternal grandmother was. Apparently, her name was Eleni. I wonder if this is why I was steered to this book and so moved by it? Ain't life funny?



3. There are few books on the Greek Civil war that erupted after 1945 between Communists and the rest of Greece. During the war some 158,000 or more people died, many at the hands of the Communists. Yet most books on the subject in English are still sympathetic to the Communists (seeRed Acropolis, Black Terror: The Greek Civil War And The Origins Of The Soviet-american Rivalry,1943-1949) and refuse to condemn the red terror and the mass killings. This book goes a slight way towards setting the record strait if only because it shows the story of one peasant woman in a small village known as Lia in the mountans of northern Greece. But the story of how the vilagers were used as slave labourers by the COmmunists, starved and finally tortured and murdered is a story of what befel all northern Greeks during the Communist insurgency. Westerners present this insurgency as 'romantic' as only westerners can present genocide as 'romantic'. But this sad and disgusting train of thought is finally shattered by this excellent and daring book that tells the story not only of Lia but of the peasants who lived there and Eleni and of course her son who survived and who has lived to return to Greece to tell the story.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



4. I'm generally not into reading, but I decided that I would give this one a shot, expecting it to be as good as Face/Off. Boy was I mistaken. Cage should stick to acting. Do you remember in Snake Eyes when he punched that guy in the face? Do you remember in Boy in Blue when he punched that guy in the face? I enjoyed those moments more than I enjoyed reading Cage's book, or reading anything for that matter.



5. This true story reveals humanity's deepest capacity for evil, and also its strongest drive to nurture, protect, and do good. It is a demonstration of the depths to which one can be pushed when survival is the basic need.
   
   A most important, riveting read. It should be required reading for any political science classroom or discussion on the nature of the human. I strongly recommend this for any book club. You won't be able to put it down.

5 comments about Helmet for My Pillow.

1. Leckie's book is top notch. He weaves into the narrative a profound
   insight into the spiritual side of warfare. It's not a religious
   book in any sense of the word, but you will begin to understand what
   goes on inside a man's soul as he faces the terrible rigors of
   brutal combat. He describes living conditions in the jungles of
   Guadalcanal and on the horrible wasteland that was Peleliu. His
   narrative waxes eloquent as he tells the story of young Marines ripped
   from the innocents of boyhood to the reality of Warriordom. You will
   feel what he must have felt, surrounded by the unspeakable misery of
   Jungle warfare against a bitter enemy. The book is unique in style and
   difficult to put down. Leckie brings to life a period of our history
   we all need to focus more attention on. Without the sacrifice of these
   fine young men human liberty would be vanished from the face of the
   earth. May their memory forever be enshrined in the pages of this
   book.



2. Simply put, this is a forgotten classic that is beautifully written and is hands down the best WWII memoir out of the over 100 I have read. Do yourself a favor and get this book now since it was out of print for a long time and won't be in print for much longer.



3. Leckie's talent as a writer is surpassed only by the visceral drama of his story. His story is riveting as he takes the reader from boot through his participation in the 1st Marine Division's battles in the Pacific through Peleliu. He literally lived out of his ruck, never seeing his sea bag, for over two years. Leckie is a craftsman, and entertains too with his tales of debauchery in Australia, tempered with the vocabulary of an earlier, more decorous America. He also warns, "Keep it up, America, keep telling your youth that mud and danger are only fit for intellectual pigs. Keep on saying that only the stupid are fit to sacrifice, that America must be defended by the low-brow and enjoyed by the high-brow. Keep vaunting head over heart, and soon the head will arrive at the complete folly of any kind of fight and meekly surrender the treasure to the first bandit with enough heart to demand it."

   The thoughtful military reader will be interested in the differences between today's warrior culture and that of half a century ago. Leckie's story is purely from his vantage point, and a great read in it's own right, but don't expect perspective or analysis. Anyone interested in Leckie's story would probably also enjoy With the Old Breed by Sledge. Sledge was also at Peleliu and went on to Okinawa with the 1st Marine Division. I found Sledge's story more gripping, visceral and grim, ranking with The Forgotten Soldier by Sajer as some of the best chronicling of war.




4. Robert Leckie gives a gripping first person narrative in which he seemingly pulls no punches about life in the mud and among the flawed but heroic men of the First Marine Division. He recounts hardship, cameraderie, and combat in an engaging, almost lyrical, fashion. I came away from "Helmet" with a renewed respect for the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation. Uncommon valor was truly a common virtue. Leckie's story will make any 18 year old want to march down to the recruiting station and sign up.

   Leckie's story dovetails quite nicely with another memoir, "With the Old Breed at Peliliu and Okinawa," the account of another First Division rifleman, E.B. Sledge. The First Marine Division's WWII career began in the jungles of Guadalcanal, went through New Britain and on to Peliliu and ended at Okinawa. Leckie was in at the beginning, but his combat career ended when he was wounded in the Hell of Peliliu. Sledge's combat career began at Peliliu and ended on Okinawa. Together the two give you an enlisted man's eye view of all the First Division's campaigns.

   Sledge doesn't turn a phrase as well as Leckie, but his description of combat will make your blood run cold in a way that "Helmet" does not. Any 18 year old reading "Old Breed" will want to tear up his enlistment papers. It seems odd that Leckie, obviously the more accomplished wordsmith, does not paint as horrific a picture of combat as Sledge. Could it be that Leckie has shied away from revealing the full extent of the hardship of combat? Or could it be that Peliliu and Okinawa served up privation and hardship on a much grander scale than Guadalcanal and New Britain? Read both books and decide for yourself. For all its stark description, "Old Breed" will engender the same kind of respect for the men of the First Division that the reader takes away from "Helmet."




5. An interesting account of three WWII battles; Guadalcanal, New Britain and Peleliu.
   
   Some of the descriptive words used in this book are obscure which makes it a little hard to follow. I assume this is partially a factor of when the book was written.
   
   All WWII historians need to read this book as Mr. Leckie breaks down Marine training as well as the 3 battles in which he was involved. His modesty does hold him back from being too graphic or too generous in his accounts.
   
   Make no mistake, he and his comrades are heroes and went through rigors that are unthinkable in today's warfare.

5 comments about Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent.

1. This book is nothing but full of communist propaganda. To most of the Vietnamese people, I say not including the 2% of the communist population, An is a betrayer. Don't waste your time being brain-washed by communist ideology.



2. I might not be as forgiving as some people, but I certainly would have felt betrayed by this man. He seeks to justify everything by stating that he felt the Americans did not belong in Vietnam. Maybe so. But what he did was so deceiful.To just look at the fact that he often helped those closest and known to him from suffering any harm, neglects the hundreds of thousands who died and were wounded as a result of his actions. To top it all off he sent his family to the US when the Communists came !! No doubt for a better life !!This fellow must have been of fairly limited intellect , or at least uneducated.And don't tell me was educated in the US - they let him do some courses... big deal! Did he really believe the Americans would attempt to rule Vietnam the way the French did ? Yes, they would take advantage of economic opportunities ( who does'nt), but what did he think they would have done if the South succeeded ? A good insight into blind nationalism and deceit by one of the most two faced people I have ever encountered. I still cannot understand his mindset.



3. Great present for anyone interested in Viet Nam, reporting, true spy stories, and the like.



4. While it is relatively easy for us to weigh the pros and cons of the values of Pham Xuan An in the comfort of our home, this to me is one of those unique cases where time does not help give a clearer perspective. There is no such thing as a happy war or good enemies (duh!), war is not the kind of thing you can just turn on and turn off like a water fountain. I think all wars (not battles) have many phases to them and evolve if not mutate into something they were not and/or become only what they really were. The proof is in the pudding, because in war people die, loose body parts and some lose their minds. I know where I was born, now live, and will hopefully ..., do you?.



5. This book is very informative with info I'd never heard elsewhere yet it is so important for our country's safety in the future.

5 comments about Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello.

1. Jefferson has now fallen into the same category as Lincoln: given the zillions of books already written about him, what is there left to add? Burstein's previous book on TJ ("The Inner Jefferson") established that he had quite a lot to contribute to the literature, much of it quite unique in perspective. The same is certainly true of this volume as well.
   
   The focus here is on the retired Jefferson (1809-1826), and much of the author's material is drawn from TJ's private papers after leaving office. One of Burstein's great virtues--perhaps his greatest virtue--is that he looks for unique aspects not generally already addressed by other historians. For example, the impact of "time and mortality" on TJ's thought; his medical concerns and how these concerns are reflected in the unique vocabulary of the 18th Century (e.g., what is the meaning of "sensation"?); and whether there is something to learn about his political views from looking at these issues. Similarly, how did he conceive of "nature"?
   
   Burstein also looks at that perennial issue of TJ and slavery, including an interesting chapter on "sex with a servant" in an effort to probe that relationship. Did TJ's affinity for the ancient Greeks impact on his relationship with Sally Hemmings?--this is the kind of issue that only Burstein would explore. The most fascinating section I found dealt with Jefferson's efforts to get favorable history written so that his record would remain untarnished after his death. I am not quite sure anyone else has dealt with this issue. Finally, the topic is TJ and dying, which ends up focusing upon TJ's religious orientation during this period. Burstein's research is, as usual, prodigious as he searches for evidence to support his interpretations. While a great deal of speculation and imaginative thinking are at work here, Burstein continues to generate scintillating and provocative work that is highly unique and valuable. While one may not always agree with his interpretations, the process of considering them continues to be of substantial value.



2. Burstein has written an insightful book on the Jefferson, as he says, that has usually been ignored by many other historians, i.e. in the period after his presidency. Specifically, Burstein analyzes the thoughts and attitudes held by Jefferson on life, the role of women and slaves in society, religion, freedom of thought, politics and other topics. The Jefferson that emerges from Burstein's study is a multi-faceted man who both inspires awe for his intelligence and his abilities but also sets him in place as a creature of his time, especially concerning the issue of slavery.
   
   Burstein is especially keen on observing Jefferson's use of words to convey his inner most feelings and thoughts. He is especially observant of the medical terminology that Jefferson uses in discussing many different subjects. As Burstein mentioned, he usually didn't give his correspondent everything he was looking for in terms of revealing his innermost thoughts and secrets. After his presidency, Jefferson preferred a retreat from the public sphere and generally guarded his privacy. But we do get to understand Jefferson's devotion to his family, his sometimes very contradictory statements on human liberty and freedom especially when juxtaposed against the very present institution of slavery, his views on republican government and many other areas that he expounded on.
   
   There are friends, family members, well-known politicians, doctors, thinkers and others who emerge in Burstein's book, mainly through the correspondence that Burstein uses to help bring light to the elusive aspects of Jefferson's attitudes and sensibilities. The controversies surrounding Jefferson and the institution of slavery are discussed, especially concerning the generally accepted sexual relationship with Sally Hemings, with interesting insights by Burstein on Jefferson's attitudes on sexual relationships, racial differences and so forth. Though he would be considered a racist today, he was a creature of his time, with an odd, but seemingly well-thought out view of the nature of the races (not that his view was right).
   
   Burstein really does try to understand the foundations of Jefferson's inner beliefs and sensibilities. Jefferson was a devotee to the rights of man (though this didn't include everyone in his day), his family (he was especially close to his granddaughter Ellen), and the principles of republican government. Interestingly, despite his advocacies, he often turned to others to make the effort to combat his political opponents, we see this in his wanting to combat the histories written by such Federalists as Chief Justice Marshall.
   
   The reader will get to see snippets of the inner Jefferson in this book. Burstein, as he stated he wanted to accomplish, succeeds fairly well in presenting the living Jefferson as opposed to the dying Jefferson, though we do read of the effects of aging and other health issues that gradually took their toll on his physical body. We see the many facets of this highly intelligent human being who was such an influence in his day and through his words, actions and ideals continues to be to the present. The debates go on.



3. Thomas Jefferson was a great and brilliant, but flawed and unconventional man. What can the zillionth book add that hasn't already been said? Quite a lot. It should not be anybody's first book on Jefferson, but it should be everybody's second, or third. Of course, Burstein hasn't got Jefferson "figured out", but neither does anyone else.....
   
   This wonderful volume focuses on Mr. Jefferson's later years, and does give us a good view of his thought processes. Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, and Jefferson can be quoted to "prove" ANYTHING. "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that this people are to be free,..." The inscription on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial ends with a period, but look up the rest of the quote. I use the comma deliberately. He who said that "All men are created equal" also had things to say about the orangutang. And he also had sex with his slave, Sally? Well...maybe. In any event, he documented his views on this subject, too, complete with charts. The ongoing arguement with John Marshall gets coverage, too. It has been more completely documented elsewhere, but Burstein does an excellent job. This feud is truly one of the most profound topics in American history. It spanned from their early years till the day Jefferson died, and beyond, going from a rivalry, to disagreement, to blind, unreasoning, hatred after the Aaron Burr treason case of 1807. My own opinion is that the cause of the whole mess was multifaceted, involving familial, personal, political, and philosophical elements. {Not religious; they agreed about that} In this battle of giants, we have the origin of the Civil War, and of much of our political conflict today. An athiest who "swore on the altar of God"? This is covered, too. Jefferson may not have been orthodox, but he was assuradely not an athiest. A slave owner who hated slavery? Not unusual...the same is true of George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, George Wythe, and Robert E. Lee. {Lee inherited his slaves, and freed them before he had to}. A word of caution; though some of the founding fathers did not believe in slavery, they certainly did not believe in Black equality, either.
   
   Andrew Burstein has produced a superb work. As I said, NOT a first book on the subject, but an essential one. For a first book, see Joseph Ellis, or Noble Cunningham. Dumas Malone is, of course, definitive, but few will mine the gold in those six profound volumes.



4. There is next to nothing here that caught my interest. I was looking forward very much to this work, and I was extremely disappointed in it. I had just finished an excellent biography of John Adams, which impelled me to try this one. I can only recommend that you don't waste your time. Every moment on this book was, to me, a complete waste of time.



5. The good stuff in this book is invaluable to anyone with a serious interest in Jefferson. I'd award five stars for such unique scholarship, but I've subtracted two stars as a rebuke to the author and to his editors, if there were any, for perverse self-indulgence. The readability of "Jefferson's Secrets" is damaged by its repetitiousness; Burstein even repeats the same quotations from Jefferson's letters in three and four chapters, without significantly adding to his exegesis. But a more serious flaw is Burstein's rhapsodic admiration of Jefferson's mind at the same time that he protrays the man as a consummate hypocrite and egotist--not only a slave-owner and unreconstructed racist but an exploiter of servants to the point of callously making one his concubine, a Jacobin in rhetoric who lived in the style of an ancien regime aristocrat, a man who gave his daughters a decorous education yet maintained that women had no claim to equality. Burstein's defense seems to be that we should forgive Jefferson's inconsistencies because he was conflicted, and a man of his times. Indeed, the central theme of the book is to demonstrate exactly how Jefferson was a man of his times, whose world-view was shaped by the ideas and particularly the scientific knowledge of the Enlightenment. That's the good stuff, the analysis of what Jefferson himself thought he meant by what he said and wrote, given the "vocabulary" of his time and place. However, in the next breath Burstein proceeds to declare that Jefferson was in some sense the first Modern Man, a harbinger of Romanticism precisely because of his ambiguities, the very same ambiguities that Burstein has just dispelled. Really, Professor Burstein, it seems to be YOU who are conflicted, by your adulation of the "timeless" Jefferson even while you pin the human Jefferson to the cultural matrix of his lifetime!