2 comments about American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism.

1. Grodzins has written an astonishingly thorough and readable biography of an important but neglected 19th Century American. Parker is one of the most influential Americans of the mid-1800s, a brilliant scholar and powerful preacher who became a crucial figure in our religious and political history.

   The book is destined to become the standard biography of Parker for generations. Anyone interested in American political thought and the evolution of American religious doctrine will find this book invaluable. Any New Englander will find this a treasure trove of well-written stories.




2. Transcendentalism has never been easy to define, all the more so because its two most well-known adherents, Emerson and Thoreau, were highly poetic souls who had much better uses for their rhetoric than in crafting creeds or clear-cut manifestoes. It is a pleasure then to read Grodzins' biography of Theodore Parker, in whose life and work we can see more clearly the philosophical and personal dramas that played themselves out within the Unitarian Church in regard to its Transcendentalist sympathizers - in particular, the attempts of one Transcendentalist to define his views against the charges of Deism. Religion is a key concern for Transcendentalism, though in Emerson and Thoreau there is no sense that organized religion can play a key role in the individual's enlightenment. Parker remained in the Church as he struggled to know and preach Truth, and gained a large following. Our understanding of Transcendentalism is eminently richer for our appreciation of his struggle.

4 comments about An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Diary and Memoir of Virginia D'Albert-Lake (World War II--the Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension).

1. Expertly edited by Judy Barret Litoff who also provides an informative introduction, An American Heroine In The French Resistance: The Diary And Memoir Of Virginia d'Albert-Lake is the remarkable story of Virginia d'Albert-Lake's devoted and hazardous service as active member of the French Resistance to the Allied forces during World War II, and the risks she took which nearly cost her life. Introducing readers to her efforts to aid an Allied airman in getting him to safety, An American Heroine In The French Resistance vividly depicts the horrors d'Albert-Lake faced in her eventual imprisonment in the German prison camp of Ravensbruek. An heroic tale of total commitment to the French Resistance, An American Heroine In The French Resistance is very highly recommended reading as the articulate memoir of a strong woman who laid her life on the line in the defence of her country under German occupation, and an invaluable contribution to the growing library of World War II memoirs and autobiographies by a generation now passing from among us into history and legend.



2. I've met and photographed scores of memorable and important people in my time, but few hold a candle to Virginia d'Albert-Lake. Her work as an American woman in the French Resistance saving American airmen's lives led to her winning France's highest decoration, the L?gion d'Honneur. But the greatest honor for her was having the love of her husband Phillippe d'Albert-Lake, who was the reason she stayed in
   France when she could have retreated to the safety of the United States as World War II loomed on the horizon. This is an extraordinary story to be shared with friends, family, and particularly your children, as an example of how a life can be lived with grace, humor, and heroism.
   
   David Hume Kennerly
   Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for photography in Vietnam



3. I really liked the original documents which made up this book (filed reports, letters, diary entries, etc.). The memoir was good also, but a little awkwardly written. I also wished she had devoted as much time to her resistance work as she had to her imprisonment. Overall, though, very interesting.



4. There were only a few Americans in the French Resistance: Mme d'Albert-Lake was one and in this intelligent book shows that she has a good memory and a clear expository style --- and a sense of humor as well. Carefully annotated. Informative both on the Resistance and on the French scene before and during World War II.

5 comments about Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin.

1. I was excited to read this book but I have now put it down and will not finish it. As a matter of fact I would like a refund. Just the inconsistencies with his parachute training are suspect and inaccurate for 1971. HALO school is something you remember I don't care how many drugs you try to obliterate your memory with. I was airborne infantry/parachute rigger in the Army and attended HALO school in 1980. I supported the Military Freefall Committee (SF HALO School) in 1979/80. The author stated that he attended HALO school in Yuma, AZ in 1971. Training at Yuma did not start until the late 80's. His statement that he trained in the wind tunnel at Wright Patterson AFB in 1971 is also not accurate. HALO school did not start utilizing the wind tunnel until the late 80's early 90's. In 1980 our pre-freefall practice was conducted on desk tops and then the first jump was a complete freefall from 12,500 ft, no wind tunnel. These inconsistencies and others lead me to believe that the HALO information was gleaned from the modern day internet research or from watching the Military Channel. I am not going to waste my time reading any further. I am not so naive that I think our gov't agencies do not employ assassins. I am also not so naive that I think this was one of the hired assassins.



2. Many books have documented how the CIA has used collage campus' to recruit agents, and Haas' account of his recruitment sounds completely like what other authors have talked about. I love Haas' line that his recruiter used, "I work for one of our governments three letter agencies." -That's classic. Also the way they sent Haas into action by himself, to either be successful or die, is exactly the way Dulles used to have agents sent behind the Iron Curtain on missions; the special thing about Haas was he survived!
   
   I bet the higher-ups at the Agency were thrilled when they realized that Haas could be so successful at what they wanted him to do.
   
   Haas' book is one of the most important and interesting books I have ever read.
   
   Check out C-SPAN'S book TV web site for a video of a book signing event where Haas gives a talk.
   
   By-the-way, I grew up in and still live in Cleveland OH, right next to Lakewood OH, the city that Haas talks about in his book; I have to say, Haas' description, of the area and its features and feel is very accurate. Haas really is able to place you in Lakewood, as he explains where he grew up.
   
   Haas' ability with words doesn't disappoint!



3. The events described in the book are the standard material of espionage suspense novels. What's more interesting is the story behind the story. What is fact and what is fiction? How can Haas possibly keep his job? I found the book both credible and plausible, based on my own extensive direct experience with the military mindset.
   
   Mr. Haas is actually afflicted by two addictions: one recognized and one as yet unrecognized. The first is alcohol; the second is right-wing pro-military ideology. The second addiction, left untreated, has just as much potential to do damage to Mr. Haas (and the world) as the first.



4. The subtitle of this book is, by definition, impossible to prove (I hope). Readers will believe it or they will not. I believe it. I would not be surprised to learn someday that I was fooled, but it does feel right. I'll tell you why.
   I worked with Roland for several years...not on a daily or even monthly basis, but enough to say the personality of the "secret assassin" in this book matches the Roland I knew. Also, his struggles with alcoholism also fit smoothly into my memory picture, though that only comes now, as I look back at my short time with him with a new perspective.
   I found the descriptions of his clandestine work to be believable because they are not overly embellished. He does not depict a John Rambo character, and I don't think this book would ever sell as fiction. Opportunities for clandestine work come to ordinary people. I know this personally. My story is not NEARLY as interesting as Roland's, and no - I will NOT be writing a book about it, but if I did I believe it would read similarly in some ways. It would bore any reader terribly, but there would be parts where someone like Roland would say, "yes - that's how it happens and how it feels".
   So, believe the book or don't - there's no telling really. I think you'll find it to be a fast, enjoyable read, if nothing else. For me, I'd like to thank Roland and those like him for their selfless service to the Nation, and wish him and his family all the best.



5. In his account about his time in Istanbul, Haas writes about the (notorious) Gulhane Hotel and the "Tent"(the Gulhane was well known among hippies and travelers to Istanbul in the late 60s as a very cheap place to stay while the Tent was a structure the hotel had on its roof that cost travelers even less to flop down for a night or two).
   
   But the Tent no longer existed when Haas says he was in Istanbul; in late 1971 or early 1972(Haas is not very clear about this). I'm not exactly sure when the tent was taken down but I heard sometime during 1969 that it was removed as a result of a December 1968 shootout between an American drug dealer and the Turkish police. But it was definitely no longer on the hotel's roof in April 1970 when I passed through Istanbul on my way back from India.
   
   Haas's mention of this shootout(and the drug dealer's name) and his description of the junkie inside the Tent cooking up opium in a spoon and shooting up sounded very familiar when I read it because I had included the incident about the junkie in an article I wrote about the shootout and the drug dealer that I had posted on my website from 2002 to about 2006(along with the article I also posted FBI and U.S. State Department documents about the drug dealer and the shootout which I had obtained through FOIA requests. But, during my research, I had discovered that after 1969 nothing, ever, appeared in print about the shootout that actually named the drug dealer-until my article).
   
   Also, Haas's description of the Tent is exactly how I described it in my article: I wrote that it was made out of canvas and corrugated iron. But it was actually made out of plastic sheet and wood frame! This was pointed out to me by a reader who had also stayed there but I never bothered to correct the article while it was still posted on the internet.
   
   Haas's publishers will be issuing his book in paperback this August. As I've raised these issues elsewhere on the web, it will be interesting to see whether the paperback edition includes a corrected description of the Tent and a revised timeframe for when Haas says he was in Istanbul.

5 comments about War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars.

1. I actually read a review about this book and gave it as a gift to my sister-in-law who teaches high school history. She LOVES it and told me it was an amazing collection of actual letters. She said all of the teachers that she works with have been borrowing it!!



2. I received this book as a gift because my family knows I love reading personal histories from those who lived it and "War Letters" seemed perfect for that. I enjoy learning what life was like for the average citizen in an era, whether its someone riding the Erie Canal in 1840, a foot soldier in the American revolution, or a journal from the Civil War.
   
   This is a remarkable book and taken individually there are many, many heart-rending emotional stories that probably need to be read by many people. It does in fact put a personal face on war. Because it is a collection of letters, the book is easily read in short spurts; you don't want (and shouldn't) read this book quickly.
   
   I only gave the book 4 stars because I actually found it hard to read. While the personal letters (the spelling, mannerisms of the authors) help tell their stories, it also keeps the book from developing any flow. Some letters are agonzingly slow to read and understand. I'm certainly not faulting the authors or their stories; but if you're looking for a great, well-written, smooth-flowing story that you can't put down, this isn't it.



3. i only gave it three stars because many of the stories were more about patriotism than about the war themselves. Of course every book has its bias so its still a useful and moving read when taken with this grain of salt.



4. This book is a great read. It is refeshing to be able to read words, thoughts and dreams from people as they perform such honorable duty overseas. This book is powerful and should be required reading for all, especially Americans.
   
   Some anti-war activist may think it is "pro-war" but it isn't just that. This book reveals personal thoughts and challenges faced by American military personnel in wars from the Civil War until the later conflicts in the 20th century. It is pro-war, anti-war and everything in between.
   
   This book reminds me of the sacrifice that so many make for their country. It is a great tribute for those who have served.



5. There are letters from `very' different types of people such as George W. Bush (after he was shot down) and from George McGovern (who was a bomber pilot). I really don't care whose side (politically speaking) the authors of the various letters represent as long as it deals with the stated topic (WAR LETTERS). This is why I only gave the book 3 stars. What in the blue blazes are letters from Helen Keller (who is writing about a friend she once knew who is now in jail for being an American commie) & a letter from the American commie traitor Alger Hiss doing in the book? Neither of these letters even remotely have anything to do with an American War.
   There are other letters which also have very little to do with a U.S. war but I looked over these as they `sort of' and that is a stretch - were leading up to a war. I do not know for sure - but I believe the author is a left of center sort of guy and it comes through in the letters he chose.

No comments about Panzer Commanders of the Western Front: German Tank Generals in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series).

5 comments about Hard Fighting Soldier: Finding God in Trials, Tragedies, and Triumphs.

1. Chette Williams' passion and living faith come alive in this simply elegant touching work. It is a personal, genuine and inspirational account of his challenging life as an initially troubled and lost college student and football player who in God's hands is transformed into first a team leader, and then is miraculously led on to be a minister and "fighting soldier" from the toughest neighborhoods of New Orleans to his return as chaplain for Auburn University fooball, where he continues to this day helping tranform the lives of players, coaches and all those God allows to cross his path. It is not a self help book, but with Chette's passionate anecdotal style and the intense experiences and challenges he describes, it is a markedly relevant tool for coaches, teachers and anyone ministering to or leading young people. Don't miss it. When you finish, you'll wish every college student in America could know these truths.



2. Just an unbelievable testimony to the work God did in Chette's life at Auburn as a player and now as the team chaplain. God has used Chette in enormous ways both on and off the field and you can read about them first hand in this book. If you are like me, you won't be able to put it down and it will change your life!! Thanks Chette!!



3. Once started I was unable to put down Chette Williams wonderful book full of life stories and messages of hope. Don't shy away if your not part of the Tiger Family or a football fan. This book is about life and what we make of it as individuals and has a group of people.
   Thank you Chaplain Williams for sharing your journey with us.



4. This book is quite different from a lot of books on the Christian faith. It has many short chapters and moves quickly from one area of Chette's life to another. It does cover some details of Auburn football because that is an early part of his life and his current position is as Chaplain for the Tigers. However a good bit of the book covers his family life, interactions with friends growing up, and his early work in Christian ministries. I thought the style of writing was execellent because it blends his view, with comments from other coaches, team members, and friends that provides a compelling view of how God does work in each of our lives - many times in ways that we only understand many years after He does the work.
   
   It is an easy read, and very entertaining to hear some of the behind the scenes stories of Division I football. I really enjoyed reading it.



5. This book is amazing. I finished it in two days, the only reason it took me that long was because I started in the evening of a busy night for me. For me to finish a book that fast says a lot because I have only finished maybe 5 books in high school and college (I'm a sophomore in college now) and I have taken AP English courses in high school and literature courses in college. I just don't typically enjoy reading, but this book was so good that I could not put it down. Well written and great theology and Christian experience anyone, not just athletes, can gain from.

2 comments about Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown.

1. According to Michael Pearlman, Truman was one of the main reasons that MacArthur felt free to criticize the government and advance into North Korea and past Pyongyang. Truman had an overly romantic view of war and thought that his heroes Hannibal and Lee were constrained by civilian leaders. This view of military leadership made it possible for MacArthur to support the KMT government contrary to secretary of state Dean Acheson's wishes. Truman gave MacArthur further reign in Korea by letting him cross into the North Korean border and then close to the Yalu river. MacArthur was only stoped and eventually removed by Truman when after the Chinese invasion he suggested that KMT troops should become involved in the Korean War to a member of the Republican party, Joseph Martin. Truman felt that MacArthur was getting innvolved in domestic politics in which generals should avoid. The only weakness of this book is that the last fifty pages of the dragged on, but this is essential reading for those like John McCain and Robert Kaplan, who believe that the military alone should dictate military strategy.



2. Michael D. Pearlman, PhD, an award-winning historian, surgically dissects the Truman-MacArthur confrontation in his outstanding new book, Truman & MacArthur: Policy, Politics and the Hunger for Honor and Renown. In doing so, he cuts through over fifty years of partisan mythmaking by the champions of both men to present the most accurate and in-depth account to date of what led Truman to relieve MacArthur of command on April 11, 1951 and the firestorm of controversy that act produced. Pearlman's insightful account was not written to please advocates for either Truman or MacArthur. The author set himself a different task: "My job, writing some fifty years after the fact, is not to produce another partisan polemic for one individual or the other;" in short, he did not set out - as many books on this subject have done -- to make a case for justifying the actions of either man. His meticulously documented, painstakingly researched book removes the shroud of folklore that has clouded the controversy for decades and shatters long held myths -- instead of perpetuating them. Despite the fact that any political-military-diplomatic historian of long standing could not possibly embark upon such a book without having at least some preconceptions about the principal actors, Pearlman reveals that "I no longer have certain opinions held when beginning my research several years ago" - evidence of a rare open mindedness about a subject usually dominated by fixed opinions and partisanship. The result, to borrow a well-known news network tag line, is the most "fair and balanced" presentation of this complicated, highly-nuanced civil-military crisis yet published.
   
   Pearlman does history a great service by using well documented facts to destroy the mythology surrounding the controversy, much of it purposely created by Truman and his partisan supporters in the wake of the relief in an attempt to weather the storm of public outrage and to fix the "feisty old Harry" image in the public conscious. Indeed, much of what today is presumed to be "known" about the Truman-MacArthur controversy is little more than myth or folklore, peppered with a scattering of "facts" removed from the context within which they occurred. Those who have accepted the mythology regarding MacArthur's relief and assume they know what really happened would be well advised to read Pearlman's Truman & MacArthur, the most revealing, well written account yet published about this watershed event in U. S. civil-military relations.

No comments about China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors.

5 comments about Once A Fighter Pilot.

1. I've read "Once a Fighter Pilot" more than once, and greatly enjoyed it each time. It's an intriguing mix of stories about flying in Vietnam, flying at MacDill AFB while the F-4 was just becoming available, and many flight instructor tales. (And sometimes the flight instructor stories are scarier than the ones about flying in Vietnam!) He's opinionated, open, honest, and to the point.
   
   I consider this to be in the top 5% of its genre because it covers such a broad area and does it well. There are perhaps better and/or more detailed autobiographies specifically about flying in Vietnam, but this one is one of the few which really covers Air Force life during the 60s. I also like the overall style, it's a series of short tales in chronological order rather than a more continuous work.
   
   It's a fun read--you won't regret it.



2. I first saw this book in a local bookstore and saw the cover. I didnt really now what it was about, but when I read it it was the best book yet. It is on my Absolute Favorite list.Since I bought the book I have read it over 5 times, and find something new each time. It has also made me want to be a fighter pilot in our Air Force. A must read for anyone.



3. Jerry Cook's "Once A Fighter Pilot" is one of the books that occupies a small section of my shelf reserved for truly extraordinary books written by pilots. Many fighter jocks are good at BFM, formation, gunnery, instrument flying, and other skills, but the ones who can evoke strong emotion through the written word are scarce. My military flying career is past, but this book takes me right back into the cockpit, in a way few books do.
   
   This book is the real deal, folks.



4. This book is a must read for all military pilots and those seeking such status. Gen Cook tells it like it was and reminds me of a bunch of pilots sitting around the table discussing their careers. Most of us have always believed his basic tenet that could not believe that we were being paid to fly for the service. He also reminded me that your primary instructor had the biggest impact on your approach to training other pilots. Thank you !



5. Awesome book. All I ever wanted to do was fly an F-4 and this book brought me as close as I'll ever get. Written in a down-to-earth manner that was easily understandable; thanks Jerry Cook!

3 comments about Pershing (Great Generals).

1. Pershing has always been an interest of mine, as I viewed him as the best forgotten general America has ever produced. The two best biographies prior to this were both huge multi-volume editions and I was a bit wary about anyone trying to capture Pershing and all of his many accomplishments in a single slim volume. However, Jim Lacey appears to have captured everything I would want covered and even presented a few priceless bits of information I had not seen elsewhere. For instance, he lays to rest a debate that has raged on the Internet and among historians as to whether Pershing ever condoned wrapping dead Islamic insurgents in pork skins to deter others. In summary, the book proceeds at a furious pace and truly brings Pershing to life. It is a must read for all historians, and for anyone else look for brilliant leadership study.



2. Author Jim Lacey clearly gives the GENERAL'S perspective of the events during Pershing's life. The reader gets no feeling of having been in the trenches although the general's perspective is presented quite well. The author, if he truly did set out to communicate only the view from above, was very successful and I do recommend this book for those who are interested in that angle.
   
   The clearest example of this bias is the campaign against the Moros in the Philippines. The slaughter was presented as always a necessary thing. It makes one wonder. Perhaps the reader who wishes a broader perspective of Pershing's professional activities should compare and contrast views by other historians as well.
   Paul Baum, Ph.D.
   Living Historyist
   Audrain County Historical Society



3. The author, Jim Lacey, does an outstanding job of capturing the history of one of the first great military leaders of the 20th Century, General Pershing. It is undeniable the mark that Pershing left on the military after WWI, giving the United States a huge advantage when it saw action again during World War II. Lacey does a fantastic job of telling the life story of Pershing in 193 easy-to-read pages. For any student of history, more specifically military history, this text is a must read.