3 comments about Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary.

1. This light and lively account is a good place to begin learning about North America's most noteworthy social activist. Although denied direct access to Jacobs who was reluctant to participate, Alexiou turned to other sources effectively. She traces Jacob's career from her early life in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Jacobs had an early start in "activism" when she rebelled against a pompous teacher. Leaving school didn't mean a rejection of learning. As an autodidact, she took up information wherever it was available. Her best sources, as the author shows well, were people. Books and articles had their place, but is was as a "street person" that Jacobs demonstrated her real strengths.
   
   The author follows Jacobs in her difficult quest for employment in New York. She describes the chance encounter with a social reformer in Haarlem that prompted her interest in the impact of "urban renewal". Quickly recognising the value of neighbourhoods, Jacobs went on to thwart the designs of urban planners, both private and in government. Alexiou explains the amount of work entailed in Jacobs' efforts, both in New York and her later home, Toronto. The Toronto location had a strange dual impact on Jacobs, according to the author. Living in the age of "America, Love It or Leave It", Jacobs move diminshed her following in her homeland. In Canada, however, she quickly became a rising star. There, she continued her stiff resistence to "development" and was instrumental in the blocking of the Spadina Freeway project. It would have cut right through her home!
   
   Alexiou's book should provide secondary school teachers with a treasured resource. Classes in sociology and civics would do well to read this book in preparation for going on to Jacobs' own works. Even the less remembered books, such as that on Quebec separation still represent her voice. That voice should be kept alive and Alexiou's account will go far in doing that. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]



2. I had heard of Jane Jacobs as one of the few people who dared to fight plans set up by the powerful Robert Moses (and she won!) My Canadian friends knew her from her life and work in Toronto. So, I was glad to see a biography finally written about her and bought the book hoping to learn more. I wasn't disappointed - this book starts with Jacobs' upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania and chronicles her life and work in Greenwich Village and then her move and continuing work as a writer and urban activist in Toronto, Canada.
   
   I was fascinated by the fact the Ms Jacobs did not look for fame - she was first off a writer who found her voice in writing about cities. The author calls her a `prose poet' and uses Jacobs' own words liberally throughout this book to show the readers the beauty and power of her words. She became involved in urban activism because her own neighborhood was threatened with destruction in the great `urban renewal' projects of the time. It seemed obvious to her that her street was not a slum - that her neighborhood worked as a place where children could play, businesses could prosper and people could band together to protect their homes.
   
   I also liked that the author places Jane Jacobs in her time. With NYC being so desirable now, we forget that it was in serious trouble in the late 1950-60's. One of the answers (backed by major government funding) was to clear the slums by bulldozing established neighborhoods. The automobile was 'king' and urban neighborhoods in the US and Canada were expendable if it meant easier access for drivers. It was also a time when Americans were realizing that their involvement in Vietnam was unjust and were taking to the streets to protest. Jane Jacobs became involved in these major events in very personal ways because they involved her personally. Her own home was in jeopardy (both in the US and Canada) and her sons were eligible to be drafted. She wasn't afraid to take on the powerful and because she did and was so effective, she became one of the important voices of her generation - both in New York City and in her adopted city of Toronto, Canada. All this information is in this book and if you are old enough to remember, it is interesting to see that time through a different perspective.
   
   Ms Jacobs didn't want her biography written but her story needed to be told and Alice Sparberg Alexiou has told it with great insight. She has done a tremendous job of research and has included writings and thoughts of many other urban planners and designers to help the readers understand the intricacies of cities. I feel that I received an education in city planning and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the workings of the cities and in the life of a remarkable woman who looked around and saw what needed to be done - and then she did it!



3. Excellent exploration of the impact of the ideas of a remarkable woman on city planning. A very readable book.
   Chosen by Planetzen, The Planning and Development Network as one of the ten best books of 2006.

5 comments about Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation.

1. I found Smith's biography of Washington educational, but at times dry. I certainly learned a lot in reference to Washington and the various trials he faced in holding together a fledgling government. However, I also found less enjoyment in this book than in others about Washington's contemporaries. Students of history and particularly government and diplomacy will find this book very informative. It is not however, for the average reader merely looking to become more familar with our first president.



2. I was fascinated with this book about Washington's Presidency, but I would be remiss in not mentioning that is not much concerned with anything outside his presidency. It is not dry or lacking in details, but I found myself becoming more interested in the fleeting, anectdotal passages, or some of the more personal interactions Washington had. For instance, I found it gripping to follow Washington's decision making process when he is presented with evidence that a close acquaintance may be a traitor. This story only goes on for about two pages and similar examinations are found only few and far between the long stretches on global situations and policies. However, I would guess this proves that one of the important things to note about Washington was that he was not as outwardly notable as some of the more flamboyant and boisterous of those founding fellows surrounding him.

   I feel very informed about Washington the president, but I would now like to learn a little bit more about the man.




3. I bought Richard N. Smith's "Patriarch" at an airport gift shop because I was looking at two long boring flights and there wasn't any book that looked better. The situation was grim because I am no learned scholar or erudite student with 200 other books about Washington on the shelves.
   But once I started "Patriarch" I simply could barely put it down. Somehow, Richard Smith was coaxing that cheerless Washington out of that stodgy old painting we've all seen and bringing GW to life. The "Founding Father" was - surprise - a real life person and, truth is, as a person and a statesman, he was positively jam up!
   Before "Patriarch", it never occured to me what a real-time, online chore he had launchinig this country during his first Presidency. He, and mostly he alone, was the cool forge water that quenched Hamilton's fire and tempered Jefferson's steel to save the new country from a virtual "crib death". Washington's shepherding of the Constitution from damp and dangerous footing to solid ground was a feat nothing short of Incredible. And as the pages of "Patriarch" flew by for this jaded 60s-era non-Historian Washington's stature rose again like a Phoenix, and for the first time I understood why that glum old guy in that drab old picture was, and is, so venerated even 200 years after his death.
   This book, "Patriarch", is George Washinton - The Man - at his Best, and thanks to Richard Norton Smith, you will actually enjoy meeting him this time around.



4. If you are looking to add to an existing collection of books on Washington, this would really help complement it. This book was not what I was looking for, however.
   
   What I was looking for was a book that (1) shed light on Washington as the man who presided over the creation of a new nation and (2) did not go over the head of someone who didn't take any American History class at the college level. It sorta met these criteria, but I think it would be more appreciated by someone who were familiar with the historical context and wanted to add to it. I felt like I read a lot of snippets which shed some light during this period in his life, but I didn't get a good feel of the significance or the context of his achievements.
   
   Biographies (which this really isn't, because it only covered his life in the 1790's) are difficult to write because you have to present the facts but make it appealing as a fictional story (narrative trajectory, character development, etc...). I felt that the author has an elegant style of writing, but I kept saying "So what?" to myself at the end of the chapters. The book describes many instances where Washington maintained the delicate balance between the "Hamilton" style vs. the "Jefferson" philosophies of the federal government, along with many other political maneuverings and actions which occurred, but my impressions are that this book is better suited for complementing someone's existing knowledge of his achievements than a layperson like me who is several years removed from AP History.



5. This book concentrates on Washington's administration. It gave me a new appreciation for how instrumental he was in building the nation--not just freeing a collection of thirteen states from Britain.
   
   Except for what I felt was the author's ponderous style, this is a great book.

2 comments about No Regrets.

1. This well written book sheds light on the many aspects of a complex woman. The contrast between her somewhat puritanical streak - a result of her upbringing in the famous Peabody family - and her enjoyment of the high life is riveting. In the end the reader finds her to be likable but not without fault.



2. This book is not only about Marietta Tree, it is about her time and her environment. It is about the options se had as a woman of her class, and the consequences of the choices she made. She did not make the usual choices.

4 comments about Spider Eaters: A Memoir.

1. Spider Eaters is a haunting and lyrical memoir of a young girl growing up during China's most violent and provocative days. Rae Yang tells a little told story of the inside view of the Cultural Revolution, Nationalist politics and the ties between men and women in her old country. The mastery of this story, is that Yang concentrates less on the history of China, but the effect of that history on it's people. She write about how the cadre's children were supposed to sympathize completely with the working class, however, how could they do that when at every chance, Yang describes them as being completely isolated from the reality of such poverty. Communism at it's height, anyone accused of speaking, or even thinking, words against the Party, could be imprisoned, tortured and/or killed. Society looked down upon selfishness and the ego. Yang's description gives us the picture of a girl torn between two worlds, between herself and her loyalty to the Party, between her loyalty to the Party and her loyalty to her parents and friends, between respect for authority and contempt for such high-handed practices as "campaigns." When the Cultural Revolution begins, Yang's story of a lost girl continues as she turns on those who had been her peers and mentors, becoming the evil that she had unconsciously fought against all her life. This story is meaningful and eerie, in that it describes fully the effect of political influence on the youth, their power over the rest of the world, and their power to change society itself. However, it better describes what this mistreatment of young people can lead to-a burden of guilt and pain surround Yang's words, a guilt that past practices continue to make her unable to fully describe, although she is not permitted to. Her real thoughts are muddled and unclear throughout the novel, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions--a hardy, but somewhat annoying task. The real interest is in her thoughts, not what we believe about the circumstance. All in all, this book is a beautiful and eloquent novel, highly recommended to anyone interested in Chinese culture.



2. Spider Eaters is a haunting and lyrical memoir of a young girl growing up during China's most violent and provocative days. Rae Yang tells a little told story of the inside view of the Cultural Revolution, Nationalist politics and the ties between men and women in her old country. The mastery of this story, is that Yang concentrates less on the history of China, but the effect of that history on it's people. She write about how the cadre's children were supposed to sympathize completely with the working class, however, how could they do that when at every chance, Yang describes them as being completely isolated from the reality of such poverty. Communism at it's height, anyone accused of speaking, or even thinking, words against the Party, could be imprisoned, tortured and/or killed. Society looked down upon selfishness and the ego. Yang's description gives us the picture of a girl torn between two worlds, between herself and her loyalty to the Party, between her loyalty to the Party and her loyalty to her parents and friends, between respect for authority and contempt for such high-handed practices as "campaigns." When the Cultural Revolution begins, Yang's story of a lost girl continues as she turns on those who had been her peers and mentors, becoming the evil that she had unconsciously fought against all her life. This story is meaningful and eerie, in that it describes fully the effect of political influence on the youth, their power over the rest of the world, and their power to change society itself. However, it better describes what this mistreatment of young people can lead to-a burden of guilt and pain surround Yang's words, a guilt that past practices continue to make her unable to fully describe, although she is not permitted to. Her real thoughts are muddled and unclear throughout the novel, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions--a hardy, but somewhat annoying task. The real interest is in her thoughts, not what we believe about the circumstance. All in all, this book is a beautiful and eloquent novel, highly recommended to anyone interested in Chinese culture.



3. "Spider Eaters" is an interesting and creative title and well matches the contents. This is a most fascinating and moving memoir. I have read several autobiographies written about the beginnings of Communism in China and the Cultural Revolution, and this is by far one of the best. Many such books these days are advertised as "belonging on the shelf next to Wild Swans". I've always felt such claims are exaggerated as Wild Swans for me was quite exceptional. But Spider Eaters truly does deserve to be in the same category.

   Having just finished "Life and Death in Shanghai" by Nien Cheng prior to "Spider Eaters" I found reading the other side of the coin intriguing. Nien Cheng was imprisoned for six and a half years in solitary confinement, accused of being a British spy as she had worked for Shell company. Her beautiful home and belongings were trashed by the Red Guards. Then I read Rae Yang's account of her experience as a Red Guard. She was responsible for persecuting such bourgeois "Capitalist Roaders" as Nien Cheng. I am sure that both these women would like, admire and respect each other if ever they had met, and yet during these times they were class enemies. How sad.

   If the author should read this review, I would like to thank you so much for your wonderful honesty in relating not just the events of your life, but also your thoughts and dreams. I was reluctant to finish your book as I felt I had come to know you so well. What I read almost felt like a personal letter. Your book is wonderful reading and it has long stayed on my mind. It stirred my emotions deeply. And can I just say, that I am so glad you came to love your pigs. I especially warmed to you when I read of your feelings for them and your sense of betrayal when they were sent to be slaughtered. I would have felt exactly the same. I understood completely and you certainly wouldn't have been a laughing stock to me had I been present.

   I discovered Spider Eaters through Amazon and am disappointed that more have not reviewed it. Spider Eaters is far more than a memoir. It is also a literary delight. Extremely well worth reading!




4. After reading "Spider Eaters" and several books like it ("Son of the revolution", "A Woman's ordeal", "Troublemaker".. ect) I wasn't Sure how to review this one. "Spider Eaters" is a much more complex memoir than the others. "Spider Eaters" does not have the simple emotional punch of other memoirs in it's class yet as a memoir it works well. As a first person acount of mordern China it works well but the book is so much more than just a personal History. Spider Eaters is probably best described as a personal psychologial drama.

   How does a poor little rich girl survive the mental abuse that is the demonicaly inspired communism of mordern day china? How does a girl with dreams and aspirations of any little girl suppress those dreams and thoughts when they conflict with the strict communist party line and exposing them can mean ruin?

   Rae Yang first creates a fantasy hero, an almost Christ like figure who resuces the poor stands up for the wokers even to the point of death. Later when "politicaly correect" she transfers that figure to Chairman Moa and ultimately begins to see herself as that figure. A Savior who is betrayed by those she loved. Later still while living in the US she must find ways to reconcile all the various personalities into one functioning adult. A psychologist could have a field day with this book. Spider Eaters to me is a frighting look at the damage Communism can do to the minds of those it inslaves, and how a person can cope once freed of it's grasp.

No comments about Like a Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story.

No comments about Millard Fillmore - The Accidental President (Biography).

2 comments about Founding Father: How C-SPAN's Brian Lamb Changed Politics in America.

1. This book is author Stephen Frantzich's look at the founding father of C-Span. Never elected to office, nor appointed to a policy-making position, Lamb's impact on American politics undeniably supercedes that of many individuals whose titles and positions imply greater influence. For over a quarter century now, Lamb's brainchild has moved from an unknown niche network to the network of record for public affairs - yet few people know much about this man. Self-effacing and modest, Lamb shies away from the public eye (even to the point of disallowing a mention of his own name on the network he created).
   
   Brian Lamb's earlier experiences as a student in the Midwest, public affairs officer in the Navy, White House staffer, Capitol Hill press secretary, and media columnist all influenced his view of the world - and his story has implications well beyond C-Span. Lamb's style introduces key entrepreneurial strategies and outlines a management style whose basic components could be used in a variety of settings.
   
   The book is highly readable, and Brian Lamb is a truly interesting subject.



2. Few non-elective citizens have made as much of an impact on the American political scene in the past three decades as Brian Lamb, the man principally responsible for bringing the on-floor deliberations and the public hearings Congress onto the television screens of the American people through C-SPAN (the House) and C-SPAN 2 (the Senate). Of special note is the weekend dedication of C-SPAN 2 to authors, books, and publishing with respect to public issues and political events. Now the story of how all this was accomplished is superbly presented in "Founding Father: How C-SPAN's Brian Lamb Changed Politics In America" by Stephen E. Frantzich (Professor of Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy). Informed, informative, and superbly written, readers are provided with background insight into how Brian Lamb managed to create (and get funded) a non-commercial television operation that is even-handed and highly praised by Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Academics, and political science enthusiasts from all walks of life. Enhanced with an extensive Notes section and a comprehensive Index, "Founding Father" is an essential acquisition for both academic and community library Political Science and American Biography collections -- as well as being a 'must read' title for the legions of C-SPAN viewers who appreciate Brian Lamb's enduring contribution to political discourse and decision making for both the Congress and the American public.

4 comments about My Last Chance to Be a Boy: Theodore Roosevelt's South American Expedition of 1913-1914.

1. Ornig provides the first detailed account of one of the most exciting adventure stories of the 20th century -- Theodore Roosevelt's exploration of the River of Doubt in Brazil's Amazon. The story is more incredible when you think that Roosevelt was a 55-year old former President at the time of the expedition. As we approach the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's presidency, and as we consider our relationship with the earth, it is worth taking another look at this great outdoorsman. Ornig weaves together the political and diplomatic origins of the expedition and how Roosevelt, his son Kermit, and the rest of the expedition got much more than they bargained for. There's murder, there's drowning (and a question of whether Kermit Roosevelt was accountable), there's frustration, and there's a former President on the brink of death. After you read it, you'll want to read Roosevelt's account, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness." You'll enjoy that one too



2. TR's 1913-1914 expedition down the River of Doubt (subsequently renamed Rio Teodoro in his honor, and later Rio Roosevelt) is an astonishing piece of history - one often refered to in passing by other TR biographers, but not often fully explored, as it here. Author Ornig tells an exciting tale well, from the multitudious details of planning and executing a massive exploring expedition in the early 20th century, to vivid portraits of the characters involved. This book would be a wonderful companion for any adventure traveller (or even armchair adventurers).

   Best of all, Ornig is no run-of-the-mill TR hagiographer (and there are plenty of them out there), nor is he interested in taking unfair potshots at the great man (plenty of those folks out there, too). Ornig simply relates events as they occured, and doesn't care a whit whether they cast TR in a favorable or unfavorable light: TR was a poor shot (due to his poor eyesight) and became grumpy and embarassed when he missed easy targets. TR was delighted with the impact on his waistline when the expedition was forced to subsist on reduced rations -- and argued against the restoration of full rations even though others were suffering. Do these facts detract from the TR legend, or add to it? I have never been a fan of Marble Men, and found that I loved TR even more after glimpsing some of his human flaws in MY LAST CHANCE TO BE A BOY. No student of TR should be without this volume.




3. Ornig's book is the first full account of this amazing adventure since Theodore Roosevelt was alive to tell it himself. Thanks to the author's years of meticulous research, we get to see the ex-president up close as every ounce of courage and determination that can possibly be required of a human being is exacted by this perilous expedition. Why would a man, having already carved his name in history, literally risk his life in service to exploration? The book title is informative; it was the kind of thing he loved to do. Roosevelt's passion for for life was abundantly demonstrated on the River of Doubt as he and his party encountered one life-threatening obstacle after another. If it wasn't the hostile natives who tracked them, it was the piranhas. If it wasn't a lack of food and supplies, it was flesh-eating disease.... As if fighting just to survive the forces of nature weren't enough, there was also the recklessness of some, including his own son. And there were personal conflicts among the explorers--disagreements, arguments, theft--and a murder. This wilderness adventure had it all--and it wasn't reality TV. No camera crew, no global positioning system, no one to bail them out at any point. In this age of apathy and plasticized existence, this story is all the more striking.
   
   Thus, out of this book emerges a fresh portrait of Theodore Roosevelt. We learn a great deal about him under conditions of maximum stress. We also get to know the group of explorers who accompanied him. And the generous 48 pages of maps and photographs are a real plus. Many thanks to the author for rediscovering this story and dusting it off for us with such literary finesse. For a non-fiction history work, it reads like a novel.



4. Within the span of two months, Theodore Roosevelt's "last chance to be a boy," as he dubbed his South American adventure, permanently broke his health, and transformed him from a person of vigorous middle age into an old man.
   
   The 1914 journey of exploration that he and his companions made by paddling down what had been called "the River of Doubt" in dugout canoes quickly became an unrelenting exercise in exhaustion, pain, disease and near starvation. Roosevelt wrote of the experience, "Under such conditions whatever is evil in men's natures comes to the front." By journey's end, the river had been rechristened "The Rio Roosevelt" and the former president was no longer capable of seriously seeking another term as chief executive.
   
   Joseph Ornig's "My Last Chance to be a Boy" describes this excruciating odyssey from origins to aftermath. It makes a fine companion piece to Theodore Roosevelt's own account of his journey, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness." Mr. Ornig's story is strengthened by adding the perspectives of other voyagers, including T.R.'s son Kermit Roosevelt. It also describes the trip preparations and T.R.'s South American city tour which preceded the jungle adventure.
   
   Surprisingly, some of the comments T.R. made in speeches during that progression touched on what are today still hot-button issues. In Buenos Aires, for instance, he counseled against judges acting as lawmakers.
   
   Mr. Ornig also gives us a look at the kinds of contributions T.R's second wife, Edith, made to the success of the enterprise. It was she, according to the author, who encouraged Kermit to accompany his father into the wilderness. It was fortunate that she did. Kermit's Portuguese fluency and wilderness savvy contributed materially to the party's survival. By inference, we also see just how useful to T.R. Edith must have been during her husband's political career.
   
   The book is filled with facts, descriptions and quotes. Fortunately, the writing is conversational, without wasting words. The story lifts effortlessly from the page to the reader's mind. Mr. Ornig's research for the story at hand is scrupulous, but his work also gives the impression of his being a Roosevelt scholar in a broader context. He mentions, for example, T.R.'s use of the expression "black care" to describe what we would today probably call depression.
   
   T.R's great grandson, Tweed Roosevelt's foreword and the comprehensive photo section both contribute to an already first rate account. This is a story which should jack up the adrenalin level of armchair adventurers and T.R. aficionados alike.

4 comments about I Was a Communist for the FBI: Matt Cvetic: The true life and times of undercover agent Matt Cvetic.

1. I have read other accounts of Matt Cvetic of Pittsburgh as undercover FBI agent 1941-1950 for the FBI but this is the only one that respects the man for what he did. He risked his life and family life for the sake of his country but is portrayed as a money hungry boozer by some authors. I really appreciate what this author did.



2. A thin book retorting the criticism of Matt Cvetic, famous FBI informant who worked inside the Pittsburgh area Communist Party for nine years. Cvetic testified against the CP a month after Joe McCarthy made his charge that there were over 200 communists in the Federal government helping to direct policy. Warner Bros. made a film of Cvetic's life entitled I Was A Communist For the FBI. There was also a radio show. "Gus" Payne makes the point that Cvetic's personal life and attributes have no bearing on the validity of what he reported to his FBI handlers (Cvetic drank, loved publicity, and smacked women around). Furthermore, Payne argues, Cvetic's character was not out-of-the-ordinary for a spy: gift of gab, narcissistic, hooked on the exhilaration of living a secret life, suffering periodic attacks of nerves, and (after his cover was lifted) bathing in the limelight of how slick he was. The FBI paid Cvetic the last seven years he was undercover, and Payne argues that this was only right considering the sacrifices and danger Cvetic endured for many years. His family practically disowned him, his mother died still thinking he had gone communist, and there was a real danger he would be found out and murdered. In the end Cvetic delivered to the FBI over 300 names of active members and conspirators, CP legers, and the names of dummy communist front organizations.
   One does not need to read Cvetic's book to enjoy Payne's evaluation of it. Payne explains thoroughly and quotes widely from Cvetic. Payne leans to the right politically, but-like it or not-communist spy rings did indeed run roughshod through the country for ten years. They got going well by the middle 1930s and did not come under intense investigation until after WWII ended. Meanwhile the spy rings helped get Russia the atomic bomb. Cvetic's book-as well as Herb Philbrick's I Lead Three Lives-is a worm's eye view of B level Communist Party workers in the trenches, directed by secret cabals of elites, striving for the success not of communism but of the Soviet Union. This was a quick but interesting read. I recommend it.



3. 40 years after Matt Cvetic's death, and long after Cvetic was forgotten in the public mind, Daniel Leab's's hardcover, "I Was a Communist for the F.B.I: The Unhappy Life and Times of Matt Cvetic" stands as the definitive biography. Payne's slim little tome (published through vanity-press publisher AuthorHouse) however reads like someone who was a secret admirer of Cvetic, and just couldn't stand to see Leab have the last word.
   
   It seems like Payne started out with the idea of writing an apolgia or a eulogy, but once he get rolling can't help but confirm all that had been said about the man. A Poor Man's James Bond FBI wannabe (think: Incrediboy) whose gonzo-like independent 'investigations' made him too much of a gadfly for the FBI to ignore, Cvetic rode the coattails of Sen. Joseph McCarthy to fame with only a few crumbs of funding from the political right. By stretching his threadbare FBI connections, the former salesman and low-level government employee got the attention he was looking for and stretched his particular brand of anticommunist agitprop into a career long before pundits like G. Gordon Liddy and Ollie North would do the same.
   
   Payne's book doesn't add much to the story of Cvetic, and its lack of footnotes, unaccredited attributions and mantra-like commentary ('Cvetic risked his life for Nine Years investigating the Communist Party' appears over and over again) makes one wonder what the point is. To the author's credit, Payne makes little attempt to cover up Cvetic's many flaws - although the overall effect is rather sad. ("He was a drunk, a womanizer and a self-promoter - but he was patriotic, and he never got rich!") I imagine the tone might have been different if Leab's well-researched book hadn't been published first.
   
   The last half of the book (and I do mean half - pages 40 through 80) contain mostly speeches of the day unrelated directly to Cvetic and "random thoughts" about the McCarthyistic climate of the time. Purely filler, but interesting - it's not pretty sticking up for the times of HUAC and McCarthy, and the author doesn't try to.



4. I almost didn't buy this book after reading Hodgson's review, but I'm glad I did, because it may not be thick but what it contains was clearly missing in Daniel Leab's book: Balance. As a college instructor myself, I know how left wing we tend to get in our ivory towers, but Leab's book goes so far out of it's way to present the liberal spin of an historical event, it's embarrassing. Fortunately, Payne's isn't quite as biased as Leab-- he does spot significant flaws in Cvetic whereas Leab can find nothing but flaws. But history clearly supports the truth of Cvetic's basic claims-- even if sensationalized, American communists were receiving secret funds and direction from the Soviets to destabilize the US. That's criminal whether you support free enterprise or not. Cvetic provided names, dates, specific schemes, and nearly 100 pounds of snatched Union documents to prove it.
   
   No one doubts that some innocent people got hurt in the crossfire. They do in every war, including the cold war. However, to suggest the FBI and counter intelligence agencies (including Cvetic) were just running witch hunts is factually false. It's funny in a way. Payne succeeds in less than 80 pages to do what Leab can't accomplish with hundreds of poison penned pages... To convince readers his basic opinion of Cvetic is the historically accurate one. He does so by showing that although Cvetic himself was selfish and flawed, he accomplished a very dangerous and heroic mission by exposing subversive Red activities. I'm beginning to think that anyone who works undercover for years and years will have serious issues. But I'm appreciating their sacrifice more, because regardless of if it's Soviet directed communists, the American Mafia, or yes, even Islamic terrorists, you often need a "stool pigeon" to catch the criminals who are experts at exploiting our freedoms in order to hurt us.

5 comments about A President in the Family: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and Thomas Woodson.

1. This is pretty sad really. I started out as a believer in the Woodson story and Woodson has obviously done a lot of research on his family history. Certainly, there are many distinguished people in Woodson's family...sadly, Thomas Jefferson has been pretty definitely proven by DNA (no match after testing 6 Woodson lines!) not to be one of them! Since Woodson was the Hemings child with the strongest "oral history"/family lore--the fact that there was no link to Jefferson really calls into question the whole story since obviously Sally got pregnant by somebody else in Paris. And the allegations started about a "Black Tom"....Still and all, with irrefutable evidence that someone in Woodson's family lied to create a link that science has proven doesn't exist, Woodson still can't give it up, claiming the 'no match" was the result of illegitimacy later in the line...which Woodson still doesn't seem to get would still mean he is not related to the Great Man. Bottom line: Don't waste your money.



2. The existence of 'Black Tom' is highly questionable, though Woodson is quite right about the erasure in Jefferson's records, I've seen it too in a holograph edition of his Farm Book.
   Unfortunately for Mr. Woodson's thesis 'Tom's' name should certainly have appeared more than once. His 'mother' and 'brothers and sister' are listed not only on Jefferson's Slave Census but in distributions of rations and clothing as well. 'Black Tom' supposedly lived at Monticello till 1802, his name most certainly should have appeared in those records just as the rest of the Hemmings family's names did.
   However the even if the existence of 'Black Tom' were proven it would do the Woodsons no good. The famous DNA tests that proved the Eston Jeffersons are indeed descended from *A* Jefferson male, (possibly Thomas but his brother or nephew is equally probable) also proved that though Thomas Woodson was undoubtedly sired by a white man that man was *not* a Jefferson.
   The Woodson family has chosen to ignore this incontrovertable scientific evidence and cling to their family myth. Frankly I find it pitiable that this extraordinarily accomplished and successful family should be so fixated on a fictitious illegitimate descent from a Founding Father. The achievements of generations of Woodsons, against unbelievable odds, is in itself a heritage to be proud of, they don't need Jefferson's blood to validate their role in American history.



3. This is a well-written and fascinating story that has been passionately believed by generations of descendants of Thomas Woodson (allegedly the "Black Tom" who was the central piece of "evidence" in scandalmolnger James Thomson Callender's 1802 charge that Thomas Jefferson had a sexual relationship with Sally Hemings). But SIX different DNA tests of male-line descendants of three of Thomas Woodson's sons have proven beyond any serious doubt that the story is fiction. Serious scholars are still divided over whether Sally Hemings was more than one of his house slaves to Thomas Jefferson. A year-long study by more than a dozen senior scholars released in 2001 concluded the story was probably false with but a single mild dissent, but some scholars continue to embrace the story. But no serious scholar still contends that Thomas Woodson was the son of Thomas Jefferson. (It is not known whether he was the child of Sally Hemings.) When pressed to reconcile his claim with the DNA scientific proof that has repeatedly shown it to be false, Byron Woodson noted that there is no known sample of Thomas Jefferson's DNA (the 1998 tests used DNA from descendants of his cousins -- which should have carried the same y chromosome as the president) and reasoned that perhaps Jefferson was illegitimate. Woodson seems like a nice fellow, and it is understandable why he might hold on to his belief despite such powerful scientific proof that it is untrue. But the issue has been clearly resolved by reliable scientific testing, and this volume should now be moved to the FICTION section -- where many readers may well find it a most interesting read.



4. Many of the reviewers harping on whether the Woodsons were actually descendants of TJ are completely missing the significance of this book.
   
   So we're not related to TJ (I'm the son of the author). Our historical and genealogical research is accurate (we have found over 1700 living relatives) minus one speculation. For the record, as a member of the Woodson family I grew up knowing that I am related to Thomas Woodson, but thinking I might be related to Thomas Jefferson.
   
   So the Woodson's aren't related to TJ . . .So why read the book? Because it's a darn good book.
   
   I was even surprised at how well-written it is. This book aspires to be an honest account of how history is lived and made through the lives of real people as part of a family, and how history is both written and mis-written. The most ground-breaking and under-appreciated aspect of this book is that it tracks the stroy of at least seven generations of successful African Americans!
   
   This multi-generational family-centered view shows the triumphs, plights, hopes, beliefs and one mistake of generations of a family (we're not related to TJ's cousin:) and the dishonesty of historians (DNA proved TJ is related to the descendants of at least one of Sally's children, much to the chagrin of historians; and that historians physically altered national landmarks [Monticello and Jefferson's farm book] to erase evidence of the close relationship between TJ and Sally).



5. If you've followed the Jefferson-Hemings controversy, you know that the DNA tests have shown that Jefferson was almost certainly the father of Sally Hemings' children. This conclusion is supported by virtually all historians and informed observers, with the only holdouts being the Old Virginia types (as exemplified by some of the reviewers here) who simply refuse to accept that their hero, Thomas Jefferson, had an affair with his African-American slave.
   
   But if you've followed the Hemings controversy you also know that the DNA tests indicated that the Woodson family, the branch with the most robust oral history of their descent from the President, are apparently not related to Thomas Jefferson at all. And that while their oral history is emphatic that their ancestor, Thomas Woodson, was Jefferson's son -- in fact the "Black Tom" alluded to in Callender's contemporary attack on the President -- this young person cannot even be definitively placed on the Monticello plantation.
   
   It's a genuine mystery. It's mysterious because the Woodson family's oral history is so strong -- and in fact so accurate about many things, such as Sally Hemings' personal ancestry. It was the Woodson family's research that uncovered much of the trail that finally linked the Hemings descendants together.
   
   So who was Thomas Woodson? Who was he really? Who was his father?
   
   This book, written by a direct Woodson descendant, is an account of the family's search for the truth behind their oral history. As such it is a compelling and enlightening read. Despite the lack of DNA match and the ultimate question mark as to Thomas Woodson's real parentage, it is absurd to say that the book is not "true." It is a true account of the family lore preserved by the Woodson family, of what they found when they began to search the records, and of how they ultimately pieced the puzzle together with the other descendants of Sally Hemings (those whose genetic connection to Jefferson has been demonstrated by DNA tests).
   
   The book is also a two-century history of the Woodson family itself, a highly accomplished African-American clan that has had an important impact on this country. Even without the putative Jefferson connection, their multi-generation saga is fascinating.
   
   Highly recommended.