No comments about Conservative Conservationist: Russell E. Train And the Emergence of American Environmentalism.

5 comments about Evita: An Intimate Portrait of Eva Peron.

1. "Evita: An Intimate Portrait of Eva Peron," edited by Tomas de Elia and Juan Pablo Quieroz, brings together a wealth of black-and-white photographs of Eva Peron, the legendary first lady of Argentina. The editors note in their preface that with the 1955 overthrow of Eva's husband, President Juan Peron, much visual material related to this controversial woman was destroyed. Thus, this book has significant historical and sociological value.

   We see the full span of the woman's extraordinary life: Eva as a child, aspiring actress, wife, and triumphant first lady. There are "glamour shot" portraits, candid photos, magazine covers, stills from film productions, and more. We see Eva and her husband, as well as her interaction with adoring crowds.

   Eva is a consistently fascinating subject: whether fiery, starry-eyed, thoughtful, amused, determined, or serene, you can see why she continues to captivate so many imaginations.

   The text portions of the book are very positive towards Eva. If you have been intrigued by the Broadway musical and motion picture about her life, or by other media about her, I definitely recommend this book.




2. EVITA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF EVA PERON is the best photographic record available of Eva Peron, First Lady of Argentina from 1946 to 1952. ("Evita," meaning "Little Eva," was her nickname.)

   Evita lived in a time before television was widely used, and since she was a politician she did not have many spreads in glossy magazines (once she became First Lady, her "cheesecake" portraits - taken while she was an actress - were supressed). Therefore, most of her pictures were used in newspapers, giving them a grainy feel. Often, the quality of pictures you find of Evita seem to be much poorer quality than what you would expect from something taken merely 50 years ago. EVITA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF EVA PERON is an exception, perhaps the best exception I have ever found. Most of these pictures are clear and crisp, though they are all black-and-white.

   One thing this collection of pictures reveals is that Evita truly was not what would be considered a conventionally beautiful woman. She was certainly beautiful in her publicity photos and propaganda portraits (some of which are reproduced here). But in a day-to-day setting - such as the enclosed pictures that depict her having lunch, leaning against her dresser, yelling at a policeman for obstructing a youth's access to her - she was a somewhat awkward, even at times homely, woman. But she was a master of image. As Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro point out in EVITA: THE REAL LIFE OF EVA PERON, she had an astonishing instinct, almost a sixth sense, for knowing how image affected people. This talent of hers is demonstrated when one constrasts the behind-the-scenes pictures of her as an awkward woman, with those gorgeous photos of Peronist propaganda. She wasn't a conventionally beautiful woman, but she knew how to make it seem as though she were.

   The portions of EVITA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF EVA PERON that I found most interesting, and most haunting, were of Eva as a young girl in her hometown of Junin, and the pictures taken of her shortly before her death. There is one particularly chilling scene of Evita, reduced to a mere 77 pounds by the cancer that had invaded her body, standing on the balcony of the government house to greet the tens of thousands gathered below. She spoke, yelled, actually, about taking justice into her own hands, warning her political enemies of the day that she would "go forth with the poor of the country and leave no brick standing that is not standing for Peron!" The rise from poverty, the contrasts, the extremes ... it's all palpable in these pictures.

   This woman was a genius.




3. Before Princess Diana, before Jackie O, even before Princess Grace, Eva "Evita" Peron made a name for herself in the international spotlight as a symbol of elegance, ambition and power. Although not always favourable to her character, the world press was intrigued by her obvious glamour. While the Peronist Argentine media labelled her with saintly nicknames such as "The Lady of Hope" and "Mother of the Poor", international correspondents used terms that were less meaningful and more shallow. She became known as "The Dashing Blonde" in the US while the french press labelled her as "La Belle Blonde D'Argentina".
   
   Argentina's first cover girl- Eva Peron's lovely face has graced more magazine covers around the globe than any other female Latin American political leader in history. She's also the only Latin American First Lady to have had the honour of gracing the coveted cover of TIME magazine- in June of 1947 and with her husband in 1951. This may not seem like a big deal NOW but at the time, it was a honour indeed and it should be noted that throughout the 30's & 40's not many woman made the cover of TIME magazine. In 1947 for instance, only a handful of women (6 - according to a source) made the cover that year - If I'm not mistaken Eva Peron was the third. Flipping through the thick pages of this book, it's not hard to see why so many were fascinated by this striking but controversial woman who wore expensive clothes, decorated herself with diamonds and wrapped her femininity in elaborate fur coats. But solely praising her for her looks is missing the point since it was her larger than life persona, her numerous works with Argentina's poor and her meteoric rise from obscurity to power that has kept her name and legacy alive.
   
   This visually informative book is one of the BEST books there is on Maria Eva Duarte de Peron. It offer's an in-depth look into her life using high quality glossy prints. Many of the images presented inside the book are striking photographs of Eva's handsome face with her golden blonde hair and it's metallic sheen either swept up into elaborate coils & curls or pulled back into it's trademark chignon or (in a couple of images) let loose to cascade over her shoulders. Her intoxicating beauty is evident and is the main showcase here but while most of these pictures show her at her most beautiful, others show us her lamentable decline as well. The once delectable body and face gave way to an extremely thin and frail woman with sad eyes and colourless skin. Her swift rise and rapid descent are all displayed infront of our curious eyes. For those of you who love Evita, it will definately arouse some type of emotion seeing her during her final struggles. For those of you who despise her, it might give you a sense of relief that this powerful & vulgar woman was finally silenced in death.
   
   Stikingly original and visually rousing, this book is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in learning more about the life and times of this remarkable but controversial figure (altough the book itself maybe a little TOO expensive for the casual curiosity seeker, in that case I recommend buying a good used copy). It's also one of the rare PRO EVITA books (in English) that offers such clear, good quality photos of the subject. It offers a brief intro and briography but the main attraction are the photographs. You will see Eva's life from the earliest childhood photos to the last Cancer Stricken photos. Her incredible matamorphesis, her incredible acheivements and her awesome gowns and jewels are all displayed within the pages of this interesting book. My only problem with it though is that despite the amazing amount of photographs, I was still left unsatisfied. The reason being is that there are HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of beautiful photo's from Eva's artistic career but the ones they chose to display are the ones we have already seen. The same goes with the photo's taken of her in Europe and of her candid moments. The book claims that many of the photographs have never been seen before but that is true only of her childhood photos, all of the other ones have been published before in several magazines and books. That said, it's still THE BEST photographic Book ever released in North America. The only other ones that come close are ALL visciously one-sided ANTI PERONIST accounts- Lloyd Weber's and Tim Rice's EVITA: THE LEGEND OF EVA PERON & W.A Harbinson's awful EVITA: A LEGEND FOR THE SEVENTIES- the latter remains the WORST biography ever written on the subject and was re-released as EVITA SAINT OR SINNER in 1996 however only the original 70's version contains an amazing collection of photos which is the only reason it's recomended.
   
   And for closing, I am quoting my Chilean Aunts mother (who lived in Argentina during the first Peronist Period): "I saw her from the distance and to this day I have never seen a woman more beautiful. She was and is a Goddess. Everything about her was larger than life. She looked my way and her dark eyes pierced my soul. I will never forget her look."
   
   This book offers a glimpse of the awesome power this remarkable woman had in life and still holds 50 years after her tragic demise.



4. As a photographic biography of an individual who died about a decade before bographies were featured on mass television, this book is magnificent. The Argentinian publishers painstakingly compiled nearly 200 pages of many elusive photos of this controversial Argentinian icon - all in black and white, and of surprisingly impeccable quality. One of the auhtors is an academic who provides much of the narrative, and fills an important gap in the literature on Eva Peron. Their treatment shows a clear sympathetic bias which should be recognized by any unwitting reader who may be unaware of the deeply split views of Eva Peron which still previal in Argentina and of the political movement that she and her husband created.

   You may, like myself, have enjoyed the brilliant Lloyd and Weber musical about Evita's musical life one or more times. If so, you will find these photos will provide some complementary historical insight to the dramatic performance and parallels the performance - although they two are unrealted, as far as I know. Like the musical, this book captures photos from Eva's childhood in a remote provincial pueblo in the pampas through her meteoric rise to stardom in Buenos Aires and ultimately to Argentina's First Lady. Perhaps most remarkable are the photos of her final months where, despite her cancer-ridden state and growing frailty, she continues public appearances and political campaigns.

   If you are interested in this book, I would recommend you avoid the expense of a new copy by looking for one of the many high-quality second-hand copies available. I found my copy by accident ...for [money amount]!




5. This is a fabulous book which follows the life of Eva Peron through photographs. Francisco M. Rocha tells his account of Eva's life in about seven pages, so there is not a lot of reading to be done. Instead you get hundreds of beautiful pictures ... if a picture is worth a thousand words, this book speaks volumes. There are lots of never before seen photo's from Eva's early life, many studio portraits from her acting days, as well as one of the few surviving official portraits of the Perons. To me the most touching photos are those from the days following her death. It was a fitting tribute to Evita, the thousands of Argentines standing in line for hours and sometimes days just to catch one last glimpse of her beautiful face. As well as the millions of flowers filling the streets of Buenos Aires. You can almost feel the grief that filled the air through those tragic days.
   

   There are also many photos of Eva's decline ... that proud, elegant creature shrunken down to a fragile waif and of her triumphant tour through Europe. The Peron's lavish life-stlye is also on display here ... the legendary Dior gowns, the millions of dollars worth of jewelry and the palatial Presidential Palace (destroyed in the revoltion of 1955) where Evita kept a storeroom for clothing, food and also offered as a shelter to the homeless.
   

   Evita's life was distinctly cut up into sections, her poor childhood, her acting days, the glorious days as First lady, and her death. The are all documented her beautifully in the lavish photos and detailed captions.
   

   Eva Peron is perhaps one of history's greatest mysteries. Many have called her a whore and a thief. Still there are countless others who attest to her sainthood. The truth is no one really knows what Evita was hiding behind those piercing eyes and no one ever will. What we do know is that in her short life, she accomplished amazing feats. For a poor illegitimate girl from the pampas to reinvent herself as an actress is extraordinary. For an actress no one took seriously to become the First Lady of Argentina and to win over the hearts of millions really is mind blowing. Evita was only 33 years old when she died, who knows what else she could have accomplished?

2 comments about Vote Your Conscience: The Last Campaign of George McGovern.

1. Richard Marano provides an in-depth analysis of one of history's most honest, forthright and moral political figures. Marano points out the historical inaccuracies and political misconceptions of George McGovern that plagued him in his last campaign of 1984. Marano also illustrates the pitfalls of the horse-race mentality of American politics, that which overemphasizes the importance of winning verses losing. This mentality adversely affects otherwise highly qualified candidates such as George McGovern as well as the mindset of the voters themselves. Vote Your Conscience makes the reader aware that, despite his shortcomings in the win-loss column, George McGovern's efforts did have a positive impact on society and politics. Marano provides thorough research and rare insight into the life and the ideals of this extraordinary man and well-qualified candidate. He also takes the reader deep inside the political process itself. Richard Marano reminds us to look beyond the hype and headlines, and to look within ourselves and to the raw truth behind the political spotlight, when we cast our votes.

   I highly recommend this book.




2. A first class chronicle of the 1984 McGovern campaign. Mr.Marano offers a top notch explanation of the motives that pushed Senator McGoveron into the race. You will be inspired by this beautifully written volume.

3 comments about Salisbury: Victorian Titan (Phoenix Press).

1. This is not just a book of immense intrinsic value. It's a book of real historical importance as one of two biographies of Salisbury published recently which entirely reassess his standing as one of the leading English statemen of the latter part of the nineteenth century, ranking alongside Gladstone and Disraeli.

   It seems incredible in view of the plethora of studies on Gladstone and Disraeli that it's been half a century since any historian has made a full-scale re-evaluation of the life of Robert Cecil, third Marquess of Salisbury, three-times Prime Minister and architect of Queen Victoria's glittering Empire.

   And yet he was a man arguably of greater intellect than either of these two other late Victorian "giants". Disraeli wrote rather affected, stylized novels; Gladstone turned out unreadable religious tracts. Salisbury, on the other hand, produced stimulating and pithy articles in the Saturday and Quarterly Reviews and delivered parliamentary speeches at least as memorable as those of the other two statesmen.

   But few historians have really come to grips with Salisbury in recent times. One had to look into Barbara Tuchman's epic "The Proud Tower" to find a chapter that did justice to the colorful, quirky patrician figure who performed sometimes dangerous chemical experiments in his spare time, was one of the first to introduce electricity into his home, rode around on an enormous tricycle and who was always ready to chat to strangers, even lunatics.

   Perhaps historians have been too ready to downgrade Salisbury's standing because of his inherent conservatism in the domestic field, his endeavors to preserve the status quo. And as to his being a main architect of Empire, this all-too-readily clashes with the modern, probably justified aversion to that theme.

   This book was commissioned by the present Marquess of Salisbury. It says a lot about the open-mindedness of the Cecil family that historian Andrew Roberts was given the task. Anyone who has read his wonderfully debunking "Eminent Churchillians" knows Roberts as an historian of the utmost integrity, incapable of pulling punches. And he pulls none in his biography of Salisbury, whom he paints on a broad canvass, "warts and all". But Roberts's admiration and affection for his subject is never in doubt. The result is a big book about a very big statesman by a young, big, historian.




2. Victoria and Salibury; two true Titans who, the former, giving her name to the century, and the latter, who helped create the formidable empire which was both reviled and regaled. This book is in the great tradition of "Life and Times" biographies. Mr. Roberts is to be commended for the scope and structure of slowly but with anticipation revealing the aspects of a fascinating man. The chapters on the Boer War and the Realpolitik diplomacy of the African continent are just two elements that should be read for years to come. From a shy and bookish child to the political standard bearer of the Tory Party, this book shows a man with conviction, often callous to some but with foresight which comes through in the epigrammatical style of Salisbury's prose. Thank You Andrew Roberts for your wonderful book.



3. Andrew Roberts has produced a superbly written and wonderfully exciting biography of Lord Salisbury, three times Queen Victoria's Prime Minister. In his fifty-year career, Salisbury won over Disraeli, destroyed Lord Randolph Churchill, charmed Queen Victoria, wrecked Gladstone's hopes for Irish Home Rule, and saw off Bismarck. The book is based on Salisbury's archive at Hatfield House, and on the papers of more than 140 of his contemporaries.

   Roberts records Salisbury's many contradictions. He supported "the right of a minority of Americans to secede from a Union, but not a majority of Irishmen." He opposed socialism as mere confiscation, but upheld the actions of his ancestor, the First Earl, who had confiscated much of Ulster's land between 1607 and 1609, then selling it to City and Scottish businessmen.

   He wrote eloquently against intervention in other countries' domestic affairs. "The Assemblies that meet at Westminster have no jurisdiction over the affairs of other nations. Neither they nor the Executive, except in plain defiance of international law, can interfere with the brigandage of Italy, or the persecutions in Spain, or the teachings of the schools in Schleswig-Holstein. What is said in either House about them is simply impertinence ... It is not a dignified position for a Great Power to occupy, to be pointed out as the busybody of Christendom." And, "there is no practice which the experience of nations more uniformly condemns, and none which governments more consistently pursue."

   Indeed, his Governments annually waged colonial wars in Asia and Africa, adding 2.5 million square miles and 44 million people to the Empire. His war against the Boers was particularly shameful: he claimed that Britain had sovereignty over the Transvaal, although the British Government had ceded this in the 1884 Pretoria Convention. (Roberts grants that Salisbury was `on exceedingly tricky ground legally'.) As Salisbury admitted, "If our ancestors had cared for the rights of other peoples, the British Empire would never have been made."

3 comments about The White House Physician: A History from Washington to George W. Bush.

1. This is a well crafted, researched and comprehensive treatise, yet it is an entertaining and fluid "read". I did not expect that the topic could be presented in such an interesting and entertaining manner. The book succeeded in educating me not only in the specifics of the various actors, but in the evolution of the roles and responsibilities of the President's physicians. I had assumed that the provision of medical care to the President had been static over the decades; it was fascinating to learn just how much and how recently it has changed. This book not only deals with presidential physicians, the evolution of presidential medical care (including political overlap), but also provides fascinating insights into presidential history.



2. 
   
   Ludwig Deppisch is a medical doctor who has an interest in medical history, and out of that interest he has given us a book that sets out the fascinating story of the doctors who, from the time of the founding of the republic up through the modern era, have served as physicians to the Presidents. This story is doubly fascinating because it not only traces the historical progress of medicine through time but it also reveals how medical practices, sometimes in conjunction with political subterfuge, can impact the presidency itself.
   
   The first part of the book, which covers the practices of the best doctors of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries - the doctors who treated Presidents - exposes the shortcomings of the medical profession in those years, even as medicine itself was becoming more professional. Thomas Jefferson wrote about his friend doctor Benjamin Rush, a greatly influential figure, that the doctor had "done much harm" with the practice of bleeding patients to treat illness. Indeed, calling on the aid of a doctor did not guarantee a cure; just the opposite could be the case. President James Garfield, who lived in a somewhat more advanced medical period, when shot by an assassin had his wound examined by doctors with hands so dirty that, according to the author, the doctors themselves likely caused his fatal infection. Still, a physically tough old President like Andrew Jackson could have a bullet removed from a dueling wound years after the duel and emerge much improved from the surgery.
   
   But it is as the story moves toward the twentieth century, while medical knowledge seems to be progressing, that we see another compelling issue begin to emerge, and that is how political and medical subterfuge can be employed to deceive the citizenry about what is going on in the health of a President. Grover Cleveland had a secret operation, for example, on board a private yacht, to remove a cancerous growth in his mouth. In the event the operation was a success and the public never became aware of what had taken place. Woodrow Wilson, however, had a stroke of such massive proportions that he probably should have left office but he did not. His physician was complicit in keeping Wilson isolated and the public misinformed about his true condition. FDR's health was so badly failing at the end of his third term that he should never have run for a fourth. But we were in the midst of war. His actual medical state was concealed and the reelected President died a short time into his last term. President Eisenhower had a series of serious medical problems which were interpreted to the public through rose tinted glasses. Never the less, Ike was popular, he completed two terms, and what Americans were told about the President's health likely gave them the reassurance most of them were looking for. Finally, it should be noted that JFK deliberately misrepresented his awful health facts to the American people throughout his political career with the audacity of Harry Houdini making an impossible escape. We might admire the audacity, but was it the right thing to do?
   
   The author also raises some related and interesting issues about using psychiatry as a tool both for evaluating the mental fitness of a President and as a mode of treatment. Hindsight suggests it might have been useful to know more about the mental health and psychological makeup of Richard Nixon before he was elected. But would it have been possible, we wonder, to get an objective and non political pre-election evaluation of Nixon's personality? By the same token, Senator Thomas Eagleton was forced off the Democratic ticket as a Vice Presidential candidate in 1972 when it was revealed he had been treated for serious depression. Was this action appropriate? And how would the American people react if they learned that a President was undergoing current psychiatric treatment? These are worthwhile questions to ponder.
   
   All of this leads us to note that there is some useful discussion in this book about the place of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment when it comes to dealing with the ramifications of any severe medical impairment of a President. And while this constitutional amendment was specifically passed to provide guidelines should a crisis occur, we have unfortunately seen, as in the shooting of President Reagan, that when a crisis does occur key officials can still be caught flatfooted in the immediate aftermath as to what to say and do. Moreover, the question of whether a President is medically fit to continue in office places the White House Physician squarely in the cross hairs of decision making. Thus, relevant officials in any new administration need to discuss and understand all of the protocols to be followed and all of the attendant constitutional and medical implications well in advance of any medical emergency. Deception of the public will probably no longer be tolerated as it has been in the past.
   
   Lastly we should note that, like a good novel, this tale contains some rich characters, strong personalities like Dr. Cary Grayson, Wilson's physician, who can color the story and influence the plot. And we see the potential for conflict when there are many doctors involved in treatment, a few of whom may have large egos. Kennedy had a wide range of treating doctors and his titular head physician, Dr. Travell, was shunted aside while the President received secret and controversial treatments from Max Jacobson, the Manhattan doctor known as "Doctor Feelgood" because of the injections he gave the rich and famous, injections that contained amphetamines and steroids.
   
   All in all, it would be fair to sum up that the author has given us a book that is not only rich in scholarship, but one that tells a tale which is fascinating on its own merits. Moreover, this is a book that is a significant resource of information for any doctors or officials who are newly being called to serve in an administration and who might have to grapple with a replay of history sometime in the future. For them it might be essential reading; for the rest of us it is just a darn good read.
   
   G. F. Shirley



3. Terrific! This is a thoroughly researched body of work. It contains great insights into the development of American medicine, and I highly recommend it to those interested in American and presidential history. Furthermore, its examination of legal, political, and moral issues make it a must-read for those in the medical profession.

No comments about For Better for Worse: Her Own Story.

5 comments about Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal.

1. I started reading this book because my sister recommended it. By the time I finished it, I was deeply touched, and at some instances even felt like I was there. The story of survival, deception, betrayal, and of course love tangled many strong emotions through me as I read about the world of Communism, the strive to survive. Excellent book, compelling read to those who's been to China.



2. I found this little gem of a book while on vacation in England. I have a fasination for Chinese fiction and non friction. This book engrossed me from the moment I started reading it. The love story between the characters is amazing. The best part is that it is a true story. The love that is shared between the two characters is something only found in fiction or if one is lucky enough once in a life time. I highly recommend this book. This book also gives a realistic view China, the good, the bad and the ugly. I adored this book. It is a must read!



3. This book was well written in the sense of giving the reader an in-depth look at how the PLA works (or worked since this was written years after Mao Zedong). The order of the book was a bit confusing. It starts with the author in prison and then goes into a history of her village. Then, she describes her interrogation and then back to her past and how she became a PLA soldier. Yet, despite this minor annoyance, I couldn't put the book down.
   
   However, it is not a love story. I never got the sense that Meihong Xu was ever in love with Larry Engelmann. The reader has to keep in mind that their marriage was ending at the time the book was written, so that could be a reason why the "love" was downplayed.
   
   Overall, I would recommend reading the book to get a first person perspective on what life is like as a PLA soldier, but not because this is a love story.



4. China, 1963: in the small village of Lishi, Meihong Xu is born. It is a difficult birth, and even in her adult life she carries the impressions of her grandmother's fingers on her forehead. Confined to a small, unheated room years later, Meihong remembers Lishi.
   
   In this, her beautiful memior, Meihong tells the story of her life, and through her life she tells the story of China. Through the flowing narrative stories are scattered. They are the stories of how her grandmother lost a daughter; of how her mother's sister came to be known as the Red Aunt; of how Meihong first fell in love. It is a book that encompases every aspect of life anywhere on the planet. Sweet, sad, sometimes comical; always knowing that things could have been different, yet never full of regret--- This is the story of the Daughter of China, and it is beautiful.



5. Meihong Zu grew up during the horrors of the Cultural Revolution which saw tens of millions of people in China ruthlessly murdered by the Communists.
   
   She recalls one of her schoolteachers being sent to a labour camp for crossing out an incorrect letter ,written by a schoolgirl, of Mao Tse Tung's name and correcting it.
   She also recalls the loud hateful chanting against individuals accused of being "class enemies" and "rightists" at rallies to humiliate these unfortunates and prepare for them for imprisonment or execution.
   The author describes the horrors of public executions and where condemmned innocents were shot to death to the vicious chanting of red mobs.
   Very often after the executions, the murdered victims were rushed to a nearby room or tent to have their organs removed for transplant.
   Organ harvesting of dissidents and minorities (such as the Tibetans and Fang Gong Buddhists) is massive industry in Communist China today.
   Education in Red China was and remains today nothing other than brainwashing, indoctrination and memorization. In referring to the public executions Meihong recounts that "All of us- adults and children- had been so steeped in hysteria and group thinking for so long that what we witnessed seemed necessary and natural. We believed that we could save ourselves only by sacrificing the lives of our alleged enemies. We never imagined for a moment that we were being manipulated by our own leaders".
   
   She also recounts the massive killing of pets by dog-killing squads that moved from house to house and village to village as owning a pet was seen by the Communist authorities as a carryover from the old order, a bourgeois practice.
   
   Meihnong was inducted into the "People's Liberation Army" at a very young, becoming a member of an elite intelligence corps. She was sent to spy on a visiting American professor, Larry Engelman, but soon found her old loyalities divided as she got to know him.
   She refused to continue activities against him and was so imprisoned and tortured. This is her story.
   
   She also recounts the the 1989 Tianmen Square massacre in which the PLA killed thousands of students, old people, women and children and randomly fired into apartments where they saw lights and movements.
   Communist China remains today one of the most evil, bloodthirsty and ruthless tyrannies, since Nazi Germany.

4 comments about The ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST.

1. Candace Gingrich has in her own way scared me into becoming more of an activist than I would ever have considered myself being. Living my everyday life believing that I knew what was going on in Washington has all changed thanks to the Accidental Activist. Candace goes out of her way to give "Brother Newt" every oppurtunity available to counter her words, but is always snubbed instead. Critics blasting her for using Newt's "fame" as a way to boost her own popularity obviously haven't read the book! Candace proves that she's a leader in her own right, and obviously, this Gingrich knows the true meaning of words such as "power" and "family values". A MUST READ for ANY and ALL people interested in what's going on in government and human rights today!



2. The only people that could agree with this book are far, far left wing. Candence simply rides on her brother's fame and runs roughshoud over him. This is one book that should stay in the closet.



3. This personal and political memoir clearly depicts the struggles and warmth of her experience. The determination to explain what it is like to live as a homosexual in America has been successful. One of the most heroic works I have read.



4. With states amending their constitutions to ban gay marriage, the media's fixation on "family values" and the Red state vs. Blue state dichotomy, it is welcome feeling to know that these issues did not spring today or ten years ago when Candace Gingrich wrote her personal and political memoir.
   The Accidental Activist by Gingrich (Yes, she is related to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives) is an attempt to describe how she turned to campaigning for GLAAD in opposition to her brother's stand on gay issues.
   If only Gingrich had settled on that.
   Instead she uses the book as a sounding board to hurl invectives at critics. While she berates the Right for intolerance and hypocrisy, she condones it at her own end. The negative connotations for her opponents are too numerous to mention. Gingrich christens James Dobson's Focus on the Family and Pat Robertson's 700 Club as antigay organizations even though they harp toward abortion. (Not that there is much to like about Robertson).
   Indeed just about anyone is termed antigay. Elsewhere she lashes out against "indiscriminate Republican budget slashers"; so much for decency in political discourse.
   Other times she is content to leave certain statements that beg for explanation hanging. For example, "A spate of genetic research has shown we are the way we are by nature." What does "the way we are" mean? Or when a fan writes, "My straight daughter was born with rights. My gay daughter has to fight for them." Which rights are being talked about?
   The harshest criticism would be on her portrayal of her brother. Lacking nuance, it is a facile attempt to play to his image as the far Right poster boy. She fails to acknowledge that political expediency demands an eschewal of libertarian ideals once in the mainstream. It is not admirable, but elections have never been won by being idealistic.
   With Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter coming out as lesbian, the avalanche of events has overtaken this book. If you believe as US News and World Report does in its December 5, 2005 issue that Newt Gingrich is making a comeback, you might want to read the Accidental Activist. If not, there should be tons of good stuff out there, somewhere.

5 comments about Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr.

1. As a Florida native, I feel Green well captured Harry Moore's Florida. Before His Time is educational, enteraining, and most importantly disturbing. We need to know in detail not only what Moore did but what ws done to Moore - and why. Green tells us. Despite the many horrors depicted in the book - and there are many - the book is ultimately life affirming: it is good to know that there were (are?) some Harry T. Moore's who have walked among us. Bravo, Ben Green.



2. Having moved to Brevard County in 1991, just when the Harry T. Moore murder case was back in the news, and the fact that I pass the Moore Justice Center every day, I was anxious to learn about Harry T. Moore and happily picked up a copy of this book.

   Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette were murdered on Christmas Day, 1951 when a bomb exploded beneath their bedroom at their home in Mims, Florida. At the time of his murder, Harry Moore was the Florida coordinator for the NAACP and a founder of the Progressive Voter's League. As the title of book implies, Harry Moore was before his time, including his murder. Remember this happen before Rosa Parks, before Medgar Evers, before Dr. Martin Luther King and before Brown vs. Board of Education. The murderer of the Moores has never been found.

   Green traces the life of Harry Moore from childhood to teaching to his efforts in helping to lead the Civil Rights movement in Florida. Along the way Harry Moore instructed his students how to use the ballot, before African-Americans could vote and Harry Moore's efforts in the investigations of violence (re: lynching) and murders of African Americans in Florida.

   The most famous case that Harry Moore investigated was the Groveland Incident. The case involved the conviction of three African-Americans in the rape of a 17-year-old woman and the subsequent killing of two of the suspects by the Sheriff of Lake County Florida, Willis McCall, in an escape attempt. All the while, Harry Moore was fighting with the NAACP national organization to retained his position in the organization.

   Green's biography of Harry Moore is sparse, though a lot of it could be contributed to lack of documents related to Harry Moore's life. I felt the book would have been more complete with more details on Harry Moore's internal fight with the NAACP national office and why Harry Moore's place in the Civil Rights movement has been lost.

   At the end of the book, Green spends too much time tracing down former Klan members who claimed they knew who murdered Harry Moore. However, all these statements were dead ends. Ben Green's book is a good starting point to learn about a true Civil Rights pioneer.




3. The author followed the FBI, the police, the Klan and Sherriff Willis McCall as if everything they said and did was ordered from the almighty and couldn't possibly be wrong. He bought the party line and didn't make any waves. He didn't do any in-depth investigating. This was an overview of a life of a man who should be honored by all the world as an icon for justice, for all men. It was a great let down that the author didn't follow the reporting that had been done previously and refrain from writing in such a mean spirited manner. At least maybe some more people will know what this brave man did and stood for. He should be likened to Nathan Hale who said "I'm sorry I have but one life to give for my country." The book didn't say it but let all citizens unite and Remember " Respectfully yours, HARRY T. MOORE." Could anything be more eloquent or brave thatn that signature?



4. I cannot overstate my admiration for Ben Green's Before His Time. As I read I felt I was traveling the roads with Harry Moore, fighting the fight with him (I should be so brave). I am fairly well read (PhD, English Lit) and have enjoyed many books, but very few have moved me as much Green's has. You need to know Harry T. Moore. Ben Green has given you the chance. Take it.



5. Beautifully written; a story that needed to be told. It was at times painful to read because of how horrible people were treated due to the color of their skin.

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