No comments about Italo Balbo: A Fascist Life.

4 comments about Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power (Real Politics in America Series).

1. I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised to get the best. This book by Prof. West is a fair, in-depth and thoughtful account of a young "celebrity" politician who challenged himself to succeed and so far is doing a pretty good job at it, according to Prof. West. The book gives an in-depth look at the early struggles of Patrick Kennedy, son of the famous Senator Ted Kennedy (and his likeable mom, Joan) and heir to the Kennedy fame. It chronicles the family and public life of this young man's rise to poltical power (number 5 Democrat in the House of Representatives yet he is only in his early 30's).

   What I liked most about this book is that it was not a typical knee-jerk analysis of the Kennedy's and I felt truly showed Patrick Kennedy as a human being, committed public servant and rising star. Hats off to Prof. West for his research, his fair analysis, and his ability to tell a good story.




2. This book provides a highly readable account of the Kennedy's political operation. Generally sympathetic to the family, but hard-hitting at times. Good stories from people who have worked for the Kennedys as well as those who have opposed them. The average person would like this book!



3. I was initially alarmed at the slender length of the book, and had braced myself for choppy reading and hurried accounts. I was glad I kept an open mind, because this book easily surpased all of my content expectations.

   West neither massacres nor coddles his subject, and I could actually identify with some of Kennedy's emotions and struggles to define himself. As a college student, I was very impressed that he was in the legislature while finishing up his degree---no easy feat in a state of any size. His personal health led him to identify with the disadvantaged and disempowered.

   Tracing his childhood and young adulthood, West shows how the "un-Kennedy" Kennedy emerged to become the chair of the DCCC. For a public figure, Kennedy has managed to keep his life largely private and scandal free. He does not engage in the life style that has created headlines for so many other members of the family.

   Although I am more partial to his father's voting record, I respect the niche Kennedy carved out on his own terms and was impressed with the many different things he had accomplished. This book is especially inspirational for young democratic politicians.




4. As a New Englander who is attending school in Rhode Island, I had hoped that this book would provide me with some interesting information on a little-understood political figure making a quite a rise through the ranks of the Democratic Party.

   Boy, did I pick the wrong book.

   First of all, West has no writing ability whatsoever. His vulgar, crass style is not appreciated and is wholly inappropriate. Frequently laughable, his "prose" disqualifies himself as any sort of an expert on the subject matter.

   Second, the book is so fiercely partisan that it is factually incorrect throughout. It appears to this reader that West has little understanding of political issues and even less of how to explain political matters to an audience. This book was little more than preaching to the way-outside-the-mainstream radical leftist crowd. As a political independent, this book was too polarizing to be informative.

   Third, there are many things Patrick Kennedy is and an angel is not one of them. How anyone can pretend that Kennedy's long history of reckless behavior is either a coincidence or is otherwise not his fault is foolishly naive. I think there has to come a point where West is going to have to accept that Patrick Kennedy might not be the unfortunate saint he believes him to be.

   Bottom line: This was the worst book I have ever read. Where I had hoped to find intelligent, insightful commentary, I found a book that was vulgar and ridiculous with a gaping hole where integrity should be. I cannot imagine a publisher actually deciding to publish this book and I wish Mr. West would learn some manners and writing skills. Note to West: Partisan cheap shots do not equal quality writing outside of Brown University.

3 comments about Failure Is Impossible: The Story of Susan B. Anthony (Feminist Voices).

1. I enjoy Ms. Bohannon's writing. She is an easy author to follow and can comprehend easily. Her writing was very informative and so interesting that you just did not want to put the book down. Her subject Susan B. Anthony was expressed so well and with thoroughness. I think the book was done so well that it should be considered to become a movie. I know I would thoroughly enjoy a movie about our heritage and how much effort some women put into making women's life today so much easier and better. Lisa was able to bring all of this out, the dedication these women had and never gave up. I truly enjoyed the portraits and how Lisa was able to express something so well written about each person in the book. She is truly a wonderful writer and I cannot wait until her next book comes out. I have her first book and I was so excited that she wrote another book. Thank you Lisa for such a knowledge that you have given to us, and how much we appreciate your telling the story. I truly enjoyed this book. Carol Nipper



2. This book is an excellent account of one of women's greatest women. It may have been written for a younger audience, but its simplicity makes it all the more intriguing. Her friendship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton is so powerful, and their struggle makes what they fought to win so much more appreciated. "Failure Is Impossible: The Story of Susan B. Anthony," should be used as required school reading.



3. I really enjoyed the way the author brought to life the different events and struggles of Susan B. Anthony's life. Anthony was a very determined woman, and Mrs. Bohannon thoroughly proved that through her writing. This book would be a good research reference.

1 comments about The Politics of Change in Georgia: A Political Biography of Ellis Arnall.

1. Henderson, a college professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has done a great service by writing this scholarly and readable chronicle of the late Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall's political career. Arnall was Governor of Georgia from 1943-47, a time which saw various political controversies and accomplishments. Henderson arranges the various events of Arnall's term in a thematic manner, dealing with Arnall's fight to obtain fairer freight rates for the south, the "three governor's controversy of 1947", and Arnall's refusal to fight against the Supreme Court decision that overturned Georgia's "whites-only" primary.

   While stressing that Arnall was much more progressive and liberal than his political opponents, Henderson doesn't shy away from exposing Arnall's flaws and his support for much of the segregationist stance of the time. Of course, no Georgia politician in the time period could have been elected state-wide who didn't support segregation, and Arnall's failure to be as much of a rabid race baiter as Talmadge and others effectively killed off his political career after 1947. All of this is presented effectively in the book, along with Arnall's support of education, his friendship with Henry Wallace, and his post gubernatorial career as a businessman, attorney, author, speaker, and his failed 1966 campaign for governor.

   I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in southern history, and Georgia history in particular. As I stated earlier, Professor Henderson has penned a well written and informative biography of this important Georgia politician.

No comments about Beloved Women: The Political Lives of Ladonna and Wilma Mankiller.

No comments about Walking the Precipice: Witness to the Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

No comments about Linking Rings: William W. Durbin and the Magic and Mystery of America.

No comments about Eleanor Marx.

5 comments about Ronald Reagan: The Politics of Symbolism, With a New Preface.

1. Robert Dallek, one of my favorite historians, here paints a picture of Reagan in his first four years in office which sees the former actor and Governor as an ideologue who, ironically, uses symbolism over substance to form his coalition.

   Dallek's book makes great points about Reagan's legacy, even though it was written just four years into his Presidency. He points out the horrible legacy of the national debt, which grew by about $3 trillion during Reagan's watch. He points to the coming redistribution of wealth towadrs the wealthy and away from the middle and working class and poor. Statistics have shown that from 1979 to 1993 the top 20% saw 97% of the real increase in wealth, thus proving Dallek's beliefs. Dallek shows Reaganomics to be an anti-working class and anti-social and moral justice crusade dedicated to the old Republican views of Hoover and a slap in the face to dwindling moderation in the party, as portrayed by the great moderate Gerald Ford. Dallek shows Reagan to be an ideologue on foreign policy, whose 'zeal' for eliminatiing so-called 'waste' on programs for the poor does not translate into a zeal to eliminate true waste which affects the pockets of the wealthy arms dealers. Dallek shows Reagan's views to be uncaring and regressive and ultimately harmful to the progress of the past.

   This is, to say the least, a great book. It began to show the injustice of Reaganomics, which saw the top income tax rate on the wealthy fall from 70% to 28% and payroll taxes on working individuals increase 7 separate times. Reagan ignored great issues - such as medical insurance reform, civil rights, urban issues, the environment, education and progressive social policies - and concentrated on tax reductions for the wealthy, a false foreign policy which portrayed a hollow Soviet empire as a true warrior and a regressive nature in regards to civil rights and economics. He also began a great scam, the forging of the modern religious right. Reagan, whose religious views were inactive at best, portrayed himself as a true fundamentalist in order to win over angry white fundamentalists, who were upset with scores in civil rights, women's rights and public activism. He won over millions of working class whites by telling them he was on 'their side' and not 'the other folks' side,' that is, on the side of the minorities. Yet, while he did this, he became the poster boy for the Chamber of Commerce - what a scam! To add insult to injury, he defeated in 1980 Democrat Jimmy Carter, a truly devoted evangelical Christian. Once again, what a scam!

   As a true fan of real history, I appreciate this work. Republican ideologues today falsely paint Reagan as a great President, when in fact he was mediocre at best.

   Dallek is one of the best out there. His books on LBJ and FDR are great, as is his work on the Presidents. For those who enjoyed his past work, I would highly recommend this one! This one comes with a great recommendation by the great historian James Mcgregor Burns.




2. The careful reader will recognize enough factual errors in this book to be made uncomfortable with its scholarship and research.



3. Robert Dallek is an excellent historian, as seen in his work on FDR's foreign policy and his masterful accounts of LBJ. This book was an attempt to gauge Reagan's presidency in the midst of it. It has some wonderful insight on Reagan's use (and abuse) of political symbolism, but it needs to be updated with more than a new preface to stay fresh.



4. This book is good, but a little difficult for me.

   Before I had read this book,I hadn't understood Ronald Reagan's regency much. I can understand why he is still popular among not only American but also people all over the world. I am assured that he is one of American heroes. He is sincere, hearty, humorous, and powerful.

   He faced a tangle of economic problems. The inflation, interest rates, and the projected federal deficit stood at nearly record highs, and unemployment was 7.4 percent. In this situation, he said,'government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.' How great that was! He worked out a plan for economic recovery, and promised lower taxes, business expansion, more jobs, less inflation, lower interest rates, smaller deficits, and greater military strength. He stuck to the plan and succeeded.

   Now Japan has a big economic problems. Most of Japanese can't see Japan's future and their one. Reagan worked out the plan and kept to it not for government's benefit but for the national concerns. He certainly executed what he had said. I want Japan to follow his example.

   I appreciate this work. I will recommend Japanese to read this.




5. This book is good, but a little difficult for me.

   Before I had read this book, I hadn't understood Ronald Reagan's regency much. I can understand why he is still popular among not only American but also people all over the world. I am assured that he is one of American heroes. He is sincere, hearty, humorous, and powerful.

   He faced a tangle of economic problems. The inflation, interest rates, and the projected federal deficit stood at nearly record highs, and unemployment was 7.4 percent. In this situation, he said, 'government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.' How great that was! He worked out a plan for economic recovery and promised lower taxes, business expansion, more jobs, less inflation, lower interest rates, smaller deficits, and greater military strength. He stuck to the plan and succeeded!

   Now Japan has a big economic problems. The national debt become grower, unemployment is higher.. Most of Japanese can't see Japan's future and their one. Reagan worked out the plan and kept to it not for government's benefit but for the national concerns. He certainly executed what he had said. I want Japanese government to follow his example.

   I appreciate this work. I will recommend Japanese to read this.

2 comments about Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings, Portraits of American Genius (Portraits of American Genius, No 3).

1. Professor Kenner turns his pen toward a study of the creator of The Roadunner and the Coyote, and of Bugs Bunny in this wonderful little monograph. Writing with wit and verve he traces Jones' career from the beginning to the present,touching on the high and low but always bringing us the essence of a true comic genius.



2. This book has absolutely nothing new to say about Chuck Jones. In fact it doesnt say much at all; just endless amounts of prose that add up to nothing. Rather than doing any reserach on his own, Kenner just takes his historical information from already published books on animation or from interviews he has done with Jones.The problems with interviewing Jones, however, is that he can be pretty self serving at times. So dont expect getting any real insight into Mike Maltese and Maurice Noble's contributions to his films, and certainly not any comparision to the work of Bob Clampett, who Chuck Jones hates with his guts. (They had a lifelong feud) For real insight into the work of Chuck Jones, try the articles written by Richard Thompson in Film Comment in the seventies, or Michael Barrier's book Hollywood Cartoons