5 comments about Churchill.

1. This was a fine biography on Churchill. At its heart, this book is a comprehensive political summary of one of the world's best politicians. Jenkins does a great job of surrounding the moment with context and analysis. His mastery of British politics is unreal.
   
   With all that said, the book did have a few flaws. First, it was hard to grasp the ins and outs of the British political process which Jenkins discusses at great lengths (this could be my fault as I am an American). Second, there was not enough character development. Jenkins references countless people, but does not take the time to highlight, or bring about, who ultimately has a major role. To this end, I feel there was a certain extent of "name-dropping" in the tome. At times, this made the book harder to navigate through with ease. Finally, I don't know French or Afrikaans, or Latin. So those phrases in foreign languages fell upon deaf ears (or perhaps blind eyes is the more appropriate description).
   
   Overall, a great book. I enjoyed Jenkins mastery of the subject matter, and his writing is fantastic. I have not read other Churchill bios before, but would certainly recommend this to a history buff.



2. Think Robert Kosowsky's review is pretty much on the mark.
   
   Historical events are not presented except in relation to timing and political positioning by Churchill and others. For example, if you don't know about the Dardenelles operation of WW1, this book will not help you. Despite the final line of the book, this is not uncritical of Churchill and at times makes him appear to be motivated by politics as much as anything else (the author was a MP and in the Cabinet so was a political animal too). This does not ring entirely false as it makes it easier to understand his switching of political parties. And this makes it a good counter to Churchill's own books which are at times clearly self-serving.



3. For several years I have wanted to read a biography on Churchill. This past summer I finally broke down and purchased the 900+ page book written by Roy Jenkins.
   
   It has only taken six months to finish it. True, I had a dissertation to write and exams to study for. But regardless the book was slow going.
   
   The author is a politician and a writer - much like Churchill. Consequently, Jenkins focuses the book on the intricacies of Churchill's political and journalistic careers. Fair enough.
   
   Churchill's political life and to a lesser extent his various literary endeavors are key to understanding Britain's greatest prime minister. But the details, though interesting, slowly wear down the resolve of the reader.
   
   For example, the beginning and ending of the book flows well as Churchill's family heritage and retirement are explored; in other words, the parts of Churchill's life which are the least political and literary.
   
   Yet by the time we reach his parliamentary career and the two world wars the book descends into minute detail. Minute details about his toast filled summits with Stalin - interesting. Minute details about his administration of the Admiralty - not so much.
   
   Further, he dedicates a surprisingly small amount of space to some very important events - such as the Battle of Britain.
   
   Yet, to be fair, Jenkins provides an excellent overview of Churchill's life. It is also inevitable that certain areas of interest to the reader will not coincide with that of the author.
   
   Indeed, the biographer's experience in British politics provides rare insights: the great PM's great ambition was getting power, using power and retaining power. So, the way Jenkins skillfully dissects and interprets Churchill's various power struggles makes the book worth reading.
   
   Summary: The book is a great introduction to Churchill, with a special focus on his political and literary careers. Yet the combination of the books length and the author's devotion to great detail could prove fatal to the unmotivated.
   
   I would recommend the book to anyone interested in 20th century history, modern British history and of course Churchill. But I would recommend that the reader take long breaks between each of the six sections.



4. This is too long - all biographers should read and learn from Lytton Strachey.
   
   But Churchill's life was so over the top that its nevertheless an enjoyable read; more so with two provisos:
   
   1. You have to be at least constructively disposed to Winston. Better still if you downright adore him, as Roy plainly does.
   
   2. The most lovingly recounted incidents are those that took place in and around parliamentary life, the life that Roy Jenkins himself knew best. Its very, very well told, but if you didn't happen to be an MP yourself you might find it a little too detailed, in the sense that what others might consider to be the main story seems to be lost sight of, sometimes.



5. I didn't finish this book. Jenkins just throws his note cards at the hapless reader. The editor was awol. Stick with Gilbert. Alternatively, start with Manchester's unfinished bio (to 1940) & then switch to Churchill's memoirs.

1 comments about Thomas Jefferson: A Brief Biography.

1. .....than the man who wrote the encyclopaedia? This little [48 page] book had its genesis back in the 1930s when Dumas Malone got stuck with the job of editor of the "Dictionary of American Biography". Then, 50 years later, he revised it to to be published in the form we see here. Normally, such a thing would not rate mention, much less five stars, BUT, Dumas Malone was the greatest Jefferson scholar that ever lived, and the forward was written by Merrill Peterson, the second greatest. Now, I could write a very good 50 page article on Mr. Jefferson, but I barely belong on the same planet as these guys.
   
   What we have here is the most basic life of Jefferson, touching all the high [and some of the low] points of his public life. From cradle to grave, it's ALL here, but in the merest outline. The name "Maria Cosway" is not mentioned, so we lose the "head and heart". Citizen Genet, Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, and Aaron Burr all get appropriate notation. John Adams gets a bit more, which is proper. Betsey Walker gets named, and apologized for; Sally Hemings and James Callendar are noted, and dismissed with due scorn. The debt problems, sadly, have to be here, and they are. And the books, books, books......
   
   In the fifty years between the first and second appearances of this article, Dr. Malone wrote the six volume "Jefferson and His Time", one of the two greatest works of biography in the English language [the other being Dr. Freeman's "RE Lee"]. And, Dr. Peterson wrote the 1000+ page "Thomas Jefferson & the new nation", MAYBE the greatest one volume bio of anybody ever written. The present edition is published by the TJMF, to sell in the gift shop at Monticello. [GREAT gift shops, by the way]. For a lot of folks, it's enough. If you want more, try the works of Noble Cunningham, or Joe Ellis. {FORGET Fawn Brodie}!! Why do I bother with a long review of an article?....Dumas Malone. [I even have a small bio of him that I wrote published on the 'net]. Of course, Malone and Peterson's long works are definitive, but their length will deter most readers.

5 comments about A Political Odyssey.

1. If all you remember is what Dwight D. Eisenhower said about the military-industrial complex almost half a century ago, A Political Odyssey by Sen. Mike Gravel is a Must Read. Investigative journalist Joe Lauria wrote this book, and the Senator said so at a Meet the Author event at Barnes & Noble's Upper West Side store in Manhattan in early July. Lauria shows, through Mr. Gravel's eyes, how difficult, and indeed impossible it is for a junior senator to fight the cozy relationship between the government and the defense industry. Nothing has changed really since Eisenhower's days. That isn't new, of course. But Mr. Lauria manages, in very readable prose, to bring back to life the Pentagon Papers and point out the relevance of this episode today. Sen. Gravel's conclusion at the Meet the Author event: Representative democracy doesn't work.
   Walter Pfaeffle
   Journalist, New York



2. A revealing book... The fact is, representative government is broken, and there are only two venues for change: One is the government, where the problem exists, and two is the people. Correction can only take place with the people of America to buy and read this GREAT book.



3. If you watched the Democratic primary debates you probably saw two Mike Gravels.
   
   One was the candidate who most directly spoke truth to power: he challenged Hillary on her preparedness to nuke Iran, challenged Obama for voting to fund the Iraq war, challenged the "mealy mouthed" Democratic Congressional leadership, condemned the `war on drugs,' condemned Bush for creating "a nation ruled by fear" and denounced America for allowing itself to become Number One in production of weapons, consumer spending, debt, people in prison, energy consumption, and environmental pollution.
   
   The other Gravel came over as the crazy uncle who should have stayed locked in his attic.
   
   This book helps us to understand why. Lauria manages to get Gravel to confess to all his human flaws: his vanity, his ambition, his opportunism, his naiveté. Would that all our politicians were so honest. But he also reminds us of his lonely fight to end the draft in Vietnam, his determination to stand up to Nixon over the Pentagon Papers and his vehement opposition to American militarism. For all his foibles, the man is a genuine hero.
   
   The book is written with a light touch. It captures Gravel's voice and his no b-s attitude perfectly and it reads in places almost like a novel - who knew that Gravel was once a New York cabbie, a railroad brakeman in Alaska, much less an American spy in Europe? Yet Lauria also manages to interlace it with some heavy-duty historical research into the birth of the military-industrial complex and the way in which so many of our presidents have chosen to exploit fear and twist our Constitution in order to justify huge arms expenditures and bloody foreign adventures that have generated huge profits for the weapons merchants back home.
   
   Gravel's solution to the way in which our democratic republic is periodically hijacked by what is in effect a fear-mongering elected monarch and a Congress in thrall to its corporate backers and their imperial ambitions, is government by national initiative - legislation initiated by The People and voted on in national referenda.
   
   At first blush it is hard to see how such an idea could ever gain traction. And when one thinks of initiatives like California's Proposition 13 which decimated the best public education system in the country, it's hard not wonder if direct democracy might not be worse than the (un)representative version we have now. But it does make one think. America's revolutionary experiment was supposed to be a permanent revolution... ever more perfectible. And, given the way the Internet is tying us all ever closer together in a network of instant communication and given the galvanizing effect of online organizing evident in Obama's campaign, it makes one wonder if Gravel will simply prove to be a prophet before his time.
   
   If we could all vote directly, would we really spend close to 50% of our national budget on the Pentagon, national security and war, as we do today? It is that monumental folly that seems to unite Gravel and Lauria in their passion and that makes this book such a good read.



4. Reading this well-paced exploration of Gravel's life and beliefs saddened me because I now wish I'd voted for him. Not that he's perfect: Gravel is far too colorful. But I already regret the vote I did cast, and a vote for Gravel would have meant something.
   Having lived through the furor of the Pentagon Papers, I was astonished to learn so much more about those events. Gravel's account of how the big newspapers snatched glory from a confrontation they subsequently ducked comes as a sharp corrective to History as the media recite it.
   I really enjoyed reading about a genuine maverick whose achievements in the Senate remain shockingly commendable and yes, entertaining. Things were very bad in the early 1970s. How could they have gotten so much worse?
   This country needs leaders who rate beliefs above polls (watch the excellent documentary, CENTURY OF THE SELF), politicians who yearn to be more than ciphers in a pathetic, self-erasing code. The only standing senator who reminds me at all of Gravel is Russell Feingold, abandoned on FISA by colleagues who rush to say they care about personal freedom until called upon to prove it. They 'reluctantly' play along while our hollowed-out economy becomes ever more militarized.
   Gravel wanted to provoke a referendum on this process. Dazzled by hype, we ignored him. It's not too late to read this book, then start demanding that these slugs account for themselves.
   Enjoy.



5. Mike Gravel spoke truth to power in the Senate and he spoke truth to power during the early presidential debates in 2008. He speaks the truth as he sees it in this book with Joe Lauria. That is no doubt why Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and General Electric, which owns NBC all conspired to ban him from those debates. People who say the Emperor has no clothes are uncomfortable to be around, especial when you are aspiring to be Emperor or are a company that supplies the Emperor's weapons.
   
   What was it Gravel said that got him bounced from most of the debates in 2008? Read this book and you'll find out.
   
   Here is a little preview. The Democrats and Republicans running for office are fond of telling their audiences and voters America is #1 and they intend to keep it that way. Gravel said, sure America is # 1. It is #1 in defense spending, #1 in prison population, #1 in consumer spending and #1 in debt. Gravel also honestly pointed out that we aren't #1 in literacy, infant health, math or savings. Gravel didn't paint the typical pretty picture.
   
   Gravel also offered real if unorthodox solutions such as: End the drug war, abolish the income tax, implement the FAIR tax, bring the troops home now and let the people decide political policy by enacting the National Initiative. Say what you will about the fixes, but you must admit Gravel advocates real change. For Mike Gravel "Change" isn't just a slick slogan.
   
   This book by Gravel and Joe Lauria will evoke the political odyssey any of us of a certain age in the U.S. lived in the 40+ years since Gravel first won a seat in the United States Senate. Mike Gravel was called a "maverick" then and he still is after all these years.
   
   The folks in power in DC don't want to hear the truth. What this country really needs is more mavericks like Mike Gravel and Ron Paul who are willing to tell the truth.
   
   It is said that knowing the truth will set you free. If you want to know the truth, "A Political Odyssey" is a good place to start.

5 comments about Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of Americas.

1. This book inspires and educates while still being a page-turner. Roy Bourgeois is a purple heart Vietnam veteran who became a Maryknoll missionary priest. He has been in and out of Latin American countries and in and out of prison as he fights for social justice. In his struggle he discovers the now infamous School of the Americas - Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, GA. This school has trained the hemisphere's worst human rights violators. This book skillfully weaves Fr. Roy's story with that of the School of the Americas leaving the reader uplifted by the courage of a man and a movement and appalled by the secret teaching of torture and anti-democracratic use of force. Great read!



2. The one thing that stands out the most about this book for me is that this priest was only standing for truth, freedom and justice. Yet the one country that he fought for during the Vietnam War prosecuted him for these beliefs. So much suffering in the world today is simply based on greed. One country trying to profit by controlling the government and natural resources of a smaller, weaker country.That is really what it is all about and the truth is there as long as we do not turn a blind eye as we did on Father Roy Bourgeois. Too many people today simply do as they are told and believe what they hear. You should read this book because the greatest threat facing the world is not knowing or ignoring the truth and sadly the world will continue to suffer at the hands of a few powerful people if we do not open our eyes.



3. Disturbing the Peace is a compelling story of a cleric who has dedicated his life to waging what some might call a quixotic battle against the highest military and political forces of the United States. These same forces look away from the evil they have wrought in other lands, specifically Latin America, and in American-run jails in Iraq.
   These evils, thanks to the machinations of the School of the Americas, include torture, murder, rape, and pillage. The school, costing Americans millions of dollars to maintain at Ft. Benning, Ga., is at the center of Bourgeois' relentless crusade. Bourgeois, who as a young man of the Louisiana bayoulands had beauteous Cajun mademoiselles at his beck and call and almost married one, chose the priesthood after heroic service and a Purple Heart in Vietnam. Following discharge, Bourgeois was appalled at America's foreign policy, which fawned upon megalomaniacal foreign dictators and which gave rise to the founding of the School of the Americas.
   This is no Bush-bashing book. Presidents of recent years have all contributed to the shameful institution that teaches young foreign soldiers how to commit the most nefarious crimes, then sends them back home to put into practice what they have been taught on American soil by American teachers.
   Item: Dismembering a 55-year-old woman with a chainsaw.
   Item: Torturing a priest before throwing him out of a high-flying helicopter.
   Item: Killing an archbishop, priests, and nuns in cold blood.
   Bourgeois and his followers have served time in jail and have had their lives threatened over their never-ending crusade to close down this inhumane cancer of the American military. Irony aside, the subject of this insightful, provocative biography is a modern Thomas Paine in clerical garb, indefatigably fighting for justice everywhere and against tranny in his own country.



4. Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois is a further example of the US repression of our religious expression.
   
   When Bob Dole went to Nicaragua for a Nixon-style Kitchen debate with freely and fairly elected Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega prior to the 1984 US elections, Dole accused the Nicaraguan government of religious repression. President Ortega, accompanied by hisministers of foreign relations and of education and of culture, Fathers Ernesto Cardenal, his Jesuit brother, and Maryknoll Father Miguel D'Escoto, pulled out a photograph of Father Roy Bourgeois being arrested and dragged away by US military forces at Fort Benning Georgia. This spelled the end of Bob Dole's presidential aspirations and political carreer, to be replaced with an interesting advertising endorsement.
   
   On the other hand the Reverend Father Roy has never wavered from his carreer and his commitment to preaching and to living the Gospel of Peace and Justice in Jesus Christ, with orthodoxy through orthopraxis, to the final consequences, running ever bravely in the footsteps of Our Lord. He remains strong in opposing those assassins of his own Maryknoll brothers and sisters like Bill Woods, and as on the cover here, Maryknoll Sister Ita Ford, killers and generals trained and directed from the SOA in terrorism, torture and homicide, who did not flinch from killing even the greatest prophet, martyr and saint of the Americas, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.
   
   Father Roy finds his duty and obligation as Catholic, as priest, as true follower of Jesus Christ, to call to stop the killing and oppression, the torture and genocide. Father Roy never fails to stnad tall as a true prophet of Peace and of Jesus Christ. Let us learn by his holy example to do as well, for as long, in life-long commitment to peace, justice and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullest daily, courageous expression.
   
   Read this book. Every Christian must read this book. All Americans must read this book. Each Catholic must embrace this book as lectio divina, as our own hagiography, as manual and rulebook of how to live as Catholics under this present military regime, courageously, integrally, standing up for peace and for Jesus Christ in our darkened and bloody day.
   
   Read this book before you judge him or stand with those who condemned Jesus Christ before the Sanhedrin. Father Roy is a great man, a great Catholic, an excellent priest, and a fine American, the kind we truly most need for our national moral and ethical recovery.
   
   Please read as well School of Assassins: The Case for Closing the School of the Americas and for Fundamentally Changing U.S. Foreign Policy, Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr, Witnesses to the Kingdom: The Martyrs of El Salvador and the Crucified Peoples, Rigoberta Menchu, Salvador Allende, General Noriega, ARENA in El Salvador, the contra, etc., etc., etc.



5. I began James Hodge's and Linda Cooper's "Disturbing the Peace" (2005, 244-page paperback) with high expectations. This chronicle of Father Roy Boureois' movement to close the US Military's "School of the Americas" promised to be a riveting narrative, in the genre of Oscar Romero, for advocacy and activism. As a Liberation Theology enthusiast (and advocate for the poor) myself, I relished the opportunity to learn from a colleague's experience. With the book's conclusion, however, only one word describes my encounter with this text- disappointing.
   
   The padre's odyssey to re-form government policy and actions is sometimes astonishing, often pedantic, and always interesting. For him, there is redemption and recognition in rebellion against his demons.
   
   Father Boureois is a product of his era's two extremes influences: his US Navy participation in the Viet Nam War and his Roman Catholic Liberation Theology religious training. These opposing, and sometimes polarizing, positions brought him to activism for the poor and oppressed. His story is brilliantly captivating, convincing, and converting! Perhaps, there is redemption in rebellion.
   
   The book is written with seventeen short chapters, fifteen pages of relevant black and white photos, but with only a brief six-page bibliography. It is disappointing that the text contains no footnotes or endnotes (causing it to earn fewer stars). Hodge and Cooper should remember that undocumented history is nothing more than novel fiction. Without retraceable source referencing one does not confidently believe presented material. Father Boureois' story deserves better.
   
   "Disturbing the Peace", as a quick read novel, is cautiously recommended to everyone interested in late 20th century American activism, anti-war advocacy, modern central and south American life, and Liberation Theology.

4 comments about Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics.

1. At last! A political biography that's also a page-turner! Bill Boyarsky's "Big Daddy, Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics" is a great political biography that has everything; sex, war and larger than life personalities. Follow Jess Unruh from his roots in Depression era Texas though the turbulent sixties and seventies to the prosperous 1980s. Unruh revolutionized civil rights legislation and was instrumental in making California the great & prosperous state it is today.
   
   Bill Boyarsky has written an incredibly colorful book about the hard-drinking California politics of the 20th century, when politicians weren't expected to live like clergymen. Boyarsky brings this era to life with oral history from the principal players throughout Unruh's life. This book is great reading, and a fascinating inside look into the personalities that once ran California.
   
   Fully referenced and indexed, with lots of photographs, this book will be a welcome addition to any library and should become required reading for any student of California history or political science.



2. I found the book extremely interesting as I either knew or knew of most of the people mentioned. I wish there had been more about the numerous bills Jess sponsored and/or was instrumental in their passage. Also more about his ability to get along well with the Republicans and with Ronald Reagan when he was governor of California....and perhaps less about his "womanizing".



3. I have not finished the whole book; but at this point, it gives one a good feel for what it was like in Sacramento for politicians in the 50's and 60's. A most enjoyable read for a Democrat and Jesse Unruh fan, even though the book gives an objective view of Jesse and his faults.



4. A man of huge appetites--for power, food, drink, and women--Unruh shaped a political culture that was rough around the edges but got a lot of work done for the people of California. As an AP and LA Times reporter, Boyarsky covered Unruh in Sacramento and brings a valuable, first-person perspective to this story. He resisted the temptation to produce a tome; this nifty little book (265 pages) can be read in a few sittings. As a significant political figure in a fascinating era, Unruh could support a longer work, but I like Boyarsky's decision to keep it relatively brief and moving quickly.
   
   Boyarsky's portrait jibes well with a growing list of books on California politicians of that period. These include John Jacobs's bio of Phil Burton, Lou Cannon on Ronald Reagan, James Richardson on Willie Brown, and Ethan Rarick on Pat Brown. *Big Daddy* is a solid contribution to an impressive collective portrait of mid-century California politics.

3 comments about Dawn Dusk or Night: A Year with Nicolas Sarkozy.

1. This book was impossible to read. I think she wrote it as a play not a book. I couldn't finish it.



2. What a brilliant idea this was! Take Yasmina Reza (`Art'), the best-known playwright in France today, and have her shadow the country's rising political star, Nicolas Sarkozy, in his bid -ultimately successful--for the presidency. The result is not political reporting but a stunningly brilliant portrait of a type of man, homo politicus, as represented by one of its most appealing exemplars. Sarkozy is perpetually in motion, reinventing himself against the backdrop of hangers on and electorate. From their first meeting, she notes Sarkozy's impatience, his thirst for praise (`still waiting, like a child, for the umpteenth approval'). "I feel like I'm watching a little boy," she writes. He can't stand being alone, he sabotages conversations that don't involve him, shuns solitude. He comes alive around people, needs audiences to think and live. Reza's glittering prose show us glimpses of a man whose goal seems to be to outrun his own image in the mirror but who also happens to be one of the most important political figures of our age. Compulsively readable, this book deserves the widest audience. Sarkozy is charming, relentlessly ambitious, unable to sit still, and totally self-absorbed, a man in search of a mirror. But when he finds one, he finds there's still something missing.



3. Well-known French author and playright Yasmina Reza pitched an unusual idea to presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy in the Spring of 2007: to be able to follow up around, unrestricted, for a year and write about it. Much to her surprise, Sarkozy immediately said yes. This book is what came of that.
   
   "Dawn Dusk or Night: A Year with Nicolas Sarlozy" (190 pages) is a deeply personal, subjective, and quite unusual (as one might expect from someone like that) account of the year Reza spent with Sarkozy. It is a mostly unflattering view of Sarkozy. "Often he says, How you doing' Yasmina? But that means, how is he doing?" Or this, when she's talking on a campaign stop with someone else: "Infuriated by his nonexistence, he butts into the conversation to immediately change its direction." On politicians: "Forgetting oneself is not what they are living. They are forgetting others; they are, inevitably, self-obsessed". After Sarkozy wins the election and invites Reza over the the Elysee, she tells Sarkozy "I wanted to ask you something. Yes? I wanted to grant me something what you never have. What? A real conversation."
   
   This book caused a huge stir when it came out in France last Fall, for obvious reasons. I'm not sure what Sarkozy was thinking when he agreed to the author's pitch, as it was pretty obvious what the outcome would be. I really enjoyed this book, even if it is, at times, a quirky read.

3 comments about The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency (Reader's Companion).

1. Washington was a great President, right? Lincoln's presidency was without blemish, correct? Bill Clinton was the only President to have an affair or two? Well what if these things happened before? How does each President stack up against the other? This book might just have the answers you're looking for.

   Historians like Eric Foner, Joyce Appleby, Alan Taylor, Jean Baker, Karen Orren and others put together 41 essays on the man who has held the highest political office in the land and they give the insight into the up and downs of the administration.

   You'll read about the triumphs, the failures, the wins, the losses and the scandals, all put into the proper perspective of the time in which they took place. Excellent companion to any history book, with information that you may not find anywhere else.

   If you are looking to increase your knowledge of the President and are looking for a straight forward, unbiased reading than this book should be on your list. The authors and editors have give you a first rate book and at a price that is sure to make everyone happy.




2. The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency serves as a nice overview of the Presidents without being a mere laundry list of facts and "did you know?" trivia. The essay contributions of dozens of well-respected historians give a concise, but remarkably comprehensive overview of each President's administration and background. A timeline at the bottom of the page and sidebars about U.S. population, immigration, commerce statistics, and information about the first family nicely complement each section. While the essays offer insights about the accomplishments and failures of each man, the book avoids being overly "heavy-handed" or judgmental.

   A great feature is the "For Further Reading & Research" section which recommends biographies and reveals where one can find the President's papers for more in-depth reading of the President and his times. The book is not photo-heavy, but many of the black-and-white photos offered are refreshingly different from the ones we might be used to seeing (e.g. Gilbert Stuart's rendition of Washington is absent). This professional and well-organized hardcover would make a great gift and first-stop resource for anyone's library.




3. (originally posted May 5, 2000)
   The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency serves as a nice overview of the Presidents without being a mere laundry list of facts and "did you know?" trivia. The essay contributions of dozens of well-respected historians give a concise, but remarkably comprehensive overview of each President's administration and background. A timeline at the bottom of the page and sidebars about U.S. population, immigration, commerce statistics, and information about the first family nicely complement each section. While the essays offer insights about the accomplishments and failures of each man, the book avoids being overly "heavy-handed" or judgmental.
   A great feature is the "For Further Reading & Research" section which recommends biographies and reveals where one can find the President's papers for more in-depth reading of the President and his times. The book is not photo-heavy, but many of the black-and-white photos offered are refreshingly different from the ones we might be used to seeing (e.g. Gilbert Stuart's rendition of Washington is absent). This professional and well-organized hardcover would make a great gift and first-stop resource for anyone's library.

5 comments about William McKinley (The American Presidents).

1. I have read 5 or 6 volumes from the American Presidents series, and this one is entirely different in approach. It is not a straight chronologocal biography like the other volumes in the series, but a political analysis of McKinley and his administration.



2. Kevin Phillips has been a political and economic commentator for more than 30 years, and written many books. William McKinley was elected to two terms and avoided any major scandals. America became a world power in his terms. McKinley was the best of the seven Ohio-born presidents. McKinley's reputation declined after 1932 with the changes in tariffs, the gold standard, and the power of corporations. Phillips lists six beliefs about McKinley that he calls "calumnies" (p.4). McKinley's inscrutability, avoidance of written commitments, and oratorical style shows "great political skill" says Phillips (p.5). McKinley was a progressive Republican (p.6) and deserves a better reputation. McKinley's children died young, his wife developed epilepsy (p.25). [This book lacks a map of Ohio in McKinley's times.]
   
   Chapter 1 tells about Ohio and William McKinley. After the Civil War McKinley became a lawyer and entered politics. Chapter 2 describes a Modern McKinley. He was sold "like soap" in 1896 (p.30). Victrola records passed on speeches. He was the first president to visit California. The first permanent national labor union (printers) and the AFL started in Ohio, so did the United Mine Workers (p.32). McKinley defended striking coal miners in 1876. Tariffs kept American wages high (p.37). McKinley refused to profit from his political policies (p.39). The tariff questions of revenue and protection were recurring political issues (p.43). Then came the issue of silver currency (pp.51-52). Phillips explains the interests behind the conflicts.
   
   McKinley was popular with the party rank and file, and was nominated on the first ballot. The many recessions affected voting for Congress (p.64). Phillips doesn't mention the reason for Bryan's many campaign stops (p.75). It was to talk directly to the voters. Major northern cities backed McKinley (p.77). There were similarities between Bryan and McKinley (p.83). McKinley's term saw America become a world power (p.87). [This seems a little premature.] There was an entente with Britain. Expansionism was an American tradition (pp.88-89). The naval victories at Manila Bay and Santiago Cuba helped McKinley's popularity (p.96). It was a short and successful war. The Platt Amendment kept Germany out of Cuba (p.105). The annexation of Hawaii was to keep Japan out (p.106). Fear of Germany affected Britain's politics. McKinley's plans for tariff reciprocity died with him (p.123). McKinley intended to recommend an income tax (p.124). McKinley was friendly with labor (p.125). McKinley's cabinet continued with Theodore Roosevelt (p.127). McKinley had introduced Granger resolutions (p.128). Roosevelt enacted the Elkins Act and the Hepburn Act. There were threats to nationalize the coal mines and steel industry (p,129). McKinley enacted an arbitration system in Ohio. McKinley also began the naval increase (p.132).
   
   Chapter 6 concludes the reconsideration. Senators were chosen by state legislatures and were against progressive legislation (p.135). McKinley's assassination prevented him from achieving his political objectives (p.136). McKinley sought affection and popularity, but this was mistaken for weakness (p.138). McKinley's strength was shown by his running the State Department and the War Department (p.139). [Or did he put men there who he could override?] Those who knew him admired him (p.140). McKinley's thinking was formed by the Radical Republicans (p.141). Politics changed with the theories of Herbert Spencer (p.142). Phillips compares McKinley to Lincoln or FDR (pp.156-157), but admits McKinley was a "near great". This short chapter explains why. [McKinley's portrait was on the $500 bill, I think it should be re-issued.]



3. I was very disappointed by this book. As someone who didn't know much about McKinley, I read it with the aim of finding out all the basics about him - who he was, what he did, how he died. Yet after reading it I feel like I know little more than before.
   
   The entire book seems to be written as a rebuttal of other biographers' lackluster opinions of McKinley. Liberally interspersed throughout the narrative are refutations of supposedly popular beliefs about McKinley, from his education to his influence on his successor, Teddy Roosevelt. This would probably appeal to someone who has read several books on the topic, but it is a strange pick for the American Presidents series, which should be a basic primer for the uninitiated. The book says little about what specifics McKinley accomplished in his presidency, says little about the Spanish American War, and says nothing about his assassination, except for where it happened. I feel like I now have to go and look him up on Wikipedia to find the information that was not included in this book. If you are not already quite familiar with the topic, I'd recommend reading something else on the subject first.



4. This is yet another entry into The American Presidents series of brief biographies, under the general editorship of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. One of the more intriguing facets of this series is the sometime use of eminent authors. Here, Kevin Phillips, a political commentator who once projected a Republican majority, writes an interesting work on McKinley, to some extent a political essay as much as a biography. His contention is that McKinley was one of the few really top notch presidents from Lincoln's assassination to FDR's service.
   
   The book argues that McKinley's rise in politics--from the Ohio state political world to president--was largely self-orchestrated. That he took control over his political ambitions (and was not a mere puppet of Mark Hanna, his key political operative later in his political career).
   
   Earlier in the book, his family background is described as is his solid service in the Union Army during the Civil War (indeed, he served with Rutherford Hayes, another American president--and another Ohioan).
   
   As his political career developed, Phillips argues that his political views were more "enlightened," for want of a better term, than many of his Republican peers. He had some sympathy and provided some support for workers; he seemed to have recognized the value of blacks and women having political rights; he exhibited a much more nuanced view of tariffs than standard pro-capitalist Republicans.
   
   When he became president there was one new aspect to his administration--no owing political bosses Cabinet positions and so on; some predecessors were hamstrung by deals made with party leaders in order to gain the office. His defeat of Bryan in the critical 1896 election helped realign politics. Phillips argues that there was another realignment--of America's international role after 1896, presided over by McKinley.
   
   All in all, an interesting take on McKinley as a person and as president. I think that Phillips does make a case that McKinley, while not a great president, might well be ranked as near great. One can be critical of McKinley's imperialism, illustrated by the Philippines and Hawaii. But he laid the groundwork for Teddy Roosevelt's presidency (indeed, Phillips says that Roosevelt's presidency needs to be coupled with McKinley's for something like a McKinley-Roosevelt extended administration from 1897-1909). At any rate, a useful short biography of William McKinley. A strong addition to the series.



5. Kevin Phillips is an odd choice to author a biography on Republican William McKinley but not a surprising selection given that Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. is the general editor of this presidential series. The author is a former Republican who worked in the Nixon administration and, like many Nixonians, grew disillusioned with the party and chose to serve penance as a far-left commentator for NPR and other leftist organizations.
   
   The author pursues a thesis that elevates McKinley to the rank of Near Great presidents as judged by occasional polls of historians (polls championed originally by Schlesinger's father, a progressive professor at Harvard who selected fellow progressives to rank the presidents with the unsurprising result that progressive presidents topped the list, ipso facto).
   
   With his bifurcated background, the author denounces McKinley's "middle class" heritage and views, instead touting a hidden progressivism the author espies in McKinley that coulda, woulda, shoulda emerged had only the president not been assassinated. The entire argument is off-mark not only because the author attempts to rebrand McKinley as a liberal progressive but also because recent polls of historians are no longer skewed completely to progressives and have already elevated McKinley, which is the cause célèbre of this biography (i.e. the two most recent polls both list McKinley at #14 all time, which is the rough position the author champions). The author's passion for developing this thesis is the reason that some reviewers lament that the second half of the book is less a biography and more a disjointed argument that McKinley is really a progressive.
   
   As a youth, the author developed an affinity for McKinley. While a member of the Nixon administration, the author shared many values with McKinley but, once he grew older, the author identified with progressives. In this book the author has attempted to translate his own philosophical journey to McKinley. I was not convinced by the argument but then I believe it is fatuous to hold that a president needs to be progressive to be considered successful.
   
   For those interested in McKinley or Teddy Roosevelt, the book is a decent introduction. The author does a good job painting a portrait of the culture and times that forged McKinley. The writing, especially in the beginning when he explores McKinley's Ohio heritage, Civil War service, and initial foray into politics, is well-crafted. Also, the author does an excellent job explaining why the Republicans pursued tariff protections so vigorously during this time period - a position at odds with the party today but understandable given the context of an emerging industrial nation.
   
   Bottom-line: I recommend the book for a quick read given the caveats detailed above but note that the second half of the book is more of a dive into the psyche of the author than an overview of the president.

5 comments about American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation.

1. A great book with contents delivered in a clear, concise writing style. It reads so fluidly, one can forget he/she is learning history while riding along with a fascinating narrative. I very much enjoyed it and learned a great deal from the exhaustive research that obviously went into the project.

   My only criticism, however, keeps me from giving five stars: the co-authors seem obsessed with housing and perceived racism issues in Chicago - at times to the extent that Daley is almost forgotten in their drive to bring home a point. If this is where their academic background is based that is fine, but the reader deserves to know this going in instead of being advertised a full one volume biography type of study. This was an occasional distraction, but one that usually ended soon enough with a paragraph break - welcomed with a 'whew, glad we got back on track'- from this reader.

   All in all, a fine book very much worth your time, but be advised not quite what it might seem.




2. As a European visitor on my first trip to the US I was fascinated by the signature of then Mayor Richard M. Daley on so many signs, permits etc. I was also impresssed by the respect and affection many people has for the mayor . This book describes the laying of the foundation of that Daley dynasty by Richard J. Daley. It tends to focus on the machinations of the Democratic Party rather than the benefits Daley brought to Chicago. Not as well writted as Caro's biographies, but still readable. I'm looking forward to reading "The Boss".



3. This has to be one of the best biographies that I have ever read. Before reading it, not having grown up in Chicago, I was relatively unaware of the specific goings on regarding the reign of Daley the First. However, upon finishing it, I suddenly have a vastly improved understanding of the man and also of the history of the city during the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Few persons had more power as politicians than Daley did which is quite surprising considering the relative lowliness of his position. It seems inconceivable to us today that he was able to "slate" the entirety of Illinois politicians, but that is precisely what he did for several decades. The secret was his holding onto to the positions of Mayor and Cook County Chief simultaneously. This effectively made him boss until death. By never letting go of them both he was able to run the state. In the 1960 election, he "worked" endlessly to ensure a Kennedy victory (although Kennedy would have won the electoral college even had he lost Illinois).
   
   As a personality, Daley remains distant and incomplete even after the last page of American Pharaoh is turned. I cannot think of another famous person I could say the same about, but the subject's nebulousness is certainly not the fault of the authors. Daley came from the shadows and stayed in the shadows. He was a throwback even at the time he was elected, and as a man he had far more in common with those born in the nineteenth century than those born in the twentieth. The only thing in life which seemed to motivate him was the acquisition of power. He was faithful to wife and had little interest in money or drinking or anything outside the strengthening his empire. Daley was a caricature of ambition, but his drive made him something he, perhaps, was never supposed to be. This is not a work you will soon forget.



4. This is a detailed book about the political machine Richard J. Daley built in Chicago. In this book, you realize the corrupt nature of a political machine. Votes were stolen, money squandered on people hooked into the machine, and the violence against those who opposed the policies. It is a wonder that the machine is still somewhat working. Machine politics is a nasty business. Somehow regardless of all this, Richard Daley successfully managed the third largest city in the United States. He improved the administration, built the infrastructure, and generally was not corrupt himself. He was the head of the machine though and bears responsibility for the corruption.
   
   This is an in depth expose of the Richard J. Daley machine. It will take some time to read through the 400 plus pages of this political biography of Daley. A good read for someone interested in Chicago.



5. I found this book to be an interesting read into the mayoralty of Richard Daley. To be sure, Daley ruled Chicago as if it were his own personal fiefdom, employing ruthlessness and corruption on more than a few occasions. In reading this biography, I found that despite his flagrant corruption, Daley did maintain Chicago as an economically viable city at a time when other major Midwestern cities (i.e., Detroit and St. Louis) were crumbling and burning, and suffering from the mass exodous of the middle class. Daley was quite successful in making sure that Chicago did not suffer a similar fate. What interested me as well was the civil rights situation in Chicago during the 1960s. Daley maintained segregation within the city, but reached an accomodation with the black leadership, as they delivered votes to him. In exchange, the black leaders and their supporters received various forms of political patronage. This was in sharp contrast to what was the situation in the South at the time. I think that this difference was exempified by the rather cool treatment that was given to Martin Luther King by the black leadership when he visited Chicago in 1965.

5 comments about Robert the Bruce: King of Scots.

1. This is one of the most well written books on Scottish history that I have had the pleasure to come across. Its thoroughly gripping whereas other books about this time period have positvely made my eyes glaze over.
   It takes a deeper look at the politics and war of the time and introduces you to Bruce's fascinating followers James Douglas and Thomas Randolph. This book is a must for those interested in history.



2. Scott's "Robert The Bruce" is a truly enjoyable and fascinating book. One is shown the growth of the playboy Lord of Annandale to the courageous, self-sacrificing warrior king who risks everything to lead his people to freedom. A chunk of history I was not too familiar with, Scott fills in the gaps and describes the situations and major characters in an engaging manner. Highly recommended!



3. This is a great biography of Robert the Bruce. Ronald McNair Scott gives a nice full and fleshed out story of Robert the Bruce and his rise to throne of Scotland. Mr. Scott does a great job following Bruce through his Grandfather and Father's initial competition and ultimately his own attempt for the Throne after the deaths of King Alexander and his last remaining heir. Like most noble families in Scotland of the time they had land and family links to England. The Bruce, Balliol, and Comyn families all dynastic ties and claims to the throne but in the end the Bruce family won out. Mr. Scott does uses well known sources for his biography like Barbour, Fordun and Barrow. Of course they glorify all that Bruce does and spends minimal time on his faults. Mr Scott gives us a general bio that is great for the novice to Scottish history and those reading their first book on Robert. There is a lot of personal story here with some supposed quotes to help you feel you are with Bruce when he knights Wallace, accepts the Guardianship, or when he murders his primary rival John Comyn and claims the throne or when he wins his great victory against the English at Bannockburn. But Mr. Scott doesn't stop there. We see him continue to firm up Scotland's independence against Edward I, II and finally III. We get a vivid view of his great Lieutenants, James Douglas and Thomas Randolph. Bruce finally sees peace in "old age" at 55 and dies with a son and grandson to succeed him. But in the end he was a man with all the faults ordinary man and for all he gained he equally paid a price in family, pain and life. After his death the English rise again and his heirs continue the struggle. But that is another story for another book. Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by Ronald M. Scott is the life of the Bruce as history remembers him today.



4. Scott's book is a biographical and chronological account of Robert the Bruce's accomplishments. It is written to be read, as well as studied and is quite well done from that point of view, forming a coherent narrative, or story, if you like, detailing the life of the King of Scots.
   
   An interesting biography.



5. An interesting read, but you had better like history. No glamour here, just fact telling. I was struck by the ongoing hatred for the Scots on the part of Edward I and Edward II. Bruce gets the last laugh.