5 comments about Chasing Churchill: The Travels of Winston Churchill.

1. Ah, for the travelling life of the famous! When you read this book by Churchill's granddaughter, you get an intimate portrait of what an entourage WSC had when he went anywhere. There were private planes or yachts, villas or really up-scale hotels provided to him gratis, and a tremendous retinue of extra people to care for him. This seemed to happen even before he became world famous, and continued until his death. I don't ever want to take away the tremendous contributions he made to the peace and security of the world, but he certainly travelled like an Oriental despot! The book details his travels all over the world, and his many trips to America, both before, during and after WWII. If only the rest of us mere mortals could live in this extravagant lifestyle! This is a side of the great man's life that one rarely comes across in the many biographies of him, but it does tend to round out the picture of his life. While there are no new and startling revelations in the book, it is written in a breezy, easy reading style, and was quite enjoyable. As a granddaughter, the author tends to overlook a lot of WSC's faults, but who can blame her? We would all do that for our own family members, given the chance.



2. Celia Sandys does a terrific job detailing and following in the wandering footsteps of her incredible grandad! Starting with a trip through the Mediterranean with Onassis, and the ever-complaining opera-singer Maria Callas, when the author was about 14, and witnessing luxury on an incredible scale, even for such a famous family (i.e the Churchills). Then she goes back to 1895 New York City, and Cuba. She tell of a cigar smoking contest in 1946 Cuba between her granddad and Hemingway, sponsored by the original "Old Man And the Sea", Mr. Fueuntes, who died in 2002 at the age of 104. As both a Churchill and Hemingway buff, this was a new story for me! And the travels continue through South Africe, World World 1 France, Egypt, and in all the other famous spots visited by her legendary granddad. Some new (to me anyway), black and white photes, plus some color photos of Winston's painting are included as a special bonus. All in all, a great ride, and thanks to Mrs. Sandys for this excellent effort!



3. If there were, in fact, such a thing as Churchillian beach reading, Chasing Churchill would be it. The book begins deliciously with an anecdote describing the author's trip with her grandfather on the world-famous Christina - a voyage that marked the beginning of the epic love affair between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. Wow! From the clothes to the food to the conversation, every detail drips with elegance.

   From there, though, the book loses steam, for the Christina story is by far the most interesting and well written. Perhaps because it's the only story related from the author's own memories. Other content comes in three forms: rehashing of accounts of Churchill's travels throughout his public life (most has been published elsewhere with more detail), descriptions of the author's retracing of many of those travels (not well or thoroughly described) and quotes from people Churchill met or influenced along the way (or, in many cases, their children or grandchildren relating their own family lore of encounters with the great man). Only the last of these is really worthwhile and there is so little of it that it could have made an excellent magazine article but as a book it feels sparse.

   With regards to the accounts of both the author's and her grandfather's travels, there doesn't seem to have been enough of a mandate for a full length book. As stated, most of the detail regarding Churchill's travels is rehashed from other sources (many of which were also written by Churchill descendents - what would they do without their famous relative? Seems they write lots of books about him). As for the Sandys' travels, she adds little new detail other than to impress upon the reader her ability to gain access to a series of dignitaries (Fidel Castro among them).

   The books acknowledgements thank several of Sandys' relatives for allowing quotation from their books as well as a series of corporatations for their sponsorship. The effect reinforces the idea that writing the book was more of an ego or money exercise than an attempt at further illuminating one of the last century's greatest men. It's a shame that a book that started so well ends up on such a poor note. Clearly, Celia Sandys would do better to rely on her own memories of her grandfather than on attempting new "research".




4. Churchill was a complex and enigmatic man, so it's not surprising that this book, written by his granddaughter, is itself enigmatic. It's hard to know what to make of many of the stories, because clearly the author had a prejudiced eye--she revered her grandfather. But there are stories and anecdotes and bon mots aplenty, many of them funny enough to make me burst out laughing. My particular favorite was an aging Churchill who, when upended by a large wave while bathing in the sea, made a V-for-victory sign with his legs. I think that anecdote brought home to me, maybe for the first time, just where the British sense of humor in something like Monty Python's Flying Circus came from. There's something deeply irreverent in the British psyche, and that irreverence positively glowed inside Churchill.
   
   The book is relatively short, and makes no great demands on the reader; you aren't required to bring extensive knowledge of British and world history from Churchill's history with you. (Of course, the more you know about history from 1895 or so through 1960, the better.) I did find a few spots where the author's shifts from Churchill and his world to her later travels were so abrupt that I was left confused. It took a few puzzled re-readings of some paragraphs to grasp this. A bit of editing would have been helpful in those spots.
   
   And a reader looking for historical insight is bound to be disappointed by this book. It doesn't offer any. It's more of an affectionate character portrait than a biography. So affectionate, in fact, that the harshest language the author can use to describe her grandfather (who, whatever his better qualities may have been, was far from sainthood) was to refer to him at one point as a "paternalistic Victorian."
   
   But I enjoyed the book all the same, and I'm sure I'll read it again.



5. So much of what is written about WSC...even what was written by him...is rather academic and at times difficult to get through. On the other hand this book is a joy to read. Well researched and many first hand accounts that give us a glimpse of WSC's persona against the backdrop of his fame and notoriety. Dozens of instances where you can almost see the resolve in his jaw, hear his sober voice and many times the twinkle in his eye. When I finished the book I felt a sense of warmth lacking in so many other WSC works.

5 comments about Fat Man in a Middle Seat: Forty Years of Covering Politics.

1. It's as if lightning struck twice. HLM the ultimate conservative curmudgeon, JWG much more the right, but not quite, and not consistently so. HLM the scholar, dealing with the big picture, JWG with personalities, up close and personal. A great book: no need to wonder what Jack really thinks about Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Jack was the only reason we watched The McLaughlin Report. He nails the pompous (call me Doctor) McLaughlin and candidly informs us how much he and the other participants were paid. It's also refreshing to read that he thought the Herald Trib under James Bellows was a much more entertaining and interesting paper than the Times. This is not a book for middle-of-the-roaders, and that's exactly why it's so refreshing to read it. You're one in a million, Jack.



2. At a time when the term "liberal" has come to be a dirty word, and mass media punditry is dominated by corporate suits pushing a Big Business agenda, it is refreshing to see a blue-collar journalist dissect politics from the perspective of the old school of newspaper reporting.

   Drawing on his 40 years of experience covering everything from local mayoral races to national presidential campaigns, Jack W. Germond has written "Fat Man In A Middle Seat" as both a memoir of his encounters with some of the past generation's most interesting political personalities and an analysis of the news coverage the public gets of those candidates. In each case, Germond's observations are astute and fascinating, but ultimately discouraging for what they reveal about the men who hold or seek power, as well as how they are portrayed to the voters.

   Culminating in the farcical non-election results of 2000, and the atrocious reporting of the outcome, Germond reaches his inevitable conclusion that he no longer expects the system to ever "get it right" and produce real executive leadership or accurate press accounts of current events. Now semi-retired in West Virginia, he makes it depressingly clear that the failure of broadcast and print news to adequately explain what was at stake for the direction of the country (both during and after the 2000 presidential race) represented a new low in American journalism and politics.

   Maybe worst of all, Germond notes, too many modern journalists apparently never even tried to pierce the market-tested, micromanaged images that the Bush and Gore campaigns spoon-fed them. This did not serve the public interest and, Germond argues, it led directly to the situation in which we saw the travesty of a Supreme Court case determining control of the federal government. Without exaggerating, he says, the future of democracy itself may be at stake if this trend in superficial reporting continues.

   Surprisingly, however, Germond reserves his most scathing comments for former president Bill Clinton. Coming from the left, this savage indictment of the Big Creep's pathologically selfish character is more devastating and effective than anything the Republican attack dogs ever produced. Other descriptions of John and Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr., and many presidential wannabes are equally crisp and vivid.

   Perhaps the best thing about this work is Germond's impressive candor and modesty about his own accomplishments and mistakes. He is honest about his personal and professional errors in judgment, and does not seem to have an ax to grind against his ideological opponents. That alone sets "Fat Man In A Middle Seat" apart from the self-bronzing, unctuous autobiographies of most fourth estate superstars. Read this book if you want a breath of fresh air in the dry desert of what passes for media criticism and political commentary these days. With grace and grit, Germond makes his life ring true.




3. I liked this book. JG is basically my concept of a political reporter. He was intimately involved in the lives of Robert Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, one could argue. So being a journalist means looking deeply into the psyche (soul?) of a politician, without being too close or personally involved. This became a problem with Jimmy Carter. Maybe this is why there are few, if any, Germonds out there.
   
   Germond's comments on Reagan are pretty amazing, to me. The same for Clinton. I guess he's getting more bitter. I have the new book, but I picked this one up used on Amazon, and I'm pretty sure it is the more significant book.
   
   I never quite knew what the deal was with Germond on McG Group. Now I do. That's where I really grew attached to the guy. Sorry it was such a bum experience. Dr. M does not come off well, yet he basically seems to have spawned Chris Matthews, another rather wildly pretentious churno-journo.
   
   I really didn't find any hatchet jobs in the reviews. I'd like to thing Germond commands this kind of respect. I guess I'm not giving the book 5 stars because this man has had a life that was terribly special. I think he needs to offer a little more perspective, be a little more grandly philosophical, at this point. You know, without being pretentious.



4. This book is written by a very entertaining individual who has an extensive knowledge about politics. On top of being informative, he gives his information in a stylish flare that can only be characteristic of Germond. Great book!



5. Like Robert Casey, the great war correspondent of WWII, Jack Germond is a journalist's journalist. In this book, he not only expresses the values of a great journalist, but illustrates them by reporting what he knows and how he gathers information. He even writes about himself, to make his personal bias clear, as good journalists do. One gets the feeling that he used everyone he ever talked to--in bars, at dinners, on airplanes, in offices--as sources for his political beat. Hard drinking? Sure. Uncompromising? Always. Informed? In depth. It's interesting to note that his prose in this book differs from that of his newspaper columns, which use shorter and simpler sentences, an indication that he knows how to write in different forms. His "insider look" at the political figures of our time, warts and all, illustrate Epicurus's observation that "fate is character," because character controls choices. He changed my view on Dale Bumpers, but I'm not sure that I'll accept his pronouncement that Dave Yepsen is one of the great political reporters of our time, until David Broder agrees. And I'd have to say that Broder can get people to talk without imposing on them, although both listen more than they speak. Other than that, Germond is a great political correspondent, who is willing to share his experience, particularly with those who know how to "read between the lines." If he seems a tad pessimistic, well, experience makes cynics of us all, and he experienced America's slide into disposable leadership, which is why he's worth reading.

5 comments about The Kennedys Amidst the Gathering Storm: A Thousand Days in London, 1938-1940.

1. 
   Dr. Swift has constructed through prodigious research a fascinating composite of information which he presents as a highly engrossing narrative of the role of Joseph P. Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain on the eve of World War II.
   Swift's keen appraisal of Ambassador Kennedy's actions and motivations and the reprecussions thereof, along with a fresh look at the challenges and opposition confronting Kennedy from both sides of the Atlantic at the time, serves to cast the controversial father of a future U.S. president in a more appealing and admirable light than he is usually afforded.
   Throughout his intriguing report on Kennedy's endeavors in pre-war diplomacy, Swift skillfully limns artful profiles of the high level players in the saga, including Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, King George VI and Franklin Roosevelt, with their reactions and interactions during their continual assessments of the ambassador's merit vis-a-vis their own agendas. In sum, Dr. Swift's scholarly book, spiced with titilating material on the personal lives of Ambassador Kennedy and his wife and children as well as accounts of the foibles and vagaries of other participating political luminaries of the era constitutes a compelling read.



2. This is the way in which history should be written. Carefully researched and filled with facts(some never before revealed), the book moves at a fast pace keeping the reader intrigued and never bored. Will Swift captures the formidible Kennedy family at a turning point in history that many have forgotten - the prelude to World War II. He portrays the self-made, vastly wealthy, crafty, tenacious and powerful Joseph Kennedy - admired by some and distrusted by others - as a true patriot who worked steadfastly in an attempt to keep his beloved country out of war. It was a war he felt would lead to disaster.
   Living with Ambassador Kennedy during his 1000 days in London, the reader sees an Irish Catholic family capture the attention of the lavish and flamboyant society that flourished at the time and the respect of a Protestant nation. The opinions and attitudes of world leaders during that crucial time are well detailed. There is also time to observe the children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy's tight knit family (among them Jack, Bobby and Ted) mature and take on some of the talents of their accomplished parents - talents that would serve them well in their later careers. It is a book worth every minute of the read.



3. It is hard to go wrong with a book about the Kennedys, and this one is a gem. From the politically naive and inept father, the Ambassador, to chubby Teddy, age 6, writing charming notes to his father, to Jack bedding Marlene Dietrich as a young Harvard student, the stories are all fascinating. I especially enjoyed learning about Kathleen, who shared Jack's wit without his sizable brainpower, and Joe, Jr., a fearless guy who, brought up in the competitiveness Joe, Sr., glorified, but not as bright, witty or successful as a war hero as Jack, blew himself up in a suicide bomb run near the end of World War II. Joe, Jr., like his father suffered from political myopia and lack of vision, and stuck to extreme isolationism long after it was clearly untenable for a successful Democratic politician to do so.
   
   Not to mention seeing Rosemary, the tragic one, attend elegant high society dances in London with her sisters, without any serious problems, and function well as an arts and crafts teacher in England, totally lose it when she returned to the US, causing Joe, Sr., to agree to a lobotomy, which turned her into a vegetable. And mother Rose, who probably spent as much money on fancy French couture as Joe did on his mistresses.
   
   The book also contains lots of wonderful cameos, from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, to their daughter, the current Queen, to the Lindberghs,
   who, with their own rarified brand of politicial naivete, were about to move permanently to Nazi Germany when the war began (!), to Jack's wonderful gay best friend, Lem Billings, and the gay American Ambassador in Paris, Wlliam Bullitt, who lived openly with his partner.
   
   One persistent theme of the book is to criticize FDR's failure to explain his foreign policy to Joe Kennedy. This criticism is, I believe, misplaced. Joe Kennedy knew next to nothing about foreign policy when he asked for the job as the first American Irish Ambassador to the King, and less when he was forced to quit. FDR rightly did not trust Kennedy, and wanted Kennedy out of the country during the 1940 Presidential election. Joe, Sr., lacked the political sophistication to understand his role, or to adjust to FDR's policies and changing public opinion in the US, which moved towards supporting intervention before Pearl Harbor left people with no other option than to fight. FDR could not have clarified his foreign policy to Kennedy because FDR was hiding his own interventionist views from a public and a Congress (and a London Ambassador) who were stuck on neutrality and isolationism. Kennedy made the additional mistake of befriending Neville Chamberlain, a very small-minded and naive politician like himself, who made the near-fatal mistake of thinking Hitler would keep his promises. Kennedy and Chamberlain were two peas in a pod.
   
   In addition, Joe, Sr., a successful businessman, made the mistake of thinking economics controlled the bloodthirsty ideologues of the Nazi regime.
   
   Joe Sr's reward was to see his political career destroyed; he never held any political office after he left London.
   
   On the other hand, Jack, Bobby, Ted, all of them far better politicians and strategists than their father, never made the mistake of hanging on to extreme positions, or giving disastrously candid interviews to reporters, such as Louis Lyons, who actually and courageously reported the crazy things Joe said after his return to the US. The cosmopolitanism and friends the family developed in England just before the war, however, proved a great benefit, especially to Jack. Without the Kennedys' experiences in England, could Camelot have existed?
   
   The book is also full of witty stories and interesting analogies, such as the fact that FDR, like Obama, had trouble with the Irish Catholic working class voters of his day.
   
   FDR achieved his goal of keeping Joe, Sr. out of the 1940 presidential campaign; at Rose Kennedy's urging, aided by some blarney from FDR, Joe even gave a nationwide radio address before the election endorsing FDR. The important job in the government which FDR, in a staged meeting at the White House, promised Kennedy, of course never materialized.
   
   Joe's reward, as we all know, was an amazingly talented and fascinating family. Whatever his other faults, Joe seems to have been a genuinely good father, treating his children with respect, discussing issues at the dinner table and providing support when needed. When he was not around he wrote personalized letters to each of the children. Even the tragedies, such as Rosemary's problems, often had wonderful trajectories, such as the Special Olympics which Eunice and others developed following Rosemary's tragedy.



4. A marvelous study of Ambassador Joe Kennedy's complicated personality, diplomatic involvement with Winston Churchill, and multi-faceted relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dr. Swift has written an elegant study of this critical time in American history, punctuating his story with vivid portrayals and brilliant insights. Highly recommend this work to both professional historians and the interested layman.



5. Unique among historians I have read, is Will Swift, in his latest book, "The Kennedy's Amidst the Gathering Storm." Swift possesses an ability to engross one immediately due to his gift of narrative writing. Historical topics are often a challenge to read yet this work moves incredibly quickly due to the presentation of information, Swift's special wit describing a situation, and the intertwining of historical fact with character development. Every chapter presents familiar historical information concerning the prewar years 1938-1940, yet the wonderfully researched lives of Ambassador Kennedy's family brings new life into the situation. Very complete diary entries with accompanying newspaper clippings by Rose Kennedy, are a source of material that brings to life a critical world situation complete with an accounting of what Kennedy family members were doing at the moment. I often felt I was present as the situation occurred.
   
   The background of Ambassador Joseph Kennedy is well known, but Swift suggests so much more about the character of Kennedy. The deep love for his children and the exposure of life that he and Rose guided and required of each child is worked into the narrative. One senses so much more about Jack, Bobby, and Ted in particular, due to the parenting they experienced especially as a result of these years abroad.
   
   President Roosevelt and Joe Kennedy had a very difficult relationship as did the combination of Chamberlain and Churchill in the mix as well. We know Kennedy's career was destroyed as a result of his ambassadorship yet Swift has his readers take a good look at the character of FDR as well. One feels Kennedy's deep love of country as he tries to maneuver within an incredibly difficult and disasterous political and world situation with much of the pertinent knowledge from Washington never relayed to him by President Roosevelt.
   
   Characters are described in this narrative such as Tyler Kent, a spy, and Unity Mitford, a companion to Hitler, that make the read unique. Fabulous parties, constant escapades of family and friends in prewar London, fascinating photographs, intimate sides of Rose as she eases into the royal family, and a look at beloved Rosemary, made my read of "The Kennedy's Amidst the Gathering Storm A Thousand Days in London, 1938-1940" so special, I read it a second time.

5 comments about My Fall From Grace: City Hall to Prison Walls.

1. It's no surprise that this book wasn't picked up by a publisher. It's content is filled with unnecessary, uninteresting references describing in dull detail every person and place that he's encountered in his life. What comes through this book logically, is the anger and resentment that Laski harbors toward all those involved in his downfall and a satisfaction in having the "last word." While Laski pretends to be remorseful for taking bribes in the Hired Truck scandal, he really wants the reader to believe that his corrupt behavior is what we should expect as citizens of the city of Chicago. According to this book, Laski was "politically raised" to conduct city business in a criminal manner. It's really not his fault, after all, because all of his role models from the 23rd ward to city hall are corrupt politicians. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I'm still a believer that a majority of our elected officials are honest and eager to serve it's citizens honorably. In my opinion, Laski is a sad, vengeful man who is simply looking for company in the gutter.
   Unfortunately for his family, the former city clerk will have to find a new career path that doesn't include writing.



2. A fall from grace by former Chicago City Clerk James Laski. Interesting since I was born and raised around Chicago. And also since I have a realtive who works in the city clerks office.Typical story of politician who can't keep his hand out of the cookie jar. If you already know the players(I did) it would probably be much more interesting, but outsiders will still get a good look at how the wheels turn in Chicago government.



3. This book may be the only book to be banned from all federal prisons across the nation. This book was sent to a prisoner at Morgantown FCI, the same prison that Laski had been sentenced to for his role in the "Hired Truck Program Scandal." A month later, the book was returned to the sender with a letter stating that it has been banned for security reasons. The truth is, the ban is nationwide. Of course, it is not hard to figure out why. Laski names, names and tells the truth about the prison. He names the prison counselors, drug treatment specialist, and former warden. He exposes the prison's deplorable nutritional, sanitary, and health care conditions. Worst of all, in regard to the prison, he criticizes Morgantown FCI's "crown jewel," its drug treatment and rehab program. This program has been praised by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for its innovativeness, but Laski exposes its degradation and dehumanization. The fact that the author lets the truth be know to the public no doubt accounts for the ban. It also explained Mayor Richard M. Daley's own attack on the book in the Chicago media- apparently, neither Daley nor the FBOP can stand the truth. Personally, I found the book to be very informative and a real page turner. This book is definitely a must-read. The information in this book is definitely national television material.



4. I was very lucky to buy three of these books, hardbound. Mr. Laski was kind enough to sign these books and he also did a T.V. show in Chicago's CAN-TV. James is a very wonderful person and very kind. I strongly urge every student to read this book. This book shows how a little thing can blow up into a major mess. Patrick McDonough. James Laski did a show warming up to the book on google, read the book so you enjoy his video[...]



5. The chapters about Daly are worth the price of the book. Nothing goes down in Chicago without Daly knowing about it. Nothing.

2 comments about A Benjamin Franklin Reader.

1. This is a great collection of the writings of Benjamin Franklin. For me, the real value here lies not so much in the fact that he was a self-made man, but in the advice he gave about connecting with people and interacting with others both from a business and from a personal point of view. His ability in that area led directly to his success (along with some luck). I wish more people read the Autobiography and other papers just for that reason alone. In the long run, that may be the greatest contribution made by Ben Franklin.



2. This is a fine selection from Franklin's writings, including the entire 'Autobiography'. All texts have been judiciously chosen by the editor, arranged in chronological order and prefaced by intelligent, concise and well written introductory notes. Franklin's importance and permanence clearly emerge from the reading.
   
   I only wish there were more excerpts from Franklin's delightful 'Poor Richard's Almanac'. The selections presented in this edition come from the Almanacs for the years 1733, 1734, 1736, 1737, 1738 and 1739, and they barely fill 15 pages. Nonetheless they might well satisfy the reader and in any event there is plenty of rarely published letters and articles from the Pennsylvania Gazette to make up for the possible lack of material from the almanacs signed by 'Richard Saunders'.
   
   This is the perfect book to discover Franklin and also a very good one for those who already know him, thanks to the editors insightful notes and to the opportunity to review Franklin's writings in chronological order, from a historical and biographical perspective.

1 comments about Booker T. Washington: Volume 2: The Wizard Of Tuskegee, 1901-1915 (Oxford Paperbacks).

1. _I think you will make a mistake if you will let your mind dwell too much upon American prejudice, or any other racial prejudice. The thing is for one to get above such things. If one gets in the habit of continually thinking and talking about race prejudice, he soon gets gets to the point where he is fit for little that is worth doing. In the northern part of the United States, there are a number of colored people who make their lives miserable, because all their talk is about race prejudice_ Booker T. Washington in a letter to his daughter Portia then living and studying in Europe.(117)

   I am greatly impressed with this text, BOOKER T. WASINGTON, The Wizard of Tuskegee, 1901-1915. Professor Louis R. Harlan earned the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for History with this biography along with the Bancroft Prize and the Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association. The principle source is the Booker T Washington Papers in the Division of Manuscripts of the LIbrary of Congress, a rich, expanding collection of approximately a million letters, speeches, reports, newspaper clippings, and other documents. Professor Harlan is the editor of the published source that extends, currently, to 14 volumes. This material is available on-line in an Open-Book format at the site maintained by the University of Illinois Press (www.historycooperative.org/btw).

   This book begins in 1901, when Booker T. Washington at the age of forty-five was approaching the zenith of his fame and influence, and ends with his death in 1915. It is a biographical study in the sense that its focus is on the complex, enigmatic figure of Washington, the most powerful black minority-group boss of his time. It also recounts the inner life and struggles of the small black middle class in that generation once removed from slavery, as a coterie of college-bred black men and women challenged Washington's powerful coalition of northern, white philanthropists, southern white paternalists, black businessmen, and such members of the black professional class as he could attract to his side.

   Washington's wizardry - his skill of maneuver and ability to make the most of bad circumstances - was his strong point as a leader. His greatest failing was his inability to reverse the hard times for blacks during what whites called the Progressive Era. The same era which the historian Rayford Whittingham Logan (1897-1981) called the nadir of Afro-American history. As Washington's influence declined in his last years, W.E.B DuBois, a strong critic of Washington, and the founders at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sought relief through the court system.

   It was this legal strategy of the NAACP in the 20th Century that culminated in the successful Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and it is Washington's work-ethic, self-help, self-improvement and particularly, style of accomomdation that have been forgotten or discredited. This text helps us remember what Washington accomplished, however, more importantly, Professor Harlan's meticulous investigations reveal that the character of Washington is difficult to articulate succintly.

   Washington's correspondence with the large donors to Tuskegee does not reveal a conspiracy, either large or small, to prepare Tuskegee's students to become wage-workers in the corporate structure. The typical donor sent his check rather than his advice.,...Washington's efforts at Tuskegee Institute were to train students to become independent small businessmen, farmers, and teachers rather than wage-earners or servants of white employers. At the same time, it is clear that Washington flattered and cajoled the very rich and never challenged the appropriateness of their status at the peak of the American success pyramid.

   Tuskegee became a mecca for not only Africans but West Indians and Asians. As his writings were translated into many foreign languages, he became the most famous black man in the world, and his fame drew foreigners to him like a magnet. All manner of men, American missionaries, European colonialists, Afican nationalists, Buddhist reformers, and Japanese modernizers sought to enlist his aid. On the one hand were whites who sought to aid in introducing plantation agriculture into colonial areas. On the other hand Africans and Asians hoped to find in Tuskegee industrial education and Washington's philosophy of self-help a source of strength to resist the political and cultural impreialism of the Europeans. Washington sought to accomodate all of these contradictory propositions.

   While intrepid research has uncovered new material that lends fresh insight, rather than illuminating Washington for compassion to his motives, the added light only casts more shadows. Utterly at variance with the Sunday-school morality he publicly professed, there was also a more feral, more power-hungry Washington, inordinately involved in politics, and particularly the poitics of patronage. Few people, even those affected, such as W.E.B DuBois and Mary White Ovington, knew the extent to which Washington refused to meet our preconceived notions of how a great leader should behave.

   Inexplicable human fraility, aside, as a guide for the black community, Washington had a concrete program of industrial education and the promotion of small business as the avenue of black advancement "up from slavery" and into the middle class. This program may have been anachronistic preparation for the age of mass production, urbanization, and corporate gigantism then coming into being; but it had considerable social realism for a black population which was, until long after Washington's death, predominantly rural and southern. It gave purpose and dignity to black working-class lives of toil and struggle, and also was well attuned to the growth and changing character of black business in Washington's day. He championed the emerging black business class as the leaders of black communities, and they in turn, through the National Negro Business League, became the backbone of Washington's following.

   Washington's followers found hope in his message that fortified them in hopeless situations. During his time, he was exalted as a type of Moses who would lead his people to the promised land as welcome participants in the mainstream of society. For many in the US and around the world, his teachings were a type of deliverance from their oppressive circumstances. Moses had quite a few faults, as all deliverers do, and one of these faults prevented him from entering the promised land of Canaan. Even with all of his great abilities to accommodate the ruling class majority, his ability to conquer overwhelming obstacles, Booker T. Washington's inability to accomodate the strategies of the NAACP, who were themselves uncompromising, weakened his effectiveness.

   After reading this remarkable text, I see Booker T. Washington as a man with great accomplishments and failings perhaps as great. Even with his shortcomings, he was exceptional as he provided his followers hope and lifted their spirit. Professor Harlan has brought to life a man of enormous complexity, who will never be completely understood or known which makes Booker T. Washington much like the people of which I claim familiarity.

   PEACE

2 comments about Reagan's Disciple: George W. Bush's Troubled Quest for a Presidential Legacy.

1. Lou Cannon, journalist and historian, is one of Ronald Reagan's most prolific and reliable biographers (I think his "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime" is still about the best bio yet written of our 40th president). Carl M. Cannon is a resourceful and clear-eyed reporter in the Washington of Bush 43. Together, they have produced an interesting book that gives us some valuable insights into the motivations and actions of the Bush presidency. It also, perhaps unexpectedly, shines a fascinating light on Ronald Reagan.
   
   For years -- before, during, and after his time in the Oval Office -- Ronald Reagan was portrayed by his opposition as a dim ideological cowboy. In recent years, however, he has been granted a Strange New Respect (as R.E. Tyrrell might put it) by the Left -- in part, no doubt, to try to seize a bit of his own still-strong popularity with the American people for their own purposes, but also to use as a cudgel with which to beat the newer, dimmer ideological cowboy, George W. Bush. To use the inevitable cliché -- so inevitable that even the Washington Post Book World review quoted on this page made use of it -- "George W. Bush, you're no Ronald Reagan."
   
   It's one of the many paradoxical features of today's political scene that it's now the Left who sees in Ronald Reagan a nuanced, deliberative statesman, while the Right (or at least the neocon, Bushian right) honors a one-dimensional, caricatured memory of who Reagan was and what he believed. One of the most valuable parts of "Reagan's Disciple," I thought, was the Cannons' portrayal of Reagan -- accurately, I believe -- as a leader far more practical, realistic, and conciliatory than ideological; far less willing to put American lives on the line or rely on military muscle than anyone thought; and far more willing to draw on a broad range of advisors and opinions than is his ostensible philosophical heir, President Bush.
   
   I found the most interesting parts of "Reagan's Disciple" to be the comparison of the two presidents' approach to warmaking. But the authors also discuss in some detail Supreme Court confirmation battles, the politics of White House personnel decisions, and what it means to be a "decisive" leader. There's also an interesting exploration of the validity of George W. Bush's current preferred presidential comparison, himself with Harry Truman: scorned and unpopular when he left office, but ultimately vindicated by history and honored in the memory of the American people. The Cannons find this comparison also ... imprecise.
   
   As this primary season has shown, Ronald Reagan is still a touchstone of Republican politics. As the Cannons and other historians have noted, if all the presidents since 1945 operated in the shadow of FDR, the presidents since 1989 have operated in the shadow of Ronald Reagan -- a shadow that seems likely to stretch, like a movie gunslinger's at sunset, for a considerable time yet. With George W. Bush having so explicitly claimed the Reaganite mantle, a book like "Reagan's Disciple" was both necessary and inevitable. That it was done so well, and by two writers so well-qualified to draw conclusions, is something to be thankful for. With so many books written about the Bush presidency, from so many different directions and viewpoints, how can you tell which ones are worth reading? Here's my helpful hint: this is one of the good ones.



2. Lou Cannon, author of several books about Ronald Reagan, has co-written "Reagan's Disciple", with his son Carl. A highly insightful, yet somewhat uneven book, it nonetheless makes some great comparisons between our nation's fortieth and forty-third presidents. Guess which one fares less well?
   
   The authors state in the preface that this is a book with "a fair and balanced point of view". In many respects it is, but it's hard not to notice (at least with the elder Cannon) a sense of awe regarding his subject. Granted, Reagan's star has been rising in past years and the Cannons take full measure of it. That legacy is still in dispute with many of us, but this offering certainly makes Bush look inadequate in contrast. If Reagan brought the Republican party into unanimity a generation ago, Bush has almost singlehandedly squandered it, as the authors point out.
   
   Much of "Reagan's Disciple" deals with war, beginning with a look at Woodrow Wilson's idealism, and subsequently how Reagan and Bush looked at war differently. Reagan, ever cautious about foreign entanglements, would almost certainly not have invaded Iraq as Bush did, much to everyone's chagrin today. The narrative of the Cannons is crisp but the subject matter tends to bounce around leaving a less than unifying story line. Yet the contrasting style of Reagan and Bush is the most fascinating part of the book and the authors tell this one well. While Reagan sought broad consensus and a balanced view, Bush has retained a small coterie of yes-men with hardly divergent views.
   
   As we reach the end of the tragic Bush years, "Reagan's Disciple" is a reminder of the bookends of the Republican domination since 1980. The "Morning in America" brand of Ronald Reagan has been wiped clean by the miasma of the past several years. As the authors rightly suggest, when Bush comes on tv people either change the channel or put on the mute button...Americans stopped listening to him a long time ago. People will invoke Reagan's name for years to come, but Bush's legacy, undoubtedly, will be something quite different.

2 comments about James G. Blaine: Architect of Empire (Biographies in American Foreign Policy).

1. This wonderful study opens a new window on Mr. Blaine and his contributions tot he development of America. Many have looked towards TR as the 'imperial president' but this fine study shows that in fact the ideas and the machinery of 'empire' and expansion beyond the continent were being drawn up long before, in the late 1800s. Blaine used his influence on the navy and to encourage the movement into such spheres as the 'guano' islands, finally America was beggining to actually enfore the Monroe Doctrin, which had been enacted more then 50 years before.

   This is an excellent study of America and one of its great 'forgotten' politicians, someone who everyone knew about in the 1800s but who many forgot by the 1920s. Exploring the picotal role of this man, this is a must read for any student of american history or anyone interested in Americas place in the world.

   Seth J. Frantzman




2. I am related to James G. Blaine and have read most books about him and his times. This was the best to date. Wallace Blaine Murray

1 comments about Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of "Crazy Cooter".

1. I've met Ben and he is exactly how he presents himself in this book -- a witty, charismatic man who has overcome adversity and remembers where he come from. This is a good, inspiring story of recovery.

5 comments about Six Minutes to Freedom.

1. I rate this book right up there with my favorites "Endurance", "Touching The Void" and "Blackhawlk Down". I had a tough time putting this book down. Kurt Muse is one strong willed indivdual.
   Edmund Burke said it best with "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"



2. I had seen this book once in a book store and passed it up. From reading the description and review on [...] I decided to buy it. The book was well written and very informative. I knew of the incident, Operation Urgent Fury and the rescue of Muse, but knew very few details. My attention was held until the very end. Although somewhat limited or shrouded I especially enjoyed th details of the rescue and the rescuers. This is one of those books that just make you proud to be an American.



3. This book made me relive the fear and the anxiety most Panamanians experienced under Manuel Noriega's dictatorship.
   I believe that the book exagerates somewhat on the overall role that Kurt Muse played in the huge movement to get rid of the military regime, but the only clear error I found (very small if one considers the length of the book) is that Dr. Hugo Spadafora, who was horribly tortured and beheaded by Noriega's orders, had not previously been an anti-Sandinista guerrilla, as indicated in the book, but an anti-Somoza guerrilla.
   Another detail that I interpret differently is that I think that the permanent guard soldier who was ordered to kill Kurt Muse if an American invasion took place had just gone to the restroom when the rescue mission started, which I think was an answer to all the prayers for Kurt's life.



4. This is a true story of true heroes. Not only is Kurt Muse, the author and subject an authentic hero, the F Team of Delta Force Assaulters that rescued him from certain death at the hands of the dictator Noriega are authentic as well. Muse fought the dictator with creativity, wit and humor. F Team fought him with bullets and grenades.
   
   A measure of the man Muse is that on the anniversary of his rescue he calls each of his 23 rescuers on the anniversary of his liberation, to thank them and to update them on the life and family of the man they saved. A measure of the Delta operators is that even those gravely wounded returned to the service of our Nation.
   
   This is a political thriller with a difference: the story is true; only the names have been changed to protect the victorious from the revenge of the defeated. I have had the privilege to meet one of the Delta operators that participated in the raid on Modelo Prison; no finer friend can you have, no fiercer enemy if you're an enemy of our Nation.
   
   Read this book for insight into real people at the center of one of the geopolitical events of our time. It's not just history, it's humanity.



5. Almost from the first time I heard about Kurt Muse I felt that there was something missing in this story. Seeing him on television, watching a documentary about him, and reading this book, I felt that he was being disingenuous in his telling of it.
   If you see what the American government spent and risked to get him back, it's pretty obvious that he was a much bigger player than how he portrays himself.
   Compare the treatment of Kurt Muse against that of Tom Bleming, another American captured by Noriega (and told in his book, "Panama: Echoes from a revolution"). Beaten, starved, tortured, threatened daily with death, Bleming's incarceration contrasts so sharply with the treatment of Muse that you have to wonder if the fix was in.
   Bleming was captured by the very same people who grabbed up Muse, yet Bleming receives no mention by Muse, even though their times in captivity overlap.
   
   I've always felt that Kurt Muse was a C.I. A. agent, or at the very least, a contract employee. I know that he's gone to great lengths to deny it, but it's still there, like a bad odor in an elevator. You just can't get away from it.
   
   Bleming appears to have handled his captivity much better than Muse, and walked out under his own power. After Panama, he involved himself in other adventures, his latest being a guerrilla in Burma with the KNLA. He even wrote a book about that, "War in Karen Country".
   
   If I were to go off somewhere and involve myself in other peoples problems, i have to say that Bleming would be my first choice of companions, and Kurt Muse a distant second.