5 comments about The Bush Tragedy.

1. The Bush Tragedy
   
   This book is boring but does present an informative history of the Bush family.



2. Who was Albert Einstein's son?
   
   Hans Einstein, a thoroughly decent chap, reflects the fate of many children of high achiever parents. George W. Bush could have been much the same, except for an almost insane desire to prove his father wrong. Weisberg nicely sums up the career and foibles of Dubya and his efforts to be a complete opposite of his father by citing Shakespeare's wastrel 'Prince Hal' who grew up to be King Henry V. (Suppose Hans had devoted his life to drinking and disproving the Theory of Relativity, instead of becoming a successful civil engineer?)
   
   It's a nice sympathetic simple biography, aptly summing up a pile of newspaper and magazine clips with an added bit of pop psychology. The "tragedy" is blamed on neoconservatives and principal enablers including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, First Lady Condoleeza Rice and Laura Bush, who should have told him to "straighten up or I'll leave". Laura warned him once before and it sobered him up. Where was Laura when America needed her most?
   
   The strange element is repeated references to King Henry V, who spent 10 years commanding troops in the field before becoming king. President "Dubya" is more like the man Hal defeated, King Charles VI of France who ruled weakly, led his nation into deep divisions and ended up insane.
   
   The glaring omission is any analysis of why, in an increasingly globalised world, President Dubya wanted sycophants - - such as "Bush's Poodle" in England - - willing to follow his follies into Cloud Cuckoo-land. Weisberg cites Bush's admiration for Sir Winston Churchill, but ignores the years of careful and often crafty diplomacy Churchill used to build the World War II alliance with a largely isolationist United States.
   
   All in all, it's not a "bad" book. Dubya is smart, but unwise. His fans will like it for the blame it places on others; his foes will like its descriptions of his limited acumen. It portrays Dubya as a man who lives by intuition rather than intellect, a contrast to his father who ruled by caution instead of nonchalance and Bill Clinton who ruled by schmooze instead of subtlety.
   
   Tragedy? By all means. Sen. John McCain has repeatedly detailed Dubya's many failures, and been duly rewarded as the presumed Republican presidential nominee. No one needs to ask Democrats for evidence of Dubya's many follies; this book is an interesting start on explaining his mental, moral and muddled absence of rigorous thought processes.
   
   Next time, instead of using Shakespeare and King Henry V as a benchmark; think of Jonathan Swift and the fate of Gulliver in Brobdingnag.



3. A look behind the curtain of a political wizard who lives in a world of obstinate illusions. Watch as the White House is turned into the Bush/Cheney Chamber of Secrets; wonder how a recovering alcoholic can be voted the candidate they'd most likely sit down and have a beer with; be fascinated by an election won by a chad; gallop through the evangelical political world with a Christian Cowboy; marvel at fumble tongued "Dubya's" ability to speak clearly in evangelical and conservative code words; meet Bush's ghosts - "Defense Against the Dark Arts" mother-teacher, invisible Dad, prodigy brother; the demons he deals with - the Nightmare of Iraq, Curse of Katrina, the Spell of Al Qaeda, Phantom Bin-he-who-must-not-be-named-Laden, Bogeyman Iran, the Miracle of the Surge; the dementors - Abu Grab, Gitmo, extraordinary rendition: meet Bush's surrogate family - Rove, Cheney, Rice, Churchill, T. Roosevelt and Truman; be dumbfounded by "Gentleman C's," Skull & Bones and Bush's ability to make lightening-bolt decisions; be startled by the put down spells - Turd Blossom, Evil Genius, Dino, Wonder Girl, Brownie, Rummy, Quasimodo; descend into messianism - conservative saints, Jesus talk, the habit of pious simplification, the sense of Putin's soul; be astonished by the magic smirk Bush so effectively uses to make the public look where he wants them to look, so they don't look where they should.
   
   Jacob Weisberg does an outstanding job of demystifying Bush. Weisberg is not fooled by ideology, spin, legends, propaganda, hoaxes, secret memos and magic tricks. Until The Bush Tragedy was published, the Russian FSB (former KGB) briefing book - read "I was able to get a sense of his [Putkin] soul" story - had better intelligence on how Bush might react to an Orthodox cross than the American public. Winston Churchill said of Americans... "they can always be counted on to do the right thing - after they have exhausted all other possibilities."
   
   Caution! This is a gut-wrenching read. Those who fear the dark arts, the supernatural or a look at, to again use the words of Sir Winston Churchill - the American disease of arrogance, may need a wizard or an exorcist afterwards. However, as Weisberg enlightens us through Shakespeare's words "when you are confronted with a political failure, look deeper and judge less."
   
   The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
   
   "I think -- tide turning -- see, as I remember -- I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of -- it's easy to see a tide turn -- did I say those words?" (George W. Bush - June 14, 2006)



4. The author of this volume is not a psychologist but a journalist. Nevertheless, in drawing up a psychological portrait of "43", as G. W Bush is known within the family circle, he does a good job. The book actually gets better as it goes along, which surely is a great compliment indeed.
   The way the author sees it, G. W. Bush was born into a bind On one hand there was a strong, domineering, mother whose marriage was not the happiest. Acting as if she were living in some Freudian fairy tale, she compensated by mercilessly driving her son. On the other there was a father who excelled at everything he tried and whom the young G. W had to rival and, if possible, excel; however, following the family tradition he still had to appear to be his own man. Such a combination is difficult enough to send most men into a depression and alcoholism--which is just what almost happened to G.W.
   What saved G. W from this fate? Was it his wife's threat to leave him? Was it a sudden conversion to faith? How serious is G.W's faith, anyhow? While the author does try to answer these critical questions, he only succeeds up to a point. In the end, G. W's personality remains as enigmatic as it has always been.
   Another problem is that the author has a lot more to say about Bush the man than about Bush the president--a gap which, had the tried to close it, would have forced him to produce a far larger and bulkier volume. Nevertheless, he has done a good job. For anyone who wants to try and understand what "43" is all about, this is a very good start.



5. Interesting. Unlike most criticism of Bush this author seems to make an honest attempt to be fair and objective. The comparison to tragedies is quite interesting. Unfortunately, most of this book decays into a pseudo psychological analysis. I say this because it is often difficult for professional psychologists to get at the reasons people do things and this author is a journalist without direct access to the people he is analyzing. That said most of his speculation seems reasonable and fact based. If you read this book just remember that it is almost all speculation.

5 comments about Truman.

1. For anyone who has ever cheered for an underdog or bet on a longshot, this is a great read. HST had no money, no family position and no formal higher education--but he did great things for America. McCullough gives us his best story yet, with all the rich detail and factual substance we have come to expect from today's greatest political biographer. If I could read only one political biography again-this would be it.



2. I really enjoyed this book. The book gets better as you get further into the book (that is not to say the start of the book is lacking anything). It does a great job staying focused on the man and not events of the time. WWII, The Atom bomb and other big events could have easily taken over this story and while the man of course had a big role to play in these things the book does great job staying focused on Truman and his life.



3. You might think it odd that I would call a nearly 1,000 page biography incomplete- particularly after giving it a five-star review- but for all the detail McCullough supplies about Truman's life, he misses some very important details. More about that in a minute.
   
   I very nearly did not read this book, as my previous experience with David McCullough's biographyies was his book on John Adams- another very detailed, very well written work that is obvously the work of a man who fell so in love with his subject that it not only blinded McCullough to Adams' flaws, it led him to depict such great men as Franklin and Jefferson as Adams saw them- a vew quite at odds with the portraits painted by other historians.
   
   Nonetheless, I went ahead and plunged into this work, and found it far superior to the Adams biography. The picture McCullough paints of Truman clearly shows the admiration McCullough holds his subject in, yet it also includes many of Truman's flaws- his temper, at times, his lack of education in many areas, his poor judgment and downright naiitivity in his dealings with Stalin, and some of his appointments. At the same time it does a great job of showing how Truman's family and business background and his experience in local Missouri politics shaped his later career as president.
   
   What's lacking, first and foremost, is any discussion of post-WWI economics, and Truman's roll, and the role of Congress, in shaping the postwar economic system. An ecomist friend, noting that I was reading the book, asked me if there was any discussion of James Byrnes in the book. There is a great deal, but none of it regarding Brynes' role in setting policy, either as FDR's Director of Economic Stabilization or later under Truman. Another important player- Henry Walllace- gets short shrift as well. There is much discussion of the political machincations behind replacing Henry Wallace with Truman in FDR's third run at the presidency, but not enough on exactly what made Walllace both an object of admiration to his supporters and a dangerously
   naiive successor to FDR to his enemies. Also lacking is a real discussion of how Truman, like FDR before him, had no problem in using, and some would argue abusing, the executive powers of his office to threaten both unions and businesses into compliance with his aims.
   
   But what McCullough does provide is a superbly constructed narrative that is, I think, more complete, more accurate, and more interesting than any of the previous popular biographies of Truman. It's a first-rate read and an excelllent education for both Truman fans and critics.



4. Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II. He did what he had to do and what had to be done to end the worst war in the history of the planet. He was essentially carrying out the policies of Roosevelt, who died in office. Truman passed the buck when he sent troops to Korea to contain Communism. He fired General Douglas MacArthur, who wanted to nuke the Chinese. Limited war as policy set a precedent for Vietnam. Korea is still a problem. Peaceful reunification is the only solution.



5. An absolutely fantastic biography. McCullough not only gives us an incredibly in-depth account of Truman's role in such momentous events as the decision to drop the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Potsdam Conference (Truman's only face-to-face meeting with Stalin or Uncle Joe as he called him), the Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the firing of General MacArthur and so on, but he also succeeds wonderfully in injecting joviality into this rather thick tome through his unsurpassed ability to recount the human side of Truman, the quirkiness, the common trials and errors of a human being and the like.
   
   I am not an American, but I always tell my friends that if I were Truman would be my favorite president. This book only serves to reinforce my view. Overall, one of the best biographies I've read. If I ever became famous one day, I'd really love someone of McCullough's caliber to write my biography. Highly recommended.

5 comments about The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.

1. This is a spectacular book. The author did a fantastic job in bringing together adventure, history and a little bit of science, with a very good narrative and great character development. In fact, it would make a terrific "Indiana Jones-style" movie.
   
   As a Brazilian, I have always admired Candido Rondon as a real life hero, and this book only confirmed my admiration. He was well ahead his time in his view of protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples. As the author recalls, Albert Einstein proposed his name for the Nobel Prize of Peace.
   
   Even in Brazil, very few people know much about the Rondon-Roosevelt expedition. Contrary to my initial assumptions, I learned that Roosevelt's trip to Brazil was not a mere "celebrity safari", but a real scientific expedition with scientific added value. The "River of Doubt" (now called River Roosevelt) in the Amazon basin was uncharted until 1914 and it is as big as the Rhine.



2. A real story, a real adventure, all done by a former President of the United States. Since I slept thru most of my history classes, this book offers great insight into what I've now learned to be one of the greatest men to lead this country.
   
   A very satisfying read and highly recommended.



3. A 54 year old ex-president tries to get out of a funk by planning a trip down the Amazon. Then after the planning is done, on an off-hand remark by a travelling companion, he decides to explore an uncharted river filled with flesh eating fish and alligators, controlled by indians, and dotted with rapids. Only Teddy Roosevelt would have considered this and only Teddy would have survived it. With real stories like this, who needs fiction?
   
   A great read for adventure lovers.



4. Great book. I read quite a few books of this type and this is one of the best. This is a part of Teddy's life I new nothing about. I'm surprised there hasn't been a movie made from it yet.



5. I enjoyed this book of adventure & discovery in the Amazon basin. The events in this story take place less than 100 years ago but what a different world it was then. This story takes place within a year or two of the first people reaching the North & South poles - this is a time of great discovery around the world. Theodore Roosevelt takes one last daring journey in a life that was full of adventure (or in his own words he "had lived the life of 10 men..." ) The journey takes him & his companions on a several month journey down an uncharted river.
   
   Candice Millard does a good job mixing the telling of the story with the background of world events at the time & some interesting details about the people, plants & animals of the Amazon basin. It is amazing how much our world has changed since the events in this story took place. I would recommend this book as a good historical adventure story.

5 comments about The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams.

1. This collection of historic dialogue is just what I was looking for. The simply and powerfully reprints the letters between Adams, the older more conservative thought leader for a nation, and Jefferson, the quiet country Gentleman who gave voice to that nation. This chronilogical collection of letters bring to life the common bond that brought together and then sustained these two giants; the love of well formed thoughts and learning. The addition of the Abigal to Jefferson letters adds a deeply spiritual and personal tough. A great tool for understanding the thoughts and arguments behind the norming and forming of the United States.



2. Throw Away the texbooks. As others have said this is our Real History and Heritage. There is more to be found here on Ethics and Intergrity than in any of the pogressively vaporous decriptions of these men and their times. Imagine the chief architects of the Great Experiment in Representstve Democracy. Adversaries at the Constitutional Congress; ememies over the the transition from Adam's Presidency to Jefferson's. And then THESE! Conciliation and repect and eventually true affection - The founding fathers in thier own words - asessing what they had wrought - the good, the bad, the ugly - all passsed through that wondeful 18-19th Century Prose. Throw away the text books. Integrity was the founding principle of Taoism; Ethics the founding princple of Socratic/Platonic discouse. Adams and Jefferson knew this. Many Americans are waking up astounded by the lack of these two foundational elements in our modern system of governance. There is more to be learn of governance,literature and critical thinking on any page than there is in an entire high-school(and most college) curricula. Jefferson and Adams are stirring, stirring - and this can only be a Good Thing.



3. Out second and third presidents began their political career as friends, fell out, and then fortunately became friends again. In this wonderful collection of personal letters we see not only the men but the times until their deaths July 4, 1826. One of our most beloved presidents and most mis-understood are brought into reality by this collection. They were after all both remarkable men and human beings.



4. Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall and to be able to share in the thoughts and happenings of important places and people? Well, if your desires in that regard include the office of the Presidency of the United States and the early days following the American Revolution, that is exactly what this book provides.
   
   As was typical of statesmen of that day, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams maintained a lengthy personal and professional correspondance the subjects of which were both mundane and highly intellectual. This book takes that correspondance, chronologically arranges it and then groups it according the characteristics of the time and the themes of their correspondance. As an additional bonus, John's wife Abigail Adams is included as well.
   
   My attraction to this volume was to seek clarity and focus on several questions that are quite relevant to today. What was meant and intended by the concept of Separation of Church and State and what was the philisophic and religious thinking of there two important figures? There's no shortage of resources out there to tell you what these men thought, the context of their society and usually as an added bonus how these matters in one way or another support the agenda or perspective of the one putting the source together.
   
   At some point however, if you really want to grapple with these issues or just understand the times and importance of these two men, there is no substitute for simply reading and allowing them to speak for themselves.
   
   The added benefit of reading it through in its entirity is that you are not subjected to the judgement of another as to what is significant, what isn't and you aren't relying upon snippets and quotes that may or may not be in context and may or may not be representative of all that either man had to say upon a certain matter.
   
   Certainly, this is just a small cross-section of all that these two men wrote and by itself there is much more that should be added. However, more than any other correspondance preserved from that day that these men engaged in, this was an exchange between men who considered the other his equal and for whom, with exceptions in time periods that are noted, mutual respect and a desire to explain themselves to one another motivated a candor and depth of intimacy that is difficult to find in other sectors.
   
   Certainly, any student of American History needs this resource as a reference and as such it affords a ready means to add information and topically flip through the pages to see what each man had to say on a particular subject.
   
   Every such student though, in my opinion, owes it to themselves, at least once, to just sit down and read the entire volume. Do this, and you'll have a handle upon the style of communication of the day, a feeling for many of the issues of the day and how they were viewed by the participants who did not have the advantage of knowing at the time how something would resolve. Idiosyncrasies in language and social custom will become more self-evident and the chances of being mislead by a quote isolated from its context will diminish considerably.
   
   In short, for anyone who loves History, this is an experience not to be missed.
   
   The footnotes and introductory passages to the different sections in my opinion do a remarkably good job of providing the reader with just enough context and outside information so that the letters themselves make sense and are not misunderstood. The reader is not told what to think about the letters per se, but rather equipped to make a better informed evaluation and come to their own conclusions. Those elements make the book valuable as well.
   
   5 stars if ever there was a book worthy of 5 stars; again, this IS history.
   
   Bart Breen



5. What an incredible feeling reading the words of two of our country's founding fathers. To feel the respect and affection , as well as irritation, of these men is astounding. I am grateful that they have been made available to us to have and hold in our own hands and libraries and to pass on to our children.

5 comments about My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams.

1. This book is a wonderful adjunct to the HBO series and David Mc Cullough's brilliant book.."John Adams". I have never been devoted to our American history, preferring instead Ancient cultures. I see what I have missed and vow to read more about the brave and devoted men and women who, indeed ,created our country. The love affair between John and Abigail seemed to provide the great man, as well as Thomas Jefferson, with the strength and comfort that spurred them on. Bravo!!



2. I started reading this while watching the John Adams HBO mini series. I didn't finish the book until after I had seen all 7 episodes. It was interesting to read their correspondence and realize how much of an asset Abigail was to John. If you enjoy reading letters, you will enjoy this book. The author inserts commentary prior to a particular time frame of letters in order for you to understand the tenor and specifics of the letters that follow. I enjoyed it.



3. If you are a history buff or just a little interested in the history of our nation you will love this book. The letters exchanged between John and Abigail Adams are wonderful. Abigail was definitely John's rock. She kept him focused and steady. John was a very passionate man in his beliefs and at times would become a tyrant trying to convince people that his way of thnking was the only way to think. Thank goodness he had Abigail as he ran everything by her to see how she thought the people would react to his perception. Abigail would let him know when he needed to press an issue or just be quiet and let it happen on its own. Besides being lovers as husband and wife they were truly best friends. An inspirational read.



4. The newly released TEACHING LIFE: LETTERS FROM A LIFE IN LITERATURE impresses me as a welcome companion to collected letters of John and Abigail Adams.
   
   In 1978 one of the author's students died tragically in an automobile accident on her way to his office to talk over her career plans. It was the suddenness of her death, along with the utter loss of so much potential, which left him wondering whether anything he had said in class had made a difference in her too-short life or, for that matter, in the lives of any of his students.
   
   Her death was not only a great misfortune but also a defining moment for the author. For the first time in his life as a teacher, and he had been at it for only five years, he realized in the weeks that followed that he wasn't in the classroom for myself. He was and remains there for the students, all of whom are giving him three hours a week of their most precious possession -- their time. What he says and do should make a difference in their lives. The worst thief is a bad teacher.
   
   In a recent interview with Samantha Bravo he answers some pointed questions about the book:
   
   1) Each letter to Kelly addresses a different aspect of
   education, literature and life. How did you decide
   which topics to address? How do you think the book's
   organization of these topics affects the reader?
   
   The topics suggested themselves to me as I moved ever deeper into the project. I knew I had to write "When a Parent Dies," for example, because the day after my father's funeral I returned to my class to discuss Hamlet and saw my father sitting in the back of the room. The chapter on "Marriage" suggested itself because I was struck by how many of my colleagues across the country wrestle with balancing the academics with family life. Many questions emerged over the years from discussions with my parents, both educators, as well as from my students. Overall I answer questions that many teachers (and students) ask of themselves and that I continue to ask of myself.
   
   2) Why did you choose to format the book as a series of
   letters?
   
   To avoid the risk of coming across as "preachy" or dogmatic. That's not my style. Writing letters "to" a former student was an indirect way of reaching my potential reader. Also, this format helped me to establish a warm, personal tone that is the voice I try to maintain in the classroom. I am speaking to teachers, yes, but I am also speaking to students as well as to the general public - and I don't want to alienate them.
   
   3) In the book's summary it says that "'Teaching Life"
   is an effort to impart lessons to the next generation
   of teachers." Would you also agree that these lessons
   are equally benefiting to students who read this
   book? What sort of insight should a student expect to
   gain in contrast to a teacher?
   
   Yes, most definitely. Letters as personal as these permit the student to slip away from present concerns, open the door, and step inside the secret life of a teacher. Happiness is a gift, not a right, and most of us as teachers have been so gifted. Perhaps some students themselves will carry from the book the thought of entering this noble and personally rewarding profession. At the very least I hope they will find here some useful suggestions for getting all they can from their educational experiences.
   
   4) You say that Kelly has become a metaphor for all your
   students. Could you explain this in more depth?
   
   Every semester my classrooms are filled with Kelly's - bright, eager-to-learn men and women who are giving me three hours a week of their most precious possession - their time. What I say "to" Kelly in the letters I say to all of my students: make the most of your allotted time, seek the best in everything you do, and keep growing. My challenge is to find a way to connect with them, to encourage them to care about the material, to think about some of the deep issues of life, and to have a good time while doing so. That's part of what keeps me coming back day after day, month after month, semester after semester. Though Kelly didn't live to realize her potential as a teacher, my experience of knowing her and thousands of students like her continues to inspire me every day.
   
   5) Thirty years after Kelly's death, why did you believe
   that this was the right time in your career to publish
   "Teaching Life?"
   
   There were many months, even years when I didn't know when (or even IF) I would complete the book. Coincidentally I did so while approaching my 35th year of teaching. To borrow from Samuel Johnson, I believe that into every teacher's life there comes a "time to be in earnest." This is such a time for me.



5. I must shamefully admit that prior to the renewed interest in John Adams with the recent miniseries, I really had only a general knowledge of his role and importance in the founding of our country. This book gives a private, personal and wonderful view of the strength,deep,abiding love of this first family. I could not put it down & would highly recommend it to anyone.

1 comments about Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life.

1. This biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt was thoroughly engaging. I'm no historian, and have no idea if Joseph Persico has broken new ground in historical scholarship with this book. He has produced an eminently readable biography of one of our great leaders, viewed from the perspective of his relationships with several remarkable women.
   
   FDR was the over-protected only son of a dominating mother, born into wealth and privilege. The handsome young Franklin surprised almost everyone by choosing to marry his plain and awkward cousin Eleanor. He served the Wilson Administration as Undersecretary of the Navy during WWI, when the 36 year old husband and father of five fell in love with the beautiful Miss Lucy Mercer, his wife's social secretary.
   
   Eleanor discovered the affair and it changed her world forever, although the marriage survived. Despite his promises to Eleanor FDR did not cut off all communications with Lucy, who married a wealthy widower and by all accounts was a devoted and loving wife, stepmother, and mother.
   
   I think that in some ways the title is less accurate than the subtitle, because Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd remains a more shadowy figure in this book than most of the other remarkable women in FDR's closest circle. Persico portrays Lucy as possessing from first to last a nearly mystical aura, an ability to quietly charm everyone she met, and a depth of character. There was clearly a deep and lifelong connection between Lucy and FDR.
   
   Persico brings compassion and respect to all the characters here: the complex FDR, his equally complex wife Eleanor, his beautiful and dominant mother Sara, and the other women who moved in and out of his orbit including Lucy, FDR's devoted aide Missy LeHand, his daughter Anna, and his cousins Daisy and Polly. When I reached the end of this book I felt I not only knew more about FDR and Eleanor, but had come to know a handful of other women who shared FDR's journey through this world.

5 comments about Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

1. This book was a page-turner. There is not a false note or a deficient section or arrangement in it. The author does an excellent job in telling Lincoln's story from cradle to grave, with the emphasis of course on his political years, but with enough background to inform and enlighten the discussion of the political years. Even more amazing, the book weaves in substantial biographies of major figures like Seward, Bates, Chase, Stanton, and the Lincoln family. This complex effort could have collapsed under its own weight, become plodding, or become confusing. Nothing of the sort happens. Instead, the pieces fit together very nicely and you feel yourself learning and sinking into the era as you make your way to the tragic ending. The detailed research is impressive, as is Goodwin's ability to relay it in an engaging and clear style. Abraham Lincoln came to life like never before. I finished the book on April 15, the day he died, and found myself sad for his ending and grateful for the skill and dedication with which he led this country through a terrible trial. I highly commend this book, and a visit to Springfield, to tour Lincoln's home and visit his tomb, to those wishing to learn about, and honor, a great man.



2. This is one of those books that, when you are finished, you need a few minutes to sit and let it all sink in. It is a powerful, wonderful, insightful book that I was almost sorry to finish, for multiple reasons -- it was engrossing, and of course it didn't end well.
   
   Goodwin does an excellent job of bringing Lincoln to life and showing his incredible talents for managing people. I had some knowledge about Lincoln, but when I finished this book, I was left with a feeling of sadness, not only for him and his friends and family, but for the country, because we were deprived of four years of Lincoln's leadership. And who knows how things would have turned out in the South and the country as a whole had he been able to preside over the infant stages of Reconstruction.
   
   The relationship between Lincoln and Seward was a pleasure to learn about, as well as the way Lincoln dealt with the various personalities around him without creating personal enemies. Reading about his interactions with Frederick Douglass was also a special part of the book.
   
   While this book may be long (about 750 pages) for those with only a casual interest in history, I would still recommend it to anyone. It is a remarkable book about a remarkable man.



3. There is no other word for it, this book is brilliant. Coming into it, I thought I knew a fair amount about Lincoln and workings of the war. However, the way the author depicts Lincoln and his cabinet is incredible. There is such depth, honesty, and intricacy to it. Although there is not a lot of background info on the war itself, that, for the most part, is not missed. The book focuses on Lincoln and his cabinet, and how he, in his own political genius, pulled together varying factions of the new Republian party to solve the crises facing the country. It's a fascinating insight into one of the great political and moral minds of history. It is not to be missed.



4. His assassination and coronation at such an early age both preserved the mystique and obscured the mystery that surrounded Abraham Lincoln and made him one of the the best-documented men in history. Lincoln has been mythologized beyond criticism or comparison in the historical lexicon. This book brings him back from mythology and puts him into his proper political realm so that he can be criticized and compared to other mortals, whereupon you realize how far beyond criticism and comparison Lincoln is when it came to his political and personal leadership.
   
   Goodwin's Abraham Lincoln is a political leader and wise human being beyond any other, perhaps even Solomon himself. Of the people whom history has documented thoroughly enough to compare, he may be the greatest human being ever in terms of communicating, understanding, empathizing , and motivating others.
   
   Why does every leader since pale by comparison? Is there never to be another Lincoln? Part of the problem is that in Lincoln's time, one man could still control most of his environment. Lincoln created ways to work, study, and think that allowed him to apply his knowledge and wisdom to the problems he faced and come up with the best solutions. The realm of control is much smaller today.
   
   Part of the problem is the pervasiveness and immediacy of communication (the media), part of it is the complexity of the environments, and part of it is the complexity of the problems.
   
   Even a leader of Lincolnian proportions would not be as successful as Lincoln in today's world. Of leaders since then who approached that power on the world stage: FDR, Reagan, Castro, maybe Papa Doc Duvalier--on a small island scale, a lesser man can loom larger, and without a great ethical compass, accomplish much for the wrong purpose!
   
   One great example of Lincoln's abilities: with conservative cabinet member Seward's resignation on his desk because of accusations from liberal Senators (based on inside information from liberal cabinet member Chase), Lincoln agreed to meet with the Senators alone at the White House. After hearing their complaints in a long meeting and promising to think on it, the next day Lincoln called all the cabinet together except Seward, told them about the meeting and told them to come to the White House that night to meet with the Senators, knowing that as a group the cabinet would defend its own against charges from outsiders.
   
   Chase, who had provided the information to the Senators, especially charges that the cabinet was seriously divided and uninvolved in presidential decision-making, was in a panic throughout the meeting when the cabinet members did indeed defend Seward and Lincoln and present a united front during a long 5-hour session with the Senators.
   
   The next morning, Chase came to the White House to submit his resignation to Lincoln because of his mortification in front of the Senatorial delegation (when the delegation was discussing afterward how Chase could have painted such an incorrect story of the cabinet unity and involvement, one Senator remarked dryly "He lied."). When Chase pulled the paper from his pocket, Lincoln eagerly grabbed it and read it with a smile on his face. "This unties the Gordian knot," he exclaimed, as he recognized that Chase had just given him the answer to his dilemma. He wrote out a letter to both Chase and Seward, rejecting both resignations, thus keeping his cabinet and the warring Republican party united.
   
   This example is multiplied many times by Goodwin throughout the book, highlighted each time by Lincoln's quiet confidence in his ability, his moral authority, and his political authority. His self-assurance was reflected in the way he always accepted other's ideas (and gave credit) when better than his, seldom held grudges, and never paid back ill for ill, a trait that paid off many times in his political career, as those he could have made enemies became valuable compatriots in the war for the Union.
   
   How could a man with such humble beginnings, with so little formal education, who was basically a minimum-wage day laborer until the age of 25, when he learned the law on his own and began a faltering political career--how could this man harbor such ability and confident expectation of success?
   
   It is easy enough to say it stems from his determination, after a bout of suicidal depression in his mid-20s when the first love of his life died, that he did not want to die until he had made a mark on the world. A noble and worthy determination to be sure, and one made--and forgotten--by many of us, as time, ability, and circumstance leave us satisfied with some lower place. But 20 years later in the White House, while talking with his best friend from that earlier time, Lincoln reminded his friend of that pledge and acknowledged his readiness to die now that he had met it. Lincoln had not forgotten his pledge, and had fully intended and expected to meet it as he did! What gave him this ability to satisfy his fully expectant confidence?
   
   One can say it is God's hand of providence working in human history to preserve the United States. That may be the most likely driver, but why through this gangling "great ape" who was mocked and denigrated until met in political or personal arenas where he quietly and gracefully managed every relationship for the best of all parties? Was Abraham Lincoln a committed Christian? Not by most standards of orthodoxy, although he knew the Bible from hours of study, and not in comparison to Chase, whose studied religiosity was belied by his shady financial dealings and unethical manipulation of others.
   
   Regardless, with war in Iraq and economic gloom descending over most of the world, God's providence in the placement of a humble servant leader like Lincoln would surely be welcome.



5. With great writing and fabulous storytelling, Goodwin takes us deep into the inner workings of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet during the Civil War and into the minds and lives of the key players. This is not another Lincoln biography or a history about the Civil War battles or generals, although we do meet and get a greater appreciation of the good and bad generals -- Grant and Sherman vs. McClellan -- and focus on Lincoln's leadership skills and style. In some ways, you could say this extremely engaging read is a biography of a particular institution -- Lincoln's cabinet and its members -- at the key moment when America's peculiar institution of slavery is being fought over. However, I am glad that I read Shelby Foote's three-volume narrative history of the Civil War before Goodwin's book so that I had the biggest picture first.

3 comments about White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters.

1. Not your normal, outside-the-classroom reading, but pick it up. If you're even the slightest bit interested in politics, Washington, or behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the Presidency, this is a must-read.



2. This is an insightful, detailed and well balanced history of the relationships between American presidents and the people who write their speeches. Mr. Schlesinger interviewed more than 90 speechwriters and other aides. He devotes a separate chapter to each president from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to George Walker Bush.
   
   Raymond Moley wrote about FDR: "My job from the beginning . . . was to sift proposals for him, discuss facts and ideas with him, and help him crystallize his own policy. Schlesinger writes that FDR believed "policies and words are inextricably linked -- the former cannot be conjured in the absence of the latter." FDR's speechwriters were "advisers as well as wordsmiths."
   
   Truman continued FDR's practices; speeches were written at meetings "at which most of his principal advisers, including Dean Acheson, were present, and during which policy was really and carefully shaped through its articulation."
   
   Over time the job evolved. "As television eclipsed radio as the nation's medium, as the White House staff grew from a handful to a sprawling group of specialized cadres, and, of course, as each president has dealt with it in his own way."
   
   For awhile, the role of the speechwriter was something of a secret. John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address was in nearly final form. But he pretended to be writing a first draft of it in longhand to give a leading reporter the impression that he, not Theodore Sorensen, was the major author.
   
   Johnson continued the secrecy tradition. Richard Goodwin remembers that "the finest moments of my life in politics" were spent writing an address leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. "It is not just Negroes, but it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we . . . shall . . . overcome." Johnson [and Goodwin] made black protest his own.
   
   Reporters were told that Johnson himself wrote the speech, but the speech was Mr. Goodwin's work. He had worked closely with Johnson for a year and, Goodwin wrote later, Goodwin had drawn on his own knowledge of Johnson -- "not merely his views, but his manner of expression, patterns of reasoning, the natural cadences of his speech. [My goal was] to heighten and polish -- illuminate, as it were -- his inward beliefs and natural idiom, to attain . . . an authenticity of expression.... the document was pure Johnson."
   
   Nixon broke with the secrecy tradition and "established the first formally structured White House speechwriting office, called the Writing and Research Department, or in Nixon's words, "the PR department". Schlesinger writes that the writers were rarely consulted on policy matters. In fact, Nixon wrote speeches on his own with little or no input from the speechwriting office.
   
   Schlesinger writes that speechwriters had little involvement in the making of policy and only limited access to the president in most of the administrations that followed Nixon's. For example, "Ronald Reagan's speechwriters had diminishing access to a president who was remote from even his closest aides. [But Reagan] had presented a clear ideology and style so they had gotten his voice even though they might go months without seeing him."
   
   Schlesinger argues that George Herbert Walker Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford were not very concerned with their speeches. Mr. Bush disliked "high-flying" rhetoric and rarely practiced them in advance. Mr. Carter "didn't much like the idea of using [speechwriters], ever." President Ford "rarely faced up to the fact that making a major address is one of the most important things a President does," according to his chief speechwriter, Robert Hartmann. Journalist John Hersey was "profoundly disturbed by what seemed to me the aimlessness of [Ford's] speechwriting session."
   
   Bill Clinton returned to involving speechwriters in the making of policy. "There was more crossover between the speechwriters and policy aides than in any presidency since [LBJ's]. . . . Clinton preferred to work on speeches with aides who could answer substantive questions about policy." But Clinton often ad libbed, spoke in public often, and in practice devalued his own words.
   
   According to Schlesinger, George W. Bush recognizes the importance of speeches: "He put a great deal of time and energy into speech preparation and faith in his speechwriters."
   
   Schlesinger believes that Presidential speeches are important to educate and persuade the public and to force decisions and clarify policies within the executive branch. Schlesinger believes that by divorcing speechwriters from policy making, recent presidents may be depriving themselves of a useful tool for achieving their objectives.
   
   Whatever your views of the value of speechwriters, this is a fascinating and insightful view of the American presidency.
   
   Robert C. Ross, 2008



3. Schlesinger has summarized the presidencies from FDR to W. How each president used, or not, the skills of their respective 'ghosts' shows one and all that words do matter; as well as the wisdom of our first executives when it came to choosing their wordsmiths. Witty and full of details, each chapter of this book is a joy. Indeed, this a must read.

5 comments about John Adams.

1. This is an excellent book about a man that I previously knew very little about. Very interesting and flows well. It gave me a new perspective on some other historical figures as well, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. I highly recommend this book.



2. I can't put the book down. It's a well written story, very entertaining and educational. I'm learning so much about our founding fathers and the birth of this nation that I didn't learn in school.



3. Of course it is only a metaphorical question, but if there were more politicians around who adored their wife and their country, America would be a pretty different place. He said what he thought and he thought deeply. He had a strict moral obligation to his God, country and his family and would never consider going against any of these things. This book reveals all these things about a complicated man. It is not a dry academic novel but a fascinating story. You cannot find too many of these out there and I have had to read many of those to get through bachelors degree and halfway through my masters. One of the things that impressed me the most was the level with which he treated his wife. In the time that he lived this was phenomenal.



4. There are many more erudite descriptions of John Adams. I decided to write a review because it is my favorite non-fiction book and I felt that the HBO series took the wind out of Adams' sails in so many ways. The HBO miniseries, which I long awaited, bored me to tears. There was none of the excitement in the series that I read in the book. Paul Giamatti's Adams could not speak above a whisper and did not convey, at least to me, the spirit of John Adams, which I read in 2001 and still remember vividly. John Adams had such an interesting and varied life, that to distill it as it was done in the HBO series leaves the viewer questioning how this complex man was anything more than a bombastic autocrat.
   
   David McCullough's use of primary sites and his use of the many letters written to his wife Abigail makes this book one of the most memorable and romantic of all the founding fathers. He clearly writes about his personal life - his treatment of his children, the favoritism of John Quincy, his life-long love affair with his wife and their juxtaposition with his duty to his fledgling country as well as his interest in his own epitaph. He brings to life a human who was so multi-faceted and brings most of those facets to life.
   
   I am not an historian, so I realize there are many things missing knowledge of John Adams. However, that which was included was readable, interesting and kept me turning those many pages with ease.



5. David McCullough is to history was John Grisham is to literature: he's lite fare, easily digestable but not particulary nourishing. To me, the book seemed like a watered-down and streamlined portrayal of an important historical figure. It's reasonable well-written and moves along at a good clip; it just seems superficial. I guess that's o.k. if your target audience is people who don't normally read history. If you fall into that category, the JA is probably the book for you. Personally, however, I usually like to read "serious" works of history. History-lite just doesn't seem worth my time....
   
   Not terrible but not recommended.

5 comments about A Remarkable Mother.

1. What a disappointment. I adored Lillian Carter--Miss Lillian--during the Jimmy Carter years in the White House. I also greatly respected his presidency. And I have read all of Jimmy Carter's other books, each of which would earn at least a four-star rating from me. And the anti-Israel one earns a five-plus! But this is sentimental and so atypical of Jimmy Carter. Miss Lillian was a remarkable woman who deserves so much better than this little book that is highly over-rated and definitely over-priced. Sorry, Mr. President, but you didn't do your mother proud on this one. Eric Selby



2. I read about one book a week. This book must have been the worst book I have ever read in my life. I loved Jimmy's stuff in the past. What happened?? I'm not sure he even wrote this book. Very slow and pointless content.



3. Anyone who doesn't remember the Carter Presidency will meet in this book a truly extraordinary woman, as salty and outspoken as she was generous, good-hearted and commonsensical--perhaps the only President's mother in recent times (at least prior to the current occupant of the Oval Office) to make a noteworthy impression in public consciousness. For those who do remember her, Jimmy's fond (but not overly or needlessly sentimental) portrait will help clarify the origins of the qualities that were manifest on the surface. Rather than being a clinging or protective parent she was a "do-er," someone who taught by example. In many respects, she bears no small resemblance to the strong Southern black women with whom she had an affinity--a character with the integrity and resilience of Dilsey in Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury."
   
   The entire Carter family--Miss Lillian, Ruth, and Billy--were utterly unique individuals, and little has been written about the personal grief that Jimmy must have endured upon the passing of his mother and both siblings, even as he continued to direct his attention toward humanitarian causes that would benefit a wider human family. Unfortunately, there is no Brother's or Sister's Day, but some of us hope the enviable energies of the former President do not fail him before he has had a chance to do at least equal justice by these two remaining members of a First Family that, however dissimilar in background and social status, attracted a level of interest not seen since the Kennedy era.



4. Jimmy Carter has penned an insightful and inspiring book that chronicles the amazing life of Miss Lillian Carter- Peace Corp volunteer at the age of 70, registered nurse, pecan grower, university housemother, early civil rights advocate, and enthusiastic Brooklyn Dodgers fan. "A Remarkable Mother" is an engaging, uplifting read that makes for a terrific Mother's Day gift regardless of the recipient's political persuasion.



5. I highly encourage all to read this book. If nothing else, to gain more insight into some remarakble people, and to gain more love, compassion, and sensitivity towards this very special person in many of our lives, our mother.One Man's Love Story - A Near-Death Experience