No comments about Lee Kuan Yew: The Beliefs Behind the Man.

No comments about Abram S. Hewitt: With some account of Peter Cooper,.

No comments about Douglas-Home (British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century) (Life&Times).

No comments about Collectors guide to Presidential Inaugural medals and memorabilia.

2 comments about Rafiq Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon.

1. 
   
   The murder of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri is enigmatic and perplexing.
   To probe to the bottom is one thing, but to spread the truthful details of the investigation is another?
   
   Actually the persons who stand to suffer most are his direct family members and kinfolks, and the hundreds of thousands of his Lebanese (and Arab) supporters who looked at the late PM with genuine feelings of hope.
   Hariri was a man full of inspiration and creativity.
   We are hoping against hope for a change in fortunes that the investigation will lead, this time, to the `perpetrator' and to the `instigator'.
   Reading Iskandar's book takes you to the `golden' years in which Lebanon threw away its gruffly shroud to myriads of bright spots kicking off with Beirut.
   A dream relived.



2. While the book is well written, yet it is a baised account by one of the Hariri family closest associates whose livelihood depended on work with Rafic Hariri. This is not an accusation, but of course the author would not mention all the bade side of the Hariri saga and the corruption that imprinted his business dealings, which was revealed in several more objective accounts. Fortune magazine put Hariri's fortune by his admission at 4 billion dollars in 2004; yet when he was murdered in Feb 2005, the same magazine reported that his children inherited 16 billion dollars. One cannot use this book as a research reference for an academic work or an objective portrayal of the man. However, the author's facts about the economy are almost OK.

1 comments about The Essential George Washington: Two Hundred Years of Observations on the Man, the Myth, the Patriot.

1. This is an interesting and worthwhile little book that is a quick read. It is essentially a collection of quotations and short essays from famous people concerning George Washington. The book is divided into three sections, with the first devoted to thoughts of his contemporaries, the third is thoughts from modern thinkers, and the middle section devoted to everyone in between.
   
   The essays are informative, with the first section being the most important. It seems that now most people have an idea that Washington and the other founding fathers were a cohesive group of men who saw eye to eye on most important issues, but that is more a myth than reality. This book details some of the differences of opinion, particularly between Jefferson and Hamilton, and even includes quotes from people like Thomas Paine which are not particularly flattering to Washington. (In fairness, Paine held a personal vendetta against Washington in his later years which was not particularly objective or fair-minded.)
   
   This book is not an in-depth study of Washington, but is interesting and worthwhile reading. It is easiest to obtain from the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the group that saved Washington's estate from ruin.

No comments about Abraham Lincoln: A History (With John G. Nicolay).

3 comments about Stand Tall.

1. This book was recommended to me by friends in Michigan and it should be on everyone's bookshelf. Ike McKinnon's story is one of perseverence, dedication, and an incredible ability to remain above the fray and disease of society. It's pure inspiration to read about his life and how he rose above everything, not letting himself become tainted, to help people, help clean up the city of Detroit, and help straighten out its police department. It's motivational, inspiring, and Oprah should know about it!



2. I recommend this wonderful book for anybody who wants to become a police officer, especially African Americans and other minorities interested in this field. Dr. McKinnon does an excellent job with expressing his feelings about his experiences with the Detroit Police Department, racism, and why it was important for him to join the Detroit Police Department. Dr. McKinnon's book is a true defition of the American dream (especially for minorities) and I guarantee this book will inspire you to follow your dreams regardless of how tough it gets! I've met Dr. McKinnon once and I hope to meet him again so he can autograph my book. Get your copy today!



3. "Stand Tall" was probably the most self-serving autobiography I've ever read. On every other page of the book, McKinnon heroically battles racism. Somehow, with the institutional racism rampant in the Detroit Police Department, McKinnon manages to work as a patrol officer for only about 2 years. As a matter of fact, only about 20 pages of the book are dedicated to his patrol career.

   One telling story involved McKinnon chasing a man who ran away from a stolen car. McKinnon chases the man into an apartment building, and through the door of an apartment. The next thing he knows, he's staring down the barrels of automatic weapons being wielded by a nest of Black Panthers. McKinnon grabs his prisoner and backs out of this Mexican standoff to admonitions of "Be cool man.." from the leader of the Panthers. When he gets outside, a bunch of neighbors come out of their houses and form a protective circle around McKinnon and the prisoner to escort them out of harm's way. Touching. However, what the book doesn't address is what McKinnon did about the group of dangerous men armed with automatic weapons who just pointed them at a police officer! He probably had no case on the guy who ran away from the stolen car (he wasn't driving) but it looks like he chose to take THAT guy to jail rather than call in reinforcements to arrest a bunch of armed and dangerous felony suspects! Later in the book, McKinnon talks about a cop who was killed by the Black Panthers. I had to wonder if the Panther who killed him was one of the guys McKinnon let go.

   Within 2 years of being hired, McKinnon is assigned to a "gravy" job at Recruiting. Shortly after that, he's working directly for the mayor. Thus begins his meteoric rise to the top. "Stand Tall" is a cream-puff of a book that offers a detailed look at every positive aspect of McKinnon's career. It doesn't even pay lip service to any of the negative aspects that could conceivably cause him to be viewed in a negative light. For instance; why did McKinnon quit as chief of police in the middle of his friend and "homey" (his words, not mine) Dennis Archer's term as mayor? Did he just wake up one day and decide "Well, it's time for me to do something else. I think I'll bail out on Homey in the middle of his term." Or was there another reason? I guess we'll have to wait for someone else's biography to learn the answer to that one.

   The Detroit Police Department has a long-standing practice of arresting witnesses to crimes, especially homicides, with no probable cause that they did anything wrong, in order to intimidate them into providing information that they would not otherwise provide. Earlier in his career, McKinnon takes a dim view of arresting people in the absence of probable cause. However, as Chief, he lets the practice continue. Could it be that he's willing to sanction the violation of citizens' constitutional rights if it would help raise the DPD's dismally low clearance rate for homicides? I don't know, he never addresses the issue.

   McKinnon takes credit for everything he possibly can with virtually no mention of the efforts of his subordinates. The local media plays a bigger part in the book than the people who back him up as chief.

   McKinnon appears to take credit for personally solving the Nancy Kerrigan case. After the figure skater is bopped on the knee, Ike eventually asks her father where she is. He valiantly checks the pool in case the bad guys try to drown her, and the outside of the Westin Hotel in case someone tries to push her off a steep incline. He finally finds her in the last place he looks (her hotel room). McKinnon refers to the Kerrigan case as "an international story, the likes of which Detroit has never seen". Detroit had the Collingwood massacre of Purple Gang members, a nationally televised beating of suburban women by Detroit residents at the International Fireworks downtown, a former police chief who embezzled millions, status as "murder capitol" for several years, but a figure skater who gets assaulted is a story the likes of which the city has never seen? Sure.

   McKinnon leaves no truth unadulterated in his quest for hyperbole and melodrama. He describes the Rodney King beating as a case where police officers beat King while he was on the ground with a chain around his neck. A chain around his neck? He describes Detroit's own "Rodney King" incident as a situation where Malice Green was beaten by police officers and died right there in the street. Also not true. It's a point of pride with him that he saw to it that his officers were issued pepper spray after the Malice Green incident. Pretty proactive of Dr. McKinnon to wait until someone dies to equip his officers with something that other officers all over the state have had for years. I eagerly await "Stand Tall Part Deux" to read "the rest of the story".

No comments about Honore Jaxon: Prairie Visionary.

No comments about The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War series, Volume 17: 15 September 1778 - 31 October 1778 (Papers of George Washington).