3 comments about Memories of the Great and the Good.

1. I purchased this book for my 13 year old son for Christmas, and took the liberty of reading it. I read Cooke's sections on George C. Marshall, Winston Churchill,Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Bobby Jones because I was familiar with all of them from other works. Cooke writes in a breezy style, butI believe he captures the noble, transcendent charateristics of each man.I enjoyed each sketch thorougly. His vignettes are all perceptive. I hope that this might spark my son's interest in reading more about these figures. Overall an excellent, quick read.



2. "Memories of the Great and the Good" is a collection of essays that, as much as introducing the more casual and less public sides of nearly two dozen luminaries, reveals the evolution of America and of Alistair Cooke. The pieces stretch from 1951 through 1999 and the most useful advice, repeated both in discussing Churchill's love of war and hatred of the idea of women's suffrage, and in dismissing the alleged racism of golfer Bobby Jones, is to beware the "shame of seeing a man out of his time." One reporter recently dubbed Cooke the Dorian Gray of journalism, perhaps both for having been silver-haired and apparently the same age for as many decades as not, and because it is difficult to tell to what time the man himself belongs.

   Even though he is my grandfather, I can be no help on that score; in recent years I have seen the replacement of a knee and an angioplasty (both of which he has mentioned in his weekly BBC "Letter from America") leave him as sprightly as I have ever known him.

   Each essay reflects the time of its creation, whether that was 1967 or 1999. The 1974 piece on Duke Ellington mentions a visit to the bandleader's flat "on the swagger side of Harlem," and comments, "There is such a place," the Duke being at the top of "the hierarchy of Negro social status." Yet the 1999 piece on FDR is most memorable for an account of the unexpected, unseen, and contemporarily unpublishable view of the president being carried out of a car and limping, assisted, into a giant hall. By urging the reader to look at his subjects in their times, he sometimes implicitly admonishes himself for failing to do so. "Wodehouse at Eighty," for one, shows the father of Jeeves unquestionably out of his time, an anachronism as viewed--and, to be honest, caricatured--by Cooke, in his early fifties at the time. In other essays he steps almost too much into the times and shoes of his subjects, for example when mirroring the outlook of Erma Bombeck, whose career "was that of her generation--brace yourselves!--mother and housewife." While many of the pieces attempt and succeed at portraying the individuals 'in their time,' a large number of the pieces were written far after 'their times' as obituaries, which should not be surprising as Cooke shares with every nonogenarian the fact of having seen an extraordinary number of players both step onto the stage and then take their bows and make their exits some time later.

   Combined with this historical span, what is truly worthy about this book is that, like his earlier "Six Men," it displays the extraordinary degree of access which he, as a foreign correspondent par excellence, enjoyed with a dizzying array of figures. George Bernard Shaw is in a behind-the-scenes committee discussing the pronunciation of proper "BBC English." "The General"--Eisenhower-- sits on his back porch, commenting on his golf and waiting for Cooke's t.v. crew to reposition themselves. And Duke Ellington is in his boxers and a towel, devouring breakfast at two p.m. These are the kind of stories that I've heard come out over drinks in his study, or on Christmas afternoon in Vermont, as if they were the most pedestrian, ordinary experiences.

   On October 2, 1999, a fascinating sixteen-minute interview about the book was broadcast on Weekend All Things Considered, recorded in that self-same study in New York. NPR's finest have come to call, just as Cooke did on Wodehouse or Ike; as Cooke thus becomes a living museum of the twentieth century, I wonder if his plea is partly that he himself not be viewed out of his time. In the interview, he posits that America and Americans have, in asserting our 'rights,' lost track of the collective societal duties to which they correspond. With this I must respectfully disagree; we must recognize that these courtesies, if they existed, were only accorded to a small, privileged establishment. Thus, I far prefer a society where anyone can enforce his rights, to one that relies on a collective sense of duty from which many could never benefit. In any case, "Memories of the Great and the Good" offers a rare look, at Cooke (long an icon of Britain to Americans and in icon of America to Britain) and at many of the most important actors on the stage of the twentieth century. I truly hope you will enjoy it.




3. Prior to buying this volume of Alistair Cooke's writings, I knew him only as the former host of Masterpiece Theater, with his career as a journalist being only something I had heard about. The essays collected here are from various periods of Mr. Cooke writing career (1957 through 1999) and include a diverse group of people, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Irma Bombeck, Gary Cooper, Barry Goldwater and Eleanor Roosevelt . Each essay is rather short, averaging about ten pages. I read a comment by a reviewer that Mr. Cooke was excellent at creating a "portrait" of his subjects. While this is probably true, "Memoirs of the Great and Good" aims more at anecdotes and episodes, that Mr. Cooke elaborates upon, rather than having the detail and depth of a short biography. Many were written upon the death of the subject, so they are valedictory in tone. The essay about FDR relates an occurrence that happened to Mr. Cooke when he encountered the President as he was arriving to give a speech at Harvard. The last piece is a book review of "The Last Lion" by William Manchester, a biography of Winston Churchill, that gives us an insightful look into the early years of Churchill.

   In sum, I found these essays to be thoughtfully written and compulsive to read. It was surprising to realize how quickly I went through the book.

1 comments about My Golden Spoon: Memoirs of a Capital Lady.

1. Who would think a book of long-ago political figures could be so interesting. Chocked full of behind-the-scenes, in-depth portrayals of past presidents, ambassadors, foreign dignitaries, family and friends. Gives an excellent window on the political scene and how with "one hand washing the other", the work of government is accomplished. Well Done!

No comments about The Astor Orphans: A Pride of Lions.

5 comments about Dancing with the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue.

1. 3Dancing With the Devil : The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue2 is a sweeping adventure of scandal and euphoria among glitzy cafe society, adeptly brought to life by biographer Christopher Wilson.

   In this case, the name 3Donahue,2 is directly related to a very famous name: Woolworth. When 35 & 102 chainstore mogul Frank Winfield Woolworth died in 1919, he left as part of his substantial legacy great hopes for his cherubic grandchildren. He visualized his heirs evolving into hardworking, benefic, God-fearing, and rational adults. But alas, if he did happen to look down from the heavens years later, I know that several of his descendants would have provoked a disgruntled sigh; including the spendthrift, serial divorcee Barbara Hutton...

   But the mischievous, downright extraordinary exploits of his grandson Jimmy Donahue would have sent Woolworth longing for Divine intervention. The fact is that, the only thing Frank Woolworth and his grandson Jimmy shared (other than a notable gene pool) was a compulsion for the spotlight.

   That compulsion, along with a host of others (some advantageous, most unsavory) are unveiled in this wonderful, fast-paced book. In Dancing With the Devil, we meet dashing Jimmy Donahue, a man who had entirely too much free time on his hands, and entirely too much money at his disposal. We learn that Jimmy1s access to money, along with his excessive adoration for luxury, his psychological baggage (he even witnessed the suicide of his manic depressive and bisexual father) and the questionable role model Jimmy found in his jetsetting mother --all combined to create an intriguing, complex and colorful personality. Wilson depicts an international playboy who defied reigning sexual taboos and balked at authority, yet was sometimes ridden by deep guilt. Donahue exhibited such random amounts of innocent rakishness and sensual greed; of hearfelt generosity and rash wastefulness-- that even his closest contemporaries were not sure what to think of him.

   Wilson expertly peppers his historical accounts with authentic detail, smoothly leading us into post WWII Paris, then sweeping us back to the United States to the playgrounds of Palm Beach and Long Island. Clearly, Wilson did a great deal of research on this book, conducting scores of interviews and tracking down hard to find information.

   Of course, Wilson1s readers are also treated to little known details about the odd triangle between Jimmy Donahue and the Windsors, thus providing an interesting account of the last untold episode in their lives.

   As in Jimmy Donahue1s life, there is nary a dull moment in Dancing With the Devil. (Do check out the 3Acknowledgments2 which reads like a Who1s Who in and of itself). Definitely recommended!




2. You'd think an author couldn't go wrong with this cast of characters, ultra chic jet set locations, and deliciously lewd sex play. But Christopher Wilson took all this potential and and threw it away with the writing style of a schoolboy whose book report was carelessly dashed off before class. Repetitive adjectives, lackluster prose, and unintelligible chapter beginnings and ends - I was hollering for the editor the entire read. I kept saying aloud "OK, that's a start, but now let's unearth some real dish, and show me the proof!" Gossip CAN be transformed into history with proper scholarship. This promising biography of three fascinatingly spoiled and twisted people disappointed me.



3. This book doesn't do much more than re-hash rumor, gossip and innuendo--and some facts--that I've already read in better-written, more thorough and scholarly biographies of the Windsors. I didn't notice any glaring inaccuracies; on the other hand, I didn't notice that the author broke any new ground. He seems to have relied heavily on previously published biographies of the Duke, the Duchess, and the British Royal Family in general, all of which a serious Windsorite will have already read. Also--let's face it--we read books like this one to be titillated, and the author fails utterly to titillate us. Save your money.



4. OK, so the author isn't going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for this book. But why should he? It's a book about an affair. A tawdry affair at that.

   Initially, I payed attention to the other reviewers and didn't buy the book. But I have a fascination with Wallis and Edward (as vapid as they might have been...)and wanted to know more about Wallis' relationship with Jimmy Donohue. I must have read at least 10 to 15 books about the couple, and despite what the one of the reviewers said, I've only come across a few rare references to him. This book fills in the gaps.

   So is it great literature? No. Is it an interesting book? Yes, if you like the subject matter, and know something about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to begin with. I enjoyed the book.




5. But, the story is so tawdry & Jimmy Donahue so scurvy, it's a hard read. The author presents information about his upbringing that tries to make you feel a little sympathy for Donahue but it's hard to feel sympathy for such a loser. The Duke & Duchess of Windsor were wastes of human beings, too. The more you read about them the more discouraged you get. What wasted opportunities! They could have done so much good but were such selfish, self-centered & STUPID people. No wonder the Royal Family can't stand to hear their names mentioned. The book reads kind of like a prolonged Dominick Dunne article in Vanity Fair.

5 comments about My Life as a Dog.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was SO funny. Typical Jack Russell Terrier attitude! I guess my favorite part was Moose's phone call to Connie; it was especially hilarious! The part about Tommy, the Morgan Gelding, and how Connie (reluctantly--ha, ha) parted with Moose at the clinic were really funny. I'm sure all of the stories are true, and so typical of Jack Russells. I AM still laughing & telling everyone about the stories in Moose's book, so I guess it was worth the money! Maybe they should make it into a kids' movie, which I could go see. I just LOVE Moose! He's one of a kind!



2. This book had me rolling on the floor! It is wonderful to know that a dog with such a difficult beginning can become the star he is today. Ms. Decagny had her work cut out for her when taking Moose on, and it seems her work has paid off. The little Moose-isms in the book alone make it worth reading. Fabulous book.



3. What a joy and relief this adorable, witty book is during these trying times! Anyone who loves Moose on Frasier will just not be able to get enough of this delightful tome, which continues the show's wit onto the printed page. I was simply enchanted from cover to cover. Truly!



4. I love this book I have read it so many times. I just can't get enough of this book. It is such a good little story. I am still reading it again in my 8th grade class and i still love it.



5. I expected more from this book and thought Moose would be a fascinating character. It was an "okay" book but I wouldn't recommend. I would have liked more depth to the story.

3 comments about The Search for Michael Rockefeller.

1. This book, written in the early seventies, details Argosy Magazine journalist Milt Machlin's investigation into the disappearance of the young Rockefeller family scion who vanished on an expedition to tribal New Guinea after his catamaran capsized and he tried to swim to shore. Machlin's involvement with the story began years after the event, when a seedy character came to his magazine's office with a wild tale about Rockefeller being kept captive as a living tribal fetish by a band of natives. The first part of the book is an account of Machlin's trip to New Guinea to investigate this lead. The second part is Machlin's attempt to reconstruct Rockefeller's fate, which Machlin believes differs from the official conclusion that he drowned before reaching shore.

   I enjoyed Machlin's personal account of his journey much more than I believed his theories about Rockefeller's fate. Machlin is a gifted writer, and his account of his adventures in wild New Guinea is written with great verve and a gift for telling the most interesting details and anecdotes in the most interesting way. During his trip to the island on which Rockefeller had been reported to be alive, he joined a crocodile hunt, visited Guinean tribal villages, and learned much of a tribal culture that is both fascinatingly, and in many ways terrifyingly, alien. He mixes tales of his own adventures with anecdotes about the bush, like stories of giant crocodiles and octopuses, and tales of tribal feuds and cargo cultism. His clear, zesty writing and fascinating subject matter make his tale an enjoyable, engrossing read.

   Then Machlin gets into his theory about Rockefeller's fate. The first part of the book establishes his bona fides -- knowledge of New Guinea and journalism. But when he tries to penetrate the mystery of what happened to Rockefeller after he left sight of his overturned catamaran, Machlin's journalism deserts him. He bases his conclusion on rumors -- stories that were second-hand or worse even before they came to him. Machlin has me convinced that the official story that Rockefeller drowned is unsupported by the evidence -- but from what I can tell, there is so little evidence that no conclusion is supported. We simply don't know what happened. But when it comes to historical mysteries, it takes a strong will to write a whole book on it and then admit the answer is "we can't know the answer; there's not enough evidence." Machlin's speculations are plausible, but just as unsupported as the explanation he derides.

   So don't read The Search for Michael Rockefeller to get the last word on Rockefeller's disappearance. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. If you read it for tall tales and travel stories about a wild and alien part of the world, you won't be disappointed.




2. There is not much more I can add beyond what reviewer Mr. Bigelow has written. This is a book that attempts to penetrate the mystery of Michael Rockefeller's disappearance in New Guinea more than forty years ago. Mr. Machlin shows us an alien world (at least when the book was written) right here on our own planet and it is a fascinating look. There were tribes of people who were still living in the Stone Age, many of whom had never seen a white person before, and you will be engrossed by the tales. As for what actually happened to Michael Rockefeller? That is a question that will, most likely, never be answered.



3. Milt Machlin was an experienced men's adventure writer, editor of the men's adventure magazine "Argosy" for many years, and in "The Search for Michael Rockefeller," we find a perfect fit between author's abilities and subject matter. Michael Rockefeller was himself an adventurous young man, son of then New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller -- yes, one of those Rockefellers-- and 23 years old when he disappeared, in 1961, in primitive New Guinea. The young Rockefeller had just graduated from Harvard University, and joined, as a sound technician, an expedition sponsored by Harvard's Peabody Museum: its mission was to film and record the customs of New Guinea's little-known tribes.
   
   Machlin was an adventure-loving bear of a man himself, member of The Explorers Club and Mystery Writers of America. He published "Ninth Life," about the very controversial California execution of Caryl Chessman in the 1950's, and collaborated with Robin Moore on the "French Connection" series. He dived to 2,500 feet on a supersub, flew in an international balloon race, sailed in a Viking ship, participated in several marine archaelogy undertakings. He also went twice to report on the Vietnam War, visited Cuba, Taiwan, Israel, Iceland, Australia, Japan, Haiti, Mexico, the Philippines and most of Europe: the man knew a lot about food and wine, as well. He had an easy, conversational style of writing that suited his subject matters.
   
   Ten years after Michael Rockefeller's disappearance, in 1971, Machlin went to what was then very much still Stone Age New Guinea to investigate the disappearance. Now mind you, no rumor has ever trickled out of New Guinea of a young, rich white man who had gone native. Nor, to my knowledge, has there ever been a finding, at some remote village, of a hank of hair that might enable forensics experts to recreate any particular scenario. So, barring the sudden coming-forth of an exceptionally long-lived New Guinea cannibal, with a good memory for his human meals, particularly the fair ones, we are never likely to be able to say: This is certainly what happened. So we can't be sure that Machlin came up with the answer. What we can be sure of is that Machlin had a hell of an expedition, saw some remarkable sights, lived with, and talked to people we're never likely to get a crack at. He found fierce warrior tribes, cargo cults, cannibalism, payback rites, remote villages. Raffish characters, Dutch officals determined to keep a lid on things, missionaries who knew Michael and can be assumed -- though not 100%-- to know the young Rockefeller's fate. It's not a journey any of is likely to be able to take, so it's worth reading about if you can find the book.

2 comments about Frances: The Remarkable Story of Princess Diana's Mother.

1. I can't recall ever coming across another book on the late Princess of Wales' mother, but this rehashes all the familiar stories of her famous divorce & lost custody battle, and tries to explain her tenuous relationship with her children. While a sympathetic character, she has always seemed somewhat mysterious and I can't say this has cleared much up in that regard. I'm unsure why she agreed to cooperate with this effort, unless she knew it was to be written anyway and thought she'd try and get her part right. She seems a lonely and isolated figure, partly by her own design, but nonetheless seems to have not had such a nice life after her first marriage. Her second marriage seems to have been ruined by her daughter's fame. I consider myself a bit of an expert on the POW, and unfortunately this book didn't tell me much I didn't know already.



2. I thought this biography told me a great deal about a person I knew very little about (except basically gossipy bits from other "Diana" books). It is well-written, sympathetic to the subject, yet fair. You learn that Frances was the warm-hearted child of a reserved mother & affectionate father; just a very nice girl, who unfortunately ended up making the mistake of marrying the wrong man (Earl Spencer) and basically has had to pay for that mistake, her whole life. Some of the mistakes of her own upbringing were repeated with her children, to the greater detriment of her two younger children, but one could argue she had no choice, having lost custody of them thanks to her mother & Earl Spencer's machinations, and the mores of the time. It's good to read "her side", after hearing so much garbage about how she left Diana's father and the reasons why. Also, Paul Burrell's book portrays her SO badly (and I believe most unfairly). Frances deserves the chance to tell her version of events & in Max Riddington she's found the means to do so -- Well done, very interesting, and a must-read for those who want to hear ALL sides of the story of Diana, Princess of Wales.

No comments about Albert Einstein: The Man Behind the Theories (Biography).

No comments about Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters: An Outrageous Englishwoman and Her Lost Kingdom.

5 comments about My Life and Work.

1. This is a book every business executive should read at least twice.
   The wisdom of one the greatest entrepreneurs and practical thinkers of our time is lasting.
   Exellent book. Fords thinking is focused and joyful reading



2. I read about this book while doing some research into Lean management. Taiichi Ohno, "father" of the Toyota Production System noted that he learned many lean principles from Henry Ford. After finishing this book, I would recommend that EVERY CEO in this country be REQUIRED to read it. It is a wonderfully clear description of management and leadership principles that all companies should embrace. Mr. Ford is clear on the purpose of a company - to build products and provide services that meet the needs of its customers. If we do this, as he notes, the money will follow. We get it backwards so often these days - we think the purpose of a company is to make money or increase its share price.
   
   As opposed to most business books where one idea is promoted and beaten to death, Mr. Ford's book is full of good ideas on all aspects of managing a business. It's a delightfully refreshing read!



3. "A manufacturer is not through with his customer when a sale is
   completed. He has then only started".
   
   "Even as late as 1910 and 1911 the owner of an automobile was
   regarded as essentially a rich man whose money ought to be taken away
   from him. We met that situation squarely and at the very beginning. We
   would not have our distribution blocked by stupid, greedy men."
   
   You will read dozens of frases like this, reminding us that great ideias can become lost in time, that stupid people can if fact take control of our companies, media and what not, and we can slowly drift into oblivion.
   
   An eye opener.



4. In reading the book I keep thinking what Henry was saying in 1922 could be said today. War profiteering, patriotism, interest rates, bureaucracy, education are all topics that sound so familiar in today's news. Henry had it right then in lots of ways and I think a lot of what he put forth it could be used in today's society.



5. Anyone who has read "My Life and Work" will understand exactly what is wrong with our country today. There are three ways to create wealth--grow it, mine it, or make it--and activities like flipping houses or trading carbon credits do not qualify.
   
   Ford developed what is now known as the Toyota production system, and readers will see a very explicit description of just in time manufacturing (and its benefits) in "My Life and Work."
   
   Ford also summarized effective labor relations in one sentence: "It ought to be the employer's ambition, as leader, to pay better wages than any similar line of business, and it ought to be the workman's ambition to make this possible."