4 comments about Black Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War.

1. Abraham Lincoln had a lot of trouble finding generals. And his real problem was political generals, particularly Democrats who seemed to have both little capability as generals and who spent too much time as politicians. Burnside and McClellan come to mind.
   
   By far the most successful of the Democratic political generals was Black Jack Logan. A Congressman at the start of the war, he was one of those who went out with the Union army to watch them smash the Rebels at Bull Run/Manassas. Unlike the rest of the observing congressmen, he grabbed a rifle at the start of the battle and followed a Union unit into battle.
   
   Afterwards he entered the Union Army and by its end was a Major General in command of the Army of Tennessee. He was arguably the most competent of the volunteer generals, the political generals.
   
   After the war, he became a confidant of Grant and was supported by Grant for the presidency. Frederick Douglas was another supporter. All in all he was the odds on favorite to win the 1888 election but unexpectedly died.
   
   This is a very well written biography of one of the little known but most effective generals of the American Civil War.



2. This is an objectively-written biography of one of the few successful political generals of the Civil War. Logan was a complex character, with some opportunistic, unattractive aspects to his personality. He was also intelligent, hard-working, and, in battle, brave and resourceful. The author does a good job describing his early life, Civil War career, and political life. Logan changed his views on several subjects during his public life, and the author explains these issues in depth. He also writes in an exciting yet accurate manner about Logan's battlefield performances. Family life played a large part in Logan's development, and this subject is not neglected. Worth the effort to read about a skilled officer and politician, who is not well-known to most of today's readers.



3. If you're looking for biographical information on one of the most successful Union generals of the American Civil War, this is a great resource. If you're looking for information on the battles in which Logan participated, you definitely want to look elsewhere. Ecelbarger places Logan one mile away when the fighting broke out at Raymond, Mississippi, which is ludicrous. He also claims that Logan spontaneously ordered forward the Union line at Champion Hill, when in reality the assault that swept Champion Hill was carefully organized by Grant across the entire northern front (from Hovey to Stevenson).
   
   The decision to read this book should be based on the value of learning about Logan's life. Not only was he one of the most successful Generals of the war, he was the most conflicted, having spent the pre-war years fighting against what he viewed as a dangerous and foolish Republican agenda. The district that he represented in congress before the war was staunchly pro-southern, and many members of his family actually volunteered for and helped raise Confederate regiments from Southern Illinois. Logan, an observer at the First Battle of Bull Run, took a rifle from a fleeing soldier, and was immediately sold on the idea of fighting for the Union. When he returned home and announced his intention to raise a regiment for the Union, half of his family stopped speaking to him, including his own mother.
   
   Bottom line: buy this book for the rich biographical detail, and take the battle descriptions with a block of salt.



4. No one remembers him today and few historians see fit to shine their light his way, but John Logan was a crucial player of that morally gray and turbulent time, the American nineteenth century.
   
   As a War Democrat, he was one of the few 'political generals' to demonstrate combat effectiveness in the field, and his role in the 1864 Western campaign was pivotal. But more than that, his personal oddyssey from tepid unionist to a practioner of hard war, and from northern racist to a champion of black freedom, his life personified the Nation's own transformation.
   
   Gary Ecelbarger's fine work has done something unique. With Logan present at the great events from Civil War battlefields to Abraham Lincoln's private council to post war, hard knuckle politics, Ecelbarger brings this pugnacious general to life, and in so doing greatly enhances our own understanding of time from Southern Succession, to War, to Reconstruction and on into the Gilded Age.
   
   This is a very well done effort showing Logan as the dynamic force he was: tireless advocate, skilled politician, influential Senator, Presidential contender and an intimate with this man's era of great personalities: Grant, Sherman, Lincoln and all the rest. A very good read, well researched.

1 comments about Out of Babylon: Ghosts of Grossinger's.

1. Grossinger, a teacher, writer, and publisher, opens the journey of his life to us in this huge, sprawling tangle of threads and tales. He is--and is not--of the Grossinger family that founded and lost the famed Catskills resort, and he writes compellingly of it rise and fall, rich with memories for New York Jews and others whose childhoods and families were inextricably bound to the resort. He writes of marriage, children, and university life in the `60s and `70s, painting a darker picture than some might remember but capturing its elusive, cannabis-scented texture. He chronicles his extended family and its enormous secrets and terrible demons, probing with relentless attention his haunted brother and, especially, his beautiful and quite monstrous mother. He does all of this more or less simultaneously, so the reader moves from one to another of these stories in wonder at their inevitable links and segues. It is rich in the evocation of New York and the Catskills in the '50s, New England and the Bay Area in the `60s and `70s, and amazement of watching your own children become people, and the sustaining pleasures of baseball, especially the Mets. Somehow it not only hangs together but is actually richer for is energy: one doesn't wish to deconstruct it into the many books it could have been. Exhausting, exhilarating, extraordinary. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido

1 comments about Forrest: The Confederacy's Relentless Warrior (Military Profiles).

1. I was looking for a short but comprehensive biography of that legendary hero of the Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest and this book was a fine choice. It contains all the necessary details of Forrest's life with an emphasis on his military campaigns and achievements, accompanied by some nice b&w maps. The choronological list on the front pages was very useful and the account of Forrest deeds and beliefs was very balanced and fair. A very nice book for someone who does not want to spend a lot of time and energy delving into the bigger volumes published on the subject.

4 comments about Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley: African Princess, Florida Slave, Plantation Slaveowner.

1. Dr. Daniel Schafer, the preeminent scholar of the Kingsley's of Northeast Florida, has written a riveting book exploring Anna, the African Princess turned Slave turned Plantation Owner. Anna is without a doubt one of the most interesting people of Florida's history. She has long been overlooked by historians, but now her story is told. Anna's story sounds like a movie script. Schafer has filled in one of the important blanks of Florida's history.



2. Can't recommend more highly. This is fascinating history which is well-written and meticulously researched.



3. Every now and then, a history comes along that not only offers a fascinating look at a past era, but also manages to hold the reader's interest and entertain. Books like David McCullough's 1776 urge a reader along much like a good novel will do. Daniel L. Schafer's Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley has the same effect.
   
   Schafer establishes the time period based on narratives and first hand research. Documents such as an emancipation notice for a plantation owner's slave Flora Hannahan provide an unvarnished look at the perception of African-Americans in the decades before the civil war: "On the emancipation notice, she is described as 'a mulatto-colored woman of twenty years of age, a native of Florida...about five feet high.'" (pg. 59)
   
   These descriptives are enhanced by photographs of slave quarters as well as descendants of Anna Kingsley.
   
   This book is a solid addition to the personal library, and it would be an excellent classroom resource for teachers of history or language arts. Author Schafer writes with an objective, even-handed approach, and accurately depicts the slave trade in all its characteristics and nuances, including the African natives who colluded with Spanish and English traders and also the elite American plantation owners who enjoyed the benefits of low-cost captive labor.
   
   Aside from its educational value, the book is a good read for anyone interested in Southern culture or Florida history. I don't know Dr. Schafer, but I certainly admire his scholarship and his ability to tell a fascinating story.



4. Anna Madgigine Jai was a teenager (and possibly a Senegalese princess) when she was captured in her homeland and sold into slavery during a civil war in 1806. She was later purchased in Cuba by Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., and taken to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida where she became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves. The latter is not surprising since, under Spanish control, slavery was considered neither a permanent condition nor the God-given role of black people. Slaves had opportunities to buy their freedom, or owners could liberate them without penalty; free black persons were an accepted part of the caste system, able to acquire wealth and property and pass it along to their children.
   
   While Florida was under Spanish control, Anna lived a relatively tranquil life for 25 years as a free black woman. But when Florida came under American control - which brought the racist demand that blacks should only be slaves, not free, and which outlawed interracial marriages - she and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Despite spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Kingsley Plantation at Fort George Island is now undergoing restoration by the National Park Service.
   
   This fascinating history of one remarkable woman provides an eye-opening exploration of larger issues, in particular the complexities of slavery. To reconstruct her story - which meant deconstructing some legends, the author draws upon a wide variety of sources, both in Africa and the New World. This book will be of interest to Florida history buffs as well as African American studies.

5 comments about A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

1. Although a mildly useful work, the author seems content to conclude that a simpleton argument is the underlying reason for the two men's duel and fails to disclose perhaps the most revealing, yet little-known fact of all surrounding this most famous event -- that in 1804 Alexander Hamilton had exposed political moves by Vice President Burr, Jr. and Burr's cousin, Theodore Dwight, among others, ultimately designed to return the United States back to British rule. Like so many others here, I rate this book in the category of "mostly fiction".



2. I found "Fatal Friendship" to be an original, engaging and well-written account of a fascinating and still largely unresolved incident in American history. The book was also refreshingly free of the typical "anti-Burr" bias that has been the norm from the 1800's through Fawn Brodie. Rogow did an excellent job of discussing the protagonists' differing characters in the proper historical context. History of this sort cannot be neatly tied up with simple black-and-white explanations (despite what the grammatically-challenged reviewers from Oklahoma and Kansas below would seem to prefer). Rogow deserves credit for tackling an interesting subject from a new perspective. Two very recent books, Kennedy's "Burr, Hamilton and Jefferson" and Fleming's "Duel," follow Rogow's lead in examining this period and these two Founding Fathers from a new angle, and also are higly recommended.



3. I originally purchased this book as a source for a term paper on the subject, and actually planned to only spot-read the book. Yet, after reading Rogow's introduction, I found his argument so intriguing that I felt I just had to read the whole thing. Imagine, Hamilton having "playground" issues with Burr's wealth. Its such an odd little interpretation of history, and its presented so well, that it not only makes for an interesting read, but actually does its job in convincing you of the argument. If you have a penchant for early American History, this is a must read.



4. Author Rogow presents a well crafted dual biography of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, trying to piece together the events that culiminated in the duel which left Hamilton dead and Burr an outcast. More emphasis is laid on Hamilton and his life, with Aaron Burr becoming more of a cipher. Burr seems to never have committed his thoughts to paper so his stand on various political issues isn't clear. Hamilton on the other hand, wrote volumes about all facets of his political life. The two came from a very different background yet both ended up as successful attorneys in New York City. Hamilton never stopped trying to sabotage the political rise of Burr and the reasons never seemed very clear. Many political figures of the time commented on questionable ethics and morals of Burr yet Hamilton himself was immersed in one of the first major political sex scandals.

   Rogow tries to analyze both men and provide various ideas about what could have led to the duel. It is interesting to note that Hamilton seemed to possess a "death wish" in the final years of his life, after his eldest son Philip had been killed in a duel. This seems to be the only context in which the duel makes any sense. Hamilton could not end his own life but dying a noble death and making Burr an outcast too boot was simply to enticing.

   The book was very well done and I especially liked the fact that the author didn't seem predispose to agree or disagree with either man. The men were shown with all their faults and yet their contributions to the founding of the country is richly demonstrated.




5. Arnold Rogow's "A Fatal Friendship" does not set out to villify Aaron Burr, nor does it exhalt Alexander Hamilton unduly.
   Instead, it accurately gauges parallel events of their unique relationship, as befits a historian. Readers should remember Rogow is a psychologist, first and foremost, and thus he is permitted to speculate as to Burr and Hamilton's motivations. Rogow consistently qualifies any statements he makes, without overstatements or hyperbole. Therefore, any reader who wants a simple parable of good and evil will be greatly disappointed.

   While a history undergrad, I purchased this book simultaneously with Thomas Fleming's own interpretation, "Duel." I was pleased with both books, but I must say Rogow's writing satisfied more because of his more objective stance. Fleming seems to always nurture a slight, though forgivable, bias against Aaron Burr. It is refreshing to see a just assessment of that unprincipled, infuriating, but somehow likeable rogue. As for Hamilton, Rogow ably commends his great political contributions, but also reminds us of our "flawed giant"'s scandalous affair with Maria Reynolds and scurrilous smear campaigns against Federalist president John Adams. Finally, Rogow portrays Hamilton as the true instigator of the vendetta leading to Burr's final challenge and the duel of 1804.

   Aaron Burr was no saint, but neither was Hamilton an angelic martyr for the Republic. Two complex historical figures with a tangled common thread. Rogow's study has helped us unravel a Gordian knot of American history. A pity "A Fatal Friendship" is now out of print.

5 comments about Pure Goldwater.

1. Let me state from the get go that I am a Senator Goldwater and President Reagan style Republican.
   
   What I think this books value is in 2008 is how it sheds alot of light on Senator Hillary Clinton who was a Goldwater girl as well as Senator John McCain who in his pre 2008 years was more Goldwater minded than most people know. But he has gone off course so badly and isnt the same open honest straight talking express man he once was.
   
   Also of interest to me was how Libertarian minded Senator Goldwater was and not the conservative Republican of recent years which is right wing Christian close minded mode. I say this as a Christian who is Goldwater mode.
   
   This is a book that anyone interested in sanity, smaller government, and Constitutional law should read. Sadly so many people probably see Goldwater as some right wing zealot. Thats President G. W. Bush, not Senator Goldwater.



2. What a Gem! Honest, thought-provoking, riveting and well-written. Pure Goldwater gives an insightful look at an important time in history. Entertaining and politically relevant during this election year. Conservatives will love it, and so will just about everyone else.



3. For those of us of a certain age, Barry Goldwater was the prickly candidate for president in 1964, whose "extremism in defense of liberty" speech turned away millions of voters. But Goldwater stayed around long after that and it's a good thing he did. "Pure Goldwater", a neatly arranged compilation of his journal entries (along with some letters and speeches) reveals a much more complex and attractive man than the public got to know more than a generation ago.
   
   The title of the book could not have been more appropriate. Here we see Senator Goldwater in all of his frankness, lambasting presidents with whom he worked, yet revelling in the love of his family, photography, flying and service to his country. In reading "Pure Goldwater" it's not hard to be in agreement with him on one page and subsequently want to wring his neck on the next. He seemed always to be on the cutting edge of the day's events, even when he was doing some of the "cutting", himself. It's fascinating to see him comment on every president from FDR to Clinton and there was much about most of them he didn't like.
   
   Much of the book centers around his relationship with Richard Nixon and the trials and tribulations of Watergate and perhaps the most intriguing part of the book follows his recollections on summing up Nixon's chances in the Senate for impeachment survival. I remember that day well and how it changed my mind about Senator Goldwater. Here was a true statesman rising to the occasion in a most difficult time in our nation's history.
   
   Barry Goldwater's seeming drift to the left regarding such issues as women's choice and gay rights no doubt sent shivers up and down the collective spines of his conservative colleagues. But Goldwater reasoned well and was always practical and this will be a big part of his legacy...a conservative man ahead of his time. "Pure Goldwater" is a pure joy to read and I commend John Dean and Barry Goldwater, Jr. for allowing us this terrific look at the senator...as told through his own words. I highly recommend it.



4. Pure Goldwater is just what the title indicates, vintage, pure Goldwater. How good it was to read about my conservative, political hero once again. This book was a delight to read. Sen. Goldwater's character, honesty, and leadership traits shine throughout the book. You always knew where the good Senator stood on issues - he didn't waffle; the book does an excellent job bringing his noble traits out. There were few people in the 1960's his equal, and even fewer today. In your heart you know he was right then, and he is just as right today. Bravo for such a great book. Pure Goldwater should be mandatory reading for US History students.



5. I live here in AZ and allot of things here are named after Goldwater. Some streets, buildings and foundations. And living here 12 years I know nothing about him! Only that he was a senator. My curiosity got the best of me and I ordered this book (audio book so I can listen on my way to work). And in finishing this book I feel I have a very intimate, honest, and broad look in to Goldwater's life. From the lil notes that he jotted down that were discovered, to whole letters written to and from the president!... It really shook me at the core, very raw stuff. Goldwater really had some simple and firm beliefs that once I was exposed to it (this book), I am now a firm believer. To go a step further, I considered myself a Democrat. After exposure to Goldwater's thoughts on many issues I realized how dead wrong I was on my stance as a Dem. I actually think now that I am a Republican or even a Libertarian (can't believe I just said that). More to the point, I'm a Goldwater believer now. To think, I almost cast my vote down the wrong path, & I am glad that I read this book in time for the election.

5 comments about Civil War in the Ozarks.

1. Treats some of the stories of the Civil War in the west without explaining the larger issues. This is an inexpensive book, but not necessarily a good value.



2. This book is designed for the average guy or gal off the street (from high school age to adult)to learn the bare basics about Ozarks Civil War heritage. Elite scholars may find it too simple, but hey... history belongs to all our citizens, not just professors and other professionals.



3. A "must read" for anyone interested in the Civil War in general, and the Civil War in the Ozarks region in particular. I especially liked Steele's writing style. Steele has a talent for delivering a lot of historical information while keeping the reader turning the pages wanting to know more. A very good book!



4. "Civil War in the Ozarks" by Phillip W. Steele is an excellent read, and is written for the average reader who wants to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the Civil War. I enjoyed this book!



5. Recommend your read this one and recommend you add it to your collection. This work covers aspects of the Civil War often times overlooked. I is a wonderful starting place for a study of the War in this part of the country. Needless to say, it does need to be supplemented with further reading, but it is certainly a good start. Highly recommend

2 comments about Harvest Son: Planting Roots in American Soil.

1. After reading EPITAPH FOR A PEACH, I hungrily hunted down HARVEST SON. This is nature writing at it's finest! At once a touching and poetic account of family life on an organic peach farm and vineyard. The reader is likely to run the gamut of emotions as Masumoto describes losing a crop of peaches to a damaging and wicked storm, makes a pilgrimmage to Japan to learn of his family's history and culture, or has a blast while fertilizing young peach trees "by hand" - his wife and son riding with him on the back of a wagon throwing organic fertilizer at the trees with old coffee cans. His 10 year old daughter jerks them along as she learns to drive the tractor. HARVEST SON is a warm, funny and insightful book that will not disappoint!



2. A third generation Japanese-American, agriculturist David Masumoto farms peaches and raisins. He celebrates nature, savoring seasons when "The air is filled with the smell of drying grapes - a caramel fragrance mixed with an earthy aroma."

   He is a champion of hard work, viewing calluses as "badges of honor earned only after years in the fields,...The hands tell a story of worth..."

   And, as evidenced in his affecting memoir, Harvest Son, he is an author whose fluid pen scrolls as gracefully as kanji, the ancient Japanese script in which each word is a picture. Evocative descriptions of abundant harvests and the delicately limned shade of a near-ripe peach are lyric testimony that farming is not only his occupation, it is his modus vivendi.

   Writing with spare yet lustrous precision, Mr. Masumoto traces his life's journey in flashbacks, exploring the past to chart his future. Having learned that in 1942 his grandparents, along with some 16,000 Japanese-Americans were relocated to internment camps, Mr. Masumoto embarked on a painful quest, searching the Arizona desert for traces of the Gila River Relocation Center, his family's four-year home. "A few low cement pillars sunken into the ground" and "a pile of broken thick white dishes" were the only remnants of those interrupted lives.

   Another pilgrimage was to Japan, where he found his grandmother's brother. Held hostage by rice paddies, his uncle's farmhouse "looked like the face of an old man with wrinkles and age spots." The floor was of packed earth..." But, blessings of all blessings, there was the "ofuro" or Japanese hot tub, which "Following a day in the fields, ...tempered worn and broken spirits. The soothing water fostered a benevolence and a feeling of optimism."

   Mr. Masumoto eventually returned to the California valley of his childhood, where he found satisfaction and a connectedness in tending the vines planted by his grandfathers. From the author we learn a Japanese word "shoganai" meaning "it can't be helped." This is a word borne of forbearance, we are told, as despite their painful past Japanese-Americans accepted their new country "with a bow of humility. Not weakness but silent strength."

   When a surprise hailstorm destroyed what promised to be a bumper crop, Mr. Masumoto asked himself why he continued to farm. His answer may be "shoganai."

   Today, Mr. Masumoto is a leader in his local Buddhist community, one of the few sansei or third generation Japanese-Americans who remain in the farmland that nurtured them. It is left to him to serve as chairman at many funerals, as one generation honors another. Harvest Son is a joyful, poignant reminder that it is both duty and privilege to do so.

5 comments about The Land Remembers: The Story of a Farm and Its People.

1. One room school house, the changing of the seasons and the farm chores for each one...a memior of one man's boyhood experiences. I liked this book and my husband liked it even more than I did. He was born and raised in rural WI, picking rocks, milking, and going sledding with his brothers. This book is well written and reads like a time capsule...the people & chores on a family farm. I would have given it a perfect 5 stars, but there is too much about bees. Less bee watching and the author would have a classic here. Great that his story goes full circle. We learn what happens to the people we've read and cared about...which is always gratifying to us readers.



2. This book is full of humor and spends wonderful time on how a farm is run, explaining the land, the chores, the wonder of living on a farm. Ben's antics with his brothers are delightful, and his account of his evenings with his family are memorable. I read this anytime I need a lift, and share its richness with anyone who will listen.



3. This is one of those books I will always remember. My children were young when I read it and I felt that it contained many lessons on how to be a good parent. And all in the context of very enjoyable reading. The story about learning to use the horse drawn cultivator shows how a parents help their child develop self-confidence, which is something I see so many people lacking. I can't say enough good things about this gem of a book.



4. I'm biased, because I'm from Gays Mills, WI (I used to mow Leita Slayton's lawn!) - but I recently re-read it, and was surprised at how many of the anecdotes and images I remembered were actually from The Land Remembers, and not from Steinbeck or anyone else better-known. Parts of this book will stay with you for years and years. It's like going home again every time I pick it up.



5. Raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm about 15-20 years later than author Ben Logan, I have long since concluded that for me it was the Right Time - Right Place. Logan's living history of family values, relationships and life lessons, told in the context or rural farm life, lets me relive my life through his, and glean our mutual past for the source of our values. I just read The Land Remembers for the second time. I think I'll read it every year.

No comments about The Last Will and Testament of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.