5 comments about Assassination of a Michigan King: The Life of James Jesse Strang.

1. I'm a relative of his and have recently become interested in learning about him. So please if you know about him tell me.



2. I have done extensive study on the subject of Jas. Strang and his followers. I found this book and several others extremely fair-minded considering the controversies (as well as present day prejudices) surrounding this utopian experiment. I welcome other comments. My great-great grandfather was present at Strang's coronation on Beaver Island, Michigan.



3. Mormonism's second prophet wasn't the famous Brigham Young -- he may have seized control of many of the Church's institutions, but he never claimed to be the "Prophet". That mantle was seized by the insteresting historic figure, James J. Strang, who led his portion of the Mormon Church from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Voree, Wisconsin, and then to Beaver Island, Michigan at the same time that Young was leading his branch to Utah.

   Van Noord's book is a great biography of Strang which makes close use of Strang's journals, letters, books, and draws a great deal from the newspapers which Strang's church published. Strang's many successes both on Beaver Island and then also in the Michigan legislature, imply that he was quite a brilliant and eloquent character. The book leads you to wonder what might have happened had he not been assassinated.

   The only problems with Van Noord's book are that he does not seem to be an expert in the field of Mormon history generally, and he has relied on informants in the modern Utah church -- the great rival of Strang's church -- for some of his information on Mormonism. Additionally, the biography definitely leaves you wanting a larger history of the Strangite church.

   All in all, the book is an excellent read. I picked it up and nearly read it cover to cover uninterrupted, as I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Strang next.




4. This work is a fairly standard, straight-forward biography of King Strang. It is very well researched, documented, and foot noted. It would appear that Mr. Van Noord dug deeper into his reseach than most authors dealing with James Strang have in the past. The book enlightened me on several points regarding King Strang that I had previously read and Mr. Van Noord found to be incorrect. If you are interested in learning about a fascinating man and those around him this is the book. However it gives only a sparce and very typical Beaver Island history and does not touch on the legendary (and I believe, mythical) Mormon, Beaver Island treasure at all. If those items are your points of interest, look elsewhere.



5. I found this book to be well written and researched. James Jesse Strang is a unique character (A King no less!) in the history of Michigan. This book inspired me to visit Michigan's Beaver Island. As a compliment to this book I would also suggest reading Guardian of the Great Lakes The U.S. Paddle Frigate Michigan By: Mr. Bradley A. Rodgers.

1 comments about Thimble of Soil: A Womans Quest for Land (Hubalek, Linda K. Trail of Thread Series.).

1. What an inspiring book. The facts and history of our country are extraordinary. I could have never lived as Margaret lived, what a strong woman. She was also a quilter, which I find important, since I am also! It was inspiring to read in a diary format. It seemed so real.

1 comments about John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union (Biographies in American Foreign Policy).

1. John Quincy Adams blends history and biography in presenting a new study of the statecraft and life of John Quincy Adams, policy-maker in the early American republic. It's recommended reading for high school and college undergraduate students, as well as any non-specialist general radeing studying early American history and politics.

5 comments about Hardtack & Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life.

1. This is the best book on the life of the Civil War soldier. The other reviews attest to this, so here is something different.
   Charles W. Reed, the illustrator, was ALSO a Civil War veteran.
   He served in the Ninth Massachusetts Battery and won the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg for saving his commanding officer, Captain
   John Bigelow, who had been seriously wounded in the fight at the
   Trostle Farm on 2 July 1863.
   My favorite chapter was the one on the army mule.
   Buy, read & enjoy this book!



2. I'm one of those men with the "Civil War Itch" who can't get enough reading, can't get enough time on the battlefields. This book is hands-down one of my favorites in my extensive collection, re-read several times and dog-eared. It's something I always put in my bag for air-travel reading, because you can pick it up and put it down when you need to...the author and the illustrator both were participants in the Conflict, so you know it's accurate. The content is educational but not stuffy, since it was written to explain to soldiers' families what exactly Union Army life was like...and the humor still carries through to this day. After you've read the historical studies or walked a battlefield, THIS is the book you want to read to put yourself in the shoes of the everyday soldier--and it's easy to do with the author's skills. For me, the best chuckles are the chapters "Jonahs and Beats", and "The Army Mule". A must-read for those wanting more than just a general's biography or an order of battle.



3. This engaging book fills the void that other Civil War histories leave, and that is an understanding of the everyday experiences of the foot soldier. "Hardtack and Coffee or the Unwritten Story of Army Life" by John D. Billings is an exhaustive and fascinating look back at the flesh, bones, and blood of those lines and arrows on the maps of Civil War battle strategies.

   The book is filled with anecdotes, observations, and songs arising from the era. (I very much appreciated the introduction which details the election of 1860 and started the whole terrible tragedy that ensued over the next half decade.) The generous amount of illustration truly helps evoke the period. "Hardtack and Coffee" is a perfect companion to Bell Irvin Wiley's "Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union" and "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy". And it is a perfect part of anyone's Civil War/American History library.

   Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS




4. I am a Civil War reenactor, and this book has been an excellent source of ideas for first person scenarios and ideas for living history. It is an insightful, unique record of the soldier's life for living historians or students of history. I would highly recommend this engaging book.



5. Hardtack and Coffee provides an excellent picture of Army life in the mid-nineteenth century. The sketches illustrate the text superbly. This is a useful handbook for students and teachers as well as an intriguing introduction to the Civil War.

5 comments about General Lee: A Biography of Robert E. Lee.

1. I found this book to be wonderful. I used it in a research report and it was very helpful. It stood out among the other hundreds of Lee biographies



2. ...read and enjoyed this book. Being the recently acknowledged illegitimate child of General Lee, I agree that it is a worthy book.



3. I am a student of the civil war, and I've made most of my studies from Actual Memoirs of the event. I figured that I'd rather take the word of the people who were actually there than 3rd person commentary. I've read Grant, Sheridan, J.B. Gordon, E.P. Alexander, and of course, Sam Watkins, Frank Wilkeson, and Berry Benson, to name some of the best. Regrettably, Robert Lee died before he could record his own personal reminiscences. Through my desire to read about him in the same way I'd read about other participants of the war, I found this book-and I figured that Fitzhugh Lee's biography would be as near as I could get to the famed General, for Fitzhugh Lee was not only a Relative of the famed General's, but a General himself in the War of the Rebellion. Half way through the book, I felt thoroughly betrayed. After the first 70 pages, the book becomes the most average of monologues about the movements of troops during the civil war. The only difference between this book and the memoirs of certain other officers engaged in the same battles is the Fitzhugh Starts his recitations with, "General Lee's Order were that...", and has less maps, that usually ease the strain of describing obscure movements.
   I will say, though, that the author does spend at least a quarter of the book On the life of R.E. Lee outside of the civil war- the first 70 pages focusing on his Lineage, his training at West point, and his engagements in Mexico, and the Last 20 on his Presidency at Washington-Lee College. Also, sparsely placed throughout the book, Fitzhugh makes use of General Lee's personal correspondance with his wife and family. I would have appreciated seeing more of that, but people 150 years late to the party can't be choosers. Of the Author's style, it is mostly factual, highly romantic(though nothing like Gordon's memoir), and at times he makes allusions and references that let you know he's highly intelligent. This Book doesn't make any in-depth study of General Lee, and mostly considers his character to be untouchable....



4. As a the great-great-great-great grandson of Robert W. Lee and his slave/mistress Ophelia, I thought this book provided a profound insight into the life of the man who led the Army of Northen Virginia to so many improbable victories.



5. from the prospective that it does include personal letters from Lee. The recounting of the campaigns is prefunctory though Fitzhugh does come down heavily on Longstreet and eagerly takes up the cudgel for the Gettysburg-wasn't-Lee's-fault crowd.

5 comments about What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America's Greatest President.

1. As I read this I found myself thinking of the old saying that you know when a politician is lying because his mouth makes noise. We like to think of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. Mr. Lind is careful to point out that he was no slouch as a politician. You don't get elected to that office without being an accomplished professional politician. Perhaps the Great Emancipator is a title, a view that we hold of him several generations later.
   
   Mr. Lind spends a good bit of time on the definition of the United States as a nation vs. an alliance of sovereign states. Mr. Lind shows Lincoln's vision of the United States as a model of liberty and democracy for the world. Mr. Lincoln's model seemed to be that a state had the liberty to join the Union, but did not have the liberty to leave.
   
   I greatly enjoyed reading Mr. Lind's book. I do question some of his conclusions. They are based on the thinking of a man raised in a culture offset from Lincoln's by a hundred and fifty years.



2. "What Lincoln Believed" is part of a line of recent presidential biographies (Jefferson, Jackson) taking what some readers think is a hypercritical look at some of this country's leading political personalities. It's no exaggeration to say that "What Lincoln Believed" will, for many, be an eye-opener, especially those who haven't focused on our greatest president since high school.
   
   While I had been familiar with some of Lincoln's motivations for the Emancipation Proclamation as well as his Free-Soil views, this remarkable work brought to light numerous other facets of Abe's views on slavery including the relative rights of "free" slaves (his support of the Black Laws) and various details of his support for black colonization in both Africa and the Caribbean.
   
   While some reviewers believe author Lind went out of his way to excoriate Lincoln based on 20th Century views of race, my own belief is that he has very honestly widened the historical record on this shrewd, passionate and courageous man, ultimately paying him the highest tribute by comparing him to the leading figures of his day and explaining how Lincoln was the right man at the right time to preserve the Union and perpetuate the philosophical seeds of democratic republicanism - seeds that could easily have been cast aside as our nation continued to enter the world stage.
   
   "What Lincoln Believed" will make you rethink some of your assumptions about a legendary figure, but you will close the book still knowing that our sixteenth president was the person America needed at its darkest hour.



3. Lincoln is an icon from our political past, but it seems that many groups want to claim him as exemplifying their beliefs: Democrats and Repubs, proponents of economic opportunity, civil rights advocates, etc. The author, by analyzing Lincoln's utterances and actions, demonstrates that none of them are entirely correct or wrong in their claims.
   
   It cannot be forgotten when examining his life, that Lincoln, as any, was a man of his times. He did originate from very humble beginnings, as did many of his era, but he seemed to have an inordinate desire to make something of himself. Lincoln occasionally represented railroad interests in court, but it is quite a stretch to suggest, as the author does, that Lincoln was essentially a well-to-do lawyer for the fat-cats. If anyone can lay claim to advancing beyond log-cabin origins, it would be Lincoln.
   
   Lincoln was first and foremost a Henry Clay Whig and adhered to his program of internal improvements, national banking, and the protection of industry by tariffs. He was not a free-trader as are the current Repubs. Furthermore, he constantly held that labor was more important than capital, hardly an idea held by modern Repubs or the slave-holding Southern oligarchs.
   
   Lincoln had a lifelong reverence for the Declaration of Independence, especially in its advocacy of universal rights of liberty. And that fundamentally impacted his view on slavery, the burning issue of the times, yet Lincoln was essentially a racial segregationist. He was a "Free-Soiler," who advocated for the exclusion of slavery in new territories and states, as well as already freed blacks. Lincoln mostly hoped that freed blacks could form free societies outside of the US. It is only by stages, including attempts to get Southerners to end the insurrection with slavery intact, that Lincoln arrived at the final draft of the 13th Amendment, eliminating slavery in the US. For his times, Lincoln was a liberal voice on the issue of slavery, but he was a practical politician - not an abolitionist.
   
   Lincoln was a staunch Unionist, seeing the gradual solidification of the US state culminate with the ratification of the US Constitution. Any right to leave the Union could only be achieved via constitutional amendment. He regarded the Southern secession as a criminal insurrection. One of the most controversial aspects of Lincoln's presidency was his suspension of writs of habeas corpus in cases where he or his field commanders felt the union's war efforts were being impeded - even via speech. There is no doubt that there was an excess of heavy-handedness in this policy - mindful of many other less than exemplary curtailments of freedom in this country during supposedly times of crisis.
   
   For anyone believing in the purity or idealism of Lincoln's beliefs, this book will let the air out of that notion. On the other hand, the ante-bellum period had become increasingly polarized. For convincing, one need only examine the bloodshed that went on for years in Kansas primarily over the issue of slavery. Lincoln was the moderate compromise candidate among abolitionist Republicans and more conservative ex-Whigs and Democrats. What emerges is that Lincoln was a keen student of the American past. He instinctively knew what was needed and what was possible for his country relative to the times. Perhaps other paths could have been chosen, and the author does speculate on the possibility of other outcomes over the slavery and North/South divide. But finally, the author does hold Lincoln to be deserving as one of the foremost figures from our past in the rise of American democracy, bumpy though it has been.



4. Lind, it should be noted, is a journalist and public policy writer, not a professional historian. Nevertheless, this is an interesting and well-researched look at Abraham Lincoln -- perhaps our most appreciated, and misunderstood, president.
   
   The focus of the book is on aspects of Lincoln's career and personality that you probably never learned about in school. His understanding of economics and capitalism, for instance, was surprisingly sophisticated for his age, but does not fit well into our modern pro- or anti-government framework. And Lincoln's attitude towards religion was ambiguous, to say the least -- he actually wrote a book attacking Christianity as a young man, and may have remained agnostic the rest of his life, but he sprinkled Biblical allusions into nearly all of his political speeches, and came to appreciate the power and influence of religious belief in Americans' everyday lives.
   
   All in all, while there's not much here for high-level history students, Lind's book is a great choice for general readers, especially anyone who doubts they really learned much about the Civil War back in high school.



5. avoid this book. bad information. author writes the book to
   fit his opinion. facts are distorted, unchecked. get it off
   the shelf and into the trash.

2 comments about The Faith of America's First Ladies.

1. Having been interviewed for this book by Mrs. Cook, I was intrigued by her topic of combining the Prov. 31 woman with stories of America's First Ladies. I was thrilled upon reading the book to find it a tremendous source of information and inspiration. Mrs. Cook's stories of the First Ladies were a delight to read, and I looked forward to the start of each new chapter, waiting to see what scene she would paint for me to be able to envision some touching moments in the lives of these women. Each chapter then develops into a wonderfully readable and enjoyable collection of Scripture applications, interviews and fascinating personal stories. An excellent book!



2. The way Jane, the author, brought the woman of Proverbs 31 to life through the lives of the first ladies was unexpected and fascinating. I loved how Jane weaved each story into the next story. I was so impressed with this book I bought a copy for each of my three nieces. Not only will this book give them more insight into our country's history, but more importantly, it will also teach them what it means to be a woman of noble character.

5 comments about Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons.

1. I leave this book with a feeling that Jay Gould is viewed as an evil villain who was a wrecker of companies. He is perceived a lot worse than some other robber barons of his day like Rockefeller. Maybe it was the difference in their generosities, or maybe it had to do with Jay playing the stock market so secretively where you know there is just so much illegal "goings-on" at the time. There are plenty of reasons to keep you guessing...
   
   Jay was excellent at spotting opportunities - this was his specialty, and once he had his sights on something, he didn't quit until he acquired whatever he set out to obtain. He was a man who moved in secrecy at every level to achieve his goal. In any event - besides Jay starting his huge career in railroads, he was a mammoth manipulator of the market using any tactic possible to make a buck in the street; Wall Street that is. This included bribing judges, and whoever else stood in the way. He was definitely a man of his times and a product of his environment where: you either take what you can get or you get eliminated! Jay exercised many illegal devices to build his enormous empire. This is yet another classic example of a man using his abilities which were so far advanced that the government had to insert new laws to curb what activities were permissible in future business practice.
   
   There are a few lessons that one can learn from this book regarding life, and business savvy. One of those being the following: Jay was another man who built such a vast empire in his time that I realized "one can build his own prison" meaning that even with all the money in the world, a man in his position has so many responsibilities that it can weigh you down to the point of getting physical ill. You know that you have to take care of the day-day business problems yourself because you can't depend on anyone else to do it thoroughly. You can get too big, or become too wealthy for your own good... something to ponder over...
   
   In my opinion, this story does have its' slow points. There are lots of details which can take away from a consistent reading flow. I found myself struggling to stay with this book at times; then it would pick up again (maybe I'm just unfamiliar with this author's style of writing). I give the book 3 stars for I thought the book was good, but again very slow at times. I have read other biographies on similar characters that were much more entertaining, and free flowing.



2. This entertaining volume reminds me of a book my mother bought decades ago by a descendant of Count Dracula that sought to rehabilitate his ancestor's reputation while cashing in on his notoriety. Thus in this work, Gould who was denounced in his day by even spokesmen of the conservative business community, to say nothing of labor activists, as an unscrupulous rogue, cutthroat, "financial vampire" and "pirate" is depicted as a misunderstood entreprenuer who did nothing that his rivals would not stoop to. While there may be more than a kernel of truth to that assertion, Gould's historical reputation as one of the most infamous incarnations of his day is backed by more than substantial evidence.
   
   Gould was a highly skilled financial operator who rose from humble roots in upstate New York, where after starting out as a surveyor's apprentice, he began his business career in the thuggish intrigues of the tanning industry. Thereafter, at the outset of the Civil War, he moved to the City where he quickly rose to take on some of the titans of business like Commodore Vanderbilt, who detested him. Unlike Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller and even Morgan, however, Gould dealt almost exclusively in stock and financial manipulations to build his fortunes with little regard for building up industry and the means of production. Thus he would acquire properties, like the Erie Railroad, and run them into the ground and dump them after they had been milked dry as cash cows. Needless to say, the interests of the rank and file workers of these enterprises meant little to him, commenting once during a labor dispute he was embroiled in with them, that he could hire half the working class to kill off the other half.
   
   In his financial and stock dealings he was known as the most skilled and unscrupulous operator of his day, the top dog of Wall Street, that even those who considered themselves his closest colleagues needed to watch their backs around. In that regard he would have made the Transylvanian noble blush; and no, he was not, as widely believed, Jewish, although he made a point of not gainsaying his "Hebraic" roots as he felt this added to the aura of mystery and fear around him that he found useful to his purposes. Most notable of his escapades was his attempt to corner the gold market in 1869 which almost collapsed the entire U.S. economy.
   
   Jay Gould was a predatory speculative capitalist who rightly makes latter day embodiments of this type like Boesky, Millken and Skilling seem like bumbling amateurs. Like them, he did from time to time face legal troubles, but unlike these financial pirates of today, he was usually able to, sometimes quite brazenly, in a way that is fortunately no longer tolerated, bribe judges and politicians to escape any significant consequence, although on one occasion he was forced to temoporarily decamp to New Jersey with much of his wealth in carpet bags after Vanderbilt and his rivals had outmaneuvered him in this game of graft in the New York courts.



3. The author has done excellent work in condensing Jay Gould's colossal business career into this enjoyable biography. Since Jay Gould was involved in thousands of enterprises, no book can ever cover his dealings and career and personal life without coming short on one end or another. But for anyone wanting to get a balanced view of all aspects of this correctly titled genius, there is no better than this book. No other biography of Gould -- Klein is less objective and too sympatetic, or Warshaw, or O'Connor which are mean-spirited if not sensational, or Grodinski, which disregarded Gould's personality completely -- does such a good job in bringing it all together. I doubt there will be other Gould biogrpahipes since this one is a conclusion to all others. A must read. Nitsan Ben-Horin, New York.



4. The author has done excellent work in condensing Jay Gould's colossal business career into this enjoyable biography. Since Jay Gould was involved in thousands of enterprises, no book can ever cover his dealings and career and personal life without coming short on one end or another. But for anyone wanting to get a balanced view of all aspects of this correctly titled genius, there is no better than this book. No other biography of Gould -- Klein is less objective and too sympatetic, or Warshaw, or O'Connor which are mean-spirited if not sensational, or Grodinski, which disregarded Gould's personality completely -- does such a good job in bringing it all together. I doubt there will be other Gould biogrpahipes since this one is a conclusion to all others. A must read. Nitsan Ben-Horin, New York.



5. The great contribution of this book is that it clears many of the historical misunderstandings that one has come to accept as fact about Gould from other sources.

5 comments about I Am Jesse James.

1. This book's title just scream's "kids book" ... This redneck is a moron and his picture book and last review say it all. Any good book is not read "in about an hour".. if you're looking for a biography.. look elsewhere. I saw this book at the checkout in wallmart (if that tells you anything)... and read it while waiting in line. This picture book was meant for inbreeders and morons and I thought it was a good laugh... don't waste your time.



2. I received this book as a gift, which is the only reason it's not in a trash can right now. People are paying $17 for a bunch of recycled photos, only 40 or so of which portray Jesse James, along with a few hundred words of unreadable text? This is the "authorized" biography? Is the man's life so horrible that no one could write about it? Frankly, this book is an insult to Jesse's fans. If you want to read about Jesse, buy "Jesse James: The Man and His Machines," by Mike Seate.



3. I am a big fan of Monster Garage and of Jesse James. I bought this book after reading The Man and His Machines thinking it would provide an insight into who Jesse is and some details about his life and his struggles. The photo's of the bikes are great but I have seen those same photo's over and over again. I expected to see more photo's of Jesse. I also expected it would be a more autobiographical book, not something I needed a magnifying glass to read and finished within the hour. Jesse needs to release a true autobiography. His fans would love it.



4. Don't expect any lessons on how to build a custom Harley Davidson. This book is just pure eye candy. Considering that bike magazines are so expensive this book is worth buying for inspiration. As a 'coffee table book' (whatever that means!), it serves its purpose well, which is why I'm giving it 5 Stars.
   
   I'm not really into custom Harleys (As far as H-Ds are concerned I would prefer a Buell X1 Lightning or Sundance Performance Super XR1200) but I appreciate the effort, skill and craftsmanship that goes into each of his bikes. Jesse James is famous because he's the real deal. He can actually do his own metalwork, shaping sheetmetal into a tank or fender, and does his own welding. His style is a bit on the extreme side of things, yet isn't bizzare or cartoonish, which is probably why he's successful.
   
   I bought this book because I wanted to know ... "Who is this guy?" ... "Why is he so famous"? I've created a couple of special edition automobiles ... but why am I not even half as famous? :) We could all learn a bit about marketing, advertising and promotion from Jesse James. If you want to read about Jesse James himself, buy the Mike Seate book "Jesse James, the man and his machines".



5. I was a bit disappointed in this book. I did like the bike photos that were shown... not many. Lots of filler of Jesse and his gang posing with guns. What looks like porn stars on the bikes.... I would rather just see the bikes man. I don't need to see pictures of Jesse playing tough guy holding a shotgun or burning money. Or his freaking dog dish with the WCC logo on it... my god. It makes you wonder what he is trying to make up for. His bikes are cool. They need to show more of them. And the text is pretty much a joke too... F this and F that. Its like a big kiss up to Jesse as a bike god or something and F the rest of you. If you pay full price for this book, you deserve to get beat down by Jesse.

4 comments about Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782.

1. I was originally attracted to this book out of a simple curiosity about the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence (Charles Carroll outlived Adams and Jefferson by about six years, or about 56 years after 1776!). On a deeper level, I hoped to learn more about the kind of early capitalist that would be attracted to signing on to the American Revolution in general. What this book helped me discover was a family that had over time become focused, almost obsessed, with making a buck under fairly adverse circumstances (namely, continuing in their Roman Catholic faith that made it difficult for them to thrive, even in an enclave as seemingly sympathetic as colonial Maryland, with its relatively large Catholic population). But when the time came for this family to rise above its simple wealth building and to champion the cause of the Revolution, it did indeed rise to the occasion, however brief and painful the process might be. (Hoffman attends to both the private and public lives of the Carrolls.) The history of the Carrolls is a part of the history of the magic that was the American Revolution. It is not surprising that the book ends abruptly with the death of Charles Carroll's father and his wife, about 10 days apart from one another in 1782 (though there is a brief summing up of Carroll's remaining 50 years and the attention attracted by his death in 1832). The story is told, the dynasty pretty much complete.

   What's the book like? At times it seems downright willfully prosaic, and the story proceeds much like a carefully written doctoral dissertation - all conclusions fully supported and made in as logical a context as possible, all contentions politically correct for our time. Hoffman's goal is of course to be scholarly and thorough, not to be entertaining or controversial. Thus the sweep of this history must emerge and coalesce in the mind of the reader. Leave being beaten over the head with the broader conclusions inherent in the narrative to more popularly written histories.

   Suffice it to say, if you're a municipal library and you need to beef up your Revolutionary War material, this is a prime buy. If you're a true history buff, this would be an excellent choice to work into your reading list. It has the effect of immersing you into the spirit of the times and providing you with detail you could not have imagined you would find interesting (but you do). If you're a casual reader, just be advised - this is heavy stuff. It's not an easy read, but it is ultimately a rewarding one.




2. Ronald Hoffman is an excellent historian who has brought great knowledge of Chesapeake social and cultural history to this biographical work that places three generations of the Carroll family within their colonial context. It is a wonderful biography that gets the reader into the minds and lives of these three Charles Carroll's. But for me the best thing was the number of times it made me think, "Oh, that's how it was." I have read enough colonial history to know that there were lots of tenant laborers and not just slaves in the region, to know that Catholic Maryland quickly became Anglican Maryland, and to know that the Revolution was not just about ideas but also about social change. Ronald Hoffman's narrative, however, really brings these facts home. His book is not about any one of these issues in particular, but in telling the story of three generations of Carroll's in Maryland he brings home the greater circumstances of the colony better than many historians who have set out to make a case for one of the above arguments, or many of the other fascinating takes on early Chesapeake society contained in this highly readable book. I have not read any book lately that I enjoyed more.



3. Traditional patriotism demands that we believe that the founding fathers of America were all great democratic idealist. Although this may have been true for some, many others had no problem with the idea of an elite ruling class, so long as they were considered the elite. Thus the victory over England can be viewed as less of an American Democratic Revolution and more of a power transition from the English crown to the new American aristocracy.
   
   A primary example of this American elite class was Maryland representative Charles Carroll of Carrollton. A signer of the American Declaration of Independence, Charles of Carrollton was a wealthy planter and businessman who became such not by his own doings but primarily through the inheritance and molding of his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis. Ever mindful of his Irish and Catholic roots and the persecution therein by English aristocrats, the elder Charles did everything in his power to equip his son to fend off those who would attempt to cripple him politically and economically. In so doing, the elder Charles created a mindset of elitism within his son.
   
   This irony is highlighted by Ronald Hoffman in his book, "Princes of Ireland, Planters of Europe," in which he examines the Carroll family and traces how a persecuted family from Ireland in 1500 came to be one of the prominent families in America by the time of the American Revolution



4. This is perhaps the most pleasurable "academic" history I have come across. Although it provides an extensive account of life in the Chesapeake through the lives and business dealings - and there are plenty of those enumerated - of the tenacious Carroll family, I was also struck by Ronald Hoffman's major theme of family continuity, of purpose driven by recollection and ambition that the Carrolls had in spades. The very tightly researched accounts of the family history in Ireland, and of all the other families like them in the chaos of the 17th century, is little short of astonishing. I'll admit to an enduring interest in Irish history, but this one illustrates why Carrolls and others left their broken aristocracy. That continuity touches on my own forebearers, one of whom was a first cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's. She married another Irish immigrant Marylander and set out in 1796 to populate the then frontier in Kentucky with other Catholics, I am sure at direction of one of their neighbors in Upper Marlborough, MD, Fr. John Carroll, first Catholic bishop in America and also Charles' first cousin. A great read on many levels.