1 comments about John Marshall: Defender of the Constitution (Library of American Biography).

1. 
   John Marshall was born to a lower class of aristocracy on 24th of September 1755. His parents, Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith were uncommon people. Mary Keith Randolph connected her family to other upper echelon families of Virginia, families like the Jeffersons, the Lees and, of course, the Randolphs. Thomas Marshall however, did not come from the best families, or even one of them. He did however manage to work his way through the layers of society by being appointed to government positions. Stites unfortunately does not show the reader why his Thomas Marshall was appointed or thought qualified. The important fact however, is that the Marshalls became an important family in an important colony.
   John Marshall followed in his father's footsteps, climbing even higher in Virginia society. After fighting in the American Revolution, becoming a local war-hero he was elected to the House of Delegates, representing his native Fauquier County. Establishing himself as an up and coming young gentleman he married, and married well. Polly Ambler was one of Jaquelin Ambler and Rebecca Burwell's daughters. The Amblers were of the most prominent families in Virginia.
   Now with his new bride and plans coming together, Marshall moved to Richmond to practice law. He had not been an outstanding law student, however, he had shown general aptitude in understanding government and law. He was young and had very little, but with hard work and calculation he excelled.
   Within three years Marshall became "a leading member of the Richmond bar". This was no mean task as there were many well established and men already practicing at Richmond. His law career took off, leading to judicial appointments and even cabinet positions. He eventually became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, where he stabilized the unpredictable court.
   The private life of John Marshall, as Stites portrays it, impresses on the reader that Marshall had black piercing eyes and had a wonderful, passionate marriage. At the end of the book Stites apologizes for the several passages on Marshall's gaze by admitting, "John Marshall was a careless record keeper who simply did not believe the records of his life worth preserving." His record of Marshall's public life is different.
   This difference is because "Without the public records of his career as a lawyer, legislator, and chief justice, we would have only fragments, many gleaned from the more carefully preserved records of his correspondents". Stites admits that most information about Marshall comes from Public records.
   Marshall was a Federalist. He became established in politics through his ties with Federalists. The party enjoyed his support, especially because of his sway in Jefferson's home territory of Virginia. He became involved in the Adams's administration as a delegate to France during the difficult times with that country. Also while serving in the Adams administration he was appointed to the chief justice seat on the
   Supreme Court. Once in office he revolutionized the judicial branch of the United States government. He fought for judicial review, providing the Supreme Court to the interpreters of the Constitution. He also worked to bring the National government into a place of authority over states. Marshall's influence also brought unanimous decisions to the court, making it an impartial branch of government.
   Among his lasting impressions of the court itself was that before Marshall was appointed to the court, it was very difficult to keep judges on the bench. They would constantly resign after a short period. Marshall attributed this hardship to the difficult routine of judges under the system of courts that were in place then. Instead of resigning, Marshall retired the system, putting a more efficient one in its place. After Marshall was appointed no one found higher callings, except when their Maker called them.
   The significance of Marshall's relationship with Jefferson was not very well explored by Stites. Stites being the sole source of information on this relationship, the reader is left not knowing.
   I did not like Stites. Marshall, I felt was able to come through a little, in spite of Stites and his apologies. Coming to know a smidgen of Marshall, I also have a better appreciation for Federalists and what they were about as a whole.

3 comments about The Birth of Empire: DeWitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828.

1. Evan Cornog has crafted an expert depiction and analysis of the life of DeWitt Clinton: the early nineteenth century mayor of New York City, governor of New York State and champion of the Erie Canal. Cornog puts this man in historical perspective; he ruled at the twilight of the age of elite, privileged politicians and the dawn of the age of popular democratic mass politics. Ironically, Clinton, the quintessential product of the former political age, helped usher in the latter by championing election reform, public education and the canal itself.

   The historical ironies of the canal expressed by Cornog are insightful. Clinton was a proponent of federal funding for internal improvements yet the success of the canal as a state subsidized project discouraged massive federal public works projects for more than a century. Its success also led to a certain canal-building fever for other states. But later canal construction came when private railroads were gaining steam. This untimely investment, coupled with the Panic of 1837 actually frightened off and discouraged future state, federal and foreign investment in internal improvements.

   A final unforseen result for Clinton was the social transformation which flowed quickly from the canal and led to the end of the elite age of New York politics.




2. DeWitt Clinton's accomplishments have long been trumpeted in New York City and State, and for too long his canal has been perceived as a local triumph. Thanks to Evan Cornog's study, "The Birth of Empire: DeWitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828" the many triumphs of Clinton's career are given the national and historic scope they deserve.

   NOTE: This is a study of Clinton's contributions to New York's and America's emergence as a world power, especially in terms of an economic power. This is NOT a biography in the ordinary sense of the word. Unlike McCullough's "John Adams" or Chernow's "Alexander Hamiltion", we do not get a full-length portrait of the man. Partly because DeWitt Clinton was much more reserved and reluctant to show his feelings than others of his time and partly because his diary entries, as Cornog points out, are very mundane, we mostly see the public DeWitt Clinton: DeWitt Clinton the politician, DeWitt Clinton the scientist, DeWitt Clinton the philanthropist, etc. So intensely private in some ways (his mother wondered if he was dead or alive because he never wrote her while he attended Columbia), it is remarkable that he would seek such a public career.

   But it was to New York's and America's benefit that he did.

   Although he never achieved the Presidency, he often influenced (directly or indirectly) every President in office during his lifetime. He clashed with some of the mightiest men of his day: Aaron Burr, Daniel Tompkins, Ambrose Spencer, et al. As Cornog points out, not all his confrontations were rooted in ideology; DeWitt Clinton was a political animal, even though the political realm he operated in was rapidly changing, often leaving Clinton behind. Clinton also could often be extremely self-centered, snobbish and vindictive. And, yet, this contradictory man also had long-reaching visions and programs for the benefit of the poor as well as the merchant and upper classes. He supported free education for all New Yorkers. He supported artists, writers, and scientists. Most importantly, his dogged determination to get the Erie Canal built provided jobs for immigrants, provided a market for farmers, provided work for New Englanders, and helped build the great cities along the canal's path. And as the canal propelled New York State and New York City into economic powerhouses, it also propelled America's westward expansion and its status as a world-class nation.

   Well-written and well-documented, Evan Cornog's "The Birth of Empire" captures the feel of the early decades of America, with all its growing pains. And it puts DeWitt Clinton in American history's spotlight where he belongs.




3. THE PRINT IN THIS BOOK IS TOO SMALL. ONLY FOR PEOPLE WITH YOUNG EYES. I NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO READ

2 comments about Doctor Quintard, Chaplain C.S.A. and Second Bishop of Tennessee: The Memoir and Civil War Diary of Charles Todd Quintard.

1. A smorgastborg of material - a memoir, a short diary, generous identifying footnotes, a lengthy bibliography, a name index - present the war and post-war experiences of Charles Todd Quintard. Read this for a sense of the fervent religious climate of the times and one of the great men who nurtured it.



2. I truly enjoyed this book. Is the personal narrative of rev. Charles Todd Quintard who fought for the Confederacy in the Army of Tennessee. Dr. Quintard had several good uses in the army: one is that he was a doctor that had practiced medicine, another is that he was a fine chaplain. He had some personal friendship with some of the Confederate generals. One night he and General Kirby Smith went together to a church. They both knelt and prayed that the war would soon come to an end. These are stories that I will never forget. Dr. Quintard published a little devotional book called "Balm For The Weary and The Wounded". He sent this little booklet out to the men in the Army of Tennessee. Sam R. Watkins who wrote "Co. Aytch" praised Quintard highly for helping to lift the spirits of the men. Quintard ran several Confederate army hospitals.
   This book is great reading for fun and information.

2 comments about R. E. Lee: A Biography, Vol. 1.

1. The story is well told how Douglas Southall Freeman went on to write this four volume magnum opus. Born in 1886, the son of Confederate veteran Walker Burford Freeman, young Douglas grew up in the sunny remembrances of Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. He received his Ph.D in history at the tender age of 22 and earned an early reputation as a Confederae scholar with Calendar of Confederate Papers. Then followed Lee's Dispatches, which he edited. He wrote an introduction to Lee's Dispatches that was so brilliant, Scribner's signed him on to write a biography of Lee. Freeman believed he could complete the job in two years.

   20 years later, he was finished. In that time, America fought in a world war, women won the right to vote, and the original editor who signed Freeman on died and left the legendary Maxwell Perkins in charge.
   All through it, Freeman labored on the biography like a demon. He discovered early on that most of the major sources were either never consulted or only skimmed over. He searched far and wide. He carried on a schedule that would have killed a lesser man. He awoke at 2:30 every morning, put a full day in at the Richmond Newspaper where he was an editor at, delivered two radio addresses each day, then back home to work on the biography.

   After twenty years and four massive volumes, he was done. Unanimous praise was heaped on his book and rightly so. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in biography in 1935. It was and still remains the most thorough biography of Lee ever done and will probably never be surpassed.

   Readers looking for a book that will take R. E. Lee to task will be disappointed. Freeman is an unabashed admirer of Lee. Longstreet admirers will find Freeman's highly critical remarks of him in volume 3 during the Gettysburg Campaign aggravating. Freeman's Lee is a great man. Plus, why spend 20 years of your life reading and writing about a man you loathe?

   I never believed Lee was the saint certain Confederate veterans painted him to be. He was a human being and he had his share of flaws. But he was a good man who did what he thought was right and a great general. Freeman's research is awesome and his writing style (which Shelby Foote once described as a sort of "jog trot prose") while dated in some aspects (Freeman loves to use "whither" and "tither" whereas "where" and "there" would have been better), and the Freeman's overly critical treatment of Longstreet not withstanding, it is still an awesome book. Lee's campaigns are exhaustively detailed, and the maps are profuse and always keep the reader informed as to what the Army of Northern Virginia was doing at any given time.

   I would strongly recommend readers use Ezra Warner's "Generals in Gray" in conjunction with this work. I did and when Freeman parades the various personalities of the Army of Northern Virgina in front of the reader, the names can be confusing. Warner's book will give you illustrations of the men of Lee's command, and you will glad you got it. The book will come alive which is the purpose of all biographies.

   Lastly, Thomas Connelly's "The Marble Man" will give the reader a good counterbalance to Freeman. Still even Connelly admitted to someone once that "R. E. Lee" was still "the greatest biography ever written." I have to agree. At four volumes, I didn't want to stop. Give Freeman a chance, you'll be glad you did.

   One last note. You might also wish to start with "Lee" a one volume abridgement. Freeman's understudy, Richard Harwell did a painstaking abridgement and it is a wonderful one volume work. Of course, the superb maps that went with the 4 volume set are gone and replaced by more general maps, still it's a good bet in case 4 volumes are too daunting.




2. As anther reviewer stated, this is by far the best biography of R.E. Lee. Still, after all these years, no one has been able to top it. The four volumes cover the life and career of Robert E. Lee and do it in a manner that you simply do not want to stop. I enjoyed each and ever page of each volume. Freeman's research is almost beyond question and of course he had the advantage of being much closer to Lee (time wise) that other, more recent biographers. Freeman's style is extremely readable, particularly when you consider the era in which it was written. Yes, the four volumes are a bit intimidating when you look at them on the shelf, but is is quiet surprising how fast they read and how much important, interesting and useful information the author has packed into them. Strange as it may sound, these volumes are real page turners. Anyone interested in the Civil War and R.E. Lee in particular should indeed read this work. I highly recommend.

No comments about The Life And Times Of Abraham Lincoln 16th President Of The United States.

5 comments about Edith and Woodrow: The Wilson White House.

1. In many ways, this book is very much a "bait and switch." The cover promises that you will be reading the "First Documented Account of the Woman Who Was President." The chapters on Edith Wilson's early life and relationship with Woodrow following the death of his first wife also lead you in that direction. Those chapters imply that Woodrow shared virtually all important presidential papers, sensitive documents, cables, and thoughts with Edith, which would somehow prepare her for her stint as president as soon as he has the stroke that we know is coming.

   But, as we slog patiently through the middle chapters waiting for the stroke that will make Edith president, we begin to not care because we realize that Woodrow is so "arrogant, egotistical, and poor at negotiation" (to paraphrase the Amazon editorial review) that anyone would be an improvement. Alas, Edith is worse, much worse, in that ultimately she is a cipher. Rather than the deft amateur who has picked up oodles of useful information from her preparation in the early chapters and actually does something as "President," Levin makes it clear that Edith was absolutely nothing more than a crabby gatekeeper to the stricken president who was totally incapacitated for months. Others in the administration made the few important policy decisions that actually were made.

   This book, however, is useful because the lead-in gives you real insight into the man, his wife and the personality quirks that ultimately would doom his presidency----although most of us would not know from conventional history that his presidency was doomed or in fact bad in any way.

   I encourage everyone to read this book in sequence following Theodore Rex, which I did. Most of us know Teddy Roosevelt as little more than a caricature and Woodrow Wilson as nearly a saint because of his striving for the League of Nations. These books, however, make it clear that Teddy Roosevelt was one of the great presidents (certainly one of the most capable) and Woodrow Wilson one of the worst. Edith Wilson never was president---not by a long shot.

   As for Levin's writing, I felt that Abigail Adams was a much better read, but maybe the subject was simply more sympathetic.




2. Checking the other customer (and editorial) reviews, I find that no one had the reaction I did - this is a very poorly written book on an interesting subject. Author Levin wears her agenda on her sleeve from Page One, repeatedly skews the narrative to her own purposes, and fails to footnote responsibly.
   What's more, her chronology is so haphazard, and she skips around so much, that the reader is never quite sure what year or country we're in at any given time, or what the heck is going on, or who said what to whom.
   Add a boatload of odd editorial boo-boos and you have a very disappointing book.



3. Being a fan of presidential biographies and after having read some books on both of the Wilsons, I was very excited to see what appeared to be a dual biography of the couple. Levin's book was dry and downright boring . It is a very interesting and debatable premise....whether Edith Wilson really "ran" the White House when Woodrow was incapacitated by stroke.
   My complaints are that the book was much more Woodrow than Edith and I am still not sure I feel like I buy Levin's theme that Edith was the first female president.
   I was surprised to learn just how incapacitated Wilson was and how little the country was aware of.
   This could have been a much better book.



4. There are several fundamental flaws in Ms. Levin's book. First and foremost, she sympathizes with Col. Edward House. Plain and simple House is not one to treat sympathetically. A critical biography of the Wilson family would point out that Col. House deliberately attempted to sabotage the President's great peace plans starting in late 1916 (a great friend and confidant). House (and Secretary of State Lansing) collaborated with the British assuring them that the President would eventually enter the war on the side of the allies. In reality, President Wilson had no desire to enter the war (even after the German's resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917). Wilson waited two long months to finally make the decision. Edith Wilson perspicaciously distrusted House from the beginning. Maybe it was a hunch, perhaps she saw through his rather obsequious personality, but she destroyed Woodrow's relationship with House. In fact, after January 1917, House no longer held a high position in the President's mind. In short, Mrs. Levin is highly critical of the Wilson's because they abandoned Col. House.

   Second, Mrs. Levin's assertion that Edith Wilson was the first female president is highly overstated. While she did control, along with Dr. Grayson and Secretary Tumulty, who and what the President saw she never made an important governmental decision. While Wilson was unable to appear in public he was able to read and perform limited duties of his office. Any scholar who has combed even the surface of Wilson's papers understands this. For an unbiased and complete review of Wilson in the months before and after his infamous stroke an interested reader should look at John Milton Cooper's "Breaking the Heart of the World." Cooper is the foremost living authority on Wilson.

   My point here is not to completely excoriate Mrs. Levin's book but to caution readers of its flaws. There are much better books on both President Wilson and the first lady: the mentioned book by Cooper, Arthur Link's "Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era," and John Cooper's dual biography of Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, "The Warrior and the Priest." As a student of Wilson I am most disappointed by Levin's failure to observe Wilson's high moral purpose and the energy which he devoted to it (this is what eventually brought on the stroke).




5. I love biographies of historical figures but this one was a disappointment from the beginning...and a plodding read, to boot.
   
   All it really manages to confirm is that politics is a dirty business and that corruption & deception are part and parcel of it all. The more things change, unfortunately, the more they stay the same.
   
   As for Mrs. Wilson, she wouldn't be the only First Lady in history who was more of a WIFE than a politician!

1 comments about 920 O'Farrell Street: A Jewish Girlhood in Old San Francisco (California Legacy Book).

1. Harriet Levy was born in San Francisco in 1867 and lived at 920 O'Farrell Street until about 1904. Readers who are familiar with the sights and sounds of San Francisco will be equally pleased with the unfamiliar: "Near the corner of Polk Street stood the cow barn of old man Waller, to which the anemic children of the neighborhood, glass in hand, hurried in the early morning hours to receive warm milk fresh from the cow." About one-third of the chapters are named for rooms of her house. The rooms are described in great detail only to flow into some memory of an event that occurred there. For instance, before reminiscing about her sister Addie's beautiful singing voice and the songs she sang, Levy describes the room itself: "...the ceiling of the music room a lattice of bamboo intertwined with garlands of tea roses and autumn leaves, and burnished birds of copper and blue winging their flight..." Levy's vivid descriptions put you right there. Familiar names also pop up, like Alice Toklas who was a friend and neighbor. This book is a treasure.

4 comments about Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia.

1. A product of a decade of dedicated research, "Staff Officers in Gray" is an essential reference for historians, genealogists and the "just plain curious" concerning themselves with the Confederate Army. It is not limited to the Army of Northern Virginia, but includes Krick's gleanings from records dealing with other Confederate armies and other generals, as well as several rare illustrations. Excellent introductory essay is itself worth the price of admission. Super.



2. Bob Krick--the son, not the father--has proven himself a worthy successor to his father. In this extraordinarily useful work, Bob Krick has given us a volume every bit as useful as his father's earlier landmark work, _Lee's Colonels_. In this work, Krick provides us with informative capsule biographies of the many staff officers who played an important role in the Civil War, and photos of many are also provided.

   I wish someone would do the Union equivalent to this book.




3. The older I get. the more I realize that the only history that really counts is "useable history". Readers want to know how history touches them. They want to know the people, places and ideas close to them. That is a start. Krick gives us a genealogical smorgasbord of the best and brightest young men of the southern states during the Civil War. Do you want to understand the Confederacy? Flip through this book and see that excellent minds served the South as well as the North. This is a deeply researched, unbiased presentation of facts that will help both genealogists and Civil War historians for decades to come.



4. This is an impressive and useful book. Mr. Krick's efforts to compile information regarding the staff officers of the Army of Northern Virginia are thorough and explanatory. However, I am left wanting an index, so that I would be able to search for specific Regiments, as I am currently doing regimental research.

4 comments about 1001 People Who Made America.

1. Great concept but this book is riddled with inaccuracies that limit its credibility, from page ten's incorrect date of birth for Abigail Adams (shown as 1774, making her supposedly two when her husband signed the Declaration of Independence), to page 208's stating Charles Manson was initially sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes (his sentence was death, later commuted to life imprisonment along with all of those on California's death row), to a number of other minor and fairly major mistakes that disappointed me and left me unable to recommend this book as a source of reliable information.



2. With over 350 pages, and over 1000 people,
   this makes a good reference for all ages.
   It's not too big and bulky, it's a hand-held compact book.
   
   There are some well known people in here,
   from the 10th century till the 21st century.
   A good desk reference for school or office.
   
   On the downside I seen some typos, but not that many.
   On the upside it has a wide variety of names and
   careers in here, such as movies, music, politics, and much more.
   
   A well done book overall, and worth the $14.00
   
   Buy it and enjoy reading and learning.
   



3. Each person noted in the book is given a brief paragraph. Not a bad concept unless you consider that the author and/or editor had to choose which information to include or exclude. Consequently, you get a very skewed opinion of historical figures.
   
   Sorry, but when there is only gushing praise for Hillary Clinton, factual inaccuracies about the Clinton presidency, and all negative information on both Bush presidencies, how can you trust any other information in the book to be accurate?
   
   When will "historians" stop spinning their political agenda and just present facts?



4. Again, another mini book by the National Geographic. Trust this doesn't become a habit as they have a good history of publishing quality material. If you don't have much room for books and want one on very brief biographies of people deemed famous by the National Geographic, this one might be for you. Much rather have a standard dictionary of biography.

5 comments about A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell.

1. I enjoyed this book immensely. Thorough, evocative, thrilling, and comprehensive in its scope, it was a delight from beginning to end.
   I completed a major in Geography at Illinois State University many years ago, where Powell taught at one time, and I am embarrassed to admit the sad truth that in all the courses I took nary a word was ever mentioned about the great man. Considering his extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the natural world, it is all too sad.



2. The book is well written and informative about the events of Powell's life and the geological survey in which Powell played such a major role. My primary disappointment with the book was that I felt I didn't know the person John W. Powell much better after reading the book. The book provided very little information about Powell's life outside of his work.



3. Reading this book was like being present at the creation of America. It will appeal especially to U.S. history buffs and to anyone interested in the American West. Worster's telling of the feat that won Powell fame, leading the first expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, has definitely renewed my passion for exploring the West. Powell was a man of ideas, as well as action. For a quarter century he was at the forefront of debates over reserving land for American Indians, how to foster family farming in the arid West, and the thorny issue of water rights. For many years, Powell was a prominent official in Washington, as head of the U.S. Geological Survey, which he helped create, and in other positions. From what I gather in this book, Powell may have been as important as any single individual in making support of scientific research a normal function of the Federal Government. From the perspective of one man's career, Worster touches on a multitude of topics: railroads, telegraph, photography, landscape painting of the West, Mormon settlements, and many more. For the comprehension one gains of American life in those times, this biography is the equal of a first rate novel. Although a work of scholarship, it is written to be enjoyed by the general reader.



4. The title a River Running West is something of a misnomer. One could infer from this title that the bulk of this work centers upon Powell's Colorado River excursions (the front cover might lead one to believe so as well), yet barely 1/5th of it actually does. The beginning, as to be expected, recounts the early years of John Wesley Powell, but the entire second half of this weighty tome is dedicated to his time in Washington DC as head of the USGS. Indeed, to be fully accurate, if matching title to content, a more appropriate appellation might be A Bureaucrat in the East, but bureaucracy just doesn't sell well.
   
   Worster's underlying thread in this effort is Powell's transition from son of devout Methodists to enlightened, agnostic scientist. All well and good, if this is the Powell story. But, Worster bangs this drum so incessantly that it leaves one wondering if he was more concerned with Powell's religious upbringing than Powell himself. There's a whiff here of an agenda.
   
   To be fair, the Colorado River excursions are suspensefully told, but as with most books of the genre, the maps are sparse and dreadful. I can't believe I am in the minority for desiring detailed maps with which I might closely trace the route of intrepid explorers. This becomes especially desirous when I have personally visited sites along their journey for then I may more accurately transform the text into mental imagery. But with sub-par maps containing spotty detail and far too many blank spaces, this becomes a mere exercise in frustration.
   
   Despite this, Worster's biography of Powell is no less than mediocre. It follows the standard format of the genre leaving the reader educated if not exactly enthralled. It is not a book I leapt towards at every opportunity, though there was no need to coerce myself into continuing. A River Running West is but an average account of an indomitable man synonymous with western expansion. 3 stars.



5. My comment at the end of my title refers to Wallace Stegner's "Beyond the 100th Meridian." While that is a very good book, it comes close to perpetuating a myth of Saint John Wesley Powell.
   
   Compared to Stegner, who may be a point of reference for many readers curious about this book, Worster paints a far more complete picture of Powell, delving much deeper into journals and letters kept by colleagues, underlings, and exploratory co-travlers of his.
   
   We see a Powell who was NOT totally Stegner's beknighted prophet of a kinder, gentler Western development. Powell did favor independent farmers over corporate conglomerates, but just as much as Nevada's Sen. Stewart, he wanted to drain every last drop from the Colorado. And, Worster also shows how he ran afoul of the most ardent forest conservation advocates late in his Washington career.
   
   In short, Worster indicates the semi-mythical Powell, not just of Stegner but some other writers, should be taken with a grain of salt.
   
   Worster puts Powell's evangelical -- yes, evangelical -- fervor for irrigation in the backdrop of his childhood Methodism. While there's no way of proving this, it is certainly a reasonable interpretation.
   
   He also paints a broader picture of Powell the bureaucrat. Here again, he differs somewhat from Stegner, suggesting that Powell bears a bit of the blame, at least, for his own wing-clipping by Stewart et al late in his career.
   
   At the same time, Worster gives a detailed portrait of just how hard-working Powell was, both as a Washingtonian and the explorer of the Colorado River and Plateau.
   
   In essence, this is "revisionist history" at its best and most proper.