5 comments about Four Years With General Lee.

1. Taylor, as Lee's trusty staff member thoughout the war, is a great reference on Lee. Not all his words are to be taken at face value, however. For example, he had provided himself with a lovely suie with a piano and all he needed, far grander than Lee's abode. When Lee commented that Taylor had himself "finely fixed" there, Taylor responded " It will do." Lee was rightfully astounded, and left, although Taylor does not phrase it this way. Just a warning.



2. Wonderful book describing the massive work and devotion to duty that General Lee adhered to. Written by his A.A.G. A must read for southern patriots.



3. Taylor's approach to covering the history of the Confederate struggle is encouraging to read. Though the title of this book tends to be a bit misleading. It should be called Four years of Confederate history. Taylor tends to describe battle movements and give calculations as to the manpower of divisions, brigades and regiments to a dragging sense. This books I recommend highly for those trying to get an accurate count of soldiers available for each battle, how many were casualties, after battle net amounts,etc.. Rarely are daily affairs of Lee covered. When I read this book I was disappointed to find out that it wasn't a book about General Lee and his daily livelyhood as I wanted to read about. Since Taylor was Lee's secretary I thought who better than to describe Lee's motives, attitudes, triumphs and defeats? Very rarely did Taylor ever mention Lee in this manner. Not enough to capture the man and tell his story. This book is a quick refresh of battles and movements throughout the war of the Army of Northern Virginia which hardly fits being called Four Years With General Lee. Credit is due to Taylor's ability to calculate total manpower and army positions throughout the four years though falls way short in covering Lee.



4. As did Gilbert Moxley Sorrel (Longstreet), staff officer Walter Taylor offers his insights of the War of Southern Independence. Indeed, Taylor has rightful claim to his judgements, as his acquaitance with Lee offered him first-hand knowledge of events. However, I caution future readers that this is NOT a memoir or diary per se - Taylor rarely gives any unique slants to anything, and more often than not, seems occupied with setting the "numbers straight" - many, many, many tables and charts are provided giving the numbers available for this battle and that battle, etc...I suggest this book only for serious students of the war - and more particularly, those wanting "first-hand" data on "numbers." Of final interest, though, is Taylor's disdain for Hiram U. Grant (accurately recognizing Grant as a true butcher - merely throwing big numbers at an under-manned, under-supllied army) and the insertion of a speech given upon the anniversary of Genl Lee's birthday (albeit NOT written, or presented by Taylor himself)



5. A history of the Civil War by Lee's aide Walter Herron Taylor.
   
   This is more a history than a memoir, and I get the impression that Taylor's other book has more personal reminiscence, though I haven't had a chance to see it yet. It clearly has served as a major source for generations of scholars; it describes most of the ANV's actions with a fair amount of detail and also discusses Lee's early campaign in West Virginia. The numerical strengths of the armies are tabulated in detail.
   
   Taylor's hero-worship of Lee is clear in his analyses of events and in the appended anniversary address, which doesn't make this a less useful source but should be taken into account.

5 comments about Period Piece (Ann Arbor Paperbacks).

1. Wood-cut artist Gwen Raverat was associated with the Bloomsbury group, and grew up with the Keynes children in nineteenth-century Cambridge. Here, she tells the story of growing up amid the fads and fetishes not only of academic and Victorian England, but of her extremely individual family, children and grandchildren of Charles Darwin. Raverat's wood-cut illustrations are as illuminating and funny as her text.



2. This is a really lovely book, perfect for reading at bedtime or in the garden under the apple tree on a summer's afternoon. Gwen Raverat writes vividly with chapters by theme rather than chronologically and and gives a rounded view of her childhood experiences and the Darwin family of uncles and aunts.



3. An absolute masterpiece of comic writing. Ms. Raverat drawings mesh perfectly with her loving, but not pious, treatment of her eccentric aunts and uncles. A deft ironist, a great memoir of late 19th century Cambridge. I promise you will force this book on everyone you love and they will thank you for it.



4. Darwin fanatics and Jane Austen fans will gobble up this delicious dessert. Written by Darwin's grandaughter (Raverat was George's daughter born too late to know her illustrious grandfather personally)PERIOD PIECE contains both a wealth of Family Stories that helps humanize the usual image of the Great Victorian Sage and some real (although often tongue-in-cheek) insights into Late-Victorian/Edwardian Society. As Raverat says in the Preface, the book doesn't really have a beginning or an end, it is easily dipped-in-to at any point & you will have to be totally lacking in a sense of humor not to come away both charmed & informed.



5. Four or five anecdotes save Gwen Raverat's "Period Piece" from being so sweet it gives you tummy ache. It is no surprise that this charming memoir has remained in print for nearly 60 years. It has the "Upstairs" cachet, relieved by the Whiggery of Raverat's family -- she was the daughter of Charles Darwin -- which fits comfortably with both American and English tastes now.
   
   Raverat was born in 1885 and her childhood ended about the same time the Boer War did, so there are plenty of horses, tea parties, country house theatricals and such to appeal to the romantics. Socially, the Darwins were middle class except for the snobbery and religion. Gwen's mother excepted, who was the type of ignorant American puritan who made H.L. Mencken's fortune.
   
   Thus, the aunts went in for prudishness (especially in front of the servants) and silly dress codes, which Raverat can play against, giving the important sense of superiority that appeals to secret snobs.
   
   In his memoirs of English society, a generation later, Peter Medawar alleged that Americans were wrong to imagine that P.G. Wodehouse country life really existed. But it did. There are no Georgian silver cow creamers in "Period Piece," but Raverat's aunts were every bit as dotty as Bertie Wooster's.
   
   For me the most memorable episode, because like the book as a whole it captures the confusion of childhood so well, was Raverat's understanding of J.M.W. Turner's "The Fighting Temeraire." She and her cousins thought the little black tugboat was the Temeraire.
   
   Raverat led a sheltered childhood and young ladyhood, but on occasion the grim features of the Victorian/Wilhelminian era intruded. It is these -- brutality to a peasant servant in Hamburg, animal torture in Cambridge, the lower depths of drunkenness in the alleys around the Slade School -- that raise "Period Piece" from idle gossip to seriousness.
   
   The book is illustrated with Raverat's line drawings, very much in the style of the slighter travel books of her time. They are not charming.
   
   .

5 comments about Carl Sagan: A Life.

1. This "biography" is one, long malicious attack upon Carl Sagan.
   
   Keay Davidson obviously detests Sagan - so much so that I don't know why he would wrire a book about someone he hates so much.
   
   Only someone who hates Sagan could enjoy this book - but anyone who hates Sagan wouldn't be buying/reading a biography about him anyway.
   
   This book has no real audience. I would rate it ZERO stars if I were able.
   
   If you like anything Carl did, please look elsewhere for a biography and do not waste a penny or a second on this unfathomably putrid piece of attack-journalism.



2. This biography differs from many of the other sycophantic works about celebrity lives in that it treats its subject as its subject treated the world: objectively. Those who have ears to hear, they will hear and agree.
   
   Sagan was larger than life. A brilliant man with a passion for his subject he was none-the-less subject to human feelings and human failings. This book portrays the human side of Carl Sagan from his sudden, relationship damaging mood swings, to his desire to achieve the greatest good. It takes the myth of Carl Sagan and exposes the very real man underneath it all.
   
   Sagan the scientist allowed his passions to distort his views at times but what great scientist hasn't had moments of irrational behavior? Sagan the humanitarian often demanded that things be done to relieve human suffering and end nuclear proliferation. He could be stubborn to the point of being annoying when it came to exposing frauds in science and the inhuman monsters (Edward Teller) whom he resented.
   
   The book portrays a very human Sagan. A product of his era, he smoked pot, desired peace, devoted himself to his scientific calling, and became a legend. If you can stand to have the curtain drawn and the wizard exposed, this is the book for you. If you like fantasy over reality, move on.



3. I grew up with Carl Sagan. An avid watcher of his COSMOS program when it aired in 1980, I like to credit Carl with turning me on to the wonders of science and, especially, the wonders of space exploration. Prior to seeing COSMOS I thought outer space was just a playground for X-Wing fighters, Colonial warriors, and the Starship Enterprise. Carl made space into a very real place, more fascinating than my young mind had ever thought possible, and COSMOS similarly impressed upon me the value of science as, to borrow the sub-title from one of Carl's best-known volumes, a candle in the darkness.
   
   Many years later, shortly after I got married, my wife found the entire COSMOS series on VHS tape at a local library. I eagerly re-screened the entire series with adult eyes, and was reminded again of how fantastic the series was, what a great science promoter Carl could be, and I suppose the old child-like hero worship resurfaced with new energy. Carl then died tragically not longer after I re-screened COSMOS, and in a moment of telegraphed fan grief, I set up a web memorial to the man which I called the Carl Sagan Electronic Monument.
   
   On that web site I extolled the virtues of the Great Popularizer. I praised his wisdom, his brilliance, his prowess as both husband and father, and generally set the man up on a pedestal of enormous height. For a few years I communicated with other Sagan fans, and even received one or two touching e-mails from Ann Druyan, thanking me for the CSEM and thanking me for being part of the enormous outpouring of support and love which centered around Carl following his passing.
   
   Knowing my affinity for Sagan, my wife bought me "Demon Haunted World" and an audiobook, read by Sagan, of "Pale Blue Dot". I loved these as I loved COSMOS, and it seemed nothing could stem the hero worship.
   
   Then, my wife bought me "Carl Sagan: A life", and the carefully constructed illusion slowly came apart.
   
   I'd always known that certain people had a gripe against Sagan. I'd always chalked it up to petty jealousy against a truly great man. But as I turned the pages of this book, and the REALITY of Carl Edward Sagan began to hit home, I realized that in my rush to embrace Sagan as an idol, I'd completely fooled myself.
   
   Meticulously researched, this book is an eye-opener for any Sagan fan. I've seen a lot of the one star comments, declaring that this is a book for "Sagan haters", which I think is unfair. If anything, this book exposes Sagan for who he really was, not who we wished him to be. I think all Sagan fans owe it to themselves to read this book, and then decide, as I did, which they loved more: Sagan as a PERSON, or Sagan as a vehicle for opening the wonders of space and science to the average man?
   
   My conclusion, upon finishing this volume, is that I was not a fan of Sagan the man. Sagan seemed a poor husband, at least until the advent of Ann Druyan, and even then it seems clear he was already involved with Druyan prior to the dissolution of his relationship with his second wife. Moreover, Sagan was not a particularly good father to his first children, again only cleaning up his act for the Druyan years.
   
   I have always believed that no amount of professional success can make up for failure in the home. I am glad that Sagan seems to have reformed by the time Druyan came on the scene, and that his youngest children seem to have enjoyed at least a competent dad. But what of the first two marriages, and the children that came of them? What of the abuse that he apparently doled out to his first wife? These things significantly mar the brilliant image of Sagan, and left me feeling as if I'd seriously deluded myself.
   
   Moreover, Sagan the professional was also not without faults. For much of his life Carl seems to have been an enormously vainglorious and pompous fellow, essentially ruining his relationship with COSMOS producer Adrian Malone, so much so that the men were not on speaking terms by the time COSMOS earned its Emmy and Peabody Awards. Carl also developed a reputation as a scientific dilettente, precocious and opinionated and eager to claim mastery over various scientific subjects without actually contributing much bona fide advancement in those same fields. Many scientists came to resent Sagan as being too much of a self-promoter and not enough of a researcher, and as Sagan's public popularity began to soar, so did the grumbling by some in the scientific community who felt that Sagan was getting credit for their effort.
   
   When I came back to my Sagan memorial web site, after reading this book, I realized I couldn't keep the web site up in good faith anymore. I slowly pruned the site down until it was just a placeholder, and then I shut it down altogether not longer after that.
   
   Having said all this, I must emphasize that "Carl Sagan: A Life" is not a one-sided bash-session. There is much good said about Sagan, especially in regard to his role as popularizer, and in regard to his struggle with health problems, including a throat condition I had not previously known about, and his long decay due to myelodysplasia. His work in debunking UFOlogy and stressing skepticism (alongside other skeptics like James Randi) is to his credit, as are his forays into environmentalism and combating the threat of nuclear holocaust. The Planetary Society continues as one of the most energetic public bodies lobbying for continued space exploration, and there is no doubt that Sagan's legacy as a spark which has fired the efforts and imaginations of millions around the world, is secure.
   
   I still own a DVD set of COSMOS and enjoy watching the series from time to time. As a character on the screen, Sagan is engaging, witty, brilliant, and engrossing, and COSMOS still stands, in my mind, as one of the greatest television science series of all time. I still keep the copy of "Demon Haunted World" and have the "Pale Blue Dot" tapes, because there is great thought and wisdom in these volumes, and they are to Sagan's eternal credit.
   
   But Sagan the person has been permanently removed from his pedestal. In hindsight, I should have never placed him up there to begin with.
   
   In COSMOS, Sagan lauds German astronomer Johannes Kepler for having the courage to face the reality of celestial planetary motion, rather than cling to his beloved illusion of the nested geometric solids. In the same spirit I would encourage all Sagan fans to cast aside any illusions they may have regarding Carl Sagan the man, and read this book, and know the faults and flaws and shortcomings of the man we all learned to admire and idolize as children.
   
   You will be surprised. You will be dissapointed. But you will know the truth.
   
   Five stars for this book. Absolutely. Thanks to Keay Davidson for having the literary courage to delve into Sagan's life, and not just offer up a superficial pean.



4. By his enemies, detractors, and those envious of him, Carl Sagan has been called a "bozo", a "psuedoscientist", an "idiot", a "moron", and many other names that need not be repeated here. Those who like him though do so unabashedly, and in rare instances have had their scientific careers stymied because of their admitted admiration of him. It is fair to say, and an in-depth statistical study may support this, that the scientific community is automatically dismissive of public figures and the general public, and get angry when anyone within their midst attempts to explain things to people in these two classes. It is almost as though the attempt to explain difficult scientific ideas and concepts to the general public constitutes almost a criminal act, to be punished by banishment from professional societies and academia. The reason for this anger is unknown, and does not seem to serve any useful or constructive purpose either within the scientific community or outside of it.
   
   Although the author is not a practicing scientist, from the words in this book it is apparent that he identifies with the general scientific community in their attitude about the popularization of science. The author comes across as being deeply cynical, and this is readily apparent throughout the book. It seems he has a score to settle with Sagan and he endeavors throughout the book to take Sagan down a notch and expose his faults and inadequacies. The book for this reason is difficult to read, for it confuses objectivity with blatant negativism. What is needed in the case of Carl Sagan is a biographer who will not engage in uncritical adulation and yet at the same time not become indulged in muckracking.
   
   Indeed, the author makes it a point to bring out Sagan's alleged use of marijuana, his reluctance to assist his wives in housework, and his shortcomings as a father to his children. He discusses the zeal with which several scientists denied Sagan admission to the National Academy of Sciences, and Sagan's supposed inability to discuss scientific topics in depth. The author therefore patronizes the reader, with the implicit assumption that the reader has been unduly influenced by Sagan and needs assistance and release from this influence. The emotional responses that many have obtained by viewing Cosmos or reading some of Sagan's works is dismissed as being a result of Sagan's skilled oratory. It seems to never occur to the author that such responses are a natural consequence to being exposed to ideas that are accurate and true.
   
   It is a little over ten years since Sagan has passed on, but his legacy is alive and well, and even though he has made many contributions to both science and its popularization, his most profound contribution, and one that outweighs the rest by many orders of magnitude, is his implicit demonstration that the history of the human species has been one of brilliant developments rather than war and strife. For a human being to purposely take the life of another is actually extremely rare, but it is frequently taught, both in educational institutions and outside of them, that the human species is a destructive and dangerous one. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the writings of Sagan illustrate this time and again. It would be incorrect therefore, and statistically invalid, to say that his view of history is romanticized and idealistic. It is the most realistic of any that currently exist, and deserves to be propagated at a large scale. There has yet to arise an effective surrogate to Carl Sagan, at least from the standpoint of someone who delivers the message in books, movies, and television as effectively as he did. But there are millions, or shall we say, billions and billions, of individuals that make up the collective genius of the human species, and it is these individuals, some known and some unknown, that are so eloquently described and championed by Sagan throughout his writings and personal life.



5. Mr. Davidson has written an excellent biography of astronomer Carl Sagan with this one. I think the book was written with a fine balance of view on the man. Davidson obviously did his homework. The book sufficiently covers Sagan's professional and personal life, without pulling any punches. In this book, I think most will also see the slow metamorphosis of a man primarily interested in science, becoming more and more interested in self-promotion. But don't get the idea is a Carl Sagan-bash. It is nothing of the kind, just admirably frank.

5 comments about The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad.

1. from SALAAM ALLAH NATION OF ISLAM, June 3, 2004,
   ministersalaamallah@lycos.com
   not wonderful at all this book is a disaster!
   what is wonderful about what is happening to the black nation today?
   the black man and the black woman freed slaves and that is all is
   supposed to believe that this awful idiot karl evanzzz has some clue
   as to what he is talking about of which he has NONE WHATSOEVER! now
   as more and more black american becomes homeless permanetly
   unemployed and unemployable filling up the jails and prisons and
   death rows of the wilderness hell of north ameriKKKa ......... and
   the rest of our black peoples karl evanzzz cares NOTHING about being
   sent off to foregin wars int he US military to die and come back to
   ameriKKKa to add to the rest of the list above etc... Somehow this is
   supposed to be 'wonderful' and if we just stop what we are doing read
   the lies and deciet of sonsyrea tate silly little book ' little X '
   or the late misleader ' alex hailey ' oh his Biography of minister
   malcolm shabazz and now the big 3 negatives books by the latest
   mental basket case 'karl evanzzz' & this is somehow going to do
   great 'wonderful' things for the black american who is still at the
   bottom of everything of hell we still suffer from at he hands of the
   worst ever peoples to ever rule with a beast savage madness on the
   planet earth ever ( just ask iraq ) MESSENGER ELIJAH MUHAMMAD taught
   right what was going to happen in the last days of the so called good
   ol' USA and where this was going! nothing 'wonderful' at all about
   this karl evanzz needs to write what his solution and solution(s) is
   for the black nation lay out his program and not KNOCK the greatest
   black leader of all time ever ........ MESSENGER ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
   peace be upon him those who think karl evanzz is so 'wonderful'
   should ask him to lay out what his SOULTION is for the so called
   american negro here in the wilderness hell of north america !
   ameriKKKa ! thankz for reading this correction to ' wonderful '

   Also recommended: MESSENGER ELIJAH MUHAMMAD MESSAGE TO THE BLACKMAN
   THE FALL OF AMERICA OUR SAVIOUR HAS ARRIVED HOW TO EAT TO LIVE THE
   JOURNAL OF TRUTH !- BY HIS BLOOD BROTHER! SUPREME MINISTER JOHN
   MUHAMMAD DETROIT MI.




2. Karl Evanzz wrote a fascinating account of how power corrupts in "The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad." Evanzz supported his biography of the man responsible for the enormous growth of the Nation of Islam with almost 200 pages of documentation. However, he clearly lost all objectivity toward the second half of the book. Yet, I found this true story to be a compelling one worth reading.



3. Of all the literature I've read concerning the Elijah Muhammad, this is by far the worse. After only two chapters, it becomes obvious that Evanzz developed his analysis of Muhammad and the N.O.I. based upon data presented by the FBI, CIA, New York and Detroit police. Where are the interviews with Muhammad's family, friends, and business associates? Where are the excerpts from any of Muhammad's dozens of books? Where are the accounts from present or former N.O.I. members? Instead this book presents references from government agencies as indisputable fact. Anyone familiar with the clandestine workings of such agencies during the 1950's and '60's (i.e. "CoIntelPro") would surely be suspicious of such "information", and at least attempt to seek out other sources. Evanzz's account fails to make such an attempt and is so one-sided, that it offers the reader no opportunity to intelligently analyze Elijah Muhammad, his organization or those who followed him. This book is closer to "National Enquirer" material, than it is to informative, responsible journalism. Anyone interested in a well-written, balanced account of Elijah Muhammad and the history of the N.O.I., I recommend "An Original Man" by Claude Andrew Clegg III. It's a brilliant work and far superior to Evanzz slanderous writing. Don't waste your time or money.



4. That is all the author did was take declassified FBI records and wrote a book. Most of which the information about WD FARD and Elijah Muhammad were contradictory. Wish I had the time to elaborate. He should be ashamed of writing such. Sad.



5. Sometime ago, I decided to writte a book about the Black Muslims of America, but, being french, I knew little about Black nationalism in the United States. Reading Evanzz was a gold mine that provided many insights on the Black muslims ; It is also so wide ranging and alludes to so many aspects of Black nationalism it is the perfect entrance door for that political aspect of the US black community.
   
   During my own research for the FBI archives as well as with local US newspaper ranging from 1930 to 1975, I was able to cross check and verify many information he provides : they were allways accurate. While he sometimes only alluded to acts of anti-white racism that seemed very important to me (the Zebra Killings for instance) I give him credit for mentionning them. He left no stone unturned.
   
   Evanzz Book is a thick, dense read. It should not be read as a novel but rather as an encyclopedia. Maybe my only critic is that he's a bit too fond of Malcolm X

3 comments about Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy.

1. oddly, you may be surprised about the kennedy's of massachusetts when you finish Whalen's work. It is possible that many have been quick to judge the family in a negative manner. Whalen, however, certainly points out Joseph Kennedy's very wonderful points including love of his family and gracious help for mankind. His charity for a man who wandered into his office off of the streets of Boston having just lost his son-and Mr. Kennedy buying the man a suit and paying for the funeral of that son-is particularly touching. Also of great interest to anyone interested in making a buck is how Mr. Kennedy made so much money in so many different arenas-sold out and took his profit on to the next venture-a sixth sense he had for making big money! author whalen points out this was almost always the case except his keeping ownership of Chicago's Merchandise Mart in the Kennedy name up, I believe, until currently-1998. Buy this work and then be prepared to not put it down for 48! ! hrs.! Of added interest was a historical look at how Joseph Kennedy got into B grade motion picture producing in Hollywood in the early days.



2. Back in AD 1964, the sordid details of Joe Kennedy's life were kept secret. So what you have here is a very incomplete picture. But, if you want to understand his stock trading or his ambassadorship to Great Britain, then this book is for you. But compared to Kearns-Goodwin and Kessler, this is very lop-sided.



3. This book reads like a a middle school textbook. I found it impossible to read more than a page w/o falling asleep. After a chapter,I gave up. If you want to learn about Joe K.,look elsewhere.

4 comments about The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, The Original Deaf-Blind Girl.

1. Elisabeth Gitter has introduced the 21st Century reader to Laura Bridgman, "the original deaf-blind girl" in her well written and sensitive portrayal of "this pitiful little girl" who "became the most celebrated child in (19th Century) America." Along with her teacher and mentor, Samuel Howe, founder of the first school for the blind in America, Laura became an inspiration for the indominability of the human spirit. Yet, as Gitter wisely and perceptively shows, the multi-faceted character behind Laura's public persona was often overlooked by Howe in his zeal to show the world that, in his words, "obstacles are things to be overcome", and that Laura Bridgman was the prime example of the veracity of his statement. With her extraordinary knowledge of the Victorian era in which the story takes place, and her exceptional command of the written word, Gitter has brought Laura Bridgman the honor and dignity she was often denied her life.



2. The long-forgotten story of Laura Bridgman is riveting: She was the first deaf, blind and mute American to learn English and she did so through the ingenious efforts of Samuel Howe. If author Elisabeth Gitter had done nothing more than reintroduce this story to the world, her book would have been worthwhile. But Gitter does much more. Both Bridgman and Howe were enormously complicated, infinitely fascinating characters and their relationship was unprecedented in human experience (quite a statement, but it's true!). It is incredible, and in many ways, heart-wrenching, to watch their storybook relationship develop and devolve. Gitter wisely tells the story without literary flourishes; it's so remarkable, it doesn't need any. The author is also scrupulously fair to her subjects (few characters in history go from appealling to detestable, and back again, more quickly than Howe) and provides just the right degree of historical background--enough to inform the reader, but not enough to slow down the narrative. A nearly perfect book!



3. Great read packed with info. I've always wanted to know more about her, not just the vague references made in books about Keller and Sullivan.



4. I have read quite a lot about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan over the years, and I have read a bit about Laura Bridgman. I have read enough to know that "rescue from darkness" comes at a cost and is often not done for the greatest good of the "victim". In Helen and Annie's case, Helen's world was infinitely enriched by Annie's total dedication to her pupil. In return, Annie created a family and garnered recognition for herself. Unfortunately, in Laura's situation, the trade-off was not as well balanced.
   
   Samuel Gridley Howe was a man on a mission to achieve recognition and status among the liberal Boston elite in the early 1800s. His goal was to find and educate an intelligent blind and deaf child and thereby establish himself as a distinguished philanthropist and expert in education and the social sciences. He believed that Laura was a means to that end.
   
   While educating a blind deaf girl may have sounded like an unselfish project in 1837, the horror of Laura's reality is clear today. Laura was often isolated from other children and adults to help make Howe's experiments in education "pure." When Howe felt that he had no more to gain from her, he left her with very limited companionship. So, unlike Helen, her education and socialization, and hence her maturation, stopped when Howe lost interest. As a result, she suffered great loneliness and depression.
   
   Gitter provides a great deal of information about Howe that seems to indicate that he had a narcissistic personality. Her revelations about Laura show that she had great potential for learning and growing that was left untapped as a result of her unnecessary and cruel seclusion from the world.
   
   This book is very well written and clearly reveals the historical and social context of the lives of Laura and Howe. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the subject area.

5 comments about Eliot Ness: The Real Story.

1. Heimel's first book was good, this one was excellent. Even if you're not a crime-fighing history buff, this chronology of Ness' life strikes an optimistic cord concerning what ultimately matters in life. Ness made plenty of mistakes in his life, but the testimony to man's efforts at doing the right thing is inspirational. He was not the person Hollywood portrayed him to be, but in some sense, he was much, much, more. This second edition is full of new information and insight. Just as you may find that the "professional" movie critics reviews didn't jibe with how you felt about a movie, you'll most likely come to the same conclusion about this book. Read it yourself. It's well worth the effort!



2. Eliot Ness was a legendary lawman in the twenties and thirties. But entertaining as they are, the various Untouchables movies and television shows don't paint an accurate picture of him.

   And The Untouchables (by Ness and Oscar Fraley) and Four Against the Mob (by Fraley) tell part of the story, but leave a lot of detail out, including just about any unflattering pieces.

   Heimel's book is the first true attempt at an unbiased look at Ness' life. And have no doubt, Eliot Ness did some amazing things in law enforcement. His time as Cleveland's Public Safety Director is more episode-filled than his Chicago days. As of 2003, there is not a better book out there on Eliot Ness.




3. The second edtion uncovers more information about Ness, disputing those who dismiss his exploits in helping the Treasury Dept. smash Capone's empire. It also disputes those rumors that he was a drunk. The real man is shown here with all his humanness and surprise, he's doesn't come up short. He finally gets the consideration he deserves as a lawman.



4. Paul W. Heimel has done a superb job of uncovering and relating the life and times of Eliot Ness, including the role that he and his team of "Untouchables" played in the destruction of Al Capone. Ness was a far more interesting and complex individual than the Hollywood characterizations of him. He was every bit as honest, diligent, and hard-working as his fictional counterpart, but also flawed in terribly human ways. The reader comes away with a deeper understanding of a very real, ultimately tragic human being. Heimel knows how to tell a story well and captures Ness's fascinating life without bogging the tale down in minutia. He provides clear images of Capone and a host of other characters, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The paranoid, delusional "G Man" was a neurotic tyrant who could not stomach Ness getting any publicity or credit, no matter how deserved, because he believed it upstaged him and his agency. Ness even merited one of Hoover's many secret files. Indeed, Ness seems to have been harmed by his own success in destroying crooked cops, politicians, and labor thugs, which inevitably made him enemies. His own inability to convert his exemplary public service into business or political success reveals him as all-too human. His final years, and the lack of any material reward for his deeds, are both moving and tragic. This is a real slice of Americana without any glamorization. Heimel deserves our gratitude for rescuing a wonderful man from both near-obscurity and horrible distortion.



5. This has to be the definitive book on the subject of legendary crimefighter Eliot Ness. It's quite a story and is obviously well researched and written with an exacting and engaging style. If being the leader of THE UNTOUCHABLES alone, was enough excitement and fame for someone like Ness. He goes on to tackle other crime and even get into business ventures that prooved to be far ahead of their time.
   
   Eliot Ness never lived to see his story portrayed on TV or the movies.
   Shortly before his death, he did receive a $1,000 advance from his book titled THE UNTOUCHABLES co-written by his sportswriter friend Oscar Fraley. That was the only money the honest lawman ever got from his fame as the G-Man who took on gangster Al Capone. And long before Hollywood was playing with the truth or simply taking poetic license. Ness or more precisely Fraley, had built up the gangbusting exploits to almost the same level of American hero mythology as Wyatt Earp. Actor Robert Stack who to millions the world over was Eliot Ness, could always be seen each week shooting it out with the bad guys. Whereas the real Ness, only fired his gun once to gain entry to an illegal brewery by shooting the lock off. In 1959, at a time when there were already 48 TV westerns on the air, ABC's Desilu produced show THE UNTOUCHABLES was really a western itself. The most violent show on television and naturally it was highly rated.
   
   Just like in a typical Hollywood western, when the good towns people hire a lawman to rid their streets of crime and then finding that he's done such a good job that business starts to suffer. Well thats what happens to Ness when this book chronicles his career in Cleveland. Not as skilled at dealing with politicians as he was with crooks (that is if there is a difference), his life goes into decline and becomes an American tragedy.
   Author Paul Heimel remembers him well though and indeed the true story of Eliot Ness warrants a more respectful Hollywood tribute than just the rattle of "tommy-guns" shooting up a still.

5 comments about Papa Jack: Jack Johnson And The Era Of White Hopes.

1. This is truly a terrific book - easily the best and clearest view of who Jack Johnson really was. Exhaustively researched and beautifully written - this book is well worth your time if you're interested in learning about one of the 20th century's most controversial figures.



2. Randy Roberts absolutely nails it with this wonderful and thoughtful biography of the extraordinary Jack Johnson. A must-read for any student of U.S. history and the social impact of sport. The semi-literate, one-star review below says far more about its writer than it does about this book. Can this person even read? Ignore these idiotic blitherings.



3. Jack Johnson did tell his own tale but this was in a haphazard, uneven, entertaining if not always believable book ("Jack Johnson Is A Dandy"). Because of this we have to look elsewhere for more reliable testimony. Randy Robert's `Papa Jack' from the mid 80s was for a long time the definitive bio on the first black heavyweight champion. In the absence of people still living from Johnson's day, Roberts researches heavily and of course has the unenviable task of unearthing the facts from the deeply racist and hate filled press of the time (among many other sources all of which are referenced in detail).
   
   The book itself is an easy read. Information from Johnson's early years is scant at best, so Roberts providing an account of his family and how they came to be in Galveston, Texas in the late 1800's is not only fascinating but very admirable. How he came to box and his patchy early years in the fight game are deciphered, as is his rise to notoriety (forced to continually fight the same batch of outcast super-tough black boxers) and historic title winning fight with Tommy Burns and subsequent seven year reign (including defences against the likes of Ketchel and Jeffries), through to a 37 year old, mentally weary Johnson dropping the title to the huge but ordinary Jess Willard.
   
   For the very real danger any black man faced at the time, Johnson's fearlessness is near beyond belief. Robert's does a good job recounting his personal life cavorting with a crew of white men, romancing a string of white women, shady business practices and misadventures the world over, many times correcting the claims Johnson made in his autobiography. It makes for great reading.
   
   As for gripes? A few. The major being Roberts annoying use of obvious misquotes. Supposedly this colourful and intelligent man spoke like this: "de fight was good, erm, me tink Jeffries was good challenger" etc. A man of Robert's intellect should have gathered that this was the racist press of the time stereotyping Johnson in their reports as a mentally slow Neanderthal, whereas existing recordings of Johnson's voice prove he was a lucid speaker. This is made worse because elsewhere Robert's includes more believable coherent Johnson quotes, yet doesn't spot the discrepancy in his own work. Otherwise, what pictures are included are great, but we would have liked more. Also, there is no fight record at the back, nor are many of his later fights covered.
   
   But overall, this is a good read. Robert's does the best he can with what he had to work with, and for so long this has been the reliable and comprehensive account of the Galveston Giant. However, recently Geoffrey C Ward's award winning `Unforgivable Blackness' has surfaced, complete with supposedly far more extensive research and a greater depth of information and material. I look forward to reading that book and cannot at the time offer any comparison, however for a concise overview I would recommend combing the two and educating yourself on the incredible life of the master boxer and controversial man that was Jack Johnson.



4. I guess it would be to much to objectively view Jack Johnson as a man and not a symbol. As with all Johnson biography's the author apparently feels compelled to reduce his subject to a level that is readily digestable to the reader. Though you don't find the author referring to Johnson as a "shiftless coon" in the tradition of Denzil Batchelor, Mr. Roberts summation that Johnson was "not the hero..." places his work in line with practically every other book written on Jack Johnson.
   
   So what makes a man dead 60 years a threat to an establishment and culture which says it long ago set aside the error of its ways inregard to race relations. If this were true would we still be reading books which at every turn question the methods and motives of a Jack Johnson? Would the words of angry racists in the guise of official government reports carry the weight and ring of truth the author gives them while pointing out frequently that the subjects life style, choice of company and words are subject to scrutiny due to his ego and self-centered nature?
   
   In this age of ego driven athletes, businessmen, politicians, clergy etc., it was a wasted point to declare that Johnson's greatest strength "his ego," was his most glaring weakness. I think it safe to make this assumption of many men. Though we have politicians admired for their drive and commitment to the very values which Jack Johnson was and apparently continues to be viewed as a threat to. Their egos nor motives are challenged. What man worth his salt doesn't believe he is the best at the things he commits himself to mastering?
   
   Jack Johnson was harshly scrutinized and mistreated because of his ability to dominate his circumstances. Be they opponents or a system which physically, financially and emotionally abused the hopes and dreams of his people, Jack Johnson was an overcomer. Jack Johnson is despised today as a symbol. A bad example of what happens when one man is allowed to much independence. In every since of the word Jack Johnson was a revolutionary. We are told he wasn't a hero, nor was he a man to be admired but I would disagree whole-heartedly. Jack Johnson was simply a man born a century to soon.
   
   Mr. Roberts says their is no ghost in the house, but how wrong you are Sir. The ghost is in the house everytime a camera snaps a photo of Tiger Woods and his wife. Everytime you see a clip of Ali with his arms thrust high in the air in victory look closely you'll see the ghost smiling his golden capped smile in the front row. For every man who longs to live free you'll find the ghost dancing in his heart. Long live the spirit of freedom and the ghost of Jack Johnson.



5. AS a boxing historian I really enjoyed Robert's book having reread it many times. I feel Robert's did a tremendous amount of research and is very well informed about his subject. You cannot study Johnson without discussing how he reflected his times and how thy effected him. My only criticism and it is a serious one is that I feel Robert's was extremely hard in judging his subject as a man. No athlete in American history had to live through the constant painful attacks that Jack Johnson did every day from 1908 on when he took the title from Tommy Burn's ... the pressures had to be exceptionally overwhelming and in hindsight I feel Johnson should not have been judged so harshly as a man. He deserved better ... he was decades ahead of his time, a highly intelligent, self-educated and cultured man and one of the greatest fighter that ever lived.

2 comments about American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism.

1. Grodzins has written an astonishingly thorough and readable biography of an important but neglected 19th Century American. Parker is one of the most influential Americans of the mid-1800s, a brilliant scholar and powerful preacher who became a crucial figure in our religious and political history.

   The book is destined to become the standard biography of Parker for generations. Anyone interested in American political thought and the evolution of American religious doctrine will find this book invaluable. Any New Englander will find this a treasure trove of well-written stories.




2. Transcendentalism has never been easy to define, all the more so because its two most well-known adherents, Emerson and Thoreau, were highly poetic souls who had much better uses for their rhetoric than in crafting creeds or clear-cut manifestoes. It is a pleasure then to read Grodzins' biography of Theodore Parker, in whose life and work we can see more clearly the philosophical and personal dramas that played themselves out within the Unitarian Church in regard to its Transcendentalist sympathizers - in particular, the attempts of one Transcendentalist to define his views against the charges of Deism. Religion is a key concern for Transcendentalism, though in Emerson and Thoreau there is no sense that organized religion can play a key role in the individual's enlightenment. Parker remained in the Church as he struggled to know and preach Truth, and gained a large following. Our understanding of Transcendentalism is eminently richer for our appreciation of his struggle.

3 comments about I Fought With Custer: The Story of Sergeant Windolph, Last Survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

1. This book is compiled from the found writings of a sergeant of the Seventh Cavalry who survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The first hand accounts of men like Sergeant Windolph and Theodore Goldin are very valuable and interesting reading. They were not men defending their performance as were the officers like Benteen, Reno, and Godfrey. They had their biases but didn't have to grind axes. This account is worthwhile reading for students of the Seventh Cavalry and the Little Big Horn campaign.



2. As a Custer buff, this book has been on my shelf for a long time. A great book to read, one that fleshes out a lot of the daily life in the Seventh as well as the battle along Greasy Grass. Right up there with "Son of Morning Star" and Walter Camp's book on the subject. Check 'em out, you won't be disappointed.



3. It is difficult to really rate a work like this. This is the story of Charles Windolph, the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in his own, simple words. Windolph told his story to a father and son historian team in the 1930s and 40s. Windolph's distinction as last survivor is a bit misleading--he was the last man who was present at the battle to die, but his title as last survivor does not mean he was with Custer's column of troops. He wasn't. In fact, he was under Benteen, and was one of many who survived the battle because they weren't as heavily engaged in it as Custer.
   Windolph presents an interesting perspective on the battle, and seems relatively objective. He does tend to romanticize a little, but for the most part he refrains from throwing blame on Custer, Reno, Benteen, or anyone else (though he does state up front that he is partial to Benteen). His story is not all that unique when compared to other primary accounts of the battle, but it is nevertheless valuable as the testimony of a survivor of that horrible tragedy.
   Included with Windolph's narrative are a number of primary documents, cobbled together in chapters and laced throughout with author's commentary. This is all right, but it would have been better to present these documents in their entirety, with only enough commentary (perhaps in the form of footnotes) to give the reader an idea of the background surrounding the documents. Still, the Hunts have done a relatively good job of remaining objective as well, something that is rare in a Custer historian. This is perhaps not the best account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but it is nevertheless an important one.