1 comments about Leonard Bacon: New England Reformer and Antislavery Moderate (History).

1. This is a biography of Leonard Bacon (1802-1881) a Congregational minister from Connecticut, a newspaper columnist and social reformer, a moderate opponent of slavery and an advocate of African colonization.

   Bacon, like many white Northern clergy of his day, considered African slavery an evil, but advocated gradual, rather than immediate abolition of slavery. For many years he supported the American Colonization Society, which sought to settle freed African-American slaves in Liberia, a privately owned colony in Africa. The ACS saw itself as a humanitarian and missionary endeavor, which would facilitate the gradual abolition of slavery and help to Christianize and civilize Africa in the process. The ACS made the implictly racist assumption that free blacks could never flourish in the predominantly white United States.

   Bacon, as an advocate of colonization, was at odds with proslavery southerners, who objected to any interference with slavery. He also clashed with immediate abolitionists, like William Lloyd Garrison, who saw colonization as a cruel scheme to deport free blacks.

   Hugh Davis does an excellent job in presenting primary source material in its historical context, weaving an engaging narrative of a figure who was neither a glamorous hero nor a notorious villain in this chapter of American history. This book would be helpful for anyone who wishes to understand a moral stance on slavery that has lately been discredited, but was once the opinion of many northern Americans.

   Davis also describes other aspects of Bacon's career and his personal life, including his efforts to organize the national structure of the Congregational Church and his sister, Delia's, infamous attempt to prove that the works of Shakespeare were really written by their ancestor, Sir Francis Bacon, and her consequent descent into insanity.

No comments about North into Freedom: The Autobiography of John Malvin, Free Negro, 1795-1880.

5 comments about Nixon Volume I.

1. It is always interesting to understand what really
   motivates people. Normally it takes a good deal of
   psychoanalyzing, historical background, family history etc.
   But some people seem to elude even this.
   Nixon is obviously one of those people, who is really
   difficult to figure out. But when all is said and done he
   is also a very interesting character. And after reading
   Stephen Ambroses book I think we are a little closer to
   the real Nixon: Saint, villain, crook, statesman etc.

   His brothers Arthur and Harold died when Nixon was young.
   Which made he determined to have success for three sons.
   In his book "six crisis" he describes leadership as it was
   part of the quaker religious experience: "In a crisis tension
   builds. Breathing gets quicker and the stomach turns,
   but it is through these hardships of the soul that
   true leaders are found." Quake and hear the voice of God?

   But besides all of this psychoanalyzing there is of course
   the fascinating story of Richard M. Nixons rise and fall.
   Starting with his campaign against Jerry Voorhis.
   Followed by his "pink" smear campaign against Helen Douglas.
   His Checkers TV-speech. The lost campaign against JFK.
   His lost campaign against Pat Brown for governor
   of California in 1962, which he ended by saying
   "that reporters wouldn't have Nixon to kick around anymore".
   His "biggest return since Lazarus" to become president
   in 1968.
   And then finally - Watergate.

   Perhaps it was all there in his psyche when he entered
   politics in the first campaign against Voorhis, just waiting
   for the world to see.

   A brilliant book.

   -Simon




2. This is the first volume of Ambrose's three volume work detailing the life of Richard Nixon. From childhood to law school to Congress to the Vice-Presidency, the author explores Nixon's character and personality as well as the influences and experiences that made Nixon the complicated and contradictory individual that he was. While the seeds of his destructive personality are clearly present, the reader is struck by the many positive qualities of Nixon.

   Ambrose paints the portrait of a budding and able politician whose ultimate demise could be foreseen, but need not have happened. This lack of inevitability is explored further in the second volume.

   This first volume can be found at a reasonable price. It should be noted, however, that the second and third volumes are quite rare and expensive.




3. I was 400 pages into this book when I realized there was no way that Ambrose was going to get through the Nixon Presidency and Watergate in the next 200 pages.
   
   Why is that relevant?
   
   Because the book was so interesting that I never even stopped to realize that it wasn't a single-volume biography. I picked it up used at a local book store and just assumed it was a one-volume bio... shame on me. But, the book was so well written that it just flowed and kept my attention. I didn't even notice I was running out of room.
   
   When I did realize I was running out of space and needed volumes II and III, I went online and ordered the second quickly so my journey into the Nixon presidency would go on without a beat. Volumes II and III are pretty pricy by the way. I bought the second and checked out the third. I'd suggest your local library for all 3.
   
   Of the three, I would say I liked the first the most because it talks about a Nixon that was a good guy. He handled himself with dignity under the worst of circumstances... for instance his VP trip to South America. You like Nixon in the first book. Ambrose paints a portrait of a nerdy guy that just happens to be an extremely gifted politician and is willing to play the cards necessary to make it in Washington.
   
   I liked all 3 volumes, but by far the first of the three in the series is the best. If you want to read all 3 though... brace yourself it adds up to more than 1900 pages on what I would consider one of the most interesting people in American history.
   
   Great job Ambrose... or at least great job to what had to have been a small army of researchers.



4. NIXON is an exhaustive and in-depth look at the early years of one of America's most notorious politicians -- Stephen Ambrose has really done his homework.
   
   More than the cold hard facts, though, the reader gets up-close and personal with Nixon -- you really understand what makes him tick, which is probably why you decided to pick up the book in the first place. Afterall, who doesn't want to know more about this complex figure? He was so frequently regarded as "uncharismatic," and "untrustworthy," that even the casual observer of history has to wonder how such a person became President.
   
   I was not only compelled to learn how such an unlikely man gained the presidency, but how this man took such a gift, and betrayed it to his flaws. I knew the answer was, simply, in what made him tick as a human being. I found those answers here.
   
   Surprisingly, one also gains in reading this book a broad education in not only Nixon the man, but his era. This is the great thing about a well-written biography; it can be a wonderful cross-section of not only biographical information but historical as well. In reading Ambrose's account, you will learn a thing or two about how our government works, and will walk away with a historical perspective that will help you to understand today's complex and heated political climate all the better.
   
   The one area where NIXON is lacking, however, is in the exploration (or lack thereof) of Nixon's family life. We are constantly reminded that Nixon was "never there," and that despite his absence, his family "loved him" very much, particularly his girls (who adored him, apparently), but why? We don't get many details on Nixon's relationship with his girls, which I thought would have provided an even clearer window into the subject's complicated psyche. I've heard that whatever his public persona, he was a very loving father. In my opinion, the book suffers for not exploring this deeper.
   
   Though Stephen Ambrose, by his own admission, is no Nixon fan, he is to be applauded for his objective effort in analyzing our former President. While he doesn't let him off the hook (no doubt about it, Nixon played political hardball almost unscrupulously), you will --through reading this book-- come to sympathize and perhaps even find respect for Nixon. Believe it or not, he was in many ways a principled man, and had a deep-rooted code of ethics which governed his direction in life (I mean, look at Watergate -- for the terrible deed it was, at least he wasn't trying to line his own pockets or anything). Unfortunately, as you will learn, he was also too ambitious and too insecure, and these flaws would prove to be his undoing, as they sometimes blinded his morals.
   
   NIXON show us that these flaws would, even early in life, lay the foundations for the subject's eventual downfall. However, this book also teaches us something: we all have flaws, and we are all just as capable as giving in to them as he was.
   
   The life of Richard M. Nixon, is, more than anything else, a cautionary tale.
   
   As the fictional President in Oliver Stone's film NIXON comments whilst gazing at a portrait of JFK; "When they looked at you, they saw what they wanted to be...
   
   When they look at ME, they see what they ARE."



5. This book is my favorite one on Nixon. Ambrose did a great job on explaining Nixon's early years as a child and a young man. I believe that Ambrose gave Nixon a decent and fair treatment in this book. I would highly recommend the book.

No comments about Hoosiers' Honor Roster.

No comments about Southern Womanhood and Slavery: A Biography of Louisa S. McCord, 1810-1879.

No comments about Henry Clay - The Great Compromiser (Biography).

1 comments about Simon Bolivar's Quest for Glory (Texas A&M University Military History Series, 86.).

1. This book is largely fact based description of Simon Bolivar's military and political exploits. While the authors' writing style is a bit disjointed at times, they reveal few biases in their writings. They obviously respect Bolivar's strengths but don't ignore his flaws and their occasional dry wit is a welcome addition. A small minus are the maps, they tended not be very detailed, so the reader is left wondering the location of some events. However, that isn't enough to drop the evaluation.
   
   The story itself seems to be well-researched. It has one flaw that plagues many military histories, perhaps by necessity, of focusing too much on the exploits of the generals rather than the troops who do the fighting. On the whole, this book certainly leaves the reader with a good overall description of the life of Simon Bolivar and the era in which he lived.

No comments about Confederate Guerrilla Sue Mundy: A Biography of Kentucky Soldier Jerome Clarke.

No comments about Rangers, Jayhawkers, and Bushwakers in the Civil War (Untold History of the Civil War).

2 comments about Riding With Rosser.

1. As a relative of the General, I have to say that I enjoyed this book completely. The only disturbing aspect was the cover; looks like my brother posed for the photo.

   C. Rosser Oklahoma




2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. General Rosser did an excellent job of bringing the civil war to the reader. His descriptions of battles and skirmishes and the strategy behind them were entertaining and educational. Not having a real good knowledge of the civil war battles, the sketches of maps helped me immensely with understanding of what was happening. S. Roger Keller has done General Rosser and students of the civil war a great service. General Rosser also reminds the reader the tragedy of the soldiers that fought in the civil war.