No comments about Along with Youth: Hemingway, the Early Years.

4 comments about My Life In The Irish Brigade: The Civil War Memories Of Private William Mccarter, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry.

1. The Civil War has always been of great interest to me. Consequently, when I find a book that tells of real-life experiences coming directly from the pen of the man who experienced the things he wrote about, I am automatically interested. Private McCarter wrote candidly of what he witnessed, felt and thought while in the Irish Brigade. His book is easy to understand and evokes vivid mental pictures of the scenes he describes. He seemed to be an educated, good-hearted man who, if he was alive today, I would love to meet.



2. William McCarter was a twenty-one year old Irish immigrant when he enlisted in the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry in August 1862. The unit soon became part of the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, better known as the fabled Irish Brigade and Carter's memoirs, "My Life in the Irish Brigade" has the distinction of being the first full-length memoir published by an enlisted man in the Irish Brigade. McCarter's account covers the brigade from the Seven Day's Battles in which it made its battlefield reputation, to its assault against the Bloody Lane at Antietam, to the charge up Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg where McCarter was gravely wounded and forced to leave the army. Because he was detailed as the personal scribe to General Thomas F. Meagher, commander of the Irish Brigade, McCarter was able to meet and judge the famous generals of the Union Army such as Ambrose Burnside and Winfield Scott Hancock. Kevin E. O'Brien, who has written widely on the Irish Brigade, edits the volume and in addition to his Endnotes he has included several interesting items in the Appendixes, such as the poem "The Irish Dead on Fredericksburg Heights" which was printed in the "Irish-American" in 1863. McCarter's recollections are quite engaging, and his description of the Brigade's actions at the fateful battle of Fredericksburg, where the vast majority of its 1,200 men were killed or wounded, is the best part of the book. If you have more than a passing familiarity with the history of the Irish Brigade, this is an excellent book to give you a unique and fascinating perspective on their glory days during the Civil War. It is also one of the better written memoirs, by enlisted man or general, you will find.



3. William McCarter's book is quite an interesting tale of his involvment as a private for the famous Irish Brigade. McCarter's vivid descriptions of soldier life, marching, camping, facing cold weather, hard living and the Battle of Fredericksburg was very well done. McCarter missed Antietam although his regiment did face the Confederates at the heights of Fredericksburg. McCarter tells such a facinating, informative, sad, happy, yet chilling story at times during his soldier career that it was hard to put this book down. His vivid story of Fredericksburg and how the brigade battled it out, how he was injured and how he escaped death while suffering upon the battlefield was certainly the best part of the book. I wish more soldier accounts were written as well as this one as this book is one of the better books I've read that tells a soldier's story. 5 STARS!



4. Doing research on the Irish Brigade for some writing, This book was just what I needed.

4 comments about Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.

1. Despite the fact that this nearly broke up their marriage, this book is not what I hoped for when I picked it up and began reading. I missed the old Mrs Carter who had a wry story about her life on the campaign trail. I will never forget the many adventures that she detailed in "First Lady from Plains" which is a superior book in every way. The time she was trapped in bathroom stall and had to crawl out of it. Then there was the time when she had to cut her way out when trapped in a car by her seatbelt. Funny stuff and real human interest. If bizarre things can happen to the first lady of the land the can happen to anyone, can't they? The book I wanted to read was a kind of sequel to the masterful "First Lady from Plains." This clearly is not that book, though I hope Mrs. Carter will consider writing it one day real soon.



2. ... even former Presidents and their First Ladies, as Jimmy and Rosalynn show us in this, their entry in the self-improvement / retirement advice category.

   Of course, anybody who's not a Dem is likely to be unwilling to take any such advice from the self-styled peanut farmer and his wife. So, I'm going over my stock of acquaintances, trying to remember who voted for Carter.

   The book would make a great gift not just for recent retirees, but also those whose life has just gone through change, whether it be a layoff, a disabling illness, or the death of a spouse.

   Sure wish my father had read it, twelve years ago, when my mother died -- so many ideas for him! Instead, he simply curled up in front of the TV.

   Jimmy and Rosalynn show how devastated they were by their 1980 defeat, then, step by step, how they rebuilt. Parts of the book delve too far into global health and other policy issues, but chapter after chapter, they introduce new activities, like a flower opening!

   If you're tired of fist-pounding self-improvement tomes, here is one that feels like a gentle friend, sitting beside you, arm around your shoulders, sharing the same problems you're having, and showing you several ways out of the "box" you've built for yourself. Read it and relax, then, go out and make the most of the rest of your life -- whether it's the next ten or next fifty years.




3. Collaboratively written by former American President and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Jimmy Carter, and his beloved wife and former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, Everything To Gain: Making The Most Of The Rest Of Your Life is a revealing and inspiring memoir about personal challenges they've had to face and overcome; the satisfaction of their work with Habitat for Humanity; their struggles to promote peace and human rights; and the personal steps they've taken to enjoy physical and spiritual health at home. Everything To Gain is enthusiastically recommended as a deeply rewarding and heartfelt encouragement to living our lives to the fullest.



4. As Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter left the White House in early 1981 they faced an uncertain future. Like many people who retire, they just weren't sure what to do with themselves and all of their free time. To make matters worse, they still had to deal with the hurt they felt after having lost the 1980 election. The decisions they made about their future have vaulted Jimmy Carter from having lost his bid for reelection in a decisive manner to one of the most beloved figures in the United States. In 1984 President Carter was no where to be seen at the Democratic National Convention, twenty years later Democratic Presidential candidates beat a path to Plains, Georgia to try and obtain his blessing. Along the way the Carter's learned many valuable lessons that apply to anyone who may feel that their productive years have passed. This book is the story of what they learned.
   
   This book was published in 1987 and was I believe President Carter's third post-Presidential book and Mrs. Carter's second book and both of them had become quite good writers. They are both open and honest about their feelings and concerns, especially Rosalynn and because of this their narrative reaches the reader on a very personal level. Many of the activities they describe were only possible of course because of the office Mr. Carter held and because of the Carter Center but they go to great lengths to point out many worthwhile activities that anyone can participate in. Reading this book will definitely make you stop and think about all of the things you could be doing to help others and I think that was the Carter's goal.
   
   Part travelogue and part handbook for volunteerism this book will give you the warm fuzzies all over. You will feel sad with the Carter's and laugh with the Carter's and you will feel as if you had known this former first couple for years. You will in fact feel like you have traveled with the Carter's and maybe even helped them build a Habitat house. If you are looking for a retirement gift for anyone, this would be a perfect choice!

1 comments about Davy Crockett.

1. Some have complained, over the years, that this book was more novel than biography. Okay, then... what a great NOVEL! This was in my elementary school library in Elgin, AZ, and if I'd studied my textbooks like I studied this, I might have been a MONSTER! Connie Roarke made a great book, and I bless her name for it!

   BONUS: Read how Davy was a true Small-government conservative in the Jacksonian (read that "Proto-Clintonian") big-government epoch! It's the true hero tale of the book!

   Al

2 comments about Washington Through a Purple Veil: Memoirs of a Southern Woman.

1. Lindy Boggs could have written at least five or more books, or one for each administration in which she served; there is so much history in this volume and much interesting material was only briefly mentioned. I enjoyed her lively account and admired her spunk.



2. This memoir is a great account of the author's life up to 1994, and since then she has been ambassador to the Vatican and I hope she does a sequel. Her husband, Hale Boggs, was elected to House from Louisiana in 1940 and served till he was lost in an air crash in Alaska in 1972. Lindy ran for his seat the next year and won election and served till she voluntarily retired from Congress in 1990, ending her service on Jan 3, 1991. Her account of her public and family life is well-told and never boring. It is like a historical account of the political life of this country during the fifty years involved. This book is a winner, as far as memoirs of Congress goes. Another book in this genre, which I enjoyed, though it is of a different era, is: Washington Wife: Journal of Ellen Maury Slayden from 1897-1919, which I read on 21 Aug 1976.

1 comments about Bread Crumb.

1. Bread Crumb's life is worthy of the extensive documentation given to it....

   The central core of the book is of course the familiar story of an immigrant coming to America and through exemplary character, extensive hard work, and sacrifice, realizing the American dream of success, wealth, and happiness. This is a worthy theme...dramatized well. Bread Crumb's life lends itself well to this theme since he practiced all those traditional virtues that make for success and seems to have been an appealing "regular" guy as well. In addition to his virtues there was high drama in the course of his life from the earliest years through his rise to the top of his profession. The period of his life also had large scope in time covering many of the crucial and dramatic years in our history. This is well underlined in the writing.

   Just a note about the writing. It is clear and vivid and honest, rich in detail and character description. The dialogue is so good that I have no doubt that this was exactly the way people spoke in the conversations which are recreated here. It is an "easy" book to read. It is an inspiring book and one that should be especially welcome today when patriotism is on the rise and we are taking a new look at our national character.

   Throughout the book there is a high moral tone.... This book is not the standard book you will find in bookstores today. Much of what is published today is depraved, morbid, or psychological case studies of sick people, or written to appeal to the lowest tastes and concerns of the reading public.... Bread Crumb is in a very special category....

   The photographs are a wonderful feature of the book. They add immeasurably to the readability of the story. They are also well reproduced....

   Lastly, I would like to have known Bread Crumb. I would like to have gone fishing with him.

3 comments about Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer.

1. i really liked this book cause it was cool and i like historical books cause theyre intersting.the end.



2. I expected this to be an excellent primary source, full of information on General Jackson, his campaigns and his "foot cavalry", as well as the exploits of the Second Corps after Jackson's death. In addition, I hoped to find some interesting description of map-making during the war. I was quite disappointed. Hotchkiss' memoir is made up of diary entries with an occasional note added later. And they mostly concern the weather, troop movements, and where he slept that night. They are almost devoid of description, emotion, and overall detail. Though Hotchkiss does mention making maps, of course, it's in brief statements like "Reduced Charlottesville today". His account of Jackson's death reads rather like "Jackson died. Fine clear day." It's hard to say whether this dullness represents something about Hotchkiss' personality (unemotional engineer, perhaps?) or is simply a function of the way he wrote his diary. In any case, though scholars of the period will want to glance at this, I found it not very useful and utterly unentertaining.



3. All diary type memoirs are repetitive and during those times writers were loathe to criticize fellow officers but in this book you can definitely tell that the writer thought Early was beyond his depth, that Ewell was lazy and that Jackson was hopeless without accurate maps. His comments on price inflation, desertions and politics are interesting. There are some other tidbits like the fact that Lee told him that the Union would have fewer troops in 1864! You really feel the loss of Jackson and other good officers and how morale had sunk to an almost nonexistent level by 1865.

3 comments about The Legend Of John Wilkes Booth: Myth, Memory, And A Mummy (Cultureamerica).

1. May 25, 2005
   Another attempt at being kept on; was deleted (accidentally)
   
   Many books have been written about John Wilkes Booth's participation in the Lincoln death. It is sad that so much blame was put on his shoulders.
   
   I have been interested in Lincoln's assassination for over twenty years, mainly because they hanged Mary Surrat, the first woman to be officially killed in this manner. It was at her boardinghouse where the conspirators met to discuss and plan killing Lincoln and others in his Cabinet.
   
   John Wilkes Booth, from a prominent acting family, was a Confederacy sympathizer. But that in itself does not make him guilty. He was denied his right to a trial. Most of the South were more than a little upset when Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time. They refused to accept him as "our" President. We had Jefferson Davis whose daughter married Zachary Taylor's daughter. I don't believe old Zach was a Rebel.
   
   "Killing Lincoln' as a one-man theatrical presentation, written by Amy Russell, originally premiered in Toronto, Canada. I emphatized with the young actor (who I thought was an old man, as he is such a good actor) who said, "I enjoyed playing off you." I told him the reason he held my complete attention was due to the fact that I had read so much about Lincoln and also sympathized with Booth's reasoning.
   
   Lincoln as it so happens was a Shakespeare fan and enjoyed going to Ford's Theatre. John Wilkes Booth (Brutus) as one of the most promising young Shakespearean actors of his day. Booth considered Lincoln an "American Caesar." He is sometimes called Booth "American Brutus."
   
   He was a very handsome man and, even though he broke his leg in the leap to the stage (instead of running down the back stairs), he eluded capture with the help of a Dr. Mudd for twelve days. He was not given a chance to tell his side and the complex, misleading reasons he did what he did. That took fortitude! He did not act alone! That's a major issue. He was cornered in that barn like an animal and burned (at the stake) by the vigilante cowards.
   
   He was never close to Lincoln as Brutus was to Jesus so the title is deceiving. He was merely a misinformed player who ended up "on his own" after the dasdardly deed. He deserves better than to be called a devil. To some, he was an avenging angel.



2. I bought this book because of its intriguing cover and title and because I have a fascination, like a lot of readers, with John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin. C. Wyatt Evans' work started out a lot different than the fun, mass audience-oriented book I expected. It reads like the over-analytical, pedantic works my professors forced me to read in grad school. Evans analyzes the long-running myth (both regional and national) that Booth was not fatally shot in a barn by Sergeant Boston Corbett's nervous trigger finger as government authorities claimed but had escaped and lived out his life in various ways depending on the storyteller. The suicide death of painter and drifter David George in 1903 in Enid, Oklahoma propelled the myth. George supposedly claimed he was Booth and his embalmed remains were put on display at various carnivals and exhibits for years. Evans' introduction is extremely pedantic to the point that I had to read very carefully and slowly (and sometimes several times) to follow along. A sample sentence: "Vernacular, counter, marginal, and associated terms serve as keywords in a cultural critical lexicon that employs them in a positive sense to connote the struggle of marginalized groups to preserve their identities in the face of the dominant group's rendition of the past" (p. 15). Much of the introduction reads this way and if it continued as such, I may have given up. Fortunately, Evans drops a lot of the intellectual buzz words and the rest of the book reads more smoothly. The following briefly describes the content per chapter:
   
   Chapter 1 takes a look at the David George story; why he was thought by some to be Booth and how his corpse ended up an attraction. In addition, Evans considers the history of Enid, OK including its famous land "runs." Chapter 2 explores the history of mummy exhibition in the United States and how the "Booth" mummy fits, for example, "Booth" represented the popular (curiosity of the notorious and horrific) and traditional (celebrated dignity) models of mummy displays. (p. 55). In chapter 3, Evans explains the northern origins of the Booth legend with a history of the assassination and press coverage. Chapter 4 shifts to the south and how many southerners regarded the assassination (relief, feigned mourning) and the legend of Booth's escape (a symbol of "white southern unreconstructedness").
   
   Finis Langdon Bates' 1907 book Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth is analyzed in chapter 5. Bates' attempt to document Booth's escape implicated VP Andrew Johnson but was done in a way to appease both North and South ("Booth" expressing regret for his deed). In chapter 6, the legend becomes a national phenomenon. The legend represented pre-modern views which clashed with the current times. He considers Lincoln's transition to national icon (p. 156), as well as Otto Eisenschiml and Izola Forrester's (who claimed to be Booth's granddaughter) contribution to the legend. Clarence True Wilson's historical and religious interpretation of the legend is examined in chapter 7. Wilson, a classic minister of reform who worshipped Lincoln, saw Booth's survival and sad existence as moral retribution for his act. Chapter 8 deals with the legend in contemporary America with the recent work Dark Union (2003) and 1977's book and film The Lincoln Conspiracy. In his conclusion, Evans states that "the legend's great lesson to the present is how subgroups in American culture appropriate deeply symbolic events for harmful purposes" (p. 218).
   
   As a history of the myth of Booth's escape, Evans' book is thorough, insightful and extremely well researched. I think he over-analyzes the legend, however. Sure, many people through history have considered the possibility of Booth's escape and designated meaning to it. It is a curiosity and, back in the day, a political incendiary. A famous actor killing and president during a bloody war between the states with suspicious government reaction, how can this not make for intrigue and conspiracy theories? Evans makes a lot out of this legend to put forth American cultural meaning, but it seems to me that the people most obsessed with the issue are the ones hoping to profit from it either through books or by exhibiting a mummy claimed to be Booth. It is an interesting story, of course, without the analytical stuff. I'm just not convinced it is much more than an intriguing footnote to history.



3. In response to one of the criticisms of this book, it should be noted that it is an adaptation of a Ph.D. dissertation, so it does read a little more difficult than most popular literature. I was a fellow student with Wyatt Evans and remember some of the process he went through in his years of research. His final conclusions are based upon meticulous research under the direction of a very demanding graduate school dissertation committee.
   So, I believe the fact that it reads a little bit difficult is a significant point in its favor. It is a thorough work, the conclusions of which are not to be lightly pushed aside.

No comments about Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero.

2 comments about No Regrets.

1. This well written book sheds light on the many aspects of a complex woman. The contrast between her somewhat puritanical streak - a result of her upbringing in the famous Peabody family - and her enjoyment of the high life is riveting. In the end the reader finds her to be likable but not without fault.



2. This book is not only about Marietta Tree, it is about her time and her environment. It is about the options se had as a woman of her class, and the consequences of the choices she made. She did not make the usual choices.