1 comments about America's Buried Children.

1. An original photograph (1860's), of a rarely photographed subject (IF EVER?), of the author's married mulatto and white great-grandparents is placed in the center of the book's vivid graphics and engrossing narrative. In an era of extreme racial violence (and with interracial sex and marriage illegal (state constitution) in Alabama until 2000) the author lets the reader SEE how it is and why the author's great-grandparents risked their lives to marry and raise a family. The intertwining of the author's oral and photographic family history allows the reader to witness why AMERICA'S DIVERSITY is it's greatest asset!

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.

No comments about Some of It Was Fun: Working with RFK and LBJ.

No comments about Thomas F. Walsh: Progressive Businessman and Colorado Mining Tycoon (Mining the American West).

5 comments about I Remember Ben Hogan: Personal Recollections and Revelations of Golf's Most Famous Legend From The People Who Knew Him Best.

1. The last two reviewers before me couldn't have read the same book I did. The whole point is that while Hogan is such a legendary figure inspiring tremendous curiosity, information about him has come out in bits and pieces over the years. There were dozens of tidbits in this book that were revelatory to me, and I'm someone who lived in Fort Worth many years while the reclusive Mr. Hogan was still alive. I found this book really good and informative, and full of new material. Based on its oral-history format, and the author's own admission in the introduction, this wasn't supposed to be an earthshaking biography full of dirt. Instead, it offers a lot of nifty snapshots about Hogan from people, a number of whom were his close freinds that, while not celebrities, had insights into Hogan's real life that "celebrities" who thought they knew him didn't. This book is definitely worth at least one read.



2. While I understand that any author that wants to write about The Hawk will have his work cut out for him, it seems that Towle took the path of least resistance. A couple of phone calls here, 5 minutes of editing there, and you're left with a book that tells you two things:

   1.) Hogan was a gruff but soft-on-the-inside guy.

   2.) Hogan got the yips later in life.

   Those who want to learn more than those two points would be better off avoiding this book.




3. there seems no in between. I have 800+ golf books and have read everything just about everything on Hogan. (What club did he REALLY hit at Merion in the famous photo?). Due to the negative reviews I didn't get to this one for a while. When I did, I truly enjoyed it. Is some info repeated? Sure. But this is mostly new, original and genuine investigation, not reguritation. If you are a golf and golf history BUFF I think you will enjoy. If not, pass and read the more current books. (a 2 iron.)



4. It's fascinating to me that a guy as reclusive as Hogan could command so much public adoration and curiosity. This is a book that offers a lot of neat stories about Hogan that I had never read. A bunch of people who knew Hogan, both well-known and not so well known, tell their stories about Hogan in their own words---in oral history form. I've read a couple of other books on the Hawk and those were nice reads in their own way as well. I read the other reviews on this page and don't understand why "clucas" called this a "duck hook." It isn't--it's not John Feinstein-caliber, but it's still worth the price. Sounds like some bitterness being expressed by clucas, probably someone who doesn't know anything what it takes to win at golf or can recognize good book writing.



5. I have read a lot about Ben Hogan but this was by far and away one of the best books I've read. I will read this again from time to time.

No comments about Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

1 comments about Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion.

1. Glad we have it -- better than nothing! -- but it's overly limited in scope and content. The Buch's choices of material and subjects is honestly a bit weird, if not animosity-driven by personal slights.
   
   Pres. Buchanan -- the one and only confirmed bachelor among all U.S. presidents ever (even suspected of being a homosexual by some historians) -- who lived and experienced an ultimately super-critical time in the nation's early history, uses his written record mostly to fight back and argue against certain newspaper or personal attacks on himself. (His accounting on those issues is good, though not always convincing.)
   
   How we wish he'd written more, in his best opportunity to do so, as a real legacy of himself and those times. As the president in 1859 and 1860, he'd had personal info, meetings, and contact with persons and events that no one else in history ever would, in an age when the cameras and microphones weren't there.
   
   We're glad to have it, but it leaves you asking a myriad of other questions and wishing that Buchanan had bothered to write down a lot more of the story that he undoubtedly knew, before he retired to his rural farm estate and died there.
   
   Definitely recommended for all students of U.S. history.

No comments about The Baxters of Maine: Downeast Visionaries.

5 comments about A. P. Hill: Lee's Forgotten General.

1. Robertson's work is a readable,even-handed treatment of this Confederate general who is overshadowed by his fellow Virginians, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. I give Robertson high marks for not trying to inflate Hill's abilities while at the same time giving Hill deserved credit for his hard-nosed leadership of the Light Division. After Stonewall Jackson is felled at Chancellorsville, Lee promoted hill to Corps commander. What Henderson shows is that Hill possesed the verve and warfighting skills to be an outstanding division commander, but he did not possess the strategic vision required of a corps commander. While Hill and Lee had deep respect for one another, Hill clashed with both Longstreet and Jackson. Jackson arrested Hill for not following his orders during the Second Manassas Campaign. The sting of that arrest was an insult that would never heal.Robertson probes these clashes objectively and honestly. I reached the conclusion that the imperious Jackson and the proud Hill would never have gotten along in any age, in any setting. It certainly was not a case of right and wrong. Roberston explains that Hill's poor health is the likely result of a case of gonorrhea which he contracted during his West Point years. Roberston provides interesting details of the competition between George McClellan and Hill for the hand of Ellen Marcy. The picture that emerges of "Little Hill" is a courageous,noble warrior who was magnanimous to friend and foe alike. Hill does not rank as one of the top generals to come out of the Civil War, but he is clearly in the same class as Forrest or Hancock as a tenacious fighter.Hill's death only days before Appamatox has become a metaphor for the southern cause.Finally, one cannot avoid the poignance that the name of Hill was on the dying lips of both Jackson and Lee. A powerful testament indeed to a spirited fighter.



2. Hassler's book is an interesting read of one the Civil War's overlooked generals.

   Hassler covers many areas of Hill's life, including: Hill's early years, West Point education, and contribution in several Civil War battles (specifically: Williamsburg, Seven Days' Campaign, Cedar Mountain, 2nd Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, and Petersburg).

   Particularly interesting were the descriptions of his tense relationships with superior officers (Jackson and Longstreet), his strong relationships with Lee and subordinate officers, and how he was well-loved by his soldiers.

   While the book flowed well and the battle descriptions interesting, I would have liked to have seen more well-drawn maps so I could better understand troop movements. The lack of such maps is the only reason I give the book 4 stars.

   Despite this, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to know more about one of the Confederacy's overlooked generals. I also highly recommend James Robertson's new and more detailed book on A.P. Hill (I would rate his book better).




3. This is a solid biography of General A.P. Hill. The prose flows well and is easily followed. Descriptions of terrain, deployments, and the action of battle are clear and concise. The author makes vivid use of source material to delve into the motives of the figures involved, most notably in recounting the conflict between Hill and Jackson, and to show what Hill's contemporaries had to say about his military abilities as well as his strengths and weaknesses as a human being.
   However, the author does presume that the reader has considerable knowledge of the was as a whole. He does not spend much time explaining the significance of many of the battles, places, and people he references, instead focusing more directly on General Hill's involvement. This is not a problem, but the more casual reader might be well served to have some quick reference material on hand to help them get the most out of this excellent biography.



4. This is a solid biography of General A.P. Hill. The prose flows well and is easily followed. Descriptions of terrain, deployments, and the action of battle are clear and concise. The author makes vivid use of source material to delve into the motives of the figures involved, most notably in recounting the conflict between Hill and Jackson, and to show what Hill's contemporaries had to say about his military abilities as well as his strengths and weaknesses as a human being.
   However, the author does presume that the reader has considerable knowledge of the was as a whole. He does not spend much time explaining the significance of many of the battles, places, and people he references, instead focusing more directly on General Hill's involvement. This is not a problem, but the more casual reader might be well served to have some quick reference material on hand to help them get the most out of this excellent biography.



5. Ambrose Powell Hill (A. P. for short) was one of the finest division commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. His rise to corps command may illustrate the "Peter Principle," in which people rise to positions for which they are incompetent.
   
   This book looks at his early life, including the triangular relationship among George McClellan, Hill, and Ellen (Nelly) Marcy. McClellan won Nelly's hand. Later, some Union troops wondered of Hill would have been less aggressive had he won Nelly's affections!
   
   The story in this book begins with his youth and his early career in the army. When war broke out, he joined the Confederate army. The author, William Hassler, describes Hill's leadership qualities thus (Page 3): "A natural leader, Hill possessed that 'commanding resolution' which 'inspired by his voice, his example, and his personal appearance.'"
   
   He showed a great ability with division sized command, leading what became known as "The Light Division," an oversized command that fought hard under him. His prickly nature came out with two corps commanders--James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. Both feuded with him. In fact, he was removed from Longstreet's command to Jackson's to get around the disagreement with Longstreet--only to see a second feud brew with Jackson!
   
   His high water marks came at Second Manassas and Antietam ("and then Hill came up"). At the latter, his last minute arrival at the battlefield saved the day for Lee's forces. After Jackson's death at Chancellorsville, Lee reorganized the army and gave Hill command of a corps. His dicey health and perhaps his skill level were not up to the challenge., He performed poorly at Gettysburg and blundered badly at Bristoe Station. At the North Anna, he had another bad day. On the other hand, at Reams' Station, outside Petersburg, he thoroughly whipped Winfield Scott Hancock's by now degraded Second Corps.
   
   This is a fine biography of Hill's life. I would have desired a bit more detail on the battles and some maps would have been be appreciated. Nonetheless, this is a good work.

No comments about Principle and Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt (Jeffersonian America).