5 comments about Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

1. Whenever I read about Lincoln and his time I'm always amazed at how much information historians are able to gather in the finest detail through letters and records and quotations, etc. Books like Team of Rivals are so special for lovers of history like me because they go beyond the textbook achievements of the likes of our presidents, scientists, inventors or war heroes and examine who they are as people. Their personalities, their weaknesses and strengths, their philosophies. Having read Team of Rivals has given me new insight into why Lincoln is considered one of our greatest presidents if not the greatest.
   
   Part of his genius and selflessness was that he surrounded himself with his political rivals to not only heal the wounds of a bitter political race, but so that Whigs and Democrats could reach common ground on the essential issues. And after having read this book I now have such a deep respect and reverence for Edwin Stanton (Lincoln's secretary of war) and William Seward (Lincoln's secretary of state whom I feel deserves the same amount of credit for the fight against and abolition of slavery as Lincoln as does Stanton for the Union's victory of the Civil War).
   
   Team of Rivals also provides a great wealth of information into the private lives of the Lincolns, the Sewards, and the Chases in particular with tragic stories of personal loss. And it is clear that one of the major things to be admired about these people of the mid nineteenth century was their incredible ability to go on living and carry on with the responsibilities of life in the wake of losing children, wives, brothers and sisters so easily to diseases and certain conditions modern day people take for granted. Those who love Lincoln and American history will undoubtedly love this book.



2. It's a long, deep, and ultimately engrossing book about the 16th president and his cabinet. The book has a very strong, almost simplistic, point of view about its focuses. Lincoln is a kindly man always with a story to tell and with an almost preternatural grasp of politics. Seward is the loyal consigliere and companion. Chase is the scheming power-hungry plotter pushed by his scheming power-hungry daughter. Bates is the kindly old guy who no one else really cares about. Stanton is the hard-working, hard-driving guy who never lets the President down. Mary Lincoln is the batty, jealous wife. Everyone comes across as a one-dimensional archetype once they start the Administration. Most of them seem like more interesting people BEFORE Lincoln gets elected.
   
   The book is engaging--it has to be with over 750 pages of text, not including notes, index, etc. But I am no Lincoln expert. I suspect the sketches that are drawn are overly simplistic, but without having seen an alternate account, and not being a Lincoln scholar, I hesitate to state an opinion on the accuracy or the perspective Kearns provides. I can say the book is immensely readable and I enjoyed it greatly.



3. LEARNING from HISTORY... One of our limitations as a nation is that we don't seem to learn from history. Doris Keanrs Goodwin's book THE TEAM OF RIVALS was written before the current election but provides many lessons that are still relevant in today's political situation. First is the conditions that Lincoln had to deal with when he was elected and when assumed power. We think that times today are unique and troublesome, but can you imagine taking over power and having the country divide and a new nation formed..neither McCain nor Obama could imagine or are prepared for this type of division.
   Second, it is interesting that LINCOLN choose his rivals to help him lead and was willing to deal with the consequences of this decision. McCain clearly has followed the Lincoln example and is likely to choose his rivals to help him serve...when he is elected.
   
   Overall we can learn from history and if we are smart avoid making the same mistakes... THANK YOU Ms. GOODWIN for the opportunity to do this because of your easy to read, highly researched and presented HISTORY LESSON.
   
   Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS...which tries to do the same for American businesses.



4. I have just completed Ms. Goodwin's book. I realize that a huge number of people will not like this review. While no one would denies that Abraham Lincoln was one of the top three presidents in this country's history-perhaps Washington and FDR being the other two-it seems that Goodwin wants to create some type of God out of Lincoln, which he probably was not. Moreover, she makes the south out to be this huge bunch of minsters which they probably was not. Was what the south was doing in sustaining slavery wrong? Yes it was and no one would argue that point. It just takes more of an effort to understand why they were sustaining slavery. There are so many things we encounter today that are just as wrong, but people like to cover them up as Goodwin has done in her biography of Lincoln. I must add, and this should have been pointed out and was not, Lincoln did things as president that would never have been tolerated today, but still he is expected to be worship; and, that is just dangerous.



5. Very interesting read using source material, in their own words, account. The characters are alive and believeable with the background of the election and civil war. The narrative is engrossing and I got lost in the book. It is a biography of the four people who ran for president in 1860. All four biographies enchance understanding of the times and complement Lincoln's story. The history is fascinating and is paced well and comprehensive.

5 comments about John Adams.

1. John Adams is a wonderful book for anyone studying U.S. History. I have learned just as much ( or more) in this book as in my textbook. The writing is terrific and not boring at all. I have learned all that I ever needed to learn on early American history in this book, and I've enjoyed it! Students could skip the first couple chapters in their text book and learn just as much in John Adams!



2. I had no idea John Adams was such an intelligent and fascinating man! This book not only give insight into his thoughts and ideas about the future of the United States, but also lets us in on the love and admiration he had for his wife, Abigail, who is just as intelligent and fascinating as he is. Their letters to each other just make me sad to think that letter writing is a lost art. This is not a fast read. It needs to be savored for the historical facts and information about this great man and how this country came into being.



3. Like everyone in America I knew who John Adams was and remembered some few facts concerning him from history classes in school - however, I never knew just how great the man was and how important a part he played in the birth of the United States.
   In fact, from the information in this wonderfully written book, it is obvious the United States would not exist had it not been for his tenacity, stubborn determination and his great personal sacrifice along with that of his amazingly strong, loving wife Abigail.
   I had always thought Thomas Jefferson to be "the man" of our revolution; I was wrong - it was John Adams!



4. This book deserves it's award-status of the Pulitzer times two. McCullough is at his best. His narrative historical writing style never bores. I've read it three times and have listened to the audio version twice. Can't say enough good about it. The author is especially strong in writing in a way that helps the reader feel like s/he is experiencing the world of Adams as a contemporary.Too bad McCullough hasn't written a biography on all the Presidents although his Truman time also won the Pulitzer!



5. The book is marvelous in the detail which fleshes out the bones of the very good, but time limited, HBO series. For those who like to know the little things that influence and produce the large picture this is book will not be disappointing.

5 comments about The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.

1. How delightful to read of a former president who was truly a man of honor. In Teddy Roosevelt's treacherous expedition down the River Of Doubt, a previously unchartered tributary of the Amazon River, you see a man who consistently could have used his status to gain privilege. However, this Roosevelt, time and again, rather than being an elitist, shows himself to be a true meritocracist, always honoring hard work, determination, and discipline over rank.
   The circumstances the men on his expedition found themselves in, constantly tested the metal of each of them. Roosevelt, fell deathly ill. Rather than burden the others, and put them at peril, he decided to take his own life. Realizing the damaging effect his death would have on his son (his son Kermit went on the expedition to protect his father), Roosevelt decided not to take the lethal dose of morphine he brought with him. Despite high fevers, and painful infected abscesses from a former injury, he did all he could to carry his own weight and not burden the other men.
   In adventure, after adventure, you will come to love TR, and to see his humanity as it was never before portrayed.



2. After Theodore Roosevelt ran and lost the election for President on the Bull Moose ticket in 1912, he felt he needed an adventure into the depths of South America. Indeed TR was prone to these excursions since he was an experienced Cowboy in the West and he had done safaris in Africa.
   Candice Millard tells a true story which few people know about. Theodore Roosevelt was looking for adventure in South America. By God he did indeed get the adventure of a lifetime.
   Teddy's friend suggested a survey of the Rio da Duvida, The River of Doubt an unchartered capillary of the Amazon River. This area was both treacherous, unmapped and very dangerous. The team he assembled for this expeditionary force was both ill equipped and not familiar in the requirements needed for such a journey.
   The President traveled with his son Kermit on this exotic adventure. The travel was organized by Colonel Rondon. The travel was always dangerous and at times reckless. Mr. Roosevelt nearly died of a tropical fever. In the end they indeed did survive thanks in a huge part to the efforts of Colonel Rondon. Less than 7 years later TR Roosevelt would die in his bed at Sagamore Hill, Long Island.
   I learned a great deal in Candice Millard's depiction of these South American episodes. Her prose was both informative and very entertaining. Bravo! Five Stars!!



3. It should not be easy to mix history, action, geography, ornithology...in one book, but this book is exceptionally well balanced. The author gives not only the details of Theodore Roosevelt and his companions heroic journey across the uncharted rain forests of the Amazon, but provides amazingly deep insight of the wild life of the rain forests, and it's first explorers. I rarely find books that makes me 100% satisfied, but this was that kind. It is a really great book!



4. What an amazing story this was! Reading this book blew my mind in so many ways I'm not sure where to begin. Let's start with saying Teddy Roosevelt was one amazing man and an incredibly tough SOB. They sure don't make them like they used to. There was just so much in here that I didn't know about and I can't believe that I didn't know about. Did you know that TR was shot immediately before a campaign speech? The bullet was partially slowed by its passage through the folded speech and his glasses case he had in his jacket but it still penetrated five inches into his chest. Then, with a bleeding chest wound, he still gave the speech before getting medical attention!
   
   That's just one little anecdote in this book about the amazing exploration that TR did with his son Kermit, Amercian ornithologist George Cherrie, and Brazilian Colonel Candido Rondon, charting the River of Doubt in Amazonia. This was one of the most amazing true stories that I've read and it makes all the action adventure heroes you've ever admired seem like complete wimps. The headwaters of the Rio da Duvida were discovered by Colonel Candida in the early 1900's but although he wanted to chart it his expedition was too battered by simply getting there to proceed and they had to turn back. TR shows up in 1913 after loosing the presidential election and decides to go down the river with Rondon. No white man had ever been down the river and no one even knew where it went. They mount an expedition, take months to even get to the headwaters, lose most of their livestock, provisions and all their boats before they even get there but they still head down the river using dugouts bought from local indians. The story of their four month river trek is marked by harrowing privation, disease, near starvation, hostile indians, despair, drownings, and murder. I was so amazed by what I was reading I gave a running commentary to my wife as I went along and I remember telling her at one point that I just don't see how they are going to make it. I really didn't. Not everyone does make it unfortunately. TR himself was so close to death through malaria, infection and starvation that it is incredible that he survived, although his privations did catch up with him later and was likely responsible for his early death a few years later at age 60. I don't want to talk about the details of the book so much that this review becomes a spoiler but everyone should read this book. It will probably leave you savagely disappointed with the quality of presidents we've had recently but it will also leave you amazed at how unbelievably courageous and special one of our presidents was. The life story of Colonel Rondon is just as remarkable as TR's, if not more so, and I'd unhesitatingly recommend the book just for the parts about Rondon. They were two amazing men and true heroes. I mean it. Hero is a word that gets too indiscriminately applied today, but if there is such a thing as heroes these guys are it. The book actually got me thinking about who would win a toughest president competition....then I remembered Washington and his war campaigns, especially Valley Forge, and Old Hickory was pretty darn tough too. I don't know who would win that competition but I don't think anyone would want to bet against TR afer reading this. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, you won't be disappointed by this story.
   
   I do have one reservation about this book, which involves the writing style, which is the only reason I give this book four stars instead of five. The actual story was an amazing six star reading experience, but Millard's writing, while mostly beautiful, clear, and compelling could become very irritating at many points because of repetitious foreshadowing. One example has to do with the murder that takes place. Millard presages the event and identifies the murderer no less than four or five times before the actual event takes place. I feel the book would have been much more suspenseful and a better read if she hadn't done the foreshadowing at all, but if you're going to do it, once is enough. The repetition in this book lengthened the book unnecessarily and detracted from the reading experience. Do not let this keep you from reading the book though, you'll learn to just skip a paragraph ahead when she starts repeating herself. Don't miss this one, you'll not read a better true story this year.



5. This fascinating account of Theodore Roosevelt's disastrous trip on the River of Doubt is well-written and meticulously researched. It has many "micro histories" on the flora and fauna of Brazil (hint: don't read this outside around a lot of bugs) as well as the native peoples of the region. My only frustration had to do with all the diversions when, on a few occasions, I just wanted to find out what happened next. The epilogue tells the reader the sometimes tragic personal stories once the journey ended and was one of the portions of the book that I shall remember the most. I read this as a book club assignment and we had a lengthy and lively discussion on Roosevelt, his son, and the men who played such a critical part of their journey. If you like a lot of detail in harrowing stories of exploration and adventure, this would be a perfect choice.

5 comments about Truman.

1. The book is well researched and is interesting reading. It's amazing to see the same political arguements in 1934 as in 2008. They were using class warfare in 1934 same as now.



2. I was given this book as a Christmas present. I had read McCullough's 1776 and John Adams and had enjoyed them both (although I was disappointed in the brevity of 1776). Still this book (Truman) stayed on my shelf gathering dust for over six months. I was initially overwhelmed with its length and afraid to tackle it (I had failed with Vidal's Lincoln and didn't want to repeat that result). I finally screwed my courage and cracked it open.
   
   Although the first 50 pages or so weren't extremely engrossing, after that the book quickly captivated me. I didn't know much about Harry Truman, and what I did know led me to believe that he was a fairly average president. What I learned is that he was an amazing overachiever who, when faced with the weight of the world, was at his best. McCullough really brought the man to life, and although Mr. Truman did some things that none of us would be proud of, McCullough didn't provide excuses for Harry - he did explain possible causes for Truman's behavior.
   
   After reading this book, you can't help but feeling that the United States was extremely fortunate to have Truman in the nation's highest office, and you can't help but wish you could have met the man.
   
   I wholeheartedly recommend the book as a must read.



3. "Truman" is a much praised book and deservedly so. There is hardly a need for another review, in addition to the 280 already posted here, so I will be brief.
   
   Above all, it is superbly readable, as entertaining as a good novel. I experienced a sense of regret having finished it today.
   
   It is a clear and balanced portrait of a leader and a wonderful study of understated, firm and steady leadership.
   
   I would rate it as essential reading for anyone wanting to understand key aspects of the world since WWII and which continue to influence events today.



4. I consider myself a fan of history (I like it, but don't know enough and mis-remember even more). David McCullough's books bring to life the stories of our country (and events) in a compelling manner that makes you want more. I eagerly look forward to each of his well researched and "human" look at what has helped shape the U.S. to where we are today. Each of these should be required reading for middle school & high school students - the conversations they create will bring benefits for our future generations. This is even more true for the biographies as he develops the person which helps explain the why - and not just the what happened. Bravo Mr. McCullough, very well done indeed.



5. This is quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read. And I do my fair share of reading. Don't let the size of the book scare you either. Its worth putting the time into. David McCullough writes in a readable manner. None of that academic reading stuff that gives you headaches. Listen, if you are even considering buying it you probably already have a little interest in this topic. Do yourself a favor. Buy this book. You can thank me later. Oh, and...Harry is my new hero.

5 comments about Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt.

1. This book given to my brother, a history buff, who did not like it. He raved about 1776 by the same author.



2. I NEVER RECIEVED THIS BOOK. It was returned to sender as undeliverable. The reason is the address was to my winter residence for which I have a mail transfer through the post office with mail going to my summer address and the post office would not transfer anything except fist class mail and I didn't know that when I placed the order. I will have to order it again after October first.



3. Overall, not bad with some entertainment and it got better in the second half. Won't read it again though..



4. I thought I knew much about Theodore Roosevelt before I read this book, but learned even more about him and find that he is an inspiration, the way he got over all the troubles that he had as a young child.
   A very good book. Entertaining and informative.



5. One of McCullough's early books, 'Mornings on Horseback' may surprise readers more accustomed to the author's definitive treatments of Harry Truman or John Adams. The intentions of 'Mornings on Horseback' are slightly more modest than either of those books: it documents only Theodore Roosevelt's early life and does not attempt to be the last word as a biography of this great American president. And yet, it is no less a book for that. McCullough deftly traces the young TRs transformation from a sickly, introverted child of a wealthy New York family to a robust, confident adult ready to tackle the vast promise of America. Using family letters and diaries--and drawing on his incomparable knowledge of American history and culture--McCullough brings TR to life as a vivid, compelling, and surprisingly poignant figure. A great read....One only wishes that McCullough had gone on to do a full multi-volume TR opus. (Perhaps there's still time.) Anyway, if you like McCullough, you'll love this book. Read it!

No comments about Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.

5 comments about His Excellency: George Washington.

1. The modern "pyschological" biography attempts what is probably an impossibility: to penetrate and elucidate the core "personality" or "character" of an historic figure. The danger that the resulting portrait may be a novel masquerading as a biography, a creation of the author rather than a rendition of the subject, is great. Still more so when the author has clear psychological quirks of his own, and a contemporary political axe to grind. When he also has formidable literary skills, the danger of creating a cogent, compelling lie is acute. This is certainly so in the works of Joseph J. Ellis. He has admitted telling lies about his alleged role in the Vietnam War, demonstrating that his own character and personality are not wedded to the truth. Stranger still, in light of the content of his self-aggrandizing fabrications, he is an avowed political liberal. Something very odd was going on in his own psyche. More recently, he has written that the political vision of Barack Obama accords with that of the Founding Fathers (or, as Ellis calls them, the "so-called founding fathers"). There are thus multiple reasons to be skeptical of Ellis' several attempts to psychoanalyze the Founders. In this volume the patient on the couch is Washington. It is altogether too convenient that Ellis' Washington is a man whose primary impulse is to seek control in all things, but above all in the attempt to control his own reputation (or, as we might say, his "image"), both for contemporaries and for posterity. That's the psychology; as to the politics, Ellis' Washington is the Founding Liberal, prescient in his perception of the need for a strong national government that would curb the rights that Jeffersonians, and today's conservatives, regard as reserved to the states and the people. According to Ellis, the psychology and the politics are linked: Washington's belief in a strong national government was an external projection of his inner control. As is typical with this sort of work, any behavior or pronouncement that departs from the general "insight" is just the exception that proves the rule. Ellis even manages to turn Washington's Farewell Address, with its admonition against foreign involvement, into a harbinger of Kissingerian internationalism. Although this book is well written, indeed a joy to read, and is superficially convincing, I am deeply suspicious.



2. While it's totally hip to de-mythify things our parents (silly things) thought were good, Ellis's de-mythification of Washington is not satisfying. His basic thesis is that Washington was a nincompoop who happened to be in the right place at the right time his whole life. That's unlikely, and it doesn't explain why Washington was a legend in his own time as well as our own, unlike most "mythical" legends, whose myths grow in time.
   
   Five stars for doing what everyone else does.
   Two stars for insight.



3. Some have wanted to reserve 5 stars to a "War and Peace" type book. To me 5 stars means the book did what it set out to do and did it well. "His Excellency" indeed did. It is an excellent short biography of the father of our country. When I picked this book up, I realized all I knew about Washington was what I had been taught in grade school.
   
   Ellis is an excellent biographer who delves into many aspects of Washington's life. The narrative moved well and was entertaining. Some may be put off by Ellis' style of going into analysis of issues. I found that this added to my understanding.
   
   Washington indeed was a great man who's influence reaches us to this day. Now I know why!



4. It is sad. The author has made big bucks on a book that essentially is aimed at bringing George Washington down to the level of today's politicians. There certainly is an audience for this kind of interpretation of our Founding Father and it can only be accomplished by someone who has a perspective and wants to use his skills to slant the reader's view toward his own negativity. I much preferred to read David McCullough's history, "1776," which dwells primarily on Washington as a person and a leader, but without the hidden agenda (whatever it is) of the author of "His Excellency," which is really an attempt to rewrite history and bring Washington down to the level of a Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon in a colonial setting. Shame on you, Mr. Ellis, although you are entitled to your opinion -- which is what this book is all about.



5. I was extremely disappointed in this book. This book was purchased as a gift for me, and I looked forward to reading it. From the beginning, I was disappointed by the tone of the book, which casts a negative tone on the father of our country.
   
   As I researched some of Ellis' sources, I found that in several parts of his book, he stated items as facts that were completely false.
   
   Ellis, following a popular trend of today, insinuates that George Washington was in love with his friend's wife, Sally Fairfax, and that he felt passionately in love with her throughout his life.
   
   Ellis admits that all we do know is based primarily on three letters Washington wrote to Sally (Fairfax). The last letter he cites was one Washington wrote near the end of his life. Mr. Ellis states that "in this letter, he confessed to an elderly Sally that she had been the passion of his youth, that he had never been able to forget her, 'nor been able to eradicate from my mind those happy moments, the happiest in my life, which have enjoyed in your company."
   
   I decided to research his references, and look up the text of Washington's letter on the Library of Congress website. They have actual images of all of the original letters of George Washington. What I found relieved me greatly and set my mind at ease. It also made me feel disgusted than an author who claims to accurately represent the life of such a noble man could be so purposely deceptive.
   
   The actual letter was written by Washington in his later years, with his wife. He talked about how he was remembering the times of harmony and friendship that he and his wife spent with Sally and her husband at their home. He describes these times as some of the happiest of his life. At the end of his part of the letter he says "Mrs. Washington is about to give you an account of the changes which have happened in the neighbourhood and in our own family."
   
   Mr. Ellis said that in this letter he confessed that she had been the passion of his youth. That is simply a blatant falsehood.
   
   Ellis also states that there is no evidence to show whether the relationship between Washington and Fairfax ever crossed the sexual threshold or not. Why does he even feel the need to include such a ridiculous statement? It is akin to saying that although someone spends some time at the local bank, we don't have evidence to show whether they were a bank robber or not.
   
   Attempting to insinuate that the framers of our Constitution such as Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were immoral men, is happening more and more often in our country.
   
   In an excellent book "The Rewriting of America's History", there is an example of how deceitful this influence can be. The book explained how in an earlier edition of a school history textbook it stated that George Washington had a hot temper that he kept masterfully controlled. In a later edition of the same textbook, it simply said: "George Washington had a hot temper." I think that is a powerful example of how a subtle adjustment can completely change our thinking of his character.
   
   I have found that this is happening more and more frequently in our world today as I have studied the founding father's lives including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others.
   
   I could continue on with how careful research contradicts the opinions of Mr. Ellis, but I will simply recommend a much better book. "The Real George Washington", published by The National Center for Constitutional Studies.

5 comments about The Reagan Diaries.

1. This book offers not only a deeper look at the day to day operations inside the White House, but also helps explore the inner workings of President Reagen's mind. It helps explain some of the reasons he made decisions the way he did.



2. Got this one for my husband. He loved it! Couldn't put it down.



3. Bought this as a gift - skimmed through it before wrapping. Not as witty as I thought it might be. If you want day-by-day accounts of Reagan's administration, this is the book for you.



4. If you don't like being spoonfed only what your professors and the media want you to hear, you should read books like this. Reagan made a comment or two about each day before bed and this book puts you right into his shoes. You'll get a sense of what it's like to be the President, how human the making of history really is when it happens and the strong, determined mindset of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders.
   
   Wonderful.



5. What a fantastic book; written by President Reagan at the time history was being made. They say hindsight is 20 20 but it's astonishing how spot on he was with his comments, made without the benefit of looking back.
   It's very enlightening to see what his thoughts were as history was being made and even the mundane or trivial things take on greater meaning when judged by the context of the present day.
   Reagan kept pretty good notes and they're all here. In addition, there are quite a few color photos to put faces to the various people he talks about.
   If you are interested in presidential history and in his motives i highly recommend this book!

5 comments about The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks).

1. My Son commented to me that I give a lot of 5 Star reviews. Yes, I do. And why not, every Saturday I pore over the New York Times Book Review. I also subscribe to the London Review of Books. Before I purchase a book I do research it.
   I've read Edmund Morris' narrative of the formative years of Theodore Roosevelt. I've learned the following:
   1. Theodore was born to wealth and privilege in 1858 before the Civil War.
   2. Teedie fought ill health with asthma and through sheer will overcame its disabilities.
   3. He disciplined and willed himself to extraordinary study to graduate from Harvard.
   4. At a young age he saw himself as a Patrician seeking to help humanity as a New York City Police Commissioner and later Governor of the State of New York.
   5. He survived the death of his wife and mother on the same day.
   6. He became the leading American to begin an appreciation for life in the great outdoors. This later led to the development of the National Park System when he became President.
   Edmund Morris brings all this to life with a fiction like narrative. But what makes the book great is that is was a real. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this book. OK Scott, it does rate 5 Stars!!



2. This book details what an extraordinary man President Roosevelt was.
   Physically and intellectually, there was never a president like him or perhaps, anyone else. His leadership skills were second to none as well as his integrity. He was one of a kind and the mold was broken with his passing. Beware, reading this book may make you feel somewhat inadequate. But, reading this book will also give you great insight to a great man. A role model in many ways.



3. I could not put it down. A wonderfully written book about an exciting president, with great photos included. I enjoyed it so much, that I started the sequel, Theodore Rex, immediately after finishing. I recommend it highly.



4. What a tremendous biography, or actually one third of a biography, as this is the first of a projected three volumne work. It is hard to imagine someone having a career like this today, although to be fair to our own times, Teddy Roosevelt was a dynamo by the standards of his own era as well.
   
   The books only covers Roosevelt's life up until he becomes president, but because of Roosevelt's statue, drive and intellect, and Morris' thorough research, expert analysis and superb writing, it is also a very exciting view into America in the second half of the 19th century. A total of 700 pages and at the end I could not wait to start the next volume, Theodore Rex (Modern Library Paperbacks)



5. I knew little of TR's life prior to reading this book, but having read it, I feel like I have a very good understanding of the man. In this thoroughly researched book, you are treated to every struggle TR had, starting with his battle with asthma and continuing through his political battles. The man loved a challenge and if he didn't have one, he created one. Love him or hate him, he was a fascinating man, and this biography does justice to his life. Once I started the book, I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.

1. Ever since establishment of the CIA, that entity has carried on a foreign policy of it's own creation and, as Douglass meticulously documents, one that promotes conflict around the world in the interest of the military-industral-media establishment. Circumstanial as the evidence of conspiracy in the murder of Kennedy may be, its shere volume shatters the attempts made to cover-up the crime. Scholarship evidencing the reasons why "the powers that be" wanted Kenndy taken out is most convincing. This extreme act of betrayal and treason - and secrecy in government in general - is a cancer that will continue to haunt the nation and undermine its future, until such time it is properly addressed. This book is a critically important contribution to the history of our watch.



2. James W. Douglass has done a remarkable job of making it clear why and by whom John Kennedy was murdered. Mr. Douglass uses 96 pages of reference to document his account of events. Recent documents released by the U.S. Archives as well as documents released from the archives of the former Soviet Union are disclosed to us in a well written and easy to follow narrative which is gripping. It is important for every American to know how our secret government operates that not even a popular president was able to overcome.
   
   Once begun, I could not put this book down.
   
   I recommend this book be read by every American and be on the reading lists in all of this nation's high schools.



3. This is an outstanding work by James Douglass, and as one who has a library filled with books on this subject this is perhaps the best. It is well researched, extremely well written and a page turner. I will not delve too much into the contents for other reviewers have done so in very thorough manner.
   
   I will close by saying the following....when I finnished this book I had a chill. We all know what was and is, what we don't know and never will is what might have been. I long for the day when the truth is fully divulged, those responsible for the "Unspeakable" are unmasked (it will suprise some)and Lee Harvey Oswald is fully exonerated for a crime he did not commit.



4. This reviewer raptly read Mark Lane's Rush To Judgement, Jim Garrison's On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy, and Jim Mars' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy when they were first published. This reviewer became jaded at the fictions published by the Warren Commission and the House Select Commission on Assassinations, and like America sings in Sister GoldenHair "I got so damn depressed" that I quit reading this stuff.
   
   Since then, even more proof has piled up against the lies our "leaders" told us. JFK was 'turning towards Peace" and the "unspeakable" evil forces aligned against him and peace didn't like it. James W. Douglas has done an excellent, Must-Read compilation of that truth, especially important now that a similair scenario could be, like Carly crooned, "Comin Around Again" with a new president ("Yes we Can!" "Change we can believe in!") bucking an evermore entrenched Military-Industrial Complex - HalliBurton et. al. - that would prefer that we stay in Iraq for the next 100 years or so.
   
   "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
   George Santayana 1863-1952
   
   Buy this book for you and all your intelligent friends and relatives and read it, so that we all can be on the same proverbial "Group W' bench with Arlo Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited (30th Anniversary Edition).
   
   /TundraVision, "Hope springs eternal," Amazon Reviewer



5. James does a fabulous job with loads of newly released information to make it very clear that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't just a patsy, but could have been a hero a few weeks earlier. If anyone doubts the CIA's hand on this, they haven't been paying attention.