2 comments about Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer (Civil War America).

1. After a dearth of many years, four biographies of southern soldier and politician Wade Hampton have recently appeared. I have read three; Rod Andrew's work is easily the best. Many of Hampton's personal papers were lost to fire; there are virtually no letters from him in existence before the war and most of his war papers were also lost, but Andrew has done an excellent job finding sources and scattered letters. Andrew used several letters from Hampton or close acquaintances that Brian Cisco did not include in his recent popular biography of Hampton. Andrew also gives a much fuller portrait of Hampton as a slave-holder than does Cisco, contrasting Wade III's paternal management with the brutality of his grandfather Wade I.
   I was impressed that Andrew detailed Hampton's amazing record as a cavalry commander with such detail, surpassing the treatment of Edward Longacre, who wrote about Hampton's Civil War service. But it is Andrew's analysis of Hampton's character and his commitment to southern ideals that stands out the most. Andrew has done an excellent job of defining Hampton in the era and landscape of his own existence, not forcing him to abide by modern standards of racial justice. Hampton was a racist, and a paternalist, but his legacy to the world was vastly different from men like Ben Tillman, Martin Gary, and James Henry Hammond. Hampton was a man of honor, who came to bitterly hate Yankees, especially William Sherman, and who never regretted or apologized for his role in the war. Although he did earnestly seek black votes and appointed many to office after his disputed gubernatorial election in 1876-77, he was never committed to enforcing civil rights and was an impotent defender of the limited success of his racial policy by the 1890s. Nonetheless, Hampton's record is largely remarkable. He was deeply mourned in passing as one of the finest of his era and section.
   Rod Andrew's biography is a first rate example of research and analysis. William Davis's work on John C. Breckinridge and Andrew's work on Hampton are my favorite biographies of Civil War-era southerners.



2. Wade Hampton III who was born in 1818 and whose life spanned the century (he died in 1902) was an important figure in South Carolina and in the American South. He was born to near-aristocracy, his father having fought in the War of 1812 and his grandfather in the Revolution. He was a wealthy plantation owner, one of the wealthiest in his state. He was also a conservative who opposed the break with the union, but when called upon to do his duty went to war and raised his own regiment known as 'Hampton's legion'. He served in the Stonewall Brigade and then took over JEB Stuart's cavalry units after the battle of Yellow Tavern. He served to the end with Lee. His son died in the war and his house and properties were destroyed by Sherman's union army in its march to the sea. After the war he was drafted to run for Govenor by the Democrats but relented waiting until 1877 to take the helm of his state as a passionate opponent of reconstruction and northern meddling in southern affairs. Later he served as a Senator.
   
   This book is not an fawning biography but rather a more critical one that examines the importance of this influential leader whose life mirrored that of his southern compatriots and that of his class. He was the embodiment of the south and as the title suggests, both a warrior and a redeemer whose efforts and politics hang over the South today.
   
   A very interesting, well written account that will appeal to devotees of Southern history and the Civil War.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman

5 comments about Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War.

1. First-hand accounts by combatants have always ranked highly in my list of favorite things to read. When I set out to read the highly touted Co. Aytch I was hoping for a gritty, down to earth story like that of another southern memoir writer, Eugene Sledge.
   
   There is no doubting Co. Aytch's value as a window into the daily travails of the Confederate soldier, whether in camp, on the march or in combat. However, with pickets freezing by the dozen, a falling tree crushing a group of mourners, tornadoes and narrow steamboat escapes, it would appear that there is more Guy Sajer than Eugene Sledge about Sam Watkins.



2. This has to be one of the best books written about the civil war. Reading the experiences of this common soldier you realize how close they were to death from day to day. If you have any interest in the civil war, this book is a must read.



3. Interest in this particular Civil War memoir increased due to its being frequently quoted and referred to in the documentary series on "The Civil War" that aired on PBS stations almost twenty years ago. Thankfully, the success of the series caused "Company Aytch, or a Side Show of the Big Show" to be reprinted.
   
   As a narrative device, film maker Ken Burns compared and contrasted the recollections of Samuel R. Watkins, a Confederate soldier who served in the Western theater of operations (principally in Tennessee and Georgia), with the diary entries of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, a Union soldier from Rhode Island. Both men saw significant combat action and both survived the war.
   
   Although Rhodes recorded his immediate observations, Watkins began his memoirs after the war had ended and his book was published seventeen years after the Army of the Tennessee had surrendered. He had the advantage of being able to meditate on his experiences and I found his book to be of greater interest as a result.
   
   I have read both "All for the Union" (Rhodes) and "Company Aytch" (Watkins). While both books have much to recommend them, I am partial to the latter. As a writer, Watkins produced more profound opinions. There seemed to be more color, humor, poetry and reflection in his prose. Rhodes seemed dull and factual in his summaries which often culminated with the slogan "All for the Union." I do not mean to diminish Rhodes or his military service in any manner, but Watkins is simply a better writer.
   
   The conclusion of Watkins book is quite moving. It was memorable when broadcast on television and it is no less memorable when read from the printed page.



4. Mr. Watkins tells a humble and epic story. A confederate private shares his unique perspective. Reveals the grim realities of a glorious cause going from bad to worse and back again. It is truly amazing he survived four years of warfare. Most often death was easier than survival. General Bragg routinely court martialed his troops with a firing squad for deserters. Further punishments like barreling, whippings and deprevations were routine. It got better under General Johnston and worse again under General Hood. The soldiers alternatively cursed and praised the war, its' cause and the Generals. Yet like in all wars, the men fought for each other. So many soldiers met their Maker, whereby Watkins extolls their virtues and praises. Eloquently written and graphically descriptive. Sam's survival is a testimonial to God's protection. Written in the 1880's.
   READ the book and you will find a friend from the ages.



5. Sam Watkins himself describes it best himself,A Side Show to the Big Show. This Book describes the War For Southern Independence, from the eyes of a common Private in the Confederate Army. He was in it from the Start to the End. I've read it 5 times, I enjoy it more each time!! A MUST for anyone studying the WAR!!

5 comments about Slaves in the Family (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. Quite often history textbooks can be dry and boring. Edward Ball's "Slaves in the Family" illuminates many larger historical events -- the slave trade, the institution of slavery, plantation economies, the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, and Emancipation -- and brings these events down to the human level, to the place where flesh and blood people lived through these events, how the events shaped them, and how they in turn contributed to history.
   
   Ball's careful, meticulous research wove oral accounts with written records kept so well by the Ball family, giving a credible, well-balanced view of plantation life, slavery, and how it impacted the lives of both black and white Ball plantation residents.
   
   Ball paid special note to the nuances of each speaker's story as told, not only through their words, but also their body language. He is an astute observer of people's reactions and unspoken thoughts.
   
   I highly recommend this fasinating book. I couldn't lay it down.



2. Edward Ball made a courageous journey into his family's past when he researched and wrote this book about their slave owning history, and took the step of searching out and meeting descendants of their slaves. This paperback edition includes an insightful follow-up exchange between the author and one of his black relatives about the writing of the book, their relationship, and how their views of race relations have and have not changed since its writing. The book inspired me both to think deeply about my attitude towards race and to read more about southern history, using the prism of slave ownership and my own family's southern geneaology as a focus. Related recommendations: The Ruling Race: A History of American Slaveholders] and [ASIN:0465015557 My Confederate Kinfolk



3. Oh my gosh! I didn't realize that Dawn Langley Simmons had passed away. When I purchased her book about the life of Margaret Rutherford, "A Blithe Spirit", I wrote to Dawn, and was surprised to receive a reply from her or him. For several years she/he corresponded and now I realize that she/he may have mis-represented herself. She did send me several photos of Margaret Rutherford. Interesting story.



4. I thought this was a good read. I especially appreciated the details of the types of Africans that the planters preferred and detested. I recommend this book. Yes, I do agree that the author's writing style was dry. However, I find most books that have a historical base, unless it is fiction, to be dry as cracker.



5. Some reviewers below complain that this book is tedious. Well, sure. I bet the US Constitution and the Bible are tedious to someone who has no clue about, or doesn't care about, their context. To anyone with some understanding of US history, the project of writing this book marks a step forward in race relations, however big or small that step may turn out to be. If you care even a little about why this country is the way it is, this book crackles with a searing flame.
   
   Ball writes about visiting a wary African American man in Chapter 6, and what that man says at the end of his interview speaks for me and my opinion of the book. "Someone has to break the ice. I gotta give you credit, you were man enough to do it."
   
   People won't agree whether reconciliation or forgiveness apply in this situation, and I'm not sure either. But this is the author's best effort at telling the objective truth about black-white relations as it was lived by individuals over the centuries. "I decided I would make an effort, however inadequate and personal, to face the plantations, to reckon with them rather than ignore their realities or make excuses for them."
   
   Chapter 9 describes the shocking child mortality figures on the plantations. And on a slave voyage from Africa to Charleston, over a third of the captive passengers died en route - just the cost of doing business to the owners. No wonder some try to deny this history; it's too painful. Yet, the book also provides some episodes of humanity and hope. Readers will emerge with a greater understanding of our history and human nature. Maybe they'll become more vigilant against trespasses on human life and dignity in our own day as well.

5 comments about Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr..

1. John D. Rockefeller Sr. was probably the biggest, baddest robber baron in 19th century America, and also its leading philanthropist. Many writers scorned his ruthlessness, notably Ida Tarbell, who wrote two books on Rockefeller and his company, Standard Oil. Author Ron Chernow digs deeper, through masses of Rockefeller family documents, to present the founder of the Rockefeller dynasty as a "man of flesh and bone and soul." He covers Rockefeller's ugly, dramatic and even shameful aspects, while concurrently demonstrating his business acumen and his philanthropic leadership amid a remarkable generation of business barons, including William Randolph Hearst, Jay Gould, William Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. An amazing portrait emerges of an almost invisible, rather megalomaniac ascetic who wanted to fulfill God's will. He became extremely wealthy, gave millions away, and believed that he brought the benefit of inexpensive oil products to all mankind. getAbstract highly recommends this multifaceted biography.



2. This is a really excellent book on Rockefeller. It made me laugh; it helped me to understand who he was as a person; it showed how he became who he was; and it gave me a true and complete understanding of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Sr. in an unbiased way.
   
   I read the negative reviews on here, and I want to refute them. Some say the author clearly favored Rockefeller; I felt quite the opposite at some points and think a really objective depiction was achieved. Others say the editing was poor; I didn't find a single spelling or grammatical error during the read. In terms of its editing, it was fine.
   
   If you want to know who Mr. Rockefeller, Sr. was, this is the book for you.



3. Hopefully it is good, Kinda Long but I am looking foward to having time to read the whole novel.



4. Rockefeller is reported to have searched endlessly for golf balls lost in an attempt to recover them, yet could nearly buy the world - why?
   
   Objective biographies are important to show that it is rarely money or greed that inspires the mind of man; it is the pursuit of the solution to the particular problem that he has defined worthy of solution. Both great inventions and great works of art have been formed as a result of the tiny seeds of construction or of destruction that engage the human spirit.
   
   Without it, are we not all merely reduced to automated machine status, the robots of today for the future of tomorrow?
   
   Is the mind of man made for the pursuit of money, or for the pursuit of satisfaction of what he perceives is worthy of addressing, focusing his attention upon the manner and the object of his passion?
   
   What makes people tick is a source of inspiration often overlooked in the attempt to idolize or endow humanity, and far too often, misconstrued by mistaken others who aim to profit from that misinterpretation.
   
   Molded soles, like molded fingerprints, rarely sit anyone else. Why then do we not concentrate upon the perspective of what men aim for, and why, rather than what they accomplish, and its yield?



5. 
   This book is the best biography I've read thus far.
   Ron Chernow has a deep understanding of
   economics and history. He uses this understanding to
   paint an accurate, balanced and complete picture of
   the Rockerfeller dynasty with J.D. Rockerfeller as the
   center of their powerful universe.
   
   
   To emphasise just how well this book was written,
   consider the fact that I spent my whole
   Christmas weekend reading it! I couldn't move from my
   library or sleep until it was done. Though the book
   weighs in at approximately seven hundred pages, it is
   reads like a novel, a trait which makes it both
   palatable and pithy.
   
   

   Synopsis

   
   Rockerfeller has all the traits of a classic self made hero. His
   antecedents are not amazing. He grew up in a poor
   family featuring a bigamist foot-lose father who was
   hardly ever around. His father taught John painful
   lessons in business and human behaviour. John's father
   would regularly tell John to jump from his high chair
   into his father's arms. Once, in order to teach John
   never to trust anyone, he told John to jump. He then
   walked away, leaving John to slam painfully into the ground.
   John's mother was the backbone of the family; quiet,
   anassuming and hardworking. He assumed the role of
   surrogate father and dedicated his life to ensuring his
   mother and the rest of his family were safe, secure
   and happy.
   
   
   When Rockerfeller got into the business world, he
   began as a book keeper. It was from these early
   beginnings that he showed the traits that would be the
   core of his success. He was meticulous and diligent
   when keeping financial records and accounts. He would
   manage his own funds as well as the company's money down to the
   decimal point! Like Warren Buffet after him,
   J.D. Rockerfeller would emphasis that "numbers are
   everything."
   
   
   J.D also proved that discipline is more important than
   intelligence. In school, he wasn't the sharpest blade
   in the set but his slow, diligent, determined and
   disciplined approach to study ensured his success. He
   emphasised this in his business dealings as well. With
   this method, he created the jaggernaut monopoly of
   Standard Oil. He began by consolidating the mass of oil
   refineries and wells in Cleveland under his umbrella.
   Later, after recruiting his alter ego, Henry Flagler,
   they would proceed to dominate the oil industry
   thoughout the world.
   
   
   Rockerfeller also exemplified a reticence that would
   inspire respect and fear in his enemies while planting
   admiration and loyalty in his friends. At board
   meetings, he was often known to lie back in a settee
   with his eyes closed as he let his leiutenants debate.
   Later, he would discuss these issues in great detail,
   as though he had absorbed and understood everything
   without skipping a beat. Within his company, he was a
   ghost. Employees would never see him arrive or watch
   him leave. However, they were made acutely aware of
   his presence when he popped up at some underlings desk
   and discussed their jobs and records in great detail. He
   knew everything and everyone.
   
   
   Later on, Standard Oil would become the focus of the
   anti-trust movement. The Spellman Act was passed in
   order to curb its power. In later years,
   Rockerfeller's juggernaut would be split up with
   unforseen results. Instead of destroying his wealth,
   as his detractors and politicians had hoped, his
   wealth and that of his shareholders trippled!
   Rockerfeller's success was enduring and could not be
   stopped or limited.
   
   
   Rockerfeller dedicated the first half his life to becoming the
   richest man on the planet. He then dedicated the
   remaining half to becoming the greatest philanthropist
   in the planet. His medical foundations brought
   back the disciplined approach he applied to business to
   the medical field that had erstwhile been dominated by
   quacks and homeopaths. Were it not for Rockerfeller's
   contributions to medicine, modern health might not be
   as advanced as it is now.
   
   
   After living to the ripe old age of ninety eight,
   Rockerfeller had achieved more than most people achive in a
   hundred lifetimes. He was one of those individuals so
   powerful that he forever changed the destiny of
   humanity forever.
   
   
   
   Something in the nature of J.D. Rockerfeller had to
   occur in America, and it is all to the good of the
   world that he was tight-lipped, consistent and
   amazingly free from vulgar vanity, sensuality and
   quarrelsomeness. His cold prsistence and ruthlessness
   may arouse something like horror, but for all that he
   was a forward-moving force, a constructive power.
   
   --H. G. Wells. The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind.
   
   
   

   Conclusion

   
   This book is mandatory reading for all students of
   success. It teaches the nature of the monopolist, the
   spirit of the leader, the hunger of the rich, the
   ambition of the visionary, the structure of a dynasty
   and the soul of the innovator.
   
   
   I've idolized Rockerfeller my whole life. Reading this
   biography gave me an understanding of both his faults
   and his virtues. It humanised him. The fact that
   Rockerfeller is so much like a next door neighbour
   leads the reader to a very important conclusion:
   success is not about nature, it's about nurture. It
   is not about intelligence but of intent. It is not
   about destiny but of decision. It is not about magic,
   it is about method.
   
   Each of us can make the decision to be successful. All
   we have to do is practice the method by mimicking that
   of the giants who have come before us. That is the
   Billionaire Way.

3 comments about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Modern Library MM).

1. These two books are sometimes very hard going, but essential reading for Americans. We probably tend to think about slavery very much in the abstract, when we even think about it, but these narratives make it painfully palpable and very human. In a way complementary to Akhil Reed Amar's brilliant description of the way slavery thoroughly corrupted the American political system (in his America's Constitution), these books reveal in detail the thoroughgoing and extraordinary moral perversion slaveholding caused in individual lives - to some extent those of slaves, but much more those of slave owners, poor southern whites, and complicit northerners. Of course we also see the brutality, horrors and deprivations of slave life.
   
   Douglass' narrative is better known than Jacobs.' Among many other things, how he taught himself to write is a remarkable story of shrewdness and determination against all odds. Jacobs' was an appalling life of virtually constant sexual harassment from an early age, which was undoubtedly a normal situation for many female slaves. What she went through to escape it is hard to imagine, and her single-minded determination to see her children free is incredible. The picture she gives of the distortions slavery caused in slaveholding families - lecherous men unconstrained by law or convention, angry and vengeful wives, gossip and whispering among white and black children and adults, children sold by their fathers to get the family features and relations out of sight and mind, and the increasing corruption of individuals' characters this caused over time - again, hard going but essential reading. A peculiar institution, ordained by God, good for the slave and slaveholder alike. Indeed.



2. simply astounding! totally shatters those awful and ever-infectious civil war era romantic notions. be gone, "gone with the wind!" many thanks be to the spirits of mr. douglass and ms. jacobs for surviving their tremendous struggles to give us truth! recommend these books to others (especially the crowd that chooses to separate the "human stock" question from intellectual discussions of the civil war era).



3. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (first published in 1845) and Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" (1861) are probably the two most powerful examples of the slave narrative. This literary form represents the first-person accounts of individuals who have lived as slaves. The Modern Library has paired these two essential American texts in a single edition, with an introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah and commentaries by Jean Fagan Yellin and Margaret Fuller.

   Together, "Narrative" and "Incidents" offer a male and female perspective on the institution that has left lasting scars on America. These texts are well written, and rich in social and political insights. Both authors graphically illustrate, for example, how the Judeo-Christan Bible and the Christian church were used as tools to support the racist system of slavery. Douglass provides a powerful window into the importance of literacy as a tool by which he escaped a slave mentality. And Jacobs incisively deconstructs the twisted strands of race, gender, power, and sexuality that tied together slaveowning culture.

   "Narrative" and "Incidents" are compelling pieces of literature. Moreover, the authors' themes can be seen as foundational for many later works of United States literature: Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Toni Morrison's "Beloved," Octavia Butler's "Kindred," and many other texts. Even a popular film like "The Matrix" echoes the slave narratives in some aspects.

   Douglass and Jacobs are prime examples of writers who superbly combined literary craftsmanship with an intense political commitment. Their achievements make them crucial figures in the field of African-American studies. This combined edition of their outstanding books should be celebrated by teachers, students, reading groups, church study groups, and individual readers.

5 comments about Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion.

1. Passing for normal gives the reader great insight on life with OCD and Tourette's. It talks about her very first tic to her treatment that she has today. Amy is very open about her problems in this outstanding memoir. I also have OCD and can relate to many of her stories. This book also gives hope to reader's.



2. This book was so incredibly interesting. I've read quite a few books on the subject of suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder and I have to say this was one of my favorites. Amy so honestly tells the stories of her childhood, the way she suffered from tourettes as well as OCD and went undiagnosed for years. Amy details such difficult subjects, her trials and tribulations, but often speaks humorously about her past. She takes dark subjects, and writes seriously, but keeps them from being too dark and weighty by keeping a humorous attitude about her whole situation.



3. Passing for Normal (by Amy S. Wilesky) Reader Review
   Reviewer: Kristina M. Emard from Lebanon, ME USA

   Amy is an awesome writer, she tends to skip around a little but her detail and thoughts and opinions about everything are just so selective and different. Too bad there weren°Øt more writers like her. She talks about her life and the things she had to deal with. She did very well in school even with her disabilities.

   Amy had a very rough up bringing dealing with her two disabilities (1) Tourette Syndrome which is a rare disease that is characterized by involuntary tics and by uncontrollable verbalization involving especially echolalia and the use of obscene language, (2) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions or compulsions having one or both is sufficient for the diagnosis. An obsession is a recurrent and intrusive thought, feeling, idea, or sensation. A compulsion is a conscious, recurrent pattern of behavior a person feels driven to perform. Amy didn°Øt even know she had the disorders until she was older. She had to deal with her family and friends who thought she was crazy. She does finally end up getting the strength to go see a doctor because she knows that something is wrong with her. She was diagnosed with OCD and Tourette Syndrome, so her doctor put her on Prozac and other medications.

   After, when she knew she had the disorders she had a hard time, and didn°Øt want people to say bad things or make fun of her because of her disabilities, so she kept them to herself. When Amy is at her group meeting she isolates herself, she says °?My main problem is this: I seriously questioned myself up to a group of people who wouldn°Øt or rather couldn°Øt accept my party line.°± When Amy says °? people who wouldn°Øt or couldn°Øt accept my party line°± she means, people wouldn°Øt accept her for her. She was afraid that people wouldn°Øt accept her.

   In group she met a man named Bryant. They shared many similarities, which built their strong relationship. When Amy moved and was able to start at a new school, she loved it! She made many new friends, who again didn°Øt know she had these disabilities. Her friends thought that the twitching and the need to touch everything was cool. Amy eventually becomes obsessed with her obsessions and compulsions.

   Amy goes to college at Vassar like her many other relatives, where her and her first boyfriend begin living together. She was afraid of relationships, afraid of getting hurt, and afraid of being touched, but most of all afraid of any sexual activity. She trusted Ben very much though.

   In the last chapter she sends a very strong message that includes the title of the book. °?The older I get the more arsenals I acquire, the better I get at keeping my secrets, sometimes overriding them, sometimes Passing for Normal.°±

   This book has an amazing twist in the end but I wont spoil it for you. It is a great book for any reader that can follow flash backs and such. She uses great detail and amazing thoughts and opinions. She is a great writer.




4. I thought it was a really good book.

   I think that overall my experience with Asperger's syndrome (AS)has been more traumatic than hers has been with Tourette's, still, I think it's an important book. "Passing for normal" is something I'm trying to do all the time when I am with people.

   My only criticism is that she uses "like autistic" as a description of some of her behaviors and implies that it's a BAD thing to act autistic. It sort of feels like a put-down to me, but I don't think she intended autistic people to read her book and feel that way.

   It's amazing at the overlapping issues that Tourette's has with AS (some people have both), but they don't have any intrisic problem with making friends or understand typical motivations, as she shows.

   I thought her description of her relationship with her father was really interesting.




5. This memoir read like an article that was stretched out into an entire book. It was not a particularly interesting memoir or a good book on the topic of OCD or Tourette's. It was long-winded, obvious, and stale.

5 comments about Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin.

1. John Hope Franklin has been through a certain kind of hell prevalent in this country for centuries -- the hell of discrimination, the hell of being looked upon by whites as something less than human. Slavery was abolished in the 19th century after this country lost hundreds of thousands in a civil war. That uprising by the South still splits America, and African Americans have never truly been free.
   
   Dr. Franklin, who took his Ph.D in history at Harvard, has written not only the scarred story of his people but of discrimination that has never ended. As a young boy, he grew up in a small town in Oklahoma that was founded by African Americans. His lawyer-father finally managed to move the family to Tulsa, after a now-famous riot in 1921 destroyed the Greenwood District, the center of black commerce in the community. Even today, there are no reliable statistics on how many African Americans died in that tragedy.
   
   Throughout his illustrious career as an historian, teacher and presidential advisor, Dr. Franklin never wavers in his criticism of a "free" country that enslaves an entire race. Afterward, over a century of "Jim Crow" laws and traditions made blacks lead poverty-stricken lives in segregated schools, lunch counters, restrooms -- every aspect of life in America was separate and unequal.
   
   But his is a criticism tempered with knowledge and love of his country and his fellow students, historians and citizens, regardless of color.
   
   Here is a figure of history who, as a young boy, was not allowed by the white community of Tulsa to do even the simplest jobs, like delivering a daily newspaper, the Tulsa Tribune. Franklin delivered the newspapers by proxy -- only white men could be official carriers. Young Franklin did the actual work.
   
   This was the same newspaper that, reportedly, supported legalized lynching of African Americans. During the Tulsa race riots in 1921, that same newspaper urged the Greenwood area be burned to the ground. It was.
   
   He recounts another experience as a youngster in Tulsa. He saw an elderly white woman, who was blind, trying to cross a street alone. As a Boy Scout, Franklin knew it was an honorable deed to help her. She accepted his help, until she found out he was black. Then, she shoved him away and crossed by herself.
   
   This was the atmosphere in which Dr. Franklin formed the fortitude to build a life that would fight for freedom, justice and equality for all. Through his long life, he continues the battle to change and better his country.
   
   Sometimes, that battle became dangerous. During Franklin's college days, he recounted being part of a research team that talked with former slaves, plantation workers and sharecroppers. He and a fellow scholar were nearly lynched because they interviewed workers on a plantation in defiance of the plantation owner's orders.
   
   This winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, paints a picture throughout his autobiography of a nation that has lost the talents of an entire race of people, simply because of its prejudice in every area of society.
   
   In later life, he was reminded again of racist America. He says it best: "At age sixty I was ordered to serve as a porter for a white person in a New York hotel, at age eighty to hang up a white guest's coat at a Washington club where I was not an employee but a member."
   
   Yet, when President Clinton asked him to chair the President's Initiative on Race, he did so willingly. Dr. Franklin learned another lesson: the national press corps refused to either report, or report accurately, the workings of the committee.
   
   The Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and other major news outlets refused to send reporters to meetings of the national conversation on race.
   
   "'For his entire year as chairman,' wrote a reporter for The Boston Globe, 'Franklin never met face-to-face with Clinton.' This was, of course, stunningly inaccurate,'" Franklin wrote.
   
   This autobiography is, in itself, a national conversation on race and raises questions by which could hang the fate of the nation: in 2001 "...there were more young black men in jails and penitentiaries than in college...". The glass ceiling for African American employment remains. Discrimination in housing continues. The majority of African Americans still live in low-income neighborhoods.
   
   This book is a poetic, evocative plea for fairness and growth as a nation. It remains a 'must read' for every American, no matter what race.
   
   It has the rise and sweep of a great work of art, authored by a great and remarkable American, Dr. John Hope Franklin.



2. I purchased this for another person. As far as I know she is satified with the book according to what she was looking for.



3. I really enjoyed the written format and getting to know this man, his family history as well the impact of Black History over all. I've met him and to see this man at 90+ is amazing. A worthy book to include in your personal library.



4. Dr. Franklin shares his experience as a student, intern, volunteer, and educator in this poignant autobiography. The book is an excellent educational piece; it provides a view of a little-known segment of educational history as related to some of the top universities in America and abroad. Dr. Franklin's prose brings the reader to a point of understanding, of sitting in his place, feeling what he felt. It is a primer for all persons, regardless of race or ethnicity, who were not alive prior to the desegregation movement; it reminds us of how far we have come and how far we have to go.



5. I have heard two great lecturers in my life: Jean-Paul Sartre and John Hope Franklin. Franklin's autobiography reads the way he lectures - brilliantly. This is the book for those interested not only in the history of African Americans in the 20th century but also in the manner America dealt with race relations during the century when the issue of the color line was the decisive factor in the social and political life of the United States.

5 comments about An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us.

1. I forgot that I had ordered it on August 30 and tried to cancel, but you shipped it so quickly that it couldn't be canceled. Thank Heaven! It is truly a wonderful book (topical and timely and all of that). I am way over the age of 13.



2. James Carroll's memoir, An American Requiem, displays many examples of scenes and narrative structures that are simply ineffective. As I was reading the book, I often felt as though I was skimming through a history textbook. Instead of focusing solely on his lifelong memories, Carroll often would jump into a long, detailed history lesson in which he would drop names in order to try and appear knowledgeable. While one can see why these can be necessary in some areas, it seems as though Carroll doesn't focus enough on himself. One of many examples of this can be found on page 37, where Carroll proceeds to give a detailed overview of various events that took place in the 1950's.
   Another area in which I feel Carroll could improve is character development. I felt as though we were always being told of characters that affected his life, yet not shown how. In comparing this book to J.R. Moehringer's, The Tender Bar, it is quite easy to see how many characters in this book are underdeveloped. For example, when writing of Patrick Hughes, Carroll simply states why he and Patrick were friends, but refrains from really showing us how he was so different from the rest of the Paulists (p. 101).
   Finally, Carroll has a definite ethos problem throughout the entire book. By oversimplifying his father, while also ignoring his side of the story, it appears as though Carroll always thinks he is right, and that his father is wrong. The final paragraph of the book proves this when Carroll states that his father is "fallible," yet forbears from looking towards himself with criticism (279). By the end of the book, I was completely turned off to the story because of Carroll's inability to look at his father's point of view instead of always assuming his own as the correct one.



3. An American Requiem
   
   An American Requiem is a tribute to Lieutenant General Joseph F. Carroll, who, according to the Arlington Cemetery website, "was a US Air Force officer who was involved in national security affairs for 30 years. Headed Defense Intelligence Agency from creation in 1961 until he ret in 1969." He was the father of the author, James Carroll. The book is a biography of the father's adult life but it is also an autobiography of part of the life of the son.
   
   In recounting the difficulties they experienced as a result of their taking opposite sides during the Vietnam War the book also becomes a memorial to the terrible confusions brought about by that still disputed conflict. Through the account of the pain of the father and of the son it also becomes a valuable account of the pain felt by many Americans who fought, protested or just tried to understand.
   
   The final account in the book may also be a memorial to all who try to deal with the new Imperial role of the US.



4. In this book we see Jim Carroll right of passage to manhood. It takes place during the same years of Vietnam. And his families like many others were placed in conflict by it; it split two generations apart like no other war. Father and son were being at odds with one another. And the author uses this book to support his position that he took in protesting the war.
   
   Though his famous father, Ex-FBI Agent and Lt. Gen. Carroll in command of the DIA is the subject of some of his consternation. The book is not about him. It is about Jim Carroll and his relationship with his father who seemed to never be able to fill a void he made in himself by not becoming a Priest himself. And it seems to me this is the large reason for the conflict between them...Jim felt his father expected to be redeemed by his works as a Priest. Though his father never says this.
   
   So when you pick up this book to read, remember it is about Jim Carroll's life and his struggle with his faith and his father. And it does show the spirit of those times. Worth the read.



5. This is a rare, beautifully written personal memoir of a most unusual family in the Vietnam war. The author was a prominent anti-war priest: his father was Lieutenant General Joseph Carroll, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
   
   Highly recommended.

2 comments about Man of the People: The Maverick Life and Career of John McCain.

1. The most comprehensive McCain biography available, Paul Alexander's MAN OF THE PEOPLE: The Maverick Life and Career of John McCain paints a balanced, thoughtful portrait of the man who may be the next President of the United States. Readers, regardless of their political persuasions, will find MAN OF THE PEOPLE a must-read during a Presidential campaign that will clearly be a watershed in American politics and history.
   
   Much of the controversy surrounding John McCain, argues Alexander, is owing to the fact that McCain is a centrist. In his overall political agenda, McCain can be seen as progressive on some issues, conservative on others. In foreign policy, he is neither an isolationist nor one who endorses nation-building. His acknowledgement of the importance of the global community of nations suggests he is less likely to pursue a unilateralism that can spell disaster - the type of unilateralism that drove the Bush administration's war in Iraq.
   
   On the environment, McCain has evolved as a progressive. A skeptic about global warming when he first arrived in Congress, he has evolved over time to become one of the most ardent proponents of initiatives to protect the environment.
   
   On social issues, he has proved harder to define. He has been a steadfast defender of the right to life, yet has repeatedly said he is not in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. On gay issues, he continues to support "don't ask, don't tell" and opposes gay marriage. Yet he also attacked the Federal Marriage Amendment, a cornerstone of President Bush's reelection platform in 2004.
   
   On fiscal issues, he has proved himself to be a conservative - at least to a point. He endorses the fundamental tenet of fiscal conservatism, which says spend only what you have. But while he supported the tax cuts of the Reagan administration, he opposed the Bush administration's tax cuts because they gave too much to the most fortunate among us and too little to those who need tax relief most. A cornerstone of his political career has been his fight against government waste and pork-barrel spending; curtailing both, he believes, could help bring into line a federal budget that is currently out of control.
   
   Among the many issues MAN OF THE PEOPLE explores are:
   
   * New information about the campaign staff shake-up last summer that saved McCain's faltering presidential bid, and how the shake-up forced him to make the agonizing decision to fire longtime friend and political adviser John Weaver.
   * How McCain's career shifted from a stalwart Reaganite to a moderate, independent Republican whose focus has been campaign finance reform, gun control, and environmental issues.
   * Why Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter hate John McCain and how the conservative base of the Republican Party's distaste for McCain will affect the general election this November.
   * A new analysis of how, for much of the presidency of George W. Bush, McCain has fought hard in the United States Senate to undermine a large part of the Bush agenda, undercutting any claims to be made in the upcoming presidential race that a McCain presidency would represent a continuation of Bush policies.
   * The most extensive examination to date of the character assassination of John and Cindy McCain carried out by Karl Rove during the 2000 South Carolina primary, which led one top McCain aide to call the 2000 Presidential race "the dirtiest race I've ever seen."
   * His military career from his days at the Naval Academy to his time as a POW, and the profound hatred for war that emerged from his wartime experiences.
   
   Alexander says that, ultimately, McCain is virtually impossible to pigeonhole as he, more often than not, strives for the middle ground, which is why he so often teams up with Democrats to produce meaningful legislation that can be passed by Congress and signed into law. His affinity for the common ground, his desire to govern from a consensus, is what makes him appealing to Independents as well as mainstream Republicans. A centrist, not just on foreign policy but also on domestic policy, he is running for president to return the country to the middle of the political spectrum.



2. Okay, I haven't read the book, but just listening to this guy being interviewed is painful enough. He's a Hillary Clinton supporter who claims to be a lifelong democrat, yet he'll only vote for Obama if Clinton is on the ticket, otherwise he'll vote for McCain. He sounds like a very bitter Hillbot who only wrote the book to take votes away from Obama. I can't imagine him thinking he'd be successful. I feel sorry for people like this. They should all just move to Kansas and cry on each other's shoulders 24/7.

5 comments about Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary American Woman (Library of American Biography Series) (3rd Edition) (Library of American Biography).

1. I was very pleased with the timing and condition of this book. I will look forward to shopping with you again. Sincerely Nontrad stu.



2. While this was a quick read, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's bio was much, much better and far more interesting.



3. I think everyone should know about this incredible woman and this biography is a good place to start. Everyone is always talking about (and writing about) the fathers of the country. What about the mothers of the country? Charles Akers does a good job of bringing Abagail alive.



4. Akers does a great job of placing the information from Abigail's letters into a story, without directly quoting the letters line by line. A story is presented to the reader through the eyes of the First Lady. It was a required text for an American History class, though I did enjoy reading it. The story itself; however, can be deeply depressing while still communicating the accounts of the famous political family. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about the other side of politics.



5. Akers is limited by the series he is writing for so very little can be blamed on him, in fact he does a good job with what little he is allotted but his use of her first name throughout is not only taboo for historians but could also be considered sexist -- would you call Thomas Jefferson, "Tom" in a biography? Also, major figures in Adams' life have merely the depth of cardboard cutouts. Possibly suitable for the high school freshmen, probably not undergraduate and certainly not for the graduate level.