No comments about Land.

1 comments about Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum (Lincoln Forum Books).

1. The Lincoln Forum provides a continuing service to those of us with a fascination for the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. This book is a product of the Forum's good work, with chapters on diverse topics, albeit all related in some way to Mr. Lincoln, by many esteemed scholars.
   
   Given -- as with all such collaborative books -- the literary level of the individual experts' written product will vary and a reader's interest in all the selected subjects will not be constant, I found the following chapters in this collection most interesting to me: William Lee Miller's on a slave trader; Jean Edward Smith's on U.S. Grant (and with a ringing reminder that this was a rebellion and the Southern Cause was not noble); and, Craig Symonds' on two of Lincoln's admirals.

2 comments about Gardens at Hatfield.

1. 
   As The Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury writes in her comprehensive Introduction, "In recorded time, the story of the gardens at Hatfield begins in the early years of the seventeenth century, but my imagination plays with the idea that the tale could have begun forty years earlier, with the seeds of their creation being sown in the mind of a young boy......" She presents much more than a chronicle of recreation in her introduction; she also offers an intriguing story.
   
   The Dowager Marchioness is an expert guide as she lived at Hatfield House until 2004 where she planned and oversaw the recreation of this incomparably beautiful garden covering some 45 acres of the 7000 acre estate. Described by one as the greatest British gardener of the twentieth century, she takes readers on aan all-encompassing tour of this remarkable garden as her vision for it is fulfilled.
   
   Photographer Sue Snell, an acclaimed documentary and horticultural photographer, is an astute recorder as she follows the garden's progress over a period of eight years in all seasons. Some 250 color photographs superbly illustrate the 144 page text.
   
   A double page plan of the garden gives readers an overview of the terrain as well as an appreciation for the scope of this undertaking. The volume is divided into four sections, the North, which includes approaches and the North Court. We find the Old Palace in the West section as well as the Lime Walk and the lovely Holly Walk and the Wilderness.
   
   The Mount Garden, found in the South section, is breathtaking. Finally, the East section features a grand Orchard, delectable Kitchen Garden, and what estate is complete without a Vineyard?
   
   Not only garden lovers but all will enjoy and treasure this beautifully rendered volume.
   
   - Gail Cooke



2. Tale of John Tradescant the gardener is featured in historical novel ''Earthly Joys'' by Philippa Gregory; Sequel ''Virgin Earth'' continues the saga with his son also named John Tradescant whose journeys include the New World.

No comments about Green Design: A Healthy Home Handbook.

No comments about Were we controlled?.

No comments about 2009 Jaguar Wall Calendar.

No comments about The Young Inferno.

2 comments about On Hallowed Ground: Abraham Lincoln and the Foundations of American History.

1. This book presents an excellent and very articulate summary of not only President Lincoln, but the entire nation as a whole. It sure seems that John Diggins has been 'diggin' through a lot of material, and has come up with excellent research, and it shows in the quality of this publication. Two thumbs up!



2. Professor John Diggins's study is part history, part philosophy, and part polemic. The title of the book suggests a study of Abraham Lincoln and his impact on American values. The exploration of this subject alone is a formidable task, but Professor Diggins adds to it with his discussions of the American Revolution, the political philosophy of Locke, the observations on American character of de Tocqueville, the political economic theorizing of Veblen and Weber, the studies of American liberalism by Louis Hartz, and much more.

   Professor Diggins argues against those scholars who see Lincoln exclusively as a pragmatic policitican and claims that our Sixteenth President sought a foundational, non-relativistic source for our political values in the principle that all men are created equal, and in the right of all to work and to strive to own property and to better themselves. Lincolns' philosophy, Diggins claims, had its roots in the Declaration of Independence and in Lockean ideas. His reading of Lincoln is supported by discussions of numberous speeches and writings, most of which can be found in the wonderful two-volume Library of America edition of Lincoln's writings.

   The broad targets of Professor Diggins's book are philosophical relativists. Much of the book, however, is devoted to a polemic against modern multiculturalism and deconstruction. Lincoln, the philosophy of consensus (one shared broadly by Americans irrespective of their interest group, race, sex, status), and the value of work motivated by material self-interest are defended as an integral part of the American vision, striven for by all and, paradoxically, expanding the scope of our liberties.

   The book suffers, I think, from being overly ambitious and from its structure. The arguments are unduly repetitive and this, I think, hinders Professor Diggins from developing them with the depth they deserve. The book strays too far from Lincoln. While much of the discussion of other figures in the book is valuable and illuminating, particularly the discussion of Professor Hartz and of the Federalists, it moves too far from Lincoln or, more precisely, it gives the book a loose free-wheeling character with ideas suggested rather than sufficiently developed. Similarly, Professor Diggins's criticism of multiculturalism, with which I greatly sympathize, is not well integrated with the rest of the book. It is simply too much to do a political polemic, a study of Lincoln, and a treatment of American intellectual history in a single, relatively short volume.

   These quibbles to one side, the work is well worth reading. It explores our American heritage, challenges prevailing orthodoxies and offers much for further study and reflection. This is a worthwhile exploration of important issues in the nature of our precious American experience.

No comments about The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth.

1 comments about Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters.

1. The correspondence of Mary Todd Lincoln reveals much about her personalty, and also demonstrates her memory's occasional fallibility. Includes letters dating from the 1840s and into her widowhood. Rewarding for the specialist. A general reader will probably want to dip into the book occasionally rather than read long sections at a time.