Book Description

Combining musical insight and the most recent research,WilliamKinderman's Beethoven is both a richly drawn portrait of the man and aguide tohis music. Kinderman traces the composer's intellectual and musicaldevelopmentfrom the early works written in Bonn to the Ninth Symphony and the latequartets. Throughout, he looks at compositions from different andoriginalperspectives that show Beethoven's art as a union of sensuous andrational, ofexpression and structure. In analyses of individual pieces, Kindermanshows thatthe deepening of Beethoven's musical thought was a continuous processoverdecades of his life. Works discussed include the Joseph Cantata, many of the piano sonatasandvariations, selected songs and other vocal pieces, Fidelio, the Missasolemnis,and the main chamber and symphonic music. Certain works, such as thesong cycleAn die ferne Geliebte, are illuminated in relation to Beethoven'spersonal life,and his response to the political and philosophical currents of his timecan beseen in some of his greatest masterpieces. Rather than the conventional image of a heroic and tormented figure,whatemerges here is a more complex, more fully rounded account of thecomposer.Although Beethoven's deafness and his other personal crises areaddressed,together with his ever-increasing commitment to his art, so too are thelighteraspects of his personality: his humor, his love of puns, his greatdelight injuxtaposing the exalted and the commonplace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fresh look at Beethoven.

This unhackneyed, interesting book surveys Beethoven's music via representative, sometimes little known works, arrayed in a loose biographical framework. Kinderman concentrates on Beethoven's characteristic traits, many of which are clearly audible already in the composer's childhood and teenage works. The book is aimed at a general audience, though a little familiarity with Beethoven's music and basic musical terminogy is useful (sonata, recapitulation, key).

The book conveys an idea of some of Beethoven's compositional techniques (the analyses are relatively brief, and often only cover aspects of given works, but many are extremely insightful). In more descriptive passages, Kinderman hones in on the essential in the music, without wasting time with the usual sturm+drang+fate baggage too often equated with Beethoven. Typical Beethovenish features, such as the mischievous sense of humor, and the sensory and emotional effects achieved without a trace of sentimentality, get their due too.

To be sure, there are some flaws. The segments on certain philosophical tendencies of the time were not interesting (for me), but Kinderman does clearly label these optional. Fortunately, the reader can easily separate out subjective interpretations from the first rate analyses, since Kinderman doesn't disguise his views in pretend academic authority. I do somewhat cringe at the musicological cliche of calling Beethoven's middle period "heroic". To me, this baffling label puts a false programmatic spin on what is really extremely varied music. In the same vein, the one composition really nicknamed "heroic" may get the only really overblown interpretation in the book (what is known about Beethoven's original sketch plans for the Eroica doesn't to me seem to support Kinderman's view). Fortunately, I never got the feeling that Kinderman tried to cram his views down anyone else's throat.

Otherwise, the book remains on solid ground. I upgraded my original four stars to five, since I think this book is very useful to those who love the music and want to understand some of it a little better. Currently nothing else (that's in print and easily available) does the job as well as Kinderman. ... Read more

Book Description

This book profiles eighteen of our funniest elections, from 1828, the first election in which all states had electors, to the election from hell in 2000.The book also includes chapters on Watergate and impeachment, and a gallery of official photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Norman Bethune - A Life of Service, Compassion & Excitement
This is a book that should be on the essential reading list for those planning a career in medicine (surgery). It is truly inspiring, and it provides an interesting history of the early years of thoracic surgery, transfusion medicine, and humanitarian committment. I recommend those who have the opportunity to visit the Bethune Peace Hospital in China, about a two hour drive from Beijing. The Bethune Museum there is wonderful.

A story of Curage
I remember this story from my mother reading it to me a s a child and again reading it as a highschool student. I gave me hope that one person can make a difference. That we can do things to help people not for fame and fortune but because people need our help and we have the expertise to help ease their pain and suffering.

Norman bethume was such a man and his story needs to be told again and again. I highly recommend it to anyone who values the efforts of individulas and the love of community.

Chester ... Read more

Book Description

On a night more than two thousand years ago, a prince was born in India. He could have been the most powerful rajah in all the world. But instead, the prince chose to become a common beggar, seeking a way to end the suffering he saw around him. He knew riches could not end suffering. He learned that deprivation could not end suffering. Then, under an enormous spreading fig tree, deep in concentration, he found Enlightenment. He understood Dharma, the law governing all things. He had achieved Nirvana, the peace that triumphs over suffering. And he found this knowledge and understanding inside his own mind, nowhere else. He became the Buddha, and taught his way of ending suffering to all who wished to learn. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Book!
This is one of the most moving and best books for children about Buddha's life. There are many other good books, but this one is really straight forward and clear in his life's details. I would use this books with others to teach about Buddha, but this book would be the cornerstone while teaching about his life on Earth.

Siddhartha for the Grade School Set
This is the first children's picture book I've seen about the life of the Buddha, so I find it interesting for that alone. It is beautifully, though at times a bit garishly, illustrated but with the Mara depicted in it, this might have been what illustrator Fahimeh Amiri was going for. Regardless of subject, however, I sometimes think there are simply too many colors in a few illustrations when I believe a subject demands subtler colorings, but this is likely just a matter of personal taste. Besides that, the illustrations are fine except for the one of Siddhartha in his ascetic phase when he, in this picture, resembles one of those extra terrestrials I've seen in movies before. Also, in the illustration of the prophet looking at baby Gautama's feet, the feet look to be half the length of the baby's body. I say these things not to be picky but because they distracted me from the story, which I think is relevant. There are some perfectly beautiful illustrations too, that do not distract with either too much color or with distortions. One is of the Buddha meditating under the Bo Tree, when Mara is sending down fierce rains and the king of the cobras shelters Gautama from the rain. There's a color theme at work here, too, rather than the clash visible on other pages.

The story proceeds as is known--prince is born, mother dies, prophecy induces king to shelter prince from sorrow and pain, prince finds out anyway and, after a brief marriage, sets out to find the cure of suffering becoming, ultimately, the Buddha. No surprises here. Suffice it to say, however, that my 7 year old son is mad about this book, stares with wonder at the illustrations and listens intently to the story.

As an introduction to the Buddha for elementary school kids, it's a good choice. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is an examination of artistic greatness through a unique and fascinating look at the lives, times, and works of three of mankind's greatest artists--Michelangelo Buonarroti, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Claude Monet. Artistic Greatness has four main sections. The first three are biographies that bring a fresh perspective to the times, lives, and works of these three artists. The fourth section is "Observations and Conclusions"; it draws all the material together in an unusual manner and deals with the overall subject of artistic greatness.

Artistic Greatness will enable you to increase your knowledge, understanding, and enjoyment of art. The interested lay person can gain a general understanding of artistic creativity, and the reader's knowledge of the arts will be enhanced through examining the lives and works of three great artists, providing meaningful perspective on a number of artistic eras and offering insights into the basic techniques of several art forms. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This Book Offers a Broad Spectrum of Appeal
Throughout his book, McBurney provides excellent contextual and personal information on three of the world's greatest artists, chosen primarily for of their pivotal positions in their areas of expertise. Especially with Claude Monet, it is as if the author followed the artist throughout his life, reporting on the facts occurring simultaneously with his writing, as did Boswell with Samuel Johnson.

But more importantly, this book is not only for lovers of great art. It has relevance for every reader who has aspirations toward greatness. Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Monet are among the many great people around whom we would profit from modeling our own lives. Readers can place themselves in the position of the artist to find out how they compare and what is needed if they are to succeed, as these artists certainly did.

In reporting the salient facts of the lives of his chosen artists, McBurney displays a grasp of the qualities that make for artistic greatness that belie his credentials as a businessman. It became apparent to this reader that the essential characteristics that the author concludes to be the requisites of great artists apply to other, perhaps even all, areas of endeavor, including business, which is, after all, the 'business of America'. For example, just as with great artists, business leaders require the physical and emotional stamina necessary to overcome hurtles and obstacles that stand in their way. Read the book to discover other traits, how the artists under the author's scrutiny applied them, and how you might apply them to achieve success, and perhaps even greatness, in your life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting but ultimately not very revealing
This nice little book presents us with a collection of writings on Beethoven by Beethoven's contemporaries. Among these one finds prominent musicians such as C.M.v. Weber, Gioacchino Rossini and even the very young Franz Liszt, great performers, close friends (e.g. Ferdinand Ries) and short-term visitors. Some of the encounters are well documented, whether some are somewhat controversial - such as the encounters with Bettina Brentano-von Arnim (as described in her letters to Goethe). Some of the material in this book is directly taken from Thayer's, and some of it from other sources. The documents shed light on the "visible" aspects of Beethoven the man, the composer and the performer. The writing, of course, is very subjective, however there's enough material through which one can construct a (very partial) view of Beethoven's personality. What one can not find in this book is a window to the mind of the creative genius that Beethoven was. Yes, some evidence is given as to the practical aspects of his writing - the famous notebook and the walks in the woods and so on, but for all the information given by these observers - the great riddle of how does the creative mind transform scattered musical ideas into a masterpiece - well, that will remain a mistery. Nevertheless - there's enough interesting information (in addition to the repetitive descriptions of the messy room and the harsh manners etc.) to make this book a reccomendable addendum to the library of whoever is interested in Beethoven and his work. ... Read more

Book Description

For the past two thousand years and more, the figure of Gautama, the Buddha, has attracted hagiographers and legend-makers whose writings have, for the most part, left readers with a sense of dissatisfaction and frustration. At the same time, there has been a flood of arcane scholarship on particular aspects of the Buddha's life, times, and teaching which has left the discriminating reader unmoved. This biography, written with rare elegance, delicacy, and verve will serve as a breath of fresh air. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Truth Behind the History
Most of us assume that the history as we learn is the truth. Unfortunately we know so little about the past that we can not have a good idea of what is the truth behind it, at least not using only our intellect. But if we let the book work in ourselves and leave the concepts we been raised with aside for a moment we could find us going in a direction so simple but in the same time so beautiful that we would not doubt for a second what is the truth and what is not.
This book show us how far can a human being go if it really live and learn with every single situation in its life.
Keep an open mind, and let your spirit show you the life of Buddha as you read this book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting biography of an underestimated president
To me as a non-American it has always been a puzzle why George Bush is generally regarded as mediocre and after reading the thoughtful and very complete biography by mr. Parmet I have not found the answer.

Bush has been a succesful businessman after a distinguisged service in the Air Force during the war. He has served as a Senator, as head of the CIA, as the Ambassador to China in an extremely interesting period in Sino-American relations and, finally, as a Vice-President to a very succesful President. What more can you ask as preparation for the most powerful job on earth? It is true that he failed to get elected twice, but is it not a credit to any man when he overcomes defeat to embark on such an interesting career?

The view which I get from this biography is on a balanced man who understood politics very well and also had the gift of personal integrity unmatched by most of his predecessors and certainly not by his successor.

It is true that he was not the greatest of communicators and PR guys, but there one should not forget that he had a very difficult, if not impossible act to follow. It is to his credit that he did not even try to imitate Reagan, but that he led the country in his own personal style.

One should forgive for being biased, as a European, to his Foreign Policy, since my understanding for and interest in the domestic scene is limited.

Bush Presidency can be characterised by formidable leadership in two distinguished events. His conduct of the events of the Gulf War was exemplary. Powell get's a lot of the credit, but I feel that is, partly, undeserved. It was the President's deciding leadership which effectively stopped Saddam's adventure in Kuwait. Of all the wars in which the US got involved after 1945 the handling of the Gulf War was the most succesful. It has been an act of extraordinary diplomacy and brinkmanship to get e.g. Saudi Arabia and Israel on one line. Haven't we all been worried about the Tel Aviv reaction after the first scud missiles hit the country? Personnaly I will not forget the relief I felt when, in the middle of the night in Europe, I saw and listened to Bush anouncing the invasion. This was clearly a leader who believed in what he was doing and who felt to be in full control, aware of the risks of his venture.

A second event has been the unification of Germany. After all the rhetoric of the Reagan administration, it was under Bush that this extraordinary process was done swiftly and with great succes and, most astonishing, without bloodshed. I am aware that the prime players were Kohl and Gorbachov, but it could never have been done without the full support and the tacit agreement of the US. Indeed, by taking a silent and , overtly, modest role Bush did exactly the right thing. I don't think under Reagan, it would have been as smooth.

All this is reconted in this book in fine scholarly detail, which distinguishes this author from the many, more sensational, political writings one sees so often these days.

I think this is a fine book about a succesful Presidency and a man of integrity one could only wish would emerge more on the political scene.

Life of one of America's worst presidents.
George Bush was a paradox. Prep school- and Ivy League-educated son of an aristocratic, rich Connecticut US Senator, he transplanted himself to Texas and (with a resounding lack of success) tried to re-invent himself as an old-school Texan. He lost two consecutive attempts to become a US Senator himself, and would have been a completely forgotten political wannabe had it not been for the charitable help of Presidents Nixon and Ford, who appointed the "wimp" to some key positions, which obviously made Bush think he was competent enough to become president, because he then ran in 1980. After being destroyed by Reagan in the primaries (and denouncing Reaganomics as "voodoo"), he then received some more remarkable charity when Reagan picked him for his running mate. After eight years as Vice President, Bush finally won the presidency (although he never would have won if he hadn't have been Reagan veep) and soon proved as incompetent at that job as Dan Quayle at a spelling bee. In short, Bush was a politically unsuccessful, rich New Englander who happened to have been picked for the right jobs by a couple of America's other worst presidents, and was then able to become President himself. An uninspiring, dull story and an OK book at best.

An Uncritical Look at an Unimpressive Presidency
The biographer was a distinguished scholar at the Conference on the Bush Presidency at Hofstra University in April 1997. Although this book was essentially finished by the time of the Conference, there is at least one footnote (Steven Burgess) referring to a paper presented at Hofstra. This reviewer suggested that Parmet look at the critical books by Jack Matlock on Bush's foreign policy and Monica Crowley's book on Nixon's devastating appraisal of Bush, but there is no evidence that this occurred. P More importantly, Parmet is weak when it comes to explaining the Bush stagnation. Despite the Persian Gulf War, there ensued the slowest four-year growth period in the postwar years. Thus, it is more appropriate to refer to the Bush stagnation rather than the Bush recession. P Whereas it is possible to describe Reagan's supply-side economics as a version of "commercial Keynesianism," there would seem to be no Keynesian bones in George Bush. Bush raised taxes in 1990, in collaboration with Tom Foley, as the economy headed downward. Later he refused to sign a reasonable tax cut coming out of Congress in March 1992. Instead he relied primarily on a change in withholding of income taxes which produced a brief upturn in the fourth quarter followed by sluggish growth in early 1993 when the tax rebates were smaller due to the previous tax cuts in 1992. P Readers interested in a critique of Bush's economic policy may want to read the contribution of Timothy Canova after the publication of the proceedings by Greenwood. 92. P ... Read more

Book Description

In 1953, Desi Arnaz surprised Lucille Ball with a 13th Anniversary Party at this Hollywood club. Name the club.

The answer to this question, and hundreds of others, is in this little bottle...er, book, the first Lucy quiz book in more than 20 years!

So turn on, tune in, and get ready to test your Lucy IQ.

Book Description

The first complete English translation of two works by Zen scholar D. T. Suzuki introduces Emanuel Swedenborg and compares Swedenborgian thought to Buddhism. The first work stresses Swedenborg's message that true spirituality demands an engagement in this world; the second compares Swedenborg's description of heaven to the paradise of Pure Land Buddhism. ... Read more

Book Description

Napoleon Bonaparte never set foot on English soil, although he was held aboard a warship off the coast of Devon after his surrender to the Royal Navy in 1815. Nor did he ever admit to being a prisoner. With its focus on the last six years of Napoleon's life--from his arrival at Devon, where he became the object of massive English public interest, through his exile on St. Helena, where he died in 1821--this close study of Napoleon in captivity attempts to reconstruct an authentic portrait of the fallen emperor by examining contemporary documents and public records of opinion. As this judicious volume by journalist and historian Frank Giles shows, Napoleon worked hard at St. Helena to obfuscate the history of his tyranny in France with a legend that would elevate him as the architect of a federation of free European peoples--had it not been for the fears of reactionary monarchs and the envy of England. Many English citizens, most of them discontent Whigs, stood among Napoleon's collaborators in this legend, just as many of them joined in the condemnation of the British governor at St. Helena, Sir Hudson Lowe, as a petty, tyrannical bureaucrat and booby. Turning a scrupulous eye to the Hudson Lowe papers, Giles attempts to redeem Napoleon's jailer and guardian, reviled as he has been by critics on both sides of the Channel, from the judgment of history. What emerges is a more balanced view of both Lowe and Napoleon, condemned to each other on an island in the Atlantic for six years. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A decent read on Napoleon's final banishment
This is quite a decent read on the treatment Napoleon received at the hands of his "...most consistent and generous foe, the British". A balanced account is what Mr Giles has stroved for and the coverage is generally admirable. Napoleon's jailer comes across as a more humane person than history has given him credit for.
I din't care much for the last part of the book which focussed on various poems written by great men of letters to explain the Napoleonic myth as I felt that such coverage was either too narrow or irrelevant to the overall British perception of Napoleon.

Fascinating research, wanting for a story
Mr. Giles gives us a great work, obviously carefully footnoted with very meticulous references, full of very interesting tidbits about British perceptions of Napoleon's stay on St. Helena.I left it, however, wishing for more than the historical details, wanting for more color about the participants, their own stories and experiences.The character of Sir Hudson Lowe does not come through clearly, despite the book's stated goal of demonstrating his relative innocence in the supposedly cruel treatment of Napoleon.There are many details, but Mr. Giles leaves it to us, based on the facts presented, to muster an image of the gaoler.Perhaps that is his intention---perhaps that is good historical documentation.That said, his description of the Lord and Lady Hollands feelings, again based on thorough first hand information, is excellent and insightful, perhaps especially due to their ample and descriptive writings.For Napoleon buffs, this one is--if not a nail-biter---a good essay on one aspect of his life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An Excellent Biography of Bach for the Non-Specialist Reader
Every six months or so I find myself in a 'Bach period'; that is to say, I become immersed in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and don't seem to want any other kind of music for a while. I'm in the midst of one of these periods as I write this review. I came across this 1995 book at my local library and have been utterly delighted by it. Otto Bettmann, the author, is a non-musician who is best known for having founded the Bettmann Archive - you've seen its cutline hundreds of times alongside pictures in books and magazines - a comprehensive collection of historic pictures. He was born in Leipzig and in his childhood lived in a house across the street from the Thomaskirche where Bach spent twenty-seven years as Cantor. He even sang in the Thomaskirche boys' choir as a youth.

The lavishly illustrated 235-page book is organized like an encyclopedia with one- or two-page articles arranged alphabetically by subject. They cover the range of Bach's life and activities from 'Abendmusik' (the regular musical soirée held by Buxtehude in Lübeck where Bach visited and stayed four months) to 'Zeitgeist' (an article about the spirit of the times in which Bach lived and worked). Other representative articles include such topics as 'Anhalt-Cöthen,' 'Cantor or Capellmeister?,' 'Fugal Wizardry,' 'Goldberg Variations,' 'Kaffee Kantate,' 'Money Matters,' 'Organist Supreme,' 'Quaffing,' 'Summation Works,' 'Wanderlust,' among many others. One may read the book straight through or dip into it here and there; each method has its rewards. Bettmann's prose style is relaxed, entertaining, often wry, and yet factually solid and coherent. He repeatedly makes the point that Bach was a much livelier person than the usual picture we have of him as the stern Cantor of Leipzig.

Also included are a pleasant foreword by Martin Bookspan who, among other things, sings the praises of Otto Bettmann (who, by the way, wrote this book when he was in his 90s!; he died in 1998 at 95), a glossary of musical terms, a chronology of Bach's life, an index and an extensive bibliography.

This book is perfect for the general reader who doesn't have the background or the patience to read the more scholarly books on Bach by such illustrious biographers as Philipp Spitta, Albert Schweitzer, Karl Geiringer, or Christoph Wolff.

Scott Morrison

For Love of Bach
From age six the great photo archivist Otto Bettmann lived in an apartment about five hundred feet from Leipzig's St Thomaskirche, and as a boy sang in its choir. Hence sprang a life-long love affair with the music and personal history of J. S. Bach. A product of his later years, Bettmann's Johann Sebastian Bach As His World Knew Him is a loving and informative portrait of Bach the man, and an insightful look at Bach's music and times.

Presented in the format of an encyclopedia, the book invites one to browse from topic to topic. Read cover to cover, one receives a well-rounded portrait, more in the style of an oral history than of a linear narrative.

Bettman was one of the word's greatest photo archivists, much to the benefit of this book. It is filled with photos and illustrations, some familiar, some quite rare, all expertly captioned.

This is not a scholarly treatise, and makes no pretenses to be one. Rather, it is the brilliant tribute of a one remarkable man for another. It is a real shame that this book was so quickly remaindered. We need more books like it. I won't be parting with my copy, so I wish you best of luck in finding one of your own. It is worth the search! ... Read more

Book Description

This series of biographies presents the great composers against the background of their times. Each draws on personal letters and recollections, engravings, paintings and, when they exist, photographs, to present a complete picture of the composer’s life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Looking Forward
Throughout the autobiography, I got a headache because the book was so extremely boring.Don't get me wrong, I do respect George Bush.I am just stating that he was a better president than is a writer.After about the first ten to fifteen pages, the book did a steep fall in its level of interest.The next chapters were highly boring and were similar to each other.Being in politics isn't exactly the greatest and most exciting life.All I wanted to say was that if you want action in a story, read "James Bond." ... Read more

Reviews (3)

not bad, but there are better bios of bach
This is not a bad introduction to the life and music of J.S. Bach, however it is nowhere as well written or informative as Christoph Wolff's biography. I found myself falling to sleep reading Boyd, but the Wolff kept me interested all the way. Wolff also presents the death of Bach's parents as a much more central experience, which I found Boyd tended to place less significance on. This is not a poor book, it is just that the Wolff bio is so much better.

An Outstanding Biography of Bach
Bach scholarship was turned upside down in the 1950s by the acceptance of new scholarship by Alfred Durr and Georg Dadelsen which established a new chronology and authenticity for Bach's music. It took about 30 years for Bach biography to catch up and digest the implications of the new discoveries. Bach biographies published before 1960 are frequently inaccurate in many details, and this include Spitta's famous 3 volume study. Of the recent books on Bach, Professor Boyd's book is one of the very best and the place for anyone with an interest in Bach to start their exploration of his life and work.

A fine summary of the life and works of J.S.Bach.
This book provides an analyical and important summary of the greatest of all 18th century composers. Boyd succeeds in providing the life of Bach in context with the musical conditions of 18th century Germany, but adds his own perspective as seen from the end of the 20th century. I found this book most enjoyable, along the likes of other biographies of Bach, including Spitta and Schweitzer. To be added to the Bach Plucked! web site's recommended reading list.

Michael Stitt ... Read more

Book Description

No one is more qualified to give a fully rounded, objective portrait of our forty-first president than Tom Wicker. A political correspondent for The New York Times for more than thirty years, Wicker was a first-hand witness to and reporter of George H. W. Bush’s political rise and presidential reign. In George Herbert Walker Bush, Wicker provides a richly drawn and succinct overview of Bush from his New England roots, his decorated service in World War II, and his successful oil businesses to his shift to politics and rapid rise within the Republican party. As he describes changes within the Republican party in recent decades, Wicker charts Bush’s career, including in-depth analysis of his campaign tactics and his gift for creating friendships and inspiring loyalty which, Wicker argues, has been the key to Bush’s success. The result is a fascinating, timely glimpse into one of the most powerful families in America today, complete with insights into the current reign of George W. Bush, the continued legacy of the Bush family, and contemporary American politics. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Less a biography and more a polemic
Wicker does a good job of concisely giving you Bush's early political life, his successful House campaigns, his unsuccessful Senate campaigns and what not. He also gives a decent description of Bush's role as ambassador, CIA director and chairman of the RNC in the 1970s. All through the era, Wicker paints Bush as a good soldier for the Republicans, and he comes off as an honorable man.

But once Bush becomes Vice President, Wicker is disappointed in him. Wicker sees Bush as a sell-out of his moderate Republican leanings for the red meat Reagan policies. He compares Bush to a chameleon that changes his colors to blend into the current campaign strategy. On top of that, Wicker contends that Bush could easily change political stripes because he lacked vision and purpose.

Okay, Bush lacked vision, but Wicker doesn't seem to value vision at all when it came from Ronald Reagan. In fact, in the middle of a biography of Bush, Wicker deems it necessary to tell us that Reagan's vision of a Soviet Free Europe had absolutely no role in bringing down that superpower. He's just got to tell us that Gorby saved the world not Reagan. That Gorby's goal was the opposite of Reagan's doesn't mean anything to this objective journalist. Does that mean that Gorby lacked vision too? Didn't that genius understand that people would be better off out from under his iron boot? Come to think of it, maybe Hitler would have fallen apart too if we'd just given him a chance. History is just replete with examples of totalitarian governments that renounce themselves and become free without outside agitation.

That's the main problem with Wicker's book. It's less a biography of Bush than a step by step criticism of Republican ideology and its failings. How dare a Republican administration treat Saddam Hussein nicely when he was beating up on the hated Iranians. Surely they knew 10 years in advance that he would invade Kuwait and we'd have to go to war with him.

Bush certainly lacked vision compared to Ronald Reagan. But after 8 years of Clinton, a person can sure grow found of decency, loyalty and personal honor. Wicker says as much during the last paragraph of the book. His conclusion is that Bush may have been a mess, but at least he was a brave guy who won the Gulf War. It was almost like the Penguin editors added that at the end so as not to upset Bush enthusiasts.

Every public figure should have positive and negative books written about him/her in order for students of history to get a wide picture. Books are part of the great debate. The trouble with this book is that it's not a good place for conjecture over substance. In a 200 page Penguin Lives' book, I would like to have an outline of the guy's life not a political fight. Wicker could have easily written a larger biography of Bush somewhere else and told us what a numbskull he was. It seems out of place in this series. Am I going to suffer this again if I read Penguin's books on Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther?

Not one for the ages
I've read four or five other Penguin Lives biographies besides this one of George H.W. Bush, and I'm generally a fan of the series and the approach. Designed to be summary overviews, writers are forced to choose key elements and facts from their subject's lives and (ideally) extrapolate them into a portrait that, while not exhaustive in the details, at least gives the reader an idea of who he was, why he did what he did, and how it matters to history. Good writers in this series have managed to pull this off. Others haven't done so well. Unfortunately, Tom Wicker's contribution is one of the latter.

The first tip-off, of course, is Wicker himself. As another reviewer points out -- absolutely correctly -- journalism and biography are different skill sets. It may be too much to ask a journalist who has spent years covering his subject up close to then turn around and have the kind of analytical distance a good bio really requires. This isn't to say a biographer can't have opinions. But they shouldn't be *a priori* ones, and it's too easy to suspect Wicker of having had his mind made up about GHWB before he started to write.

Still, Wicker does hit on many of the major themes of Bush's life -- ones other biographers have identified as well: his sense of *noblesse oblige,* his lifetime of high achievement in most everything he's tried, his friendliness, his history of "running to the right" and then governing from the center. Much of this he interprets as signs of overweening ambition, ruthlessness in destroying opponents, and a desire, above all, to be president of the United States. He paints Bush as a man who played at being conservative because he needed to in order to win election, who swallowed his pride and his centrist principles to serve uncomplainingly under Reagan, but who was unable to win the loyalty of conservatives who anyway tanked the GOP's chances with their divisive 1992 convention in Houston.

Along the way, Wicker recounts many of the highlights of Bush's years as veep and in the White House -- not only Desert Storm and the '92 election (though he devotes the most space to those), but also half-forgotten episodes like the John Tower confirmation fight and the Panama invasion. He also devotes a good deal of time to a what-did-he-know-and-when-did-he-know-it of Bush's role in Iran-Contra. All of this is decent history, and of course belongs in any biography of George Bush. But it seemed as much like a chance for Wicker to rehearse old grudges against, and take swipes at, Reagan and the Republicans. This is another problem with writing biographies of your contemporaries.

As a general rule, the Penguin Lives series is a good way to get a quick thumbnail portrait of the men and women featured in its books. But they're not of uniform quality, and some, like this volume, will definitely leave you wanting more. George H.W. Bush strikes me as an interesting historical figure whose legacy (like J.Q. Adams' or William Howard Taft's) will be seen as coming from someplace other than his years in the White House. There's certainly room for a short summary biography of him, but this title isn't quite it.

Journalism, not scholarship (are they mutually exclusive?)
As an avid reader of the Penguin Lives and American Presidents series, I was surprised to see a Penguin Lives biography of a frankly unremarkable president. I have read seven other Penguin Lives (Napoleon, R.E. Lee, Lincoln, St. Augustine, Joan of Arc, Mao Zedong, Wilson) and have been impressed by both the depth of analysis and amount of historical content in these tightly written books.
This book is not up to the same standard and I'm disappointed in the editors of this otherwise unblemished series for putting their label on it. At 240 pages, Wicker's book is also longer than any other Penguin Lives book I have read. By contrast, Thomas Keneally's excellent P.L. biography of Abe Lincoln was 192 pages. Is there really more to say about Bush the First than the Great Emancipator?
First of all, the book is chock full of stupid factual mistakes. Two stood out as soon as I read them and undermined the entire book's credibility: First, Wicker writes that Richard Nixon resigned in 1984 (as opposed to 1974), and toward the end he claims that George W. Bush's presidency began in 2002 (as opposed to 2001). This sloppy scholarship made it less of a surprise to me that Wicker was a correspondent for the New York Times, a journal that after the Jayson Blair scandal has little credibility itself.
Aside from "Check Your Facts," another Writing 101 rule that Wicker ignores is "Provide Evidence For Your Claims." He calls the belief that Reagan's defense buildup accelerated the collapse of the USSR's economy, and thus Soviet communism, "a common misperception." Okay Tom, you claimed it, now back it up. He doesn't even try. I don't mind someone sharing an opinion, but don't insult my intelligence by expecting me to take it for granted! He offers other purely political opinions that he fails to support with any evidence, especially when outlining Bush's political collapse in 1992.
Overall, his thesis is fairly interesting, but also fairly obvious. Bush the First was a president of morals but little conviction who got to office on his friendliness and Reagan's coattails, and he was ultimately rejected by conservatives and the nation's voters because of it. I can think of forty-two other presidents whose biographies I would rather read.
The subject, GHWB's life, is admittedly quite interesting. He held a wider variety of government jobs than any other president I can think of. While George H.W. Bush's presidency was uninspring and thus not a great idea for a biography, it is Tom Wicker's sloppy fact-checking and unsupported editorializing that make this book truly stink.

Competent and predictable
Tom Wicker contributes the latest election year biography of the president's father. This volume is an improvement over his similar work on Dwight Eisenhower for Times Books' American Presidents series. That volume suffered from an overabundance of journalism and not enough scholarship, in that Wicker took his newsman's ideas about Eisenhower (which really hadn't changed in the last 50 years) and imposed them on his work. One expected to hear the Adlai Stevenson jingle playing in the background.

His biography of GHW Bush is better in this regard, but suffers from some of the same flaws. For example, you'll never convince Tom Wicker that Reagan was anything other than an idiot that Bush more or less suffered nobly for eight years (along with the rest of the nation which inexplicably kept electing him). And Wicker will have none of this foolishness that it was the defense buildup of the eighties that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Curiously, he gives no alternate explanation for this, I guess because it couldn't possibly have been attributable to Reagan's leadership (or Bush's for that matter).

He gives ample praise to Bush for the coalition he built for Gulf War I, though it does come off as backhanded, since he might be insinuating that the father outdid the son in this regard when it came to Gulf War II. And a good portion of the book is spent reliving the debacle of the 1992 election, which has Wicker excoriating Bush for miscues that were later duplicated during the Clinton Administration, but I guess were okay then. For example, it's too bad that Bush stooped to low tactics in regard to Willie Horton and campaigning against Clinton's supposed character flaws, but Clinton's routine lies about himself and Bush were apparently fair game since they aren't mentioned.

The point of this review is not to say this is a bad book. It is as fair an assessment of the first Bush presidency as you are likely to get from the former Timesman. It might even be characterized as admirable given the outright lies that are being told about the Bushes in order to keep a dynasty from flourishing. It should be noted, though, that the reader can sense Wicker trying to be "fair" with Bush, and it feels awkward. While this is by no means a hatchet job, its tone at times is at times gratingly patronizing.

But, it's better than you could have expected from, say, Anthony Lewis. ... Read more