Reviews (1)

spanning the cultural divide
Salmond's superb account of Cook's Pacific exploration tells the story from the perspectives of both Europeans and Polynesians. It places Cook as a 'player' in the islands' internal intrigues and power struggles, especially of the Maori and the Taihitians, while beautifully delineating the various and changing responses of their 'discovers' to the Pacific 'paradise'. Cook's portrayal is highly convincing, and the book assembles a brilliant argument for its conclusions about his violent end. Salmond's work is informed by an impressive anthropological knowledge, but it reads also as a sensitive exploration of personality and as a compelling adventure narrative. I have read a good many historical treatments of this material, and Salmond's work is among the best. ... Read more

Book Description

Winston and Clementine Churchill wrote to each other constantly throughout the fifty-seven years of their life together, from the passionate and charming exchanges of their courtship until the year before Winston's death in 1965. Their letters provide rare and revealing insights into both the great political and social events of a turbulent century and the intimate world of an extraordinary partnership. Mary Soames, the only surviving child of this remarkable couple, has brought her parents to life as no biographer could. In moving detail we hear of Churchill's dramatic career and his final, deeply felt reflections on the fading of his enormous powers. And we hear Clementine, responding with her love and advice, and her belief in his destiny. Bringing these letters together for the first time, WINSTON AND CLEMENTIME is a surprising portrait of one of history's most significant figures. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Lesson of Life Behind an Extraordinary Partnership
When I considered buying that book, I first felt quite uncomfortable about the idea of reading an exchange of private letters between Winston and Clementine. Fortunately, I overcame my discomfort fast. I quickly enjoyed reading that thick epistolary volume about their political and personal matters. The personal letters of the Churchills revealed to me how influential Clementine was on Winston across the board. Their deep love and trust was the secret of their successful marriage, even if Winston was not always an easy husband and politician to deal with. Corresponding by written messages (today perhaps by email) with each other on a regular basis, even when they were together, proved to be an excellent way to help them keep their enduring flame for each other intact. Today, too many marital and extra-marital relationships get dissolved prematurely because of a lack of enough communication between both players. Life is after all a comedy in which men and women play their part and need to know or rediscover how to communicate their joys and pains to one another in order to increase the odds that they will be successful in their relationship.

An intimate insight
This book was introduced to me through a friend and, quite frankly, my first reaction was to cringe at the idea of reading such a bulky historical book. But from the first letter I was transfixed by the dialogue between husband and wife on both political and personal matters. This book brings with it a new aspect of Churchill's personality - he was not only a great statesman but he was a passionate man who loved his wife dearly which is seen clearly in the letters that were intended for her eyes only.

I often wonder how he would have felt to know millions would one day read the letters he wrote to his "clemmie-cat". In any case, its a great read :)

Cheers, Meagan.

Facinating look into the private life of a great statesman
The real service that this book performs is to remind the reader that great historical figures are not one dimensional. Chuchill was a renaissance man, warrior, journalist, historian, memoirist, politician and statesman. He was arguably the single greatest personage of this century and his name has become a symbol for the indominitable spirit of a free people. The collection of letters sent to and received from his wife are entertaining as well as educational. They provide a feel for the time in which they were written and place many of Churchill's famous accomplishments (and failures) in proper context. Amazingly, unlike today when the more we know of a public figure, the smaller they seem, in Churchill's case one comes away convinced that this was a great man in the truest sense, and that much of his greatness is due in no small part to his marriage to Clementine.

Churchills: Not Just a Political Partnership but a Marriage
Winston and Clementine: Happily Ever After

This is the story of a political marriage. In some ways it will be familiar to the contemporary reader, though it began and ended a long time ago.

Both husband and wife in this marriage were interested in politics. The husband was elected again and again over decades to high office. For decades his wife fought at his side, entertained at his table, offered her judgment to him and his colleagues and his enemies. She took his place in his absence, and sometimes in his presence. She became an international figure. She had power, and she used it. Always she had a mind of her own.

Sometimes this couple would quarrel. Once a serving dish was thrown. There was a period, not too long, when one of the partners was out of sympathy with the other, or anyway in sympathy with another.

They knew trouble. They lost a daughter and many friends to death, and some friends to betrayal. They fought political wars at home in which their own party tried to deprive them of office. They fought shooting wars abroad-including the worst ever. More than once, they seemed down and out. Their livelihood as much as their career was threatened. After decades of struggle they reached the summit of power and they knew the adoration of a nation and a world. By then they had grown old together.

Readers of this story will find that wives did not enter politics yesterday, and private lives were influential in politics before last week. But in other respects this story is unlike anything we have known in this time. Here are two people who won every honor that human affairs can offer, and they won them together. Meanwhile they operated upon those natural and traditional lines that involve that deepest of partnerships. Their division of labor augmented the strength of them both beyond what either could do, apart or together, if they both had done the same parts of the job. True, this is the story of a political partnership. More than that, it is a marriage.

The editor of this book is the youngest child of Winston and Clementine, Mary, now Lady Soames. She brings to the work care, intimacy, and insight. She has adopted some of the best devices of Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, to make the book available to the reader unfamiliar with the times and the people. Her notes are useful. She lets the letters themselves convey the story.

One sees right away the amazing pace at which these people lived. Winston Churchill was a soldier whose bravery and judgment in battle were beyond doubt. He wrote every line of every speech he ever gave, save perhaps one, and they are not surpassed in eloquence or impact or amplitude. He wrote serious books, nearly forty of them. He served in the British House of Commons, and mostly in the Cabinet. Meanwhile he made his living writing and speaking in publications and before audiences all over the world. Their house teemed all day and much of the night with secretaries, researchers, and colleagues. He wrote once that statesmen should exist in a condition of "stress of soul." Ever he took that advice for himself.

And necessarily, then, he imposed it upon his wife.

Winston Churchill and Clementine Hozier were married in September 1908, and they remained so until parted by death in 1965. Martha Washington, wishing to keep her relations with our Founding Father private, burned most all of the letters that passed between them. The Churchills' letters are preserved intact in their remarkable abundance. Partly because they were so busy, and partly because they took many vacations apart, occasions to write were frequent. In their day the post traveled rapidly-Fed Ex was not necessary; e-mail was unavailable; the telephone came along, but its frequent use developed later. And so they wrote, and well they wrote.

Nuggets are found in every shaft of this mine. Sir Winston is candid with his wife as with no other, especially in times of triumph or stress. When the first war begins, he unveils his character: "Everything trends towards catastrophe & collapse. I am interested, geared up and happy. Is it not horrible to be built like that? ...Yet I wd do my best for peace, & nothing wd induce me wrongfully to strike the blow." Another time, in a very different mood, he writes: "you have seen me very weak & foolish & mentally infirm this week...." And then the man of unbreakable will proceeds: "I cannot tell you how much I love & honor you and how sweet & steadfast you have been through all my hesitations & perplexity."

Clementine often bears the burden of saying to her husband what others cannot. When the first war begins, she cautions him about the feelings of a dismissed Admiral: "there only remains the deep wound in an old man's heart. If you put the wrong sort of poultice on it, it will fester." When the second begins, she writes: "...there is a danger of your being generally disliked by your colleagues & subordinates because of your rough sarcastic & overbearing manner.... Therefore with terrific power you must combine urbanity, kindness and if possible Olympic calm."

The letters of Winston are often more abstract and reflective than those of his wife. Sometimes they are effectively first drafts of things he will later publish. His life is saved once in the trenches by an annoying general who makes him walk two miles under fire just for a little chat; when he returns his dugout and all in it are destroyed. He reflects: "it is all chance or destiny and our wayward footsteps are best planted without too much calculation. One must yield oneself simply & mentally to the mood of the game: and trust in God which is another way of saying the same thing...."

At the same time, one sees in the husband a sharp need for his wife. It is he who is "lonely among crowds." It is he who has no one but her "to break the loneliness of this bustling existence."

History has more to say of Winston than of Clementine. He saved his country and more in a desperate crisis, and he leaves behind him a written account of prudential wisdom that is not surpassed. Both his words and his deeds exhibit a longing for honor. He fought for it. He met its demands with utter resolve and lifelong resilience. But of course there was more to his life than that. Honor itself is limited by the high purposes that define it, including the promises and affections that make a family. So he could write to her, at one of the lowest points in his life: "the nearer I get to honor, the nearer I am to you."

Churchill ends My Early Life, his explicitly autobiographical work, with the passage: "Events were soon ...to absorb my thoughts and energies at least until September 1908, when I married and lived happily ever afterwards." And so together they did. And do. ... Read more

Book Description

"This story of Billy Carter, my father, is by no means a definitive biography but more an account of his life.Some of it is anecdotal, told to me by his close friends, family members and my mother.The largest part of it, though, is my perception as one who watched from the sidelines."It is the story of how the man, whom I already thought of as being bigger than life, dealt with sudden fame and fortune.How he went from being a blue-collar hero to a media joke.It is the story of one who achieved his dreams only to have it taken away by forces beyond his control."It's also the story of a man who struggled through alcoholism, living in the shadow of a brother who became President of the United States, and intense scrutiny by the national media and several different government agencies, including the IRS, the FBI, and a special Senate committee. "It is a story of how all these things changed the lives of everybody around him as, first, we helplessly watched him self-destruct, and then, as we watched him bravely lick alcohol only to lose a valiant fight with cancer."And finally, it is the story of how I grew to hate him, then, though I still never understood him, to love him once again."

William 'Buddy" Carter is the son of Billy Carter and nephew of President Jimmy Carter.He is the author of the novel The Search for Savin' Sam. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Kansas City Reviewer
Excellent book. Very well written and a pleasure to read. I hope Buddy Carter will take the time to write more about his historic family. This individual has a real talent!

Pittsburgh, PA Native
I only thought I had heard about Billy Carter. This is a wonderful book, written by a sensitive, loving son of a famous man. Buddy Carter is a thoughtful, intellegent author who gives an unvarnished account of his battle with and affection for his dad. I recommend this book to all of us who struggle to understand our relationship with our parents. Buddy Carter and his book are a gift.

A New Buddy Carter Fan
This is a magnificent book. It is often painful and yet also very funny. Buddy Carter's relationship with his father is reminicent of the struggle many children go through for approval, while striving for independence. I am buying copies of this wonderful story for family and friends. Buddy has not only told his story...he has told the father/son story of many, including me. This is a must read!

A reader from Columbus, Ohio
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Buddy Carter writes with a style that is poignant, funny and very touching. This tale of pain and forgiveness touched my soul and I will recommend it to everyone. Buddy Carter is quite a writer and I am sure BOTH of his parents are quite proud of the way he brought forth this wonderful family story.

touching and revealing
I could not put this book down, I think Tuesday's With Morrie was the last book I was so touched by. What a wonderful and revealing portrait of a complex and interesting man. I suppose because I grew up in the South I so related to this book...a wonderful tribute to a father I always say the most we can hope for our children forgive us... Buddy seems to have been able to do just that...a loving tribute not only to Billy but Sybil as well. ... Read more

Book Description

Winston Churchill is without question one of the most important figures of the twentieth century. Famous as the bulldog who rallied his wavering and war-weary compatriots to lead the Allied resistance to Hitler, he will forever stand as Britain's savior. Unceremoniously thrown out of office after the war, he was considered brilliant, occasionally impolitic, but morally principled by his friends, and fearsome, opportunistic, and an unruly trouble-maker by his enemies. For much of his long political career he was the most detested and mistrusted man in British public life. Yet when he retired he was acclaimed as the "greatest Englishman of all time." Which is the real Churchill?

In the past several years, a wave of revisionist scholars have attacked Churchill's wartime strategy, domestic politics, and private life, and have even claimed that he could have responsibly kept England out of the war. Now Norman Rose, the first historian to be granted access to the Churchill archives since the publication of Churchill's authorized biography, sets the record straight, combining a proper assessment of Churchill's achievements with a legitimate strand of revisionism. Rose's Churchill is impetuous, and capable of disastrous miscalculation -- as in the Dardanelles expedition and the Norwegian campaign of 1940. Yet Rose defends Churchill's place in the pantheon of history, showing that through his story runs a tragic thread -- how the scion of a great aristocratic house, in many ways the quintessential English aristocrat, conservative and imperialist, came to preside over his country's decline. It is this theme, at once dramatic and poignant, that Norman Rose handles with fine understanding and perception in this comprehensive and fully documented account of Churchill's life.

British critics widely hailed Norman Rose's Churchill as quite simply the best biography yet written, calling it a "masterpiece." Finally now available to American readers, Churchill: The Unruly Giant is a definitive interpretation of one of the twentieth century's greatest leaders. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good But Not Great
Rose does a good job of providing a one volume biography of Churchill. However, it was obvious to me that he was neither as familiar with Churchill as Martin Gilbert nor as talented a writer as Manchester. His strength is in his objectivity which yields a fair view of the giant.

Excellent short volume
I am a great fan of Churchill and am always expanding my collection of books about and by the great man. I purchased this book shortly after its publication. I was impressed by Rose's crisp narrative and ability to describe the salient points of Churchill's life. He is able to do this in one volume - not easy to do when the offical biography runs 8 volumes! The only negative about this work is the length to which Rose goes to remain as impartial as possible. I say this is a negative because oftentimes there is much enjoyment to be gotten by reading a book about Churchill where the author's bias is clear. (Since most Churchill biographies are written by obvious admirers - like the yet incomplete William Manchester series; or evident detractors like Charmley.) This work is, sometimes painfully, without bias. This attribute makes "Churchill: The Unruly Giant" a fine introductory work for any reader wanting to learn more about Churchill; and form their own opinion on the greatest man of the 20th Century. ... Read more

Amazon.com

James Villas is in love with the notion of himself as a bon vivant. The food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for many years, a cookbook author, and a contributor to Esquire, Villas has chronicled gourmet living through the foodie revolutions of the last three decades. In Between Bites: Memoirs of a Hungry Hedonist, he writes about discovering and developing his palate in France in the early 1960s, the Advent of Julia (Child, of course), the rise of nouvelle cuisine, and the return to regional cooking. Though he claims to be a supporter of down-home American cuisine, Villas is deeply enamored of all things jet set. His idea of glamour has everything to do with champagne and what he always refers to as "sufficiencies of caviar." His memoir unfolds as a series of portraits of great chefs, restaurateurs, and eaters he has known--chapters are devoted to everyone from James Beard and Paula Wolfert to Jeremiah Tower and Paul Bocuse. These friends are portrayed lovingly and wickedly; Villas is a self-described "old queen" who loves nothing more than a good gossip. Sometimes the storymongering can get a bit breathless; he describes at least three times a meal aboard the SS France with Salvador Dali and an ocelot. But even his name-dropping has a certain charm: here's a sophisticate who still gets starry-eyed about his own extraordinary good fortune. --Claire Dederer ... Read more

Reviews (8)

This kind of book appeals to me
James Villas is somewhat older than me, but he has many of the same values and attitudes. This book is composed of loving tributes, chapter by chapter, to the big personalities who have made a contribution to the author's privileged life. I did not know most of these people, but after reading the book I wish I did. Sprinkled lightly within the book, as if another part of the portrait, are individual recipes that have important memories for the relationship between the author and the current chapter's subject. This is especially interesting to me: recipes as portraits of a person. It reminds me of Renee Taylor's "My Life On A Diet: Confessions of a Hollywood Diet Junkie."

I wish I were acquainted with Mr. Villas's earlier work, with Esquire and Town & Country. Some of the topics he covered sound interesting even now, thirty years later. He does seem to have a problem with Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, and it can be sort of nasty to read about that, there are other beautiful passages where an appreciation of great service in fine restaurants, classic French cooking, and living the high life on board the QE2 make up for any disagreeable parts.

It does seem tinged with sadness that James Villas does not appear to have a long term partner. If his trade-off for the life of fine dining that he has enjoyed to date was to do without a partner, then I am afraid it was a high cost too high.

A delightful tray of bon mots
Jim Villas might be described as an 'old school' American epicure, sharing many opinions and attitudes with James Beard and Craig Claiborne and less with American cuisine which can be traced to the influence of Julia Child and Elizabeth David by way of Alice Waters. He explicitly sides with Jeremiah Tower's version of the origins of California cuisine, versus the version whereby most of the credit is given to Chez Panisse in general and Alice Waters in particular. Were it not for his obvious respect for M.F.K. Fisher, Paula Wolfert, and Elaine Whitelaw, I would suspect him of the same misogeny I detected in Tower's memoirs.
His memoir, 'Between Bites' is one of the first books of essays on the culinary I have read and for that I owe to Mr. Villas my introduction to the importance of M. F. K. Fisher, Richard Olney, Elizabeth David, and Paula Wolfert as fellow writers in culinary journalism and education. For this I am very grateful. Villas also devotes sizeable chapters to Craig Claiborne, Paul Bocuse, Beard, and his mother, with whom he co-wrote two cookbooks. This was also the first book which really filled out for me the importance of Craig Claiborne to American culinary opinion when Claiborne was in his prime. For a second, similar opinion on Claiborne, see Jaques Pepin's memoir 'The Apprentice'.
I did find it a bit surprising that he had very kind words about Emril Lagasse and less than kind words about Wolfgang Puck. As Emril embodies the old New Orleans / Comander's Palace cuisine and Wolfgang embraces a version of the 'California Cuisine', this tends to confirm my view of his 'old school' orientation. I'm sure this had nothing to do with the fact that Emril provided a glowing blurb for the back of the book's dust jacket.
In addition to profiles of culinary luminaries, he recalls the story of how he arrived at his profession and his position as a columist at the magazine 'Town and Country' and a delightful story of how he worked as a table captain (waiter) at Chicago's Le Perroquet for a week. Very droll and very informative. He also includes one or more recipes in each chapter, from which I made southern buttermilk buscuits on at least a dozen different occasions. This biscuit recipe, especially made with White Lily flour and homemade baking power is very good, but, I suspect, not the very best. When I switched to Nick Malgieri's recipe which replaced shortening with butter, I found the results distinctly better. Maybe Villas was being kind by replacing lard with vegetable shortening.
This is an excellent read and I was sorry when I reached the last page.

Memoirs of an Old-fashioned Bon Vivant
Memoirs can be thoroughly boring if not done particularly well. Fortunately this one is well-written indeed. The first half of it deals with the author's coming of age as an academic and transition into a food writer. The second half of the book mainly consists of accounts of famous chefs and famous diners whose lives have intersected with his.

Villas is a outspoken (and perceptive) critic of nouvelle cuisine, fusion and all of the unfortunate food-foolishness of the past couple of decades. He savages some big-time chefs like Wolfgang Puck and is simply dismissive of many more famous names.

The author is also a creature from another time, say the 1930s, and is a terrible(wonderful?) snob. More than anything he reminds me of Lucius Beebe, a mid-century American bon vivant who managed to live a gilded life and then write about it.

The book misses occasionally when Villas gets a little too bitchy, but perhaps these slight lapses are as revealing as the more elegant parts. An interesting and somewhat disturbing revelation is just how many food writers live lonely and seemingly desperate lives. Perhaps only the ones in New York are this way.

Reminiscence with Recipes
James Villas has capped a brilliant career with this enthralling and entertaining biographical and gourmand journey. It is mouth-watering reading, in more ways than one. Villas is amoung two or three "foodies" who can write. I think of M.F.K Fisher and another North Carolinian like Villas, Jean Anderson (no relative).

A Fabulous Read
For anyone who likes to eat and read, this book is for you. A very interesting tale, well written, and one that keeps your intention. I highly recommend it, and think it makes a terrific mother's day gift. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One Man's Realities in the American Old West
James Cook's "Fifty Years on the Old Frontier" is an autobiographical narrative of his life experiences in the American West. Cook's endeavors during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century encompassed a whole host of occupations: cattle drover, tour guide, hunter, rancher, and military scout. Cook eventually married into money and retired to a ranch near Agate, Nebraska where he consorted with Red Cloud and other old Sioux warriors. He also collaborated with several university professors on fossil digs located around his ranch, eventually becoming an amateur scientist in his own right. Cook's accounts of his adventures in the Old West provide a compelling insight about the realities and myths of America's movement across the North American continent. James Cook died in 1942.

The beginning chapters of the book outline the author's work as a cattle popper and drover along the old cattle trails through Texas and Kansas. The dangers that threatened the well being of these tough as nails trail hands constitutes the bulk of Cook's narrative. What quickly becomes apparent is that these guys were not the dapper dandies we see in films and fiction; they worked hard everyday to get those longhorns up to Kansas and to the railroad. Cook recounts the disagreements amongst drovers, an experience with hail and a tornado, stampedes, the threat of wild animals, and the dangers posed by Indians. A separate chapter discusses the fate of the wild mustangs, yet another sad chapter in the annals of the conquest of the West. Once the businessmen moved in and discovered a market for horses, they rounded up the mustangs by the thousands through crude trapping techniques and by depriving Indians of their stocks. Horses injured in the process were ruthlessly shot by the trappers. The picture that emerges from the author's narrative about trail life is one of greedy exploitation leading to environmental damage.

Relations with Indians are a central theme of the book. The movie image of tremendous battles between natives and American military forces does not find expression in this story. Instead, Cook portrays Indians as just another obstacle to the settlement of the West. Cattle drivers had to pay attention to Indian raiders who sought to steal horses and cattle, but it was more important to worry about weather and stampedes. In the last section of the book, Indians play a bigger role in the story. The author outlines in detail his relationship with the Sioux after they had been confined to the reservation. Another chapter deals with the Geronimo uprising in New Mexico, an incident Cook experienced first hand during his tenure as a ranch manager in the area. He takes the opportunity of the uprising to tell the truth about the Indians and the military forces during the campaign. According to the author, Geronimo and his Apache warriors did not fight the military head on, but relied on hit and run tactics with strategic retreats to Mexico to stay one step ahead of the law. The military relied heavily on scouts, often mixed blood Indians, in order to track down the rogue Indians. Geronimo eventually surrendered when an army officer talked him into giving himself up.

Cook's interest in the West is not a broad picture of western history, but rather groupings of anecdotes about his individual experiences in the area. The reader often has to read between the lines of these engaging stories in order to ascertain the reality of the situation on the frontier. For example, Cook discusses in depth the time the Sioux on the reservation asked him to be their government appointed agent. The author provides several letters of endorsement written on his behalf by politicians and bankers in Nebraska and Wyoming. The letters praise Cook as a man of the West on excellent terms with the local Indian population. A cynic can see the larger dynamic tensions between East and West in these letters. The locals want one of their own in the job because up to this point the position was always held by someone from back east. Moreover, a western agent could deliver lucrative supply contracts to western businesses and perform favors for western politicians. Why else would bankers take the time to write a recommendation letter to the government? It certainly had little to do with goodwill towards the Sioux Indians, especially since this wheedling went on at roughly the same time as the Ghost Dance fiasco.

I am astonished that no one else has reviewed this book. This is a great text for the Old West history buff or those interested in Indian/White relations during the late 19th century. James Cook's "Fifty Years on the Old Frontier" is an entertaining, yet at some times sad, account of the realities of our frontier days. ... Read more

Book Description

Collected here for the first time in book form are the expurgated sections of artist, writer, and rebel Emily Carr's unpublished journals, her important "Lecture on Totems" about Native art and people, and letters to and from several key figures in her life. The unpublished journal entries include long passages about her first meeting with Sophie Frank, a Squamish basket maker who became a confidante; anguished meditations on her spiritual mission; musings about Native culture and the white community's reaction to it; and thoughts about her sisters and relatives. This collection also features commentary by noted literary historian Susan Crean that offers cultural and historical context. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

42,000 words from Carr's previously published journals
Award-winning author and cultural critic Susan Crean gathers previously unpublished writings from Emily Carr's journals, notebooks, and epistles, as well as 42,000 words from Carr's previously published journals for inclusion into Opposite Contraries: The Unknown Journals Of Emily Carr And Other Writings. An absorbing and eclectic collection of discourse, the entries range from Carr's father's no-nonsense rendition of the facts of life, to the complete text of Carr's 1913 "Lecture on Totems" concerning Native imagery and Native people, Opposite Contraries is highly recommended -- especially for students of the life and work of Emily Carr, who although best known as an extraordinary painter, was also the author of seven quite popular and critically praised books. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Candid, Personal stories & insights over 34 years
I never knew Johnny Cash had such a good sense of humor until I saw the picture of him wearing a Jamican "dread-lock hat" during what was his last Birthday party. (pg 61)
A great book of photos and stories! Peggy Knight has presented a personal insight to the lives of these music icons. She was a personal friend and valet for the family for over 34 years and has the perspective to help describe the people we only knew on stage.
The 34 years of photos in this book open our eyes to the family atmosphere of the Cash and Carter families, and help us understand who they were. Johnny, June, and all their family and friends, at work and at play, are in here. After reading / viewing the book I really felt like I knew these people better. Great Buy! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Review of Granzotto's book on Columbus
Gianni Granzotto, a former commentator for an Italian television station and president of Italy's largest news agency, is the author of a number of highly regarded biographies. He spent six years writing this book, visitingSeville, Santo Domingo and Haiti among other places Columbus went. He alsoretraced in a small boat Columbus' voyage from the Canary Islands to theBahamas following the day-by-day log kept my Columbus on the originalexpedition. This information was taken directly from the book, there was noinformation available on the author in English. The thesis of this booktakes a twist as the reader progresses through its near 300 pages. Thefirst impression the reader gets is that Columbus was a romantic man withan unending thirst for discovery and conquest. The reader learns ofColumbus' shortcomings such as his lack of leadership and poor peopleskills. Also one gets a picture of how Columbus wanted to believe so muchthat he had reached Asia, that he could not see the truth and diedbelieving not knowing he had discovered a new continent. We learn thatColumbus was a dreamer rather than the great navigator history once madehim out to be. If America was not where it was, Columbus and his crew wouldhave died during the crossing in search of Asia, thus his name would havebeen buried into history without another chance of ever resurfacing.In myopinion this book is a valuable addition to the books out there onAmerica's discoverer. The author made a special effort not to draw onspeculation but rather verified evidence. He retraced Columbus' firstvoyage in a sailboat himself. He visited the places Columbus had landed inthe Americas, places where Columbus had lived in Europe, and possibly wherehe had been buried, though nobody really knows for certain where he wasburied. Even though the effort was made to keep the book as objective aspossible, Columbus' emotions and intentions were pure speculation that helpthe book in a more romantic novel like delivery. There was one mistake Iwas able to spot in the book in reference to the Sultan of the OttomanEmpire who captured Constantinople from the Eastern Roman empire on page 2of the book. The sultan's name is not Mohammed, but Fatih Mehmet. Otherreviewers of this book also sight erroneous information in the book but donot specify what exactly. The general theme of the book takes the readeralong the journey with Columbus and his crew. As the reader you share inthe frustrations of not being able to take the journey that he lusted afterfor more than 20 years. Than in his triumphas he returns to Spain to showthe world his accomplishments. Than again in his failure of finding anysubstantial gold in the Americas, and returning to Spain disgraced. Theauthor does rely heavily on accepted mainstream reference books that wereprimary sources for his book. He mainly regurgitates what Las Casas,Bernaldez, Oviedo, and what Christopher Columbus' son Fernando wrote aboutthe man. The author's opinions are not contrary to the primary sources, sono new information is uncovered. I have not read any other books onChristopher Columbus except for a children's book that had this book amongothers in it's bibliography.The book is full of details with names ofpeople and places and dates all relevant to Christopher Columbus' life. Thesheer amount of detail gives credence to the book, However the amount ofdetail sometimes resembles filler material that would not be necessary inunderstanding the life of Christopher Columbus.According to some of theprofessional reviewers this book adds very little to the collection ofbooks available on the subject. However it was very easy to read and gaveme a vivid picture into the life of one of the most important explorers tohave ever lived. In my opinion it's entertainment value along with it'sblend of attention-to-detail makes this book a fine addition to theliterary work on the subject for the laymen who may not be able or willingto finish one of the more serious works written by other authors. ... Read more

Book Description

Churchill's often prophetic writings from 1935. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Churchill on "great" men
Although Winston Churchill is remember best as a statesman (and in my mind the greatest man of the 20th Century), he made his living through his pen.Churchill though of aristocratic background, was not extremely wealthy.While he could have survived on the family fortune, his expensive tastes and zest for living would have bankrupted him.So he turned to writing to earn his living.

Great Contemporaries is a series of essays written between 1929 and 1937 on the "great" leaders of the day.Churchill knew many of these leaders personally, and is able to supplement what might otherwise be a dry recitation of the facts of a career with personal stories and vignettes.

Perhaps the most famous of the essays is on "Hitler and his Choice, 1935."This essay is often cited by neo-Nazis and far leftists as proof that Churchill actually admired Hitler.But finally getting the chance to read the essay shows that any such analysis takes Churchill's words extremely out of context.Hitler was to be Churchill's great antagonist in the coming decade.In 1935, Churchill recognized that Hitler was facing a choice - would Hitler take a moderate road and perhaps be remembered as the leader who restored German honor, or who Hitler take the road of war.Churchill ends the essay with a warning, that German rearmament was continuing, and, of course, tragically, Churchill's misgivings were played out.

One problem, with this book is that many of the "great" men described are almost forgotten today, at least outside their home countries.Men like the Earl of Rosebery (Prime Minister in the 1890s) or King Alfosno XIII of Spain probably make no impression on the American reader while George Curzon is remembered, if at all, as the man who roughly proposed the border between Poland and the Soviet Union (the "Curzon Line").

The book includes essays on well-remembered men such as George Bernard Shaw, Clemenceau and Churchill's protégé T.E. Lawrence (better known as "Lawrence of Arabia).These essays, full of personal remembrances by Churchill, are well worth the time.

Winston Churchill writing while between jobs--magnificent!
Consider this passage, about the political climate in Britain before World War One:

"At the time, conflict unceasing grew year by year to a more dangerous intensity at home, while abroad there gathered sullenly
the hurricane that was to wreck our generation.Our days were spent in the furious party battles..., while always upon the horizon deadly shapes grew or faded, and even while the sun shone there was a curious whisper in the air."

Who could the author of such Churchillian lines be but Winston Churchill himself?The stately but rarely stentorian pacing and tone, imitations of which are rarely successful, still impresses upon the reader the power and beauty of the English language.

These biographical essays, written while Churchill was in political exile in the Thirties, were collected in book at the end of that decade.His majestically simple (or simply majestic) writing brings long-gone controversies and personalities back to life, if unavoidably suffused with the aura of the author's own personality.

Some notables that would seem to have been natural subjects for this book are missing: Gandhi, Lloyd George, Edward VII.But an American reader only passingly acquainted with the luminaries of early 20th century Britain would be interested in Churchill's memories of the First Earl of Birkenhead, Herbert Henry Asquith, and George Nathanael Curzon.The pieces are light on biographical detail and heavy on evaluation, but Churchill's estimation of most of these people is generous.He dismisses George Bernard Shaw as a jester, gallantly defends the ex-Kaiser from the worst of the late war-time propaganda, and warns of the rising influence of Germany's new chancellor, Adolf Hitler.The reader is also reminded from time to time that Churchill was indeed a politician, as in the essay on Lord Fisher, in which he deflects blame for some WWI naval setbacks onto that gentleman.

Excepting Walpole, probably no statesman's collected bread and butter writing has ever been so memorable, or made for such good reading.

Everything was on a grand scale.
There is very little about Sir Churchill that can be considered routine, average, or some standard he can be compared to. Everything he did wasgenerally on a scale that helped to create the Legend he has become, andthat he will remain. Even when he erred, it generally was not minor,however rare, but on balance we do not, nor will we have his kind again. Heloved his Country, and he loved the US, for he was 50% American, so thateven in Washington D.C. today, a statue of him striding forward has onefoot on British, and one on American soil.

His life was long, stretchingpast the 90-year mark, allowing him ample time to write and give speeches,which are routinely quoted to this day. He was a master at bothdisciplines, with his writing awarded the Nobel Prize For Literature in1953.

"Great Contemporaries" is a book that is more about the men andwomen he knew than about the Author. He is evident throughout the read, asthe impressions of these people of History are his. The 21 profiles heshares with the reader are incredible in their range, and that they werehis "contemporaries" is one testament to the History he created and was apart of.

Contemporary people of fame are often identifiable by a first orlast name alone. However as we live in an age where you can chat in realtime across the planet, fame does not require the same level of notoriety.The fame is of a different character and caliber.

The Kaiser, Shaw,Chamberlein, Hindenburg, Foch, Trotsky, these are only a fraction of theessays this man of history will share. Too, there is Lawrence of Arabia whorequires a bit more than a last name, but it is not do to his renown,rather the generic nature of the end of his sobriquet.

Thesereminiscences are different than those of today's leaders, there was verylittle distance between these people, they often met alone, and they didnot bring an array of lackeys, translators, and gadflies.

A tremendoussweep of one man's impressions of people whose actions resonate to thisday, and in all likelihood will not cease. ... Read more

Book Description

Here both the student and the lay reader will learn more of a "man of letters" who in both his life and his work embraced the sun, the sea, sensualtiy, soccer and the theater as the solutions to life's "absurdity." ... Read more

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The Man Behind the Novels
Originally titled "Camus for Beginners", this concise biography combines personal information, short excerpts, and vivid cartoons to illuminate the man behind the modern literary myth.

Although I had read The Fall, The Plague, The Stranger, and a few collections of essays a decade earlier, I had only a vague memory of Camus' actual life and conflicts. This fine book, which I read in less than two hours, remains a solid primer. Both longtime admirers of Camus and undergraduate students forced to read his celebrated novels should find this brief work a valuable investment of time.

It's also worth noting that cartoons are often read by adults in Europe. The format provides readers with a superficial, yet accessible and non-threathening, way to enter into academic and philosophical discussions. College and high school teachers of French, literature, and philosophy would benefit from adding this book to their students while assigning any novel by Camus. ... Read more

Book Description

Telling the story of the greatest sailor of them all, "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" is a vivid and definitive biography of Columbus that details all of his voyages that, for better or worse, changed the world. 50 drawings, maps & charts; 4 fold-outs. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Enlightening and entertaining
This was one of the most enjoyable biographies I've read. The most distinguishing thing about this book of course is the fact that Morison recreated the voyages before his writing the book. This recreation lends credibility to his writing. But more than that, it makes much of the book, particularly those parts at sea, seem as if the reader is experiencing the voyages through the person of Columbus. Not only the particulars of what he saw, but the smells of land breezes, the feel of the trade winds, the motion of the boat. Morison's obvious love of the sea and of sailing work very much in his favor. Another strength is the historical perspective carefully provided by Morison. Knowing what was going on with Catholic Spain during Columbus' life (the defeat of the Moors, the expulsion of the Jews, political intrigue and conflict involving France, England, Portugal, and others) helps to explain the motivations of Columbus and his contemporaries. I was a bit wary of a 60-year old book, Pulitzer or no Pulitzer, in light of the more recent reconsiderations of Columbus. Some people would have us believe that the voyage of 1492 was some sort of original sin inflicted upon the paradise that was the western hemisphere. But in his preface, Morison makes it clear that he is concerned with Columbus, the "man of action", and is leaving analyses of his motivations to others. And at any rate, Morison's sensibilities are very much in tune with those of the year 2000. He makes few apologies for Columbus and takes him to task where warranted, particularly for his treatment of the natives. One chapter, "Hell in Hispaniola", is almost exclusively devoted to this area. One word of warning: If your knowledge of sailing isn't good, then you may want to bone up on some of the rudiments before starting this book. Morison provides an explanation of some of the terminology, but not enough for someone who knows as little about sailing as I did coming in. But please don't be put off by that - this book is a real pleasure.

The Great Discoverer
Morison was both a true sailor and a true writer. This, his pre-war masterpiece (his WW2 history of the U.S. Navy being his other) was intended for the 450th anniversary of the First Voyage which, sadly, was overshadowed by other events. It remains the standard English-language work on the four voyages of the Admiral (as Morison likes to call him), and it reigns supreme over all other Great Explorer books as the one tome which is doubly literate - both well written and fully conversant in sailing lore. The first point Morison makes is that Columbus did, after all, discover America: Africans, Chinese, Vikings and (obviously) the Indians had encountered it before 1492, but only Columbus got back home to spread the word. Discovery is not just finding something, it's telling everyone else about it. The other early point debunked is that Columbus never "proved" the world was round, as no-one ever doubted it was: his thesis was that the world was not as big as everyone said - therefore China was only a month's sail away. In this, he was utterly, utterly wrong, but the by-product of his error was the unfolding of the New World. Finally, Morison comes to Columbus the man. He was no saint - his treatment of the Carib peoples is a terrible stain on his and his masters' reputations - but as a navigator, few approach his skill, and none his achievements.

biased book, still good reading for the beginner
Morison (RIP) was in love with Columbus, thus, don't hold your breath waiting to find out details of the natives' Holocauts (yes). And the "other" Holocaust will be forever part of his biography.

Columbus was in large part responsible for introducing penalty of cutting off hands of Indians who failed to produce the quota of gold dust. Greedy Columbus himself was killing natives at the wholesale. After all, in his first journal the word "gold" is repeated countless times. Columbus was first the businessman, and then a superb mariner.

Such abuses are polished by Morison, making the book unreliable source.

Still, author uses good narration to explain life of Columbus, and sets in invironment. If you know nothing about Columbus, you may buy the book for its easy reading. If you are looking for fair and detailed bio, look further (John Boyd Thacher, "Cristopher Columbus", 1903, is still the best source).

Worthwile to note: this book comes also in 2 volume version, which, beside of more pictures, includes an extra chapter on origin of syphilis (Morison in general minimizes massive raping of women).

The Best on the subject...
What other Author on Columbus was also an Admiral? ... and sailed the same pathways on a clipper ship?... Morison has written many books on Cristobal... and this one is the cadaliac. I have a slip-covered collectors edition, but have bought many used copies to give to friends as gifts (plus a few for myself). If you like truthful history written with style and professionalism... this in a book to own.

A great book by a great historian and a great prose stylist
This remains the definitive biography of Columbus. Morison was one of the greatest historians ever to practice the craft--his scholarship still holds up today. He was also a master of the written word, unlike most professional historians today.

Morison enumerates the reasons why he admires Columbus, but he also catalogs the man's misdeeds--for example, Morison uses the word "genocide" to describe Columbus's treatment of the Indians as governor of Hispaniola. Morison gives his readers the facts they need to form their own opinion of Columbus. (I do not share Morison's admiration for the man.)

I must correct the astonishingly ignorant remarks of the reviewer who identified himself as "A reader from New York City" and entitled his review "So much ignorance my God..."

Here goes:

1) The reviewer asserted that Morison was not, in fact, an admiral. Actually, Morison did receive the title. FDR made Morison an honorary admiral when he commissioned the scholar to write the naval history of the US role in WWII. (Morison produced a 12-volume epic. It's still in print.)

2) The reviewer regurgitates a number of questions about Columbus's origins that he apparently drew from another book by a revisionist historian (Kirkpatrick Sale?). The questions the reviewer repeats are good ones, but they are questions that remain open because the evidence to answer them conclusively probably does not exist. If the reviewer were a trained historian, he might understand that. ... Read more

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A thorough, illustrated biography discussing the president's childhood, his career, his family, and his term as President of the United States. Includes a time line and glossary. ... Read more

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The key accomplishments of the Carter Admnistration
Unlike most of the volumes in the Our Presidents series, Lori Hobkirk's juvenile biography of James Earl Carter devotes the entire fourth chapter to what our Thirty-Ninth President has done since leaving office. Only John Quincy Adams, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and William Howard Taft, who was named Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, had notable political achievements after leaving the White House, but Carter has done it without holding office. After looking at The Early Years of Carter's life, where he served in the navy, ran the family peanut farm and became Governor of Georgia, Hobkirk covers Carter's successful run for the presidency and what he tried to accomplish At Home and Abroad early in his term of office. The chapter on Treaties for Peace covers his key treaties on the Panama Canal, the Camp David accord, and the Salt II treaty. The troubles of the Carter Administration with regards to the Iranian hostage crisis are covered in the After the Presidency chapter, which also details Carter's work with the Atlanta Project and Habitat for Humanity, as well as his diplomatic endeavors. Pages in each chapter are devoted to focal issues: Carter's career in politics, the Energy Crisis, and the Camp David Peace Treaty. The margins often contain Interesting Facts, such as Carter's preference to stay in the homes of ordinary Americans rather than in expensive hotels when he traveled. The Our Presidents series is one of the better series out there for young students interested in studying the lives of the Presidents. Hobkirk does an excellent job of focusing on Carter's accomplishments in office instead of providing an overabundance of details. Other juvenile biographies of Carter, published more recently, will provide considerably more information about everything Carter has done in the last twenty years since leaving the White House. Of course, it still strikes me as odd to see his full name on the cover rather than Jimmy Carter. ... Read more

Book Description

Having passed the age of fifty, English poet Roger Green moves to the Greek island of Hydra because he has always felt himself more "south" than north. But he is not sure what he will find there-other than sun and the suspension of life's more mundane responsibilities that every ex-pat longs for. As he wiles away the days at his portable Olivetti, attempting to write a proper story, and the nights singing for his supper at the Pyrofani, the local watering hole, he is not quite prepared for a challenge of any kind. Let alone grapple with the discovery that his terrace has an unencumbered view of . . . singer, songwriter, and counterculture icon Leonard Cohen's banana trees. Or more exactly, that he'd soon be transfixed with the goings-on in the garden adjoining the house that still belongs to Cohen.

What follows is Green's fantastically discursive ode to obsession and myth, relayed in a series of digressions that prove far more illuminating-and life-affirming-than the facts laid bare. Combining deprecating wit, unconventional style, and a decidedly playful mastery of the English language, Hydra and the Bananas of Leonard Cohen proves, once again, that (in the words of fellow poet Laurence Durrell), life is far too serious not to be taken lightly.

... Read more

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Reviews (1)

Good secondary-level textbook.
This reprint of the 1938 illustrated edition of Columbus' journal covers the crossing of the Atlantic from August 3 to October 14, 1492. The (uncredited) translation is from Las Casas' abridgement of the journal in the HISTORIAS DE LAS INDIAS. The note at the beginning of the Dover edition explains the origin of the text. This book would be suitable for instruction with advanced middle school and high school students. It is unfortunate that the text is truncated upon arrival in Hispaniola since it omits many of the interesting passages concerning early contact with the islanders and Columbus' return voyage to Spain ... Read more