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Legendary U.S. Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes is not only a giant in American legal history but is also remarkable for having been a master prose stylist. This collection, edited by Richard Posner, who is himself a federal judge, contains essays, speeches, letters to friends, and legal opinions that give the reader a highly enjoyable look into the thoughts that emanated from a very active mind. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is an Excellent Read!
The Essential Holmes, edited by Richard A. Posner (judge on the seventh circuit) collects the thoughts of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. via his numerous letters, court opinions, law journal articles and miscelleneous writings. It is a daunting task as Holmes was quite well-learned and something of a polymath, discoursing on everything from metaphysical philosophy to economics to law.

Posner, though, does a great job in editing the letters and pasting the relevant sections into easily digestible sections loosely related to the chapter's 'theme.' Posner's goal, to be sure, is to focus more on Holmes the philosopher, and i'm sure law students (who may know Holmes the Justice best) will thrill at the chance to really see how his philosophy - sympathetic with American pragmatism - extends into his thoughts on law. About the first half of the book is devoted to Holmes's philosophy on everything from metaphysics to the 'life struggle' and 'social struggle.' The second half segues the more theoretical sections into Holmes's views on statutory and common law, the interpretative 'theory' of both, and Holmes's ever contreversial and confusing views on individual liberty.

As the reader will find (or may already know) Holmes's social, ethical, and metaphysical philosophy is something of an individualistic relativism. Dreams of any final theory are suspect, and the social order is not much more than each person operating in self-interest, clashing with other people (doing the same) in something of a never-ending Darwinian struggle. From this (and the fact that Holmes believed all morality to be local and relative to context), law should not be seen as being gotten from some 'natural law'-like moral order, but should be disconnected from morality; rather, it should be seen as humankind's way of deriving regularity from the clashes of human interest in a neat little fiat. The law, then, is simply what the soveriegn says it is.

This (among other things) has made Holmes out to be something of a bad guy. To be sure, he can come off as crass and 'pre-post-modern.' But Holmes is also refreshingly real (at least to my eyes, as I am a philosophic ptragmatist through and through). It is becasue Holmes saw that there is no universal standard of 'natural law' or other such 'free-floating' fictions that he was such a believer in judicial restraint - holding to the constitution even when he personally disagreed. Many of those cases (Lochner, etc.) are included in this volume.

The only two things I was disappointed did not get more time was Holmes's first amendment views which are notoriously hard to decipher, and the conflict between his simultenous support of a 'living constitution' and his belief in judicial restraint. Both are conflicts that even the best of scholars wade through confusedly (never able to resolve their tensions), and it would have been nice to see a bit more focus on these two areas.

Of course, Posner is not at fault as this is an edited collection which can only provide what Holmes said; maybe he simply never resolved these two views.

To conclude, this is a great and artfully done collection that focuses more on Holmes's philosophy (from metaphysics to ethics) than do most of Holmes's collections. For those that know Posner, he is awfully sympathetic in idea to Holmes and his intro, though, breif is first rate; the selections, also, are fantastically picked. This book is not to be missed by lawyers who want some philosophy, and philosophers that want some law. Holmes was just amazingly skilled at both.

Beautifully edited - Oliver Wendell Holmes
U.S. Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes has to be one of the most frequently quoted legal scholars and this book walks a reader through his prolific writings. Judge Richard Posner has written some of the most thought-provoking legal books but this one is his editing a compilation of a variety of Holmes' writings that gives well directed insight into Holmes'amazingly creative mind.
Posner's extraordinary introductory facilitates a reader's understanding of Holmes' pearls of wisdom and for anyone fascinated by legal brilliance this book is a great read.

Get it
If you're thinking about getting it, get it. You'll be very glad you did.

Genius!
Posner, who is arguably today's most influential legal thinker, has put together an invaluable collection of Justice Holmes' most memorable writings. The combo of Posner selecting Holmes is powerful: the selections invariably present the brilliant Holmes on timeless legal topics. So much brain power is frightening, and we are lucky to be able to get it all in one fairly short book. All the more remarkable is how Holmes' ideas have not aged a bit; the similarities between Holmes and Posner are obvious.

This book is a must for academically-inclined lawyers, judges and professors. ... Read more

Book Description

The book is a brief yet comprehensive survey of the institution, cultural, and social life of the Third Reich—and Hitler's role in it, the Second World War, and the Holocaust. Based on current research findings, it spans an era of economic, social, and political forces that made possible the rise and growth of Nazism.Coverage includes material on anti-Jewish policies and the involvement of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust, the social composition and membership of the Nazi party and its leaders, the mechanisms of terror and control, the machinery of the Final Solution, and the Jewish view of the Holocaust. An in-depth look at Adolf Hitler, the man and the leader, examines influences on his early development, character traits, oratorical skills, messianic pretensions, and provides an analysis of his ideology based on extensive quotations from his writings and speeches.For anyone trying to get more background into a panoramic view of 20th Century German history. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The best short history of Nazi Germany available
Jackson Spielvogel has provided an excellent overview of the Nazi period of German history. His scope is comprehensive, considering Germany before Hitler, the dictator himself, the Nazi path to power, and the system that Hitler and his followers established once they came to power. He goes on to consider the two logical outgrowths of the philosophy of Nazism, World War II, aptly called "Hitler's War," and the Holocaust.

Throughout, Spielvogel succeeds in making the contemporary reader understand how the Nazis could come to power in "the land of Bach and Beethoven." This is a crucial question, not only for historians, but for every citizen of the world. As recent events in the Balkans and Africa have demonstrated, it is all too easy for the veneer of civilization to crack and expose the barbarism beneath.

I would recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in World War II, modern Europe and Germany, or the desire to be a better and more responsible human being. ... Read more

Book Description

Ben Hogan’s former ball shagger recounts firsthand stories of the golf legend—and reveals, for the first time, Hogan’s Swing Secret, a source of mystery to golfers for more than fifty years.

Ben Hogan’s pro-golf record is legendary. A four-time PGA Player of the Year, he celebrated sixty-three tournament wins and became known as a man of few words and fewer close friends. Most of what we know about Hogan has been based on myth and speculation. Until now.

In the 1960’s, though Hogan’s competitive career was over, he kept the practice habits that had made him famous and remade modern competitive golf. He hired fifteen-year-old Jody Vasquez to help. Each day, after driving to a remote part of the course at theShady Oaks Country Club, Hogan would spend hours hitting balls, and Vasquez would retrieve them. There, and over the course of their twenty-year friendship, Hogan taughtJody the mechanics of his famous swing and shared his thoughts on playing, practicing, and course management—unknowingly revealing much about his character, values, and beliefs, and the events that shaped them.

In Afternoons with Mr. Hogan, Jody Vasquez shares dozens of stories aboutHogan, from the way he practiced, selected his clubs, and interacted with other star players to his little-known humor and generosity. Combining the gentle insight of TomKite’s A Fairway to Heaven (which recalls Kite’s golf education under HarveyPenick) with the sage perspective of Penick’s own Little Red Book, Vasquez’s tribute is funny, poignant, and full of advice for golfers of all levels.
... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not much to this book
Not much here that hasn't already been written about Hogan. The so-called "Secret" is nothing more than a rehash of old swing tips that the author (a scratch golfer) apparently never thought was significant enough to incorporate in his own swing, but now after 37 years, believes is "book material". In my opinion, there isn't much to this book and it wasn't very interesting. I watched Hogan hit shag balls and that was a lot more interesting than reading this book.

Pleasant but light
This is a pleasant little book of not much consequence. Golfer's probably won't learn anything about Hogan that they didn't already know, but they'll have a few more stories to share. Let's face it, he wasn't a bucket of laughs. The famous "secret" isn't all that secret. The cupped left wrist was revealed in Hogan's own book, and the action of the right knee isn't much of an addition. Frankly, the most interesting parts of the book are the descriptions of Hogan's clubs and practice routine. We learn here for the first time that Hogan's clubs were 4 degrees open and, hence, produced his famous power fade. Unfortunately, we're not told how he hit a hook, a shot at which he was equally adept. That would have been interesting. We also learn that he practiced from the bottom up, i.e., he hit short clubs before long clubs, and that he alternated fades and draws in succession. His command of his shotmaking is emphasized over and over, but we already knew that. So, if you're a Hogan aficionado, here's nice book to read. If you're not, there are better choices.

Answers Are In The Dirt!
This is simply a great book on one of, if not the best golfer ever. He did it with intense work, not pr or friendliness. He knew the golf swing for himself, and demonstrated that.

Here an amazing sharing of his involvement with this man, a young man who shags balls and watches, and shags and watches and interacts for the rest of their lives together.

The simpleness, yet dramaticness of this relationship is revealed in brevity in terms of words and pages, but pondering what goes on in these 160 pages is intense and profitable for golfers.

For those outside golf, Hogan must come off as insolent and insensitive. Yet, he is ultimate golfer. The Swing Secret is revealed, and it is amazing, right knee and left wrist. Am going to find out "in the dirt myself."

The stories here are priceless and will continue the great mystique and rightful place of the Hawk. Favorites include the response to the German pro watching him during Kostis GD story, "You're a golf pro. You should know the answer."

The second was the ad shoot. Hogan readies himself for filming hitting three consecutive terrible swings. Then on cue, perfect contact and swing.

People want the easy way out. To hurdle over the time and expenditure of effort and toil and yes, dirt. Hogan was not of this mold. Golfers appreciate this. You must find yourself and have confidence that you know what the shot required feels like and can repeat it.

A rare one to be reread, and rethought, and used "in the dirt." Thanks, Jody.

Nice job of describing a complex man
Not being a golfer, I read the book because I have always been fascinated by the mystique that surrounds Ben Hogan. Golfers have maintained an almost religious devotion to Hogan and the stories that feed into his legendary status in the game.

Mr. Vasquez writes with obvious reverence as Mr. Hogan clearly had a great and sustained influence on him.

However, reading it with only cursory knowledge of Mr. Hogan's life (i.e., his bus accident and long rehab), I came away feeling that Mr. Hogan is not the type of person you'd like to spend alot of time with. He is intense, intimidating, and seems to have the need to control the rules pertaining to all interactions with him. In this regard, he reminds me of other "difficult sports geniuses" like Ted Williams, Bill Russell, or Bobby Knight.

Mr. Vasquez recounts that Nick Faldo paid almost $10,000 to charter a flight to visit Ben Hogan and Hogan didn't even agree to watch Faldo hit a few balls. I was also struck by the warning given to Faldo prior to his visit, "Don't ask Mr. Hogan any questions about putting." Apparently Hogan, a notoriously pedestrian putter, would end the meeting if it deviated from his "comfort zone."

It's amazing how behavior that we wouldn't accept in ordinary acquaintances is okay if you have a precocious talent to hit a golf ball, throw a ball through a hoop, or run fast.

Anyway, that's just my humble opinion.

Local Legend - Local Author
As a resident of the Fort Worth area I have heard most of the stories about Mr. Hogan. Jody brings many of these stories to reality. Although many will read this book for 'the secret', I think most will find the first-hand stories most appealing. They are humorous, insightful and revealing. It was an enjoyable read and on my gift list for friends and business associates. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Fascinating Diary
This book is a fascinating voyage through one of the great 19th Century Southern political minds; perhaps second only to John C. Calhoun. Alexander H. Stephens was a strange little man, never weighing more than 100 pounds, and standing only 5' 7" tall; but "Little Aleck" had the heart of a lion. He was possessed of a small head with protruding ears and piercing black eyes. Trained as a lawyer, with a frail almost boyish figure, he never married and was totally devoted to his half-brother, Linton, who served in the Georgia Legislature, on the Georgia Supreme Court and as a Confederate officer, and whose family Alexander Stephens adopted as his own.
This diary covers Stephens experiences as a prisoner after the War Between the States had ended. The War basically ended in April, 1865, but Stephens who had served as the Vice President of the Confederacy, had already gone home to Crawfordville, Georgia, his home town. On May 11, 1865, Tim, one of his servants, came running into the parlor saying: "Master! Yankees have come! a whole heap are in town, galloping all about with guns." Thus Stephens, who unlike other Confederate cabinet officials had never attempted to flee to the sanctuary of another country, came to be a prisoner. He was transported to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor and thus begins this diary.
Throughout the diary, Stephens was indignant that he was even a prisoner, for in his mind (he was probably right) he had done nothing wrong. He had always acted according to the principles of the United States Constitution to which he was totally devoted. He had served 16 years in Congress and had retired in 1859, and when the War started in 1861 he was called upon to serve the Confederacy. As he repeatedly points out the States created the Federal Government, not the other way around. The Federal Government's rights were limited. He had served as a Whig in Congress in the beginning of his career and served with Lincoln who also served as a Whig in the 30th Congress in 1847, when Lincoln served his only term in Congress before becoming president in 1861. Stephens felt he knew Lincoln well and this may be one of the reasons he was elected vice president of the Confederacy, in addition to the fact that he cautioned against secession and for this reason it was felt perhaps he may have had gained some influence with Lincoln.
In any case, the diary covers everything about his life at Fort Warren, where after an initial period of discomfort and apprehension (there was the possibility he may be hanged), he was treated rather kindly by his captors. Stephens read and discusses such books as the Bible, Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, Swedenborg's Doctrine Concerning the Lord, Cicero on Duties, Cicero on Oratory, Aristotle on Economics, Aristotle on Politics, and so forth demonstrating that he was a true intellectual. He discusses the food he ate, his living conditions, and people he met and dealt with such as his guards, other prisoners, and even the little girl who was the daughter of one of his wardens who would bring him flowers and thrust her little hand through the bars to put them in a little flower pot in his cell. Stephens only spent four months and nineteen days in prison. His treatment was much less harsh than that of Jefferson Davis who served two years at Fort Monroe. In the end, like Jefferson Davis and others, he was released and not prosecuted for any offenses. It has been said this was because in truth they had committed no offenses and acted against the Federal Government in much the same way the leaders of the 13 Colonies had acted against the Crown when the 13 Colonies sought their independence from England and thus could not have been convicted of anything.
All in all, a wonderful diary; I have not enjoyed reading a diary as much since I read James Boswell's London Journal 40 years ago.

Fort Warren's last prisoner
This is a reprint of the original diary kept by Stephens while at the fort. It is the only book still in print that was written at Fort Warren. If you had a Confederate relative imprisoned at Fort Warren, this gives a terrific insight to the daily routine at the famous bastille. ... Read more

Book Description

Known for decades throughout North America as "Mr. Hockey," GordieHowe played 32 full seasons in the NHL (and WHA). During that time, he (and theRed Wings) won four Stanley Cups and nine Prince of Wales Trophies (most pointsin the regular season). He won the Hart Trophy (League MVP) six times, the ArtRoss Trophy (most individual points) six times, and appeared in 20 All-Stargames. His career statistics (including the WHA) are (with the singularexception of Wayne Gretzky), unparalleled in the history of the sport.

Howe's numbers for total games played (2,421) and total penalty minutes (2,419)are extraordinary. He was among the strongest, toughest and most talentedplayers on the ice. In his late forties he was still feared and revered by menhalf his age.

Lavishly illustrated with images from the Harold Barkley Archives plus dozens ofpieces (photos and memorabilia) from the Howe family's own extensive collection,"Gordie" is a fitting tribute to "Mr. Hockey." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Mr. Hockey, plain and simple...
I read this book back in November of 1999. The co-author Frank Condron did an excellent job with Gordie Howe in putting this historical book together. On top of the simple fact that a picture is worth 1,000 words. The whole book is a Hockey Pictoral Treasure. Mr. Condron did an excellent job of writing this book. What I mean by that is. Simply because you don't feel your reading Gordies words. Its like Mr. Howe is right next to you and he is pointing at each picture as you turn every page. Also it is quite obvious after all the press, awards and fame, Gordie Howe is still a gentleman.

TRUE HOCKEY MEMORBILIA!
This work represents the finest photo collection of GORDIE HOWE'S career to date. If YOU are old enough to remember the epic battles between the Montreal Canadians and the Detroit Red Wings of the 1950's-60's, YOU can relive these times in photo concepts - eg. Howe's 545 goal in the Montreal Forum eclipsing Rocket Richards's record and the 15 minute standing ovation by Montreal fans; Howe's commentary on the Montreal dynasty once Jacque Plante and Jean Bellevue arrived on the hockey scene; the skilled fis-ti-cuffs of Gordie Howe against bad boy, Lou Fontinato of the New York Rangers; and Howe's best picks of NHL players he most admired! ... BUY TWO AND MAKE A FRIEND! ... Read more

Book Description

Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth explores theshifting reputation of our most controversial founding father. Since the dayAaron Burr fired his fatal shot, Americans have tried to come to grips withAlexander Hamilton's legacy. Stephen Knott surveys the Hamilton image in theminds of American statesmen, scholars, literary figures, and the media,explaining why Americans are content to live in a Hamiltonian nation butreluctant to embrace the man himself.

Knott observes that Thomas Jefferson and his followers, and, later, AndrewJackson and his adherents, tended to view Hamilton and his principles as "un- American." While his policies generated mistrust in the South and the West,where he is still seen as the founding "plutocrat," Hamilton was revered in NewEngland and parts of the Mid-Atlantic states. Hamilton's image as a champion ofAmerican nationalism caused his reputation to soar during the Civil War, atleast in the North. However, in the wake of Gilded Age excesses, progressive andpopulist political leaders branded Hamilton as the patron saint of Wall Street,and his reputation began to disintegrate.

Hamilton's status reached its nadir during the New Deal, Knott argues, whenFranklin Roosevelt portrayed him as the personification of Dickensian cold- heartedness. When FDR erected the beautiful Tidal Basin monument to ThomasJefferson and thereby elevated the Sage of Monticello into the AmericanPantheon, Hamilton, as Jefferson's nemesis, fell into disrepute. He came toepitomize the forces of reaction contemptuous of the "great beast"--the Americanpeople. In showing how the prevailing negative assessment misrepresents the manand his deeds, Knott argues for reconsideration of Hamiltonianism, which,rightly understood, has much to offer the American polity of the twenty-firstcentury.

Remarkably, at the dawn of the new millennium, the nation began to see Hamiltonin a different light. Hamilton's story was now the embodiment of the Americandream--an impoverished immigrant who came to the United States and laid theeconomic and political foundation that paved the way for America's superpowerstatus. Here in Stephen Knott's insightful study, Hamilton finally gets his dueas a highly contested but powerful and positive presence in American nationallife. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Extraordinary
Knott provides us with a clear account of Hamilton's philosophical contributions and a compelling story about the uncertainty with which Americans approach his legacy. This book is masterful in detailing the competing political agendas and in framing how politicians, acamedicians, and pundits use the Founders and their rhetoric to push forward their own agendas. A wonderful book that helps us understand our American political culture, as much as one of our country's most important Founding Fathers.

Getting right with Hamilton
Finally! A compelling defense of the Founder second only to Washington in terms of indespensibility to the creation and greatness of this county. Professor Knott chronicles the roller-coaster ride of Hamilton's reputation, from his murder by the scoundral Burr to the present. He presents overwhelming evidence that General Hamilton has been abused by critics, historians and Jefferson-lovers alike. Knott's painstaking history of the apochryphal "great beast" comment provides a frightening lesson of how a single malicious report can turn even a great man's historical reputation upside down. The fact that Mr. Hamilton's solitary statue stands ignored at the back door of the Treasury Department while Mr. Jefferson is surrounded by marble and carved words perfectly illustrates how the myth of greatness trumps the reality of greatness. Professor Knott's conclusion that "a return to Hamiltonianism" could fix much of what ails American politics is right on the money. Fantastic book. ... Read more

Book Description

Victory of the Allies was no longer in doubt. Russian forces had reached Berlin. Yet, Hitler ordered his troops to keep on fighting. Among the last who defended his headquarters, an underground bunker in the Reich Chancellery garden, were boy soldiers, 13 to 17 years old, members of the Hitler Youth Volkssturm(home defence force). The dictator had reached the point where he wanted the earth scorched. Facing total defeat, he now was willing to sacrifice everything and everybody, including the German people,even the youngest. Lehmann was a witness to what happenedin the Fuehrerbunker. He was the runner who carried some of thelast orders issued by the dictator,right up to his suicide. Many details as described in this book have never before been disclosed. This is a gripping story of survival - and later of redemption - a story ofendurance amidst the horrors and brutalities,a first-hand historical account, alreadyhighlyacclaimed by leading historians. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Personal account of an age where individuals didn't count
What an account of a life.
Or more precisely, what a life to tell this story.
The book seems to have been written only recently, in the new millenium, about events which happened more than 50, 60 years ago.
It was fascinating to get the detailed and personal account of somebody who is a contemporary in this 21st Century, in the day and age of 9-11 and the Afghanistan war, of an era, which for almost all of us is considered history.
In this book we see that history tends to repeat itself in very unforeseeable ways.
How else could the account of the years before 1945 (where Mr. Lehmann was a 16 year old serving in the final days in the bunker of THAT most evil person of the 20th century) sound so familiar to the articles and books I read about the religious schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the ending 20th and beginning 21st Century.
Obviously everything is different now than then, but everything is similar: Teaching children the wrong things will make these children deeply, deeply hate "the others", before they (hopefully) start to think by themselves, as Mr. Lehmann did at some point during the final days of the war and even more after the war, when he emigrated to ... America.
Reading this book is a personal history lesson, describing the detailed step-by-step daily increment in indoctrination, where the results ends up being so foreseeable (at least from the standpoint of 2002): A manipulated 14-, 15- 16-year old, "happily" willing (at that time) to die for the Führer.

Very personal account of a life & how you can always change
What an account of a life.
Or more precisely, what a life to tell this story.
The book seems to have been written only recently, in the new millenium, about events which happened more than 50, 60 years ago.
It was fascinating to get the detailed and personal account of somebody who is a contemporary in this 21st Century, in the day and age of 9-11 and the Afghanistan war, of an era, which for almost all of us is only found in history books. Or in books like these.
In this book we see that history tends to repeat itself in very unforeseeable ways.
How else could the account of the years before 1945 (where Mr. Lehmann was a 16 year old serving in the final days in the bunker of THAT most evil person of the 20th century) sound so familiar to the articles and accounts I read about the brainwashing "religious" schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Obviously many things seem different now than then, but the methods are strikingly similar: Teaching children the very wrong things will make these children into a deeply hating crwod, before at least some of them(hopefully) start to think by themselves, as Mr. Lehmann did at some point in the last days in the shattered Berlin of 1945 and even more after the war, when he emigrated from Germany to ... America.
Reading this book is a personal history lesson, describing the detailed step-by-step daily indoctrination increment, where the results ends up being sadly foreseeable: A manipulated 16-year old, happily willing (at that time) to die for the Führer.

Fact or fiction?
Having read a great many Eastern Front and last days of Berlin accounts, I can't just can't be certain of Lehmann's account.

It seems unbelievable to me that he was a part of Hitler's last public appearance outside of the Bunker, an appearance of which we know photographs do exist - see Hitler Youth, The Hitlerjugend in War and Peace 1933-1945, by Brenda Ralph Lewis, Spellmount, 2000 p185 - and yet there is not one photograph of the event (or indeed any photographs of Lehmann except for 1946 and 2000 pen portraits) contained in the book. For such a keen young photographer, it seems almost as unbelievable that not one of his photographs (or his family's) has survived and/or warranted inclusion in the book.

Finally, having received a shrapnel wound as serious as he seems to depict in early 1945, I find it hard to accept the account of his recovery. He goes from continuing severe pain on walking and fever only days before his release from hospital, to contiuing pain while standing on a train to his grandfather's house on leave, to no mention of any continuing side effects only ten days later when he rejoins his original Kampfgruppe.

Fact or fiction - your guess is as good as mine when you compare this seemingly incredible account to works from Sajer, Voss, Koschorrek or Zoepf.

pleasure to read
You would -very much- enjoy this book for the following reasons:
* It is very informative. It is a social analysis of the Nazi Germany. You come to understand everyday life in Germany and how they (especially the younger ones) were indoctrinated, why they supported Hitler, even in the desperate final days. "We were willing to forgo our lives, as a sacrifice for Fuehrer and fatherland". "In the great scheme of things, we had been taught, our individual lives belonged to the nation. Not for us to live on, but for the nation to survive".
* It is an easy read. The book was divided into many chapters.
* Well-written. It reads almost like a novel. Other than the historical information, the auther writes about his personal experiences which are not related to history that's being written around him, like the chapter "love and lust". These personal stories don't take away from the book or become a distraction; they add literary beauty.
Overall, very good book.

Lehmann teaches important lesson
The very idea of recognizing the validity of anything an admitted Nazi had to say was anathema to me: A Holocaust refugee who landed in America at age ten.

But, Hitler's Last Courier is making a difference. The message of the book is a magnificent paean to the honesty and integrity of the writer.

Armin Lehmann gives us a picture -- in meticulous, almost overly zealous, detail of how the Nazi machine worked in Germany. Idolatry of Hitler took over, became stronger than any religion, and all participants involved cheerfully allowed themselves to be brainwashed.

Little kids judged each others blondness, parents skillfully eliminated any non-Aryan ancestors from family trees. Armin Lehmann omits nothing. He even translates every military and youth-group term into English so that the reader will have a complete picture of the Nazi hierarchy.

As a youngster, it seems that duty and obedience -- part and parcel of many unsuccessful attempts to please his judgmental "SS"father -- were major priorities. And, on he went, to become a teen-age soldier, earning two Iron Cross medals for heroically saving his fellows even when he, himself, was grieviously wounded. His reward, at age 16, was being assigned as Courier in Hitler's final bunker.

So, why celebrate this book, this gray recount of Nazi bureaucracy, of Hitler's propaganda machine, of worship at the Nazi altar? What is there to gain from such an exposition?

In a word, everything!

Because at age 16, when Armin Lehmann was shown the carnage of the extermination camps, the residue of the ovens, the skeletal remains of both the dead and the barely living, he underwent a change that took charge of the rest of his life.

From that moment, he became a fierce advocate for non-violence, for peace, and a dedicated enemy of all hatred. And he has never stopped. He has given his heart and his soul to erasing even the most remote possibility that any kind of hate movement could ever arise again.

He pulls no punches, makes no attempt to deny guilt, fully accepts the karma that has painted his destiny as an activist.

This man is to be respected. Hitler's Last Courier was written for a reason. At this point in time, at this juncture between peace and a possibly deadly World War III, we must all heed the message his message.

This book is for all ages. Every potential skinhead, racist, Aryan Nation member, and homophobic kid on the block needs to read it, learn from it. History, in fact, does not need to repeat itself. ... Read more

Book Description

White goes beyond the labels to give readers a rounded portrait of this remarkable jurist. Covering Holmes' early life and time at Harvard, his ambivalent relationship with his father, and Civil War service, White also examines Holmes' childless marriage and his reputation as a preeminent legal figure. 14 halftones. Map. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A wonderful book. Very detailed but also lucid.
Two apsects strike me in reading about Holmes. First is his life. What a great subject. Holmes is almost as exciting to read about as Lincoln. The second is his jurisprudence. White does a fine job covering both. I like White's style. Somewhat loose but never inaccurate, his biography is very readable.

Two chapters: The Supreme Court of Massachusetts and the "Progressive Judge" are so wonderfully written that they deserve to be read twice.

I read the book over a period of four months which is something I rarely do. This is because the subject and content are so important that the philosophy of Holmes takes some time to perculate. White's description of Holmes influenced my perspective greatly.

I would recommend the book to any person interested in law or simply about America. ... Read more

Book Description

A fresh perspective on the Third Reich: the deadly contests among Hitler's lieutenants, and their disastrous consequences.

The Nazi regime was essentially a religious cult relying on the hypnotic personality of Adolf Hitler, and it was fated to die with him. But while it lasted, his closest lieutenants competed ferociously for power and position as his chosen successor. This peculiar leadership dynamic resulted in millions of deaths and some of the worst excesses of World War II.

The Devil's Disciples is the first major book for a general readership to examine those lieutenants, not only as individuals but also as a group. It focuses on the three most important Nazi paladins—Göring, Goebbels, and Himmler—with their nearest rivals—Bormann, Speer, and Ribbentrop—in close attendance.

Perceptive, illuminating, and grandly ambitious, The Devil's Disciples is above all a powerful chronological narrative, showing how the personalities of Hitler's inner circle developed and how their jealousies and constant intrigues affected the regime, the war, and Hitler himself. 16 pages of photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Incredible Work!
Nazi Germany and the administration behind is it as become, in the popular lexicon, absolutely synonymous with evil. Rightly so, but I often feel that this casual characterization of the whole enterprise frustrates more scholarly examinations. If we just paint the whole regime with that wide, all inclusive brush, don't we suffer in the long run? Why were these men evil, what was the structure that existed that allowed them to wield such power and accomplish such horrific things? If we just say evil, then nothing is learned. Recent histories of the Third Reich and its leading members have been very good, but the best I have read in the last few years is without a doubt Anthony Read's The Devil's Disciples. To me, this is a really monumental work, on par with Kershaw's double biography of Hitler. While other books just lump all the leaders together, making them all interchangeably horrid, Read follows each individual throughout the history of the Third Reich, picking up on their many private motivations and their characteristic insecurities.

Most of those that became the real heavyweights behind Nazi Germany followed Hitler early on. Joseph Goebbels, a struggling writer and intellectual, was drawn to the socialist bent of Hitler's message. Hermann Goering, a decorated World War I ace was attracted to Hitler's virulent opposition to the Versailles Treaty and all of the anti-military ills of the Weimar Republic. Heinrich Himmler, an amateur farmer who dreamed of mythic military glory and loved Hitler's paramilitary infrastructure. All of this men, fairly intelligent, were totally won over by Hitler's legendary hypnotic speaking style. They became his closest political allies early on, especially Goebbels, who helped construct the Nazi political campaigns of the late 20's and early 30's. Even in the face of adversity, such as the failure of the Beer Hall putsch, they were steadfast in their allegiance to the Fuhrer, especially Goebbels, who is sickening in his willingness to compromise everything he believes in in order to appease Hitler. These men became all the more dangerous as the Nazi's insidiously gained control of Germany in 1933.

As the Nazi's began to take over every facet of life in Nazi Germany, those closest to Hitler began to fill niches in the dictatorship. Goebbels eventually became propaganda minister, Goering the Luftwaffe and the new economic programs, and Himmler started with the small SS. Other equally repulsive thugs took positions, such as Hess, Heydrich, and Rohm. The Nazi government was one characterized by incessant back biting and powerplays, as Hitler's removed leadership style fostered brutal political infighting. To move ahead, coalitions would destroy a common enemy, such as the SA leadership in the Night of the Long Knives. As the Reich began to expand into Austria and Czechoslavakia, Hitler's captains ruthlessly began to wield their own influence overseas. Goering soon became the most powerful business magnate in Europe, pillaging whole nations, a blueprint that was about to be horrifically exported. New figures emerged, such as Ribbentrop and Speer, all of whom were strangely dedicated to being close to their god like leader. One way to do this was to step up the amount of anti-Semitic violence, a task in which the fanatics such as Himmler reveled.

Once the war started, the system of death and economic devastation was brought to the conquered lands of Europe. The most horrifying part of the book to me was the absolute nonchalance the Nazi hierarchy showed while ordering the deaths of millions upon millions of people. The empire was built on death, and people like Himmler were determined to mold it into a terrifying new order. Their philosophy was fiendishly selfish, with no concern for morality or temperance. As the war began to turn against them, the minions of the Reich accelerated their squabbling, fighting over the crumbling pieces of the Nazi empire. As Hitler degenerated into madness, they grew bolder in their initiatives, including the Final Solution. The most satisfying part of the book was to read the last days of these wretched individuals, who, in their unbelievably delusional minds, felt they would play some role in post war Germany. Most of them died like the cowards they were.

The book is just excellent. It is rich in detail at 900+ pages, but it flows and has an intense narrative. Read really knows how to write effectively, constantly informing but never boring. His profiles of the various Nazi leaders are amazingly engaging, you don't forget their origins as you read their various exploits. While there are really no new explanations, you still learn some new viewpoints on various actions and events that occurred during the Nazi regime. It is an eminently readable and entertaining account of mankind's darkest hour.

holy cow!
this is the best account of the inner day to day machinations of hitler's rise to power yet! wm. shirer left so much out! its fascinatingly told and once started you wont wanna put it down! its not for the faint of heart as every single detail is enclosed. Read has taken the diaries of all the major characters and placed the most significant details in an almost chronological order! i am only half way through and they haven't started the invasion of Poland yet! it does tend to concentrate on the main characters and the important decisions they made that lead to what happened. Read uses a lot of German names of places that can be confusing. a glossary would have been helpful. it will rate with Shirer's accounts of the third reich for centuies to come!

Faustian Bargains With Hitler Lead to Ignominous Death
Anthony Read has written a wonderful book on a horrible tyrrany. Read traces the rise of Nazism from its infamous beginnings in post World WarI Germany to the fall of the Third Recih and the trial of the Nazi Criminals at Nuremburg.
Read focuses on the three men closest to Hitler in the rise
to power. Herman Goring the master of the Lutfwaffe; Joseph Goebbels the Mephistopheles of the Ministry of Propaganda and
the chicken farmer turned mass murderer and leader of the SS
Henreich Himmler.

The book is lengthy with over 900 pages filled with excellent thumbnail sketches of the personalities who together made Germany a prison for anyone who wishes to think for themselves and live in a climate of religious toleration.
Anyone who teaches the history of the Third Reich should use this book. The only caveat is its lack of maps and detailed notes in the bibliography.
Read kept my attention throughout this worthwhile tour through the Dantian hell of Hitlerian Germany.
The book is a tour de force and worthy of praise!

A Faustian tale of HItler's Evil Lieutenants in lurid detail
Hitler was the evil genius of the rise of Nazism in post-World War I Germany. Everyone knows his name but few know how he rose to power using fiendish guile, deceit, trickery, thuggery and
Antisemtic hatred to rise from the streets of Vienna to his
ghoulish death in a Berlin bunker in 1945.
In this 900 page popular history of the rise and fall of Nazism the British historian Anthony Read tells the story of
Nazism by tracking the career of Hitler's evil trinity of
Herman Goring, Dr. J. Goebbels and Himmler the sadistic and
cruel head of the SS.
As one who has read countless books on the Nazi era I would place this easy to read and understand book as one of the best.
It is a cautionary tale of how intelligent men and amoral bounders can alike be seduced by the siren call of a dictator
such as Hitler.
The one problem I have with the work is the lack of maps.
This book doesn't have anything new to say about the era for scholars but as a digestible history of the times it is outstanding.
I have enjoyed Read's work in the past and hope this latest volume will do well in the United States. The evil of Nazism and the hatred between the races must never be forgotten in our historical consciousness.
Well recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

-Booklist "Marrin writes insightfully about the life of Adolf Hitler and attempts to ascertain the reasons for his fanaticism, as well as the motives of those who blindly followed him. The author forgoes sensationalism, and his matter-of-fact writing style and recitation of events are more than adequate to chronicle the horror. Step-by-step, he describes how Hitler, a seemingly shy, insecure young man was able to inspire a defeated nation that saw the extermination of many of its citizens as its salvation." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A wonderfull account of Nazi terror
I personally loved this book for its detailed accounts of everything from Oskar Schindler to the Battle over Stalingrad. If you have any interest at all in World War 2, this is a fantastic book, even includes some pictureswhich display the Nazi terror for Russians, Jews, and 'traitors'. In all awonderful book! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Alexander Hamilton is one of the least understood, most important, and most impassioned and inspiring of the founding fathers. At last Hamilton has found a modern biographer who can bring him to full-blooded life; Richard Brookhiser. In these pages, Alexander Hamilton sheds his skewed image as the "bastard brat of a Scotch peddler," sex scandal survivor, and notoriously doomed dueling partner of Aaron Burr. Examined up close, throughout his meteoric and ever-fascinating (if tragically brief) life, Hamilton can at last be seen as one of the most crucial of the founders. Here, thanks to Brookhiser's accustomed wit and grace, this quintessential American lives again. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Too Superficial
Like Brookhiser's previous book on George Washington, this is essentially a superficial and extended essay. Nevertheless, the book does illustrate the awesome versatility of Hamilton: ardent patriot in the Revolution, key author of the Federalist papers and one of the men who got the US Constitution ratified and as first Secretary of the Treasury, the father of the American capitalist system. Unfortunately, Brookhiser does not do this distinguished career justice; Hamilton's role at Trenton and his assault on Redoubt No. 9 at Yorktown is barely mentioned. Hamilton's admission of responsibility in the nation's first public sex scandal is interesting in light of the contemporary Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. However, by the end of the book, Brookhiser is quite tedious.

Thank you, Mr. Brookhiser
This book is long overdue. While our bookstores are glutted with books on Jefferson, we had only McDonald's bio of Hamilton left in print. Flexner's odd "Young Hamilton" was recently rereleased, not much of a comfort to Hamiltonians. Michael Lind's "Hamilton's Republic" gave me hope that perhaps Alexander was finally being dragged out of obscurity into the much deserved limelight he always craved. I've read most of the biographies on Hamilton and I'd rate Brookhiser number one on readability and vivid portrayal. If you're looking for more detail, try to track down Hendrickson's long out of print two volume work. It's a tad eccentric but a hell of a good read. Forrest McDonald's bio is excellent as is John Miller's. If you stumble onto Frederick Scott Oliver's 1921 bio, gobble it up. It's way too worshipful but it illustrates excellently how an earlier generation held Hamilton in much higher esteem than they did Jefferson. Broadus Mitchell shows you don't have to be conservative to find Hamilton an inspiration. When you finish with Mr. Brookhiser, if you have time to read only one more book on Hamilton, without a doubt the one to read is Clinton Rossiter's "Alexander Hamilton and the Constiution." A brilliant, brillaint study. After reading Rossiter I was a Hamitonian for life. I hope Brookhiser has a similar effect on a new generation of readers. Sadly, as stated above, most of these books are out of print so Brookhiser's work is very much appreciated.

"This is a Mortal Wound, Doctor"-Alexander Hamilton
Good Friday, April 9, 2004

I should listen to my mother more often. "Never talk about religion or politics." That's hard to do, however, in an election year! However, my mother is usually correct. (My Hamilton roots come from my mother's, mother's, mother, Molly Hamilton Summers. This Scots-Irish branch of my family is also the bookworm branch in the family. My mother's reading a book right now!)

I find it funny that most of Hamilton's modern day biographers hold predominantly republican sentiments. Richard Brookhiser is an editor of The National Review, a conservative publication with strong right leanings. My mother tells me too that it's good that there are Republicans as well as Democrats, although I'm still somewhat skeptical!

After calming down from my initial upset over Brookhiser's estimation of Alexander's father's character, (he states repeatedly that he was a bum), I've carefully read every word of the book. Brookhiser's analysis of Hamilton and other patriots is fair-minded for the most part. The book is only 200 plus pages, and so is not an in-depth analysis of Hamilton or his achievements as McDonald's is. Brookhiser's book should be read before McDonald's; I think it would make McDonald's less cumbersome to read. Again, Forrest McDonald's book is incredibly well researched, no doubt about it.

Brookhiser includes some of my favorite quotes by or about Hamilton, although my favorite story about his life is not. Whatever you think about the duel, Princeton University, at one time, contained evidence of Alexander's markmanship on their walls. During the battle of Princeton, Alexander fired his cannon at a picture of King George III, the Hanoverian king of Britain, totally smashing it head on! The frame was saved and the portrait was switched to one of General George Washington! Alexander had decided against Princeton and enrolled at Columbia where he could study at his own fast speed.

I think Forrest McDonald's assessment of Burr is more thorough. It seems to me, the real issue between them was financial/political, not just a "character" issue on Burr's part. However, Brookhiser' biography is probably more realistic and forgiving in his analysis of Jefferson, Adams, Madison and others who did not share Hamilton's views in the last years of his life.

What I liked most about this book was that Alexander's feats/defeats are told within the continental context through which they were unfolding. It's a good review of the basics in American colonial history.

A great man - an honest biograhy
I like Richard Brookhiser's biographies of the founders. They tell us about the man by dealing with the issues of his life using the chronology to give context and substance to these issues. This book on Hamilton is very enjoyable to read and helped me learn more about the greatness and humanity of the man than I had understood before.

We learn about Hamilton's foreign birth and unlikely beginnings. We follow his rise and learn about the many strengths he had. Brookhiser is sympathetic to Hamilton's merits, as I believe we should be, but he doesn't shy away from his limitations either.

The author also takes on the various debates and controversies that still surround facets of Hamilton's life. The author cuts through them and shares his conclusions with us including what cannot be resolved and what the various contentions would mean if it were to hold.

This book reads quickly, but deserves some mediation and consideration rather than a dash through. There are some helpful pictures, many helpful notes and an index.

the conventional view, over lightly
If you want a portrait of Hamilton that adds nothing new and essentially expounds the traditional mythology, then this is your book. As far as I can tell, Brookhiser has done no new research, questions nothing, and is content to assume Hamilton was a brilliant, competent, and good man who helped to forge the force for the good that America would become. While I learned some interesting biographical details, I could have gotten them from any other biography. Moreover, Brookhiser does not have a nice or very clear writing style - the tone of the book is rushed, somewhat repetitious, and boring. It was easy to skim for facts and offered no original pleasures. As such, I thought it was a real dud.

If these criticisms don't matter to you, then you might find this book satisfactory. Not recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Many people believe Hitler was the personification of evil. In this intriguing biography, James Cross Giblin penetrates this façade and presents a picture of a complex person—at once a brilliant, influential politician and a deeply disturbed man. In a straightforward and nonsensational manner, the author explores the forces that shaped the man as well as the social conditions that furthered his rapid rise to power. Against a background of crucial historical events, Giblin traces the arc of Hitler"s life: his childhood, his years as a frustrated artist in Vienna, his extraordinary rise as dictator of Germany, his final days in an embattled bunker under Berlin. Powerful archival images provide a haunting visual accompaniment to this clear and compelling account of a life that left an ineradicable mark on our world. Author"s note, bibliography, index. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Is He A Real Man
When ever you think of Adolf Hitler, you always think of what he has done wrong. I bet you never knew how he got people to believe him in his speeches. This man was a person like me and you until some dramatic changes in his young life. Did you know he also was very clever and, charming? Also he was very
intelagent and poor.
In this book it tells all the things that happened to Adolf Hitler.It tells how people believed. How people thought he was the one to lead Germany, but I guess that they never thought he would do so much evil.
He also wanted to do things in his life, and make a good difference as he was interested in the arts. This book tells his life from the beginning as a baby to his death. This shows how Adolf got supporters of the Nazi Party and how the Nazi Party got started.
I would suggest this book for people who want to learn about Adolf.Also I'd recommend this book for people 7th grade and over.

Wes from Richveiw Middle School
The story is about Adolf Hitler and his group called the Nazis.They killed all of the Jews they could in Germany.Adolf hitler was a deeply disturbed man who had a problem with gypsies, homosexuals and mostly jews. He was beaten by his father , his mother died of breast cancer,He eventually became homeless in vienna and sold paintings.In 1914 he was summoned to the Austiran army.He received two iron crosses for bravery.The story ends when the US army came and defeated the nazis . Then he was found he had committed suicidein a bunker after marring his wife the night before. I dinnt like this book because he killed alot of inocent people.

Evil encapsulated
Is it ever appropriate to write a children's biography of an evil man? After reading Giblin's excellent biography of Hitler, the answer is yes. Placing the life of this man within the context of his times, readers get a glimpse of what it was like in Germany before and during his rise to power. Certainly I was surprised to see that in this book scant attention is given to Germany after the war. But as this is the life and death of Hitler, not Germany, I can understand the author's choice. Giblin is clever with his subject too. He does not sentimentalize the dictator, nor demonize him with anything but the man's own actions and words. After reading Russell Freedman's extraordinary biography of Lincoln ("Lincoln: A Photobiography"), I was struck with these two contrasting leaders. Children learning their world history would do well to have these books assigned together. Lincoln and Hitler both dealt with poverty and violence. They led their people through two extraordinarily bloody wars. But while Lincoln sought (in time) to defeat slavery, Hitler instated it country by country. This book is best used as a warning to those who would seek their own glory through political power. Perhaps this is just my own politics at work, but I was struck by how Hitler created a supposed act of terrorism as his excuse to invade Poland. And here we are in a country that has created supposed acts of terrorism (falsified reports of weapons of mass destruction, for example) to invade Iraq. Just a thought. I would read sections of this book aloud to kids, though probably not the parts that refer to Hitler's sex life (or lack thereof).

The Inverted Saint
Hitler's lebensraum colonial movement - Nazism - possessed all the hallmarks of an institutional religion: priesthood, rites, rituals, temples, worship, catechism, mythology. Hitler was this religion's ascetic saint. He monastically denied himself earthly pleasures (or so he claimed) in order to be able to dedicate himself fully to his calling. Hitler was a monstrously inverted Jesus, sacrificing his life and denying himself so that (Aryan) humanity should benefit. By surpassing and suppressing his humanity, Hitler became a distorted version of Nietzsche's "superman".

But being a-human or super-human also means being a-sexual and a-moral. In this restricted sense, Hitler was a post-modernist and a moral relativist. He projected to the masses an androgynous figure and enhanced it by fostering the adoration of nudity and all things "natural". But what Nazism referred to as "nature" was not natural at all.

It was an aesthetic of decadence and evil (though it was not perceived this way by the Nazis), carefully orchestrated, and artificial. Nazism was about reproduced copies, not about originals. It was about the manipulation of symbols - not about veritable atavism.

In short: Nazism was about theatre, not about life. To enjoy the spectacle (and be subsumed by it), Nazism demanded the suspension of judgment, depersonalization, and de-realization. Catharsis was tantamount, in Nazi dramaturgy, to self-annulment. Nazism was nihilistic not only operationally, or ideologically. Its very language and narratives were nihilistic. Nazism was conspicuous nihilism - and Hitler served as a role model, annihilating Hitler the Man, only to re-appear as Hitler the stychia. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

James Cross Giblins The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
This book was an intriguing read that threw you into the world of Adolf Hitler. Not only was it informative but you didn't get bored as you read it. As its massive size explains itself, this book contains a ton of information; beginning with his birth and young life, up to his siege of power and his death in 1945. By the middle of the book, you can already tell that Toland is an extremly gifted biographer and that his indulegnce with words can carry you off to a nirvana of supreme intelligensia. ... Read more

Book Description

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was an illegitimate West Indian emigrant who became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. American Machiavelli focuses on Hamilton's controversial activities as foreign policy adviser and aspiring military leader. In the first major study of his foreign policy role in 30 years, John Lamberton Harper describes a decade of bitter division over the role of the Federal government in the economy during the 1790s and draws parallels between Hamilton and the sixteenth century Italian political adviser, Niccolò Machiavelli. Harper provides an original and highly readable account of Hamiltonas famous clashes with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and his key role in defining the U.S. national security strategy. John Lamberton Harper is Professor of Foreign Policy and European Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center. He is the author of America and the Reconstruction of Italy, 1945-1948 (Cambridge 1986), winner of the 1987 Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies, and American Visions of Europe: Franklin D. Roosevelt, George F. Kennan, and Dean G. Asheson (Cambridge 1994), winner of the 1995 Robert Ferrell Prize from the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations.His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including The American Historical Review, The Journal of American History, The Times Literary Supplement and Foreign Affairs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A well-deserved tribute to Alexander Hamilton
I sort of wish that Professor Harper hadn't pushed so hard the Machiavelli/Hamilton comparison. Hamilton tried to model himself after so many other political thinkers and theorists, and a case could be made that some of his policies and initiatives were anti-Machiavellian. But that's my only gripe, and it's not a major one. John Harper's "American Machiavelli : Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of U.S. Foreign Policy" is a brilliant examination of a facet of Hamilton's career that hasn't been spotlighted. Most biographies of Hamilton and/or the Founders tend to focus mainly on Hamilton's economic prowess and his dedication to a commercial American society versus the more Jeffersonian agrarian society.

But Hamilton kept an astute eye on the goings-on in Europe, like the need to trade with Great Britain and the growing horrors of the revolution in France. In one regard, the need to trade with Great Britain was an outgrowth of his economic concerns but, more importantly, to maintain a commercial link with it nearly guaranteed peace with a nation that had so huge a navy. Harper goes to great lengths to emphasize Hamilton's frustration with John Adams' foreign policy. Because of his alleged "monarchist" sympathies, Hamilton was essentially dismissed by the Republicans. He warned that the failure to maintain friendly ties with Great Britain might lead to future tensions. Unfortunately, Hamilton was right and in 1812... well, we know what happened. Fortunately, Hamilton didn't live to see his dark prophecy fulfilled.

In any event, Professor Harper's study is worth reading for students of American history and people interested in the tangled world of international policy.

An excellent biography of Hamilton
According to Harper, Alexander Hamilton was a pragmatist just like Machiavelli. Hamilton favored greater ties to England because the United States needed the English navy for its protection and England was the main market for American goods. Hamilton's pragmatic policies toward England were in direct contrast to the ideologically driven Jefferson who favored an impratical alliance with the French because France was a republic after 1792.Hamilton was also concerned about the French retaking Louisiana since this might threaten American interests in the southern part of the United States. However, after 1796, Hamilton's concerns were ignored by John Adams, who supported an alliance with France. The only weakness of this book is that Harper spends too much time describing the 1796 election which had little to do with the foreign policy issues mentioned in the rest of the book. Otherwise this is an extremely well written analysis of Hamilton's views on the foreign policy of the early Republic. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Somewhat revealing but disappointing and one-sided.
Robert Maheu gives a one-sided view of his reign under Howard Hughes downplaying his "sins" in my opinion and never really coming to grips with his abuse of power and lack of character. I suspect that what he did reveal is mostly because he was caught with his pants down. Nevertheless, I still found it interesting in helping to piece together the Howard Hughes enigma. I learned much more from reading "Citizen Hughes". ... Read more

Book Description

Ernst Hanfstaengl (Putzi) was court jester, pianist, and foreign press chief for Hitler during his political climb, and later played a lead role in Roosevelt's top-secret project to use disinformation against the Nazis. An urbane Harvard-educated German, Putzi was living in Germany in 1922 when he first heard Hitle