Book Description

From his birth to a share cropper family in the cotton fields of Mississippi to the unrest in Chicago and New York during the depression, James Yates's experience with labor protest and union organizing shaped his vision of freedom and led to his decision to fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War.

Approximately 100 Blacks were among the 3,200 volunteers from the US that formed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the first non-Jim Crow military organization in US history. Yates describes Oliver Law, the first Black commander of a US military unit; Paul Robeson; Langston Hughes, who Yates drove to the front; and nurse Salaria Key O'Reilly. Yates makes cogent connections between fascism and racism.

James Yates returned to the US after having been wounded in the Spanish Civil War. He will be remembered for his active role in the struggle for freedom. James Yates died in January, 1994. The Jimmy Yates Award is presented annually to a short story writer by the Molasses Pond Writers Workshop in Franklin, Maine. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Favorite Book
This book is one of the greatest books I bought at the time when I was in the US. Pete Seeger wrote about the book: This is a great story, a great read, and has a great lesson to teach young Americans , black and white, of how you can be strongly rooted in your home community and at the same time see a sense of kindship with working people around this whole world. The battle to save the elected Loyalist government of Spain 50 years ago was the first battle in World War II. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and others may have lost a battle but they didn't lose the war, nor have lost it yet. Carry on! I want to send all my respect to the members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, your international solidarity which you showed in the battle against the fascist Franco regime will never be forgotten, we will never forget you bright stars in the darkness. ... Read more

Book Description

tells the compelling story of the pastor theologian scholarorator civil rights leader and martyr. Similar to Gandhi King led afreedom movement of the oppressed through the way of nonviolencespiritually grounded and firm in its renunciation of violence butradical in its pursuit of justice. King preached prayed lectured wroteand marched in living out his faith. Arrested 29 times he and hisfamily faced death threats many times. It was in support of thesanitation workers' strike in Memphis that he was gunned down by anassassin's bullet. the nation and the world mourned the death of the 39year old martyred prophet.contains extensive passages from King'swritings that illustrate his nonviolent faith and how he lived it outin his ministry ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting but meandering
Arguably the Renaissance man of the Leftist movement, Abe Polonsky made his mark in the worlds of education, radio, film and television. A Very Dangerous Citizen documents in detail Polonsky's participation in socialist causes -- as well as his other public activities -- that ultimately led to his head-on collision with the U.S. government during the Red Scare of the late 1940s and 1950s. The list of Americans who have been labeled "a very dangerous citizen" on the floor of the United States Congress is a short one, and Polonsky earned that label due to his membership in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.

Authors Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner have studied the blacklist extensively -- Buhle as the co-author of Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist and Wagner as the political reporter for the Arizona Republic. Together they have produced a thorough if somewhat clinical study of the American Communist movement through the life of one of its staunchest advocates.

The book begins slowly, as the authors devote several chapters to setting the stage for Polonsky's great triumphs in Hollywood by examining his past and the shaping influences in his life. While good biographic work, these scene-setting passages slow down the overall narrative to the point of distraction until the narrative arrives at Polonsky's best-known works, Body and Soul and Force of Evil.

These films, produced in 1947 and 1948, respectively, are the primary reason Polonsky is remembered today. Here, the parallels between his work and his politics are clearly defined. Body and Soul, considered the standard bearer for later boxing films such as Raging Bull, establishes the postwar persona of John Garfield (also a later blacklistee) and presents a full-blown condemnation of the system that compromises an individual's morality. Force of Evil, also with John Garfield, is a noir classic that takes the next step in exposing how American society breeds those who would operate beneath the law. In each case, Garfield's character embodies values that Americans of the period would find both reprehensible and admirable. Buhle and Wagner dissect the scripts and the production value of these films in their attempt to get into Polonsky's head, and are extremely competent in their analysis.

Once Polonsky is blacklisted, there isn't too much left to tell. His acerbic condemnation of those who perpetrated the blacklist as well as the popularity of his films overseas served to keep him active, but his later films were mere curiosities, known more for their creator than their content. This is not to say that Buhle and Wagner don't have fodder to continue their thesis. Indeed, they follow Polonsky through the '50s and his later return to Hollywood to work with newer stars like Robert Redford. Unfortunately, beyond his two great masterworks, Polonsky was no longer regarded as a pioneering voice in cinema, but rather as a historical curiosity.

To those who don't possess at least a moderate interest in the history of American cinema and Hollywood, A Very Dangerous Citizen can read like a doctoral thesis. In the end it is interesting purely for the fact that its chosen subject matter was a man who led a mythic, almost clichéd, struggle for his art and beliefs. Polonsky himself tried to tell his story with the original screenplay for the film Guilty By Suspicion. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so, Buhle and Wagner demonstrate how Guilty By Suspicion in its final form is nothing like Polonsky's vision. Given his radical activities, they make a convincing argument that even a mainstream Hollywood exposition on the blacklist could not measure up with Polonsky's real story, though Buhle and Wagner have done so successfully. ... Read more

Book Description

The story of Lincoln's life from his inauguration in 1861 to his death and funeral in 1865. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History, 1940.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Abraham Lincoln:The War Years
Excellent Excellent Detialed week by week history of the administration through the biographies of all who knew him, generals, cabinet and plain folks. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Shoddy
I have been studying Abraham Lincoln for nearly 40 years. Burlingame is inaccurate in many of his statements about Lincoln and Mary Lincoln in particular and does not present all of the information about both of them. Possibly his most faulty act is using William Herndon's information about Lincoln and Mary Lincoln. Herndon and Mary Lincoln hated each other. After Lincoln passed away, Herndon may have very well said things about Lincoln and her to hurt, degrade and disgrace Mary Lincoln. Herndon is NOT to be trusted to be accurate much of the time. Other very poor Lincoln authors are Weik, Sandburg, Gore Vidal, Lerone Bennett, Jr., Thomas DiLorenzo, Vincent Harding and Barbara Fields. Their accuracy, interpretations and images are usually wrong and at times even bizarre. If you want to read professionally researched, much more accurate material about Lincoln, read books by David Herbert Donald, Stephen Oates, Frank Williams, Mark Neely, Jr., Edward Steers, Jr. and Allen Guelzo.

WOW - This will blow your mind!
The organization of this book is not presented in a chronological time scale as most books are. Instead, the author breaks up facets of Lincoln's emotions and personality traits, and then takes us through his whole life, examining the influence of each facet. Only thinking in this manner do I clearly imagine myself in his shoes, feeling what he felt, and in awe of the strength required to break the rebellion, and provide a land where each man's hand could feed that own man's face.

A anecdote-rich study of a tortured man
Burlingame's book is misnamed in my view - it is not 'The Inner World' as much as how Lincoln reacted to the outer world. The reader is left to judge ultimately for himself what Lincoln thought. This is a testament to Burlingame's restraint as a historian. He could have pounded away at all sorts of psychological concepts and explanations, but he does'nt Instead, except for some references to Carl Jung in the beginning of the book and a sprikling of psychological explanations throughout the chapters, he presents in a matter-of-fact way Lincoln's relationships with his wife, his sons, his generals, and discusses his temper, ambition, and parenting, with some, but not excessive, 'patient on the couch' pontificating.

The longest, and by far the most powerful, is the chapter on Lincoln's marriage. If only half, or even a quarter of what Burlingame recounts was true, then the potato-throwing, screaming, spendthrift Mary Lincoln must have been the worst wife on earth. In Springfield, Lincoln would often rush out the backdoor during Mary's 'episodes' - whisking his sons up with him and spending the night in his office, on a couch specially installed that was long enough to handle his tall frame. He was often beaten - a broom being Mary's weapon of choice. My God, the poor man needed his own Emancipation Proclamation!

The chapter on Lincoln's depression details how low this man could get. It was probably his Gloomy Gus outlook that saved Lincoln from completely cracking up; only a person familiar with depression and how to go on under difficult circumstances could withstand the strain of a war that killed 628,000 fellow citizens in four years. I am not a Lincoln scholar so I can't testify to the veracity of all that is in this book. But, reading it will provide you with a sense of how many trials this strange, ambitious, and great man endured - at home and in politics.

Not for the Politically Correct
Burlingame does a great service with this book. He delves into Lincoln's psyche in a way that has perhaps never been done. This is not vain guessing on his part. He offers a virtual avalanche of sources throughout the book.

His Mary Todd Lincoln chapter is a welcome antidote to the "politically correct" version that somehow turns an emotionally and at times even physically abusive MTL into an endearing person.

Brilliant, breathtaking, enlightening!
Finally a work comes out that eschews the sugar-coated lies we have been spoon fed since grammar school regarding the fairy tale life of our 16th President. Mary Todd Lincoln is spared all revisionist attempts at painting her neuroses in a charming, adorable light and she is revealed for what she really was - a monstrous, chilidish, shrew of a woman! Great work, and I shall introduce it to my students as the defining truth of the Lincoln marriage and White House. ... Read more

Book Description

Now in Dragonfly--from the acclaimed creator of the Caldecott Honor Book Tar Beach comes a personal and captivating portrait of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Facinating book on Martin Luther King Jr.!
Students were very absorbed in this book. They found the story exciting and it stimulated a great discussion. The idea that someone could dream about Martin Luther King Jr. and see him as a child and then as an adult allowed students to think about how different dreams are from reality. Students were anxious to borrow the book and share it with their families.

Beautifully illustrated and well written
This beautifully illustrated and well written book was a must have for my daughters library. She's a new teacher and a lover of good books. What a delight to buy this book for her!

Outstanding!
This is the best picture book I've come across concerning the Civil Rights movement of the 60's. The previous reviewer is correct in that the abstractness of the imagery is difficult for younger children, but that is precisely the beauty of the book. With a little explaining, my third grade class was still touched by the struggle of African Americans in this country. My class consisted of numerous minorities (Asian & hispanic) and they were able to come to see that MLK was fighting for them also. The way it is told is very moving and makes the book excellent for older children as well.

I still get choked up whenever I read it.

a unique approach to telling the story of MLK, Jr.
I'm a huge Faith Ringgold fan. This book is very good as expected, but my only complaint is that it is a little too abstract for the target age group (ages 4-8). For example, the kids were confused at the picture of MLK in jail as an infant and the people burning their "baggage". BUT, unique it is... just definitely in need of adult commentary. ... Read more

Book Description

Perhaps no other American president is as revered as Abraham Lincoln, whosestrong faith and moral courage inspired a nation, and whose timeless words ofcommon sense continue to influence men and women today. In Abraham Lincoln's Daily Treasure, readers will find daily devotional selections in a variety of subject themes. Each devotion includesScripture, a devotional thought, a spiritual or inspirational quote from Lincolnor a related fact about his life, and take-away for personal application. Thisunique devotional is built around the Believer's Daily Treasure, a book Lincolnwas given in 1847 upon the death of his son and that he carried with him always.Lincoln often quoted from the Believer's Daily Treasure in his addresses to thenation and included snippets from it in his letters. He also read from it forpersonal strength during the Civil War.Readers who are wanting an interesting devotional, Christians looking forwisdom distilled through the lens of history, Lincoln aficionados, and historybuffs will all appreciate this unique look into the life of Lincoln that isideal for personal use or for gift-giving. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Abe Lincoln, reading books moved him to excel
The first thing I noticed when looking for a children's biography book on Abraham Lincoln was Kay Winter's Abe Lincoln, The Boy who loved books. This book has wonderful pictures with vivid colors and kid-friendly portraits of Abe Lincoln as a boy. The illustrator, Nancy Carpenter, does a magnificent job bringing the book to life. Children of all ages will enjoy reading this book and realizing that a love of books, as Abraham Lincoln did, can change a persons life and move him or her to become a great person...maybe even the President of the United States.

Abe Lincoln
This is a wonderful biography written by Kay Winters about the United States 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. The vocabulary is kid-friendly, especially for children in grades kindergarten through second. In addition, the oil paintings on pastel can really enhance the reader's interest. Most importantly, the emphasis of how Abe Lincoln enjoyed reading, and used it to his advantage is a great encouragement for young readers!

A Fresh Perspective on Abe Lincoln
ABE LINCOLN: THE BOY WHO LOVED BOOKS is a delightful biography and a welcome addition to the body of children's books about our 16th President! With colorful, lyrical language, author Kay Winters tells the story of young Abe's boyhood from an important perspective, emphasizing at every turn his love of books, his passion for reading, and his eagerness to learn. Winters' narrative, beautifully supported by Nancy Carpenter's appealing illustrations, describes Abe as a "bookish boy" who practiced writing his letters in the dust, who loved spelling bees and spinning yarns, who carried a book in his back pocket even as he plowed, stopping at the end of each row to read a page. And at the end of the story, we find President Abraham Lincoln sitting by the fire in the White House...reading a book. As the book jacket says:
He loved books.
They changed his life.
He changed the world.
What I value most about this biography is that it gives young readers the opportunity to identify with a hero who is "bookish" and makes the connection between a love of reading and the empowerment of one person to change the world. ... Read more

Book Description

Mary Eloise is disappointed that the part she gets in the school play is that of Black History narrator--but two storytellers visit her school and change how she views her heritage. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Good Book
The book has an ok plot it is about a girl, Mary Elouise who wants to be the narrator in the President's Month play but got the part in the Black History Month Play.

Mary is also embarrassed about her race. She hates it when other people talk about black history or even mentions the name slave.

Mary wants to have lighter skin. Like this girl Brandy in her class who is white and rich. Mary wants to be Brandy's friend because she is rich and white. Brandy does not like Mary. Brandy thinks Mary is annoying and does not want to be around her or be her friend. Mary is jealous of Brady's best friend, Kenyetta because she also wants to be Brandy's best friend.

One weekend when Mary was visiting her grandma, Big Momma, she tells Mary to be proud of her background and race, And that you should not ever want to be someone else.

I really liked the book because it taught people to be proud of their ancestors and heritage. I really like the plot also. It might also deal with someone else's life. This book teaches a very good life lesson.

Thank You Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.! Book Review
This is a touching book for all ages. There is a very valuable lesson that is in this story. That is don't ever judge a person by how they look or how they act, you have to get to know the person first. The main character in this book is Mary Elouise. She is a bright young girl and she badly wants to be the narrator in the Presidents month school play. She ends up getting the part as the narrator for the Black history segment instead and is very offended because she thinks that the only reason her teacher her teacher Miz Vereen picked her because she is black. In the end a storyteller visits Mary's school and teaches her a very valuable less that she will cherish forever. She realizes a lot of things after this, like she was thought she would probably be the best for the narrating part in the Black history segment. Most importantly she becomes a lot happier for herself, and realizes who her real friends are and what they are really worth.

Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!
Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.! is a very good book. It is about a young girl who is African-American. She is embarrased about her race. Whenever the subject comes up she slides down in her seat. She is in her school's play. She is picked to be a speaker. There is a Valentine's Day speaker, a President's Month speaker, and a Black history speaker. She gets picked to play the Black history speaker. She talks to her Mother, sister, Grandmother 'Big Mamma', and an African-American author that comes to talk to her class. At the same time she is trying to become friends with a girl in her class. She thinks that the girl hates her. By the time the school play comes around she is becoming friends with the girl with the help of Big Mamma and she is proud of being an African-American. This is a tactful way of teaching us not to be prejudice. I think everyone should read this. You can find another review by me by reading the Good Night, Mr. Tom reviews.

Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I rate this book a five (on a scale from 1-5) because this story has a very good lesson and there were times that I would laugh and times that I would feel very badly for some of the characters. The moral I like a lot because of the way that the author describes in the feeling of her words. I like this book because it has very good characters and I like the way the author described this book. She used lots of verbs and nouns. I think that this book deserves a newberry award. She has the qualifications of a famous newberry award-winning author. This book contains similarities from other struggles of the times where black and white people were in a war so to speak. This book has lots of things that deal with it like when she has to try to read a part of a black African American when her friends are all against that because they are white. She feels very disappointed when she finds out that they are turning against her on that issue. She feels disclosed from her world. The books that I have read about these issues sometimes bring me to tears. This book has brought on a new subject to my life individuality. I love this book. ... Read more

Book Description

All his life, Robert E. Lee relied upon his faith for strength and guidance not only in troubled times, but also as the foundation upon which he based all of his dealings with others. In this age where self-interest often rules, these short statements, often jotted by General Lee at odd moments, provide young readers with some of the qualities that Lee practiced himself: humility, erudition, faith, duty, wisdom, and respect for all God's creations. Each section is preceded by a brief anecdote from his life, and each of the quotes is described with the time and circumstance. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An Authentic Hero
Samuel Johnson once quipped, "Any man honored by both his enemies and his compatriots is a man worthy of our closet attentions-for in him you may be sure to find authenticity. After all, authenticity is the rarest of all human traits."Of all the men who fought during the un-Civil War Between the States only R.E. Lee stands out as universally praised by both sides.

The English historian Paul Johnson had this to say about Lee: "General Lee has accomplished in both life and death what few, indeed, hardly any have ever accomplished in all of the annals of history: ubiquitous respect, renown, and acclaim."

In this concise and handy little book of Maxims, Richard Williams Jr. has provided us a window into the man who accomplished ubiquitous respect, renown, and acclaim.In a generation dearth of real heroes it is vital that we put before our children men of valor, duty, and courage.One need look no further than to the example of Robert Edward Lee to see these principles brilliantly exemplified.This is a book that can be read in one sitting, but you will not want to read it just once.If you are like myself you will use this book over and over again.My copy is already marked up and the pages ruffled from where I keep drinking from the wonderful wisdom of the man.

It's my hope that with the publication of books like this one, we may yet again see a generation of leaders who embody the principles of Robert E. Lee.

A guide book that is timeless
In an era where the primary role models for our children are self-absorbed entertainers, out of control professional athletes, and corrupt politicians, where does one turn to find credible examples of how to live one's life that you can point to when counciling your children?Granted, there are some fine modern role models, but they aren't usually being highlighted in the news, or being profiled on TV.However, Richard Williams, Jr. has provided us a handy book that gives us a glimpse at a role model that is timeless.

Whether one believes Robert E. Lee fought on the right side of the War Between the States or not, his life is a great example of self-sacrifice, devotion to duty and always acting in a manner so as to do the right and honorable thing.Not by today's modern selfish, materialistic standards, but by standards that were the foundation of all that is good about Western Civilization.

This book contains a treasure trove of maxims by Lee that he used to guide his own life and to influence the lives of his children as well as those who served under him in the military and were under his care while they attended Washington College (later Washington and Lee University).It is not a cumbersom tomb, but a simple, straight forward book that is broken down into sections that lend itself to being a quick reference book as well as a wonderful insight into a man whose life is truly an example to all.

If more people followed R.E. Lee's maxims, this would definitely be a better world.I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to buy a special graduation gift for that special person graduating from high school or college.This is something that will last a lifetime.

Author's Comments
Robert E. Lee has been a hero of mine since I was a small boy. With Confederate ancestors on both sides of my family, my father made sure that respect for Lee's character was instilled in my impressionable mind when I was just a lad. Growing up and playing on my father's ancestral home and land that was the site of an engagement between Federal and Confederate troops, love and respect for the gallantry of Lee came natural for me.

I began collecting quotes and anecdotes from the life of Lee many years ago and started dreaming about a book in 1999. This book is the result of that dream. The book is specifically directed to "young gentlemen," or those who aspire to be, but I believe the book can be enjoyed by everyone. It is full of some of the better quotes culled from reliabile biographies and Lee's personal letters. Some were Lee's "personal maxims" that were found after his death in a worn military satchel by CSA chaplian, William Jones. The book also contains some little known anecdotes from the life of Lee that illustrate his sterling Christian character and humility. Many that have reviewed the book have been complimentary:

"The Maxims of Robert E. Lee for Young Gentlemen is inspiring and full of anecdotes and quotes, some long forgotten, that will guide men of all ages towards the lost art of being a `gentleman.' " ~ Joe Farah, Editor in Chief and CEO of WorldNetDaily.com.

"I can think of no better guide for young men embarking on the adventure of life than the maxims of Robert E. Lee." ~ From the Foreword by Harry W. Crocker, III, author of Lee on Leadership and Executive Editor at Regnery Publishing.

"The example of Robert E. Lee illustrates in stark colors what it means to be a man - a model essential for all of us who are products of this distinctly unmanly age. Rick Williams has placed us all in his debt with this wonderful anthology of Lee's wisdom and grace. Must reading for all fathers and sons." ~ Pastor J. Steven Wilkins, author of Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee.

"This riveting collection of Lee's own stirring words and personal thoughts give amplified insight into the life of a rare and much-needed role model. Imagine for a moment the impact just one hundred young men could have on our land should they develop Lee's passion for personal purity and selfless pursuit of Christian honor. My prayer is that many will read these words not as antiquated or romantic philosophy, but rather as a challenge to humbly follow - and then boldly lead." ~ James McDonald, Publisher, Homeschooling Today® Magazine ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Well researched and wonderfully written!
An extremely well written book covering the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. I actually felt like I was right there witnessing the whole thing unfold.

This book illustrates how the media can convict the innocent
This historically accurate recount of the Lindberg baby kidnapping is OUTSTANDING! There are multiple examples of newspapers publishing bogus evidence, which in time persuaded jury members. Readers will be amazed at how an obviously innocent man was convited of a crime, then acquited after his execution. This is a TRUE CRIME book.

well documented and thought provoking book
This book deserves a wider audience and with the recent film version on HBO (CRIME OF THE CENTURY) perhaps it will get it. In this, the golden era of conspiracy theories, it is fashionable to pooh-pooh historians who question standard accounts of famous events, but Kennedy's work is so well documented and the lies told by prosecutors in the Lindbergh case so baldfaced and egregious that it is hard not to be saddened, outraged and flabbergasted at this exceedingly dark spot on the American judicial system. Almost Kafkaesque in its portrayal of a world gone mad in its desire to want so badly to believe Richard Hauptman was guilty, the actions portrayed would be funny if their consequences weren't so dire and if Kennedy didn't solidly ground them in the appropriate moral anger at those who knowingly lied in order to secure Hauptman's conviction and execution ... Read more

Book Description

John Lennon was a legend in his own time.Deprived of life at a young age, Lennon has become a symbol of the sixties and seventies peace movement. But what do we really know about him as a person? ... Read more

Reviews (59)

maybe there's something to this
After hearing all the controversial buzz over Lennon in America I decided to read the book and keep an open mind. For those who say their beloved Beatle John couldn't possibly have behaved this way-ie, bouts of physical violence, drug use, manipulation by his wife, check previous sources: John Green, Albert Goldman, Fred Seaman, May Pang. I guess they're all lying too, right, and it's all a conspiracy? And remember way back when, when Yoko Ono was universally despised as the "Dragon Lady" who broke up the Beatles? I guess this must be revisionist history at its finest!

The Real Lost Lennon Years?
Giuliano's research into John Lennon's post-Beatle years is at once compelling and nasty -- not unlike a car accident you both wish you hadn't seen, yet still wonder if you could have had a better view. Lurid, often sloppy (dates are mixed up; Lennon supposedly dreams of Madonna in the late seventies, years before her first album even appeared), yet no Grossmanesque butcher job. Giuliano obviously cares deeply for his subject, but doesn't seem to really know how to balance Lennon's innate contradictions. Photos of Lennon during '75-80 rarely show a less than healthy ex-Beatle; yet Giuliano would have us believe he was a sickly malnourished neurotic heroin addict who kicked babies wives and mistresses in his spare time. Still, an intriguing book. Can't put it down, can't help but wonder about Lennon's last years -- yet at the same time terribly doubtful about this book's supposedly "accurate" resources.

Badly Researched, Barely Credible, Save Your Money
After reading this book, I just have to say that the author really did a pathetic job of researching and attribution. How bad? Well, bad enough that the entire credibility of this book comes into question. Example: He speaks of Lennon's sour relationship with his father, particularly after an incident at the Magical Mystery Tour Premeire Party, where his father showed up drunk dressed as a garbage man in 1968. Then he goes on to say this incident was forgiven by John in 1964. This is one of the many inconsistencies. Mr. Giuliano, just how many favorite cats did John Lennon have -- my last count was about 7 until I gave up. Let's not even mention the reference to John's obsession with Madonna, who's first album came out in 1982, 2 full years after Lennon's death. Considering source material was the alleged Diaries of John Lennon, which of course are not reproduced in this work, one would hope to have gotten an insight into Lennon's last years. Instead, it is filled with innuendo, the predictable Yoko-bashing, and useless bits of information. Save your money on this one. For fans of John Lennon, best to just remember the artist as you like, not how Giuliano or Goldman or Seaman or Mintz or the slew of other sycophants who continue to feed on the corpse of this man.

WHAT A BUNCH OF LIES!
This book which claims to be based on the "lost lennon diaries" which it odviously is not is about 10% truth.Giuliano is a liar who does not have anything nice to say about John in this book which i wish i had never read because it was a waste of my time.

Do not buy this book
This book is so poor, it does not even qulaify as "fun" garbage, as others have put it. I have over 2000 books and this will be only the 2nd book I will ever throw away to keep it from my library. Why? The scholarship is so bad, I simply cannot believe any of it. Let me give you some examples:

On page 89, the author writes, "Lennon's imaginary encounters ranged from rising star Madonna to the unlikely Barbara Walters, from Yoko's sister Setsuko to McCartney's kid sister Ruth." Madonna's first single was released in 1982, two years after Lennon DIED. The author even puts this quote in the chapter about 1975, a year before Madonnna finished High School in Michigan.

On Page 109, the author writes "During the 1969 filming of the Let It Be recording sessions, John made insinuating references to the drug, comparing heroin to sex by cracking, "Shooting is good exercise." In the book on the LET IT BE transcripts, it reveals that is YOKO who said this, NOT JOHN, and this is an example of the sloppy way the entire book is put together, seemingly without any effort to tell the truth.

The first chapter is so poorly put together, you realize immediately the author is going to put down anything negative about Lennon no matter what the circumstance and believe them all. There are huge blocks of conversations repeated in this book from friends of friends, ex-wives of groupies,etc. Let me try to get this across. The brain does not store whole conversations. Think of someone you talked to yesterday- now try to recreate the conversation exactly as it occurred, word by word. it's impossible, the brain does not record those things, it will record the essence of a conversation, maybe even a sentence or two, but not a word by word blow.

But this is what you get here- long conversations that you realize is complete fiction but appears as it is faultless fact. I like "Globe" like articles, so I was not going to take it too seriously, but after seeing things I know cannot possibly be right, I realized I could believe none of it. And neither should you, even for fun. ... Read more

Book Description

This self-made man from a log cabin-the great orator, the Emancipator, the savior of the Union, the martyr-was arguably our greatest president; but it takes a master storyteller like Thomas Keneally, author of the award-winning novel that inspired the film Schindler's List, to bring alive the history behind the myth. Acclaimed for his recent Civil War biography, American Scoundrel, Keneally delves with relish-and a keen, fresh eye-into Lincoln's complicated persona.

Abraham Lincoln depicts all the amazing man's triumphs, insecurities, and crushing defeats with uncanny insight: his early poverty and the ambition that propelled him out of it; the shaping of the man and his political philosophy by youthful exposure to Christianity, slavery, and business; his tempestuous marriage and his fatherly love. We see him, elected to the presidency by a twist of fate, unswerving in the grim day-to-day conduct of the war as his vision and acumen led the country forward. Abraham Lincoln is an incisive study of a turning point in our history and a revealing portrait of its pivotal figure, his greatness etched even more clearly in this very touching human story. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Introductory Lincoln
Having not been educated in the US where veneration of Lincoln is widespread, Thomas Keneally's biography of the famed president is a breath of fresh air.

There seems little doubt that Lincoln was a man of enormous vision and courage. He took on the vested interests of slavery and ultimately prevented the dissolution of the Union. Furthermore, his untimely death lifted his status to that of a martyr. In this case, however, his martyrdom is well warranted.

Keneally's work is an excellent starting point for any reader seeking an introduction to Lincoln. This book is part of a larger series covering a host of international luminaries. Lincoln's place in this pantheon is well deserved. The book itself is wonderful read for those wishing to understand Lincoln's place in history.

inadequate
This treatment of Lincoln is inadequate at best. I've read other biographies in the "Penguin Lives" series (e.g. Jane Austen, Napoleon) that were fine within the scope of the series' purpose, but this one fell short. For example, the author seems to be projecting his own religious views on Lincoln when his characterizes Lincoln as an agnostic without much proof . This is reminiscent of how Lincoln was characterized as a kind of stain-glassed Evangelical for so many years by writers of that persuasion. Lincoln is more complex than this in his religious perspective. Likewise in the evolution of his views on slavery. My suggestion is not to waste any time or money on this volume, but instead to pick up a much better one-volume biography: "With Malice Toward None" by Stephen Oates. In his source notes at the back, Keneally himself states that this is his own favorite book about Lincoln.

Really Good Overview
I'm only a casual reader of history and biographies. I didn't want to read a thousand-page work about Lincoln's extraordinary life. I only wanted an overview, some sort of work to give me a sense of the man. For my purposes, this little biography by Thomas Keneally was a success. It's brief, but it hits all of the most important points of the presidents life. It captures the contradictions and conflicts that marked Lincoln's life, and it does so with, at times, soem true lyricism. Keneally is a good writer (though his fiction such as Schindler's List is much better) and particularly over the first part of this biography, that is evident. The biography only suffers during the last half when Lincoln seems to disappear behind Keneally's depiction of the war. I don't think Lincoln's great role and conflicts during the war were aptly shown. Also, the biography ended too abruptly with no attempt at summation. I know that the Penguin Lives reach for brevity, but this is one of the shorter books in that series. Keneally could have given Lincoln another twenty pages and still been under 200 pages. Nevertheless, this biography is good, certainly serving its purpose as an overview that will answer essential questions and incite further inquiry into life of one of America's greatest presidents.

Lincoln -- a man of 'compromise' in a time of ideologues
All in all, this is a reasonable but uninspired biography suitable for anyone not otherwise familiar with the heritage and life of America's greatest, or at least second-greatest, president.

History, even biography, is an examination of the past to understand the present and offer a guide for the future. On this basis, the contrast between Lincoln and modern politicians is abundantly relevant; Kenneally makes abundantly clear that Lincoln was a compromiser, a man concerned with temporary expediency of policy, a man of stubborn persistence and long-held values. Unlike today's politicians, who like bold decisive actions, he was not a man of unilateral impulsive decisions and hasty judgments.

As Kenneally makes clear, it was the Confederate leaders who recklessly and unilaterally plunged into the Civil War. Had they accepted Lincoln's compromise efforts, the Old South might still be a cotton-picking slave society; at the very least, slavery would have lasted for decades past the Emancipation Declaration of Jan. 1, 1863.

Sound familiar? Lincoln had his own "radical right" critics; instead of being ruled by their evangelical values, he remained in charge and favored gradualism. This gradualism may have been beneficial, or it may have been disastrous. Kenneally writes, "But even Lincoln began to believe, as McClellan delayed, that some Democratic generals didn't really want anything drastic to happen to the Confederacy, fearing that a great victory would encourage the administration to emancipate slaves."

Perhaps Lincoln's compromise and gradualism meant he selected "cautious" generals rather than plunge an unprepared army into disaster as happened at Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Except for U.S. Grant, Union generals have always been criticized for caution. But, Kenneally makes me wonder if Lincoln's conscious or even unconscious "cautious" nature prompted him to select cautious generals.

It's a basic question that comes to mind from this book: Were Lincoln's generals incompetent? Or did his generals merely reflect the innate nature of Lincoln, preferring caution and thoroughness to impulsive and unilateral action?

Lincoln is the worldwide symbol of American greatness, just as Southern slavery typifies the worst of America. Every nation, every person, has their own good and bad traits; most everyone understands the complexity of this dual nature. It is as true today as it was when Lincoln became the nation's leader. This book admirably illustrates the greatness to which a president can rise. It is a lesson for this fall's election. Perhaps there is something valid for a president to be, like Lincoln, "Ever the gradualist . . . . " Lincoln never wanted to be "a war president" and did as much as he could to avoid war.

On the other hand, Lincoln believed in the "Doctrine of Necessity" -- which means people act rationally because of enlightened self interest. It is why he failed to understand the Confederacy would be so stupid as to secede. Perhaps, had Lincoln been less the Gradualist, less a believer in Necessity, the Civil War might have been averted.

Possible? It's a couple of issues that Kenneally doesn't examine, but he provides enough background to raise these questions. It's what makes his book so interesting. He doesn't try to resolve either issue, he leaves such thinking to every astute reader.

It makes this a most interesting book.

Excellent brief overview
I think Thomas Keneally could make a shopping list an interesting read; he is that good a writer. Certainly there are many biographies out there about Lincoln and many studies of various aspects of his life, but for a brief introduction that could entice further investigation you could not do better than this. Keneally has the ability to make historical figures come alive which is evident in this book. His depiction of Lincoln first arriving at Springfield is wonderful. If he sometimes chooses the colorful detail over the most probable detail, there is at least some historical evidence to support what he chooses to present. I recommend this highly. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Meticulously researched and enormously entertaining!
Anyone interested in Robert E. Lee the man, will be delighted with the insights into his family provided by author Coulling. Lee was an exceptional leader, but his role as a father was even more revealing of his loving nature and the nuances of his personality. In my opinion, this book does a lot to demystify Lee. I do not see him as such a complex and mysterious individual as some historians have labeled him. His consistency is especially evident in this chronicle of family life.

Apart from Lee, the book focuses extensively on the lives of the daughters. Each daughter is portrayed as a complete person, and their individuality is celebrated. One can learn quite a bit about Mary Lee the mother, too, and even the grandparents who were so deeply loved by the girls. The sons are not ignored, either.

There is an overcast of sadness about the story, at least I felt a little sad, because they did have a difficult life. It's true that the Lee family was prominent in society and certainly they can be seen as privileged, but these privileges carry their own burden.

I highly recommend The Lee Girls to all those who want to escape to the past for awhile and enter into the Lee household.

A truly excellent and well balanced chronicle
The Lee Girls by biographer Mary P. Coulling is the informed and informative story of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's four daughters: Mary Custis Lee; Eleanor Agnes Lee; Mildred Childe Lee; and Anne Carter Lee. Diaries, letters, paintings, and other contemporary records were utilized as primary source materials upon which to base an bibliographically historically accurate narrative of these women's lives through girlhood, the horror of war, and the era of reconciliation and rebuilding. A truly excellent and well balanced chronicle, The Lee Girls is a welcome and highly recommended addition to American Regional History, Civil War Studies, and Reconstruction Era Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.

well writtern and researched
Enjoyed the time frame of the book. It was not just the girls during the civil war period but also gave attention to the sons as well. The black and white photos were a plus but I wish the author had featured photos of the two surviving daughters in later life. This is an excellent well researched book into the lives of four charming girls of American history.

Beautifully poignant
Robert E. Lee's daughters are the subject of this beautiful and poignant book. So touching is the correspondence between the General, his wife and daughters that you feel like an interloper. The lost art of letter writing as praticed by the Lee family gives a vivid picture of Antebellum, Civil War, and Recontruction-era social history.

Wonderful book for those of us from southwest Virginia!
This book gives a glimpse of the correspondence between Robert E. Lee and his wife and daughters. As a Virginian, it was even more personal to read about the areas of the state where his family travelled to escape the ravages of the war and to know that these are still beautiful sites, worth visiting even today. It was a poignant look at this great general's love for his family. ... Read more

Amazon.com

William Lee Miller's Lincoln's Virtues is less an "event"chronology than the tracing of the moral and ethical core of Abraham Lincoln'sbeliefs, what Miller calls the man's "unintended preparation for greatness."Miller posits that Lincoln rightly deserves his nonpareil place in Americanhistory. But, he continues, Lincoln's greatness is best appreciated only when werealize he was merely mortal and therefore free to follow any number of coursesof actions. Miller, through scores of eloquent exegeses of Lincoln's writingsand speeches, explores the path--consistent, though evolving--this free agenttook. Lincoln chose politics as his work. As a politician he was subject to thevery real constraints of collective action. However, such was the man's "moralself-confidence," that the mantle of greatness alit on his shoulders alone. Thisis a revealing, delicate, and at times soaring work. It also presupposes itsreaders are much more than casually familiar with Lincoln's life and times. - -H. O'Billovitch ... Read more

Reviews (26)

A surprising gem
An astonishingly compelling read. Nineteenth century US history may be limited in he public imagination to the Civil War, but the century was crucial in shaping the modern US.

Miller's book traces Lincoln's evolution from a backwoods lawyer to the most revered statesman in US history, a martyr to the cause of freedom. It's a compelling read, exposing the battles between moral purity and expediency, jockeying for political position between the Whigs and the Democrats (with some interesting parallels to recent political history) , and the slow spread of abolitionist sentiment through the US. Miller largely omits mention of the war itself: the stories are well known, available elsewhere, done to death. But by the time you finish the book, the war seems - in retrospect - inevitable.

While Miller obviously adores Lincoln, any puffery here is well bracketed by exposition of the man's flaws. What emerges is a complex portrait of a man seldom portrayed in more than a one-dimensional fashion, even in epic treatments of the Civil War such as Ken Burns' documentary.

Another Excellent Miller Book
This is another excellent book by William Lee Miller, the author of The First Liberty (about church/state separation), The Business of May Next (about Madison and the Constitution), and Arguing About Slavery (about John Quincy Adams and the controversy about slavery). In all these books, Miller has explored what he refers to as the moral basis of America, an effort to uncover the basic motivations leading to the establishment of basic American institutions. His strategy has usually been to select some major personality and episode and systematically use that episode to get to the heart of the basic impulse underlying the result.
This book is a little different. Lincoln's Virtues concentrates more closely on the person, in this case Lincoln, than prior books and provides less background history. In this book, Miller uses a roughly chronological/biographical structure to examine the development of Lincoln's ideas and motivations in the years leading up to the Presidency. The result is fascinating reading. Miller has developed style combining very well written narrative, careful use of quotations from primary sources, and scrupulous exegesis of the primary literature. Miller is simply an excellent writer with an engaging, almost conversational style. He presents Lincoln as a man who developed a series of strong moral convictions but also a personally ambitious individual who dedicated himself to professional politics. Through his personal traits, such as his magnaminity and self-discipline, Miller shows Lincoln harnessing his ambition in the service of achieving substantial moral ends. Miller's Lincoln is an extremely admirable person. To Miller, Lincoln is a powerful and largely self-educated intellect, a skilled professional politician with high moral stature, a very ambitious man who consistently put moral considerations ahead of personal achievement, and an excellent speaker who relied on reasoned appeals for justice rather than emotional demagoguery. Miller shows well how this unlikely paragon, and that is not too strong a word, emerged from the unlikely setting of frontier America. A strong point made by Miller is that Lincoln, from his earliest days, confidently rejected much of his milieu. In a society characterized by enthusiastic revivalism, he was a religous skeptic. In a place where Jacksonian democracts dominated political life, he became a Whig. In a state with the strongest anti-negro legislation of any nothern state, he was at least relatively unprejuidiced. Miller also defends Lincoln effectively against recent charges of racism and reluctant abolitionism, which Miller correctly sees as anachronistic.
This book does have some deficiencies. Because of the concentration on Lincoln, it has less background narration than Miller's prior books and it requires a decent background knowledge of 19th century American history to get the most out of this book. I don't think Miller has done quite enough to show why many in the North found the expansion of slavery so threatening. Miller shows well that Lincoln concluded that slavery was fundamentally immoral and un-American and opposed it on these grounds. What Miller doesn't convey, I think, is the fact that many in North felt, correctly, that slavery expansion was a way for the South to maintain its political grip on the nation. Both North and South perceived that restriction of slavery to its existing domain would break the hold of the South on the Federal government permanently and perhaps lead eventually to the extinction of slavery. Miller dealt with this issue at somewhat in his previous book, Arguing About Slavery, but it only comes up tangentially here. I think its this aspect of the slavery controversy that gave the events of the 1850 and the election of 1860 such urgency.

Great and Kind Human
This is a very unique biography of Abraham Lincoln. As described in all the other reviews, this book focuses on Lincoln's ethical character. After reading this book, the reader should feel like we have so much more to give to this world that we live in. We should continue to develop ourselves so we can contribute to make this world a better place. Lincoln believed he could do that by proving to the rest of the world that democracy can survive and prosper. Everyone knows Lincoln was a kind and humble man. But the author not only describes Lincoln's ethical nature but provides many examples that proves to us time and time again what a wondersful exceptional man Abraham Lincoln really was. Everyone living in a free country should thank Abraham Lincoln for his ethical dedication.

Lincoln: From the Inside Out
In pursuit of a literary project concerning Lincoln myself, this was the book I found most useful - after plowing through many recitations of external events.

Mr. Miller has done an exceptional job in showing the landscape of Lincoln's thinking: where it started, how it changed - and stays eminently fair-minded throughout.

Plus this book is something of a revelation in non-fictional literary style: conversational in places. But, in other places, conceptually very dense. And a great sense of humor.

Highly recommended.

Long-winded is an Understatement!
Okay, I admit it: I am a fan of Lincoln's. I was disposed to like this book. It's really not a BAD book, for it's very well researched, and Miller does know his subject well. However, his prose style is musty, circumlocutious, windy in the extreme, and almost deaf to any coherent narrative of Lincoln's life. The perspective on "virtue"--a subject I find fascintating--is also strained to the maximum. In all due respect, this author has been speaking to star-struck undergrads for a bit too long. A good editor might have saved all this research; as it is, it's a longish, flawed book on a great subject. ... Read more

Book Description

The Dear Mr. President series brings history alive through fictitious correspondence between a president and a young person. Although the letters are all imagined, they are based upon meticulous historical research. Elegantly designed in two colors, the books include photographs, maps, primary source material, a presidential biography, U.S. postal history, an index, and timelines. In this latest addition to the series, the United States descends into Civil War, a 12-year-old slave on a South Carolina plantation begins corresponding with the newly inaugurated President Lincoln. Full emancipation, the president writes to her, cannot come easily in so deeply divided a nation. But her continuing appeals prod the conscience of this burdened man, and he drafts the Emancipation Proclamation that sets Lettie on the road to freedom. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The story of a slave girl as seen through her letters.
Twelve-year-old Lettie is a slave girl living on the Tucker Plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1861. It is only because of the friendship of her owner's young daughter, Katherine, that Lettie and her family have not been separated Even though Katherine taught her to read and has ensured that her father is not cruel, Lettie still longs to be free. With more questions than answers caused by the outbreak of war, she takes a daring step and writes to President Abraham Lincoln with the question she must know the answer to - when will she finally be free? This was a moving story about the cruelty of slavery as seen through the story of a spirited young girl longing to be free. Even though the letters were fictional, they seemed so real. ... Read more