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Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is the most popular foreign leader in the United States, and one whose support for America has made him widely reviled at home. Why did Blair become such an object of fascination here? What are Democrats to make of their old friend's attachment to Bush? In a Europe profoundly skeptical about a new American imperialism, why did Blair decide to face resolutely west across the Atlantic?

To James Naughtie, a renowned British journalist with unparalleled knowledge of Blair and a deep understanding of American politics, the story of our love affair with Blair provides a fascinating mirror on the troubles facing Western democracies, and on America itself.In The Accidental American, the first book about Blair written specifically for American readers, he explores how a politician swept to power by a party once avowedly socialist came to make common cause with American neo-conservatives; and became the gatekeeper between America and Western Europe.

Though Blair has been feted by Congress and is beloved by the White House, his real beliefs about America remain almost unknown. Naughtie has watched Blair close-up for many years and has many contacts inside his circle of friends and advisors. In the tumult of a presidential election year, this book provides a revelatory portrait of a master politician and revelatory insights into the politics and character of our own country.Amazon.com Review
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was regarded as something of a maverick in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He broke ranks with the majority of his own Labour Party in England, as well as the prevailing opinion among European leaders, to support George W. Bush's plan to topple Saddam Hussein. But according to veteran British newsman James Naughtie, such a maverick approach is completely in character for Blair, who has a long history of sticking with his convictions even if it puts his own popularity at risk. Curiously, that mindset has actually led to a great deal of popularity for Blair, first among the British people and then among American war supporters who lauded Blair for his consistent support of Bush. Contrary to characterizations of Blair being an advocate of invasion purely for political interests or as a victim of neo-conservative brainwashing, Naughtie presents Blair as a man of genuinely independent thought, convinced of not just the viability but the necessity of using force to bring greater security and freedom to the world. The Accidental American focuses heavily on the hours and days following the 9/11 attacks, detailing the urgency Blair felt reacting to the crisis and along the way providing candid (and newsmaking) glimpses inside the corridors of power, such as Colin Powell's characterization of the Dick Cheney-Donald Rumsfeld-Paul Wolfowitz group as "f---ing crazies." While Naughtie interviewed Blair for the book and explains Blair's beliefs and motivations in tremendous detail, the Prime Minister is never laid bare, remaining intriguingly enigmatic throughout. Still, The Accidental American is a valuable look at one of the more fascinating and important figures in modern global politics. --John Moe ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Why the "special relationship" didn'twork for Blair
This book represents a great achievement in explaining what drove the seemingly strange pairing of a UK Labour prime minister and a US Republican President on a venture that hardly any other major political leader in the world supported, being the war on terror post 9/11 which ultimately led to the invasion of Iraq and its ongoing occupation at great cost to the occupiers and the Iraqi people.

The writer is a UK political correspondent with great experience of the Labour Party (he has written the best account to date on the Blair relationship with Gordon Brown, whose unwillingness to remain Number Two features to the end of this book) and the US and while he covers the US aspects very well his real story is on the road that led Blair to a policy that few in his party really supported and has since cost him dear in public perceptions of his leadership.

After a rather unfocussed start (where the story seems to be continually jumping around in time) it settles down into an incisive chronological analysis of how Blair having reached his agreement with Brown to be leader then became prime minister without any prior government office experience and with an unassailable parliamentary majority started to develop links with Clinton which then had to be replaced with Bush after his slim victory over Gore.

That both have developed such a strong personal bond despite very different backgrounds and world views is skilfully explained in the context of Bush badly needing Blair to have international credibility for his very US neo-conservative driven strategy and Blair having taken a very personal decision with little input from his Cabinet in seeking a great international issue to grasp. The book gives a very good feel for the inner workings of Blair's "presidential" style of government especially in Cabinet that led to this being so easily done and which Naughtie demonstrates led to Bush underestimating how far Blair had gone out on a limb and was then exposed to UK parliamentary revolt against that decision.

Naughtie includes lots of personal off record comments that flesh out how the end result was Bush and his Executive conceding little to their end gameplan (the book should kill any remaining views of the UK ever being likely to benefit from the much touted "special relationship" unless US and UK interests are aligned on an issue) and Blair having made a personal commitment based on his early views of Islamic revolutionaries then being moulded post 9/11 into a intransigent loner who trusted his instincts and not the counsel of his colleagues and advisers plus other political leaders. The book is worth buying just for the chapter on the failings of the various Intelligence Services and how in the UK their role was to try and provide evidence and justification for a decision which Blair had already made and in which they failed him plus fooled themselves into not providing the clarity that may have stalled (if not stopped) him.

A very unique book with one of the best book covers I have seen in years!

Bush is his Co-Pilot: Blair, Bush and the Iraq War
The political behavior of British Prime Minister Tony Blair is something of an enigma - why does he support the American president, so despised in the UK, at great harm to his popularity?Why did he back Bush into the war in Iraq, ostensibly in quest of weapons of mass destructions, even though the UN inspectors urged for more time?

As Blair followed George W. Bush, his popularity in the UK plummeted, his party is in something close to an open revolt, and his standing in Europe has deteriorated.And for all his trouble, it appears that Blair got precious little in return from the American administration.As French President Jacques Chirac recently put it "I am not sure that it is in the nature of our American friends at the moment to return favors systematically."

British journalist James Naughtie, author of another acclaimed book about Tony Blair (the Rivals, about the relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown), tries to answer these questions precisely.His answer is that Blair is a true believer; he believes that the 9/11 has been a wake up call for the world."I could see this Islamic Extremism... bring about a very dangerous conjunction of terrorism and states that are utterly unstable and repressive" (quoted on p. 203).These views of Blair's antedated 9/11.They were the impetus for his promotion of the Kosovo war.Already in the late 1990s, Blair saw a new international order rising, one based on the struggle against evil.The terrorist threat required a whole new political philosophy:

"Before September 11th the world's view of the justification of military action had been changing. The only clear case in international relations for armed intervention had been self-defence, response to aggression. But the notion of intervening on humanitarian grounds had been gaining currency" But after 9/11, "What had seemed inchoate came together."The need for security required preemptive action. Countries which suppressed freedom, harbored terrorists or had weapons of mass destruction had to be dealt with.In effect, Blair agreed with Condoleezza Rice's claim that "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud".

So is the Labour PM really in accord with Bush, Cheyney and Rumsfeld?In Naughtie's thorough discussion, it is not so simple.There is a great difference between Bush and Blair.Naughtie quotes Blair as saying "I never quite understand what people mean by that neocon thing" (p.71)

That may be the key to explain the great divide between Blair and the Bush administration.Blair may not be aware of the gap, or of its enormity.The Prime Minster believes in the importance of democracy.For him, the military action against Iraq or El Qaeda is only a part of a greater attempt to create international security and peace."You cannot deal with terrorism security as simply a security issue.You also have to deal with the more compassionate side of the issue... the poverty, the lack of interfaith understanding.All these things need to be part of the agenda."Although Bush and his administration may pay lip service to these ideals, for them internationalism and real international cooperation are anathema.They cannot possibly support them.

In my view, Blair's partnership with Bush committed him to the Bush administration's incompetent, corrupt and extremist policies.Naughtie seems to think that Blair's support was essential or at least important, to Bush (see for example p. 203).But I disagree - in the Bush administration, the moderates, as Paul O'Neal observed, act as cover only.Bush would use Blair for all he is worth - but he would concede nothing in return.

I have much sympathy for the ideology Blair advocates, but Bush is no partner for promoting it.Blair's collaboration with the Bush administration not only diminishes his popularity - it also discredits his cause.

Useful account of Blair's links with Bush

James Naughtie, the Today presenter, has written a useful account of Blair's links with the USA, particularly with Bush and his colleagues. Naughtie recalls that when he asked Pentagon insider Richard Perle what came next after Afghanistan, Perle replied, "The really important thing is that there is a next."

So, in January 2002, Bush set the timetable for invading Iraq and told Blair. Blair then promised to join Bush's war, secretly changing government policy from peace to war, without telling anybody.

Naughtie writes that the `bloodstream' of the US-British special relationship is the intelligence linkage. Indeed, the USA's intelligence services are the world's biggest and most expensive. Yet all the US intelligence claims about Iraq's WMD - the uranium oxide bought from Niger, the mobile chemical laboratories - have been proven false. US intelligence was so bad that the CIA's head resigned, and his deputy left too.

The Labour government had all these intelligence resources behind them. Yet their notorious government dossier on WMD was largely pilfered from a ten-year-old PhD thesis! So what, exactly, did Britain gain from this so-special relationship and its precious `bloodstream'?

As a result of the illegal invasion of Iraq, there is now an illegal occupation of Iraq. Naughtie quotes a senior Foreign Office man who described the US's occupation policy as `a catastrophe from beginning to end'.

When Naughtie asked Blair if he agreed with the White House lawyer who said that the Geneva Conventions were `quaint', Blair replied, "Of course not. Neither do the Americans." Typically, Blair was denying the evidence just put in front of him.

Labour's war (for the Labour Party could have stopped it, but didn't even try) has weakened all that it holds dear. The link with the USA is in danger, the EU split, NATO divided, the Labour Party eviscerated, and Parliament, the Foreign Office and the intelligence services all discredited. But worse, Labour's war has made Israel increase its killings, thrown the Middle East into chaos, worsened the risks of terrorism to Britain and elsewhere, and added the danger of endless wars in a `clash of civilisations'.
... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: H. Challen in 1867 in 168 pages; Subjects: United States; Libel and slander; History / United States / General; History / United States / State & Local / General; History / United States / 19th Century; History / United States / State & Local / South; Law / General; ... Read more

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"I awakened early on Friday morning, November 22, 1963.The day was gray and somber.Rain was falling...I asked John if I could ride with him to Dallas, and his reply was 'certainly.'We got in the jump seats right behind the driver and secret service man in the front.I was on the driver's side.Mrs. Kennedy was behind me.The President sat directly behind John.We were a happy foursome.I had my yellow roses; Jackie had red ones.I turned to the President as the formation of cars turned onto Elm Street and said, ' Mr. President, you certainly cannot say that Dallas does not love you.'"

Nellie Connally, wife of the late governor of Texas John Connally, shares her personal diary of the JFK assassination. While a seminal document in our nation's history-the original document is to be archived at the University of Texas-From Love Field is, at heart, one woman's account of a personal tragedy.Written for her children and grandchildren forty years ago in November 1963, the diary details what it took as a wife, mother, and friend to cope with an unimaginable personal and public ordeal.

With the twenty-six-page original document expertly reproduced in its entirely and an additional narrative detailing the days before and after the fatal shots, From Love Field also includes many major newsbreaking revelations that further delineate Mrs. Connally's longstanding dispute of the Warren Commission's findings.

Along with Mickey Herskowitz, a longtime family friend and coauthor of John Connally's autobiography In History's Shadow, Nellie Connally has, at last, broken her silence and given the country a personal point of view of the most controversial and disturbing chapter in its history.
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Customer Reviews (13)

"An Amazing Piece of History"
There have been a plethora of books written on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but none are as good or informative as Nellie Connally's "From Love Field: Our Final Hours With John F. Kennedy". What the reader gets is a book actually written by someone who was in the motorcade with the President and his wife on that fateful day in Dallas on Novemeber 22, 1963. Nellie heard and saw the events that led up to the President's death and its aftermath. Nellie wrote down on paper what happened just days after the assassination so she and her future relatives could get an account on one of the most horrific days in American history. She recounts the shots she heard, what she had said to John Kennedy just moments before he was killed, how she covered her husband with her own body when he (John Connolly-the Governor of Texas) was shot himself, and her image of the blood that was shattered over the red and yellow roses in that motorcade and how that image will stay with her for life.

Nellie Connally has written an exceptional book on one of the most tragic days that befell the United States. Not just for historians, the book is for the average, every day person who would like to know what happened on that cool November day. I am sure going back was both an emotional and physical roller-coaster ride for Mrs. Connally, so she should be applauded for her effort and her work.

Compelling insight into that horrible day
I find this book wonderfully written by Mrs Connolly and a never before seen insight into what happened that day. As the (then) only surviving member of that car, it was something that is much appreciated to hear what her opinion was.

Meeting the gracious and beautiful Nellie Connally
My husband and I had the opportunity yesterday to get our copy of "From Love Field" signed by Mrs. Nellie Connally. What a treat!She is so elegant and eloquent, and gracious to all of her fans.She spoke personably with every single person in line and made everyone feel like they were of interest to her.I started reading her book as soon as I got in the car, and read straight through til I finished it.It is a wonderful book, exactly what you would expect from someone who lived through that horrible day.I got exactly what I expected to get from reading it, and even more.I especially appreciated the speeches that President Kennedy wasn't able to give being reproduced in the book.This is a book I will always cherish, along with meeting this great Texan, Mrs. Nellie Connally.

Refreshing and Honest
Of the many volumes on the subject, I find this book to be the best.Told with charm and grace, Nellie Connally relates the events of November 22, 1963 as only an occupant of that ill-fated Presidential Lincoln could.Devoid of conjecture or theories, we are simply presented with the facts.The Connally's viewpoint from the jumpseats is sobering. Pivotal moments, from Mrs. Connally's last words to President Kennedy to Governor Connally' near fatal wounds to Oswald's emergency room visit after the Jack Ruby shooting are covered in a comfortable format; making one feel that Mrs. Connally is relating the events to you personally.Thank-You, Mrs. Connally.

Thank you, Mrs. Connally
The former First Lady of Texas takes an infamous blot on our history, an event that quite literally changed the world for generations to come, and put it in completely human terms. This is what happened to her and her family. This is how she remembers it. What's more, it's how she experienced it -- from both the front seat of the Lincoln Continental and the corridors of Parkland Hospital. This makes it an invaluable historical record, and a moving account written by a woman who had been fired upon in an open car and held her bleeding husband in her arms. Perhaps it is "slight." I would not have wanted her to embellish or alter her memories of those tragic days just to accommodate readers who measure a book's worth by the number of pages. I did not consider the photographs, the reproduction of her notes nor President Kennedy's undelivered speeches "filler." They lent texture and veracity to her story. And I do not see how anyone can say there is nothing "new" here. She is the only one of those three surviving passengers who discussed what happened at this length with the public. That in and of itself is "new." I appreciate this lady's gallantry and her generosity in contributing her family's history to our country's history. And I was also moved by her son John's recollections of the funeral. It was poignant to read a man nearing 60 recalling the awe, pagentry and pain he experienced while still a teen. ... Read more

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John Adams reached Paris on October 26, 1782, for the final act of the American Revolution: the peace treaty. This volume chronicles his role in the negotiations and the decision to conclude a peace separate from France. Determined that the United States pursue an independent foreign policy, Adams's letters criticized Congress's naive confidence in France. But in April 1783, frustrated at delays over the final treaty and at real and imagined slights from Congress and Benjamin Franklin, Adams believed the crux of the problem was Franklin's moral bankruptcy and servile Francophilia in the service of a duplicitous Comte de Vergennes.

Volume 14 covers more than just the peace negotiations. As American minister to the Netherlands, Adams managed the distribution of funds from the Dutch-American loan. Always an astute observer, he commented on the fall of the Shelburne ministry and its replacement by the Fox-North coalition, the future of the Anglo-American relationship, and the prospects for the United States in the post-revolutionary world. But he was also an anxious father, craving news of John Quincy Adams's slow journey from St. Petersburg to The Hague. By May 1783, Adams was tired of Europe, but resigned to remaining until his work was done.

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These volumes provide an unparalleled account of the conduct of American diplomacy in the early years of the republic, while the war with Britain continued and after the treaty of alliance with France was signed. John Adams served for ten months as a commissioner to France. Though he was the newest member of the three-man commission, he was its chief administrator, handling most of its correspondence, and his papers are the first full documentary record of the commission ever published. They provide a wealth of detail on every aspect of diplomacy, from negotiations with ministers of state to the arranging of prisoner exchanges.

The documents throw new light on Adams' relations with his fellow commissioners, Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee. Historians have depicted Adams as hostile to Franklin and supportive of Lee, but the record shows that he found himself increasingly in disagreement with Lee, while working harmoniously with Franklin from the outset. Moreover, after the commission was disbanded in February 1779 and Franklin was appointed Minister to France-a move Adams had advocated-he undertook an important mission at Franklin's behest. It is now clear that the rift that developed between the two statesmen did not begin until after Adams' return to Paris in 1780.

Legal and constitutional scholars will find Volume 8 of particular interest. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, drafted by John Adams in 1779, served as a crucial source for the Constitution of the United States; today it is the oldest written constitution in the world still in effect. The earliest surviving version of Adams' text, the Report of a Constitution for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is here published with full annotation for the first time. It is John Adams' most enduring constitutional work.

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These volumes document John Adams' thinking and actions during the final years of his congressional service and take him through his first five months as a Commissioner in France in association with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee.

While Adams was still in Philadelphia, military matters continued to he his major concern. Most demanding was his presidency of the Board of War, which took up his "whole Time, every Morning and Evening." In general though, the documents and reports of his conduct reveal a commitment to a national outlook. Congress should be a national legislature, and personal, state, and regional rivalries should give way to concern for the greater good--these were his deeply held convictions.

When chosen a Commissioner to France, Adams was reluctant to go. But duty and the honor of the position, along with the encouragement of an understanding and self-sacrificing wife, persuaded him to accept. With son John Quincy for a companion, he crossed the Atlantic to a new career. His initiation into the complexities of diplomacy brought a growing awareness of' European affairs and the problems facing the new nation in the diplomatic arena. Letters deal with such varied topics as the supervision of American commercial agents in French ports, regulation of privateers, settlement of disputes between crews and officers, negotiation of loans, and help for American prisoners in England. Personal letters run the gamut from Adams' views on the proper conduct of American diplomacy to strangers' pleas for aid in locating relatives in America. Contrary to the usual impression of Adams as little more than a clerk for the Commission, evidence shows that he was its chief administrator.

Acclimation to living abroad among diplomats did not stifle Adams' yearning for the simplicities of private life in the midst of his family. Yet as the important and interesting documents of this volume show, the ground work was being laid for his even more significant role in diplomacy.

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I sit down to write you (a Soldier's Friend!)...My kind Friend of Friends you have the power to help me a grate deal...I have great Confidence in our Good President hoe has dun a grate deal for us poor Soldiers...

So wrote Private Joe Hass to Abraham Lincoln, February 20, 1864. Like an extraordinary number of his fellow Union soldiers, he loved Lincoln as a father. Lincoln inspired feelings unlike those instilled by any previous commander-in-chief in America. In Lincoln's Men, William C. Davis draws on thousands of unpublished letters and diaries to tell the hidden story of how a new and untested president could become "Father Abraham" throughout both the army and the North as a whole.

How did the Army of the Potomac, yearning for the grandeur of McClellan, turn instead to the comfort of Old Abe, and how was this change of loyalty crucial to final victory? How did Lincoln inspire the faith and courage of so many shattered men, wandering the inferno of Shiloh or entrenched in the siege of Vicksburg? Why did soldiers visiting Washington feel free to stroll into the White House and sit down to relax, as if it were their own home?

Davis removes layers of mythmaking to recapture the moods and feelings of an army facing one of history's bloodiest conflicts. Tracing the popular fate of decisions to invoke conscription, to fire McClellan, and to free the slaves, Lincoln's Men casts a new light on our most famous president -- the light, that is, of the peculiar mass medium that was the Union Army. A motley band of talkers and letter writers, the soldiers spread news of Lincoln's appearances like wildfire, chortling at his ungainly posture in the saddle, rushing up to shake his hand and talk to him. The volunteers knew they could approach "Old Abe," "Honest Abe," "Uncle Abe," and "Father Abraham," and they cheered him thunderously. "The men could not be restrained from so honoring him," said Private Rice Bull. "He really was the ideal of the Army."

The story of the making of Father Abraham is the story of America's second revolution, its rebirth. As one Union soldier and journalist put it, "Washington taught the world to know us, Lincoln taught us to know ourselves. The first won for us our independence, the last wrought out our manhood and self-respect."Amazon.com Review
Prolific author William C. Davis offers a biography of therelationship between President Lincoln and his Union soldiers--a studybased on letters found in more than 600 manuscript collections, someof them private. Lincoln, of course, didn't know his troopspersonally, but he related to them through his own brief experience inarms (the Black Hawk War) and the duty of his office. The bluecoats,by contrast, all knew about Lincoln, and as Davis shows in thisengaging book, viewed him as a kind of father figure.

Davis tracks the war chronologically, highlighting events thatinspired ordinary soldiers to comment upon their commander in chief,such as his spats with General McClellan, calls for more recruits, anddecision to free the slaves.It's impossible to argue that the menwere all of one mind; time and again, Davis reveals the diversity oftheir views."Thank the Lord for this!" wrote one Ohio private afterLincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Another, however, wasdownright furious. His colorful opinion--written colloquially andwithout regard for modern grammar--is characteristic of the best CivilWar letter writers: "[It] caused me an hour's hearty laugh, two hourstender cry, four hours big with mad, and I am swearing in all thelanguages known to Americans and Europeans." On the whole, however,Davis advances a convincing claim that the troops admired Lincoln forthe greatness with which we honor him today.--John J. Miller ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Lincoln and his army
I actually bought this book by accident, ordering it instead of another book about his private secretaries, Lincoln's Men: The President and His Private Secretaries. I have still to read the other book. This is an excellent book, however, and the story of Lincoln's attachment to his army, especially the Army of the Potomac. One of the volumes of Bruce Catton's great history of the Army of the Potomac is titled Mr Lincoln's Army. I would suggest reading more widely about the history of the Civil War before coming to this book. It is about the relationship between Lincoln and the men of his armies and the rest of the story is told as background. Having read all of Catton's books and several biographies of Lincoln, including the uncritical one by Carl Sandberg, I enjoyed this thoroughly. One review criticized the book as too partial to Lincoln, treating him as a god. I disagree. The final chapter discusses how the mythology of Lincoln grew after his assassination and as the veterans of the Union Army aged. It is limited in scope and I would not recommend it for those desiring a more general history, but for those who know the story well, it is enjoyable and I recommend it.

Overall a good study of Lincoln as Commnader in Chief
At times this book is absolutely brilliant, and at others absolutely wordy.Davis does make several very keen observations and supports these very well from the countless diary quotes from Union Soldiers.Overall, it is a good study of President Lincoln as Commander in Chief, and even Lincoln as a statesman.The book does mostly focus on Lincoln and the Army of the Potomac, but, as Davis contends, that is by far the army that needed his direct support the most.Davis handles Lincoln's relationships with the Sanitary Comission and other civilian organized groups supporting the war effort extremely well.In the end, I would recommend this book as a good and unique study of President Lincoln.

A true Commander in Chief
If you have never read much about Lincoln, you will enjoy this book.If you are a fan of President Lincoln, you will find this work among the best ever written.William C. Davis presents to us the 'best friend' a soldier ever knew.Heenters into the life of Lincoln and especially his relationship with the common Civil War soldier.As each chapter begins with a verse from the Bible about Abraham, you will almost feel a sense of divinity that was felt by many about Lincoln.He was a Commander in Chief that we could only dream about in today's world; a man that loved his soldiers and had a following that would go anywhere and do anything because 'Father Abraham' asked him to.

Lincoln's army
A very interesting and insightful look at Lincoln and his army - the Army of the Potomac which was the only army he had any real relationship with and the only army he ever visited. The book revealed how Lincoln culivated his relationship with this army and how his own personal interest allowed him to make his mark on it. While considered as a hard luck army thanks to its lousy commanding generals, the men of the army and its commander in chief never lost faith and that common bond kept things together in the east while the war was won in the west. One of the more interesting books on the Civil War, it explored the aspects of relationship between Lincoln and his Army of the Potomac.

Very enjoyable: side of Civil War history not before plumbed
Given the mountain of books about either Abraham Lincoln or the American Civil War, one would think that someone would have come up with the idea of exploring the relationship between Lincoln and the rank-and-file Union soldier.But Davis is apparently the first to do so, and he handles the topic in a way that is bound to delight anyone interested in either topic, from the novice to the expert.

He has obviously thoroughly researched the wealth of letters, diaries, and other orginal sources that are available; his points are well documented.Moreover, he avoids repeating himself by either using the same source over and over again (as Ken Burns did in the Civil War series and Bruce Catton tended to do in his otherwise fascinating histories), nor does he pile up so much evidence on a single point that the reader becomes bored.

He explores the Lincoln-enlisted man relationship from a variety of angles, ranging from Lincoln's dismissal of the highly popular McClellan to his liberal use of his pardoning prerogative for wayward soldiers to veterans' attitudes in the 1864 Presidential election to his assassination.He frames much of the book in terms of Parson Weems's classic biography of George Washington, which depicted GW as "the Father of His Country," and suggests that the book had an early, perhaps subconscious effect on Lincoln, giving him a model to adopt when he became President--and makes a plausible case.

He also demonstrates that Lincoln very consciously invested in promoting a positive image of himself with the Union rank and file.Lincoln was very aware of how his position as President affected everyday Americans, and became (according to Davis) the first President to make an effort to be seen by ordinary citizens, especially Union soldiers.

This is a well-written, enjoyable book, satisfying in every sense.It was truly hard to put down. ... Read more

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15 Stars presents the intertwined lives of three five-star generals—George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur—as America’s greatest heroes against the background of six unforgettable decades, from two World Wars to the Cold War, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing how much of a difference three men can make not only to a nation, but the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Politics, bickering, in fighting!
I have read a lot of books about WW II, but this is the best! It gives the "political" side of the war and tells of the "infighting" among the generals and with the Allies. How did we ever win!

A Fine Overview of Three Great American Generals
Stanley Weintraub's "15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals who Saved the American Century" is an engaging look at three generals who forever left their stamp upon American history.This work succeeds in showing the men, warts and all, in their struggles to win World War II and beyond.The author highlights the antagonisms, egos, brilliance, sacrifice, and dedication to duty that all three shared.Weintraub correctly paints them as soldier statesmen, officers whose rank made them as much diplomats as warriors.The book does have its flaws, however.Conceptually, a look at the generals during World War II would have made more sense than the half-hearted look at the men after than conflict.World War II takes up about 400 pages of this 500 page tomb and the last few chapters feel tacked on, more an epilogue than an in-depth continuation of the study.Both MacArthur and Marshall's deaths are accorded several pages, Ike got barely a paragraph.Weintraub justifies this by stating that after MacArthur's death their lives ceased to intertwine.Additionally, one would have liked a closer looked at the general's strategies during the war- this book is a shared biographical sketch, however, not an true military history.

Despite its flaws "15 Stars" really shines in a few areas.One comes to appreciate the tireless and thankless work of George C. Marshall, as he struggled to organize the American military establishment and coordinate strategy with an antagonistic British ally.MacArthur is shown as the egotist that he was, yet still Weintraub manages to convey his brilliant leadership that won the hearts of his men and the respect of a grateful nation.Eisenhower's personal life, such as his relationship with Kay Summersby are front and center, as is his often stumbling presidency.Nevertheless Ike is shown as a meticulous and intelligent military man whose daring and determination added greatly to the Allied cause against Hitler.

This is an interesting and informative book about three men whose contributions to their nation stand unparalleled in history.Recommended for anyone who has a greater desire to understand the American personalities who fought World War II from the top.

readable, but only because it could have been a true behind the scenes hollywood memoir
This is not a difficult book to read, partly because it comes off as a Hollywood type expose of behind the scenes gossip about MacArthur and Eisenhower. In the beginning, MacArthur takes the worst of it, but Eisenhower is bashed relentlessly towards the end, with a full measure of Truman envy and bitterness thrown in for extra seasoning. The only person treated fairly is Marshall.

The postwar section of the book is particularly awful, focusing on selective areas(Korea, Marshall plan) while totally ignoring others (theft of the Atomic secrets, Venona decrypts, Alger Hiss and Rosenberg trials).

One more note. I was curious to discover that the American army was not the first motorized army, did not have soldiers well versed in automobile maintenance due to driving cars at home produced by Henry Ford, and that American society was not an automobile society at all until the evil Eisenhower allowed greedy corporate interests to put in a national highway system.

David's Review
Fascinating account of the interaction of three of the four most famous U.S. general officers in the 20th century (and the fourth, Blackjack Pershing, of WWI fame, knew the other three very well and had a behind-the-scenes role with each of them in WWII, including direct communications with FDR -- which is also covered in this masterly work).These three giants all had unique personalities and operating styles; they collaborated when necessary, sometimes begrudgingly,and clashed on many occasions.Of the three, the ultimate arbiter was George Marshall -- who groomed Ike, put him in place as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and then kept him on a short leash.Marshall also hand-massaged the supremely egotistical Douglas MacArthur to keep him in line throughout the war in the Pacific despite MacArthur's frequent paranoia about Washington.And of course, Ike and MacArthur (Ike once was MacArthur's aide) grew to despise each other.All of these not-so-well-known nuances are brilliantly addressed by the author. A great read!

Unremarkably good, and badly titled, at that
As a reader of World War II histories, I was on the whole unimpressed with this volume. The author writes clearly and knowledgeably about the subjects, but there is no shortage of clear and knowledgeable works on World War II. The book touts itself as a study of the relationship between "three generals who saved the American Century," but it rapidly becomes clear that it offers nothing of the sort. Fifteen Stars rapidly descends into a hagiography of George Marshall, simultaneously serving as an anticato of Douglas MacArthur. After reading it, one is left to wonder why Weintraub even bothered to include MacArthur in the title, as he puts no effort at all into showing why one might consider him as having "saved the American Century."

It is not a bad book, one must be clear of that. It does a creditable job of covering both the Pacific War and the European/North African theater, something that is generally lacking in single-volume works. But for all that it is unremarkable -- it fails to live up to its titular promise, and one struggles to find something at which it excels. I suppose it is worth reading, but is far more useful to someone who already knows a bit about the three men involved. At most, I can offer only a tepid reccommendation. ... Read more

Product Description
As a young man, George Washington admired and copied into a little notebook 110 rules for civil behavior that originated from a Jesuit textbook. Washington took these rules very much to heart, and that handwritten list remained with him throughout his life, serving as inspiring guidance from his military days at Valley Forge and Yorktown to his two terms as president.

Guidance that at first sounds archaic, it is in fact just as relevant as--indeed, possibly more necessary than--it was nearly three hundred years ago. Richard Brookhiser makes clear the pertinence of these rules for modern readers and proposes that now more than ever we will be wise to follow the modest example of such a great man. Witty and insightful, Brookhiser’s commentary offers real-world instruction in the lost art of self-discipline, and his new preface provides a compelling and timely context in which to employ these guidelines today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Must-Read
This book should be required reading as early as grammar school...and certainly should be repeated through-out high school and college.

Excellent Book - Even Better Service!
I was surprised at how quickly I received my new book. The book itself is very insightful and has all the rules that each of us should live by. I am very satisfied with both the book and the buying experience. A++++

Missing Pages: Lack of Quality Control
Well the book itself appears as though it would have been a definite keeper - even a great small gift idea.However my copy is missing 16 pages - and along with them, 22 of the "rules" - toward the center of the volume. The following pages are blank and missing these rules:

Pages: 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 52, 53, 56, and 57.

Rules: 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 43, 44, and 45.

Needless to say, the book shall be returned. And no one at Amazon can assure me that the defective lot has been caught and removed from its stock, nor that the next one will be any better. So I must decline to get another one.

A Personal Constitution
This enjoyable short book has within it, a serious message about our first president. The character of the man and how he quite deliberately constituted himself for the challenges of his life, is quite enthralling. He was self reflective enough, without a great formal education, to have required of himself a set of high, and somtimes challenging, personal standards...based upon the cardinal virutes set form in a little Jesuit reader, meant as a guide to leaders. To meditate upon, and require such precepts of personal conduct, turned out to be a prescient insight into what was essential to his very public life.....the life of the irreplaceable leader, of the early days of the American republic.

It says much about the man, who worked ever diligently to improve himself in such a way. Nothing could be more helpful in considering the personal qualities of character that we Americans should expect, for all of our leaders.

In addition, the compiler/author's commentary is often quite entertaining, and always right on the mark.

a man is known by his actions
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.Initially, I started reading it because I had liked Brookhiser's biography on Hamilton and was looking for something else by the same author.The occasional asides that Brookhiser included helped to bring some of the antiquated rules into the 21st century.While reading this book, at first I found myself making notes as to which person should hear about a particular rule.After a while, however, I began to be aware of some of my behaviors that should change.I have since passed this book on to a young friend very concerned about character. And...I try not to roll my eyes any more. Recommended - but I suggest also reading Washington's Farewell Address as a way to better understand the man's character. ... Read more

Product Description
Relive the JFK assassination with the accounts of top reporters in text, photos, broadcasts and rare archival audio.

On November 22, 1963, one of the most shocking events in history jolted a nation and signaled the end of an era. President Kennedy Has Been Shot tells the minute-by-minute story of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the dramatic days that followed.

Brought to you by the Newseum, the world’s first interactive museum of news, President Kennedy Has Been Shot recounts those four days in November, including:

--President Kennedy’s assassination and the confusion that followed

--Lee Harvey Oswald’s capture, arrest and murder

--The moving presidential procession and funeral

This book and accompanying audio CD bring you the events as they happened, featuring:

--Remarkable eyewitness accounts of the reporters, photographers and White House staffers who were there

--Stunning and award-winning photos of the tragedy and a nation in grief

--The actual broadcasts that told America the news, plus rarely heard Dallas police-radio transmissions, White House communications and more

President Kennedy Has Been Shot takes you inside one of the country’s defining and most debated moments. Now you can read and listen to the story as it unfolded, filling in parts of the story you may have never heard and re-creating the story for generations to come.

The audio CD included with the book lets you hear:

--The actual broadcasts of the earliest reports of the shooting

--An emotional Walter Cronkite announce the tragic news

--Chilling Dallas police-radio transmissions calling all units to the scene of the assassination

--Dramatic communication between the White House and Air Force One as it races toward Washington with newly sworn-in President Johnson

--Rarely heard phone calls from Johnson to Kennedy family members and government and civic leaders during his first moments in office

--The incredible live broadcast of Lee Harvey Oswald’s murder

Hear the actual broadcasts that shocked a nation and read the story from the vantage of the men and women who chased it down. Experience again, or for the first time, the minute-by-minute story of one of the most important events in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Kennedy Asassination
Not one of the best efforts on compiling available facts from that dreadful day but worthy of your read.Worth the price just to have the sounds of that time.

Excellent retelling of the darkest days in American history.
I am sure all of us remember where we were on that tragic Friday nearly 44 years ago. The book and companion CD recreates those horrible images from Dallas in 1963 up to the time of Kennedy's funeral. Whether you like him or not Dan Rather did a fine job in narrating the CD featuring the actual news clips from the broadcasts at that time. Excellent reading for those who remember this tragedy and for those who like to get a sense of what America and the world was like at that time.

The Media Hype that propels the Oswald Myth today
This is an excellent book(with CD) ,through the media's eyes.There is no scientific ,logical evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald shot the President.Yet,the media captures the staged-event and the hoopla connected with it. (-My theory-) Nixon never forgave the Irish Catholics for the tragic ,senseless murder of his childhood brother ,Arthur Nixon.Nor forgiving of Kennedy for the alledged voter-fraud of the 1960 race.Johnson divided the democratic vote and Nixon reaped the unified Republican consenses.So-called "witnesses" add to the myth, that all the shots came exclusively from the book-depository warehouse building.There is no mentioning of Charles Harrelson,the most credible shooter.There are Christian Masons,as well as Jewish B'nai B'rth ones.So what about the Masonic connection to Dealy Plaza?And no mentioning of the Nixon Cuban Miami goons,calling off a possible Miami assassination attempt.Nor a mentioning of George Sr. assigning landmark status to a Dallas grand hotel ,that day.If you think Oswald was the lone shooter,don't believe the hype.Investigate.One star for the pictures,and none for reporting the truth.

What an engaging experience...
I typically read books that I think will be good for my mind or my soul, rather than selecting them strictly because they will be fun or interesting.This book reminded me about the joys of pleasure reading.

Of course, the topic of the book is far from fun, and I was initially disappointed by the focus of the book.Rather than focusing strictly on the events surrounding President Kennedy's assassination (which I am too young to have experienced), this book addresses those horrific days from the perspective of many journalists.It is basically a series of interviews from literally dozens of the newsmen around the country who played significant roles in the coverage of this historic event.

Though I didn't really anticipate this emphasis, it was actually an incredibly fascinating vantage point from which to analyze the events surrounding JFK's death.To hear the stories of the men and women who helped the nation and world process and understand these shocking scenes was at times exhilarating and at other times gut-wrenching.

Besides these fantastic interviews, the book also includes a CD, which gives the listener an opportunity to hear 42 different soundbites (most only a minute or two in length) starting with Kennedy's arrival in Dallas and concluding with the funeral.I imagine that this would resonate well with folks who heard many of these clips over forty years ago, but it was equally interesting for me to hear them for the first time.

Ultimately, this book and the accompanying CD far exceeded my expectations.I was hoping to learn some interesting little trivia tidbits, but instead, I was engrossed in those terrible four days when the country suffered and grieved such a great loss.I was absolutely captivated and had a hard time putting down the book.

Despite Dan Rather, very good book (!)
As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Cathy Trost. In conjunction with the audio cd, this book provides a dramatic overview of that terrible time in our nation's history. I recommend this book and cd, especially to the newcomer. vince palamara ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (38)

Gravy 1 = Very Satisfied
Great book! Sure we wish had Cheney as a President now!
Great price, product, and seller performance!

Gravy1

A Life of Choices and Consequence
"Cheney" Is a life long-biography of the man whose vice-presidency was merely the culmination of a long span of public service.I would describe it as fairly even handed in its approach.Author Stephen F. Hayes overlooks neither his early drunk driving charges nor the controversy over the Scooter Libby conviction, but does not dwell on them merely to bash his subject.Overall I would rate the treatment as favorable, but not a campaign biography.

As I mentioned, this is a whole life biography and as such gives the reader a remarkable perspective on the man and an insight into our public figures.It begins with his youth and continues through his high school years in Wyoming, his unsuccessful studies at Yale and the completion of his degree at the University of Wyoming, all while his relationship with Lynne was deepening.At the age of 37 Cheney would suffer his first heart attack.From then on his cardiac health would always be just below or breaking the surface of his life voyage.

I think that we often think of political figures as one dimensional characters driven by political success to the exclusion of all else.This book reveals a man whose life story was shaped by a series of career choices which could have altered that story profoundly.Initially expected to pursue an academic career, Cheney eventually had to choose between that and government service.He chose government.His rapid assent to chief of staff in the Ford White House sets the stage for a segment of this book which takes readers not only into Cheney's role but also gives us a fly on the wall's view of the Nixon pardon, earned re-entry for Vietnam war resisters and the unsuccessful 1976 campaign.For me this was the first really good part of the book.After that defeat, Cheney had to choose between a private life and an entry into the political arena.While contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate, an opening in the Wyoming House seat led to the decision that would send him back to Washington.A rapid rise into the House Leadership set up another choice when President George H.W. Bush invited him back into the executive branch.After weighing his options, he again set his life story on its course which included crucial time spent as Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War.This segment of the book provides the reader with an invitation into the meetings that set the war into motion and carried it to victory.Here we see President Bush and Gen. Collin Powell up close.With Bush's defeat in 1992, Cheney faced another choice and this time renounced politics as he chose private business by joining the Halliburton firm, a decision that would bring him wealth, enhanced prestige and credentials.At this point it seemed that Dick Cheney's public career was over and he would make his mark in the realm of international commerce.The offer to run for vice-president with George W. Bush presented another choice between public and private life.As readers of my Amazon reviews know, I have read many biographies, but rarely do I encounter a subject whose life took so many turns of significance to himself and the world.

The last roughly half of the book covers that part of his career.In this segment we see up close the role of the man chosen to help govern, not campaign.We are brought up close to two campaigns, the molding of an administration, over which Cheney exerted enormous influence, 9-11 and its aftermath and the gradual unraveling of the administration and Cheney's personal influence.

I think that this is an excellent biography which helps us understand a man who, through his choices, guided his life and affected all of ours.Full disclosure is called for.I voted for the Bush-Cheney ticket twice and am glad that I did.A reader who is a Cheney hater and wants to find sinister motives in his every move will not enjoy this book.For a Cheney fan or a reader with an open mind, it presents a rare insight into a very real man and the national affairs of his era.

Biased but still useful view of Dick Cheney
Stephen Hayes writes a biography of Cheney from the view of the right with the most access to the vice president than anyother reporter has ever had. With that being said Cheney is still a very private man who shares little about his life.Hayes is very thorough and provides an excellent look at how Cheney got to where he was from Yale dropout to rising academic that chooses to go into public service in the Ford administration as a chief of staff working with Donald Rumsfeld.After going into elected office and serving as Secretary of Defense Cheney retired from public life to become a board member at Halliburton.What would become one of the most controversial parts of the Bush administration when the government would award no bid contracts to the company.

As with any political book bias is a huge concern.When it comes to Cheney's early years much of what is written matches up with other biographies on Reagan and Ford and really paints a picture of how those offices worked.His recounting of the 9/11 events also is in line with those reports by George Tennet, Richard Clarke and others.When it comes to the war in Iraq there is a lot of dancing around and I found this to be the least helpful part of the book since it seemed to contradict what others had written.Now the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle and I doubt we will ever know if this administration came in with the intent to go to war in Iraq.One thing this book makes very clear is the Bush cabinet was a product of Dick Cheney. He surrounded Bush with close friends like Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice and Powell.

As to the charge of Cheney being the puppet master it is hard to get a sense.Cheney was selected as VP because he had the experience in government that George Bush did not and he would use that experience to be an effective administrator.Given Cheney's already reluctant and private nature it created the appearance of a more sinister front than seems to be presented here.Overall it is a very interesting look at Cheney's life and worth the time to read.

Excellent!
Cheney is so stoic and Stephen Hayes does an excellent job of showing us the inner workings of a great man.Very interesting and riveting account of Dick Cheney's political career.The world would be a better place if we had more men like this in our government!An amazing insight to this amazing man!Too bad we will have to wait for history to have the rest of the world understand how important he has been in shaping our world for the last 40 years!

Cheney
Sure, this book is by someone who had written for the National Review. But the book isn't as biased as you might think. It gives us a guarded peek into the life and mind of Dick Cheney. The part of the book that deals with the events on September 11th, 2001 gives us an important insight into Cheney and why he's so hell bent on going after the evildoers that did our country wrong.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Great Adventure
This is a rare book, in that when you read it, you feel like you know T.R. personally. He describes in detail his military experiences in Cuba, and political career. His personal stories are fascinating and he states his reasoning and motives for the political decisions he made. He has been criticized for being a progressive; ie "liberal". But I believe his politics are being taken out of context when viewed in relation to the era. For example, there were no child labor laws at that time. He gives great practical advice and even tremendous insight into marriage, which is found in a letter; in which he responds to a housewife that had written to him. Also, his dry humor is absolutely, deee-lightful!

An American Treasure - both the man and the works
Reading this magnificent volume was a joy on many levels.First and foremost, Theodore Roosevelt could write.His prose is always strong, active, and colorful.In "The Rough Riders" he handles action better than most novelists.He picks just the right details about the situation to make it come alive.Whether it is talking about the sound of the bullets buzzing by and the value of smokeless powder because of the difficulty of spotting those using it against you or the plague of sand crabs picking at the dead the reader feels as if he were there.

I also found real pleasure in reading about a time in American history that I did not know that much about.Theodore Roosevelt was a young boy during the Civil War (and he had family on both sides of the conflict) and died in 1919 just after The Great War (WWI)."An Autobiography" was written in 1913 after his failed third party run for the presidency.It is a magnificent work because it is not a chronology of his life.Instead he tells the story of his life through some events that allow him to illuminate at length on various aspects of his philosophy of life.He talks about morals, civil service reform, his views on productivity and the working man versus the big corporations negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War and a lot more.At all times he shows how he has considered all sides of an issue and how he came to his decision.

One of the problems in reading history is that a false light is cast backward onto events in the past.The cataclysm of the two world wars and all the history of the following them have made understanding the time of T. Roosevelt, as they understood it, all but impossible.However, both of these books are completely uninformed by The Great War, the creation of the Soviet Union or anything later because both books were written prior to those events.We get a great feel for how that world looked to those who inhabited it, the vividness of the Civil War and how the policies of Lincoln were still well known and were debated as living choices and policies.

He also shares with us his views on why he had to be such an active politician and especially as President.There is no doubt that the world was changing mightily in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.The rise of the huge corporations and the industrialization of huge numbers of peoples as workers in those industries created many issues that had to be worked out.The old government structures were overwhelmed and TR was one of the leaders who helped fashion policies that he and others considered fair and progressive.Obviously, from our vantage point, we would have made different choices.But the present is always in flux and always seem simpler in hindsight than it ever was.

Another treat is the way he characterizes the positions of those with whom he disagreed.He always tries to be charitable and often sounds like a kindly parent dealing with a sincere but wayward and somewhat dull child.It is also fascinating to read this progressive's views about moral character.He specifically addresses the evils of sexual licentiousness, abortion, divorce, and much more that has become our norm.It should give us pause.

If you have any doubt about his character or courage, compare this example to anyone today you care to name.Theodore Roosevelt was an Assistant Secretary to the Navy.He saw the Spanish-American War coming and resigns his post to help raise a regiment of volunteer cavalry.He is offered the role of commanding officer, but leaves that to his friend, Leonard Wood, and is happy as Lt. Colonel.He is well liked by his men, never shirks from the hardships and leads his men in battle from the front.He wanted to be in the thick of things not for vainglory, but because it was the best place to communicate with and ensure the best use and protection of his men.Whom do you know like that today?

As a side note it is interesting to read the differences in his orthography from our present day usage.I don't know if the umlauts in double consonants in words such as reelection (reëlection), cooperation (coöperation), or reenter (reënter) were peculiar to him or some school, but I actually like it a lot and wish we would bring it back.It looks better and makes reading all that much simpler.Maybe typewriters did away with them because they lacked the keys to make them.However, our computers can make those characters easily.

If you are interested in American History, the two books in this volume are treasures you owe it to yourself to read.Oh that anyone in public life could write like this with the kind of inner strength and courage Theodore Roosevelt had.We would be the better for it regardless of our policy differences.

Also, this edition from the Library of America deserves special praise.There are many high quality black and white photographs that were used in the original editions that enrich the reading experience a great deal.As always the LOA has made a high quality book that is a delight to hold and read.Thank you, LOA!

Strongest Recommendation!

You might also want to consider:

Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches (Library of America)

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

What a War, What a Life!
In rankings of the American Presidents, the consensus pick as the first great president of the twentiety century was also the youngest man ever to serve in the office: Theodore Roosevelt. Reformer, rancher, conservationist, hunter, historian, police commissioner, and soldier, Theodore roosevelt led a rich and varied life that he vividly recorded in autobiographical writings, letters, and speeches.

This book contains two books, both written by Roosevelt and edited by Roosevelt biographer Louis Auchincloss:

The Rough Riders (1899) is the story of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. This was the unit raised by Roosevelt, trained in Texas and then shipped to Cuba. This was a time when war could still be seen as a romantic adventure -- unlike what happened in France twenty years later. The biggest problems faced by Roosevelt were: the jungle, the heat, hunger, rain, mud and malaria. Kind of incidentally they also had a war to fight.

An Autobiography (1913) recalls his lifelong fascination with natural history, his love of hunting and the outdoors, and his adventures as a cattleman in the Dakota Badlands, as well as his career in politics as a state legislator, civil service reformer, New York City police commissioner, assistant secretary of the navy, governor of New York, and president. What a life. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

The firstgenocide of 20th century - not mentioned
I have not read it but I am assuming (from the reviews) that the author has not bothered tomention the first genocide of the 20th century - the annihilation of Christian Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks - all 4 million of them - from Asia Minor by the Muslim Turks - and amassive ongoingmassacre of Christians.

He has not bothered to discuss the 3 million dead and enslaved Christians in Southern Sudan either.

He picks and chooses it seems...

great book
Goldhagen's insights are original.His take on the subject might make you uncomfortable, but this is not an easy subject, of course, and Goldhagen has treated it with inarguable logic and analysis.Brilliant in every respect.
- Brown Thrasher

Anti Christian rederick
If you like to read hate books peddled by an anti Christian that wants to widen the gap if he can then Read this book. This man is a sick raciest that tries to wrap reason around lies. Hitler was not a Christian as this man who obviously knows nothing about Christianity tries to profess. I hope one day he may find time to sit and do research for his next book before he graces humanity with more "Jerry Springer"style junk...Maybe he should read the bible the part that says that the "Jews are gods holy people" ? Sorry But I can not advise anyone who values their time to read a book written by somebody who is ignorant and racist. Ps Schindler was a Christian !

W H Y T H E T U T S I ?
Talk about a dumb hangup: a Jew, a soi-disant scholar, devoting his life to researching
genocide.Mr. Goldhagen's work consists of showing tombs, bodies, lots of bodies, mass graves and interviews with genociders and survivors.His conclusions seem to consist of something vague, like "mass cruelty".

Two bits Mr. Goldhagen could not define ethnicity.We'll do it for him:An ethnic group is above all a resources-sharing group.Resources are access to trade routes, arable land,pasture, water, fuel, ... women ...

Contrary to Mormon posturing, belonging to an ethnic group does not guarantee a free lunch.But the ethnic groupee at least feels eligible for what resources the group claims; the outsider is not.

When the majority Hutu faces competition from the minority Tutsi the Hutu feels pro-
foundly and instinctively threatened about the survival of the Hutu traditional support system.The most appropriate Hutu emotional reaction is ............................fear.
This Hegelian fear comes from the "genius of the people"To kill the leaders is to invite ............................................................................genocide.

Run with that, Mr. Goldhagen!

M. S. Newton
April 22, "2010"

Another Vitally Important work by Mr. Goldhagen
WORSE THAN WAR is the third lucid work by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, whose three books have worked to demystify genocide.

What I mean by this is that prior to reading HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONERS, no book I read about the Holocaust had the guts to define genocide in the simple but stark terms that it merits and deserves.I have read books by psychoanalysts about the Holocaust that make excuses for genocide--it was so compartmentalized they didn't know, or it was "Groupthink" or some other nonsense.

Goldhagen gets to the heart of these issues, and I understand why some readers may be put off by his stridence, but, heck, if Genocide isn't worth getting upset about, what is?

WORSE THAN WAR is a natural and appreciated extension of his prior two works.He explores the mindset that conceives of, actualizes, justifies and completes genocide.He also explores how genocides are stopped (often too late, obviously), and what we have to fear in the future.

I make no bones about it:I am a Goldhagen supporter and I frankly don't understand the animosity he has faced for stating the obvious.

My only complaint about WORSE THAN WAR is that I was slightly disappointing by the crucially important Chapter 10:Prologue to The Future, where I was hoping to find more thorough discussion of potential hotspots that face future genocide.It is all devoted to a discussion of "Political Islam."I was hoping for more discussion of the continent of Africa.

But it is hard to write a comprehensive book about so enormous and vast a subject, so I am cutting him a break on this.

This is an urgently important work, and it is so refreshing to have an author cut through the hyperbole and bogus (and wistful, hopeful) psychoanalysis that would endeavor to exonerate people who murder others because of race, color, religion, and cut to the chase:Hate.Blind hate.Irrational hate.Cultivated hate.

This is a great author and he has produced now three very important works.

... Read more

Product Description
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was fiction. Victoria Woodhull's Brave New World was to be frightening real.

As the first female Wall Street brokers, Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennie had reputations to protect. They fretted about Tennie's well-publicized remark, "Many of the best men in [Wall] Street know my power. Commodore Vanderbilt knows my power." She had meant her skill as a fortune teller, but the press quite rightly picked up hints the attractive pair traded sexual favors for assistance in their business. To make matters worse, in their magazine the sisters had published articles promoting free love, although distancing themselves from what was said. Taking the offensive, Victoria advanced, step by step, until in a speech on November 20, 1871, she boldly proclaimed:

"And to those who denounce me for this I reply: 'Yes, I am a Free Lover. I have an inalienable, constitutional, and natural right to love whom I may, to love as long or as short a period as I can; to change that love every day if I please, and with that right neither you nor any law can frame any right to interfere.'"

Having come out of the closet, she had to defend that lifestyle from those who warned it meant the ruin of civilization. The nation's best-known political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, even portrayed her as a horned "Mrs. Satan" (as the cover of this book illustrates). Her response was fierce. In speeches across the country, she championed a new society that, in its nineteenth-century context, was remarkable similar to Huxley's 1932 classic, Brave New World. Babies were not grown in bottles, but pregnant women were to be treated as "laboring for society," "paid the highest wages," and once a baby was weaned, "the fruit of her labor will of right belong to society and she return to her common industrial pursuits."

To critics who warned that free love meant children growing up without parents, she replied that, "not more than one in ten" mothers was competent, and that parents should be replaced by the State because, "It is but one step beyond compulsory education to the complete charge of children." In her Brave New World, you could have all the sex you could attract, but it would be impossible to be a genuine parent.

Her legacy remains powerful today, particularly among those who champion both free love (sex outside one-man/one-woman marriage) and social betterment through the State. Now as then, their opponents are those who hold religious and traditional notions about marriage and family. Read these controversial speeches by Woodhull along with introductions that put them in context, and you'll find yourself better understanding the cultural and political debates that trouble our nation.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not worth the money
I purchased the text to potentially assign in it upper-division US history courses on the late 19th century and on US Women's History. Victoria Woodhull was one of the nation's great radical women--one of the first to trade on Wall Street, and one of the first to openly lay claim to the mantle of free lover. Several other biographers have written fascinating accounts of her life. I had hoped to amplify those works with her original words.

The book is a compilation of reproductions of articles about Woodhull and some of her earlier speeches. The writings are in the original typeset, so they are of varying quality. The book opens with a reproduction of a New York Time's article. This article is widely available at any public or university library with a subscription to the NYT historical archive.The facsimiles are of varying quality in terms of reproduction and intellectual material. "The Principles of Social Freedom" is probably the most interesting, and the most useable for a classroom discussion of Women's history, social equality, Gilded Age Free thought/spiritualism.

The material provided by the book's compiler, Matthew Perry, is simply laughable. In no way could you assign this book to a class of students (as I had hoped to do). The analytical passages provided by Perry are less than helpful. For instance, the author's strange digression about contemporary marriage and divorce practices on page 15 does little to contextualize the import of Woodhull's life, work, and ideas in regards to marriage, sex, and divorce.

In the end, Woodhuill deserves better and so do you.

Free Lover/Victoria Woodhull
This is a wonderful addition to the Victoria Woodhull literature. Her actual speeches on free love are very readable and will bring people in touch finally with what she meant by free love: what the movement was all about then and now. Again this book is flawed only by the choice of a male critique interspersed between speeches.This person not a great choice as hewas quite opbviously never a woman nor destined to think like one.This is a must chick book!!!! ... Read more

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The ideal primary documents reader for any history or political science course focusing on the presidency.

This fascinating--and very affordable--collection of 50 primary source documents offers a compact yet broad-based look at the development of the executive office. With judicious editing and contextual headnotes by Michael Nelson, students get a look at both the personalities and ideas that have shaped the institution, as well as insight into significant cases and events that play pivotal roles in American legal, political, and constitutional history. Based on extensive feedback from users, the second edition includes 9 new selections that feature both historical and recent pieces--from Lincoln's second inaugural address to the Bush Doctrine--dramatically showing students how presidents chart U.S. history. ... Read more

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Discusses slavery as a cause of the American Civil War and examines the events surrounding Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the impact of this declaration on the course of the war and the institution of slavery. ... Read more

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