ERA Reviews

I always like reading 1st person accounts because through them the reader gets a true feeling about the event, and this book is no exception. By reading the narratives you can really visualize how life was for the slaves. This is not a book of "horror stories" about slavery (although the horrors of slavery do come out!) and many of the slaves say they were treated "well"; but are humans who are treated like livestock really treated "well"? That is left up to the reader to decide. I would recommend this book for anyone, and especially those studying or teaching about the civil war.

At first it may seem that the book is about Comparative Immigration Politics: after all, the main subject of the work is postwar immigration to the UK. That is only one side of the story. The most interesting part is the criteria by which British officials were desiding what race and skin color potential immigrants could ("should") have, and what could ("should") not.

One begings to think about the U.S. and its racial and ethnic preferences it used to have in its immigration policies. Did you think the U.S. was alone in its racial preferences? Read the book then!

First off , I have to admit something about this Famous Figures of the Civil War Era juvenile biography of William Sherman strikes me as odd. Henna R. Remstein refers to Sherman as "William" throughout the book. Now, I have heard Sherman called "Uncle Billy," mostly by his troops, and "Cump" by his friends, but other than that Sherman has always been called Sherman. For that matter, it has always been William Tecumseh Sherman or William T. Sherman, but never just William Sherman. I guess I have a problem with calling someone whose destructive march through Georgia made him a legend by his first name. I am not a big fan of using first names as a way of building familiarization with the subject for young readers, but especially not with military leaders.

That reservation aside, Remstein provides a solid biography of Sherman's life and military career, focusing primarily on his military service during the Civil War, which saw him become the second most famous Union general. Ramstein also provides a context for understanding the war, and explains how the two sides in the war viewed Sherman's March to the Sea quite differently. This book is illustrated with historic photographs and pictures, including several rather well-known paintings that do not depict Sherman (such as boys playing crack the whip). Side-bars explain interesting details, such as telling about the Indian chief from whom Sherman got his middle name and explaining about "Sherman's neckties." One final note: I was surprised that Sherman's most famous quotation, "If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve" was not included.

Seldom does one get such a close-up glimpse at the true horrors and tragedies on the battlefields of the American Civil War, or to stare into the faces of those whose lives were entertwined with the making of America's history. But D. Mark Katz gives us that opportunity with Witness To An Era: The Life and Photographs of Alexander Gardner, published by Rutledge Hill Press. Though many of the images that have become instantly recognizable to students of history are often credited to the well known photographer, Matthew Brady, Witness To An Era sets the record straight with meticulously documented research, enabling future generations to appreciate Gardner's work. For the first time in print, Katz brings the reader not only the vast collection of Gardner's photographs, many of which he was able to reproduce directly from the original prints, but the intriguing story of Gardner himself and his eventful career during and after the Civil War.

As one of the most photographed of historical figures as President Abraham Lincoln was, none managed to capture the inner man as Gardner did. But with over 277 pages containing photos of people, places, illustrations and letters, it is difficult for one to say which is the most extraordinary in capturing a moment --a moment frozen in time for eternity, for those to gaze upon and ponder its significance in how we became to be today... from what was yesterday.

Booklist remarks, "This album of Gardner's work is nothing less than sensational," and Civil War Web agrees. No Civil War library would be complete without these magnificent photographs of America's most epic saga.

Witness to The Young Republic: A Yankee's Journal, 1828-1870 By Benjamin Brown French and Edited by Donald B. Cole and John J. McDonough is a marvelous journal that time-capsules life in Washington,D.C. from 1828 - 1870. Brown was a political officeholder and knew and became personally aquainted with every president from John Quincy Adams through Ulysses S. Grant.

This book was edited from over four thousand pages that were part of his personal diary... and what a diary it was. French had a flair for writing and he makes a splendid treatment of the events on the political scene of his day, keeping the readers well entertained with fascinating annotations and gossip. French's eventful life is recorded here with a delightful mix of the ordinary and extraordinary characters only an observer with a keen eye can bring to paper.

French kept watch and recorded some very interesting events in American history: as his journal gives us a shrewd but lively entertaining trip through American life; a magnificent sweep across American history, we see comments on personalities, events, manners and political ideology, penetrating observations on the people and events of that time.

One of the most tearful events, as described by French, was his account of Lincoln, as he was at Lincoln's bedside when he died. One of the best accounts in the book is French's description of the events leading to and including Lincoln's Gettysburg address. All in all, this book is very interesting and gives a rare look into events, life and times of that time period and is well worth your time to read. This book is full of information about the leaders of this great country and how they really felt at that time.

There is information about all of the prominent personalities found in this book from that time... making it a treasure trove from which we can get a better picture of how life was, not only public, but private as well.

This book provides, at the same time, some in-depth reflections into Hasidism, as well as an introduction to Hasidic thought on the Messiah. In other words, it can be easily read and entertaining both for those with a deep knowledge of Hasidism (who will love Shmuley Boteach's views on the Messiah's coming), as well as those who know little about Hasidism (who will thus be able to find out more). The book is thrilling and filled with suspence, as well as data, information, and of course the author's views, as he ably attacks others and defends his own. Another great hit by this popular hasidic rabbi !

The scarcity of information on early modern Ottoman/Islamic women makes this book a real treasure, and the glossary of Arabic/Turkish terms is especially helpful. For the amount of information between the covers, it's definitely worth the price! For Westerners who seek a better understanding of Islam, the history of Muslim women is crucial. Women of that period were married between 12 and 17 (compared to 24-26 years of age for Western women in the early modern period). The Ottoman woman's marginalization and subjugation is not far from the Western woman's--yet it is based not on physical weakness, but on fear of the woman's "fitna"--her potential to tempt men and be a threat to social order! Were all Islamic women locked up in harems? Certainly not, and the book explains other aspects of a woman's life, such as the power of instant repudiation (divorce) which the husband possessed, the "nuqsan" (deficiency)of a woman's nature, and the religious, political and social restrictions women were under. Do not confuse Ottoman/Islamic practices of that period with the mandates of the Prophet, however. Taken in the context of the period, the many essays offer a fascinating glimpse into the real world of an Ottoman woman.

Tamara Jacka's book on women's economic status in rural China is the best book in this sub-genre of China scholarly books. Simply on time alone, this book is superior, because most other books on the topic covered the early 1980's, when the rural situation was in rapid transition. Now, a (relatively) more stable situation has emerged which is discussed in detail, while putting it in historical perspective by citing the groundbreaking work of Elisabeth Croll.

It was assumed back then that China was in transition to a full market economy and privatization. The first turned out to be right, while the second has not. The real contribution of Jacka's book is analyzing rural women's options in the new market economy that features both cooperative and individual oriented opportunities. China's rural industry and land tenure is very unique in the developing world, and is crafted to try to achieve both flexibility and market orientation, while still achieving some measure of social justice. But Jacka points out, while the reform policies have opened some doors for rural women, many of the opportunities created by the reform policies remain open to men only for many reasons, which Jacka explores. There is a thorough investigation of the "courtyard" economic sector, which has many benefits for women, but some tradeoffs too.

Excellent book. People will get very close to understanding rural China by reading this book. Will be of interest to all readers interested in WID/GAD as well, not just China watchers.

While this book is based on a ton of hands on research in China, it is not a specific case study. For a such a book, see Ellen Judd's excellent "Gender and Power in North China".

Words At War: World War II Era Radio Drama And The Postwar Broadcasting Industry Blacklist by freelance writer, educator Howard Blue is an enthralling, documented, and thoroughly "reader friendly" history of radio broadcasting in America during World War II, and the subsequent Cold War-era politically oriented crackdown that left a blight on the creative talent of on-air vocal drama that was quite as pervasive and detrimentally corrosive as the better known blacklists in the Hollywood film industry. A fascinating and extensively detailed presentation which is enhanced with an extensive index, and offering compelling insight into past (and ongoing) struggles between censorship and freedom of speech, Words At War is an important and highly recommended addition to 20th Century American History, American Popular Culture, Performing Arts, and Political Science reading lists. Indeed, Words At War would seem to have a renewed and contemporary application with respect to present-day communication issues with respect to America's current struggle against global terrorism both abroad and here at home.

Now in its sixth edition, updated to include how the world news media responded to the September 11th attack on America, The World News Prism: Global Media In An Era Of Terrorism by William A. Hachten (Professor Emeritus Of Journalism And Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin - Madison) and James F. Scotton (Associate Professor of Journalism, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an informative and analytical survey of a wide variety of media and its influences within the context of the twenty-first century, including the Internet, modern public diplomacy and political warfare, globalization of the information distribution, and much, much more. The World News Prism is a fascinating and eruditely presented study which is especially recommended for Journalism, Media Studies, Political Science, and International Studies reference collections and reading lists.