ERA Reviews

Loved the book, understand why the author has such a big ego- He lived in an awsome time and was at the top. Historic details filled in alot of gaps to my understanding of the mid 1800's. learned many things about the lives of people living in the Steamboat Era and was grandly entertained. laughed outloud.

Highly entertaining stories about gambling
in the mid 1800's on the Mississippi River.
The life of George Devol as gambler,fighter
& con artist & his insights into the men &
their character is also an insight into the
man himself. He was a master at
manipulating mens greed & vanity.The
accounts of his bare knuckle fights were
truly amazing

John Fremont's life reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. Starting in poverty and successively riding waves of amazing success only to be followed by equally amazing blunders, Fremont's life is a study in how to be one's own worst enemy. One of the subsequent followers of Lewis and Clark in exploring the American West, he makes three separate explorations that in total really puts the original 1803 expedition to shame. First Republican Presidential Candidate, California's first U.S. Senator, a multimillionaire during the California Gold Rush and a ranking Union general at the outbreak of the Civil War, he is also dragged home after the war with Mexico from California in chains, is responsible for the annihilation of one of his Western expeditions, is relieved of command by Lincoln after ignoring a Presidential directive and dies alone in comparative poverty after begging Congress for a pension.

This is a fascinating life and Nevins does a remarkable job of very unbiased research. You will either love Fremont or hate him or, more likely, simply feel sorry for him.

John Charles Fremont (1813-1890) was an American explorere, soldier and first Republican presidential candidate. This book is the classic biography and encyclopedia reference for "further reading," originally published in 1939 as a two-volume set. It is excelled only by Fremont's actual journals and maps, available in four volumes from large city and college libraries: Spence, Mary Lee & David Jackson, "The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont." Nevins tells of a 1926 interview with Major Frank P. Fremont and his experience extracting notes from the few remaining original journals that weren't destroyed by a warehouse fire. I've researched Fremont histories since 1980 and have visited many of the sites that are accurately described in this book. This is the best. Steve Stumph, Salt Lake City, 9-Jan-1999

While this book suffers the fate of SO many feminist compilations...the apparent inability of the editor to separate completely pointless articles from truly meaningful discourse...it still remains one of my favorites and an oft-quoted text. It's diversity is at once a compelling trait...and a somewhat annoying one. The topic is a bit broad and submissions range from discussion of women's sexuality as a tool of imperialism to linguistic power over gender boundaries.

Gender at the Crossroads of Knowledge: Feminist Anthropology in the Postmodern Era
by Micaela Di Leonardo (Designer), Leonardo Micaela Di

This excellent book can be read as a follow-up to Joseph Ellis' "Founding Brothers," although written at a more advanced level. Merrill D. Peterson examines the characters of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun and the issues facing them in (roughly) the first half of the 19th century. These issues involved primarily the differing conceptions of the federal government (federal powers vs. states' rights) arising in the Constitution Conventions of the Revolutionary War period.

This fundamental political difference was linked to other fiercely divisive issues, such as the moral and economic conflict over slavery, and eventually led to the Civil War (to put it simply). Passions were so linked to sectional economic and political interests that the Civil War appears inevitable; indeed, one wonders why it didn't occur earlier. Part of the answer is that Clay and others, through a series of "Compromises" delayed the war. The reader's attitude toward these three "giants" will depend on his/her own values and politics.

Peterson paints vivid portraits of the characters, but he assumes a fair amount of historical knowledge by the reader. For example, his discussions on tariffs, the need to increase the debt, and other economic measures were often too dense, as were the detailed and somewhat confusing party realignments (e.g., Whigs, Republicans, Democrats, "Ultras," and various combinations of these). Although he is sometimes dry, Peterson also has a scholar's wit and appreciation for his subject. Furthermore, the political and legal manipulations of the principles are often fascinating (e.g., Calhoun's unconstitutional theory of states rights known as "Nullification;" the failure of all three to reach the presidency). At times, it feels lengthy (especially for the non expert; the book is basically written at a beginning graduate school level), but it is generally very well written and covers a fascinating period in American history.

Anyone who is fascinated by ante-bellum American history will, I think, enjoy this book. The great triumvirate played a dominating role in the history of our country from 1812 till they died, and reading this book is similar to reading the history of the country during that period, because everything happening politically during that time was affected by one or more of the principals in this work. Peterson does a great job telling the story. My only complaint about the book is that it has no bibliography, and it is tough trying to make up such from the 55 pages of notes which are in the book. How much the book would be enhanced by a bibliography! But if the lack of a bibliography does not bother you then you should find nothing to complain about in regard to this book. I was inspired to read the book by the fact that the author's Lincoln in American Memory is such a great book that it won my personal prize for the best book I read in 1996 (a year in which I read 126 books).

The Journal of Agnes Lee was written over a 5-year period while Agnes was between 12 and 17, and before the Civil War that would make her father such a legend. Don't expect breathtaking adventure here, but rather sit back and enjoy a view of this young girl coming of age in the 1850's. My strongest reaction to the book was, "How I would have loved to know Agnes!" She really does come alive here with exuberant spontaneity. Her writings provide many glimpses into the overall family life and way of thinking about her life. Agnes' love for her family is intense, and it can make the reader jealous of such closeness, rarely seen in today's society. I do recommend this book to those who want to know about General Lee's family life, and those who are interested in knowing more about this delightful girl, taken from the world by illness at age 32.

Eleanor Agnes Lee was the daughter of General Robert E. Lee, the famous Conferderate Commander in the War Between the States. This is the journal from her girlhood. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are many books about Robert E. Lee, but there are very few about the rest of his family. This is one of the only sources on his third, beautiful daughter, Agnes, and lets us see better the life of the Lee family. It tells of her faith, her struggles, and her wonderful relationship with her family. I loved this book!

An unusually lucid exposition of 20th century events in philosophy, logic, and politically related events. Extremely wide scope - there is nothing significant that is not in the index. I read French and this is a flawless translation.

Delacampagne's survey of this century's major philosophical thinkers is impressive in its breadth. The author effectively integrates the ideas of each era and sometime sacrifices chronology to present threads of influence through the century. At times, the author seems oversympathetic to the left; he spends more space on them and is less critical of their ideas. He is not fawning towards the left, however, so he did not entirely lose credibility with me.

This book is specifically aimed at people who have already been introduced to the major themes of philosophy. Overall, I would recommend this book, since I know of no others that attempt to survey twentieth-century philosophy.

The reader gets two stories for the price of one in "Jackson's Way." The first 150 pages tell the story of America's expansion West to the Mississippi River with objective and rich detail about the conflict and trials of both settlers and Indians, but little about Andrew Jackson. The book is also a good balance between modern apologists and proponents of manifest destiny. The second story describes Andrew Jackson the soldier and general, mostly Andrew Jackson the consummate leader. I can list with the fingers on one hand the really good books about leadership, this book fits in that count. If you're tired of sniveling and self serving politicians and generals driven more by bureaucracy and pomp than fighting skill and tired of selfish chief executive officers raking in million dollar stock options while laying off thousands of workers without adequate severance compensation then meet Andrew Jackson as described by author John Buchanan. If you teach history and want to see students sitting on the edge of their seats instead of falling asleep then this book is for you too. The story describes in detail battles in the Mississippi River watershed during the war of 1812 culminating with the Battle for New Orleans (1814-15) when we whupped the British tail. Buchanan describes Jackson's leadership traits in a way that readers in virtually any profession can relate.

Jack Buchanan is a great writer! I was enthralled by this book from the moment 15 year-old Andrew Jackson swept onto the page. Buchanan brings to life the saga of the Old Southwest and the American pioneers. The most interesting element of the book is the portrait you get of Andrew Jackson, who was so loved men voted for him fifty years after his death. Anyone interested in the Presidents or the history of the Old Southwest will want to read this book.

After reading this biography of John Calhoun, I had completed reading about the lives of the "Great Triumvirate" of Webster, Clay and Calhoun who, as Representatives, Senators and Secretaries of State were the most dominant non-Presidents in early-19th Century America.

Each of the Triumvirate had their assets and their flaws. As this biography illustrates, Calhoun's great assets were his integrity and his intellect; his great flaws included his inflexibility and his adherence to promoting and continuing slavery.

As a biography goes, this one is good but not great. It is a generally well-written work, but Bartlett has a tendency to speculate as to what Calhoun and others were thinking at particular moments and let a pro-Calhoun bias sometimes remove the objectivity from his work. Despite this, I still did not feel I could really relate to Calhoun, who comes off kind of remote.

Overall, there is more good than bad in this book, however, and as an introduction to an important historical figure, this is a worthwhile read.

John Calhoun is probably one of the most interesting Americans to ever serve his country. A member of the American troika that included Clay and Webster, Calhoun was a staunch states right and slavery advocate. This book begins by examining Calhoun's youth and how his father Patrick instilled his virtues in his son. Calhoun went to Yale and later law school in Connecticut. Calhoun was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives at the time of the 1812 disagreements with Britain. Calhoun was to remain in politics until his death almost 40 years later. Calhoun served as a Representative, Vice-president, Senator, and Secretary of War and State. The book is at its best when it details Calhoun attacking the status quo, something he did often. In fact, with todays sell-outs that we call politicians, it's nice to see that someone once stood up for what he believed in. Bartlett spends some time pointing out Calhoun's ironies--one of which was that as great a man as he was, his kids were spoiled brats. Only one of his children was up to his immense intellect, and that was his daughter Anna. Since women didn't have careers in the 19th century, she couldn't follow him into politics. Try and find this book at the library if Amazon doesn't get it in stock.

Don Kirk is a newspaper reporter for the International Herald Tribune based in Seoul. He had previously written a book on Hyundai. This book is a journalistic account of the financial crisis that swept South Korea in 1997-98. Its strong points are lots of vivid quotes and anecdotes. Its weakness is a lack of overall analytical framework. In essence, it updates Mark Clifford's "Troubled Tiger" to the late 1990s. Readers interested in a more systematic analysis of the crisis should see Marcus Noland "Avoiding the Apocalypse."

I am working in country risk assessment section in the Bank. I have been in charge of South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. We always get in contact with IMF staff and collabolate the task for international coordination. To this end, I put a great deal emphasis on that this book must be resourceful for my job!

A friend of mine once described slave narratives as the equivalent of the library of a foreign culture. Reading one is embarrassingly simplistic. Consider Botkin's book a whirlwind tour. Although I believe every American should be exposed to these narratives (above and beyond the historical representations from textbooks), the stories in Lay My Burden Down are so powerful, so full of intensity, I gave the book 4 stars because it is almost brutal in its power. The humor of the first sections soon fades, and the grim truths of slavery become more and more difficult to face. Proceed, but with caution.

I read "Lay My Burden Down" by B.A. Botkin, almost forty years ago. Botkin's collection of these narrative is indeed a national resource. It's a great book for researches of American History. People of every ethnicity should read this book. These narratives so confirmed the slave stories passed down from my great grandparents when I was a child, that I was overwhelmed for a while. The ex-slaves spoke freely about what freedom meant to them. Moreover, they spoke about how the lack of freedom made thier lives a living hell. The first portion of narratives illustrate that nothing, not even slavery can blot out humor or the opportunity to find joy in some aspect of life. One felt like rejoicing when slaves excaped thier horrific exsistence. Then, there was lasting sorrow tinged with hope for the ones who were not freed until the end of slavery in 1965 or a few years after.