Editorial Review

The life and times of Abraham Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography? In Read more

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The Power of Patience
Lincoln has been the focus of seemingly endless analysis, yet Doris Kearns Goodwin offers a fresh and illuminating perspective.By focusing on the men around the president, Goodwin portrays Lincoln as a remarkable judge of human character, a consummate conciliator, and a man of remarkable wit.Goodwin obviously writes well, although her spotlight on so many players does confuse the reader a bit.She is a talented historian, and this is another solid piece of work.

Lincoln's strength in humility
Although at first I did not understand why writing about Lincoln's cabinet members was going to be revealing about Lincoln himself, I found myself pleasantly surprised.
WHEN THE MEN AND THE MOMENT MET
During this election cycle of 2006 I have been asking myself a question. When was the last time leftist could have unambiguously supported a Republican or Democratic Party candidate. As indicate below the clear choice is the Lincoln-Johnson ticket in 1864. By a happy coincidence Doris Kearn Goodwin's book under review here provides more than enough ammunition to confirm that opinion. Normally, my concerns as a fighter for socialism and hers as a fawning devotee of the New Deal, Fair Deal and New Frontier eras of the Democratic Party are miles apart. Here we can, at least for this moment, agree that Lincoln, as a man and politician was worthy of support by militants and those not so militant. Make no mistake Lincoln and his compatriots were big men who confronted big tasks. And did it. Underlining Goodwin's thesis is a belief that what passes for today's Republican leaders pale in contrast. Again we agree. Here's why.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Historical - U.S.    9. Political    10. Presidents    11. Presidents & Heads of State    12. U.S. Political History    13. U.S. President    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

Well timed to coincide with Ken Burns's documentary (on which the author served as a consultant), this new biography doesn't aim to displace the many massive tomes about America's third president that already weigh down bookshelves. Instead, as suggested by the subtitle--"The Character of Thomas Jefferson"--Ellis searches for the "living, breathing person" underneath the icon and tries to elucidate his actual beliefs. Jefferson's most ardent admirers may find this perspective too critical, but Ellis's portrait of a complex, sometimes devious man who both sought and abhorred power has the ring of truth. ... Read more

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Jefferson Non Scio Vos
"American Sphinx" is not the place to begin a study of the life of Thomas Jefferson. In the introduction, Joseph Ellis comments that before joining the plethora of published analyses and biographies of Jefferson, the historian had better be prepared to bring some new insights to the life of this most revered of the Founders. Ellis chose for his subtitle, "The Character of Thomas Jefferson", and it is Jefferson's character that Ellis explores, in snippets that leap forward from scene to scene in Jefferson's life, as if Ellis were a time-traveler checking in periodically on his subject while Jefferson the man moves through a life that is now considered hallowed history. Ellis assumes that his reader is already familiar with the larger moments of Jefferson's life, as well as the surrounding history, and so skips over these. The reader who is new to Jefferson, therefore, should start elsewhere.
A Unique look at Jefferson
Prior to his Pulitzer Prize winning examination of the revolutionary generation in "Founding Brothers," Joseph Ellis tackled the biography of probably the most difficult member, Thomas Jefferson, in "American Sphinx." As Ellis points out in the beginning of the book Jefferson remains one of the most popular founders as well as one that has been adopted across the political spectrum. Ellis sets off to discover what Jefferson's actual beliefs were and how they changed during the course of his life. Rather then presenting a regular biography of Jefferson, the readers are presented with "snapshots" of Jefferson at various times in his life - in 1776 as he is preparing to write the Declaration of Independence, in the 1780s as the first United States minister to France, in the mid-1790s when he returns to Monticello after retiring as Secretary of State, in 1801 at his first inaugural and in the 1810s during his famous correspondence with John Adams. Each "snapshot" is not limited to a specific year but gives a survey of Jefferson's life during the period and how his political thought was evolving.
Vintage
This truly is vintage Joseph Ellis. I've enjoyed all of his books, particularly his writing. The fact you are reading this is proof you are interested in Jefferson, so you ought to get this book. Highest recommendation.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Historical - U.S.    4. Political    5. Presidents & Heads of State    6. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    7. United States - Revolutionary War   

Editorial Review

Inspired by Werner von Braun and his Cape Canaveral team, 14-year-old Homer Hickam decided in 1957 to build his own rockets. They were his ticket out of Coalwood, West Virginia, a mining town that everyone knew was dying--everyone except Sonny's father, the mine superintendent and a company man so dedicated that his family rarely saw him. Hickam's smart, iconoclastic mother wanted her son to become something more than a miner and, along with a female science teacher, encouraged the efforts of his grandiosely named Big Creek Missile Agency. He grew up to be a NASA engineer and his memoir of the bumpy ride toward a gold medal at the National Science Fair in 1960--an unprecedented honor for a miner's kid--is rich in humor as well as warm sentiment. Hickam vividly evokes a world of close communal ties in which a storekeeper who sold him saltpeter warned, "Listen, rocket boy. This stuff can blow you to kingdom come." Hickam is candid about the deep disagreements and tensions in his parents' marriage, even as he movingly depicts their quiet loyalty to each other. The portrait of his ultimately successful campaign to win his aloof father's respect is equally affecting. Read more

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The book is prodigious
I loved the movie, "October Sky." However, the book goes into more depth than the movie. The relationship between Homer and his parents is far more interesting than the movie's depiction. The book and the movie had the space race, the coming-of-age theme, science fair competition, and young love. The book is written very well. The characters come alive. The book is prodigious, to use one of the character's favorite adjectives.

Refreshing read
A really interesting and inspiring story, appropriate for people of all ages.You won't be able to put it down.

WOW!
Rocket Boys/October sky, by Homer H. Hickam (jr), tells about the writer's life when he was a teenager. Set in the mountains of West Virginia, this best-selling book truly expresses what it is like to be traped. Whith its twisting plots and great writing I don't thing anybody wouldn't love this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1943-    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Aeronautics & Astronautics    4. Aerospace engineers    5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    6. Audiobooks    7. Biography    8. Biography & Autobiography    9. Hickam, Homer H.,    10. Historical - U.S.    11. Scientists - General    12. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    13. United States    14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

Female Beats wrote poetry, took drugs, went on the road, listened tojazz, and lived on the fringe just as the men did, but their accomplishments are not as widely recognized. This volume attempts to correct this oversight by profiling 40 women of the Beat generation and publishing samples of their work. Well-known poets Diane di Prima and Denise Levertov appear in the volume, along with the muses of male writers and other women who never became famous at all. As Brenda Knight notes in her introduction, counterculture women in the 1950s and 1960s faced difficult obstacles: "To be unmarried, a poet, an artist, to bear biracial children, to go on the road was doubly shocking for a woman, and social condemnation was high."The first portion of the anthology is devoted to women who were not Beats but who set the stage for the movement. Josephine Miles wrote poetry and mentored the younger Beat poets at Berkeley, while Madeline Gleason founded the San Francisco Poetry Festival. In the "Muses" section are short biographies of wives and girlfriends of famous male writers such as Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. It's widely known that William S. Burroughs shot his wife Joan Vollmer Adams Burroughs; this book fills in other details of her wild and short life. Profiles of writers such as Joyce Johnson, Hettie Jones, Janna McClure, and Janine Pommy Vega account for the rest of the anthology. The lives these women led are as interesting as their writing, and Read more

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Should not be missed
Any interested in the history of the beat era must have WOMEN OF THE BEAT GENERATION: THE WRITERS, ARTISTS AND MUSES AT THE HEART OF A REVOLUTION. Much has been written on famous beat men but comparatively little on the women who also made their mark during the time: long overdue but better late than never is an exploration of the histories of these women, from Barbara Guest and Diane DiPrima to Jan Kerouac and Anne Waldman. A literary and social history which should not be missed.
Women Writers Rule!
Yes, there were women writing as well, and doing all the other cool stuff at the time. Many of them are still writing or continued to write long after their affair with the "beat" generation. This book is a great introduction to these writers. It's very informative, has just enough of the good gossip and lots of really great writing.

Beautiful!
For a group that is now remembered as a progressive voice in the ultra-conformist wilderness of the 1950s, the Beats were a surprisingly chauvinistic bunch of guys, all too ordinary for their time.That unfortunate fact helps explain the relative obscurity of most of the women who ran with, influenced and, in some cases, loved them.(You probably know that William S. Burroughs accidentally murdered his common-law wife while playing William Tell, but do you know her name?)This wonderful volume goes a long way towards correcting that oversight.Featuring previously unpublished letters, rare pictures and - best of all - a generous sampling of creative works, it's a near-perfect survey of the Beats' female contemporaries, lovers and even a few of their precursors.Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    3. Historical - General    4. Women   

Editorial Review

Fresh from her well-received life of Queen Elizabeth II, the Englishhistorian and biographer Sarah Bradford turns her hand to America's own answerto royalty, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Painstakingly detailed, impressivelyfair, the result is the most definitive account yet of a woman who captured theimagination of the American public like no First Lady before or after her.Bradford seems to have interviewed almost everyone who had ever been intimatewith Onassis, including George Plimpton, Gore Vidal, Joan Kennedy, and even afew ex-lovers. Most notably of all, Jackie's sister Lee Radziwill speaks withunexpected frankness about the mixture of rivalry and affection that markedtheir relationship since childhood. Jackie-lovers, take note: this is nohagiography, and its subject certainly comes off as no saint. As gracious asthis American icon could be, she also had moments of coldness and even greed,including a particularly shocking moment by the bedside of Ari Onassis's dyingson. Yet, in the end, non-airbrushed anecdotes like these only serve to makethis most private of public figures even more fascinating. Jackie was, asBradford writes, "a complex woman of many facets, concealed insecurities andintricate defense mechanisms, a strong urge toward the limelight contrastingwith a desire for privacy and concealment.... Behind the mask of beauty and famelay a shrewd mind, a ruthless judgment of people, antennae finely turned to anysign of pretentiousness or pomposity, and a wry, even raunchy sense of humor."The figure who emerges from subsequent pages is as compelling as the heroine ofany novel, and it is to Bradford's credit that she doesn't seem to have fallencompletely under her subject's spell. Her approach is sympathetic, but neverfawning; candid, but never sensationalistic. For those who are curious not aboutJackie's glamour but about its source, Read more

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American Royalty
Jackie Kennedy was the closest thing that America ever got to home-grown royalty. Her birth and upbringing in New York City, refinement, etiquette, and Olympian cool ... Jackie radiated a deep mystery that remains. She was iconic in her need for privacy and protectiveness of it. A woman of another era who remains enigmatic and unique in her persona ... an American icon who seems both American yet not typical of the United States. A sophisticate, debutant of the year, equestrienne, well-manner, posh Park Avenue social doyenne who intrigued the world until she died in 1994. Fluent in several language, a writer of poetry, political wife, patron of the arts, native New Yorker, and poised like any Queen in Europe. She wasn't perfect but she was Jackie. America may never see another quite like her.

Audio CD
My comments concern the narrator of the audio cd who felt that she had to change her voice inflection when she read quotes of various people.She talked in a soft wispery tone when quoting Jackie, however, she continued to use that same voice for any of the females quoted.She then attempted a deeper tone for the male voices.Due to all the voice shifting it was disruptive and the reading did not flow.Since it was a narrative and not a play it would have been more pleasing to the ear if the narrator did the entire reading in her natural voice.

Jacqueline not Jackie
It was fantastic to be able to grasp a better understanding of the stoic, graceful beauty that was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It was great to see the different facets of her personality from political darling to yacht hopping party girl. Her desire to control and veneer everything that happened in her life was inspiring. Couldn't put it down, was consistantly interesting throughout. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Celebrities    8. First Ladies    9. Historical - U.S.    10. Presidents' spouses    11. Rich & Famous    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

As commander of the Continental army, George Washington united the American colonies, defeated the British army, and became the world's most famous man. But how much doAmericans really know about their first president? Today, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph J. Ellis says in this crackling biography, Americans see their first president on dollar bills, quarters, and Mount Rushmore, but only as "an icon--distant, cold, intimidating." In truth, Washington was a deeply emotional man, but one who prized and practiced self-control (an attribute reinforced during his years on the battlefield).Read more

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Not bad for boilerplate.
This is the kind of authorship I was raised on - an eastern intellectual writes a scholarly work, published by a major New York publishing house, which adds a new and slightly different perspective on a historical figure. It's a worthwhile read but limited necessarily, by the nature of it's origin.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Nonfiction (Unabridged)    2. Historical - U.S.    3. Presidents & Heads of State    4. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    5. United States - 18th Century   

Editorial Review

Building on biographies by Read more

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Excellent Book for Leaders and Executives
Most people recognize Alexander Hamilton from his name and face on the ten dollar bill. Rarely do people know the story of the poor orphan who rose from poverty on the island of Nevis to become a patriot, a self-made genius, a lawyer, a war hero, the first Treasury Secretary, or even the man responsible for envisioning and creating the industrial superpower that the United States is today.
180 people have already said this book rocks...
I am #181.This biography blew me away.Athough the duel and outcome were not a surprise to say the least (I live in Weehawken, for one), I found myself crying my eyes out for Hamilton in the end.Add a half a star to the 5 if you've been a New Yorker -- because your enjoyment will be that much greater.
Washington's indispensable man
I have enjoyed reading many outstanding biographies, but none have surpassed Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton".This "tour de force" is an enthralling read not only because of its fascinating subject in Hamilton and his inseparable relationship to the founding of our nation, but because it is a meticulously researched and wonderfully told story of perseverance, achievement, and irony.Of illegitimate birth, surviving a wretched youth in the West Indies during the 18th century, Hamilton escaped to New York through the generosity of early employers and a cousin to study at King's College.His superior intellect, obsession to distance himself from his past, and his energy and passion to distinguish himself honorably in his adopted land placed him at the right hand of General and then President Washington during the American Revolution, the founding of the Constitution, and the formation of a fragile new government.Yet he was labeled an elitist, aristocrat and a monarchist by his enemies with bewildering regularity and effect.He was a loving and tender husband and father, yet stumbled into at least one adulterous relationship that greatly crippled his political career.Although he never traveled to Europe he possessed a truer sense of European events and their implications, particularly the French Revolution, than did his more traveled and worldly contemporaries.He was long embroiled in partisan political battles with his antagonists from the Southern States, yet he was the Union's foremost defender when the prospect of Northern succession arose.He came to abhor the practice of dueling, yet he and his oldest son were both victims of its pervasive practice within a three year period.Finally, Eliza Hamilton, despite endless persecution regarding her husband's infidelity and other failings (either real or trumped up) from his political rivals and their vicious press allies remained resolutely and adoringly at his side.She tirelessly devoted 50 years of widowhood to preserving and promoting her husband's indispensable contributions to the formation of a great nation.It is largely due to her efforts that the slanderous and revisionist accounts of Hamilton's life by his contemporary rivals including Jefferson and Adams who greatly outlived him were effectivly challenged.Chernow has also made a significant contribution with this biography in preserving the memory and monumental accomplishments of this often neglected founding father. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1757-1804    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Hamilton, Alexander,    8. Historical - General    9. Historical - U.S.    10. Statesmen    11. U.S. History - Constitutional Period To Civil War (1789-1860)    12. U.S. History - Revolution And Confederation (1775-1789)    13. United States    14. United States - 18th Century    15. Family & Relationships / Parenting   

Editorial Review

The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on a rocky island south of Japan, brought a ferocious slice of hell to earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War II's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point.Read more

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"Flags of Our Fathers" - A Timely Look at a Bloody Battle in Our History
Quite a while ago, Nick Olmsted, a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, recommended that I read "Flags of Our Fathers." I am glad that I finally got around to taking his advice. This story struck me on many levels at once, and this seems to be an opportune time to share some of my thoughts about this remarkable book, written by James Bradley, the son of one of the six Marines whose iconic picture of the raising of the flag over Iwo Jima riveted a war-weary nation.
A hard book to read.
World War II seems such a long time ago for so many of us. Most Americans today weren't yet born when it took place. For this reason, I believe everyone old enough to comprehend its stories should read this book. James Bradley and Ron Powers have written a heart-pounding record of the thirty-five bloody days it took to wrest Iwo Jima (Sulfur Island) from the Japanese. The photograph of the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi (1/400th of a second's space in time) is recognized around the world. The men who raised it: John "Doc" Bradley (the author's father);Harlon Block; Rene Gagnon; Ira Hayes; Franklin Sousley; and Mike Strank became instant heroes (though Block, Sousley and Strank died not long after). Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon lived to tell the tale, though both Hayes and Gagnon would die with the pain of their experiences on Iwo Jima seared into their psyches to the point they could not live with it successfully.
1/400th of a second in time
"It's funny what a picture can do":1/400th of a second in time.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Abridged Audio - History    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Historical - U.S.    6. History    7. Iwo Jima, Battle of, 1945    8. Military    9. Military - United States    10. Military - World War II    11. Photographs    12. Photography    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. History / Military / World War II   

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Spence and Kate: the secret romance
These two screen giants met on the set of Woman of the Year in 1942 and were together until Spencer died of a heart attack, shortly after wrapping up Guess Whose Coming to Dinner in 1967. This book chronicles their remarkable, romantic pairing in an era where a movie star's private life could remain hidden from a prying public. Spencer was married to a devoted Catholic, Louise, and he refused to divorce her. He also felt a tremendous sense of guilty about his deaf son. So marriage was out of the question, but Kate didn't care, she just wanted she be with Spencer, and she was, following him all over the world to sit worshipfully at his feet. Memorable
I found An Affair to Remember a truly remarkable portrait of Hepburn and Spencer's lives (before and after they met). The book was interesting and well written. A great pick for anyone interested in either actor.

Star-Crossed Lovers
This novel opened up a world that I knew nothing about. The world that only Katharine & Spencer lived in, together... I've been a huge fan of the acting duo for years. Now I feel like I almost know them. Reading thisbook is like taking a quick peek behind the scenes. It gives details intotheir lives prior to their initial meeting. Then continues describing howthey had to sneak around in order to keep their affair out of the papers.This novel is heartwarming & also tragic. I loved it. If you're aromantic, you'll love it, too. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. United States    9. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

This warm biography of Harry Truman is both an historical evaluation of his presidency and a paean to the man's rock-solid American values. Truman was a compromise candidate for vice president, almost an accidental president after Roosevelt's death 12 weeks into his second term. Truman's stunning come-from-behind victory in the 1948 election showed how his personal qualities of integrity and straightforwardness were appreciated by ordinary Americans, perhaps, as McCullough notes, because he was one himself. His presidency was dominated by enormously controversial issues: he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, established anti-Communism as the bedrock of American foreign policy, and sent U.S. troops into the Korean War. In this winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, McCullough argues that history has validated most of Truman's war-time and Cold War decisions. ... Read more

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20th century history to savor
The history of Truman and his birth in the 1880s through WW1 & WW2 as well as the Cold War and Korea is remarkable. The evolution of a man from small town farmer to President of the United States and the weight of history thrust upon him at the expected death of FDR makes for a great read.I found the difficulties in the post WW2 era to be most interesting such as the strikes and the creation of the Truman doctrine and the Marshall Plan.
The Best-Written Biography Ever
Truman' provides wonderful insight into the man who faced more difficult and heartbreaking decisions than most of us could imagine. The author brilliantly captures Truman's personality as son, soldier, husband, father, politician, and president. As a teenage newcomer to the fascinating world of history, I found 'Truman' to be both entertaining and extremely factual. Anyone interested in 20th century history, past presidents, or the post-WWII era would love this book.
Almost a Classic
While it's Ok for a historian to like the subject of the biography, he should not love him.David McCullough likes Harry Truman a bit too much.As a result he seldom takes a critical view of Truman's Presidency, politics or personal life.This is disappointing given that Harry Truman was the President at probably the key juncture of twentieth century - the end of War World II and the beginning of the Cold War.More time is spent describing the whistle-stop campaign of 1948 then in explaining the development of the containment strategy of Soviet expansion.He also dismisses Secretary of State Dean Acheson's January 1950 omission of South Korea as being in the United States defense perimeter as being the inspiration of the subsequent attack that June by North Korean forces.While it may not have been the inspiration, that statement along with troop withdraws in 1948 and 1949 were hardly discouragements.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Biography    5. Historical - U.S.    6. Political    7. Presidents    8. Presidents & Heads of State    9. Specimens    10. Talking books    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / General   

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Editorial Review

Malcolm X's searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And there's the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture--try as he might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston's Roseland dance hall from the perspective of his Muslim faith, he can't help but make them sound pretty wonderful. These are but a few examples. Read more

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eye opener
Mike Young obviously did not read the book.I read it 3 times and it changed my life forever.The book clearly states that it is the autobiography of Malcolm X AS TOLD to Alex Haley and if you had read the book yourself you would realize that Malcolm was simply telling the story to Alex Haley.He was too busy to sit down and write the book himself and predicted his own murde