Book Description
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.
From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue -- it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and -- the author's favorite -- historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult.
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"Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage. From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue -- it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and -- the author's favorite -- historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult. "
Customer Reviews:
My first summer reading title.......2007-07-29
So, I started this book while working at a youth arts camp for bratty children and fell into it very quickly, having it act as a getaway more than anything, at first.
Vowell has a very great tone in her writing that, apparently, not everyone finds as endearing as I do. Having visited many of the sites she's writing about (hooray, family road trips!), it's refreshing to read her accounts of the places.
Certainly, the section of the book concerning Lincoln is the best. I haven't done a lot of presidential reading, though I have caught the occasional special on PBS about various presidents, but I felt that the section of the book concerning Lincoln's assassination showed a side to everything that I'd never known about--i.e. Wilkes-Booth's thespian family roots, Robert Lincoln aka the Angel of Presidential death, etc.
The other two sections seemed, to me at least, rushed, although, as Vowell points out, it's hard to compare other presidents, even in death, to Lincoln.
All in all, I felt it was a great quick read that leaves you with some conversation fodder for your next shindig. Everyone enjoys some presidential trivia, right?
I LOVE this book!!.......2007-07-24
If you know Sarah Vowell from NPR, you'll hear her idiosyncratic voice on every page. And I guess if you don't know her from NPR, then it will just be a fantastic, funny, historic read in your own voice. Vowell is droll, sarcastic, and a Mistress of Irony. It's facinating to see how her mind works, making connection after connection that would probably never occur to mortal humans like the rest of us.
Just what I needed this summer..........2007-07-04
This was a library pick, as I wasn't entirely sure if it would be a keeper. While not exactly something I'd read over and over, it was definitely a good read, honestly, a perfect little book for your summer reading list, as it's light enough to be read in bits, but chock full of fun things that will prepare you to compete on Jeopardy.
The book is part history, part travelogue, part memoir, covering Vowell's various trips to locations around the United States that have links to three presidential assassinations. The book is witty, sarky, and full of dark humor. Honestly, I think she wanted an excuse to write about a trip to the Mütter Museum. In the book she covers the assassination of Lincoln, McKinley and Garfield. She does so by interspersing random bits of trivia (did you know that Robert Todd Lincoln was present or nearby all three assassinations?) She also manages to tie together such disparate things as a Victorian-era sex commune and America's newest national park.
She does it all in a quick-paced, rapid fire, seemingly random association of events. Sometimes they do click, sometimes they don't, but either way, you'll walk away from the particular topic going "Hrmm... I didn't know that."
This book should be particularly entertaining to people who live in DC or New York City, as a lot of her accounts involve locales in this area. I found the DC stuff particularly charming, as nearly everything she pointed out is familiar to me on some level. I half expected her to start blathering about the Roxy Owls, to be honest.
The low point for me, though, has to do with the fact that the book starts off with a sort of smug cosmopolitan egotism that really turned me off. The whole "I know what bubble tea is, and these backwater farmers I'm visiting don't." I was particularly annoyed with her commentary about Richmond, as she seemed to paint the entire place as full of racist hatemongers. She made this assumption based purely on the fact that the Confederacy based its capital here, and John Wilkes Booth spent a good deal of time here. Heck, she even goes so far as to conjecture that Booth and Poe are so messed up because they lived here at some point.
I'm kinda offended by this, as I live here, and Richmond, honestly isn't that bad, especially in the racist hatemonger side of things. Sure, we don't have a decent place to get bubble tea anymore, but Richmond is not really fitting of the whole aura she gives it.
But honestly, that was my only sore point with the book.
I will also add, as a bonus she is one of us. You know what I mean. She drops the secret handshakes all over the book. From her giddiness at visiting the Müter Museum, to her amusement when a docent patted her gently to warn her that it might be a little "scary," to her pride in the fact that her three year old nephew has the word "crypt" in his limited vocabulary. I can assure you, that you are reading a book written by someone who has listened to "Floodland" a few times.
Finally, if you consider yourself conservative, support the Iraq war, and think George Bush is the awesome (which is honestly what she should have picked on in regards to Richmond), then this book will annoy you. Avoid it. Otherwise, it's worth the few days to read it!
The funniest, breeziest tour of American history you'll probably ever read........2007-07-02
It's a darned good book. Everyone should go and read it. It's a great page-turner, and Vowell's fascination with American history is infectious. (If this were a book about the history of typhoid, that would be a joke, and it would be *money*.) She's a funny writer, has a number of ingenious turns of phrase, and draws connections between events in a way that would make James Burke (of Scientific American) proud. Highly recommended.
See, I told you History is fun.......2007-06-22
I want to hang out with Sarah Vowell. More to the point I want to take in some museums and historical landmarks with her and listen in on her conversations with curators, docents and misinformed teens (is there any other kind?). The great thing about Vowell is that in reading one of her books you feel as though you ARE hanging out with her and the assorted lucky friends and relatives who accompany her around America's historical sites. These sites include the arcane, the morbid and the iconic an whatever else is in between.
The pretext for this meandering is to gain insight into the first three assassinations of American presidents That fourth one has, and doubtless will continue to be, beaten quite to death by writers, journalists, researchers and curmudgeons like me resulting in way more questions than answers. The deaths of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley are a lot tidier in a whodunit and why sense. The latter two especially have received scant attention from the general American public. (There was some president named Garfield McKinley killed by an anarchist office seeker in 1873, I think.)
Anyway Vowell and readers have a lot of fun tracing the events and participants of these assassinations. From Key West, Florida to Springfield, Illinois to New York, New york. From statues, museums, plaques and monuments soak in some American history and enjoy the unique and humorous voice of Sarah Vowell.
While I enjoyed most every page I particularly like the chapter on Garfield who's surprising rise to and brief time as president is so emblematic of an era and who's assassin was such a bizarre character so emblematic of a particular kind of psychosis.
Readers will also appreciate that Vowell is always true to her voice and never hides her biases and predilections but never betrays her true intent of telling a charming and insightful story.
A good time will be had by all.
Amazon.com
A compelling chronicle of a nation and its leaders during the period when modern America was created. With an uncanny feel for detail and a novelist's grasp of drama and depth, Doris Kearns Goodwin brilliantly narrates the interrelationship between the inner workings of the Roosevelt White House and the destiny of the United States. Goodwin paints a comprehensive, intimate portrait that fills in a historical gap in the story of our nation under the Roosevelts.
Book Description
No Ordinary Time is a monumental work, a brilliantly conceived chronicle of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary periods in the history of the United States. With an extraordinary collection of details, Goodwin masterfully weaves together a striking number of story lines--Eleanor and Franklin's marriage and remarkable partnership, Eleanor's life as First Lady, and FDR's White House and its impact on America as well as on a world at war. Goodwin effectively melds these details and stories into an unforgettable and intimate portrait of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and of the time during which a new, modern America was born.
Book Description
Civil War and history buffs--as well as all lovers of fine writing--will delight in the detail and accuracy of Carl Sandburg's definitive, best-known biography of "Honest Abe". Representing a lifetime of study by the great American poet, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years distills Sandburg's monumental six volume set into a single one-book edition. By gleaning every possible reference from history, literature, and popular lore, Sandburg successfully captures not only the legendary president, but also Lincoln the man. He reveals exactly who Lincoln was, and what forces in his life shaped his personality. More than 100 black-and-white historical photographs and linecuts show Lincoln himself, the places he went, and the people who knew him.
Customer Reviews:
A Thorough and Artistic Teatment.......2002-10-08
Abraham Lincoln comes to life through the words of his devoted and talented biographer, Carl Sandburg. This edition is an excellent compromise between Sandburg's six-volume edition and the shorter, incomplete texts that abound regarding Lincoln. Take your time with this masterpiece and follow Lincoln from youth through the climax of his political career in Washington.
definitive Lincoln by one of America's best.......2002-08-24
Thousands upon thousands of Civil War books are available, as American readers seem to have a limitless appetite for that era. If you are looking for the best, read Sandburg on Lincoln. A major American poet takes on one of the best-known, best-loved, most tragic of American historical figures.
When I was a freshman in high school, our English teacher offered us a deal: Anyone who read Sandburg's biography (then in six rather daunting volumes) would not have to attend class for a semester. I took him up on that offer, and was blessed to find my way through Sandburg's gift to the American people. Here is the highly detailed, thoroughly researched, and articulately written story of Abe Lincoln's years among us.
If you have time to read only one of the Civil War books from that burgeoning genre, read this one. You will come to know, from the inside out, this prairie boy who became a towering figure in American history.
A Pulitzer Prize winner's master work........1999-10-28
I believe Sandburg is the only author to win the Pulitzer for both poetry and history. Originally a multi volume history taking decades to complete, this single volume work is an appetizer. I read it in the 1960's and went on with relish to the full multi volume work.
This single volume is insightful, laser like in it's detail yet painting the times of Lincoln in a broad and beautiful brush. Did you know that in 1860 tools could be honed to within one ten thousandth of an inch of accuracy? That magazines and newspapers said the world would change for-ever because of the new "instant" communication nation wide?
This is more than biography. It is a woven fabric depicting the times and life of Abraham Lincoln.
An American Classic on a Classic American.......1999-03-16
I collect old and rare books. My mother bought me a copy of Sandburg's one-volume edition published in 1954. Honestly, it was slow to start, but once it got to the 1850's, I couldn't put it down. Lincoln's deeds are so often trivialized in our history books. But Sandburg meticulously builds up the background in a way that forces his reader to appreciate the magnitude of the moment, and the importance of each decision--whether right or wrong--that President Lincoln made. It easily took three full weeks to read, but it was more than worth it. I closed the book thinking, "I can't believe it's over!" My advice: Read this book right away, and make someone else read it too. You'll need someone to talk to when you're through!
Lots of facts to chew on and not a book to be taken lightly........1999-03-12
This biography of lincoln is an unbiased look into the man's life. You'll find everything you would expect and much, much, more. This is not a book for the weak hearted reader. Many of the sections seem to be endless. This is not however a negative, the opposite is true. Sandburg's quest for a truly indepth redering of the Lincoln story creates these long spells and the pay off is just. Much of the humor in the book is dated and therefore will be lost on many readers. Once again, an outstanding book that gets an easy 5 stars.
Book Description
This is the true story of a little piece of 8mm film made in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy visited Dallas, Texas. Abraham Zapruder's 26-second home movie captured in horrific clarity the public murder of the President. His six-foot long filmstrip soon became one of the most monetarily valuable artifacts in world history, and arguably "the most historic film ever shot." Zapruder's film and its subsequent study and interpretation by government investigations, the mass media and thousands of assassination buffs, is a controversial and convoluted tale. Richard Trask puts the film's significance into a readable context and displays how this small slice of historic reality has become the image by which the Kennedy assassination will forever be remembered.
Customer Reviews:
As Satisfying An Experience As You Will Find, Period!.......2006-05-16
I whole-heartedly agree with Mr. Von Pein's extremely comprehensive review. If you are into the photographic and film record of the Kennedy Assassination, as I am, than Mr. Trask's published works will satisfy your desire for an in-depth analysis of the major photos and films taken during the November 21st-November 22nd period of time. All three of his books are worth the investment for the wealth of photos they contain and the analysis of those photos.
As to NATIONAL NIGHTMARE, I liken it to that first cup of cold water after a long run. It is satisfying and quenches the thirst. Mr. Trask approaches the history of the film and his analysis of it with no agenda. He is not out to change anyone's mind as to "who dun it," unlike David R. Wrone, who does a good job of describing the history of the film in THE ZAPRUDER FILM: REFRAMING JFK'S ASSASSINATION, but then goes off into the wacky world of Zapruder film tampering by unknown conspirators. I consider myself a historian, an as such, am much more impressed with Mr. Trask's objective approach to his subject. One gets the impression that he discounts the conspiracy theories in favor of the Warren Commission findings, but it serves as an undercurrent, not as a presumptious raison d'etre for the existence of the book. Mr. Trask simply presents the photographic record in wonderful detail, leaving the theories for the reader to muddle over.
This is really an extaordinary book, and my hope is the Mr. Trask (I hope you're reading this, sir) publishes a book of all 400+ frames of the Zapruder film in the largest, clearest, most colorful format that technology can provide and takes a page to analyze each frame of the film. One frame per page accompanied by a page of analysis would amount to a holy grail of sorts for me and no doubt for all those who understand the importance of analyzing the history of November 22, 1963 through the numerous photographs and films taken on that day.
Another First-Rate Effort By Mr. Trask .... All You Could Ever Want To Know About The Zapruder Film Is In Here.......2006-01-15
I love reading Richard Trask's books about the JFK assassination; and this one, published in late October 2005, is certainly no exception. It's very informative and definitely a worthy addition to anyone's collection of written materials surrounding the shocking murder of President John Kennedy in November of 1963.
"National Nightmare On Six Feet Of Film: Mr. Zapruder's Home Movie And The Murder Of President Kennedy" is a softcover volume containing 392 pages packed with just about every conceivable piece of information revolving around the infamous 26-second color motion-picture film taken by Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder on November 22, 1963, which is a film which shows, in all its morbid detail, the assassination of an American President in broad daylight on a city street in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Trask details the full history of the film and provides a good deal of background and biographical information on Mr. Zapruder, an ordinary Dallas businessman, born in Russia, who, by pure happenstance and coincidence, turned out to be the amateur filmmaker whose name will forever be associated with the death of JFK.
But, if it weren't for the prodding of his secretary, Lillian Rogers (who encouraged Zapruder to go back home and retrieve his 8mm Bell-&-Howell movie camera shortly before the President's motorcade arrived in Dealey Plaza), that brief and awful 26 seconds in history would probably have never been captured through Mr. Zapruder's lens.
Like Richard Trask's other books on the JFK assassination which focus attention on the photographic aspect of the tragedy, the text of "National Nightmare" is ever-readable, easily-understood, and refreshingly-non-biased when it comes to taking a "Conspiracy vs. No Conspiracy" position by the author. Mr. Trask lays out the facts and leaves it at that.
This book's endnotes/footnotes are all positioned at the back of the book in one separate section, so as to not clutter up the main text of the volume. (So keeping two bookmarks handy is recommended, because a lot of interesting info can be gleaned from some of these endnotes too.)
One big surprise to this writer when perusing this book was seeing a COLOR version of the Robert Croft photograph printed on Page 67 (within a 16-page spread of mostly all-color photos and Zapruder Film frames). I had never seen the Croft picture in color previously. And it's an excellent-quality print of that famous amateur photo that I found in this volume, too. The picture is needle-sharp and the color is virtually perfect.
The Croft photo, by the way, depicts the President's limousine on Elm Street, just after the car has made its sharp left turn from Houston Street in front of the Texas School Book Depository. It was taken at a point equivalent to Zapruder frame #161 (per this book's text and captions), which is just about the time the first gunshot was being fired in Dealey Plaza.
Other highly-recommended publications authored by Richard B. Trask (centering on the photography of President Kennedy's assassination) ..... "Pictures Of The Pain" (1994) and "That Day In Dallas" (1998). The latter is a condensed version of the former, focusing attention on just three of the photographers who took pictures in Dallas on the day JFK was killed (Cecil Stoughton, James Altgens, and Jim Murray).*
* = Although condensed into a smaller number of pages than that of its predecessor "POTP", "That Day In Dallas" does contain "revised and enlarged" material throughout its limited number of chapters. And the specific photographs represented within that volume are unrivaled in their clarity and quality of physical presentation, in this writer's personal opinion.
I truly enjoyed both of those books, and was very glad to see "That Day In Dallas" come out a few years after "POTP", because "That Day" provides a larger-print format for many excellent-quality assassination-related photographs, including several pictures you're not likely to see in any other book on the subject.
As a companion piece to "National Nightmare", I would also recommend highly the MPI Home Video DVD "Image Of An Assassination: A New Look At The Zapruder Film" (released in the summer of 1998), which contains four "digital" versions of the entire 26-second Zapruder Film in various formats, including "zoomed-in" variants and a previously-unseen "Widescreen" version of the movie, which includes the imagery between the "sprocket holes" from Mr. Zapruder's "camera original" film.
That DVD also contains some valuable and collectible "bonus" video programming, including interviews with Zapruder associates, as well as the March 1975 "Good Night America" program (hosted by Geraldo Rivera), during which U.S. audiences first saw the horrifying images of Mr. Zapruder's movie. The DVD also has a crystal-clear video copy of the Live interview that Abraham Zapruder gave on WFAA-TV just hours after he had filmed the assassination.
Many of the above-mentioned items from that "Image Of An Assassination" DVD are also referenced by Mr. Trask throughout the well-written pages of "National Nightmare".
---------------
In "National Nightmare On Six Feet Of Film", Richard Trask has admirably filled in yet another in a seemingly-never-ending series of pieces of subject matter that comprise the wide and varied fabric that form the mosaic of literature covering the topic of the John F. Kennedy assassination.
Nowhere can be found a more detailed and fact-based history of Abraham Zapruder's historic film than that which resides within these 392 pages.
Book Description
When President Dwight Eisenhower spoke of waging "total cold war," he was proposing nothing less than a global, all-embracing battle for hearts and minds. His wide-ranging propaganda campaign challenged world communism at every turn and left a lasting mark on the American psyche.
Kenneth Osgood now chronicles the secret psychological warfare programs America developed at the height of the Cold War. These programs-which were often indistinguishable from CIA covert operations-went well beyond campaigns to foment unrest behind the Iron Curtain. The effort was global: U.S. propaganda campaigns targeted virtually every country in the free world.
Total Cold War also shows that Eisenhower waged his propaganda war not just abroad, but also at home. U.S. psychological warfare programs blurred the lines between foreign and domestic propaganda with campaigns that both targeted the American people and enlisted them as active participants in global contest for public opinion.
Osgood focuses on major campaigns such as Atoms for Peace, People-to-People, and cultural exchange programs. Drawing on recently declassified documents that record U.S. psychological operations in some three dozen countries, he tells how U.S. propaganda agencies presented everyday life in America to the world: its citizens living full, happy lives in a classless society where economic bounty was shared by all. Osgood further investigates the ways in which superpower disarmament negotiations were used as propaganda maneuvers in the battle for international public opinion. He also reexamines the early years of the space race, focusing especially on the challenge to American propagandists posed by the Soviet launch of Sputnik.
Perhaps most telling, Osgood takes a new look at President Eisenhower's leader-ship. Believing that psychological warfare was a potent weapon in America's arsenal, Ike appears in these pages not as a disinterested figurehead, as he's often been portrayed, but as an activist president who left a profound mark on national security affairs.
Osgood's distinctive interpretation places Cold War propaganda campaigns in the context of an international arena drastically changed by the communications revolution and the age of mass politics and total war. It provides a new perspective on the conduct of public diplomacy, even as Americans today continue to grapple with the challenges of winning other hearts and minds in another global struggle.
Customer Reviews:
Ike as Propagandist.......2007-02-20
In the early 1980s, with the publication of Fred I. Greenstein's book, "The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader," a reappraisal of Ike's presidency began. This new work by Kenneth Osgood makes a critically important contribution to the brutal historiography of Eisenhower revisionism. It suggests that Eisenhower was much more than a smiling, golf playing figurehead, and instead understood well the stakes and the possibilities of cold war with the Soviet Union. Most important, he waged an aggressive psychological battle for hearts and minds worldwide; one that overall proved quite successful. Based on extensive documentary materials only recently declassified, this work marks a new path in Eisenhower studies. It is a major contribution to the field.
Ike: Psychological Cold Warrior.......2006-03-26
Many of today's baby boomers grew up in the 1950's and recall President Eisenhower as an avuncular man typified by such snappy slogans as "I like Ike." What many of them did not know was that Ike was an active propagandist trying to win the hearts and minds of citizens not only behind the Iron Curtain, but also at home, in friendly nations, and everywhere else on the planet, taking advantage of new and ever more expansive and rapid communications technologies.
Prof. Osgood has written a penetrating history of Ike's propaganda campaigns, documenting how in a war of ideology, communications was often a more potent weapon than guns and bombs. With campaigns lauding not only the American good life, but also the American space and arms races, Eisenhower and his new Cold Warriors fought in an international arena of public opinion which they used to leverage negotiations to their advantage at home and abroad.
That governments and the powerful have always sought to shape public opinion is no surprise, and it should also be no surprise that Eisenhower, believing that the future of the free world was in the balance, fully utilized the tools of communications and propaganda to his own ends. Prof. Osgood's book reminds us that propaganda comes in many form and guises, and even when we try to justify the means of propaganda by the ends of freedom, truly free people must never accept any speech, especially by governments, at face value.
Average customer rating:
- Move Over, Stephen Ambrose
- Exceptionally well researched & well-written
- FDR, ER & Campo
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Beloved Island: Franklin and Eleanor and the Legacy of Campobello
Jonas Klein
Manufacturer: P.S. Eriksson
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
ASIN: 083971033X |
Book Description
This is the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the influence their summer home on Campobello Island had upon them. It is a personal history that examines the Roosevelts' background and traditions and explores their public trials, tragedies, and triumphs, as well as the frustrations and disappointments of their private lives. Campobello played a vital role in the formation of character for both Franklin and Eleanor, and provided them with physical challenges and emotional solace. It was at Campobello that Franklin was felled by polio, the most defining event in both their private lives and public careers. This story is peppered with anecdotes, personal letters, and the reminiscences of the aides, friends, and family who played important roles in their lives.
Customer Reviews:
Move Over, Stephen Ambrose.......2001-07-01
This is a well-researched and well-written glimpse of one of the most famous and influential couples of the 20th Century. It reads extremely well while casting new light on two already-much studied lives but from an entirely new perspective. Jonas Klein proposes that FDR and Eleanor were in some measure defined by the Campobello experience and makes a credible case for it.
Before picking up Beloved Island I had just finished reading one more of Stephen AmbroseÕ books on World War II and, quite frankly, had tired a little of the rhythm and predictability in his technique of stringing together many individual Òoral historiesÓ to create a coherent whole. He does it very well, of course, but Jonas Klein does it better. Working mostly from snapshot detail in correspondence, I presume, Klein succeeds in portraying the larger portraits of personality, emotion, relationships, and other intangibles that make figures from history what they really are.
Though not quite a Òone sittingÓ experience, this little book leads us gently to further thought and deeper understanding about Franklin and Eleanor. ItÕs a good book.
Exceptionally well researched & well-written.......2001-02-13
Beloved Island: Franklin & Eleanor And The Legacy Of Campobello examines how the Roosevelt summer home on New Brunswick's Campobello Island (a remote Canadian location) had a significant physical and emotional influence on their lives and the events of their day. While acknowledging the Roosevelt's' traditions and background, Jonas Klein presents a fresh perspective on their public trials and triumphs as well as their personal frustrations and private disappointments as showcased by their Campobello residency. It was at Campobello that Franklin was stricken with polio, that Eleanor found peace and refuge from a demanding and unsympathetic world, and that their personal and political relationship as formed in a manner that would serve them both to the end of their lives. Exceptionally well researched, well-written, insightful, informative, and totally engaging biography.
FDR, ER & Campo.......2001-02-01
I was excited when I first saw this book advertised. Anyone who has studied the Roosevelts knows the fundamental emotional foundation this island provided the family. However, when I began to read the book, I quickly became disgruntled. There was little to no new information, insight or perspective offered. The author seems to mainly cover the same formulaic roads covered before-- early marriage, polio, governor, president, & Eleanor on her own. The only difference was this books focuses on those same paths through the lens of Campobello. The problem, besides offering little new, is this lens is restrictive, rather than encompassing. If you're looking for an introduction to the Roosevelts, this may be a good selection. However, if you have studied this couple with any kind of attention, nothing profound or enlightning is likely to be found here.
Book Description
Another great travel guide from Ideals Publications. Every presidential home and library open to the public is included. Homes and places are arranged by president, along with a short biography, a memorable quote, and a color painting or photgraph of the president.
Following this personal look at each president are the places associated with him, (and in a few cases with his first lady) each with the address, telephone number , website address, hours of operation and a description of the place itself. Also included are maps. This is a travel book as well as a look at history from the perspective of the presidents' homes and what they tell us about each man and his family.
Customer Reviews:
A must for those who enjoy Presidential history!.......2003-02-03
Book is well written, well illustrated and most importantly - well orgnized. Makes for not only good reading about presidential history, but also serves as a travel guide to everything presidential. Complete info and details are given about Presidential homes and libraries.
High quality photos and illustrations are used on high quality paper. Don't try to compare standard paperback books to this one! Glossy, coated paper is extensively used, and most photos are in color.
Book Description
The Lincolns spent the summer of 1862 north of the White House at the Soldiers’ Home. The lush, cool hill overlooking the squalid capital promised the Lincolns an escape from the "city of stink." Despite fears about Lincoln’s vulnerability in the secluded place, Lincoln spent a quarter of his presidency at the Soldiers’ Home. But until the National Trust for Historic Preservation began restoring the cottage, little had been done to explore this missing link in Lincoln’s life. Elizabeth Smith Brownstein fills in a critical gap. Using diaries, letters, and eyewitness accounts, she provides unusual perspectives on Lincoln’s relationships, traces the evolution of Lincoln’s image, examines the Lincoln marriage, and more. Lincoln’s Other White House is a vivid evocation of a turbulent era, and an intimate portrait of the still elusive president.
Customer Reviews:
Lincoln's Other White House.......2006-10-05
The author has done a wonderful job showing what a real human being that Lincoln was. A friend of mine borrowed my book and liked it so well that
she went out and immediately bought 5 more to give as Christmas presents. It is just the right size for a gift book and so well written anyone will be proud to own it. I have also bought 6 more copies to give all my family for Christmas. Everyone should read it, everyone will enjoy it. written by Malcolm Kelly, a Kentuckian proud or both Mr and Mrs Lincoln who were born in this state.
fresh look at the Lincolns.......2005-10-17
I especially enjoyed the fresh approach to Lincoln and to his wife Mary Todd, who comes across in this new book as an elegant, urbane, and gracious `Republican Queen.' The account of the Lincolns' marriage and their home life at the White House and the Soldiers' Home, from observers such as the Union Army soldiers who guarded him for three years, is fascinating. The book is based on extensive research and is enriched by fresh anecdotes about Lincoln, by Whitman's and abolitionist Longfellow's poetry, and letters and memoirs of the diverse personalities with whom Lincoln interacted, particularly his generals and cabinet members.
A Splendid Contribution.......2005-10-15
I have read a number of books on the Civil War in Washington...Fine as those books are, they do not accomplish two things that are splendid contributions of your book on the weekend home that the Lincolns made of their cottage at the Soldiers' Home.
First, we often forget the huge personal burden that the war place on Lincoln and his belief, strong in the summer of 1864, that he would be defeated in the next election and that the gains in the war would slip back into Southern control. We can see in your book how his days and nights in the cottage helped Lincoln to hold on to and expand what he had until victory in the 1864 election was assured.
The other is the loving relationship of the President with his wife, Mary Lincoln. We often hear of her oddities and running up of debts. What we do not hear of, and what admirably is stressed in your book, is what you describe as "the mutual affection and mutual dependence" that always linked them despite their great differences in character. Respect for Mary Lincoln, and her contributions to the greatness of Abraham Lincoln, is something we could use more of in writing American history.
I will not go on expect to say that I think I have already indicated the greatness of your book, and my hope that librarians and readers everywhere will have an opportunity to benefit from its revelations and the new light it brings on the life of one of our very greatest Presidents.
New Light on an Old Subject.......2005-10-15
It must be difficult-given the plethora of books on Lincoln-to shed new light on an old subject. However, Elizabeth Brownstein does. Through careful and thorough research, Ms. Brownstein addresses issues hitherto unexplored. Lincoln's summer home...provides a suitable setting to describe Lincoln's activities outside the White House. One learns, for instance, that the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was completed here. One also learns that, far from being a retreat from the hustle and bustle of Pennsylvania Avenue, the home facilitated Lincoln's open-mindedness about receiving virtual strangers at virtually any hour of the day or night and resulted in serious sleep deprivation.
However, it was in the other topics addressed in the book that Lincoln's character is at its most illuminating. His fascination with weaponry, his patience in his dealings with his wife, and his ability to establish collegial relationship with people of vastly differing temperaments are all thoughtfully explored...The characters highlighted are dispassionately analyzed in such a way as to enable the reader to be part of the scene at all times. For instance, Lincoln's wife, so often pilloried...is given a fair hearing and is properly depicted as a courageous soul confronted by agonizing choices and exaggerated expectations of the First Lady's performance as a suitable consort of the most admired President in American History...Mrs. Brownstein provides a valuable service for readers interested in the less dramatic, but no less insightful, clues about Lincoln the President, confronted, as he was, by the unprecedented challenges associated with his era.
Book Description
After the heartbreaking death of his son Willie, Abraham Lincoln and his family fled the gloom that hung over the White House, moving into a small cottage in Washington, D.C., on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home, a residence for disabled military veterans. In Lincoln's Sanctuary, historian Matthew Pinsker offers a fascinating portrait of Lincoln's stay in this cottage and tells the story of the president's remarkable growth as a national leader and a private man. Lincoln lived at the Soldiers' Home for a quarter of his presidency, and for nearly half of the critical year of 1862, but most Americans (including many scholars) have not heard of the place. Indeed, this is the first volume to specifically connect this early "summer White House" to key wartime developments, including the Emancipation Proclamation, the firing of McClellan, the evolution of Lincoln's "Father Abraham" image, the election of 1864, and the assassination conspiracy. Through a series of striking vignettes, the reader discovers a more accessible Lincoln, demonstrating what one visitor to the Soldiers' Home described as his remarkable "elasticity of spirits." At his secluded cottage, the president complained to his closest aides, recited poetry to his friends, reconnected with his wife and family, conducted secret meetings with his political enemies, and narrowly avoided assassination attempts. Perhaps most important, he forged key friendships that helped renew his flagging spirits. The cottage became a refuge from the pressures of the White House, a place of tranquility where Lincoln could refresh his mind. Based on research in rarely tapped sources, especially the letters and memoirs of people who lived or worked at the Soldiers' Home, Lincoln's Sanctuary offers the unexpected--a completely fresh view of Abraham Lincoln--through the window of a place that helped shape his presidency.
Customer Reviews:
Lincoln's Sanctuary in the Midst of the Storm of War.......2005-10-12
In each of the years he served as President of the United
States (minus the 11 southern states which seceded launching the Civil War!) President Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary and family would journey to the Soldiers Retirement Home about 4 miles from the White House. Son Robert would visit on his trips home from Harvard. Youngest Lincoln son Tad enjoyed the Soldiers' Home where he had a menagerie of pets; got to know the guard troops from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio stationed there. Wife Mary was often vacationing in New England or shopping in New York.
In this atmosphere Lincoln enjoyed the camaraderie of soldiers; received visitors and enjoyed the company of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton living in a nearby cottage.
It was in this location that the President agonized over his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation; decided to fire
George B. McClellan and help plan the 1864 presidential campaign.
Every day Lincoln would ride a horse to the White House surrounded by mounted cavalryman. His wife Mary fell from her carriage in July, 1863 while traveling to the home. She was seriously injured .
Pinsker tells us of plots against Lincoln's life. He may have even been fired upon by an unknown assassin according to a soldier who reported this incident in his postwar memoirs.
Matthew Pinsker has written an outstanding book adding to our knowledge of the heretofore little known Lincoln residence at the Soldiers Home. The Home is now a National Landmark and is being renovated and opened for the public. One can imagine how awed poet Walt Whitman was as he saw Lincoln on his daily ride from the White House to the Soldiers Home.
Pinsker draws on a vast array of first person accounts, letters,memoirs and can be complimented on adding to our knowledge of the Lincoln presidency.
The book is well illustated with maps and is an outstanding addition to anyone interested in the Civil War and the Lincoln presidency. Well recommended!
The First "Camp David".......2005-04-06
This book was a wonderful find. I read it in two days on a business trip and found the writing style enjoyable, the research accurate and detailed while not at all overbearing, and the information very interesting. There are still very little details of the Lincoln's day to day activities at the Soldier's Home. None of the Lincoln's kept diaries and official documentation of purchases, visitors, and happenings were very casual compared to the entourage and details which follow a modern day president on vacation. But the author uncovered letters and diaries of the soldiers and visitors who were around the Lincoln's at this time and from these sources has discovered a wealth of information. The book parallels each of the decisive war time decisions made by Lincoln, and shows how his daily commute to the Soldiers Home from the White House and back, and the relaxing time spent with his family during summer nights and weekends, helped to shape some of his actions and achievements.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Lincoln the person, with an interest in his politics and Civil War presidency. This book is a wonderful addition to the new writings on the Sixteenth President.
Something new about Lincoln.......2003-12-12
This book provides new information about Lincoln and his family, which is highly unusual for someone as researched as Lincoln. Based on letters and recollections of the people who saw him there, this book gives a picture of Lincoln in robe and slippers away from the chaos of the war time White House. A definate addition to what is known about Lincoln.
excellent and timely.......2003-08-06
This is a well written book and very timely as action is being taken to renovate the Lincoln Cottage. I reside on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home where the cottage is located and know the value of the cottage in our history. The facility is now known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home-Washington. The cottage has always been known as the Anderson Cottage.
Book Description
From the chief White House correspondent for U.S. News World Report, a fascinating and unique look at our presidents' retreats, hideaways, and homes n Air Force One, Kenneth T. Walsh looked at presidential history from the unusual and illuminating vantage point of the presidents' planes. Now he focuses on the various retreats where our commanders-in-chief have gone to escape the hustle and bustle of Washington, chronicling the important decisions that were made and the historic events that have occurred at them. Moreover, he describes what these sites reveal about the characters of the presidents and the times in which they lived.
Customer Reviews:
Presidents (even the worse ones) are Human Too.......2005-11-16
This book, written by Kenneth Walsh, author of Air Force One is every bit as interesting. It brings out the human side of the various holders of the office of the President of the United States. Unlike his previous book, this one goes all the way back to George Washington (who never flew on Air Force One).
No matter what your opinion is of the various presidents, this book shows that from the very beginning, the stresses of the office are such that each needs a "personal place" to get away. Most of the presidents have, to some extent been criticized for their numerous "vacations" or "holidays" away from the official office to their homes or private spots. This book illustrates that, for many of these executives, the only time that they really had to foment their plans for handling the decisions of their office was when they were out of the grind of their daily duties in the White House (or, for Washington, the President's home in Philadelphia).
I feel that this is an excellent book (just like Air Force One) for illustrating the personal side and the real working side of the office of the President
A Camp David "veteran" reports.......2005-09-01
Having served at Camp David from 1975 to 1977 as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Security Company, I was extremely interested in what Mr. Walsh had to write about the official "Presidential Retreat"....I was reminded of the day when a much younger Richard Cheney (then Chief of Staff to President Ford) and his wife Lynn got stuck in heavy snow as they were driving to the camp in a VW Beetle...the Sgt. of the Guard and I went to their aid in a jeep and got then safely to Camp David!...President Carter loved playing softball and would occasionally form some of his Secret Service agents and pilots into a team and play the Marines...if I recall correctly, the Leathernecks usually managed to come out on top!...anyway, Mr. Walsh's research certainly paid off as he is right on target in describing the Naval Support Facility, Thurmont, Maryland....for someone interested in a combination of American history and presidential politics. this book is a must.
Interesting inside information.......2005-08-06
Everyone needs a place to "get away from it all." While presidents are never free from the responsibilities of their office, especially with modern technology, each president has a place to get away as much as possible, and this book tells us about them.
It is interesting to read about how they chose their get-aways, and what they do while they're at their favorite places. I learned more about the physical layout and multiple projects going on at Prairie Chapel Ranch (current President Bush's favorite get-away), and Camp David, a weekend retreat of presidents since Franklin Roosevelt.
"From Mount Vernon to Crawford" is an informative, fun, and easy read.
Presidents at Play.......2005-05-17
Walsh focuses on presidents at leisure, how their retreats from the White House reflect their presidencies. He doesn't treat all presidents, just the best-known early ones, then all from FDR on. The earlier benefit from the best recent scholarship, like Pinsker's of the Soldiers' Home cottage where Lincoln spent a quarter of his presidency. Where White House correspondent Walsh really shines, however, is with the modern presidents he or his contacts covered, especially from LBJ on: great detail! The special glimpse of Camp David is especially insightful. It's as close to an inside view as you can find.
Great History Without Cynicism.......2005-05-11
One of the few great teachers I had in college made history come to life with timely anectodes. Ken Walsh provides rich and fascinating lessons about American presidents with great stories that are both fun to read and amazingly revealing about the men who have been our presidents.
He presents us with an easy read that is, thankfully, devoid of the cynicism that permeates today's journalism. And he does so without fawning over any of his subjects.
His treatment, for example, of Richard Nixon's western White House in San Clemente helps us understand the crazed complexity that was Nixon. Or the way he describes Gerald Ford's skiing vacations in Vail with photographers only interested in capturing the inevitable spills in the snow, shows the impossibility of being both presidennt and 'normal.'
Or his contrast between two contemporary presidents returning to their land -- Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush -- demonstrates ultimately the values of both men.
This is a book worth reading, worth sharing, worth giving to friends and family.
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