Book Description
This remarkable novel documents the life of an American of mixed ethnicity who moves freely in society — from the rural South to the urban North and eventually, Europe. A revolutionary work which not only probes the psychological aspects of "passing for white" but also examines the American caste and class system.
Download Description
As soon as we landed, four of us went directly to a lodging-house in 27th Street, just west of Sixth Avenue. The house was run by a short, stout mulatto man, who was exceedingly talkative and inquisitive. In fifteen minutes he not only knew the history of the past life of each one of us, but had a clearer idea of what we intended to do in the future than we ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Useful for HS coursework & for real life.......2007-06-30
Teaching this novel to 10th graders in Chicago has not been the easiest task but the storyline is the draw...that and my constant reminders that "This is the hardest book you will read all year...it's a book I read in college...If you can get through this book you can get through everything else we do this year!" And it's true...most students did well in the unit and the course which forces them to step outside their confort zone when looking and talking about the origins of race and racism. I use this in conjunction with RACE & MEMBERSHIP (by Facing History & Ourselves- collection of readings related to Eugenics Movement in USA) and with the film, "Imitation of Life" (the color version, not not the original black and white). Be mindful that it's high-end vocabulary as the author, like many Black writers of the day, sought to not only show that the main character wanted to impress those he came in contact with but that the author himself may have been trying to prove his own intelligence in writing the novel. James Weldon Johnson is best known for his song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" - the Black National Anthem.
worth the read.......2007-01-17
I am taking a class on Harlem renaissance literature and this was the first book assigned. It is easy to read and an enlightening story, the background information provided was interesting as well.
Johnson's Classic Novel of "Passing".......2005-04-12
Many novels of the African-American experience in the United States use the theme of "passing". These novels generally involve a light-complexioned African-American who can "pass" for white. Among other things, novels based on a theme of "passing" allow the character and the author to comment upon black-white relationships in the United States from both sides -- from the black experience and from the white experience.
Both white and black authors have made extensive use of the theme of "passing". The earliest novel involving "passing" of which I am aware is by William Dean Howells in his short 1891 book, "An Imperative Duty" which dealt with an inter-racial marriage. The African-American novelist Nella Larsen wrote a novel titled "Passing" set in the Harlem Renaissance. More recently, Philip Roth's novel "The Human Stain" involves the story of Professor Coleman Silk, a distinguished academic and student of the classics who passes for many years as white.
Coleman Silk is the successor to the protagonist of James Weldon Johnson's only novel, "The Autobiography of an ex-colored Man" written in 1912. The unnamed protagonist of the book is an individual, like Roth's character Coleman Silk, with great intellectual and artistic gifts who is torn between the opportunities open to him as an, apparently, white person and his strong sense of black identity. Like Coleman Silk and the characters in most novels involving the theme of "passing", Johnson's protagonist marries a white woman and lives a life plagued with guilt regarding his abandonment of his heritage as an African-American. Johnson's short novel is, to my mind, the best written on the theme of "passing", and it is a fine novel indeed. The book initially was published anonymously. The writing is so powerful and believable that many readers took the book for a true autobiography until Johnson acknowledged his authorship in 1914. Many years later, Johnson wrote his own autobiography, titled "Along This Way" in part to show that the story of his own life was not the story of the protagonist in the "Autobiography".
Johnson's story shows how his protagonist goes back and forth, both internally and in the outward events of life, about whether to make his way in the white or in the black world. He ultimately finds himself successful but unhappy. In addition to the story line of the book, Johnson uses the "passing" theme to allow many reflective passages by characters in the book on racial relationships in the United States early in the 20th Century. The most famous such scene occurs as the protagonist travels in a "smoking car" for whites on a train in the segregated South. He participates in a discussion among several white men of varied backgrounds on the "race question" as it was viewed at the time. There is also a chilling scene in the book involving a lynching, the burning alive of a black person. Johnson worked fervently in the latter years of his life to secure the passage of anti-lynching legislation in Congress.
But Johnson's novel includes a great deal more than a consideration of race issues. The book offers an outstanding picture of life in early twentieth Century America -- in the South and in Johnson's beloved New York City. The book is filled with pictures of dives and gambling dens and of the trade of cigar making in both South and North. It is filled with the love of the piano and of classical music. Most strikingly, the book has the spirit and feel of ragtime, which reached the height of its popularity during the years in which the book appeared. Johnson shows great appreciation for this product of American culture.
The book also illustrates some universal themes. The protagonist is troubled, specifically, by the conflict between his identity as an African-American and his wish to succeed as a white person. But the broader themes of the book are the consequences of lack of self-knowledge, the role of chance in human life, and the consequences of a certain sense of purposelessness and frustration, which plague many individuals separately from any consideration of race. Johnson develops these themes eloquently and ties them in well with his theme of "passing".
Johnson's novel is an important work of American fiction which deserves to be read.
Wonderfully woven plot that holds your interest.......2004-03-12
I absolutely loved reading this book, and would eagerly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn of Johnson's America through the eyes of a man caught between two worlds. The sometimes humorous passages and vivid details held my interest and fueled my imagination. I have countless sections of the book underlined in red.
Though written years ago, it is highly relevant to life in America today, and the self-effacing nature ('invisibility') of the narrator makes it even more intriguing as you follow what goes on in the class and race-defined society through his eyes.
A short but captivating (one of my favorite autobios) 'must-read'.
Fantastic!.......2001-10-01
James Weldon creates a story line of unimaginable magnitude! This complex book makes the reader almost sympathetic for a character who may not deserve it!
Book Description
From the moment of Lincoln’s death on April 15, 1865, until Andrew Johnson, his replacement, formally announced postwar plans on May 29, the fate of the country hung in the balance. War had left the Republic strained almost beyond endurance. Johnson’s ascendancy to the presidency seemed the killing stroke even to the victorious North. A former slave owner from the border state of Tennessee, Johnson had been drunk at his inauguration as vice president; he was hated equally by the South and the North. Some Northerners were even convinced he had been part of the conspiracy behind Lincoln’s assassination. Later, he escaped impeachment by a single vote.
As Howard Means reveals in this revisionist, powerfully persuasive, and absorbingly dramatic account of Johnson’s first six weeks in office, the new president faced almost insurmountable odds. Yet, as Means shows, Johnson not only met but overcame them, preserving the Union for which so many had sacrificed their lives.
Customer Reviews:
The transition from Lincoln to Johnson........2007-07-23
Andrew Johnson was one of our worst Presidents. In this book, author Means relates the personality of Andy Johnson, and his failings in the leadership role. Johnson was the aftermath of the great Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. To be judged according to what Lincoln did was a gave injustice to Johnson. However, Johnson's personality was not suited to a leadership role in such a viotile time. Johnson was personally brave, and was a thoughtful man. However, once he took a position, he never changed or compromised. This made him an unsuccessful leader in a time when the nation was changing so much. His moderate policies pleased no one, least of all his former enemies.
This is a nice read about a transition time in American history. There have been many, but this one was probably the foremost time when a personality did not take charge and shape the destiny of the country.
An Interesting, Engaging Study .......2007-06-19
Well, I wasn't sure if I liked Andrew Johnson before I read this book. (I actually knew very little about him.) Traditionally, he is portrayed (when he is portrayed) as the brave successor of Lincoln who "stood up" to those mean old Radical Republicans in Congress, who wanted to punish the South and open the door to all their carpetbagger and scalliwag friends. He made his stand; saved the presidency; and then faded into obscurity. Well, of course it wasn't that simple: Johnson, while admirable for his pluck and courage, was in the main, a hard-headed zealot of limited intellectual and creative range, who kept his own counsel, did what he pleased, and ended up as perhaps the least effective president in American history. It's still probably a good thing that the attempt to remove him from office failed; such would have been a blow from which the presidency might never have recovered. But certainly Johnson's pig-headedness and inability to compromise did as much to weaken the office as anything the Radicals could have done.
This book concerns itself mainly with a very brief period (45 days, the subtitle says) in American history wedged between the assassination of Lincoln and Johnson's impeachment by Congress and trial in the Senate. As such, its focus is somewhat limited. Readers wanting more information on either of those epic events in U.S. history will have to look elsewhere. But it does help to identify the significance of the former, while providing important groundwork for the latter. As such, it is certainly worth reading. Means is a splendid writer, and his text marches swiftly acorss the pages. His research and scholarship seem flawless; but he also is unafraid to draw comparisons with contemporary events in American history and provide the occasional bit of humor and irony. This book is not long (just over 200 pages, exclusive of endnotes) and it moves along very fast. It's worth the read in and of itself, but more importantly as background for later developments in Reconstruction, a too often overlooked (but critcally important, as Means infers) period in our national history.
Good Prose, Interesting Material. Missed Focus........2007-05-06
The title makes you think you will read about Johnson and a 45 day period in or around his inauguration. I kept looking for this, and the suggested "avengence". It was there, but only partly and scattered.
The book goes from details of the night of Lincoln's assassination, (a detailed piece on Leonard Farwell who brought the news to Johnson leads you to believe he will become significant later) to a bio on the early life of Johnson and back to the inauguration of Lincoln and forward to the early days of Johnson administration. Here the time frames go back (with extraneous info such as the economic rationale for why the South would never have won) and forth (impeachment, two years later).
The 45 days (which ones, depend on your chosen starting point) are worthy of a much deeper treatment. The text weaves and the chronology isn't clear. I had to look up dates elsewhere to get a handle on the story. The main events actually range from the March 4 Lincoln Inaugural to the July 6 hanging of the assassination co-conspirators.
Means does a good job of presenting the facts about Johnson, where he came from and his Jacksonian brand of populism. How he went from point A (avenging) to point B (Lincoln's program) is not clear. One result is that when the author blames Johnson for the mess of reconstruction, the reader can't agree (or disagree).
Means is at his best in describing the social climate of Washington at the time and relating a parade of veterans. The description of troops (including Sherman's fresh from the battle soldiers) and viewers is wonderful. Other well described events include the repatriation of prisoners and southerners haunting the capitol looking for pardons.
If there were 3 1/2 stars, I'd use them, because, this book is a starting point for someone to acquire some background to delve more into this neglected period.
I like that the Endnotes begin with the quote from the text. A browse through it makes it seem that he made a selective use of sources, or, perhaps not many exist for this period.
Excellent study of an era in our history.......2007-01-27
When President Lincoln was assassinated, leaving Andrew Johnson in charge of a nation in chaos, most people on both sides of the war wondered what was in store for all of them.
It had only been a short time since Andrew Johnson made a public spectacle of himself at his inauguration. Now it was on the shoulders of this man to bring justice to those responsible for Lincoln's death, finish a war, and knit a country back together. But what was he to do with the "traitors" whom he'd already viciously attacked, and what rights would be granted the former slaves?
The Avenger Takes His Place is a study of what made the man who would be our seventeenth president, as well as the tumultuous six weeks that would determine the future of our United States. It is an engrossing study of communication, or lack thereof, anxiety, distrust, and the atrocity of war.
Author Means provides insight from personal journals and public records on both sides and provides current day comparisons in order to paint the situation abundantly clear to readers. In a time where Johnson's predecessor is nearly sainted, while Johnson himself is remembered poorly, I greatly enjoyed learning more about the man who remade our nation.
A fascinating look into the process that led to the reconstruction of the United States following the Civil War.
Armchair Interviews says: Another interesting peek at history.
excellent introduction.......2007-01-21
From the title, I expected a detailed history of the days following his assumption of the presidency. While the tiles mislead me, I found a very readable, balanced enjoyable account of Johnson and Reconstruction. The book is a mini-biography of Andrew Johnson with emphases on the years prior to and during the Civil War, hunt for and trial of Lincoln's killers, the end of the Confederacy and the start of Presidential Reconstruction. This is a huge list of "hot topics" for an author to present in one book. Howard Means succeeds without falling into the Lost Cause Myth or current Politically Correct thinking, constructing a balanced readable and instructive book.
This is an introductory to mid-level history of the beginnings of Reconstruction. Starting with the application of Lincoln's "let `em up easy" and 10% rule to the rise of the Radical Republicans determined to make the South suffer and keep control of Congress. Both efforts, at reconstruction, are doomed from the start and could only increase problems for the nation and the new Freemen. A major strength of the book is the author's refusal to place either group on the side of good. He admits that each had base motives and sought power from reconstruction.
Walking through the turbulence is Andrew Johnson. The "flaws" that helped him in the Senate and as military governor, destroyed him as President. Honest, hard working and unable to comprise what he saw as "right" brought impeachment from men who felt he was wrong. From a respected hero of the Union, he became a hated symbol of the old South.
While not what I expected, this is an enjoyable an instructive read. The book is an excellent introduction to Reconstruction, the issues and people.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating Read.......2007-03-26
I was only vaguely familiar with the story of Mallory and Irvine before reading this. Hemmelb does a nice job of interweaving the story of Mallory's 1924 attempt at Everest with that of the 1999 expedition that went in search of his body. For anyone interested in Everest and the history of attempts to climb it, I can recommend this book highly.
DID THEY OR DIDN'T THEY?..........2002-06-08
This is a beautifully and lavishly illustrated, textually rich book. Its pages demand the reader's undivided attention and are sure to enthrall all mystery lovers, Everest aficionados, nostalgia junkies, history buffs, and climbing enthusiasts. This book is sure to provide the reader with many hours of enjoyment.
The book chronicles the search for George Mallory and Andrew Irvine by the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition. It juxtaposes the dramatic turn of events during their expedition with those of the 1924 British Everest Expedition which saw Mallory and Irvine attempt a summit climb, only to disappear into the mists of Everest, never to be seen again. It makes for a spell binding narrative, as past events are woven through present day ones.
The 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition was a meticulously well prepared and well organized venture. With its discovery of George Leigh Mallory's body, it enjoyed much success. The research and analysis that went into its ultimate, well thought out conclusions were comprehensive and fascinating, with its strong reliance upon forensics and deductive reasoning. Their reconstruction of Mallory's and Irvine's last climb is riveting. Unfortunately, the ultimate question still remains unanswered. Did they or did they not reach the summit of Mount Everest back in 1924?
The beautiful photographs of the personal effects found upon Mallory's person underscore a certain poignancy about the discovery of Mallory's well preserved body. The photographs which memorialize this discovery are amazingly lovely and tasteful, considering its subject matter, and hauntingly illustrate the finality with which Everest may deal with mountaineers, no matter how accomplished.
The photographs also highlight how ill equipped for the harsh climatic conditions were the early Everest expeditions. It is amazing, and a credit to those early expeditioners' courage and fortitude, in braving such an inhospitable and harsh terrain with the inadequate clothing and equipment available to them at the time. Mallory and Irvine were certainly intrepid explorers!
This book is a fitting tribute to two men who sought to make a historic summit and, in their attempt, would forever be a part of Everest.
Mystery solved!--OR IS IT??.......2001-11-30
If you have ever wondered what happened to the best climber ever to set foot on this earth, and the brave wonderful man who disappeared with him, this is your book! A group of courageous men set out to solve this question in 1999, 75 years after the mysterious disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. And what they find will chill you to your very bones! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Mt. Everest and all brave but foolhardy ventures.
Book Description
A definitive life of the flawed man who succeeded to the American presidency after Lincoln's assassination. Politically shrewd but fatally unable to adapt to new political realities, Andrew Johnson presided, disastrously, over the tumultuous first years of Reconstruction. In this provocative account, Hans Trefousse gives us "a brilliant, compassionate portrait of a dynamic era of social change and national healing, and of the tragic failure of an American leader" (Library Journal).
Customer Reviews:
Detailed enough to tell his story.......2007-10-15
I read this book in my ongoing project to read a biography of each President. The best part of this book in my opinion was the length. A lot of biographers lengthen their book to a point where it becomes too detailed and hard to read. That was not the case here.
Johnson was not a great president, nor was he a great person. And, other than the Civil War and Reconstruction he didn't have a key stake in American History. Why go overboard? And the author didn't.
I've read many very wonderful presidential biographies. Truman was fantastic and was 900 pages because it shouldn've been. The 3-part bio on Nixon was 1800 pages and should've been because a lot went on during Nixon's life in politics.
This bio, much like the Andrew Jackson bio I read, was between 300 and 400 pages.... detailed enough to tell the story but not detailed to the point where I got lost or just flat lost interest.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about Andrew Johnson but if you are looking to make a life out of studying the man it is probably not the book for you because it is not overly detailed.
It was exactly what I was looking for though, well-written, well-researched and gave me a good overview of a President that I have always wanted to know more about. He definitely was not of high moral character and definitely played to his southern base with his actions surrounding reconstruction. That said, I did find it interesting that he was demonized at times by both his colleagues and the press.
Sounds like aside from his thinking in regards to blacks and slavery he was a good and honest man that tried to do what was right most of the time. That was something the author did a very good job detailing and I appreciated it.
EXCELLENT .......2007-05-03
Andrew Johnson was certainly a remarkable man and much better appreciated for it in times past (before our politically correct era). He was the only President never to have had any schooling, someone who rose from the lowest level of poverty to become first a tailor, then real estate magnate and finally a statesman who advanced through to the highest office in the land. (He also became a voracious reader, after learning to read while in his 'teens). In many ways, his life mirrored that of Abraham Lincoln. Also similar to Lincoln's was his view on racial issues - the Negro was an object of sympathy, although not the intellectual equal of the white man. Where they differed, perhaps, was in Lincoln's desire to have the Negro obtain at least partial suffrage and, especially, in Lincoln's political skills - he was, after all, a canny railroad lawyer.
(Some idea as to the perspective of our era is that Lincoln's steadfastness - he was "inflexible" on the issue of popular sovereignty -
is considered a virtue, while Johnson's is considered simply stubbornness and a vice). Both wanted "Presidential Reconstruction" (that is, accomplished by the President and not by Congress- Lincoln confirmed this at the cabinet meeting early on the day of his assassination). Dr. Tefousse is admirably balanced in his account, but it is
interesting that he (Ph.D.) appears not to recognize that Johnson, in a congressional debate, was quoting Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (argument between Brutus and Cassius) when he (J) tells his opponent to be choleric and show himself to his bondsmen; Dr. Trefousse also mentions that Johnson considered women to be the weaker sex, an idea which, he says, is a 19th century concept -
the phrase, weaker sex, is actually a little older than that (I Peter 3:7). Finally, the uproar from Johnson's inaugural address in 1853 as governor of Tennessee is not explained. The speech dealt with the ladder of life and how every man could rise, just as in the account of Jacob's ladder.I suspect the reason this was controversial is because the ladder
analogy is from Freemasonry (Johnson was a Mason) and anti-Masonic feelings were running high in the early 19th century.
Overall fair and well constructed look at the 17th President.......2001-02-07
Treffousse's look at the 17th President of the United States is a fair and well-balanced look at this driven politician. The reader will be left with little doubt that Johnson's racism was his biggest flaw in both his political and personal life. The impeachment is featured but does not dominate the book as it should not.
Fair, well-written historical analysis............1999-10-31
While the "personal" Johnson is given adequate attention, this book works so well because it concentrates on the political realm, a rarity in these days of social history and psychoanalytical treatises. Of course, the impeachment trial is of primary interest, but the focus on Johnson's overwhelming ambition was appreciated as well. Despite his stubborn attitude, inflexibility, and undeniable racism, Johnson was a committed Jacksonian and sought throughout his political life to promote policies friendly to his agrarian philosophy. Because his presidency represented a key transition in American history (a definite weakening of the Executive until TR as well as a regrettable loss of Reconstruction opportunities), Johnson is, with Polk, Lincoln, and Jackson, one of the key figures of the 19th century. Overall, a solid book worthy of a wide readership.
Baalanced and consistently interesting.......1999-08-02
I found this book was fair to Johnson, despite the author's reputation as friendly to the Radical Republicans. I found myself believing that the failure of the Senate to impeach Johnson was a good thing, since he obviously was not guilty of an impeachable offense--even as our current president was not. Johnson was actually an able politician and a good President, but his bias against blacks caused him to err grievously in regard to them.
Book Description
Andrew Johnson, who became president after the assassination of Lincoln, oversaw the most crucial and dramatic phase of Reconstruction. Historians have therefore tended to concentrate, to the exclusion of practically everything else, upon Johnson's key role in that titanic event. Although his volume focuses closely on Johnson's handling of Reconstruction, it also examines other important aspects of his administration, notably his foreign, economic, and Indian policies. As one of the few historians to do this, the author provides a broader and more balanced picture of Johnson's presidency than has been previously available.
Johnson has always been an enigma: much is known about what he did, little about why he did it. He wrote few letters, kept no diary, and rarely confided in anyone. Most historians either admire or despise him, depending on whether they consider his Reconstruction policies right or wrong. Castel achieves an objective reassessment of Johnson and his presidential actions by examining him primarily in terms of his effectiveness in using power and by not judging him--as most other scholars have--on moralistic or ideological grounds.
The book begins with an overview of America at the end of the Civil War and a description of Johnson's political career prior to 1865. Castel recounts the drama of Johnson's sudden inheritance of the presidency upon Lincoln's death and then examines how Johnson organized and operated his administration. Johnson's formulation of a Reconstruction policy for the defeated South comes under special scrutiny; Castel evaluates Johnson's motives for that policy, its implementation, and its reception in both North and South. He descries and analyzes Johnson's quarrel with the Republican[dominated Congress over Reconstruction, the triumph of the Republicans in the election of 1866, the president's frustrated attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton from office, his bitter dispute with General Ulysses S. Grant, and his impeachment by Congress. Johnson's impeachment trial is covered in detail; Castel explains how it was that Johnson escaped conviction and removal from office by the narrowest possible margin. The book concludes with a discussion of Johnson's place in history as judged by scholars during the past one hundred years.
This study sheds light on the nation's problems during the chaotic period between 1865 and 1869 and contributes a great deal to a much improved understanding of the seventeenth president.
This book is part of the American Presidency Series.
Customer Reviews:
A lucid and concise history.......2000-04-24
This book in the American Presidency Series focuses not only on Andrew Johnson's presidency, but also expatiates the economic hardship that both the Union and the Confederacy faced during the Civil War, along with its political and economic repercussions. The author recognized that Johnson's battle with Congress over Reconstruction evolved into the most pivotal issue during his presidency. In fact, Albert Castel argues that Johnson lost his battle with Republicans over Reconstruction due to intransigence and impracticality with regards to African Americans. Also, this book mentions that Johnson's lack of a political base contributed to the Southerners' refusal to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. Nonetheless, Johnson retained much of his institutional power of the presidency. Johnson's violation of the Tenure of Office Act did, however, lead to his impeachment and eventual acquittal. Nevertheless, Johnson achieved appropriations for the purchase of Alaska.
The last chapter reads: Johnson Before The Bar of History. This chapter gives a historiographical overview about Johnson's critics since his presidency until 1979. Unfortunately, Castel contradicts his own thesis when he maintains that Johnson used the presidency in a strong manner with integrity, but ultimately failed as president. Did he fail or did he represent a scapegoat for his political enemies? Nonetheless, this book elaborates on the relevant issues and explains why Johnson has been much maligned. Nevertheless, this book stimulated my interest in Johnson and provided me with a useful bibliographical essay.
Book Description
In this narrative analysis, Mr. Andrew examines the underlying ideas and principal objectives of the most ambitious and controversial American reform effort since the New Deal. An acute examination. --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post. American Ways Series.
Customer Reviews:
A Decent Look at the Great Society.......2004-03-19
This book looks at the government policy view of Great Society programs. It is flawed in that it detaches the Great Society legislation from LBJ's political skills, the nation at the time, and the political environment at the time.
Many Great Society programs have provided a hand-up to success, better medical care, less polution, and much more. I would rank college funding very high, along with health care for the elderly.
However, the book details that Great Society was also misguided in some ways. The urban renewal programs were flops. CAP and Model Cities come to mind as being especially inept. It was these Great Society programs that Reagan railed against as "big government, and correctly so.
Hoever, much of the Great Society was a great success. High school graduation rates doubled, and college graduations tripled. Poverty was almost cut in half, even if the underlying caused sometimes remained (Johnson failed in his proposal to reform welfare). Head Start has helped tens of millions of children prepare for school. Pollution of the air, soil, and water was greatly reduced. Mass transit we take for granted in many cities was built.
Medicare has served a couple hundred million people, when before few elderly people had health care of any kind. The number of doctors graduating doubled. Good medical centers became far more widespread, and medical excellence in our society reached new heights through research and funding. Life expectancy has jumped substantially. We owe our advances in medicine in large part to the programs of the Great Society.
The National Endowment for the Arts has greatly expanded the arts in the nation. And how about public TV?
So there were successes, and there were failures. This points out what is going right, what could be done better, or what should just be left alone.
The author suggests that LBJ should have imposed more radical means to save costs (such as health care) and ensure proper outcomes; accountability. However, that was not possible at the time. Johnson, the politician of amazing instincts and legislative power, rammed his massive programs through while the window of opportunity was there after his landslide election, leaving it to later leaders to review his work later. He rammed so many bills through Congress that some of the details were a little sloppy.
Which brings us to this book.
Finally a Book that Focuses on Great Society Programs.......1999-12-08
Andrew has written an interesting and informative book about some of the programs that created vital opportunities for indigent people to escape poverty. Andrew discusses the key laws Johnson passed to improve the lives of Americans, including Civil Rights Act of 1964, Medicaid, Medicare, Head Start and many others. As a historical account of legislative acts it is excellent, and on that point it deserves five stars. However, when Andrew discusses how the Great Society affect later laws, the book becomes quite week. In fact it seems like Andrew wrote the bulk of the work in the eighties and only later interspersed a few sentences about the nineties. The index is also a bit sparse and could have been more detailed. This book is, nevertheless, a good read and deserves the attention of persons interested in the Johnson administration.
Good work on 1960's social welfare policy.......1999-10-19
Anyone who reads this book will find that LBJ's Great Society was far from a failure, as Republicans today characterize it, but a mixed bag with many successes and a few long term failures. Yet, overall, it was - and still is - positive for America.
Just look at the record -- Clean Air and Water bills, Medicare(health insurance for the elderly), Medicaid(health insurance for the disabled and poor), The Elementary and Secondary Education Act(for the first time the federal government gave K-12 schools funds), Head Start, labor law reform, Minimum Wage increase for the working poor, housing expansions through HUD, the Department of Transportation, increased farmer aid, wage supplements for the poor, job training expansions, the National Endowement for the Arts and Humanities, public broadcasting, consumer protection laws etc. The list goes on and on and on. These successes benefited - and benefit - everyone. The middle class and poor benefit from Medicare and education, as well as job training. The poor are given dignity in Medicaid and the Minimum Wage. All benefit from public broadcasting, as well as with clean streets, aid and environment and consumer laws. Working people support pro-labor labor law reform. And, let us never, ever forget, LBJ passed 3 monumental civil rights laws which benefit all persons of morality and conscience.
Yes, as the book points out, there are some failures here. Welfare policy for the poorest of the poor - as well meant as it was - was a failure. Yet, I suspect it failed not because of what Great Society liberals intended to do long term, but because of what they expected the program to become with more funding. That is, funding was decimated for AFDC, and liberals in the 1970's wanted public works instead, which never came, so they settled for AFDC. In regard to Model Cities, the same rings true - failure.
Yet, the positives outway the negatives by far and away - as this book shows all too well. Long live the Great Society!
Amazon.com
For three quarters of a century, adventure enthusiasts around the globe have speculated about the fate of British mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Did they reach the peak of Mount Everest before disappearing on June 6, 1924? How did they die? What was their fatal mistake? In 1999, the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition set out to answer these questions by retracing the steps of the doomed climbers, and in The Ghosts of Everest, they share their findings. William Nothdurft has gracefully woven the testimonies of expedition members Jochen Hemmleb, Eric Simonson, and Larry Johnson, all the while counterpointing the modern ascent with a captivating reconstruction of what befell the earlier one. There are also stunning photographs, which manage to be inspiring and beautiful and gruesome--occasionally all at once. And while it's impossible to establish exactly what happened to Mallory and Irvine, this account is persuasive enough to fascinate rock climbers and couch potatoes alike. --Melissa Asher
Book Description
GHOSTS OF EVEREST unravels one of the most puzzling and compelling adventure mysteries of all time. On June 6, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Comyn Irvine were only a few hundred feet short of becoming the first men to reach the highest spot on earth when they simply walked into the mist, never to be seen again. Did they reach the summit of Mount Everest - nearly three decades before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? This is the meticulous report of both the 1924 British Expedition and the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition which found George Mallory's body and answers to the questions that have plagued historians and mountaineers alike: Did they make it? And, if they did, what happened to them?
"...a work of historic importance that reads like a detective thriller..." (Publishers Weekly)
Customer Reviews:
Giving Up the Ghosts.......2007-09-04
We were only expecting a crude documentary about the Mallory/Irvine climb and subsequent search. However, the authors provided a quality read - well organized and supported by quality color photographs. Respectability was added to the events from this book, offering varying possibilities of what might have happened on the mountain, minus the normal excitability surrounding Mallory/Irvine. We'll keep this as a good reference; almost coffee table quality.
A Celebration of Great Daring With Woeful Resources.......2007-01-20
With their splendid book "Ghosts of Everest," the authors have taken up the gauntlet of attempting to determine whether or not Mallory & Irvine reached the summit of Mt. Everest on June 8th, 1924, before perishing on the descent. The authors provide a fascinating and hugely-detailed description of the fatal climb, and of the Simonson expedition which discovered Mallory. The layout, photography, graphical and sheer physical qualities of the book are to the highest standards.
The front half of the book describes the 1999 expedition, a tale that begins like many of this genre. The difference in Ghosts becomes quickly apparent. This is not your bunch of good old boys undertaking a task of simple conquest. Instead, they are only the second expedition since WW-II launched expressly to find the body and camera of the two British climbers, with the intent of finding out how far they got. The authors do their best, as have other researchers (including this reviewer) to put M&I on the summit. Historians--and scientists--are more like trial lawyers than we like to admit. In order to investigate anything complex, it is far more fruitful to assume an answer and try to prove it, than to disguise ones passion under the guise of unrealizable objectivity. Once your claims are out in the open, you hope they will prove sound. But there is no need to worry--there will always be plenty of critics who will try to deflate what they may see as overreaching theories.
In order for anyone to put M&I on the summit, three essential aspects of their climb must be proven, or at least shown to be reasonably possible:
1. Mallory & Irvine had to have taken three bottles of oxygen, otherwise they would not have had enough time to reach the top. On this all climbers, pro or con, agree, including the authors. At high attitudes oxygen doubles or triples climbing speed, and on the long route of their summit assault, they would have needed all of the twelve-hours of oxygen three bottles of their system was capable of delivering. While modern climbers have reached the summit without oxygen this, like the four-minute mile, is a recent feat, achieved by highly-trained and physically rare climbers in peak condition, fully hydrated, carrying/wearing the most modern equipment and--most importantly--following a known route that is roped over the difficult sections.
2. They had to be able to attain the summit pyramid, either by climbing the difficult Second Step, or via the Great Couloir and then to the summit during a bitter two-hour long snow squall, and then descent at night without lights or climbing hardware, using only their 100-ft rope in order to reach the site of their fall-Irvine's ice ax.
3. They had to be physically, mentally and materially capable of achieving this tremendously arduous task. According to this scenario, the entire climb would have taken at least 15 hours (~6 AM start, ~5 PM summit, ~9 PM fall)--and likely much longer--by climbers who were horribly under-equipped. Under-equipped not so much in the sense of inadequate preparation (although there was that), but so desperately under-equipped in the terrible paucity of their equipment--inadequate clothing against the frigid wind, chronically dehydrated due to pathetically inadequate stoves, all the while forging an uncharted route with no climbing aids other than rope and ice axes. During their climb they would have encountered a bitter two-hour snow squall and had to avoid getting lost in spite of having left their compass, flares and lights behind.
Put this way, and based on what the Simonson Expedition learned of the character of the Mallory route, it is difficult for today's Everesters to see how any arrangement of the known facts can be realistically arranged to put the men on top, but the authors have made a heavily researched attempt to do just that. They have done so by applying Jochen Hemmleb's encyclopedic store of knowledge and research about the early Everest climbs, and combined that with the new facts learned from the discovery of Mallory's body. Their technique is to take every possibility, no matter how faint or unlikely that is necessary for the two to have reached the top, and muster evidence to show that that is what could have happened. By cutting and pasting these snippets to fit their chosen scenario, they have painted a beguiling picture of possible success. Wisely, they publicly suggest only that the two may have made it to the top, or that they had every opportunity to have made it to the top. But their true belief is tipped when they assert:
"Is there any evidence to suggest that Mallory and Irvine reached the summit of Everest in 1924? And the answer was : No. What seemed to have escaped the attention of many observers, however, was that there was another equally salient question with an equally unequivocal answer: Is there any evidence to suggest that M&I did not reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924? The answer here too was: No."
Unfortunately, this type of reasoning--claiming as success the inability to disprove a negative--colors much of the authors' evidence. They sincerely believe that anything that would have helped M&I to the summit could have happen--because they could have got to the summit! By this means, The authors have constructed a complicated house of cards that crumbles when the missing and overwhelming reality of the mountain is restored to their blueprint.
The maddening thing is that in spite of all the new information so ably depicted in "Ghosts," the most the experts can say is that, if before the discovery it was only unlikely Mallory & Irvine made it to the top, now it seems unlikely in the extreme. Only the discovery of 1924 artifacts well above the Second Step could revive this slim possibility. Since the first oxygen bottle was purposefully wedged in a rock clef to be found as a marker of their progress, it seems more than likely that the two would have stashed their large oxygen carrying frame at the point these were abandoned--if such a lodgment were available. On the route Breashears suggests, there may have been no such outcropping. But given how desperately under-equipped they were, unless the oxygen apparatus' are found on the summit ridge itself, the chances of their having reached the summit seem very low indeed.
Before the discovery of the body and its confirmation that the two climbers were roped (and thus did not split up to give Mallory a better solo chance), one could surmise a 25% to 50% chance that at least one of them made it. Mallory gave himself only a 50 to 1 chance against success. With the discovery of the body and the confirmation that the two remained roped, and with the first objective calibration of the technical difficulty of the Second Step terrain determined, one is obliged by a clear and straightforward assessment of these hard facts to conclude, most reluctantly, that their chances for success were no better than 1000 to 1 against. Such a pity.
A Lesson on How Money is Replacing Adventure.......2004-02-16
This book allowed me to analyse why I have not read too many books on Mtn Climbing in the past few years. I am a climber and the genre was important to me for a big part of my life. Reading through this book made me realise how much climbing has not only changed from the days of Mallory, but even from the old siege operations in the 70s. Today the emphasis on gaining money and the machinations and business tactics that go into getting the dosh to go, take up not only the majority of the time making the ascent, but also the majority of the time (and lines of writing) in most mountain literature published these days.
Gone is the old style adventure: 1) adventure-for-the-sheer-fun-of-it, Joe Brown, Don Whillans; 2) adventure-of-the-tortured-soul, Eric Shipton, Joe Simpson; 3) adventure for Imperial gain, Capt Noel, Sven Hedin, or the early British Expeditions to Everest, (though to be fair, it is hard to ressurect this particular genre) and; even the 4) adventure-to-be-the-first-to-do-something, Bonnington and Hertzog, is relegated to second place -- now adventure takes second place to how much money and designer deals for broadcast rights and publisher exclusives can be done before, during and after the point when all the adventure takes place.
As such this book is very symptomatic of this new genre. There is all sorts of vignettes of the evil BBC and it reps and the business concerns of all the others who made crucial decisions tying their business fates to this expedition --- too much of this and too little detail both of the original British Expeditions the search expedition this books puports to write about. There is also precious little route description, how the route was put up and the actual "thrill" of the hunt to find Mallory. Fully one-third of the book deals with these machinations.
Even the people that the authors palpably do not like get off lightly. All of the people they like are usually gifted with some god-like aspect of physical prowess --- eg. barrel-chested, large arms etc. For those who have read Chris Bonnington's books on any of his expeditions, the slow burning personality problems that manifest themselves on so many of these expeditions are conspicuous by their absence in this book.
In sum I liked the book. The good parts are two, and only two in my estimation: 1) the find of Mallory's body and 2) the ascent of the last ridge by the search party members. It is no coincidence that these two subjects are raw adventure and have nothing to do with gaining money or searching to personally skewer someone's personality.
I am glad I read it. But as an inspiration for further reading in the contemporary mountaineering genre, this book is symptomatic of how far the adventure genre has fallen, particularly in the past 10 yrs or so. Maybe you will like it. Maybe you will not. I am the kind of person who trekked the subsidiary valleys around Mt. Everest, but I would not go to Everest base camp --too many people, too much garbage and too many people following the populistic mantra of what passes for adventure writing these days... like the valleys around Everest these days, this genre has been tamed, beaten into submission, and transformed into a pablum for mass consumption. Better to settle down and re-read the Hertzog or Bonnington Classics.
INSPIRING STORY OF A MAN'S DREAM, MYSTERY OF HIS FATE.......2003-03-23
The book is focused on the search conducted to find out what happened to Mallory and Irvine, the two British climbers who disappeared on Everest in the 1930s. Mallory is basically a legend in mountaineering.
The authors tell the story of their own search expedition by making it parallel to Mallory's. For example, we see the logistics it took this expedition in 1999 to get everyhitng to Everest base camp. In contrast, we see the long trek the expedition in the 1930s had to face, with sickness and much more difficult terrain and logistics. It was amazing that they had the energy to climb once they got to base camp.
The book switches between a technical archeology mystery and the history known of the expedition. It is very interesting to see the 1999 expedition trace back the steps of the earlier one. We see the tremendous difficulties they went through in the 1930s, with clothing that was hardly appropriate and the best equipment at the time.
Ultimately, the authors find Mallory's body, but it is still not clear if he reached the summit before falling. He fell and broke a knee, which is a death sentence at that altitude. Irvine was not found. The book ends with the authors making their own summit bid, and only two of them making it.
This is one of the best mountaineering books, especially as it brings in the mystery of what happened. I highly recommend it for the armchair mountaineer.
Like climbing a mountain worth climbing!.......2003-01-27
This effort starts out a bit lackluster and overweighted with
facts, statistics and hyper technically overloaded with how the research expedition got started, who ate what and who arranged for this and that. Once the authors put the reader "on the mountain" with pictures and text, the book and the adventure makes it all worth the effort to have stayed with the book. It is a bit like climbing a mountain...it can't all be a spectacular view from the summit! For those interested in the history of climbing in the Himalaya this is worthy of your interest and should be read.
Book Description
George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs ("Swanee," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me") and of more serious music, including "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Porgy and Bess." Now, in The George Gershwin Reader, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer. The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth. There is a who's who of famous commentators: bandleader Paul Whiteman; critics Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and Brooks Atkinson; fellow musicians Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Alec Wilder (who analyzes the songs "That Certain Feeling" and "A Foggy Day"), Leonard Bernstein, and the formidable modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg (who was Gershwin's tennis partner in Hollywood). Some of the most fascinating and important writings here deal with the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris," and there is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist (a series of excerpts which illuminate the creative process), plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess--Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin's own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer's life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry. Here then is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast.
Customer Reviews:
Gershwin to the core.......2005-02-25
As compiled by Robert Wyatt and John Andrew Johnson, George Gershwin springs to life in this book as much as his music. Told from the inside out, the authors allow Gershwin, his contemporaries and those who followed him to create a picture of the composer and how he lived and breathed music every day. This is a beautiful book.
Chief among the contributions in "The George Gershwin Reader" are letters between Gershwin and those with whom he came into contact. We read Gershwin's letters describing how he composed, reactions from him to those who challenged his compositions (especially questions about his own orchestrations) and his eternal boyishness as he wrote friends and family regarding his daily pleasures. His early demise only strengthened the views of so many that Gershwin was a musical genius and that he, more than any other composer, captured the essence of America in transition between the two world wars.
Although "The George Gershwin Reader" can occasionally get overly detailed in musical theory, the pages flow easily. The brief summaries that the authors give before each numbered entry are most helpful for explanation in setting the stage for what ensues. The timeliness of Gershwin's life mirrored by these entries is the authors' best contribution.
It is easy to see why, more than eighty years after George Gershwin's first big success, "Rhapsody in Blue", his music has so long endured and is so endeared. This book is a great tribute to Gershwin and one I hope other readers will enjoy thoroughly.
Nice attempt, but it's been done more colorfully before.......2005-02-01
Certainly this is a worthy effort in the realm of Gershwin scholarship, and received deserved attention with an unusually long Gershwin piece, citing articles reprinted in this book, that appeared in the New Yorker magazine on Jan. 10, 2005. Nevertheless, readers should be aware that in 1998--and still available on Amazon--the first book to reprint these amazing primary-source articles by Gershwin and his associates, contemporaries, critics, etc., was published: GERSHWIN IN HIS TIME. Its focus was to provide an overview using original sources and writers (including both Gershwins, DuBose Heyward, Alexander Woolcoot, Olin Downes, Paul Whiteman, Brooks Atkinson, and other critics; also reprinting newspaper and magazine reviews of the major Gershwin symphonic and theatrical productions) of ONLY the contemporary accounts of the composer's works, as they were written and premiered.
In addition this was and is the first and only full-color book on Gershwin, and it augments the articles with page after page of reproductions of original sheet music, programs, magazine art, photos, posters, and pertinent memorabilia, all published during the composer's lifetime. It would be a shame not to acknowledge the groundbreaking nature of this first book to present the contemporary materials of Gershwin's life and career. Readers who are fascinated by this subject, and would like to see color visual counterparts to the original articles, are encouraged to seek out a copy of GERSHWIN IN HIS TIME.
However, readers should understand that the new GERSHWIN READER expands on the materials in GERSHWIN IN HIS TIME by also including significant letters by the composer and his associates, as well as criticism and discussions of the works by authorities and fellow composers in the years following Gershwin's death in 1937--extremely important materials, and a must for anyone interested in all of the 20th century's opinions of the composer. GERSHWIN IN HIS TIME remains valuable as a scrapbook of contemporary accounts and color images that present a complete "you-are-there," year-by-year (1919-1937) overview of Gershwin's career and works.
Both informative and enjoyable reading.......2004-01-27
Having four biographies of George Gershwin (GG) already in my collection, I wondered if something called "The George Gershwin Reader" would be of any value. I needn't have wondered! Reading it cover to cover has been one of the more pleasant tasks I have encountered as a reviewer.
This Oxford University Press book retails for $30. Edited by Robert Wyatt and John Andrew Johnson, it is organized into eight sections: Portraits of the Artist, The Growing Limelight (1919-1924), Fame and Fortune (1924-1930), Maturity (1930-1935, Porgy and Bess, Last Years: Hollywood (1936-1937), Obituaries and Eulogies, and As Time Passes. There are 83 reading selections in all. Some are contemporary reports, essays, letters, biographies; some are backward looks written since the composer's death.
In short, this can be used as a sourcebook for those studying various aspects of Gershwin's life and works (practically the same things) or read for pure enjoyment. My favorite anecdote that so wonderfully reveals the innocent egotism of GG is the story told on pp. 181-182 about a remark he made to composer Harry Ruby and his reaction to being reminded of it two years later. Priceless.
Each selection is introduced by the editors, who give background information about what is to be discussed and the persons involved. There is no dearth of negative criticism about GG's "classical" compositions; and they have even included one which states that Gershwin could not have written the music attributed to him. (The implication is that no Jewish composer could have done that well, a strong echo of Wagner's identical claim, and then contradicted by the writer's claiming the music is bad anyway!)
This OUP book is the very model of what a "reader" should be-and teachers and students of the history of American music, I will be making great use of the information therein.
Need I add, Highly Recommended?
Average customer rating:
|
The Age Of Hate: Andrew Johnson And The Radicals
G. F. Milton
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Political
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Presidents & Heads of State
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1417916583 |
Book Description
1930. The biography of Andrew Johnson, who was the 17th president of the United States and the first to be impeached. The House of Representatives charged him with misbehavior in office, and he escaped conviction in the Senate trial by only one vote. Contents: Wartime Washington; Plot and Counterplot; The National Union Convention; The Bound Boy of Raleigh; The Tailor-Politician; In the Furnace of Treason; On the Ticket with Lincoln; Andy Makes a Bad Slip; President Andrew Johnson; The Trial of Mrs. Surratt; The Lull Before the Storm; Charles Sumner Declares War; The Triumph of Caliban; Victory at Any Price; A Marplot in the Cabinet; The Swing Around the Circle; Bayonet Rule by Act of Congress; The First Attempt at Impeachment; Johnson Crosses the Rubicon; General Grant Breaks His Word; The Impeachment of the President; Preparing for the Trial; Impartial Court or Political Inquest?; Sound and Fury; Acquitted by a Single Vote; Impeachment's Aftermath; Last Months in the White House; and The Tennessee Epilogue.
Average customer rating:
|
Edmund G. Ross: A Man of Courage
Arthur E. Harrington
Manufacturer: Hillsboro Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Political
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Religious
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
West
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1881576744 |
Books:
- The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell
- The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing
- The Collected Writings of Zelda Fitzgerald
- The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex, Third Edition
- The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: 20th Aniversary Edition
- The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
- The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World
- The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers
- The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Green Eggs and Ham
- This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
- Media Economics: Theory and Practice
- Miller Gaas Guide 2004: A Comprehensive Restatement of Standards for Auditing, Attestation, Compilat
- Success Is a Choice: Ten Steps to Overachieving in Business and Life
- Tripwire
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Great Customer Service
- Permission Based E-mail Marketing
- Promoting and Sustaining Economic Reform in Zambia
- Biology of the Red Algae
Up from Slavery (Signet Classics)
The Souls of Black Folk (Dover Thrift Editions)
Passing (Penguin Classics)
Quicksand and Passing (American Women Writers Series)
Narrative of Sojourner Truth (Dover Thrift Editions)
