Chainbreaker: The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Governor Blacksnake (American Indian Lives)

Book Description

Chainbreaker is one of the earliest memoirs of an American Indian—a Seneca chief know as Governor Blacksnake to his white neighbors on the New York frontier. A fighter in the American Revolution, the old chief (who also went by the name Chainbreaker) had an exciting story to tell to his fellow Seneca, Benjamin Williams, in the mid-nineteenth century. His account is now published in its entirety for the first time, with extensive commentary by Thomas S. Abler setting the text in historical perspective.

The narrative begins with a flurry of diplomatic activity as the English and the rebellious Americans eagerly seek alliances with the Senecas and other tribes in the Iroquois Confederacy. Only in 1777 did Iroquois warriors enter the conflict. Blacksnake describes the fighting as he saw it on such fields as Oriskany, Wyoming, and Newtown. Educated not only to the warpath but to the council fire, he is sensitive to the central role his people played in peace negotiations after the defeat of the British. He describes also the efforts of the Senecas to promote peace between the Americans and the still hostile Indians of the Ohio country. Blacksnake was well placed to make and observe history: One of his uncles was Cornplanter, a prominent figure during the Revolutionary War and its aftermath. Another uncle was the prophet Handsome Lake, whose vision in 1799 led to a revitalization of Seneca religion and culture and is recounted here. Blacksnake’s story provides a rare Indian view of warfare and diplomacy during a time when the Six Nations of the Iroquois still played a major role in the history of North America.

Customer Reviews:

A valuable window into American Indian culture and history.......2005-09-29

"Chainbreaker: The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Governor Blacksnake, as told to Benjamin Williams," is edited by Thomas S. Abler, who also contributes an introduction and notes. The primary text is a first-person account by a Seneca Indian chief who fought during the American Revolution, and delivered his story orally to another Indian who committed it to writing. In addition to providing an overall introduction for the book, editor Abler also has written individual introductions for each section of the Blacksnake narrative. This supplemental material helps place Blacksnake's words in context.

Abler discusses in detail the background and history of the Blacksnake manuscript. He notes that this text "provides a rare Indian view of warfare and of diplomacy in a period when the Six Nations of the Iroquois still played a prominent and significant role in the development of North America" (p. 8). Abler discusses Blacksnake's family, his names, his people's culture, the Iroquois Confederacy as a political entity, and relations among the British, the revolutionary colonists, and Native Americans. It's a fascinating backdrop for Blacksnake's own story.

Blacksnake's own words show conflict within the Indian community, relations with white people, and the role of Indian women. He describes combat involving firearms, tomahawks, knives, and the "war whoop." Also covered in the book is the religious vision and career of Blacksnake's uncle, the prophet Handsome Lake. Appendices to the primary text include an intriguing series of communications between George Washington and Seneca leaders.

Abler notes that the Blacksnake/Williams text is written in "somewhat individualistic English"; I imagine many contemporary readers will find the text quite difficult, and will be thankful for Abler's clearly written supplementary text. The text is also enhanced by a wealth of visual materials, including maps, a daguerreotype of the elderly Blacksnake, reproductions of historic illustrations of other Indian leaders, photographs of historic wampum belts, and more. Also worthy of note is the extensive bibliography. This is a fascinating book, but I found it to be tragic and sad; it seems to me that in the main text and supplemental materials we can see the decline of the Iroquois Confederacy from a true military and political force to a marginalized people. Despite this downbeat aspect, the book is a real tribute to Blacksnake, Handsome Lake, and other remarkable Indian leaders. Overall, Abler has assembled a valuable contribution to both Native American studies and United States military history. Recommended companion text: "Geronimo: His Own Story," edited by Frederick Turner.

A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath

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A Rich Kid Goes To War
A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War & Its aftermath
Poignant personal account of optimism, revolution, and political disillusionment
HEAVY ON POLITICS, NOT ON GUERILLA WARFARE
A Biography, with little analysis/explanation of the NLF

A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath
Truong Nhu Tang
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Vietnam War | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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The Sorrow of War
Novel without a Name
The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family
HO CHI MINH: A LIFE
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: Tie-In Edition

ASIN: 0394743091
Release Date: 1986-03-12

Book Description

When he was a student in Paris, Truong Nhu Tang met Ho Chi Minh. Later he fought in the Vietnamese jungle and emerged as one of the major figures in the "fight for liberation" -- and one of the most determined adversaries of the United States. He became the Vietcong's Minister of Justice, but at the end of the war he fled the country in disillusionment and despair. He now lives in exile in Paris, the highest level official to have defected from Vietnam to the West. This is his candid, revealing and unforgettable autobiography.

Customer Reviews:

A Rich Kid Goes To War.......2007-08-09

Basically this is a personal account of a priviledged Saigon family member who joins the Viet Cong and then becomes very disillusioned with the 'final victory'. While I enjoyed reading parts of this book, most of it reads like a personal diary with many names and characters who few even know.

As a very educated man, the author did not seem to understand that politically aggressive countries like the Soviet Union, the US, China, and even North Viet Nam need to control. So when the South Viet Nam government fell after the US left, North Viet Nam and the Soviet Union swept right into power. How could anyone not see this coming who actually lived most of his life there and dealt with these governments almost daily?

The author also had lived a very comfortable life in Paris for years as a student and later as a Viet Cong official. Later he would also make official visits to Eastern Bloc countries and the Soviet Union getting a good view of their poverty and bread lines. I was amazed that after he saw the contrast between communist countries and capitalistic countries he could ever embrace a communist ideology for his own country. He doesn't really explain his polictical expectations for Viet Nam.

The book describes the Viet Nam struggle from a personal view but never really measures the sacrifice of millions from many countries. The book talks about the 'glorious' meetings in the jungle and the words of 'Uncle Ho' in their hearts but it never discusses the 22,000 buried alive in the Cu Chi Tunnels, or the hundreds of thousands killed during B-52 attacks along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, or the millions dead in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, etc, etc. The irony of this war is that In the end, market forces are driving Viet Nam to a market-based economy where the communist government becomes more irrelevant every day. Capitalism was the enemy for so long and now it is consuming their country. Maybe the author should update his book because now the future is starting to look very bright for Viet Nam!

A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War & Its aftermath.......2007-02-15

As a Vietnam veteran who survived the Tet Offensive, I was deeply moved to read about the war from the "other" side. Mr. Truong Nhu Tang describes in depth how dedicated the Vietcong leaders were. They were "nationalists" who were intent on saving their country from politicians whom they perceived to be corrupt elitists. After reading his description of life in the jungle it is a wonder any of them survived the hardships of such an existence. The evolution of the Ho Chi Minh Trail was fascinating. I was amazed at The dedication of the workers who were responsible for keeping the trail open...bomb craters from night bombing runs were either filled or detoured around.

Poignant personal account of optimism, revolution, and political disillusionment.......2006-11-25

This is more than an inside story of the Vietcong, it is a personal account of one young man's journey through political optimism to revolutionary zeal to political disillusionment. It is a moving personal tale of the cost paid by so many for what their strongly-held convictions and then the realization that what they fought to win was worse than what they defeated. It is the personal side of revolution and the demise of so many revolutionaries once the struggle is over. A very moving account of the power of an idea and its demands on the lives of those it touches.

HEAVY ON POLITICS, NOT ON GUERILLA WARFARE.......2005-05-24

I gladly award this book a 4-star rating. The author expresses himself well, and certainly has a lot to say about Vietnam's military struggle. He details Vietnam's fight against (1) the French; (2) the U.S.; and (3) North Vietnam and their Soviet supporters.

What's missing is a more gritty description of guerilla warfare. As I was reading this I wrote in the column "So who invented the perkinje pit?", and "How effective were the coca-cola cans you guys turned into bombs?" and "How did you convince housewives to become snipers and kill people?" There is nothing like that here. According to the author the Viet Cong were one big, happy family that had fun together when they weren't being tragically bombed by American B-52s.

Tang's description of Vietnamese politics is even a bit sketchy. He talks quite a bit about Ho Chi Minh's beliefs in "independence," and what a humble, sweet guy "Uncle Ho" was. He never says what Ho's beliefs about guerilla warfare were. Really, how did this "Sweet guy" resolve to have his people put on black pajamas and become killers?

With his high and mighty position in the Viet Cong administration, Tang would have known where the V.C.'s supplies were coming from. He mentions the Ho Chi Minh trail, but nothing about who gave all those poor vietnamese the gear they used. He says that in 1975 the South Vietnamese army (enemies of the Viet Cong) were going to be "outgunned." I remember writing in the column "WHERE'D YOU GET THE GUNS, TANG?"

Basically, this is a very good book. It is NOT a definitive account of guerilla warfare, however.

A Biography, with little analysis/explanation of the NLF.......2003-11-12

I chose to read this book because of my interest in the Vietnam War. I like a balanced approach, and wanted to see what the opposition had to say, other than the official Communist party line.

While the author is impressive, and lead an interesting life, I ws dissapointed by the book. Its mostly his biography, with little analysis.

What I was looking for was a book by someone from the COmmunist side on the forming, organisation, and running of the NLF. What were their concerns, difficulties etc. A few pages address this, but the vast majority are about the author and some of his friends.

As a biography its fine, but as a book on the NLF theer isnt enough there. It could have been cut by 2/3.
I can't recommend it for students of the Vietnam War.

Journey to a Revolution: A Personal Memoir and History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
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The Hungarian revolution of 1956 really was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union

"No more 'comrades'!"

The Mood on the Budapest Street in Fall 1956

Did McCullough and Beschloss read what we did?

Very readable, but unfortunately full of false facts.

Journey to a Revolution: A Personal Memoir and History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Michael Korda
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution

Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt (Cold War International History Project)

The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World

Revolution in Hungary: The 1956 Budapest Uprising

The Hungarian Revolution 1956 (Elite)

ASIN: 0060772611
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

Published on the 50th anniversary, a gripping narrative by a participant in the Hungarian Revolution.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was not just an extraordinary and dramatic event––pehaps the most dramatic single event of the Cold War––but, as we can now see fifty years later, a hugely significant turning point in history. The spontaneous rising of Hungarian people against the Hungarian Communist Party and the Soviet forces in Hungary in the wake of Stalin's death, while it ultimately failed, demonstrated to the world at large the failure of Communism. The Russians were obliged to use force on a vast scale against armed students, factory workers, and intellectuals in the streets of a major European city to preserve the Hungarian Communist Party in power. For two weeks teenagers fought tanks in the streets of Budapest, in full view of the Western media, and therefore the world, and for a time they actually won, deeply humiliating the men who succeeded Stalin. The Russians eventually managed to extinguish the revolution, with brute force and overwhelming numbers, but never again would they attempt to use military force to suppress dissent in the eastern European "empire."

JOURNEY TO A REVOLUTION is at once a history and a compelling memoir, the story of four twenty–four year old Oxford undergraduates who took off for Budapest in a beat–up old Volkswagon convertible in October 1956, to bring badly needed medicine to the Budapest hospitals and to participate, at street level, in one of the great, heroic battes of post–war history. Korda paints a vivid and richly detailed picture of the events and the people, explores such major questions as the exent to which the British and the American intelligence services were involved in the uprising and made the Hungarians feel they could expect military support from the West, and describes, day by day, the course of the revolution, from its heroic beginnings, to the sad martyrdom of its end.

Customer Reviews:

The Hungarian revolution of 1956 really was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.......2007-05-31

It was an event of the magnitude of what occurred more than thirty years later in China in Tiananmen Square. But in 1956 there were no 24 hour cable news networks. There is precious little footage of what took place in Budapest in late October of 1956. It is safe to say however that the events that took place there during those 12 days would have a profound effect on the future of the Soviet Union. Author Michael Korda, then a 24 year old undergraduate at Oxford and a descendant of a prominent Hungarian family, journeyed to Budapest at the height of the revolution to bring much needed medical supplies and to experience first-hand what was happening in the streets of the capital city. "Journey to A Revolution" is Michael Korda's personal memoir of those dozen amazing days. It is at the same time an overview of Hungarian history and of the events that would ultimately lead an unlikely coalition of students, intellectuals and factory workers to attempt the unthinkable. For a precious few days it appeared for all the world that the revolution had succeeded. And while the Soviet Union would move quickly to crush the revolution and restore a hard-line Communist regime the damage had been done. The Soviet Union was no longer viewed by its client states as invincible and within just three short decades it would collapse of its own weight. The Soviets won this battle but would ultimately lose the war.
While I did enjoy learning more about the specifics of the Hungarian revolution I must agree with Publishers Weekly who found Michael Korda's account of these events as "strangely flat". I am also concerned about the comments of a number of other reviewers who seem to have found numerous factual errors in this book. While "Journey To A Revolution" is not an awful book it is certainly not something I would recommend to others. It would appear to me that if you are seeking a much more thorough and well researched account of these momentous events then you might opt for Victor Sebestyen's 2006 offering "Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution".

"No more 'comrades'!".......2007-03-06

Uneven in coverage, but certainly readable and better written than I expected from a brief personal account- cum- history of (mostly) recent Hungary. Korda's own distinguished family background and his own military training as an interpreter in Russian as the Cold War heated up enriches his descriptions of how shells pass through an apartment, why bistros got their start, how a Molotov cocktail is shaken and stirred, why hussars were the rage in 19c armies, and how the autobahn petrol stations were spaced to match the tank capacity of a VW! And, more apropos, how Napoleon III redesigned wide straight Parisian avenues-- soon to be copied in other cities by European monarchies-- to aim artillery at restive crowds trying to revolt.

If you thrive on such details, often tangential but intriguingly selected, Korda's style will please you. Despite its errors, which did surprise me even as a "curious bystander." I add to those compiled two more: speakers of Finno-Ugric tongues do not converse in "the only non-Indo-European languages in Europe" (34). Basque survives from pre-IE times, unrelated to any other surviving language group. The letter Dr Hajnal wrote attesting to the delivery of the medical supplies has three instances in which a "silent correction" has been given to its transcription on p. 136 opposite the original note's reproduction. Inexplicably, the date is November 3rd on the note; the text has them arrive in Budapest on October 30-- the same day when they brought the medicine then to the doctor. No postdating of the letter is mentioned. No other time is given for a return visit to the hospital after the 30th, and certainly on November 3rd although it was the last day of the interim calm between the two battles Korda says nothing about a hospital visit or an encounter with the doctor. How primary evidence clashes with the narrative makes me wonder at who edited this.

He's stronger on his ability to fit the 1956 uprising into the Suez crisis, the position of the UN, and post-1956 events that led to the eventual melting of the Cold War. I wish he had explained more the colliding aims of the revolt by the workers, the students & intellectuals, and the army. It's now accepted that the revolt was for a gentler socialism (how far under a Communist ideology is not detailed by Korda) rather than a capitalist democracy. Korda rushes by these issues.

If you seek a dramatic personal tale of hairbreadth escapes and hilarious conversations under fire, you will only find Attila the prof discussing with Korda the merits of Waugh vs. Greene, admittedly while under bombing! The British students arrive after the first fight that gained control of the city by the rebels. They hide for their lives, understandably, during the counter-attack beginning November 4th, later making it to the British embassy for safety. There is inevitably a sense of Korda as a lagging witness to the actual revolution. Not to blame him, for he tells us what he knows. But he gets his story in the lull, the flash of time in which the Hungarians proclaimed their independent republic, in between the fights with the Soviets. As he begins his book, however, he reminds us that historical events are more easily understood when seen in the rear mirror rather than when they loom ahead and you're in the driver's seat!

Perhaps he could never be more than an indirect participant, which is unfortunate even if accurate, given Korda's British identification and his lack of any Hungarian, not to mention how he was suspected by both sides by his sudden arrival. You will encounter instead about 90 pages of background on Hungarian topics, three chapters about what Korda and his companions witnessed within what we later know about the revolt, and a closing chapter quickly summarizing the aftermath.

Korda reminds us this was the first revolt where so many of the world's journalists were able to document it and send out their pictures. He also points out how later these same photos in the Western press would be scrutinized as the "traitors" were hunted down by the vengeful Soviets and their collaborators. This made me wonder how the papers were gathered by spies and fellow-travellers, and sent back somehow to military intelligence within the communist Kadar regime. Another story that needs telling?

I did like how photos were interspersed rather than gathered into the middle of the book. Stalin's statue pictured with only its boots remaining on the plinth, a Hungarian flag across the massive stumps, sums up well the whole revolution. Twice, for instance, we see the people described in the text: blonde fighter Kati, and the dashing Borsalino-wearing guerrilla with the wooden leg.

This book came out around the same time as Victor Sebestyén's "Twelve Days" historical narrative, and a new study of how Moscow, London, and Washington connived and fumbled in Charles Gati's "Failed Illusions." Korda has skimpy endnotes and barely any printed sources credited. These lengthier studies presumably will enrich what Korda intriguingly only alludes to: the debate over the true messages sent by Radio Free Europe, the British encouragement of the revolt to distract Russia from the Suez Canal, and the postwar role of Hungarian Communists who had fled to Moscow vs. those who had stayed behind under fascism. Korda implies that the superpowers manipulated the hopes of the freedom fighters and the repression of Moscow both, but more detail, even in such a short account, would have helped clarify these vexing issues.

The Mood on the Budapest Street in Fall 1956.......2007-02-20

Eyewitness accounts bring immediacy to history that cannot be replaced by anything else. As a student at Oxford, Michael Korda (the renowned author and book editor) reacted to the news of the Hungarian revolution against the Stalinist government by wanting to see what was going on. To make the effort more relevant, he persuaded a relative to buy antibiotics that he and his friends could carry to a hospital in Budapest.

Although he had never been to Hungary, Mr. Korda's family comes from a long line of proud Hungarians. His uncle and father were well-known in the country which made the trip a little more realistic.

The first half of the book provides a historical, social, and political perspective on the events leading up to the revolution which was ultimately crushed by Soviet tanks and troops while the British and French were off on a scheme to retake the Suez canal from Egypt. In that section, one fact stands out: The Hungarians showed the Soviets that they couldn't use overwhelming military force to maintain power in Eastern Europe again. That may have helped speed freedom for the Eastern Bloc countries, including Hungary.

Mr. Korda has a nice conversational tone to his writing, and you feel like you are there. One of my favorite sections is his description of helping a professor and some students tear up cobblestones to create a tank barricade just before the Soviet army returned to Budapest. The Budapest portion of the memoir is well illustrated with photographs taken by others at the time.

Unfortunately, Mr. Korda needed some help with his background section. Even though I know little about Hungary, I found numerous errors including references to Budapest not being bombed in World War II and Hungary abutting Western Germany (try Austria instead). I don't know what other things are wrong, so my advice is to read this book merely as a memoir . . . but a quite interesting, if brief, one. Perhaps it will whet your appetite for more substantive accounts of the revolution.

Did McCullough and Beschloss read what we did?.......2007-02-06

Like previous reviewers, I found Michael Korda's recollections of his youthful trip/adventure in Hungary at the time of the 1956 Revolution very interesting (far more so than the first half of the book). That tragic event has fascinated me ever since I followed the story as a 19 year old and then saw the powerful photos in the LIFE picture history that was published.
What puzzled me was to note in Korda's Acknowledgements his expressions of gratitude to David McCullough, Michael Beschloss and several other eminent histroians for their reading of his manuscript and their many helpful suggestions. In view of the historical and geographical errors others have noted, one has to wonder if they did, indeed, read this book. And, thus, one wonders if others credited in such Acknowledgements in other books are similarly superficial and agree to "read" a friend's/colleague's book just to keep him/her happy. After all, how closely could these scholars have been reading to have failed to note Korda's multiple assertions of a German-Hungarian border in 1956?

Very readable, but unfortunately full of false facts........2007-01-08

Very easy to read, but misleading to those who do not know European history or geography,and annoying to those who do. The non existing Hungarian-German border has already been pointed out, I would like to add a few more: Page 159 Kossuth Lajos Street leading to the Parliament House, page 43 Petofi's poem [Nemzeti Dal] an appeal to fight the Russians,[it was against the Austrians, or the Germans as he called them] Page 62 "Budapest like Prague has been spared by allied bombers" [as soon as Budapest was in reach for the bombers from occupied Italian airports we had regular daily visits]

The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family: 1762-1784

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Good History Book

The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family: 1762-1784
Abigail Smith Adams , John Adams , and David McCullough
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams
Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams
Notes on the State of Virginia (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 1555535232

Customer Reviews:

Good History Book.......2001-04-15

This was a very interesting book showing the way a women saw the start of a new country. It also shows the sacrifice that both John and Abigail both had to make to still be together while John was helping the colonies. John tells Abigail all of the political happenings that have been going on not including deaths etc... Abigail is very much into politics and reminds John to "remember the ladies" when writing the Declaration of Independence. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn more about the war at a different perspective than what just the history books say.

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Ao Dai: My War, My Country, My Vietnam
Xuan Phuong , and Daniele Mazingarbe
Manufacturer: Emquad International Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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No Other Road to Take: Memoir of Mrs Nguyen Thi Dinh (Data Paper- Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University; No.) (Data Paper - Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University; No.)
A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath
The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon
Sacred War: Nationalism and Revolution In A Divided Vietnam

ASIN: 0971840628

Book Description

Xuan Phuong - chemist, physician, journalist, filmmaker, touring service operator, and art gallery owner tells her story. From leaving home at the age of 16 and joining the Vietminh, to becoming a barefoot revolutionary in the jungle, a witness to the fall of Saigon, and a wife and mother to three sons, Yuan Phuong has lived a full life.

Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan: Letters and Memoirs from Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1675-1815

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Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan: Letters and Memoirs from Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1675-1815

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America (Oxford Paperbacks)
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ASIN: 0195154894

Book Description

Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan is a monumental and pathbreaking study of early Irish Protestant and Catholic migration to America. Through exhaustive research and sensitive analyses of the letters, memoirs, and other writings, the authors describe the variety and vitality of early Irish immigrant experiences, ranging from those of frontier farmers and seaport workers to revolutionaries and loyalists. Largely through the migrants own words, it brings to life the networks, work, and experiences of these immigrants who shaped the formative stages of American society and its Irish communities. The authors explore why Irishmen and women left home and how they adapted to colonial and revolutionary America, in the process creating modern Irish and Irish-American identities on the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution

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Sandinista
Great Job Matilde Zimmermann
Just tell me what happened, I'll form my own opinion

Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution
Matilde Zimmermann , and Matilde Zimmermann
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Nicaragua, 4th Edition
Life is Hard: Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua (Centennial Book)
The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey
Washington's War on Nicaragua
The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War

ASIN: 0822325950

Book Description

âA must-read for anyone interested in Nicaraguaâor in the overall issue of social change.ââMargaret Randall, author of SANDINO'S DAUGHTERS and SANDINO'S DAUGHTERS REVISITED

Sandinista is the first English-language biography of Carlos Fonseca Amador, the legendary leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua (the FSLN) and the most important and influential figure of the post–1959 revolutionary generation in Latin America. Fonseca, killed in battle in 1976, was the undisputed intellectual and strategic leader of the FSLN. In a groundbreaking and fast-paced narrative that draws on a rich archive of previously unpublished Fonseca writings, Matilde Zimmermann sheds new light on central themes in his ideology as well as on internal disputes, ideological shifts, and personalities of the FSLN.
The first researcher ever to be allowed access to Fonseca’s unpublished writings (collected by the Institute for the Study of Sandinism in the early 1980s and now in the hands of the Nicaraguan Army), Zimmermann also obtained personal interviews with Fonseca’s friends, family members, fellow combatants, and political enemies. Unlike previous scholars, Zimmermann sees the Cuban revolution as the crucial turning point in Fonseca’s political evolution. Furthermore, while others have argued that he rejected Marxism in favor of a more pragmatic nationalism, Zimmermann shows how Fonseca’s political writings remained committed to both socialist revolution and national liberation from U.S. imperialism and followed the ideas of both Che Guevara and the earlier Nicaraguan leader Augusto CÃ©sar Sandino. She further argues that his philosophy embracing the experiences of the nation’s workers and peasants was central to the FSLN’s initial platform and charismatic appeal.

Customer Reviews:

Sandinista.......2003-10-03

Having lived trought the early years of the revolution in Nicaragua, althouhg just a child I got a first hand view of some of the struggles and dangers of the revolution. Because I was only a child I was not able to fully grasp the grand scheme of things and now as an adult I decided to begin reading about the revolution in Nicaragua and stubled upon this book.

The book gives a clear, no nonsense account of Carlos Fonseca. Who he was, how he was raised and what he stood for over the course of his life. A clear chronological order of events into his life is presented as well as the struggles the young rag tag band of rebels went trought.

If want to read an unbiased account into the revolution in Nicaragua and the role Carlos Fonseca played as leader of the FSLN then read this book. For me it shed light on some of the missing pieces about the revolution, the struggle and the ultimate outcome of the FSLN after the death of Fonseca.

Good reading.

Great Job Matilde Zimmermann.......2001-12-13

This is the first book I read about Carlos Fonseca that has more accurate information about him, than any other book I have read.
I know this because I am the son of Raul Fonseca, but grew up with Carlos example and support. Carlos was the only father figure I ever had.

Quite a task Ms. Zimmermann. Congratulations.

I just read a few pages, but when I finish I will write a more complete review.

God bless you!

Just tell me what happened, I'll form my own opinion.......2001-04-03

This book pulls off a difficult feat, providing a balanced, neutral account of a subject about which supporters and opponents usually speak in strident, propagandistic terms.

Because of the absence of any preachy rhetoric, and the reliance on first-hand interviews and actual source documents, the author delivers a compelling portrait of a leader whose faithfulness to pure idealism in a struggle against a seemingly unstoppable evil system can be compared to that of Churchill, Gandhi, and King.

The Sandinistas were not the only group that took to the hills to arouse the populace in Latin America after the successful Cuban revolution, but they were the only group which actually came to power. Dr. Zimmermann's book is the story of the man who was the driving force behind the ideas, organization, strategy and success of their revolution.

She does not flinch from criticizing the Sandinistas for their initial ill-informed and patronizing attitudes toward the indigineous peoples of their country, nor for their slow acceptance of their female compatriots, nor for their many tactical errors and blunders.

Book Description

A wide-eyed teenager during much of the Revolutionary War, Martin recounts in grim detail his harrowing confrontations with gnawing hunger, bitter cold, and the fear of battle. This invaluable memoir from an ordinary man in extraordinary times is "one of the best firsthand accounts of war as seen by a private soldier." — St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch.

Betsy Ross (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Betsy Ross (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Susan Sales Harkins , and William H. Harkins
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1584154462
Release Date: 2006-11-22

Product Description

Betsy Ross is one of America s most endearing and beloved characters. Widowed and alone, early in the Revolutionary War, Betsy was approached by three great men. They knew she was a Patriot and a good seamstress. Would she sew America s first flag for them? Fighting heartbreak, loneliness, and poverty, she accepted the challenge willingly. She couldn t fight for independence, but she could certainly sew for it! Tradition tells us that Betsy agreed to make the flag. First she pieced together the red and white stripes. Then she appliquéd thirteen five-point stars one for each colony onto a field of dark blue. But did Betsy Ross really sew America s first Stars and Stripes flag? It wasn t until 1870 that her grandson William Canby told Betsy s story to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the rest is history, so to speak. Americans don t seem to mind that the story can t be proven. They love Betsy Ross and they love her flag whether she really sewed it or not!

Nestor Makhno Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917-1921

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"He sought to give land to the peasants, factories to the workers intact and advised them to organize themselves"
What your history teacher didn't tell you

Nestor Makhno Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917-1921
Alexandre Skirda
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Ukraine | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Struggle Against the State & Other Essays
The Russian Civil War
My Visit To The Kremlin
The Russian Civil War (2): White Armies (Men-at-Arms)
Notes of a Red Guard

ASIN: 1902593685

Book Description

Available for the first time in English, here's the gripping story of Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno. With his usual wit and engaging style, Skirda chronicles the life of a legend and the insurgent army that fought in his name. Always controversial, Makhno has been described as everything from a drunken bandit to an inspirational hero. From Makhno's imprisonment, to battles with the Bolsheviks and the White Army, to the final exile in Paris, Skirda captures the life of Makhno and the history of the Makhnovist movement.

Alexandre Skirda is the foremost anarchist theorist and activist writing in Europe today.

Customer Reviews:

"He sought to give land to the peasants, factories to the workers intact and advised them to organize themselves".......2006-12-10

Nestor Makhno was a man of unparalleled single-mindedness, unflagging courage, tactical brilliance, and utter devotion to the necessity of real human liberty, fraternity and equality. Although described as a Ukrainian partisan, nothing was provincial about Makhno's anarchist vision as Skirda's book demonstrates. The Ukraine was the arena in which he fought for that vision and for the safety and well being of the Ukrainian "toilers."

The Ukrainians were beset by murderers and oppressors of every sort and ideology. After the fall of the Russian empire and the ascendancy of Bolsheviks, the Bolsheviks entered into the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ceding the Ukraine among other territories to the Central Powers effectively ending Russia's involvement in World War 1. The Makhnovists successfully repulsed the new masters of the Ukraine. But others enemies would arise--the White Russian forces, the Red Army--that the Makhnovists would engage almost always successfully.

In the end the Makhnovists made a fatal mistake, one that would be repeated by the anarchists years later during the Spanish civil war. They entered into a military alliance with the Bolsheviks (Marxist Leninists) to fight the Whites, trusting the USSR's promises that they had no territorial aims on the Ukraine. Although successfully winning battles against the Red army, the sheer size of their forces overwhelmed the Makhnovists. Makhno barely escaped and ended his years poor, cheated by "sympathizers" out of funds donated to him and almost completely abandoned as an exile in Paris.

Skirda's book dispels many myths about Makhno, mostly spread by historical revisionists in the Soviet Union. Here we see Makhno the executioner of anti-Semitic murders not one himself; Makhno the worst nightmare of the White Russian forces and not one of their collaborators; Makhno the liberator of the toilers and not their enslaver like the Reds.

Nothing in the text of this book is disappointing. It's thorough, passionately written, admirably detailed, yet lacking in one important respect to make it an important scholarly tool. It has no index. I cannot fathom why.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend reading this book. I suspect it is probably the best portrait of Makhno's life in print.

What your history teacher didn't tell you.......2006-06-09

For those of us who went or are going to school in the United States, it sometimes seems impossible to get a real picture of the Russian Revolution. So much baggage and enmity clogs the works that most of the time only a two dimensional sketch of one of the pivotal periods of modern history can be achieved, leaving out the breadth and complexity of the many players, parties, ideas, struggles, and factions. Most people graduate from high school and even college with the formless impression that "communism" is "bad."

Luckily, I had a high school history teacher that took the time to say, "These are the basic ideas of Communism: A, B, C, & D. These are the various currents of Communist thought. This is the basic history of the Revolution and the early Soviet state. What matches up? What doesn't? What went on here?"

Skirda's biography of Makhno achieves the same thing. It follows this pivotal figure and his cadre, from well before the Revolution to well after it. It offers actual history of the Revolution--history that was abused and twisted by the Soviet state as "reactionary," and completely ignored in the West, perhaps because it would undermine the flat demonization of the Revolution as "bad." Makhno and his group literally took to the hills to wrench the central Ukraine from the grip of tyrannical barons; fought off invading armies intent on reinstating the old regime; and then turned around to try to keep the Bolshevik invaders from instituting an entirely new regime of tyrannical barons.

While the book is occasionally a bit heavy on blow-by-blow recounting of military movements and tactical nuances, after a while the reader begins to get a sense for Makhno, not only as a military leader and tactician, but also as an amazingly sharp and daring human being. Skirda does an excellent job at contrastinig between the aims and methods of the Bolsheviks, and the aims and methods of the Ukrainian Anarchists. A reader with no background at all in the history of the Revolution will come away from this book with a solid footing upon which to build; and the student of 1915 will come away with a completely new angle and set of knowledge that will deeply inform their understanding of these events.

Books like this are an act of kindness to people that want to understand the realities history (and the present), rather than just shrug and drink down the same old rhetoric.

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