Eras Books

Purchased Gar Wood Boats by Anthony Mollica, very detailed description and fantastic pictures. The best book on Gar Wood.

We're not boat fans but really enjoyed the photography. Beautiful boats and lots of color, b/w and historic action and promo pics. Great

At the National Boating History Symposium in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 17, 2001, "Gar Wood Boats: Classics of a Golden Era," was selected as The Classic Boating Book-of-the-Year for 2001 by the National Boating Museum, Washington, DC. This prestigious selection is made annually to the book that contributes significant original research and valuable historic information related to boat building, design and performance. As the author of this book, I am pleased to share this information with potential readers.

A Wonderful Portrayal of Classic Wooden Boating A one of a kind historic journey with Gar Wood, one of the pioneers of motorized wooden boating. The author's insight and knowledge of the subject is quite evident in page after page of the book. The pictures and illustrations are exquisite and beautiful to look at. This is a must read for anyone who loves classic boating, boating in general and American history, as you are taken on an epic journey with one of America's leading industrialists of a Golden Era. My kudos to the author for a job well done and express my hope that boaters across the nation will add this tome to their maritime libraries!!!

This is an outstanding read on a President that should not be ranked as low as he is among historians (I would have to rank Buchanan, Pierce and Carter and perhaps Clinton)lower than Harding. Unfortunately most of the rating of Warren G. Harding have to do with the writings of historians who were fans of Wilson and the New Deal under Roosevelt. Harding gets low ratings because of one bad cabinet officer and when you compare it to the things that have happened the last 25 years Harding was not all that bad a President. He took office during a recession and labor riots were going on, Wilson had completely ignored domestic problems and the economy partially because he was an invalid and his wife was the acting the President all of which was hid from the Press. Moreover, when you go back and look at the so-called "Teapot Dome Scandal" and study the facts surrounding it, Albert Fall the Senator who was the Secretary of Interior had good motives for doing what he did. He was trying to hide from the Japanese the drilling and storage of oil for our Navy on the west coast and in Pearl Harbor therefore if one thinks about it, it probably would not have been wise to let public bids out for the development of the oil fields. Everyone knew back then that Japan was going to have to dealt with in the future as they were building a huge Navy. Fall's mistake was accepting a position with Sinclair Oil before he left office the same company he allowed as Secretary of the Interior to have the lease and drilling rights in the oil fields. The other things happening around Harding were of little consequence as compared to politics today. The read was great. Murray did a great job uncovering facts and presenting in my view a very fair balance. I think too much emphasis is put on Woodrow Wilson who in my view was an elitist and not realistic. And then you have Roosevelt. Most of the historians who were taught back then learned under men who were in universities during the Wilson years and who became scholars and teachers under Roosevelt. Therefore their writings in my opinion have to be read carefully and when you see them slant things to the favor of Wilson and Roosevelt, you have to remember that it was the American people who voted for Harding and then Coolidge and Hoover.

I think if you want to know about the Presidents you need to know about Harding and I have read a lot of biographies and this is in the top 10 as far as presentation, scholarly research and historical context.

Don C.

Robert Murray's re-creation of the Harding era, his assessment of Warren Harding, remains the towering work in this field to this time - it first was published some decades gone by. Murray's book is well-written, his judgments are balanced, his thrust is to re-create an administration in its times. Murray can no longer be counted the last word on Harding of course - new Harding material has come to light through the passing of years - but Murray's work remains The Authority - John Dean gives credit to Murray in his brief, contemporary Harding biography.
Murray laid the groundwork which others are building on - it is interesting that Warren Harding's reputation is being recast. Many students of American history are no longer accepting the longstanding, rote judgment that Warren Harding was a presidential failure. Among many things (Murray reviews this, although he did not have the full overview) Harding emerges as the only U.S. president in the 20th Century to led the nation in disarmament, the only president who reduced the military machines. Harding's close, personal involvement in the disarmament effort is documented and acknowledged. Shortly before his death, Harding resolved that if the United States ever again should go to war - if the United States should judge it necessary to draft young men - then - Harding said - there also must be a draft of capital. It is tickling to find John Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you..." has an origin with Warren Harding.

Robert K. Murray analyzes the presidency of Warren G. Harding. In this balanced work Murray effectively illustrates that Harding was not the bumbling idiot that he has been made out to be, in fact he was rather intelligient and could have been brilliant if not for his lack of discipline. Murray dispels the myths that Harding was chosen as a candidate in a "smoke filled room" and that he, along with Harry Daughtery, was a member of the "ohio gang". Murray goes into great detail recounting how Harding chose his cabinet, the accomplishments of his administration, his handling of Congress, and his effectiveness as President. Murray discusses the scandals and explores the depth of Harding's knowledge of scandal in his administration. Murray also explores the decline of Harding's reputation and the factors that contributed to this. Overall, Murray views Harding as a man that was more abler than he has been given credit for, but he concedes that Harding had his share of limitations and probably shouldn't have been President. But Murray concludes that the accomplishments of his administration was superior to a great number of other administrations.

I agree with the author's conclusions that Harding accomplished a great deal during his short tenure in office. And would have gone on to become a very good President had he lived. Though I also agree that he probably should not have been president, given the fact that he often spoke of his limitations. The author points out that the very qualities that made Harding so attractive was also the qualities that led to his downfall. Harding was a good, kind, sweet and sincere man-but he was loyal to a fault. Harding (like Jimmy Carter who I also feel should have never been president) was too much of a nice guy and his kindness (and naivete') prevented him from seeing the worse in others. Harding gave his trust to individuals that were unworthy of the trust he placed in them. He exercised poor judgement in his choice of friends, or as one author put it, he was not discriminating enough in his choice of friends or collegues. Had Harding exposed Charles Forbes after demanding his resignation, quite possibly Harding would have atleast been credited for having some integrity, but he blundered in his handling of Forbes.

The Harding Memorial Association also blundered by not making the Harding Papers available. In Murray's estimate, had these materials been available, much of the gossipy lies that have been said and written and about Mr. Harding would have been dispelled. But instead, lies and myths continue to be perpetuated and presented as historical fact. Therefore, it is no wonder Harding is held in such low regard. But Harding is not the evil, crook that he has been painted to be.

Harding would have, in due time, overcome the scandals like many other Presidents before and after him have. But due to his untimely death, he had no opportunity and therefore had no voice. But Harding, deserves to be reexamined, and I applaud the author's effort in presenting such a balanced view.

The Harding Era brought to the reader, for the first time, an accurate and fair account of the Warren G. Harding Presidency. Harding had been (and in some respects still is) the most maltreated president in our nation's history. His reputation plummeted soon after his untimely death in office, and misconceptions and lies soon became accepted as fact rather than fiction. Murray's work shows some interesting aspects of Harding's two and a half years in office:

· The myth of a smoke filled room does disservice to Harding, who through effective campaigning and a natural congeniality, was able to secure the 1920 nomination, and it does a disservice to the supposed power brokers, some of whom continued to vote against Harding until the end. Uncertain times and two bull-headed front-runners more than party bosses pulling the strings of a puppet Harding made a dark-horse Harding nomination possible.
· Harding was able to bring governmental spending under control by creating, under the executive branch, the office of the budget. As well, he championed and was able to accomplish the Washington Naval Conference, which set the stage for military size and ability following post World War One. His policies have been shown to be wanting, but in his day were seen as viable to an isolationist nation.
· The Teapot Dome scandal, which has historically been the Achilles heal of the Harding administration, is seen in the light of historical research: it was only in the papers for a brief time and Harding, by transferring control of governmental oil reserves from one cabinet secretary to another was simply following what was thought to be the good advice of his cabinet. He was not involved in the scandal nor could he really be faulted for what was for him an uncomplicated administrative transfer.
· The Harding era ended a recession and set the stage for republican dominance throughout the 1920s. It is shown that both Coolidge and Hoover built on this base. And, no matter how the slogan came about, "Normalcy" became the catchword of the era. Few presidents have been able to define an era as the Harding campaign did.
· Both presidents Coolidge and Hoover have hindered Harding's reputation. Both had served in the Harding cabinet and either could have spoken up for their deceased colleague to counter some of the hearsay that was accepted as fact. Yet Harding was by then a political albatross, and they both stayed silent.


Murray also clearly shows the weakness of Harding as a man and president.

· His sexual prowess was less accepted, even to a roaring 1920s, than it might have been later on. Although verified accounts of his exploits are less than the rumors and stories surrounding him, (Murray shows the idea of sex in the oval office closet to be basically another lie turned into fact), Harding was no moral beacon. As the 20th century closed in the United States Harding was remembered as a 1920s Bill Clinton. Harding could have only blamed himself for this.
· Personally he governed by consensus, weakness, and some executive planning. The speeches during his Western and Alaskan tour seem to show a man growing into the office and wanting to exercise more presidential authority. I personally think that had Harding lived he would have weathered the scandals, won re-election, and been remembered better. Yet, his death and his many hidden papers, for many years presumed destroyed, allowed the various Harding myths to emerge. By being a largely ineffective leader of questionable moral character, Harding is to be blamed for a good portion of this as his weak administration and legacy could not counter-act public perception. Most notably in his mistakes was choosing the notorious Albert Fall to be in his cabinet. Fall more that anyone helped destroy Harding's reputation.
· It is clear that Harding neither made the times, nor did the times make Harding. Brought to office by a country tired of war and wanting to be left alone without a League of Nations or similar entanglement (and helped by a number of first time voting women who found a handsome Harding elect able), he brought with him an undistinguished political record and the nostalgia of and for a small town America. Thankfully most political contests have brought forth a higher caliber winner than did the 1920 election.

Murray concludes by stating that Harding probably should not have been president. But that he was president. This second part alone merits Murray's excellent book. Years ago, when beginning a rather short-lived career as a high school history teacher, I visited the Harding Home and grave in Marion, Ohio. The tour of the home was a bit comical and somewhat less than professional, as a rather obese guide meandered us around the house, at times blowing his nose and checking his handkerchief for contents. The Harding grave was closed to the public, but I got in and saw his grave covered by garden hoses and a soda bottle. The tour was a metaphor for the Harding years. It was not enough to strive to be America's "Best Loved President". The administration needed more and could not provide it, and has strived since then to gain respect. Some Harding aficionados have suggested that Harding should not be considered America's worst president, but should be elevated to the row of bottom tier presidents (based on whatever scale is used in rating presidents). Overall this is not saying much, but it does say something. Reading Robert K. Murray's The Harding Era might just convince the reader that this bump up to the bottom is justified.

This was a very interesting book for me. I'd often wondered about the military capabilities of the Mormon Battalion; this is the first book to address the question directly. I can't give the book 5 stars due to some awkward sentences and typos. Nevertheless, military-minded Latter-Day Saints and serious enthusiasts for the history of the American West will enjoy this one.

History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion is an in-depth historical study of the only religious unit in American military history - the Mormon battalion, which was recruited entirely from one religious body and had a religious title as the unit designation. Though the battalion served in the Mexican War and marched across the Southwest to California, it never engaged in battle, and has consequently been ignored by military historians. History May Be Searched in Vain seeks to rectify this oversight by delving into more than eighty diaries, journals, memoirs, and typed manuscript copies prepared by battalion members, including the journal of Dr. George B. Sanderson, widely feared and hated in Mormon legend as "Dr. Death". Illustrated with a handful of maps and black-and-white photographs, History May Be Searched in Vain spares no effort in its minute and accurate depiction of the battalion's unique formation and composition, daily life, strategic role, and legacy.

Norma Ricketts in her book on the Mormon Battalion focused on the human and religious aspects and the individual participants. David Bigler and Will Bagley in their book on the Mormon Battalion provided much technical detail and excellent source material. But Fleek has addressed the Mormon Battalion from the military perspective which is a new look at the subject. In so doing, he has clearly placed the Mormon Battalion in its proper role in the Mexican War and in the history of California. And, he has incorporated new information which was unavailable to the previous authors. His book is an excellent addition to the the subject and should be read by anyone with an interest in the Mormon Battalion. Best of all, it is a very readable book that will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the history of the West.

It is about time a qualified military historian tackled the Mormon Battalion. I am a Civil and Mexican War nut, and I have known a little about the battalion for a long time. Finally, we have an outstanding study of this truly American unit, a unsung and fascinating story. Lt. Col (ret) Fleek has made the claim it was a religous unit, he convinced me. He has truly placed the Battalion in context with the rest of the war and the events by using these "interjections" concerning the unfolding drama in Texas or Mexico. His descriptions of John Fremont, Robert Stockton are right on, as adventurous idiots. Fleek has a high regard for General Kearny, Col. Cooke, the Mormon soldiers and also for Mormon leader Brigahm Young, though he takes issue with the Mormons and some of Young's involvment. For a Mormon himself, Fleek's fairness and objectivity are quite refreshing.

Outstanding history! Excellent writing! A marvelous product by Arthur Clark and Company, as always!

As others have noted, the book is not only informative but entertaining. Barkley's photos set the tone brilliantly for a look at the game in earlier days. Where today players wear helmets and masks, then Barkley's close-in style highlighted the emotion of the game by vividly showing players' faces. The illuminated, rapid-fire sports photography of today loses the luster of Barkley's contrasted shots that make it seem as though there is only the players and the ice surface, which he lit with his own set of lights along the glass hours before each game.

A must-have along with Kevin Allen, Bob Duff and Johnny Bower's "Without Fear."

I own many hockey books, and this book is, by far, the one I open up most often. Each picture takes you into a world of NHL hockey that has long passed away. The beautiful full-color photographs will cause you to forget that they are images of the fastest moving sport in the world. It's as if the players have posed for the camera in an attempt to recreate hidden moments of the game. The facial expressions alone will capture your eye. You'll find yourself scanning every detail of the pictures, looking for that elusive black puck (and you'll find that puck in nearly every picture). This book is a pure treasure for fans of the game of hockey, in particular those fans who remember the simple days of 6 teams, 120 players, 1 Cup.

You can literally spend hours looking at this book and not tire of the images. They're so life-like it's eerie. Harold Barkley's strobe photography techniques give the pictures a "3-D" quality that is completely absent in today's "flat" images. Of course, the fact that the stars in the photos are from the "Golden Era" (50's and 60's) make the book all that much better. These stills make you yearn for the hockey of yesteryear, even if you weren't there! The flat sticks, the glossy narrow skates, the bryl-cream donned hair (helmet, what helmet?) - it's all here right down to the ice-shavings littering the goal crease, all in awesome detail.

Frank Selke's introduction is excellent as well. Here is a man that makes no bones about why this was hockey's greatest era. My favorite example - fights were seen as a gentlemanly way to settle differences, not as an indication of a sport gone awry with "violence". My only complaint is that his anecdotes are only a few pages rather than a few chapters.

But the photographs are really what this book is about. Sure, the statistics and history of each player featured are there, but I found my eyes continually wandering from the print back to the image - they're that good. It's tempting to cut them all out and frame them.

This book will be enjoyed by any hockey fan, but if your over 40 it will be a treasure.

Wow! Buy this book just for the fabulous photographs taken by Harold Barkley, a long-time photgrapher with the Toronto Star. Barkley pioneered the use of the strobe in sports photography, and the detail he captured in these bright color photos is phenomenal--the texture of the ice, the meticulously greased and combed hair on the players, the rows of dark-suited spectators in the audience. This is how hockey used to look! The text consists of 1-2 page spreads on individual players of the day. The stars are all here, of course, but more interesting, to me anyway, are the players who've slipped from memory--Andy Hebenton, Norm Ullman, Camille Henry, Elmer Vasko. These names ring bells for fans who grew up in that era, but you seldom hear them now. Yet, here they are, preserved for us both in prose and in pristine photographic detail. This book's a gem.

I have not yet read this book. However, I am the author of Old Comrades, a poem for which the author and/or publisher has advised the author is unknown. This poem was presented to the Mount Hope Memorial Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, in August 1995.

Fascinating tales all 201 of them. Narratives which encompass a varied and comprehensive kaleidoscope of men at War. Each yarn a gem in the overall picture of combat: its lethal firefights, the macabre comic moments, and the tedium, all blended to paint America"s forgotten combat troops, the true heroes they really were. While this maelstrom raged on,back home an apathetic American populace, dulled by the [ post WW2 ] Harry-Truman and his cohorts in DC & United Nations, as they tried to sweep the true signifigance of the WAR under the rug,the sour little WAR refused to just go away. In summation, these 201 combat campaigners saw the WAR for what it was - they were in it, up to their eyeballs nite/day. Buy this unique book, read it and you tell me [ yeah, I"m one of the 201 stories ]. We can forgive, but we will never forget!! END

It hit me with the impact of a burst of burp gun fire, leaping off page 406 like the dancing muzzle flash of that same burp gun in the dark of night. My God! I was there. Forty-five years ago, I was there. T-Bone Hill, with its valley to the east that led to the gaping "V" of the Alligator Jaws.

Yes, I'm one of the 201 who were privileged to contribute to this remarkable work. And what variety and diversity it has. What differing perspectives each contributor brings with him. One will write about banality, another brutality. It's all there -- courage and cowardice, fear and terror, boredom and horror, torn bodies and death, frost bite and heat exhaustion, blisters and thirst, brilliance and stupidity. All that and more, for all that and more is what war is all about.

Five stars are not enough. 201 stars hardly do it justice. Nor is one picture worth just a thousand words. Each picture here is priceless. Thanks, Norm, for bringing the faces of war to life. Thanks, Art, for bringing the Korean vignettes to print. And thank you both for making it possible for all to remember this decisive conflict that turned the tide of the Cold War and started communism on its road to self-destruction.

These are true-grit memories from the soldiers who fought in the foxholes of the Forgotten War. Worth reading for anyone interested in knowing what it really takes to keep our country free.

When I was about 3, my parents took me to see "2001" and I was told that, by 2001, we could buy tickets to the Moon. Later on, I was just old enough to understand that the Moon landing was a "big thing". Close to 40 years on, I've watched 2 shuttles blow up, the Hubble near-disaster and loss of spacecraft due to software confusion between imperial and metric units. Most of all, I am appalled by the ongoing waste of money, including Canadian tax money, that is the International Space Station. NASA seems to have lost its touch, despite occasional successes. Why?

As a layman, this is as good a place as any to find out, though the book gives no easy answers and is rather dry reading. The author, a scientist, worked on the project for 20 years till it launched. He is clearly frustrated by project's duration, constant reviews, cost-cutting and changing agendas. Nevertheless, he also recognizes the need for both cost cutting and reviews. Spaceships are unique in that they are extremely complex machines that are produced only once, using essentially skilled artisan techniques rather than mass-production engineering. Worse, once launched, there is little that can be done to correct defects. A wonder they work at all. That gives you some sympathy for the amount of administration, reviews and documentation at NASA. Ideally, every possible contingency needs to be anticipated and accounted for. Unfortunately, that costs lots of money.

Despite suffering from its fads, Mr. Rieke does not dismiss "better, cheaper, faster". What he seems to say is that, up until a certain level of cost, complexity and novelty, a space mission can be carried out with streamlined management and control. Especially if the project is not put under undue time pressure. Past that level of complexity and cost, more formal and thorough management is needed to palliate mission risks. He also highlights interesting misconceptions about where the real mission risks are, statistically. Overall, you are left with the impression that managing spaceflights is not amenable to easy answers. Personally, I think more extra-agency competition would help in avoiding groupthink.

Reading this book, it seems that there are really 2 NASA. One, the unmanned scientific branch, is extremely competitive (in the old sense of the word), quite short of money and almost too careful in funding scientific missions. It fails, often, but also advances scientific knowledge. The other one, which is only glancingly mentioned, but not without veiled contempt, is "big NASA" (my nickname).

"Big NASA" badgers scientific missions into using their pretty shuttles, whether that makes sense or not. "Big NASA" spends $100 billion on the shuttles and the International Space Station, with dubious scientific returns, but takes 20 years to fund a $700 million satellite. "Big NASA" wants to put men on Mars and a station on the Moon, whether they are useful or not.

Quoting p.25 "The space station was starting to eat up a huge part of NASA's budget. An attempt to rally scientists and others to oppose the station in Congress led to a dramatic demonstration of the power of the professional aerospace lobby over the amateurish scientific one - the station was easily victorious." Not dated, but circa 1994 apparently. p.88 - "It appears the $14 million we got extra was really a way for headquarters to hide money they wanted to spend on the space station" (1998).

For those interested in management techniques, the author dissects how the project was managed. It certainly shows that _good_, respectful and technically savvy management is a huge help - something many of my fellow software programmers forget all too easily.

What is a bit left out in all this are the scientific aspects of the Spitzer telescope. That wasn't a big deal for me however, because I was more interested in understanding one view of NASA's problems.

The Last Of The Great Observatories: Spitzer And The Era Of Faster, Better, Cheaper At NASA is the story of the last of the four "Great Observatories" that tell modern scientists more about the stars, planets, and galaxies beyond our own; the other three are the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Developed over twenty years and nicknamed the "Infrared Hubble", Spitzer launched in 2003 to resounding scientific success. The Last Of The Great Observatories tells of the long history and creation of Spitzer, from its lengthy planning to its reflection of the desire to get it done "better, faster, cheaper" to complications plaguing its launch and more. An excellent, smartly written contribution to astronomy history shelves.

The Hubble is the most famous of the satellite observatories. But it was actually only one of four, the so called 'Great Observatories.' This excellent book tells the story of the last of the four, the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spitzer operates in the infrared part of the spectrum (Hubble - Visible Light, Chandra - X-Ray, Compton - Gamma Ray).

The idea for the Spitzer began in 1983 with a proposal that NASA spend $2 billion for the project. The key to this book is the twenty years that it took to get it to fly in 2003. Here's the inside story of what it takes to get one project through the NASA system. It makes for excellent reading.

There isn't much in the book about the astronomy that the Spitzer does, and just a few color pictures would help. After all, it is the pictures that have kept the Hubble in the public's eye. But you can fix this by browsing to [...]

Dr. Rieke, a professor at the University of Arizona, was one of the people who worked on the original proposal in 1983 and is still with the project. He also knows how to spin a good tale.

As a former IR astronomer and author of several space mission proposals, I already knew some of the information in this book. But I still found it to be a fascinating window into the arcane and Byzantine process by which NASA produces complex scientific spacecraft. SIRTF/Spitzer took 20 years from announcement to launch, and it went through more fundamental changes in design and survived more NASA management fads than any spacecraft in history. Somehow Professor Rieke managed not to lose his sense of humor during this torture.

The impression one gets from reading this account is the whole system for selecting and funding NASA missions is fundamentally broken and needs to be totally overhauled. The amount of effort and money wasted on mission concepts that were abandoned is astonishing. Spitzer only worked because IR detector technology improved by a factor of 10,000 during its development cycle (mostly due to military-funded research).

I also was surprised at the number of dumb mistakes made by experienced engineers. The main contractor for the Spitzer instrument package was Ball Aerospace, who have a mixed reputation for competence. Clearly this mission was not one of their high points. Ball's pre-launch testing program seems to have caused more problems than it cured.

A lot of trouble was caused by defective components supplied by sub-contractors (which under the insane rules of the time could not be tested by the prime contractor or NASA). It seems incredible to me that after 40 years of building space probes, it is not possible to obtain basic parts like wiring harnesses and gas valves that aren't riddled with defects. There is no indication that the vendors of these defective parts were sued for damages, denied award fees, or placed on some NASA blacklist.

Everybody interested in space mission planning should read this book. You may laugh, you may cry, but you will learn a lot.

This is a great historical resource. I found it to be a great source for insight into the man and the beliefs of Abraham Lincoln. I highly recommend this book.

I have started reading & relaying information to reinactments I have on tape. Really accurate so far. Worth the buy.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates have justly been celebrated in American history as one of the milestones in Abraham Lincoln's rise to the presidency. However, Lincoln's own well-meaning assembling of the received text of these debates used only transcripts from papers friendly to either candidate--transcripts which, Harold Holzer argues, were smoothed over and revised by reporters eager to make "their" candidate look good. Holzer insists that we must go to the transcripts of Lincoln's speeches by the pro-Douglas paper, and vice-versa, to get a true sense of what was said off the cuff by the debaters. His edition portrays vividly not only the high-sounding rhetoric of Douglas and the noble ideals of Lincoln, but also the hesitations and mis-speakings of both men. In this way, the reader gets a better sense of what it was like to be in the crowd listening as history was being made

The series of debates in Illinois between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 campaign for the U.S. Senate are one of those legendary political encounters of which everyone has heard but few have gone back and actually read. However, since Lincoln never kept any of his papers prior to winning the Presidency, we do not have autograph copies of his Cooper Union or House Divided speeches, let alone his handwritten notes of the great debates. The claim made by Harold Holzer for his edition is that this is the first complete, unexpurgated text of the debates to be published. Holzer notes that what we have relied upon previously for debate transcripts were copies taken down by stenographers for intensely partisan newspapers. Holzer's hypothesis is that the editors and transcribers for these newspapers would improve the remarks by their own candidates while leaving those of his opponent alone. Supporting his idea are the unedited texts of the debate he uncovered. Of course, Holzer provides his own useful additions to the texts of the seven debates in the form of extensive notes (often covering the audience reactions as detailed by various papers). As a two-time winner of the Lincoln/Barondess Award of the Lincoln Round Table and the first Award of Achievement given by the Abraham Lincoln Association for his hundreds of articles and books on Lincoln, Holzer is certainly in a position to make such judgments.

You should be warned that reading these debates will both exhilarate and depress you. These debates lasted three hours and forced the candidates to develop comprehensive proposals and to respond in detail to the attacks of their opponent. The thought of Bore or Gush trying to talk from notes for even fifteen minutes is enough to make you laugh, cry or bang you head against the wall. Reading the Lincoln-Douglas debates, in this or any other edition, will certainly give you more of a feel for the issue of Slavery circa 1858 than you will ever get from a history book from which you may get a few choice quotes (what the back cover would call "volleys"). For those of us who want access to primary documents, who read court decisions rather than let talking heads on the tube tell us what they think things might possibly mean, books like this are a great joy. For those who admire Lincoln, the right man in the right place at the right time at the worst moment in our country's history, the Lincoln in these debates who is speaking extemporaneously from notes rather than reading from a carefully crafted and fine tuned text is arguably the closest we get to the real man.

The Library of America's collection of original Lincoln source documents in two volumes is a wonderful addition to the library of any person interested in this portion of American history. The two volumes represent the best scholarship available today in terms of organizing and duplicating Lincoln's own words as they are found in personal letters, speech transcriptions, notes, memos, and other forms of written communication. This is a collection that is a fascinating look at the inner thoughts of Lincoln as he progresses from a congressional candidate in the 1850's, then as a candidate for President in 1860, and then as he prosecutes the war of the states until the time of his assassination.

The Library of America represents a rare and welcome to the world of print publishing. Funded from a continuous trust that is structured to keep every single volume perpetually in print, the Library prints only on the finest paper, using only the best inks, and implementing the best binding technology available. These books are true library quality, with ultra-high quality paper from Germany and bindings from the Netherlands, and truly represent the finest book quality typically seen in today's book world. The perpetual trust of the Library nevertheless keeps the price of these volumes at a reasonable level, with most volumes available between $24 and $40 dollars. Once you handle one, you'll undoubtedly see what a real value this series represents.

Lincoln's writings and recorded speeches are incredibly interesting to read. These works provide remarkable insight into this most unusual of people, and posterity is pleased that so much of these items were saved and eventually collated for later review. Can we make ourselves belief that this is largely a self-educated man who writes English prose at a level rarely seen even in the most educated of individuals? Following the logic posed in many of these letters, coupled with the piecing insights into human nature that Lincoln seemed to exude, can give us an experience that extends our thinking and challenges our views. Because Lincoln is canonized in history, we really don't understand the real man all that well. These personal writings of Lincoln help de-mystify the true person behind the persona, and make us see the man, not just the legend.

This volume provides Lincoln's speeches, writings and selected letters from 1859 through 1865. This period is the year leading up to his election in 1860 through his assassination in 1865. You will get to read amazing letters from the commander-in-chief trying to get his generals to fight and win the war, letters to all kinds of people covering topics public and personal, proclamations suspending habeas corpus and emancipation, his addresses to congress (our State-of-the Union Addresses used to be delivered by letter to Congress), and some of the greatest treasures in American history: the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. It is stunning that in all this writing, so much of it powerful and worthwhile, that these two brief speeches so obviously deserve to be engraved in stone for all ages to read and take into their souls.

It is awfully moving to read the material related to the conduct of the Civil War. He was very strong in his determination to destroy the Rebellion, yet he has very touching notes about his sick child and is very human in his communications with intimates.

This volume also has a chronology of Lincoln's life and great notes on the texts. Note particularly the Associated Press copy of the Gettysburg Address that was contemporary with its delivery. The version most of us know is a finished copy prepared for publication. The differences are subtle and not all that important, just interesting to note for style and rhetorical power.

I strongly urge you to have these two volumes on your American History bookshelf. Simply, they are important and you will learn a great deal reading through them.

I purchased this collection of speeches and letters knowing little about America's most beloved president other than what I had learned in my high school history classes. My first impression was "Boy, where have all the good presidents gone?" Aside from the famous speeches we're all familiar with, Lincoln was a prolific man of letters and an amazing presenter of ideas ahead of their time. Our sixteenth president wasn't perfect, but neither was our nation. During perhaps the most crucial period in U.S. history, thank God there was Abraham Lincoln. I grew up as a Democrat, but if Lincoln were running for the presidency today, he would be the first Republican to get my vote. This Library of America edition of Lincoln's speeches and writings is a beautifully bound volume that I will cherish for years to come.

This is the second volume of the Library of America Project devoted to the works of Abraham Lincoln. It covers the period after the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and includes many of the records of the Lincoln Presidency and the Civil War. The standard Lincoln materials are included, of course, such as the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Inauguaral Addresses. But there is immeasurably more. We see Lincoln writing to his Generals, Cabinet members, and other national leaders in his attempt to hold the Union together. We see a lincolns agonizing over military discipline and frequently pardoning deserting soldiers. We see Lincoln dealing with Indian issues in his day; and we see him supporting the use of black troops in the War effort. This volume is highly useful in uderstanding the Civil War. Equally important it teaches the nature of leadership and fortitude. Finally, Lincoln is one of our Nation's great prose writers and the book deserves reading for that reason alone. The Library of America is to be commended for this volume and for its ongoing series.

Ms. Alden is a talented writer who transports the reader to the South Africa of her youth with vivid, fascinating and absorbing descriptions and details. She had me "hooked" from the first pages and I could not put the book down until I'd read it all.

What a beautifully written account of this place and time. Bea makes this all the more poignant by showing the disturbing truth and subtle self deceptions of apartheid policy from the innocent view of a young child. It is telling that her child's heart knew that 'something was wrong' while the grown-ups were pretending that all was well. This is a wonderfully written view into the world of accepted social separation and the heartache it inevitably causes. Well done!

This is so well written about a place and time I had never considered. It is so easy to ignore what is commonplace to each of us in our every day life and not even notice when there is discrimination or injustice. Now I would like to read 'the rest of the story' and find out what happens when there is more than just unrest in the country and how it affected the lives of Bea and her family.

LIONGOLD "vividly chronicles the troubled life of a white family in the suburbs of Johannesburg...during South Africa's pivotal years of apartheid." Bea Alden's true story is told from her childhood perspective, from about age 4 to her twenties. People often wonder, "How could those white Christian Africans have treated blacks as they did?" Bea answers this question by ushering us into the perspective of white privilege, where "that's just the way things are." But uncomfortable questions inevitably arise as she approaches adulthood.

In addition to being a compelling story, LIONGOLD is beautifully written. Alden has an artist's eye for detail and a gift for description. Letty, their "girl," is "all sharp elbows and spiky energy. ... Her bright brown eyes survey the world suspiciously, with a nuanced, guarded look of discontent." Though the tale centers on Alden's white family, she also weaves in a respectful look at what life was like for blacks.

This is a gem of a book with a valuable and rare perspective on this tragic period in modern history.

If you've ever wondered, "Why do we do the things we do?" when many of them negatively impact our relationships, THIS IS THE BOOK to read. Dr. Buckner clearly demystifies what we're doing wrong and why we're doing it...but even more importantly, she clearly and succinctly explains how you can undo harmful habits and create the loving relationship you want. Great insights. Powerful message. Easy to read and understand. Highly recommended.

Dr. Bucker has given us a clear, concise and creative process for building a healthy marriage. The wisdom that could only come from years of working with couples is evident on every page. As a presenter of workshops for couples, I recommend this book for all who attend the workshop because it provides an excellent tool to help couples integrate the skills necessary for "Making Real Love Happen."
David M.McKeon, Ed.D.

For anyone wanting to relate on a conscious level, this book provides a road map detailing the steps along the journey. A major contribution is the author's knowledge and understanding of the maximizing and minimizing energies that challenge so many relationships and how to bring these energies into balance.
Margaret S. McKeon, Ed.D.

This book gave me insight into myself and my husband that I would never have figured out on my own. I realized that the way I interacted with him was only driving him away, even though it felt like they were the right things to do and say. This book made me realize that what seemed natural and rational to me was actually alienating my husband. I also found that the more I interacted with him in the new way, the more he began to respond to me as I wanted. I found this book to be full of insight and easy to read. Joyce Buckner struck the right chord between background information based on experience and research, and real life examples, all related in a compassionate way. I honestly believe my marriage would not have survived if I had not read this book and altered my behavior. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.