Conventions Books

this book is utterly fascinating! As a resident of Philadelphia, where the next republican national convention will be held, I am intrigued by the history of presidential conventions in the city of brotherly love. Sautter, a co-alumni of the university of pennsylvania has produced a detailed and interesting amalgam of stories on both personal and big-picture levels. I highly recommend it!

Profiles in American History is a great book. I have been doing research on Roger Sherman, and the book gave me many useful facts not only about Sherman but also on the whole Constitutional Convention. If you need information about the Constitional Convention or its most famous delegates, this is a good place to start.

I read this book in preparation for sharing in an adult Sunday School class on the issues of the ministry of mercy. As such it was a good and welcomed addition to my knowledge not just of the period but of a community (Baptists) with which i am not familiar.It is not technical but is full of facts and details from the pen of a professional historian. He has several interesting principles apparent in the book: individual conversion precedes and is foundational to any social or institutional change, and that they were actually relatively successful in their confrontation with the problems in society during these crucial years.

I'd pick up the book and read the conclusion, chapter 7, Reassessing a Legacy: Southern Baptists, Social Christianity and Regional context, a short chapter. And then read chapter 4, Southern Baptists, Social Christianity, and Orphanages, which is the central chapter of the book and certainly long enough and detailed to give the reader a good idea if they will finish the book. Then if you get the book, just read it from the beginning to see the way that the author's arguments unfold as he supports and illustrates them from history. It is history, it is not theology, but i think that the author is sympathetic towards the people he is studying and presents them fairly. Reading just chapters 7 then 4 will get you the main points of the book, however not the supporting data and how several fields of missionary and social ministry tied together and changed over these years.

i liked the book and recommend it. It is not a difficult read and interesting enough to hold most people's attention.

Fifty five men, representing 12 of the 13 colonies, met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to write the U.S. Constitution. Sixteen of them left the Convention before the final signing. This book, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1787, is a chronicle of that Convention as compiled by three of the dissenters. They were Robert Yates, and John Lansing representing New York, plus Luther Martin from Maryland. This book preceded NOTES OF THE DEBATES OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION OF 1787, by James Madison, first printed in 1840. Both should be read to get some sense of the early struggle between proponents of State's Rights vs. supporters of a strong Federal, central government. All was not sweetness and light at the founding of our United States of America.

It may be hard to believe now but there was a time when Norman Mailer was America's leading prose writer. Before he descended into self-parody, Mailer was America's leading novelist and its most controversial essayist. Some Honorable Men, which covers twelve years of Mailer's writing (in this case, focusing on the presidential conventions of '60, '64, '68, and '72), allows the reader to follow Mailer as he goes from cocky, young know-it-all through the first hints of middle age and the sourness it brings with it to finally, the beginnings of Mailer's transformation from a serious artist to an overused punchline. In doing so, it also provides an insightful, often times cruelly humorous view of the transformation of the American political system. For both reasons, this is a valuable book for any student of literature or political history.

The book begins with one of Mailer's strongest peices of writing -- Superman comes to the Supermarket which provides wonderful converage of an oddly neglected piece of political history -- the 1960 Democratic convention that resulted in the nomination of John F. Kennedy and the final gasp of the "intellectual" wing of the Democratic party. Writing in his best sarcastic prose, Mailer shows us how the Kennedy glamour was used to blind observers to any possible concerns and how the overly earnest efforts of Adlai Stevenson's supporters to win the nomination for their candidate were defeated by Stevenson's own refusal to admit he was a politician first, a super hero second. Though Mailer attempts to be critical of the Kennedys (even as he barely hides his lust for Jackie), its still obvious that he, too, has been enraptured by just the pure showmanship of the first showbiz presidency. Though Mailer does show some sympathy to the Stevenson forces, its also clear that -- for him as with the rest of America -- the dour self-righteousness of the Stevenson liberals has run its course. In short, this essay -- whether intentional or not -- serves as a perfect introduction to all that Camelot would become and one gets the feeling that Mailer's seduction perfectly follows the seduction of the rest of America. In short, this essay is a perfect example of a genius as the top of his game and a reminder that Norman Mailer actually could write when he let himself.

The second essay -- "In the Red Light" -- is minor Mailer and is mostly interesting just because of the absolute dread inspired within Mailer by the thought of having Barry Goldwater as President. In prose so sarcastic that it finally becomes rather condascending (and, in fact, leaves you feeling rather sorry for Mr. Goldwater), Mailer dismisses Goldwater and his followers as a fringe cult of sorts and basically, blames them for the death of JFK. As opposed to "Superman Comes to the Supermarket" this is not vintage Mailer and in fact, it all comes across as a little hysterical today. Still, it is an accurate reflection of the times and I think most serious students of political history will, at the very least, chuckle at Mailer's dire predictions of what a Goldwater victory would mean -- esepcially when you consider that all of those predictions came true, more or less, because Lyndon Johnson defeated Goldwater by calling him a "war mongerer" and then proceeded to plunge the country into the most wasteful war of its history.

1968 is represented by what I consider to be Mailer's finest nonfiction book "Miami and the Seige of Chicago." Its indeed fascinating to compare this book to "Superman" written just eight years earlier. Watching the violence at the Democratic convention, Mailer finds himself coming to doubt both the Democratic Party and the liberals themselves. While he is uninspired by the Republicans (and his coverage of the Republican convention is a bit dull), Mailer records in vivid detail being in the middle of the chaos in Chicago and watching as his beloved party seemed divided between spoiled trust fund kids and party hacks like LBJ who seemed determined to get everyone killed in Viet Nam. Its a dark record of events that continue to haunt us today.

The book concludes with Mailer's weakest nonfiction book -- St. George and the Godfather which covers the '72 conventions. In this book, Mailer seems bored and indeed, he admits being sick of the whole political process. He watches as the party of Kennedy nominates George McGovern (a man who made Adlai Stevenson look like JFK) and as the Republicans nominate Nixon and the apathy he feels is reflected in the prose he writes. While he engages in his usual tricks -- he shows up as a character, he rather sarcastically records the thought process of George McGovern as he considers running mates, it is obvious that Mailer is growing bored and desperately trying to pump some intensity into a book about apathy. Its an apathy that the rest of the country seemed to share and from which neither Mailer nor the nation seems to have totally recovered.

Excellent book that concisely captures the history of the Southern Baptist denomination, from 1845 - 1991. A scholarly work with at least 3 chapters that read with all the drama of a fictional best-seller. Details the takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention by the fundamentalist faction; defines "democracy" as it applies to Southern Baptists (local church autonomy, "one voice-one vote" per member); considers the effect of two major Southern Baptist traditions -- priesthood of the believer and pastoral authority; and more. The book was very engaging and, when I'd finished it, I hoped this author was working on a sequel because I want to know what's happened in the past 8 - 9 years in the SBC!

My father-in-law recently made a visit to Eastern Canada and Halifax was one of the destinations. He brought this little book back and loaned it to me. I'm glad he did as I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

The book's title admittedly isn't the most captivating, but it is very descriptive of the contents. And the contents themselves are indeed captivating as they provide a level of detail that takes us back in time to the days immediately before and after that fateful date of April 15, 1912. The book provides interesting background on the ship and its crew, but primarily concerns itself with the details of the victims - who they were, how they were dressed, what effects were found on their persons, and wonderfully poignant anecdotal stories about their role onboard ship (if staff) or their families and circumstances if passengers.

As the closest North American port to the site of sinking, both the rescued and the dead were transported to Halifax. Ultimately 150 of the 328 bodies recovered were buried there, with the remainder either buried at sea or transported elsewhere for burial at the request of the families. The book is richly detailed and includes many photographs and newspaper clippings that immerse the reader in the culture, gossip, news, and activities of the day surrounding the Titanic and its tragic demise.

In many ways, it felt to me like a PBS documentary. In fact, it is a story that would lend itself well to such a medium on the History Channel or PBS. Although most of us have seen the movie "Titanic" and the resurgence of interest it created, the movie was more the story of an unlikley but passionate love affair between two passengers from opposite ends of the social spectrum. In contrast, this book provides a look at not just a handful of the victims, but all of them, with details that I found more captivating than even the movie.

I can highly recommend this book, regardless of whether you are a Titanic "buff" (which I am not) or just have a passing interest. If you have never been interested in the topic, this book will capture and hold your interest because it makes the many tragedies personal, putting faces and details and families and stories to the long list of names that lost their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Beed, for capturing this fascinating slice of history.

This book is very aboundant with many sample. It is suitable for every walks of society, including lawyer and teacher.It is worthy of reading.

This book is perfect, in explaining the future of microsimally manufactured systems.People will come to know that such tech. exists not on movie screens, but in reality. The best for a SOC designer, covering the topics what & where he needs.

I found this book to be a very strong outline of the necessity to act in responsible and accountable means to further appropriate conduct of others. I felt the basis in which Dr. Brown pursues proper solutions and reasonableness in problem-solving assessments is very insightful, and the clear acknolwdgement of not all solutions being best for everyone was paramount in the message of the text.

I will look for additional writings by Dr. Bown, and hope that these comments can be relayed to him.