Arkansas Books

The memoirs of Sideny Drake Jackman add much to our understanding of the recruitment of Confederate troops in Union held territory, specifically in Missouri. Jackman recruited troops in western Missouri in 1862, and fought them at the bloody engagement at Lone Jack before they were drilled. This account contains the best first person account of the battle of Lone Jack in print. Jackman does not fail to credit bravery or mock cowardice. His candor is unusual for books of this genre. All in all this is a good read and a great discovery for students of the war in Missouri. Norton has included a fine introduction and his footnotes are useful and informative.

Mr. Hubbell's book is a genealogical gold mine for anyone with ancestors in the area. He very briefly explores the area's history during this seventy-year period and includes a rather comprehensive compilation of its historical documents with emphases upon its early families and their individual names through censuses, maps, photos, locations of old cemeteries, persons buried in these cemetaries, etc. (These comprise the major part of the book.) The effort had to be a work of love for the author.
My early copy is a xeroxed, spiral-bound edition, but it remains my most prized genealogical document, as it was through this book that I found the graves of my great grandparents in a weed-grown, unmarked, abandoned cemetery.

If Levin's book in 1992 can be categorized as mystery marketing, it may have little relevance in the aftermath of the Clinton administration, and his Presidency.

If however, it can be categorized as real revelation, it puts the entire Clinton administration history under decidedly different criteria with regard to what the people knew, and when they knew it, a twist upon the 1992 public election.

It may also have relevance to the 2008 election given the fact that his wife's history is covered with some measure of candid approach, along with her 1992 commencement speech to her alma mater, Wellesley College, which for all practical purposes, should carry weight in how she is perceived as a candidate for 2008, at least among women.

It's improbable that anyone could be as good as Clinton was cast in his upbringing, and earlier political years, in what people actually care about. It's also improbable that Hillary could be as bad as she is currently cast in what people care about, given the insight of early pre-1992 election revelation.

The most interesting thing about the book is that it reveals how further entrenched America is in the complaints of why Clinton ran for office in the first place, and how fully America has erased whatever progress he made to backslide through another Bush administration - to nearly the same conditions that were then made a focus of his economic policy, and desire to change America.

For any astute reader, America is essentially back to square one, perhaps as the result of having another Bush in office, a revovling door interrupted by the "good Clinton years" by today's standards.

In making such an assessment, it behooves America to evaluate how far we've come, or not, in having wiped away that progress he spoke of then, and for all practical purposes, a repetition would not be unwelcome, given the circumstances, whether by him or by his wife.

It also identifies whether America, itself, really "got it," when the book was published as to what they were reading, and why public scrutiny was minimized to later erupt as a spectacular "departure" from what they thought they were getting, in the near universal criticism of his later conduct that brought impeachment. In view of such relevations, it might be very possible that the stalking of Clinton was, in fact, a part of the Republican conspiracy that has been conjectured.

Since its insight depends much upon the accuracy of the author, and the candid exposure by his friends, teachers, etc., it may well be just as relevant today, as it was in 1992 - but do people actually read these revelations or take them seriously? Apparently, not. Having just been made aware of it from one of the many other books written about him, the insight is long overdue, but may well still be relevant to his success, and may be relevant to her success. A review for those who have read it might be an important task in judging her outcome, as it was for his outcome - assuming people actually care about the Presidency.

can anyone help me locate the web site for Matt Talbot???? Thanks Shamrok47@aol.com

I am a long time fan of Philip Levine. He is among a select pew preeminent chroniclers of the lives of working class people and has managed to faithfully record their experiences in a clear, true and genuine manner. With this volume Robert Gibb has joined Levine in this select group. Gibb was born and raised in the steel mill town of Homestead, PA, the kind of town that used up grandfathers, fathers, and sons, indeed entire families, in the hearths of blast furnaces and tap rooms. It also produced this highly personal account of loss both personal and communal. These poems portray loss and sadness in a tender, passionate manner that renders a dignity to those that labored to preserve the things we all hope to save. You will not forget this one.

This is an account of a largely neglected expedition during the Civil War which was part of the Red River Campaign.. The eastern theater of the civil war has garnered the historical scrutiny of many writers while treating the campaigns west of the Mississippi as a side show of little significance. Michael Forsyth's book provides a well researched treatise that refutes such a view and asserts that this expedition had significant implications to the northern war effort. The author provides insight into the characters and personalities of the commanders' involved as well as detailed descriptions of the events leading to and during the engagements between the opposing armies. His premise, that Steele's expedition saved Banks' army and thus contributed to the eventual success of the Union Army in the east has well documented merit. This book should be read in concert with Michael Forsyth's other book "Red River Campaign of 1864 and the Loss by the Confederacy of the Civil War", Ludwell H. Johnson's book "Red River Campaign. Politics & Cotton in the Civil War". Gary Dillard Joiner's book, "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End. The Red River Campaign of 1864", and Mark Christ's book, "All Cut To Pieces and Gone To Hell." The Civil War, Race Relations and the Battle of Poison Spring. I highly recommend these books for those wanting a greater understanding of the Trans Mississippi conflict and its contribution to the greater picture of the American Civil War as well as a look at Civil War America's "heart of darkness".

My only complaint was the maps in the book are Diagrammatic and would benefit more if they had more scale and topographical detail.

To the memory of Josephus Utt, Co. K, 14th. Kansas Cavalry at Poison Spring Arkansas 1864.

If you are interested in old buildings and/or the history of downtown Little Rock then this book is an interesting read. The book profiles the building from its early beginnings through current times. The old building has quite an impressive history.

The 1850s was the decade F.O. Matthiessen called the American Renaissance. This novel should be added to the list of the best literature of that era. Simms's WOODCRAFT should also be included. We are indeed fortunate to have the novel back in print once again, since its most recent publication in the 1980s.

The book contains several stories about Burton and his twin brother growing up in Southern Arkansas during the depression. Despite this time frame, the book is a great read for all ages. It has warm wit and humor and very inspiring messages.

Anyone who has done research on the Civil War approaches veteran's memoirs with a degree of caution. Memoirs are always self serving to some extent and often take too much advantage of hindsight. This work is remarkably free of such justifications. Rather it is the honest work of a soldier coming to terms with his war experiences. Philip Stephenson was a mere boy from St. Louis, age 15, when he followed his brother, Hammett, to Memphis to join the Confederat army. Hammett enlisted in the 13th Ark. and the underage Philip tagged along. He served as something of a mascot to his brother's company until he enlisted in the 5th Co. Washington Artillery. Until then he seemed to be free to come and go. Stephenson was present at or near most of the actions of the Army of Tennessee. He relates what he observed in great detail particularly in the last year of the war. Through his memoirs we see what he saw on the march, on the field and in camp. His descriptions of various Arkansans from officers to enlisted men offer rare insights to the boys which can be found in no other place. His observations on the men of the 13th Ark. are somewhat condescending, but he says, "All of them made as fine fighting material as the world could produce." The first one-third of his text covers the years 61-63. The greatest part of his memoirs discuss affairs that took place from 64 to the end of the war. From the Atlanta campaign until the war ends, his writing seems much more personal, more expressive of his emotions at the time. This coincides with the period when he served in the 5th Co. of the Washington Artillery and marked the first period of the war that he was not under his older brother's wing. From the moment Sherman attacked the Rebs at Dalton in early May until the Battle of Jonesboro on Sept. 1st, the men were in constant danger. Stephenson notes the horrors of trench warfare and the stress that it put on the men. The pressure became too great for some and he describes some of those who cracked. One member of his battery horrified the other members by taking his bayonet and jabbing out the eys of a dead yankee. Another deliberately walked between the lines to relieve himself as everyone watched in disbelief and the man was killed by a sharpshooter. Clearly this campaign had pushed many of the men to the breaking point. Perhaps no other participant has been as effective and honest in telling this story. Stephenson's account of the Battle of Franklin is very moving. His unit had been guarding a bridge some 30 miles away from Franklin and by forced march had arrived on the field between 9 o'clock at night just as the battle was dying down. Stephenson's one thought was the welfare of his brother and friends in the 13th Ark and he went among the wounded crying out "Where's Govan's Brigade." He finds his 3 best friends badly wounded and there on the battlefield they break into tears to find each other still alive. If there had been any thought of winning the war, it ended there. After Franklin, surviving would replace winning as the ultimate goal. Stephenson's memoirs are very personal. Through them we see how one survivor deals with his memories of both the best times and the worst times of his life.