Kentucky Books

American Iliad provides a well balanced introduction to the American Civil War despite its succinct length. It does glaze over the most important events, but still to limited to much more than a general introduction. For more in-depth research McPherson, Foote, Buell and Catton are the premiere scholars of the era.

Charles P. Roland in 263 pages of text gives the best overview of the American Civil War I have ever seen. Roland, in my opinion, gives the most unbiased, objective and comprehensive view of the Civil War including its origins. In "An American Iliad," he gives the major positions of the North and South on all important issues leading up to the war without being an advocate or judge.

His book is not "primarily an analytical study" but rather "a synthesis of the major writings on the war" (Preface xi). One quibble I had was his reliance on Clausewitz over Jomini, the latter being a greater influence on the war's strategy and tactics. I appreciated the academic format of the book, published by The University Press of Kentucky, which had, for me, required hallmarks including a preface, table of contents, maps and photographs, a bibliographic essay and an index. The absence of footnotes or endnotes was understandable due to the length of the book and its overview perspective, but I would have preferred being able to review his sources to enhance my understanding or for further research.

Roland's view is that the final impasse which the North and South came to in 1860 grew out of "political, economic, cultural, and social differences... [reaching] back to the very origin of the nation and beyond" (1). He does state, however, that slavery was the chief contributing factor to all these sources of tension which finally brought on war. He presents well the two, and sometimes more, sides of various arguments but concentrates on the political ones. He discusses not only the main stream ideas of the opponents but also the extremes of both sides such as the four attitudes the Senate had on the spread of slavery in the Mexican cession. Roland discusses the various machinations the politicians then went through to eventually produce the Compromise of 1850, the penultimate compromise.

My final example of his fairness is his discussion of President Buchanan's actions in 1860 giving reasons that his equivocating was not necessarily a bad thing if he was, in fact, trying to limit the damage secession of the lower South could cause. I do detect Roland's belief that war was inevitable although he never expressly said that. It may be that a logical and coherent presentation of all the actions leading to the war made it seem inevitable--a penalty of hindsight. I could find no evidence of sectional biases in his book.

This book gives a solid overview of the entire Civil War but doesn't read like a just the facts book.The book focus on the key events in both theaters of the war and has chapters on the homefronts as well as the poltical aspects of the war.

Frank Browning's Apples is fascinating. Until I read the book, I never knew the complexity of growing and marketing apples, nor did I fully realize the richness of the apple's botanical heritage. Where I buy apples, my choice is the usual six varieties; the passion of this book reawakened my experience, not long ago, of a bag of winesaps purchased at a farmers market in New York State. If you love apples too, you'll be inspired and frustrated by this book. Beware: it has some botanical sections that are highly technical; these could certainly have benefited by some illustrations or charts. Nevertheless, a culinary book like this one that leaves a lingering taste in your mouth is well worth opening.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

Browning's journeys through the world of apples are exhaustive, lyric and compelling. If you like NPR, or the old New Yorker, you'll love this book on the fruit of English Yeoman, Thomas Jefferson, French Nobelmen and Johnny Appleseed. You will never look at a grocery store Red Delicious the same again.

Frank Browning perpetuates my belief that journalists are writing the best gardening and plant books. Gardeners are not typically interesting writers and there is such a proliferation of mediocre gardening books on the market. "Apples" is a delightful book. Anyone who wants to grow apples or simply go to the grocery store and buy apples would be enlightened by Frank Browning's book.

I don't typically write reviews of the books I read, but this is one of those books that you want to tell everyone about. Gann is one of those gifted authors who can excite and illuminate anything he seems to touch; he has a musical sense of language and a power of description that you don't often see. Especially when I realize this is the author's first novel! I've marked up my copy with all kinds of post-it notes and pen marks on passages I want to recite to friends. This author isn't afraid to look at some of the ugly things we all do to get what we want; nor is he afraid to show how we fess up to our mistakes later -- if to no one but ourselves. He embraces life without putting a gloss over it. I recommend this book to anybody who cares about contemporary writing.

The comment from the novelist Lee Durkee nails this book best: Gann "turns us into children watching mayhem, transfixed, horrified, and yet filled with wonder." The author has a great gift for characterization and precise -- yet lyrical -- language. This must not have been an easy story to write, either, detailing with such apparent honesty the difficulties of a family in Kentucky during the 1970s and 80s. Still, Gabriel Toure, the narrator, is a compelling character that the reader can't help but root for, even when he is acting in the most hideous of ways. I thought this novel really exemplified how difficult our society makes it on families, and how strange the way we teach our boys to grow into men.

I'm not the type of person who writes reviews, but after reading this book, I felt I had to. From the opening sentence ("The day the freight train hit my father . . ."), The Barbrian Parade had me drawn into the story of Gabriel Toure. Gann provides us with a man as brave as he is flawed, as vivacious as he is introspective. Here is a book that is honest, unflinching and utterly enjoyable. I hope to read more from this writer in the future.

A wonderful family story in a beautiful book written by a wonderful woman. From Sally flows emotion and character. Whether you drink bourbon or only water you will enjoy this book. It's been called a coffee-table book but it really is not -- it is so much more. Coffee-table books are for browsing. This wonderful story of a family, a man (Pappy VanWinkle) and an industry is one you'll not want to put down. I've had the fortune of meeting Sally when purchasing her book and she is as warm as the words she writes. Get this and read it! It reminds me of Walton's Mountain (the warm, emotional part of the TV epic) and the Sam Walton (of Wal-Mart fame) story all rolled into one!

I was fortunate to meet Julian P. Van Winkel III at a whiskey tasting in San Francisco. I tasted his whiskies, bought his sister's book (he was kind enough to add his signature to the author's), and then his wife invited me to "come see us in Kentucky". Friendliest folks I've ever met. Damn fine book, too.

This gorgeous book leaps from the coffee table into the hands of everyone who sees it, and no one has been able to put it down. A warm portrait of the Van Winkle family bourbon business--Stitzel-Weller Distillery--the story is infused with the history of the industry from the inception of bourbon making to the period of mergers and acquisitions that saw the demise of many small distilleries. The book's narrative includes heartwarming and informative first-hand accounts of working with Pappy Van Winkle. It is masterfully designed with beautiful photography and full color representations of the distillery's labels. A true delight and a bargain.

Anyone interested in tanks and mechanized infantry in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps ought to read this collection of historical essays. The emphasis is upon technical and doctrinal development, and while most of these topics have been treated elsewhere, their compilation here makes for a nice (if uneven) survey. Strengths: the discussion of armor use in the Marine Corps, the recognition that U.S. tank destroyers were as significant as tanks during WWII, the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the relationship of doctrinal development and the use of armor in the 1970s and 1980s. This reviewer faults an emphasis on post-WWII developments, a lack of discussion on armored artillery or the seemingly-immortal M113 and its variants, glossing over survivability criticisms of the M2/M3, a lack of tabular comparative technical data, and limited discussion of armored and mechanized tables of organization and equipment. That said, highly recommended for any modern military collection.

I submitted a review on this format on 3 September (8 working days ago). I really worked hard on the review etc. Should I resubmit..or are just just a little bit behind and I should be patient. Thanks. Charles

Three points about this volume are of particular positive interest. First, the editors decision to have contributors discuss not only history, but also doctrinal and technological development of American armor. This makes for a volume which will be of interest to both amateurs and professionals. Second, the choice of contributors could not, in my opinion, have been much better. Lastly, the inclusion of chapters dealing with the history and development of armor in the U.S. Marine Corps is an often overlooked area of discussion.

In such an excellent volume, my criticisms are few, but relate to what the editors and the individual contributors have decided to exclude. For example, though there is a fine chapter on U.S. Army tank operations in Europe (Chapter 5), there is no corresponding chapter on U.S. Army tank operations in the Pacific. Instead, the editors have included a chapter on U.S. Marine Corps tank operations in the Pacific (Chapter 6). This decision is rather curious in that, at its peak strength, the U.S. Marine Corps only had 6 tank battalions and 6 amphibious tractor battalions (one of each per division), while the U.S. Army had 18 tank battalions, 10 tank destroyer battalions, and 19 amphibious tank and tractor battalions, and a cavalry mechanized reconnaissance squadron in the Pacific. Unfortunately, this sort of omission might lead the amateur reader to believe that the U.S. Army's commitment to the Pacific War was so minuscule that it was not worth mentioning, which is absolutely not the case.

Two other items received only scant mention in this volume - tank destroyers and the M113. While the whole concept of tank destroyers ultimately proved unsuccessful, the amount of resources devoted to them during the war certainly necessitates more discussion than the half dozen or so pages in this volume. The other odd omission is the M113 armored personal carrier. This venerable workhorse of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps from the 1950s to the 1980s, receives only scant mention, while the M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicle, a relative newcomer, receives much more extensive coverage.

This guide is pretty accurate. I just went on a kayaking trip this past weekend. This was my second time kayaking so I depended on this guide, it was a perfect trip.

Technically accurate and informationally superb! This guide is THE ONLY guide to buy for midwest paddlers interested in the rivers and streams of the Bluegrass State. There is more information in this guide than most paddlers are likely to digest in a lifetime. It is an easy read and as hard to put down as a good novel. Each page is packed with details that drive the "home stranded" paddler to the next page. It will make you crave the flowing waters of Kentucky. A MUST OWN!!!

If you live in Kentucky and do any kayaking or canoeing, you need this book. If there is a more comprehensive guide to the waterways of Kentucky, I'd like to see it.

I enjoyed this book tremendously!! A really good story, and great examples of how God answers our prayers!

No matter what the genre, Brandilyn Collins knows how to captivate her audience. "Cast a Road Before Me" is set in the little town of Bradleyville, Kentucky. Jesse goes to live with her aunt and uncle when her mother dies. All the while, Jesse is looking forward to moving to the big city where she will make a career out of helping people. What she doesn't plan on is falling in love or caring so much about the town of Bradleyville. Once you enter Bradleyville, you won't want to leave either! Pick up "Color a Sidewalk for Me" and "Capture the Wind for Me" to spend more time with the background characters in this novel. It will definitely be worth your time.

Ms. Collins' command of characterization is nothing less than phenomenal. Every individual in the story is someone who could live down the street, and yet so intriguingly drawn that there is nothing ordinary about any of them. This is the kind of book that wets your appetite for more with every page turned, and yet contains too much meat for a single sitting. Be prepared to get cozy once you open the book. You'll be sitting for a long time, then reluctantly step away to get on with "real life," longing for the moment when you can return to the printed page. Your emotions will be tugged every which way until the end, a satisfying conclusion to a gourmet meal.

My advice? Get your hands on anything Ms. Collins has written. You won't be disappointed.

This is a work to be carefully and reflectively read. The story itself is a simple one of a failed rescue attempt from a cavern. The various characters' lives which are written as sidelights to the main story are of what is of interest in the story. Unfortunately, to this reader at any rate, these rich characterazations are all too abruptly abandoned. Each one of these lost characters would be worthy of a novel in themselves. I feel as though the character Dorthy, for an example, is a well-developed character study but eventually is just left hanging. Worse yet, the main protagonist, Isaac, simply runs away. I found this to be most distressing.

I found this book in a used bookstore and just opened it up and started reading. Something about it got me hooked, and I just keep going. The novel is constructed brilliantly, with Warren providing large backgrounds for all of his charecters in the first 150 or so pages, and then the "experiences" of the different individuals caving in on one another. The end of the novel contains some of the most powerful dialogues scenes I have ever read. I loved this book.

Here's a book that is becoming more and more rare... a book about complex people with complex motives. Warren's poetic novel is wonderful to read just for the phrasing at times, but the characters, their history, their thoughts and actions, and their interactions are what really brings this to the top of my short list. It's a book for a book group. So many ideas so close to the surface, without being absolutely thrown in your face. Without giving away the end, I can say that you see much of it coming, but you don't care. You want to read every word to see what Warren has to say about the connections and lack of connections between people.

Set in Kentucky in 1795, schoolmaster John Gray falls in love with Amy Falconer, a silly girl - but it is really her aunt Jessica he truly loves. He is a man inspired by ideals - his great fault, in a way, because he misses the human side of people (and himself) because of them. But Jessica is already married, and though she loves Gray back, nothing comes of it. The book is sad and uplifting at the same time.

Set in Kentucky in 1795, schoolmaster John Gray falls in love with Amy Falconer, a silly girl, but it is really her aunt (Jessica) whom he loves. Gray is a man inspired by ideals--his great fault--because he misses the human side because of them. But Jessica is already married, you see, and although she loves him too, nothing comes of it (it is 1795, after all, not 1995): neither character reveals their true feelings for the other. The book is sad, but (and this is Allen's strength as an author) uplifting at the same time.

I enjoyed reading "The Choir Invisible" because in an age where "The Right Thing To Do" is an antique, and "Play now pay later" philosophy reigns supreme , it's good to see someone have the courage of their convictions. Totally enthralling!!!!

after i read the Jeff book i had to read this one this was not as good as Jeff A Heart of a Champion but it was a good story of a boy who fell in love with the wildcats and never wanted to go any were eles

This is a "must read" for all people in every stage of their Christian life....especially those who bleed the blue of Kentucky. Cameron Mills is one of the most powerful speakers and writers I've ever seen.

After reading this book, I realized that with faith, anything is possible. I really enjoyed this book, and think it is a great book for anyone to read.