Kentucky Books

"The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" is an entertaining and informative read for film buffs,
history fans, and many others. After I heard Hersey Felder sing "Back Bay Polka" in
the musical review "Gershwin Alone", I traced the song to the Betty Grable movie
with the same title as this book. At the time of the movie's release, George
Gershwin had been dead almost two decades. Supposedly, the songs were previously unpublished Gershwin material. Maas claims some were written
by studio composers.

There are many episodes of early Hollywood, featuring nice people and some of the
really rottens. Many ring true, and some smell false. Maas outlived most of the
people she describes as evil or weak, so they can not complain or sue.

It is not literature, and it is not history, but it provides some interesting
scenes that might be of interest to historians, or to gossips. Some reviewers
have labeled the author "left-wing". There are a few scattered political comments
and a few concentrated pages, but conservatives need not fear an attack on their
beliefs. Maas is after specific Hollywood powers.

The dust jacket cover photo is striking. Serious photographers might want to
learn about the other work of the photographer.

An interesting view firsthand of women writers of that day. I highly recommend it.

I came across this book a few years ago when I learned that the author -- a next door neighbor of my great, great-grandparents 1908-11 -- was still living at 102! (They are featured on pg. 6) I phoned her and had a wonderful conversation.

She had written this book three years earlier. She has some wonderful experiences, and reports them with untethered opinion and vigor. But her style -- weighed down by cliches -- fast becomes wearisome. Maybe we should give her a break --- she was 99 when she wrote this.

There is lots of interest here -- turn of the century Russian, secular Jewish life in Manhattan, early Hollywood, left-wing politics (McCarthy wasn't being paranoid about all the communists within the gates).

If awards were given to writers for packing the most cliches into one book--or even into one sentence--this gal would be in the running. Here's one of my favorites: "I was fit to be tied, ready to throw in the sponge and tell them where they could take their cotton-pickin' job." If this is your idea of sparkling prose, welcome to it. I find it no wonder that she and her husband didn't get too far as screenwriters. Of course, the fact that their greatest success was a now-forgotten Betty Grable musical should tell you something. As for the "shocking" facts about early Hollywood, the trade reviews (see above) quote every one of the most interesting, gossipy and shocking passages in the book. So save your money: you've just read it.

It's hard to believe the world described by Frederica Sagor Maas in her memoir "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" existed within the lifetimes of people alive today. So many of those who were once household names are now forgotten, so many of the places changed irrevocably.

Yet many of Ms. Maas' experiences & views will come as quite a surprise to the younger generation who tend to think they invented sex, drugs & partying. It's a revelation to hear a woman born in 1900, talking about herself at 20 state "I considered sex something natural like eating or getting dressed. Once it was over, it was over."

For a lifelong LA resident (now in exile) like myself, the greatest pleasure of this book was reading about what life was like in the entertainment capital at the beginning of it's reign. Now decrepit apartment houses described when they were desirable addresses; crowded urban corridors that were once sylvan wildlife areas! What surprises lurk here for those who know LA well!

For the general reader, the memoir moves along well, with Ms. Maas' tart comments always enlivening the recollections. The writing style is sparse & not especially descriptive as you would expect from someone who got her start writing scenarios for silent film. I did feel the book could benefit from some fleshing out; entire decades pass in a few paragraphs, the section describing the making of the film the book is entitled after is only a few pages long, & there were many experiences mentioned that would have benefitted from more description. But I guess at nearly 100 the past must often seem a film at fast forward & Ms. Maas' memory is to be commended!

This book is a valuable addition to the memoirs from the Golden Age of Film. It is especially valuable because it's from someone who was not viewing the industry from the heights but rather from the trenches. I salute Frederica Sagor Maas for having the honesty & clear-sightedness to produce this autobiography & for living the life she has led.

First, the book is NOT a biography; it is, however, a memoir and I challenge anyone to recall with perfection every occurrence in his or her lives. In addition, yes, this book is indeed a journey. It is a journey through the nonlinear realm of memories. It is a journey through the expansion and compression of time. The expansion and compression that goes on in our minds and hearts as we recall, or attempt to recall, those instances in our past that framed our future. It is indeed a bumpy ride that McElmurray takes us on through those oscillations. However, it is truly a marvelous work and I compliment the author not only her bravery but for her creative ability to take us on this "journey" for redemption, on this "journey" for closure and ultimately to the beginning of a new "journey" for the author. The "journey" for her and her son to come to terms with all that has happened. A beautifully written book it is more like poetry than prose. Like a hushed cry, it will call you into the memories and will hold on to you until the very end.

This is an important book for all interested in adoption and especially the birthmother experience to read. The writing is far superior to the usual adoption memoir; liquid,lyrical, poignant, vivid and emotionally true. The poetic stream of consciousness style is perfect to convey the ambiguity, pain, guilt, and clouded memory of a mother who gives up a child, especially the aftermath suffered alone in secrecy and self-loathing. The author's skill in making specific sights, sounds, smells stand out like objects coming into focus through a thick fog is especially effective in anchoring the narrative in reality while the very nature of that remembered reality is questioned.

This is not an easy book to read, especially for one like myself who also surrendered a child, under different circumstances and coming out of a blessedly more normal childhood, but so many of my unspeakable feelings were captured by Ms. McElmurray that at times I was not sure if I was reading the book or writing it. The more I read, the more I fell into the black hole of the years surrounding the birth and surrender of my firstborn son, when I was a college student in the late 60s. What this book captures so well is not a specific, literal linear story, moving from childhood to pregnancy to surrender to eventual reunion, but the shifting,viscuous nature of time and memory, how it is all happening all the time, back and forth and around and around, in the mind and heart of the surrendering mother.

The unreliability of memory, the fluid nature of time, and the endless private retelling and restructuring the story that Ms McElmurray portrays so well are also very familiar to me, the constant rumination over what really happened, and why, and who was to blame, the endless shades of misty grey, where it would be so much easier to make it all black and white and clear, as most such narratives do.

Those who are looking for the usual adoption reform saga will be frustrated; there are no evil social workers, greedy adoptive parents, cruel grandparents forcing surrender. There is only a very young mother at barely 16 making her own choice to save her son from the abused and pain-filled childhood she has known, and never forgetting or recovering from the awful echoes of that choice. She is forever alone, forever standing at the edge of some high mountain road with the choice to jump or fall, as the years and ghosts swirl beneath her feet.

The author's voice is clearly Southern, the way she endures and prevails worthy of a Faulkner heroine, but this poetic narrative is both particular and universal, the anguished cry of a mother who could not keep her son, and could not, in her heart and soul, ever let him go. I especially loved her modest depiction of their eventual reunion, letting the reader fill in what that was, so reminiscent of my own reunion with my adult son, for which there really are no words.

This book is disturbing, painful, and achingly beautiful. It is filled with truths beyond mere the facts, in the way of the most resonant stories and myths. I am in awe of the author's talent and courage, and highly recommend it, especially to other birthmothers and to adopted persons.

Mary Anne Cohen

She was barely fifteen. She was scared and full of Jesus and her baby. She had faith in the sacrament of marriage but that let her down. She was raised by a germophobiac Appalachian mother who surely thought cleanliness was next to godliness. In that way, her mother tried to save her daughter. After that, her daughter saved her son by giving him up for adoptiion in a system of adoption that was still relatively safe.

She never gave up thought of him and, mericifully, the Red Sea of Government finally parted for this mother and her son to be reunited.

Karen McElmurray is an enormously gifted writer with a heart larger than essential to anyone who would dare to claim the valor of motherhood.

This book is a celebration of birth, voice, recovery. It also stands as a shame to a country still divided on both sides of the "issue" by the "disposability" of the "misbegotten."

Read this book to know honesty, acceptance of responsibility, and how, if it's not too late, we can all find our way back to the womb.

I stopped reading this book shortly after page 96 where the author writes "None of this story is the absolute truth of course. I did not live in an apartment with black and white linoleum, did not live with a Randi or a Terence. I would never have been confident enough to unplug a vital refrigeration unit, touch the stomach of a pregnant girl, or remain calm in a kitchen full of people I'd known for only a few weeks. And Marsha? Was she thirteen or eighteen or something in between?..."

When I read a biography I presume it is as accurate a portrayal of real events that the biographer can reconstruct-not made up fiction for memories whose details have faded with time.

I commend the author for surviving a traumatic childhood and giving her child up at birth. I wish her the best in resolving the issues from her painful past and establishing a relationship with her adult son.

However, I would recommend a rewrite of this book eliminating the rambling, sometimes manufactured narration. It serves no purpose and detracts from the story of what actually happened.

Honesty is crucial in documenting all aspects of one's life and in our relationships with others including that of author and reader.

Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother's Journey is an astounding work of creative nonfiction. Rather than starting at the focal point of the story, her teenage pregnancy and subsequent choice to give her son up for adoption, McElmurray continuously moves backward as well as forward. In lyrical passages where the language is as beautiful as the story is difficult, she winds us through her childhood and adolescence. Maybe this meandering is what renders the characters so starkly authentic, for isn't that the way memory truly works, each moment connected as much to the moments preceding it as to the ones that follow? Surrendered Child is the moving story of a young mother's haunting choice. But this book goes beyond the story it tells, the narrative is a leaping off point and the water below contains the challenge to see what it means to be wonderfully, painfully, alive. As I finished the book I was reminded of the end lines of Adrienne Rich's great poem, The Novel. Rich writes, "You knew the end was coming / You knew beyond the ending lay / your own, unwritten life."

I purchased this book as a gift for my dad. Janis Holt Giles came to me while doing family research, The Kentuckians was resourced in one family's information so I purchased that book. My dad took it up and read it and has been a Giles fan ever since. From then on every month I have bought a new Giles book for him to read and he enjoys them so. He reads the books in one day then passes them along to anyone who will read them.
He believes Janis Holt Giles to be one of the most gifted writers of all times.I just simply get pleasure from finding him books he loves to read.

Janice Holt Giles takes you to a small place in Appalacia and begins weaving a picture of the people, the ways of life, the long time traditions, and the religion that is deep in the heart of the country. She does it in a way that actually made me fall in love with the people and yearn for a simpler life (even though logically, I know I would have a hard time adapting to such a life). It took me a long time to decide to read this book because the cover is not engaging, but once I had started, I had a hard time putting it down!

This was the worst book I have ever had the misfortune of reading. You see, I had to read it for school. I am 13 years old. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not just a stupid 13 year old who hates everything to do with reading; I LOVE to read. I usually like all the books I read, this is the first one I absolutely hated. No offense to the author or anything, but do people really care how she likes her biscuts? Or does she really think we care about the music for the song "Jesus Hold My Hand"? I mean, give me a break! So those of you who want to read this book, please consider this before wasting your precious money on this excuse for a book.

You will enjoy reading this.

I did.

I loved this book because it took me on a journey to a part of the United States that is not known to most readers. And to a time that is not today. And to know people who are unlike any neighbors I have ever had.
I really enjoyed learning the landscape and the problems and the social activities of mountain people. Someone who lives in an urban area (or the suburbs of an urban area) may feel superior to these characters, feel privileged compared to such country types but I really admired many of the people for coping so well with their circumstances. Many seem heroic, even.
I'd like to say Thank You to this author!

Amazing and extremely thought provoking photos. Like observing a train wreck it is hard to divert one's eyes from these disturbing photos. Though most of the photos are from the 1980's the author makes it clear in the preface of the book that his pictures are by no means typical of the area and should NOT be interpreted as a general representation of all Appalachian people or their culture today. Granted, some 25 yrs later I presume that fact is even more valid. Mr Adams indicates that he was born in the region and knowing the back roads had access to the areas where other visitors would have been denied.
Fascinating glimpse of "back woods" Appalachian life.
Incidently, this book may be found at most public libraries. rather than paying the $300.00 price suggested here by sellers.

Shelby Lee Adam's doesn't, as some accuse him of, train his camera on the families of Eastern Kentucky to ridcule or expose them in their poverty or backwardness. Instead, because of his devotion to capturing in an authentic way authentic people, he simply and lovingly captures their reality. Is the poverty easy to look at? No. Is the "backwardness" easy to understand? Not very. But Adam's neither condemns nor condones his subjects; he simply and carefully records. We should all be grateful for that.

This book is attractive on several levels. Bluegrass fans will like the heartfelt portraits of ancient, weathered men cradling banjos, guitars, or a homemade Jew's harp. Fans of the Foxfire series of books on Appalachian crafts and survival skills will like Shelby Lee Adams' Ellis Bailey, Yeaddiss, 1989 (posing with a large animal skin); Mary Napier, Viper, 1989 (posing with squirrel trap and skins); The hog killing, 1990; and Chester and his hounds, Delphia, 1992. People who are amazed by photographer Nicholas Nixon's use of a 4X5 camera for ensemble portaits (Nicholas Nixon Photographs From One Year (1983) Untitled 31, The Friends of Photography) will find even more to admire in Shelby Lee Adams' portraits: Leddie with children, 1990; Children at Topmost, 1991; and Banks family portait, Beech Fork, 1987. Fans of photographer Russell Lee and his portraits of po' folks living in homes where newspapers line the walls for insulation (see, e.g., Russell Lee Photographer (1978) by F.Jack Hurley) will find much to admire in Shelby Adams' photographs of the Napier family home. Fans of Richard Avedon's In the American West will like Shelby Adams' The coal miner, Isom, 1988, and other portraits. Overall, though, there is something else busy at work here. Many of the photographs are shocking or chilling. All of the images depict people living in squallor. A weatherbeated young woman poses by a wheelbarrow filled with trash, wearing a misspelled tattoo on her arm reading: BORN TO LOOSE. The woman cradles a beautiful, spic'n'span baby, where the contrasting cleanliness of the baby only increases the shock that is lent by the trash and tattoo. In another portrait, three churchgoers (two men and a woman) pose by their church, smiling, but their smiles seem oddly unnatural. One of the churchgoers wears an incongruous SURF GEAR T-SHIRT. The name of their town (Hooterville) is spelled wrong, and a correction had been inserted by small hand-printed letters. These three people posing by the church have creepy smiles. The woman smiles broadly, but her face is sweaty and she has a gaping hole where a tooth is missing. One asks, are the unnatural smiles real, or did they result from the photographer's time-consuming task of adjusting (tilting, swiveling, swinging, expanding) the knobs on his 4X5 camera? Most overtly chilling are the images of the religious snake handlers and firehandlers, complete with shark-bite sized scars. Again, oddly unnatural features abound: Holiness Man holds a snake where the man has menacing eyes, and where the menacing quality is not intended. In another picture, Holiness Man places a hand on a Bible, but one of his fingers is oddly and unintentionally twisted. The man's other hand holds a snake. To conclude, Shelby Lee Adams' pictures take two approaches. The first approach is wholesome, happy families posing in squallor. This approach is also shown in Marion Post Wolcott FSA Photographs (1983) Untitled 34, The Friends of Photography, and in Social Graces by Larry Fink, published by Aperture A New Images Book. Shelby Lee Adams' second approach is portraits with incongruous or unnatural expressions, where these expressions are not intended by the subjects. The fact that the odd expressions seem not intended makes the photographs ever more chilling. Andy Grundberg expressed similar thoughts on Bill Burke's photographs of people in Kentucky: the faces we meet in his pictures seem alien, if not lurid and as viewers we are made into voyeurs (Andy Grundberg 1990) Crisis of the Real, Aperture, pages 203; 210-214). If Diane Arbus had done a portfolio of Gomer Pyle, the result would be images in Shelby Adams' second style.

This book paints a disturbingly distorted portrait of a people who have been constantly misrepresented by our society. I was born in Eastern Kentucky, in the Appalachian Mountains, and am personally offended by this book. Adams and Smith deliberately sought out to find the most backward people they could, and pass them off to the rest of the nation as mainstream Appalachia. Portraits slaps the face of everyone from the Appalachian area, and keeps the extremely unfair stereotype of Appalachia alive. It is a very culturally biased piece of work, and both Adams and Smith should have known better.

I grew up in central KY, just 1 1/2 hours away from Appalachian KY. While the stories and families depicted in these photos are quite true to their nature, it may offer a skewed view of Eastern Kentucky life. Not everyone over there lives in the condition that my dad and I jokingly call "Squalor in the 'holler." However, it happens to be the part that is fascinating. I think the purpose of this book was not to represent Eastern KY, but to represent the intense poverty of the region and to share a glimpse of a lifestyle that most of us cannot comprehend. This book shows what people want to see of Appalachian KY. It's what they are looking for, and it is delivered. That is a place that time has left behind. It's one of the poorest regions in the U.S. due to several certain factors and it is fascinating to see how other folks live. It is a different world over there. If you enjoy thinking about human geography and sociology, this book may welllead to hours of thought.

This book serves as a guide for the men who fought in Central America from the 1880's through the great depression. It recounts their exploits but really does not get into their motives. Simply calling them soldiers of fortune does not make sense when their exploits are explored in detail. I think this book has value as a starting guide except for the fact that it requires a lot of knowledge on the history to begin with. The author's attempts at trying to determine which groups were responsible for which raids leave a large scholarly gap to be filled. This books value is limited and really should only be used as a quick review of what happened.

This is a wonderful read. Vivid accounts of mercenaries and capitalists and their deeds in the early part of the century. The research put into this book is impressive. They provide little known facts about the individuals central to the travesty brought by American involvement. The lives of Lee Christmas, Samuel Zemurray and others from the period are fascinating. Their stories deserved to be told and this book has done a great job of doing so.

I found this to be an excellent rendition of some rather brutal and violent events. The cast of characters could fill a dozen novels, but they were all real people. The corruption, the revolutions, the mercenaries, the battles the the battles are all detailed in a readable style.

A wonderful book about a fascinating time in history. Lee Christmas, Sam Zemurray and all the other characters from the era are rescued from undeserved obscurity. Information not found elsewhere made this a worthwhile read. Having lived in La Ceiba, Honduras and Guatemala, this book brought back the smells and taste of tropical America. For anybody interested in the virtually unknown escapades of soldiers of fortune and crazy capitalists, this is the book for you. If anyone knows of similar books that can be purchased, please e-mail me. I have some, but the early publication dates and lack of market for republications makes it difficult to find classics by Beals, Batson and Cunningham among others.

One of the least appreciated fields of American foreign policy is the role American mercenaries, entrepeneurs and government officials played in the Central American isthmus prior to WWII. The highlight of this time and place is the Panama Canal of course; but there is an entire history separate from Panama that occurred just to the north in the countries of Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatamela and El Salvador. This book focuses on the history of these countries in the time frame of 1880 - 1930. Why this time? The answer is that during this time, this area moved out of the influence of Europe and Europeans, and passed under the influence of the USA. It is during this time that the phrase "Banana Republic" becomes common as the events in these countries were driven by the banana industry or those involved in it.

The book gives equal attention to both local actors such as Bonilla, Manuel, and Castro (not Fidel), and those from the USA such as Lee Christmas, Guy Molony, and of course higher ups in the White House such as Taft, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The emphasis is on events in the isthmus itself, and many pages detail the battles and machinations of local officials.

The story painted in this book follows the general outline. First, whites discover the feasibility of banana production en masse within Central America. Second, whites from Europe and America move in to make money of the banana business. In doing so, they run into locals and the rivalries that dominate local politics, and are inexplicably drawn in. Washington occasionaly tries to force peace with ironclad warships of the coastal cities and battalions of marines and bluejackets. But this only works as long as the soldiers and ships are present, which is some of the time. The rest of the time alternates between civil wars within countries, and wars between the various isthmus countries. After the first chapter, one comes to realize that this represents one long soap opera. The concept of "dividing the spoils" rarely occurs and everyone fights to win it all.

The book is not long, but is quite tedious to read. Instead of focusing on several key events, the authors frame the book as one long timeline where each event is given 1 - 2 pages. As such, the list of characters, places, and events quickly becomes too much to remember and one page blends into the next. The book includes several pictures in the middle; these should have been included after each chapter to break the text and aid the reader in understanding what is being told. All in all, an interesting subject but not that good a book. There are probably better works to read to learn about this subject.

THIS IS A GREAT COLLECTION OF STORIES AND INFORMATION ABOUT A VERY GOOD TIME ERA. AFTER THE WAR AND TO THE PROSPERITY OF THE 1950'S. THIS BOOK IS VERY WELL WRITTEN AND HAS A TON OF INFORMATION. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR THE REAL DIEHARD AND HISTORIC BUFFS OF BASEBALL. A GOOD EDITION FOR ANY LIBRARY. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Though Jackie Robinson appears (rightfully) on the cover of this book devoted to the period of baseball's long-overdue racial integration, the author's motive is to nominate Commissioner Happy Chandler as the true author of that history-making event. As a number of other reviewers have pointed out, that argument doesn't hold up under its own weight.

I highly recommend, "aseball's Pivotal Era, 1945-1951"for anyone interested in this exciting era.

I grew up in a baseball town with a class B Dodger farm club, during the Happy Chandler reign as Commissioner of Baseball. Since I was only 7 then, I didn't know much about all of the politics involved. This book really enlightened me about many historical facts of the game including integration and the Mexican League raids. As a kid I was unaware of so much going on behind the scenes.

I am retired now and have plenty of time to devote to reading about this passion of my youth, baseball, and of the many books I have read on the subject, this is one of the best.

As with any book that has lots of statistics, there are bound to be a few errors. Because of a sincere love of baseball, and a head stuffed with old baseball facts and stats, I have uncovered what I believe to be, several typos and/or discrepancies that I would happy to pass on, in case there is going to be an errata. Example: page 87, table 5, shows Brooklyn as NL Champion for 1946; actually the Cardinals were the champs that year. Probably nobody really cares, except the 1946 Cardinals, and me.

I especially enjoyed this book because it fills the time period from my age of two to eight years of age. I became a fan with the end of the "pivotal era". The author notes correctly that progress made during this era stagnated with the arrival of Ford "It's a League Matter" Frick as commissioner after Happy Chandler didn't live up to letting the owners do as they please. Significant details such as the Mexican League, the crucial year of 1947 with the arrival of Jackie Robinson, the Indians' championship of 1948, the 1950 Philly Whiz Kids, and the details leading up to Thomson's homer in 1951 all make this a significant book both for the knowledgable fan and the newcomer interested in baseball history. I did find a few minor errors such as on page 271, the author refers to Bill Bevans of near no-hitter fame in the 1947 World Series as Hal Bevans. Also, former Tigers manager, Red Rolfe, is said to have been replaced as manager in 1951 by Charley Gehringer. Rolfe was replaced during the 1952 season by former Tigers' pitcher Fred Hutchinson. Finally, Jackie Robinson died at the age of 53, not 56 as the author states on page 437. I can certainly put up with these errors. There is a lot to cover in the game's history during these years, and the author did a great job of covering the time period when I was too young to appreciate what was going on in the game of baseball. It's too bad the time period following this era was presided over by a do-nothing commissioner when the game was crying for leadership. However, the owners got exactly what they wanted in Ford Frick.

This book examines baseball during the term of A. B. (Happy) Chandler as commissioner. It is based on extensive oral history interviews, thorough archival research, and the author's keen sensibilities about baseball. I relished reading the book because it filled a significant gap in my knowledge of the game. Marshall is especially strong on the role of free agency and how this manifested itself in the Mexican league of the post-war era. His general knowledge of players, managers, and management is impressive. Finally, this book is well written, without academic jargon. "Baseball's Pivotal Era" merits reading by fans and scholars alike.

Civil War Historian Stephen D. Engle has written the first ever biography of Major General Don Carlos Buell, who was, during one year of the war at least, one of the top Union generals. This fact alone entitles Buell to a biography, the author reasons, as far less important generals, North as well as South, have been the subject of exhaustive biographies, while Buell has been strangely neglected.

Stephen Engle's treatment of the life and work of Don Carlos Buell is a welcome addition to Civil War scholarship. In the crucial year 1862, when the Confederacy had actually stood a chance of winning its independence, Buell held important commands.
It was Buell's timely arrival which helped turn the battle of Shiloh into a Union victory and later it was Buell's army that turned back Bragg's invasion of Kentucky at Perryville.

Dr. Engle must have written the book with some modicum of sympathy for its subject but he is not uncritical of Buell, indeed his is a fair and even-handed account of Buell's life and service. Engle writes in an engaging style and he offers sound explanations for, and interpretations of the generals actions and of his failures to act.
After finishing I did understand Buell and his role in the war far better than I did before. I did, however, not like Don Carlos Buell any better. From what I knew of him before I read Engle's book Buell had a difficult personality: he was a grim, humorless, bad-tempered, touchy prig. The book confirmed this.

When in May/June 1864 General William Tecumseh Sherman, the newly appointed head of the Department of the Mississippi, and in command of the bulk of Union forces in the Western Theatre, organized the great army with which he was going to take Atlanta, he cast about for experienced commanders. He let it be known to Buell that he wanted Buell to command one of his corps.

One would think that Buell would jump at the chance! By that time Buell had been relieved of his last command for some 18 months and been subjected to a humiliating investigation by a Military Commission into his handling of the battle of Perryville.
What did Buell do: he declined the offer, stating sourly that he considered it a degradation to serve under Sherman and Thomas, whom he both outranked!
Furthermore, as a former Army commander, it would be impossible for him to step down to a mere corps!

Unbelievable! When offered the opportunity to serve his country and to retrieve his reputation, he turned it down on reasons of silly matters as precedence, protocol, rank and on stupid misbegotten vanity and pride... This episode completely sums up this man for me. What a pettifogging, cantankerous, despicable martinet!!
Well, as an organizer/Quarter-master/commissary Buell was all right I suppose but I'd say that this was is about the sum of his military talent.
What officer in disgrace would refuse such a chance of an active field command?

There is a factual error in the book. W. B. Carter was the brother of Samuel P. Carter, not the cousin.

Stephen Engle's biography on Don Carlos Buell is an excellent look at one of the more important and overlooked Union generals. Engle did not tackle an easy subject. There were a number of reasons that Buell had to wait a century after his death for a biographer. While Buell was an important figure in the war, he did not leave a number of papers and, with the exception of the botched Perryville campaign, he never commanded the army during a major battle. While he played an important part at Shiloh and Corinth, Buell's roles remained secondary. Engle reveals Buell to have been a very self confident and contained man who simply had no charisma and, with his disdain of volunteers, he remained a leader who simply could not and would not connect with his troops. Add Buell's conservative politics to the mix and one can see why the Lincoln administration grew frustrated with Buell and sacked him towards the end of 1862. Engle appreciates Buell's strengths as a commander. Buell was an excellent organizer and disciplinarian but his conservative politics and lack of aggression ensured his removal. Buell comes off as the McClellan of the West and one is not surprised to see they were friends (so much so that Buell was tempted to write a biography of Little Mac after the war). While aware of Buell's failings, Engle also provides an interesting account of his subject's role at Shiloh and offers a good deal of insight on the frustrating and often bewildering Union campaigns against Corinth and East Tennessee. While Engle provides a solid account of Buell's rise in the old army, his account of Buell's postwar life seems a bit rushed but, with Buell having been a private man, Engle may have simply not had the material to flesh out this last part. Engle's account of Buell's court of inquiry is interesting but could have been drawn out, especially in light of the Porter case at the same time and other political developments. Still, Civil War scholars will find this book to be of great use as they try to grasp with why the Union did not win an early victory. Engle offers one of the best Civil War biographies of recent times on a mostly untouched subject.

There are few army commanders from the Civil War that have lacked a full biographical treatment, and up to the present, that gap was nowhere greater than with Major General Don Carlos Buell, who commanded the Army of the Ohio for approximately one year. During that time, he was at the head of the forces that captured Nashville, fought at Shiloh, commanded a wing on the advance to Corinth, and participated in Braxton Bragg's Kentucky invasion that ended with the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862.

If one could have polled Abraham Lincoln in early 1862 insofar as which of his army commanders had the greatest "slows," the President might well have been hard-pressed with choosing between eastern commander George B. McClellan and Buell. Indeed, the two (McClellan and Buell) were linked in a common bond of friendship, mutual respect, and a belief in the pursuit of a limited war. Charged with the task of developing a campaign to satisfy Lincoln's desire to "free" eastern Tennessee Unionists from Confederate rule, Buell simply would not, or could not, engage in a campaign with risks he felt were too great. Finally, as his forces ponderously closed in on Chattanooga, Confederate leader Braxton Bragg stole the initiative from Buell, and engaged in a bizarre race back into Kentucky, with the Ohio River city of Louisville the seeming prize. After the seemingly incomprehensible draw at the Battle of Perryville, Buell allowed Bragg to escape back across the Cumberland Mountains, and finally Lincoln and the Washington Administration had had enough. Buell was relieved of command, never to serve in a United States uniform in the field again.

Were there a sizeable cache of Buell war-time correspondence, as for instance, exists for McClellan, the job of Buell's biographer would doubtless been much easier. But Buell rarely expressed himself to others, including subordinates. Much of the interpretation, therefore, was left to Stephen Engle from the official documents and records left as a result of the war. Even so, Engle paints a realistic picture of this Union enigma, and places Buell in the overall context of Federal strategy and Army politics. It would have been nice, for example, to understand Buell's thoughts on slavery, since (his wife was a Southerner, and brought slaves to the marriage) he owned slaves prior to, and during the war. Since Tennessee military governor Andrew Johnson, and Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton accused Buell of being a Rebel sympathizer, such understanding would have gone far to help place Buell's beliefs in the treatment of civilians and civilian property while he commanded in Johnston's state. But without such a written record, it was up to Engle to draw conclusions on his own.

Part of the problem in understanding Buell rests with the fact that to do so, one must come to grips with his two major foils - friend George B. McClellan, and nemesis Henry W. Halleck. And here, Engle does a very nice job of bringing in these two other men, and positioning Buell within the context of the three men's goals and ambitions (in Buell's case, it was more one of no ambitions versus the lofty ambitions of the other two). Here, perhaps, is the strength of the work, and Engle well balances this very disparate trio.

The Don Carlos Buell that emerges in this work is a man sometimes incomprehensible for his attitudes and actions, but at least understandable for his consistency in those very attributes. Don Carlos Buell: Most Promising of All (a line written by Federal General John Pope, of all people) is a must read for anyone interested in the early history of the western theater, and the man that figured so prominently in it

A great biography on the life and military service of Don Carlos Buell. Engle takes the reader on an in-depth journey into Buell's early life and up through his service in the Western Theater of the Civil War. It covers with careful detail the military actions of Buell, including his taking and occupation of Nashville, Tennessee in 1862. After finishing this extremely well-written, well-thoughtout book, one can see the importance that Buell had on American history. I highly recommend this biography to anyone interested in the Civil War. It does not disappoint. A great read from start to finish.

A very fun and light read. The character of Amanda was extremely easy to get into. Grant, on the other hand, was not. I found him to be a distasteful character that I disliked even to the very end. He lacked that "hero" feeling that one usually encounters when reading a historical romance. Putting that aside, I loved the story itself. It was rich with description and witty conversations. I may have walked away despising Grant, but I also walked away feeling fulfilled for reading a good book.

I really liked this book and I would have given five stars if it weren't for the whole sabotage debacle and Grant not dropping the sarcasm even after he finds out that she's an innocent, other than that I really liked the plot and everything. I did not want to put this book down. I wanted Grant to be a man and admit his mistakes, it took him too long to realisze his love for her. She never really stood up for herself the way you think she would have. But yet and still I kept reading. Really good book.

Great book. The characters were strong, plot was great. I really liked the heroine. She wasn't a meek typical woman in romance novels. She was gutsy, and smart, and could hold her own. I liked that she had leverage over the hero. It kept my interest throughout this book, and the descriptions were great. I could picture being there in Kentucky adn seeing the beautiful horses. Great read for sure.

I loved this book because it was a great story. The stories where the girl goes to live with the guy in a big house is my favorite. The only thing i didn't like about this book was that it was slow at times. But it always caught up. Other than that it was amazing.I couldn't put it down!!

I enjoyed this book. Set in the late 1800's in Kentucky it tells about a lady gambler who wins a horse farm on the riverboat she works on. Of course, she doesn't know until she reaches the farm that she has only won half. The other half is owned by the unlucky gambler's older, gruff brother. He thinks she has cheated her brother and treats her terribly. I would have given this book 4 stars except for the fact that I never forgave Grant for his awful behavior towards Amanda. He treats her shabbily even after taking her virginity which proved she wasn't the tramp he believed her to be. The story line was fresh, I had never read about Kentucy horse farms before and learned a lot. I liked Amanda, but Grant I could never forgive.

Those hoping for a trashy sensationalist bio from this author will be disappointed. That is not to say that they will not be entertained, enlightened and educated and even perhaps raise their future expectations of "show biz biographies". Ms.Golden's previous two biographies, on Jean Harlow and Theda Bara were witty, well-researched and humane investigations of two film figures whose public personas had been hidden behind decades of myth and melodrama. In Anna Held, Ms.Golden has rediscovered a figure in entertainment history who has been largely, and illogically forgotten. It is as if , in a century's time, Streisand had slipped from the public imagination. It would have been easy to write a melodramatic biography of Anna Held (her short life certainly justifies it) but Ms. Golden has gone deeper and placed her resolutely within her time, and therein lies the success of her book. Anna's times were turn-of-the-century Europe and the United States, and with her talent for bringing alive historical times, Ms.Golden presents a fascinating and insightful picture not only of Anna and the entertainment world she lived in, but of the bigger social context. want to know what the early days of motoring were really like? it's there. Want to know what wearing a corset actually entailed? It's there. Does this sound dry and over-scholarly? Fear not. Ms.Golden, known for her humorous column in Movieline magazine, has brought a dry and witty humour to Anna's story. Ms.Golden has, for this reader, achieved something really special: she has made me care deeply about an otherwise forgotten figure. Anna Held emerges from Ms.Golden's book alive and charming as all hell, and in doing so, the author has made a forgotten character unforgettable.

Eve Golden's book about Anna Held is an enjoyable light read. She provides a wealth of information about one of our first media celebrities. I liked the subject of this book tremendously, but had a big issue with the editing, or rather, the lack of it. Specifically, I was distracted by the inclusion of material in parentheses on nearly every page. Sometimes the verbiage in the parentheses was additional information and other time it was author's commentary. This material should have been moved to endnotes, incorporated in the text, or in the case of author commentary, eliminated. It was so distracting, that everyime I turned a page I found myself scanning for the multiple parentheses first! Ms. Golden is not a bad writer. In fact she is quite good. But honestly, were all the parentheses necessary?

Not much has been written about the former music hall and vaudeville star, Anna Held, brought to fame in this country by Florenz Ziegfeld, and who turned out to be his first wife. I was surprised to learn of her early difficult childhood and her Jewish origins. Most interesting of all is how the author weaves in facts about the life in her times, especially early history of the automobile and of women's tortuous underwear, i.e. the corset! My lack of 4 or 5 stars is not for the content, but for the editor who missed a lot of spelling and syntax mistakes. It is a worthwhile read if you are interested in late 19th and early 20th century life and stage performers.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Ms. Held's life and career as well as the development of Ziegfeld's Broadway. It is well-documented and researched but not the least bit dry--in fact, I couldn't put it down once I started. I highly recommend this book!

I GREW UP HEARING ABOUT MY GREAT,GREAT AUNT ANNA HELD. THOUGH THE FAMILY HAD PRESENT DAY TONY AND EMMY WINNERS,ANNA ALWAYS HAD THE BIG BROWN EYES,THE TINY WAIST AND UNCLE FLO. UNTIL I READ THIS BOOK I ONLY KNEW THE FANTASY NOT THE FEARLESS .....ANNA HELD

Jess Tyler lives alone in a mountain shack until a young woman shows up at his door one day. He is powerfully attracted to her, even when he finds out that she is his long-lost daughter. This is only the first twist in a densely plotted novella that plays out among the poverty-stricken mountain people of West Virginia. James M. Cain takes his characters to some very dark places, hurling them from the heights of joy to the blackest pits of despair. What a ride!

Cain portrays the dark sides of his characters so vividly that you come away with the queasy feeling that such people might actually exist. You might also come away feeling grateful that you are who you are, and not them.

Jess Tyler lives alone, up at the edge of a worked-out coal mine. He has a farm plot and a few animals, but that's about it. He had another life once, or maybe more than one, but that's behind him. Then, one day, a part of that past stands in front of him. It's a young woman that he's drawn to so strongly that he has no choice in the matter. He doesn't know who she is, just that she feels right in his arms and in his bed. The problem is, it's the daughter he never saw grow up. With her, his quiet, upright life begins to topple. More of the past arrives, and not just his past. The tensions that tore his old life away from him arrive too, as taut as ever or more. Cain's story unfolds with the lethal inevitability of an end game in chess. As the strategy of each piece emerges, the need to attack or defend increases in urgency. The heat of flaring hatreds creates a pressure that builds, down to the last page.

Cain wrote his own introduction to this story. It's written in the same way as his fiction, so that every word matters and every thought is so sharp you could cut yourself on it. Maybe Cain isn't as well known as Hammet or Chandler, but he ranks right with them as a founder of noir as we know it.

//wiredweird, reviewing the 1979 Ace edition

You must read this book for the last sentence. It is the best ever written. Don't skip ahead, just take the time, read it and get to that beautiful, perfect sentence. You won't be diasapointed.

This story is vey interesting and unbelievable. It's about a man name Jess who was separated from his own daughter when she was just a baby. After many years have past, they both met each other by his house having a conversation. Jess fell in love with her without knowing that she's his own daughter, and goes for her. I rate this boo an "8" because of it's uncommon story that can never be accepted in our society.

'Butterfly' is the latest of several James M. Cain novels I've read. Unfortunately it seems that beyond his best known works ('The Postman Always Rings Twice', 'Mildred Pierce', 'Double Indemnity') he has pumped out a number of mediocre novels, including 'Butterfly'.

'Butterfly' is a novel on incest in a coal mining community in rural West Virginia during the 1930s. No doubt the story was shocking when first written (in 1946) but now the material seems fairly lame. The essence of older man/teenaged girl lust is captured much better in the infamous 'Lolita'. In 'Butterfly' we don't get to really feel smoldering passion or the intense shame associated with incest. While the prose is very readable the characterizations are fairly weak, as one would expect in a novel of little more than 100 pages.

Bottom line: James M. Cain on a bad day is still pretty okay, but he has done much better (especially in 'Mildred Pierce').