Irons Books

In the past couple of years I've read 5 Ralph Cotton books. When I'm done with a book I always rate it and or write my feelings on the first page. I have just pulled all of these books from the shelves and read what my comments were. All of them said it's an OK story. What amazes me is the comments of other readers from most westerns. They say "the best ever that I have read." It is obvious to me that these people have never read Robert J. Conley or Cameron Judd. .

Ralph introduced us to the ranger in "Montana Red," and it was "Classic Cotton." I didn't think it was possible, but I believe old Ralph has done even better in "Badlands." The action keeps you turning pages till the wee hours of the night. Keep it up Ralph! You've got us hooked on your writing and we now need our "Cotton Fix" on a regular interval.

Although Ralph Cotton writes the best westerns I've ever read, he has outdone even himself with Badlands. The Arizona Ranger Sam Burrak series has to be made into a movie, that is if Hollywood can do these characters justice.

After reading Border Dogs, I thought Ralph Cotton was a newwriter on the western scene. However, I see now that he has fourbooks about his ranger Sam and Maria and I plan to read all of them. Cotton does not rely on old cliches and dull plots. His characters are as real as the people we see on the news at night. His stories go farther than most of what I find at the movies. I am his newest fan, and will continue to be a fan from now on. Good work, Mr. Cotton. Keep them coming.

They are called the Bog People--these remains found in peat bogs in Denmark in the early 1950's. P.V. Glob gives us this story as a direct request of schoolgirls in England in the early 1960's. Asking for more information, the girls wrote: "We would like to know where he (the Tollund man) is now because we want to visit him when we are older." After sending some print-outs, Glob received yet another letter: "We like hearing about these people because it is amazing how well they have kept." THE BOG PEOPLE is his response to these curious girls.

If you are thinking circus at this point, you have captured that trait of man fascinated in the really weird things of life. When I taught "Beowulf the Epic," I included stories and photos from this book and displayed them through use of an opaque machine. Some students were so mesmerized they would leave their seats to examine the photos up close.

What the reader/viewer finds in these photos is an extremely bizarre preservation of these mummies with such detail, one can see eyelids, fingernails, blood vessels, hair, skin pores, and, yes, finger prints. Even the stomach contents of Tollund Man (shown on the cover) are preserved and include clover, rye, buttercup, yarrow, nightshade--it is believed to be a sort of vegetarian soup.

A noose was also found around Tollund Man's neck. Historians believe he was part of a ritual killing for sacrificial purposes. There are other remains, now in museums, that depict other details of life a thousand and more years ago. What preserved these people for so long--unbeknowst to the preservers-- was the peat, whose properties in water prevent normal decay. (The other way is intentional mummification, of course, the method practiced by the Egyptians.)

All in all, this book provides fascinating clues to the way of the life of man in prehistoric northern Europe. Plus, you get to gawk in the privacy of your own home.

A beautiful slim volume which should be on everyone's bookshelf. It is a disturbing and yet strangely moving book. However the text is woefully out of date and has a lot of misinformation on the Celts and their relationship with the trading systems of the North. It also lacks the modern theories of how and why these individuals were sacrificed. I highly recommend this book just as long as you don't use it as your only source of information on the Celts.

P. V. Glob's BOG PEOPLE is a concise and illuminating study of several exquisitly preserved bodies of Iron Age inhabitant discovered northern Denmark by peat diggers in the early 1950s.

Glob, who was on the scene soon after the bodies were discovered, describes the remarkable condition of the bodies, then proceeds to explore the circumstances of their deaths. Glob's exposition gives us a look into the practice of ritual sacrifice in Iron Age northern Europe. Enhancing his discussion with studies of their last meals, the manner of death, the clothes and jewelry they wore as well as other bog artifacts, Glob introduces us to a brutal world where ritual sacrifice played a critical role in the spiritual life of Iron Age residents of modern day Denmark.

The photographs and x-rays of the bodies are stunning. In particular, the haunting photos of the serene, delicately preserved Tolland man cast this study in an earthy yet unearthly light.

This is a rather unusual book and well worth reading. Most of the time we read about remains being found in caves,tombs or graves under stone monuments,etc. In this case, there is a real departure in that they are found in wet bogs.
Although, at the time these bodies were placed in the bogs,it was probably not known that the acidic properties wound result in their unbelievable preservation.
These bodies were most likely "buried" in the period of 200 B.C until
200 A.D. This period was during the early Bronze Age and in the northern
and western part of Europe. Civilization was not near as well developed here as in southern Europe when Rome was at its height of development.
The author describes a few of the remains and tries to show who these people were and why they were interred in bogs.This occurred over a wide area and at many locations.
There seems to be two main reasons why remains were placed in these bogs.
Some were obviously murdered,sacrificed,hung or otherwise executed because of crimes,need of a victim for sacrifice, or because they were thought to be possessed,or otherwise evil. Many were staked to the ground to prevent them or their spirits from returning. Others were placed there because of their high ranking in the society.This was determined because those remains showed no evidence of wounds,mutilation or ropes around their necks or limbs.They were also accompanied with artifacts and or treasures.
This book would probably not be considered a great or highly learned Archaeological effort. Be that as it may,it is a very interesting read and an insight into life at the time through a very different window.
The author has included a large number of excellent photos;though it's a shame they are not in color.
It is also of note, that it was first published in 1969 and is still in print.

I recently saw a documentary on Martha Mason's life and wanted to know more about her, so bought the book. She tells the story of her life, before polio and after. It is an inspiring story (you think you have problems? how'd you like to live in an iron lung for over 50 years!) -- but it is so matter of fact and straightforward. One might wish for a few more medical details, but that is not the story she wants to tell us. The people who care for her come alive that you get to know them too. A keeper.

This is a wonderful book. I absolutely loved it. I grew up in Shelby and today I live not far from Lattimore and I am just in awe that she has lived her life in this iron lung and kept her sanity!

This book brought out a gamut of feelings, laughing one minute, to sadness,to tears. As I read I think what a terribly sad life, but she makes it like it is perfectly normal, no big deal, she just has a tiny obstacle to get around.

It is impossible to put this book down when you start reading it , so be ready for no sleep till you finish the book. She is an excellent writer and even though I have never met her in person, she is a beautiful lady! My 15 yr old son has the book now and this will be a book we will keep forever and cherish it.

I bought a copy and sent to my Sister-In-Law and she read it in one day and called saying how much she loved it.

I highly recommend it. I think a TV movie of Martha's Life would make a wonderful Hallmark movie and hope some producers out there will get hold of the book and think about that.

Buy this book. Read it. When you are finished with it, give it to a friend. Then you will have behaved like Martha Mason. She has taken her life, read it over, and acted on it by sharing herself with others. This is the quintessential Martha. She has given so much to her long list of friends that they regard her as extraordinary.

I am one of the lucky ones, as I have known Martha all my life. That makes this review, then, unabashedly biased. No matter, because everything Martha writes will generously enrich your life. And she writes well. I was able to wrestle the book away from my father, to whom Martha had given an early release copy. We all were taken away by her writing style, not to mention the stories of early Lattimore, her brother Gaston, her helpers in the home, and many others.

Not unlike Martha, her favorite doctor has been an inspiration to me for many years. And not unlike him, Martha has been my hero for at least as long. (At least she listens to my stories and jokes!)

Buy this book. You won't regret it.

In Breath, one learns of Mason's survival of 54 years confined to an iron lung as a result of contracting polio at the age of eleven. This courageous woman survived beyond all odds and has excelled beyond belief. She graduated first in her class (at all levels), mastered a voice- activated computer, cared for an invalid mother, and has written this unforgettable memoir. Perhaps her highest achievement though is chronicled in the chapter on "My Fair Helper". Ginger, her longtime caregiver, arrived at Martha's door illiterate and a "diamond in the rough". Martha taught Ginger to read and write and polished her into the gem she is today.
Her account of her brother's death from polio in 1948 and her illness which followed is heart-wrenching. The care and support provided by her parents inspires awe.
She takes the reader back to the 1940's and her pre-polio days growing up in a small village in rural North Carolina. The childhood adventures of this "spunky" little girl and her friends remind one of "Tom and Huck".
This book is destined to become a best seller, and one can only hope that there will be another close on the heels from this author.

The book's title refers to the three basic approaches people take toward relationships. The author explains the three approaches, and how they interact, and which one works for a solid, lifelong commitment. What he says rings true to me, and it's backed up by the author's own experience as a marriage counselor and as a married man himself.

Along the way, Harley also provides soem other useful insights, including a list of personal characteristics that should match in order for a couple to be compatible; why sacrificing your own happiness for each other's benefit is NOT a good strategy for a long-term relationship; how we all have an inner Giver and a Taker; a description of what he calls the Electric Fence Personality, why it makes relationships particularly difficult, and what can be done; and a compelling explanation of why marriages are much more likely to fail when couples live together beforehand.

Anyone contemplating marriage (or for that matter, anyone NOT contemplating marriage because they're afraid it wouldn't work out) would profit from reading this book.

the title of this book caught my attention. reading it has helped me understand my relationships in the past better and i think it'll help me avoid the cycles that haven't proven wise. the examples of what happens when people with different values/beliefs about caring for one another was particularly beneficial. if you're trying to understand your relationship better and make sense of the other persons behavior this is a good read. it might not be what you want to hear (you might be involved with a freeloader) but at least you know the real deal.

Anyone with baggage, emotional and/or (romantic) relationship conflict should read this book. I would go so far as to say that it should be a prerequisite for dating in general. It frees daters to return to an old fashioned method of courting. It teaches the fundamentals of building relationships while encouraging the reader to do internal inventories, making its readers more emotionally healthy partners!

This is the one. Of all the books I've read, this one was so simple -- not simplistic, but simple. It makes total sense. Mr. Harley lays out a method that basically guarantees successful relationships. Being happy with every decision is built into the plan. Happiness is the bottom line. After being a "renter" for a very long time, I am now a "buyer." And the arguments with my spouse have now turned into discussions where we negotiate how BOTH of us will be happy, not grudgingly compliant, but really happy, with each outcome. Buy it & pass it on. This one should be on Oprah.

After visiting Charleston and meeting this wonderful, talented gentleman, I bought the book to learn more about him. It is well written and describes beautifully the wrought iron gates that he designed and built in this lovely city. If you've seen any of his work either in Charleston or the Smithsonian Museum, this book will add to your knowledge of this very talented African American, now 95 years old.

John Vlach gives us an interesting biographical study of Philip Simmons' blacksmithing in this richly illustrated book. The book begins with Simmons' accounts of his early life in the Sea Islands off Charleston's coast. He then describes how Simmons' life changed when he discovered the love of his life: blacksmithing. Vlach and Simmons provide enough context to show how he began learning the art. The book then gives us a portfolio of Simmons' work, with a special focus on the elaborate gates that epitomize much of his artistry. These photos were selected by Simmons, and Vlach provides fine commentary on each illustration. This commentary gives readers a better understanding of blacksmithing, and it trains the eye to examine this type of ironwork, thereby enhancing one's appreciation for Simmons' skill. One of my favorite chapters is a vibrant presentation of Simmons' work with apprentices. He describes interactions between Simmons and Willie Williams to provide a vivid depiction of the folklife of a blacksmith shop. This chapter reveals the passion that both artists feel for their work. The book's final chapters show how Simmons has been honored for his work, and they provide a fine tribute to his many accomplishments and his inspiring artistic vision.

I am sorry, but I never read the book, but I purchased it as a gift for friend. However I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Simmons on a tour of Charleston, South Carolina in 1998. He is an incredibly lively person who is full of humor and has countless stories to share. I remember one in particular, when he spoke of his years as a boy when there were only horse & carriages for transportation. Then he said the age of the automobile came to be and folks would stop whatever they were doing to watch in awe as the automobile went by. Then he chuckled quietly as he descibed the same behavior today when a horse & carriage goes clamoring through town. There are no words to describe the artistic craftmanship of Mr. Simmons iron works, you simply have to see for yourself. As for Mr. Simmons, he is a proud yet humble man about his craft, his works and his life, you should meet him for yourself.

a stirring and engaging account of a man whose life spans almost the whole century, who grew up in a fascinating environment, regularly crossing between worlds while he served an apprenticeship, and went on to cross between other worlds, a folk artist who is regarded by the art world as a peerless sculptor, whose work is exhibited in museums. THis is a great study by a preeminent folklorist that will interest anyone.

I had to read this book for a class, and it's definitely better than most of the required reading I've had. If you like F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, where there is no action but it's a very enriching experience for the character, then you will probably like the book. If you like Michael Crichton or Tom Clancy and are stupid like 90% of everybody else out there, then you probably won't.

Choteau Creek: A Sioux Reminiscence by Joseph Iron Eye Dudley was an easy read, and I was almost turned off by the simple and straightforward style. However, in the end, it is what made the book so enchanting. There were no hidden agendas or questions left unanswered- just a simple story of a man's childhood filled with people everyone should be lucky enough to learn from. This is not to say the book did not deal with deep issues, just that the way they were presented was very easy to grasp. But then again, I would hope the love felt in this book was always this simple and wonderful.

This is a truly tremendous book! Among my personal list of favorites. I found this book quite by accident years ago in a local bookstore and it continues to impact me today. I recommend it wherever I go and have had my own teenage sons and other family members read it. It should be on high school and college reading lists. The style is simple yet heartfelt. The themes so meaningful yet rare in todays world. Themes such as real character, unselfishness, solid role models, tradition, and attachment to place are woven throughout the text. Read it!

I am reminded of a saying I once heard: People may come to dinner, but a true friend helps you wash the dishes. This book presents friends. I can picture Grandma as she tells stories of her childhood or humbly contemplates the meaning of the owl's call. She remains with me after the book is finished. This is a good book for those who need to see the beauty and small acts of kindness and generosity that are triumphant in the face of hardship.

George Peele's King Edward the First Modernized & Illustrated

Peele, George. King Edward the First. Ed. G. K. Dreher. Midland, TX: Iron Horse Free Press, 1999;
ISBN: 0-9601000-7-5 (hardcover, 224 pages with illustrations).

The publication history of George Peele's chronicle play, Edward I, begins in 1593, as the Stationers' Company register tells us:

Die Octobris./. [1593] Entred for his Copie vnder thandes of bothe the wardens an enterlude entituled the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour [.]

Alternately called Longshank, Longshanks, and Prince Longshank, Peele's Edward I was performed fourteen times by the Lord Admiral's Men between August 29, 1595, and July 14, 1596. The play's successful stage history occasioned the printing of a second edition, which appeared in 1599.

At least eleven modern editions have been published since R. Dodsley's 1827 text, the most recent of which is: King Edward the First, a retroform edited by G. K. Dreher, published by Iron Horse Free Press. Publisher George R. Dreher, son of G. K. Dreher, notes that the "aim of this edition is to provide . . . a few unriddles in the text, modern spelling and punctuation, and an introduction for readers who are not familiar with the play." Partly a celebration of Peele's life and works and partly a tribute to Dreher's father's scholarship, the volume brings together G. K. Dreher's previous editions of Peele's Edward I (Adams Press, 1974) and David and Bethsabe (Adams Press, 1980). The new edition also includes an introduction, a commentary, and 23 images: 8 medieval illustrations from the British Library, plus 1 each from the Public Records Office, Eton College, and the Beinecke Rare Book Collection (featured in Edward I); 12 illustrations from museums around the world by the artists Raphael, Michelangelo, Salviati, Rembrandt, Chapron, Berton, Beckmann, Picasso, and Chagall (featured in David and Bethsabe). Together these components fashion a useful volume for a general reading audience; indeed, this text does more than any previous edition to popularize Peele's work. Although not a critical edition, the book will perhaps be most valuable as a teaching text for undergraduate studies.

George Peele (1556-96), born in London, was one of the principal writers of chronicle history plays in the Elizabethan literary movement, which culminated in Shakespeare's Henry IV plays and Henry V. Peele was educated at Christ's Hospital, Broadgates Hall (Pembroke College), and Christ Church, Oxford where he won praise as a translator of one of the Iphigenias of Euripides. In 1580 Peele married Anne Cooke, daughter of an Oxford merchant. With Ann he returned to the environs of London in 1581 where he pursued an active literary career in association with the "University Wits", a group of playwrights that included John Lyly, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Nashe, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Watson. Peele's works concern courtly and patriotic themes and can be classified according to three main categories: plays, pageants, and miscellaneous verse. In 1589, in a vitriolic preface to Greene's Menaphon, Nashe suspends his condemnation of most late-sixteenth-century English writers to praise Peele as the "chiefe supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of Poetrie, and primus verborum Artifex" who "goeth a steppe beyond all that write." In 1592 Greene considered him "no lesse deserving" than Marlowe and Nashe; "in some things rarer, in nothing inferiour." Peele's surviving plays are: The Araygnement of Paris (1584); Edward I (1593); The Battle of Alcazar (1594); The Old Wives' Tale (1595); and David and Fair Bethsabe (1599). His miscellaneous verse includes The Tale of Troy (1589), Polyhymnia (1590) and The Honour of the Garter (1593), an epideictic poem to the Earl of Northumberland. Excerpts from Peele's writings were first anthologized in 1600 in Englands Helicon and Englands Parnassus.

Peele's Edward I combines three narratives, each announced by the original text's full title: the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour. Peele derives the first story, the return from the Holy Land of King Edward I (1272-1307), from at least four different chronicles, but chiefly those of Grafton and Holinshed. Peele shapes his account of the life of Llywelyn (?-1282) from popular tales of Robin Hood. The third story is an unhistorical account of Queen Elinor portrayed as a divinely judged murderess. Peele subordinates the second and third narratives under the first in order to frame the play's central plot of Edward's glorious military victories over the Scots and Welsh, especially his devastating campaigns of 1277 and 1282-83 in which he conquered the Welsh principality of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

Edward I resounds with nationalistic pride at a time when England's victory, in 1588, over the Spanish Armada continued to fuel public celebrations. Edward's first speech in the play, for example, invokes a providential design for England's history:

O God my God, the brightnes of my daye,

How oft haft thou preferu'd thy feruant fafe, By fea and land, yea in the gates of death, O God to thee how highly am I bound, For fetting me with thefe on Englifh ground?

G. K. Dreher's modern edition standardizes the text's spelling, punctuation, and stage directions, thus achieving a very readable version:

O God, my God, the brightness of my day, How oft hast thou preserved thy servant safe, By sea and land, yea in the gates of death. O God, to thee how highly am I bound For setting me with these on English ground.

This latest return of Longeshank will certainly contribute to George Peele's popular reputation as one of the most important chronicle playwrights in Elizabethan England. In addition to Peele's Edward I, Iron Horse Free Press currently offers three other books by G. K. Dreher: Samuel Huntington, Longer Than Expected (an illustrated essay on the Presidency of Samuel Huntington, first president of The United States in Congress Assembled); Now the Dog is Quiet (a novella written in opposition to world hunger); and Ourselves & One Other (a collection of Christian devotional meditations).

Author George Peele was in a group of London playwrights, precursory to Shakespeare, known as the "university wits" as were Marlowe, Lyly, Nashe, and Greene. In 1587 Thomas Nashe called Peele "The chief supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of poetry, and primum verborum artifex (most excellent artist of words)," and "one who goeth a step beyond all that write." Editor George Kelsey, through extensive research of primary sources at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, has provided a retroform of KING EDWARD I, solving several riddles in the text that he discusses in the 43 page introduction covering Chronicle History Plays, Sources, Structure, Theme, Characterization, and Diction. In the special insert of DAVID AND BETHSABE (SAMPLES) Dreher juxtaposes Peele's verse with parallel Bible passages from the 1525 translation by Miles Coverdale and demonstrates that Peele worked directly from the Latin and used as sources the Psalms as well as Samuel II. Dreher offers a 35 page discussion of Peele's viewpoint, emotional involvement, and style. The book is 6 x 9, 224 pp., with color printed case, 20 illustrations from the finest museums around the world, a Foreword, Introduction, Comments, and Bibliography.

George Peele (1556-1596) was evidently one of the principle writers of chronicle history plays in the movement which rose to Shakespeare's One and Two HENRY IV, and HENRY V. His experimentation in theatrical art was precursory to the work of Shakespeare. His repertoire included such forms of literature as history, melodrama, pastoral, tragedy, folk, play and pageant. His varied interests accented a desire not to be narrowly classified and a worry about poverty. While attending Oxford, Peele launched his diverse literary career and won praise as a translator of a play by Euripedes. Here he also wrote the first of his surviving works, THE TALE OF TROY (published 1589), a 485-line verse epitome of the ILLIAD. Peele joined an assembly of fellow Oxonians living just outside London, known as the "university wits." The group of playwrights (including Lyly, Greene, Nashe, and Marlowe) were experimental with poetry in various meters. In 1587, Thomas Nashe could call him "The chief supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of poetry, and primus verborum artifex" and as to his dexterity of wit and variety of invention one who "goeth a step beyond all that write." Peele developed his eloquent blank, or unrhymed, verse which greatly contributed to the tone of idyllic romance that later came to characterize comedy, demonstrated most in his works THE OLD WIVES TALE (1595) and THE ARAYGNMENT OF PARIS (1584). Consequently his generation looked on him as a literary giant. Eight years after THE ARAYGNMENT, Robert Greene considered him "no less deserving" than Marlowe and Nashe; "in some things rarer, in nothing inferior." EDWARD I (1593) and THE LOVE OF KING DAVID AND FAIR BETHSABE (1599) are two of only four dramatic works that certainly are the products of Peele's wit.

This was a play first published in 1593, with the theme of King Edward's struggle against the Welsh prince Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, otherwise known as Llewelyn the Last. Llewelyn was a prince of Gwynedd who adopted the style Prince of Wales in 1258 and was formally recognised in this role by King Henry III at the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Edward I became King of England in 1272 but it was only on his return from the Crusades in 1274 that he had to confront the problem of Wales. In 1277 he invaded Wales and Llewelyn was forced to pay homage. Several years of comparative peace followed but hatred of English laws and settlers caused the Welsh to rise again in 1282. The king crushed the revolt and Llewelyn was killed. These events prompted a Welsh bard to ask "Is this the end of the world?" and another to yearn "Ah God, that the sea would drown the land!".

Llewelyn is rarely mentioned in English literature so I read the play with interest. This edition is edited by the late G. K Dreher who wrote an interesting introduction and modernized the spelling and punctuation. I did not expect to find new historical insights into Llewelyn but was interested to see how he was portrayed to an Elizabethan audience. In fact, George Peele is surprisingly sympathetic in his presentation of the man who posed such a threat to the English crown. As Dreher points out, the play was written for an audience of people who "under Elizabeth were enjoying health, expansion, new knowledge, relish and hope". They were citizens of a country in the midst of becoming a great power and enjoying a cultural renaissance. Peele knew that they would sympathize with King Edward's desire to unite Britain under one monarch but would also respect the motives of the Welshman who fought for the rights and dignity of his own people.

Although practically unknown today, George Peele was highly respected by his literary contemporaries. He was an Oxford "Maister of Artes" and the play contains a sprinkling of the Latin tags and classical allusions that we expect from an educated writer of his time but my own favourite passage is a homely one:

(The Friar's novice responds to his master's command to visit town in order to buy food and wine)
"Now, master as I am true wag,
I will be neither late nor lag,
But go and come with gossip's cheer
Ere Gib our cat can lick her ear ."

This new edition of the play published by the Iron Horse Free Press in Texas.

Dave Tuller captures the essence of our experience but you sort of had to be there. Remember, this was 1992 Russia. We were followed by KGB the whole time because we dared have a "kiss-in" in front of Moscow City Hall. A whole bunch of gay/bi/straight radicals demanding fair treatment in that environment, it was crazy. He also misses the visit to the AIDS ward where we met people who had not been touched, hugged or kissed since they were locked up. It was heartbreaking.

Dave's a good friend, a good writer, and a great photographer. Well worth reading.

Through a lovely, personal account, Tuller invites the reader to see the West from a Russian point of view. Here, a gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle came to Russia to study the so-called gay and lesbian movement there only to fall in love with Ksyusha, a mercurial lesbian. As we too fall in love, Tuller, a sensitive and insightful writer, subtly liberates, allowing human experience to be more mysterious, comic, delicious, and tragic than the acceptance of appearances or the application of trite, political labels permit.

as a student in russia and eastern european studies, Tuller's book casts much needed light on the stuggles of gays and lesbians in Russia. it has helped me to more fully understand the russian mind and soul. thank you

Tuller gives remarkable insights into the modern world of Gay and Lesbian Russia. He takes the reader to a world of transexual lesbians, weekends in the country, and a sexual identity just gestating, waiting to be born. It was very enjoyable reading, and even for the heterosexual reader, it gives excellent insights into the dramatic changes that occured in Russia after 1991 -- all of it explained on a personal level.

You have spelled the author's name wrong. My name is Yale Richmond, and the paper edition of the book was published in 2004, not 2000.

Yale Richmond

Cultural Exchange highlights the intrinsic events within the educational system, that is, the exchange program between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union by the ideas that it helped to foster. It gives you a detailed, well researched account of the events that led to these programs, as well as many small entertaining tid-bits such as students in the program who were afraid to do anything because they thought the CIA was working with the KGB. All in all, a synopsis of the book is not needed here, just pick it up yourself if you have an interest in the Cold War and/or the events that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union, to see for yourself what lies within the book.

Other recommendations along with this title:
New Myth, New World, from Nietzsche and Stalinism
Toilet: The Novel (A Tribute to the Literary Works of Franz Kafka)

Scholarly and illuminating, Richmond's book colorfully documents official, government Soviet-American cultural exchanges that began after Stalin died in 1953, and helped to break down barriers of fear and ignorance, at a time that many of us felt the Cold War was freezing all contact.

These cultural exchanges involved books, movies, writers, performing artists, scientists, technologists, think tanks, politicans, and scholars.

Richmond writes eloquently, liberally using quotes of people who took part in the exchanges. One was organized by Gerald Mikkelson, professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of Kansas, and it flourished in the 1970s and 80s. From several days to several weeks, Soviet writers came to the university, experienced the Midwest, and went away forever changed.

"Those visits to Kansas," says Mikkelson, "not only broadened their horizons culturally and ideologically, and gave them plenty of food for thought that sometimes got translated into specific literary works or images, but it added to their prestige and emboldened them at home in their efforts to make the Soviet Union a more livable place for writers and people in the other creative and performing arts."

Imagine a Soviet writer being plunked down in Kansas!
And other new places!
The same for Americans in the Soviet Union!

Some Soviet scholars were not allowed to take part, because the Soviet Foreign Travel Commission didn't think they were "reliable" to travel abroad, for whatever reasons. One of them was Soviet professor George Mirsky, a Middle East expert, who whole-heartedly encouraged his students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations to go on such exchanges.

Mirsky writes, "Before the exchange, people believed that Western society, no matter how wealthy and affluent, was narrowly materialistic, devoid of any humanism and spirituality, selfish and arrogant, indifferent to moral, cultural, and artistic values, full of hostility for Russians and of anti-Communist crusading spirit.

"What amazed them was American hospitality, warmth, willingness to oblige, civility and politeness, lack of ethnic prejudices, care for disabled, richness of artistic life, pluralism of opinions, abundance of associations. The Soviets were able for the first time in their lives to see a functioning civil society. This was a great surprise...The exchange visitors would never be the same again."

As a musician and lover of the arts, I especially enjoyed the chapter on performing arts, with highlights of American impresario Sol Hurok's success in bringing Soviet musicians, dance troupes, ice shows, and circuses to the U.S. As a child, I had seen some of these performances, but not been aware of their long-range effect! Reciprocal trips took such Amerian writers as Norman Cousins, Robert Lowell, and Edward Albee, and such groups as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to the Soviet Union.

These cultural exchanges paved the way for the the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev to the presidency of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev and his wife had done a great deal of foreign travel in the 1970s and 80s, and loved it. They saw that another world existed beyond their country. As president, Gorbachev opened the door even farther and moved the Soviet Union forward to help end the Cold War.

I love this book because it is informative, inspiring, and written with obvious relish and passion. Richmond was there, working on these exchanges, helping to get people talking, and opening up their minds. He records this first-hand. Who else can tell such a great story so well? I recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn, to understand more about history, and to appreciate the people who changed it. Bravi!

The jacket of Richmond's book states that this work "demonstrates that the best policy to pursue with countries with whom we disagree is not isolation but engagement." Whether or not this is universally true, a very strong case is made for this argument in this study of cultural exchanges during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.

The exchanges between the two countries were initiated by President Eisenhower in a letter to Bulganin, the Soviet head of state, and were begun in 1958. Whatever concerns there might have been about potential Soviet espionage, the program found approval even from FBI Director J. Edger Hoover. Richmond demonstrates the wisdom of this program as thousands of Russians and Americans participated in these exchanges which continued up to the time when the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

The book's table of contents provides early clues to the range of the program. There were exchanges of scholars in science and in the political and social sciences, exchanges of scientists and technicians for conferences and participation in working groups, exchanges of journalists and diplomats, and the well publicized exchanges of performing artists in ballet, music and theater. Students in the exchange program often remained in the host country for several years; scientists and technicians only for the several weeks of a conference or working group.

The background to the exchange rogram is provided through citations from the reports of American administrators and scholars associated with it and through personal interviews in which they describe the difficulties of implementation in the face of bureaucratic obstacles from two mutually suspicious countries. It is the interviews with the exchange participants, however, which is at the very heart of this quiet but remarkable story. Of particular interest are the interviews with dozens of participants from the Soviet Union.

This reader was arrested by the positions held by the Soviet participants at the time of their arrival in the U.S. and by what became of them and their careers on their return to the home country. In contrast with the American exchange scholars who came largely out of academia, many from the Soviet appear to have held government positions when they arrived in the U.S. or at some earlier time. The nature of some of these positions is especially surprising to the lay reader. Among four students who came to study at Columbia University, for example, two were in the KGB, one in Soviet military intelligence, and the fourth in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. These backgrounds do not appear to have been exceptional among Soviet exchange scholars.

It is not certain from Richmond's reports if expsure to the U.S. through this program was, in general, an advantage or handicap to Soviet participants' careers on their return home. Nevertheless, it is evident from some of the case studies that some achieved positions of great influence. Alexander Yakolev, for example, became a senior advisor to Gorbechev and is known as the "godfather of glasnost." Rem Khoklov was awarded the Lenin Prize for his scientific research and became a member of the Soviet Parliament. What may have been of importance even greater than those who reached high positions, however, is that many scholars were inthe government and on the job when the Soviet Union collapsed and were prepared for the social and economic changes which were to come.

At a time of increasing barriers to those who would enter the U.S. as students or observers, CULTURAL EXCHANGES AND THE COLD WAR demonstrates the value of openness even during the most stressful periods of the Cold War. American leaders coming from a broad political spectrum took the risk of allowing access to this country by students and leaders from our most feared competitor. From this there appears to have been an unimagined payoff.

BOOK REVIEW by Richard Desper of:
The Dark Side of Shakespeare: An Iron-fisted Romantic in England's Most Perilous Times
A trilogy by W. Ron Hess

When delving into the life of the putative poet/playwright "William Shakespeare", it may well be said (irony intended) that there is less to the man than meets the eye. Neither the background, qualifications, nor the historical record seem to support the historical William Shakspere as the Bard, and historical research leave us with a number of "lost years" unaccounted for in his life. Ron Hess has undertaken a somewhat parallel task - he has examined the facts about the 17th Earl of Oxford, most likely the actual identity of the author "William Shakespeare", and shows that there is much more to the man than meets the eye. Indeed, it would seem, if we believe Mr. Hess, that there is much more to the "Shakespeare enterprise" than we had ever imagined.
The "Shakespeare enterprise" is a key concept in Hess's book. In his own words, `... The real question of importance should first be, "WHAT was Shake-spear?"` In the First Folio, Ben Jonson calls Shakespeare "Soule of the Age! ... Thou art a moniment (sic) without a tomb!" suggesting Shakespeare's purpose, that of defining the character and tone of an age. The written works are only part of a larger project, with Oxford playing an international role embodying a mythical hero, the "Palladin of England", which Hess identifies (through Greek etymology) with Pallas Athena as the "Spear-Shaker". Hess identifies that project with a long-term alliance involving the earls of Sussex, Oxford, and Pembroke, along with Lord Hunsdon and Lord Effingham, all with key roles at Court and in the London stage. According to Hess, beginning in the 1570's, `The alliance controlled the public and semi-public stages, but I argue that the private homes of those in the alliance were where the "Shakespeare" plays each were "originated".' The alliance used stage plays as a public relations part of its efforts for promoting its desired goals, both in the earlier period when the author was anonymous and later on when the pseudonym "Shakespeare" was introduced.
Mr. Hess's book abounds with notes, appendices, references, and a bibliography which attest to the extensive research involved in its preparation, a level of research which would seem to be unmatched by orthodox Shakespeare scholars. He speaks with logic and clarity, as when he debunks the orthodox "voice of authority" in such matters as the dating of the plays. He deftly skewers their inconsistent logic, for instance, as to what standards are to be accepted or disdained as it suits their purposes in one instance vs. another. His writing style exudes candor, freshness, and openness - he works by presenting the evidence, offering alternate interpretations (including his own, of course), and inviting the readers to draw their own conclusions. And for those who have found his speaking style entertaining, this has translated into his written work as well, resulting in a colorful presentation, which abounds in Hess's rich personal literary images.
Hess dwells extensively on Oxford's possible role in international intrigue, juxtaposed in the 1570's against Don Juan of Austria, natural half- brother to the King of Spain and the great military leader of the day, a role perhaps not as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance. It has long been noted that the "Shakespeare" plays abound with topical references dated to that decade, including allusions to Don Juan. To what extent Oxford was an active player abroad in these intrigues remains to be clarified, but it is clear that he was an active player where it counted a great deal - in molding opinion first at Court, then in the world at large. For perception, image, whatever one might call it, counted a great deal in those days, even as it does today.

BOOK REVIEW by Richard Desper of:
The Dark Side of Shakespeare: An Iron-fisted Romantic in England's Most Perilous Times*
A trilogy by W. Ron Hess

When delving into the life of the putative poet/playwright "William Shakespeare", it may well be said (irony intended) that there is less to the man than meets the eye. Neither the background, qualifications, nor the historical record seem to support the historical William Shakspere as the Bard, and historical research leave us with a number of "lost years" unaccounted for in his life. Ron Hess has undertaken a somewhat parallel task - he has examined the facts about the 17th Earl of Oxford, most likely the actual identity of the author "William Shakespeare", and shows that there is much more to the man than meets the eye. Indeed, it would seem, if we believe Mr. Hess, that there is much more to the "Shakespeare enterprise" than we had ever imagined.
The "Shakespeare enterprise" is a key concept in Hess's book. In his own words, `... The real question of importance should first be, "WHAT was Shake-spear?"` In the First Folio, Ben Jonson calls Shakespeare "Soule of the Age! ... Thou art a moniment (sic) without a tomb!" suggesting Shakespeare's purpose, that of defining the character and tone of an age. The written works are only part of a larger project, with Oxford playing an international role embodying a mythical hero, the "Palladin of England", which Hess identifies (through Greek etymology) with Pallas Athena as the "Spear-Shaker". Hess identifies that project with a long-term alliance involving the earls of Sussex, Oxford, and Pembroke, along with Lord Hunsdon and Lord Effingham, all with key roles at Court and in the London stage. According to Hess, beginning in the 1570's, `The alliance controlled the public and semi-public stages, but I argue that the private homes of those in the alliance were where the "Shakespeare" plays each were "originated".' The alliance used stage plays as a public relations part of its efforts for promoting its desired goals, both in the earlier period when the author was anonymous and later on when the pseudonym "Shakespeare" was introduced.
Mr. Hess's book abounds with notes, appendices, references, and a bibliography which attest to the extensive research involved in its preparation, a level of research which would seem to be unmatched by orthodox Shakespeare scholars. He speaks with logic and clarity, as when he debunks the orthodox "voice of authority" in such matters as the dating of the plays. He deftly skewers their inconsistent logic, for instance, as to what standards are to be accepted or disdained as it suits their purposes in one instance vs. another. His writing style exudes candor, freshness, and openness - he works by presenting the evidence, offering alternate interpretations (including his own, of course), and inviting the readers to draw their own conclusions. And for those who have found his speaking style entertaining, this has translated into his written work as well, resulting in a colorful presentation, which abounds in Hess's rich personal literary images.
Hess dwells extensively on Oxford's possible role in international intrigue, juxtaposed in the 1570's against Don Juan of Austria, natural half- brother to the King of Spain and the great military leader of the day, a role perhaps not as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance. It has long been noted that the "Shakespeare" plays abound with topical references dated to that decade, including allusions to Don Juan. To what extent Oxford was an active player abroad in these intrigues remains to be clarified, but it is clear that he was an active player where it counted a great deal - in molding opinion first at Court, then in the world at large. For perception, image, whatever one might call it, counted a great deal in those days, even as it does today.

Ron Hess has written a fascinating, entertaining, and well-researched account of the 17th Earl of Oxford's part in Scottish, English, European, and even Asian politics during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. He begins the "Shakespearean period" in the 1570s, with almost all of the plays having an "origination date" within a twelve-year span of 1574-86.

The most intriguing of Hess' theories, however, is the role played by Don Juan of Austria (natural half-brother of Philip II of Spain) in Oxford-Shakespeare's horizon. The author shows the Earl to have been a veritable "Scarlet Pimpernel" -- at Court a fop with Italianate tastes, an effete but gifted poet and writer of Euphuistic comedies, skilled in the aristocratic sports (fencing, jousting, falconry, tennis), respected for his erudition, and loved by women as well as by a grateful coterie of actors, poets, and writers, whom he subsidized (or commissioned for darker tasks!).

Oxford's "dark side," however, can be seen in a secret life of spying, intriguing, plotting, smuggling, gun-running (to Protestants abroad), and possibly even assassinating! The butt of all these activities, Hess believes, was the Earl's "alter ego," the Don Juan of Austria mentioned above (for whose 1578 death Hess holds Oxford responsible).

Only time and further research will tell if Hess' conjectures upon the evidence prove out. If even half of them do, we are in for a radical "paradigm shift," equal to Looney's in 1920. Certainly, Hess buttresses his argument with good scholarship and wide reading. He cites a truly staggering roster of resources: historical, political, and literary -- both Stratfordian and Oxfordian (the latter including not only the usual Looney, Ward, and the Ogburns, but such almost forgotten ones as E.T. Clark and H.H. Holland, and newer ones like Stritmatter, Brazil, Moore, Davis, and many more.

Not all Oxfordians (including myself) will agree with some of Hess' conclusions, particularly his views on the Sonnets. Hess produces no tangible evidence for adoption and use of David Honneyman's theory that early versions of these poems were translations from the French Huguenot poet D'Aubigny. But he does contrast various alternative theories, including those of Leslie Hotson, Joe Sobran, and most recently the intriguing theory by Sidney Lubow that the key to the Sonnets lies in Lover's Complaint and the ancient myth of "Narcissus." In the end, Hess is less interested in the Sonnets' meaning than in how they may offer up clues for dating Shakespeare's works to the 1570s and 80s, as more ammunition for knocking-out Mr. Shakspere's insufficient candidacy.

It's a pity the advanced copy Hess shared with me was poorly edited. Still, he assures me the published final available from..., ..., and www.Amazon.com will have been purged of the typos, graphical, grammatical, and even factual errors that I observed.

But, even if we can't agree with him totally, Hess is not to be easily dismissed. Better yet, The Dark Side of Shakespeare is simply an exciting read. Stratfordians will hate it of course, but Hess proves that their opinions simply don't count anymore!

BOOK REVIEW by Richard Desper of:
The Dark Side of Shakespeare: An Iron-fisted Romantic in England's Most Perilous Times
A trilogy by W. Ron Hess

When delving into the life of the putative poet/playwright "William Shakespeare", it may well be said (irony intended) that there is less to the man than meets the eye. Neither the background, qualifications, nor the historical record seem to support the historical William Shakspere as the Bard, and historical research leave us with a number of "lost years" unaccounted for in his life. Ron Hess has undertaken a somewhat parallel task - he has examined the facts about the 17th Earl of Oxford, most likely the actual identity of the author "William Shakespeare", and shows that there is much more to the man than meets the eye. Indeed, it would seem, if we believe Mr. Hess, that there is much more to the "Shakespeare enterprise" than we had ever imagined.
The "Shakespeare enterprise" is a key concept in Hess's book. In his own words, `... The real question of importance should first be, "WHAT was Shake-spear?"` In the First Folio, Ben Jonson calls Shakespeare "Soule of the Age! ... Thou art a moniment (sic) without a tomb!" suggesting Shakespeare's purpose, that of defining the character and tone of an age. The written works are only part of a larger project, with Oxford playing an international role embodying a mythical hero, the "Palladin of England", which Hess identifies (through Greek etymology) with Pallas Athena as the "Spear-Shaker". Hess identifies that project with a long-term alliance involving the earls of Sussex, Oxford, and Pembroke, along with Lord Hunsdon and Lord Effingham, all with key roles at Court and in the London stage. According to Hess, beginning in the 1570's, `The alliance controlled the public and semi-public stages, but I argue that the private homes of those in the alliance were where the "Shakespeare" plays each were "originated".' The alliance used stage plays as a public relations part of its efforts for promoting its desired goals, both in the earlier period when the author was anonymous and later on when the pseudonym "Shakespeare" was introduced.
Mr. Hess's book abounds with notes, appendices, references, and a bibliography which attest to the extensive research involved in its preparation, a level of research which would seem to be unmatched by orthodox Shakespeare scholars. He speaks with logic and clarity, as when he debunks the orthodox "voice of authority" in such matters as the dating of the plays. He deftly skewers their inconsistent logic, for instance, as to what standards are to be accepted or disdained as it suits their purposes in one instance vs. another. His writing style exudes candor, freshness, and openness - he works by presenting the evidence, offering alternate interpretations (including his own, of course), and inviting the readers to draw their own conclusions. And for those who have found his speaking style entertaining, this has translated into his written work as well, resulting in a colorful presentation, which abounds in Hess's rich personal literary images.
Hess dwells extensively on Oxford's possible role in international intrigue, juxtaposed in the 1570's against Don Juan of Austria, natural half- brother to the King of Spain and the great military leader of the day, a role perhaps not as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance. It has long been noted that the "Shakespeare" plays abound with topical references dated to that decade, including allusions to Don Juan. To what extent Oxford was an active player abroad in these intrigues remains to be clarified, but it is clear that he was an active player where it counted a great deal - in molding opinion first at Court, then in the world at large. For perception, image, whatever one might call it, counted a great deal in those days, even as it does today.