Arkansas Books

Appleman's work deserved to be more widely read. This is a fantastic collection of poems that are alternately funny, angry, and profound, and always connect the day-to-day with the universal. The poems from "Darwin's Ark" perfectly marry the poetic with the scientific, and bring light and metaphoric power to the concepts of evolution, even where it may only apply to cars. Additionally, the poems from "Let There Be Light" bring humor (and a healthy sense of absurdity) to the stories and characters from the Bible, without ever mocking the subject matter. Rather, the characters here are wonderfully human-- and Appleman's version of Noah's Ark is both tragic and laugh-out-loud funny. His work feels more relevant in today's post-9/11 world than ever. This is a powerful collection that can stand with the finest in contemporary verse; Appleman's work is not to be missed.

Philip Appleman is one of the country's most important poets. This retrospective collection covers his career to date and is an excellent introduction to his work. Appleman's poems summon up a variety of emotions--alternatively anger, outrage, sadness and amusement. They never fail to be thought-provoking. A word of warning: Appleman is a humanist, and several of his pieces are criticial of religion. This is not greeting card verse, it's poetry for the mature intellect.

Paul Greenberg is an editorial editor for the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette and a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Residing in the state of Arkansas and specializing in political commentary, Greenberg had the opportunity to follow and observe the Clinton legacy for more than twenty years when he published this book, "No Surprises", in 1996. Starting with the Clinton presidency and continuing through his first term as president, Greenberg has voiced many opinions about Clinton and his policies, many of which are included in this book.

Rather than writing this book in the normal sense, Greenberg instead chose to make this book a collection of previous writings about the governor- turned- president from Arkansas. Greenberg is a very articulate, thoughtful journalist who has the ability to keep readers interested even when the reader may not agree with his viewpoints. When it comes to Bill Clinton, Greenberg's feelings are obviously mixed, based on the articles that he chose for inclusion in this book. In some instances, Greenberg praises the governor/president for doing the right thing. Other times, Greenberg is highly critical of "young smoothie", particularly with Clinton's tendency to agree with whatever views his present audience espouses. Throughout his entire political career, Clinton has been known to do this, and he has the practice down to an art, seeming to agree with anyone at anytime, even when the opinions he voices and the people he agrees with are contradictory with each other.

Greenberg is the man who coined the phrase "slick willie" and the name stuck with Clinton throughout his political career. You can sense a feeling of frustration on the part of Greenberg toward the former governor/president as you read these articles. Greenberg seems like he really wants to like Clinton and support him more than he already does, but some of Clinton's tactics are just more than the journalist can stomach.

Paul Greenberg is a very compelling and respectful writer. Unlike the numerous Clinton- bashing books out there, "No Surprises" is respectfully written and compelling to read. Greenberg avoids negative bashing, even when he feels that Clinton has made an enormous mistake in governing. It all makes for a very entertaining read from this talented journalist from Arkansas.

I have read several books about Bill Clinton. This one is unique, and in that much of it is pre-presidential, provides uncanny insight into the range of events surrounding Clinton today. Author is a recognized, awarded civil rights writer, with convictions which defy partisan affiliations or stereotyped ideology. There were several times when things he had written made me laugh out loud. Many times he speaks with great conviction, always hopeful for Clinton's best, ready to forgive, and then the next disappointment. I've not seen another Clinton book like it, and I've read at least 30. Greenberg even correctly analyzes the problem that Republicans have had against Clinton, and the misperception that has led their strategy astray. Because the book uses as source material, articles that he had written as a journalist, you get that perspective that comes as the events take place. It's rewarding to read the author's interpretations of those events without knowledge of what would happen in the years ahead, and at times uncanny how on target his read of an event's significance was, with regard to future behavior. He couldn't care less about most of the sexual stuff - he's more interested in greater issues. A must read for all with an interest in Clinton.

Fay Jones is one of America's great Architects. This book is short but has some detailed visions by Fay, who was a personal friend.

This is a small book on master architect Fey Jones. There is a short intro by Robert Ivy (author of the 1992 Jones Monograph), a short bio on Jones that contains many quotes by the architect. Two chapters complete the book with the architect's own words on his design process and organic architecture. The book contains plans, sections, photos and some detail drawings of some of Jones more noted projects and furniture pieces. It is small book of only 94 pages. It is light reading and not a retrospective of his work. However, it is a beautiful little book for a great value and would make a nice gift for an architect or architecture enthusiest.

Delannoy's biography brings together most of the information that can be verified about the life of Young and melds it with a poetic appreciation of his importance as an artist and his suffering as a human being. Simply by relating Young's life story, Delannoy leaves no doubt that major emotional crises transformed Pres from a hard working young musician with a sunny outlook into a paranoid who developed his already eccentric behavior and language as defense mechanisms. Delannoy's strenght as a biographer is in making it clear that the gifts left by Young's genius transcend his bedeviled life

Not only is Luc Delannoy's LESTER YOUNG both scholarly and entertaining; it is a fresh, thought-provoking biography, penned with affection, that breaks new grounds. Delannoy is the first jazz historian I know of to show exactly what Lester meant when he'd quiet tell all those early, prying interviewers: "Frankie Trumbauer was my idol." Also, Delannoy has gone to the trouble of studying the transcript of Lester's Army court hearings, which brightens the light we can now shine into the darker corners of that dreadful wartime experience.

Afifi Matar, is one of the most important living Arab poets. In this Diwan (collection of poems) and other (such as Anta Wahidhuha), he evokes an immense sensibility to the imagery and allegories of the contemorary Arab condition. He is an Egyptian by birth, but it is evident from "Quartet of Joy" and his other poems, that he is able to transcend his Egyptianess to the larger Arab condition.
He is on the vant-garde of a select group of Arab poets who were able to break free of the strict rules of traditional Arabic poetry.
Matar, is a poet that, even in translation, has a universal appeal. He is a "modern" metaphysical Arab poet.

Having used this book as a principal text in my MA thesis, and become personally acquainted with the poet in the process, I feel I must offer some clue to the reader considering reading it:The Four Quartets is also often classified as an autobiographical text because of the personal meditative experience that is fundamental to the poem: Muhammad Afifi Matar grew up in the Egyptian countryside of Minufiyya where his first educational experience was learning the Koran in the village Koranic school, after which he received regular schooling in a neighboring town and acquired his B.A. in philosophy from the Cairo-based Ain Shams University. From this biographical sketch alone, a number of influences can be extracted; firstly, the Egyptian countryside, its focus around livestock and agricultural affairs on one hand, and its wealth of superstitions, folklore, popular Sufism and cultural mysticism on the other. As a poet later in life, his language constantly derives from the world of the village, of harvest, mating, pregnancy cycle and fertility are pulled directly from his life experience in the village where life is lived according to the seasons of sowing and harvest.
The second influence was the Koranic school which instilled in Matar a deep respect for the religious injunctions of orthodox Islam and inspired in him a lifelong wonder and appreciation of the elegant language and form of Koranic verse. And finally, there is the influence of his study of philosophy and what it entailed of exposure to western literature, the Classics and Arab, possibly Sufi, philosophers. It is impossible to separate him from these ever-converging circles of influence, as his consciousness, like that of his nation, is the product of massive interpenetrating cultures.
In his quartets, Matar lashes out against the `sleeping insomnia' of the Arab nation, which he believes is the result of the hegemonic impact of authoritarian politics on the written text that places opaque mediators that block the vision of potentialities. To pervade the mental cloudiness imposed on the reader by external forces, Matar plays on his remaining capacity for wonder and proceeds to perform precise verbal gymnastics, juxtaposing myriads of provocative images to command the alertness required for the paradigm-transformation he urges the readers to make in reclaiming their senses so that they can write their own texts. He alienates them from the text so that they can watch him as he dismantles and reconstructs reality, an activity that is at the core of poetic knowledge and the point of creation of philosophy and poetry
Instead of building philosophies on the basis of texts propagated to serve temporary political agendas, the reader must learn that what is important is not the 'Answer' but the quest for the correct and most vital question.
Hence Matar's discourse with the reader takes on a two-stage strategy: First he stuns his reader, causing him to lose his bearings amidst the verbal vertigo that Matar creates, putting him in the position of one who is ready to relearn the meaning of the words as he discards the traditional questions pertaining to the meaning of the poem. In the second stage, the still-dazed reader begins to ask the truly vital questions that the poet intends concerning the worldview that Matar is trying to communicate.
The most rewarding way to read this is with an open mind, allowing the language and images to wash over you, it is recommended reading if you are interested in:
Sufism, Arabic Poetry, Eastern Philosophy, the Arab consciousness etc..

Written in 1958, Red River Campaign is one of the finest pieces of literature written on the Civil War. Also known as "one damn blunder from beginning to end", this book examines a somewhat forgotten campaign, one pursued by General Nathaniel P. Banks, a Lincoln political appointee and a soldier General Ulysses S. Grant had absolutely no use for.

Fought on the Red River throughout Central and Northwestern Louisiana, this campaign is a study in how partisan politics, economic need and personal profit determined military policy and operations in Louisiana and Arkansas during the spring of 1864. It is also a study in conducting military operations in a tactically useless theater of operations, an operation in which the Union Army was almost totally annihilated and one in which the Union River Navy was almost captured intact. Blunder does not begin to connote the foolishness of this campaign. It was a short operation, lasting from only March 12 to May 20, but wound up being one of the most destructive of the entire war.

Ludwell H. Johnson does a masterful job with his topic. The writing is clear and concise and the tale told is really quite amazing.

Nearly fifty years after the book was first written, by most accounts Ludwell Johnson's Red River Campaign: Politics & Cotton in the Civil War remains the best overall treatment of the subject. Johnson covers Nathaniel P. Banks' abortive effort to move northwest along the Red River in an effort to reach Shreveport, Louisiana. Frederick Steele would take a force from Little Rock, Arkansas south in a supporting role. Ostensibly, this was all in preparation for an advance into Texas.

As the title suggests, Johnson's study takes a look at the reasons why the Red River Campaign was launched in the first place, and these reasons had little to nothing to do with what made sense as far as strictly military objectives go. He repeatedly stresses this point throughout the book. Although this is also a fine campaign study, Johnson's coverage of "politics & cotton" adds an extra dimension to this book. His first few chapters deal with the reasons behind the campaign. One of the two main reasons behind this advance was to obtain a foothold in Texas so that free staters could flood the state in a move similar to what was done in Kansas in the 1850's. Northern abolitionists and other groups hoped to create "five or six" free states out of the current massive slave state. A corollary effect would have been to prevent any attempted European land grabs in the southern portions of the former United States. France had installed Maximilian as a puppet emperor of Mexico, and many Northern politicians feared that France would not stop there. The second reason involved cotton, the massive need for the crop in Massachusetts and other Northern mills, and the immense profits to be gain by speculators who were allowed to accompany the army.

Nathaniel Banks, a politician turned general, had designs on the 1864 presidency, and he hoped to use the campaign as a springboard to election. As a Massachusetts man, he also hoped to capture thousands of bales of cotton to ship back to his home state, making himself a hero in the process. In addition, he was hamstrung by a need to keep cotton speculators with important political connections happy, although Johnson repeatedly stresses that Banks mostly managed to keep his head above the murky speculation waters. Even President Lincoln could be duped on occasion, in one case signing a note that instructed Banks to do everything in his power to help Samuel Casey, a former congressman and now a cotton speculator. What Casey hoped to do was far from legal, and Banks had no choice but to give him free reign. In any case, the commanding general had many reasons of his own to both go on this campaign and to make sure cotton got back to Northern mills, however legal the means.

The campaign got underway on March 10, 1864, as William Franklin's portion of Banks' Army of the Gulf started marching north along the Red River from southern Louisiana. A. J. Smith and half of the XVI Corps joined the expedition by river, joining up at Simmesport, Louisiana. After an early move by smith to capture poorly guarded Fort De Russy on March 17, Banks and his army of over 32,000 effectives (I'll have a note on this term later) faced Richard Taylor, who initially had 7,000 or so men of his own. Admiral David Porter's Union fleet accompanied Banks on the expedition, but the low water levels in the Red River had the navy concerned about their ability to navigate the waterway. Taylor could only delay this host, and by March 31 Banks was in Natchitcohes. At this point Banks made a fateful mistake. Instead of continuing to drive northwest along the Red, Banks instead chose an inland road that ran through Pleasant Hill and Mansfield before swinging north again to Shreveport.

Richard Taylor had a surprise waiting in this area for Banks and his men. Taylor attacked the advance portions of Banks' army near Mansfield, Louisiana on April 8, 1864 with around 8,800 men, driving the Yankees back with heavy casualties and capturing many supply wagons before stopping due to the darkness. He had faced a grand total of around 12,000 Federal troops in the fight. Many others were miles behind. Johnson faults Banks and William Franklin for the troop positions chosen in the march. Incredibly, the train of the cavalry force covering the main body was placed in front of any infantry, and these were the supply wagons captured when the Union troops were forced to beat a hasty retreat. Taylor again attacked Banks at Pleasant Hill, nearly winning another major victory if not for the solid stand of A. J. Smith's "gorillas" of the XVI Corps. After this fight, Banks retreated to Grand Ecore, just to the north of the Natchitoches. At this point Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, took most of Taylor's troops away in an effort to stop Frederick Steele's movement towards Shreveport from Arkansas. Taylor was furious, believing that Banks' troops were demoralized and possibly ripe for capture. The disagreement festered and led to Taylor's transfer shortly after the end of the campaign.

Banks had retired to Alexandria with his army, but he could go no farther. The Red River's water levels remained very low, and Porter's naval vessels were all but trapped until the river rose or some other method could get them south of the falls at Alexandria and to safety. So Banks was stuck twiddling his thumbs while waiting for the water to rise. Eventually, through the construction of several damns by the army, Porter was able to get his ships over the falls. The Federals left a path of destruction in their wake, burning houses all the way south from Grand Ecore and even leveling Alexandria by firing the town. Johnson singles out the men of A. J. Smith's Corps as the main culprits, though I suspect it was a bit more complicated than that. Taylor, deprived of all but 5,000 men, could only harass the Federals as they made good their escape.

Johnson argues that this unnecessary campaign delayed the end of the war by at least a short period of time, say two or so months. Banks' mistakes on the Red River tied up as many as 20,000 men who could have been used to reinforce Sherman's army operating against Atlanta or who might have started a campaign against Mobile, Alabama, according to the author. Instead, these men were stuck west of the Mississippi, allowing General Polk and the 20,000 odd men of his Corps who were detailed to guard Mobile to move north to help Joe Johnston defend Atlanta. In non-military terms, the campaign was also a failure. Most of the cotton Banks had hoped to glean was burned on the approach of the Federals or lost in the hasty retreat from Grand Ecore. Banks' Presidential hopes were also crushed by his humiliating failures during the campaign. In the end, a campaign conceived for purely non-military reasons ended up hurting other campaigns which were very important to the quick prosecution of the war.

I enjoyed Ludwell Johnson's writing style. He presents the various aspects of the campaign in an entertaining and informative way. One term I found a little odd was Johnson's use of "effectives" rather than Present for Duty (PFD) strengths, though the fact that the book was written in 1958 may have something to do with that. Johnson seems very high on Richard Taylor, and for good reason. The son of a President was an excellent general, and it seems that his ideas for pursuing Banks made more sense than Kirby Smith's "less risk, less reward" decision to stop Steele inn Arkansas. The author finds Banks to be a very poor leader, fairly criticizing many of his decisions. He also seems to have a decidedly low opinion of David D. Porter, painting him in a very unflattering light when it came to his handling of cotton. Johnson believes that Porter was extremely greedy and little better than a thief when it came to possession of the valuable crop. He also finds Porter's attempts to get his boats south of the falls at Alexandria to be less than satisfactory. A. J. Smith's XVI Corps takes quite a few jabs from the author's pen. Johnson seems to hold the XVI Corps entirely at fault for the destruction of property in Louisiana during the march, entirely absolving the Eastern troops making up the majority of Banks' army.

The maps are surprisingly good for a book written in 1958. The advance up the Red River is covered in stages with several area maps. The Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill are decently depicted, even going down to regimental level in a few key places. However, there is only one map for each of these battles, and things such as terrain and elevation are not even attempted. The book has more of a focus on the overall campaign than the actual battles, so the deficiencies in the battle maps do not detract from the story. The book does lack any Order of Battle though, which to me is a serious shortcoming in any campaign study.

Writing in 1958, Johnson did not have access to as many sources as the authors of today, but his book apparently remains the best of a rather uneven bunch, at least according to the reviews I have read online and elsewhere. For this reason, I chose to read Politics & Cotton first, and I hope to have reviews of some of the other Red River Campaign studies available very soon. As I write this, I have two other books and an issue of Savas Publishing's Civil War Regiments focusing on these events. Johnson repeatedly drives home the point that this campaign more so than others was based on no sound military strategy. Instead, cotton was wanted to fill Northern mills and land was needed in Texas to provide cotton growing areas for free and loyal laborers. I recommend this above average campaign study to anyone interested in the war in the Trans-Mississippi, the Red River Campaign specifically, and the politics involved in the running of the war.

Here's a poet who was a gunner in a B-29 over Tokyo, and who kept a diary during his months on Saipan. Really fine, really worth reading, for the unvarnished thoughts of the man who kept the journal. Unlike most such journals, it hasn't been edited for publication, though there are a few of Ciardi's own afterthoughts.

A wonderful read, the author's insight that in war, we are not "killing machines", but human beings. John Ciardi writes about experiencing fear, loneliness, despair, and hope. His diary is but a small sample of the soldiers and pilots on Saipan who were so close to the Japanese homeland and no end to the war in sight.

The Book reflects the care and detail in which the subject was rsearched and the skill with which it was written. As a person who grew up in Blakely, located near Jessieville, at the end of a Dierks' rail spur fifteen miles east of the Mountain Pine Mill.(1944-1953), I related closely to the mill workers and their families while appreciating the difficulties encountered by the owners operating the millls as an economic enterprise.
The book is extremely informative with great details about the human experience and industrial adventures during this period of the lumber industry in the Ouachitas. Highly recommend.

Much of history often gets lost with the passage of time -- places and people forgotten. Kenneth Smith is to be given considerable credit for bringing this narrative and series of recollections together before "all is lost". Covering a period of about 50 years -- from the initial timber speculation to the last remnants of virgin forests in the Ouachita mountains being turned to sawdust -- this is the definitive record of how "people worked and lived in a forested backwater at the edge of the South". The book focuses on the larger timbering operations -- Caddo River Lumber Co. and Dierks Lumber and Coal Co. -- but the story is told through personal recollections in such we experience these times from the perspective of the individual mill hands and lumberjacks. His chapter on the community of Forester is particularly touching from a humanist perspective -- the place goes from forest to mill town and back to forest again with the people adapting the best that they can to both the boom times and bad times. The book is well researched, well-annotated and packed with many pictures of a era long gone. One might think that this book is primarily of local interest but I assure you that anyone interested in the history of people -- and especially the history of 20th century timber industry and its people -- are going to be delighted with the Kenneth Smith's historical record of the "cutting of the last great virgin forest".

John Wood does amazing work covering topics from living with roaches in Louisiana, to love, to becoming a parent, and to the after life. A prevalent theme throughout his work is the relationship with a high power, a diety somewhere in this world, though maybe of uncertainty. He expresses himself vividly, revealing a person simply throughout his words. One can picture a family, a father speaking to his son, a son speaking to his mother, and a husband speaking to his wife. Though some may call him a "crazy pagan poet" he is much more. He is a man of passion and laughter, a man who seems certain there is a diety, but is always trying to find the right path to follow. It is expressed so well in his poems.

wood's selected poems is a solid collection of poems spanning 30 years. there are a wide variety of themes and styles contained in the collection, though man's relationship with a higher power seems to be the prevailing theme. but don't get me wrong, these are not necessarily devotional poems. you have to read them to see what i mean. pay special attention to "Opie and the Apples," "Baptisms," "Silage," and my favorite, "Here in Louisiana."

I was thrilled when I found this book. In our Non-Western World Literature class, we read poets such as Forugh Farrokhzad. THis is an excellent collection of her work. Readers will be surprized at her insight into the lives of women. As a country we have been isolated from the creative talent that Iran contains. I found this very enlightening.

"Sin" has a very nice selection of the great Forough's poems. The translation is "generally" well.
The reason that I gave 4 stars, is due to some details in the poem translation. I read the Persian version as well and I could understand all in the English translation. But for most of the friends didn't know Persian, the translation was sometimes far from the original version; plus the semi harmonic intonation in the poetry hasn't been well respected in the translation.
Although I'm saying it could be better, I very much recommend this book, its very valuable and worth it to spend time and attention.