Wisconsin Books

This book was discussed on either Public Radio or Oprah had the author on to discuss this book--I can't remember. I read this book all in one day. It is a collection of stories that aren't very long but the characters have depth which allows the reader to feel like you have read a short book after each story. I shared this book with my Mom and my really good friend and they agree; it is a very good book.

I have read all of Ansay, and like her work alot. I never just read her work, I feel it. This collection shows that short stories are her strength. My favorites were the title story, Lies, and Spot Weaknesses. No one who's been a girl or had a daughter should miss Spot Weaknesses. It captures perfectly the pain of adolescence and the mother/daughter dance. Evolution is wonderful, too. Ansay has a way of crystalizing details and exposing emotional truths that we all intuit but rarely articulate. She manages to consistently get things "right", including the snapshots of animals which inhabit virtually all of her stories. I got this book from the library, but plan to buy it to reread and share.

I enjoyed reading this book of short stories so much that I bought a copy for my mom. She enjoyed it too. It's definitely not an uplifting collection, but the pieces feel honest and real.

I have read all of Ansay, and like her work alot. I never just read her work, I feel it. This collection shows that short stories are her strength. My favorites were the title story, Lies, and Spot Weaknesses. No one who's been a girl or had a daughter should miss Spot Weaknesses. It captures perfectly the pain of adolescence and the mother/daughter dance. Evolution is wonderful, too. Ansay has a way of crystalizing details and exposing emotional truths that we all intuit but rarely articulate. She manages to consistently get things "right", including the snapshots of animals which inhabit virtually all of her stories. I got this book from the library, but plan to buy it to reread and share.

OK, I have now read pretty much everything written by A. Manette Ansay! I am hooked on her books! I have loved every single one of them, and this one is no exception. She has such a wonderful way of describing regular, down-to-earth people! I liked all the stories in this book. Sure, they may be sad or depressing, but they're written in such a wonderful way!

This book showcases Bachardy drawings and his journal account of the sittings with. primarily, aging movie stars he admired as an adolescent in the late-1940s along with some later stars (Jack Nicholson, Charlotte Rampling, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith), the official portrait of Jerry Brown for the California state capitol, and some other artists (Robert Mapplethorpe, Aaron Copland, Iris Murdoch, Julian Schnabel, James Merrill) and directors Vincente Minnelli and William Wyler. The responses of the subjects to the drawings are usually very interesting, with greater paranoia on the part of other visual artists than of the aging movie stars.

The best stories are in the sittings with Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Louise Brooks. The accounts of those "stars" in whom I have no particular interest (Alice Faye, Ruby Keeler, Helmut Newton) contained insights (both from sitter and portraitist) and Bachardy's prose shows the admirable qualities of those whom I hoped would display them (Ingrid Bergman, Myrna Loy, Maggie Smith, Iris Murdoch, Louise Brooks, Henry Fonda, James Merrill, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Alec Guiness, Laurence Olivier). The only one whom he comes to despise in the course of the interactions of drawing a portrait is Joan Fontaine. He remains a fan of most and gives even the devil (Miss Fontaine) her due.

The drawings are never flattering and the artist does not flatter himself either, but I find it interesting to read about a professional doing his or her job professionally. The reader gets a very good idea of what it is like to try to portray honestly movie stars and other cultural icons, as well as getting the portraits. Most of his subjects are interesting (not least in their insecurities) people and I look forward to the eventual publication of his diaries from half a century at the edges of Hollywood ) encountering a stream of writers, artists, and film stars.

Bachardy's skill as an artist is evident. The book demonstrates that with his recognizably stylish renderings of celebrities who have subjected themselves to a sitting. Most of his subjects must be very sorry they did! The portraits are never flattering although always interesting. The basis for the book is not the art, but Mr. Bachardy's tattle-tale telling of the circumstances of the sitting. He may visually nail his subjects with the portraits, but he crucifies them with the stories he tells. He may have stars in his eyes (accessible to him through his lifelong connection with Isherwood, of course), but he has poison in his pen and no love for his subjects in his heart.

I have been familiar with the superb drawings of Don Bachardy for many years, but had no idea how well he wrote. Insightful, clear, and sometimes waspish, the various pieces accompanying the drawings deflate the pompous and offer an original and unique view of the famous made vulnerable. Reading this book is like dipping into a delicious box of chocolates.

This book showcases Bachardy drawings and his journal account of the sittings with. primarily, aging movie stars he admired as an adolescent in the late-1940s along with some later stars (Jack Nicholson, Charlotte Rampling, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith), the official portrait of Jerry Brown for the California state capitol, and some other artists (Robert Mapplethorpe, Aaron Copland, Iris Murdoch, Julian Schnabel, James Merrill) and directors Vincente Minnelli and William Wyler. The responses of the subjects to the drawings are usually very interesting, with greater paranoia on the part of other visual artists than of the aging movie stars.

The best stories are in the sittings with Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Louise Brooks. The accounts of those "stars" in whom I have no particular interest (Alice Faye, Ruby Keeler, Helmut Newton) contained insights (both from sitter and portraitist) and Bachardy's prose shows the admirable qualities of those whom I hoped would display them (Ingrid Bergman, Myrna Loy, Maggie Smith, Iris Murdoch, Louise Brooks, Henry Fonda, James Merrill, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Alec Guiness, Laurence Olivier). The only one whom he comes to despise in the course of the interactions of drawing a portrait is Joan Fontaine. He remains a fan of most and gives even the devil (Miss Fontaine) her due.

The drawings are never flattering and the artist does not flatter himself either, but I find it interesting to read about a professional doing his or her job professionally. The reader gets a very good idea of what it is like to try to portray honestly movie stars and other cultural icons, as well as getting the portraits. Most of his subjects are interesting (not least in their insecurities) people and I look forward to the eventual publication of his diaries from half a century at the edges of Hollywood ) encountering a stream of writers, artists, and film stars.

Don Bachardy's stature as a gifted draughtsman continues to grow. And now with the current growing respect and exposure of his beloved Christopher Isherwood vis a vis the posthumous Diaries and the notes and essays recently published, Bachardy's gifts as a writer are keeping pace with his important drawings, documenting the art culture of the past century. This beautifully designed book shares the wholeness of his craft: not only do we see important drawings of important people, we also hear the secrets of the encounter that resulted in the drawings. Sitting for Don Bachardy is tough - a joy, but hard work. To read how his silent sessions are processed in his mind and subsequently in his notes written concurently with his drawings opens an important door, not only for understanding Bachardy's keen observations but for the entire genre of portrait making. This is a delightful read and visual excursion....and contains secrets about famous prople we all thought we knew well!

Here's the story: gay Jew (really a half-Jew under Nazi racial law) survives Holocaust in Berlin, despite spending lots of time risking his life by helping ferry other Jews to safety in Switzerland. I didn't find this book as enthralling as I had hoped; either the writing style or the translation left something to be desired. In particular, the last half of the book read like a laundry list of lovers and rescued friends. (Unlike another reviewer, I actually liked the pre-Holocaust half of the book better).

Having said that, I still learned something from this book; I got a real sense of the differences between "full Jews" and persons of mixed blood. Full Jews typically got deported to concentration camps, no ifs, ands or buts. But if the experience of Beck and his family is any guide, half-Jews stood a pretty good chance of survival if they kept their noses clean. Because Beck's mother was born Christian (though she converted to Judaism) his parents were never deported (despite numerous close calls), and Beck got in trouble with the Gestapo only because of his rescue activities.

Another interesting fact: throughout the book, Beck mentions various hunchbacks he ran into. What is it about early 20th-century Germany that produced so many hunchbacks?

Beck gives us a glimpse of a gay man's coming of age in Nazi Berlin. It is not only erotic but holds up a light by which all aspects of love should be measured. Once again, the Gay Spirit has triumphed over bigotry, intolerance, and in this case even the holocaust.

Beck, Gad. "An Underground Life: Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Germany, University of Wisconsin Press, 1999.

Triumph of Will

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

We all have a great deal of trouble understanding the Holocaust and what it did to so many people. We have been slowly getting the stories of the Nazi persecution if gays and if one was both gay and Jewish, he had real troubles. Gad Beck was a man like that but he survived and was able to tell his story as he does so eloquently in "An Underground Life". Even though his book begins slowly, it picks up pace quickly and as you read your mouth falls open to see stories about man's inhumanity to man. When the Nazis began their reign of terror he was living underground and was sought by the Gestapo. Beck was an organizer and helped many who lived illegally by finding them shelter and food as well as providing a listening ear and support in any way that he could. The fact that he was gay was secondary to the fact that he was Jewish.
In this memoir Beck brings to life both the cruelty to the Jews but the cruelty to the gays as well. This is a shocking and horrifying account as he writes about a gay man's coming of age in Nazi Germany. It is an erotic tale but also shows how love should be considered. This was probably the first time in the modern age that the gay spirit managed to triumph over intolerance and bigotry--even against the greatest crime ever against humanity.
The fact that Beck survived in itself is miraculous but even more amazing is that he was able to write about what he endured. When Robert Plant published "The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War against Homosexuals" in 1986, the door was opened to a new aspect of the Holocaust. Several personal accounts followed, but few have been published that talk about the Nazi treatment of gays ad I imagine that this is because so few survived and those that did could not think about what they had endured. This makes this book that much more valuable.
Beck's own story is unique in that he was born of a mixed marriage in 1923 to a Jewish father and a Christian mother thereby not Jewish according to strict Orthodox law. Nonetheless, the Nazis did not care--if he had a drop of Jewish blood, as far as they were concerned, he was Jewish. As the Nazi party rose to power and began their housing relocation plan, forced labor and transport to death camps, Beck organized a resistance movement to hide others and to smuggle food and drugs to them, He even once wore a Nazi uniform to rescue a doomed gay man from the camps. He does not in any way disguise his sexuality and he gives details of his own sexual liaisons. He gives us an amazing picture of the horror of Nazi rule. He was one of the fortunate gay men whom his parents loved and accepted his sexuality and was very lucky that the Christian side of his family felt the same. In 1933, when Hitler came to power, he was forced to attend a Jewish school to reinforce his identity and to be visible to the ruling party and he immersed himself in Judaism and embraced the idea of the Zionist movement. He also embraced a great many men and he hides nothing about his sex life (except for actual sexual descriptions) as well as writes openly about his secret political activities. He rose in power in the Zionist movement and became a central character in working to establish a Jewish homeland. He survived the Nazis by living illegally in Berlin. Because of that he was able to write this wonderful memoir.
This is a book that holds you from the beginning to the end, so much so that you want a sequel. He embraced his gayness at the same time that he embraced his Jewish--at a time when it meant death to be either. There are stories of betrayals and back stabbings and secret meetings and the memoir reads like a combination thriller/spy novel. That he survived s incredible and even more incredible is that he endured all that he did.

Gad Beck brought to life not only the cruelty to the jews but also the cruelty of the gay and lesbian people of the Nazi Era. I had to do a research paper for a Holocaust in Literature class I took my junior year in high school...and I was entralled the whole time I read this book. It shocked me, it horrified me...and I loved it.

Here is a memoire of life in Berlin during the Nazi regime from the perspective of a gay Jew. Gad Beck was an organizer and friend to many who lived illegally during that period, finding shelter and food and providing friendship and support. That he was openly gay was not important during that period - there were more important thiongs to worry about.

I found this book at the bookstore of National Haulocost Museum in Washington DC on a recent visit. It fits in perfectly with that museum, in that it fleshes out the life in hiding. If you have an interest in the struggle for human rights and length to which people will go to survive, this is an excellent read.

One fact that is underemphasized in the book is Beck's youth during this period. By the end of the war he was in his younger 20s. Yet he had accomplished so much and had the strength of one much older. Bravo!

"The Usurper's Crown" tells the story of Ingrid and Avanasy, who are Bridget's parents, and of Medeaon's past. Many of the criticisms I had for "A Sorcerer's Treason" are still valid for this novel, so I will not repeat them here. But once again, despite those flaws, the novel was still an enjoyable read.

I actually found it very interesting getting to know the full details behind the characters we were only briefly introduced to in "Treason". It's one thing to know that Bridget's mother died in childbirth, and that her father gave his life to seal the firebird, but it's another thing to read the tale in its entirety. Readers got to know those heroes that sacrificed their lives for Isavalta. We see how the love formed between Ingrid and Avanasy; we get to know first-hand the kind of man Everett Lederle was; we learn the reasons behind Grace's estranged relationship with her niece; we meet Peshek in his youth. And the part I found the most interesting was reading of Medeaon's broken history.

In "Treason", Medeaon is a hard, vengeful woman who has succumbed to madness. But in "Crown", we see her as a young woman who is afraid of her destiny and beset by treachery. She genuinely loved her husband Kacha and was irrevocably broken by his deceit. Reading about her struggles, her strength, and her intelligence as she tries to regain her kingdom makes her eventual downfall all the more poignant. Readers finally understand why those who remained loyal to Medeaon even throughout "Treason" did so -- despite her flaws, she was a hero in her own time.

One additional issue I had with this book was that Ingrid's role was never really elaborated on. She fell in love with Avanasy and returned with him to Isavalta, which was apparently what one of the spirit powers wanted. But it was never explained why Ingrid was so special to this power. In a sense, she really didn't do anything, but it was repeatedly insisted upon that she was needed. She was a good character in her own right, but fell flat as a heroine. At least with Bridget we understood where her power came from; not so with Ingrid.

Again, many parts could have been better, but it was still a good read.

I must say, that I at first was disappointed, when I learned that this book was a prequel to "A Sorcerer's Treason". Now though I would not have missed it. It is true that you know how things between Avanasy, Ingrid and Medeoan will end, but still this time you get the details and get to know the characters on their own accord.
So I ended up liking the book, it's well written, and I think "The land of death and spirit" are a very interesting mythology.
But I do hope that the last book in the series takes us back to Bridget.

The second book in Sara Zettle's Isavaltan trilogy is unusual in that it pre-dates the first book. Although that seems strange at first, it actually works really well.
This time the story revolves around Bridget Lederle's parents, again the story moves between Earth and Isavalta, a land of magic and intrigue. To get there Ingrid Loftfield must follow the sorcerer Avanasy across the land of Death and Spirit.
This is a highly enjoyable read that is skilfully written. Sara Zettle is proving as competent a writer of fantasy as she is of sci-fi.

When it is discovered that the princess and heir of Isavalta is a sorceress, the emperor and empress ask the powerful sorcerer Avanasy to teach her how to use her powers. Over the years the two become friends until a political marriage is arranged to Kacha, the nephew of the king of Hastinapura. The princess falls in love with him, but Avanasy warns her that he is treacherous and not to be trusted. His charge turns on him sending him into exile.

When the two are wed, she doesn't realize that Kacha is taking over her duties and replacing her loyal supporters with his own people. Only when it is almost too late does she see Kacha for what he is and flees the kingdom, ordering a loyal retainer to find Avanasy and bring him to her at a place she designates. When Avanasy hears her summons, he is posing as a fisherman on Sand Island in Wisconsin. He stands ready to return to his homeland to help the empress defeat her enemies but he brings with him Ingrid Loftfield, the woman he loves, the wife who will sacrifice much to give her husband what he desires.

This novel takes place twenty years before the events in A SORCERER'S TREASON and it is just as good as its sequel. Readers watch the empress grow wiser and stronger, willing to admit she is wrong and take steps to rectify the problems her emotional blindness brought about. Avanasy is a true hero torn between duty and love while the mere mortal Ingrid contains more inner strength than the two sorceresses do. THE USURPER'S CROWN is an enchanting reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

I was reluctant to read this when I learnt that it was the story of Avanasy and Medeoan... there are things which we already know, but as is revealed, knowing of them and knowing the WHY of them are completely different. The tradgedy is in Medeoans blind love for Kasha and his complete contempt for it.. We learn what can make Medeoan so completely ruthless, and how it happened... Absolutely fascinating and VERY Enjoyable.

I loved this book! It helped me finally find a piece of history that was missing for me. I was born in 1962 and while I was living during the time period in which most of the events in this book unfolded, I did not have any recollection of them or their significance. I feel like I have a better understanding of my own time period. The book is well written and chocked full of important information. My hat goes off to Dale Van Atta for all of the hard work and effort that must have transpired in order to complete this comprehensive volume.

For every Joe McCarthy, there was a Joseph Welch; for every Nixon a Woodward/Bernstein team; etc. We all know about those guys. However, the real story of our nation's history cannot be understood without a record of the decent, hononorable and wise persons who have been present throughout our history, and who have prevented the country from veering so far off course that it can't get righted. (I hope there are at least a few such people left in 2008 to get us back on course now!) My father was a life-long, Democrat who voted for Mel Laird in every one of his elections, because Laird was such an individual, and I wish my parents were around to read this book.

I grew up in the late 60s and early 70s thinking of bullet-headed Melvin R. Laird as a warmonger who helped perpetuate America's anguish in Vietnam. I was astonished to discover just how wrong I (and many of my friends, as well as much of the press at the time) really were. Though the account is fascinating of how Laird, despite resistance from both Nixon and Kissinger, was actually working hard but finally successfully to get us out of Vietnam, I found the book more valuable for a different reason.

Anyone who objectively reads "With Honor" will learn at least one thing: That it is (or at least once was) possible for Republicans and Democrats to work together and actually realize important goals for our nation and the world. What they accomplished through their efforts, with the integral help of Laird's talent for behind-the-scenes leadership, is nothing short of inspiring. It is a shame that Laird and his Republican allies, together with the Democrats they befriended, aren't working together again, just as this book shows they once did, to salve and solve some of the wounds our nation has endured of late.

But "With Honor" is not just a history lesson that shows us "what could have been," had we true leaders like Melvin Laird and his friends working together again today. Finely written and easily accessible, "With Honor" accomplishes something political biographies often fail at: It manages at once to be a smooth, pleasurable, and entertaining read, yet at the same time sacrifices none of the details, facts, and stories that make this account so rich. And, as the best biographies usually are, the book is chock full of never-before-told anecdotes and facts -- some scandalous, some uplifting, but all interesting. Surprisingly, there is even quite a lot of humor (The story of the smoldering cigar in Laird's suit pocket at the Vatican is worth the purchase price alone!)

Even people not normally interested in politics will find this book both entertaining and compelling -- not to mention hugely educational in the way of showing just how dicey was the birthing of many of the most important institutions of 20th Century America -- hinging as they did on a few key people with their hearts in the right place, working together for the good of all. There are real lessons today's politicians could learn from Mel Laird. Recommend they read it today!

This biography of Melvin Laird was written in a style that makes one not want to put the book down. For anyone who lived through the turbulent 1960's and or are veterans of the Vietnam War, this book is a must read to clearly understand the politics and actions of our government during that period. For others, the story of Melvin Laird is an inspiring history lesson of a dedicated and influential elected official and Secretary of Defense that gives the reader insight into the Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon presidential policies and decisions. Having read most of the self serving memoirs of the top players of the 1960's, I thought this book was the most balanced view of the major political and military decisions of that time in our history.

WITH HONOR...MELVIN LAIRD IN WAR, PEACE, AND POLITICS...Dale Van Atta
There are three story lines in this authorized biography. The most prominent and both best and least known is getting out of Vietnam. It is surprisingly timely as Laird's warning to Bush Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld--"It's a helluva lot easier to get into a war than it is to get out one"--plays out in 2008 headlines. The almost eerie coincidence is that the Laird book was released the week that the generals were telling Congress that they needed more troops and more time. According to this book Laird [who removed General Westmoreland who asked him to "send me 500,000 more men" as Vietnam commander] would have (a) done the testifying himself and (b) would have asked "Did you expect the military to ask for fewer troops and less time? "
During his entire four years as Nixon's Secretary of Defense Laird was if not the sole the most prominent advocate of what came to be known as "Vietnamization," his plan to disengage from that ill conceived and unfortunate military adventure. Everyone else in the administration was either opposed to or ambivalent about "getting the hell out" in Laird's words. President Nixon was alternatively both of the above, and Henry Kissinger, his main adviser on foreign policy wanted a peace treaty first, which put him more in the Nixon camp than on the Laird bandwagon.
One of the most cogent quotes from the book was Laird's advice to the military, the White House, and anyone else who would listen that "time has run out."
When President Bush invited all the living ex-secretaries of defense to a show and tell session at the White House it quickly became obvious that his administration which had unanimously been, in Laird's view, "bent on war" was really looking for affirmation not advice.
One of the questions the book answers is how Laird got away with something verging on insubordination that no other Secretary of Defense has even attempted. Forty years later it is easy to say "because he was right," but that wasn't evident then and there are some who will argue the point even now. The real reason is that Nixon needed Laird more than Laird needed Nixon. This was obvious at the outset when Nixon gave him a free hand [in writing, on a napkin] to make all the "presidential" appointments in the Pentagon to convince him to abandon the Congress, which he loved, for the most unpopular and difficult job in the government. It was confirmed continuously over the four years Laird served as Laird won every vote from the Congress that he asked for Defense and the administration.
The second story in the book is the gossipy one about Laird's relations with Nixon and with Kissinger which will attract the attention of the gossip addicted. The non-stop one-upmanship encounters on matters large and small with Henry Kissinger are given extensive play in the book. What is underplayed is that the two remain great friends and mutual admirers. Their struggles were a kind of gamesmanship it seems even though they involved a very high stakes game.
What will titillate is what the book has to say about Laird's relations with Nixon starting with the quote: "...sometimes orders that came at night were not good orders to follow" and the fact that Nixon lied to him about Watergate to get him to come to the White House and try to salvage a crumbling administration.

He also told Nixon that he would get along with the Congress better if he didn't make them feel he was smarter than they were. "You can't get a vote if you start on a pedestal," he told him.
What is most admirable about the book is the third story, the often too short descriptions of his accomplishments over an extraordinarily wide range and the very high regard in which he was held in many important places. What he really wanted was something he never got and something he gave up when he took the job at Defense. He wanted to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. His name did show up on several short lists for jobs he neither sought nor wanted. He was regarded as a possible candidate for president or vice president. He might have been commissioner of baseball, and could have been chief executive of a large assortment of large, important corporations. The author does not say why he didn't pursue any of these. He was 50 when he left the Defense Department in 1972. My own observation was that he had aged 20 years in the time he was in that job. I was told that will happen when for 4 years every time the phone rings, it's bad news.
The dichotomy is that when you consider what he did before, during, and after his stint in Defense, perhaps we lost more than we gained because of this important and perhaps indispensable diversion. We could, after all, be almost halfway to our 100 years in Vietnam but for Mel Laird.
But still.
Laird and his great friend and ally Rhode Island's Democratic Representative John Fogarty on the Health subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee can single-or double-handedly be credited for making the National Institutes of Health and Center for Disease Control into major institutions. They were also responsible for creating 13 "Lairdettes" on campuses across the country including the McArdle Center at UW-Madison to do cancer research. They did all of this over the dead bodies of notable fiscal conservatives in the Congress and the White House including President Eisenhower.
Eisenhower, as well as his two immediate successors John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, named Laird the US representative to the annual conferences of the World Health Organization.
His unprecedented base closing record while at Defense, incidentally, indicates he didn't abandon his own fiscally conservative roots altogether.
He introduced Nixon to the Wisconsin concept of revenue sharing whose initiatives gave that idea a short and not so sweet run at the federal level.
Talent was at the head of his criterion list when recruiting for the Defense Department. Of the 68 top jobs there, a little over half were filled by Republicans, the rest by Democrats, Independents, and a few "unknowns" which may have been "unasked." This worthy idea was discarded by the Reagan administration and hasn't surfaced since.
He put his most trusted recruit Bob Froehlke in charge of a reorganization of the several intelligence agencies whose reports he always regarded with something approaching suspicion. The project improved inter-agency communication and reduced costs, which was either hoped for was what they got.
He was always open with the press and the public and told his staff that the way to deal with bad news is to expose it. When he left the Pentagon, the Washington press corps presented him with a football inscribed Laird 194 Press 0.
He is responsible for the military's medical school which has supplied most of the doctors needed by our forces in times of trouble.
He and Bob Froehlke took the lead on designing and promoting a post-Vietnam amnesty program for young people who eluded the draft.
He ended the draft.
New York's Democratic Governor Hugh Carey gave him credit for saving New York City from bankruptcy.
He orchestrated the appointment of Gerald Ford to the vice presidency fully aware that Ford would soon be president, because Laird knew that Nixon had lied about his involvement in Watergate and could not survive the ensuing ongoing cover-up.
The book doesn't make the claim, but it is hard not to believe that he also got President Ford to name Nelson Rockefeller to the vice presidency. So at one time in our country's history, the man from Marshfield had a major role in filling the two top jobs in the country.
He and Senator Adlai Stevenson crafted a presidential nominating plan that would limit the number of primaries to 16 and give a more important role to something now known as "super delegates" which is further proof that the law of unintended consequences cannot be repealed.
He and fellow Wisconsin Congressman John Byrnes worked with the National Football League to preserve their monopoly, distribute their soon to be riches democratically and evenly, and, not so incidentally, save the Green Bay Packers.
His dogged demands for diversity were rewarded with the unprecedented promotions of large numbers of minorities and women to flag officer status in all branches of the military.
What we will never know is where else Mel Laird would have gone or what else he would have done if events and pressing national needs had not altered his own best laid plans. What we do know is that he did what he did with, as the book's title claims, honor.

This textbook is ok, but the layout is very confusing for learning the language. It would be much better if they had laid out the different declensions in an easy-to-read chart. I know this is possible because I have seen it in "Basics of Biblical Greek" by Mounce. Perhaps this method is better for learning conversationally, but it is not good for learning the grammar and language structure.

I was very satisfied with this book. I bought it at the last minute before my trip so only had time to work through 2 chapters, but even those set me in really good stead. I now have every confidence that what I learn as I continue to work through the book before my next trip will be accurate and valuable. Even the vocabulary which seemed a bit obscure to be introduced so early in the book proved very useful - the authors obviously really applied their knowledge of the language(s) well in structuring the lessons.

The book appeared to be geared more to classes or small groups, but as long as you are prepared to put in the effort I think anyone trying to learn independently (like I am) will find it fine. The little explanations of points of grammar were clearly explained and helped me communicate much more easily than if I had relied on a phrasebook or dictionary alone. Having said that, the glossary in the back of the book is in itself surprisingly extensive - in some instances providing more information than my dictionary.

If I were to make a small criticism it would be that the book could be improved by explaining what the different "cases" (e.g. genitive, accusative etc) all meant in the English language before discussing how they are formed in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; it was to some extent assumed that the reader was already familiar with these terms, which English schooling has failed us on! However, once I found out what these terms meant (good old mum!), the way the B/C/S was presented in the book all made sense. It is a very good buy, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn these languages!

This is a great book! I have been looking for a really long time for a textbook for Serbian language. I am so glad to have found this one. It discusses the different dialects and other differences between Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, and in doing so is really a three-for-one language book. Mind you, there are subtle differences between the languages (as they are really just different dialects) but they are there all the same. I think it is about time someone does a book on Serbian language - one which goes well beyong the basics (travel books, etc.) and really delves into the complex grammar with examples. First-rate book! Oh, and I highly recommend the sister book - BCS Grammar. You can find it online too - great book which go in depth into the complicated grammar (and reasons why it is what it is based on the different regions of the former Yugoslavaia.) Beneficial to have this book also, if you need more explanations on grammar. I have them both, and they are both superlative.

I found this book very informative....and it made me want the sister book - 'Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar". I've ordered it so i can have an even better understanding of this beautiful language. I've purchased 2 other Serbian books and this is by far the most helpful of them all. I bought the teach yourself series - and it was good, more along the lines of tourism but helpful in staring out, my second book i bought was Serbian Grammar (red cover) and it covers everything (I guess since i haven't read it all) but not very helpful in putting sentences together and learning in a 'learning' way.
-----> This book here though is very, very good. Don't waste your time or money.....get this one. <-----

PROS:
- Comprehensive and designed specifically for English-speaking users.
- Plenty of exercises and explanations of grammar.
- Gives equal treatment to Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian standards.
- Chapters use dialogues and literary excerpts.

CON:
- No answer key

I wish that I had used this course when I was learning Croatian. In a way I look at this new course by Alexander and Elias-Bursac as an unofficial upgrade on Thomas Magner's course, "Introduction to the Croatian and Serbian Language" which I was using. They apply the ideas of balancing the standards, showing accentuation patterns of words, excellent coverage of grammatical topics and useful glossaries. Alexander and Elias-Bursac have necessarily added modern touches by extending the exposure to Bosnian and updating the dialogues to reflect life in the early 21st century.

If you're serious about learning from scratch Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian / Serbo-Croatian / whatever you want to call it, this is THE course that you should use if you can get help from a native Bosnian / Croat / Serb to correct your exercises and check your progress. Unlike courses such as "Teach Yourself Serbian" or "Colloquial Croatian" for example, the authors here have truly designed this course with English-speakers in mind. Not only does the textbook indicate the patterns of accentuation and tone of every word, but it also gives in-depth grammatical explanations that often use English as a reference/point of comparison. In addition, the appendices have charts that show declensional and conjugational patterns while the glossary shows the aspectual pairs of verbs - something that some courses and dictionaries fail to do.

It is also noteworthy and praiseworthy that the standard variants of BCS are presented equally along with the distinctions between "(i)jekavski" and "ekavski". All of these help to give a sense to the user of the "fuzziness" of what some people insist as constituting "proper Bosnian", "proper Croatian" or "proper Serbian". The juxtaposition of texts in all three variants was indeed instructive and made me realize how parochial are some "debates" about Serbo-Croatian vs. Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (which reflect more the political situation).

It is well worth the money to buy the CDs that have the dialogues and readings of the textbook so that you may get some audio exposure to the language. The reference manual of grammar that corresponds to this textbook is in my view not required as the textbook's explanations are sufficient. However, I do recommend that reference book if you want to go into detail on the grammatical explanations of the textbook or get a readable and balanced survey of the sociolinguistic topics regarding "Serbo-Croatian" and now "BCS".

I have lost 10 pounds reading this book! I have it on my exercise bike and the prospect of a good 45-minute read gets me up every morning. It may be a "crime of magnitude" for me to write this review while I still have a few pages to go, but I'm online to buy multiple copies for friends and I can't keep silent because I am so excited about this book.

The Greenbush neighborhood, still known locally as just "The Bush," was Madison, Wisconsin's immigrant community in the early 20th century. The story of little Annie's disappearance is also the story of this fascinating neighborhood of Italian bootleggers and Norwegian, German, African-American and other new arrivals. Second, it is also a fascinating legal history of early Madison, with one of its two local judges playing the leading role in a tragic story of his own and a key prosecutor who became the state governor. Third, it is a fascinating true crime tale in the tradition of Ann Rule et. al. Fourth,as many true crime stories of high-profile cases must be, it is a fascinating panorama of the journalistic coverage of the crime and its courtroom aftermath, and the reporters and editors who perpetrated this coverage.

Mark Lemberger crammed all of this into about 300 pages, and found a truth-telling style that belies his status as an intersted party. It will be an omission of magnitude if this book is not made into a movie.

Though the crime being investigated here is nearly a century old, this book shows how little has changed. Rumors, speculation and personal prejudice still sway the press, the public and the law when it come to "unthinkable" and high-profile crimes. Annie was the Jon-Benet of the early 1900s, with her unsolved murder disinterred in the press on every anniversary. Especially interesting is the early role the polygraph played in this crime - 20 years after the fact, Lemberger and the other suspects basically became guinea pigs for the untested (and still controversial) lie detector. Though one reader here thought the wealth of detail bordered on overkill, it's easy to understand (and enjoy) the author's obsession.

Eighty years later, Mark Lemberger is out to vindicate his paternal grandfather, thought by some to have assaulted and killed his 7 year old daughter, Annie Lemberger, who would have been the author's aunt. The book is thoroughly researched and the reproduction of contemporaneous newspaper coverage throughout the text is interesting. Possibly to avoid allegations of familial bias, Mark goes on and on and on. I got bogged down and put it down.

All true crime buffs will be riveted to the twists and turns!

A good read and good detective story. Mr. Lemberger not only spun the yarn but solved the crime.Darn good work.

Great book showing what can go wrong when law firms let top lawyers get away with violating common practices.

Eat What You Kill: The Fall of a Wall Street Lawyer is the story of John Gellene, the only attorney to ever go to jail for making an incomplete disclosure of "connections" to creditors and parties in a bankruptcy case. While it is clear that Gellene committed an ethical lapse, the fact that he was prosecuted, convicted and served time is truly surprising. Others have failed to disclose much more and have suffered much lighter consequences. As a result, the question of why this particular case resulted in a prison sentence rather than a slap on the wrist is really interesting, particularly to lawyers.

This is a book about lawyers and the law, so that a little background on the law is helpful Representing large companies in bankruptcy is big business. The fees can run into the millions of dollars. In order to secure one of these potentially lucrative appointments, the lawyer must seek court approval of his employment and demonstrate that he is "disinterested." To show that he is "disinterested," the lawyer must submit a sworn statement disclosing his "connections" to the debtor and its creditors. Since the statement is submitted under penalty of perjury, a false statement is subject to criminal prosecution.

In the Gellene case, the large New York law firm of Milbank, Tweed was hired to represent Bucyrus-Erie Corporation in its bankruptcy proceeding. The bankruptcy was very contentious because the largest unsecured creditor, Jackson National Life, had accused the company's investment banker, Goldman Sachs, with manipulating the company's financial affairs to its own benefit. Things got worse when a Goldman Sachs partner, Mikael Salovaara, started his own firm, South Street Fund, and that firm did a deal with Bucyrus-Erie which put them ahead of all the other creditors.

All this happened before bankruptcy lawyer John Gellene entered the picture. However, it created an adversarial situation between the company and between different groups of its creditors. The debtor's attorney would be caught in the middle of this conflict and would have to navigate it in order to successfully reorganize the company. John Gellene began representing Bucyrus-Erie a year before its bankruptcy at a time when his law firm was not representing either Salovaara or South Street. However, shortly before the case was filed, Milbank, Tweed began representing South Street in another bankruptcy and also represented Salovaara in a dispute with his partner. Both of these were "connections" with creditors. However, Gellene failed to disclose these relationships in either of two affidavits filed with the court.

Gellene successfully guided Bucyrus-Erie through its reorganization and his firm was paid nearly $2 million in fees for doing so. Unfortunately, his successful plan put the company's old adversary, Jackson National Life, in control of the company. Years later, Jackson found out about the failure to disclose and sued Milbank, Tweed to return its fees and for malpractice. This proved to be very costly for Milbank, Tweed but it was worse for John Gellene. The publicity spawned by the fee litigation prompted the U.S. Attorney to file criminal charges against Gellene. A deal to plead to a misdemeanor fell through and the case went to trial. The prosecution sought to portray the failure to disclose as black and white, the while the defense attempted to put the statement in context. The jury sided with the U.S. Attorney and Gellene was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison. Gellene went from being a highly respected bankruptcy attorney to a convicted felon in a relatively short period of time.

Eat What You Kill does a good job of telling the story and does an adequate job of explaining why this lawyer did what he did, but really fails to answer the big question of why John Gellene was prosecuted. The book does its best job at opening a window onto the pressures faced by a big firm lawyer struggling to survive but cutting corners to do so.

Part 1 of the book does a slow but methodical job of setting the stage. In particular, it describes the world of the large New York law firm where security is an illusion. Gone are the days where clients maintained loyalty to a single firm and firms maintained loyalty to their partners. This world was replaced by a much more fluid one where clients award their business to the best suitor and partners compete against each other in a continuous tournament to see who can bring in the most clients, or failing that, who can bill the most hours. In such a world, it is tempting to cut corners if doing so means being able to attract more business and bill more hours. Additionally, it creates an atmosphere where the "service partners," the ones who perform and supervise the work, must maintain the good will of the "rain makers" who bring in the clients.

Parts 2 and 3 of Eat What You Kill tell the guts of the story in a fast-paced, easy to read manner. It is exciting to watch (at least from a bankruptcy lawyer's vantage) as John Gellene tries strategy after strategy to bring the reorganization to a successful conclusion before the company implodes under the weight of the litigation. Then, just as Gellene has achieved success, everything comes crashing down on him with the weight of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Part 4 and the epilogue try to make sense of what happened. This part of the story could have benefited from a thorough job of editing and re-writing. Pieces of the story which were apparent from the original telling are replayed over and over again in over 70 pages of mind-numbing discussion without achieving a coherent explanation. The epilogue strays into proposals for reforming legal ethics while paying scant attention to the story.

It is possible for the reader to put together the "why" of John Gellene's actions, but it requires some patience. In short, Gellene was placed in an atmosphere where he had to succeed to survive. Disclosing the connections to Salovaara and South Street would have risked losing a lucrative piece of work that he had already been working on for a year. It would have also risked incurring the displeasure of his rain maker who controlled the relationships with Bucyrus-Erie, South Street and Salovaara. The disclosures were one piece of paper of thousands filed in the case. There must have been overwhelming pressure to give them scant attention and move on to more substantive issues. If Gellene did weigh the risks in any detail, he probably dismissed them, since disclosure violations frequently resulted in mild consequences. Thus, it is likely that John Gellene felt sucker-punched when he was indicted, tried and convicted.

Unfortunately, the book gives little emphasis to the "why" of his prosecution. White color prosecutions are rare and prosecutions for failure to disclose conflicts in a bankruptcy case are rarer still. In this case, the Asst. U.S. Trustee (an official charged with overseeing bankruptcy proceedings) had previously been the U.S. Attorney. Perhaps he approached the case with a prosecutor's mindset rather than from a bankruptcy point of view and thus was able to lobby for a prosecution. This was a case where a big New York law firm collected millions of dollars in fees in a case filed in Wisconsin. Perhaps jealousy and mistrust of outsiders played a role. Unfortunately, these themes are not discussed in any depth.

This is an interesting book about an interesting topic, but a revised edition could be better.

Hats off to Professor Regan for his prodigious research and painstaking, vivid recreation of the saga of a prominent lawyer's startling rise and fall --an all-the-more remarkable achievement given Gellene's refusal to cooperate in this project. This is an amazing look-behind-the-curtain as to: how large law partnerships reward and penalize their producers and non-producers; how complicated bankruptcy negotiations unfold; how investment bankers and vulture investors exploit weakened corporations; how a brilliant professional succumbed under pressure to career-ending ethical blunders; and much more. An extremely valuable reading experience for practioners and students of law and business that deserves to be a best-seller.

Read for: lessons in bankruptcy law and practice, junk bonds, vulture investment, corporate law generally, white collar crime and trial tactics, and a nuanced ethical exploration

Avoid if: seeking simple answers, easily bored by thorough and balanced legal arguments

"Eat What You Kill" explores in excruciating detail the rise and fall of John Gellene, bankruptcy attorney extraordinaire, who failed to disclose a conflict of interest which landed him in prison.

Yet Milton Regan's book offers more than an ethics case study. A blow-by-blow survey of corporate restructuring, bankruptcy litigation tactics, and white collar criminal prosecution, Regan's book overwhelms with useful instruction. Though focused upon Gellene's life at law, Regan uses it as a prism to explore the environment of many others swimming in the same waters.

Lay readers may find the professorial tone both vice and virtue, as the riches grow tiresome to anyone uninterested in following the pros, cons, counter-pros, and counter-cons of various litigation tactics and arguments. Within this web of contextual detail, the ethical story threads diverse legal doctrines.

Offering no simple denunciations or defenses, Regan sees Gellene as merely a lawyer who tends to lie to avoid the consequences of his own negligence. Flawed, perhaps, but hardly a gross flaw.

Refraining from potshots or praise permits Regan to hold Gellene accountable while looking more deeply into the practice of corporate law itself. Regan's conclusions seem to be that lawyers, preoccupied with the business of law, lose sight of its spirit.

A better read, simply as a page-turner, than many novels.

Gellene, the protagonist/anti-hero of this book, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Georgetown with degrees in philosophy and economics. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, then clerked for Justice Morris Pashman of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Pretty impressive resume, eh? He had the "world at his feet," yet before much more time had passed he was in a prison cell.

This book should act as a warning on several levels. On one of them, it warns a certain type of investor about the nature of the chapter 11 process (in the course of which Gellene made the false statements that led to his downfall). Vulture investing in the instruments of distressed companies going through this process isn't an explicit theme of the book, one it ends up here nonetheless. There are traps for vultures, too.

I have read the book a few times and some of the pictures are quite gruesome. I (in a morbid way, I suppose) enjoyed the book; and while I would reccomend it as reading for those who are intrigued by dastardly crimes, IT IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR THE SQUEEMISH!

Ed Gein is perhaps one of the weirdest "psychos" of the 20th century, and his dastardly doings are unparalleled as Robert Gollman does a fairly decent job of bringing Gein's attrocities to light.The book's title America's Most Bizarre Murderer, lives up to it's name as we find Gein dancing in the moonlight with a self exhumed corpse, and the various human-made furniture pieces ie., human skin lamp shade and chair seat, skull bed posts, and bones galore. Gein served as a future role model for film makers Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho), and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The book also focuses on the disappearance and murder(butchering) of local hardware store owner Bernice Worden. Ole Ed keeps busy alright! Gollman's writing is a little slow at times, but does the job of bringing the gruesome details we true crime fans crave. Coincidentally, he was also the judge who presided over Gein's case. This is one true crime to have in your collection, especially if you love the unusual, and I do mean UNUSUAL!

Seriously, well worth buying just for the in-line depictions. Come for the 'artist's renditions,' stay for the photos of dressed and hanging womanmeat. Best book on the subject. Don't bother saying that you know about the case without owning this one.

This book is not for the weak of stomach or heart. It is the true account of the man who inspired Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"
_and_ Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The book is written by the judge of the trial and contains transcripts of the trial.
It is a well written book but it is extremely disturbing to realize this was a real person, a man who was regarded as "the quiet type" before his horrible crimes were discovered.

If you are interested in true, bizarre crimes, this is an excellent book. My advice is to make sure you have some lighter reading before your bedtime or you could very well have nightmares from this book. I know I _did_ and I don't consider myself as one who frightens easily. But the sheer catalog of atrocities, done by a real person on real people is truly disturbing.

This is a book about Edward Gein, the mild mannered, Midwestern psychopath from Plainfield, Wisconsin who, in the nineteen fifties, would shock the nation with his gruesome crimes. Edward Gein would become the basis for the best selling book by Robert Bloch, "Psycho", as well as for the Hitchcock film of the same name. Accounts of Edward Gein's heinous crimes would also enter the consciousness of a young Tobe Hooper who, as an adult, would write and direct the classic cult film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

The author, who was the judge who presided over Edward Gein's trial, writes a cogent, factual account of the last grisly crime perpetrated by of Edward Gein, that of hardware store owner Bernice Worden, who was a widow of fifty-eight at the time of her murder. He also touches upon Edward Gein's other grisly crimes and bizarre practices, all of which shocked the nation at the time of their discovery.

The book contains many police reports and court transcripts. It details Edward Gein's "confession" to the Bernice Worden murder, as well as the author's judicial review of that statement. Ms. Worden's autopsy report is included in the book, as is Edward Gein's personal and medical history, as well as his psychiatric evaluation. It is clear the Edward Gein had an abnormal attachment to his deceased mother. It was an attachment that would manifest itself in unimaginable ways. It is almost hard to believe that such a diminutive, seemingly inoffensive man could be such a madman, but who but a madman would do what he did? Edward Gein, it was discovered, had turned his small farmhouse into a gruesome charnel house, replete with furnishings adorned with human flesh and bones.

The book also includes a chapter on the judicial decision that determined Edward Gein was insane and caused him to be committed to a hospital for the insane for an indeterminate period. Ten years later, Edward Gein was determined to be fit to stand trial for the murder of Bernice Worden, and the author became the presiding judge. One of the most curious aspects of the trial was Gein's request that his assigned counsel be the attorney who had presided over his sanity hearing years earlier. That attorney, however, had since become an assistant district attorney on the case against Gein. Notwithstanding that, he promptly resigned from his position as a state prosecutor and became Edward Gein's defense attorney.

The book contains transcripts from the trial, which makes for somewhat dry reading. There is some hair-raising testimony, however, on what was found at Gein's home, as well as on some of the ghoulish practices in which Gein engaged. The trial, which took nearly a year from start to finish, resulted in Gein's return to the hospital for the insane. The book contains an interview with the forensic psychiatrist at the hospital, as well as the hospital superintendent, in order to include information on Ed Gein's years at the hospital to which he was confined. The book also includes a post trial, hospital interview with Edward Gein himself. Moreover, the book contains an appendix in which the forensic psychiatrist contributes what he labels as "Gein humor", which is typical of "community reactions to a horrifying event.", and he engages in a brief analysis of this phenomenon.

This book is a pretty straightforward, although at times tedious, hodge-podge account by the author, which focuses more on the crime for which Edward Gein stood trial, rather than any in-depth summary analysis of Gein himself or his actions. Aficionados of true crime will find this book of some interest, as it is an insider's account of "the case of the century" and provides a birds-eye view into one of the most horrifying and bizarre crimes ever to be committed.

The book promises "eight pages of blood-curdling police photographs", and this is an absolute understatement. I have never before seen such shocking photographs included in a true crime book. They are the stuff of nightmares and serve to provide the reader with a brief, visual glimpse into the life of Edward Gein, a man with a secret hobby so depraved that it would shock the entire nation when it came to light. Lovers of true crime accounts will find something of interest in this insider's comprehensive foray into a crime committed by a seemingly innocuous man from America's heartland who ended up being so deviant from the norm.

We tend to think of dictatorships in a very specific way. One man cannot rule alone and this book describes the political manuvering and the ideological underpinnings of Franco's Spain. I was surprised that Fascist Italy was the ideological wellspring for the Iberians. I found particularly interesting the idea of Corporatism as a means of organizing society.

This is a very thorough, carefully referenced, and clearly written narrative and analysis of Franco's tenure as the autocrat of Spain. Payne begins with a concise introduction to the relevant background of Spanish politics and the origins of the Civil War, providing a nice overview of the major ideological currents and which of these currents is likely to have had the greatest influence on Franco. Payne's discussion of the origin of the Civil War is probably the most controversial part of the book. His position, laid out extensively in a prior book is that the actions of the Spanish Leftist and Radical parties were the primary contributors to the demise of the Second Republic. Payne's points are well taken but other scholars have tended to emphasize the role of the right in destabilizing the Second Republic. Payne then provides a nice overview of the Civil War, concentrating on the politics of the Nationalist side, the development of Nationalist ideology, and Franco's role as the eventual leader of the Nationalist movement. The narrative of Franco's participation in and leadership of the Nationalist cause shows the qualities that characterize his whole career as the Dictator of Spain. Cautious, thorough, tenacious once committed but politically flexible, and a very good judge of subordinates. The Nationalist triumph in the Civil War derived to a large extent from Franco's military professionalism. While certainly not an outstanding commander, his competence and the unity command inherent in having a single leader gave the Nationalists a substantial advantage over the Republicans. Payne divides the subsequent regime into 3 phases. The initial consolidation of power and semi-fascist phase, a period of authoritarian nationalism with a strong emphasis on Catholic traditionalism, and the final relative reformist phase from about 1960 to Franco's death. Each of these phases is discussed well with a good balance of narration and analysis of the underlying currents. Payne does a particularly nice job of tracing the tortuous history of internal regime politics and the impact of external events on the regime. Franco emerges as an unusually capable politician who was able to balance competing groups within his regime and willing to make key compromises when necessary. At the end of the 1950s, it became clear that the regime's economic policies were total failures. Franco had the flexibility to accede to marked changes in policy that played a major role in Spain's subsequent remarkable economic development. Payne is thorough, dispassionate, and makes judgements free of rightist or leftist cliches.

This is without a doubt one of the finest books I have ever read. I read it cover to cover and not only did I find it a fascinating read, but it was also a work which breaks down many preconceived notions about the structure and dynamics of the Franco regime. This, read with Hitler Stopped by Franco, will certainly change some ideas about the character and motivation of Franco. This book cites well from primary sources, and is certainly one of the best researched works I have seen on the subject. Any person who questions the motives or history of the Franco regime should read this book. (Especially if they have read the terrible articles in the New York Times lately).

Mr. Payne's book The Franco Regime contains a wealth of first class information. In the course of studying it - a pleasurable affair, because of its fine style - I had however some disappointments when I went after checking some footnotes.

1. On page 139 (in my copy) Payne relates the Guernica bombing. I was inclined to believe his every word, but his footnote 54 mentions an important author with the alleged name Geoffrey Speer. However, following footnote 56 I studied Mr. Southworth's book Guernica! Guernica!, in which obviously the same author's name is spelled - correctly - George L. Steer. He is the author of The tree of Gernika. It is strange that Southworth book seems to be recommended by Payne, whereas Southworth is highly critical of Payne himself, who is accused of credulity of neo-franquist sources. I would have liked (and expected) that Payne had defended himself.

In the same vein there is on p. 647 an odd recommendation of the book of the German Walther L. Bernecker, Spanien seit dem Burgerkrieg, that is very biased, or at least very hostile, against Franco, whereas Payne is making a case for reappraisal of Franco as a leader who deserves some credit.

It seems that Mr. Payne mentions or recommends books that he did not give much attention.

I must admit these are or not very important issues, but it makes me a bit anxious about the other footnotes.

I can still remember the many radio news broadcasts of my youth where the announcer said "Generalisimo Francisco Franco." Never General Franco or Spanish head of state Franco, always the full title. In terms of his leadership and his role in the world, there is a great deal to be impressed about. Of course, like so many "dictators for life" he lived about a decade too long. In this engaging and complete history of Franco's accomplishments, we learn of his successes, mistakes and firm grip on what was generally a rather light-handed dictatorship.
What was most impressive about Franco was his ability to play all sides against each other. As a history professor friend of mine says, "The Spanish Republic was a strange animal." With so many factions so bitterly opposed, it was inevitable that a conservative backlash would occur against the republic. Given that the political middle had essentially disappeared in Europe and another war was obviously on the horizon, it was inevitable that the Spanish Civil War become international in scope. Franco was a leader of the insurrection and his final rise to power was largely due to the support of Mussolini and Hitler, and not insignificantly, the Catholic Church. However, even though he was also ideologically disposed to favor the fascist states in the Second World War, Franco was largely able to keep Spain out of the war. Furthermore, despite the hostility of the victorious democracies after the war, he was able to remain in power and preside over an economic expansion unprecedented in the history of Spain.
Payne examines all aspects of the reign of Franco in explicit detail. Statistics from economic productivity to the crime rate and number of executions per year are all used to explain the successes and weaknesses of the Franco government. There is also no hint of an ideological tilt to the descriptions. Unlike other writers who let their personal political beliefs creep into their descriptions, Payne keeps to the facts. Sometimes, too much so, as there are places where a bit of additional historical analysis would have improved the telling.
Much is made at the end about how Franco was urged to transfer power before his health reached the point where it would lead to a comatose government. While some of this is true, Franco's handling of the ascension of Prince Juan Carlos was masterful. After the death of the dictator, there was no great upheaval in Spain, and the way King Juan Carlos handled the attempted coup was masterful. Spain emerged as a stable society, avoiding most of the trauma that occurs when authoritarian governments end.
For many years, I have been fascinated by the actions of Franco. To me, he has always seemed to be the ultimate political survivor and I have wondered how he managed to do it. After reading this book, I am pleased with my decision to read it, for now I know much about how Franco was able to do what he did, die a natural death while still in power.