Foote Books

This second volume of the Laws of the Icelanders has now become available nearly a quarter of a century after Volume I appeared. Sadly, that first volume has now gone out print, although from taking with the publisher, I understand a new edition of Volume I will soon be ready.

Great news, because together these are tremendously important documents. They not only give wonderful insights into the medieval world, but also hold the seeds of much of English law that in turn would find its way into the quirky American legal system. If you believe legalistic thinking is a kind of insanity that often goes against common sense, you'll find lots of proof in these "Viking" laws, that seem to cover every possible worry of medieval man -- how a whale is to be divided, the punishment for composing unflattering poems, the fine for kissing someone else's wife, how murder is to be reported, and so forth. Eighty-year-olds slipping off and marrying without the permission of their kids was apparently a big enough problem that a special set of laws had to be made to cover that situation. There was one fine for a poke in the nose, another for a kick in the testicles.

Being a collection of laws, however, they're not easy reading and probably will need to be taken in small doses of a page or two at a time and thought about -- much like Donne's poetry, say. Many of the laws require some real untangling to be understood at all, while the meaning of others has likely been lost forever.

Just the same, the translators have done a super job of making the laws accessible. They've grouped them logically and provide plenty of footnotes for assistance, along with a dictionary of technical terms and a glossary with the original Icelandic vocabulary.

Obviously these are scholarly works meant for a specialized audience, but that audience should certainly extend to everyone in the legal profession and everyone with an interest in the Middle Ages, especially those who would hope to fully understand the Icelandic Sagas. Actually, anyone who likes to read should enjoy skimming these volumes. Even if you can't afford to own them yourself, you should encourage your local library to have them. They are priceless.

An extensively researched and carefully reasoned study of the institutions and forces that shaped a phase of Italian history, Lordship, Reform, And The Development Of Civil Society In Medieval Italy: The Bishopric Of Orvieto, 1100-1250 is a scholarly analysis of a small Italian commune during the High Middle Ages. Exploring feudal revolution, ecclesiastical reform, and state building, as well as offer-ing a direct challenge to conclusions that overemphasize the secular nature of Italian city-states by pointing out how ecclesiastical institutions influenced the political and religious culture of communes, Lordship, Reform, And The Development Of Civil Society In Medieval Italy is a work of superb scholarship and a welcome addition to academic library Middle Ages studies and World History reference collections.

I have the earlier edition of this book. It's one of the first comprehensive books about snow. What it is and how it affects life. Even a lot about skiing, and avalanches, and clearing snow from roads, etc. Great to see that it's available again. There's sure a lot more to snow than one would think!

Mending is often a superior choice for longer wear of a garment or household item, and recycling is another possibility; Dr. Foote has written a practical and helpful guide to both. Her book has been a helpful asset when my sewing machine manual and my sew-from-new books couldn't answer my questions. For the thrifty, frugal, and skilled steward of any household or wardrobe, I recommend this little book as a good read as well as an inspiration. You can make clothes and linens look better, wear better and last longer by fixing the small problems that occur over time, and save a lot of greenbacks too. In years of graduate school, cross country moves at my own expense, poorly paid but exciting and worthwhile jobs, I have learned to rely on the wisdom of menders, recyclers and ingenious frugal ones to keep my wardrobe and household presentable. Enjoy this little gem for its quotations, its history, its drawings, text and stories, its size and the gratifying message that making the best of what you have is entirely within your capabilities. For a person who sews, a treasure.

As one who has been studying the science of midwifery for three years, I can say that I have loved this book! There are many reasons for this love:
1) HL&B covers nearly every conceivable obstetrical topic succinctly yet thoroughly. If you want the low-down on anything from umbilical cords to breech delivery to sacculation of the uterus, this is the book to go to! You won't find any extraneous content: this is a textbook through and through - it cuts to the chase!
2) I appreciated the author's comprehensive coverage of medical options. A lot of textbooks (esp. nursing texts) are of the mentality "when this happens, this is what you do" whereas this book presents all options for treatment management (even though you might probably end up doing what the nursing text says!), as well as prognosis info.
3) The illustrations (hand-drawn) are immensely helpful and quite plentiful.
4) HL&B is compact (1.5" x 6" x 9"), so when wanting to study on the go, this was the definite choice.

The only drawback to this book is that it is a paperback (I am unaware if it is available in hardcover). Notwithstanding, I would highly recommend this book to anyone studying obstetrics at any level.

Wow. A couple of friends at work have been urging me to read Shelby Foote's trilogy, Civil War A Narrative, for over four years now, and I finally completed the first of the three, Fort Sumpter to Perryville. I am just as impressed as they suggested I would be.

Although the series is now quite old (the original copyright is 1958), it is still probably one of the best and most comprehensive descriptions of the war from beginning to end. Foote was actually a journalist and novelist rather than an historian, but his interest in the war between the states was an over riding and life long passion. His experience as a writer probably prepared him better for his task of presenting the conflict to the reading public than any PhD in history could ever have done. His laid back and genteel style of address, his thorough knowledge of and apparent impartiality for both sides in the conflict, and his delightfully anecdotal approach to the subject are a pleasure to read. I think it is telling that his is the Civil War History most often cited in the footnotes and bibliographies of other writers on the subject, even those of more recent publication. Like the diary of the southern belle Mary Chestnut, Foote's Civil War seems to be the sine que non reference to have in ones own work. Not taking note of it is almost to suggest ignorance of ones own topic, if not downright illiteracy!

Although the narrative is essentially told from the perspective of the various officers and politicians involved-often they were the same people, both an officer and a politician-the author also includes diary entries and letters from common soldiers on both sides, lending a very up close and personal sense to the events of the war. (I remember on several occasions telling my husband that I had to "get back to the War, as we were about to attack Richmond!" or some other place.)

My only complaint is that, at least so far, very little is made of the black experience in the war. This may be because documents from this population are largely lacking or that mentions of black individuals in other material is often skewed, although it seems doubtful. I know that Mary Chestnut mentions slaves and that some documentaries have quoted letters from slave/soldiers to family back home.

I found particularly interesting the character sketches of Lincoln and his opposite number in the Confederacy's presidency, Jefferson Davis. Their problems were often quite similar, yet their psychological make up was so vastly different, that outcomes were often determined by this fact. It was also interesting that they had similar difficulties with their constituency, both coming under attack by the public for the way they were conducting the war and the choices of personnel they made to conduct it.

So impartial is the author and so respectful of the strengths of both societies and their leaders and armies, that the reader is often cheering first one side and then the other, is fearful for the well-being and fates of first one group of soldiers or individuals and then the other. I think this reflects the ambiguity and division that was often felt even at the time, since many families had members fighting on both sides of the conflict. Even General Lee himself had a son fighting for the Union. It reflects, too, that the war was a conflict among a people rather than between people. One might well still feel animosity toward the "other" side had the division remained permanent and the two remained independent countries. Because it became united again, we in the present can feel compassion for those who lost their lives on both sides. After all, both sides were "us!

Truly an impressive work. I look forward to reading the other volumes in the series.

For THOSE WRITING PAPERS: in history and sociology. Read McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. How are it and Foote's Civil War a Narrative different in their approaches to the same topic? Is this simply a matter of style? Is it a difference in the individual backgrounds of the author? How might ones geopolitical outlook or ones generation effect ones interpretation of an historical subject? Has much new documentation occurred since Foote wrote his narrative or are differences between his and other works due only to differences in interpretation of the same documents? Read some of the documents of civil war-check the bibliography of this or other books to make a list of primary documents like newspapers, letters, diaries, military lists, etc. or check your reference library for a list. Do a personal interpretation of these documents yourself to see what you can learn about the civil war from them and write up your conclusions. Are they similar to Foote's work? Check with your family "historians" and geneologists-almost every family has someone interested in the history of their family-to see if there were ancestors who fought in the war. Record the narrative of what is known about this person or persons. If there are letters written to or by them or diaries extant, copy some of the entries and see if the information sheds illumination on some aspect of the civil war. Write up your conclusions. Is this a valid way of recreating a history of an event? Check your local or state historical society for information on their part in the civil war and write your conclusions. Are your conclusions similar to Footes'? Check your local cemetery for civil war markers. See too if you can find out the population statistics for the area. On this basis what proportion of the population participated in the civil war from your locale? How might this have affected the economics and demographics of your area at the time?

James Panabaker, an instructor in the Dept. of English at Kwantlen University College in Surrey (part of Greater Vancouver , British Columbia), Canada, first presented the material in this book as a doctoral thesis.

I suspect that many doctoral theses tend toward the pedantic, but such is not the case with Shelby Foote and the Art of History. Panabaker amazes us with the high quality of his prose and his remarkable insights not only into Foote's oeurve but also his wide-ranging familiarity with other historical and literary artists.

Our main interest in Shelby Foote, of course, is his massive three-volume magnum opus The Civil War: A Narrative (published in 1958, 1963, 1974 respectively), a masterpiece that took him twenty years to complete.

I still remember the thrill I felt, more than a decade ago, when I read the three volumes of Foote's Civil War. Indeed, in the genre of history it was the most enjoyable reading experience of my life.

Foote's trilogy is, as novelist Walker Percy called it, an "American Iliad." (Incidentally, the phrase "two gates to the city" is taken from Book 19 of Homer's Odyssey.)

Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Foote, but, several years ago, I did phone him at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, and had a very pleasant conversation with him, and I appreciated his gracious and witty comments.

I was aware that Foote had written a novel titled Shiloh (1952), which I read not long after finishing The Civil War. I was surprised, however, when Panabaker points out that Foote has written five other novels: Tournament (1949), Follow Me Down (1950), Love in a Dry Season (1951), Jordan County: A Landscape in Narrative (1953), and September, September (1977).

Writing five of these novels before he began work on The Civil War, Foote developed narrative techniques that he carried over into his writing of history.

Quoting favorably an aphorism from John Keats, "A fact is not a truth until you love it," Foote asserts that to be a good historian one must be an artist, specifically an artist with a vision that embraces sympathy, paradox, irony, and existential relativity.

"Most historians, I am afraid," Foote writes, "are so concerned with finding out what happened that they make the enormous mistake of equating facts with truth. No great column of facts can ever pose as the truth. Truth is order imposed on those facts; truth is the breath of life breathed into facts. Truth is how you feel about things. People make a grievous error thinking that a list of facts is the truth. Facts are just the bare bones out of which truth is made."

The phrase "two gates to the city" refers to (1) ascertaining, as far as possible, the objective facts of history and (2) employing the creative imagination of the novelist by, as it were, linking the separate pearls of the past onto a chain, or causal narrative sequence, that provides meaning as well as beauty.

Panabaker's thesis is that Shelby Foote is an artist in both his fiction and non-fiction, and that his creative vision and artistry, blending "the scientific" and "the poetic," give his work balance and brilliance.

Panabaker shows the influence of various writers on Foote, such as Proust, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Keats, and discusses Foote's lifelong friendship with the novelist Walker Percy.

He emphasizes existential themes found in Foote's six novels (giving an extending analysis of them in Chapters 1, 2, and 3) and the "humanistic history" found in The Civil War: A Narrative (which he analyzes in Chapters 5 and 6).

For example, Panabaker writes, "At the center of Foote's aesthetic lies the acknowledgment of the possibility of the meaninglessness of individual experience. As he remarked in response to an interviewer's question about themes, 'I'm not sure . . . except something so large as the basic loneliness of man. . . . Each man . . . is profoundly alone.'"

Shelby Foote and the Art of History is a well-crafted work of literary criticism and a celebration of a creative artist who has much to say concerning the human condition. Judging from his engaging style and perceptive revelations, one suspects that Panabaker has learned much from the old master, Shelby Foote.

   E-mail address: rperry1778@aol.com

Most everyone acquainted with Shelby Foote know him through his Civil War history and the Ken Burns Civil War series. He is, however, a Southern novelist of the first calibre, and his raw talents are spectacularly displayed in this his first published work. Most writers could strive for a lifetime and never come close to the quality of this book. I highly recomend it to anyone who is interested in Foote as a writer or in Southern literature as a genre.

This book gave a wonderful glimpse of life in Coffee County pre-1930. I am descended from several families whose ties to the area that became Coffee County go back almost 200 years. The more I read the more I was able to understand the whys and hows of the daily lives of my ancestors in an around Douglas, Georgia.

It needs to be updated and republished.

The Widow Claire reminds me of the play safe enough for a dinner playhouse. It's not exceptionally long, there are no long monologues; the plot is safe for audiences and involves vibrant characters, plenty of action and two rambunctious and inquisitive children. Texas born (1916) playwright Horton Foote has written a slew of plays produced on and off Broadway and The Widow Claire has managed to make the Best of American Plays 9th Series; 1983-1992.

Taking place in Texas 1911, the main plot of Widow Claire has its share of sadness - beneath the surface, reading between the lines, and a universal ongoing problem single women endure. It focuses on a 27 year old widow of one year who has two children, Molly 9 and Buddy 10. On the sidelines, a parade of men involved with the widow. The children play a major role in the dating game and they do voice their opinion in selection process of a man for their mother. That's the problem, single women who parade a bunch of men to their children without any regard for the children, calling them "uncle."

It's sad when the children beg their mom not to marry Uncle Val, a drunk and physically abusive frequently unemployed bum. Sadder, is when Widow Claire frequently tries to dismiss the children when they have witnessed the abuse! And the kids would rather see him dead, literally! They like Uncle Ned, a 40ish traveling drummer who buys them things.

And now, they toy with a new suitor, Horace, 21, who is leaving next day for a 6-week business school course. Will Horace become the best suited to marry Widow Claire and who will she pick to marry?