Washington University Books

Indispensable as an introduction to the development of conservative thought in roughly the third quarter of the 20th century, Nash's history has no peers. Illustrating clearly the fractiousness (maybe even inherent incompatibility) of the factions gathered by necessity under the umbrella of conservative thought, he charts well the intellectual underpinnings of conservativism in the United States of America. Most importantly, he highlights that a generally uncelebrated cause for both the fusion and the success of the movement is the lack of correspondence between liberal legislation and quantitative results during this period. That being said, there are a few areas one would like to see fleshed out in more detail. Specifically, neo-conservatives as they emerge in the early seventies, the conservative "scene" during the first and second Nixon administrations, the Vietnam War in contemporary conservative intellectual thought, and the impact of conservative intellectuals on politics-particularly with regard to Goldwater and Reagan-are relatively undeveloped. Indeed, those themes are sufficient for book-length treatment themselves, so Nash cannot be faulted; moreover, his is an intellectual history, and to expect him to detail the political aspects of conservative thought and to chart accurately the time period so close to his writing of this book would be unreasonable. In sum, one cannot claim to have any insight into conservative thought without having perused this volume.

This is an excellent book that traces the historical development of the intellectual conservative movement in the United States. To understand current events, it is essential to understand the historical context from which today's political environment has sprung. It was interesting to me how the author distanced the "intellectual" movement from the right wing social conservatives of today. All political parties are made up of uncomfortable aliases and the present day Republican party is no exception to this rule. The author makes the necessary distinctions between that which is important to libertarians, traditional conservatives, and neoconservatives. I would especially recommend this book to anyone who is baffled by today's brand of conservative political thought.

This is a very good book, but readers should be aware of what is and isn't prior to picking it up. Apparently an expanded version of the author's PhD dissertation, this book covers the intellectual aspects of the Conservative movement from the immediate post-war period to the early 1970s. It is not a history of conservatism as a political or social movement. The author does not cover the last 30 years, though there is an appendix chapter added in the late 80s or early 90s which is surprisingly dated. Within these limits, this is a fine book. Nash does a very good job of showing the diversity of conservative intellectuals, describing the libertarian, conservative Catholic, traditional elitist, and backward looking romanticism that came to make up important features of the modern conservative movement. He is quite good in describing the broad variety of important conservative writers, the interactions between the different strains of the movement, how they developed institutions like the National Review to support the movement, and provides some information about their broader impact. This book is very well written with particularly good combinations of relevant quotations from primary sources and the author's descriptions. The scholarship is excellent, based both on a careful reading of a large volume of literature and quite a few interviews.
There are some significant limitations. Despite Nash's serious effort to give a broad view of the conservative movement, this is something of a National Review version of the conservative movement. There is no treatment of fundamentalist conservatism or its theological underpinnings. Also symptomatic of the limitations of Nash's approach is the treatment of Ayn Rand. The latter is discussed only in the context of the reception of her writings by figures that Nash considers central to the movement. Rand may not have had very good ideas (one critic, cruelly but accurately referred to her as a pseudo-philosopher) but she did have ideas and has been influential. Its likely that more people have come to the libertarian version of conservatism via the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged than through the pages of the National Review. Nash's view of the mainstream of the movement tends to ignore popular but important figures like Rand.
Another problem with Nash's narration is that he often fails to provide context for the writings under discussion. Nash is generally sympathetic to the conservative movement and many of the writers he discusses. This is generally good because he takes them seriously and writes insightfully about their work. There are times, however, when some critical distance would be useful. For example, it would be worth mentioning that the Spanish "christian social order" much admired by L. Brent Bozell was Franco's regime, or that J. James Kilpatrick's "able polemic" of 1957 was an effort to defend Jim Crow, or that the influential Richard Weaver's inspirational view of the antebellum American South was a romantic delusion.

After reading `The Conservative Mind' I could scarcely imagine why ANYONE but a small group of goose stepping Neanderthals would be drawn to Conservativism. Although nearly equal in length, George H. Nash's history of Conservativism is considerably more palatable than Russell Kirk's dreary ode. It's also more readable and less pretentious. Mr. Nash presents a history of the evolution of American Conservativism particularly in the latter half of the last century as disparate groups of paleo-Conservatives, Neo-Conservatives and Libertarians managed to fuse themselves into a cohesive unit capable of temporarily gaining control of all three branches of American government. The book also does a good job of defining the tenets of Conservativism even as it claims that there are no canonized beliefs.

The author, perhaps unwittingly, stumbles on the main problem of Conservativism, that it is a completely inconsistent and incoherent belief system. Conservatives can be pro-capitalism like Friedman or anti-capitalism like Kirk. They can be against government intrusion like Meyer's or pro-authoritarian like Bozell. They can stand against moral relativity while believing that the United States can operate under a different set of moral rules from the rest of the world as in William Bennett. The author quotes John Fischer who talks about William F. Buckley's National Review claiming that rather than Conservative it was radical, "exhibiting such telltale signs of extremism as humorlessness, utopianism, inconsistency, and a persecution complex". Fischer's definition of The National Review is actually the best definition of modern Conservativism that I could find. It is their mutual hatred of foes that binds them whether they are liberals, communists, secularist, minorities, non-Christians and on and on.

Conservatives are marked by a desire to return to another era. Buckley wrote, "[Conservativism] stands athwart history yelling Stop...." But what era shall we return to? Some Conservative philosophers like Richard Weaver prefer the antebellum south while Russell Kirk seemed to admire the 17th century. The Middle Ages is a favorite for folks like John Hallowell while others would take us back to the ancient Greeks. The point is that we always live in the worst of times and we would all be better off with strong authoritarian rulers like the Catholic Church or medieval Kings.

There is also an exhibited tension between extreme nationalism and hatred of the United States. Donald Atwell Zoll wrote, "I, like most conservatives, would be more than willing to reject a considerable part of the `American tradition' dominated as it is by influences scarcely harmonious with the conservative cast of mind". L. Brent Bozell, jr stated that the American commonwealth - from the very start - was corrupt and "bound to fail" for deliberately leaving God out of the political order. These are not quotes pulled by liberals attacking Conservatives but from a Conservative defending his own ideology.

So what is Conservativism? In the end it seems to rest on nothing more than a negative reaction to change. The author writes that the number one enemy of Conservativism is the liberal philosophy of natural rights and civil liberties. Conservativism is about the entrenchment of power and the stratification of society. At all levels from race, to wealth to gender, each will know his place. One writer for the National Review wrote that white community is so entitled to lead because, for the time being, it is the advanced race. Woman shall be subservient to men and men shall be subservient to the church. If there were one society in the world that best represented the ideal of Conservative society it would be the Taliban.

I have just began to read this book. It is a wealth of information about how a lot of conservative thoughts came to be, in particular after 1945. If you are interested in learning the who's and why's of conservativism this is a great book to start reading.

This is the "bible" on the principles of all of the forms used in Northwest Coast art. The forms are well documented and illustrated. This is an excellent book.

I wish I had read Bruce Hallman's review before buying this book. All the other reviews repeat the underlying error of the title and hail it as a great book about "Northwest Coast Indian Art." But turning to the map on page 3 reveals the truth: This book is about a subset of Northwest Coast Indian Art: the Northern Northwest Coast. Like I said in my cranky review of Hilary Stewart's "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast," ever since J. E. Standley flooded the Seattle tourist market with fake Kwakiutl artwork, fake totem poles, and other hybrids of art forms from the northern coast Salish tribes, the art forms that are indigenous to our tribes here in western Washington have been all but forgotten, brushed aside by authors who chase the market with books that pretend to deal with all "of the Northwest Coast" but in reality ignore anything south of the 49th Parallel. For anybody who wants to learn about the Coast Salish art of the western Washington tribes, these books are not for you. But if you know of any books that do deal with the western Washington Coast Salish art forms, please let me know.

This is a very good book on NW art. However, if you are looking for examples of native art to emulate, there is not enough here.

This book is a classic, and is invaluable for the serious student of Pacific Northwest Coast artwork. Note, however, that I emphasize the word "serious." If you are more of a beginner or casual observer, this book should be third on your list behind "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast" by Hilary Stewart and "Learning by Designing Pacific Northwest Coast Native Art, Vol. 1" by Gilbert and Clark.

Although the book is easy to read and very well written, it has a decidely academic tone to it. Mr. Holm studied large numbers of authentic examples, and draws conclusions about patterns.

For example, he points out that an ovoid within another ovoid (an "inner ovoid") is always placed either vertically centered OR closer to the top than the bottom. If it is placed closer to what appears to be the bottom, then it is because the artist is telling us that that particular part of the artwork is actually upside down.

He then backs this up with data based on his researches. In other words, he "reverse engineered" the unwritten rules of how to do this type of artwork.

But his focus is on details and small parts, not on the larger picture of how these elements are used by an artist to convey a message or depict something. There is almost no information on the myths and legends that the artwork is based on, nor on ways to discern between the various animals.

Note that I do NOT say this as a criticism -- it is not a bad thing that the book does not contain such info! Plenty of other books do. This book has a specific purpose, which is to analyze the elements of the artform, and this book is unquestionably the best one on that topic. In fact, it is the ONLY one that goes into this level of detail.

If you want to know why the Raven is often depicted with the Sun in his beak, this book is not for you. If you want to look at a drawing or totem pole and know which is a beaver and which is a bear, this book won't be much help. But if you want to know how and when and why to use blue as a tertiary color, or how wide a black formline should be at the top versus the bottom, this book is the one you want.

If you can only buy one or two books on this artform (or even if you can buy more), start with the two I listed above. Then buy this one. It is a great book and worth buying, and once you have an understanding of the bigger picture, the undertsanding of the details provided by Holm is truly fascinating.

This book is simply the best resource for learning this art form. It does not describe the cultural roots of the art in any great detail, but if you want to really learn how to construct NW coast designs on your own, while staying within the tradition, this is your best choice. What I liked best about it was that it manages to be a scholarly and artistic, and the "analysis of form" both records the past and inspires the future. As others reviewers have stated, this is a book for the serious student, but even less serious ones will get more out of here than they will from the "Learning by Designing" series.

Keep A-Goin': The Life Of Lone Star Dietz by Tom Benjey is the remarkable, inspiring and distinctive biography of Billy Dietz, who was a winning athlete in his own right, a successful football coach in the earliest days of the sport (and who was inducted into football's "Hall of Fame"), and popular idol with the general public of his era. As the child of an adoptive couple in Wisconsin, Dietz was unaware of his biological parents (his mother was Native American) until he heard his parents quarreling when he was 15. As readers of Keep A-Goin' will discover this is an encouraging tale of personal persistence in self-discovery and determined survival throughout his prolific career and seemingly endless personal and professional difficulties from his days attending the Carlisle Indian School, through his move to Washington State as head football coach from 1915-1917, then coaching for the Mare Island team of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I, a trial by the government ending in the imposition of a 30-day jail term, and so much more. A superbly written biography by Tom Benjey, Keep A-Goin' is very strongly recommended for Billy Dietz fans and for sports enthusiasts with an interest in the history of the NFL.

Tom Benjey's biography of the multi-talented and flamboyant Billy`Lone Star' Dietz, the part Sioux football coach, artist, actor, singer is absolutely spellbinding.. An early confidant of Glenn S 'Pop' Warner, at the very birth and infancy of college and professional football, Dietz was considerably famous in his day, and was well respected by those that came to know him, for his ability and mind-set for fair play. Benjey has brought together an impressive work. Featuring numerous drawings and illustrations of Dietz's works and an incredible amount of facts about the many accomplishments, and disappointments of Dietz's career in football and other fields of endeavor.
Dietz's tough mindedness and tenacity is on every page and his courage, in the face of adversity was heroic. His innovated use of the single and double wing offence, and a flexible defense, led many of his teams to towering wins, including the 1916 Rose Bowl Game against Brown University.
Football fans will have trouble putting Keep A-goin' The life of Lone Star Dietz down. Many historical events and characters are revealed to the reader skillfully by Benjey, who shows, without a doubt, that Billy `Lone Star' Dietz was an exciting and innovative part of history, and of the game we enjoy so much today. Impressive! Revealing and articulate!


Ray Ward Editor6(at)newbookreviews.org

This biography of Lone Star Dietz, artist, football coach, and man of mystery, is a fascinating journey through a complex life, and must have been a monumental work for author Benjey to research, and to sift through the myth, truth, and supposition, of some things that perhaps even Lone Star himself didn't for a certainty know, like the hidden secrets that surrounded his heritage. The peaks and valleys of his life, coupled with his 2 marriages, the first to Native American artist Angel DeCora, thirteen years his senior (which in the early part of the 20th century was considered somewhat scandalous), his legal problems concerning his citizenship as American or Indian and how it related to the WWI "Slacker" charge, would make a stupendous television miniseries, that would keep us riveted to the screen, as one is riveted to the pages of this book.

Author Tom Benjey's writing style is fluid and eloquent, but at the same time comfortable and immediate, as if he were relating this captivating tale in your living room. Chapter 12, on how World War I started and what happened in America while it was being fought, is superb; it is a reminder to those of us who know history, and to those who don't, and who think we are currently "losing our freedom," an eye-opener and a great lesson to be learned. There are many themes in this biography to hold one's interest: The early years of college football and sports in general, told in a way that even a "sports ignoramus" like me can appreciate, Native American studies and art, and so much more, all tied to the exciting if chaotic life of Lone Star Dietz.

The black and white illustrations are fabulous, done mostly by Lone Star or his wife Angel DeCora. They range from cartoon style to intricate depictions of Native American life, and some are truly beautiful. The photographs are also wonderful, with the 1915 portrait of Dietz on the inside cover capturing the character and strength of this remarkable man. Keep A-Goin' is educational, entertaining, and great reading from start to finish.

Review by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (09/06)

The Rose bowl Game of 1916 changed the face of American College football. Lone Star Dietz developed the winning team, Washington State College. Tom Benjey has done an outstanding job of capturing the sports career of Dietz as a football player and coach from newspaper articles, collegiate publications, and correspondence.

The unique combination of football, art, journalism, and the theater make the story amazingly complex. This is the remarkable story of Lone Star Dietz's pursuit to find his personal identity in an intolerant socio-cultural environment.

When the United States entered the war against Germany in 1918 Dietz was labeled a "slacker" and indicted for evading the draft. Lone Star was challenged regarding his Indian heritage. A legal battle followed. He had no money to defend himself. Lone Star's life was never the same after the trial. His name had been tarnished. And the question of his heritage remained unanswered.

Lone Star demonstrated his persistence again as he picked up the pieces of his life and went on to produce winning football teams.

The book has provided a generous sampling of Lone Star's art and illustrations as well as those of his first wife, Angel DeCora. These works of art are outstanding and portray an important element of American history and Indian culture. Photos of the Dietz in full Indian regalia as well as those of influential people involved in his life provide an added dimension to this enormous undertaking by the author.

The book is written in an easy to read style that keeps the story moving at a fast pace. The multiple conflicts throughout Dietz's life make the book read like fiction. The author has thoroughly researched Dietz's and chronicled his career in detail. Benjey writes with feeling as he relates the accomplishments, the heartbreak, and the demoralizing social and cultural obstacles Dietz faced.

This is an inspiring life story of Lone Star Dietz, of his rise and fall and how he "kept a-goin" in spite of tremendous odds and circumstances. It is a story of personal persistence. Although Dietz has not received the accolades of everyone, he is a sports icon and a legend to his fans.

Tom Benjey has written a masterful work. This is a book for sports fans and history enthusiasts alike.

'Keep A-Goin': The Life of Lone Star Dietz' is a revelation to many of us, an absorbing biography of an important figure in American history who like so many other significant people comes to general public knowledge only with the publication of a carefully researched and well-written biography such as this fine book by Tom Benjey. Presented in an almost scrapbook style, the writing accompanied by a plethora of drawings and photographs that add immensely to the flow of the story as well as serving as physical documentation of fascinating life.

Lone Star Dietz was born in 1885, the son of an American Indian woman and a German father, a man who suffered the prejudices of being a half breed, a man who was discredited by his refusing to enter the armed forces during WW I, yet a gifted artist and athlete and actor and showman who added immeasurably to the manner in which football is played today, who elevated the regard for native American art, and who was a mover who helped launch the now famous Rose Bowl football games that brought success to the popular Rose Parade that began its ongoing New Year's Day spotlight in 1915!

One would think that a man of so many talents would be a household name in this country: certainly his achievements and colorful lifestyle merit such renown. But it takes a champion such as Tom Benjey to place him so fully before us. Benjey's no-nonsense writing style offers the facts and the photos, the trials and the art, and the rather overzealous exposition (for the non-sports minded reader) of Dietz' contributions to the game of football. But for this reader the aspect of this publication hat makes it a delight to read is the Epilogue at the end of the book where Benjey addresses us, the reader, with his own thoughts about Dietz' controversial life. It is illuminating and ends with a section called 'Who Dietz Really Was' that allows us to appreciate the sensitivity not only of Benjey's reportage in the bulk of the book, but also his talent at writing biography. He has given us an American icon to ponder and we are the richer for it. Grady Harp, April 07

A fascinating biography written by a superb writer.

Should be mandatory reading for today's history students.

This is an accurate and entertaining book about the life and deeds of Warren Magnuson. It tells of the remarkable things he accomplished for Washington State. Everyone should be aware of his great contributions. The author, Shelby Scates did a remarkable and accurate job in portraying Magnusons accomplishments and colorful personality.

I believe that any freshman legislator and all students studying the history of Washington State should read this historical novel. It should be part of the corriculum of all schools in Washington State and be availabe in all of the state libraries.

I lived through the Warren Magnuson era. What that man did for the State of Washington was absolutely remarkable. The book should be part of every history class. It was factual, and people in the North West, for generations, should know what he did and how he accomplished his deeds. I compliment Mr. Scates on his terrific detail, fairness, and accurateness Bravo! 5 stars!

For years, Washington was well served in the U.S. Senate by "Scoop and Maggie," that is, Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson. However, while Jackson twice sought the presidency and has been the subject of at least two biographies, Magnuson has been largely forgotten. In fact, he was never a household word nationwide. Fortunately, journalist Shelby Scates has given Maggie the kind of work his memory deserves and his admirers have wanted. This very well researched and documented biography goes back to Magnuson's roots in North Dakota, to his activism in the leftist Washington Commonwealth Federation in the 30's, to his long and distinguished congressional career, and, finally, to his narrow defeat in the Reagan revoluntion of 1980. The lover of liquor and beautiful women always managed to remain a dedicated senator who was respected, even loved, by his colleagues. Maggie looked like a good ol' boy, but was a diehard liberal who advocated civil rights, consumer rights, and worker rights. America is a better place because of Warren Magnuson. Our knowledge of him would have been remiss, were in not for this book.

This book is quite informative, just not about Edgar Degas. For the first few chapters I had the feeling that all this information about everyone else was setting the stage for Degas to become, as the title would suggest, a focus of this book. I still had that same feeling while reading the final chapter.

The book would have been more aptly titled "New Orleans from 1865 to 1879, with a Brief Visit by Edgar Degas in 1872". If you've been to New Orleans or are interested in its history or never gave it much thought until Hurricane Katrina and are now curious, this book could be good for you. If you really want a book that focuses on Degas the artist, man, etc... this is not your book.

Beyond that, 1 thing that still bothers me is that I've never read anything by Kate Chopin. In fact I'd never heard of her or Cable until I grabbed this book. I was substantially into their portions of the book, so much so that I'd decided to see which (if any) of their books I could find at my library. I was none too pleased when this book suddenly gave away the ending of one of Chopin's books I'd already planned to read. Let that warn you. In those last couple chapters if you're beginning to care about those books being discussed, skip those sections until you've already read the books.

Of the 2 books I've just reviewed, All Poets Welcome: The Lower East Side Poetry Scene in the 1960s, Includes 35-track CD of audio clips of poetry readings was greatly preferred.

Benfey's study is an elegant, exciting study with many facets. He truly evokes a vanished world. An interdisciplinary study which does not meander or bore. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best books I have read. It's so fascinating, easy to read, and just interesting in general. I highly recommend it.

Maybe the most important thing for you to know about this book is that it isn't just, or even mostly, about Edgar Degas. If you're in the market solely for an art book about Degas, you may not like this book. What this book is really about is 19th century New Orleans. Degas' 1872-1873 trip is the main theme which the author has used as his framework. Mr. Benfey "improvises" on this theme and goes off in interesting directions. He talks about what made New Orleans unique- the early Creole settlers vs. the "Americans" that arrived after the Louisiana Purchase; the free black population (pre-Civil War) vs. the slaves who became free because of the war; the rupture caused by the war- as New Orleans was occupied by Federal forces through almost all of the conflict. (Many of the local women proved to be fairly feisty in showing their contempt for the Yankees. One woman in the French Quarter supposedly downloaded the contents of a chamber pot onto Admiral Farragut's head. On another occasion, the soldier in charge of keeping order, General Benjamin "Beast" Butler, was riding by some women and they all turned their backs to him. Butler remarked, "those women evidently know which end of them looks best.") After the Civil War the economy, based almost solely on King Cotton, took a beating in the Depression of the 1870's. Yankee "carpetbaggers" were despised. Liberals who wanted integration of the races did battle, sometimes literally, with reactionary forces who yearned for a return to the days of slavery. Mr. Benfey works in some analysis of the writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable, who were interested in some of the above themes. The author does devote a fairly good portion of the book to discussing Degas' "Louisiana Connection," (his mother was born in New Orleans; he had relatives who were involved in the cotton trade; and his younger brother, Rene, left France to try to make his fortune in New Orleans). If you enjoy Degas' art, you will find Mr. Benfey's musings on the portraits and "genre scenes" that Degas did during this period to be interesting and informative. For example, from a purely painterly standpoint, Degas enjoyed the juxtaposition of black and white skin, as well as the white of cotton against the black suits and hats commonly worn by businessmen of the time. Mr. Benfey also, convincingly, shows that Degas' started to use, in these paintings, certain compositional effects- such as slanted floors, the arrangement of figures in interior spaces, and certain hand and head movements- that would shortly reappear in the more famous "ballet paintings." We also see Degas in transition from his early "realistic" phase to a looser, more "Impressionistic" style of painting. I also found it interesting that Degas was fascinated by many things he saw while walking around New Orleans, but he was limited mostly to painting interior scenes because the light of New Orleans was bothering his eyes. (He started to have problems with his vision while serving in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. By the time of his death in 1917 he was nearly blind.) There was enough about Degas and his family and art in this book to satisfy me, plus I enjoyed Mr. Benfey's "improvisations." If, in addition to being a Degas fan, you have any interest in the antebellum and post-Civil War worlds of New Orleans, I think you will get a lot of enjoyment and intellectual stimulation from this book.

Maybe the most important thing for you to know about this book is that it isn't just, or even mostly, about Edgar Degas. If you're in the market solely for an art book about Degas, you may not like this book. What this book is really about is 19th century New Orleans. Degas' 1872-1873 trip is the main theme which the author has used as his framework. Mr. Benfey "improvises" on this theme and goes off in interesting directions. He talks about what made New Orleans unique- the early Creole settlers vs. the "Americans" that arrived after the Louisiana Purchase; the free black population (pre-Civil War) vs. the slaves who became free because of the war; the rupture caused by the war- as New Orleans was occupied by Federal forces through almost all of the conflict. (Many of the local women proved to be fairly feisty in showing their contempt for the Yankees. One woman in the French Quarter supposedly downloaded the contents of a chamber pot onto Admiral Farragut's head. On another occasion, the soldier in charge of keeping order, General Benjamin "Beast" Butler, was riding by some women and they all turned their backs to him. Butler remarked, "those women evidently know which end of them looks best.") After the Civil War the economy, based almost solely on King Cotton, took a beating in the Depression of the 1870's. Yankee "carpetbaggers" were despised. Liberals who wanted integration of the races did battle, sometimes literally, with reactionary forces who yearned for a return to the days of slavery. Mr. Benfey works in some analysis of the writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable, who were interested in some of the above themes. The author does devote a fairly good portion of the book to discussing Degas' "Louisiana Connection," (his mother was born in New Orleans; he had relatives who were involved in the cotton trade; and his younger brother, Rene, left France to try to make his fortune in New Orleans). If you enjoy Degas' art, you will find Mr. Benfey's musings on the portraits and "genre scenes" that Degas did during this period to be interesting and informative. For example, from a purely painterly standpoint, Degas enjoyed the juxtaposition of black and white skin, as well as the white of cotton against the black suits and hats commonly worn by businessmen of the time. Mr. Benfey also, convincingly, shows that Degas' started to use, in these paintings, certain compositional effects- such as slanted floors, the arrangement of figures in interior spaces, and certain hand and head movements- that would shortly reappear in the more famous "ballet paintings." We also see Degas in transition from his early "realistic" phase to a looser, more "Impressionistic" style of painting. I also found it interesting that Degas was fascinated by many things he saw while walking around New Orleans, but he was limited mostly to painting interior scenes because the light of New Orleans was bothering his eyes. (He started to have problems with his vision while serving in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. By the time of his death in 1917 he was nearly blind.) There was enough about Degas and his family and art in this book to satisfy me, plus I enjoyed Mr. Benfey's "improvisations." If, in addition to being a Degas fan, you have any interest in the antebellum and post-Civil War worlds of New Orleans, I think you will get a lot of enjoyment and intellectual stimulation from this book.

Full disclosure: I'm 26 years old but I'm a politically-engaged Democrat who is rather familiar with modern American political history. I was not alive during the late 1960s and 1970s when Henry "Scoop" Jackson was fighting against the New Left. During the 1972 campaign, I probably would have supported Humphrey and, during the 1976 campaign, I probably would have supported Mo Udall. That said, while I'm not a "Scoop" Jackson Democrat and I'm not a fan of his neo-Conservative disciples who wrecked such havoc in the Middle East as of late, I do think he was (in the total scheme of things) an admirable public servant who rightly put human rights and military strength on the agenda in his policy views towards the Soviets.

I think Jackson was correct that the Soviet Union was, indeed, an "evil empire" and reading this book, I was impressed with the consistency of his liberalism: at home and abroad.

It's understandable that a biographer admires (or even has affection for) the subject of his biography but Kaufman's very good academic biography felt compromised by this at times. His mention of Jackson's support of the Japanese-American Internment seems more to address critics than to provide any perspective of the indefensible - "everybody was doing it" doesn't seem to cut, especially given Jackson's moral righteousness on so many subjects). Confronted with critics who state that Jackson's political views may have been influenced by Boeing's presence in his state, we are simply told that Jackson's foreign policy views were in the national interest and that Boeing's needs simply corresponded with this interest. This may be true but I don't feel like these statements can be "definitively" made: we are simply told to believe in "Scoop."

In short, I recommend this book with that small caveat. It's - overall - a fine piece of academic/political biography.

Henry (Scoop) Jackson was an unusual politician, in that even his rivals recognized his special integrity and decency. There are many who felt that America lost a great opportunity when his Presidential bids were rejected by the Democratic party.
I remember his courageous stands in defying the Soviet Union and helping Soviet Jewry achieve freedom. His strong stance in opposing Soviet tyranny played a role in the Reagan Administration's toppling of 'The Empire of Evil'.
He left the scene far too early, and to this day he is much missed by those who believe in, and care for fundamental American ideals of freedom.

Henry `Scoop' Jackson is rarely referred to in contemporary political debate. The American polity and indeed the western alliance are much the poorer for his absence. This is a fitting - indeed, a model - biography of a notable American patriot.

Senator Jackson represented a distinctive, honourable and above all prescient tradition in American politics: that of the liberal hawk. He was unfortunate, in respect of his presidential ambitions, to hold consistently to his pro-western principles at a time when the Democratic Party was abandoning (or at least, compromising) the staunchly anti-Communist tradition of Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Humphrey. Rent asunder by the experience of Vietnam and the rise of the New Left, the Democrats polarised around Jackson, on the one hand, and the party's disastrous 1972 presidential nominee, George McGovern, on the other. Only because of Watergate - and even then, only by a whisker - did a Democrat win the White House in 1976, and his presidency proved to be the most ineffectual in living memory.

Kaufmann describes this political background with a sure touch. He is unflinchingly honest in his depiction of Jackson's personal flaws, such as periodic irascibility with aides, but the essential Jackson - a man of deep humanitarian impulses, evident in such causes as his campaign for persecuted Soviet Jewry, and searing moral insight into the nature of Communist totalitarianism - shines through. The book is a fine political biography, but also a most touching personal portrait. It depicts admirably and with fine insight the circle around Jackson, some of whom later held office in the Reagan administration. I was unaware, for example, that the common view that Jackson's adviser, Richard Perle, was responsible for Jackson's unwavering support for Israel has it exactly the wrong way round. In fact, Perle, a secular Jew, came to see the urgency of supporting Israel because of the influence of Jackson - a Niebuhrian Protestant who understood better than any post-war American politician the moral import of a liberal democracy's struggle for survival while assailed by totalitarian states and terrorist organisations.

Jackson has the biography he deserves; I hope it is widely read and studied.

There is no doubt that here in Washington state, the U.S. Senate tandem of Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson were a valuable asset to Washington's - and the nation's - development in the 20th century. So much of our state's infrastructure, institutions, and industries can be credited to these political heavyweights. But yet, so little had been written about their immense legacies up until a couple of years ago. First we got a decent bio of Magnuson written by Shelby Scates. But then came this book - "Henry M. Jackson: A Life In Politics" - which is an outstanding portrait of the man and the legacy.

The author's main focus in this work is the profound and unquestioned effect Sen. Jackson had on U.S. foreign policy. The book brilliantly delves into Jackson's evolution from simple legislator to foreign policy guru. Much attention is made to Jackson's stances on a variety of foriegn policy issues, including his infamous battles with Henry Kissinger over the issues of detente, Soviet dissidents, and pro-Israel issues. Jackson proved a great foil for - and perhaps huge thorn in the side of - Dr. Kissinger, but with time and further examination, their debates likely benefitted U.S. foreign policy in the long run.

Make no mistake: while there is much on Jackson's foreign policy expertise, this is a solid biography of the man in total. We get a good look at his upbringing in and around Everett, his entry into politics, his failed presidential bids, and - eventually - his sudden and surprising death in the early '80's. Also included are the events at the infamous 1960 Democratic convention, where Jackson was very nearly chosen as JFK's running mate.

All in all, this is a very fair and solid biography, presenting an excellent look at the life of Sen. Jackson. This should be a must-read for political-junkies. Those of a conservative/Republican ideology should also make it a must-read, because it is made very evident how much of the current Republican stances on foreign policy were founded by Henry Jackson.

It has been said of "Scoop" Jackson that he was "the last good Democrat". For the citizens of Washington state, that is unquestioned and still lamented to this day. For the nation, the realization of this statement is slow to develop, but hopefully with this book, "Scoop"'s legacy will be recognized with the respect and stature that it truly is.

Having seen "Scoop" Jackson's name in a dozen places yet knowing little about who he was, I thought I'd learn something about the man by reading this book. I wasn't disappointed. Kaufman's biography does a good job of detailing his political life, especially his role and legacy in foreign affairs. Yet the book is more than just an examination of Jackson's life, as Kaufman also offers an interesting examination of both Jackson's philosophical approach to Cold War foreign policy as well as the historiography of late-Cold War memoirs in an effort to award Jackson with the title of "Soviet Union-killer."

That being said, it was also a disappointingly written book in a number of respects. By focusing so much on Jackson's role in foreign policy and defense matters, Kaufman overshadows what the senator did in domestic policy. Moreover, after an initial examination, Kaufman virtually ignores Washington state politics, which leaves me wondering if the author might not have supplied a complete explanation as to how Jackson was so dominant in his reelection campaigns. Finally, Kaufman's habit of continually refering to political figures by their full titles was a little annoying, while the editing of the book was a little sloppy (every time I saw "Republic senator" on the page I wanted to grab a pen and add in the missing letters). In the end, it was an informative book, but not definitive.

Neiwert's book has a flow and smooth readability one rarely finds in a work with a subject matter such as this. I found myself turning the pages, wanting to find out what happened next. The information was all new to me, as this is a subject I had no knowledge of before reading this book. I'm sure glad I read it, as it has given me the background knowledge of events and people to better evaluate related events in the news.

Given the subject matter, the "Patriots" of the Pacific Northwest, and their twisted ideologies, Neiwert provides a suprisingly balanced and at times sympathetic view. His understanding of these people and what makes them tick comes through, and the at times deeply-personal narrative removes the detachment mere press reports maintain. Neiwert's shared geographic and economic background with the subjects of the book makes him an ideal commentator, although his own ideological viewpoint is the antithesis of theirs.

What Neiwert tells us is chilling, and there are no easy solutions to this little-known and downplayed movement in American society. Given that the mainstream media has largely overlooked this story (for reasons Neiwert clearly explains), this book is a must read for anyone who wants to keep informed.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the "Patriot" movement and the reasons sincere and well-meaning people get caught up in the world of conspiracy theory and its attendant paranoia. Neiwert has unprecedented access to all of the major players and tells the story in a very engaging "journalistic" style that belies its publication by a university press. It should be a popular book sold at airports rather than one which will probably be (unfairly) overlooked as "academic". The fact that it is so well written shouldn't be misunderstood as condemnation from this reader. It is well written AND well researched. "Aterword/Ashes on the Sills" alone is worth the price of the book. Kudos

David Neiwert is an extrodinary investigative reporter. His work uncovering the lies of Ted Olson shows the man's work ethic. As others have said, he allows the so called Patriots to speak for themselves. This book is a primer however. It never approaches the rank and file paranoids and racists. It deals well with those who market themselves, looking to draw in more rubes, to their extremist fold. I don't expect David to go into the Aryan Nation camp, or their satellites in the American prison system. For what he did, I congratulate him.

I am one of the Deputies David wrote about in the Chapter titled "Roundup". David wrote an excellent book and I can assure every reader that the information David wrote is true. Every american citizen should read this book. The information will certainly make you take another look at how divided this country really is and how some Americans will do anything to make you see that "their way" is the only way regardless who may suffer their wrath along the way.

There are over 80 million law-abiding gun owners in america from every walk of life. Nuff said.

This is an essential book, I think, for clothing designers, people who like Japanese style, and fabric makers -- as well as others.
Dalby's knowledge of Japan and women's kimono fashion is based on personal knowledge in the culture, including a stint as an "American geisha" in Japan and all the kimono wearing that involved. She also did terrific book research.
One of the intriguing parts of the book is the revelation of the fashion art of woodblock print (ukiyo-e) artists. The book becomes a double pleasure of fashion AND art.
Her prose explains kimono to you with ease, and it reads like tips from a favorite friend. Even for a man who never expects to wear a yukata again, I enjoyed it tremendously.

This book is a classic. It doesn't have many color pictures, but that doesn't seem to matter. The author discusses kimono in terms of how kimono are worn and what tiny differences in the details of wearing mean in social context. That's what I find fascinating. Of course she also covers the history of kimono. She includes many small black-and-white line illustrations that demonstrate her points very well.

This is a very good guide to the history of the kimono and its importance in Japanese society. Perhaps its only fault is that it doesn't have a huge amount of pictures and those pictures that it does have are largely in black and white.

This book should really not have been published, turists can take better pictures. Having been to Japan at least 50 times,I can say that even the kimonos are pathetic.There are so many places were pictures can be taken in a much better way than the ones in this book.There is no explanation only pictures. CHEAP pictures. I am very sad to put a 1 star,as all my critiques have been good.
Do not waste your money.There are better books on kimonos than this one.

An outstanding book,excellent for reference and research.A very well detailed research on colors and seasons in the Heian Period,
Designs, colors and symbols all had a particular reason for being used.You just did not use any color for any day of the year.Ms.Dalby did an exquisite job.

Interesting and well written, this book has been not only a wonderful source of entertainment but a good reference for this native art style. Every image is a beautiful example of the style, and covers several medias (print, paint, clothing and carving). Stewart spends time covering all the basics, from the rudimentary design principles, to the myths and symbolism of the many animals and figures represented by the examples. Differences between tribal styles are also covered, each group accompanied by several wonderful examples of the art. This book is a great starting place for anyone wanting to study this art form, whether it be primarily cultural or artistic.

Through well-detailed photographs and drawings, this book provides a nice introduction to Northwest tribal art. It uses examples of two- and three-dimensional works of art to explain the meanings and symbolism behind the animal motifs. You will quickly learn to recognize the ovoid, and S and U shapes that are characteristic to the art form. It also explains stylistic differences between the different cultural groups. I used this book on a trip through the Northwest and it really enriched my experience.

This is a great book if you are looking for explanations of the history of the Haida artwork and drawings. It also includes many examples of the artwork and is easy to read and understand for all ages.

Great, yet another book about "Northwest Coast" and "Coast Salish" art that ignores the art of the Salish Indians of Western Washington. Ever since J. E. Standley flooded the Seattle tourist market with the fake Kwakiutle artwork, fake totem poles, and other hybrids of art forms from the northern coast Salish tribes, the art forms that are indigenous to our tribes here in western Washington have been all but forgotten, brushed aside by authors who chase the market with books that pretend to deal with all "of the Northwest Coast" but in reality ignore anything south of the 49th Parallel.

Great pictures, explainations, and examples, Put in wonderful catagories and easy to understand!! Fully recommend!! I wish there was more of it as it is so well thought out!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Initially, I started reading it because I had liked Brookhiser's biography on Hamilton and was looking for something else by the same author. The occasional asides that Brookhiser included helped to bring some of the antiquated rules into the 21st century. While reading this book, at first I found myself making notes as to which person should hear about a particular rule. After a while, however, I began to be aware of some of my behaviors that should change. I have since passed this book on to a young friend very concerned about character. And...I try not to roll my eyes any more. Recommended - but I suggest also reading Washington's Farewell Address as a way to better understand the man's character.

This enjoyable short book has within it, a serious message about our first president. The character of the man and how he quite deliberately constituted himself for the challenges of his life, is quite enthralling. He was self reflective enough, without a great formal education, to have required of himself a set of high, and somtimes challenging, personal standards...based upon the cardinal virutes set form in a little Jesuit reader, meant as a guide to leaders. To meditate upon, and require such precepts of personal conduct, turned out to be a prescient insight into what was essential to his very public life.....the life of the irreplaceable leader, of the early days of the American republic.

It says much about the man, who worked ever diligently to improve himself in such a way. Nothing could be more helpful in considering the personal qualities of character that we Americans should expect, for all of our leaders.

In addition, the compiler/author's commentary is often quite entertaining, and always right on the mark.

If I win the lottery I am buying the entire supply and handing them out on the street corners. Our society would be a lot more tolerable if everyone followed these simple rules of manners and courtesy. What would Washington have written about inconsiderate cell phone use? A must read for everyone. Buy this as a gift for your teenager or college student. Start your own revolution against boorish behavior.

Though certainly the most ubiquitous, George Washington has also always been the most mysterious of the Founding Fathers; the one whose greatness is most difficult for us to comprehend. Here was a man who was less well spoken and less brilliant than many of his peers. He was not a great philosophical or political thinker. He lost most of the military engagements he led. And yet, the men of whom we think more highly in these regards almost universally revered him. What quality was it that made men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquise de Lafayette defer to him ? The answer must surely lie in the character of the man, and character seems to be a uniquely difficult quality to convey in writing. Perhaps it is actually impossible to describe the quality itself; instead the effects of it must be described.

One example from Washington's life seems to me to stand out above all others : his handling of the Newburgh Conspiracy. When, after the War, disgruntled officers, led by Horatio Gates, circulated a letter suggesting that the Army march on Congress to demand back pay and hinted at taking control of the government, Washington used a simple but elegant ploy to defuse the crisis. Having summoned the men to his tent so that he could read a letter meant to dissuade them from their proposed course of action, he paused, reached into a pocket, and withdrew a pair of glasses, which, thanks in large part to his vanity, few knew he even required. As he unfolded them and put them on, he said :

Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.

It is reported, perhaps with some hyperbole, that men wept; but at any rate, the insurrection crumbled.

It is hard for us, jaded as we have become about our leaders, to imagine the drama of this scene and the effect it must have had on his comrades, but then again, we are unfortunate enough to have a recent Commander in Chief whose preference in underwear, bizarre sexual proclivities, and genital deformities were all common knowledge. It is perhaps instructive that when he was at Boys' State as a teenager (as related in David Maraniss's excellent biography First in His Class), Bill Clinton devoted himself to one single purpose and achieved it : to have his picture taken with President Kennedy. At a similar age, sixteen year old George Washington copied by hand 110 maxims from a guidebook on manners originally compiled by Jesuits in 1595. Both men were trying to improve themselves, but there's a key difference : Clinton sought a photo opportunity that would be personally gratifying and which he might use to advance his political career down the road; Washington sought out those precepts which would help him to discipline himself, to develop his character, and to make himself more presentable to society. The fundamental object of Clinton's effort was personal aggrandizement, of Washington's, to make himself a better person.

In this little book Richard Brookhiser, who wrote a terrific biography of Washington, reproduces the 110 "Rules of Civility" in a much easier form to read than the original text (for example, check out an online version), along with a brief introductory essay and explanatory, often amusing, comments on many of the rules. Here are some examples (with Brookhiser's comments in italics where applicable) :

(1) Every action done in company ought to be done with some sign of respect to those that are present.

(4) In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise or drum with your fingers or feet.

Don't carry a boom box either.

(13) Kill no vermin, as fleas, lice, ticks, etc., in the sight of others. If you see any filth or thick

spittle put your foot dexterously upon it, if it be upon the clothes of your companions put it off privately, and if it be upon your own clothes return thanks to him who puts it off.

Useful advice on the frontier. In 1748, when Washington was sixteen, he went surveying in

the Blue Ridge mountains and was obliged to sleep under "one thread bare blanket with double its weight of vermin." The last two clauses are useful anywhere: Don't embarrass those you help, and however embarrassed you may be to discover that you have been in a ludicrous or disgusting situation, don't forget to thank those who helped you out of it.

As the last example demonstrates, many of the rules seem at first to be hopelessly antiquated, but on further reflection, in the concern they display for personal dignity and humility, thoughtfulness of and respect for others, maintenance of civil standards, they are truly timeless. The final precept is the most famous and allows Brookhiser to sum up all that have come before :

(110) Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

The only open reminder of what has been implicit all along: Petty morals and large morals are linked; there are no great spirits who do not pay attention to both; these little courtesies reflect, as in a pocket mirror, the social and the moral order.

And this is the significance of Washington's attention to these seemingly petty rules, that the conscience is only a spark and that it may be extinguished unless one labors to maintain it. Because Washington did take that labor seriously throughout his life, he had the reserve of respect and honor built up with others which enabled him to cow the rebellious officers at Newburgh and had the personal moral fiber which enabled him, at the vital moments in the life of the new republic, to refuse political power, both when it was there for the taking and when it was freely offered. In some sense, these 110 maxims helped to create the man of whom King George III said, when he heard that General Washington planned to surrender command of the Continental Army to retire to his farm :

If he indeed does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.

That assessment, from a humiliated enemy, was accurate then, and the bloody course of every subsequent revolution, suggests that it may understate the case.

GRADE : A

I bought this book about six years ago because I had been told that George Washington had used these rules of civility to guide his own life and actions. I cherish this book. There are a few rules that are dated, but they are entertaining. The rest is pure gold and timeless.

A few examples:

5. If you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it not loud but privately; and speak not in your yawning, but put your hankerchief or hand before your face and turn aside.

65. Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor earnest; scoff at none although they give occasion.

82. Undertake not what you cannot perform but be careful to keep your promise.

If you can't figure out what to give that new graduate who already has everything, I highly recommend this book. I recommend it for everyone.