Washington University Books

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 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

'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

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.

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.

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.

A fascinating biography written by a superb writer.

Should be mandatory reading for today's history students.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jack Hamann's book is indispensable for anyone interested in the story of Italian POWs in WWII. He takes a little-known incident--the 1944 lynching of Italian POW Guglielmo Olivotto in Seattle--and expands it into an analysis of the treatment of both Italians and black Americans in the American military. Olivotto's death was never solved; or rather, as Hamann shows, it was blamed on the black soldiers stationed at Fort Lawton who had rioted and attacked the Italian POWs over an earlier fist-fight. As Hamann demonstrates, the prosecution of some 44 soldiers in a court martial, and the conviction of 28 of them, including three for the murder of Olivotto, was a miscarriage of justice. The prosecutor--the soon-to-be-famous Leon Jaworski--concealed crucial evidence of the probable innocence of many of the soldiers from the defense. More disturbing, Hamann shows that evidence at the scene of the lynching was destroyed or mishandled, leaving the black soldiers to take the rap. His research indicates that it was probable that a white MP had actually lynched the Italian.
Hamann's book thus sheds light on two not very widely known aspects of WWII. First, he brings attention to the fact that 50,000 Italian POWs were interned in the U.S., with Americans displaying a mixed attitude towards them. Many Italian Americans visited the POW facilities, hoping to find relatives or information about relatives in Italy, with some ending up marrying the POWs. Other Americans resented the fact that the Italian POWs--at least those who had taken a loyalty oath to work with the Allies--were treated so well and allowed to visit and dine off base: the word many used was "mollycoddling." Second, Hamann publicizes the fact that even as late as 1944, African Americans in the military were kept in segregated facilities and allowed to work only in menial jobs in the service--loading and unloading ships and supplies. When these two aspects were allowed to collide, as they did in the riot at Fort Lawton, murder and mayhem could result. Anyone interested in either of these two aspects of WWII will find this book invaluable.

On American Soil is a fact-based account of a little know event during World War II - an event which led to the largest court-martial of World War II and another example of American injustice that we were never taught about in American schools. What began as a riot, supposedly led by black Army soldiers against Italian prisoners of war, ended in the hanging of one of the POWs. Then came the cover-up. Over 60 years later, Author Hamann did the best he could with the information still available to tell us what actually happened while giving us a detailed description of the personalities and litigation involved. One of the legal stars of the future to come out of this trial was prosecutor Leon Jaworski who went on to be a major participant in the Nuremberg trials and special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. It is a sad tale of injustice, but maybe Hamann has overcome some of the unfairness with this book. Sadly too late for the railroaded African American soldiers who were prosecuted, sentenced, and have died before this book and its information came to light. It's not a pretty picture, but fascinating never the less. Hamann does a good job of taking very obscure and detailed information and giving us a story of compelling interest.

This book is about a trial during WWII. The defendants are Black Soldiers. The vicitim is an Italian prisoner of war. The author does a great job telling the story of this racially charged trial, and the injustce that resulted. I had never heard of the events that are chronicled in this book, but it was certainly a dark hour in American justice. It was a fast entertaining read. I found this suprising considering how factually oriented the book is. Overall, it is a really good book.

This book I started out fact and increased the pace until the very end. It was one of the best books that I have ever read. It contains true history, murder and suspense.

On American Soil me back to a time in America where it is sometimes painful to be. It is a must read for anyone who claims to know American history.

It is rare that a book of history is so eminently timely to the events of the present day. It is even rarer when it has such an immediate impact. In June, a scant three months after the book's release, House Representative Jim McDermott of Washington introduced a resolution, cosponsored by 25 representatives, calling for an inquiry into the convictions of 28 black soldiers for rioting and murder, as chronicled in Hamann's debut novel "On American Soil."

Hamann weaves a compelling narrative of the events of 1944 at a remote army base at Fort Lawton in Seattle that culminated in the largest army court martial of WWII and the lynching of an Italian prisoner of war.

After hundreds of thousands of Italian and German soldiers surrendered in North Africa, the Allies found themselves unexpectedly confronted with the problem of housing POWs on an unimagined scale. America's military leaders were determined that they would set the standard for compliance with the Geneva Convention. The environment that sparked the lynching of Private Olivetto was the American public's dismay at the "coddling" of Italian prisoners and the military's attempts to defend that treatment.

To describe the book's events further would do disservice to the pleasure of the read. It progresses quickly, through short but compelling personal narratives, high court room drama, and even a thrilling whodunnit murder mystery.

In the end, it is the gripping story, as uncovered through Hamann's painstaking research that make the book the masterpiece that it is. Indeed, in an Indiana Jones-style twist, the key document uncovered by Hamann was found deep in the National Archives in a stack of boxes entitled "Miscellaneous." Yet, it must also be noted that what is striking as one reads the book is that it reads like the most tautly-paced work of fiction. I, a week before my first year law school finals, picked the book up for the first time. I did not put it down until I had read the book in its entirety.

In an America that continues to be plagued by issues of race relations and the treatment of prisoners, this is an accessible book that should be required reading.

This is the great popular history of Seattle. Learn about the pioneers behind the downtown streetnames: Denny, Stewart, Mercer, and more. Yes, there was history here before Grunge -- and it was even more earthy.

The colorful stories just don't stop:

the founding and abandonment of Alki (now West Seattle);

the "Battle of Seattle," with the settlers hiding in a fort;

Chief Sealth's myth and legacy;

the Great Seattle Fire that burnt down Pioneer Square, and the landfill into the Sound that rebuilt it;

how Seattle overtook Tacoma as the dominant city on Puget Sound by luring miners bound for the Yukon Gold Rush with the promise of "the best whorehouses north of San Francisco" and, of course, provisions for the trail and for prospecting;

the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition on the University of Washington grounds, designed by the Olmstead Brothers (of Central Park fame);

Seattle's mixed role in the anti-Chinese mob violence that swept up the Pacific coast in the 1880s;

the outrageously mammoth public works projects sluicing Denny Hill flat, using the dirt for landfill on the waterfront, and creating the worlds largest man-made island in the harbor;

the Seattle General Strike of 1919 that prompted a nation-wide red scare;

and more and more and more.

It makes me breathless just to type this! A very enjoyable read, in a breezy story-telling style, Skid Road gives you more of a flavor of where Seattle came from in just a few hours than anything else.

Skid Road by Murray Morgan has become somewhat of a classic in the Seattle area, where having read it is basically an indication that you know something about the history of the city.

The book itself is not really what many people would refer to as a history book, however. The subtitle says it all: "an informal portrait." While the book can be read and enjoyed with little or no knowledge of Seattle history, this is a book that's best read for the purpose of providing vivid color to one's understanding of the history of the city. If you're looking for a traditional history with lots of data, maps, and so forth there are better places to begin.

But as a work of literature this is a wonderful book. Morgan is an amazing writer and storyteller, and Skid Road serves as a wonderful example of what local history writing can be. If you have a strong appreciation of quality writing this book will hold your attention even if you have no interest in Seattle.

I just loved this book. It was required to read for a History class. I couldn't put the book down. I read it in a weekend. I learned so much about Seattle, and the wild characters that help to create and establish Seattle. I never knew such people help to built Seattle.

Now I know The history behind the street names in seattle, and more about the history in Seattle that I would have never had know.

I'd love to read more books that this authors has written.

What I do not like about the book is that it focusses a little too much on the political history of the town rather than on the people who made up the population. A little time was spent on the initial Chinese American population, but more time could have been spent on those and other immigrant cultures that have historically made up the city.

Even so, it's still worth the effort. It is a fun read, and, though dated, it still kept me laughing unexpectedly over and over again.

This is the consensus choice among local historians and writers for the best history of Seattle's founding, and it deserves to be. Morgan's portraits of pioneers like Doc Maynard and Arthur Denny are exhilirating and informative, and the book reads like a collection of excellent short stories rather than a dry recollection. If you are familiar with Seattle, this will change the way you look at Pioneer Square and the waterfront, but a knowledge of the city is not necessary to enjoy these stories of a city's establishment and maturation.

This book is not your usual writing manual. It doesn't have chapters, doesn't have an index, nor a table of contents. But this gold mine is worth digging in! Patrick wrote it as part of a fund raiser for the Endowment Fund for his university in the state of WA. Each page of this book is laid out in this way: it contains advice on different subject matters. Each page is written brilliantly, conversationally, and funny too. I have been writing freelance humor for 30 years now and . . . wow. It was such a treat to read McManus' advice. I sat there, turning those McManus pages and POW I'd get smacked upside-the-head with one piece of news and have to mark it, and then I'd read a few more pages and POW there'd be another nugget. If truth be told, I wasn't a Patrick McManus fan prior to finding this book at my library. I picked it up purely because of its title, because there are so few books on writing humor. But, as soon as I had it in my hands I had to order a copy for my own shelf. I highly recommend it for anyone who writes humor. But, actually, I highly recommend it for anyone who writes. When you read this book, sit down and get comfortable, but have a marker handy. You will need it.

As an avid fan of Patrick McManus I dove into this book with great anticipation. However, AS an avid fan I must say it was a little different from Patrick's previous works. This book is mostly a Q and A session with a fan named Newton who inquires about the writing process Mr. McManus goes through. The end of the book features more than just a couple of the author's classic stories. Even though the bulk of the book is a step away from the usual stories of hijinks and curmudgeondness, it is still a fun read and brings the expected stitches to the reader's side.

This book is an excellent text for those wishing to write satorical stories.His presentation of the technique is different from most texts. I learned a lot fron this book.

When I heard McManus had written a book on how to write humor, I almost started counting my royalties in advance. If the master is revealing all his secrets, I thought, now I'd be able to quit my dreary job working as a sex therapist and make a living writing humor, instead.

Well, it seems like McManus didn't put much effort into this one. There are very few techniques listed. A common McManus technique is something I call the "unattributed action." This is a sentence like: "The screams could be heard for miles." Now, of course, he would have set it up that we expect those to be the screams of children in the pool or whatever, only to learn that it's McManus himself screaming. This technique was not even discussed at all.
I imagined that the book would be a large collection of techniques like this and examples where he had used them in his stories. Unfortunately, there are very few actual humor writing techniques in this book.

Instead, we're left with a vague, "come up with a humorous idea," "write in scenes whenever possible," etc. That is about 10 pages in the book.

If you'll look at the sample pages you'll notice that even the table of contents is just a random hodgepodge of questions in no particular order. Most of them not actually about writing humor. Over 50% of the book is reprints of previously written material with BRIEF commentaries.

Now, I'm thankful that McManus even ATTEMPTED to share this information with us, but, sadly, it seems like he didn't put much effort into it.

Of course, because every teeny bit of information helps, you should probably read it anyway; but don't pay for it. It's not like you're going to have every other page highlighted. There are only about 10 sentences worth highlighting in the book.

One thing I DID like was the list of books and authors that influenced him at the end of the book. I will definitely be checking those out.

In summary, though, save your money: You'll actually learn more just by analyzing his stories on your own, and asking yourself this question when you laugh: Why is this funny? and then by incorporating your answers into your own writing.

For those of us who write and want to inject a bit of humor in our writing, Patrick McManus has given us an invaluable tool with this book. It's not only instructive and reflective on what makes humor humorous, it's also a funny book in itself. It probably helps that I love to read McManus's wild stories and find them hilarious. But he's a good enough story teller that anyone will find him a good tutor. The only disappointing thing was to learn that many of his stories are complete fiction (and not loosely based on some real event in his past). He sure had me convinced.

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.

- so Hungary's fate in '56 should come as no real surprise. Gati has done a good job in reassessing the course of a pivotal cold war event, and fleshed out the narrative through incorporating new documentation and memoirs. In this regard, however, there is really little that is new to add over an uprising scholars have steadily picked to the bone for half a century.

Gati's real contribution here is his Rashomon-like critique of the revolution and of its five main protagonists: Americans, Soviets, Hungarian Communists, insurgents - and Imre Nagy, caught between the latter three. The US illusion was its belief that, since it could not start World War Three over a Soviet satellite, inciting rhetoric was its only sufficient recourse rather than pragmatic realpolitik. The Soviet illusion, and that of its Hungarian allies, lay in Moscow's belief that the uncorked, anti-Stalinist genie could be stuffed back in the vodka bottle. Nagy's illusion - and that of the reformist intellectuals around him - was that he and Moscow spoke a common political language that could open serious dialogue. And the insurgents' illusion lay in their faith that, not only could they overturn the "Communist regime," but that Moscow would morally capitulate as the Free World rushed to aid Hungary's struggle.

Gati takes apart all these, but then concludes that the revolution's failure was not inevitable after all. One must ask why not, after he has spent so much time marshaling evidence of this rampant political blindness. As an American reader, the most interesting part to me was his analysis of American actions and motives. The tantalizing remark of Richard Nixon's, that it would be very convenient for the '56 presidential race if the Soviets pulled some brutality in Eastern Europe, coupled with RFE's inflammatory broadcasts soon after, suggest a cynical collusion that - given what we know about CIA black operations of the period - isn't as farfetched as some might wish to believe. The US, for its part, behaved as it did because - like the USSR - it was led by unimaginative men stuffed just as full of illusions of their own. (Witness their equally confused, floundering handling of the Cuban Revolution a mere two years later.)

The final illusion to fail, if one reads Gati correctly, is his: namely, his young man's belief that a democratic socialism with a human face could ever have arisen out of the Stalinist muck in which it was planted. Of course, this did eventually arise after 1985 - too late to save the system after three decades more of accumulating rot. Perhaps the chief criticism to be made of Gati's account is his expectation that those caught up in the passions of '56 could display the maturity and insight he's gained fifty years after the event. That is surely the chief failed illusion of all armchair historical analysis.

Gati's treatment of the Hungarian Revolution and its actors gives the impression that he wrote a book with preconceived conclusions supported by selected documentation and by omission of those not fitting in his concept. Exploitation of the 50th anniversary of the seminal historic event is evident in the timing of publication. He treats Imre Nagy, the Freedom Fighters and America unfairly. He unrealistically expects the revolutionaries to be practitioners of real politic. His assumption of Soviet willingness to compromise, to meaningfully revise its relationship with its satellites seemed so hopefully evidential only in the flashlight of the revolution. It is surprising that Gati is still dazzled.

There is very little new in Gati's "new history" of the Hungarian Revolution that is significant. Robert Murphy in his autobiography: Diplomat among warriors explained the American inaction regarding the Hungarian Revolution in a few pages more concisely, with more insight than Gati does in his book. There is no surprise that Gati neglects to mention him and his views.

Murphy concludes his assessment of why the Hungarian Revolution was defeated, or in better words, why it was left to be defeated, with this remarkably humble statement:

"For sheer perfidy and relentless suppression of a courageous people longing for their liberty, Hungary will always remain a classic symbol. Perhaps history will demonstrate that the free world could have intervened to give the Hungarians the liberty they sought, but none of us in the State Department had the skill or the imagination to devise a way."

This evaluation remains the most authoritative, most honest, factually correct and durable judgment of American - or for that matter the free World's - inability to
act at a time when action was warranted.

When I read Charles Gati's prize winning "Hungary and the Soviet Bloc," I then thought that he had written the last and best word on our understanding of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 during the Cold War. Then, unexpectedly, several years later the Berlin Wall came down, Hungary and the USSR's East European satellites regained independence, and heretofore closed Cold War archives began to open. From archives in Budapest and Moscow as well as from dozens of interviews with participants of '56 both East and West, Professor Gati has written a classic of Cold War history and analysis which arguably will become the definitive account of the multi-sided, tragic events of 1956 in Hungary. No stone has been left unturned -- the author has read the minutes of the Politburo meetings in the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as the interrogation and trial transcripts from the last days before his execution of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. This fluently written, masterfully organized, and exeptionally well integrated small volume deserves to sit on the Cold War history shelf along with Allison's "Essence of Decision," the study of another major event of the era, the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In his overarching Introduction, Gati includes a brief but fascinating autobiographical recounting of his own experiences in Budapest as a young reporter during the tumultuous years after his high school graduation in 1953 to his flight with tens of thousands of Hungarians across the Austrian border after Soviet troops crushed the revolution in late 1956.

The author's thesis is the existence of the possibility of an alternative "limitationist" approach to demands, expectations, methods, and outcomes by all parties to the challenges of Hungary '56. Instead, however, as is vividly recounted in the book, the Hungarian leadership, the Budapest insurgents, Moscow, and Washington displayed variably, vacillating responses, revolutionary romanticism, imperial intransigence, and absolutist anti-communism, all of which produced disaster and great bloodshed for Budapest and its population 50 years ago this early November. As the author makes clear, it need not necessarily have ended in a zero-sum tragedy, but with some restraint on all sides might well have become a non-zero-sum outcome.

All parties to the failed revolution come in for well deserved criticism -- Nagy for his ineffectiveness as a leader (his portrait from the 1930s to his death in 1958 is the most complete and nuanced account of a foreign leader I have ever read), the young Hungarian insurgents for their unbridled demands and intemperate actions, Washington for the hypocrisy of its East European policies of "liberation" and "rollback," and most of all the Soviet Union for the extraordinary brutality and violence it rained down upon the people of Budapest.

In his splendid Epilogue, Charles Gati's well told story of the "failed illusions" of a half century ago, as well as his own life as a former Hungarian citizen, came full circle when he witnessed Nagy's cermonial reburial in Budapest's Heroes Square late spring 1989, with the demise of the Communist system in Hungary and East Europe in sight just months away. This is a remarkable and exceptional book.

This is the first book I've read on the Hungarian Revolt, but I found it well doicumented, insightful and disturbing. I've read alot of books on history and this was truly riveting. I, like so many Americans, am very ignorant of Eastern European History and felt truly enlightened by this analysis. I also felt it particularly relevant to what is happening today. Our country's inaction then and and our actions today show little understanding of the peoples or culture or politics of other societies. We in this country have a great heritage and enlighted leaders,such as Lincoln, who set up a government we can be proud of. However, today we are acting in a way that shows blindness and misguidedness.. We have shown again that we have not learned anything from events such as the Hungarian Revolt. Our leaders want to spread democracy but are doing it in a way that is both ignorant and arrogant. We did it then and are doing it now.
I'm glad a man such as Mr. Gati was able to immigrate to this country and contribute to it. I look forward to readin more books by him.

Gati's book is written with the perspective of the forces at work in Budapest, Moscow and Washington before and during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He briefly recounts his own experience as a young Hungarian journalist during the 12 days of the Revolution, and then proceeds to profile in detail the events and personalities of that time. He manages to capture the spontaneity of the event, and how leaders in the three capitals misinterpreted and finally acted (or failed to act), often with limited understanding. The book is well-researched (almost every page has footnotes), and despite criticism by an earlier commenter, is quite in line with more recent interpretations of the 1956 events, using recently released Soviet, American and Hungarian archives, which were not available to earlier authors. As it has been mentioned by another reviewer, it is a human story, not an encyclopedic one, and I found it engrossing.