University of Nebraska Books

Opening scene: two guys are pledging their eternal, lifelong, best friends forever friendship when, without taking a breath, they look out a window, see a beautiful young woman and are immediately ready to fight to the death to possess her! Egads!
I agree that one can "hear" Shakespeare's voice in places in this play and those parts are a relief from the rest. However, this (and Chaucer's The Kinight's Tale) are the silliest, most stultifying, absolutely awfulest pieces of literature I have read. I am a Shakespeare groupie and I have read all the plays, many of them multiple times. It took me a long time to find The Two Noble Kinsmen because it was not part of most of the American Shakespearean collections.
If you are deciding between this play and any other, buy the other! Having said this, I would like to find some of the other maybe plays. They may be awful, but they are instructive.
Even Henry VIII has the excuse of "special effects" -- the costumes.
I'll get off my soapbox now. :)

The Arkangel Shakespeare series being issued by Penguin Audio is now halfway through the plays and the surprise is that was given preference to the remaining more familiar works. Co-authored by Shakespeare and Fletcher, this play remains an odd man out for several reasons. Based fairly closely on the "Knight's Tale" from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," it tells of two cousins, who just after swearing eternal friendship in one of Duke Theseus' prisons immediately fall in love with the same woman, Emilia, and become bitter rivals for her affections. One of them, Arcite, is exiled but returns in disguise; the other, Palamon, escapes with the help of the Jailer's Daughter, who goes mad for love of him; and...well, see for yourself. Of the play's 23 scenes, 7 and part of an 8th are attributed to Shakespeare, a 9th doubtfully so, and the rest to John Fletcher, who was probably handed over to Shakespeare to learn the ropes as it were. The Shakespeare parts are easy to spot: they are nearly impossible to understand without a heavily annotated copy of the text open before you! Even more so than in his late plays like "Cymberline" and "Winter's Tale," the syntax is so complex, the thoughts so condensed, that one might (and has) compared his writing with the late Beethoven String Quartets. As one of the scholars quoted in the excellent Signet Classic paperback edition of this play comments, the play is most unShakespearean in that none of the characters change over the course of the play. And I should add the subplot of the Daughter's madness is never integrated into the main plot. One scene, in fact, is devoted entirely to the description of some minor characters and might have been influenced by a similar and much longer sequence in "Seven Against Thebes." In short, do not play this for a casual listen; but be prepared to be challenged. Look especially for echoes of the earlier all-Shakespearean plays. The nuptials of Theseus and Hippolyta recall the opening scenes of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the main plot that of "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the Daughter's madness of Ophelia, and so on. As for the actual recording, it would be difficult to better it! The voices of the two kinsmen (Johnathan Firth and Nigel Cooke) are easily distinguishable, Theseus (Geoffrey Whitehead) sounds advanced in years and noble, Emila (Helen Schlesinger) mature and alert, Hippolyta (Adjoa Andoh) vocally of African origins as perhaps befits the character, and all the rest as understandable as the text allows and "into" their roles. Thank you, Penguin, for this noble entry in a series that is getting better and better.

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"If this play do not keep
A little dull time from us, we perceive
Our losses fall so thick we must needs leave [that is, give up acting]."

The above is the last sentence found in the prologue of this extraordinary play (written and first performed circa 1613), rarely performed on stage. For centuries it has been the victim of constant speculation about its authorship. It was initially thought that this play was the result of a collaboration between dramatist Francis Beaumont (1584 to 1616) and playwright John Fletcher (1579 to 1625). However, it was much later recognized that it was actually the result of a collaboration between William Shakespeare (1564 to 1616) and Fletcher. (Fletcher also collaborated with Shakespeare on the play "Henry VIII" and the lost play "Cardenio.")

If you were to classify this play using the traditional classification scheme, it's a comedy. However, after reading it, I found that it's actually a "romantic tragicomedy." The plot is primarily based on Geoffrey Chaucer's (1343 to 1400) "The Knight's Tale" (the first tale in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales").

Briefly, two kinsmen and warriors, men of deep personal honor, are taken prisoner of war. From their prison window they see walking in a garden a beautiful and an astonishing women whom they both fall in love with. The play traces the tragic consequences of this moment and the destruction of their sacred friendship. Also, the subplot presents the story of the poor jailer's daughter who is driven mad by her infatuation with one of the kinsmen.

This play consists of 23 scenes with a brief prologue and an even briefer epilogue. It is thought that the five scenes of act one and the four scenes of act 5 (excluding scene 2) as well as some lines in other scenes were written by Shakespeare with the rest being written by Fletcher. Crunching the numbers, I found that about 40% of the play is due to Shakespeare and 60% is due to Fletcher. No doubt in the future these percentages will change.

What I found fascinating about this play is that it has strong elements of Shakespearean plays written before it. Especially prominent were elements of both "Hamlet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

As well, you will notice the difference in writing styles between Shakespeare and Fletcher. The reader will see that Shakespeare was a "supreme" writer while Fletcher was a writer "at least major in his time."

The Oxford World's Classics edition of this play (published by Oxford University Press in 2002) has illustrations along with an excellent, helpful introduction. It even has an index!

Finally, after reading this play, I recommend listening to the audio compact disc by Arkangel Shakespeare that was published by The Audio Partners in 2006. It gives an effective and balanced performance. It may be the first unabridged audio recording of this play of its kind!!

In conclusion, the first sentence of this play's epilogue states:

"I would now ask ye how ye like the play?"

I liked it!! I speculate that any potential reader will like it also.

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The Two Noble Kinsmen was only partially written by Shakespeare. The primary author was John Fletcher, and Shakespeare seems to have been doing a rewrite more than a collaboration. As a result, you get two different styles of narration and development in the same story. The underlying tale follows very closely on the famous Knight's Tale from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. As a result, you get a three way perspective on Shakespeare that is not available elsewhere -- what his co-author did, what Chaucer did, and how Shakespeare handled similar problems in other plays.

Where the Knight's Tale was primarily a story about chivalry, love, and spirituality, The Two Noble Kinsmen is very much about psychology and human emotions. Like other plays that Shakespeare wrote, this one shows how conflicting emotions create problems when we cannot master ourselves. In this case, the two loving cousins, Palamon and Arcite, fall out over having been overwhelmed by love for the appearance of Emilia, Duke Theseus's sister. The play explores many ways that their fatal passion for Emilia might be quenched or diverted into more useful paths. The dilemma can only be resolved by the removal of one of them. This places Emilia in an awkward situation where she will wed one, but at the cost of the life of the other. She finds them both attractive, and is deeply uncomfortable with their mutual passion for her. In a parallel subplot, the jailer's daughter similarly falls in love with Palamon, putting her father's life and her own in jeopardy. Overcome with unrequited love, she becomes mad from realizing what she has done. Only by entering into her delusions is she able to reach out to others.

What most impressed me from reading this play is how much better Shakespeare was as a writer than either Chaucer or Fletcher. You can tell the parts that Shakespeare wrote because the language is so compact, so powerful, and so filled with relevant imagery. The tension is unremitting and makes you squirm.

By contrast, the Knight's Tale is one of the dullest stories you could possibly hope to read and admire for its virtuosity without experiencing much enjoyment. Although the same plot is developed, few emotions will be aroused in you. When Fletcher is writing in this play, the development is slow, the content lacks much emotion, and you find yourself reaching for a blue pencil to strike major sections as unnecessary.

In fact, this play would not be worth reading except for the exquisite development of the dilemmas that are created for Emilia. Her pain will be your pain, and you will want to escape from it as much as she does. In these sections, you will find some of Shakespeare's greatest writing.

I also was moved by the way several scenes explored the duality of cousinly friendship and affection occurring at the same time that lethal passions of love and jealousy are loose.

Although this play will probably not be among your 50 favorites, you will probably find that it will sharpen your appetite for and appreciation of Shakespeare's best works.

I also listened to Arkangel recording, and recommend it. The performances are fine, the voices are easy to distinguish, the music is magnificent, the singing adds to the mood nicely, and you will find your engagement in the play's action powerfully increased over reading the play.

When do you lose control over your emotions? What does it cost you? How could you regain control before harm is done?

May you find peaceful, positive solutions to all of your dilemmas!

I will be the first to admit this is not the "best" or the "greatest" play written by the bard, but it is still very worthy of his name, and incredibly beautiful! Kinsmen is a romance in the style of Shakespeare's other late plays, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest (my favorite). In many ways it reflects his earlier works, namely A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and The Tempest. It tells a wonderfully romantic story of two good friends who fall for the same girl (I know, sounds familiar, but trust me, it's a different take on the setup) in Athens. The poetry in it is lovely, the characters very well developed, and the plot is incredible. Many people haven't heard of this play as Shakespeare cowrote it with Fletcher, but belive me, it is still wonderful. Highly recomended.

I found this book to be extremely information about life in the 1860s as I am into Civil War Re-enacting. There were so many interesting facts of everyday life, etc. that it was as if I had been transported back nearly 150 years.

A great book for students studying the Civil War (like myself). Gives amazing insight to the lives of people during the Reconstrucion era after the war. Pages of great information about soldiers' lives, homes, churches, schools, rites of passage, working life, daily woes, and enjoying life in the late 19th century. However, the info somewhat dry, and gets a little tedious at times, but the amount of details and great facts evens it out a bit.

This broad-ranging text covers daily life, customs, and technology in a variety of American settings during the Civil War and post-war periods. Inevitably, it doesn't give a whole lot of detail on each topic, but this is a very good place for general readers to start. The descriptions of farm life are particularly detailed and helpful. One complaint I do have is that the author does not footnote his quotes from primary sources, making it impossible to follow a reference up. Like most histories of daily life, this volume is short on information about mentalities and beliefs. Also, probably deliberately, it contains little information on political events and almost none on events in the South during Reconstruction. The effects of the Civil War on daily life and thought get rather short shrift. Nevertheless, this book does cover a lot of information and does so in a clear, useful fashion.

I bought this book because I had read "The Reshaping of Everyday Life : 1790-1840" by Jack Larkin. Both books were originally published in the 'Everyday Life in America' series. I really enjoyed "Reshaping" and hoped that "Expansion" would be of similar caliber.

Given the page constraints (170 pages of text) this book does a good job. However, given the vast increase in the size of the USA between 1840 and 1876, the coverage is necessarily thinner. Everything from the frontier to the South, to New York tenements to established rural districts is covered, the only exception being the extremely rich (who are well covered in other books).

The main problem is that so much is covered that a reader might feel that he knows all about living in the US during this time period, and that would not be accurate. Some areas are left out almost entirely. For example, the West Coast is almost completely ignored except for Virginia City. Unfortunately, the only solution I see is either a much bigger book, or several books covering each of the subtopics.

That is the reason this book only gets three stars: the coverage is broad but shallow. It is a good introduction to the time period, but that is all.

I think this is, perhaps, the finest book I have ever read on social history. I'm not kidding. After reading this "encyclopedia" (for that is what it truly is) on every aspect of life as it was during and just after the Civil War era, I actually feel as if I went back in time and visited the past first hand. Forget about "Everyday Life During the Civil War" and the other writer's guide books out there. "Expansion of Everyday Life 1860 - 1876" leaves no stone unturned, covering topics extensively such as the role of religion in the daily lives of the people, courtship, death, birth, clothing, prescription drugs of the era, what was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, bathing, and schooling. Life in the city, in a town, and on the farm is covered pretty equally where the differences occur. The lives of the (freed) blacks is also mentioned throughout the text. Other topics covered include such taboo subjects as sex and abortion, homosexuality, as well as women's rights. But it is done not in the typical 21st century liberal PC style so prominent in current history books. One gets the impression that author, Daniel Sutherland, has a true passion for truth in social history and is not out to promote a political agenda. He does get a bit tedious at times (which I absolutely love - every detail of life is here!) but never dry, as another reviewer wrote. If you are a student of history, which I am, then I am sure you will feel the same as I.
There is not another history book of this era that I would recommend higher than this.

I wish there were more books like this: books behind famous games, or famous series' of games. Lots of detail, gives us a flavor of what it was like in 1971, what kind of social context during which the game was played. There have be a gazillion "Games of the Century," but this one truly was. I remember how big it was when I was a kid, and when I've seen clips, I can see why it was given that distinction. I don't think I've ever seen a game with fewer mistakes. And it's a fun trip back to the "old days" of "the new college football...Astroturf was new, there was a thing called "tear-away jerseys" (which was like wearing a Kleenex with your number on it), and there was NO dancing or whooping it up after a good play. If the publishers are listening, I'd tell them we need more books about classic old teams, games, and series'.

PW said fans of college football would enjoy this. I guess I'm not that big a fan. :-) On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm probably a 6; and I think you'd have to be about a 15 to enjoy the level of detail in this book!

I was wary when I picked up this little book, and I was right. I am an avid Huskers fan and I treasure this game as a great game and a proud moment in Husker history. The team always will have a place in my heart. This tiny book didn't tell me much I didn't know. I guess they thought Huskers fans and others would just snap it up and not question it. Maybe they're right. I bought it. There's nothing wrong with what's here. What's wrong is what isn't here. I wanted to know so much more about everything and everyone connected to this game.

Being a kid in Kansas in the early 70s, I was sandwiched between the two great football powers on either side of my state that this book focuses on. Believe me, the influence of both programs was incredible. Corcoran does a terrific job of recreating what college football could mean, when - get this kids- there was only ONE game a week on TV! Today, given all the explosive media growth and abundance of 'big' games, a term like 'game of the century' would sound trite, but in the early 70s such a description was fully accurate when # 1 and # 2 managed to meet on the field.

In the end, this an example of the perfect sports book, really. The writing is clear and concise and the author manages to keeps a great narrative going behind a constant historical background of a game that actually lived up to its hype.

I was 14 year old boy in 1971, living in Lincoln, Nebraska, we would ride our bikes to the stadium and sneak in games by crawling under and over fences. That season has always held a special place in my youth and this book brings back all of the memories and gives a deeper insight into that game.

Any fan of football will enjoy this wonderful book, even Sooners. It goes into history of the game and both programs and interviews members of both teams, giving a background of the game I never had.

and of course the best part is that the Huskers still win.

Now if only I can get a DVD of the game for Christmas...

In reading a book called The Irish Soldiers of Mexico,(by Michael Hogan) I discovered that William Selby Harney was a cruel, savage, and despicable man. Why anyone would be interested in reading about this piece of sh** man is confusing to me.

During the wars against Native Americans, this criminal had a notorious penchant for brutality and cruelty.

He presided over the hangings of the St. Patrick's Battalion that defended Mexico from imperialist U.S. invasion in 1847.

He had been accused of rape and murder of innocent Native American women and was indicted by a civilian court for the
brutal beating of a female slave which resulted in her death.

He avoided prosecution by jumping bond and escaping from the city where this occured. Legally, he was a fugitive from justice
during the entire war against Mexico in 1847.

Record show that Harney was a reckless, insubordinate and arrogant officer who was also an indicted murdered, an alleged rapist, and a fugitive from justice.(According to The Irish Soldiers book.)

I wouldn't waste my time reading about this s.o.b criminal.

George K. Perez
Chicago, IL

I was impressed with Rollie Adams' Harney biography. It's trite to say that this biography "reads like a novel" and that "I just couldn't put it down," but those cliches are certainly true here. I bought this book intending to dip into it for those parts that would help me with a book I'm writing myself, but the introduction hooked me. I read the entire book through, rereading parts of it in my attempt to understand Harney. Mr. Adams must have had fun researching and writing Prince of Dragoons! He certainly made a larger than life historical figure come alive for me. His search for primary sources for this biography are exhaustive and his interpretations of them perceptive. I recommend this well-written, well-edited book to anyone interested in 19th century military history and to anyone just wanting a "really good read."

GENERAL WILLIAM S. HARNEY: PRINCE OF DRAGOONS, is the first full-length biography of this important American warrior since 1878. George Rollie Adams has combined his skills as an eminent historian and gripping story-teller to bring to print the complete narrative of one of the country's most important, yet relatively forgotten, military leaders. Raised on the Tennessee frontier, General William Selby Harney patterned many of his traits after his neighbor, Andrew Jackson, and like "Old Hickory," often drew criticism from his West Point-trained associates. Yet, when he died in 1889, Harney's military career had spanned seven decades, and he had participated in every one of his country's major wars and military conflicts beginning in 1818. This is an outstanding biography--one that shows the author's years of dedication and research into the life and times of this very important American figure. This book should be nominated for the Pulitzer in biography.

Insights into the complex personality of a prominent Civil War general are fascinating. But this is more than a character study; it is an interesting history of government policy and the role of the military. The author, a gifted writer, has succeeded in making this an engaging human interest story within a significant period of military history. It is thoroughly enjoyable reading.

This is an outstanding book that is both well-researched and clearly written. It is badly needed and therefore most welcome for students of the pre-Civil war army and its frontier campaigns. When the Civil War erupted, Brig. Gen. Harney was the nation's third most senior general, behind only Winfield Scott and John E. Wool. He was also the country's most accomplished Indian fighter. Yet he has been forgotten along with Gens. David E. Twiggs and E.V. Sumner. Rollie Adams has rescued Harney from oblivion and in the process sheds light on the behavior of the antebellum army's officer corps as well as on the extraordinary unit -- the Second Regiment of U.S. Dragoons, later redesignated the Second Cavalry -- that Harney led as lieut. col. and col. during 1836-58. Rollie Adams is a realist, and so he brings to the reader's attention not only his subject's long suits (valor, strategic thinking, organizational skills, and innovation) but also the warts (impulsiveness, financial irresponsibility, lack of tact and diplomacy, and a persistent streak of brutality). With respect to the short suits, the army court-martialed Harney four times and a civil court near St. Louis tried him a fifth time for bludgeoning a female slave to death. This was a leader who was a very mixed bag in the sense of a complex (and at times unattractive) psyche and command style. That Harney could overcome these short suits to rise as rapidly as he did is a direct reflection of the pre-Civil War army's willingness to overlook a hopelessly contentious, brutal personality because of its needs for his skills and talents. In a sense, Harney was an officer deeply affected by his long-time mentor, Twiggs, and he in turn impacted the contentious behavior of argumentative officers like his subordinate, Philip St.George Cooke. Small wonder that at one point Harney even went so far as to prefer charges against Gen. Scott for executing the sentence of one of the courts-martial that had convicted Harney! For Harney it all came crashing down with his role in the so-called "Pig War" of 1859 -- a clash in the Pacific Northwest in which he singlehandedly almost brought on an armed clash between the U.S. and U.K. in a border dispute -- and then finally because of his mishandling of the political situation in volatile Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War. This book is not only well-written, it is well made -- printed on highly quality paper with a handsome type design and with page headings/numbers displayed at the bottom of each page in such a way as to minimize reader distractions as happens with conventional layouts. I recommend Rollie Adams' book most highly. It ought to be read in tandem with the recent re-issue of Rodenbough's classic "From Everglade to Canyon with the Second Cavalry" and Durwood Ball's new book "Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848-1861."

i felt very incomplete when i finished reading this book. i just wish that i had waited to get it at the library instead of buying it. i truly feel like i wasted my time in reading this book.

The little I know about Judaism comes from novels I have read by Chaim Potok, Henry Roth and Michael Chabon. None of these have offered the unique, first-person perspective not only of Jewish women, but especially of Jewish women scholars.

Blumberg's preface to Houses of Study lays out a fundamental tenion: that between the traditional role of an Orthodox Jewish woman and that of a particular Orthodox Jewish woman who aspires to honor both her religion and her personal desire for knowledge and advanced study.

The story of Blumberg's religious and academic education unfolds against this backdrop. She tells the story beautifully. Her desire for immersion in studies, such as her male counterparts at Yeshiva receive, is aching and intense. That it parallels her developing woman's contemplation of love and union enhances its intensity and sensuality.

We follow her journey from the midwest to Israel to the east coast an on. Blumberg is a trustworthy narrator.

A bonus for this reader was the concurrent education in Jewish history, culture and religion. Hebrew words were used but also translated to English spellings and definitions. I could follow her story but still feel that it was written by Jew, for Jews.

In short, this is a richly-described, morally-tensioned account of one woman's exploration of gender, religion and scholarship. Well worth the read.

I enjoyed this book. The language Ilana Blumberg uses is exquisite and one can truly get a sense of her struggles and thought processes. I recommend this to everyone.

Ilana Blumberg takes her life and her choices seriously and writes about them clearly. How refreshing and impressive! I am looking forward to reading the continuation!

Cerebral and sensuous all at once, hugely passionate but completely controlled -- hands down the best book on the readerly life that I have read. Anyone who wants to know what it means really to study the Bible should own this book.

In this autobiography Roy Campanella takes you through his life as a child all the way through his debilatating car accident which left him quadripilegic. He asks the reader to please not feel sorry for him. Although at first thats hard, you later see that his life was rich with experinces and love. The book is very moving and I guarentee you will shed tears several times. You really get insight to Roy and find he is very much a lovable gentleman. The book surprising has quite a few mistakes, such as names of people (eg. instead of William Wrigley he writes Phil Wrigley. Also it's grammer isnt perfect. But this is easily forgiven. At the end of the book you feel you got to know Roy,and wished you could have met him.

Campy was one of my boyhood heroes. I was devestated when I heard of the crash that cut short a great career for this quiet man. As much as he was a star in baseball, he was more so as a human being. Still aqlive when he had no chance to live, he was an inspiration to so many. No longer possessing the great physical ability that carried him to baseball stardom, he rose to stardom as a role-model, something blatantly missing in many celebrities today.

Join Campy in the struggles as a youth of mixed parantage, as a star in the Negro Leagues, a pioneer in organized baseball, but even more so as an unsung hero to manypersons with and without physical limitations

Campy was a one of my boyhood heroes. I was devastated when I heard of the crash that cut short a great career for this quiet man. As much as he was a star in baseball, he was more so as a human being. Still alive, when he had no chance to live, he was an inspiration to so many. No longer with great physical ability that carried him to baseball stardom, he rose to stardom as a role model, something greatly missing in many athletes today.

Join Campy in the struggles as a youth of mixed parentage, as a star in the Negro Leagues, a pioneer in organized baseball, but even more so as an unsung hero to many persons with and without physical limitations.

It's Good to Be Alive is one of the most moving and inspirational books I have read in a long, long time.

In this era of steriod athletes like Jose Canseco and Giambi, Roy Campanella stood head and shoulders above callous players like Jose.

This book is great.

THIS IS THE STORY OF ROY CAMPANELLA OF THE BROOKLYN DODGERS. HE TELLS HIS LIFE STORY ABOUT BASEBALL AND THE CAR ACCIDENT THAT LEFT HIM ALMOST TOTALLY PARALYZED. HE WAS A VERY GRATEFUL AND INSPIRING INDIVIDUAL. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. HIS DESCRIPITION OF HIS STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE AND ALL HE HAD TO ENDURE TO HAVE A PRODUCTIVE LIFE AFTER HIS ACCIDENT IS TRUELY INSPIRING. ANYONE WHO READS THIS WILL TRULY APPRECIATE THE MIRACLE MAN ROY CAMPANELLA. VERY RECOMMENDED.

The only better source for understanding the adventure of the
Lewis and Clark expedition would be the full 11-volumn set
edited by this same author for the U. of Nebraska. As a readable one-volumn summary of their fabulous and hair-raising
expedition, the editor has selected many of the most interesting
passages from the actual diaries of the participants, and many
readers will be able to vicariously experience the wonder at
what the men saw and how they reacted to the natives of the large region, as well as to the flora and fauna of a then-unknown part of the continent.
Frequently, the same adventure, or the same encounter, is told
in the words of multiple observers, and it is most interesting
to see how they reacted.
One of the most fascinating, and almost humorous, attitudes is
that of Lewis toward Grizzly bears and how that attitude changes quickly as he encounters the great bear. It is easy to
feel the superior attitude of Lewis as he relates the first warnings of the Indians about the ferocity and size of this distinct bear. He first writes: "...the indians may well fear
this anamal equiped as they generally are with their bows and
arrows...but in the hands of skillful riflemen they are by no means as formidable or dangerous as they have been represented."
He is speaking of someone who is acquainted with the black bear
of the Ohio valley.
Shortly thereafter he notes, writing of another grizzly, that he
was "...extreemly hard to kill..." specifying that bear had been
shot 10 times before finally expiring. Only a few days later,
after another terrifying encounter with a grizzly, where a party of hunters had to go after a bear wounded who had escaped,
after chasing one of his men, Lewis concludes, "...these bear being so hard to die rather intimedates us all; I must confess
that I do not like the gentlemen and had rather fight two Indians than one bear;..."
These passages are only a sample of the learning curve the great
explorers were on, and their own words show how they learned and
adapted so quickly that they made their amazing trek to the Pacific coast and back with no casualties other than Sgt. Floyd
who died of a burst appendix. The editor relates that Sgt.Floyd
couldn't have been saved even with the best medical care available at the time.
The book abounds with descriptions of birds and animals seen for
the first time by any white man, and both Captains provide details showing their dedication and ability; in addition, Clark
drew many significant maps of the area.
But the book isn't perfect; some decent maps should have been
provided, because the very small, sometimes confusing maps aren't helpful at all, and the serious student or reader will have to find some maps to accompany his reading. Not even one
example of the fine maps drawn by Clark is provided. A few more
of their drawings of animals would have been very helpful and entertaining.
But fascinating beyond belief are their copious observations and
notes of the native Indians they encountered. They show far more sympathy toward the Indians than might be thought possible
from upper-class East-coast white men, and both Lewis and Clark
reveal their wonder at the various customs and practices of
the Indians. Both the Captains the the others who kept diaries
frequently express appreciation of the skills and lifestyles of
the tribes, and this expedition helpled forge considerable friendships between the white Americans and their native counterparts.
The fact that later government mistreatment of Indians led to
wars and the loss of life is an indictment of later political
administrations in Washington, rather than any indictment of
these wonderful leaders and the members of this expedition.
But the writers whose words are provided here show a depth of
curiosity and thirst for knowledge of these different cultures
that has to astound most readers today.
And we have to read the exact words of those men who encountered the Blackfeet in present Montana to know just how
it happened that the only violent deaths happened there; the
Lewis journal entries are very revealing.
Hundreds of entries show just how cool and thoughtful all expedition members were as they encountered unbelieveable problems and obstacles, and how they met them with both good
humor and determination.
You can learn here why the Lewis and Clark expedition was one of
the greatest explorations in the world and why those particular
men were the absolutely best choice for their unique roles.
Anyone interested in American history needs to read these words
and imagine what these men saw and heard.

As an historian with an interest in the L&C expedition, I have dozens of books on my shelves detailing their adventure, including at least a half-dozen one volume editions of the journals. Until recently, Bernard DeVoto's 50 year old edition was the best. Now Gary Moulton's masterful editing of the definitive 13 vol edition of the journals is echoed in this single-volume abridgement that is destined to become the standard for the foreseeable future. If you must read a popular accounting of the Corps of Discovery, Stephen Ambrose's _Undaunted Courage_ is quite readable and provides ample context for the expedition. But then do yourself a favor and read Mouton's abridgement of the journals, and learn firsthand the thrill of reading L&C's original words. Recommended for all with an interest in the expedition.

Professor Moulton has done a tremendous job of abridging over one million words in this manageable volume of five hundred or so pages. This volume will be the functional equivalent of the DeVoto edition for the twenty-first century. An excellent job that preserves the personalities of both Clark and Meriwether Lewis. Too many editors cannot avoid the temptation of "correcting" the 1804-06 English of the pair.

Somehow the rip-roaring adventure of the Lewis and Clark expedition is missing from this plodding tome--and I do mean tome. By religiously sticking to the antiquated spelling and including snippets of every day, what you gain in detail you lose in adventure. Scholarly historians will want to read the unabridged journals; for the armchair historian, this book misses the mark.

This one-volume abridgement of the 13-volume "definitive Nebraska edition" of 2001 is a fascinating read from historical and anthropological perspectives as well as being a gripping adventure story. The presentation of the 1804-06 trek of the Corps of Discovery is superb; the editor provides a comprehensive introduction that tells the story crisply, then presents selections from the journals of the officers and men of the Corps (judiciously annotated with sidenotes), and finishes with an afterword that lays out the fortunes of the Corps members after their return home. A really satisfying book!

First off, let me say, I think H.G. Wells is one of the best authors of all time. But when it comes to designing examples of human society he needs help. For example - to keep people employed they are sent to where the labor is needed. They are given just the minimum, shelter and food and clothing, for what is looked at as the minimum of work. In other words, a labor force of wage-slaves, forced to move around the planet at the needs of the factories and businesses. If you HAPPEN to be educated enough or hyperactive enough to do more than the normal amount of work you can gain more or, in the case of women, be allowed to have kids. And if you are really smart, healthy and active you can become Samurai - nobles of the world.
The end results sounds more like a system set up in the Middle Ages, with most of the labor moving to where the jobs are, a small middle class of above normal workers and a class of supermen, and some women, at the top. I am sorry Wells, but this is not a Utopia. Even after talking about individualism and the equality of women in the end this more like a nightmare, and a boring one at that.
You should read it, because many modern books on utopias and dystopias will use it as part of the background on the subject. But I don't think anybody should really talk about it as a serious system of World Government.

_A Modern Utopia_ (1905) by H.G. Wells deals with two men who are transported instantaneously to a distant planet that is physically identical to Earth. However, this planet contains a worldwide, kinetic, and socialistic Utopian society that differs radically from that of our own world. Wells dispenses with some of the disbelief involved with a certain amount of charm:

The whole world will surely have a common language, that is quite elementarily Utopian, and since we are free of the trammels of convincing storytelling, we may suppose that the language to be sufficiently our own to understand. (17)

Perhaps the first thing to note about _A Modern Utopia_ is that it contains some very perceptive criticism of Utopian literature:

There must always be a certain effect of hardness and thinness about Utopian speculations. Their common fault is to be comprehensively jejune. That which is the blood and warmth and reality of life is largely absent; there are no individualities, but only generalised people. In almost every Utopia-- except, perhaps, Morris's "News from Nowhere"-- one sees handsome but characterless buildings, symmetrical and perfect cultivations, and a multitude of people... without any personal distinction whatever. (9)

Does _A Modern Utopia_ escape these problems? Perhaps not entirely. But it comes close to doing so. First, there are the characters. The visitors to Utopia are the narrator, a portly, middle-aged version of Wells and a rather petty botanist, who is constantly mooning about a shallow romance of his youth. Shortly after they enter Utopia, they meet a blond-haired, sandal-shod, back-to-Nature spokesman (modeled on William Morris), who has nothing good to say about Utopia. Shortly before their departure, the narrator meets his double, a member of the _samurai_, or ruling class of Utopia. Other members of Utopia include a bewildered innkeeper, a polite but efficient bureaucrat, assorted criminals and social failures, an amiable supervisor of a toy factory, various students and business people, and W.E. Henley (who proves to be as irascible in this world as in ours). Wells's point is that his Utopia is populated with _individuals_-- and not all of these individuals are noble, wise, and virtuous. There must be restrictions in this Utopia, but there also must be flexibility enough to allow for some freedom and individual differences.

Wells also gives a certain amount of attention to architecture and engineering. He describes in some detail an Alpine inn, a train, a hostel in continental Europe, and some streets and buildings in the city of London. Wells envisions all of these structures as essentially modern in style. We can understand why Wells, writing at the turn of the twentieth century, might have a strong reaction against the ugliness and dirtiness of Victorian architecture. But readers living at the turn of the twenty-first century have lived for some time with modern architecture. They may be forgiven for feeling less enthusiastic about this style.

Two chapters are still timely today. The first is chapter six, which deals with women in a modern Utopia. (Wells felt that there should be some restrictions on marriage, but that women should be paid for rearing children.) The second is the penultimate chapter, which deals with race in a modern utopia (or, to be more precise, racism in our own society). In this chapter, the botanist reveals some repulsive racist traits that were all too common in Wells's day. The modern reader should read these chapters and judge how far (or how little) we have progressed.

There are some other areas of controversy or interest connected with the modern Utopia. Capital punishment has been abolished, but euthenasia for babies with certain birth defects exists. Criminals and misfits may be eventually banished to selected islands. There is a hint that Wells was not altogether satisfied with this condition. The _samurai_ tells the narrator that he is currently engaged in a project to reform or improve the approach to dealing with the exiles, but he does not suggest a specific solution. A third area of interest is the economy of Utopia. The Utopians have abandoned the gold standard in favor of units of energy. We have gradually moved off the gold standard, though we have not adopted units of energy... or have we? In these days of oil-hungry societies, are we not moving in that direction?

Many readers and critics argue that Wells's utopian novels do not measure up to his scientific romances, such as _The Time Machine_ (1895), or his mainstream novels, such as _Tono-Bungay_ (1910). There is justice in this criticism. But such criticism should not cause you to ignore _A Modern Utopia_. It is well written and thoughtful. It is still fresh after over a century.

In narrative style, this is about the oddest Utopia story I've seen. It alternates almost seamlessly between the usual kind of Utopian fiction and a here-amd-now narrative in a voice that seems to be Wells's own. In the here-and-now, the speaker ponders the human state and reasons closely on an idealized world that still has room in it for fallible, real people. Then the thought gels, and the fantasy world comes to life to play out the points discussed. A companion joins our speaker throughout the story, fact-like and fantastic parts both, and embodies plenty of the human condition that would need to be accomodated: in need of immediate gratification, given more to involuntary emotional reaction than to thinking, and self-centered in a way that's blind, innocent, and pervasive.

As promised in the title, it's modern in ways that many more recent Utopias aren't. Wells considers the unavoidable inequality of child-bearing duties, and turns full-time motherhood into a paying profession. He acknowledges acquisitiveness and cupidity - rather than wide-open warehouses, his Utopia uses money to add wisdom (or at least thought) to the choices made in what to take home. He discusses race and racial superiority in terms that his 1905 audience would have found familiar. In the end, he argues for economic and legal equality not on the grounds of actual equality, a point that he leaves undecided, but on the grounds that no group in history has ever shown that it deserved to hold the upper hand.

There's more, much more, including a wealth of references to other Utopian literature - that by itself might almost have justified the cost of this book. Wells's interleaving of multiple levels of fiction also makes for an unusual reading experience. But it's the ideal world itself that stands out, mostly by not standing out. Real people didn't set out to create a bad world, so most of what we've worked out has a lot going for it. Above all, what we've got has room in it for many kinds of people, not all of whom will or can devote themselves to some moral ideal. "A Modern Utopia" is complex and layered in its presentation, but equally complex in what might look like banality of solutions to pressing social problems. Social improvement mattered too much to Wells for him to let it seem glib or impossible.

-- wiredweird

Wells imagines a world that resembles our own, but is much more humane and rational. In this utopian world everyone has a job to go to, everything is well organized, and peopel are well-mannered--a kind of full-employment Victoria era with central planning and plenty of monorails.

I find Wells' sci-fi works more compelling than his straight social commentary and vision, such as found in this book. He imagines human beings and the conditions of the modern world as being much simpler than they really are. And in this he is not alone. He is tempted by the sin of all utopians from Plato to Thomas More, to Karl Marx to believe in a simplistic schema of a solution for all social ills. Wells rejected Marx, but he was a Fabian socialist. He saw mcuh hard work and injustice in his life and sought a remedy, but his "modern utopia" is not the solution. He puts altogether too much faith in the rationality of the government and expects too little of all kinds of unpredictable events and unintended consequences.

I find that in the utopia he described life would be boring and imagination severely limited. I doubt that after a few months of life in his own utopia Wells would still want to stay. The world is not perfect, but it would be worse if it were more like "modern utopia."

This book makes an effort to discribe the Utopian govrernment of a world thatis an image of our own in apperene, buut with people of differing opinions. The ideas are inrusting, but requtre some patience to read through.

From the cover: A classic in the literature on the Southern Plains, this book is an invaluable source for the history of the Kiowas, the Comanches, and other tribes, as well as of an important period in the development of federal Indian policy. Tatum was appointed Kiowa-Comanche agent in 1969 and served until 1973. A Quaker possessed of a strong sense of justice and a remarkable degree of patience, he tried to apply the principles of honesty, kindness, and generosity in dealing with his charges - "the worst red men east of the Rocky Mountains." [I love that!] His book was written both to record the work of the Quakers with the Indians and as a defense of their methods and the reforms instituted by the Grant administration. Foreword by Richard Ellis. BTW, a new Comanche museum will be opening soon in Oklahoma - if you are out that way, be sure to stop in.

Just a note: This is a reprint of a book written in 1899 by a contemporary of Grant's Peace Policy. A previous reviewer missed that very important point entirely.

This book is one of extremes: there are some interesting chapters relating to Grant's Presidential administration. But there are other sections of the book so mind-numbingly boring that it might be lethal to read them in their entirity. Tatum's style veers from the grandiloquent to the pithy depths of laconic mumbling and it's difficult to get any rhythm reading the book.

There is absolutely nothing about Grant's personal life in the book, which is a crushing disappointment. People new to the subject will have scant grasp on Grant as a man and more's the pity. However, the sections on USG's treatment of Indians is generally positive and accurate, with some glaring lapses. The book is also hopelessly outdated at this point because much revisionism has taken place regarding Grant's Presidency. Tatum basically represents how USG's Presidency was regarded in the 60's, but much new work has been done in the intervening forty years.

To sum up, a difficult read, but interesting if you have an interest in Grant's treatement of the American Indian.

This book is one of extremes: there are some interesting chapters relating to Grant's Presidential administration. But there are other sections of the book so mind-numbingly boring that it might be lethal to read them in their entirity. Tatum's style veers from the grandiloquent to the pithy depths of laconic mumbling and it's difficult to get any rhythm reading the book.
There is absolutely nothing about Grant's personal life in the book, which is a crushing disappointment. People new to the subject will have scant grasp on Grant as a man and more's the pity. However, the sections on USG's treatment of Indians is generally positive and accurate, with some glaring lapses. The book is also hopelessly outdated at this point because much revisionism has taken place regarding Grant's Presidency. Tatum basically represents how USG's Presidency was regarded in the 60's, but much new work has been done in the intervening forty years.

To sum up, a difficult read, but interesting if you have an interest in Grant's treatement of the American Indian.

Just a note: This is a reprint of a book written in 1899 by a contemporary of Grant's Peace Policy. A previous reviewer missed that very important point entirely.

This "diary" was written 40 years after the events, so given that memories fade or are embellished, it's a little hard to know what to believe. I was hoping for another "Berlin Diaries" by Marie Vassiltchikov, but alas, it doesn't come close. A good editor was needed here because names are tossed around with little or no explanation, plus though it's in diary form, there are many lengthy flashbacks, making it confusing at times as to what is actually going on. You really don't know who half the people are but if you just forget about that and go with the story, it doesn't really matter. The other reviewers admirably described what Lucie Aubrac accomplished. Even if Raymond was a Nazi informer, as has been intimated, I don't think Lucie could have ever known or believed it. She is remarkable in that she doesn't just accept her husband's death sentence, she thinks up a clever plan to rescue him. She is tenacious and despite setback after setback, she just keeps focused. Unlike the Germans, Austrians, Belgians, etc., the French have had a very good public relations campaign to perpetuate the belief that just about everyone was in the Resistance. Of course now we know that only a small percentage of the populace were actively in the French Resistance. Lucie's book is a little biased--she rarely encounters anyone who doesn't feel the way she does. She takes few precautions and doesn't seem to be afraid of being caught. And sometimes it is hard to believe what she gets away with--you wonder if she really was as fearless as she portrays herself. Still, it's a good story and shows what people are capable of if they refuse to sit on the sidelines.

Lucie Aubrac's first hand account of her "career" as a key member of the French resistance in the city of Lyon can't help but evoke an emotional connection between the author's gripping story and the reader sitting in comfort at home. I mostly second all that the previous reviewer lauded. The story itself is compelling, and the glimpse that it offers of a woman's struggle to balance the cares of wife, mother, "girlfriend," "fiancee," patriot, etc., provides a much needed balance to our understanding of the total effects of a conflict such as WWII. The personalness of the book is perhaps its greatest strength.

The translation is extremely fluid and detracts not at all from the author's tale.

Some criticism to keep in the back of the mind: it could simply be the author's purpose, however, I was struck by the seeming lack of concern of being caught -- until the end of the book (I won't spoil it for you). Lucie's life seems to be minimally impacted by her resistance ties. Like I said, maybe she left out those details on purpose, I don't know. The other thing the "bothered" me was the unconvincing account of how she was able to arrange for the purchase of silencers in Switzerland, travel to Switzerland to pick up the silencers, and then recross the border the same day without arousing suspicion. I doubt she was able to pick up the telephone and call a gun dealer to arrange the transaction -- maybe I missed it. Whatever, just something to consider.

On the whole, I heartily endorse this book; it is exciting without being Bond-ish, and it is personal without being too proximate. Furthermore, it convincingly demonstrates the various motives of resistance, and it illustrates the fact that even a single person can make a difference in a struggle as vast as a world at war.

Outwitting the Gestapo is the real life experience of one woman's determination, at all costs, to save her husband, her true other half, from execution by the infamous Klaus Barbie, "Butcher of Lyon." That is what makes it so compelling. I was drawn to this memoir, written in diary form, from May 14, 1943 through February 12, 1944, because I had seen the French film, * Lucie Aubrac *. A gorgeous film, that follows the same experience as this book, I was left wanting more. I was richly rewarded by reading this intimate revelation of the French Resistance and the couple who are equally committed to each other and the freedom of France. This story is a vivid portrait of devotion and fortitude. Raymond, Lucie Aubrac's husband, and the father of her young son and the child she carries in her womb, is arrested and sentenced to die. Lucie has been involved with the resistance since its beginning, but with the advent of this new ordeal, she masterminds a terrifying attempt to free her beloved husband. With her "buddies" in the resistance, a plan is orchestrated that involves the increasingly expanding Lucie to have almost daily contact with Klaus Barbie. Singlehandedly, she attempts to convince this monster to allow a contact with Raymond, making Barbie believe that she is an unwed mother who must marry Raymond to give her child a name. Constantly changing names and domains, Lucie and the other members of the resistance live with the constant fear of being caught, yet nothing inteferes with their goals. Their unflinching resolve is what makes for true heroism; their dedication to each other redefines friendship for me. The film is indeed beautiful, but it is in many ways short-sighted. There is so much more to this story than is presented on celluloid. Lucie Aubrac tells her remarkable story while enveloping her comrades into her heart, and presents the reader with the depth of her love for Raymond and France. This book gives a more complete picture of France and the Resistance, and of course, the love that many people would want to die for. Outwitting the Gestapo gave me a deep feeling of satisfaction.

..Set in Lyon after the Germans had invaded the southern 'zone libre' this book purports to be a diary, written during a nine month period of 1943 by one of the most France's most famous resistance 'personalities'. Claude Berri's acclaimed 1995 film 'Lucie Aubrac' was based on the events described. As a number of reviewers have already remarked , many scenes in this account appear to have been directly conjured up from the author's imagination and the Aubracs themselves, subject to media scrutiny as France's resistance history is increasingly put under the microscope have admitted that this book is indeed part novelisation. Translated from the French 'Ils partiront dans l'ivresse' the author revels in her self portrayal as mother, heroine, & machine gun toting guerilla fighter and resistance cell leader. No where does she state that she and her husband were leading lights in a communist resistance grouping and no light is shed at all on what their role might have been in the capture by the Gestapo of De Gaulle's envoy and resistance unifier Jean Moulin in Caluire, a suburb of Lyon during June 1943. One of the main espisodes of the book is Aubrac's attempt to liberate her husband, captured at the same time as Moulin and held by Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie. The facility with which she is able to come and go from Gestapo headquarters in Lyon has led more than one writer to question whether or not the Aubracs were indeed on Barbie's payroll; either that or many elements of Raymond Aubrac's subsequent escape are pure invention. Of course Klaus Barbie muddied the waters somewhat at his trial in the late 80's but the brutal portrayal of him here simply begs the question...how could he possibly have been taken in as Aubrac suggests. Post Liberation, Aubrac's husband oversaw the 'épuration' or cleansing in and around Marseilles and effectively presided over a killing spree as suspected collaborators were ruthlessly hunted out of French society and summarily executed in many cases. Facts that sit uneasily with the rather rose-tinted view of resistance presented here...In France the Aubrac's are still taking to court authors who question the veracity of their accounts...

Lucie Aubrac captivated me. She writes about facts with the warmth of a woman who is dedicated to the Resistance, to her husband, and to her child. When you read this you are plunged into the French Resistance almost as if you had been there!!!