Pacific University Books

Victor Hugo's long and chequered life was filled with experiences of the most diverse character - literature and politics, the court and the street, parliament and the theatre, labour, struggles, disappointments, exile and triumphs.

Victor Hugo's HISTOIRE D'UN CRIME (History of a Crime - The Testimony of an Eye-Witness) is an impassioned recording of the December 1852 coup d'etat that brought the usurper he called "Napoleon le petit" to power, and sent Hugo into an eighteen year exile. The work was written in the few months following Hugo's flight, but only published in 1877, when Hugo feared a similar takeover by Marechal Mac-Mahon, who had threatened the dissolution of the republican-dominated Chambre des deputes (parliament).

During his exile on the island of Guernsey, he completed, among others, his longest and most famous work, Les Misérables (1862), and also The Man Who Laughs (L'Homme qui rit; 1869), also known as "By Order of the King", a historic novel with fictional characters, set in England 1688-1705.

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873), the main character of "History of a Crime", was elected President (1848 - 1852) of the Second Republic of France, and subsequently accepted the title of the Emperor (1852 - 1870), reigning as Napoléon III.

The American arch-conservative economist James Laurence Laughlin (1850-1933) studied under Charles Dunbar at Harvard and later dropped out of academia to make a small fortune in the insurance business. He returned to teach at Cornell and been there a scarce two years before the newly-created University of Chicago invited him, in 1892, to form its first economics department. Surprisingly, he appointed several institutionalists to the department - notably his old student at Cornell, Thorstein Veblen, whom he put at the head of Chicago's Journal of Political Economy. However, Laughlin remained an avid free-marketeer and refused to become a member of the American Economic Association. Laughlin's reputation rests on his work in monetary economics. He was a vocal opponent to bimetallism and one of the more avid promoters of the Federal Reserve system.

Macaulay uses about 100 pages to bring readers up to date from the earliest monarchies to the Restoration, and from there, goes on for about 50 years. The first volumes relate the reign of James II, and the final volumes the reign of William III.

Macaulay is unlike other historians. His wit and humanity appeal to the taste of the most hardened readers in every chapter. He ridicules where necessary, debates where necessary, and extols where necessary. He spends time with his readers to allow us to understand 17th century England -- what composed a country squire, why towns were powerful, how politicians canvassed their districts, how the nation regarded certain topics -- religion, the monarchy, the free state, the standing army, certain taxes, the antipathy to France, etc.

Because the panorama is quite dense with important issues and debates, statistical information on parliamentary voting sometimes will tax the reader, but I found little in his volumes that did not impact the subject, that did not carry an interest, and that did not support Macaulay's well-considered arguments and delineations.

Among my favorite histories! 2,100 excellent and highly readable pages.

Today, Lincoln looms so great in our minds for his key role in ending U.S. slavery that we tend to ignore his home state's history of slavery and racism. Harris' almost 100-year old book soberly examines this history. He documents how African-Americans lived in Illinois as slaves, indentured servants or second-class citizens throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The book reflects the author's youthful enthusiasm, his unflinching belief in African-American civil rights.

The book is structured chronologically in thirteen chapters, which can be grouped: Illinois before statehood, early statehood, the rise of abolitionism, and the incorporation of abolitionist thought into mainstream Illinois politics.

The treatment of African-Americans in Illinois is by no means a minor story in the state's history. African-Americans were among the largest early 18th century immigrant groups to what today is Illinois. "When the Illinois Country passed into the hands of the English (1763), its total population was about three thousand. Of these a large portion - about nine hundred - were Negro slaves." (p.4)

Harris carefully describes how a hodgepodge of laws maintained slavery in territorial Illinois. Congress, through the Ordinance of 1787 had prohibited slavery in the Illinois Country, but de facto slavery continued through a grandfathering of prior enslavements and a system of long-term indenturing. According to the law, indenture periods were to be strictly limited and the servants afterwards freed. Harris combs Illinois county records to show, however, that the laws were often ignored, with many African-Americans indentured for long periods that effectively kept them in slavery. (pp. 11-13) He notes that a Code, modeled on the Slave Codes, governed the rights of such indentured servants and that newspapers carried frequent notices about runaways. "No matter under what name the farmers held their negroes ... the fact still remained that slavery still existed in the Territory of Illinois as completely as in any of the Southern States." (p.15)

When Illinois gained statehood, its 1818 state constitution rejected slavery, but preserved indenturing. The U.S. Congress found this compromise acceptable. Harris' review of state constitutional convention materials shows a politically strong proslavery group. "Black Laws," severely restricting the rights of free blacks, quickly followed statehood, as did an effort by proslavery groups to call another constitutional convention to reconsider legalizing slavery. Harris' account of the vote on the convention, through a careful reading of newspapers and personal correspondence, paints a picture of rough and ready politics, which included a mob's setting fire to the State House.

Efforts to make Illinois a slave state failed. Still, Harris describes how difficult it was for African-Americans to live in "free" Illinois. After reviewing county records and interviewing former slave owners, Harris concludes that Illinois' peculiar institution, indentured servitude, lasted to 1845. His review of court cases involving indentured servants also supports this conclusion. (pp. 99-123) The court cases paint a sordid picture, with arguments raging over the whipping, buying, selling, and inheriting of servants and their children.

While indentured servitude was being phased out, severe restrictions on African-American civil rights and opportunities continued. Harris judges these restrictions harshly and even suggests that "the almost unbearable position of the free colored people in the State, and the barbarous practice of kidnapping all unattached negroes" might have made slavery preferable to being a free black in Illinois. Harris weaves details from county records, newspapers and personal testimonies to bring alive past cases of Illinois kidnappings and Underground Railroad events, lending considerable credence to his depiction of the regrettable plight of African-Americans in Illinois.

The mob violence leading to the death of abolitionist publisher Elijah Lovejoy is a well-known blot on Illinois history. Harris paints a sympathetic portrait of Lovejoy, describing how he never wavered in his repeated attempts to print antislavery materials, even when threatened by mobs. Clearly many Illinois citizens believed that freedom of the press did not extend to discussions about slavery.

The entry abolitionism into mainstream Illinois politics comprises half of the book. Harris passionately embraces the cause of abolitionism, championing the activities of the Illinois Antislavery Society. Growing anti-slavery sentiment in Illinois is depicted as a victory for good and reason, and Harris spends much time documenting, county by county, the personal commitment made by Illinois' abolitionists.

Voters opposed direct competition with slave labor, that is, any extension of slavery to the territories. At the same time, they cared little for total abolition or for granting African-Americans political equality in Illinois. Thus, it appears that Illinois abolitionist sermons affected voters much less than Harris is willing to admit.

While anti-slavery sentiment was growing, Illinois' African-American community continued to live in a hostile social environment. Harris documents this hostility in his final chapter. First, while debating Lincoln, Douglas engaged in race baiting: "Do you desire to turn this beautiful State into a free Negro colony in order that when Missouri abolishes slavery she can send 100,000 emancipated slaves into Illinois to become citizens and voters on equality with yourselves?" (p. 216, footnote 2) If yes, Douglas proffered, then vote for Lincoln. Douglas won. Second, during the Civil War, an Illinois Constitutional convention overwhelmingly supported prohibiting African-Americans from settling, voting or holding an office in the state. (pp 238- 239) Third, " ... until 1872 the Legislature has persisted in recognizing the public schools as institutions for white children only." (p. 229) Finally, Harris notes violence against African-Americans: "Carterville, for example, where five negroes were shot down in the streets three years ago," (p. 242, footnote 5) and a "lynching at Danville in July, 1903." (p243, footnote 1).

Almost 100 years ago Harris concluded his book stating: "How and when it (the negro question) will be solved no one can tell, but solved it must be before peace and concord can prevail throughout this State and this Country." At first, one might feel a sense of dismay that race problems continue. Yet, after reading his book, which showed how deeply rooted racism was in Illinois society, maybe it isn't surprising after all.

This book is documented to the limit and quoted and made reference to by everyone. This is a classic in radical history. It doesn't say anything nice or positive about the Great Wealthy Americans. This book is anti-capitalistic. It is anti-wealthy. It is not spoken of favorably by most established sources - but nobody can deny its research and its facts. If you are a descendant of a DuPont, or a Rockefeller, or a Carnegie, or a Vanderbilt, or J. P. Morgan, or the railroad barons you will not like Gustavus Myers. On the other hand I love this book and think there is probably more facts and truth in this account than you will probably find in most American History books.
Myers has written more of the same controversial nature and I intend to get them all.

I read this book back in 1995 and am surprised I am the first Amazon user to review it. I found this book tremendously worthwhile.

It is an excellent overview of the history of the Pacific Islands. If you are interested in this topic than you couldn't ask for a better introduction to it than this.

In the covenant, U.S. citizenships were denied to those born to alien parents in the CNMI between the years 1978-1986 for the reason that no foreigners would rush in to make their kids citizens and then immediately leave, but this did not really happen. Of the 300 effected by this, many of them remained in the islands and have been a huge part of the CNMI native community through voluntary community services and as taxpayers. Most saddening is that the covenant seems to give the CNMI government full discretion to deport these kids anytime to their parents' country, including those whose never ever been out of the islands since birth. Being born at the wrong time was a mistake for these kids. Their parents came to the islands as legal alien workers whose been huge contributors to the economy. However, I must admit that this book is very well-researched authored by an Honorable individual, Dr. Willens.

This is a must read book for understanding the equipment and the horse power that was needed to farm the large wheatland farms of the Northwest. Thomas Keith lived and worked on these farms as a young man and his knowlege has been preserved between the cover of this remarkable book.

I was impressed by the interesting story and the clear writing. Judging the book at first by the title (a common mistake), I was cautious least the book be overly religious in nature. It is not. While the main character speaks of his faith openly and frankly, the book is not particularly concerned with the nature of religion. Rather, it is an objective narrative of the sad adventures of the narrator. In fact, the sequence of the storyline flows in a manner similar to Edgar Allen Poe's "The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym".
I strongly recommend this book. It is not the most well-known book- it's a hidden gem!

This is the type of book that should be read by all people lay and professional, because it is largely a first hand account of the Region One's forest rangers and their dedication to duty. Rothman as the editor does an outstanding job weaving the individual accounts together to give a clear view of the early development of the Forest Service in Region One. He does not step on the narratives, but rather provides clarification only when needed. When a reader can actually read about events that occurred by the participants it only enriches the understanding of the subject matter. A must read for all those interested in the early days of forest management.