Art Books

This is one of the BEST books I have ever read. Glenys dropped everything when she heard her son was in a coma on the other side of the world. She tended to him 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even setting her alarm clock every 3 hours to turn Scott over in bed so he wouldn't get bed sores.

I find it amazing that there were always people to help Glenys, all she needed to do was step out of her home and people were there willing to help her tend to Scott. She is obviously guided by someone on the other side. Even when she rented a house for 18 months that was up for sale, not once did she get a call from the real estate agent to say someone wanted to view the house. Yet, the day Scott died, she got the first call. Coincidence?

Tears streamed down my face when Scott died in hospital. For a mother having to make the decision between watching her child suffer or relieving his pain but with a risk he could die - how can a mother possibly make that decision?

For 4 years Scott was in and out of hospital - and each time he overcame infection after infection without antibiotics. However, the hospital made a terrible mistake which cost Scott his life.

Get this book and read it - you won't be disappointed.

I was left speechless after finishing this book. Faced with the devastating accident and long rehabilitation of her son Scott, Glenys Carl was able to summon endless positivity and humanity from a seemingly bottomless reserve that few of us are blessed to have. Mrs. Carl's strength of character in the face of the trials she went through for the love of her son is unlike anything I have ever encountered, in print or in life. Hold My Hand is a truly inspiring story that must be witnessed, as it is rich with wisdom and lessons for our own lives.
-Michel Costes, Manhattan, New York

I don't feel I can find the appropriate words to delivery how much I have been effected by this story. I found myself laughing out loud in moments, while crying heavily in others. The author's strength, creative soul and most profoundly --her humanity transcends life itself. This story moves me.The kindness the author encountered amongst so many strangers along her journey moves me. I found myself crying on the subway on my way to work this morning rereading beautiful passage about her son and a special bunny named Thumper.

Most eloquently stated by the author," There are things more powerful than our best intentions; that life is painted in broader strokes than we can imagine and all we can do is our best." I felt so connected to her and her view of life, and the strength to weather life's obstacles with an overwhelming endurance, to fully embrace life with an open heart and tender kindness..

After reading her book, I felt more available to the present moment and wanted to live, to take, to enjoy, to really experience life in all its fullest.The author and her actions really impacted me. She's is an incredble woman. I highly recommend this book as a very powerful, moving journey into her love for her son, her soul, and her humanity effecting thousands.
-Kirsten Lewis, New York, New York

I must admit that this is one of the most touching and inspiring book I've ever read. I refuse to close the book before I finished reading it! This story is about a mother who will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING for a miracle so that her son, Scott who suffered from a traumatic head injury and was not expected to live again will be able to walk again. She have gone to great lenghts from Australia to London, putting out leaflets asking help from strangers to be volunteers to help with her invalid son. Strangers of all ages, sizes and different backgrounds turn up to give a helping hand in anyway they can. This taught me that even though one may be a complete stranger to another - kindness, generosity and faith will bring people together in a most extraordinary way. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone because I'm sure it'll be an inspiration to you. Like what Scott said, "I love living!"

I am really happy to have come across this book.
This is a portrait of people of strength.
Not fantacy or fiction that the author takes the liberty to weave the magic
but the magic that was lived and transformed many people.
to live fully with all the power in your soul, sometimes, it was through challenges
that ignite the fire from within.

i know people like Glenys Carl, those who live magic and create everything they need from all situations because of their will power, vision and the love that reside in their hearts that knows no limit.

i fully appreciate her sharing of such a tapestry of her life and her beloved.
inspirational and moving...
it's a book to open hearts.

This book is great for a K-2 general music lesson. It has a great introduction to jazz music and improvisation. All my students wanted to hear more jazz and move to jazz after reading this book. Can also be easily used as a sub lesson, since the whole book is on CD.

I first heard the cd that comes with this book when my 5th grade teacher played it in class. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen even two kids who hardly ever stop talking. My teacher's a drummer and so am I so we LOVED the jazz beat. I read that another reviewer thought the beats were on 1 and 3. Anyone can hear the hi-hat clicking on beats 2 and 4. This is real jazz played by real jazz musicians! (I don't think that reviewer is a musician.) The thing I liked most about The Jazz Fly besides the music, was the illustrations and the way it introduce scat as a kind of language. It IS a language, ZA-BA-ZA-BOO-ZA-BA. Everyone can speak it their own way.

This book is solid! One of the best books on the market today about jazz for young kids. This is the story of a jazz fly who ultimately gigs on drums at a club following his encounters with several other creatures. The fly riffs off their contributions to create his own improvised session. Children love the rhyme scheme and enjoy scatting to the sounds of za ba za boo za ba zee za ro nee ... Read it aloud and children can't resist trying to repeat the syllables in song. The book is sold with a CD that compliments the text and informs the reader on how it should be read aloud rhythmically. I highly recommend this book to anyone who teaches young children or has a child of their own that they want to expose to jazz.

I've given several copies of this book/CD as gifts to my friend's children. It's always enthusiastically received.

Most conventional music education seems to ignore jazz, which is puzzling since it is our own music, not a European implant. Matthew Golub has found a way to make the learning process truly enjoyable. The rhythms are infectious; you find yourself singing along with the CD. And the cartoon-like text is fun for children of all ages. This is a book to own, if you have a musically inclined child.

Jazz can get elitest sometimes. Jazz musicians can narrowly define jazz as only rhythm change or blues. I love this book because it does not put jazz in a box - it gives life to jazz sounds. This book gives kids and those who read to kids a chance to just "dig it." There is no over-emphasizing the roots of jazz or making the rhythm too complicated to follow, it's just a fun introduction to different scat sounds that even a little kid can relate to and follow.

Rabbi Kalman Stern is such a treasure of a character. The reader follows him through his mystical journey of meaning. Kalman, a modern day Rabbi has his old volume of Zohar, the master text of Kabbalah which he picked up in Israel years ago. The story is an overlay of his loneliness and the interest he has with the astronomer Isabel Benveniste, (a woman who stirs his soul),and that of the Zohar author Don Moshe in 13th century Spain. Don Moshe has taken on a tutoring assignment for the wife of a prominent businessman to teach her Hebrew. Both Stern and Moshe are teachers that discover that they are also students of the mystical insight that links heaven and earth, and in the end it wraps up with the aha! the discovery..of course "you can only have it if you give it away". Love...as it was spoken by God to his people..."You have stolen my heart with one glance". He says that all this talk about ultimate truth is just a silly intellectual game, a diversion. The self attains its apotheosis not in filling itself with yet another new and titillating insight, but in the moment it surrenders itself to its lover. What a great story.

I have read a few books of Rabbi Kushner that explore Jewish spirituality, and liked them very match. So I was intrigued by his exploration of a new, to my knowledge, genre. It started somewhat slowly, but quickly accelerated into a wonderful ride through the time and space, which only true mystic can create. I gained some new incites into kabbalistic concept of multiple universes, which escaped me for a long time. What a joy! Thank you Rabbi.

This is a terrific story. The story is a little complex, but difficult to leave once you get into it. I found it very thought provoking and satisfying. I loved it!

As I write this, I have not finished reading this book. However, I am impressed with Mr. Kushner's abilities. The novel works on many levels. It works as a stand-alone story with excellent nattarive structure and character development. To a more sophisticated reader, the novel's resonances with Kabblistic text and thought are hard to escape. However, I'm under the strong impression a reader can develop a deep appreciation of Mr. Kushner's work without being a scholar in Jewish thought.

A wonderful connection between the teachings of Kabbalah and a modern love story. The book makes the complex easier to understand. Our book group has decided to make this book our topic of discussion at our next meeting.

This book cries out for a different rating system - perhaps a 1-10 scale. Even then one would have to reward an "11" for this magnificent tome. I could not find a single flaw in the entire reading - character development and portrayal was realistic yet unforgettable, the setting mesmerizing (one is instantly transported back to the time of the Inquisition and the faith-filled, simple lives of the city dwellers) and the plot was perfect.

I have read criticism that the tale was not realistic or made suppositions and assumptions that are not exactly correct in the historical sense. But what one should remember is that this tale is an allegory, not a documentary. The fictional city is in Spain and the Inquisition is at its high point when a stranger appears. He is intelligent, interesting, and friendly but an unbeliever. He tells of a land in which belief is arbitrary and where one can change their religion - or choose to have no religion at all. This is too much for Church officials for in their eyes murder, torture and lying can be forgiven but also blessed. A trial of sorts is proposed.

Now we have the second story and the joy is how the two are seemlessly weaved into one arc. A child found among the wolves is being raised by nuns. She is not to be given any religious instruction and if she comes to a belief in a Supreme Being the visitor will be found guilty, otherwise he will be judged to be innocent.

The battle is not between atheist and believer. It is a civil war between two schools of thought within Catholicism - the plain folk and their local leaders and a grand inquisitor who employs "unusual" methods for "protecting the faith". The wolf-girl finally is made to make a statement that can be interpreted as belief and Palindo, the visitor, is tortured to confession. When he refuses to follow this up with another confession (which would then validate the previous "confession") he is sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. A lowly follower trades all her material goods for a balm that will bring instant death upon being heated.

The aftermath is a short but appealing denouement. The bishop's assistant announces he cannot believe in a God that seeks obedience through torture. The wolf-girl returns to her solitary mountain home but not before catching a glimpse of a vast naval armada from the foreign land streaming toward the city that burned its citizen. The rewards of sin...

While I can't top Avid's review (see below) for insight and eloquence, I can say that this book will appeal to you even if you're not normally the type interested in vast philosophical questions. Part of Jill Patton Walsh's triumph is that she makes the discussion of ideas so accessible. One truly feels drawn into the world of this tiny Spanish island and the people who live there. And one does not have to be a literary genius to realize that the structuring of this novel is nothing less than symphonic in its brilliance.

I won't reveal the powerful, throbbing revelation that lies at the core of the novel. Know, though, that this book will almost certainly spark your imagination and challenge your assumptions about faith, life and, indeed, the universe.

This story is an especially pertinent discussion of religious intolerance, and how to live a beautiful, joyful, inquisitive life in the face of it. A revealing look at the genuine sources of wonder life grants us.

Knowledge of Angles by Jill Paton Walsh is one of the best books of our time. Its richly illustrated plot was truly unique. We read this book for a high school English class and both agreed that it was one of the best books we've ever read. The story of a wolf-girl slowly interwines with that of a man unjustly persecuted because of his beliefs. A young girl, raised by wolves, is captured by men and brought into the human society. A kindly boy finds help from the Cardinal who in turn decides to perform a religious experiment with her. She is brought to a secluded cloister where she is to be kept without any mention of God in her presence. In this way, the Cardinal tries to find out if there is actually a high spirit, that seems to guide you. This careful experiment soon leads to surprises, that would best have been left unknown. The story of a wrongly persucuted man makes "The Knowledge of Angles" even more amazing. Palinor, a king from an unknown "perfect world" fell off a boat and swam to a nearby island. He is immediatly thought to be an athiest because he neither knows that God exists, or knows that He doesn't. Palinor was put into prison, then released and taken to talk to the Cardinal. His arguments are so convincing that he even has the Cardinal somewhat doubting his faith. The two stories come together to create a very important theme, one of love, hate, God, and sympathy.

Every single chapter ends with an astonishing line that makes you want to stop and think, to contemplate yet at the same time has introduced a quiet shocking revelation that there is nothing to do but read on, and read and read. The book is clever, is wise but not judgemental. It touches the heart, the soul but is neither sloppy nor politically philosophical. A book to fall in love with, i recommend it to all.

Kevin MacPherson has written a wonderful book. As an artist I am constantly trying to perfect my paintings, and this book is a great tool. If you are wondering "Should I purchase another art book?", the answer is YES to this one.

This book is very interesting; I have many art books, and this one gets you to thinking. It offers many ideas about how to go about creating better artwork (including using the computer, creating great value studies, use of color, etc.). A beginner or advanced artist would benefit from this book. This artist's work is beautiful. The book is well written, contains great content, and deserves "five stars." RMD

This guy knows his stuff and conveys his ideas superbly with great examples to support his recommendations. I respectfully disagree with his comment in the book "that while copying a picture may require great skill, it is not art. With the fabulous digital technology available today, we students of art can freeze that moment in time that we all wish to capture. Painting with passion comes from within and can be stimulated in various ways. An excellent book for any artist's library.

I love Kevin MacPherson's books and this one is no exception. They are clearly and concisely written and illustrated. I consider his books "Must Reads" for new artists.

This book will answer all your questions about painting outside and in. A real must have.

When my weaving friends aren't around, this is my weaving bible. Great photos and text written in an easy-to-get manner. She even suggests inexpensive ways to create some of the tools needed. Sample patterns and suggested thread; lots of good ideas and various ways to achieve the same thing. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of good information for everyone. It wasn't written for the complete beginner though. Even with that said, I think, if you're interested in getting started and learning the language etc., this is a very good book to start with.

This book is the most concise, understandable learn-to-weave book we have found. The author shares her obviously extensive knowledge of weaving in a way that is clear and not the least bit intimidating. The quantity and quality of photo illustrations is excellent. The text and photos make sense together and are extremely helpful. It is obvious that the author not only knows weaving, but has extensive, successful experience at teaching people to weave.

She starts you weaving from the start, and explains the design elements later, after you understand the physical process of weaving.

If you want to learn the basics of weaving, this is the book to own.

Having never woven in my life, I bought a 4-shaft table loom and with this book, in two days successfully warped my loom and wove a 5' sampler and a nice placemat. Although I had a little trouble initially understanding all the new-to-me weaving terminology, I was able to follow the book step by step with wonderful results. By the time I got to the end, I was very comfortable using my loom, understood the concepts taught in weaving the sampler, and feel ready to try more techniques. Great book!

This book is a excellent teaching tool for beginner weavers and a solid resource for experienced weavers. I highly recommend it (and so does the expert weaver who is teaching me).

A lot of info that a lot of people did not know about those little darlings. Very interesting, good reading, very well done. Thank You.

Excellent book....Leonard really digs deep to document and convey all things "Rascal". It's worth the purchase price.

Revised in 1992, Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann's "The Little Rascals" is a must for anyone who has enjoyed the antics of Spanky and the gang. The authors' exhaustive research and warm-hearted nostalgia is evident as they chronicle the history of these enduring comedy shorts. Along with biographies of the ever-changing cast and crew, the book offers a detailed critical analysis from the golden Hal Roach period (1922-38) to the sad decline at MGM (1938-44). It's the ultimate Our Gang celebration, with a treasure trove of rare photographs and publicity material.

I have been looking for this book for ages.Answers so many questions about all the Little Rascals.Some didn`t live long and very few are still with us.Being from Long Island I watched them on CH.11 on the Officer Joe Bolton Show every day after school.Kids today have nothing like them on TV.The facts in this book are fantastic and the pictures are great.If you love the Little Rascals buy this book.

The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang is the most comprehensive book available about the popular short series. Leonard Maltin, longtime fan of both Hal Roach comedies and the Our Gang series itself, writes both intelligently and lovingly about the series with the help of Richard W. Bann.

This book opens with a short history of the Hal Roach film company and the Our Gang series.

Then, it leads to a collection of all of the shorts made for the series including the cast, release date, and highly effective synopses and analyses of each short. These are listed chronologically and noted according to ownership and distributor and silent and sound. Some of the silent have been lost, but they are not neglected. Instead, Maltin has used reviews from the time period to give the reader a sense of the short and an idea of its quality. Opinions are used, but they are obviously separate from the factual information and are supported by facts. They add to the effectiveness of the synopses and paint a more vivid picture of the shorts that are unavailable. What is also unique about this book is the listing of the MGM shorts that are often regarded as the worst quality episodes of the series. Skipping these films, although understandable, would have made this book far less complete.

Next, the spin-offs and pop culture effects of the series are addressed, including the Saturday Night Live spoofs of Buckwheat and the cartoon versions of the show.

Last, the book includes a brief history of all of the major stars of the series and a few sentences about the more minor players. Sadly, this section needs to be updated because of the deaths of the cast members after this second publication. However, the information that is included is accurate and valuable, as much of it cannot be easily found anywhere else, especially interviews.

One must also comment on the abundant photographs utilized in the book including rare publicity stills.

Overall, this is a high quality history of The Little Rascals.

Ever wonder what it's like to be a Broadway performer? Well here's your chance...told through the mouths of over a hundred performers, you'll get the chance to laugh, cry and survive with these performers.

Many don't understand the heart-ache and sacrifices made by a performer. Many even think that Broadway is easy...but with each story you'll learn that is far from the truth.

If you want to be a Broadway performer or just explore the life of one this book is for you....

This book was recommended to me by a very good friend. Not only is it a humorous read, but an eye-opening one. This book brilliantly deals with the reality of professional theater right from the mouths of professional actors. If you are in the business, this book exposes you to so many things that aren't taught in school. It's a must read. If you are a theatergoer, this book offers a rare look into the lives of performers. This book is such a great reality check that manages to also be inspiring.

i love this book so much. i read it over and over again, because it always inspires me and just gets me so excited thinking about what my future could possibly hold! This book has so many great stories, and some are so hilarious I am constantly laughing out loud while reading this book! Honestly!!
I read the book because it makes me feel comforted when I get an audition rejection...and it gives me a lot of hope. i love it so much, and it is a big book with a great number of stories...so definitely get this one! i wish they would publish a second book!!

This book is very good and meets all my expectations.

Whether you are a theatre novice or Broadway veteran, this ambitous work is insightful, educational and fun.
On some nights, the theatre life is full of passion and wonder. However, many nights are spent in the hope of simply finding a job or landing a decent audition. Warts and all, this book is a must for anyone who loves a play or story. Enjoy and learn.

This book is a must-have. It shows how to make the patterns fit and work, and explains the garments well. I used this book to help me figure out the pattern for fitted hose, and Tudor Tailor to help fit the hose... and together I managed to get some nice hose! The braies pattern, like the rest of the explanations is easy to understand on first-read. I recommend it!

I bought this book after reading the description. The photos and information on how to recreate medieval clothing are very useful for seamstresses and beginner alike. Full-color photos of people in clothing made helps with the 3-D aspect of what it looks like. Use this book in conjunction with other references and you will not be disappointed.

A great place to start if you're looking for the medieval common clothes patterns and sewing techniques.
It's not riddled with complicated notions and covers a lot of items, from underwear's to capes and hair net's creation guidelines.
A lot of useful sketches and drawings come to add value to the... unisex patterns (I mean there's always only one pattern from which both men's and women's clothes can be created).
I'd recommend it to all interested in making their own medieval garments.

If you are wondering how to make a medieval costume and you want it to be as authentic as possible and to look good, then this is the book for you.
This book does not do a lot of research into what clothing was available in the Middle Ages, but it DOES show you how to properly put it together.
For the first-timer or for the expert, this book will aid you enormously.
For any medieval re-enactors out there - GET THIS BOOK!!!
You will not be able to lend it out; it may never come back!

I love this book, and not just because it's a great primer on medieval clothing. It's also the best book on basic pattern-drafting I've found yet. You'll need a friend for pinning the block (a patient, non-grouchy friend, preferably), but the instructions are incredibly clear and simple. With almost no drafting experience, I was able to draft a very closely-fitting kirtle and cotehardie. The sleeves still need tweaking to fit perfectly, but sleeves are difficult and mine are totally wearable. For a first attempt at sleeve drafting, I'm quite happy (and the fit problems are all in the arm and wrist, not the armscye).

While this book is not comprehensive and I'd recommend supplementing it with other sources (no mention of fur tippets, only tippet style included is a straight band, doesn't include bliauts or much instruction on headwear, no eight-panel cotehardie, no two-piece sleeves, etc.), it's an indispensable primer for patterning and sewing medieval clothing that is suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate sewer. The book does an admirable job providing an introduction to the clothing of a very broad time period.

To supplement "The Medieval Tailor's Assistant," I'd recommend the Excavations in London series, particularly "Textiles and Clothing" and "Dress Accessories," "Medieval Military Costume," by Gerry Embleton (does include some women's clothing; no patterns), and the annual journal "Medieval Clothing and Textiles," ed. Robin Netherton (volume 1 has an excellent article on fur tippets). A book or two on tablet-weaving might also be of interest for making your own belts and girdles.

What I found interesting about this book is that is a history lesson in American business and early regulatory policies that shaped the landscape we see today. At the same time, it is a story of classic love and betrayal. I found the author doing a great job when the story focused on Mellon's marriage and the demise of such, but he tended to become a bit lost in the details when describing all of the political ups and downs. Overall, a fine book and great American story

Though I can not claim to be altogether objective about the subject matter in much of this great book, I must congratulate Cannadine for a masterful study of what has been an extremely closed subject for a long, long time - most of all in the Mellon's home town of Pittsburgh. The late Paul Mellon must be given a lot of credit for breaking with family tradition - first for allowing the book "Thomas Mellon And His Times" to see the light of public day and then to let it all hang out with Cannadine with regard to sources and family papers.

All of the business glories (one wonders at times if Andrew ever really enjoyed his successes), all of the personal agonies (it must have been excruciating on many levels), and much of the rancor between both Judge Thomas Mellon's as well as Andrew's detractors and adversaries are, for the first time, put into print for ALL of the public's perusal. It will be up to each individual reader to judge for themselves how they feel about this man and his father and family.

It came as no suprise to me when Cannadine named my great-great grandfather as being one of the "vexatious litigation" principles who Judge Mellon would only refer to as "A", "B", or "C" in his autobiography. Cannadine is specific about the bad blood between the Negleys and the Mellons after the "eugenic" match (his words) and Pittsburghers specifically will find much new insight here.

However, this long and comprehensive book never lets down as it explores all facets of the Mellon dynasty, how it was aquired (at times skirting legality and even morality), and he leaves very few stones unturned. What Cannadine might have missed was the fact that the rehabilitation of the Mellon name in Pittsburgh was undertaken by Andrew's nephew Richard K. Mellon (Richard Beatty Mellon's son) when "Renaissance I and II" which, along with the Allegheny Community Conference, cleaned up the city of Pittsburgh and made it livable again after over 150 years of take, take, and more take by men such as "A.W." and "R.B" among many others, including Andrew's buddy Henry Clay Frick.

The mystery of "M..." will, I feel, eventually be solved but as was mentioned in a previous review, even as good a sleuth as Cannadine could not hazard even a guess (though I'll bet he had a guess). Notice that she becomes "Mrs. M---" on pg 259. I hardly believe that such a man would be so indiscreet as to write an entree with such a clue, or such an admission of a possible affair - but this entree IS followed by perhaps the most emotional outburst of his heart, "CRUEL", in uppercase.

A flawed man, as are all men, and obviously a tortured one for much of his life, this book will give everyone the chance to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves the verdict which until now was impossible to consider to to lack of full factual disclosure. I found it fascinating the whole way from beginning to end. The source notes are a gem in and of themselves.
I would also recommend both books by father and son for a comprehensive look at all three men, and how wealth, acquisition, and the drive and pressures of both shaped them.
"Thomas Mellon And His Times"
"Reflections In A Silver Spoon"

If you like history you'll love this book, it's long and "gets long winded in history" but try stop reading I couldn't, if your over 55 you will really love it. I still don't know how I feel about Andrew, Dick and Thomas Mellon. I found myself loving this book excellent read.

You will savor this account of the tumultuous life of Andrew Mellon, an arrogant turn-of-the-last-century industrialist and millionaire. He was torn to tatters by a scandalous divorce and, later, by opposing politicians. However, he transcended those humiliations by establishing the lavish National Art Gallery just before he died. "Andy" Mellon's life (1855-1937) stretched across critical years when the U.S. was transformed from an appendage of Europe to a superpower. His work as treasury secretary was held in such esteem that the Republican Party considered running him for president. However, even given his role as head of the Treasury, Mellon could not curtail the 1920s margin-buying stock market mania that led to the 1929 crash and the Great Depression. He is mostly remembered for the National Art Gallery and for his sex-scandal divorce fight. David Cannadine offers a highly readable biography, which is very balanced though Mellon's son, Paul, commissioned it. However, some readers may decide to skim through the extensive coverage of the politicized "Tax Trial," and Andy's ordinary trade in minor art and small firms. We highly recommend this extraordinary saga.

Cannadine exceeded expectations on a number of fronts with this definitive biography of Andrew Mellon. It has everything you'd expect from a grade-A biography, laying out where Mellon's family came from (both physically and philosophically), how Mellon grew up, his rise, peak, eventual fall from grace, death and legacy. Not only that, but Cannadine does all of this exceedingly well, giving his reader a sense of the nuances and subtleties of Mellon's personality and life. If Cannadine had done nothing else, he'd still have written a five-star book.

This book goes beyond most rock-solid biographies that I've read in Cannadine's sensitivity to the larger meaning of the events in Mellon's life, his place in history and his impact even after his death. While this sensitivity is present throughout Cannadine's book, it really comes together in in his three-part epilogue, which you will absolutely not want to miss, it is the highlight of the book.

The first point Cannadine develops is that Mellon's life straddled the line between two different eras in American history. He shows how Mellon, without changing his behaviors, was perceived one way for much of his life, then a totally different way at the end of his life. Through his awareness of this point, Cannadine really demonstrates to the reader how radical the shift in sentiment was in America in the 1930s.

The second point Cannadine is aware of, as any successful biographer of a great historical figure must be, is the idea that Mellon was a human being with some great strengths and some great flaws. In my experience, people who have the strengths to accomplish the most often have corresponding weaknesses to go with them; Cannadine really makes this point clear in his epilogue, doing a "balance sheet" of positives and negatives of Mellon's character and accomplishments. I've never seen an author take even-handed analysis to a similar place, and it really helped bring together the books ideas at the end.

Finally, Cannadine captures a truth about life, society and politics that imbues the book with a sense of sadness. It becomes obvious that many (though certainly not all) of the good things that happen to Mellon happen out of chance. Similarly, when bad things happen to Mellon, most (again, not all... his divorce comes to mind as an obvious exception) of them are undeserved. Mellon dies near the low point of his public popularity, suffering primarily for sins he did not commit.

I highly recommend this book for lovers of biography and history, it is truly a step beyond a really good biography.