Kansas Books

This book takes a very un-studied and often forgotten affect of the U.S Civil war and turns it into a very original study. During the civil war there were many European military attaches and observers who came to learn the lessons of the most modern world at the time. Germans, English and Frenchmen drew different conclusions that would play themselves out for the next half century on the European continent. In 1914 the affects were still being felt and they were also felt in the Franco-Prussian war.
Some learned the wrong lessons. Others understood the nature of total war and that new technologies were making the old way of war obsolete and deadly. Great accuracy of arms meant that the massed attack or human wave attack was doomed both to failure and to massive casualty figures. The destruction of the British regular army in the First World is but one piece of evidence showing the Europeans did not learn their lessons.
A brilliant study.

Seth J. Frantzman

In this fascinating book, Jay Luvaas examines the military observers from England, Germany, and France who came over to America during the Civil War to obtain first-hand knowledge of the fighting tactics and strategies of the Union and Confederate armies, and what they made of that knowledge once they returned home. He concludes that while these men saw and were impressed by much (perhaps most by the important use made of the railroad for transporting troops and supplies), they took very few lessons of the war home with them and felt, in many instances, that nothing of importance could be gleamed from the fighting in America for their own European armies. Luvaas writes, "The fact of the matter is that nine out of every ten who wrote about the Civil War simply carried into their books or articles doctrines carefully instilled by years of training." In other words, they saw things the way they wanted and expected to see them and interpreted what they saw in ways that only reinforced what they already believed. This didn't change until WWI when European officers began re-evaluating in detail battles and campaigns of the Civil War. The chief exception to this was G.F.R. Henderson, the British military historian whose 1898 biography of Stonewall Jackson Luvaas says "deserves a place among the military classics." (A whole chapter is devoted to Henderson.) This well-written and well-informed book clearly points out the risks involved when military leaders rely on preconceived notions even as new ideas make themselves available right before their eyes. Recommended.

Jay Luvaas, a military historian who taught at the US Army War College created a sensational and original work with THE MILITARY LEGACY OF THE CIVIL WAR: THE EUROPEAN INHERITANCE. The book analyzes the tactical, technological, and strategical changes that occurred because of and during the American Civil War. The book further explores how Germany, England, and France either took the appropriate infomration from the Civil War or how they ignored and struggled in subsequent wars. The introduction of the text in itself is a short course of the military history of the American Civil War and the rest of the 19th century military experience as Luvaas recounts what he had learned along with the main European powers. The book is an excellent read that flows quite well and would be worthwhile to those interested in the ACW and military history in general.

There is very little to add to M. Pitcavage's review above other than to recommend that this should be among the very first books read by anyone interested in Vietnam. While Professor Bartholomew-Feis' initial chapters appear to treat Ho Chi Minh as a "nationalist", she presents enough evidence from those who met him that they may judge for themselves. Particularly valuable are the evaluations from Chinese, American, and French sources noting Ho's exceptional charisma, and his unfailing ability to detect what his listeners wanted to hear, and tell them exactly that. And while she does appear to buy into the "French colonialism as unspeakable suffering" school of thought, I would have liked to see at least some statistics to paint a more accurate picture of what it was the French did or failed to do in developing Indochina up until 1940. Likewise, she repeatedly refers to "100 years of colonialism", when in fact it dated from 1864 in Cochinchina, 1884 in Annam (as a protectorate) and from 1884 (protectorate) 1886 (protectorate in highlands, colony in Red River Delta)in Tonkin.

A well-written account of the early years of US involvement with Ho Chi Minh in the second world war. It is a sad commentary on what might have been. Had the US not abandoned their ally to cruel colonialism, the US and Vietnam may never have suffered the long costly and unnecessary war they did. It seems an all too common tale of strange cold war bed-fellows and betrayel.

This book goes far to provide the background to the recent history of Vietnam and the United States. Ho Chi Minh is not portrayed as a saint but neither is French colonialism. In the portrayal, the nationalist rather than communist undercurrents of the Vietnam war are expounded and explained. A worthy addition to the history of twentieth century Vietnam-US relations.

The OSS and Ho Chi Minh, by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis, was an unexpected pleasure. Books written on the OSS or the British equivalent in World War II, SOE, so frequently fall headfirst into a muddy miasma of internal politics, blame and counter-blame, and a fixation on minutiae that they often obscure more than they illuminate. Thankfully, Bartholomew-Feis gives a well-written and lucid account of the OSS in Viet Nam on the cusp between war and peace in 1945. She steps neither into the "Ho was a nationalist and if only they had listened to the OSS then the Vietnam war never would have happened" camp nor into the "Those naive fools helped Ho get to power and brought communism to Southeast Asia" camp, for which every reader should be grateful.

At first, her book gives one pause. She starts off with dual mini-biographies of Ho Chi Minh and F.D.R. and one wonders where on earth she will go with those. However, once she actually gets from contextual background to Vietnam itself, and begins to display the depth of her research and understanding, the book is on much firmer footing. The OSS encountered the Viet Minh in an intelligence-gathering context, so she focuses first on the intelligence networks in Vietnam and how the Allies used them (introducing the reader to a fascinating "free-lance" intelligence network that gave intel to the British, US and Chinese), then shows how the OSS gradually was introduced into this intelligence context. In the process, she illuminates the tensions between the French in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Communists, between north and south Vietnam, and between the Japanese occupiers and both the French and Vietnamese.

Bartholomew-Feis does a good job describing the various OSS missions into Vietnam at the end of the war and the personalities behind them. What is perhaps most striking is how few, how young, and how junior most of these American personnel were, yet the great responsibilities they had in representing their country in matters relating from intelligence to strategy to policy and diplomacy. Almost as fascinating is how, virtually without exception, all of the Americans (conservative and liberal alike) were impressed with Ho Chi Minh, who must positively have oozed charisma. It is quite interesting to compare the personal relationships between the American OSS representatives and Ho and his close collaborators on one hand with the much more bitter, taxing, and dysfunction relations between the British and Tito (see Dedjier's diaries on his views of the British, for example) or the British and the Albanian communists or the British and the Greek communists. Perhaps the only real comparison is with Mao Zedong who managed to win over a bevy of Westerners from left-wing reporters like Edgar Snow and Agnes Smedley to Marine officers like Evans Carlson. In any case, it is quite interesting to see how genuinely friendly the Vietnamese were towards the Americans, more so than almost all of the other communist movements with which the OSS worked.

Bartholomew-Feis does write, rather often, of how the Vietnamese "manipulated" the Americans, yet some of the incidents of which she writes sound not so much as a deliberate underhanded manipulation so much as they seem a genuine (if perhaps temporary) convergence of interests. She is on firmer footing when she describes how the Vietminh used their rather tenuous official contacts with the United States as a way to gain status and legitimacy. The Vietminh were quite clever in that regard.

Overall, Bartholomew-Feis does an excellent job in covering a difficult and--given the fact that any book on this is heavily burdened with foreshadowing to begin with--sensitive subject. It would have been nice to have seen more use of Vietnamese sources but overall the book is well-researched and Bartholomew-Feis demonstrates a considerable grasp of her subject.

I have read scores of books on the OSS and SOE dealing with various resistance movements in World War II and I think this is definitely one of the better ones. Scholars and general readers interested in intelligence gathering during World War II, the origins of the Indochina War, Vietnamese nationalism, and the end of the Second World War will all be interested in this well-written study. I recommend it.

Since Wesley wrote in a different era, his style requires some adjustment but once one gets past that there is a lot of edifying content in this book. The key point of this book is the issue of "perfection." He sees it as living what Jesus said was the greatest commandment and its accompanying commandment, i.e., to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Wesley's life demonstrates that he reached the goal. He traveled extensively, read widely, wrote inspiringly, and influenced many people to believe in Jesus as their Savior. Thank God for his legacy in words and deeds. He truly practiced and preached.

Wesley's brief treatise on the important yet overlooked Christian doctrine of perfection is a "must read" for all Christians interested in growing in Christ. The fact that this book is not mandatory reading in every seminary and Bible school is a travesty, making a mockery contemporary Christian education. This book is excellent for anyone serious about their spiritual journey.

John Wesley (1703-1791) firmly believed that God continued to work in the life of the believer subsequent to justification. In A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Wesley provides an account of the development of his understanding of the doctrine of Christian Perfection. This short work contains a lucid explanation of the doctrine with special attention not only to the Biblical promises and commands that are the basis of the doctrine but also the practical way that "perfect love" works in the life of the believer. While this work was certainly intended to instruct those who were seeking "perfect love," it also attempts to answer those who would deny the doctrine.

The essence of Christian Perfection, for Wesley, was clearly defined by Christ when an expert in the law asked him, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 23.36-40 NRSV)

Here one sees that, for Wesley, the main point of Christian Perfection is "perfect love." "Perfect love" thus defines our relationship to God and others.

This book is essential for those in the Wesleyan tradition and a worthwhile read for those from other Christian perspectives that wish to understand what Wesley thinks Christian Perfection is and is not.

I did not grow up in the 1950's (1970's/80's) nor did I grow up in Kansas City, although I lived there for two years. I randomly picked up this book and thought it was excellent. I don't think you need to have any connection to Kansas City or grow up in the time period covered to enjoy this book. I still read it every now and then; it is very good.

Once I began the book I never put it down. Bruce lived five blocks away from me in the same era. I especially remember Shortcake and Roy Beatty. They were friends of mine too. Bruce's recollection of Frank's restaurant was poignant although I didn't remember the dirt, just the heavenly(?) taste of a tenderloin sandwich. As to Old man Pierce, I too was chased from the premises, albeit not for the same reasons. My home was across from Scarrit grade school. Bruce no doubt played baseball there too. I do remember Lykins Square where we played the kids from "south of Independence Avenue" on many occasion, probably losing more than we won. This was a great step back to my own childhood. NE grad 1954.

This memoir of growing up in Kansas City in the 1950s is much more than nostalgia. It is an evocation of the importance of baseball in a young person's life, the ambitions of youth, and the impact of family, friends and neighbors. The characters are wonderful, and the whole book is beautifully written. It's a good read, humorous and poignant.

Rebecca grew up long ago, in an America that has now almost vanished - where daughters learn how to run family homes from their mothers; sons learn how to run family farms from their fathers, & electricity hasn't yet reached their roads. In a time when each season brings its own labors, worries & beauties.

Some will think Rebecca's story a sad one, only thinking about the hard life she had of all work & little play. That her childhood was cut short by tragedy. Don't be sad for this enduring, hardworking girl, for she has long since gotten over it, & has thrived & lived a very good life.

While REBECCA, A MARYLAND FARM GIRL may have only 67 pages, it is filled with struggles & victories of a child from another time that will immeasurably enrich your own life.

Rebecca, A Maryland Farm Girl is the true story of a young girl in Maryland in the late 1920's and early 1930's, who, after the death of her mother in a tragic accident, had to labor at grueling farm chores and hike several miles to the school bus. The strain of her daily responsibilities brought about seemingly insurmountable barriers to her education. Very highly recommended for young readers, Rebecca, A Maryland Farm Girl is a poignant and compelling story of struggle and hardship, especially acute for demonstrating the harsh conditions of the past to young people who have grown up in relative comfort and have no idea how hard their grandparents had to fight for the privilege of an education.

Rebecca, A Maryland Farm Girl is a treasure that should become part of the school cirriculum's required readings. It teaches the children of today about the children of the 1920s-30s, a time they are unfoutunately often oblivious to. This lost knowledge, which is essential for children to understand our country and more importantly their relatives before them, is found in the wonderful tale of the experiences of a school aged girl, Rebecca, and how the world around her shapes the that girl she becomes. This is a book not to be missed! I loved it!

This book is a good starting point for understanding German military developments in mechanized warfare during the interwar years. Alternately, if you only wanted to read one book on the subject, this would be a good choice. Easy to read, makes clear points, and covers a fair amount of territory.

Corum, a historian, German linguist, and former military intelligence officer has written a fine study of how Germany was able to absorb the lessons of its defeat in WWI, overcome the restrictions placed on the size and composition of its armed forces, and develop the revolutionary military doctrine that swept it to astonishing victories against every European country it engaged. Corum focuses on General Hans von Seeckt, enigmatic Chief of the German General Staff -- twice awarded the Pour le Merit, Germany's highest decoration for valor -- as the architecht of this remarkable feat. Seeckt set the stage for reform of the Army by fostering a climate of open discussion on all matters regarding doctrine development in which the ideas of the best thinkers -- regardless of rank -- were given a full hearing. A tremendous number of experimental programs were conducted to try out various tactical doctrine. Many of these, secretly carried out in the USSR. Corum cites numerous training manuals, military correspondence and other primary resource documents to illustrate the revolutionary nature of Seeckt's impact on the German military. The book appeared about the same time as a book on American preparation for WWII -- There's a War to be Won -- that is very instructive when read together with Roots of Blitzkrieg. Current military leaders and their civilian overseers should read both books and bear in mind that the constrained resourses available to our armed forces today make the German model the more relevant of the two. Americans, fifty years ago could count on the full mobilization of our industrial and population base to prepare for war. Today's headlines continually reflect lack of preparedness in training exercises, inability to recruit and retain quality personnel (especially pilots), and inadequate funding for research and development programs -- a formula for disaster. Our political focus on humanitarian missions conducted by our armed forces has diverted training and R & D funds and that other scarce resource -- time -- from their intended purposes and prevented implementation of new information age technology. Corum's book demonstrates that, with even minimal support from the political establishment, the U.S. could revive its rapidly deteriorating military capability.

Professor Corum has produced a very concise (c. 200 pages) history of how the German Army spent its inter-war years. Including chapters on doctrinal development (air and ground), training, and weapons design and implementation, Dr. Corum has done his best to avoid political/strategic questions that are inherent in a text covering the rebirth of the German military.

Dr. Corum also makes a statement in focusing on General Hans Von Seeckt as the driving force behind many of the reforms the Reichswehr undertook during his years as chief of the general staff. By taking the spotlight away from Heinz Guderian, Corum has placed the emphasis on the man who fostered the kind of general staff where sweeping tactical and organizational changes were possible. Professor Corum also makes it very clear that those changes were in large part due to a serious assessment of the lessons of the First World War.

A reader from an allied country may have difficulties in trying to separate the great advances in warfare made during the period of the Reichswehr, and how these principles were misused only a few years later. However, one can not avoid marveling at the professionalism and flexibility of the tradition of the Prussian General Staff, and it is those qualities that Professor Corum has focused on in his text.

Lamb's story of Sanderson's Lunch is a fascinating journey though emotion, passion, hard work, and fruitless endeavors. To hear Lamb's story is to laugh, cry, and seriously consider getting a job at a 24/hour diner just to have a glimpse of the crazy antics like those at Sanderson's. The reader will cheer with the successes, be crushed at the defeats, and empathize with every emotional state Lamb was in at the time. If you are a KC native, you are doing yourself an injustice to overlook this outstanding work. It is a little piece of history and a small masterpiece of nonfiction

I enjoyed the book but would like to see more articles telling more of the wacky tales of the old 24 hour restaurant, perhaps in a newspaper or KC mag. Maybe there are enough for another book with a bit more emphasis of the unusual parade of customers. (I couldn't resist!)

Art Lamb is my step-grandfather, and I picked up the book out of curiosity and started reading one afternoon. The next thing I knew, night had fallen, dinner was cold, and the kids were conked out in front of the TV. I shrugged and kept on reading. Witty, engaging and fast moving, this slice of life will capture your interest and engage you until the last page.

I'm not going to say too much about Whispering Springs, because in truth, this book speaks for itself. Filled with adventure, mystery, and ghostly appearances, it is sure to keep the young and old alike glued to the pages until the very end.

I especially liked the Kansas prairie setting and the way modern and old were gracefully woven together to give you both a sense of history while keeping you firmly in the here and now.

The title, The Secret of Whispering Springs, hints that there is more than meets the eye within its covers, and as you race through the pages, you'll discover the story keeps it promise. A great read.

Jerri Garretson creates a wonderful story of suspense and intrigue sure to fascinate any young reader. Her characters are well developed and her writing is strong and vibrant.

Having a daughter of my own in middle grades, I've been reading a lot of the books she's brought home from school and The Secret of Whispering Springs has been one of my favorites reads. It has surpassed many of the books published by major NY presses and is well worth ordering. I heartily recommend it for anyone looking for a gift for that special reader in their life. (I recently passed it along to my 11 yr. old niece who absolutely loves it.)

Highly recommended for young readers attending school grades 5-8, The Secret Of The Whispering Springs by Jerri Garretson is a ghostly novel about a fourteen-year-old girl whose family moves into a grand mansion. The presence of a spirit whispering warnings place the heroine in the center of a dangerous mystery that she must solve before time runs out. A spooky and involving read for young adults, The Secret Of The Whispering Springs is quite appropriate for both school and community library YA fiction collections.

Kellie Wells' fiction stands out from most fiction being published today as exceptionally erudite, original, and provocative. She is a writer worth reading and attending to. Wells challenges us to reconsider "the heartland" as a place that is not predictable, mundane, nor worthy of being ignored. Wells also challenges readers to consider (or reconsider) the human condition, to experience (or re-experience) the potential of language, and to think (or re-think) narrative and how it reflects and represents reality. In fact her readers are enticed to contemplate the nature of what we consider reality. By switching point of view regularly, Wells builds a more comprehensive, intriguing view of her community (What Cheer, KS) than a single narrator would allow for. I admit that I wanted the story to stick with Ivy at first (a very compelling character). But by using multiple voices Wells helps round out the story and the community in an effective fashion reminiscent of the style of Louise Erdrich. Wells' command of the English language shines throughout, in a style that is compact and yet effervescent - as when she describes the bats in the first chapter. Her characters are moving without being maudlin or overdrawn. Wells' wry humor permeates the prose (reminiscent of Joy Williams), showing her fine ability to handle the complexity of her characters, whose lives and stories might otherwise overwhelm. Wells' prose exemplifies what the best prose provokes in readers - thoughtfulness, originality, and joy in language and storytelling.

I read this book in 45 ninutes, for it is the kind of story that keeps you reading anxiously from one page to the next. Kellie Wells has a naturalist's gift for describing human and animal behavior as though we were all of us plants, with the natural behavior cycle of the flora kingdom. She knows how to create suspense with a simple twist of phrase, and all of her characters, no matter how eccentric, speak from the heart, no matter if they are elderly or quite young. Most of all I enjoyed the plot in which a teenage boy has moped scars running up and down his legs, and he coinsults his best friend, Ivy, about if the scars are growing or not. Yes, literally growing like ivy. It seems to her that Duncan's scars are on the move and he resolves that he won't die without having sex with her. This delights and confounds her no end for, if truth be told, she has always been a little in love with neighjbor Duncan, referring to him as "boy poetry," with skin white as Elmer's Glue and gray green eyes you could drown in. It's a cute plot, fairly reminiscent at times of something Carson McCullers might have written.

I also liked Zero, the hairdresser with a fondness for movies with Merle Oberon and Dorothy McGuire, movies he thinks are "safe." Then there is Rachel, with a collection of 70s 45s including the Archies, Melanie, Cher and "Little Willy." No matter how fantastic Wells' storylines get, and they are pretty strange, Wells is able to keep her book "grounded" by the simple trick of using brand names, a la Stephen King. You can see in the example of the Elmers Glue above. Elsewhere a third grade savant, Ruby Tuesday Loomis, applies Bugs Bunny Band Aids, a neighbor pops Tums like Sweet Tarts, and in fact on every page you can see something of the sort. It's not just product placement either, it's Kellie Wells' incredible knowledge of just what needs buttressing in her fantastic fiction and what she can leave alone, knowing her readers will find their own way through her James Purdy like tales of What Cheer (the name of the tiny town they all live in, deep in the Midwest of Magic Realism.) Thank goodness for canny Nancy Zafris, the perdurable editor of Kenyon Review who suggested to Ms. Wells that she might as well expand an exquisite short story into a sort of novel.

"Skin" is a good name for it! Like Ayelet Waldman, Wells seems to know all about the difficulties of mother and daughter communication (Rachel and Ruby) and how to keep your faith together in a time of agnostic belief. Like Waldman, she shields her simple parables in the clothes of the contemporary, but never losing sight of the imagination nor its pull, like a dragonfly, towards moonlight. She even makes use of the resonance of her own name, dropping it like a stone, casually, into one of her beautiful sentences: "[Rachel's] eyes appeared dark in the diminishing light of the room, as though they were all pupil, sinking into her head, eyes dropped down dark wells, out of reach." Not every writer could do that--not even some of the best, like Nancy Zafris or Ayelet Waldman. Their names wouldn't pose as nouns.

Kellie Wells has a flowing style underscored by her twisting wordplay and startling juxtapositions. For those who say "Midwestern" as if it were a bad word, Skin might make you change your tune. The novel is a witty and poignant construction of life in the Kansas town of What Cheer, where the strange isn't so out-of-the-ordinary and it's amazing what you might suddenly find under your skin.

Part of my family settled in Kansas not far from Ise's in the same period. They never mentioned how hard the life was for most people. The majority of settlers, in fact, failed. Some died from disease or accidents, others simply discovered that farming was not as lucky or simple as they had been led to beleive. The climate was against them. Finances and the market were as much luck as anything. If they didn't draw the best of land as a homestead, it was pretty much a no-win situation.

Ise's plain spoken story illuminates the situation well. It's an eye-opener.

This book does a wonderfull job of depicting the struggles involved in raising a family & building a farm on the great plains. Just 3 or 4 generations ago many of our own families were living the same life as the Ise's.

You can get so lost in this story that you will laugh and cry with the family as they go through the years.through birth and death rain and shine you will enjoy every line of this book.I got a real feeling of what it must have been like to settle the country, and the early years of this century. now that we are leaving the 1900's in the space age learn what it started out like.