Tag: historical

Naples ’44

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Lewis, Norman. Naples ’44: a World War II Diary of Occupied Italy. Pantheon, 1978.

Reason read: In Naples, there is a pizza festival usually celebrated the third week of September.

Norman Lewis kept a clear-eyed diary from September 8th, 1943 to October 24th, 1944 when, as an Intelligence Officer in the Italian Labyrinth, he joined an established Field Security Service outfit in Italy near the end of World War II. Not having a specific assignment Lewis moved about Naples fulfilling various tasks. Beyond Naples Lewis visited the island of Ischia and the city of Caivano.
Besides a first-hand account of the Allied liberation of Italy, Lewis was witness to the civilian suffering and the colleterial damages of war. Wide spread bombings, children being prostituted by their parents, police and mafia corruption. Grossly underpaid officers resorted to crime to make ends meet. I found it interesting that Lewis learned to turn a blind eye from some small forms of corruption. He casually admitted “I am gradually becoming drawn into the system” (p 172). In the end Lewis enjoyed his time in Italy so much that he wished he had been born there.

Quotes I found telling, “I found Dr Lanza in his clinic, which smelt not only of ether but success” (p 141) and “This is the season and situation when insanity has become almost respectable” (p 145).

Author fact: Lewis lived to be 95 years old. He also wrote Goddess in the Stones (January 2036), Tomb in Seville (July 2037), and A Dragon Apparent (September 2056).

Book trivia: my audio version was read by Nicholas Boulton. In the book version there are no photographs.

Music: “O Sole Mio,” “Ammore Busciardo,” Torna a Sorrento,” and “Triumphal March” from Verdi’s opera Aida.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46).

With His Pistol in His Hand

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Paredes, Americo. “With His Pistol in His Hand: a Border Ballad and Its Hero.” University of Texas, 1958.

Reason read: Parades birth month is in September. Read in his honor.

As with all great legends the stories about them are passed down through the generations to the point where no one knows the truth anymore. Ballads are sung to remember (misremember) and honor (or exaggerate) the legendary events and humans throughout history. “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez” is the ballad for Gregorio Cortez. No one can agree on what he looked like or where he was born. Legend has it he shucked corn for a living. Maybe he picked cotton. Maybe he was a barber? Everyone said he could shoot a pistol and talk to horses. He might have been an expert trail tracker. He certainly was a weather predictor and a womanizer (No one can agree on who he actually married, though). He was also crafty and smart. He often got away from posses by blending in with the common folk on either side of the Rio Grande. He was peaceful yet he killed many men “in self defense.” Posse after posses chased the infamous man and his little mare across the wild Texas countryside. Cortez is able to walk amongst the commoners because, while they all knew of his exploits, he was unrecognizable in a crowd. Exaggerating the villainous nature of the Mexican people only increased the paranoia and prejudice against Cortez. When Gregorio Cortez is finally caught his legal battles raged for over three and a half years. For one trial Cortez’s supposed wife testified in his defense but by the next trial she had divorced him. Despite being found guilty, he was pardoned in July of 1913.
In the end, no one could decide how Cortez died. Was it a heart attack? Poison? He was only forty-one years one.
The second section of “With His Pistol in His Hand” is not nearly as exciting. Paredes spends this time comparing and critiquing the variations of the El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez ballad and describing the narrative elements and the development and quatrain structure of a ballad.

Lines I liked, “If the ballad maker wants to justify the deeds of his robber hero, he will transform him into a border raider fighting against the outside group, the Americans” (p 144).

Author fact: Paredes was able to talk to singers about the variants of corrido the performed.

Book trivia: “With His Pistol in His Hand” was illustrated by Jo Alys Downs.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Texas Two-Step (After a Bob Wills Song)” (p 225).

Lyndon: an Oral Biography

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Miller, Merle. Lyndon: an Oral Biography. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1980.

Reason read: Lyndon’s birth month was in August. Read in his honor.

Merle Miller spent more than five years compiling Johnson’s oral history. The miles he put in, literally and figuratively, are astounding. Lyndon B. Johnson was a complicated man living in the time of the greatest society. Known for his aw-shucks attitude, he started out being a good ‘ole boy who voted against antilynching and antidiscrimination laws but ended his career as an instrumental advocate for federal aid to education, the creation of Medicare, changes in voter rights, and stronger civil rights. The death of Texas Congressman James P. Buchanan was a turning point in Johnson’s political trajectory. His campaigns were memorable – arriving by helicopter when running for senator. By the end of his political career Lyndon had weathered a tumultuous era: the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the march in Selma, Alabama, the Vietnam War.
As with any oral history, the chronology jumps around a bit. Case in point: the birth of Lyndon’s first child came before the purchase of the radio station, KTBC.
Miller provides an intimate primer on the inner workings of the United States government. Probably the most fascinating section was the hour by hour, behind the scenes account of the Kennedy assassination and the transition of power to Lyndon B. Johnson. He also peeled back the curtain on Lady Bird Johnson’s life as well. Just as Lyndon was thrust into presidency, Lady Bird became the First Lady overnight. There was no time for preparation but she acclimated to her position with grace. As an aside, her note of encouragement to her husband was beautiful.

Author fact: Miller died when he was only 67 years old. My copy of Lyndon was signed by him.

Book trivia: Miller does not leave a detail unexplored. By default, readers get glimpses into the personality of President Roosevelt and a short biography of Lady Bird (Claudia)’s life leasing up to meeting her husband, to name a couple.

Music: Lena Horne, “I’ll Be with You When I’m Gone,” “Kate Smith on the South,” “God Bless America,” “San Antonio Rose,” “Dixie,” “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You,” Beethoven, “Hello, Dolly,” “The Eyes of Texas,” and “Ruffles and Flourishes.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Merle Miller: Too Good To Miss” (p 155). If Pearl wanted, she could have included Lyndon in the “Presidential Biographies” chapter as well.

Sunne in Splendour

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Penman, Sharon Kay. The Sunne in Splendour. St. Martin’s Press, 1982.

Reason read: King Richard III died in August. Read in his memory.

Fabulous. Glorious. Beautiful. Absorbing. Exceptional. Painstaking. Immersive. Captivating. These are the words critics used to describe Sunne in Splendour when it was first published. The only word I focused on the most? Painstaking. I was intimidated by all 900+ pages. I will be the first to admit that historical fiction is not my thing so I thought this would be a slog. And yet. Sunne in Splendour is a best seller. And. And! And I admit, very entertaining.
This is a time in history when boys of ten wed for political positioning. Brothers killed brothers for the throne. Beheadings were the entertainment of the hour. Backstabbing and betrayals of all kinds ruled the day. Christmas truces could be broken without warning. Penman delivers a glorious fifteenth century England that is bloody and brutal. Richard III is right smack in the middle of it; becoming king on a technicality of legitimacy.
Everything about Sunne in Splendour is detailed perfection. Everything from the food people ate, their choice of drink (spiced hippocras), where they lived and the clothes they wore.

Author fact: Penman died in 2021.

Book trivia: Sunne in Splendour contradicts the well known view of Shakespeare’s Richard III.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Digging Up the Past Through Fiction” (p 80).

Dust and Ashes

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Rybakov, Anatoli. Dust and Ashes. Translated by Antonia W. Bouis. Little Brown and Co., 1996.

Reason read: to continue the series started in May.

Like Rybakov’s last novel, Fear, in Dust and Ashes the author takes the time to catch his readers up to the saga thus far. Yuri is a member of the secret police, Vika is married and living in Paris, her brother Vadim is also an NKVD informant. Maxim is in the Red Army as a commander. Nina is a Communist while her sister, Varya, rejects Communism and remains true to her friends. Sasha has been freed from exile but he is not allowed back in Moscow or any other major Russian city. Dust and Ashes begins in 1937. When we left Sasha and Varya, their romance had cooled after Sasha learned of Varya’s previous marriage to a gambler. Sasha struggles to make ends meet in various small towns, first as a truck driver and then as a ballroom dance instructor. World War II is almost a central character alongside Sasha Pankratov and Joseph Stalin. This is the era of endless interrogations (when you would rather have chat). Promotions could mean a reshuffling of the personnel deck or a literal death sentence. It is stunning the way Rybakov can seamlessly interject facts into a fictional account of the Great Purge. Details like the assassination of Trotsky. Two battles rage in Dust and Ashes – the delicate dance of Tyrants (Hitler and Stalin) and the Battle for Romance (Sasha and Varya). Who will win? Sometimes, when the target is not persuaded, the only motivation can come from fear. Confessional: the final pages of Dust and Ashes had me holding my breath. I did not want to believe it was the end. Surely there would be another sequel, a fourth or even fifth installment to the saga. But in actuality, really what more about be said?

Something I wanted to say in the last review but forgot – Rybakov had a character drink pickle juice to combat a hangover. I have to wonder if that really works.

Quotes to quote, “…I want to remain a decent person in these vile times” (p 79). The same could be said for these terrible times. Here is another: “Gone was the joyful amazement at life, the anticipation of happiness in a world which has seemed so inviting and lovely” (p 214).

Author fact: Anatoli Rybakov’s life mirrored Sasha Pankratov’s. Rybakov lived at 51 Arbat Street and he also joined the army.

Book trivia: Antonia W. Bouis also translated Fear.

Music: Confessional: these are songs from Fear: “Rio Rita” and “Splashes of Champagne”.
Dust and Ashes music: Isabella Yurieva, Leshchenko, Ivan Kozlovsky, Maria Maksakova, Stas Mikhallov, “Droplets if Champagne”, “Weary Sun”, and Leonid Utesov’s “From the Odessa Jail”,
Banned songs: “Jail,” “the Hop,” and “Murka.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “Russian Heavies” (p 210). Pearl wasn’t kidding. Dust and Ashes was almost too heavy for my heart to lift.

Fear

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Rybakov, Anatoli. Fear. Translated by Antonina W. Bouis. Little, Brown & Company, 1992.

Reason read: to continue the series started in May.

This is the continuation of the story of the first generation to grow up under the Soviet regime. One of the things I appreciated about Fear was that Rybakov took the time to recap The Children of Arbat before launching into the story of Fear. It was nice to have a refresher on all the different characters and where we last left them: Lead character Sasha Pankratov has been exiled to Siberia for making a flippant joke in 1934 in the school newspaper. Lesser characters like Yuri went to work for the secret police and had blackmailed Vika into becoming an informant. Maxim Kostin was in the army and in love with a teacher, Nina. Lena Budyagina, daughter of a Soviet diplomat and Yuri’s on again, off again lover, had an illegal abortion and almost died. Nina and Varya are on opposite sides of the Soviet loyalty.
Fear takes place between 1935 – 1937. Again, Stalin is a prominent character in the book. Rybakov does a good job humanizing the dictator (Stalin liked flowers), and express his growing paranoia and erratic behavior: on good days Stalin would remind subordinates of orders he never gave in the first place. On bad days, he would find trivial ways to execute long-loyal subordinates. It was troublesome when to talk of Stalin’s wife’s suicide was considered counterrevolutionary slander. Stalin was out for revenge against even people who did not betray him. Good citizens scrambled to distance themselves from lifelong friends; individuals “confessed” to be criminals. The political landscape is as such that a tenth grader could be expelled for saying the wrong name on an oral report.
Embedded in the story is the spiderweb-thin thread of hope is Sasha and Varya’s love. Is it strong enough to endure insecurity, assumptions, self-doubt, and Stalin?

Confessional: I gave myself nightmares thinking too hard about how Soviet rule investigated “terrorism” cases: investigation time was shortened to ten days; there was less time to defend oneself (only 24 hours); no lawyers could be present at a trial; appeals were not allowed; sentencing began immediately. So…if you were wrongly accused of being a terrorist…I ask myself what is the point of the formality of a trial? People are just going to be found guilty of something and when you are guilty you are as good as dead.

As an aside, I very much appreciated that Rybakov took the time to recap, Children of the Arbat, the first installment of his trilogy. Now I would like a dictionary of Russian names. They are all very confusing to my untrained ear.

Author fact: Rybakov also wrote Dust and Ashes, the final book in the series.

Book trivia: Fear is the second book in the Arbat series.

Music: Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, “I Remember When I Was Still Young Then”, Vadim Kozin, Alexander Vertinsky, Nadezhda Plevitskaya.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Russian Heavies” (p 210)

1805

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Woodman, Richard. 1805. Sphere Books Limited. 1985.

Reason read: to finish the series started in February in honor of history month. 1805 is the last book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series that I am reading for the Challenge. There are many, many more books and I regret I will not be reading them. I have grown to like Nathaniel Drinkwater a great deal.

The Nathaniel Drinkwater series continues! Historically, in 1804, we are now on the verge of war. Napoleon Bonaparte is gearing up to invade England. His armies are growing bigger and stronger by the day. When we catch up to Nathaniel Drinkwater in Woodman’s 1805, he is now the captain of the HMH Antigone. His chief duty this time around is to protect the ports of the Channel coastline with the British navy.
Woodman does not waste any time bringing the excitement. 1805 opens with a dramatic scene of a fierce storm at sea. Nathaniel Drinkwater, as captain of the HMS Antigone must save the vessel while dealing with the wretched nuisance of most of his men being seasick. No wonder Drinkwater has started to talk to himself! During this time Drinkwater is charged with brining Captain Philip D’Auvergne back to his post at St. Helier as a small favor to the Channel Fleet. Meanwhile, archrival Santhonax is the in the employ of Bonaparte which makes him a stronger enemy.
As the series progresses we learn more about Nathaniel Drinkwater. This time it is revealed that Drinkwater has a brother who committed murder. Nathaniel is in debt to Lord Dungarth for hiding his brother in Russia. Readers also learn how Nathaniel deals with adversity when he is taken prisoner by the French.
Fans of the Drinkwater series will cheer to read that the character of Quilhampton, along with a few others including Roger, is back. As always, this installment of the Drinkwater series does not disappoint.

Author fact: if you ever Google Richard Woodman’s picture, he is the epitome of a seafaring captain.

Book trivia: 1805 is book number six in the Drinkwater saga. Another piece of trivia – I couldn’t find a copy of 1805 is any local library or in the ComCat system. I didn’t want to place an ILL for such a short book so I decided to read it on Internet Archive. By not reading The Corvette I missed out on Waller’s escape from hanging, thanks to Drinkwater’s clemency.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Sea Stories” (p 217).

Gone with the Wind

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Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. Pocket, 1966.

Reason read: the Civil War started in April. The war is probably the best character in the book.

Who does not know the story of Scarlett O’Hara and her life at Tara plantation? Every person over the age of forty-five must have seen the movie at some point. My husband says it was a favorite of his grandmother’s. Mine preferred the Wizard of Oz and the Sound of Music.

Gone with the Wind stands as one of the greatest American Civil War sagas from the point of view of the Confederates. Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara is the protagonist readers just love to hate (or at least be annoyed by). We first meet Scarlett as a scrappy sixteen year old teenager, manipulative and naïve. She enjoys causing other people pain and thrives on their jealousies. Even at this tender age, she is beyond selfish and spoiled. Scarlett is not beneath marrying the first boy she could, just to make the true love of her young life jealous. Of course it backfires when her beloved Ashley marries Melanie Hamilton instead.
Even after losing her teenage husband to illness during the American Civil War, Scarlett continues to live a lie. At seventeen and a new mother, she is not in mourning for poor lost Charles. He did not even die a heroic death that she could brag about! Scarlett does not swell with patriotic pride for the Confederate cause, nor is she grateful for Melanie and her family’s generosity and friendship. Instead, she hold a steadfast and unrequited love for Ashley. Enter Rhett Butler, the dashing and controversial blockade runner. Scarlett’s life gets a whole lot more complicated and emotionally confusing when he shows up. They are bound together in unconventional ways. He knows her secret. Together, they share the same sarcastic opinion of the war; one they cannot voice. They both use people (even family) for the betterment of themselves. They both do not give a damn what others say.
While I (obviously) did not care for Scarlett, Mitchell’s writing is spectacular. She was the master of stylized descriptions. Take Melanie’s brown eyes, for a simple example. Mitchell describes them as “a forest pool of water in winter when brown leaves shine up through quiet water” (p 102). A word of warning. While Mitchell has a way with words, she is also an author true to the times. Some language may not be suitable for the easily offended.

Confessional: I have never been to the deep south. I’m talking about the real south. Not Baltimore touristy Harbor or a music festival in the middle of Atlanta, Georgia. I’m talking about Spanish moss dangling from every tree, accents so thick you need subtitles, and bowls of steaming greens, ham hocks, and grits. Are the manners still so painstakingly polite and proper? Does a woman still mourn in black with a veil down to her knees?

As an aside, we were watching a show about abandoned places and Butler Island in Georgia was featured. Rhett Island is just next door. Was it any wonder that Margaret Mitchell visited the area and wrote Gone with the Wind there?

Is it any wonder Gone with the Wind has been banned or challenged a couple of times? Derogatory language, incest, downplaying the atrocities of slavery, romanticizing deep southern culture.

Playlist: “Go Down, Moses”, “Peg in a Low-backed Car”, “The Wearin’ of the Green”, “If You Want a Good Time, Jine the Calvary”, “Jacket of Gray”, “Bonny Blue Flag”, “Lorena”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, “Dixie”, “When This Cruel War is Over”, “Lament for Robert Emmet”, “When the Dew is On the Blossom”,

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Fiction” (p 57).

Right Stuff

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Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff. Picador Press, 1979.

Reason read: April is supposed to be National Astronomy month. Right Stuff is about that journey to the stars and beyond.

Having the Right Stuff was a matter to pride to military pilots in the early to mid 1950s. Having the Right Stuff implied a massive manly skillset, superhuman nerves of steel, sharp mental confidence, and never-ending physical stamina. In other words, the perfect male specimen. It helps to have a twinkle in the eye, an awe-shucks attitude, and a winning smile of pearly whites. Did the writers for the Top Gun screenplay use Wolfe’s description of a pilot’s overly cocky daredevil demeanor? I couldn’t get Tom Cruise out of my head.
The recruiters knew just what to say to recruit the perfect seven would-be space travelers. The first rocket mission was to be voluntary, but the elevator speech was that it definitely would be very dangerous. Most definitely anything dangerous appealed to the seven pilots because they were appalled to learn they wouldn’t actually be flying the rocket. The other carrot dangled before them was the opportunity to be the first seven American men in space. No red-blooded macho man wanted to miss out on being the first at anything, even if that meant being the first to urinate in a space suit once strapped into the Mercury capsule five hours before liftoff.
As each mission became more dangerous, Wolfe’s narrative became more exciting. Whether up in the capsule with John Glenn, or down on the ground with their wives Wolfe puts you in the center of the action.

Author fact: I have a total of three Wolfe books on my Challenge list.

Book trivia: I wanted photographs of the astronauts or at least the Mercury rocket. Alas, there were none to speak of.

Quote that filled me with fear, “…technological illiterates with influence” (p 54). Sound familiar? I’m not naming names, but we have a few influential people who have no idea how to harness their technology.

As an aside, Pete Conrad sounds like someone with whom I could share a beer. His sense of humor had me laughing out loud. Case in point: the blank white paper test. He was asked what do you see on this paper? It is a plain white piece of paper without a single mark. He stares at it for a minute and deadpans, “But it’s upside down.” If the psychologists were looking to brain squeegee Pete Conrad they had another thing coming.

Tomorrow some celebrity types are going up in space. They have the money and the influence and the inclination to hurtle through the stars. My mother is all agog about this and went on for nearly twenty minutes about the celebrities in the rocket.

Music: Cole Porter, “Horst Wessel Song”, “Sugar Blues”, “Moonlight in Vermont”, and “Drifting and Dreaming”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “The Moon’s My Destination” (p 157).

Banvard’s Folly

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Collins, Paul. Banvard’s Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity and Rotten Luck. Picador Press, 2001.

Reason read: something about Australia.

What happened to the once popular toasts of the town when they fell into obscurity? Paul Collins not only wanted to know, he wrote an entire book about thirteen of these people.
The first character Collins chose to focus on was John Banvard. Even Charles Dickens was impressed with John Banvard for Banvard proved to be an interesting and ambitious guy. His first claim to fame was a panoramic of the entire Mississippi River. Banvard wanted to paint the largest (longest) painting the world had ever seen so he spent two years floating down the river sketching different views as he went. A misconception that stuck was that his painting was three miles long. Banvard later went on to paint panoramas of the Palestine and Nile rivers. In addition to being an actor and artist he could decipher hieroglyphics and often gave lectures on the skill.
Next, Collins moved on to a man who forged the great works of William Shakespeare. Even when the jig was up and William Ireland confessed to the forgeries, he could not get his father or even the general public to believe him. Adding insult to injury, when the papers came around to believing the hoax they pointed the finger at Ireland’s father instead.
After that came the interesting characters of Ephraim Wales Bull and his Concord grape; George Psalmanazer’s religion, John Symmes, a man obsessed with the idea of a hollow Earth; Rene Blondlot and his N Ray machine; Francois Sudre, Alfred Beach, Robert Coates, Augustus Pleasonton, Martin Tupper, Delia Bacon (another Shakespeare nut). Thomas Dick and, my personal favorite, Richard Locke, a self taught astronomer.
In the end there is always that one person who has to disprove a notion, debunk a myth, or pull back the curtain on a mystifying event. No one can just let the mystery be. Which is why so many of these people faded into obscurity over time.

Best imagery ever: “…man-bats lived in a land of towering sapphire pyramids and were accompanied by flocks of doves…picnicking on cucumbers” (p 262). Sounds like a place where you would find Prince hanging out. Sign me up.

As an aside, I leaned a new word: crapulous.

Author fact: When I searched for information about Paul Collins I found a writer who also is a rock and roll guy. They are not one and the same.

Book trivia: Banvard’s Folly includes photographs of each individual featured in the book.

Natalie connection: Collins includes a quote from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” Natalie wrote a song honoring Whitman called “Song of Himself.”

Music: Elvis and Pink Floyd.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “People You Ought To Meet” (p 183).

Lee’s Lieutenants – Vol 3

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. Volume 3: Gettysburg to Appomattox. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1944.

Reason read: to finish the series started in January in honor of General Robert E. Lee’s birth month.

The third and final installment of Lee’s Lieutenant’s opens in June of 1863, nearly 162 years ago. The civil war is nearly over. Lee’s right-hand man, Stonewall Jackson has died. Losing Jackson was a tremendous blow for General Lee. Longstreet was his only subordinate with similar military experience. I have to wonder if Longstreet resented the comparison. Many think the loss at Gettysburg, in simplified terms, can be blamed on the absence of Stonewall Jackson. His death prevented cavalry efficiency and amplified the poor management of artillery. Ammunition was in short supply by the time they got to Gettysburg.
For what Freeman could not possibly glean from diaries and first-hand accounts, he speculated and said “this is surely how it happened.” But speaking of the letters and diaries, the missives varied in intimacy. Some soldiers when they wrote home did not want their loved ones to worry about them so they kept details vague. Others were extremely honest about their harrowing experiences in battle.

Confessional: It is hard to understand the philosophy of war. In the midst of ferocious battles an army can take time out from all the fighting to showcase their abilities to a grandstand of feminine spectators. There were other shenanigans like bringing a mule into the grand cavalcade. It is a well known fact that during World War II on Christmas day, soldiers took a break from battle to play football with the enemy. It was back to business the very next day.
How about the advancements in communication? Can you imagine a soldier these days passing a note to a superior? There were barely any accurate maps, no GPS so it is no wonder that many soldiers lost their way and bumbled into enemy territory.

Quote I had to quote, “the stench of battle was in the air” (p 155). How is it that I believe I know what that smells like? Impossible.

Book trivia: As I mentioned earlier, this is the last installment of the Lee’s Lieutenant series.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58).

Truman

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McCullough, David. Truman. Simon and Schuster, 1992.

Reason read: on honor of Presidents Day, celebrated the third week of February.

Because Truman’s life is well-documented around the time of his presidency, it is no surprise that McCullough’s biography thinly covers Truman’s childhood and coming-of-age stage of life. The bulk of the biography centers around Truman’s careers; starting with his early venture as a clothing store owner, an eastern judge, a senator, and of course, finally, president of the United States. Having said that, I appreciate biographies that peel back layers of a person’s lifestyle and personality, for better or worse. To know that Truman harbored bigoted thoughts and beliefs was startling but logical, considering the time of his upbringing. Even though he thought of himself as a good-for-nothing American farmer, he also believed he would amount to something great one day. Indeed, he would go from being a businessman with a failing men’s clothing store to earning a seat as an eastern judge and then state senator before becoming president. Not bad for a good ole boy.
As a president, Truman faced enormous difficulties, trials, and tribulations. Only seventy-seven years ago, this sitting president had to endorse anti-lynching legislation (essentially anti-murder legislation, if we are being honest). We can’t forget his decision to definitively end World War II, how he handled Palestine, the threat of communism, and our nation’s involvement in Korea. Not to mention he survived a pretty serious assassination attempt.
McCullough’s coverage of the second campaign, where Dewey was the well-known favorite, was riveting and read like a thriller. Also, it should be noted that McCullough wrote with astounding detail. I could picture Stalin drawing the heads of wolves with a red pencil while talking with Secretary Marshall, trying to save Western Europe.

As an aside, I found myself bonding with Truman just a little. We both studied piano (although while he kept with it, I gave up too early). Truman was an avid letter writer with the desperation to have someone write him back. Me too. Additionally, “he didn’t like the telephone under any circumstances” (p 81). Me neither! Even today, I find some commonality: he read Douglas Southall Freeman. I am currently reading Douglas Southall Freeman; a different book, but same author. Truman also studied the relationship between my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, and General George B. McClellan. Truman wanted to know more about the Lincoln-McClellan crisis to inform his decisions about McArthur.

As another aside, I think it would have been fun to have known Cactus John Garner for his snarky view of the role of vice presidents.

Monhegan Six Degrees – in 1948 a painting by Andrew Wyeth called Christina’s World was all the rage (and made a mention in Truman). Andrew was Jamie’s father and Jamie is my neighbor.

Author fact: I am reading a total of five books by McCullough. Besides Truman I have only John Adams left on the Challenge list. I finished Johnstown Flood, Mornings on Horseback and Path Between the Seas.

Book trivia: There is a good selection of black and white photographs included.

Music: Andy Kirk’s “Clouds of Joy”, Bach, Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Benny Goodman, “Cieto Lindo”, Chopin’s Funeral March, Bennie Moten Orchestra, Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven, “One O’clock Jump”, Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate”, “Dixie”, “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think”, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”, “Faith of Our Fathers”, Fanny Bloomfield Zeisler, Felicien David’s “La Perle du Bresil”, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”, “Goodbye to Broadway, Hello France”, “Hail to the Chief”, “Happy Days are Here Again”, Hot Lips Page, “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”, “It’s a Most Unusual Day”, “I’m Just Wild about Harry”, Jerome Kern’s “They’ll Never Believe Me”, Josef Lhevinne, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, Julia Lee, “Last Rose of Summer”, Lena Horne, Lionel Hampton, Liszt, Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words”, “Mother Machree”, Mozart’s Ninth Sonata, “My Old Kentucky Home”, the Nighthawks, Opus 111, “Over There, Over There Send the Word”, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, Paderewski’s Minuet in G, Pee Wee Hunt’s version of “12th Street Rag”, Polka Brillante, Scarlatti’s Pastorale and Capriccio, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, “Tipperary”, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Von Weber Rondo Brillante amd Polacca Brillante, Weber and Grieg, “Woodland Sketches”, Walter Page’s “Blue Devils”, and “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Presidential Biographies” (p 192). Also from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Midcentury: from World War II to Vietnam” (p 167).

Lee’s Lieutenants: Volume 2

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. Volume Two: Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1946.

Reason read: to continue the series started in January in honor of Lee’s birth month.

Whenever I read Douglas Southall Freeman’s books my senses come alive. In my mind’s eye, I can see the battlefields and the courage of young soldiers. I can hear the cannons volleying across enemy lines; the men yelling their battle cries. I can smell gunpowder, blood and mud. The campaigns from Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville took place between 1862 and 1863. I can feel the pounding of the horse artillery’s hooves. I swear I can taste the victories and losses as Freeman describes every detail. Like Freeman’s first volume, Manassas to Mulvern Hill, Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville is a minute by minute, battle by battle recounting of the Civil War. Every detail is well researched and described; using military papers, scrapbooks, memoirs, letters and official correspondence, court martial orders, and diaries and journals. A great deal of the narrative relies on Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson’s journals and official papers. As an aside, one of the most difficult passages to read was the death of “Stonewall” Jackson after his amputation. He had just become a new father and was well respected by his troops. his death was a blow to Robert E. Lee’s armies.
As another aside, Can you imagine being saved from a sure death by a hardened biscuit, baked without salt or fat, that caught and stopped a bullet meant for your heart?

Author fact: I just discovered that Freeman was born in 1886. The end of the Civil War was not that long before his birth. I imagine he heard a great deal about the conflict growing up.

Book trivia: As with volume one, Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville has great black and white portraits of some of the soldiers.

Music: “Old Joe Hooker”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58).

Coal

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Freese, Barbara. Coal: a Human History. Perseus Publishing, 2003.
Freese, Barbara: Coal: a Human History. Narrated by Shelly Frasier. Tantor Media, Inc., 2005.

Reason read: February is Science Month.

From soup to nuts, this is the history of coal at breakneck speed (with some global warming/climate change lectures thrown in for good measure).
I will be one hundred percent honest. Before Freese’s book I had never really given thought to coal. It is an interesting topic. Every Christmas there is the joke about coal in the stocking and once in a while a coal mine collapse will make the news. I did know that it has always been a dirty fuel responsible for massive pollution in cities across the world like London and Pittsburgh. However, I don’t know anyone who burns coal for heat or locomotion. I don’t think I even know what a coal stove looks like.
After reading Coal readers will know there are different types of coal and their uses will vary. Historically, coal was used for making jewelry and as currency, in addition to being a heat and energy source. Once the dangers of mining coal were fully realized, companies put animals, children, and immigrant laborers to work in the mines. The illnesses and deaths resulting from working with coal were difficult to read. Despite being less than 300 pages, Freese reserves a good section of Coal for explaining the environmental repercussions of using coal. The statistics are staggering and eye opening.

Author fact: at the time of Coal’s publication, Freese was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Minnesota. As an aside, I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when Freese sat her husband down and said, “I think I want to write a book about coal.”

Book trivia: there are a few black and white photographs in Coal: a Human History.

Narrator trivia: Shelly Frasier sounds like a little like Dolly Parton. I have no idea why.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the simple chapter called “Science 101” (p 195).

Eye of the Fleet

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Woodman, Richard. An Eye of the Fleet. Pinnacle Books, 1981.

Reason read: February is History Month.

Woodman draws from actual events to bring the action in An Eye of the Fleet to life. His detailed descriptions of the various sailing vessels is extraordinary. Readers cannot say they do not know what a frigate looks like after reading An Eye of the Fleet. Beyond boats, readers will build an extensive lexicon of nautical terminology by the end of the book. Phrases like carrying canvas and yardarms blocks will become common knowledge. If you have ever wondered what a battle at sea sounded, looked, or even smelled like, Eye of the Fleet will take you there hook line and sinker.
Beyond a nautical education readers will meet Midshipman Nathaniel Drinkwater as he begins his nautical career aboard the HMS Cyclops. It is a thrilling coming of age of sorts as young Drinkwater helps his crewmates capture other vessels and battle privateers with cannons, pistols and hand to hand combat. The skirmishes are bloody and deadly but so is life aboard the HMS Cyclops. Drinkwater has to navigate relationships with his fellow sailors as well. One particular run-in with a bully forces Drinkwater to fight back with intensity. This antagonist adds tension beyond the battles at sea.
Gradually, Drinkwater comes into his own as a leader and a romantic. An Eye of the Fleet ends with Nathaniel dreaming of a young woman back in England.

Author fact: I think this goes without saying judging by the detailed descriptions of the boats in An Eye of the Fleet, but Mr. Woodman has sailing experience in all kinds of ships. He was a member of the Society for Nautical Research.

Book trivia: An Eye of the Fleet is the first book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater Midshipman Series.
Second book trivia: my (borrowed) copy of An Eye of the Fleet was signed by Mr. Woodman.

As an aside, I couldn’t ignore the Natalie connection to An Eye of the Fleet. Natalie released an album called Leave Your Sleep. It featured a song called “Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience” originally written by Charles Causley as a poem for children. Woodman’s description of battle-scarred boats reminded me of Natalie singing, “and the flash and rigging were shot away…”

BookLust: from Book Lust in the simple chapter called “Sea Stories” (p 217).