Reviews (10)

Intellectual History at its Best
If anyone wants to know what life was like in the literary world in the second half of the twentieth century, this is the book to read.It makes the intellectual struggles of those years come vividly alive for readers._In Plato's Cave strikes me and several of my friends, English Professors all, as the best book we have ever read about our profession.

In The Cave of Plato
This was an excellent book. This is one of the only books that someone should read to learn something. This book teaches about how the world can and sometimes will react. Through a livid writing process, Kernan describes his amazing career. This is probably the last great book of the 20th Century.

The Mote in the Middle Distance
Oh, come now, DC from California, don't be a curmudgeon. Anyone who dislikes students, critics, and the 1960s can't be all bad. Although I must admit that any writer so hackneyed as to title a moderately interestingmemoir "In Plato's Cave" tends to put one off one's feed ratherearly on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient and Classical    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Educators    4. Essays    5. Literary Collections    6. Literature: Classics    7. Biography & Autobiography / Educators    8. Biography   

Reviews (3)

When There Was an "Eastern Establishment"
This is a very interesting, but quite long, book which focuses upon Kingman Brewster and other members of the so-called "liberal establishment" that shaped national policy during the 1945 through 1970's period.In addition to Brewster, long-time Yale president, the author discusses the Bundy brothers, Cyrus Vance, Elliot Richardson, Bishop Paul Moore, John Lindsay, William Sloan Coffin, and even William F. Buckley.While most attention is devoted to Brewster's tenure as Yale's president, including the infamous Black Panther trial and May Day riot that did not occur, I found the discussions of the Vietnam war and McGeorge Bundy's period as head of the Ford Foundation extremely interesting.In some ways, the method of analysis is similar to "The Wise Men," who also, incidentally, make appearances in the book (especially Dean Acheson). Accordingly to Buckley and other critics, the "Establishment" consisted of old-line WASP families, of a liberal political orientation, usually well to do, with superior secondary private educations gathered at places such as Groton and St. Paul's, and then onto Yale or Harvard undergraduate, and then usually Harvard Law School or Harvard administration (such as McGeorge Bundy).This led to appointments in the State Department, Justice, some cabinet designations, and involvement in various presidential staffs, particularly JFK and LBJ. In short, a network of individuals, exerting tremendous influence on government policy, who knew each other over long periods of time and who could promote the careers of their fellows.This group also constituted the liberal-centrist wing of the Republican Party (yes, Virginia, there once was a progressive wing of the GOP), that was gradually displaced from leadership as the party headed toward the radical right. The author's research is truly monumental, consisting of archives and, particularly, dozens of Oral History interviews gathered by various collections. One does wonder, though,whether the so-called "establishment" ever exerted as much influence and power as the author suggests--what is clear is that no similar group exercises much influence in the era of Reagan and the Bushes.

Important Book About an Important American
Although he is almost forgotten today, Kingman Brewster who was the president of Yale from 1963-1977 was in fact an important figure in recent American history. One reason for this was the fact that he ran Yale in such a way that the university almost completely escaped the tumult that wracked other campuses during the Vietnam War. Another reason is that he revamped the admissons policy at yale so that poorly achieving students at prep academies such as Andover could not get in Yale over high achieving public school graduates. This is an amazing book
Many of us who came of age in the 1980s and '90s forget that America used to be a much more liberal place, and that there was a time in recent history when Republicans aligned themselves with issues like civil rights, meritocracy, affirmative action, and the problems of the inner city. We forget -- or never realized -- that in the '60s and '70s there existed a significant faction within the Republican party known as "the liberal establishment." These were men who, on the one hand, undeniably represented the Establishment: "old wealth" Yalies and Harvardites who had attended the best prep schools and summered on Martha's Vineyard; advisors to presidents, board members of the biggest corporations, leaders at the helm of the nation's academic, philanthropic, and religious institutions. On the other hand, they were extremely progressive, regarded as "traitors to their class" for pushing forward policies that were considered radical at the time. THE GUARDIANS recalls an era when Republicans were not all in thrall to populism and the agenda of the religious right, when they were just as likely to be seekers of peace in foreign affairs as rabid hawks. There's a quote from Elliot Richardson in this book that's an eye-opener: "Most people don't really get the fact that the Nixon administration was to the left of the Clinton administration. Even the Eisenhower administration was to the left of the Clinton administration." Read more

Subjects:  1. 1919-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Brewster, Kingman,    8. College presidents    9. Connecticut    10. Educators    11. Historical - General    12. History    13. Liberalism    14. New Haven    15. Political    16. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    17. Presidents    18. United States    19. United States - 20th Century    20. Yale University    21. History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (14)

A Shameful Bit of History
I picked this book up after reading Arvin's classic bio of Herman Melville (which is itself worth checking out).Werth's treatment of the tale is reminiscent of the genre of non fiction I like to call "The Expanded New Yorker Article".That's fine, I love the New Yorker, but the weakness endemic to the genre is the feeling that 150 pages would suffice (and you're reading a three hundred page book).Regardless, I read the whole book and don't regret it.
To be an intellectual in America
Newton Arvin was a distinguished literary critic, scholar, and college professor whose influence on the early days of American literary studies is still felt today. In 1960, as the age of McCarthy's witch-hunt mentality drew to a close, Arvin and his friends were targets of a police raid, where relatively mild homoerotic materials were seized. The men were arrested and accused of having a "smut ring", leading to their felony convictions, as well as the loss of their jobs and the shame of being revealed as homosexual in 1960. Werth's biography is not only about Arvin's personal and literary life, but is also about America at this time, the puritanical crusades it supported, but which proved their own undoing. Werth's writing is a bit dull during the first half, but as it progresses, and Werth explores Arvin's life in relation to his friends (including his once-lover Truman Capote) and to the world, it becomes a fascinating story of a man who fell from grace, but who didn't let it destroy him. Not only is this a compelling sliver of gay history, but it also showcases the lives of intellectuals in a country where intelligence is progessively devalued.

Engrossing true story of professor embroiled in sex scandal
Read THE SCARLET PROFESSOR, an engrossing true storyRead more

Subjects:  1. American literature    2. Biographers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Educators    8. English teachers    9. General    10. History and criticism    11. Literary    12. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    13. Theory, etc    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (4)

Different than I expected

Enthralling and heartwrenching
Abildskov perfectly portrays the heartbreak of loving more than one can be loved. In liquid prose, she both startles and cajols, rendering a painfully honest tale of heartbreak. I read this beautiful book in a single sitting.

Savor every word
This is a lovely work about a women's journey to find what love might mean- and no way is it trite.Ms. Abildskov is placed in a foreign country with new stimulations, finding for herself that love can show itself in a variety of forms and yet hasn't she maybe felt love before without recognizing its subtle ways? I hated to have this story end. I held myself back reading- trying to let each moment penetrate my feelings as they might have Ms. Abildskov.Her descriptions are as beautiful as they are heavy, letting me visualize and feel the weight of her emotions.
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Subjects:  1. 1961-    2. Abildskov, Marilyn,    3. Americans    4. Asia - Japan    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Description and travel    7. Educators    8. Essays    9. Essays & Travelogues    10. History    11. History - General History    12. History: World    13. Japan    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Travel    16. Travel / General    17. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Educators    5. Leadership    6. Management - General   

Reviews (4)

John Birch stood up for Christ and the gospel!
It was amazing to read this testimony of a Christian. I can only agree with so many of John Birch's convictions and views whether it is his stand against liberalism in American colleges and against communism abroad. If the message of John Birch had reached all of America in time, China would be a different nation today. There was a chance back then to defeat Chinese communism. It did not happen and look what a tyranny China is today. Most of all I like that John Birch stood squarely for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the inerrancy of the Bible, for salvation by grace through faith, for soulwinning, for world missions. He must have had some strong dispensational, premillenial views. This book encouraged me greatly and I do recommend it esp. to college and high school students as well as those interested in Bible-believing mission work.

A thrilling biography of one of the greatest Americans.
I found it difficult to put this book down before had I finished it, and I can't say that about many books that I have read. Fascinating story of Christian conscience!
Forget about the society that bears his name and read the Real Story of an unusual Christian hero.John Birch, soul-winner, soldier and patriot is a man you would do well to read about, and Hefly-- a foremost Christianbiographer-- does a great job presenting his story and the decisions of hisconscience in the light of God's Word.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1918-1945    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography / Religious    4. Birch, John,    5. China    6. Christianity - Christian Life - General    7. Educators    8. General    9. Historical - General    10. Missionaries    11. Religion    12. Religion - Church History    13. Secret service    14. Spies    15. United States    16. World War, 1939-1945    17. 1937-1945    18. Biography & Autobiography / Educators    19. Christian life & practice    20. History    21. Religion & Beliefs   

Subjects:  1. 1957-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Children of schizophrenics    7. College teachers    8. Educators    9. General    10. Mothers and daughters    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Singer, Natalia Rachel,    13. United States   

Reviews (5)

Worth your time...
Whether you admire, dislike or have barely heard of Booker T. Washington, he remains an important figure in American history and one, I dare say, many of us should know more about. Carroll has put together a very thoughtful and varied collection of work about him which is also the proverbial "good read."

Uncle Tom or New Negro
UNCLE TOM OR NEW NEGRO: African Americans Reflect On Booker T. Washington and Up From Slavery 100 Years Later, edited by Rebecca Carroll takes a look back at Booker T. Washington. It was a blend of those who feel that Booker T. Washington was the man with the right ideas regarding race relations in America and those who feel that he let African Americans down in his haste to placate the white majority of the time. His defenders stressed that he worked behind the scenes to push for civil rights and those who were not so enamored of him felt his contributions were lacking in that he stressed hard work for African Americans without pushing for equality as well. Some of the contributing writers were Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Ronald Walters, Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Debra Dickerson. Each presented arguments for their position regarding Booker T. Washington. Also included was the entire text of Mr. Washington's memoir, Up From Slavery, which was extremely helpful in digesting the arguments of the various commentators.
sweet read
Carroll provides a thoughtful and incisive meditation on race, history and culture--a collage of perspectives that elaborates and enriches the discourse on race. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Blacks In The U.S.    5. Educators    6. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    7. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - Histor    8. People of Color    9. Race And Ethnic Relations    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / People of Color   

Editorial Review

It's a rare pleasure when a new author shows not only notable talent, but the skill and chutzpah to go where no one else has gone before. Daniel Robb takes a subject that many have considered but few understood--juvenile delinquents--and writes about it with rare insight. For a year and a half, Robb was a teacher on Penikese Island, off Cape Cod, where teenage boys are sent by the courts and social services to put six months between themselves and their chaotic daily lives. During this time they experience safety, a routine, hard work, and the decency and constancy of adults better adjusted than the ones they've known. The place is less a school, Robb writes, than "a family, or a way of life, a rhythm, a discipline, a music, with many voices of boys competing with my own for ownership of the tale." The boys have varied résumés: Mose shot a man who threatened him one night; Edward torched a boat for money; Alan is the king of substance abuse; Burt's parents have both been in jail since he was 7. But Robb finds that they all have a number of things in common--childhoods fraught with so many uncertainties that they never learned cause and effect, the lack of a father's guidance--the same things, it turn out, that plague Robb's own heart.Read more

Reviews (17)

Abrilliant literary journey as well as a coming of age novel
As I read this wonderful book by Robb, I mused that I wish I had been able to teach it at the University where I taught Young Adult literature teachers of young adults.So much of the YA literature offers "insider" stories, but never seems to give the idea that there is a way out, often leaving readers feeling hopeless and helpless in our modern world.This remarkable book offers us a true glimpse into a modern young person's problematic life, and yet shows us that there are always choices, always people like Dan to offer a better way.
Couldn't get into it
As my title states, I just couldn't get into this book, even though I work with kids. I didn't finish it. I thought it was sad that the school's success rate with the kids wasn't much better than the prison system's success rate. It seemed that the school administration was proud of the fact that they didn't have any professional counselling for the kids, and I'm not so sure that's something to be proud of.

Intesecting Worlds
Dan Robb's memoir criss-crosses the worlds of the Pennikese bad boys--his students; of his own memories of a sometimes tempest-tossed adolescence; of his adult role of teacher in uncharted territory; and of an island--sere and beautiful, immutably changing with the seasons and with the boys who come and go--a place isolated yet self-contained, severe and yet secure,once "home" to lepers, now a prison-home for boys perched on the brink of social leprosy.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. General    6. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    7. Biography & Autobiography / Educators    8. Biography: general    9. Education   

Reviews (6)

Interesting if overly academic book
As a Bloomington resident and a long-time admirer of Kinsey's work, I decided it was time to learn more about the man beyond what the Liam Neeson film taught me. What I found in Gathorne-Hardy's bio was a solid portrait of a man who opened the world's eyes to sexuality. The book is well-researched and interesting, but at times it can get bogged down with a bit too much analysis of Kinsey's motives and correspondence, especially as it pertains to his own sexuality.
As uncritical of Kinsey as the Jones book is critical
I chose to read this book because I wanted a balanced account of Kinsey's life and science, unfortunately, this book does not satisfy the requirement.Where the Jones book turns Kinsey into a demon, Gathorne-Hardy seems to want to turn him into a god.Gathorne-Hardy has a well researched account of Kinsey's life and activities, however he constantly tries to justify Kinsey's methods and continually comments on how no one has been able to do better sex research since, a patently untrue and scientifically unsupported statement.It would be difficult to cover both the biographical research on Kinsey and do an indepth study of current sex research, and I don't believe that Gathorne-Hardy even tried to do much research into current sex literature, that is why it is irritating when he tries to justify most of Kinsey's ideas.Overall, if you want a book that details the activities of Kinsey's life, this is an acceptable book, but if you are interested in his science, it is woefully lacking.

Kinsey's Life & Work Expertly and Thoroughly Summarized
This book is so professionally researched, well documented and written with flowing, easy to follow prose, that it almost over-shadows the subject matter which is, of course,the fascinating life and work of Alfred C. Kinsey, and culminating with his most absorbing research work of all: the sexual habits of primarily, the American public.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. Human Sexuality    6. Scientists - General   

Reviews (3)

No More Fear
This book is one that will continue to be my favorite.It is filled with wonderful imagery and a sense of being a part of the story.Personally, I have become closer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ after reading Pastor Physa's book.I recommend this book to all non-believers and believers.This book is a wonderful depiction of God's sovereign mercy and grace.Thank you Pastor Physa for sharing your life.May God bless you with everlasting joy.

You won't be able to put this one down!
"No More Fear" offers a first-hand account of what happened early in Cambodia during Pol Pot's murderous regime.Physa's story is so gripping that I found it impossible to put the book down.The author doesa good job of conveying the message of hope, faith and trust in God in thisbook.

This book is educational, inspirational, and a good story!
This book was interesting, inspiring and at times horrifying!I was given a peek into the quiet almost bucolic lifestyle of a small village in Laos. Village customs, religious practices, childhood antics were all related ina simple and smooth style.Then the reader experiences the abruptdestruction of this life when the Khmer Forces forced them from theirvillage and farms, separating children from their families, killing,putting people to hard labor.The brutality of this time is describedwithout hype or sensationalism; instead allowing the power of those eventsto stand starkly in the reader's mind.But the last portion of the bookbrings yet another strand;the element of hope.As Physsa relates hisstruggles as a refugee, the reader cannot help but see the work of God inthis young man's life.It is a remarkable story about a remarkable person. But mostly it is a story of hope and redemption. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Educators    6. Ethnic Cultures - General    7. Missions & Missionary Work    8. Religion / Christianity    9. Social Science / Emigration & Immigration    10. Cambodians    11. Chanmany, Physa    12. Christianity    13. Converts    14. Emigration & Immigration    15. Refugees    16. United States   

Reviews (2)

"ELITE" STANFORD PROFESSOR INTERNED WITH THE REST
Detailed and exhaustive book by/about Ichihashi who came to the US from Japan in 1984 at the age of 16 to study.He graduated from Stanford, got a Ph.D. from Harvard, became a professor at Stanford.He and his wife and son "relocated" to Santa Anita and then Tule Lake and thenGranada (Amache) during WWII.He became embittered and an elitist duringthe war years, which is told in a very dramatic albiet exhaustive fashionin the book via his letters.Following relocation he and his wife returnedto a very different Stanford University and environs, which he found verydifficult to cope with.Very enjoyable book, personal as well ashistorical.

Vital contribution to Asian American and internment history
Though long and at times cumbersome to read, this is a valuable addition to the literature in Asian American and World War II internment history. Yamato Ichihashi is an all but forgotten figure who has left a writtenrecord of his internment experience as he lived it, making this book a rareand important piece that all students of the internment should read. At thesame time, this book belongs to the body of literature in Asian Americansocial history. Who knew that in the early 1900s, Stanford University had aJapanese American professor among its faculty? What kind of life did helead considering his anomalous position as an academic compared to otherJapanese in America and the intense anti-Asian atmosphere of those times inthe West? How does knowledge of this man's life enrich our understanding ofAsian American history and American history at large? All of thosequestions are satisfyingly answered. Ichihashi's writings take center stagein the book, but Chang provides lucidly written annotations and abibliographic essay that make the volume quite readable and enjoyable.Chang allows Ichihashi's words to speak for themselves which allows thereader to get a very vivid picture of life in the internment camps. Inaddition, reading his thoughts about his circumstances as an academic, aprofessor at Stanford, and an internee offer rare and revealing insights. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Educators    3. Ethnic Cultures - General    4. Historical - U.S.    5. History    6. History: American    7. United States - General    8. American history: Second World War    9. Biography: general    10. Prisoners of war    11. Second World War, 1939-1945    12. USA   

Reviews (5)

Thank you for telling your story ...
As a former student of the author, it's a treat to turn the tables and 'grade' him. I read this book over a year ago; and I am just getting around to leaving my review. (Maybe for fear that it would be critiqued!) It's a very interesting situation to be in when you're reading a book that is written by someone you know; couple that with the fact that it is a personal memoir of his life experience. It is a fascinating read, though sometimes disturbing in content. But it is a poignant look into a father/son relationship that was, to say the least, not healthy.But it also reaffirms that strong connection a son has to his father. I thank Dr. Wertime for making his story public and applaud his candor.Grade 'A' ...

The eveil that men do
I knew and worked with this bizarre and at times scarey man.It would be impossible for one man, even his son, to know everything about him, how dark, sometimes insane, his obscure habits and character were.Not a plreasant read; not a pleasant subject.But fully worthy of exposure.Unfortunately not a unique type of government "servant."

Daddy Dearest . . .
Life with Father.Life with Weird Father.A compelling tale of twisted love and affection, minimg all the psychological currents that enter into one's relationship with one's father.This tale is like a car wreck on the highway -- you're repulsed but simultaneously fascinated by what you see.However bizarre Wertime's Dad was -- a twisted genius -- there is at the end something poignant and touching about his relationship.A worthy read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Educators    6. English teachers    7. Fathers and sons    8. General    9. Intelligence officers    10. Personal Memoirs    11. United States    12. United States - State & Local - General    13. Wertime, Richard    14. Wertime, Theodore A    15. Family & Relationships / Family Relationships   

Reviews (5)

Finding Her Place
Against A White Sky is Laurie Stapleton's account of her difficulties fitting into the public school system as a gay person trying (though not wanting) to remain in the closet.The three years covered in this book, her year in a Central California university teaching credential program and her first two years as a high school English teacher and coach in a small, agricultural town, show Stapleton attempting to keep a secret that seems to seep out of her pores.As a lesbian with some characteristics society deems "masculine," she endures stares ("Is that a he or a she"), name-calling by community members and students, and even an attempt to strip her of her job - a job she does well - because of "suspicions" about her sexual preference.Stapleton is also frank about some of the little discomforts, most notably the fit and look of "feminized" outfits for someone with her height and frame, the utter silliness of having to pretend to be looking for an attractive man while out on the town with a friend who doesn't know she's gay, and the effort it takes to remember the made-up guy's name she came up with for her female lover.
Learning Experience
This book should be required reading for anyone entering the teaching profession. Not only will it facilitate an understanding of curriculum, teaching processes, and biases, but it will open our eyes {and hearts} a little bit wider to how we can, and should reach students. This book will also, hopefully, help us all to see how we accept ourselves and present our authentic selves, is more important than how others view us. It is a total learning experience along with the author.

Real Teaching
This book gave me a sense of shared intimacy.It seems that Laurie Stapleton; the fun, intelligent, engaging teacher, could easily be a separate person from Laurie Stapleton; the witty, deep-thinking, and sometimes tormented lesbian.The beauty is that the two combined are important components of the whole, special human being, and as I watched her learn self-respect and self-acceptance, I saw her grow wise before my eyes.Against The White Sky stimulates perspective and empathy, and it offers true inspiration for not only teachers, but for students, as well.It kindles hope for not only gays and lesbians, but for women, minorities, and every educator who faces the intrinsic challenges of the profession.I wish the author continued strength and courage. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. Lesbian Studies    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Specific Groups - Lesbians   

Reviews (1)

Touching and evocative first-person account for mourners
I picked this off a bookstore shelf a couple of weeks ago, and I'm VERY glad I did."When Things Get Back to Normal" is a small-sized paperback, consisting of the journal the author kept for a year following her husband's unexpected death.It's not a book *about* death and grieving; it's a book (a striking, beautiful, gut-level one) that expresses how one person was *hit* by it, and how things looked through her eyes as she came to grips with what happened and eventually began to pick up her life again.Read more

Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Biography    3. Death, Grief, Bereavement    4. Deuil    5. Educators    6. Family & Relationships    7. Family/Marriage    8. Feminism & Feminist Theory    9. Lawyers & Judges    10. Newfoundland    11. Nonfiction    12. Nonfiction - General    13. Widows    14. Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement   

Subjects:  1. Educators    2. Inspirational - General    3. Judaism And Christianity    4. Religion    5. Religion - Inspirational/Spirituality    6. Spirituality - General    7. Biography & Autobiography / Educators   

Reviews (4)

"I celebrate myself"
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the young Forrest McDonald for demolishing the once popular, but basically unresearched, notions of Charles Beard in McDonald's We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution (1958). (In Recovering the Past, we learn that McDonald's monumental research for that book was, in part, made possible by his capacity for living simply and sleeping hardly at all.)
The state of history as a disapline over the 20th century
Recovering the Past.It's a great title, isn't it?And who better to speak about such than an accomplished historian...."[W]hen we think historically," Forrest MacDonald writes, "we try to understand past events and circumstances as the participants did."Unfortunately, all others in his field are not similarly inclined.The problem lies with subjectivism-relativism-presentism; the idea that some within each generation simply have (to paraphase the author) the right to perceive the past in accordance with the changing preoccupations of changing times.We see this now in the news all the time.As elites become more secular, for instance, the past is increasingly re-interpreted within a framework that is hostile to religious beliefs.But what of the facts? What of the spiritual groundings of America's Founding Fathers? What of the fact that America was populated by those seeking religious freedom?Such "details" don't concern New Left "historians."Such are not historians at all, actually; but agenda promoters who seek to "arrange the facts of history as to influence the present or future in the direction that [they] consider socially desirable."Hence we have historians (the likes of Mr. MacDonald, David McCullough, Richard Pipes---who also has a memoir out, incidentally) and we have anti-capitalist substantiators (think Eric Hobsbawn, Charles Beard, Howard Zinn, et al.).Some of these, of course, are less anti-capitalist than just economically illiterate; seeing in their "utterly unsophisticated conception of economic activity...the exploitation by the wealthy of the poor, laborers, farmers, and small businesmen"; rather than "entrepreneurship, ingenuity, luck and hard work" as the creators of wealth.It's ironic, isn't it, that so many of such folks who see exploitation as the driving force of economics are usually those most removed from the business world and/or have the least entrepreneural instincts themselves. (Successful European-born business folks such as George Soros et al. are in another category all together.)McDonald quotes Thomas Jefferson: "Those who labor in the earth are God's chosen people."The only inconsistancy is that Jefferson never worked land himself.How McDonald got the commission to write Jefferson's story in The University of Kansas' Presidential Histories series is instructive herein: He got it because all university Jefferson scholars, being Jeffersonians, "did not wish to touch the presidency because Jefferson was by no means a Jeffersonian president."So much for intellectual honesty.Such experiences of Professor McDonald make up much of the second half of this memoir; the first half being devoted to how he came to realize the above points---that all historians are not equel to the title.It's a short read (166 main pages), particularly the latter half.My only complaint is that I wish he would have carried forth his far more densely argued first half of this memoir to a greater level, as opposed to getting rather chatty later on.Hence my rating as indicated above. (P.S. Forrest McDonald appeared on C-SPAN's "In depth" show; a 3 hour give-and-take discussion on his career/scholarship in 2004.It's available (& free) for watching on your computer, I believe.Explore BOOKTV.ORG for it.) (05Mar) Cheers!

Recovering the Past
Recovering the Past, a historian's memoir
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Education    5. Educators    6. Historians    7. Historiography    8. History    9. McDonald, Forrest    10. United States    11. Biography: general    12. USA   

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• Audiobook
• Unabridged

Subjects:  1. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    2. Audiobooks    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Blind-deaf women    7. Educators    8. Handicapped    9. Specific Groups - Special Needs    10. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    11. United States    12. United States - 19th Century    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Biography & Autobiography/Personal Memoirs    16. Biography & Autobiography/Women    17. Chronological Period/1851-1899    18. Chronological Period/20th Century    19. Social Science/Handicapped    20. Topical/Physically Challenged    21. Unabridged Audio / Autobiography/Biography   

Reviews (14)

Excellent!!
Thad hits the nail on the head!Having grown up in Melbourne Beach during the time period described I feel qualified to speak on the authenticity of the scene depicted: perfect, took me back in time!Anyone who grew up in the space coast area during the 70's will be able to identify some of the characters described.This is an execellent book for the non-surfer as well as the surfer.This book w