Here are my last notes on my 2014 reading.
The Lost State of Franklin, Kevin T. Barksdale. University Press of Kentucky, 2009.
I liked this, but it was clearly a doctoral dissertation and if you're not from Western North Carolina or Tennessee, you might struggle. There were a few moments I had no clue what exactly was going on. Nonetheless, this was an interesting piece on how what is now Eastern Tennessee attempted to become the state of Franklin in the 1780s. It was an act of secession against North Carolina--the counties that worked for statehood were in lands ceded to the Continental Congress (then under the Articles of Confederation), then reclaimed by North Carolina. John Sevier, the first and only governor of Franklin, was ultimately arrested for treason. He went on, however, to be Tennessee's first governor.
The Last Battle of the Civil War: United States v. Lee, 1861-1883, Anthony Gaughan. Louisiana State University Press, 2011.
This book got a bit redundant at times, but it was very enjoyable. The history of Arlington and Robert E. Lee remain strong instances (when I did my Washington Semester in 2004, I worked for the National Park Service at Arlington). This looks first at the Union occupation of Arlington in 1861, followed by the government's seizure of the property in 1864, and the protracted court battles in the 1870s and 1880s, until Congress finally paid Lee's eldest son for the land and house. There was no question that the government's refusal of the Lee family's payment (through Mary Custis Lee's cousin) was illegal, and there were legal problems with the tax itself. The government tried to argue that Lee had no power to sue. Had Lee lost the case, the country would still be reeling from the effect on due process.
Destiny of the Republic, Candice Millard. Knopf, 2012.
I loved this. I knew very little about James Garfield, but he was a brilliant man, potentially a great president after distinguishing himself over seventeen years in the House of Representatives. He was shot by a disturbed, unsuccessful office seeker in July 1881, only months into his presidency. It wasn't the bullet that killed him however, it was the care of a doctor who wanted to make a name for himself for saving the life of the president.
I read a few others over the year, but none jump out, really. Except for one last fiction work:
The Known World, Edward P. Jones. Harper Collins, 2003.
This is an incredible, fictional account of a black slave owner in a fictional county in Virginia. His widow took the property after his unexpected death and problems emerge along race lines in this community. The book moves around into how the black slave owner purchased his own freedom, how he established his farm and married, as well as how things unravel once he dies and his widow manages the property.
I have quite a list for this year. I'm currently at the beginning of Robert Caro's seriers on Lyndon B. Johnson. I'm 100 pages or so into the first book. We'll see if I make it through the four volumes that are out so far! Happy reading to all of you in 2015!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Book Reviews,Part II
As I said in my return post, I'm going to write some very brief reviews of books I read in 2014. Maybe I'll eventually review what I'm currently reading too. We'll see. Anyway, here are a few more books for your consideration. I won't give too much detail...nor any spoilers.
Washington, A Life, Ron Chernow. Penguin Books, 2011.
This won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and certainly deserved it. I read a few biographies this year, and this was the best. It was another lengthy book, but everything a biography should be. Chernow provides fresh analysis of the well-known events in Washington's life and the not so well known areas. Chernow looked in depth at Washington's marriage to Martha Washington (more of a friendship than a romance), his flirtatious relationship with neighbor Sally Fairfax, his frustrations in command of the Continental Congress, and the successes and failures of his presidency. Some might argue that this book borders on hero worship. I beg to differ. As Chernow points out, for two hundred years people have tried to dig up dirt on Washington--unsuccessfully. Chernow examines and refutes many of the claims against our first president.
The Man Who Saved the Union, H.W. Brands. Doubleday, 2012.
If you're looking for a quick read on what Grant did throughout his life, you might enjoy this. If you're like me and want more analysis into Grant's relationships, feelings, attitudes, etc., look elsewhere. You might want to read Grant's memoirs instead.
Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings. Knopf, 2013.
The second book on my list by Sir Max Hastings (see last post), this looks at the first months of the First World War. I actually read this around the time of the centennial of the conflict's beginning. The political intrigue, the tangled alliances, the question of whether or not Britain would intervene, were fascinating.
I Wish I'd Been There, Byron Hollinshead. Vintage, 2007.
I like the concept of this book--twenty historians picked events they would have wanted to witness. Though some of the essays were good, like the piece on the Salem Witch Trials that look at the relationship between the trials and the fear of war with Native Americans, and Joseph Ellis's piece on Washington's efforts to forge some sort of agreement with the Native Americans in the Midwest. Others, less so. I guess it was predictable that Robert Remini's piece on the alleged "corrupt bargain" between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams in the Election of 1824 annoyed me. Remini seemed to want to find some sign of corrupton to vindicate his hero, Andrew Jackson, bu alas, he had to agree with the historical evidence. Was there an implied agreement between Clay and Adams? Probably. Was there a formal deal? No.
John Quincy Adams, Harlow Giles Unger. Da Capo, 2012.
I haven't gotten to the Fred Kaplan bio on Adams that came out in 2014 yet, but Unger's work was excellent. The more I read about John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, the more I'm impressed with him...aside from his unsuccessful presidency, of course. I found the sections on John Quincy's relationship with his parents, John and Abigail Adams, to be quite intriguing. In short, they pushed him hard and messed him up for life. Yes, the Adams Presidency (1825-29) was a failure, but he showed his genius as a diplomat, senator, secretary of state, and as representative. For those of you who don't know Adams was the only person to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency.
Freedom's Cap, Guy Gugliotta. Macmillan, 2012.
This was one of my favorites this year. Gugliotta looks at the transformation of Washington, DC from a country town to an urban center in the 1850s. The center of his focus? The U.S. Capitol. The 1850s and 1860s saw the Capitol get closer to what we see on the news. A Philadelphia architect named Thomas Walter designed the current chambers of Congress, occupied by the House and Senate in the late 1850s. At first, he cooperated well with army engineer Captain Montgomery Meigs, but soon, there was a clash of egos. Two very talented men felt threatened by the other. At the center of it all was Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis, who was, as Gugliotta successfully argues, the most influential political figure behind the construction of the new chambers of Congress and the Capitol dome. He laid the groundwork for the projects as a senator in 1851-52, had the work transferred under the War Department's jurisdiction while he was secretary of war, then when he returned to the Senate, he kept an eye on things. In the background to all of this is the rising tensions between northern and southern congressmen. Davis, for instance, was an ardent supporter of states rights and slavery while having a very nationalistic vision for the Capitol. He believed a great country ought to have a great building for its representatives. He held to that until he could no longer reconcile this paradox.
The final few reviews coming soon!
Washington, A Life, Ron Chernow. Penguin Books, 2011.
This won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and certainly deserved it. I read a few biographies this year, and this was the best. It was another lengthy book, but everything a biography should be. Chernow provides fresh analysis of the well-known events in Washington's life and the not so well known areas. Chernow looked in depth at Washington's marriage to Martha Washington (more of a friendship than a romance), his flirtatious relationship with neighbor Sally Fairfax, his frustrations in command of the Continental Congress, and the successes and failures of his presidency. Some might argue that this book borders on hero worship. I beg to differ. As Chernow points out, for two hundred years people have tried to dig up dirt on Washington--unsuccessfully. Chernow examines and refutes many of the claims against our first president.
The Man Who Saved the Union, H.W. Brands. Doubleday, 2012.
If you're looking for a quick read on what Grant did throughout his life, you might enjoy this. If you're like me and want more analysis into Grant's relationships, feelings, attitudes, etc., look elsewhere. You might want to read Grant's memoirs instead.
Catastrophe 1914, Max Hastings. Knopf, 2013.
The second book on my list by Sir Max Hastings (see last post), this looks at the first months of the First World War. I actually read this around the time of the centennial of the conflict's beginning. The political intrigue, the tangled alliances, the question of whether or not Britain would intervene, were fascinating.
I Wish I'd Been There, Byron Hollinshead. Vintage, 2007.
I like the concept of this book--twenty historians picked events they would have wanted to witness. Though some of the essays were good, like the piece on the Salem Witch Trials that look at the relationship between the trials and the fear of war with Native Americans, and Joseph Ellis's piece on Washington's efforts to forge some sort of agreement with the Native Americans in the Midwest. Others, less so. I guess it was predictable that Robert Remini's piece on the alleged "corrupt bargain" between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams in the Election of 1824 annoyed me. Remini seemed to want to find some sign of corrupton to vindicate his hero, Andrew Jackson, bu alas, he had to agree with the historical evidence. Was there an implied agreement between Clay and Adams? Probably. Was there a formal deal? No.
John Quincy Adams, Harlow Giles Unger. Da Capo, 2012.
I haven't gotten to the Fred Kaplan bio on Adams that came out in 2014 yet, but Unger's work was excellent. The more I read about John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, the more I'm impressed with him...aside from his unsuccessful presidency, of course. I found the sections on John Quincy's relationship with his parents, John and Abigail Adams, to be quite intriguing. In short, they pushed him hard and messed him up for life. Yes, the Adams Presidency (1825-29) was a failure, but he showed his genius as a diplomat, senator, secretary of state, and as representative. For those of you who don't know Adams was the only person to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency.
Freedom's Cap, Guy Gugliotta. Macmillan, 2012.
This was one of my favorites this year. Gugliotta looks at the transformation of Washington, DC from a country town to an urban center in the 1850s. The center of his focus? The U.S. Capitol. The 1850s and 1860s saw the Capitol get closer to what we see on the news. A Philadelphia architect named Thomas Walter designed the current chambers of Congress, occupied by the House and Senate in the late 1850s. At first, he cooperated well with army engineer Captain Montgomery Meigs, but soon, there was a clash of egos. Two very talented men felt threatened by the other. At the center of it all was Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis, who was, as Gugliotta successfully argues, the most influential political figure behind the construction of the new chambers of Congress and the Capitol dome. He laid the groundwork for the projects as a senator in 1851-52, had the work transferred under the War Department's jurisdiction while he was secretary of war, then when he returned to the Senate, he kept an eye on things. In the background to all of this is the rising tensions between northern and southern congressmen. Davis, for instance, was an ardent supporter of states rights and slavery while having a very nationalistic vision for the Capitol. He believed a great country ought to have a great building for its representatives. He held to that until he could no longer reconcile this paradox.
The final few reviews coming soon!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
The Archive is Back!
For the dozen or so of those who missed reading my random musings/history lessons, I decided for 2015 to make a return to the blogging world! I'm going to continue the random musings, the random facts, and an occasional look into what I'm reading. Of course, if you like what you read, share!
So what have I been doing for the past 16 months? Well, I'm working, I got married in November 2013, bought a home early in 2014, and have been keeping up with getting that in order.
I've also read...a lot. I mean, not as much as I would if I were in academia, but I think 30 books in a year was pretty good. As you might have guessed, most of them were history. So what I thought I'd do is start off with short reviews over several posts of 15 (give or take) books I've read in 2014. Keep checking over the next week or so--I have a bunch of things coming!
Let's kick 2015 off with a few reviews.
To Make Beautiful the Capitol: Rediscovering the Art of Constantino Brumidi, edited by Amy Elizabeth Burton. Government Printing Office, 2014.
This is easily the most recent publication I've read. My reading list is a bit backlogged. This is a series of essays put together by the Office of the Senate Curator that features a ton of images of the beautiful art in the US Capitol. The work examines the more recent research on artist Constantino Brumidi, who pained in the Capitol from 1855-1880. Conservators have been working on restoring Brumidi's murals since at least the mid-1990s. One of the big themes that is apparent in the book is the influence of westward expansion on the paintings in the Brumidi Corridors and how researchers found that one of Brumidi's main sources was a twelve volume report on possible routes of a transcontinental railroad, published in the late 1850s--the time when Brumidi and his team of artists did much of their work.
Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945, Max Hastings. Vintage Books, 2012.
Hastings wrote several volumes on various parts of World War II, but this is the only one of his books on that conflict I've read so far. The book is long, some 800 pages. Though some of the military history is a bit dense, and at times, plodding, it was still a worthwhile read. There were parts of the war in the Pacific and the Middle East that I knew almost nothing about. Hastings wasn't focused merely on America and Europe: he showed that World War II was indeed a global conflict.
The Smoke at Dawn, Jeff Shaara. Ballantine Books, 2014
This is one of two fiction works I'll write about over the next few posts. This is Shaara's third of four novels on the Western Theater of the American Civil War. I've loved Shaara's writing since Gods and Generals came out in the 1990s (caution: avoid the movie at all costs!) and he keeps getting better. His style and research really shine in this series. His account of the Chattanooga Campaign in Fall 1863 is very accurate. Early in his career, Shaara told the story through the eyes of the officers. As he wrote about the First and Second World Wars, Shaara brought in the perspective of the front line soldiers, something he continues here. It is a welcome part of this series. I can't wait til the fourth and final book comes out sometime this year!
Again, stay tuned for more reviews over the next few days!
So what have I been doing for the past 16 months? Well, I'm working, I got married in November 2013, bought a home early in 2014, and have been keeping up with getting that in order.
I've also read...a lot. I mean, not as much as I would if I were in academia, but I think 30 books in a year was pretty good. As you might have guessed, most of them were history. So what I thought I'd do is start off with short reviews over several posts of 15 (give or take) books I've read in 2014. Keep checking over the next week or so--I have a bunch of things coming!
Let's kick 2015 off with a few reviews.
To Make Beautiful the Capitol: Rediscovering the Art of Constantino Brumidi, edited by Amy Elizabeth Burton. Government Printing Office, 2014.
This is easily the most recent publication I've read. My reading list is a bit backlogged. This is a series of essays put together by the Office of the Senate Curator that features a ton of images of the beautiful art in the US Capitol. The work examines the more recent research on artist Constantino Brumidi, who pained in the Capitol from 1855-1880. Conservators have been working on restoring Brumidi's murals since at least the mid-1990s. One of the big themes that is apparent in the book is the influence of westward expansion on the paintings in the Brumidi Corridors and how researchers found that one of Brumidi's main sources was a twelve volume report on possible routes of a transcontinental railroad, published in the late 1850s--the time when Brumidi and his team of artists did much of their work.
Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945, Max Hastings. Vintage Books, 2012.
Hastings wrote several volumes on various parts of World War II, but this is the only one of his books on that conflict I've read so far. The book is long, some 800 pages. Though some of the military history is a bit dense, and at times, plodding, it was still a worthwhile read. There were parts of the war in the Pacific and the Middle East that I knew almost nothing about. Hastings wasn't focused merely on America and Europe: he showed that World War II was indeed a global conflict.
The Smoke at Dawn, Jeff Shaara. Ballantine Books, 2014
This is one of two fiction works I'll write about over the next few posts. This is Shaara's third of four novels on the Western Theater of the American Civil War. I've loved Shaara's writing since Gods and Generals came out in the 1990s (caution: avoid the movie at all costs!) and he keeps getting better. His style and research really shine in this series. His account of the Chattanooga Campaign in Fall 1863 is very accurate. Early in his career, Shaara told the story through the eyes of the officers. As he wrote about the First and Second World Wars, Shaara brought in the perspective of the front line soldiers, something he continues here. It is a welcome part of this series. I can't wait til the fourth and final book comes out sometime this year!
Again, stay tuned for more reviews over the next few days!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Announcement
I have given this some thought and realized how much time it took me to write a post anymore. Plus my getting tied up in other things. I did some soul-searching to figure out what I want to do and what I don't want to do. I decided that in what little free time I have anymore, I want to focus on my research (which I haven't done in a while) in the hopes of getting published (again) someday.
I know the blog was short-lived, but I want to thank everyone who read it and hope you all got something out of it.
I know the blog was short-lived, but I want to thank everyone who read it and hope you all got something out of it.
Monday, August 26, 2013
I'm still here...
"Where is America's Past is Carmen Sandiego?" brings back memories of second grade. It's one of the first video games I remember playing. I just found the image appropriate because I imagine the half-dozen of you who actually read my blog were wondering where I've been since April.
Well, the short version of the story is that I got engaged and I'm getting married in November. The blog kind of fell through the cracks in the midst of the wedding planning. Fortunately, I had my future sister-in-law over at Footprints on My Heart to occasionally nag me about not updating my blog. I'm still ahead of my mom over at The Blotter. In other words, if you want to confuse my mom by the sudden spike in blog visits, click the latter link.
I have been keeping up (somewhat) with my historical reading. I picked up David Donald's 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning biography Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War on sale when Borders was closing a while back. Dry at times, it's still interesting, especially his discussion of the caning incident. The violent actions against a prominent, outspoken abolitionist like Charles Sumner was inevitable given the inherently violent nature of slavery and the culture around it.
I'm currently working through some books recommended by the historian of the House of Representatives: Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans by Louis L. Gould and Party of the People: A History of the Democrats by Jules Witcover. So far, its making me feel like a fish out of water in modern American politics...but I digress.
Anyway, I do have some exciting posts upcoming. Two series are on their way.
More later as life unfolds!
"Well, the short version of the story is that I got engaged and I'm getting married in November. The blog kind of fell through the cracks in the midst of the wedding planning. Fortunately, I had my future sister-in-law over at Footprints on My Heart to occasionally nag me about not updating my blog. I'm still ahead of my mom over at The Blotter. In other words, if you want to confuse my mom by the sudden spike in blog visits, click the latter link.
I have been keeping up (somewhat) with my historical reading. I picked up David Donald's 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning biography Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War on sale when Borders was closing a while back. Dry at times, it's still interesting, especially his discussion of the caning incident. The violent actions against a prominent, outspoken abolitionist like Charles Sumner was inevitable given the inherently violent nature of slavery and the culture around it.
I'm currently working through some books recommended by the historian of the House of Representatives: Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans by Louis L. Gould and Party of the People: A History of the Democrats by Jules Witcover. So far, its making me feel like a fish out of water in modern American politics...but I digress.
Anyway, I do have some exciting posts upcoming. Two series are on their way.
More later as life unfolds!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Boston Strong
Historically, the week of April 15-20, a lot of bad things have happened from the massacre of African American soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee on April 15, 1864, to President Lincoln's death a year later, to the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, to the Columbine shootings on April 20, 1999.
So, let's take a quick look at some positive things that happened in history this past week.
April 15, 1947- Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color barrier. I'm hearing great things about the new movie 42. I'll have to check that one out.
April 16, 1862- Emancipation Day in Washington, DC. Slavery ended, and this was the only case of compensated emancipation in the United States.
April 17, 1970- Odyssey, the command capsule of Apollo 13, returned safely to Earth after a disaster in space.
April 18, 1923- Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built," opened. I'm a National League guy, and like a lot of baseball fans, I'm not a fan of the Yankees. Nonetheless, I respect their storied history. Some of the all-time greats stepped up to the plate at this stadium.
April 19, 1775- What else can we say about this day? "The Shot Heard Around the World"--the American Revolutionary War began as American Minutemen bravely confronted British regulars at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
April 20- Let's go with more baseball history. On this day in 1912, Fenway Park in Boston and Tiger Stadium in Detroit opened. Four years later, the field now called Wrigley in Chicago opened for the Cubs.
April 21,753 BC- The traditional date that Romulus and Remus founded Rome, the Eternal City. For the environmental conservation fans, John Muir was born on this day in 1838.
So, some things to do this week:
-Thank a law enforcement officer for putting their lives on the line to protect us every day. If you can thank anyone in Boston for their response, do so.
- Get outside. Spring is here, so enjoy it!
- Take in a baseball game.
It's still a goal to blog more. I'll do better in the future, I hope. More later as life unfolds.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody! I'm overdue for a blog post. I was thinking of blogging about the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, Roger B. Taney, who was born on this day in 1777, but I decided to type up a brief commemorative post on the Irish Brigade instead.
Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish immigrant with a colorful past, got permission from the War Department in September 1861 to recruit a brigade of Irish units. Anchored by the 63rd New York, 69th New York, and the 88th New York, other regiments were part of the brigade at various times during the Civil War, including the 29th and 28th Massachusetts (the latter replacing the former early in the war) and the 116th Pennsylvania. The Irish Brigade fought at First Bull Run, Fair Oaks, and the Seven Days. The regiments were decimated in brutal frontal assaults at Antietam and Fredericksburg. The Irish Brigade's charge on the Sunken Road in Fredericksburg was one of the few well-done parts of the 2003 film Gods and Generals.
The brigade served in the Second Army Corps in the Union Army of the Potomac. When corps badges were introduced early in 1863, each soldier in the Second Corps wore a clover leaf, the emblem selected because of the Irish Brigade's service in that corps. After the depleted brigade fought at Chancellorsville, General Meagher requested permission to recruit throughout the North to bring the brigade back to full strength. His request denied, Meagher resigned. Further reduced in size at Gettysburg (fighting at the Angle and helping to repulse Pickett's Charge) and the Overland Campaign, the War Department disbanded the Irish Brigade in 1864. A second Irish Brigade formed with the same regiments early in 1865 and served through the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
Just on a side note, one of the several notables in the brigades ranks was the chaplain, Father William Corby, who granted general absolution to the soldiers before they charged into the Wheatfield at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Father Corby allegedly told the soldiers that if they didn't do their duty, they would be refused a Catholic burial. Corby later became president of Notre Dame. There are identical statues of the chaplain at Gettysburg and Notre Dame. Because of Notre Dame's love for football, the statue earned the nickname "Fair Catch Corby."
Again, this is just a short commemoration of one of the most battle-scarred units in the Civil War. As you tap your keg of Guinness today, offer a toast to the brave immigrants who fought to save the Union.
 |
| Irish Brigade Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park. Photo by Andrew Tremel |
The brigade served in the Second Army Corps in the Union Army of the Potomac. When corps badges were introduced early in 1863, each soldier in the Second Corps wore a clover leaf, the emblem selected because of the Irish Brigade's service in that corps. After the depleted brigade fought at Chancellorsville, General Meagher requested permission to recruit throughout the North to bring the brigade back to full strength. His request denied, Meagher resigned. Further reduced in size at Gettysburg (fighting at the Angle and helping to repulse Pickett's Charge) and the Overland Campaign, the War Department disbanded the Irish Brigade in 1864. A second Irish Brigade formed with the same regiments early in 1865 and served through the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
Just on a side note, one of the several notables in the brigades ranks was the chaplain, Father William Corby, who granted general absolution to the soldiers before they charged into the Wheatfield at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Father Corby allegedly told the soldiers that if they didn't do their duty, they would be refused a Catholic burial. Corby later became president of Notre Dame. There are identical statues of the chaplain at Gettysburg and Notre Dame. Because of Notre Dame's love for football, the statue earned the nickname "Fair Catch Corby."
 |
| Statue of Father Corby blessing the troops at Gettysburg. Photo by Andrew Tremel |
Again, this is just a short commemoration of one of the most battle-scarred units in the Civil War. As you tap your keg of Guinness today, offer a toast to the brave immigrants who fought to save the Union.
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