Biography Books

I had no idea the extent to which our Government agencies had been infiltrated by Communists. After having read other books on the subject (if you have not read Whittaker Chambers' 'Witness'...please do) I have a better understanding of American History in the 20th century. To this day there is a tug of war between Americans who want to preserve the republic envsisoned by the Founding Fathers and those who want to replace that model of government with a socialist system. The book discusses the undermining of Chang Kai-Shek in his battles with Mao as well as American support of the Soviet Union in leftist circles. Joseph McCarthy was stonewalled at every turn by Maryland Senator Millard Tydings and dozens of others who attacked him rather than evaluate his charges objectively. The author describes McCarthy's detractors up to the level of Harry Truman, which really surprised me. This book takes patience and is slow going. It is heavily footnoted and has fabulous documentation such as old newspaper stories and photographs. If you want to learn more about the 1950's in America and Richard Nixon, Roy Cohn and J. Edgar Hoover you won't be disappointed. Of course, it helps to read several books on a particular historical or political topic to get it from different angles and viewpoints but this would be a good starting point.

This is one of the best books I've read all year. While the topic is dated, who now a days cares about Communist intrusion in our government, it was a book that got my blood boiling. It is amazing to me what the Government of this country can stoop to when it is lead by liberals of either party. Shameful.

M. Stanton Evans is a journalist and long-time follower of the history of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The central theme of this well written and very readable book is that McCarthy did a great service to the Nation in calling attention to two circumstances that represented a threat to the USA:

(1) that there were people employed by the federal government who were Soviet agents or Communist ideological sympathizers and who were in positions (a) to influence US policy, (b) to access government secrets, including highly sensitive military data, and (c) to disseminate through government channels (including Voice of America) propaganda and disinformation favorable to the interests of the Soviet Union and leftist causes worldwide; and

(2) that although the Truman and Eisenhower administrations had taken some steps to screen such people and terminate or transfer some of them to less sensitive positions, these steps were half-hearted and ineffectual, had left many such people in place, and new systems had to be implemented to avoid further harm to the country.

Senator McCarthy first called attention to these circumstances in a speech at Wheeling, WV in February, 1950, where he said that he had a list of Communists who were then employed in the State Department. It is well to recall that by early 1950, the Soviet Union had installed by main force a series of puppet governments in Eastern Europe that were repressive and undemocratic, and that in 1949 mainland China had finally succumbed to the Asian flavor of Communism under Mao Tse Tung. What is more, based on historical research in the last 50 years, there is now no doubt that throughout this period the Soviets had a large underground espionage apparatus operating in the United States, whose mission was not only to obtain secret military and diplomatic information but also to disseminate propaganda favorable to the Soviet Union and Communist doctrine in general.

To one reading McCarthy's Wheeling speech in 2008, and thus far removed from the Cold War politics of 1950, it seems like a level-headed, sensible warning to the Nation. Reasonable people in 2008, I would think, regardless of their political views, would say that these assertions by McCarthy were serious and should be investigated. If they were not correct, that could be determined. Instead, the Truman White House, State Department, Congressional Democrats, and the intellectual and academic communities saw them as "Red bating" and reacted with a fury that is difficult to reconcile with the nature of the charges. Rather than making a good faith effort to see if McCarthy's charges were true, these forces launched a personal attack on McCarthy, which in its intensity and vehemence is puzzling in the extreme.

The author tells the story of the Senate Committee, headed by Democrat Millard Tydings, that was ostensibly created to investigate McCarthy's charges, but in fact did nothing but investigate McCarthy. Rather than answer his assertions on the merits, the State Department made vicious personal attacks against McCarthy, all of which were accepted by the Tydings Committee on their face. As Evans points out, the issue of Communists in the US Government was a long-simmering flash point that went back to the 1930's, long before McCarthy joined the Senate in 1947, and exploded with his Wheeling speech:

"Among its many side effects, the war [WWII] would make the United States and the Soviet Union allies, a condition that gave rise to beliefs and actions spawning many future troubles. In particular, the pro-Soviet atmospherics of the war would accentuate the problem of Communist infiltration that had developed during the Great Depression. What had been a serious problem in the 1930's would now become a truly massive penetration." (p. 71).

This Soviet penetration of the US Government had been the subject of many Congressional inquiries long before McCarthy arrived on the scene. The Dies Committee, which evolved into the House Committee on Un-American Activities, made early attempts in the 1930's and 1940's to call attention to the problem and contain it. But the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, and their powerful bureaucracies in Washington that controlled the machinery of government, along with their left-wing supporters in the press and academia, reacted defensively, as if McCarthy's charges were a political attack on the "progressive" politics of the New Deal. They lashed out at anyone who sought to expose the many Communists in the Executive Departments and other New Deal agencies. They characterized all such inquiries as right-wing, political witch hunts, and viciously attacked those who attempted to identify Communists as the worst liars and charlatans. In reading this material in 2008, one can only wonder what raw nerve was touched by McCarthy's statements.

These tactics of ignoring the merits and personally attacking the one sounding the alarm can be clearly seen in the Whittaker Chambers/Alger Hiss episode that played out in 1948-1950, immediately before McCarthy's Wheeling speech. Despite overwhelming evidence that Hiss, with the help of his wife and brother, was a devoted member of the Communist party and a Soviet agent -- a fact that has now been confirmed by a high level KGB defector in the 1980's, the Soviet archives made available in the early 1990's, and the US Venona decrypts released in 1995 -- his legion of supporters in and out of government attacked Chambers as a liar, concocted stories that he had been treated for mental illness, tried their best to use their many close contacts in the Truman Justice Department to get him indicted for perjury, and otherwise accepted Hiss's web of lies and denials.

This methodology of personally attacking those who claimed that there were Communists and Soviet agents in the government was used with exquisite success against McCarthy by the Tydings Committee, and thereafter until his censure by the Senate in 1954. From the very outset, Tydings and his Democratic colleagues, in cooperation with the Truman State Department, the very same agency that the committee was supposed to be investigating, set out to discredit and literally destroy McCarthy. They claimed that he had no list of Communist employees in the State Department, that he could not name a single name, that if he did have a list, it was an old list going back to 1948 and that everyone on it had been thoroughly vetted by Congress and cleared. They accused McCarthy of being a massive liar on the basis of the most trivial and irrelevant points - for example, they said that in the Wheeling speech he had said that he had a list of 205 State Department employees whereas McCarthy later said that his list had a smaller number. When Tydings exhorted McCarthy to "name the names" in open session, the committee called several of them as witnesses and accepted their simple denials as conclusive of the falsity of McCarthy's charges.

When the Report of the Tydings Committee was finally released in July, 1950 (the Report is not available on line, only in US Depository Libraries), its tenor and phrasing were shocking, even by the standards of the time. It contained violent and abusive language that can only be explained as the tactics of personal destruction. Its broadsides against McCarthy were so extreme, so vicious, and so personally disparaging that they caused an uproar in the Senate. The Report accused McCarthy of perpetrating a "fraud" and a "hoax" and used epithets - "despicable," "vile," "sinister" -- that reflected an emotional dimension that one rarely sees in a deliberative legislative body like the US Senate, especially in describing one of its own members. Tydings sought to have McCarthy prosecuted for perjury and expelled from the Senate for allegedly falsely asserting that the State Department was harboring Communists.

Author Evans, however, goes into exhaustive detail in showing that virtually every one of the individuals named by McCarthy in proceedings before the Tydings Committee was the subject of an intensive FBI investigation and as to whom there were mountains of evidence that they were either Soviet agents or Communist supporters and enablers. In addition to the record of the many McCarthy hearings, Evans uses three recent sources to support his conclusions: (1) the Venona decrypts released in 1995, (2) Soviet KGB archives temporarily made available to researchers in the early 1990's, and (3) FBI files released in recent decades principally as a result of FOIA requests (pp. 19-20).
Evans lays out instance after instance where if one goes to the trouble of digging out the actual facts, rather than relying on media sound bites and an historical record created largely by a hostile academic establishment, it appears that McCarthy's charges were accurate.

A good example is the case of Annie Lee Moss, who was employed by the Army Signal Corps as a code clerk. Appearing before a Senate panel chaired by McCarthy, an FBI agent working undercover at the DC Communist party headquarters testified that Communist Party records showed that Moss was a dues-paying member of the party. After several delays, Moss finally appeared and flatly denied that she was, or ever had been, a member of the Communist Party, and in testimony set up with the Democratic members of the committee, suggested that she must have been a victim of mistaken identity since there were three "Annie Lee Mosses" in the DC telephone directory. McCarthy was then pilloried in the press for falsely accusing this humble government employee and this is the version of Annie Lee Moss that was broadcast to the nation and forever memorialized in the historical record.

Evans points out, however, that the transcript of Ms. Moss's testimony shows her saying that " . . . we didn't get the Communist paper anymore until after we had moved southwest to 72 R St," (I was not able to find the transcript of Ms. Moss's testimony on-line) and that the Annie Lee Moss identified by the undercover FBI agent was precisely the one who lived at 72 R Street. In addition, Evans writes that the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) thereafter started a proceeding before the Subversive Activities Control Board attacking the veracity of the FBI agent who had identified Ms. Moss as a Communist. After hearings, the SACB found that the testimony of the undercover FBI agent was 100% accurate and that Annie Lee Moss of 72 R Street was indeed a member of the CPUSA. According to Evans, the historical record makes no mention of these facts and continues to portray McCarthy as a brutish, loud-mouthed bully with nothing to support his wild charges against this low-level government servant.

A second example of this distortion of the historical record involves the celebrated sound bite condemning McCarthy: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" The powerful import of this sound bite is the notion that McCarthy falsely accused people of being Communists, with no evidence, and in indecent displays of bravado on the public record, where the mere asking of the question inflicted the harm intended. Evans tells the complete story of this remark. It was spoken by Joseph Welch during the McCarthy-Army hearings of 1954, a proceeding so absurd as to defy rationality. This was a proceeding in which McCarthy, not unlike the Tydings Committee proceedings four years before, was put on trial. What heinous crime, one might ask, what "high crime or misdemeanor," was McCarthy said to have committed. The answer is that McCarthy and his committee counsel, Roy Cohn, were formally charged with having tried to use leverage in their investigation of the Army to get special treatment for an Army private, who had been a staff member of McCarthy's committee and was suddenly drafted into the Army in the midst of the Army investigation. These "special privileges" were things like extra leave or light duty, and in the final analysis the evidence adduced at the hearings made a mockery of these frivolous charges. At any rate, Joseph Welch was not a witness, or even a lawyer for a witness, but a high powered lawyer from a white shoe law firm in Boston, who was brought in to these ludicrous proceedings, undoubtedly at public expense, to represent the Army.

The "decency" remark was made by Welch in connection with a lawyer in his Boston law firm named Frederick Fisher. At one time, Mr. Fisher had been a member of the National Lawyers Guild, a Communist front organization. Fisher had initially been part of Welch's legal team for the Army proceedings, but when Welch discovered his Communist history, he took him off the team and sent him back to Boston. During the hearings in June 1954, a major theme of which was that McCarthy's charges were false and that there were no Communists in the government, McCarthy alluded to the fact that a former member of the Army's legal team had belonged to a Communist organization. Welch responded with the infamous "decency" speech in which he accused McCarthy of having no decency in revealing on the public record the Communist past of this "lad," and that is the way that history has recorded it. As Evans points out, however, Fisher's Communist history had been the subject of a New York Times article in April 1954, two months earlier, in which Welch himself "confirmed news reports that he had relieved from duty his original second assistant, Frederick G. Fisher, Jr. of his own Boston law office, because of admitted previous membership in the National Lawyers Guild, which has been listed by Herbert Brownell Jr., the Attorney General, as a Communist-front organization." (The New York Times, April 16, 1954). Thus, Welch was able to turn this incident on its head, and the public has accepted this distortion ever since. It was Welch himself, not McCarthy, who spread the Communist history of this "lad" on the public record and to the extent it was not "decent" to do so, who should take the blame for that?

In the final analysis, one's view of McCarthy and his crusade against Communists in the US government must depend to a great extent on one's view of the potential threat to the United States posed by the Soviet Union and its international Communist goals. There are five predicate propositions that underlie that issue:

(1) the Soviet Union was a regime that enslaved its own citizens, systematically tortured and murdered tens of millions of people, and ran a government so repressive as to set the gold standard of "government by terror" in the history of the world;

(2) the expressed goal of the Soviet Union was to foment a socialist revolution in the capitalist countries of the world and thereby replace their governments with Soviet-styled governments like the ones that were established in Eastern Europe and China after World War II;

(3) the Soviet Union had a worldwide organization of spies and agents, aided by socialist doctrinal sympathizers, whose mission was to provide confidential diplomatic and military documents and information to Moscow, to undermine the governments of the capitalist countries, and to disseminate propaganda and disinformation favorable to the Soviet Union;

(4) this Soviet worldwide organization had succeeded in placing its agents and operatives into positions of trust in the US Government (e.g., Alger Hiss, Lauchlin Currie, Harry Dexter White, all of whom are confirmed in the Venona decrypts), where they were enabled not only to influence policy but also to obtain and provide to Moscow secret information; and

(5) the Communist Party of the USA was an organ of the Soviet Union controlled and partially funded by Moscow.

Those who believe that these propositions are fairy tales, that the Soviet Union represented a shining light of social justice in a new world order, and that the Soviet Union posed no real threat to the United States, invariably believe that McCarthy was a monster who trampled on individual rights and political freedoms in order to promote himself. But if one believes that these propositions are true, and that they have been confirmed by contemporaneous history and an avalanche of recent scholarship, then McCarthy's service to the Nation in alerting it to the risks it faced cannot be denied.

I was stunned by this book, and outraged by many many lies that have become the accepted "truth" about Senator McCarthy. The book is presents a wealth of facts that are extremely persuasive support for the author's thesis - that the senator was smeared by his enemies and that our common understanding is almost 100% wrong about him.

Blacklisted exceeded my expectations. I had been looking forward to reading a thoroughly researched study of the events involving Senator Joe McCarthy. And Blacklisted satisfied by providing exhaustive research. This alone would have sufficed - but the reader is also treated to the author's amazing writing ability. Evans has a talent for presenting his research in fascinating style. He brilliantly pulls together the facts and presents them in spellbinding manner. I didn't want to put the book down.

Blacklisted gives the reader a clear understanding of the players and events involved in Senator McCarthy's "fight against America's enemies". You will learn about the Soviet Communist infiltration of the American government and why it was covered up by the Administration. You will learn about Senator McCarthy's role, and about those determined to destroy him to silence him. Many of the facts are shocking. Disappearing documents, blatant lying, cover-ups, intimidation and destruction of those trying to reveal the truth, just to name a few. You will be stunned by the techniques and activities used to protect the Communist moles and their White House supporters, and to annihilate those who dared to reveal the infiltration.

Blacklisted also provides a good introduction to Communist infiltration methodologies employed in the U.S. Evans explains how the Communist infiltration of the American government not only created a fifth column in the U.S., but also contributed in some part to horrific events in other countries, China being a prime example.

Blacklisted not only provides an understanding of the past - what you learn here, you will be able to apply to the present and to the future. Don't make the mistake of thinking that history is just about the past!

People who seek the truth will be outraged by what they read here. If this book doesn't get your dander up, nothing will!

It is a good book, the stories are cruel, but not so detailed. Kids need to know about what happened, and this is a good way, but definitely not for kids under sixth grade.

This book is awesome it is very sad but it allows students today see the horror of the Holocaust

This book should be read by everyone that is emtionally mature enough to handle it. I am writing this review as a warning to parents that might purchase this book for a younger child based on the "Reading Level: 9 - 12" rating and the fact that it is a Scholastic book. My 4th grader's teacher recommended this book but I am glad I took a look at it first. Here's an excerpt from the book taking place as one of the children is being smuggled out of a ghetto by her father hiding her under his coat. The following exchange takes place between the guard and the man ahead of them at the gate:
"Hurry up!" shouted the impatient German guard.
"It's here somewhere. I know it is."
"You don't have a pass, do you?" snarled the guard. "You're trying to sneak out of the ghetto, trying to fool me."
"No really, I have - " The man never finished his sentence. The guard shot him.
Hearing the loud bang, Luncia jerked. Her father wrapped his arms tight around his coat to keep her still, but her whole body trembled uncontrollably. He's going to shoot us all, I know it.

I know that my 4th grader is not ready to read this kind of material but this is an excellent book to be read by everyone that is ready for this type of material. Very well written information that we all should know and never forget.

I purchased a class set for my 6th grade class. I feel this book was very appropriately written for this age. Of course there are parts to the stories that are "unbelievable" and sad to read, espcially for me as an adult. However, children these days are exposed to much more by media and often with less sensorship and thought. These are wonderful stories that teach history, empathy, and human strength.

an excellent collection of true stories of children of the holocaust. each story captivates your heart and keeps you reading to end. It will inspire you to do more to keep horrific things like the Holocaust from ever happening again.

I am using this in my Children In Action class at Church to help my children understand other cultures. It has been a great help, and really keeps their attention which is rare for most text books.

Great addition to our history studies. We tie in missionary needs to each country we study. The kids beg me to read these short entries to them. I'm learning about countries and groups I've never heard of.

This book is life-changing. It is my 8 year old daughters favorite part of the school day, but I am learning as much, if not more, than she is from it. I am learning that the world is much larger than my city, my state, the US and even North America! There is a lot going on out there that I have been horribly blind to until now. This book is opening my eyes to the knowledge that EVERY person is a child of God and He loves and cares about each one. This book is causing me to have a new perspective of thankfulness about how fortunate my family is and daily I am reminded to be thankful for our health, our safety, our comfort and material provision, our food, clean water, all things I have taken for granted until now. We are very spoiled in this country and I think this book is an awesome tool for adults and children to foster a new way of thinking!

My kids are learning about geography through this book, which we read from about 3 time a week. We learn something about the people and the terrain and about Christian missionary efforts world wide. They may not see or read glimpses of specific types of people without this book and I am pretty happy about that. I think the personal stories sound artificial and they are too short to really care much for the character of each singular blurb. Also they mention a movie called "The Jesus Movie" I don't get the emphasis on the showing of that movie. It almost sounds like marketing for the movie and I guess it's going to work because I want to see what it is they are talking about. Great for other home school families that want some geography and anthropological exposure.

Though it says 2007, it's not a revised edition but has exactly the same information as the hardcover version I bought in 2002; no updates on major world events/changes, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. An excellent spiritual resource, as well as useful in teaching geography and cultures.

Teens can really get inspired through Myers words. I also think that many teens will be able to relate to the different situations that he went through as well as learn how teens grew up in the 40's and 50's. The best part is learning the culture of Harlem as well as learn a first hand experience about the Harlem Renaissance.

On the back of this book it says that teens will see them selves in Myers. Well they weren't lying when they said that, I saw myself completely in some of the contents of Myers teenage years. For example the reading, through out the book Myers discovered that he had a very good talent in reading and writing. He also was a class clown who always got into trouble, but why doing so he made the people around him laugh. Anyway Myers didn't want to be made fun of(don't we all) about being able to read and write so he hid it from everybody. Their are things that I am good at that I don't want people to know. Myers also told what it was like being a black boy in an integrated Harlem back in the 1930s and '40s. It was hard for him, and one of his friends in the book, whom was white, got invited to a Party, and the host wouldn't let Myers go because he was black. Myers had a hard bringing up, he didn't go to school often because he did bad and didn't want to do good. Look at him now though, he is an award winning author, and wrote other amazing books like Fallen Angles, Somewhere in the Darkness, and Monster. Myers showed us all how he was brought up and the problems he had, and with his writing he showed us who he is now. This powerful book can help a lot of struggling teens

"Bad Boy" the story of Walter Dean Myers life in the streets of Harlem and the challenges he faced from drugs, gangs and the feeling of having no hope to ever succeed. Walter jumps you head first into how the struggle of being a young African American and how you must survive. Walter at a young age was considered very intelligent his only problem that held him back was his speech defect. In which he was teased for and caused him anger in which brought him down the path of violence. Much of Walter's life was something he fought for or strived for, something that really didn't expect with a kid that had so much rage and anger he had such passion for reading and writing. Many times during the book he would talk about how he would lock himself in his room for hours and just read and write poems, stories or just about anything that he could think of. Walter Dean Myers paints a vivid picture of the challenges a young kid in Harlem had to deal with in hopes of finding himself, it is a story that will change the mind of everyone.

This book is a good book for teens to read. It's that kind of book that us as kids can relate to.....Once i read the first chapter i was hooked! I would strongly recommend this book to any of my closest friends! I am glad to give this book a good review.

Bad Boy
By Walter Dean Myers
Review by Kareem Joey



Bad Boy .Hoops .Fly jimmy fly, what do all of these great
Books have in common? They were all written by Walter dean Myers a high school dropout!

Bad you are a thrilling book full of suspense and hard ships. IT starts while Walter was just a little boy. Even though his life was hard he somehow mad it through. The hardest part of waters life was probably his home town. Life in Harlem in the 1940s was rough. There was always crime and fights. The neighborhood was dirty and thee houses were rigtty.But Walter somehow made it thought. His main problem while he was growing up was his love for reading and writing. This is a problem because his bad and friends do not approve of his hobbies they begin to make fun of him and he begins to grow a hard outer shell.


He than becomes a bully. Towards the end of the story his anger calms and he starts to not care what people think of him. He then follows and becomes a famous writer. Though his father still doesn't approve his mother tries to keep him inspired. This Book teaches you to follow your dreams no matter what people think about you. They should not a have a say in you're future because only can decide what you do in life

It is so encouraging to read about the miraculous change that Jesus Christ made in Head Welch's life. I recommend this for any non-believer you know... especially teens and young adults who struggle with belief and/or with drugs and alcohol. Its an amazing story and I know God used this book to change my life and will use Brian greatly for the Kingdom! This book is REAL....

To the people saying it's the same as his first book... this was well documented and announced well in advance:

"Also on June 24, 2008, Harper Collins Publishers will simultaneously release the young adult version of Save Me From Myself, entitled "Washed By Blood". "

It's basically the same book but re-written for younger adults. Still worth reading.

I have to agree with the other reviews on this page. I was a huge fan of the first book, and pre-ordered this one thinking it was "new." It IS the same book, but in "teaching" form. I wish these reviews were up before I pre-ordered, and the publishers of this book should have made it clear that this was the same book. For any Christians "hungry" for more after reading "Save Me..." I suggest "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller.

This is the same book as "Save Me From Myself" with a different title! I was expecting this one to pick up where the last one left off. This is pretty shady...especially since the back says "You think you're heard the story, but you haven't" or something along those lines. What a rip off.

I loved the original book though.

This is pretty much the same book as "Save me from Myself" with points to ponder at the end of each chapter added. My own fault for not checking into it beforehand. His story is awesome nonethelesss and is inspiration to those that are bound to a lifestyle where there seems to be no way out. Jesus is the answer. A lot of people can relate to this testimomy, I did in many ways.

One of the most important studies of Mex-Tex folklore, this book is excellent. Paredes describes the legends of Gregorio Cortes and then tracks down what can be historically verified about this border hero. He then provides numerous variants of the ballads sung about Cortes and completes his writing by looking at reasons why the ballad remains an important part of borderland culture. Paredes writes beautifully, and the book is a model for fine ethnographic writing. Tish Hinojosa's song "Con Su Pluma en Su Mano" is a tribute to Paredes, one of her professors.

This book is a fine study of Mexican-American folklore. Paredes takes a "literary ethnographic" approach to studying the ballad singer Gregorio Cortez. Paredes develops interesting and rich ways of applying literary analysis to the ballads. He also uses the study of history along with ethnographic inquiry to challenge the image of the Texas ranger as a knight in shining armor. For anyone interested in social history, ethnographic study, and literary approaches to studying culture, I would highly recommend seeing how this fine folklorist integrates all three approaches in a fascinating story. What is especially interesting is that he was taking this approach three decades ago.

This outstanding book gives a wonderful look at the rich culture that developed in the geographic region between Mexico and the United States. The people that lived on either side of the border were a mix of religious ideals, values and cultures joined by need,location and lack of powerful policitical presence from either nation.

This book outlines the similiarities and the differences among the people of this region and explains the rich forklore and presence of this unique culture ...not quite Texan and not quite Mexican.

One remarkable feature of the book is an explanation of the development of the Border Ballad called the "Corrido" as a means of transmitting news, building interest, spotlighting injustices and creating legends. It presents a detailed study of the various version of the focal "Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" as an example. The legend, the facts and the politics are given equal emphasis allowing the reader an overview of a different age.

The facts are well documented but much like the "corrido" itself is very entertaining and well researched by this talented author. It presents much needed background for Mexican-Americans whose cultures were seeded in that land that straddled the politics and sentiments of two nations. This book should be required reading in every high school in states along the US Mexico border!

A fascinating book that examines a border ballad about Gregorio Cortez in terms of the history and culture of the Texas-Mexico border region. The story is not well-know outside of Texas, although it was made into a film in 1988 starring Edward James Olmos. The book was very influential in promoting a greater depth in folklore studies and recognizing that ballads are a performance art and that aspects of the performance add meaning beyond the words.

I Highly recommend the The Game of Life UNABRIDGED MP3 AUDIO Game of life and how to play it Game of life and how to play it

The book offers clear and high spirited answers to life problems.Despite dealing with fundamental issues,it is written in a no nonsence,easily undestood manner,leaving the reader inspired to reach for his/her highest potential.An absolute MUST read material!

I first read Florence's book "The Game of Life" many years ago and fell in love with her timeless philosophy and outlook on life. Since that time I have purchased numerous copies as gifts for friends & family.

I was first informed of the works of 19th Century writer/teacher,Florence Scovel Shinn in 2007 and had planned to read The Florence Scovel Shinn Reader immediately. However,overwhelmed with the incidentals of writing, I again put off study time needed to devote to another metaphysical text. What a mistake! What a rewarding book!!

As an author, I am aware of the arduous task of demystifying New Age Thought. What an artist. Ms.Shinn is indeed a skilled and creative instructor of universal laws. This book is a valuable guide for raising the consciousness of all who wish to learn how to change their life and affairs in a positive life affirming manner.

Ms. Shinn makes it easy for the novice to move toward empowerment by recounting numerous life altering manifestations experienced by both her clients and students. The Shinn reader is an excellent transformational key. Doors are truly unlocked and many spiritual truths are revealed. The Florence Scovel Shinn Reader is a informal treasury of metaphysical teachings that has stood the test of time. As a student and teacher of positive thought, I highly recommend The Florence Scovel Shinn Reader.

C. A. Lofton, author
African-American Guide to Prosperity

I first read this book (The Game of Life and How To Play It) over 20 years ago. I have purchased more than a dozen copies of the book and given them to friends. I have returned to the simplicity of her writings on so many occasions. Mrs Shinn was a metaphysical teacher in the 20's. Her metaphysical Christian approach (my words, not hers) opened my eyes to greater metaphors within the Bible; teachings that I never learned in Sunday School.

Don't let her simple approach to spiritual living or her 'easy to read' writing style fool you. She speaks to 'truths' that are at work in our lives, and 'how to' align yourself with those principles.

In all, she wrote 4 books on spiritual living. The Florence Scovel Shinn Reader contains all her works in one place for easy reference.

This is an easily read book which you will enjoy over and over again.

I do have a confession to make regarding Gertrude Stein. You may not know this but the woman is a genius. Why you may ask? Because she tells us this over and over and over again in the book. I do have to admit that at first I had to suppress the urge to shred this book/autobiography/memoir to shreds. I grew immensely jaded reading the raw prose with not a hint of of emotion throughout.

Thankfully, I eventually saw the light. It finally clicked.

Gertrude Stein was a woman in the time of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Matisse, Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot. Quite simply she needed to stand out as a literary figure. Historians would later call this artistic time period the Roarin' Twenties. Stein needed a way to disconnect with other prominent figures and still remain in the literary circle. She did this by well executing this book.

Though seemingly told through the perspective of her partner Alice B. Toklas, truly we are hearing Stein's. Her memories of meeting fascinating artists and writers in Paris are mind boggling. She adores the Parisian culture but also loves to be an American. Stein is very clever with how she formulates sentences in this book. She remarks on more than one occasion her obsession with the English language. Specifically the use of sounds. She begins to - paint - a novel with her words. Like the artist Picasso, who she is most fascinated with, her novel begins to paint a sort of cubist realism. There is no fluff here. And despite the very limited way she describes characters we eventually begin to see a full picture of them through Toklas/Stein's written words. Her words in way merge words, ideas, sounds, and create art.

We also see how certain artists inspire other artists. Picasso and Matisse were inspired by African art but they made in into their own by what they created. Picasso, upon seeing a camouflaged cannon, remarked to Stein that THEY created this. Artists created this perception of hiding something within plain sight.

Stein discusses nationalism constantly. She remarks on many occasions that Spaniards and Americans can understand one another because they can "realize abstraction." The americans do this with machinery and literature, and the spaniards with the ritualistic bullfighting and bloodshed. In that way, both are also abstract and cruel. She also hashes it out with germans, parisians, italians, polish, etc. She categorizes people and their personality traits by their national identity.

I really enjoyed that everyone came to her villa, that she shared with Tolkas, and asked for her advice on their literary work. She inspired much reverence by her companions and peers.

This by far is one of her more readable and enjoyable books. My advice is to go in with an open mind and truly appreciate her genius for what it is. I came in with stubborn intentions and almost missed out on a fantastic work of art.

Stein's other (and commendable) forays into experimental writing aside, this clever (auto)biography reminds us that the woman knew exactly what she was doing and there is indeed no "joke" or "prank" to be seen here. In its own manner just as experimental as some of her so-called "difficult" work, 'Autobiography' is exquisite. Tight yet effusive, cautious yet boundless, boring yet gripping. Really, it's a tour de force disguised as a tour de force disguised as a tour de force. (HAD to note that). Yes, this is an eminently readable work by a true genius who was, pre-eminently, "aware."

As a document of artistic/historical merit, the work is invaluable for its content alone. Again, Stein reveals more in what she so explicitly does "not" say than a million authors can ever hope to communicate with an infinite number of words. Required reading for any lover of literature, 20th century and beyond.

This is a lively read. It's also an interesting artifact from an artist who, from her perch atop the turmoil of World War I Paris, managed to craft a work that was modern in style, yet classically human in expression. Here she stood on the cusp of 19th and 20th century literature: T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland this is not, nor is it Hemingway's musings on the Lost Generation or Fitzgerald's cold, vacuous and material world. It's not cubist or surrealist, either, despite the influences evident elsewhere in her work. Instead, this is Gertrude Stein unplugged: witty, hip, self-deprecating, self-aggrandizing, opinionated and sharp, and we love her for it. It's a book about hanging out with friends in Paris, and that's about it, thank you. It has a whimsical style reminiscent of Seinfeld, but with the real-life characters of Picasso, Hemingway, doughboys and lovers wandering through the set, it also carries literary weight and impact.

In a sense, this is a book about nothing, but it's delivered with such intelligence and energy, one might swear Gertrude Stein is leading the reader through her teeming streets of early 20th century Paris on the way to catching a new art sensation. Stein has a remarkable feel for these streets, too: their intimate moods and pulses.

The autobiography, actually not an autobiography at all (but we get the joke), is also a parody of her partner Alice B. Toklas, who bears the brunt of affectionate barbs when not showering the author with zingers and unflattering observations of her own. This technique of imitation is uncommon in American literature--it's more common in Russian and Spanish classics, for example--but Stein carries it off with requisite naturalness and wit.

Despite her playfulness, Stein refrains from the avant-garde in this book. There's little "Steinese" experimentation or inventiveness here. The words flow from her pen and typewriter like conversation, unflappably so, and this choice of language is shrewd, as the work gives a you-were-there quality; like a photo album, this book is a testament to her visual and "painted" frame of reference. Those who want to see her more edgy experiments in syntax and diction should check out Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein, an edition that includes this autobiography and an interesting, if oddly unflattering at times, essay by F. W. Dupee and helpful notes from editor Carl van Vechten.

At times, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas feels shallow, I must say. While far from cold and plenty humorous, the writing conveys the aura of a modern city on the go, where relationships are casual, the stakes are low and people move in and out of other peoples' lives with little impact. Some of this entails love "French style," while at other times a character might drop dead with no more than a mention. Even French soldiers, fighting one of the most savage wars in human history, emote their greatest dramas only when responding to mistakes in Stein's thoughtful, but occasionally absent-minded, letters. The overall effect is comedy, then, and while at times the author reminds us of the Battle of the Marne or the bitter setbacks of artists and couples, the turmoil around and within her characters never overwhelms the characters' insatiable urges to live and laugh. Against a backdrop of world war, the end result is diminished, if not unresolved. To wit, Stein writes of Toklas, "as Gertrude Stein's elder brother once said of me, if I were a general I would never lose a battle, I would only mislay it."

Gertrude Stein was a warm and charitable person. More than eager to help France manage the war--even to the point of driving an ambulance for the A.F.F.W.--she had a Ford motor car shipped to Paris from the States, then shuttled wounded allies in her makeshift ambulance while constantly negotiating with military officers for fuel. She also hosted wayfarers and other visitors at her rue de Fleurus home, where she generously cooked dinner, served wine and critiqued artists' work in-between sleepless nights of work. All this is adorably depicted in the book.

One such artist was Hemingway. Depicting him as a callow, earnest newspaper boy with grand ambition, Stein displayed mixed opinions about him and other writing contemporaries while remaining ebullient when such editors and writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, recognized her work. When pointing out the strengths and foibles of her fellow artists she also, along the way, made shrewd observations about art; these commentaries are well worth a look. Both the insider who cavorted with Picasso and the outsider whose work was a target of mockery, Stein maintained a self-image that mirrored the contradictory inspirations around her. Altogether forgetful, telling us through Alice "she has a bad memory for names," a genius-by-association, and a genius personified, she constantly picked herself up, pulled herself together, then embarked on new adventures.

Gertrude Stein is all about adventure and challenge, and since she succeeds in both with a shrug and a laugh, she's also an eminent character. As she conveys through this literary conversation with herself and Alice B. Toklas, Stein might not know why, either; but the answer to why, for this writer, is subordinate to the question. In this work, as observation-upon-observation unfolds, enveloping "the real," "the truth" and "the whole" in both criss-crossing patterns and repetitive sounds, Gertrude Stein searches for deeper, more indefinable truths about her friends and acquaintances--not in terms of form, but in terms of the unconscious. She would vigorously contradict this point, but her work with Radcliff's psychologist William James is evident when she so probes the essences of her characters without killing her patients.

A fine effort by a provocative thinker.

My Titles
Shadow Fields
Snooker Glen

I picked up The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas after hearing about it for years. It is toted as a story about the relationship between two great influences in the Parisian world of arts and letters in the early 20th century. Instead I found a hagiography of Gertrude Stein written by Ms. Stein herself. According to her self-proclamations, she was a genius, a great writer, an auto mechanic, a great conversationalist, a supporter of the arts, etc., etc. The only one of these I feel competent to comment on is her skills as a writer. If this book is an example of her writing, then I am not convinced that she was a great writer.

In its favor, The Autobiography does paint a picture, abstract but true, of the artistic world of Paris during the early 20th century. The most interesting chapter was the Was Years, where Alice and Gertrude Stein aided in support for soldiers during World War I.

To me, this book is greatly overrated and not worth the time it takes to read it.

Split into 7 chapters, chronologically identified but the topic not necessarily so well organized, this book has great moments, and less than great moments.

First, the book's preface is that it is an autobiography of Stein's long time partner, Alice B. Toklas. Realizing this preface is nothing more than a ruse - which Stein acknowledges in the last sentence of the book - you immediately understand that it is Stein's autobiography which refers to Stein in the third person.

Second, the preface is that this is fiction. I would argue that it is mostly nonfiction.

In the beginning, the idiosyncratic and egocentric Stein distances herself from readers - other reviewers were gravely upset by her self proclamation of being a genius only equaled by Picasso. But, that juvenile repertoire soon succumbs to Stein's maturation - as a person and as a writer. I too disliked the first chapter where she mainly seeks to receive adoration for having hobnobbed with the avant garde of the turn-of-the-century impressionists and surrealists in Parisian art society.

But, she was there and she was part of that time when painting was a major art form in Paris. It was not only exciting to her, but was exciting to those she hobnobbed with. She was the original American in Paris.

Stein's autobiography is outlined in Chapter 4. She gives you her history up to the time she moves to Paris and becomes part of the art scene. In this chapter, she writes one of my favorite paragraphs. " . . . I feel with my eyes, and it does not make any difference to me what language I hear, I don't hear a language, I hear tones of voice, and there is for me only one language and that is english. One of the things that I have liked all these years is to be surrounded by people who know no english. I do not know if it would have been possible to have english be so all in all to me otherwise." (Stein never capitalizes countries)

One friend comes to stay with her, and upon observing the lifestyle of the people to whom Stein is befriended, asks, ". . . is it alright, are they really alright, . . but really is it not fumisterie, is it not all false." And, probably most is fumisterie - so what of it? That is the attitude which defines and describes the artists and their friends at this time.

Then came WW I. Fumesterie and coffee-and-a-croissant philosophy withered when touched by man's horrors. Matisse, Hemingway and Apollinaire were physically reduced by the war. Many others were mentally drained. Stein reflects on how people would become tired for the simplest of tasks. It was a phenomenon which she, a Johns Hopkins' educated psychologist, had to observe with a keen eye.

And, her emotions, her world, her priorities too had changed. The last chapter discusses much less about art, and much more about literature. It can be said the first chapter focuses 90% on art and 10% on literature, while the last chapter focuses 90% on literature and 10% on art. Her friends, in the last chapter, are mainly writers. In the first chapter, they are mainly artists. Like Picasso's painting, her life is a Metamosphisis. And, that is what makes this book so very interesting to me.

She best acknowledges the change of her life in one simple sentence in the last chapter: " Painting now after its great period has come back to be a minor art." And, the new major art was literature - ruled by the Lost Generation of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Ford Maddox Ford and others.

And, so with the change, she remained in the hub

This book reads about as exiting as the monotone drone of a window box fan on a hot sweaty summer night. Gann's style seems didactic to say the least. Muddling through the first chapter I fell asleep and woke up just in time to learn of a near miss in the plane Gann was flying. However in all fairness, most books are written like this, full of details and tangents before coming to the point. Who can get through Moby Dick or Les Miserables without wondering where the authors are going? One should only read books like these if he has a bad case of insomia.

If one is looking for the plot to the movie: Fate Is The Hunter, forget it. This book has almost nothing in common with the excellent screenplay written by Harold Maud except for the title and some flashbacks. Of course it is always a disappointment when the movies don't follow the books, which are usually better than the movies; this case being one of the exceptions.

The paperback book is not an abridged version of the hardcover. So don't try searching for a used copy as I did. It's just a waste of time and money. Quite frankly, I'm sorry I bought the book.

Flight possesses a seductive mystique and "Fate is the Hunter" is one of the few books that has ever really truly captured flight's essence.

It is not only pilots that look skyward at the sound of an aircraft or slow down a little as they drive past an airfield. Similarly, Gann captures what is almost intangible and presents it to the reader with an immaculate style that will engross all who read it.

Gann carefully blends the worlds of the philosophical and aeronautical. In this mix, the reader looks out from the cockpit to at times see better within themselves.

A true classic.

Owen Zupp. Author: "Down to Earth"

www.owenzupp.com
DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day

This is the memoir of one of the first 300 airline pilots in America. It tells the story of the development of the airline industry and the Air Transport Command during World War II. It is well-written with wit and pathos. I enjoyed the read.

One will see why this was and remains one of the best works of fiction in any genre, but especially aviation. A great book that every pilot has in the bookcase. I also highly recommend, Flying North South East and West,
a non-fiction book that I think is destined to become an aviation classic.
Flying North South East and West: Arctic to the Sahara,

This is one of those books that has a sneak ending - best appreciated by reading through at a steady rate (which only makes sense once the climax of the book is revealed). The stories, anecdotes and tales seem almost trite and mundane - but build to the showdown, for me a life lesson. Flying is revealed for the joy it is, for its wonder, the thrill of a good landing when one has fought the good fight aloft in peril of ending badly. Gann wrote the thing with a purpose - and it wasn't to entertain you. He is like a grandfather with good advice, and he hits you with a zinger to make the point. You will be grateful, either gender, any station, rich or poor.

The way Adam describes his life growing up around football could be any one of our stories. I related to many stories he told, and many others brought back fond memories. This is truly a great, well written book that everyone can enjoy. His allegiance to Texas is apparent (just like mine) and this is a must have for all University of Texas students/alumni/fans, but the beauty of the book lies in Adams ability to convey the message of how intertwined football, life, and faith can become to anyone.

Adam Jones can write, and he has had a life worth writing about. The promised intertwining of faith, family, and football works, as the book left me, in turn, contemplating, crying, and cheering. Rose Bowl Dreams is definitely worth skipping a Saturday afternoon of College Football to read.

Jones knows college football and writes it all so vividly you want to jump inside the book. It's like Jones plugs college football into life and it's in HD. My wife reads me Adam's "Top Ten" college football matchups and each week we'd cry with laughter. Rose Bowl Dreams is even better.

Adam Jones writes from his heart about a family, a hometown, a state and a football team that he has loved his entire life, and he does it with candor, compassion and a whip smart sense of timing and humor. His is a life well lived and he has no difficulty knowing Who to thank, and while I am on that subject, we can all thank God for this writer's unqualified talent. You do not have to be a Longhorn junkie to appreciate this book: anyone who has ever marked the Fall by Saturdays has a memorable read in store for him regardless of what conference he calls home. Adam Jones writes about family and football as well as Rick Bragg ever has, but without the requisite "writer's chip" on his shoulder, and in the doing he shows that a grateful man can definitely go home again.

Where else can you mix Shakespeare and football, Bloody Caesars and longnecks, playbooks and hymnals? Adam Jones weaves a lyrical tapestry out of what is essentially many large men fighting over a pigskin, and you don't even notice when the action moves from the kitchen to the stadium to the church and back again. That God is a pretty funny guy, too.