The Reagan Diaries Review

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(More customer reviews)I have not finished reading this yet, but I can't put this one down. You get an incredible insight to President Reagan's thoughts and hopes for the country as well as an understanding of how deeply he loved his wife.
I have also come to realize how humble a man he really was. For example he seemed shocked that whenever he went someplace (even if just for a short trip in D.C.) there was a change of clothes waiting for him. He was also amazed that when one of his children was on TV one evening the staff video taped it for him.
The most enjoyable entries to read are the ones where he talks about simple things like setting his clocks ahead in the sping, or riding a horse at Quantico.
There are also more serious entries where he writes about the Russians and his hopes for peace in the middle east.
The amazing thing is because this is a personal diary, it was never intended to be published. You get (I feel) the real thought and feelings of one of our greatest Presidents.
One reviewer gave this book only one star and his review is less a review of the book and more an attack on the former President. I do not think you need to be conservative to enjoy this book. You just need to want to see the daily thoughts of the man.

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During his two terms as the fortieth president of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded, by hand, his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine day-to-day occurrences of his presidency. Now, nearly two decades after he left office, this remarkable record—the only daily presidential diary in American history—is available for the first time.

Brought together in one volume and edited by historian Douglas Brinkley, The Reagan Diaries provides a striking insight into one of this nation's most important presidencies and sheds new light on the character of a true American leader. Whether he was in his White House residence study or aboard Air Force One, each night Reagan wrote about the events of his day, which often included his relationships with other world leaders Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Mohammar al-Qaddafi, and Margaret Thatcher, among others, and the unforgettable moments that defined the era—from his first inauguration to the end of the Cold War, the Iran hostage crisis to John Hinckley Jr.'s assassination attempt.

The Reagan Diaries reveals more than just Reagan's political experiences: many entries are concerned with the president's private thoughts and feelings—his love and devotion for Nancy Reagan and their family, his belief in God and the power of prayer. Seldom before has the American public been given access to the unfiltered experiences and opinions of a president in his own words, from Reagan's description of near-drowning at the home of Hollywood friend Claudette Colbert to his determination to fight Fidel Castro at every turn and keep the Caribbean Sea from becoming a "Red Lake."

To read these diaries—filled with Reagan's trademark wit, sharp intelligence, and humor—is to gain a unique understanding of one of the most beloved occupants of the Oval Office in our nation's history.

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Black Maverick: T. R. M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power (New Black Studies Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been waiting for two books to recover lost or misremembered figures in black history: The first is Norrell's revisionist biography of Booker T. Washington (a "must read"), _Up from History_.
The second must-read in black history is this book by David Beito. A true maverick, TRM Howard combined elements of Booker T. Washingon, DuBois, and was also an ardent advocate of the "right to bear arms" (an understatement -- they not only protected blacks from vicious whites in the South but Howard also went on safaris to kill big game!).
From a small town in Western Kentucky, where he was mentored by a white man, to becoming a doctor and operating in the all-black Mounds Bayou, then on to Chicago -- Howard was the center of most major civil rights events. For example, he was the one who publicized Emmet Till's lynching.
TRM Howard was a "one of a kind" and this book deserves the attention it is receiving (I saw it on C-Span; check out the video as well).
Two thumbs up!

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The Breath of Allah Review

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(More customer reviews)Both East and West are weary of terrorism and capable of either clear-cut fundamentalistic support or rational rejection of the multiple reasons surrounding the present state of hatred leading only to self-destruction. This theme is repeated all too often within this novel in which a climax of the above status is looming!
An ancient text, The Breath of Allah, one of the original twelve texts of the Koran, has been found. Put in the right hands, it will transform history by restoring Islam to the peace, compassion and harmony intended by Mohammed, the prophet who founded Islam. Put in the wrong hands to be buried forever, this text's absence will allow "The Sword of Allah," a militant response set to shock the world, to progress into a world where all the oil resources and religious and political power will lie in the hands of a few fundamentalistic despots. This scenario is riddled with tension, the reader gripped in the events speeding toward a decisive outcome!
Within the tautly plotted story of this race to doomsday or Utopian reality lies quite a bit of historical, sociological, political and philosophical teaching and reflections meant to educate the reader about the days that have brought us to this critical juncture. An American President in 2020 has had the foresight to come up with a brilliant plan to reduce the Western addiction to Mideastern oil usage. Human weakness prevails as Islamic major and minor leaders are constantly vying for power, their attempts almost silly in their lack of reflection about other powers that are way ahead of them with better plans and strategies for ascension.
The finding of The Breath of Allah speeds up the The Sword of Allah plans. Which will prevail leads us to rapidly turn the pages where pivotal decisions and actions appear in just the right places. Death strikes many who are not aware of how many leaders and groups will do anything to prevent the announcement and revelation of the precise words of this sacred text.
The Breath of Allah is stirring, provocative reading for its finely plotted, slightly repetitive (but necessarily so for those who just don't get it), and timely message that just might become a reality.
A best-seller that will call forth diverse responses from the West and East!
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on April 2, 2010


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The appearance of an ancient Koran-one of the original twelve transcribed after Mohammed's death-sparks questions about the authenticity of current Islamic practices and teachings. A deadly race begins as the American who inherited the historic text works to keep it safe while being hunted by the CIA, Islamic terrorists, and Jewish Secret Police. As the death toll rises, a mysterious Muslim prophet appears-a prophet who might be the leader Islam needs to restore peace among its followers. Together, the American and the prophet endeavor to reveal the true meaning of Mohammed's Breath of Allah, but to do so they must overcome the deadly agendas of extremist clerics and terrorists, who are willing to silence the true Koran at any cost.

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I Have Seen the Future: A Life of Lincoln Steffens Review

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(More customer reviews)He was the son of a self-made California businessman who often made profits betting on "fixed" horse races. Lincoln Steffens grew up privileged in a large, happy well-fixed Republican family, which he remained emotionally close to for the rest of his life. After a three year stint in Europe during which he studied at the Sorbonne and Leipzig University, Steffens was shocked to receive a $100 bill from his impatient father instructing him to immediately go to New York and do something "practical" with his life.
But his father also supplied a letter of introduction that helped his son land a job at the New York Evening Posst, a venerable, if somewhat staid and conservative major newspaper in the 1890s. From that time on, Steffens made his own way in the world. He investigated Wall Street and went on to report on major graft going on nearby, on Mulberry Street, where the New York Police Department was headquartered.
Steffens was hired a few years later, in 1901, by the brilliant editor, Sam McClure, who was already making a huge reputation for McClure's Magazine by hiring the most eclectic and original writers any magazine has ever had on its masthead --Theodore Dreiser, Willa Cather, Ida Tarbell, William Allen White and Ray Stannard Baker, among others. Years later when a contingent of these same writers had a "falling out" with the mercurial McClure, they all hid behind a door (including Steffens) while Ida Tarbell did the negotiating.
From the beginning, the very level-headed and careful Tarbell, McClure's favorite and most trusted writer, said that Steffens was "the most brilliant addition" to the McClure's staff, even though "she often felt uncomfortable with his incredibly outspoken" and what she deemed somewhat obnoxious personality.Nevertheless, despite Tarbell's misgivings, the McClure's connection was the making of Steffens as a nationally known investigative journalist. He went on to "tutor" the new police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in the "ways" of his new department, and count him as a life-long confidante, desspite their ongoing and profound differences. And Steffens went on to investigate the governments of a score of cities across the United States -- Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, Minneapolis and others, eventually packaging all these reporting forays into one critically acclaimed book "The Shame of the Cities."
And, it is a profound understatement to say that the cast of characters that Steffens made friends with along the way was legendary -- John Reed, Ernest Hemmingway, Walter Lippmann, Sinclair Lewis and others.
But in the end, the big question about Steffens that biographer Peter Hartshorn grapples with in an intelligent, careful way is why was this hard-head, award-winning muckraker was so muddle-headed when it came to looking at Russia seventeen years into the revolution when even the most ardent left-wing writers of the time were beinning to make caustic attacks on the murderous activities of the Stalin regime? The title of Hartshorn's biography, based on Steffens' famous comment, "I have seen the future," underscores the profound mark this comment and Steffens's dogmatic, uncritical view of the Stalin regime had on his journalistic legacy. As Hartshorn points out, "by 1934......daily tyranny and terror were already hallmarks of the Stalin regime, that seventeen years into the revolution could not be easily dismissed......."
"In the end," Hartshorn writes, "Steffens went too far. His aceptance of Lenin and Communism was extreme. But his painstaking diagnosis of the central problem in his own country --the deliberate suppression of democracy --and his courage in pursuing and revealing this ugly truth helped to set America on a better course, rightfully establishing the name of Lincoln Steffens as the greatest of the muckrakers."
Nevertheless, despite Hartshorn's balanced, graceful writing job and his intensive research on turn of the century politics and journalism, Lincoln Steffens himself still seems somewhat elusive.

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At the dawn of the twentieth century, Lincoln Steffens, an internationally known and respected political insider, went rogue to work for McClure's Magazine. Credited as the proverbial father of muckraking reporting, Steffens quickly rose to the top of McClure's team of investigative journalists, earning him the attention of many powerful politicians who utilized his knack for tireless probing to battle government corruption and greedy politicians. A mentor of Walter Lippmann, friend of Theodore Roosevelt, and advisor of Woodrow Wilson, Steffens is best known for bringing to light the Mexican Revolution, the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times, and the Versailles peace talks.Now, with print journalism and investigative reporters on the decline, Lincoln Steffens' biography serves as a necessary call to arms for the newspaper industry. Hartshorn's extensive research captures each detail of Steffens' life-from his private letters to friends to his long and colorful career-and delves into the ongoing internal struggle between his personal life and his overpowering devotion to the "cause."

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Little Bee: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Honestly I don't know what people are thinking when they market books anymore. The blurb on this book would have you believe that it's not only a laugh riot -- except for the beach scene which is "horrific" -- but that it's so remarkably written and in some way so easy to spoil that it all but swears the reader to a code of silence. And in fact, it's none of those things. All those marketing ploys actually do a disservice to an excellent book and if I were the author, I'd hate it that my work was being so misrepresented.
Briefly, "Little Bee" is about a young Nigerian refugee whose very existence changes the lives of a group of English citizens in dramatic ways. It's a good story and well-written but it would be silly of me to say that I don't want to tell you more because I don't want to spoil it for you. That would feel like me saying "I have NO idea what this is about."
It's about sadness. Really. It's not funny, except perhaps in small details where you might find yourself smiling ruefully. It's a sad book filled with sad and often thoughtless people. It's about how we cover our sadness with layers of so-called civilization, wrap our fears in popular culture, and never ever have the opportunity to face any of it and learn to rise above. Little Bee knows how to rise above. She's known how to do it her whole life because there's nowhere to hide in her country. Poverty, abuse and death are common where she is from, and if you don't want them to destroy you, they must be transcended.
I read the first two chapters just waiting for the comedy to begin. I waited for the beach scene with a measure of anxiety. I waited for some enormous surprise which I would long to tell others, but would keep to myself out of a sense of reader's decency. And each time, I found the truth to be something quite different. I'm actually happy about that because, for me at least, it means I was reading a book that might not be dismissed in a year or even a month as some pop cultural flash. It's a book which should make you think about the world and your place in it, and about what we owe to one another as human beings on this increasingly small, spinning globe.
I found it profoundly moving.

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