Book Description
1905. With numerous illustrations. Lewis writes in the Introduction: Almost a half century ago, being in 1857, John Doyle Lee, a chief among that red brotherhood, the Danites, was ordered by Brigham Young and the leading counselors of the Mormon Church to take his men and murder a party of emigrants then on their way through Utah to California. The Mormon orders were to kill all who can talk, and, in their carrying out, Lee and his Danites, with certain Indians whom he had recruited in the name of scalps and pillage, slaughtered over one hundred and twenty men, women and children and left their stripped bodies to the elements and the wolves. This wholesale murder was given the title of The Mountain Meadow Massacre. Twenty years later, in 1877, the belated justice of this Government seated Lee on his coffin, and shot him to death for his crimes. In addition to writing about his life, Lee also gives among other matters the story of the Church of Mormon from its inception, when Joseph Smith pretended, with the aid of Urim and Thummim, to translate the golden plates. Lewis then goes on to allege that in the name of Mormon safety, Brigham Young, by money and other agencies worked to have the book suppressed.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Colson Whitehead's second novel posits a folk antihero for the information age: junketeer and puff-piece-writing man J. Sutter. For his latest assignment, this freelance hack is sent to Talcott, West Virginia, to cover its John Henry Days festival and the unveiling of the United States Postal Service's John Henry stamp. Sutter hasn't devoted much thought to American mythology lately, or to the epic struggle of man vs. machine, or to anything else besides padding his expense account and cadging free drinks. Still, our hero is engaged in a private contest of his own--a kind of junket jag, in which he plans to attend a public relations event every single day. Alas, this journalistic obstacle course threatens to eradicate Sutter's soul, just as the folkloric steam shovel eradicated John Henry's body. Whitehead cuts back and forth between eras and exploits. And what begins as a media-saturated satire soon turns into a jazzy, expansive meditation on man, machine, nature, race, history, myth, and pop culture--in short, on America, as expressed through the story of (who else?) a former slave.
Following on the heels of Whitehead's widely praised debut, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days won't disappoint anyone who delighted in the first book's wonderfully quirky writing or its complex allegories of race. The historical set pieces here dazzle, and the author casts a withering eye on our media-driven culture: "Since the days of Gutenberg, an ambient hype wafted the world, throbbing and palpitating. From time to time, some of that material cooled, forming bodies of dense publicity." Still, these brilliant parts don't necessarily add up to a satisfying whole. Whitehead writes the kind of smart, allusive, highly wrought prose that is impressive sentence by sentence. Over the course of 400 pages, though, it can be somewhat daunting. It's a bit like eating a meal in which each of the seven courses comes topped with hollandaise sauce. Worse, some of the characters' motivations remain abstract, as if the author hovered so far above his creations that their foibles struck him as simple absurdities. In a novel of this caliber, of course, much can be forgiven. But one is eager to see Whitehead quit riffing and make an emotional investment in his characters. The result will be fiction that engages the heart as well as the head. --Mary Park
Book Description
Colson Whitehead’s eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of John Henry, the black steel-driver who died outracing a machine designed to replace him. On another level it’s the story of a disaffected, middle-aged black journalist on a mission to set a record for junketeering who attends the annual John Henry Days festival. It is also a high-velocity thrill ride through the tunnel where American legend gives way to American pop culture, replete with p. r. flacks, stamp collectors, blues men , and turn-of-the-century song pluggers.
John Henry Days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laugh-out-loud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2006-09-22
When I finished John Henry Days I felt that I wanted to know more about the title character. The most interesting chapters in this book were the historical ones. What was John Henry really like, what about Lil Bob, was John Henry's wife really Polly? The excerpt on Paul Robeson was also interesting. As for J., I too like Pamela was wondering what the J stands for?
I liked the Intuitionist better.........2005-03-31
This is good too, although it took me a long time to actually finish it. It sat on the desk beside my bed for a few months, and, despite my best intentions, I read a few different books during that time while slightly avoiding this one. This one is a bit long, and at times I wondered if he's the sort of writer that people like to own more than they like to read.
But still, Whitehead is a force to be reckoned with. He writes like a white guy. There, I said it. More like Updike than Baldwin. That's what the hype is about. He's obviously a well read, educated brother that knows how to put words together. He throws up a fractured prism of thought and feedback and current from our culture. The result is quite interesting, although I'm sure this is not for everybody.
Good writing, but all over the place..........2005-02-13
Grandiose undertaking presented in a convoluted epic of a story. Whitehead writes parallel stories that engage and is presented in a straight-forward, albiet alternating fashion, until about half-way through the novel, where it seems he loses focus or becomes bored and starts interjecting a series of new sub-plots in alternating seccession in the guise of a contributing back-story, but in reality this takes away from the main story. Once it's over, a feeling of importance permeates, but for all the loose ends this feeling is diminished a bit.
Long, but OK.......2004-04-13
JHD is too long, and it sometimes takes too much of a byroad to return to the main narrative. There is much beauty in those byways, but by the time you get back to J. and Pamela, you feel you've travelled too far to be happy about your return, and the two characters don't grip you like they could or should. What made The Intuitionist such a great book - the detailled accounts - is this novel's main flaw.
Really didn't like this book at all.......2004-03-22
I had to read this for a class. I just could not get into this story. I normally love to read but this book just could not cut it. I would not continue reading this book by choice. I will be glad to be done with it. The instructor could have picked a better book. No one else in the class cares for this book either. A waste of my money. J. is an annoying character. Couldn't care less about him....
Book Description
In this New York Times bestseller, award-winning combat reporter Sean Naylor reveals how close American forces came to disaster in Afghanistan against Al Qaida-after easily defeating the ragtag Taliban that had sheltered the terrorist organization behind the 9/11 attacks.
At dawn on March 2, 2002, over 200 soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions flew into the mouth of a buzz saw in the Shahikot Valley. Believing the war all but over, U.S. military leaders refused to commit the troops and materiel required to fight the war's biggest battle-a missed opportunity to crush hundreds of Al Qaida's fighters and some of its most senior leaders. Eyewitness Naylor vividly portrays the heroism of the young, untested soldiers unprepared for the ferocious enemy they fought; the mistakes that led to a hellish mountaintop firefight; and how thirteen American commandos embodied "Patton's three principles of war"-audacity, audacity and audacity-by creeping unseen over frozen mountains into the heart of an enemy stronghold to prevent a U.S. military catastrophe.
Customer Reviews:
Well researched, good book........2007-10-03
Hard to follow all of the characters, and the author or his sources have an obvious bias against the Navy SEAL teams, but very interesting and educational read.
Very Good But Flawed.......2007-08-05
Many people have reviewed this book on this site so I'll just focus on a few key points. First, as many have commented, this book delves into the force structure details to a great extent. However, these details set the context for the problems the operation later encountered. I also read Robert's Ridge right after this book and it clearly lacks that context that would elevate it from the equivalent of an action movie.
The book appears to be thorough and meticulously researched. It covers the subject well.
The biggest flaw, in my view, is that the author felt entitled to engage in judgment throughout the book. He particularly makes sweeping, one-sided judgments about the people involved, their competence and their motivations, and sometimes seems to slant his reporting to support his judgments. Much, if not most of the time, there is little or no support provided for these judgments, good or bad.
He is overly harsh with respect to the SEALs. Some of them made mistakes no doubt but the reader can decide that for him or herself based upon a fair presentation of the facts. For example, he clearly leads the reader to judge the actions of a SEAL nicknamed Slab. Robert's Ridge offers details about Slab's decisions that may not completely counter balance the negative judgments but certainly provide a more complete picture of his decisions.
I found one particularly galling example to be the case of John Chapman, the combat controller who died when he went back with the SEAL team to rescue Neil Roberts. The author suggests that he was still alive when the SEAL team abandoned the ridge, thereby leaving him to fend for himself against overwhelming numbers. The author mentions that an official investigation concluded Chapman probably died before the SEAL team left him but he seems to steer the reader to the conclusion that the investigation must have been a white wash.
In fact, it wasn't until I read Roberts Ridge, and the accompanying notes, that I found out there was credible evidence suggesting that Chapman probably died immediately from his wounds and, if correct, could not have occupied a bunker to fight on. Of course, there is evidence to the contrary and unfortunately we'll never know. That's where the readers should be left - to form their own conclusions.
My other minor quibbles are that more and better maps collected in one section are needed, more pictures of the individuals would be useful and a timeline would help readers keep track of the many details. Curiously, despite the author's focus on details before the operation began, he provides little in the way of information about the aftermath.
It's really a shame the author approached this topic the way he did because the topic is fascinating and it's important. There are many lessons to be learned and not only for those planning combat. Still, it's a good book overall and worth reading.
Great companion to "Roberts Ridge".......2007-07-11
There's not much I can say that hasn't been spelled out in the 80+ reviews before mine, but I'll add my 2 cents nonetheless. Naylor's account, as many have indicated, IS a pretty heavy on minute details, but that's not a bad thing in and of itself. The problem I had was following the incredible number of names and ranks that were spit out that were NOT on the battlefield. It's not all that difficult to follow the major players in the story, but some of the background people are really hard to track. I also need to echo the reviews that point out that Naylor was seemingly overly harsh on the SEALs involved. While this isn't so apparent in the beginning, and he does have some kind things to say about a few SEAL operators, once the story progresses to the Takur Ghar section he seems to have a real axe to grind with the Navy and I think his Army loyalty is exposed. Many of the "mistakes" or decisions the SEALs made were no different from ones the Army made earlier in the operation, (Blue on Blue bombing killing U.S. troops, anyone?) but Naylor treats every mis-step in this part of the story as if the mistakes were unique to the Navy. It gets pretty old after a while. Those gripes aside, this was still an excellent read and especially worthwhile if you have read or intend to read "Roberts Ridge". Naylor's book should probably be read first, just because it gives a lot more background for why "Slab's" superiors were so insistent he and his team go when and where they did. Overall highly recommended.
Good, Yet Too Detailed Read For Most Readers.......2007-06-24
I really liked this book for the exact reasons that many others didn't -- the detail. As someone who served in Afghanistan on two occassions, I am less interested in the 'blood and guts' battle scenes and more in the behind-the-scenes stories that go into intelligence and planning. Granted, the story at times gets bogged down in seemingly insignificant details, but I felt the overall pacing was good. The backgrounds and personalities of the individuals portrayed gave a good sense of the men who were fighting, planning, and organizing Operation Anaconda. From what I understand, many people at SOCOM hated this book because of the details provided which means Naylor hit a homerun in getting his facts straight.
Definately not a book for all tastes, but if you like books that focus on the minutia, then this one is for you. For good combat action, read 'Blackhawk Down' or 'Ambush Alley'.
Save yourself.......2007-06-06
I feel like the author should somehow reimburse for the time I wasted on this book. In additon to providing the reader with endless obscure details about every officer in the military NOT involved in the fighting, he actually manages to make the few combat sequences boring! It might read something like this:
"Task force Hammer got shot at by some terrorist guys-they shot back. Meanwhile, back headquarters, command was arguing about whether to use 1" or 0.75" margins on the TPS 145 ZX2 forms. The 1" advocates prevailed."
If you are planning a congressional investigation into Operation Anaconda and want every, single brain-numbing detail, buy this book. If you want the perspective of the soldiers actually fighting, BUY SOMETHING ELSE.
Book Description
In a mad-dash world filled with long to-do lists and too many commitments, it's easy for one to lose perspective of what matters most-even with the most important person in one's life. It gets even more complicated with all of the distractions that seem to keep our attention away from sources of help and renewal. That's why Cloud & Townsend have teamed up to pack their very best relationship principles in a powerful 21-day program designed for today's busy couples. Each short chapter has to-the-point wisdom and do-it-today action steps on issues like committing to personal growth, breaking the pattern of trying to change one's spouse, building-and restoring-trust, cultivating healthy intimacy, establishing realistic expectations, learning to handle conflict without damaging the relationship, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!.......2007-07-11
We love this book! My husband and I read it to get to know eachother better as we were tired of having the same conversation each night when he got home from work. We have learned more about our relationship. I think we are loving eachother better. I recommend this book to any married couple.
21 Days to a Great Marriage is a practical quick read that strengthens even the best of marriages.......2007-06-06
Even the best marriages can use a little brush up now and then. That's where 21 Days to a Great Marriage: A Grownup Approach to Couplehood, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, comes in. This easy-to-read book offers a handy guide to touch up any areas of your relationship that you may have let slide --- even the smallest notch.
Cloud and Townsend cover all the basics of marriage --- even some of those we forget as the years go by. They challenge readers to grow not only in their relationship but also in their personal and spiritual lives. They open with a simple but profound quote:
"When I was single, I was unhappy and insecure. Then I married Ron and became married, unhappy and insecure."
The authors challenge the notion that happiness is the goal of marriage, suggesting that a much better goal is growth. One of the byproducts is happiness. They point out that the emotional and spiritual growth process that naturally happens in a marriage is God-given. Through marriage we discover where we are empty as well as where we are broken and how much we need God and others. In the process, we find contentment, maturation and healing. When the focus of our lives becomes growth, we can't help but find happiness.
Throughout the book, Cloud and Townsend steer readers away from unhealthy patterns such as co-dependence, selfishness and fighting to be right.
Now no marriage book would be complete without addressing the topic of sex. The authors challenge couples to take sex beyond the bedroom through healthy communication, exercise, honesty and support. They encourage couples to remove any unhealthy pressure of performance and set aside time to make love.
One of the most challenging and helpful chapters asks readers to deal with hurt as it happens in their relationship. Cloud and Townsend point out that great marriages are not the ones in which there is no pain, but rather those in which pain is accepted as part of the package. The result is that the couple consciously becomes better at processing pain and resolving conflict.
Designed for marriages of all lengths and depths, 21 Days to a Great Marriage is ideal for those in good marriages as well as those who are scrambling for answers in their relationship. The short chapters can be enjoyed in once-a-day portions over a three-week period, used during a romantic weekend away, or enjoyed during a group study over several months.
Each chapter ends with a section of "Think about It, Talk about It, Live It," which provides insightful questions for self-reflection as well as discussion. In addition, there's a "Great Marriage Commitment" closing to help readers identify a specific area of growth and prayer.
Whether you've been married for years or about to tie the knot, 21 Days to a Great Marriage is a practical quick read that strengthens even the best of marriages.
--- Reviewed by Margaret Feinberg
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Church, State and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith (Significant Mormon Diaries)
Manufacturer: Signature Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0941214850 |
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John Henry Days
Colson Whitehead
Manufacturer: Fourth Estate
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1841155705 |
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War, Politics, And Reconstruction: Stormy Days in Louisiana (Southern Classics)
Henry Clay Warmoth
Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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South
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General
| Civil War
| United States
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ASIN: 1570036438 |
Book Description
A memoir of the ambitious life and controversial political career of Louisiana governor Henry Clay Warmoth (1842-1931), War, Politics, and Reconstruction is a firsthand account of the political and social machinations of Civil War America and the war's aftermath in one of the most volatile states of the defeated Confederacy.
At the onset of the Civil War, Warmoth, an Illinois native, traded his district attorney appointment for a colonel's commission in the Union army. He was wounded at Vicksburg in May 1863 and, while on leave, was dishonorably discharged by General U. S. Grant for being absent without leave and for circulating reports of exaggerated Union losses. He fought the discharge and was restored to his rank by an executive order from President Abraham Lincoln.
Warmoth arrived in Louisiana in 1864 as part of the federal occupation forces. Upon leaving military service in 1865, he established himself in private legal practice in New Orleans. Taking full advantage of the chaotic times, Warmoth rapidly amassed fortune and influence, and soon emerged as a leader of the state's Republican Party and, in 1868, was elected governor. Amid an administration rife with scandal and corruption, the Louisiana Republican Party broke into warring factions. Warmoth survived an impeachment attempt in 1872, but a second attempt in 1873 culminated with his removal from office. This fall from Republican grace stemmed from his allegiance with white conservatives, remnants of the old guard, and staunch opponents of those Republicans who sought a wider role for African Americans in Louisiana's changing political landscape.
Though he never again held political office, Warmoth remained in his adopted Louisiana, enjoying the fruits of his investments in plantations and sugar refineries. In 1930, the year before his death, he published War, Politics, and Reconstruction, a vindication of his public life and a rebuttal of his reputation as an opportunistic carpetbagger of the highest order. Despite Warmoth's obvious self-serving biases, the volume offers unparalleled depth of personal insight into the inner workings of Reconstruction government in Louisiana in the words of one of its key architects.
A new introduction by John C. Rodrigue places Warmoth's memoir within the broader context of evolving perceptions and historiography of Reconstruction. Rodrigue also offers readers a more balanced portrait of Warmoth by providing supplemental information omitted or slighted by the author in his efforts to cast his actions in the most positive light.
Customer Reviews:
An honest man.......2000-03-31
This book covers Joseph Smith's personal, political, and religious life. When you are finished reading it, you cannot deny that Joseph Smith was an honest man.
Book Description
Countless perils menaced the early settlers of the Wild West - and not the least of them was the lack of medical care. Dr. Dane Logan, a former street waif who has been adopted by a doctor's family in Cheyenne, puts his lifelong dream to work filling this need. His renown as a surgeon spreads throughout the frontier, even while his love grows for the beautiful Tharyn, an orphan he lost contact with when he left New York City as a child. Will happiness in love ever come to Dane - or will the roving Tag Moran gang bring his hopes to a dark end?
Showdown in Cheyenne
1880. The frontier is uneasy. Tag Moran and his vicious gang are roving the West, robbing banks and stagecoaches. Dr. Dane Logan, a former street waif adopted by a doctor’s family in Cheyenne, is gaining renown for his delicate surgical skill. Dane’s situation becomes precarious when an unfortunate death turns Tag into his bitter enemy. If outlaws come between the tall young surgeon and his childhood love, who’ll be left to see another sunrise?
Story Behind the Book
Always planning ahead for what we will write for Multnomah Publishers, JoAnna and I decided to follow the ORPHAN TRAIN trilogy with one about a medical doctor in the Old West, so we came up with the idea of a trilogy called FRONTIER DOCTOR. We introduced a teenage boy in the final ORPHAN TRAIN book who has a burning desire to one day become a physician and surgeon. This first book in this trilogy keys in on this young prospective doctor. Seeing history through this young doctor’s eyes will deeply touch your heart and make these books impossible to set down. We also think you’ll find this new trilogy filled with our faith—gained from so many years of serving the Lord and trusting His written Word.
Customer Reviews:
One More Sunrise...first of the series.......2006-03-16
I enjoyed the story line and the characters. They are quite believable and unique in their own way, but found both to be overshadowed by unending bibical quotes.
Book Description
This extraordinary collaboration explores the nature of faith and the wonder of miracles in the life of a man who is given a second chance at life.
Product Description
English Lyric by Noel Sherman; German Lyric by Peter Mosser; Music by Peter Mosser. Sidmore Music, Inc.
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One More Sunrise
Maurice Perera
Manufacturer: Athena Press Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1844010538 |
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One more sunrise;: The story of E.M. Stevens and the Great Western companies
Ruel McDaniel
Manufacturer: Historical Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Accounting | Biography & History | Business Life | By Publisher | Economics | Finance | General | Industries & Professions | International | Investing | Job Hunting & Careers | Management & Leadership | Marketing & Sales | Organizational Behavior | Personal Finance | Popular Economics | Real Estate | Reference | Skills | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Women & Business
ASIN: B0007EGSXW |
Books:
- Towns of the Sandia Mountains (NM) (Images of America)
- Tradition Book: Verbena (Mage)
- Trend Following: How Great Traders Make Millions in Up or Down Markets, New Expanded Edition, (Paperback)
- Twelve Mile Limit
- Water for Elephants: A Novel
- We're in Trouble
- What Love Means to You People
- Without Fail (Jack Reacher Novels}
- Wolf Point
- Zabelle
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