|
August 16
|
|
Becky
is currently reading:
President Nixon: Alone in the White House (Paperback)
by Richard Reeves
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Paperback)
by Jeannette Walls
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
Becky said:
"This is a fantastic quick read. I read it in two nights and thought it was wonderful. From the beginning you care deeply about this family. You become enthralled in the stories, events, happiness, and sadness in their lives.
This is a memior o...more
This is a fantastic quick read. I read it in two nights and thought it was wonderful. From the beginning you care deeply about this family. You become enthralled in the stories, events, happiness, and sadness in their lives.
This is a memior of Walls' life. She was raised by parents who are "addicted to adventure' as her mom says. They are always poor, very rarely have enough money to eat, and are always on the skedaddle to out run the bill collectors. Her father is brilliant but also an alcoholic who always is thinking about the next big thing. Her mother often tells her that they don't have it as bad as others and life is about perception.
As the four children grow older they escape on by one to New York. It isn't too long before the parents decide to move up there as well. It is very telling when you read that the author is living on Park Ave. while her parents are homeless-by choice. You can see the struggle she has had to deal with her whole life- loving her parents but knowing there is more....less
"
|
|
August 10
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Eisenhower (Paperback)
by Stephen E. Ambrose
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"This is a condensed one volume biography that takes us through Eisenhower's life as a child through his role of elder statesman. It is a wonderful chronicle of the triumphs and failures of Eisenhower in both the military and the presidency.
Ambr...more
This is a condensed one volume biography that takes us through Eisenhower's life as a child through his role of elder statesman. It is a wonderful chronicle of the triumphs and failures of Eisenhower in both the military and the presidency.
Ambrose does a wonderful job of not putting his subject on a pedestal. He talks of Eisenhower's weaknesses in the area of civil rights, perhaps McCarthy, and in his development of the CIA to do the dirty work of the US government. Ambrose also defends Eisenhower's wait and see politics as what actually got America through many close calls and near misses with Soviet Russia. He talks of how Eisenhower got America out of Korea and kept us out of Vietnam. He elaborates on Eisenhower's level head as those around him kept screaming that we should use the nuclear weapons available in our arsenal.
Overall, this is a fantastic book. I never felt that I was missing out on some part of Eisenhower's career, and I never felt that Ambrose was overly biased. I definitely recommend this book....less
"
|
|
July 30
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times (Paperback)
by H.W. Brands
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"Many people who know anything about Andrew Jackson as president do not think favorably of him or what he accomplished. They hear a few stories about how the White House was in complete disarray after he left it because of tobacco stains and the wild...more
Many people who know anything about Andrew Jackson as president do not think favorably of him or what he accomplished. They hear a few stories about how the White House was in complete disarray after he left it because of tobacco stains and the wild inauguration party. They hear that he was the common man's president or that he tried to turn the executive branch into something any king would envy. Brand sheds new light on Jackson and his life prior to, during, and after the presidency.
Jackson was left an orphan after his mother died during the Revolutionary War-his father had died before Jackson was born. He was always dedicated to the Union and this is shown in a story of him being injured during the Revolutionary War for refusing to do the will of the British. Once old enough to go out in the world and make his way he finally found his way to law. He made his way from the Carolinas to Tennessee.
Once in TN he found romance, politics, and the army. His romance with Rachel is one of controversy. She was married but not living with her husband, her husband came back for her but thought she was romantically involved with Jackson so he left her again. This has not been proven, but Jackson and Rachel were married, unknowingly, before her divorce was finalized, and they had to remarry a few years later. He was intensely loyal and dedicated to Rachel for the rest of his life.
He was appointed to be judge, a political position, and he was very well liked and respected in this position. This led to fear of Jackson trying to rise higher in politics so he was appointed head of the TN militia. It is due to this position and his brillance as a general that Jackson became a well known name. He had to deal with the Native Americans on a regular basis. In this area I believe that Brand tries to help us see things the way Jackson saw them and in doing so showed a bias toward his subject that was very obvious to the reader and not objective. Still, in dealing with the Native Americans and securing the west he became famous. In the Battle of Orleans he secured the Mississippi for the Union and calmed the FL border. You begin to see his expansionist views in wanting to take Florida from Spain and in even thinking about Texas. You see that Jackson was a man who did first and explained later. He thought that as the general he knew what was to be done better than the president or any member of congress. He was very aggressive and did not think of international or even intranational politics or relations. Once the war was over he moved back to Tennessee and saw JQ Adams become president.
A few things about Jackson's home life- his son was adopted beacuse he and his wife could not have children and he took in a Native American boy to raise after he was left an orphan. He was a slave owner. He had been in or challenged people duels. He had bullets in his shoulder for the rest of his life. He had intestinal problems that bothered him for his whole life and probably explains why he was so thin.
Jackson was of the mindset that you do not turn down the public when it asks you to serve them. So when the people wanted him to be president he did not turn them down. Brands does not spend much time on the presidency. Jackson was president for eight years, and during this time he ignored his Cabinet, Congress, the Supreme Court, and made the executive branch much more powerful. There was a bank crisis that would extend to after his presidency, there was legislation he helped to draft involving the Trail of Tears, the threat of North Carolina's cession and none of this is mentioned in as much detail as would do it honor.
Overall, this book did a great job discussing Jackson's early childhood, young adulthood, and his tenure as a general. However, there is not enough on the presidency of man that really changed the way the executive branch was and is viewed.
...less
"
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Love in the Time of Cholera (Paperback)
by Gabriel García Márquez
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
Becky said:
"I read this book because I really enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude. I thought that the writing was elegant and the storytelling amazing. It flowed well and was woven together in a masterful way. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has the very unique idea...more
I read this book because I really enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude. I thought that the writing was elegant and the storytelling amazing. It flowed well and was woven together in a masterful way. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has the very unique idea of delving into the various facets of love and the human emotions.
However, this book did not hook me the way I expected. I enjoyed the idea, the writing style, but I did not find the main character believable or very likable. Florentino wasn't your ideal romantic lead, which was probably the point, and it left me wondering how a man that most would consider pathetic, lonely, and perhaps ugly was supposed to gather my sympathies and affection. I rarely rooted for him and Fermina. Instead I found Juvenal more compelling and likable. The relationship he had with Fermina was the one I most enjoyed reading about. In the end I felt that instead of Florentino having finally conquered the heart of Fermina, he merely was able to find a life with her because she, like most people, didn't want to die alone....less
"
|
|
June 18
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Truman (Paperback)
by David McCullough
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
Becky said:
"This is a great book that tells us so much about the Common Man's President. He is a president we don't really talk about much or give a lot of credit to, but during his presidency the United States ended WWII, dropped the atom bombs, developed the ...more
This is a great book that tells us so much about the Common Man's President. He is a president we don't really talk about much or give a lot of credit to, but during his presidency the United States ended WWII, dropped the atom bombs, developed the Marshall Plan, created the United Nations, NATO, Four Points Plan, entered the Cold War, had the Berlin Airlift, backed Israel as a new nation, went into Korea, and dealt with the beginning of McCarthyism. All this during the presidency of man who seemed to be the last choice on many of his stops along the way to the White House.
This was a great book full of much insight and a deeper look at the man who seemed to not want the presidency at all, but once given it tried his best to keep it everything he thought it was and was meant to be....less
"
|
|
May 24
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Gilead: A Novel (Paperback)
by Marilynne Robinson
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"Every time I went into a bookstore I would see this book and mentally put it on my to-read list. I finally received it as a gift and was very eager to begin reading the story of John Ames ( an old pastor who was writing a letter to his young son bec...more
Every time I went into a bookstore I would see this book and mentally put it on my to-read list. I finally received it as a gift and was very eager to begin reading the story of John Ames ( an old pastor who was writing a letter to his young son because he was dying). I thought it would be artfully told with moments of great poignancy and deep fatherly and spiritual advice. I was greatly disappointed.
The first half of book jumps around from the story of John Ames' grandfather and father, both of whom were also pastors, and it shares with us how John Ames became a father and husband at such a late age. It is not coherent and is very disjointed. It is written like a man who writes a little every day of what he remembers on that given day with no thought to the reader. There isn't much in the way of sage advice or lessons learned from a man who should have seen and learned a lot. I during the first part of the book there were numerous times I had to put it down and then force myself to finish, hoping it would get better.
The second half of the book introduces a man also by the name John Ames, this man is the son of his best friend. Jack, as the namesake is usually called, is a prodigal son. He has been away from quite awhile and has a bit of a past. At this point the letter seems to be a way for him to try and acclimate himself to the idea that this man may take his place once he dies. He discusses the bad character of Jack and then tries to reconcile that with the fact he is his namesake and son of his best friend. The book ends with a us learning something about Jack that may change our minds about him and the type of man he is; it changes the way John Ames views him. Then the book gives a couple more small thoughts and it stops. It left me feeling completely unfulfilled and wanting more and at the same wanting to never ever pick it up again. It was tedious, long even though it is only 246 pages, pedistrian, and not at all what it promised to be. ...less
"
|
|
March 07
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory (Hardcover)
by William Manchester
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"This book talks about a young man who was always an aristocrat and a bit out of touch with everyday people. He used his mother's ties to advance him in the world. It lays the foundation for the man and the political views he would hold later in life...more
This book talks about a young man who was always an aristocrat and a bit out of touch with everyday people. He used his mother's ties to advance him in the world. It lays the foundation for the man and the political views he would hold later in life. It also give you a glimpse into the life of young man who nearly flunked out of school, chased war around the world, played polo, participated in the world's last meaningful cavalry charge, was a war correspondent, and escaped imprisonment as a POW in the Boar War....less
"
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940 (Hardcover)
by William Manchester
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"I didn't know a whole lot about Winston Churchill before I read this book. I knew he was prime minister during WWII and that was the extent of my knowledge.
There is quite a bit I didn't know about Churchill during his "wilderness" yea...more
I didn't know a whole lot about Winston Churchill before I read this book. I knew he was prime minister during WWII and that was the extent of my knowledge.
There is quite a bit I didn't know about Churchill during his "wilderness" years. This book focuses on the period of 1932-1940 when Churchill was out of power, an outcast in his own party and universally derided as a warmongering relic. Churchill's political exile coincides with the rise of Hitler and the growth of Germany from defeated power to world menace. He tries over and over to warn Britain just what Hitler is capable of but no one wants to listen to the 'crazy' old man....less
"
|
|
February 22
|
|
Becky
gave
to:
Snow (Paperback)
by Orhan Pamuk
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Becky said:
"Having recently returned from political exile in Germany for the funeral of his mother, Ka becomes drawn to the suicides of young women in Kars; women who are being forced from school by the secular government for wearing religious head scarves. At t...more
Having recently returned from political exile in Germany for the funeral of his mother, Ka becomes drawn to the suicides of young women in Kars; women who are being forced from school by the secular government for wearing religious head scarves. At the same time, he is curious about Ipek, the object of his desire from his university days who has recently become available. With this relatively straightforward setting, Pamuk has set in motion a host of story lines, all of which reflect the unique duality of Turkey.
This book sets up the ideals of conservative vs. modern Islamists. You see the struggle of wanting to embrace what was vs. a move toward Western ways. It is a nice peek and introduction into the Islamic world....less
"
|
