I. David Rosenstein's Blog: Focus on Non-Fiction , page 4

Book Review: Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Clash Over the New Deal

An Excellent Historical Narrative That Looks Much Like the Drama of Today

Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Clash Over the New Deal by Eric Rauchway is the story of events that occurred between Franklin Roosevelt’s November 8, 1932 election and his March 4, 1933 inauguration. While I appreciated this book for its vivid depiction of a critical moment in American history I could not help but compare that moment in history to events of our current time.

Herbert Hoover was a highly conservative Republican President who refused to use the power of his Government to address the country’s Great Depression. He seemed to feel that occasional economic suffering is one of the costs of a capitalist system and that interfering with the suffering would be a threat to capitalism. After one term in office the voters replaced Hoover with Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic candidate who promised to use an activist Government to aid suffering Americans.

During the period between the election and the inauguration Hoover continued to assert that Roosevelt’s activist Government spelled the end of capitalism. He tried to convince Roosevelt to endorse his conservative policies before the inauguration. And as the inauguration drew near, and he saw that Roosevelt was going ahead with his activist policies, Hoover tried to position himself to be the leader of the Republican Party and the consensus Republican Party candidate for the 1936 election.

This is a very good book that describes the actions and thoughts of the outgoing and incoming Presidents in 1933. The contrast between their views of the role of Government continues to plague the country to this day. And Rauchway uses this contrast when depicting the potential for a calamitous national financial failure during the final days before the Inauguration. Confidence in the banks was falling and customers were lining up to withdraw their money. Banks were starting to go into foreclosure taking their customers’ savings with them. Rauchway deftly goes back and forth between Hoover and Roosevelt to compare Hoover’s refusal to take action with Roosevelt’s preparation to declare a thirty-day Bank Holiday as soon as he is inaugurated. The tension he builds is real and is comparable to that of a good thriller.

Roosevelt’s activist Government response to the crises of his time is similar to Joe Biden’s activist Government response to the crises of our time. It is hard not to see the similarities between the Hoover to Roosevelt transition and the recent Trump to Biden transition. Careful readers will find more and more similarities between the two transitions. One interesting similarity that did not exist was Hoover’s calling Congress into session so that they could approve all of Roosevelt’s cabinet nominees as soon as he was inaugurated. It is hard to imagine that happening today. Notwithstanding this exception, Rauchway has, whether he intended to or not, written a book that proves the idiom “history repeats itself”. I give this book 4 stars and recommend it for anyone with an interest in American history or the role of Government.

Book Review: The Philadelphia Stories: People and Their Places in Early America

Fascinating Picture of Philadelphia and its Citizens in the Years Following the Revolutionary War

The Philadelphia Stories: People and Their Places in Early America was written primarily by C. Dallett Hemphill, a Professor of History at Ursinus University. Unfortunately, Professor Hemphill died before she could complete the book and it was completed by several of her colleagues that were familiar with her work. The book did not suffer from this unusual authorship. It was well edited and I found it to be an enjoyable and informative read.

The Philadelphia Stories is a series of narratives about the lives of 12 individuals that lived in Philadelphia between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. These individuals are not the Founding Fathers or any other famous personages. Instead, to most people, the names of all 12 are totally unfamiliar. Professor Hemphill chose these 12 individuals because, together, they illustrate what life was like in Philadelphia during their time.

The first group of narratives is about three clergyman of different faiths, Anthony Benezet, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and William White. Through the stories of these men Professor Hemphill shows that Philadelphia was somewhat unique during colonial times in that it was not dominated by a single religion. As a result, Philadelphians of different religions were forced to learn to cooperate with each other.

The second group of narratives is about three women, Grace Growden Galloway, Anne Shippen Livingston and Deborah Norris Logan. Through the stories of these women Professor Hemphill shows the lack of power over their own lives held by women during the late 18th and early 19th century.

The third group of narratives is about three men, Charles Wilson Peale, Stephen Girard and Joseph Hemphill, who took full advantage of opportunities made available to industrious men in early Philadelphia. Peale became a famous painter, Girard was a merchant and banker who became the richest man in America and Hemphill was a successful lawyer, judge and legislator.

The final group of narratives is about three people, Francis Johnson, Sarah Thorn Tyndale and William Darrah Kelley, who overcame disadvantages in their own lives and fought for the rights of others. Johnson was a Black bandleader who had to deal with the rabid racism of the early 19th century, Sarah Johnson built a successful business and fought for women’s rights and William Kelley rose from poverty to become a judge and legislator that fought for workers rights.

I read numerous historical narratives. But they usually deal with famous people and/or famous events. Reading this book about not so famous people, how they fit into the life around them and how they dealt with their circumstances was something of a departure for me. And I am very glad that Professor Hemphill and her associates made this possible. Through the lives of her 12 individuals Professor Hemphill drew a picture of life in late 18th century/early 19th century Philadelphia that could not have been done by simply trying to describe the era. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it for anyone interested in the history of Philadelphia or in life in general in the early days of America. I give this book 4.5 stars.

Thanks to #netgalley and to University of Pennsylvania Press for my early release copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness 1680-1790

Comprehensive Summary of a Fascinating Era of Intellectual Thought

The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness 1680-1790 by Ritchie Robertson covers all aspects of the philosophical movement that dominated 18th century Europe. There is a lot of material here. The book is over 1000 pages long. I listened to the Audible version – all 40 hours of it – during my morning walks over a 6 week period and I felt that the time was well spent. In fact, I am seriously considering listening to the book a second time.

Unlike several of the other reviewers, I did not come to this book with any prior knowledge of the Enlightenment. Thus, I was in no position to critique the book based upon how it confirms or contrasts with my pre-existing understanding. I hope that this review is helpful to others, like me, who are interested in learning something of this subject for the first time.

As explained by Robertson, the Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that occurred from the late 17th century to the late 18th century. It consisted of the writings of scholars such as Diderot, Kant and Voltaire, referred to as the philosophes, that addressed a wide range of topics including liberty, toleration, government, science, culture and religion.

These scholars did not base their ideas upon any type of rigid scientific studies. Instead, they went outside of the accepted knowledge of the time, mostly based on Church orthodoxy, and derived their thoughts exclusively from their own “reason”. They exchanged their thoughts through meetings, salons, coffeehouses, and journals. Some of such exchanges had to be done clandestinely since their ideas often challenged the accepted teachings of the Church and the existing Monarchies.

Robertson provides a very clear explanation of the ideas of the Enlightenment both through his own interpretation and through quotes from the writings of the original authors. I was continually in awe of the philosophes who, through their own rational reasoning, developed sound explanations for everyday issues. Over time, many of their ideas have proven to be wrong. However, there are also many instances in which their ideas have proven to be pretty much on point.

I found this to be a very enjoyable work when read (listened to) as a whole. By the time I was done I felt that I had completed a college level Intro to the Enlightenment course. However, because the book is neatly divided into chapters covering the numerous aspects of the Enlightenment, others who are not interested in taking a book of this length may choose to read only selected parts. I give this book 5 stars and recommend it for anyone wishing to learn more about this fascinating period in time.

Book Review: Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice

Story of a Determined Anti-Slavery Congressman

In light of the thousands of books that have been written about the Civil War it is hard to believe that there can be a new book with an unexplored viewpoint. But Bruce Levine’s Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice, which describes the efforts of one relentless Congressman to end slavery and to grant full rights of citizenship to the former slaves, is just such a book.

Thaddeus Stevens was a Congressman from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania during the years leading up to, and during, the Civil War. While Levine describes him as a very stubborn, principled person he also shows that he was a shrewd politician who knew how to pick and win his important battles.

At the time that Stevens was first elected to Congress most Americans, even in those in the North, considered African Americans to be inferior to white Americans and not capable of exercising the rights of citizenship. The early Congressional battles over slavery involved the question of extension of slavery into the territories and the new states. Levine deftly incorporates quotes from Stevens’ speeches in Congress to demonstrate the evolution of his position on slavery during those early battles. He shows that, by the time the Civil War started, Stevens was in a small minority seeking to end slavery everywhere in the United States.

When War broke out most Northerners did not go to war to eliminate slavery. They went to war to preserve the Union. And during the first years of the War, many of the most liberal Northerners, including Abraham Lincoln, sought to appease the seceded Southern states, and to encourage them to rejoin the Union, by crafting some type of plan to gradually terminate slavery or to resettle the former slaves in Africa.

The Northerners seeking to appease the South abandoned those efforts only when they saw how successful the South was during the first years of the War. While most of Stevens’ fellow Congressmen were not, initially, anxious to take action to free the slaves, they were anxious to win the War. And Levine explains how Stevens advanced his antislavery position by strategically tying it to the War issue. Over the initial objections of his colleagues he was able to show that emancipating the slaves would weaken the South’s war effort and that permitting African Americans to enlist in the Union Army would strengthen the Union’s war effort.

Levine explains that, even after they lost the War, Southerners were not ready to change the status of African Americans living in their midst. In fact, they planned to return the African Americans to their pre-war subservient status, using a name other than slavery. And the North, which was tired of the War by the time it was over and was unwilling to enforce the rights of the former slaves, pretty much looked the other way. But Stevens did everything that he could stiffen the North’s resolve.

Stevens saw that reconstruction, as implemented by Andrew Johnson, was likely to undermine everything that the North had achieved for African Americans during the War. So his last great achievement before he died was passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments that amended the Constitution to grant to African Americans all rights of citizenship.

Levine has written a valuable addition to the extensive existing library of Civil War books. His is a rare history book in that it both transmits historical events and builds, in the reader, true feelings of contempt for Stevens’ fellow Congressmen who remain indifferent to the plight of the slaves. I give this book four stars and recommend it for everyone.

Book Review: The Nature of Conspiracy Theories

An Essential Explanation for a Dangerous Phenomena

In the Nature of Conspiracy Theories, Michael Butter presents a scholarly review of conspiracy theories. Butter is a Professor of American Literary and Cultural History at the University of Tubingen, a public research university located in the city of Tubingen, Baden-Wurttenberg, Germany. He did not conduct his own original research for this book. Instead, he relied heavily on research conducted by others. We now know that conspiracy theories played a large part in the violence that occurred at the Nation’s Capital on January 6, 2021. The Nature of Conspiracy Theories is, therefore, a timely explanation of a phenomena that is proving to be very dangerous.

Professor Butter defines a conspiracy theory as a contention that “a covertly operating group of people – the conspirators – [are seeking] from base motives and by underhanded means to achieve a certain end.” He says that such theories are based upon three basic assumptions: “1) Nothing happens by accident; 2) Nothing is as it seems; and 3) Everything is connected.”

Butter points out that conspiracy theories are not something new. They have been around for many centuries. And they have always been used to explain the origins of a perceived threat to the common person. In other words, they have always been tied to populist ideology. In the past they were mostly used to explain a threat to the Church. Today they can go into almost every facet of life.

Butter describes the difference between “top-down” and “bottom-up” conspiracy theories and the difference between “internal” and “external” conspiracy theories. He explains the relationship between “fake news” and conspiracy theories and he explains the difference between conspiracy theories (that the theorist creates by tying together disconnected places and events) and conspiracy rumors (that the theorist creates without any attempt to connect with actual events).

Professor Butter uses certain well-known conspiracy theories, such as those having to do with the John F. Kennedy assassination, the moon landings and the 9/11 attack, as illustrations for his description of the nature of conspiracy theories. His use of these well-known events prevents this book from being a dry, theoretical discussion. Instead, it is a book that is very relevant and relatable to most readers.

Butter suggests that there is good reason to believe that conspiracy theories will continue to grow in our time because of distrust of traditional media sources and the tendency of people to search the internet for opinions that agree with their own. According to Butter these circumstances are ripe for conspiracy theorists who see the spread of their theories as a business model through which they can grow rich by selling books and charging fees for public appearances.

The discussion contained in this book provides useful tools for the reader to distinguish for themselves what is real and what is not real. As conspiracy theories become more and more widespread it important that we all have these tools. I give this book 4 stars.

Book Review:Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem and Sicily

The Harrowing Life of a Medieval Era Queen

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem and Sicily, by Nancy Goldstone, is the story Joanna I, Queen of Naples, who reigned in the late 14th century. This well researched and easily readable book describes Joanna’s successful efforts to defend her throne against numerous challenges from both within and outside the kingdom. Goldstone’s description of this young woman’s perseverance makes this a worthwhile read.

But, I found Goldstone’s descriptions of circumstances surrounding Joanna’s life to be as interesting as her description of the details of her life. Examples include the intrigues of the mothers of the various princes to seek their accession to the throne, the power of the Pope over life in medieval Europe notwithstanding his lack of any military power, the extent to which kings would marry off their very young daughters to try to achieve allegiances, and the casual execution of people suspected of any wrongdoing.

I give this book 4 stars and recommend it for anyone interested in life of the aristocracy in medieval Europe.

Book Review:The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017

Creation of the State of Israel – The Palestinian Point of View

I have read several books that describe the Israeli viewpoint of the creation of the State of Israel. However, this issue cannot be fully understood without also reading the Palestinian viewpoint. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017, by Rashid Khalidi, is a compelling description of that viewpoint.

Khalidi currently serves as the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He has a very personal connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he and his family members – mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats and journalists - have been living though the West’s encroachment into Palestine since the late 19th century.

In The Hundred Years’ War Khalidi provides a deeply researched and well-written description of the military actions by Britain, and then Israel, that have resulted in the current status of the Palestinians. He describes the Palestinian efforts to try to change their current status through their own military efforts. But, he asserts that they are not likely to achieve any of their goals through such efforts. Instead, he contends that the Palestinians need to do a better job explaining their history, their rights and their goals to the rest of the world. Only by winning this public relations campaign will the Palestinians be able to convince other world powers to apply pressure on Israel to agree to any concessions.

I give this book 5 stars and recommend it for anyone who wants to understand the Palestinians’ viewpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Book Review: America and Iran: A History 1720 to Present

A Historical Context Behind the Endless Hostility Between America and Iran

In America and Iran: A History 1720 to the Present author John Ghazvinian describes the history of the relationship between America and Iran. Ghazvinian is a historian, author and former journalist who was born in Iran and educated in England. He is currently the Executive Director of the Middle East Center in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He wrote this history to provide context for the current status of the relationship between America and Iran. And he has done as excellent job.

America and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since 1979 when, after the Islamic Revolution, Iranian students stormed the United States embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats hostage for more than 400 days. Efforts at rapprochement since then have been unsuccessful with each side blaming the other for increasing hostility. Ghazvinian’s warm feelings for both Iran and America are clearly evident in this book. He seems like a man who cannot understand why two beloved feuding relatives cannot put their petty differences behind them and just start to get along.

Ghazvinian asserts that, from a historical perspective, there was every reason to believe that America and Iran should have had friendly relations. He explains that, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Iran was dominated by Russia and England. Iranians thought that America, a former colony that had obtained its own freedom from England, would be sympathetic to Iran’s plight and would help Iran wrest its freedom from the two European imperialists.

America, however, took little interest in Iran until the early 1950s when, to retain its rights in Iranian oil, England convinced American diplomats that Iran’s newly elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, was going to align the country with the Soviet Union. In the shadow of the Cold War the Central Intelligence Agency, working with England, engineered a coup that replaced Mosaddegh with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

America supported the Shah and his ruthless dictatorship for the next 26 years until he was finally overthrown by the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Ghazvinian explains that America’s participation in the 1953 overthrow of Iran’s freely elected government and its continuing support of the Shah have made Iranians suspicious of virtually every American action. Because of the 1979 hostage crises and the subsequent belligerence of Iran’s leaders, Americans have been equally suspicious of every Iranian action.

But this endless dispute between America and Iran appears to be as much a matter of perception as it is a matter of reality. Ghazvanian demonstrates this difference between reality and perception through Iran’s recent effort to develop a nuclear capability. The reality is that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear capability. The perception in America, according to its government and the media, is that Iran is hell-bent on developing a nuclear bomb which it could use to destroy Israel or even the United States. The perception in Iran, as described by Ghazvinian, is that Iran is only interested in using its “nuclear capability” for peaceful purposes, that Iran would not be interested in building a bomb because such a weapon would be against the principals of Islam, and that the position of the American government and the American media is based largely on influence from Israel which is mostly concerned that improved relations between America and Iran would cause Israel to lose its position as America’s most important ally in the Middle East.

Because America and Iran have lacked diplomatic relations for so long each country has been forced to develop its own interpretation of the other’s words and actions. Misunderstandings and misrepresentations are unavoidable. In describing the combustible relationship between the two countries authoritative resources are likely to provide conflicting viewpoints. Therefore, while America and Iran: A History 1720 to the Present is a highly readable book that comprehensively covers the history of the relationship between America and Iran it should be viewed as an excellent starting point for further understanding of that relationship. I give it a 4 star rating.

Thanks to #netgalley and to Alfred A. Knopf for my early release copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review:A Look Back at a Disgraced Vice-President

A Look Back at a Disgraced Vice-President

Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz is the story of the rapid rise and even rapider fall of Vice-President Spiro Agnew. The story falls right in Maddow’s wheelhouse – stupid politicians doing stupid things and thinking they can get away with it. And her trademark irreverent style is perfect for the disposition of Mr. Agnew.

I am old enough to remember the story of Spiro Agnew. I was watching a World Series game in October, 1973 between the Oakland As and the New York Mets when it was interrupted by a Special News Bulletin announcing that Spiro Agnew was resigning as Vice-President and pleading nolo contendere to one count of tax evasion related to taking bribes. Who had ever heard of nolo contendere before?

In Bag Man Maddow and Yarvitz present the whole sordid Agnew story. He started taking bribes, in the form of envelopes filled with hundred dollar bills, for awarding engineering and construction contracts when he was the County Executive for Baltimore County. He continued to accept those envelopes during his short tenure as Governor of Maryland. And he did not stop when he was elected Vice President.

At the time that he resigned the Vice Presidency I could not understand how a man who had achieved such high office could throw it all away for a penny ante scheme of small time bribes. But the authors of Bag Man make it clear that it all happened so fast for Agnew that he did not have time to stop acting like a small time crooked local politician.

The critical take away from this book is how close we came to having a President Spiro Agnew and who the men were who stopped this from happening. The descriptions of Agnew’s attempts to stop the Justice Department’s investigation and the responses from government employees, from the Justice Department lawyers all the way up to President Nixon (his comments are all caught on those famous White House tapes) makes for a fascinating read. I give it 4 stars and recommend it for everyone.

Book Review: Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher

All Aspiring Lawyers Should Read This Book

Bad Medicine: Catching New York’s Deadliest Pill Pusher, by author Charlotte Bismuth, is the powerful story of the investigation and trial of Stan Xuhui Li, a doctor accused of using his pain management clinic as a front for an illegal opioid dispensary. Ms. Bismuth knows of what she speaks. She was an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York who worked on the case from beginning to end.

Ms. Bismuth’s book is a horrifying depiction of the members of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession who line their pockets at the expense of patients to whom they recklessly prescribe opiates. However, through her description of the investigation and the trial, she also provides a vivid description of what it is really like to work as a lawyer.

When I was considering law school in the 1970s I was encouraged to read Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis, a book describing the path to the Supreme Court’s decision that the Constitution guarantees the right to legal counsel. In the 1990s prospective lawyers were encouraged to read A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr, a book that describes how a lawyer from a small firm fought against two large corporations to prove that they polluted the water supply in Woburn, Massachusetts. These are both inspirational books that describe how the law can operate for the benefit the everyday Americans. But neither of these books describes the day-to-day, hour-by-hour experience of what it is really like to be a lawyer.

In contrast, Ms. Bismuth brutally describes it all, including:

• The pressure of knowing that your clients or employer are relying on you to achieve something that is extremely important to them;
• The stress of knowing that, if you make a mistake, in could have an adverse impact on many people;
• The grind of going through thousands and thousands of documents in the hope that you will find some piece of evidence that supports your client’s case;
• The suppression of a scream while opposing counsel does his job by distorting your clear understanding of the facts so that they support a position advantageous to his client; and
• The anxiety of knowing that your personal life is suffering while you are distracted by your current assignment.

But, most of all, Ms. Bismuth makes it clear that the life of a lawyer is all about confrontation and conflict. This is true whether a lawyer is involved in litigation or in a simple contract negotiation. Ms. Bismuth is very open about her own anxieties and is not all that comfortable with her career choice. She says that she spent her entire life avoiding conflicts and that the practice of law feels like aversion therapy. She stands in stark contrast to the other, more senior, ADA on the case, Peter Kougasian, who has been litigating for 35 years and seems to take everything in stride.

As I was reading the book I could not help thinking that, if Ms. Bismuth had read this book before going into the profession, she would have chosen some other line of work. And I was right. When the case was over she left litigation and took a position in the office as a trainer of young ADAs. She then left the field altogether to try to become a writer. And based on the quality of this Bad Medicine I suspect that she can look forward to a successful future.

Many young people go into the law because they earned good grades in undergraduate school and do not see any other alternatives. However, they should welcome the opportunity to learn what it is really like to practice law before spending three years in law school and finding out on the job. Bad Medicine is a book that gives them that opportunity. If they see themselves in Peter Kougasian they will enthusiastically embrace their career choice. But if they see themselves in Charlotte Bismuth they may want to consider another line of work.

I give this book 5 stars both for its indictment of certain members of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession and for its true life depiction of the life of an attorney.