America's Hidden History Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped A Nation by Kenneth C. Davis is an attempt to set the record straight about many ideas in American history. The book is entertaining, but at times hard to stomach. It is not a clean story which would come out of a textbook.
For example, the first story is about how French Huguenots tried to settle Florida in 1492. This did not last long. The Spaniards attacked the colony and killed all of them because they were protestant. They did not want the French to have a foothold close to South America.
The book is not politically correct. George Washington in his first military command ambushed a French diplomatic party in the wilderness, possibly sparking the French Indian War. It details how George Washington learned the ropes in commanding an army fighting in the French Indian War. George was an accomplished backwoodsman, horseman, and land surveyor.
The story of Benedict Arnold is very different than the one in the history textbooks. In this story, Benedict Arnold starts as a patriot fighting on the American side. But, he has a tendency to be arrogant and make lots of enemies. Every time he succeeds in a battle, his enemies thwart his ambitions of moving up in command. He also has made many enemies on the business side. This drives him into deep debt. Out of anger at not being promoted, and not being successful on the American side, he is bought by the British. Eventually, he retires in London.
The last section talks about Shays Rebellion and how the founders did not want a pure democracy. They believed democracy was unstable and would lead to mob rule. They aimed to create a republic. The colonists looked to Rome in many cases as their ideal.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The stories are very interesting. There are a lot of neat and different facts spread throughout the book. However, in some cases, he doesn't quite make his case. I am still not sure about the Shay's Rebellion interpretation, nor am I quite sure about his take on Ann Hutchinson.
The reason I might want someone to read this book, is because it shows that there can be a lot of different ways to interpret history. His interpretation does not match with your typical historical textbook in high school or college. It portrays historical figures as having blatant flaws and often acting in a tragic way. Kenneth C. Davis makes historical personages human. Some people will not like this book because it portrays some of the great Americans in a not so great way.
This bookc covers the time period in American history from the first colonies to the Constitutional Convention. There are notes, a bibliography, and an index. Everything is thoroughly cited. I wish there were some pictures and maps in the book, it would have made the book considerably better. I had some questions while I was reading that could have been answered by mpas.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Afternoon Thoughts
I wrote the book review for Untapped while I was at the laundromat. Then I typed it up at home. While I was at the laundromat I had a cup of tea with lemon skipping the honey. Honey is still 25 cents a packet at the Korean deli next door to the laundromat. They told me it costs them 13 cents a packet to buy. When people ask for 2-4 packets of honey, they lose profits on tea. I had English Breakfast Tea this time. The packet was a Celestial Seasonings packet.
There is an odd little story about the company Celestial Seasonings. I heard that Celestial Seasonings was started by a hippy that used to wander around Berkeley California selling herbal teas out of a basket. It sounds like the kind of thing that would happen in Berkeley California. It is probably just an urban legend. You see their tea sold in supermarkets now. They have quite colorful packaging.
I took a walk this afternoon to the library. It was a chance to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. The library was pretty quiet today. I am typing this blog entry on a public library computer terminal not from home. I signed up for it for a half hour block of time.
I took a few minutes to look around the library. I found a graphic novel that looked kind of interesting. A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn. Howard Zinn is famous for writing A Peoples History of the United States a very popular leftist interpretation of American history. I have read other graphic novels that are historical. Because comic books are sequential in nature, they are an excellent medium for presenting history. My favorite example of this is Larry Groening's A Cartoon History of the Universe. Also cartoon panels are very easy to annotate. You can put a small box in the corner of a cartoon and put a citation in it. I rather like history presented in the graphic novel format.
There is an odd little story about the company Celestial Seasonings. I heard that Celestial Seasonings was started by a hippy that used to wander around Berkeley California selling herbal teas out of a basket. It sounds like the kind of thing that would happen in Berkeley California. It is probably just an urban legend. You see their tea sold in supermarkets now. They have quite colorful packaging.
I took a walk this afternoon to the library. It was a chance to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. The library was pretty quiet today. I am typing this blog entry on a public library computer terminal not from home. I signed up for it for a half hour block of time.
I took a few minutes to look around the library. I found a graphic novel that looked kind of interesting. A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn. Howard Zinn is famous for writing A Peoples History of the United States a very popular leftist interpretation of American history. I have read other graphic novels that are historical. Because comic books are sequential in nature, they are an excellent medium for presenting history. My favorite example of this is Larry Groening's A Cartoon History of the Universe. Also cartoon panels are very easy to annotate. You can put a small box in the corner of a cartoon and put a citation in it. I rather like history presented in the graphic novel format.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Professor and the Madman-- Simon Winchester-- Review
The Professor and the Madman A Tale of Murder, Insanity, And The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester is a fascinating historical anecdote. This book is story of Professor Murray, one of the chief editors of the Oxford English Dictionary and his relationship with one Dr. William Chester Minor an american physician, gentleman, and madman. Dr. Minor was locked up in the Broadmoor asylum for the criminally insane in England during Victorian times.
Professor Murray initally requested volunteers to find sentences for examples of different words in the english language. Of special interest were examples from 16th and 17th century english literature. The central idea of the Oxford English Dictionary was to create a complete dictionary that would support the spread of the english language to all the corners of the world as well as christian moral values. This is an interesting idea because it speaks about the urge to use education as a tool of colonialism.
When Dr. Minor began sending suggested sentences for the dictionary he was locked up as being criminally insane. He had shot a brewery worker with a pistol because he had mistakenly thought him to be an irishman who had attempted to burglarize his house. Dr. Minor, a Yale educated American army physician was suffering from delusions that Irish men were trying to sneak through the floorboards and stuff poison biscuits in his mouth. It soon became apparent in his trials that he was a lunatic.
Dr. Minor was locked up in Broadmoor asylum where he was given privileges as a learned man. He had two cells adjacent to each other which he filled with fine and rare books. He even paid to have a servant from this civil war pension. Earlier he had been deemed unfit to be a surgeon because of his mental problems and pensioned off by the United States army. Apparently the Battle of the Wilderness and his being ordered to brand a deserter had made him unhinged. There is some truly incredible descriptions of Dr. Minor's behavior. Some of it is very darkly humorous.
He found the request for volunteers for the dictionary and decided to become a volunteer. The requirements were exacting. Despite this, Dr. Minor ultimately sent over 12,000 examples of words to Professor Murray. Initially, Professor Murray thought he was a gentleman of leisure that ran the asylum. It is fascinating to read how Dr. Minor attempts to redeem himself. He even tries to make amends with the widow of the dead man.
The description of the visits between Dr. Minor and Professor Murray are very interesting. It is hard to imagine coming into a cell where the floor has been coated with zinc to prevent people coming up through the floorboards, and a bowl of water has been placed next to the door to prevent evil spirits from wandering in.
When it was found out that Dr. Minor had become a lexicographer in an insane asylum, it was turned into a series of sensational stories that appearend in the newspapers of the day. Dr. Murray wasn't aware of Dr. Minor's position until seven years of sending him slips had passed.
The two became friends and Professor Murray would visit the asylum to discuss words with the mad physician.
This book is an astonishingly eccentric and entertaining book, filled with unusual details about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It is about two extremely eccentric and learned men. Dr. Minor's insanity is both tragic, poignant, and at times darkly humorous. The freindship between him and Professor Murray is astonishing to read about. This is a unique book filled with thoughts about history, scholarship, and madness.
Professor Murray initally requested volunteers to find sentences for examples of different words in the english language. Of special interest were examples from 16th and 17th century english literature. The central idea of the Oxford English Dictionary was to create a complete dictionary that would support the spread of the english language to all the corners of the world as well as christian moral values. This is an interesting idea because it speaks about the urge to use education as a tool of colonialism.
When Dr. Minor began sending suggested sentences for the dictionary he was locked up as being criminally insane. He had shot a brewery worker with a pistol because he had mistakenly thought him to be an irishman who had attempted to burglarize his house. Dr. Minor, a Yale educated American army physician was suffering from delusions that Irish men were trying to sneak through the floorboards and stuff poison biscuits in his mouth. It soon became apparent in his trials that he was a lunatic.
Dr. Minor was locked up in Broadmoor asylum where he was given privileges as a learned man. He had two cells adjacent to each other which he filled with fine and rare books. He even paid to have a servant from this civil war pension. Earlier he had been deemed unfit to be a surgeon because of his mental problems and pensioned off by the United States army. Apparently the Battle of the Wilderness and his being ordered to brand a deserter had made him unhinged. There is some truly incredible descriptions of Dr. Minor's behavior. Some of it is very darkly humorous.
He found the request for volunteers for the dictionary and decided to become a volunteer. The requirements were exacting. Despite this, Dr. Minor ultimately sent over 12,000 examples of words to Professor Murray. Initially, Professor Murray thought he was a gentleman of leisure that ran the asylum. It is fascinating to read how Dr. Minor attempts to redeem himself. He even tries to make amends with the widow of the dead man.
The description of the visits between Dr. Minor and Professor Murray are very interesting. It is hard to imagine coming into a cell where the floor has been coated with zinc to prevent people coming up through the floorboards, and a bowl of water has been placed next to the door to prevent evil spirits from wandering in.
When it was found out that Dr. Minor had become a lexicographer in an insane asylum, it was turned into a series of sensational stories that appearend in the newspapers of the day. Dr. Murray wasn't aware of Dr. Minor's position until seven years of sending him slips had passed.
The two became friends and Professor Murray would visit the asylum to discuss words with the mad physician.
This book is an astonishingly eccentric and entertaining book, filled with unusual details about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It is about two extremely eccentric and learned men. Dr. Minor's insanity is both tragic, poignant, and at times darkly humorous. The freindship between him and Professor Murray is astonishing to read about. This is a unique book filled with thoughts about history, scholarship, and madness.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Once Upon A Town The Miracle of North Platte Canteen-- Bob Greene-- Review
This is an image published by the United States Office of War Information, it is a government document in the public domain.Once Upon A Town The Miracle of North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene, (William Morrow, c2002), is a story about patriotism on the homefront in the United States during World War II. It evokes a historical past where duty, honor, and country are embodied in a wholesome sense of self-sacrifice.
The image of North Platte is one of Rockwellian small town America, with wholesome people small shops, an all American railroad, and a patriotic population. The story centers on the creation of a free railroad canteen for soldiers passing through central Nebraska on their way to the war front.
The wives and daughters of the town met the soldiers at the station and gave out free farm fresh food, candy, papers, and provided pen pals for lonely soldiers departing to the front. They provided a brief moment of hospitality which many soldiers remembered for the rest of their lives.
Bob Greene compiles letters, newspaper clippings, and personal accounts of the soldiers passing through as well as the women who volunteered at the canteen. The letters are mostly personal thank you letters to the volunteers. This book tells a lot about what it means to be grateful. Some of the soldiers fall in love and marry women from the town.
It is also a story of change. The railroads no longer carry passenger trains through North Platte. North Platte is the largest switching yard for commercial train traffic in the United States with some 12.000 trains per day passing through it. There is no longer a downtown, only a large big box Walmart, where the canteen stood, there is a flag and a plaque and a yard full of vagrants.
The people in the story are part of a "vanishing America". Most of the people interviewed are in their seventies and eighties. It also pictures an America where people sacrificed for higher ideals. They gave what they had to for "our boys". There are no pictures in this book. Yet, the images while you are reading come to mind things like the flag, softball, the farmers daughter, pie, and the rolling green hills of Nebraska. It reminds us that there are patriotic values worth sacrificing for.
It is the once upon a time mythical America where things are true, stalwart, and free. This book would be a very good choice for people who like a clean heartwarming story.
The book itself is interesting, it is a five inch by eight inch hardcover. It is very easy to read.
The image of North Platte is one of Rockwellian small town America, with wholesome people small shops, an all American railroad, and a patriotic population. The story centers on the creation of a free railroad canteen for soldiers passing through central Nebraska on their way to the war front.
The wives and daughters of the town met the soldiers at the station and gave out free farm fresh food, candy, papers, and provided pen pals for lonely soldiers departing to the front. They provided a brief moment of hospitality which many soldiers remembered for the rest of their lives.
Bob Greene compiles letters, newspaper clippings, and personal accounts of the soldiers passing through as well as the women who volunteered at the canteen. The letters are mostly personal thank you letters to the volunteers. This book tells a lot about what it means to be grateful. Some of the soldiers fall in love and marry women from the town.
It is also a story of change. The railroads no longer carry passenger trains through North Platte. North Platte is the largest switching yard for commercial train traffic in the United States with some 12.000 trains per day passing through it. There is no longer a downtown, only a large big box Walmart, where the canteen stood, there is a flag and a plaque and a yard full of vagrants.
The people in the story are part of a "vanishing America". Most of the people interviewed are in their seventies and eighties. It also pictures an America where people sacrificed for higher ideals. They gave what they had to for "our boys". There are no pictures in this book. Yet, the images while you are reading come to mind things like the flag, softball, the farmers daughter, pie, and the rolling green hills of Nebraska. It reminds us that there are patriotic values worth sacrificing for.
It is the once upon a time mythical America where things are true, stalwart, and free. This book would be a very good choice for people who like a clean heartwarming story.
The book itself is interesting, it is a five inch by eight inch hardcover. It is very easy to read.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Cartoon History of the Universe And Link Dropping
Right now, I just finished looking at a book which I received as a present, The Cartoon History of the Universe III From The Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance by Larry Gonick. This is a long running "graphic novel" which is about history. What is nice about these cartoons is that they are very open ended and try be comprehensive on which people they cover. The section on Islam for example covers the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Eurasia like Turkey. The humor is slightly irreverent throughout the comic and draws you in well. The history seems to be accurate. The cartoon book has an extensive bibliography, a list of names from history, and an index. I remember reading the smaller comic books when I was a child of six years old. They were were my fathers comics.
Apparently, what I am doing is link dropping, which is the thruth. It has been a more effective strategy than using search engines. I got exactly two hits from Google Blog Search, one was for the book Un Lun Dun, the other was for the Wizard of the Crow. When I look at the free hit counter I am using from hitcounterguru, there is no activity from keywords, just forums and usenet groups. I would have to add my site to a spam style free search engine to get better results from keywords. I would rather be labelled a link dropper than a spammer. On that thought, I looked at the requirements for being listed in DMOZ, a nonprofit directory. One of the requirements is that you not have too many external links, so I think I'll pass with this one.
I was looking at the top ten keyword sets on searchenginewatch, it is quite funny. Almost everything is commercial, the word book or literature isn't even on the site list. Maybe if I talked about myspace.com, cnn, pizza hut, or yahoo 360, I would be on the list of interesting sites.
So I guess I must mention that I like CNN, it is the most read news site. I read it sometimes in the morning along with Yahoo News, something which isn't even mentioned. The only time I watch the news is when I am at the laundromat, I would much rather read it online just when it has come off the wire. If you wait even a single day, the news article gets objected to by some group or other and gets homogenized. It takes about a day from when something is released to the Associated Press to reach the print newspapers. This gives plenty of times for the editors to change the news so it doesn't offend anyone. We don't have a liberal media or a conservative media we have a homogenized media.
Now the second thing I should mention is myspace.com, it is a ubiquitous web site, one of the top ten in use in the United States. I was looking at the Philip Jose Farmer, http://www.pjfarmer.com/ website, one of the truly great science fiction writers, he has a http://www.myspace.com/pjfarmer link which has his personal information and links to him. Philip Jose Farmer is well worth reading. I was actually looking for what his signature looked like on the site.
Myspace.com is probably a site traffic magnet. Somehow, I think I'll take a pass. Although, I am wondering if I posted myself as an African Bull Elephant it might attract attention to this site in a kind of Barnum and Bailey style.
http://www.myspace.com/bullelephant
Now that I have added a link to an important Myspace site, I will further my keyword research by adding a string of the most used keywords in the Label for this Post.
I went and found some more blog search engines to add my site to: myblog2u.com, blogsearch.com, icerocket.com, boingboing.net, Read A Blog, Blog Pulse, and Blog Rolling.com. Boing Boing. net is a truly wonderful site with lots of strange things on it like collapsible paper rocket ships and other oddities. Cory Doctorow, the science fiction writer, is the main editor and poster for the site.
I also took some time to go back through search engine watch and find some more places to apply for a URL entry. These were MSN Live, Search King, and Best of the Web Blogs. I am not really that much of a technical person. Some places gave me the option of pinging my site to other blog search engines. I must have done it from three different places.
It is really up to the editors to decide whether they like what I wrote. This is a really unpredictable thing in my opinion. A lot of writers and editors are really quirky and interesting people. Every editor is looking for slightly different things depending on the guidelines which are presented to them by their employers.
Something you may consider if you are planning a book talk is to have an editor talk instead. Authors are very interested in hearing what it takes to get published, or how people choose which books to publish. Sometimes, if you are very lucky, you can get an editor who also has written a number of books.
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