''Team of Rivals" is also an America ''coming-of-age" saga. Lincoln, Seward, Chase et al. are sketched as being part of a ''restless generation," born when Founding Fathers occupied the White House and the Louisiana Purchase netted nearly 530 million new acres to be explored. The Western Expansion motto of this burgeoning generation, in fact, was cleverly captured in two lines of Stephen Vincent Benet's verse: ''The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried / The metal sleeping in the mountainside." None of the protagonists in ''Team of Rivals" hailed from the Deep South or Great Plains. _______________________________ From a review by Douglas Brinkley, 2005
Great Pic!,I started "Fatal Journey" today about Henry Hudson's last voyage mainly because it's been so hot and sticky here the past 4 days.I figure a book about Northern Climes is much better right now than"Empire of the Summer Moon" and it's southwest setting.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't received my copy of Empire -- or Immortal Life. Hopefully they'll start arriving soon.....
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of northern climes, I picked up Independent People last night -- I love the mythic quality of the opening (and the dog) -- but think I may pass that book on to a friend to read first since he is enamored of all things Iceland at the moment -- even the national anthem!
Interesting look at Louisiana.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071602721.html
Montana is sort of a "third world country" in that way, too, but for some reason we've managed to hold our own on at least some of the social indicators, if not the economic ones.
My copy of HeLa came today, so I should be ready by the first of August.
ReplyDelete7/29-8/7 I'll be on vacation (whole family's off to Maui, which took some doing to organize and will be unlikely to happen again after grandbaby arrives) but will do my best to catch up with all y'all upon return.
ReplyDeleteBon Voyage, NY. Have a great trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks much, avrds.
ReplyDeleteMeandering question: does anyone else ever have the urge to make up meanings of those "words" (series of letters) that appear when one goes to post.
One blog on Cape Cod I read that's just what a lot of us do.Make up meanings to those random letters that are sometimes quite funny.I just finished Alan Furst's"Spies of Warsaw" another nice read in his historical fiction of Europe on the verge of WW2.This is his tenth with number 11 about the Balkans just out.Only two had the same lead character and they are all different which is why I love reading them."Fatal Journey" about Henry Hudson almost done and it's a entertaining easy read and since I haven't read much on Hudson very informative.I think I'm moving onto Kurlansky's book about Gloucester or Rory Nugents book about New Bedford"Down at the Docks"Nugent wrote one of my favorite offbeat travel books"The Search for the Pink Headed Duck" so I'm interestedto see how he does historical narrative Kurlansky style.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone has ever posted this here, but it was just brought to my attention. It's about the number of nuclear explosions and the countries that conducted them between 1945-1998. It's about 12 minutes long.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isao-hashimoto/
It as also posted in Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5600704/the-explosions-of-every-nuclear-bomb-to-date
Thanks marti
ReplyDeleteI finished Mark Kurlansky's book on Gloucester"The Last Fish Tale" It was a quick read and pretty good but some of it he'd been over in "Cod" before.Don't know if I should read Down by the Docks about New Bedford next to continue the New England port thing or take up Empire of the Summer Moon.On a non history note the collection of Victorian Vampire Storys"Dracula's Guest" edited by Michael Sims is excellent.Each story has an author intro and all have been first rate so far.Only one story"Count Magnus" by M.R. James have I read before and there is a nice opening essay on the origins of Vampires in Europe.
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