A. J. LangguthBesprekingen

Looks at various individuals in the revolution. Some nice primary sources used and some fun anecdotes.

As other folks have noted, this is a disorganized book that doesn't really address its title: How the North won the war and lost the peace. There are small biographies as headings for most chapters, but that means the author continually goes back to the Civil War to explain what this or that character did in the war, and then explains what they did after the war. But with a focus on people instead of issues, there is no attempt to figure out what might have been done differently. Was corruption a problem and if so, how much was it real and how much overblown? If Lincoln had lived, what might he have done differently? If the large plantations had been broken up and the land distributed to poor blacks and whites, would that have prevented the Southern elite from returning to power? And what caused the intense racial hatred of poor whites for blacks that kept them from political alliances? Were too many Americans, North and South, so convinced that the former slaves were not and could never be equal that there was no possible fair solution? None of these issues gets discussed here. You'll be much better off with Eric Foner's Reconstruction, one of the most comprehensive efforts to examine one of the least successful periods in American politics and history.

“Driven West” is a fascinating piece of narrative history that attempts to add another layer of understanding to an appropriately thick description of the American Civil War. Though many attempts to argue for the importance of the cause of states’ rights as a root of that conflict are largely viewed as racially-charged attempts to “whitewash” (literally) the REAL roots of the conflict in a battle about slavery, an honest historian would be quick agree that both causal issues cannot be appropriately understood without each other. Langguth helpfully complicates this debated narrative by developing a narrative a THREE-sided conflict the resulted in the Civil War: states’ rights, Indian removal, and slavery.

In fact, at the very end of the book, Langguth even goes so far as to claim that the FIRST “civil war” was the Indian removal that resulted in the Trail of Tears. And, I must say, I feel that he provides compelling evidence to support that claim. The Trail of Tears, like slavery, is a black spot on American history, truly a national tragedy.

For me, the most tragic element of all was the way in which the conflict fractured the Cherokee Nation into factions respectively led by Major Ridge and John Ross, who presented two very different approaches to dealing with the overweening power of the burgeoning United States. In my estimation, perhaps showing his journalism background, Langguth presented wonderfully sympathetic portrayals of BOTH figures, avoiding the temptation to vilify one or the other. However, I came pretty close to choosing a side after reading Langguth’s account of the assassinations of Elias Boudinot and Major Ridge’s son, John. Langguth’s larger point, though, is to demonstrate that these factions were, in effect, created by white men and then used to their advantage, preventing the Cherokee from resisting in any systematic or effective way.

Obviously, as the book’s title indicates, Andrew Jackson stands as a kind of “arch-villain” in the story, not simply for the actions of his Presidency regarding the Indian removal but for establishing a “policy direction” that remained dominant even into Lincoln’s presidency. Though there was a decided shift on the slavery question, the needle barely moved on white Americans’ disregard for the Cherokee. Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, and Taylor particularly come across here as Jackson toadies.

The most confounding element of the entire story is the choice of the Cherokee nation to side with the Confederate States of America at the outbreak of the Civil War, based once more on false promises that were not kept. Though the book is at present a nice length, I could have wished it just a bit longer so that Langguth could develop this element. The last two chapters, unfortunately, end up feeling a bit rushed.

Langguth succeeds admirably in providing portraits of the key figures, using the various personalities to provide a focus for each chapter. This helps him avoid a “and then what happened” style that can be the bane of complicated narrative. His most sympathetic portrayals are reserved for the Cherokee leaders, though he does show that the attitudes of key American leaders toward the Indians are more nuanced than is widely understood. Including Andrew Jackson.

Perhaps more than anything, this book shows that one of the elements that makes a tragedy is its sense of “fatedness,” if you will. Standing in the moment, some of history’s worst decisions look to be unavoidable. However, with the perspective provided by (nearly) two intervening centuries, there are scores of moments where one solitary different decision could have rewritten some of the most painful history of our nation. I cannot read the story of the Trail of Tears and conclude, “Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen.” Rather, Langguth’s tragic reminds me that the greatest tragedy of all is humanity’s comfortable myopia that refuses to look beyond the obvious or the easy choice for the moral and the righteous path. When pragmatism wins out over principle, history always loses.

A popular history of the War of 1812 from the perspective of the people who lived it. Written by a retired journalism professor it is very readable. I enjoyed it.½

Received this book from Goodreads First Reads.

Much of the detail from this time period in America's history was glossed over in my high school classes, mostly due to lack of time, so I was eager to read about the Reconstruction period. This book captures in heavy detail a great deal of the timeline, political movements, and consequences of certain actions by the prominent figures of those years. It is quite beneficial to study the cast of characters that will be brought to light in the course of the book, helpfully placed at the beginning. Each chapter also seems to "highlight" one of these people, accompanied by a photo, a short biography, and some basic facts. My only complaint in how this was presented is that although the chapters start discussing the historical figure of the chapter's title, other's stories are often intertwined, leading the narrative a bit astray from the chapter's main star. It's understandable this can't be prevented as there were bound to be overlaps, but it was subsequently difficult when too many names were being introduced. There were moments when other names were mentioned in reference to a past chapter or event without any corresponding date or minute detail to help recall the notable mention. Breaking away from the chapters to refer back to the "cast" pages was always an option, but personally I would've appreciated a brief note to go along with the appearance of a name that is otherwise not being discussed in the current chapter.

That being said, the flow of the writing as well as the presentation of each condensed biography within the chapters was a style I really liked. There was never a moment that felt flat, and it helped to envision how exchanges or public events must've taken place for the large expanse of time this book covered. I could almost equate it to feeling as if the reader is traveling through a time portal and watching history as it is taking place.

Despite the somewhat confusing chapter character mentions, I didn't find the plethora of information in this book to be overwhelming. To cover the Reconstruction era in a gripping narrative may sound like a huge undertaking but A.J. Langguth doesn't fail to deliver, and I almost wish this book existed years ago to have been included in my school studies. It is certainly bound to be enjoyable for a fellow lover of history and learning.

Very disappointing at first, until I realized the author was not writing a history of The War of 1812, but connected biographies of the participants. It’s a good thing, too, because the historical background is pretty miserable – a few large scale maps in the front matter (which makes it very hard to figure out what was going on around Detroit) and lots of minor but annoying factual errors (Dolley Madison is described as entertaining “by gaslight” in the White House, the Constitution is credited with a speed of “12 ½ knots per hour”, and rifles are repeatedly confused with muskets).

Fortunately, the biographies are not bad at all. Author A. J. Langguth starts out with return of Washington to Mount Vernon at the end of his second presidential term, and tracks the careers of John Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Zebulon Pike, Madison, Tecumseh, William Hull, Isaac Brock, Isaac Hull, John Armstrong, Oliver Perry, William Henry Harrison, and Dolley Madison through the war and well afterward; plus throwing in various other characters as they come up (I never realized Davey Crocket fought in the War of 1812, or that Sam Houston spent his adolescence as a Cherokee Indian brave (a telling quote from Houston is that he would never forget his days of “wandering along the bank of streams, side by side with some Indian maiden, sheltered by the deep woods, making love and reading the Iliad.” I never realized all the uses of the Iliad before.)

This would make an excellent companion to a more conventional military history; it’s one thing to read of the American collapse at Detroit but another to have the details of the characters of William Hull and Isaac Brock at hand. (Brock comes across as far and away the best general on the Canadian front, and if he hadn’t been shot down by an American rifleman at Queenston while leading his troops the war might have ended very differently; we’d all be speaking Canadian now.)

Fabulous book if you like the American Revolution or just want to learn more. The structure of the book is its best selling point--a chapter setting the stage and time frame of Colonial New England and what led to the Revolution, followed by a biographical chapter on one of the more important figures at that moment/time frame. Very effective bio-history all in one and a book I'd love to use in a history class.

Highly recommended!

Very good, I learned many things about a war that always confused me. However, the book encompasses far more that the war/ Union of 1812 ( for good reason, just be prepared!). Also there are numerous broad statements that are a little too generalized and not quite factual, such as the on a Sam Houston, with whom I'm absolutely obsessed.

I first read this book back in 1969 and still have my original copy. Prompted by Langguth's recent death, I re-read to see if I liked it as much as my memory told me I did at the time. It poses an interesting foil to Reza Aslan's Zealot. I still enjoyed the humor juxtaposed with deep philosophy and unanswerable questions. Some of the scenarios, informed by the 1960s, don't fulfill as much as they once did, but overall the book holds together quite well. In some ways, it's unfortunate that Aslan ignored this work of fiction--Langguth often informs us more about the imagined character of Jesus (a character which resonates with me) than does Aslan.½

I received an Advanced Reading Copy courtesy of Goodreads Giveaways.

Langguth's latest work is one that seeks to tackle the narrative of political life and reform efforts upon the close of the Civil War. Though the book's chapter 'titles' are a bit misleading, Langguth's level of detail is impressive, and he includes discussion of the daily lives, thoughts, and actions of political and military figures from the Civil War through Reconstruction that would not normally be available to the casual reader. Langguth presents his overall take on the North's failure to rebuild and reform the South as one of political tragedy and individual opportunism, where rivalries and old resentments prevented any real progress towards bringing the South away from slavery and repression towards equality and development.

An entertaining work of historical analysis that could have been subdivided a bit clearer. Solid in its ease of reading for casual history readers and good for students and professionals due to its level of detail.

Based on the title of this book readers could be forgiven for assuming that they would be getting an in-depth examination on the Reconstruction period of the south, its successes, failures and long term effects. Those readers will be mostly disappointed.
Instead After Lincoln spends most of its time giving readers short biographies of the era’s figures. This includes the likes of Charles Sumner, William Seward, Jeff Davis, Andrew Johnson, Nathan Bedford Forest and Ulysses Grant. While interesting, these sections offer no more depth then what could be found on a Wikipedia page. The author does spend some time reviewing the effects of the KKK and the Jim Crow laws. But just as it seems the book will finally get on track it with its supposed main subject, it always veers off track again.
The period of Reconstruction is not often studied and little understood by the general public. But it is an important period of this nation’s history and one that deserves to be widely understood. The failings of that era to address equality for all coupled with the monolithic southern resistance to basic civil rights are all issues that very much matter today. After Lincoln isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t do much at all to address the issues that were suggested in its title.

As dreadful as the Civil War had been from the loss of life, the aftermath (reconstruction) was worse because of the perverted application of the principles of liberty. The author has done a commendable job of sketching the whole period which has never really concluded. The meanness of the principle actors is best seen as some weird real-life Halloween. Even the better actors are none too good. Mr Langguth has done a commendable job in reducing the monsters of reconstruction to the printed page; a less accomplished author may have surrendered to characterizations. And still one is left with a huge disconnect -- where did so many go so wrong.

"A Noise of War" is historian A.J. Langguth's largely successful and consistently engaging chronicle of the last half-century of the Roman Republic, after which the word "Caesar" changed from mere familial name to a title adopted by a long succession of Roman (and other) emperors. The book covers the tumultuous period in the vast Roman Empire between Sulla's dictatorship and Octavian's ascendency in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE. More than 2,000 years have passed since this story's principal players (Caesar, Pompey, Cicero, Marc Antony, Brutus, and Cleopatra) shaped their world, and yet today their notoriety remains sufficient that their names populate the databases of every modern spellchecker. Reading this book provides a good sense of why that's so, for as Caesar said, "Experience is the teacher of all things."

An enjoyable and easy read that delves a little deeper into some of the events that occurred prior to and during the American Revolution. This aspect was a welcomed surprise to me, for I had expected a simple collection of biographies.

Starts with a brief history of the years between the revolution (1783), the reforming of the Constitution to the factors that lead up to the War of 1812. Not very put together summary of the major battles of the war and then a really brief "what did they do next" section as it takes the major players from 1815 to 1860. This is the barest scratch of an important conflict and this book is missing alot - no so much the details - but the "why".

Excellent reading. Follows up Patriots (his Revolutionary War account) very nicely. A really good place to start learning about the War of 1812.

I sort of read this books to tatters. I refuse to throw out the tattered copy. I loved this book. I was *obsessed* with this book. This book is the reason I will name my cat Molineaux when I get it. ("Stop, Mr. Molineaux! Stop, Mr. Molineaux! Gentlemen, if Mr. Molineaux leaves us, we are forever undone." I HAVEN'T OPENED THIS BOOK IN THREE YEARS AND I AM PROBABLY CLOSE TO IF NOT ACTUALLY WORD-PERFECT ON THAT QUOTE.)

I don't know *why*. I somehow doubt it is actually all that brilliant. And yet! I WAS OBSESSED OMG.

This book has forever poisoned me against non-narrative history. HISTORY IS EXCITING AND SHOULD BE TOLD IN GRIPPING NARRATIVE. If you can't tell a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat, you are doing it rong.

(How much do I love James Otis and Mercy Otis Warren? It is this book's fault! How much do I love Thomas Jefferson the horny twenty-year-old? It is this book's fault! How much do I love Thomas Paine the one-step-ahead-of-debtor's-jail hack? It is this book's fault! THEY ARE ALL SO EPIC I LOFF THEM OMG.)

The fact that 1954 is in the title is a good start. But there is still not enough emphasis on the fact that Eisenhower started the war in that year, and how he did it and why.½

I am reluctant to write an unfavorable review of this book because it was well researched, a fact proven, I believe, by the amount of information shared within; unfortunately, it was too rich in its scholarship. A better way to frame the problem would be to say A.J. Langguth covered too many topics and had too broad a scope in his subject.

To me the title Driven West implies the Trail of Tears and what happened during the ordeal. I was fully anticipating a history about the forced exodus of Cherokee Indians, its causes and implications. I hoped for stories of its participants and instigators. From the book's subtitle I expected more explanation of Andrew Jackson, both as a general and president, and his participation in the less-than-voluntary relocation of a whole people. Instead, Driven West was a history lesson of local, state, federal, tribal and personal politics.

Allow me to liken this book to a decadent dessert. You order an exquisite looking cheesecake crafted by a globe-trotting chef who acquired a number of spices during his travels. To showcase them all, he enthusiastically incorporates them into one dessert. Mr Langguth, a literary "chef", obviously spent countless hours researching and discovering untold treasures of 19th century politics as a world-class chef might span the globe for exotic flavors. Unfortunately, the author chose to include most (if not all of his research) in this book, it became a concoction much like how an over seasoned dessert may taste. While some spices compliment others and each enhances the meal they create, amalgamating them into one dish detracts from the whole plate. Simply put, spice Mr. Langguth uncovered on power players and their families combined into one book overpowered the actual story of the Trail of Tears.

Early on I decided this book was a historical tracing of six degrees of separation. Very quickly the story moseyed away from the Cherokee people and delved into anyone involved in Georgian or national politics. Even spouses of politicians were investigated in detail. Granted, some cabinet positions and those who filled them could be integral to the story of relocating the Five Civilized Tribes, but recounting the grievous treatment of spouses or political horse-trading to earn patronage positions went beyond the scope of this book, in my opinion.

It was confusing how chapters were labeled for important people in the relationship between state, federal, and tribal governments, complete with dates (i.e. chapter 8 is labeled 'John Marshall (1831-32)'), yet in the example chapter, he was a minor part of the story. The Chief Justice of United States Supreme Court lightly discussed in a 26-page chapter. There were so many names of primary players, their spouses and children and love interests transiently mentioned in the text, the references and importance of the story was lost in the confusion of characters.

A. J. Langguth did weave a compelling story of both bipartisan and internecine party fighting when discussing presidential and senatorial politics. However, almost a third of the focus of Driven West was given to presidential elections and he rarely tied the minute details he covered to the overall importance to the Cherokee's predicament.

Over all Driven West could be a series of digressions. I gained a sense that from all Mr Langguth's research, he was reluctant to not include it. He nearly wrote biographies of Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay and several others. Due to the countless mention of names, the tangents taken to write about someone's travails in politics, the Trail of Tears did not become a storyline until nearly 200-pages into the book. I was unimpressed and unsatisfied with the execution of his work, but was impressed with the shear amount of research and knowledge he amassed for the history of America.

A funny and thought-provoking look at the many faces of Jesus Christ. A collection of short-short stories (with a few longer stories mixed in) with something to offend (or amuse) everyone. From the frontplate in my edition "As Jesus was walking down the road, he met an old man. 'I have come to die for your sins.' 'Then what am I to die for?' the old man asked. Jesus produced a pad and pencil. 'If you will give me your name and address, an answer will be sent to you.'"

Five stars for readability and research. Stopped reading Flexners 4 vol Washington to read this for a broad perspective of the times. this book does far more than who did what when. The personalities and personal characteristics of well know historical figures helps establish why some were bold and others were not. The incidental details provide much more than trivia expertese, they fill out the people as humans and the times as hectic. Here you do more than see the action, you smell and feel it as well. A highly recommended read for those interested in history. Should be required reading for HS students. A book to remind modern day victims (all of us) of the self serving nature of today's politics, that once upon a time men rose to fight for their beliefs and not just for their wallets.

I would recommend this book as an starting point for anyone who is a novice of Caesar's era in Rome. It is an excellent overview of the politics and personalities in Rome and abroad at that time. The only objection I have is that it is very skimpy on details in regards to battles and campaigns,but then again that is not the main empahsis of the book. Three and a half stars.½

This is a broad survey of the war starting in 1960 through 1975. Each chapter focuses on one year and revolves around one individual who played a major role that year in the war. I found this book to be very readable and reasonably neutral in its stance on the war. This is a good both for individuals wanting a general overview of the war without being buried in detail.

I was given this book as a gift because I very much like the play/movie 1776. It wasn't a book I was ready for when it was first gifted to me, but I took it up again some years later, and after churning roughly through the first chapter, was captivated by the revealing narration of how history unfolded.

In the Acknowledgements the author writes that this book is "meant for readers who knew that Washington had crossed the Delaware, but didn't know why; that Benedict Arnold had betrayed his country, but didn't know how." This book exactly delivers the why and the how.

There are a lot of individuals to keep track of, which can be a bit daunting, and because so many individuals are enacting history at the same time but in many different places there is some back-and-forth, but the style is simple and direct. Once you get into the book the personal stories of the people of the times--both deemed important and not by the records of history--are enlightening and interesting.

The book is well researched, but the notes are left until the very end, for those that like to check on the references. This choice gives the book a lighter air because it seems less like a textbook with footnotes on every page, but it is obviously very well researched. A few helpful maps are provided at the beginning, and several portraits and artwork are scattered in black and white throughout.

http://nhw.livejournal.com/137217.html

H.H. Munro was born in 1870 and killed in the first world war in 1916. It´s striking that his best work was produced in a concentrated period between 1909 and 1913. (Unlike Douglas Adams, whose best stuff was written before he turned 30). The great short stories, "Tobermory", "The Open Window", "The Lumber Room", "The Story-Teller", and the two not-quite-so-great novels, The Unbearable Bassington and When William Came (set in a German-occupied England of the near future, say 1915 or so) all date from those years.

But Munro did a lot of other things too. He first achieved fame as a parliamentary sketch writer, poking fun at the Boer War, the Iraq of its day. But I'm obviously most interested in his two years as a Balkan correspondent from 1902 to 1904. He filed his first ever report from the town of Vučitrn, about the riots in Mitrovica, in October 1902. Oddly enough the first report I saw through to completion in my current job in June 2002 was also about riots in Mitrovica, and I expect to be in Vučitrn next Wednesday.

He doesn't just cover the Balkans, but also Warsaw, St Petersburg and Paris, but I think it's not just projecting my own sympathies to say that he liked the Balkans most. He liked Uskub, a very different place then from the Skopje I know and love and will be in again on Thursday. He got overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of intricate political information he was getting, to the point where he was unable to construct a coherent narrative; he became excessively reliant on official sources that took him into his confidence; he wasn´t so good on the graphic details or deeper social commentary. Of course I have always been immune from any such faults myself. Of course.

He notably drops the ball twice: when the King and Queen of Serbia are murdered in their bedroom, and their naked corpses flung out the palace window, he is in the next door country and only reaches Belgrade when it´s all over. (He can only report that people are still pointing out the window in question - as indeed they still do today.) Then on 31 July 1903 he decides that nothing much is happening in Macedonia, and goes on holiday. On 2 August the Ilinden rising begins, ending with the death of Goce Delčev in a blaze of glory and the crystallisation of Macedonian nationalism. Clearly his links with the local revolutionaries were not particularly good.

I remember hearing about this book when it was first published in 1981. It´s rather coy about Munro's homosexuality, though I suspect it was probably rather daring for its time (immediately post Jeremy Thorpe). The biographer is fair I think to the two awful aunts who brought up Saki and his elder brother and sister after their mother was killed by a stampeding cow (in Devon, in 1872). I was also interested in the Irish connection - his brother Charles ended up as the governor of Mountjoy Prison in Dublin until 1922, and they used to have family holidays near Portstewart. And the biographer also manages to explain convincingly why someone of his particular talents and character should enlist in the army during the first world war and also resist promotion to the status of officer. His last words were "Put that bloody cigarette out!" Then a German sniper shot him.

The six new short stories are OK though not spectacular.½