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# Download PDF Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, by Suzanne O'Malley

Download PDF Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, by Suzanne O'Malley

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Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, by Suzanne O'Malley

Download PDF Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, by Suzanne O'Malley

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In the tradition of In Cold Blood, The Executioner's Song, and A Civil Action, Suzanne O'Malley exposes the human mystery of the most horrifying crime in recent history and the legal drama surrounding it.

As a journalist, Suzanne O'Malley began covering the murders of Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary Yates hours after their mother, Andrea Yates, drowned them in their suburban Houston home in June 2001. Over twenty-four months, O'Malley interviewed or witnessed the sworn testimony of more than a hundred participants in this drama, including Yates herself; her husband, Rusty Yates; their families; attorneys; the personnel of the Harris County district attorney's and sheriff's offices; medical staff; friends; acquaintances; and expert witnesses.

O'Malley argues persuasively that under less extraordinary circumstances, a mentally ill woman would have been quietly offered a plea bargain and sent to an institution under court supervision. But on March 12, 2002, Andrea Yates was found guilty of the murders of three of her five children. She is currently serving a life sentence and will not be eligible for parole until 2041.

O'Malley's exclusive personal communications with Andrea Yates and her interviews with Rusty Yates allow her to offer fully realized portrayals of people at the center of this horrifying case.

In "Are You There Alone?" O'Malley makes a critical contribution to our understanding of mental health issues within the criminal justice system.

Sales Rank: #462123 in Books
Brand: Brand: Simon n Schuster
Published on: 2004-01-12
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 9.56" h x 1.01" w x 6.54" l, 1.03 pounds
Binding: Hardcover
304 pages

Features

Used Book in Good Condition

From Publishers Weekly
Andrea Yates's horrific murders of her five small children-drowning them one by one in their bathtub-remains one of the most shocking crimes of recent years. In this overly detailed retelling, investigative journalist O'Malley has transformed herself in the popular current style from observer into participant, albeit with ample justification. O'Malley, who had written for TV's Law and Order, was suspicious when a prosecution witness, attempting to establish that Yates acted with premeditation, testified that the television show had recently aired an episode in which a mother killed her children and then escaped punishment by asserting a postpartum depression defense. Sure enough, no such episode was ever made, and O'Malley led the Yates defense team to rebuttal evidence that came too late to affect the guilty verdict. The author asserts that Yates was never properly diagnosed and relies on psychiatric opinions that claim, tragically, that a different diagnosis and appropriate treatment could have prevented her devastating actions. The writing sometimes jars ("To say this day sucked didn't begin to cover it," O'Malley says of the fatal day), but some new information and heartbreaking extracts from correspondence the author received from Yates add interest. More analysis would have been welcome, even if the nature of the murders seems to necessarily render a satisfactory understanding forever beyond human capacity.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
O'Malley brings dignity to the true crime genre with Are You There Alone?. Through her in-depth research, interviews, and personal correspondence, O'Malley exposes the history of Yates's mental illness, attempted suicides, and the medical system that failed her. She asserts that if Yates had received a proper diagnosis and appropriate medical treatment, her children might still be alive today. While some critics found O'Malley's writing tedious, most were impressed with her exhaustive details, analysis of Yates's medical condition, and corrective to the media's story. Indeed, her attention to detail contributed to the discovery of a major flaw in the prosecution's case. Unfortunately, it came too late to reverse the jury's guilty plea, but influenced Yates's sentence of life in prison, rather than death, sentence. Overall, this book offers compelling insight into mental illness, healthcare, childcare, and the legal system.

Review
USA Today The true crime genre often has the repellant odor of a writer cashing in on other human beings' tragedies, crimes or mental illness. Suzanne O'Malley's "Are You There Alone?": The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates has nothing in common with that kind of trash...Without pathos or overwrought prose, O'Malley details Yates' serious mental illnesses, including psychotic postpartum depression and probable bipolar mood disorder...O'Malley is that rare writer who grasps that the most you can expect of people is that they try their best...This riveting book puts a human face on a larger social issue. What happens when the violent actions of an improperly medicated mentally ill person intersect with the legal system? Who bears the responsibility? --suzanne omalley

Most helpful customer reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
A New Style of True Crime -
By A Customer
Have you noticed how it is that when you mention the name "Andrea Yates" people's jaws go slack? Wait 'til you read this book. It is SO good. Not sensationalized at all. It doesn't have to be. The facts are sensational enough. The author, Suzanne O'Malley, has used interviews with Yates by various psychiatrists,interviews with her husband, mother and dozens of others as well as the court transcripts and letters from Andrea Yates herself to the author to tell the story. Apparently, O'Malley is the only reporter to have carried on a correspondence with Yates from her cell in prison. (Would love to read the entire letters and not just the exerpts in the book - wow!) What I like, is that the writer does not intrude on the subject - it tells itself seemingly effortlessly. Just every now and then, like one of the classic tragedies - which surely this is - she will very subtly point out something that is so ironic or just plain stupid that you have to laugh out loud. Thank goodness! Anyway, It's terrific.
The killing of her children was and is, of course unspeakable" but the depth of her understanding combined with the sensitivity of Yates's portrait makes this an extraordinary book. Read it. You won't be sorry. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
A Compelling Story
By A Customer
When I first heard about Andrea Yates horrible crime I was living in Houston, and like most of my friends thought she was a cold blooded killer. I mean, it takes a while to drown five kids - how could she have done that? I figured at some point after the first or second you would have to comprehend what you were doing and STOP - how could she do all five? I am a mother (of only one, however) and I have been hospitalized for depression and bipolar and I know I couldn't do that to my child. But my illness was not nearly as severe as Mrs. Yates disease. This book dispels some of the rumors and puts Mrs. Yates into a more sympathetic light. Under Texas law, she knew that her acts were wrong, but, in her psychotic frame of mind, she beleived she was taking the best course of action available to her. This book makes a compelling argument for mental health care reform - if Mrs. Yates had received anything close to the kind of help she needed, her children would almost cetainly be alive today. If her problem had been physical rather than mental, her children would be alive and she would be a well woman. If anything, this book showed me that there are two sides to every coin, and that even though I myself have been the recipient of poor mental health care, it is still easy to blame the patient. This story has no clear cut right or wrong, but does show that health care in this country should be governed by the patients illness, not the amount of care their insurance will cover.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Great Book
By A Customer
Psychology in general has always been interesting to me. I am getting my minor in Psychology currently. I was shocked and sad by the terrible, horrific story of the Yates children. This book was impossible to put down. I read the entire book in a day. The author does a wonderful job of telling the story and offering insights not all people are willing or capable of seeing. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of the case and the disturbing story. It does a wonderful job of making Mrs. Yates seem human and terribly, terribly let down by the psychological health system in the United States.

See all 69 customer reviews...

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Sabtu, 25 Oktober 2014

>> Download PDF God's Gift to Women: A Novel, by Michael Baisden

Download PDF God's Gift to Women: A Novel, by Michael Baisden

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A smooth talker. An even better listener. And handsome as heaven on earth. He is God's Gift to Women. Julian Payne gets into bed with millions of women every night. As an after-hours radio talk-show host, Julian captivates his female audience with his deep voice and sensitive spirit. Women can't get enough: They call in, begging for his advice about love, lust, commitment, and betrayal. Julian provides his listeners with the blunt male perspective, and he always has the right thing to say. But when it comes to his own romantic life, or lack thereof, he's at a loss for words. A widower and father to ten-year-old Samantha, Julian wants nothing more than to settle down again with the right woman. Just when he thinks he's found her in Dr. Terri Ross - smart, stunning, and with her own counseling practice - Julian is confronted by a ghost from the past: Olivia Brown, a woman with whom he had a one-night stand. Suddenly Julian finds himself in a situation with a woman who's determined to win him over . . . or make his life a living hell. Michael Baisden's hottest offering yet, God's Gift to Women is a compelling tale about the consequences of sex with a stranger.

Sales Rank: #1146118 in Books
Published on: 2003-10-02
Released on: 2003-10-02
Ingredients: Example Ingredients
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 8.00" h x .90" w x 5.25" l,
Binding: Paperback
290 pages

About the Author
Success did not come easy for this 37-year-old Chicago native. In 1993 he was driving trains for the Chicago Transit Authority and struggling to keep a small business from going under. In 1995 he released his first book, Never Satisfied: How and Why Men Cheat, a controversial book of short stories about unfaithful men and the women who support their irresponsible behavior. The large New York publishing companies rejected his work, saying it wasn't marketable - which basically meant, it wasn't good enough. Not willing to concede defeat, Michael decided to self-publish. He borrowed money from friends and family, charged his credit cards to the limit, and sold his automobile. Within eight months, he sold more than 50,000 books and was on Essence and Emerge magazines best sellers' lists. He toured with black expos, sorority conventions, and book fairs. He even signed books at the local nightclubs, and hair salons. "I was determined to make it" he says. "I would sell books at a funeral if they let me". Eventually, his popularity grew and so did the demand for his next book. This time, instead of writing another book on relationships, Michael took a gamble on a novel. "There was a void in African-American novels written by men", he explained. "I wanted to destroy the myth that men don't read". In July of 1997 he released his second book, Men Cry in the Dark. Once again, the book was a big success, selling 30,000 hard cover editions during the first six months. This time the national media paid attention. Michael has been a guest on several local and national radio programs, including the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. His electrifying personality has earned repeated appearances on talk shows such as Ricki Lake, Sally Jesse, Maury Povich, and The View. He has also been a guest host for Tavis Smiley on BET Tonight. By the summer of 1997, demand for his appearances were overwhelming. Organizations, book clubs, and re

Chapter One

Jasmine scented candles illuminated the studio -- creating a spiritual ambiance. I reclined in my chair as I listened to the song "Is it a Crime" by Sade. The candles had become a ritual ever since I started at WTLK back in '89. The flickering light and smell of jasmine were relaxing and made me more introspective -- aromatherapy, they called it.

The faint candlelight also served as a camouflage for the dilapidated condition of the studio. The carpet was covered with decade old cigarette burns, the plaster was falling off the ceiling, and the exposed water pipe leaked into an old Folgers coffee can. "Sade, your song is right on time," I said as I glanced around the room. "This place is a crime."

Just before the song ended, I put on my headphones and adjusted the volume to the mic. The digital clock on the console read 11:55 PM. "Five more minutes and I'm outta this dump!" I said with contempt. My producer, Mitch, was in the control booth next door setting up the calls. I could see him through the large soundproof window. I switched on the intercom to get his attention.

"Well, Mitch, in a few minutes it'll all be over," I told him. "The final episode of The Green Hornet and Kato."

"Don't be so dramatic, Julian," he said in his usual smooth tone. "It's not the end of the world, just another phase in life."

"Listen to you, sounding all philosophical. That must be one of the benefits of old age."

"Who you callin' old?"

Mitch had smooth dark brown skin and short black hair with grey streaks. He looked very distinguished but he had recently turned fifty-five and was getting touchy about his age.

"Look, we can arm wrestle for your Viagra prescription later," I laughed. "Right now, let's get to work and try to wrap up the show on time."

There were five people on hold. Mitch printed their names in bold letters on a piece of paper and taped it to the window. That was our sophisticated communication system. "Five, four, three, two -- ," I heard Mitch count. Then he pointed at me to signal we were on the air.

"Welcome back to Love, Lust, and Lies on WTLK," I said in my deep radio voice. "We only have enough time for two calls, so let's go straight to the phones. Adam, you're on. What's your question or issue?"

"Hey, Julian! I just want to congratulate you on your new show," he said. "I hope you don't get big-headed and forget where you came from when you blow up."

"Negro, please! I've been struggling in this business for fifteen years. I've never been about money or fame," I told him. "I've never owned a new car, don't own a nice watch, I cut my own hair, and every night I go home to a ten-year-old girl who's goin' through puberty. Now, if that doesn't keep you grounded, nothing will. Thanks for calling." (Click)

Mitch was laughing his ass off because he knew I was telling the truth. I drove a beat up 1994 Toyota Camry, which I bought used in 1996. And my scratched up Gucci was ten years old. I laughed myself because when I looked down at it, it had stopped working -- again.

"Okay, Sharon. You're my last caller!" I said as I pushed the button to line two. "What's your question or issue?"

"My question is about love and commitment," she sounded depressed.

"We don't have much time, sweetheart, what's your point?"

"My point is, when you love someone you should stand by them no matter what, right?"

"I agree, if you truly love someone, nothing should come between you."

"Well, I thought my husband loved me, until --

She stopped in mid-sentence.

"Come on! It can't be that serious," I said jokingly trying to cheer her up. "What happened? Did you gain a little weight, loose your job, get a bad hair weave? What?"

"No, Julian, he left me because I was raped. The doctors said the damage was so severe I'll never be able to bear children," she said. Then she began to cry. "And after going through that hell, can you believe that no-good bastard had the nerve to tell me it was my fault that I got raped? How's that for love and commitment?"

I hit the mute button on my microphone and buried my head into my hands. When I looked up at Mitch, I knew he was thinking exactly what I was thinking. Why tonight -- of all nights? The clock on the console read, 11:56. We were almost out of time. But I was determined not to end my last show on a negative note.

"Are you all right Sharon?" I asked. "Do you want me to put you in touch with a therapist?"

"No, Julian, thank you. I'll be fine. It happened a long time ago." She quickly composed herself. "I'm just sick and tired of men using the word love at their convenience. The only thing they love is getting pus --

"Hold up," I cut her off, "I get the point! And you're right, love is a serious word -- men shouldn't say it if they don't mean it."

"Have you ever been in love, Julian?"

"Hold on a second, who's interviewing who?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. But I was just wondering if there's ever been a woman worthy of your love."

I paused for a second as I reminisced on my wife, Carmen. Her picture was right in front of me, the one we took in Vegas on our honeymoon. I never spoke about her on the air since that day -- it was too painful. But I decided to open up. Maybe I was caught up in the moment, or by the vulnerability in Sharon's voice.

"Yes, I've been in love -- once," I told her.

"Are you still with her?"

"No, she's gone -- cancer took her."

"I guess we have something in common, Julian," she said, then she hesitated. "We're both alone."

Mitch was nodding in agreement. We both knew why. But I wasn't about to go there on the air.

"Like you said, it happened a long time ago," I told her. "You've got to let go of the pain in order to move on. And speaking of moving on, it's time for me get out of here."

The phone lines were ringing off the hook, but there was no time left for calls. The management at WTLK was strict about ending segments on time, especially since the station was programmed to go off the air at midnight. The clock on the panel read 11:58.

"Before I go, I want to end the show with an inspirational poem, the way I always do on Hot Buttered Soul Friday. I call this piece Movin' On. I reached for my notebook. "This one's for you Sharon, and all the ladies out there who are trying to move on." I cleared my throat and began to recite.

every experience
be it bad or good
teaches us a lesson
or at least it should

mr. right
turned out to be mr. wrong
learn from your mistakes
keep the faith
press forward sista
move on

dry your tears
wipe your eyes
find the strength
look inside
don't call him
don't see him
don't play one sad song
block his cell
delete his email
look ahead my sista
just move on

love yourself
take care of yourself
and if the need arises
sista please yourself

do a check up
from the neck up
say a prayer
sista hold your head up

cause one day you'll have all the joy your heart can hold
and then you'll be glad you pressed forward
and so thankful you moved on

After I finished reading, I felt choked up. I was closing the show for the last time. I hesitated for a second, then I let it go.

"Goodnight, Chicago," I said emotionally. "Thanks for allowing me into your homes, your hearts, and your minds -- peace."

Mitch quickly turned on the studio lights and came running over. He was holding a bottle of Dom Perignon and two glasses. He shook it up and then popped the cork. Champagne sprayed everywhere.

"Congratulations, Julian," he said as he poured it over my head. "You're finally escaping this concentration camp!"

"Yeah, it took me over ten years, like Shawshank Redemption, but I finally made it," I laughed as I wiped the champagne from my eyes.

He poured two glasses and handed me one.

"I'd like to propose a toast," he said. "To the most outspoken, talented, and arrogant son-of-a-bitch in talk radio."

"Hear, hear!" I said as we tapped glasses.

"Now, I wanna propose a toast. To the man who has given me inspiration, motivation, and die-reaction. Here's to you, Mitch."

We toasted again. Then there was an uncomfortable silence. I had dreaded this moment all week.

"You know, Mitch. I'm sorry I couldn't work out a deal to take you with me. You know how much you --

"Look, Julian," he interrupted, "this is your time -- your season. You were born for this. Besides, I've got a big deal I've been working on. I only wish Carmen could've been here to share this moment with you."

"Yeah, me too." I stared at her picture on the console. "She's the reason why I stuck with this raggedy ass station for as long as I did."

Mitch walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. He was a short man, standing about five-six. I towered over him at six-three but he had a charismatic way of speaking that demanded attention.

"It's been two years, Julian. When are you gonna let it go?" he said in that fatherly tone. "You said it in your poem, life goes on! Why don't you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start taking some of your own advice?"

"Look, Mitch, dating is not high on my list of priorities!" I said as I pulled away. Then I started packing up my equipment. "I'm moving to Houston in two days. I just want to finish packing, have a farewell drink with Eddie at Club Nimbus, then get the hell outta here!"

"Sounds like a plan, Julian." He poured himself another drink. "But you know as well as I do, Sharon was right, you are alone. You should've asked her out -- she's obviously single," he added sarcastically. "Tell you what, why don't we see if she's still on the line."

Mitch reached for the button on the console. All five phone lines were lit and my microphone was still on.

"Cool out, Mitch!" I grabbed at his hand. But he managed to press the speaker phone button for line two. There was a sudden click then a dial tone.

"It's best that she's gone, anyway," he said as he backed away from the console.

"And why is that -- not that I care."

"Because Samantha will never allow another woman into her life, or yours, not until she learns to accept that you are a man -- with needs."

He sat down his champagne glass on the console and headed for the door.

"Where you goin'?" I walked towards him holding my glass. "I thought we were celebrating tonight."

"I'm going home to my woman, what about you?" he said as he opened the door. "I really hope you find what you're looking for in Houston, Julian." Then he turned off the lights and walked out.

As I watched the candle wax slowly melting away, I thought about what my father told me before he died; "Son, money can buy a lot of things in this world but it can't buy back time." As I stood there in the dim silence of my spiritual ambiance, I had to face up to reality of what Mitch said. He's right, I thought to myself. Samantha was too possessive and I was only making matters worse by not having a life of my own.

I gathered up the rest of my things and placed them inside my gym bag. Before I put away the picture of Carmen, I looked at it. Then I spoke to it.

"You know I'll always love you, Carmen, but it's time for me to move on with my life!" I said, as tears rolled down my face. "My mind needs it, my heart needs it, my soul needs it. And I ain't gonna lie, baby, my body needs it, too." I laughed.

I kissed her picture, then placed it into my bag. "You'll always be my Queen."

On the way out the door I blew out my jasmine scented candles and put them inside my bag. At that moment, I decided it was the only baggage I was carrying with me to Houston.

Most helpful customer reviews

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A very good read!
By Amazon Customer
I enjoyed every page!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars
By Amazon Customer
Great book. Read it out in three hours.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Predictable!!!
By Anita Pearson
This book was totally predictable, you could just read the book cover, and not bother with the rest. I had such high hopes for an exciting end, but no.. nothing surprising or interesting about it.
Not only did the main character not learn his lesson (he had unprotected sex with his next partner) but he failed to even alert the authorities. None of the characters were well developed except for maybe Julian, but neither the `crazed' stalker nor his Houston love interest had any depth as characters. Since this book was not written in first person this is inexcusable.
This was a fast read, but without the twists and turns or any oohs and ahhs, not really worth the time.

See all 224 customer reviews...

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Scholars from different fields have joined forces to reexamine every aspect of the Hebrew Bible. Their research, carried out in universities and seminaries in Europe and America, has revolutionized our understanding of almost every chapter and verse. But have they killed the Bible in the process?

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the "quiet revolution" of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today's researchers differ from what people have always thought. The story of Adam and Eve, it turns out, was not originally about the "Fall of Man," but about the move from a primitive, hunter-gatherer society to a settled, agricultural one. As for the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Esau, these narratives were not, at their origin, about individual people at all but, rather, explanations of some feature of Israelite society as it existed centuries after these figures were said to have lived. Dinah was never raped -- her story was created by an editor to solve a certain problem in Genesis. In the earliest version of the Exodus story, Moses probably did not divide the Red Sea in half; instead, the Egyptians perished in a storm at sea. Whatever the original Ten Commandments might have been, scholars are quite sure they were different from the ones we have today. What's more, the people long supposed to have written various books of the Bible were not, in the current consensus, their real authors: David did not write the Psalms, Solomon did not write Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; indeed, there is scarcely a book in the Bible that is not the product of different, anonymous authors and editors working in different periods.

Such findings pose a serious problem for adherents of traditional, Bible-based faiths. Hiding from the discoveries of modern scholars seems dishonest, but accepting them means undermining much of the Bible's reliability and authority as the word of God. What to do? In his search for a solution, Kugel leads the reader back to a group of ancient biblical interpreters who flourished at the end of the biblical period. Far from naïve, these interpreters consciously set out to depart from the original meaning of the Bible's various stories, laws, and prophecies -- and they, Kugel argues, hold the key to solving the dilemma of reading the Bible today.

How to Read the Bible is, quite simply, the best, most original book about the Bible in decades. It offers an unflinching, insider's look at the work of today's scholars, together with a sustained consideration of what the Bible was for most of its history -- before the rise of modern scholarship. Readable, clear, often funny but deeply serious in its purpose, this is a book for Christians and Jews, believers and secularists alike. It offers nothing less than a whole new way of thinking about sacred Scripture.

Sales Rank: #402044 in Books
Brand: Brand: Free Press
Published on: 2007-09-11
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 1.69" h x 6.42" w x 9.24" l,
Binding: Hardcover
848 pages

Features

Used Book in Good Condition

From Publishers Weekly
Kugel's tour de force of biblical scholarship juxtaposes two different ways of reading the Bible: the ancient biblical interpretations, ranging from the Book of Jubilees to Augustine, that he explored in The Bible as It Was, and the modern historical approach that challenges the historical veracity of scripture and seeks instead to find its writers' original sources and purposes. It can be a jarring journey for those schooled in traditional views, but what emerges is a fresh, even strange, and very rich view of everything from the Garden of Eden to Isaiah's dream vision of God. Refreshingly undogmatic and often witty, Kugel brings an intimate knowledge of the Hebrew Bible to illuminate small points as well as large. He discusses who the ancient Israelites were; the resemblances between YHWH and Canaanite gods; the unique role of the prophet in Ancient Near Eastern religions; the nature of ancient wisdom literature; and what the Bible means when it calls Solomon the wisest of men. The result is a stunning narrative of the evolution of ancient Israel, of its God and of the entire Hebrew Bible, contrasted with ancient interpretations that aimed to uncover hidden meanings and moral lessons. So, for example, for the ancients, the story of Cain and Abel is a tale of good versus evil. For the moderns, it was originally a story of origin, about the relation between ancient Israelites and the fierce Kenites to their south. While Kugel is a traditional Jew, he sees the modern approach as compelling, so the dilemma is whether a person of faith can read scripture in both the old way and the new. Drawing on Judaism's nonfundamentalist approach, Kugel's proposed answer is that the original purpose of the texts and their lack of historical accuracy matters less than their underlying message: to serve God. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Kugel intends his book as a tour through the Hebrew Bible based on an introductory course he taught at Harvard University for more than 20 years. His first aim is to acquaint readers with the contents of the Bible itself, and he points out that by the end of his introductory course, readers will have met all the major biblical figures: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, and Solomon, to name just a few. The book also covers all the major events, from the story of Adam and Eve to the Exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian exile, and Israel's eventual return to its homeland. The book not only focuses on what the text says but on the larger question of what a modern reader is to make of it. Geared to both the specialist and the general reader, this is an indispensable guide to a complex subject. Cohen, George

About the Author
James L. Kugel, Starr Professor of Hebrew at Harvard from 1982 to 2003, now lives in Jerusalem. A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation, he is the author of The God of Old and The Great Poems of the Bible. His course on the Bible was regularly one of the two most popular at Harvard, enrolling more than nine hundred students.

Most helpful customer reviews

187 of 196 people found the following review helpful.
Not for dummies
By mrliteral
At first glance, a book titled "How to Read the Bible" would seem like one of those "for Dummies" books that offers simple explanations to an often mysterious tome. It is quickly apparent that James Kugel's book does not actually fit into this category: instead, it is a much more in-depth and insightful look into the Bible (which is to say the Jewish Bible, or to Christians, the Old Testament).

The overall premise of this book is that through the course of history, there have been two general methods of reading the Bible, and that these two methods are often in conflict. First, there is the method of the ancient interpreters, which despite its name, was the dominant methods until relatively recently. For these interpreters, Biblical reading was based on four general assumptions: (1) the Bible is cryptic; that is, what it seems to say may be different from it actually means; (2) the Bible is a book of lessons for readers in their own day; it is not merely a historical text; (3) the Bible is perfect and without contradiction; any seeming error can be explained (assumption #1 is helpful with this); (4) the Bible is the divine word of God.

Modern interpretation, which really began in the nineteenth century, does not adhere to the ancient assumptions. In particular, the modern interpreter views the Bible as a text written by men, with all the flaws that are associated with mortals. This interpreter views the Bible in the larger context of the ancient world to determine how it was constructed.

Take, for example, the story of Jacob and Esau. An ancient interpreter would view the stories of this brotherly conflict as leading to the general hostility between Israel and Edom, the two nations that the siblings were the founders of. A modern interpreter would view things in the opposite direction: to give historical justification to the Israel/Edom conflict, the Jacob/Esau legend was composed.

Obviously, the modern interpretation of the Bible can cause problems for certain devout people, and the ancient method has been far from retired, particularly among fundamentalists. Kugel himself is an orthodox Jew who has his issues with the modern method, but overall, he presents a balance view, showing the flaws in both sides.

Think about how much trouble we Americans have with deciding what the First or Second Amendments of the Constitution mean. Depending on political bent, we derive our own meaning from these passages. And these amendments were written in English, only two centuries ago. Furthermore, we have plenty of supporting documentary material from the era it was written. Yet, even now, we can't reach a consensus on what the right to bear arms or have a church-state separation means. If we can't even agree on that, how much more difficult is it to definitively interpret a text that was written more than two millennia back in another language that didn't even have punctuation or vowels.

It is inarguable that the Bible is the most important book in history, with an influence that extends over thousands of years and, at this point, all over the world. Whatever your faith - Jewish or Christian or Hindu or Wiccan or other - or even if you're a Deist, agnostic or atheist, it is worth your while to know the Bible (even if you don't believe in it). Kugel's book is not a fast read (it is too packed with information to read at a quick pace), but it is a fascinating one and a great way to learn a lot about the Bible.

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
Superb Study of Old Testament Scholarship. Buy it Now!
By B. Marold
`How to Read the Bible' by the former Starr Professor of Hebrew at Harvard University is about as different from the similarly titled `How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth' by New Testament professor, Gordon D. Fee and Old Testament professor, Douglas Stuart, and still be a superb read for anyone, especially lay readers, who are interested in understanding the Hebrew scriptures.
Yes, this book deals exclusively with Professor Kugel's specialty, the Old Testament, while the Fee / Stuart book deals with both Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
Another huge difference is that Professor Kugel not only advises us on how to read the scriptures today, he outlines how they have been read since they were first gathered together, sometime around the return from the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE. The big surprise to us lay readers is that these scriptures were not taken as the perfect inspiration from God, with every statement literally, or at least figuratively true, given the right amount of interpretation. Professor Kugel does not make this comparison, but I suspect that the attitude toward much of the scriptures was very similar to the Achaeans' (early Greeks) attitude toward Homer's `Iliad' and `Odyssey', as national epic poems. Even without modern archeology, it would not have been difficult to detect anachronisms and downright errors when, for example, a Psalm attributed to King David describes events which happened 500 years after his death.
The attitude of `high reverence' for the scriptures developed shortly after the last book, `Daniel', was added to the canon, the era of the last prophet Ezra, and the Maccabean revolt. This fits remarkably into the picture we have of the state of Judaism at the time of Jesus, and Jesus criticisms of the priests and Pharisees for their excessive dedication to a strict reading of the scriptures and the intense interpretation to which the scriptures, especially the law of the Torah was put.
The overall plan of the book is based on instructing us on how to read the scriptures `by example'. Of the 36 chapters, all but the first and the last deal with books, such as Psalms, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and individual episodes from books, such as chapters on the episodes of Cain and Able, Noah and the flood, and the tower of Babel from Genesis.
The first chapter introduces us, in a novel fashion, to the rise of modern Bible criticism over the last 200 years, by recounting the trial of Professor Charles Augustus Briggs by the ruling body of the American Presbyterian church, for making strongly positive comments about the type of scholarship he saw in Germany, where the strong tradition of Luther fueled critical studies of both old and new Testaments.
The last chapter summarizes all the points detailed in the individual studies throughout the rest of the book.
It is easy for those whose Christian beliefs run to the more conservative to dismiss this book and its findings out of hand. For those, I may point out that Professor Kugel is a devout Orthodox! Jew, now living in Jerusalem, who has no problem maintaining his faith and his analytical approach to his subject.
For the lay reader, Kugel's text is eminently readable, as almost all the scholarly impedimenta are relegated to endnotes and the usual index to the scriptures in an appendix. For the Christian reader, there is much here to enlighten. Even Luther had deep interest in much of the Old Testament, especially Genesis and Psalms. It would be really interesting to read Luther's commentary on Genesis in the light of Kugel's information.
If there is anything in this book which reaffirms my own inclinations to Bible study, it is the attention to external archeological information. This is most famously represented by the discovery, in the early 19th century, of the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh, which has a flood episode which predates the writing of Genesis by almost a thousand years. And, many passages in Genesis' account of the flood seem to almost be copied idea for idea, from the Gilgamesh. This `borrowing' is made more plausible by the fact that while the sub-desert heights of Judea received very little rainfall, the delta of the Tigris - Euphrates probably floods quite often, albeit not as often as the dependable Nile.
Anyone with any interest at all in understanding the Old Testament really needs to read this book to have the advantage of the broadest possible perspective on issues regarding the origins and interpretation of these scriptures.

99 of 108 people found the following review helpful.
Extremely scholarly and easy to read, a combination difficult to find
By César González Rouco
Kugel's "How to read the Bible" is a masterful work that will join a number of important new works on religion this Fall (for instance, Rodney Stark's " Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief " or Charles Taylor's massive "Secular Age"). I felt like buying it because it offers a comment on the bible from a Jewish scholar point of view, which is a novelty for someone brought up in Spanish Catholic traditions.

After reading this book I much agree with DAVID PLOTZ's review [...], particularly when he states: "Though Kugel surely did not intend this, in its own way, his book proves as devastating to the godly cause as any of the pro-atheism books that have been dominating the best-seller lists in recent months". In my opinion, this is because the author is intellectually honest given that i) although one realizes he does believe in the God of the Bible, however ii) he clearly shows that the ancient interpreters' and the modern scholars' way of understanding the Bible clearly contradict each other; before that iii) he escapes from [in his opinion] non-well argued apologetics to save such a contradiction; and then iv) if I understood him correctly, he tries to square this circle in the last few pages, in the section called "The Very Idea of the Bible" (whether he achieves it or not, or whether his answer may please those who do not follow the Jewish path I let it to each one to decide on his own).

In any event, Kugel's work is a pleasure to read, which is very important for a book 700 pages long plus notes [plus an appendix and bibliography which are available at the author's web site, jameskugle.com]. And the proof that I have liked it a lot [deeds speak louder than words] is that I have ordered another of his books, "Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era", which is even lengthier than "How to read the Bible".

Other books on religion that I would recommend to read would be the following: "The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach," by Moojan Momen and "Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion" by Brian Hayden (both of them astonishingly encyclopaedic and readable); "Islam. History, present, future" by Hans Küng (the best and the brightest on Islam, a masterpiece); and (more or less related to the matter) "A Social History of Dying" and "Experiences Near Death: Beyond Medicine and Religion" by Allan Kellehear.

Additionally, as a complement to Kugel's book (and hoping that will be of use for those looking for a broad framework to understand the past) I would also recommend to read the following works, whose scope is amazingly global: 1. Agrarian cultures: "Pre-industrial societies" by Patricia Crone; 2. Economy: "The world economy. A millennial perspective" (2001) plus "The world economy: Historical Statistics" (2003) by Angus Maddison (a combined edition of these two volumes is to appear on December 2007); 3. Government: "The History of Government" by S.E. Finer; 4. Ideas: "Ideas, a History from Fire to Freud", by Peter Watson; and 5. War: "War in Human Civilization" by Azar Gat.

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Rabu, 22 Oktober 2014

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In this nationally bestselling, compulsively readable account of what makes brain science a vital component of people's quest to know themselves, acclaimed science writer Steven Johnson subjects his own brain to a battery of tests to find out what's really going on inside. He asks:

How do we "read" other people?
What is the neurochemistry behind love and sex?
What does it mean that the brain is teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs?
Why does music move us to tears?
Where do breakthrough ideas come from?

Johnson answers these and many more questions arising from the events of our everyday lives. You do not have to be a neuroscientist to wonder, for example, why do you smile? And why do you sometimes smile inappropriately, even if you don't want to? How do others read your inappropriate smile? How does such interplay occur neurochemically, and what, if anything, can you do about it?
Fascinating and rewarding, Mind Wide Open speaks to brain buffs, self-obsessed neurotics, barstool psychologists, mystified parents, grumpy spouses, exasperated managers, and anyone who enjoys speculating and gossiping about the motivations and behaviors of other human beings. Steven Johnson shows us the transformative power of understanding brain science and offers new modes of introspection and tools for better parenting, better relationships, and better living.

Sales Rank: #534733 in Books
Brand: Johnson, Steven
Published on: 2005-05-10
Released on: 2005-05-10
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 8.44" h x .80" w x 5.50" l, .58 pounds
Binding: Paperback
288 pages

Amazon.com Review
Given the opportunity to watch the inner workings of his own brain, Steven Johnson jumps at the chance. He reveals the results in Mind Wide Open, an engaging and personal account of his foray into edgy brain science. In the 21st century, Johnson observes, we have become used to ideas such as "adrenaline rushes" and "serotonin levels," without really recognizing that complex neurobiology has become a commonplace thing to talk about. He sees recent laboratory revelations about the brain as crucial for understanding ourselves and our psyches in new, post-Freudian ways. Readers shy about slapping electrodes on their own temples can get a vicarious scientific thrill as Johnson tries out empathy tests, neurofeedback, and fMRI scans. The results paint a distinct picture of the author, and uncover general brain secrets at the same time. Memory, fear, love, alertness--all the multitude of states housed in our brains are shown to be the results of chemical and electrical interactions constantly fed and changed by input from our senses. Mind Wide Open both satisfies curiosity and provokes more questions, leaving readers wondering about their own gray matter. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly
It's the rare popular science book that not only gives the reader a gee-whiz glimpse at an emerging field, but also offers a guide for incorporating its new insights into one's own worldview. Johnson, the former editor of the Webzine Feed and author of the acclaimed Emergence (2001), does just that in his fascinating, engagingly written new survey. Applying what he calls "the `long-decay' test" to gauge the information's enduring relevance, he chooses a handful of current neuroscience concepts with the potential to transform our thinking about emotions, memories and consciousness. In a charming device, the writer subjects himself to the latest in neurological testing techniques, from biofeedback to the latest forms of MRI, and shares the insight he gains into the moment-by-moment workings of his own brain, from the adrenaline spike he gets from making jokes to his intense focus when composing sentences. The structure is fluid almost to a fault, as Johnson illustrates, elaborates on and returns to his view of the brain as a modular, associative network, "more like an orchestra than a soloist." He introduces the amygdala, for example, as a small region in the brain implicated in our ongoing, nearly automatic interpretation of the emotional states of others (called "mind reading"), a function impaired in autistic individuals. But the amygdala, the brain's source of "gut feelings," returns in the following chapter as important in encoding fearful memories, a connection that helps explain why fearful or traumatic memories are so much more tenacious and detailed than emotionally neutral ones. Always considerate of his audience, Johnson weaves disparate strands of brain research and theory smoothly into the narrative (only a concluding section on Freud's modern legacy feels like a tangent), which leaves readers' minds more open than they were.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Scientific American
"Over the past three decades, science has given us extraordinary glimpses of the brain's inner geography.... We now have the technology in place to picture that inner landscape, in itself as it really is. These are tools, in other words, for exploring our individual minds, with all their quirkiness and inimitability." Johnson, who was co-founder and editor of the Internet science magazine Feed, tested several of the tools and reports on what they and various experiments can reveal about such mental activities as mind reading, the fear response, neurofeedback, the roots of laughter and how one gets flashes of insight. "Knowing something about the brain's mechanics--and particularly your brain's mechanics--widens your own self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug."

Editors of Scientific American (130)

Most helpful customer reviews

73 of 80 people found the following review helpful.
A great start and a refreshing perspective
By Mark Rockwell
Johnson does a good job of taking concepts that could potentially be very confusing, and lays them out in an easy to read format. He does a great job of relating chemical and electrical activities in the brain with events in everyone's everyday life.
Mind Wide Open is a great book if you're new to the field of psychology or simply aren't too familiar with the actual chemical workings of the brain. The detail in the main text isn't all that deep but the end notes make up for much of the "overlooked" information. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because while it was informative and quite revealing I think that Johnson slightly oversimplified the issues at hand. If you come into this book with anything much above a beginners understanding of brain biochemistry you won't walk away with any new ideas.
I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a beginners guide to theories of how the brain functions.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Don't Stop There!
By Ned C. Smith
A delight and a disappointment. Steven Johnson opens the door (briefly) to many of the brain's multi-level functions and then closes it before the reader can fully grasp the significance and inter-relation of the areas and functions. True, the end-papers do help but I'm still left than more questions than an answers. Maybe it's really a "teaser" for the sequel.
Still, I would recommend it for anyone like myself who is interested in the how the brain functions but doesn't have a Phd in the neurosciences.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Cognitive Psychology Lite
By A Customer
This is a nicely written but fairly insubstantial book on cognitive psychology, filled with personal anecdotes (prepare to hear about Johnson's children on every third page) and tentative attempts at practical advice. Johnson is particularly intrigued by biofeedback and the fact that an fMRI test confirms that he's generally smart but "no rocket scientist." The book should be subtitled, "My Very Short Experience as a Cognitive Psychology Dilettante." Steven Pinker blurbed the book, and readers who are interested in something more substantial should follow that link to Pinker's own work, particularly How the Mind Works.

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Selasa, 21 Oktober 2014

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Mr. Darcy's Daughters: A Novel, by Elizabeth Aston

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Picking up twenty years after Pride and Prejudice left off, Mr. Darcy's Daughters begins in the year 1818. Elizabeth and Darcy have gone to Constantinople, giving us an opportunity to get to know their five daughters, who have left the sheltered surroundings of Pemberley for a few months in London. While the eldest, Letitia, frets and the youngest, Alethea, practices her music, twins Georgina and Belle flirt and frolic their way through parties and balls and Camilla -- levelheaded and independent -- discovers what joys and sorrows the city has to offer an intelligent young woman. Readers will delight in the return of such beloved Austen creations as Elizabeth's old nemesis Caroline Bingley (now Lady Warren), the ever-reliable Gardiners and wayward Aunt Lydia.
Charming, beautifully written and full of societal intrigue and romantic high jinks, Mr. Darcy's Daughters is a tale that would please Austen herself.

Sales Rank: #505139 in Books
Published on: 2003-05-06
Released on: 2003-05-06
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 8.00" h x .90" w x 5.25" l,
Binding: Paperback
368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This sequel to Pride and Prejudice from first-time novelist Aston reads more like a beach book for historical fiction fans than a literary homage to Austen's masterpiece. The novel is set in 1818, when Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (nee Elizabeth Bennett) have gone on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople and left their five daughters in London with Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam and his wife. Bossy Letitia and rebellious Camilla, the two eldest girls at 21 and 19, look forward to London's social whirl; the youngest, 16-year-old Althea, has an opportunity to study voice with an Italian master musician; and 17-year-old twins Georgina and Belle can't wait to flirt and break hearts. But the young country ladies "need to keep their wits well about them" in the city; pitfalls abound, suitors come calling and soon the Darcy girls-especially the mischievous Camilla, who "had too much of a sense of humour, too witty a tongue and too clever a mind"-are raising eyebrows and incurring the censure of some powerful Londoners. Aston attempts to imitate Austen's style, with little success-the prose is stilted and anachronistic ("it would be very fortunate if we were to find a suitable young man for Letitia. To help her get over Tom's loss, you know, and give her thoughts a new direction"). The daughters' personalities are drawn in broad, predictable strokes, and the romantic plot feels contrived and overly drawn out. Despite the curiosity factor, even Austen fans will likely give this a miss, perhaps turning instead to Emma Tennant's superior Austen sequels (Pemberley, etc.).
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Linda Berdoll author of The Bar Sinister A chess game of love and betrayal.

Julia Barrett author of Jane Austen's Charlotte Imagine poor Mr. Darcy with five marriageable daughters of his own! And in Mr. Darcy's Daughters, Elizabeth Aston has them all at large in dissolute London. Ah, but what a difference! Unlike Jane Austen's Bennet sisters, some twenty years earlier, these young ladies possess both position and money to spare! Aston takes us on a romp through late Regency society.

Joan Aiken author of Jane Fairfax I read [Mr. Darcy's Daughters] in two gulps and greatly enjoyed it...The invented daughters are fun -- prissy Letty, witty Camilla, musical Alethea, the unbridled twins -- and their ups and downs in London society make a lively story.

About the Author
Elizabeth Aston is a passionate Jane Austen fan who studied with Austen biographer Lord David Cecil at Oxford. The author of several novels, including Mr. Darcy's Daughters, she lives in England and Italy.

Visit www.elizabeth-aston.com for more information.

Most helpful customer reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
Meh...
By CoffeeGurl
Elizabeth Aston is one of the authors on my Jane Austen-sequel TBR pile. I have read two rather disastrous Pride and Prejudice sequels (Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll and Pemberley by Emma Tennant) and one that I thought was good in a keeping-the-plot-neat-and-safe sort of way (Presumption by Julia Barrett) and I have to admit that I was wary of reading another one of these sequels again. Alas, I have already bought them, so I might as well give them a whirl. Mr. Darcy's Daughters is an apropos title for the book because it concentrates on the aforementioned characters and not so much on Darcy and Elizabeth. In fact, Mr. Darcy and Lizzy have to go on a business trip and leave their daughters under the care of Colonel Fitzwilliam and his wife in London. (They also have two boys, but are left under someone else's care.) The girls -- Letty, Camilla, Georgiana, Belle (these two are twins) and Alethia -- see this as an opportunity to have fun and perhaps cause a little mischief now that they are no longer under their parents' watchful eyes. There are some twists throughout the novel.

The novel has its good moments, but it nowhere near stays true to Jane Austen's style. The plot has a been-there-done-that feel to it and the sisters' personalities are not unlike those of the Bennett sisters. There is the witty, intelligent and spirited one (Camilla), there is the beautiful, albeit sensible one (Letty), and Georgiana and Belle are silly and scandalous. Alethia is the bluestocking, more taciturn one of the sisters. So, as you can see, their personalities are like those of Elizabeth, Jane, Kitty, Lydia and Mary. But just because the author made a blatant attempt at recreating the characters from Pride and Prejudice in the form of five new sisters does not mean that these characters are anywhere near as well written or as enjoyable as the ones in Pride and Prejudice. It came across more as a poor carbon copy of the original characters. And the subplots centered on sex scandals and premarital affairs did not sit well with me. It was almost as though the author wanted to write a typical Regency romance novel using Jane Austen's name for good measure. I have no problem with those sorts of plots, but if the author is trying to buy the reader into this being a P&P sequel... well, it nowhere near does the original justice and you're left with an icky taste in your mouth. And there are quite a few inconsistencies here as well. The original P&P characters used here don't sound anything like the ones Austen created. Sigh. Should I bother continuing to read these sequels? I have heard that An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan is good. I hope that one will be a winner. As for this one, I guess it makes an okay Regency romance book (which I'm not pleased with because I pick this up hoping it'll be a "meatier" companion to my "escapist" read), but not a very great Jane Austen continuation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Mr Darcys Daughters
By Wendy
I really enjoyed this book ! Yes, there was a lack of Mr & Mrs Darcy, however this story carries weight on its own. I found it to be a good page turner, having excellent details and characters. Were you to remove the Darcy name this would be an excellent historical novel, well worth reading. If, however, you are looking for a glimpse into Fitzwilliam & Elizabeth's life after marriage, it is not here. Having characters familiar to us through Pride & Prejudice did make keeping track of who is who alot easier, without this familiarity one could easily be confused and 'get lost'.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
ASTON VS. AUSTEN
By Irma Fritz
There is something of the grave robber in a writer who pens a sequel to a dead author's story. I am talking about Elizabeth Aston who wrote "Mr. Darcy's Daughters: A Novel," intended as a sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." I noted with interest that Elizabeth calls herself "Aston" while Jane, of course, was an "Austen." Cleverly chosen penname, I assume?

Still, remembering Colton's maxim that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," and keeping on hand a good dose of Coleridge's "suspension of disbelief," I thought Aston pulled it off quite well.

In "Mr. Darcy's Daughters," the girls are perfectly modeled on the original Bennett girls of "Pride and Prejudice." Our modern Aston pretty much matches the 19th Century voice with a bit more modernity and some juicy scandal thrown into the plot. I was fine with both. While the Darcy twins at times were exasperating to the point where you want to smack them, after all is revealed and hurt feelings have been soothed, they were not that much wilder than their parents' generation.

Aston is not Austen, but she doesn't try to be. Unlike Austen, Aston is not a social critic or a writer who explores manners and mores of her time. She describes her creation as "full of societal intrigue and romantic high jinks," in other words an entertaining romance, and this she delivers. Elizabeth Aston is a skilled writer who gives us an entertaining good read. Graham Greene, whom I would call a great writer of an important body of literature, did not want his works labeled as such. He simply called them entertainments. I think what's good enough for Greene is good enough for Aston.

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Jumat, 17 Oktober 2014

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William C. Davis, "one of the best and most prolific historians of the American Civil War" (James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom), offers a definitive portrait of the Confederacy unlike any other.
Drawing on decades of writing and research among an unprecedented number of archives, ranging from the 800-odd newspapers in operation during the war to the personal writings of more than 100 leaders and common citizens, Davis reveals the Confederacy through the words of the Confederates themselves. Look Away! recounts all the epic sagas -- as well as those little-known and long-forgotten -- about a desperate government that socialized the salt industry, rangers and marauders who preyed on their fellow Confederates, and the systematic breakdown of law and order in some states. A dramatic, definitive account of one of our nation's most searing episodes, Look Away! shows us a South divided against itself, unable to stand.

Sales Rank: #582584 in Books
Published on: 2003-04-15
Released on: 2003-04-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 8.44" h x 1.30" w x 5.50" l, 1.46 pounds
Binding: Paperback
496 pages

Amazon.com Review
The military history of the Civil War is well known. The political history of the era, and especially of the South, is less documented, a gap that William Davis's Look Away! admirably addresses.

Although the rhetoric of secession was democratic, invoking the ideals of the American Revolution and its classical forebears, Southern politics was directed by members of a small, self-serving aristocracy. And though the Confederate government advanced what then and now might be thought to be radical proposals (for one, that the postal service had to be self-supporting within two years of its founding), it was intolerant of dissent; the South's leaders, Davis writes, even barred a constitutional provision "recognizing the right of a state to secede." The natural result, Davis shows, was widespread resistance, including the development of a peace movement and of political groups loyal to the old Union. At the end of the war, Davis writes, "Confederate democracy had gone and would not be seen again--but the oligarchies had survived." Davis's study affords a new view on the Civil War, and it makes a fine addition to the overflowing library devoted to that crisis. --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal
The director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, Davis (Lincoln's Men) here offers a sweeping nonmilitary perspective of the Confederacy, examining the political turmoil that led to its creation and the social and economic devastation left after its defeat. Civilian life, civil law and justice, internal dissent, the opposition to Richmond's dictates, and the uneasy relationships between old-line Whigs and Democrats in the Rebel state legislatures and governors' mansions constitute the bulk of the work. With reference to the South's planter class and political base, the author concludes: "They had begun in 1861 as a movement dedicated to the professed belief that sovereignty lay with the states. For four years that democracy went through strains and wrenches testing its ability to resist centralization through one compromise of its ideology after another." Herein lies the kernel of Davis's penetrating analysis of the values and differences among the various factions of the Confederacy. This important contribution to Confederate historiography is recommended for all Civil War collections and major libraries. John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Cleveland
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Acknowledging that "a good story deserves retelling often," Davis, a three- time winner of the Jefferson Davis Prize for Confederate History, retells the story of the Confederacy but with a different slant. His richly detailed, heavily analytical narrative pictures the history of the Confederate States of America as a "national experience." His book, then, is not simply a recitation of Confederate military strategies and battles won or lost; the Civil War, as he views it from the Confederate perspective, "was a political and social battle from beginning to end, at first to establish the Confederacy, but then for the next four years to define what sort of democracy that Confederacy was or ought to be." Davis excels at defining the psychology and philosophy behind secession, and he is equally good at delineating what went wrong with the Confederacy as a country. This is not a "defense" of the Confederacy but an understanding of its history as an episode of attempted nation building. An important addition to Civil War-era collections. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Most helpful customer reviews

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
People of the Confederacy
By Boyd H. Blackwell
Interesting look at the people involved in the movement for secession. Also tells of the problems created by the Confederate government. And it gives examples of the lives of people other than soldiers in the Confederate states and the problems they faced.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Good book from a great historian
By David Marshall
Learn and enjoy.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
The story of Jefferson Davis and Robert Rhett
By William D. Shingleton
Look Away is truth in advertising. The cover of the book advertises William C. Davis' work as A History of the Confederate States of America, which is exactly what this book is. In other words, this book is not a history of the Civil War with a few stray bits regarding Confederate politics thrown in. Instead of writing about the war, Davis clearly set out to examine the political roots of the CSA from its inception to its death as well as the social impact of the war on the homefront.

Davis succeeds in this task to a fair degree. Although the book starts out slowly for the first 20 pages, it really picks up as it gets to the battles during the CSA's founding convention. The major characters are drawn with their flaws intact; Robert Barnwell Rhett, the South Carolina firebrand and free trader, emerges as a particular villain in this tragedy. Davis also provides some strong evidence that whatever their protestations about states' rights, the founders of the Confederacy were mostly interested in preserving slavery and were willing to sacrifice states' rights from the beginning in order to preserve slavery within the ranks.

However, the central theme of the book is not the hypocracy at the beginning of the Confederacy but the difficulties of managing the project from beginning to end. The founders of the CSA may have talked a big game about liberty, but they were also quick to establish military tribunals and to deny habeus corpus to their citizenry. Davis portrays the CSA as being run by a cabal of rich land-owning farmers, which makes perfect sense when you think about why West Virginia seceded. At the end, the CSA was desperate to make any compromise of any principle to maintain power, right up to having the federal government attempt to negotiate an end to slavery to get British recognition. Needless to say, the government did not make this concession in consultation with the supposedly all-powerful states.

A no less important strength of the book is its coverage of the day-to-day depredations suffered by the CSA's citizens. The countryside was depleted of men and law-enforcement by the needs of the war, leaving many on the Confederate homefront vulnerable to marauding deserters. Significantly, Davis covers both the eastern and western Confederacy, taking a swipe at Virginia-centered Civil War historians who believe that the war was winnable by pointing out the early and devastating defeats suffered west of the mountains. With the Union blockade, these same people suffered greatly from a lack of available rations. But in mining the letters Confederate citizens sent to their government, Davis spends precious little time describing the plight of the slaves, who had suffered far more greatly in bondage than their owners did because of the war.

This is one of several areas William Davis does not investigate in the book. Jefferson Davis, for example, is mostly off-stage in the political dramas of the CSA; William Davis does little mining of the writings of Jefferson Davis and his close associates that would paint a more realistic picture of the man. This gives Davis the image of a relatively competent leader without delving into his own prickly personality or major mistakes. While Jefferson Davis is portrayed fairly positively, the positive values of his opponents are also glossed over in what essentially become right-versus-wrong contests on policy and military issues. Jeff Davis is almost never wrong, and the likes of Rhett are never right.

Because this book is about a narrow slice of the history of the Civil War, it may be difficult for novices to fully understand. Someone who doesn't already have a passing familiarity with the battles and course of the war will have difficulty as the book is mostly not chronological. This is not the story of Lee and Grant but of Davis and Rhett. Because of the obscurity of some of the figures involved, a listing of the major figures in the CSA with their positions would have been a big help in figuring out the who's who of the governors and Congressmen.

Overall, however, the book is well researched by an expert in the field and after the first 20 pages or so is a quick read. This is a superior work and anyone truly interested in Civil War history will emerge with a more profound understanding of the war after reading Look Away!

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