What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life by Tony Brown

Tony - where's your editorial staff when you need them?

Published in 2003 by William Morrow

Honestly, I like Tony Brown. I enjoyed his PBS show. I used to listen to him on the radio when I could on WLS in Chicago. But, his books are not nearly as good as I know they can be!

What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life deals with his "Mama", a woman who took him in when he was a baby and his mother was neglecting him. She was not a blood relative, just a woman who saw a baby starving to death due to neglect. He lived with her until her death when he was 12. This book is an attempt on his part to honor her and the simple wisdom she taught him.

The Seven Core Values are:

1. Reality: The Value of Being Yourself.

2. Knowledge: The Value of understanding your purpose

3. Race: The Value of honoring your humanity (In this case, the only race his Mama was worried about was worried about was the human race)

4. History: The value of investing in the future

5. Truth: the value of being true to yourself

6. Patience: the value of "Keeping the faith"

7. Love: the value of living joyfully.

Tony Brown

As in his other book, Black Lies, White Lies: The Truth According to Tony Brown, Brown repeats himself a lot. He quotes a passage from Hamlet 3 times (part of the "to thine ownself be true" speech) as part of his multiple descriptions of his high school English teacher. He lifts two pages from his other book concerning a story about a YMCA opening in his hometown. He says the same thing, over and over, repetitively, a lot. He repeats himself. Yes, indeed, he seems to say something and then say it again. Repetitive, he is.

Like his last book ('Black Lies, White Lies), this book is in serious need of an editor. He seems to have written the chapters separately, without regard to what he had previously written. I like the sentiments and ideas expressed, but, man, it was sometimes tiring to read them.

I rate this book 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life

Reviewed in February of 2005.

The Woman in the Cloak by Pamela Hill

Fascinating

Originally published in 1990.

The Woman in the Cloak is a novelization of an actual historical figure, St. Margaret of Castelo. She was born a blind, hunchbacked dwarf with a withered leg. Despite these infirmities, and the rejection by her parents, she never feels cursed by God. Rather, she spends most of her relatively short life helping the poor of the small city of Castello. She lives with the beggars and the working poor, offering her help as a midwife, a free nanny and someone who is willing to go beg for food for the destitute.

Margaret joins an order of Nuns, but they are not very serious about their vows and she is soon expelled as a troublemaker. So, she joins the Order of Penance of St. Dominic, a mostly male Order. There, she returns to her work on the streets. Eventually, her health fails her and she dies of a hacking, bloody cough.

St. Margaret of Castello

Up to this point, I found this story interesting and moving - here's a lady with the deck stacked against her in so many ways but she still finds a way to help others and give her life great purpose. However, the book veers into a part of Catholic theology that I am very uncomfortable with (probably due to a lack of proper understanding on my part) which is the act of praying to saints for healing. Margaret's bones become a sort of holy icon - pray to it or touch it and you'll be healed.

Nevertheless, it is an intriguing read. I'll knock down the grade a bit for stilted conversation. The change in spelling in Margaret's name (Margheret to Margaret) without any explanation is also troubling.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Woman in the Cloak

Reviewed in February of 2005.

Civil War and Reconstruction: An Eyewitness History by Joe H. Kirchberger

Very good work marred by sloppy editing.

Published in 1991 by Facts on File.

Civil War and Reconstruction: An Eyewitness History is a good general history of the Civil War. It has good pictures and an easy to read narrative of the war. It also has a lengthy appendix that includes many of the relevant historical documents, such as the Constitutions of the USA and the Confederacy, Lincoln and Jefferson's inaugural addresses, the Gettysburg Address, short biographies of the major personalities of the era and battlefield maps.

Confederate General James Ewell Brown
"Jeb" Stuart (1833-64)

At the end of each chapter, there is a lengthy section of quotes from participants and commentators of the day. This interesting addition makes the narrative read much quicker, but allows the reader to look at the topic in more detail if he/she chooses.

Unfortunately, there are some errors in the book due to poor editing. Two, in particular, bugged me. I used this book to look for info on the battle of Gettysburg and I was unable to find it. Its in there, but the chapter it is included in is mistitled. It is entitled: "Closing the Ring: The East: November 1863-March 1865." It should be November 1862. My difficulties arose from the date of the Gettysburg Battle which is included in the chapter- July 1863.

The second error came when the Grant's forces in Kentucky were called the Eastern army, rather than Northern or Union. Some might say, but were they Easterners in a Union army in Kentucky? No, they were mostly from Illinois - which was out West in the early 1860s.

So, I will keep this book as a reference, due to its fantastic appendices, but I will lower its grade due to sloppy editing.
 
I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Civil War and Reconstruction: An Eyewitness History.
 
Reviewed on February 11, 2005.

Cadillac Jukebox (Dave Robicheaux mysteries) by James Lee Burke

Atmosphere fails to carry the day...

Originally Published in 19996.

Cadillac Jukebox is part of a series of books written about an ex-New Orleans cop named Dave Robicheaux and his trials and tribulations. This book continues some of the same themes that characterize the series as a whole, such as racism, race relations, the difficulties of being a cop while also being father and husband.

James Lee Burke

I love the setting and the details Burke puts in his books about New Orleans and the whole Bayou scene. He shows us the seemy side of New Orleans (which is not too hard to do - if you've ever been there you know what I mean. Not that every other city is problem-free, its just that New Orleans seamy side is very public - hey, its one of the attractions). Burke has a great ear for accents, and this makes parts of his books fun to read. However, his books can be depressing. No one rides off happily in the sunset.

This particular book concerns a white man jailed in the 1990s for the murder of an NAACP leader in the 1960s. He claims he did not do it, but the man running for governor made his reputation proving he did. Dave R. happens to know both men and gets dragged into the controversy against his better judgement...

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. Great atmosphere, unnecessary plot twists.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Cadillac Jukebox (Dave Robicheaux mysteries) by James Lee Burke.

Reviewed February 11, 2005.

Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War by Laurence M. Hauptman

Well-researched and thorough

Published in 1995 by Free Press

As the title clearly tells us, Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War is (primarily) about the contributions of the American Indian to the American Civil War. It starts the reader with some of the early atrocities and misunderstandings that have characterized Indian and White interactions throughout American history. Some are the same things you will read about in any decent high school history text, and some are new for those that are not Indian history "buffs", such as myself. For example, I was not aware of the cruel and deliberate destruction of the Indian populations in California during the Gold Rush of 1849 until I read about it here.

The book discusses Indian participation on both sides of the war and their various motivations for joining in the fight. These motivations range from genuine patriotism to wanting to suck up to the government (be it Union or Confederate) for favors to wanting a steady, if small income to just wanting to get involved in the biggest thing that was going to happen to this generation of Americans.

General Grant's staff. Ely Parker is on the far left.

Among the more interesting vignettes are the story of how the Eastern Band of the Cherokees (if you have been to the Smoky Mountain Nat'l Park you've heard of them) earned their land through service to the CSA, the biography of Colonel Ely Parker, the Indian who drafted Lee's surrender for his friend U.S. Grant and the Battle of the Crater. This Battle in the Petersburg siege had 3 different groups of Indians fighting (one on the side of the CSA, two on the USA) along with Blacks and Whites. It was probably the most integrated battle the U.S. fought until the Korean War, when Truman desegregated the armed forces.

This is one of the most heavily referenced books I've ever read. There are 53 pages of end notes and 42 pages of bibliography for a 192 page book! If you are ever looking for a great source of information for a paper or research project on the Civil War, I'd recommend starting with this list.

Final Grade: 4 stars out of 5 (good writing style, occasionally too in-depth and bordering on trivia.)

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War by Laurence M. Hauptman.

Reviewed on February 11, 2005

Before and After: A Novel by Rosellen Brown

A welcome twist to the crime novel.

Published in 1992 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The setting is small town New Hampshire. The secret girlfriend of high school student Jacob Reiser is found dead in the snow and all of the clues point to Jacob.

Before and After is a crime novel with a big twist. Rather than following a policeman or the fleeing criminal, it follows the family of the accused and what they go through. The book's title refers to life before and after the crime and how the seemingly perfect family is ripped apart.

Rosellen Brown

It is told in the first person from the perspectives of mom, dad and sister (interestingly, never from Jacob's point of view). The brother and son they thought they knew is now a stranger.

At times, this book is an emotionally abusive roller coaster, but it would be an interesting read for a discussion group concerning the reactions of the family, especially the father and his criminal acts to cover up evidence and his obsession to help his son.

I'll give this book a 4 stars out of 5 for finding an interesting way to add a welcome twist to the crime novel.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Before and After: A Novel by Rosellen Brown.

Reviewed on February 11, 2005.

Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve (audiobook) by Bernard Goldberg

Published by HarperAudio in 2007.
Narrated by the author, Bernard Goldberg
Duration: 7 hours, 27 minutes.
Unabridged.

Bernard Goldberg, who used to work at CBS news until two opinion pieces that he wrote for the Wall Street Journal nearly 10 years ago made him a persona non grata. What was in these two opinion pieces that caused Dan Rather to say he would never forgive Goldberg and Goldberg's boss to accuse him of "disloyalty"?  He said that CBS and the other major media outlets are biased towards the political left in their reporting. Not the kind of bias that involves meetings and sercret cabals. Instead, it is a sort of groupthink. The sort that never even considers asking the questions that the people with a more conservative worldview would ask. So, most of this bias is from a series of "sins of omission" (to borrow a phrase) rather than an overt plot. As a result, Goldberg wrote his book Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News.

In Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve Goldberg goes after both the Left and the Right with thoughtful criticism. Goldberg narrates the audiobook version himself (and does a great job, too) and throws in plenty of humor, irony and satire to leaven the heavy doses of criticism. As he implies in the title, many on the left have gone right off of the edge and many on the right have forgotten their roots and have lost the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what they claim to believe in.

Written in 2006 and 2007, some parts of the book are a bit dated (the discussion of race and politics, for example, seems quaint without reference to Barack Obama), but it is clear that Goldberg predicted the electoral disaster that hit the Republicans in 2008 and he seems downright prophetic when he predicts that frustration with "wimpy" Republicans will cause people to look for other political voices. Clearly, the Tea Party movement was the expression of that frustration.

Bernard Goldberg

The heart of the book feels like a series of columns that were re-worked for the book, which is fine because Bernard is a good writer, he organized them nicely by topic and he edited them to avoid repeating himself.

Topics include:

A personal history;

A history of the Conservative movement, including the warts;

The NAACP and George W. Bush;

Ann Coulter (not as a "wimp on the right" but as someone who needs to tone herself down);

Alec Baldwin (actually not about Alec as a crazy man of politics but as a man who could step out and ask for an end of the name-calling since he's been a victim of it himself);

Barry Goldwater;

Religion in politics on the Right and the Left;

Mel Gibson (he makes a good point, but it seems dated with Mel's outbursts);

Jack Henry Abbot;

A brilliant satire about the coarsening of TV's "family hour";

race-based preferences in hiring and college admissions;

anti-Semitism among the liberal elite on America's college campuses;

Congressional earmark spending;

TSA profiling;

Terrorism by radical Muslims (including a brilliant point about not trying to "understand" terrorists any more than he would try to "understand" the white men who participated in 1950s lynchings;

9/11 Truthers;

The New York Times and CBS News;

Tony Blair;

and just a little too much about Israel (I didn't disagree with it, it just was a bit too much on one topic).

All in all, an entertaining and well thought-out look at America's political culture.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve.

Reviewed on November 13, 2010.