Unlike most of the people who buy Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana and its companion books, I have never used this book to name an actual baby but use it instead to name characters in the stories I write. I have always found it far more helpful in choosing character names than most other baby name books.

I have always had a fascination with names, and this book gives better detail about how names actually function in our world.

The only thing I dislike about this book is the authors' sense of which names are too dated to use, but this may just be a generational response on my part (I tend to think of names like Dorothy, Phyllis, Walter, and Raymond as so far out they're in again, whereas they just think of them as dated ). But overall, this book is an excellent choice for anyone who needs to name anyone else.

This book does offer opinions about names -- which are trendy, which are outdated, which are coming into style -- and that's what makes it the best name book around! First-time parents have no other honest guide to these issues. This book is fun to read as well as being instructive and enlightening. If you really want to find the best name for your baby, this is the book for you!

An amazingly informative, helpful, and fun book, BJ&J is the best guide for parents who are new to the naming scene, and it's also great for name-pros like me. I love the upbeat, unusual style of the writing and format; so many other name books that have commentaries are kind of depressing in their negativity. This book is not judgmental, it's simply honest, and it gives you the plain truth about how people will see your child's name. Many of the recommended names are classic, and it's not hard to see that the authors like unusual classic names.

I also think all the lists are wonderful. The compelation of names in other countries is fabulous (especially the French and Greek names), and also the list of exotic/creative names. I recommend the larger edition, simply because the fonts are nicer and the format is overall more professional.

After I read FOOLS FOR SCANDAL nearly two years ago, I told everyone who would listen that all the voluminous Whitewater investigations would amount to zilch, zippo, nada. With the end of all the GOP led investigations, as well as the culmination of the Starr investigation, with its two mentions of Whitewater, Mr. Lyons was indeed correct.

Mr. Lyons, reviled as a "Clinton Apologist" by the media elite, has been proven not only prescient but courageous in his relentless determination to reveal the truth, no matter what kind of forty million dollar hoax the Washington elitists wanted to propagate.

Don't expect the television punditocracy to recognize or admit that Mr. Lyons was right, they don't have the journalistic integrity or character to acknowledge their failures.

A must read for anyone who wants a roadmap to this four year and forty million dollar boondoggle. Now, this is a fleecing of America!!!!!

After reading Jeff Gerth's Chinese spy stories in the NY Times, and realizing that they were mostly anti-Clinton innuendo with very few facts, I decided to read this book.

Lyons dissects Gerth's "journalism" word by word, innuendo by innuendo, half-truth by half-truth, lie by lie, smear by smear. Any reporter at a self-respecting college newspaper who was as dishonest as Gerth was in his Whitewater stories would've been immediately fired.

Before reading "Fools for Scandal," I was annoyed by Jeff Gerth's "journalism"; now I'm angry at both him and The New York Times, since they have obviously become tools of the most poisonous element in our political culture, the right wing.

When the history of this era -- with its right-wing smear machine and the corrupt journalism that is the machine's partner in crime -- is taught, "Fools for Scandal" should be required reading.

The nucleus of Lyons' book began as an October 1994 article in Harper's Magazine. In it he confirmed what I and others had suspected: There was no there there in the Whitewater story, and that it was a hoax with regard to the Clintons.

Two years later, at around the 1996 elections, Lyons and the editors of Harper's came up with this book. More than just a recounting of the Whitewater saga, this book is one of the most damning indictments of journalistic malpractice ever written. At the core of the book is the behavior of journalists at various newspaper and broadcast media outlets in general, with particular emphasis on the New York Times and the now-discredited reporter Jeff Gerth. Needless to say, Lyons' book got a lousy review in the NYT Book Review, yet nobody has ever refuted anything Lyons wrote. Indeed, his book has stood the test of time.

Breezily written, yet meticulously researched, Lyons' book can be read in a sitting or two. I also recommend the section in the back of the book featuring a discussion with Lyons and a number of other journalists with regard to the lack of journalistic standards in the Whitewater reporting.

This book can also be seen as a forerunner to Lyons' (and Joe Conason's) upcoming book on the so-called Clinton Scandals, "The Hunting of the President." If that book is anything like "Fools for Scandal," it should be very good, indeed. Lyons and Conason will still not be invited to the Georgetown cocktail parties, however.

Riis takes a look at the under world of New York much in that same way that De Tocqueville did of New England in "Democracy in America." The difference is that Riis is an American, just a rich one. He finds himself stunned and appalled that we as a people could allow our compatriots to live in such squalor. At the same time he drags out all of the tired stereotypes of the day about the different ethnic groups then living in the city (mostly: Jewish, Irish and Italian).

Riis' upper-class lifestyle and upbringing are apparent throughout the book, and some of the passages would offend many of our sensibilities today, but the general point of the book is what's important here. The upper-class lives in comfortable ignorance while a significant number of Americans have to wonder where their next meal is coming from and what they'd do should they, god forbid, fall ill.

A good book if you're looking for a more modern perspective on this problem is Barbra Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed."

I had to read this and write an esay on this book for mu history 1302 class. At first, I found myself gettign depressed by the horrible consitions that the people in these dwelings endured. After continuing with the book,I began to find myself fascinated. It is like actually being in the time period that Riis speaks of. The book is very well written and breaks a lot of boundaries. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It makes you very aware of the problems that were, and the problems that are.

I used this book along with another Riis book for a U.S. History project at school. Both this book and Low Life were an incredible help. The pictures are incredible. Riis was the first to show this side of life in NYC during the first part of the century. His books are by far the best pictoral records of the time. I highly recomend this book for anyone interested in the early part of the century or anyone who needs information for school projects.

I felt that the treatment this author afforded the victim Mary Ball was akin to raping her all over again. He uses the term alleged in front of the crimes against her but does not employ the same qualifier before mention of the crimes committed against the male victim. The author repeats rumors that Miss Ball had loose morals and that (gasp) she sometimes didn't wear underwear! Obviously, if she dressed like that she had it coming, right? He did not, apparently, attempt to speak with anyone with a more favorable impression of Miss Ball in order to present a more balanced picture. Finally, at the end, he presents a touching picture of a reconcilliation between James Cameron and the murdered man's surviving brother but Mary Ball has disappeared from the author's work by this point. She has become an invisible woman. I for one would like to know how she felt at this point, to hear her words. Although the book had it's places the good professor has done a terrible thing to Mary Ball and for that he should be ashamed.

James H. Madison has provided us with a book about an incident that no one wants to know about - a bit of ugly history that we would rather not think, much less READ, about. A LYNCHING IN THE HEARTLAND: Race and Memory in America is a brilliant investigation and commentary on the heinous incident on August 7, 1930 in Marion, Indiana. On that quiet night in the quiet heartland of America, far removed from the South with its long-standing history of racial clashes, two African American men were snatched from the jail by white mob frenzy and hung from a tree for the 'dastardly deed' of murder and rape of a white couple. No trial, no conviction, just an acting out of racial hatred, an act captured in the most famous photograph of a lynching in the American context. Madison reports the events factually with a mesmerizingly accurate attention to detail. But the story does not stop there. Madison has researched the history prior to the incident and the subsequent followup that identified brilliant African American leaders and challengers, one of whom was the third man not lynched on that hideous evening in 1930 - James Cameron. Madison then reflects on the whole history of racism in this country, beginning with the equally offensive murders and tortures of the American Indians and extending down to extant incidences up to the time of the publication of this valuable, disturbing book.

Madison repeatedly makes the point that if we don't study our history and vividly recall our past then we are doomed to persist in unjust racial crimes. This is a tough book to swallow, but a very important one for all of us to read. Only by exposing ourselves to the ugly events of our history can we hope to learn and prevent such madness from recurring. An eloquent, vital, and impressive contribution.

In August of 1930, a lynching took place. It would not be uncommon for one to assume that the lynching took place in the deep south, but in this instance, the assumption would be incorrect. The lynchings of Tom Shipp and Abe Smith took place in Marion, Indiana, America's Heartland. This event is responsible for one of the most famous photographs of an American lynching.

The author demonstrates how stereotypes and fear contributed to the lynching. The mere suggestion that a White woman was raped and a White man was murdered by three Black men, provided enough inspiration to turn a normally cordial, if not friendly, small town into a lynch mob. Madison outlines how a community dealt with the chilling reality that such mob violence had taken place in their small town. Because of shame, guilt and even fear, this tragic event was buried in Marion, Indiana's collective memory.

Flossie Bailey, a prominent African American woman in the community, as well as others, worked hard to mobilize the community in an attempt to make sure that at least some of the people involved in the murders would be held responsible for the crimes while fear kept other African Americans in the community quiet. Unfortunately, no one was held responsible for the crime.

Madison also highlights the history behind what is considered by many to be the most famous lynching photograph in American history. The photograph, taken by Lawrence Beitler the night of the lynching, has been reproduced and widely circulated. During the time immediately following the lynching, some people bought copies to serve as a "trophy", while others felt it was an abomination. It is a stirring photograph that depicts two dead men hanging from a tree while crowds of White's stand around some in their Sunday best, some pointing, and some chatting and laughing.

This book begins with a vivid and chilling description of the events leading up to the lynching, the lynching itself and the events that followed. The description of the scene was a result of the author's extensive research which included interviews, reviewing court documents, magazines, books and other historical archives. Although the author noted that his initial goal was to write an article about the event, he quickly learned that the story of this lynching was much bigger than what could be captured in an article. In addition to the actual description of the events surrounding the lynching, the author creates a historical context by providing a description of life for both African Americans and Whites during the era. He details the role that the NAACP and committed community leaders played in fighting for broader civil rights for African Americans.

He ends the book with a story of healing. On the night of the lynching, three men were in jail awaiting trial, yet only two of them were lynched. The third man, James Cameron's life was spared, and eventually Cameron began to share his story with the world. His goal in sharing the story was to promote racial healing and unity. This book touches on an area of American history that is often buried and rarely talked about. Through the author's research he is able to share a story that demonstrates just how far we as a Nation have come, and I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

This book is from the ether. Really great cookbooks draw you into a world that you had not understood before. Many people who love the Marcella Hazan book love it because it includes the comfort foods of Italy they are familiar with, but also has tons of wonderful, varied surprises. This book is kind of similar. There are recipes that you will realize are the province of the vegetarian and are very appealing, and then there are new things to be discovered that will make you feel, upon their discovery, almost ashamed. The first recipe I prepared was for the White Bean and Tomato Soup with Parsley Sauce. I just about lost my mind. I had only recently started using the mortar and pestle for prepping garlic and this recipe made use of that technique to stunning effect. With a piece of crusty bread, it is as fulfilling as anything you are going to find to eat with animal parts in it.

I also like DM's 1400 recipe book but this one is more exciting as a cookbook, the other more encyclopedic. The soups section is especially amazing. I've made almost all of them now. Also, as some people may know, many cookbooks have blunt wrong recipes. I haven't had any recipes miss yet from this book.

I just got this book a week ago, and made my first dinner with it last night. I made the Mushroom Lasagne, and the Peach and Blueberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream. All three dishes we superb. One of my non-vegetarian friends summed it up nicely by asking "Who needs meat?"

If you enjoy a finely crafted meal, and do not mind the time involved in creating it, get this book. It provides a lot of background information on various ingredients, and provides pretty good how-to instructions.

Things to know: Everything in this book is from scratch. For example, the Vanilla Ice Cream calls for 2 vanilla beans, not vanilla extract. All of the pasta dishes assume you will be making your own pasta, so get a pasta machine (the pasta turns out great with regular flour, no need for semolina. I did add an extra 2.5 Tbsp water to the intial pasta recipe, too dry otherwise). The soup recipes usually require a stock to be prepared in advance. While this increases the prep time, nothing can compare to the taste and quality of fresh ingredients.

I have a weakness for buying cookbooks and probably have far too many. Whenever I go to make a meal (7+ times a week) I think that I should use some of the untouched cookbooks with glossy photos, but inevitably I return to the Greens. Even though I eat meat, I don't notice that this is a vegetarian cookbook. With the advent of more varied produce sections in most grocery stores, you owe it to yourself to get this book and use it. You will be eating healthy without even realizing it! There are some wonderful pizza recipes (including homemade crust that is fun to make) and an intriguing spinach soup with Indian spices. The restaurant in San Francisco is also definitely worth a visit; the tempting menu vies with the stunning view of the bridge for your attention.

Most wedding authors,especially those who are "in the know" such as Miss Baldrige, would have you believe that capturing a Prince Charming is the most important feat in having a romantic wedding. Were only that the case, as she so aptly illustrates with her fatalistic choices of weddings profiled in her latest book, "Legendary Brides: From the Most Romantic Weddings Ever".
While each of the brides profiled did indeed marry a wonderful, famous man, the marriages and divorces resulting from these unions produce better fodder for reading than the photos in the book, many reproduced in countless other publications. Looking at the fabulous Grace Kelly as a young bride, one feels for the family not only for enduring her tragic death of a car accident in Monaco that claimed her life and injured daughter Stephanie, but also for her estrangement from Caroline at the time of her death. Jackie Kennedy's wedding day smile masks her shame of her father lying in a drunken stupor while an uncle walks her down the aisle. Who knew she would marry a man quite like Black Jack Bouvier, with an eye for the women? And Princess Diana, did she know that Prince Charles spent the night before their wedding with Camilla? How he tortured her by ignoring and mocking her naivete only makes our hearts ache for her boys left behind? Now the boys are to be molded into employees of "the firm", Queen Elizabeth's tongue in cheek reference to the monarchy.
Carolyn Bessette looked angelic on her wedding day. One doesn't sense from the photos that John would risk their lives to fly to a relative's wedding rehearsal dinner they would miss anyway. John dismissed the flying instructor at the airport, even though weather reports predicted low ceilings and marginal weather. An inexperienced pilot in a relatively new airplane (he had purchased the plane only 1 month prior to the fatal flight)John had under 100 actual flying time as pilot in command. Coupled with his lack of knowledge and experience in flying his new plane, inclement weather and spatial disorientation, the flight was doomed before takeoff.
Had Ms. Baldrige done her homework, some inspirational close ups of the couples not widely published would have been better than table shots and mundane overviews best left to where she obtained them -- People Magazine and the like.

Other reviewers have said that this book has serious problems given that some of the weddings featured ended in divorce or other tragedy. While it's true that one can't help but to think about those things while reading this book, the book is about WEDDINGS, not marriages, and as such, I found it to be beautiful. The book features brides throughout the ages, starting with Queen Victoria and moving on to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. The author describes the overwhelming love felt by each of these brides at the time of their marriages and highlights the most romantic details of their weddings. In addition, she offers suggestions (under the heading "Something Borrowed") on how to adapt some of the wedding traditions used by these brides in order to incorporate them into a modern wedding. Overall, this book is gorgeous to look at, and while some of the stories had sad endings, the book itself is joyous.

Others have sniped that Letitia Baldrige has focused on an odd assortment of brides, including both Diana, Princess of Wales, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy--both of whom had famous weddings, but both of whom died tragically young. The key word here, my dears, is "bride" in the book's title. Baldrige's work doesn't purport to say anything about the marriages that followed these weddings--only that the brides themselves were gorgeous, amazing, almost fantastical creatures who caught the imagination of nearly everyone when they appeared on the world stage.

That said, there are great things about this book and not-so-great things. It's fun to see so many photos of these lovely brides--among them, the two named above and Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Grace, Wallis Warfield Simpson, and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Many of the photos were either previously unpublished or not well-known by the general public, so they appear here in fresh light. The photos and the handsome graphic design are among the excellent things about the book, as are the little anecdotes (such as what each famous bridal couple gave each other and the members of their wedding parties as gifts).

The down side is that Baldrige tries to meld a wedding etiquette book with a coffee table overview of, well, legendary brides. I'm not sure it works all that well. While she undoubtedly has excellent advice to offer all of us on the planning and execution of a memorable wedding, I for one would have preferred that these pages had been devoted to a broader group of other legendary brides. What, for instance, of the English Queen Mother and King George? What about the current Japanese crown prince and princess? What about other well-known society or Hollywood brides? Others are touched on lightly here, but Baldrige doesn't devote the space to them that her title promises.

Madison Smartt Bell's second volume of his projected trilogy about the Haitian uprising of 1793-1804 is alternately gripping and ponderous. After having been enthralled by "All Souls' Rising" I have to say I was disappointed with this follow-up.

The same characters are all there as are Bell's masterful historical descriptions but something was missing. I too often grew bored and had to put the book down. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that dissuades me from giving this book a stellar review. I suppose at the end of the day I didn't feel as though I really learned much about any of these characters, and subsequently, I didn't care about them. Toussaint L'Ouverture remains somewhat of an enigma despite Bell's painstakingly detailed account. Perhaps this is intentional. Perhaps the point here is that Toussaint is - was - unknowable. This may well be true, but it doesn't make for satisfying reading.

Again, there are impressive set pieces galore. Bell's mastery of historical detail is staggering and genuine moments of suspense sporadically leap off the page. But in the end, none of this was enough to keep me compelled.

I'd second what the other reviewers noted but would like to add that this is a follow-up to Bell's highly-praised All Souls Rising, also a masterful book about Haiti and one which first introduced many of these characters. The legacy of Toussaint is important for Haiti today, and this book gives valuable insights into today's world. The book can be a tough read--many of the descriptions of the atrocities are brutal--but is well worth the effort. Take time to read the timeline in the appendix and find out what happened after Toussaint's arrest.

Note: This review was published November 12, 2000, in the Seattle Times ...

The American Revolution helped inspire the French Revolution, which in turn sparked the Haitian Revolution -- an uprising of Africans against the sugar plantation owners who wrung their fabulous wealth from slave labor. Madison Smartt Bell's projected trilogy of historical novels tells the least well known of these momentous late-18th-century stories.

Volume 1, "All Souls Rising," traced the gruesome first stages of the rebellion in the French colony then called Saint Domingue, from 1791 to 1794. One who hasn't read that harrowing masterpiece can still enjoy Volume 2, "Master of the Crossroads," based on events of the next five years. In this novel the revolution is well under way, but the outcome is still uncertain.

It's a tumultuous, confusing time. The Spanish, who own the eastern half of Saint Domingue, and the British, who are at war with France, separately hope to oust the French, subdue the blacks, and possess the island known worldwide as the Jewel of the Antilles. Among the islanders, the French blancs, or white colonials, have split into factions: the royalists who want to enslave the Africans again, and the revolutionaries who believe that liberty is a universal human right. Old disputes flare between native-born Haitians and immigrants, between mulatto plantation owners and poorer mulattos, between rivals among the island's 500,000 rebellious Africans and, more broadly, between members of the resident races - 64 in all, according to France's official classification of blends ranging from Blanc to Négre.

Toussaint Louverture, whose amazing career Jacob Lawrence memorialized in a series of paintings, is at the center of the storm. Small and tough, formerly a slave, he possesses such extraordinary charisma and talent for leadership that he can force, frighten, mystify, or cajole various factions into agreeing to work for peace. Toussaint unites the armed, roving bands of blacks who seized their liberty and transforms them into a well-disciplined army. A brilliant military tactician, he regularly defeats the English and Spanish forces. His political gifts make him a formidable negotiator with the French and a master at switching alliances at strategic moments. He alone seems committed to protecting, regardless of the race or ideology of their owners, the lives and property that survived the time of bloodbath and burning.

Toussaint's motives are endlessly debated in the book. People close to him believe that he is unselfishly devoted to securing liberty and peace for everyone. But rumors that he secretly plans to crown himself King and reinstate slavery multiply. We view him from the perspectives of many different characters, yet he remains a mystery: a presence with a godlike power in crisis, an inscrutable Master of the Crossroads like the voudou deity of crossings and change, Legba.

Readers who can tolerate a little disorientation from chaotic historical events swirling around an enigmatic hero will have a wonderful time with this novel. Many of the episodes are works of literary art, the Haitian landscape is superbly rendered, and the characters are fully realized and memorable. We come to care deeply about them: Doctor Hébert; his beloved mistress Nanon; his sister Elise and her smuggler husband Tocquet; Hébert's friends the French captain Maillart and the African captain Riau; the African soldier Guiaou who is Riau's rival in love; plucky, wanton Isabelle; the dreamy boy-priest Moustique; the elusive, fascinating Toussaint.

Since Bell can't string their stories on a clear historical plot-line (this history is a tangle) he braids the everyday incidents and subtleties of their private lives into a central strand to which scattered public events can be tied. The characters, absorbed in ordinary pursuits, are regularly pulled into battles and intrigues, then released again into personal concerns. The point of view shifts from chapter to chapter, and we open each new one with the pleasure of greeting an old friend.

Nobody achieves an overall view of events -- which is partly the point. Yet even patient readers will wish for an index of characters keyed to page numbers. It's hard to keep people named Dessources, Dessalines, Desrouleaux, and Desfourneaux straight in a complicated narrative (sometimes set in Descahaux) with a cast of hundreds that also includes Delahaye and Dieudonné. The author's memory itself falters - the girl Paulette is called Pauline for a while -- but the Glossary and Chronology help.

Without them "Master of the Crossroads" would still be a stunning achievement: marvelously crafted, meticulous in its historical detail, magnificent in its sweep.

I lived in Madison at the time of the legal procedings of the three captured bombers. Rads is the most comprehensive account of the bombing that I have personally read. However, I agree with a previous review that Bates mistakingly attributes Armstrong's actions to his family history. I believe that Armstrong was motivated personally from his experiences in Chicago during the 1968 convention, and seeing the escallation of the war. I went to the Madison Public Library and read the newspaper files on Armstrong and the others, and there were important events especially after Armstrong's return to Madison that were ommited. I believe that the single most important lesson from this book or from other events of that era i.e. Kent State, is that it was local people, hometown people that were involved in the anti-war movement. These people included both yound and old. They were not communist-sympathizers or professionals from out of town. Young men from Karl and Dwight Armstrong's east-side Madison neighborhood were much more likely to fight and die in Vietnam than men from David Fine's or Leo Burt's background. True, Fine did not light the fuse, but he got off much eaiser than the Armstrongs

I read this about five years ago after finding it as a remainder in a supermarket.

What I recollect most about it was the uncanny detail the author came up with. In fact, it reminded me somewhat of at least one of Halberstram's books in that such detail MUST have been contrived. So, while well-written, there were some credibility problems.

To this day, I'm not absolutely sure where I stand on the bombing.

I would recommend it, though, as NOT romanticizing the radical left of that era. There are, of course, some from that time still living in Madison (and Berkeley, and Stanford, and...) reminiscing the period. They're kind of a radical 60s equivalent of the VFW and are just too naive to realize in how much of an Ivory Tower they reside . But there were down sides, not the least of which is graduate students whose entire careers were altered, finished because of this bombing.

Tom Bates presents the bombing of the AMRC within an intriguing, captivating story. As a high school senior, I have not lived through the war and the anti-war movement. Nonetheless, RADS provided me with enough background information to understand the book (based around the bombing) on both the specific level and the larger scheme of things.

Bates introduces the 'romantic' appeal of political radicalism in the late 60s and early 70s logically and insightfully. In addition, throughout the book, the reader gets to know the bombers and the people with whom they interact.

The book does not include any extraneous chapters. Bates has a reason for every section of the book that he includes. Because of this, the book is never slow to read; much of the book is very suspenseful, set up by the well-chosen quotes that begin every chapter.

This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in radicalism, historic bombings, or the anti-war movement of the 60s and 70s.

This is the only Madison biography I've read in its entirety for fun rather than in piecemeal for academic research, so I can't say that there is a better one-volume book out there about the Father of the Constitution. That being said, I hope there is a better one out there or that there will be one day soon.

If you can get through it, you'll get a lot out of "James Madison: A Biography". Madison played such a vital and varied role in the early years of our nation that you would think any book about the man would be fascinating. Ketcham's book is very good, in terms of providing information, but it's not engaging like David McCullough's "John Adams" or Stephen Ambrose's Eisenhower biography, for example. If you're reading for scholarly reasons, this is an excellent source. If you are reading solely for entertainment, you may want to look elsewhere (consider yourself warned).

This does not mean that "James Madison" is devoid of interesting nuggets of information about and personality quirks of the Founding Father. Madison was such a hypochondriac, it's almost comical. For someone who declared himself at death's door over and over throughout his life, he lived to the ripe old age of 85. Considering all his contributions to our nation, we should all probably be grateful that he treated himself like he was a tender veal cutlet.

I think this book could have been written in a way that would have made it so much more interesting and I was disappointed that a book I so looked forward to reading became such a chore.

Reading this book is a bit of an undertaking. It took me several weeks to slog throught the first 2-300 pages. The book is absolutely comprehensive (at least relative to other single-volume biographies), maybe overly so in parts. For example, I thought the author went into way more detail than I needed on the contents of the Princeton University library while Madison was a student there. The first third of the book was pretty dry in my view, and I was already thinking about what other bio of Madison I could find. Once the discussion turned to the Revolutionary War period and especially the Constitutional Convention, however, the book really took off for me and thereafter was an absolute joy to read. I could not have enjoyed the last half to two-thirds of the book any more than I did. It was fascinating and went a great way toward renovating my impressions of Madison which were damaged somewhat after reading bios of Washington (Flexner) and Adam (McCullough), which were not all that comlimentary. I have to believe that this is THE definitive one-volume bio of Madison. I just wish it was still available in HB from someone other than the Easton Press. On to James Monroe (Ammon)!

In this, the 250th anniversary year of James Madison's birth (16 March 1751), I hope people will want to read more, and know more, about "The Father of the Constitution" and one of the most important Founding Fathers. And for a serious, academic treatment (no, it is not 'pop' biography or 'easy' reading) of Mr. Madison's life, thoughts, beliefs, and accomplishments - this is the one book to read.

Yes, I happen to work at Montpelier, Mr. Madison's life-long home and the home that he and his wife Dolley shared during their marriage - and I can promise you that Dr. Ketcham's well-worn, tabbed (it looks like a porcupine) book is our 'bible' when it comes to James Madison.

There are other, quite good, books about Madison but this is the one for a thorough overview, from birth to death.

David Nevin's historical novel, Eagle's Cry, covers the election of 1800 until the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 using the Madisons, the Jacksons, Aaron Burr, and a couple of fictional characters to tell his tale. The novel has a gripping beginning in the election of 1800 covering the tie between Jefferson and his vice presidential nominee, Aaron Burr. The book, unfortunately, loses some steam with the section portraying the Louisiana Purchase. It was not as tighly written and suspenseful as the election as it meanderend like the Mississippi itself through the lives of all the characters. It worked very hard for historical accuracy, and achieved it to a great extent, but sacrificed to history any element of surprise. The history was good but the drama suffered at times for that. Definately worth a look for the first half of the book and it is a good omen for the next book in the series as it will be dealing more with the behind the scenes Washington politics.

I find David Nevin's books very easy to read and enjoy. I loved 1812 and was not disappointed with Eagle's Cry. The story is of the Lousiana Purchase. The Madisons, Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Merriweather Lewis and Andrew Jackson are all in this story. They come alive and make the story. I have a friend who calls historical novels "cheap history." Enjoyable story and I can't wait for the sequel.

What wonderful timing David Nevin has had with this book. If you think our political times are crazy now (the election of 11/2000), take a dive into the politics of 1800-1804. Tomas Jefferson withstood Aaron Burr's attempt to gain the Presidency through chicanery and then set out to build a new nation based on principals different from the preceeding Federalist administration of John Adams. The book is written in first person which qualifies it as a novel, as no one knows the exact conversations that were actually held. Yet, the people, places, and actions are all historical and quite facinating. Mr. Nevin puts all the pieces of the puzzle together quite nicely and it all makes for a truly great read.