Lt. James Madison Page was captured by Confederate forces in 1863 and eventually was shipped to Andersonville Prison. There he observed Major Henry Wirz firsthand as well as life in this famous Confederate prison for Union prisoners of war. After the war, Major Wirz was tried by military tribunal, found guilty of "war crimes" and hanged. Forty years later, in 1908, Page wrote his memoir to tell "the true story of Andersonville," which was quite different from the popular view, namely, that Wirz and those in his command were deliberately cruel to their captives. Page explains how the prison was designed to hold, at most, 10,000 prisoners at any one time, and then only temporarily while awaiting prisoner exchange. When the exchange was stopped, the prison population quickly swelled to 30,000 prisoners, overwhelming the South's ability to feed, clothe and house the Andersonville prisoners. Although the North advanced many self-serving reasons for stopping the exchange, the real truth was later admitted by Ulysses S Grant in his memoirs, i.e., that the Union POWs were expendable, and that exchanging them for Rebel soldiers would prolong the war by reinforcing the Confederate army. This was a legitimate and understandable strategy of war, one that undoubtedly brought the war to a faster close. In 1865, however, it would have been political suicide to tell the truth to grieving families, that their sons and husbands and fathers were not exchanged because they were considered expendable. The story as Page saw it, was that Wirz was made a scapegoat to appease the wrath of the Northern people over the Andersonville dead (13,000 POWs died out of 45,000 prisoners due to disease and diet).

Page tells how many Northern myths about Andersonville simply aren't true, e.g., that the Confederate guards would get a 30 day furlough as a reward for shooting a prisoner, or that the reason the prisoner exchange between North and South was stopped was because of the North's protest against the South's refusal to exchange black Union POWs -- the truth was that blacks were a miniscule number of Union POWs and the exchange was stopped before there were any black POWs.

Page describes the trial and the accusations against Wirz, and refutes them convincingly. The trial, as described by Page who was there, was a sham. The prosecution could call any witnesses it wanted, but the defense could only call witnesses approved in advance by the prosecution! The prosecution's key witness was a perjurer who claimed to be former Union POW "Felix de la Baume," but was actually a deserter from the 7th NY infantry named Felix Oeser who was paid off for his false testimony with a job in the Dept of the Interior. Oeser had never even been to Andersonville.

James Madison Page's book closely jives with Confederate sources, like the memoir of Confederate guards and officers, who say the same things. Page ends his narrative with "I am just as committed to the preservation of the Union today as I was in 1861, but after forty years we can at least afford to tell the truth." This book wasn't popular in 1908 nor will it be popular in 2001 with those who don't want to hear it.

James Madison Page was my husband's great grandfather and we own a copy of the original edition. Mr. Page went on to be a Montana pioneer and surveyor. The book was very controversial when it was published, but to his dying day Mr. page stood by what he had written. It is quite a contrast to the generally accepted view of Andersonville Prison. Possibly, the prison conditions were not uniform at all times or in all places of the prison. The rather antiquated, but clear, prose alone is reason to read the book and get a taste of the past.

This book was written by a union soldier from a Michigan unit, as the subtitle indicates. He wrote this as a "Defense of Major Henry Wirz." Unlike many of the books written about incarceration in southern POW camps, this soldier was rather positive in terms of the treatment he received by Confederate soldiers during his inprisonment at Belle Isle and Andersonville. He had several personal interviews with Major Wirz, the Commandant of Andersonville prison, petitioning for better conditions for his fellow prisoners. He claims that the Major was as gracious to his requests as the limited supplies of the Confederacy would allow, considering the Union blockade of all supplies including medical. He also includes some information in what appears to be transcripts and letters relevant to Major Wirtz's trial that led to his hanging, which are quite revealing in terms of Secretary of War Stanton's, vendetta against Jefferson Davis and other prominant leaders of the defeated South.

Unlike most other books written on the Beecher-Tilton scandal, Trials of Intimacy doesn't assume that Rev. Beecher is guilty of adultery. Fox attempts to get at the truth of the scandal, rather than the myth. He demonstrates the possibility of Beecher's innocence as well as guilt. He skillfully presents not just both sides of the story, but every side of the story. He concludes, rightfully, that we may never know what actually happened.

Trials of Intimacy would make an ideal college text for a study of Victorian social life and mores. This book is a must read for anyone researching the scandal. The bibliography contains an excellent synopsis of the material available.

The only complaint I have to make is that Fox practically brands Victoria Woodhull a liar. He also wrote that Victoria Woodhull was the only person jailed in connection to the scandal. He forgot Victoria Woodhull's soon-to-be ex-husband, Col. James Harvey Blood, and Victoria's sister, Tennie C. Claflin. Both were arrested, along with Victoria Woodhull, approximately eight times in connection with the scandal. I doubt that Victoria, Tennie C., and Colonel Blood (who was married to my great-great-grandmother Isabell Blood) would've gone to jail eight times for something they knew was a lie. If Beecher was innocent, Theodore Tilton put one over on Victoria, Tennie C., Col. Blood, and the American people.

There are more "secrets" to be uncovered about the scandal, which Fox didn't mention--like the rape and the insanity case. His book, though, will put you hot on the trail that Beecher and Tilton tried to cover up 125 years ago. You can decide for yourself who is the arch-fiend in this debacle: Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore Tilton, or the media who covered the story with a vengeance.

This book could be the basis for several studies all arising out of the facts of the then scandalous "affair" which is the subject matter of the book...it could be a sociological study, an historical study, a legal study, a psychological study, or even a study in communications...the author tries valiantly to do all of these things and for the most part succeeds...obviously, the lines of reasonable brevity have to be drawn somewhere....All in all this is a thoroughly fascinating account well described in its many facets. The only criticism I would have of this book is the authors use of a reverse chronology in organizing the material...being used to stories being told "from the beginning", the chosen sequence is a little disconcerting...given the many ramifications of the subject matter, however, I can certainly understand why the author chose to set out the events in the manner in which he did. An excellent study in the strange idiosyncracies of human and social nature!

Professor Fox does a fantastic job in this deeply introspective work of late nineteenth-century American culture, society, and religion. The Beecher-Tilton episode, now virtually forgotten, deserves retelling. With unusual deftness, Fox treats perpetually relevant questions regarding the nature of love and reworks them in this incredible story. Fox recounts the scandal in a refreshingly new perspective that captures the essence of American social, cultural, and religious life in the 1870s. A high-quality work in the historiography of American cultural history.

I had a lot of questions about the Godhead. The Lord used this book to answer everyone of them.

This book is about 100 years old now, but the many truths expressed in this book are truly timeless. I found much of the material in this book to be just as relevant today as it has ever been, with almost none of the material being dated at all. This is truly one of the preeminent books on the truth of Trinitarianism.

In this book, Bickersteth attempts to demonstrate the truth of the Trinity by showing the personhood and deity, as articulated in Scripture, of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this book, Bickersteth brutally refutes various objections to Trinitarianism, mainly voiced by the Unitarians of his day. In the end, the reader is left with a comprehensive sense that to deny Trinitarianism is to make a mockery of Scripture, since the Bible exhaustively demonstrates the truth of the Trinity.

Among many highlights in this book, the biggest is clearly Bickersteth's exhaustive Scripture examination and comparison. In the chapters where he attempts to establish the coequal deity of the Son with the Father, Bickersteth analyzes and compares over 100 Scripture passages to show that the same phraseology that is used in Scripture to establish the divinity of the Father is also used to establish the divinity of the Son. Bickersteth goes on to conduct a similar Scripture comparison in demonstrating the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Bickersteth, in addition to establishing the divinity of the three persons of the Godhead, also effectively demonstrates that each Person is unique, personal, and in possession of an individual will, though the wills of all three are in perfect unison. This effectively heads off the assertion that Father, Son, and Spirit are merely three manifestations of the same person, rather than "three who's of one what". Oneness pentecostalism is one of the many movements that argues in favor of the three manifestations concept, but this book effectively shows that in order to truly embrace this idea, one has to conduct major spiritual gymnastics in order to get away from what Scripture clearly teaches on this point.

The only area of this book that I thought could have been improved concerned the functional subordination aspect of Trinitarianism seen in Scripture. Bickersteth does touch on this in a couple of places, but not exhaustively. The coequality aspect of Trinitarianism is a difficult concept to understand in light of the offices each Person appears to hold. But what should be clear from Bickersteth's book is that without regard to roles, each Person of the Godhead is equally divine and equally due our worship as a matter of ontology.

But with the exception of this one regret where I wish Bickersteth had been more thorough, this book is truly a classic on Trinitarianism that has stood the test of time, mainly because the truths it depicts are timeless and eternal. This is a must read for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the truth of Trinitarianism and how to combat objections with massive amounts of Scriptural support.

Edward Bickersteth does an excellent job defending the doctrine of the Trinity from the Scriptures. It is written on a laymans level and is able to help those who have questions regarding this doctrine.

Mr. Bickersteth is writing specifically to Unitarians friends as he reaches out to them and seeks to convey the Scriptural teaching. This book will be just as helpful to those seeking to reach Jehovah's Witnesses or Christadelphians.

This writer found it extremely helpful as he sought encouragement after separating himself from Jehovah's Witnesses. I recommend it heartily.

I was initially reserved in my approach to the book 'cos I thought it would be boring and would contain too much theology.
I was proven wrong. I could see the interplay of man and God in shaping our history and now fully understand that indeed "He works all things after the counsel of his own will". I was taken with the literary style that I could not put it down desiring to find out what would happen next to Luther. It is awesome to know that Omniscience wields Omnipotence to achieve the counsel of the Omnipresent God.

I have read this book under separate title, and D'Aubigne presents in it a wonderful picture of Luther the man, from the perspective of an author who knows Luther's Lord. Much more readable than Bainton's work, and with a touch of the older style of writing that has now been lost.

This is a very good book about Martin Luther. Before I read this book, I did not know what he wrote his theses about, but now I know he wrote it to condemn the evil sale of indulgences.

George Armstrong Custer's fabled Fifth Regiment fought with great distinction throughout the American civil war and suffered the third highest total of men killed in the entire Union Calvary. James Henry Avery, a 24 year old farmer from Hopkins, Michigan was on of Custer's feared "Wolverines". He eloquently described his personal war-time experiences in journals and postwar reminiscences, providing uniquely detailed descriptions of Civil War cavalry movements, and presents the only known account addressing the escape of elements of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry on the first day of the Battle of Trevilian Station. Other battles described include Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Haws Shop, Tom's Brook, Cedar Creek, and Trevilian Station. Under Custer's Command: The Civil War Journal Of James Henry Avery provides an astute perspective on the life of a Union cavalryman in the Civil War and is a "must" for all Civil War buffs and civil war studies reference collections.

As editor Eric J. Wittenberg expands his library of Custer-related works, they continue to improve on the already growing collection of first-person accounts of the "Boy General's" Michigan Cavalry. As the preeminent biographer of Brevet Brigadier General James Kidd, Wittenberg provides readers with a sense of "being there," and inescapable feeling that they are sharing a fireside chat with a living, breathing veteran of our own Civil War.

"Under Custer's Command" is sure to please any readers of his previous collections of James Kidd. The latest book, a well-preserved and edited anthology of the personal journals of Sergeant James Henry Avery, an enlisted man who served with Custer during his formative years, continues Wittenberg's efforts to detail the wartime activities of the Michigan 6th Cavalry. One of the most successful mounted commands during the war, the "Wolverine's" received far less acclaim and few of the accolades enjoyed by cavalry units led by men such as Jeb Stuart and Stonewall Jackson.

"Under Custer's Command" is a rare jewel among surviving first-person accounts. The language is frank, yet simple: the work of a man interested less in impressing than in preserving his personal observations of history. Avery's journals offer an invaluable glimpse into the mind and soul of a man fighting for his country, his values, and his family. This wonderful book is a fantastic addition to any serious Civil War Custer library.

This book is the best memoir by an enlisted cavalryman I have ever seen, and I read a lot of Civil War books. At the end of the book, I felt like I had just finished a long conversation with Avery. Buy this book and enjoy it.

As a college student thinking of majoring in history, Vietnam Follies was exciting and informative from start to finish.
While many historical autobiographies are difficult to read and hard to follow, Henry Billings throws the reader into the shoes of a young soldier trying to get through the war while dealing with various psychological and personal problems along the way.
My favorite part was when I was reading chapter 5 about Henry's final mission in training camp in which he had to play Escape and Evade. I found myself literally sweating throughout the chapter, wondering whether or not he would make it to safety, or be caught and tortured. I became so engaged that i continued reading past 1:00 on a school night until i reached the conclusion of the chapter. Only a handful of books I have ever read have gotten me this passionate about reading, which definitely says a lot about Henry Billing's writing style.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

Great reading, humorous and informative. Henry Billings gives us a picture of the Vietnam War from geopolitical and military
strategies to everyday life in the streets of Saigon sprinkled with MASH does Vietnam anecdotes of his own experiences. A great book for young people not wanting to wade through a tome on the subject yet leaving them with a good history lesson.

I have just finished reading "VIETNAM FOLLIES, a Memoir of an Intelligence Officer", by Henry Billings, published by 1st Books Library. For anyone who grew up in the 1960's in the shadow of the Vietnam War, with inner conflicts of conscience vs country, this book is well worth reading.
The young Henry Billings is caught between two forms of idealism; a sense of duty and obligation to his country, and a pacifist's aversion to the "us against them" mentality that soldiering requires. In his own words, he was "on the one hand a Boy Scout and on the other hand a bleeding-heart leftist". He ends up spending 1966 in Saigon as an intelligence officer.
His book goes into detail about some of his assignments. He discusses B-52 bombing, Cambodia (before, during, and after the U.S.-Vietnam War), and attempts to research enemy morale. He also tells of the rebuke he often received from his superiors when the information he gathered, and perceived to be true, did not fit with the propaganda "spin" they were looking for. As he closes his narrative, looking back, he seems to have more regrets for what he didn't do as a pacifist at home than for what he did do in the Army in Saigon.
I liked the way H. Billings relates his time in the Vietnam Era with a historical overview, but separates his own experiences and opinions. Places and names that blew by me when I was a "teeny-bopper" in the mid-1960's come to life again. The last time I heard some of those names was from Walter Cronkite.
When I see the word "Memoirs" in a book title, I worry that more than half of the sentences will start with "I" or end with "me"; not so with H. Billings' book. Chapter 8 on Cambodia impressed me the most.
I didn't go to Vietnam. I had a draft-lottery number of 259 in 1971. But those of us who watched from the sidelines were not untouched.
VIETNAM FOLLIES is worth reading, whether you were a pacifist who didn't go or a soldier who did.

E J Tretter

I would prefer to have my questions answered concerning this book. I have read this book thoroughly many times; what I wonder is what makes this book "collectible" and worth [price] rather than [price], as no description is given other than "paperback". Thank you.

I purchased this book in order to better understand what the violin was all about to better understand why the violin was so important to my friend.

This is a wonderful book for those interested in learning about the history of the making of the violin. I myself am a violinist, and can appreciate everything there is to know about the violin. I highly recommend this book to anybody who loves the violin.

Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer have collected a small sampling of civil rights oral history that has yet to be duplicated in a modern book on the era. They have included all of the key figures involved in the movement, Dr. King and Malcolm X, along with Stokely Carmichael, John Lewis and Andrew Young. What they have also done is give readers the non-famous persons perspective on the various events surrounding the movement. This has been invaluable to me in my research and a truly enjoyable read. It should be a must read for everyone!

Fantastic, relavent, engrossing.

Important and balanced information and first-hand accounts.

Starting with the murder of Emmett Till and ending with the political activism in the 80s, this book gives a moving overview of the civil rights movement. Each of the 31 chapters first gives a short summary of the events and then redraws the situation with eye-witness accounts. Many activists like Coretta Scott King, Harry Belafonte and members of the Black Panther Party, to name a few, give intriguing details. This moving book is easy to read and especially recommended for young people who need first hand information about the movement. Really recommended!

My husband and I were having serious troubles in our marrage. I had decided to get away and go to India, where I met the author of this book. He loaned me a copy and I read it. I was hooked, the begining is so good I couldn't put it down. The thing I especially liked about this book was that a man could be so in touch with his feelings. Any woman could have wrote this book, but I like that it shows men its ok to feel. I was feeling like the problem was all my husbands fault but Henry's book made me look at my part in it too. When I came home I made my husband read the book as part of our healing. He also couldn't put it down which is a real compliment since I have only known of him reading 3 books sinces we met 26 years ago. I have since started recomending it to friends and clients with marital problems.

THE WAY OF MARRIAGE is a gem, worthy of being read by adults, in, out of, or between marriages--or contemplating any commited relationship. It contains the author's insightful and evocative personal experiences in coming to grips with the challenges of his marriage partnership. Mr.Borys is willing in this remarkable and useful work to lay raw his emotions, feelings, and inner life--and come to a more complete understanding of himself, and perforce his marriage and, indeed, of all relationships. The book is vastly larger than just a marriage or relationship manual. It is a highly personal story, a work replete with helpful thoughts, suggestions, and experiences. I can unequivocally recomment this work, and I look forward to more from this talented and courageous author

In thirty years of marraige I have read many books about relationships; many of them good, but The Way of Marriage continues to be a favorite. It is not just another book about relationships. It is a profoundly insightful guide to spiritual growth. The author's subtle humor and his willingness to share his personal experiences make this a most enjoyable read as well as being enlightening. I have always felt that life gives us many clues everyday - that's what makes it fun. But I must admit that there have been many days when I thought to myself "God, would you PLEASE just spell it out for me....obviously I'm just not getting it!" The Way of Marriage spells it out for me. It is sort of a decoder ring for the clues, hints, hidden messages in life's challenges

The Shackleton story is amazing, but this accounting of it is stunningly thought through and executed. Read it over and over.

This is a case where the economy of a well-crafted poetic line accomplishes what might take a page of prose. The imagery and emotion evoked by this slim volume more than capture the beauty and desperation experienced by Shackleton and his company. No space is wasted on mundane logistical cataloging and diary-keeping. Instead the reader is in the grip of perilous nature from beginning to end. The final section sketching the fate of the men after their great adventure on the ice shows that miraculously overcoming one peril does not innoculate you against life's other afflictions.

This epic poem brings Shackleton's attempt to reach the South Pole to life! Some of the chapters tell the story from the point of view of individual members of the expedition; some describe particular events. Each fact is documented. Its one thing to know that Shackleton and a part of the crew left the rest of the crew behind, and travelled 800 miles in a dory on a rescue mission. Mueller brings the situation to life, describing the plight of both the rescuers and the rescuees. And then, in a moving and haunting conclusion, she tells of some of the individual's lives after the voyage. In sum, its an adventurist's story, a naturalist's story, a poet's story. A book you will want to reread, read out loud, and give to your friends.