"A Just and Lasting Peace... With All Nations:" A Review of Lincoln in the World

Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power by Kevin Peraino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The U.S. Civil War is one of the epochal moments in history. The momentousness of the Civil War is clear domestically as it ended slavery and united the country more tightly than ever before. And yet, while its domestic importance is clear, few Americans also realize just how important the Civil War was in world history as the binding of the Union and the destruction of slavery would help pave the way towards America's rise to predominant power in the 20th century. There have been recent books, such as The Cause of All Nations: An International History of the American Civil War by Don H. Doyle, that have tried to fill in this gap, but what also can get lost in this story is the role that President Abraham Lincoln played in guiding foreign policy during the period. Like FDR's role as Commander in Chief of World War II, too many historians have downplayed his role as Chief Diplomat and instead focused on his military leadership. This biography does an amazing job of filling in this gap while also being one of the most easily accessible Lincoln biographies currently available.

This book tracks Lincoln's career from little-known congressman to President of the United States by pitting Lincoln against five historical figures and the major foreign policy issues that divided them. It starts with an examination of Lincoln's nuanced opposition to the Mexican-American War against his Illinois law partner's support, William Herndon; the first struggles over foreign policy leadership between Lincoln and his new Secretary of State, William Seward; his struggle to avoid war with Great Britain and its prime minister, Lord Palmerston; the struggle over public opinion between Lincoln and Karl Marx; and the U.S.'s response to the invasion of Mexico by France's emperor, Napoleon III. Each one of these chapters provides a great vignette of Lincoln and his opponent and what exactly their thinking was on the key foreign policy issues of the Civil War. They are endlessly fascinating and Mr. Peraino does an excellent job of revealing Lincoln's role in everything. Though Lincoln may not appear to do much at times, Mr. Peraino points out that doing nothing, or strategic patience as it might be called, can be crucial in foreign affairs and is key to Lincoln's leadership in this arena. Lincoln, and his opposites, knew their objectives, but Lincoln appears to have had the clearest mind on how to achieve those objectives.

I will say that the Lincoln/Marx chapter is a little bit of a stretch. While Lincoln squared off with all of the other figures almost directly, Marx and Lincoln seem to be linked only indirectly, at best. However, Mr. Peraino's insight in this chapter is to show just how deftly Lincoln swayed international public opinion over the question of emancipation, something Marx wished he could do with his call to proletariat revolution, but never succeeded at doing in his lifetime. It may be the weakest of links, but Mr. Peraino makes it work.

Perhaps the most insightful chapter is the last where Mr. Peraino briefly (compared to the previous chapters at least) follows the diplomatic career of his personal secretary, John Hay, that would lead him to become Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. By doing so, Mr. Peraino shows just how critical Lincoln's foreign policy legacy was in shaping the United States and its role in the world for the next half century. It made me wish for a recent biography of John Hay to pick up and read. I shall have to look into that...

At a little over 300 pages in narrative length and with simple language and anecdotes, this is also one of the most accessible biographies of Lincoln available. While painting a great picture of Lincoln as a statesman, Mr. Peraino also provides good sketches of Lincoln the man as well. For anyone who has wanted to pick up a Lincoln biography, like Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln or Lincoln by David Herbert Donald, but have been too daunted by their length and detail, this is a good book to break yourself in. I still feel that there is much more to say about Lincoln the statesman, but this book is an excellent jumping off point. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Lincoln, the U.S. Civil War, and America's rise to power.

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"I've Seen the Promised Land": A Review of At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68

At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68 by Taylor Branch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Civil Rights movement was one of the greatest movements in American history. Like other social movements of the past, a groundswell of people stood up to demand more from their government than they had ever received before. Sadly, like other social movements of the past, the Civil Rights movement would become a victim of its own success as movement leaders either burned out or became more radical after foot-dragging by the federal government. Disagreements within the leadership over tactics and the Vietnam war would also do its part to tear the movement apart. Nobly, though, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., though exhausted by the end, would stick to his principles of nonviolence right up until his tragic assassination. Taylor Branch does an amazing job showing us how the Civil Rights movement reached the pinnacle of its power and influence with the Selma March for voting rights in 1965 and then slowly come apart by the time of Dr. King's death.

In terms of structure, this book occupies a kind of middle ground between the first and second volumes in this series. The average chapter length is about 20 pages or so, with the last chapters being some of the longest. But this volume is not nearly as long in narrative length as the first volume, nor is it as short as the second. While this entire series, including this book, are a tough slog, it is not as daunting as it might seem at first glance. And like the previous two volumes, Mr. Branch gives an extraordinary amount of detail. This series truly is the definitive account of this seminal moment in American history.

This volume starts with the Selma March for voting rights and offers a definitive account of that time. And while Dr. King and his allies would achieve a great victory with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the seeds for the movements slow downfall were visible underneath the surface during the march. Dr. King's allies in SNCC and elsewhere were beginning to doubt his leadership and commitment to nonviolence. And figures like Stokely Carmichael, who would push the movement in a more aggressive direction, would first make their appearances on the national stage. Mr. Branch deals with the myriad of issues, like "Black Power" and the urban riots of the period, deftly with a great deal of nuance. He also documents the movements growing cracks thanks to Vietnam and young leaders' dissatisfaction with the slow pace of integration. All of this would weigh heavily on Dr. King, who slowly but surely becomes more exhausted and less sure of where to go from Selma. His Poor People's March reinvigorated him like previous marches, but, sadly, he would never live to see it through. Indeed, in the last chapters I felt more and more empathy for Dr. King and was deeply moved. This is a testament to Mr. Branch's writing, honed over three volumes and two decades of research.

This is a particularly long book. Casual readers should not pick up this or any of the other volumes in this series lightly. But for the hardcore historian, this is a must read series on the Civil Rights movement and 20th century U.S. history.

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Obsessing Over Obsession: A Review of The Feather Thief

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the late 19th century, several species of birds were hunted nearly to extinction in order to be used for women's hats. At the same time, birds were also being hunted so that their feathers could be tied to fishing lures in what became a hobby, an art form, and, for many, an obsession. Though many of these birds and their preserved bodies are protected by several international treaties, fly-tying enthusiasts still covet their feathers to this day. All of this, natural beauty and obsession, come to a head in this terrific true crime story of one of the biggest heists of rare birds from a natural history museum in recent history.

Admittedly, when I first started this book, I was not expecting much. I am no fisherman and had no idea about the seeming art that is fly-tying. The description sounded interesting to me though. And, just like many fly-tiers themselves and just like the author once he heard about this unusual heist, once I started I couldn't stop. Mr. Johnson does an excellent job of telling this story in three parts. The first part deals with why these feathers and bird carcasses are so important. The study of these birds go all the way back to Alfred Russel Wallace, Charles Darwin, and how both of them came up with the theory of evolution separately (Darwin gets credited because he published his work first). Mr. Johnson also talks about the field of biogeography that Wallace created as well as the milliners trade and fly-tying hobby that threatened to destroy these wonderful creatures. Like white rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks, these feathers were, and still are, sold illegally for people to own in private collections or used in personal hobbies. It thus adds a seedy undercurrent to what sounds like a rather pleasant hobby similar to stamp collecting.

The second part deals with the heist itself, perpetrated by an obsessive fly-tier, and how he sold much of his ill-gotten goods, how he was caught, and how a small quirk in British law allowed him to get away with a slap on the wrist. The first part was fascinating, but the crime and punishment section is what really lured me in (no pun intended). Upon seeing the collection for himself, the thief appears to have been compelled to commit the crime, but he only got off easy through luck... or did he?

The questions that are left unanswered by the end of the second part leads directly into the third part where the author himself gets involved. Mr. Johnson is coming off a trying period in his life and, upon hearing about the story from a fly-fishing guide, becomes obsessed with the story himself. He even ends up interviewing the thief and many of his friends. Just as many fly-tiers have become obsessed with this hobby, so does the author become obsessed with finding the answers. Thus, this whole book becomes a great meditation on obsession itself as well as a great true crime tale.

I have left much of the plot as purposely vague as I can because I want as many people to read this book without spoilers. It is a fascinating tale about the natural world and how man, even today, feels an urge to possess it and how that possessive urge will ultimately destroy nature. Obsession, whether for natural beauty, an interesting hobby, or the answers to long held questions, has a way of eating at a person from the inside and Mr. Johnson shows that very well. This is one of the best books I have read this year and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in nature or a good true crime story.

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The Kids are Alright: A Review of The Death and Life of the Great American School System

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For almost three decades now, Americans have been testing a number of different reforms in public education. Some of these reforms include vouchers, charter schools, standardized testing, national standards, and merit pay for teachers. And yet, every single one of these reforms has failed. Why is that? Can public education be reformed? Does it even need to be reformed? Diane Ravitch, an education policy expert who has worked for and advised U.S. Presidents since George H.W. Bush, examines each one of these reforms in detail and shows not only why they have failed, but some of the subversive laissez faire ideologies that have propelled them and will not let them go, no matter how much data is brought forth.

Despite my rating, this book is actually great. Ms. Ravitch is thorough in her research and, admirably, is willing to point out when she was wrong. For example, she was once a supporter of national standards that were a part of Pres. Obama's Race to the Top reforms. However, after examining its effect and reception, Ms. Ravitch is willing to say that national standards are not what's best for our country's public schools. I don't fully agree with her on this point as I think the problem with national standards has been with the process of their writing and implementation, which was top-down and heavy-handed, not with the idea itself. That said, Ms. Ravitch goes about destroying all of the latest education reforms with a fine toothed comb. By the end of this book, I couldn't help but wonder if it was ever possible to reform public education. Not only that, but considering other measures of learning in public education, I think we can legitimately ask if we actually NEED to reform public education. There are problems for sure, especially with the achievement gap between white and minority students, but as Ms. Ravitch points out over and over again, that may be due more to poverty and systemic racism that have perpetuated the wealth gap between whites and minorities.

So, why does this book get only three stars from me? Because this is one of the most policy-wonky books written for a general audience that I have ever read. Ms. Ravitch digs in really deep into her research, making some of the chapters long and tedious. By the end of the book, I was completely exhausted by all the different facts and figures that were presented. This book is a tough slog and should not be approached lightly.

Public education is not a good that we consume like food or movies. A good public education is a right that everyone is entitled to. This book is not only a sharp critique of recent education reforms, but a passionate plea for returning public education to its local and democratic roots. States and localities should lead the way on education with the federal government playing a role in supporting equity between rich and poor school districts, as it originally was when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was passed. Teachers should be trained and treated as professionals, like a doctor or a lawyer. And any major reform MUST have buy in from teachers, administrators, and the local community. At least, that is Ms. Ravitch's recommendation. However, after reading this book, I am inclined to believe her. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in public education reform. Just know that this book will be a tough slog and, thus, you should set aside any other books before tackling this one.

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A Renaissance Man: A Review of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the great geniuses of the human race. A polymath, Da Vinci's skill with the brush was beyond dispute, but he also was vastly curious about a number of different areas beyond art. Indeed, his examinations of different areas of scientific inquiry would prefigure the scientific method of Bacon and Galileo and some of his personal scientific discoveries would not be discovered by the wider world for centuries later. So, what made Da Vinci tick? Mr. Isaacson, biographer of other geniuses such as Einstein, Ben Franklin, and Steve Jobs, sets out to do just that and draw lessons for the reader in this biography.

Mr. Isaacson starts and ends this book with an appreciation of Da Vinci's wide ranging curiosities, which were vast. Some of them, as Mr. Isaacson points out, has almost nothing to do with art or... anything of practical use. Da Vinci investigated many of them to satiate his own curiosity. It's one of Da Vinci's qualities that make him both admirable and frustrating. Mr. Isaacson catalogues nearly all of Da Vinci's known works in both art and his personal notebooks. He notes that Da Vinci could easily be driven to distraction, so much so that many of his artworks were left unfinished. Not only that, but all of his personal discoveries that prefigured their later discoveries were never published. Thus, I often put down this book thinking about just how frustrating Da Vinci must have been as a person in real life.

However, if you're looking for a traditional biography that records as many details of Da Vinci's day-to-day life as possible, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Oftentimes, Mr. Isaacson forgoes details about Da Vinci's life in favor of an appraisal of Da Vinci's art and inner mind as expressed in his personal notebooks. Indeed, the book follows a pattern of "Check out cool thing A Da Vinci did... Checkout cool thing B Da Vinci did... but they were never finished." Thus, compared to his Steve Jobs biography, this book is far less critical of Da Vinci the man. Walking away from this book, I appreciate Da Vinci's art and mind more, but don't feel like I know more about the man himself.

I also felt like Mr. Isaacson was less than objective in his appraisals. As I said before, Mr. Isaacson spends a lot of time analyzing and appreciating Da Vinci's art and he has almost nothing but praise for it. Indeed, he seems to appreciate Da Vinci's art so much that he gives little love to other contemporary Renaissance artists. This is especially true of Michelangelo, whom Mr. Isaacson compares to Da Vinci a couple of times and even writes a good chapter of the only known time the two worked on an artwork together, or rather against each other. Mr. Isaacson doesn't give much love to Michelangelo and some of his appraisals of him border on hostile. I doubt anyone who has seen both these masters' works would say one was better than the other, but Mr. Isaacson does. As someone who appreciates Michelangelo's art just as much as Leonardo's, Mr. Isaacson's disdain for him and other Renaissance artists is a little jarring.

Da Vinci was just as brilliant as he was frustrating, and Mr. Isaacson has done a commendable job bringing him and his art to life. The lessons that Mr. Isaacson draws from Da Vinci's life in the conclusion are also wise and prudent. You may not come away from this book knowing about Da Vinci's life in detail, but you will gain a better appreciation of his work and astounding mind. Don't be surprised if you find yourself trying to imitate some of Da Vinci's habits in your life after reading this book.


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