Steve Goddard's History Wire

FOCUS: Historical Fiction -- The Favored Queen / A Crimson Warning

The Favored Queen -- A Novel of Henry VIII's Third Wife by Carolly Erickson, St. Martin's Press '11, $25.99, 295 pages, ASIN #0312596901.

 

The only regret fiction publishers have about Britain's King Henry VIII may be that he had only six wives instead of ten? How about fifteen? While readers can't seem to get enough of the Tudor era in general, Henry's marriages and dalliances are of particular interest. America's married uppercrust often figuratively lose their heads, but how boring when measured against Henry VIII's wives, two of whom literally lost their heads. Jane Seymour, the subject of Carolly Erickson's new novel, was Henry's third wife, and she lost her life as well several days after delivering Henry a son, which previous wives proved unable to provide. The author deftly traces Jane's ascent at court from maid of honor to Henry's first queen to becoming a confidante to Henry and, finally, his queen. Carolly Erickson has written 28 books, including biographies, histories, and fictional historical entertainment. She lives in Hawaii.

A Crimson Warning -- A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander Minotaur '11, $24.99, 324 pages, ASIN #0312661754.

 

If any British historical era rivals the Tudor era in fiction readers' interest, it is the Victorian age.  In Tasha Alexander's new book, "some very prominent people in London are waking up to find their doorsteps smeared with red paint, the precursor to the revelation of a dark secret -- and worse -- by a sadist who enjoys ruining lives." In the latest in a series of "Lady Emily" mysteries, Lady Emily loves such diversions as "reading The Aeneid, waltzing with her dashing husband, and joining the Women's Liberal Federation in the early stages of its campaign to win votes for women." Until, that is, the red paint vandal upends her comfortable life. Emily and her husband, Colin -- a favorite agent of the crown, "are tasked with discovering the motive and identity of the twisted mind behind it all before another innocent life is lost." Tasha Alexander, a Notre Dame grad, divides her time between Chicago and the UK. She wrote her first novel in 2004.

 

Book Alert: Yossarian Slept Here

Yossarian Slept Here -- When Joseph Heller was Dad, the Apthorp was Home, and Life was a Catch 22 by Erica Heller, Simon & Schuster '11, $25, 272 pages, ASIN #1439197687. Black and white images sprinkled through text.

 

History Wire reviews or comments on lots of memoirs, but few that we've tackled in 2011 are equal to this poignant but funny saga spun by Erica Heller -- not just because it vividly recounts her challenging life but shines a spotlight into the dark corners of the life of Joseph Heller, one of America's best 20th century novelists, just coincidentally on the 50th  publication anniversary of his best, Catch 22.

It's hard to come away from this jewel of a book and not like Erica Heller, Joe's daughter. Sure, her childhood wasn't an easy one with two mercurial and emotionally distant parents, but there isn't a hint of "woe is me," or "Mommy Dearest" sniveling. In all fairness, part of that is because there is plenty to love in Joe and Shirley Heller, as abusively neglectful as they could be from time to time.

One of the central characters in Erica's book would find it hard to come to center stage for a bow, because it is The Apthorp, a huge apartment complex on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where all the Hellers, then Joe and Shirley post-divorce, and now Erica alone lived for a combined 45 years. Through its portals came such memorable souls -- many of them Heller friends -- as Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Mario Puzo, George Balanchine, Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne.

Erica freely admits that she lacks most of the talent that rocketed her dad to fame and fortune, although she has written one novel and her new book is stylistically one to be proud of. But her greatest contribution is in sharing her even-handed perspective on her two parents, who battled for decades on a number of fronts but who never stopped loving each other, even though divorced for many years. And after a rockem-sockem divorce proceeding, when Erica's mother developed cancer, it is moving to read of Joe's nightly calls to Erica over 18 months to check on "Your mother's" condition, softening his label to "Mom's" towards the end.

Critics seem to agree that Catch 22 is a novel like no other and possibly the best wartime novel ever written. So it's not unusual that its author should be a human being like no other. As brilliant as he was, Heller could be and often was, by turns, eccentric, hurtful, loving, and self-absorbed. He is also revealed through his intimates, especially such relative unknowns as his best friend, "Speed" Vogel, who wrote voluminous recollections to Erica of both her dad and mom.

Erica Heller is an advertising copywriter, novelist, and creative consultant.

 

FOCUS: A Little of This, a Little of That -- The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott / Sugar / Eminence / Melancholy Order

The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott -- Unseen Images from the Legendary Antarctic Expedition by David M. Wilson, Little, Brown '11 in oversized format on glossy stock, $35, 191 pages, ASIN #0316178500. Illustrated catalogue of Captain Scott's photographs, notes, dozens of b&w glossy images.

 

From the Prologue:

"They would all lie dead before the tale was done, and for a hundred years following, more reams would be written guessing the reason why than on any other aspect of polar history. But the blue jackets knew the reason why. They knew it in their hearts and in their souls and they knew it at the time. It was always the reason that unexplained bad luck befell a ship at sea, and there was no doubting that it was bringing bad luck upon them now. There was a Jonah among them....Who was the Jonah? They said he was the cameras."

The lover of adventure on readers' gift lists will quickly be drawn to this lush volume with its scores of photos (many of them full-page). The fact that they are all black and white only helps to ground the reader into the era in which the action takes place -- nearly a century ago. Wilson's book recounts Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition, the myth and mystery of this icon of fortitude and courage, who perished with his fellow explorers on their return from the South Pole on March 29, 1912. The one negative in the format is that to make room for so many large photos, the publisher has shrunken type to a size that may be uncomfortably small for some readers.

David M. Wilson is a great-nephew of Dr. Edward Wilson, chief of the Scientific Staff, who died with Captain Scott and his fellow explorers.  

Sugar -- A Bittersweet History by Elizabeth Abbott, Duckworth Overlook '10 paperback. $17, 453 pages, ASIN #1590206479. Index, select bibliography, notes, b&w images sprinkled through text.

 

The author argues that sugar was to the 18th century what oil was to the 20th. "It (sugar) shaped world affairs, influenced the economic policies of nations, drove international trade and wreaked environmental havoc." Like oil, writes Elizabeth Abbott, this form of substance abuse inflicted a human cost, in this case: "The near extinction of the New World's indigenous peoples gave rise to transatlantic slavery, as millions of captured Africans were crammed into ships to make the cruel voyage to Caribbean plantations." From its first taste on the human palate, sugar quickly evolved from a consumable of the rich to a staple of every home. "Indeed," argues Abbott, "it played its own role in creating that (modern) world, fueling the workers of the Industrial Revolution, and giving rise to the culture of fast food." Elizabeth Abbott is research associate at Trinity College, University of Toronto and, from 1991 to 2004, was its Dean of Women. She lives in Toronto.

Eminence -- Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France by Jean-Vincent Blanchard, Walker '11, $30, 309 pages, ASIN #0802717047. Index, bibliography, notes, family trees, principal characters, chronology, grouping of color glossy images.

 

"Eminence tells quote a gory story," explains author Jean-Vincent Blanchard. "The opening scene features a mob dismembering a cadaver on Paris' New Bridge. This is to highlight the raw, primordial nature of politics that Cardinal Richelieu promoted and wrestled with, even though he was a priest." Moreover, he writes, "Cardinal Richelieu had style. He was elegant, refined, lived accordingly in the superb decors of the grand chateaus he built. His parties were legendary affairs. With his wit and oratorical talents, and because he founded the Academie Francaise, an institution devoted to cultivate the beauty of the French language, he truly contributed to what France culture is today." Jean-Vincent Blanchard is an associate professor of French Studies at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. A specialist on pre-revolutionary France, he has published on a broad range of subjects in politics, history, religion, philosophy, and the arts."

Melancholy Order -- Asian Migration and the Globalization of Borders by Adam M. McKeown, Columbia UPress '11 paperback. 450 pages, ASIN #0231140770. Index, notes, primary sources, unillustrated.

 

If you'd like the incessant media debate over immigration to disappear, the author would argue that you'd better find a way to reverse globalization, because the two phenomena are inextricably linked. In his new work, historian Adam M. McKeown writes that border control originated with attempts to control Asian migration during the 1880s around the Pacific: "New policies to control mobility had to be justified in the context of contemporary liberal ideas of freedom and mobility, generating such principles as the belief that migration control is a sovereign right of receiving nations and that it should occur at a country's borders." He claims that methods originally created "to exclude Asians from full participation in the 'family of civilized nations' are now the norm between all nations and have helped to institutionalize global cultural and economic divisions, such as East/West and First and Third World designations. Adam M. McKeown is an associate professor of history at Columbia University, where he has specialized in globalization among other issues.

 

The Top Five Movies Steve McQueen Didn't Make

Slate.com:

"More often than we might imagine, the actor or actress first envisioned in a role is not the one who winds up with it. This creates some interesting what-ifs when that role becomes iconic. When it appeared Marlon Brando would not play Terry Maloy in Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront, for instance, Kazan agreed to use Frank Sinatra, who had just won an Oscar for From Here to Eternity. Brando decided to take the part after all—and Sinatra never forgave Kazan for what he saw as a straight-up betrayal. Today, of course, it’s hard to imagine anybody but Brando in the role.

"Steve McQueen passed or missed out on an unusually large number of iconic roles. Here are five that could have been his, but which, for one reason or another, he didn’t play in his relatively brief but storied career.

Ocean’s Eleven (1960)

"After appearing in one Frank Sinatra vehicle—John Sturges’s Never So Few, in which he replaced Sammy Davis, Jr. (Frank and Sammy had had a falling out)—McQueen was offered a role in Sinatra’s next vehicle, a 'Rat Pack' picture about a gang of casino thieves. But Steve chose to bow out: Being one of the Rat Pack was not, he decided, what he wanted for his career. The role of Tony Bergdof went instead to Richard Conte."

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Message in a Qvevri

Newsweek.com:

"Georgia, the former Soviet republic of, is a land where autos share the road with pigs, sheep, and donkeys. The food pops with flavor, and wine is so knit into daily life that an extension devoted to its creation is as common in most homes as a kitchen. In these rooms, large amphorae called qvevri are planted into the soil and filled with fermenting grape juice. Often referred to as the original winemakers, Georgians have used the jugs in their vinification for eons, perhaps even as far back as 6000 B.C. 

"Yet it took an Italian to make qvevri chic.

"The modern legend dates to the end of the last century. Friulian winemaker Josko Gravner had decided to pare back his own winemaking to the basics. His search for simplicity led him to Georgia. Qvevri—the Bentleys of the amphora family—seemed ideally suited to low-intervention winemaking. Burying them in the ground provided instant temperature control, perfect for natural fermentation. The point at the bottom of the vessel collected the grape crud, so no fining or filtering was necessary. And the ceramic material imparted little or no flavor to the juice."

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FOCUS: American History -- American Dreamers / The Hump / Thunder Across the Swamp / The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory

American Dreamers -- How the Left Changed America by Michael Kazin, Knopf '11, stated First Edition, $27.95, 329 pages, ASIN #0307266281. Index, notes, "good reading," b&w images sprinkled through text.

"Feminists, labor militants, civil rights stalwarts, and socialists have captured America's heart -- though rarely its votes," writes historian Michael Kazin. In this broad survey of the impact America's political left has had on the evolution of the nation's politics and governance, Kazin profiles "visionaries, organizers, and rabble-rousers, including  abolitionists and free-love communards of the 1830s, Gilded Age utopian novelists and temperance crusaders, feisty Wobblies, and avant-garde bohemians, patriotic Popular Front Communists and '60s firebrands." Kazin discusses the influence of such leftist thinkers as John Brown, Naomi Klein, Dr. Seuss, and Noam Chomsky. "Radicals," he contends, "succeed by influencing liberals rather than winning power and by championing individual freedom and self-fulfillment..." Michael Kazin teaches history at Georgetown University.

The Hump -- America's Strategy for Keeping China in World War II by John D. Plating, Texas A&M Press '11, $34.95, 331 pages, ASIN #1603442375. Index, bibliography, notes, b&w images sprinkled through text.

  

From the book jacket:

"Carried out over arguably the world's most rugged terrain, in its most inhospitable weather system, and under constant threat of enemy attack, the trans-Himalayan airlift of World War II delivered nearly 740,000 tons of cargo to China, making it possible for Chinese forces to wage war against Japan. This operation dwarfed the supply delivery by land over the Burma and Ledo Roads and represented the fullest expression of the U.S. government's commitment to China."

Air Force Col. John D. Plating, who teaches history at the Air Force Academy, argues "...the Hump Airlift was initially undertaken to serve as a display of American support for its Chinese ally, which had been at war with Japan since 1937." However, by 1944,  American strategists shifted its purpose to that of supplying American forces in China in preparation for America's final assault on Japan.

Thunder Across the Swamp -- The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February 1863 -- May 1863 by Donald S. Frazier, State House Press '11, $59.95, 630 pages, ASIN #1933337443. Index, bibliography, notes, b&w images sprinkled through text.

 

From the book jacket:

"Confederate President Jefferson Davis had great designs for the Mississippi Valley. Confederate Major General Richard Taylor knew that the only long-term solution to protecting the twin river citadels at Vicksburg and Port Hudson was an active offensive. As Rebel plans matured, time grew short for Union efforts to capture the great river, and officers suggested that the key to victory might be an indirect approach west of the Mississippi, working from enclaves captured the previous fall.

"'The Teche county was to the war in Louisiana what the Shenandoah Valley was to the war in Virginia.' Captain John William DeForest of the 12th Connecticut Infantry noted. 'It was sort of a back alley, parallel to the main street wherein the heavy fighting must go on.' In the spring of 1863, the opening act of the final scene of the Mississippi Valley campaign played out in southwestern Louisiana among the bayous and swamps of the massive Atchafalaya Basin."

Donald S. Frazier is the author, co-author or editor of several other historical works.

The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory by James N. Leiker and Ramon Powers, Oklahoma UP '11, $34.95, 272 pages, ASIN #0806142219. Index, bibliography, notes, b&w images sprinkled throughout text.

In the saga of the American West, one story told and retold over the generations, write the authors, is the exodus of Northern Cheyennes in 1878 and 1879, "an attempt to flee from Indian Territory to their Montana homeland." However, they say, its many depictions in novelists, films or accounts by historians vary widely. In this attempt to set the story straight, they draw on recollections of Indians and settlers and their descendants, and consider local history, mass-media treatments and literature to draw what will surely be controversial conclusions. One stereotype they call into question is the image of the "noble savage." In fact, they argue, "the Cheyennes' flight had left white and Indian bones alike scattered along its route from Oklahoma to Montana." James N. Leiker teaches history at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS. Ramon Powers was formerly executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society.

Pete Seeger Serenades Wall Street Protestors

The Los Angeles Times:

 

"Folk music legend Pete Seeger led Occupy Wall Street protesters in song late Friday in Manhattan.

"Seeger, 92, had joined marchers on the Upper West Side earlier in the evening. When they reached Columbus Circle, he led them in a rendition of 'This Little Light of Mine.' He was accompanied by his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, along with fellow artists Arlo Guthrie, Tom Chapin and David Amram.

"The musicians had all performed Friday night at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side and then fell in line with a crowd of about 1,000 demonstrators who marched down Broadway, according to the Associated Press."

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Back to Chevy's Future

The New York Times:

Paul Stenquist for The New York Times

WAYBACK MACHINE The styling of the '55 Chevy may be timeless, but driving the car now a half century old inevitably reveals its outmoded engineering. More Photos »

 

“'ALL new.'

"That familiar phrase has been a mantra of American automotive marketing since Detroit automakers began their ritual of annual model changes in the 1930s.

"But all too often, the words have been applied to cars whose changes were no more than skin deep, sometimes just a new grille, restyled taillights, a bit of updated trim. Credibility has worn thin.

"Flash back to Oct. 24, 1954: as the wraps come off the latest models in Chevrolet showrooms, it’s clear that this time 'all new' is no exaggeration."

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FOCUS: American History -- Siblings / The Quotable Edison / The Rockets' Red Glare

Siblings -- Brothers & Sisters in American History by C. Dallett Hemphill, Oxford UP '11, $34.95, 328 pages, ASIN #0199754055.  Index, bibliography, notes, appendix, three groupings of b&w images.

 

"In colonial America, sibling relations were an egalitarian affair to offer respite from a harsh patriarchal society." writes historian C. Dallett Hemphill. "After the American Revolution, sibling relations morphed to offer more order and structure in a fledgling democracy. To this day, brothers and sisters are the shock-absorbers that help us deal with a chaotic world, the kin we rely on most in a country that is always changing." That siblings represent a shelter from the storm may come as a surprise to folks who aren't on speaking terms with their brother or sister, but undeniably, the author's comforting thesis is reassuring to readers -- except for only children perhaps. C. Dallett Hemphill is a professor of history at Ursinus College and is author of another book on manners in America.

The Quotable Edison, Edited by Michele Wehrwein Albion, UPress of Florida, $24.95, 345 pages, ASIN #0813035597. Index, bibliography, notes, b&w images sprinkled through text.

 

From grade school, we've learned that Thomas Alva Edison invented the electric light as well as having hundreds of patents. But Tom Edison the philosopher? Tom Edison the humorist? However, our teachers did tell us one Edison quote to spur us on: "Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration."  In this entertaining volume, the former curator of the Edison winter estate in Florida has gathered hundreds of quotations, grouped by subject -- e.g. "On Politics and Government," "On Gender, Humanity, and Youth" and so on. A sample: "Satan is the scarecrow of the religious cornfield." "The English are not an inventive people; they don't eat enough pie." "I've been working two shifts most of my life. Lots of other men work two shifts too, but (they) devote the other one to poker)." New Hampshireite Michele Wehrwein Albion is also the author of The Florida Life of Thomas Edison.

 The Rockets' Red Glare -- An Illustrated History of the War of 1812 by Donald R. Hickey and Connie D. Clark, Johns Hopkins UPress '11 in oversized format, $39.95, 264 pages, ASIN #142140155X. Index, suggestions for further reading, notes, chronology, b&w images sprinkled liberally through text.

  

From the epilogue:

"Although the War of 1812 was dwarfed in size and significance by other wars before or since, the legacy it left was considerable. For the United States, it was never a second war of independence because American independence was never truly at risk, but the war did confirm the republic's nationhood. it promoted self-confidence and nationalism, and enhanced the reputation of the young republic in Europe. It also contributed to the robust defense spending (especially on the navy) and the bombatic patriotism and ardent expansionism that characterized the postwar years."

Author Donald R. Hickey ia a professor of history at Wayne State College and has written widely on the War of 1812. Author Connie D. Clark is a consultant with Educational Service Unit #2, where she provides guidance and assistance for federally funded Teaching American History Grants.

 

Ansel Adams: Picturing Alaska

AmericanHeritage.com:

"In the summer of 1947, Ansel Adams and his 14-year-old son, Michael, undertook a six-week journey through Alaska that would have notable consequences for the history of conservation. Adams was already close to a household name for his masterful landscape photography, particularly the powerful shots of Yosemite Valley. A 1941 visit to Glacier National Park had sparked his interest in the north country. 'Imaginatively inclined,' Adams recalled in his autobiography, 'I felt Alaska might be close to the wilderness perfection I continuously sought.' On this relatively short trip, he would take one of his most iconic photographs and do much to encourage Americans of all stripes to visit Alaska and persuade them of the value of the National Park System.

"From San Francisco he and Michael drove up U.S. Highway 101 to Seattle, where they boarded the SS Washington for Juneau by way of the Inland Passage, stuffing themselves on buffet food, just as had the pioneer preservationist John Muir decades earlier. A convulsion of thunder and bolt of lightning enthralled them, as if witnessing a divine fireworks display. 'I was deeply affected by my first glimpse of the northern coasts and mountains,' recalled Adams. 'The rain did not depress me; it was clean and invigorating, and the occasional glimpses of far-off summits gave promise of marvels to come.'

"He did not travel light. Wherever he went, he took his large 8-by-10-inch camera, lenses, filter sets, Graflex cameras, and three specially designed pods—in all, a roster of accessories that would fill a page."

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