I read this book twice; once before and again after reading the Grant Trilogy--Capt. Sam Grant, Grant Moves South, and Grant Takes Command followed by The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. The author drew liberally from primary sources, and what he writes you can believe. He writes very well. My first reading was an introduction without knowledge; the second pulled all the other readings together. I recommend them all, of course, but this seems to me a must because it so accurate, complete, and insightful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Once you realize John Adams lived for 90 years and he and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4th, of the same year, you begin to appreciate the scope of the history involved, and the focus on politics which seems "the more things change, the more they remain the same." Because of his devotion to the life of John Adams Mr. McCollough allows the reader to read between the lines and confirm his suspicions by reading other histories that tie the whole together. Because so much of the material is primary source (mostly letters) our perception of the people involved is broadened to the point where we really get to know them. Adam's son, John Quincy, was the sixth president of the US, but did you know that Jefferson was the third and Madison and Monroe the 4th and 5th, and that John Quincy was followed by Jackson? Things begin to fall into place as one reads this book, and suspicions are aroused by what is learned. It is not the sort of book you read and forget, but the sort that leads you on toward a better understanding of why, for example, Burr killed Hamilton at the "INTERVIEW AT WEEHAWKEN." JOHN ADAMS is not a book with all the answers, but it surely points readers in the direction of them, by other authors. It is a book about a decent man married to a wonderful woman, Abagail, during difficult times. I would not hesistate to recommend it to all.

I agree with the other reviews about this book, but what I think is missing is emphasis on the more recent usages of maps. At first maps were created to fill in the gaps of undiscovered areas of the world. This is enough to excite the imagination and enthusiasm of anyone with a bent toward histroy. But, maps are now becoming devices for use by agencies and persons more interested in distribution of ideas, beliefs, and the like. Mapmakers have turned their efforts inward as well as outward, as in the case of the maping of Mars and the Moon, to meet the demands of Social Scientists in what we can only hope will be for the benefit of mankind as before. There will be hardly a book, be it historical, about art, or science that can be read after reading this one but that relevence will shine through for the benefit of one discipline or another. Rather than get too involved, however, I recemmend the book be read for the enjoyment of learning. It is well written and most informative.

AS IN ANY 101 INTRODUCTORY COURSE, HIGHLY RELEVENT OTHER INFORMATION IS MISSING. YET, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ONE-VOLUME BOOK ABOUT LINCOLN. OTHER BOOKS THAT WOULD FLESH IT OUT DEAL WITH STEPHEN A DOUGLAS, CAPTAIN SAM GRANT (THE FIRST IN A TRILOGY, ALL OF WHICH ARE RELEVENT), (2)GRANT MOVES SOUTH, AND (3)GRANT TAKES COMMAND. IN ADDITION READ OTHER WORKS ABOUT LINCLON WRITTEN BY LUDWIG AND SANDBURG, ALSO THE LINCOLN READER, AND LETTERS AND SPEECHES BY LINCLON, AND THE READER WILL HAVE JUST BEGUN TO APPRECIATE THE GREATNESS OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO BECAME LINCOLN THE MAN, AND A GREAT PRESIDENT. MY 5-STAR RATING IS BASED ON THE 101 HYPOTHESIS IN THE HOPE IT WILL LEAD READERS TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER THE LIFE OF THIS NATION'S SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT THE BETTER TO APPRECIATE WHY LINCOLN IS SO RESPECTED AND HONORED, AS INDEED HE SHOULD BE.

I knew of Shackleton's exploits before we cruised Cape Horn in December, 2001, but found this book in the ship's library that speaks of his 1914 expedition so near to where we were. South Georgia Island is in the same latitue nearly as the Falkland Islands. The ENDURANCE left South Georgia December 4th, and ran into ice in the same latitude as Cape Horn on the 7th, just 87 years before we rounded the Horn. We saw no ice, and the sea was calm. What a difference 87 years makes. Yet simply being there helped me to imagine more vividly the grandeur of Shackleton's achievements as a man and a leader. For nearly two years ENDURANCE'S crew were trapped in the ice, the ship was lost, as shown by Hurley's spectacular images, that put the men and dogs on the flows on which they drifted, with essentials saved from the ship, until months later they landed on Elephant Island. This is where the real adventure begins, the one that turned failure into incredible success for which the expedition and Shackleton will forever be known. The rescue required the sailing of a 22' ship's boat across the Southern Seas to South Georgia Island, and the scaling of a mountain range to reach the whaling station on the other side. Shackleton was at his best, but those who greeted him and his men cried to see him as he was. His incredible feat, as well as his frustrations, will capture your emotions as few books will. In the end all were saved; no lives were lost. Still, Shackleton was doomed to die on South Georgia Island while in his mid forties. He is buried there, appropriately, it seems, a man whose dream was not to be realized, but who instead will live forever because of the success he had in saving all who shared his experience. I cannot recommend the book enough to any who have a yen for adventure of the very highest order.

I read this book without realizing it was the first in a trilogy. That would explain the odd ending. As an historian of Spanish/American History, and one who operated a horse ranch in CA for more than a decade, I confess it is authentically written. Readers without knowing at least a modicum of spanish will find it essential to have a good Spanish Dictionary handy since much of the dialog is in that language. Parts of the book are exemplarary for its understanding of the cultures involved; southern Texas and Mexican, that exprresses as beautifully as any I have read the concept of the Mexican mind as it relates to the gente de razon as well as ordinary types with whom it would be best to stay clear. The first part of the book is tedious, but I found myself emotionally spellbound by parts in the latter portion of the work. McCarthy is a very good writer, and may have touched me because he and I are so close in age, and have had similar experiences. I would recommend the book to persons with open minds and who appreciate the subtleties of Mexican philosophy as essential to their lifestyle so different from our own. I cannot say toward what the plot is leading in volumes 2 and 3 since I have not read them; nor do I have a strong inclination to do so. From what I have read, it seems to me the title is totally inappropriate since there are so few pretty horses. I can only presume that the connection will be made in the later two volumes. The plot, as far as I am able to make it out, is a comparison between two cultures. Beyond that, I cannot say what value the book offers except that it contains passages of great beauty and comprehension toward the end.

Frequently I receive comments via the Internet some of which prove to be of value. One such was the Class of 2000/2002 that points out that these graduates have very little direct knowledge of even their recent past. It only proves that if they are to be enculturated, they must first be taught. In Plato's day, the means was by oral transmission, the effect of which was to perpetuate what might not be true. "Memesis," the total act of representation, that part of of our individual consciousness to which it is designed to appeal, is the area of the non-rational, of the pathological emotions, the unbridled and fluctuating sentiments with which we feel but never think. It is the affect imagery of emotion that hits us directly in the gut before being filtered through the brain, there to be digested before accepted. When indulged in this way emotion weakens and destroys that rational faculty in which alone lies hope of personal salvation and scientific assurance. Memesis is the "active" personal identification with which the audience sympathies and is enculturated because it is taught. He who cannot justify his own conclusions cannot be considered a totally educated person. Still, there is a need for guidance if the pupil is not to get in over his head and tend to drown rather than learn to swim and particpate for the good of all.

The excerpt is a virtual duplication of the early life of this intrepid explorer. Beyond that, it is an incredible story of a man who, as did so many before and after him, explored the unknown; such as the Mountain Men of the 1700s and the Astronaughts of the 1960/70s. The realization that a man walked on the moon and returned to earth in the 1970s exemplifies the immense speed with which knowledge, once gained, can accelerate the speed with which more knowledge becomes known. Shackleton's exploit has all the spirit and confidence of the crew of the Apollo VII, but on a much more approachable scale. The rescue of his entire crew that relied upon his success in sailing a small boat across dangerous seas to a distant ilse, then crossing its mountains to get to the whaling station and help, has all the suspense of Apollo VII. It is enough to have readers shouting HURRAHS by the end. Yet, it is no more than another of so many experiences where man has taken it upon himself to open their world to others, even at the expense of their own lives. Fascinating! HIGHLY REDCOMMENDED. (Shackleton and the Antarctic, by Margery and James Fisher, THE RIVERSIDE PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, 1958 (c) 1957).

My book is the 1966 edition by Atheneum. The theme is devoted to the right of an animal to its territory, and expresses the interesting fact that the possessor is usually the victor if and when confronted with an intruder. After reading Ardrey's work, I have watched with interest my 17 pound bundle of fluff, chase a much larger dog from our property. It was no contest. Just as the one knows his rights and the bounds within which they can be excercised, so too, does the other realize that, as an intruder, he has no right to contest that right. One needs to keep in mind that man is no less an animal than those studied by Ardrey who, although his writing is good, tends to be a bit tedious until he gets to the point of his discussion; namely, that man is no less territorial than lesser beasts. Within certain social groups this truth is more revelent than in others. Immigrants to the U.S. stake out their "turf," as they say, and woe be to the trespasser, not a few of whom have been killed. Readers who take seriously what Ardrey reveals should be able to point to areas on earth where his thesis is in full bloom, and is the cause of considerable consternation and death. I would rate the book five-star were it not that it takes awhile for the casual reader to appreicate what is being written. It is a work which every Secretary of State should read and discuss with the President and membes of his cabinet before allowing the United States to become actively involved in national affairs, which is not to suggest that the U.S. should remain aloof from affairs that deal with decency and terrirotial righteousness.

As an historian, I have always doubted the guilt of Aaron Burr whose greatest curse seems to have been his willingness to consider both sides of an issue. As a 'middle-of-the-roader' he was not much liked by persons with stronger opinions. If we recall how nearly Burr came to winning the presidency from Jefferson, consider how his temperment at the time was viewed, and note the support he received at his trial, and from whom, the reader ought to be left with questions which, as a reviewer with a legal background concluded, creates serious doubt as to Burr's purpose and guilt. Burr's Americanism is proved by the way he accepted what he knew was political policy of the day; government condemned individuals rather than accept blame for filibustering schemes gone awry.