Nannies Maids & More: The Complete Guide for Hiring Household Help

Customer Reviews:

Not so Complete.......2002-02-19

"Nannies & More" provides basic and realistic information on establishing and maintaining relationships with household help based on the author's previous experience as owner of a domestic employment agency in Arizona. The work appears to rely solely on this experience, spending an undue amount of space on anecdotes.

Be aware, there are no references to web sites, none. The book is dated or lacking specifics in several areas, i.e. availability of background checks, IRS matters.

If you are new to the role of employer (or have had negative experience in the past) the book provides a good primer, and mirror for contemplating your expectations of possible employees and your approach to them.

Nannies, Maids & More.......1998-12-07

"Nannies, Maids & More is enjoyable and informative reading. I found the book to do what the title says, it DOES provide a complete guide to hiring household help. I appreciated the very practical approach...With the increasing need for household staff and the lack of other publications on the topic...your book will meet an important need...Nice work!

Book Description

Part one of the classic Civil War study of General Ulysses S. Grant, written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Bruce Catton, introduces General Grant as he undertakes his first Civil War command, and follows him as he leads his troops through a series of battles, including Belmont, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Chickasaw Bayou, Edwards Station, and Vicksburg.

Customer Reviews:

Grant's Rendezvous with Destiny.......2006-01-02

In "Grant Moves South" Bruce Catton picks up the story of Ulysses S. Grant as he returns to the U.S. Army at the start of the Civil War. This is the second volume of a trilogy on Grant begun by Lloyd Lewis and completed by Catton. Catton, one of the two best narrative historians of the Civil War (with Shelby Foote), is in excellent form in this extremely well-written biography of Grant's progression from Colonel of Illinois volunteers to victor at Vicksburg.

As General William Sherman acknowledged, Grant was something of a mystery to everyone, perhaps even himself. This man, a failure at virtually everything but his marriage and working as a clerk in his father's tannery in 1861, leverages his West Point education and some political connections into a commission as a regimental commander and never looks back. The Grant portrayed in these pages by Catton is like many officers at the beginning of the Civil War in that he is learning his trade as he went along. But Grant is different from most of his contemporaries, many of whom had far better reputations in the peacetime army. First, Grant had a remarkable ability to make sound common sense judgements under stress. Second, Grant married his ability to make decisions to an utter determination to see a project through. Third, Grant was a man seemingly without illusions; his ability to correctly characterize the task in front of him in order to attack it is rare among his contemporaries. These characteristics carried Grant through his apprenticeship as a regimental commander of volunteers, his successful campaign to secure middle Tennesee through victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, and finally his tenacious campaign to reduce the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg. Grant's ability to understand and lead volunteers was a key underpinning of his success throughout the war.

Catton does not sugarcoat Grant's record. Grant was not above politicking for jobs or assignments. He was badly surprised by the Confederates at Shiloh and avoided being beaten to some degree by refusing to admit defeat and retreat. His pre-war problems with alcohol pursued him into the service, including an apparently memorable bender during the Siege of Vicksburg that Catton unflinchingly documents. The Vicksburg campaign was marked by costly trial and error, as Grant tried and discarded several unsuccessful approaches to the city. Grant, to his credit, persisted, finally rolling the dice by crossing the Mississippi and boldly placing his army between two Confederate forces while temporarily cut loose from his lines of communication.

This book was first published in 1960. Details and interpretations of events have evolved, but Catton's superb prose stands the test of time as a wonderful reading experience. This book is highly recommended to the general reader with some knowledge of the Civil War and to the student of the Civil War looking for the broad sweep of history not found in highly specialized studies.

I wish I could write half as well.......2005-05-07

I have always looked upon Grant as a symbol of the real America. Heres a Man who has seen and done it all. What with going from the rock bottom of poverty to commander of the entire Yankee Army then the House House to poverty again. Who never the less maintains his dignity and sense of honor thru out. Then follows up with heroically battling cancer to finish his memoirs to provide for his family. In this 1st book Mr. Catton who writes so well covers Grants rise to the top. Or as he said a major cog just dropped into the machine that would destroy the Confederacy. If you like to read some well chosen words on the War between the States, then get this series of books.

Remarkably Good........2004-02-11

Grant Moves South is part one of a two part Civil War study of Ulysses S. Grant. It covers the period 1861-1863, the period in which Grant emerges as the key commander in the Federal western army. Grant was something of an enigma. In a period of armchair Federal generals, when ego, as opposed to performance, ran rampant in the Federal High Command, quiet Sam Grant unassumingly went about capturing not one but two Confederate armies in the field. During the entire length of the Civil War no other commander on either side captured even one.

The study of Grant in these years is really the study of Federal victory in the Western Theater of operations. Belmont, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg are all key Union victories. With the exception of Corinth, they were all battles in which Grant was in command. It was Grant who was primarily responsible for opening the Mississippi and cutting the Confederacy in two. Emerging from the Civil War as the finest general produced by either side, during this phase of the war, while not the best, he certainly is the equal of Stone wall Jackson or Robert E. Lee.

His audacious Vicksburg campaign was a signal event. Cutting free from reinforcements and resupply he moves rapidly, deep into enemy territory fighting not one but four major battles to invest Vicksburg from its land side. He then conducts siege operations while keeping Joe Johnston continually at bay. Vicksburg is generally acknowledged as one of the finest campaigns conducted by either side during the war.

Bruce Catton's book is extremely well done and like all of Catton's works, very ably written.

Classic Study of Grant the Commander.......2003-11-15

"Grant Moves South" shows why Bruce Catton is revered among Civil War readers. This book is a case study of the 1861-63 Grant, using his battles, first person accounts, records and Grant's own words to form a picture of the warrior. In this, Catton does an excellent job.

His thesis is that Grant was a different cut of General than the north possessed. One who early on grasped both the objectives of the war - to crush Southern armies and not occupy places - as well possessed of the will to learn how to win the new kind of war the country was waging.

Grant's own iron-cored (Catton's description) sense of himself, as well as his willingness to both learn and take good risks set him apart from almost every other warrior in the North. He was a fierce warrior who from his first encounter with the Confederates understood that the battle had to be taken to the enemy - and that delay for planning, training and logistics benefited the enemy as much as his forces. This appreciation Grant brought with him to the conflict. It is evident from his earliest forays at Fts. Henry and Donelson as well as the inconclusive field of Belmont. Other facets of this warrior had to be learned. In this Grant displayed an openness to the revelations of his own short comings and a willingness to show the world that he was prepared to be a student of warfare. Thus, even difficulties like Shiloh taught Grant that southern demoralization was not a constant factor and that defense in the face of the enemy were necessary and did not sap the fighting spirit of his troops. His early failed approaches to Vicksburg led him to throw away military maxims about supply lines, the necessity of holding fixed points and both the opportunity and advantages of an army living off the land.

Grant was a learner, an opportunist and a serious warrior who understood what the main thing was. In an era when political infighting and external political considerations mattered more than they seemed to in 20th Century American warfare, Grant let his actions advance his career (with some timely and great help from Congressman Washburn - his first political patron).

Catton gives the reader the whole story. This is a study of the man and his development as a warrior. Civil War readers who have feasted on the likes of Sears and others who write so well of battles and campaigns at the regimental level may be somewhat surprised that Catton's study relies much less on military detail and more on campaign strategy and command function. In this, Catton's work is more of an epic and serves to give the reader a picture of why things happened rather than an exhaustive account of what happened.

An oldie but a goodie - Catton should be required reading for every Civil War enthusiast and his Grant military biographies are wonderful examples of a master at his craft.

The Making of a General.......2003-07-07

Although Bruce Catton was an accomplished historian in his own right, one cannot help but notice the influence of the great Sherman biographer Lloyd Lewis. Anyone who has read Lewis' _Sherman: Fighting Profit_ will recognize similarities; the heavy reliance on primary sources and the uncanny ability to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions without explicitly stating the writer's intentions. Catton imitates Lewis' sinuous narrative style that captivates and draws the reader deeper into the manuscript. Unfortunately, however, Lewis only lived to publish the first of a multi-volume biography Ulysses S. Grant titled Captain Sam Grant . Lewis' widow commissioned Catton to finish the project utilizing much of the notes Lewis had gathered in the course of his research. The results are the two subsequent biographies authored by Catton: Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command Catton begins his duel biography in June 1861 when Grant, appointed Colonel, takes command of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Catton portrays Grant as a man of few words, yet possessing an ability to quickly earn the respect of his men. Grant stresses discipline and training particularly of his company grade officers. About half of the book is devoted to Grants participation at the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and the near disaster at Shiloh. The remainder of the text focuses on the Vicksburg Campaign. Catton prefers a loosely structured chronological approach and provides his readers with a commanding view from headquarters. Catton relies upon letters, cables, and other communiques between officers, which tends to keep the focus on Grant and other high level players. Besides handwritten orders and other official documentation, Catton allows Grant to speak for himself through the only vestige we have: his memoirs. In contrast, Catton listens to what other observers have to say about Grant in their memoirs, particularly William T. Sherman and the unpublished memoir of Grant's wife, Julia Dent Grant. Juxtaposing this top-down approach is Catton's ability to portray the human frailties of Grant's personality. Grant's drinking is a recurring theme in which Catton bestows an admirable defense. Catton devotes considerable space to the Grant's uneasy relationship with General Henry Wager Halleck. To Halleck's charge that Grant disobeyed orders and failed to communicate his intentions at Fort Donelson, Catton counters by stating the Union communication system, as a whole was substandard. He suggests Confederate sympathizers manned telegraph offices squelching vital communiques. Catton credits Halleck for saving Grant's command during the controversial political maneuvering of General John A. McClernand. Overall, Catton concludes that Grant certainly had his hands full during his early campaigns. On the one hand, Grant had the Vicksburg Campaign to plan and orchestrate; On the other hand, Grant was the target of dubious machinations from jealous staff officers and politicians in Washington bent of relinquishing his command. What is more, Grant was faced with economic issues and the problem of what to do with displaced contraband slaves that were pouring into his army camps on a daily basis. Referring to the former slaves as "Darkeys." Grant immediately put the Negro refugees to work maintaining roads, bridges and other military necessities that required manual labor.Catton again comes to the defense of Grant in his handling of these sensitive civil-military relations. In a controversial order, Grant categorized northern businessmen attempting to exploit profits from the sale of cotton as "Jews." Though these complex themes surrounding Ulysses S. Grant, are significant, they tend to diminish the genius for war Grant displayed during the Vicksburg Campaign. Taking into account that this is a biography of Grant and not a comprehensive treatment of the campaign that sealed his place in history, Catton could have evened out the balance rather than treating the campaign as a mere backdrop. Catton's eloquent literary style and his excellent syntheses of primary sources, make this a must have for any Grant afficionado.

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Grant's Rendezvous with Destiny
One Man's Opinion
Still the Standard on Grant's Western Campaigns
Superb study of Grant's early campaigns
To be enjoyed like an old wine

Grant Moves South, 1861-1863
Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0316132071

Book Description

From The Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award - Part One of the classic Civil War study of Ulysses S. Grant that continues with GRANT TAKES COMMAND

Among the many generals created by the North in the early summer of 1861 was one named Ulysses S. Grant. Some of the other generals were more dashing, some were more learned, but none was a better fighter. It was Grant who in the next two years would move slowly, relentlessly down the Mississippi River, the very lifeline of the South, and would not stop until he had severed its entire length from the domain of his enemy. In GRANT MOVES SOUTH, Bruce Catton renders a dramatic and kaleidoscopic account of these years, during which Grant moved not only against Confederate armies but against obstacles and frustrations imposed by his own superiors.

Mr. Catton begins with Grant's first real Civil War assignment (he head left the army in disgrace seven years before), the command of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. He shows how Grant's simple, forceful manner made an orderly regiment out of a group of recalcitrant farmboys. During the subsequent move - to Cairo, to Belmont, Missouri and finally to the first major engagements at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Kentucky - this West Point officer grew ever more adept at training and leading his increasing forces of Volunteers, until they became "one of the great armies of America's history - the informal, individualistic, occasionally unmanageable, but finally victorious Army of the Tennessee."

Mr. Catton recounts such exciting, blow-by-blow accounts of the great battles at Belmont, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Chickasaw Bayou, Edward's Station and finally Vicksburg, that the reader feels he is participating, now as a member of the staff conferring with the General, now as a soldier on the front lines. And during the lulls between the battles the author describes Grant's often irritating relationships with men like Halleck and McClernand; his solution of the thorny problem posed by Blacks who kept pouring into his camps asking for protection; and his difficulties with Jesse Grant, who often tried to take commercial advantage of his son's power.

GRANT MOVES SOUTH is not only the chronological account of a series of battles which freed the Mississippi for the Union; it is also the story of a man's personal development. It describes Grant's progress from a reluctant but dedicated soldier to a forceful general, conscious of his own worth and confident of his future.

Customer Reviews:

Grant's Rendezvous with Destiny.......2006-09-17

In "Grant Moves South" Bruce Catton picks up the story of Ulysses S. Grant as he returns to the U.S. Army at the start of the Civil War. This is the second volume of a trilogy on Grant begun by Lloyd Lewis and completed by Catton, but the volume can be enjoyed on its own. Catton, with Shelby Foote a superb narrative historian of the Civil War, is in excellent form in this extremely well-written biography of Grant's progression from Colonel of Illinois volunteers to victor at Vicksburg.

As General William Sherman acknowledged, Grant was something of a mystery to everyone, perhaps even himself. This man, a failure at everything except his marriage and working as a clerk in his father's tannery in 1861, leverages his West Point education and some political connections into a commission as a regimental commander and never looks back.

The Grant portrayed by Catton is like many officers at the beginning of the Civil War in that he was learning his trade as he went along. But Grant is different from most of his contemporaries, many of whom had far better reputations in the peacetime army. First, Grant has a remarkable ability to make sound commom sense judgements under stress. Second, Grant married his decision-making ability to an utter determination to see a project through. Third, Grant was a man seemingly without illusions; his ability to correct characterize the task in front of him in order to attack it is rare among his contemporaries. These characteristics carried Grant through his apprenticeship as a regimental commander of volunteers, his successful campaign to secure middle Tennessee through victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, and finally his tenacious campaign to reduce the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg. Grant's ability to understand and lead volunteers was a key underpinning of his success throughout the war.

Catton does not sugarcoat Grant's record. Grant was not above politicking for jobs or assignments. He was badly surprised by the Confederates at Shiloh and avoided being beaten by to some degree refusing to admit defeat and retreat. His pre-war problems with alcohol pursued him into the service, including an apparently memorable bender during the Siege of Vicksburg that Catton unflinchingly documents. The Vicksburg campaign was marked by costly trial and error. Grant, to his credit, persisted, finally rolling the dice by crossing the Mississippi and boldly placing his army between two Confederate forces while temporarily cutting loose from his own lines of communication.

This book was first published in 1960. Details and interpretations of events have evolved, but Catton's superb prose stands the test of time as a wonderful reading experience. This book is highly recommended to the general reader with some knowledge of the Civil War and to the student of the Civil War looking for the broad sweep of history not found in highly specialized studies.

One Man's Opinion.......2005-09-30

Was Ulysses S. Grant a drunk? Did he win the Civil War simply by burying Robert E. Lee under a wave of superior manpower and resources? Bruce Catton addresses these questions, and many others, in GRANT MOVES SOUTH and its companion volume, GRANT TAKES COMMAND. Taken together, the two books chronicle Grant's Civil War experience.

I've read a lot of history, but I confess to being relatively ignorant about the American Civil War except in a very general sense. I've always been interested, I just never got very far into it. These two books are my first real foray into the subject. Both are very well researched and documented, while at the same time being very readable. Catton demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the facts as well as a genuine insight into Grant's character. The result, for me, was an experience that was at once informative and enjoyable.

What does Catton have to say about Grant's alleged drunkeness? Clearly, Catton is an admirer of Grant, but it's an admiration born of respect for the man as revealed in his personal records and actions, as well as in the record left by people who knew him. To get his take on this and other criticisms of Grant, read these books.

Conventional wisdom has it that GRANT MOVES SOUTH and GRANT TAKES COMMAND are definitive works on the subject of U. S. Grant's Civil War career. I certainly won't argue with that perception. If you have a deep interest in Grant or in the Civil War in general, they are "must haves". Beyond that, though, if you have just a casual interest, this is still great reading material. I highly recommend it.

Still the Standard on Grant's Western Campaigns.......2004-11-24

Bruce Catton's eloquent and enjoyable book summarizes Ulysses S. Grant early on: "[H]is deepest instinct as a soldier was to keep a beaten foe off balance. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only Union officer . . . who possessed that instinct." Sherman and Sheridan notwithstanding, justly said.

The volume of Civil War books these days is staggering. They range from reconsiderations of great battles to studies of events once thought inconsequential. Contemporary historians have done a great service for all in picking apart and analyzing those four crucial years in America's history.

Given the bumper crop of Civil War titles, what place does Bruce Catton occupy? The answer: at a prominent place on your bookshelf. Catton's literary skill, balanced judgment, and appreciation of the anecdote have not diminished over the 45 years since "Grant Moves South" was first published. This book remains the classic account of Grant's life starting from his re-entry into the U.S. Army at the outbreak of war in 1861, through his first campaigns, and ending with Lincoln's congratulatory letter after the victory at Vicksburg.

Catton places Grant in the all-important context of his army of volunteer soldiers. This cannot be emphasized enough. Grant, like Lincoln, had a cooly disinterested understanding of how the North must win the war. But Grant had also mustered in his men as raw recruits; he knew what they were capable of, and what they wouldn't do. And so, like the expert horseman he was, Grant spurred on, reigned in, and allowed rest time in the corral -- all the while keeping the goal of a reunified United States fixed resolutely in his mind.

Catton has a magical ability to make the reader feel as if he standing alongside Grant as events unfold. Thus, the reader is a witness to Grant's struggles with bureaucracy, encounters with colorful characters of both the Union and Confederate variety, and considerations of tactics and strategy.

In this reader's opinion, Catton understood Grant better than anyone before or since, with the exception of Julia Dent Grant and John Rawlins. Josiah Bunting, in his excellent one-volume biography just published by Times Books, is a close second. At any rate, perhaps it is a shared Midwestern heritage that makes Catton the first-rate biographer of the Union's greatest commander.

Superb study of Grant's early campaigns.......2004-02-18

Bruce Catton's books are always part of the mandatory reading material for anyone who wish to understand anything about the Civil War. Grant Moves South is a classical textbook example on how Civil War history books should be written for the masses. Easy to read, well researched and above all, easy to understand. Details military information was not Catton's style. He writes in broad strokes and in a matter where its easy to consumed the informtion and understand the situations. I first read this book in Middle School and still reread it to this date. The book remains just as strong back then as it does today. No one can go wrong reading this book.

To be enjoyed like an old wine.......2003-12-28

It is often difficult to find good reference books on topics that are greatly controversial. This one is a classic among classics: a deeply researched book, based on excellent factual sources, that is written with talent and reads like excellent fiction.

Catton's writing is based on impeccable research. In many ways he takes advantage of living at the right time, when many of the sources he draws on are now available after having been either difficult to access or simply unknown. He definitely makes the best of it, and combines a tight and interesting writing style with a density of information that simply was not available to those that came before him. The result is an indispensable book, a reference that must be read by those interested in General Grant and in the Civil War.

Grant has been the source of much discussion, during his life and afterwards: his resignation, the painful years in Galena, the war, the two presidencies, his last years and death in poverty. Catton depicts him in his entirety, warts and all. He makes him greatly sympathetic, yet clearly discusses his weaknesses. He succeeds in doing so largely indirectly, as a character of the book rather than its study. As a result, the impressions he conveys are much more impressive, since they are largely derived by the reader from the facts exposed rather than being delivered as opinions by the author. His style is largely narrative, and one ends up reading this book as a fascinating adventure story, whose plot is progressively revealed, yet keeps surprises till the conclusion - however well we know what comes.

This book is a jewel: authentic, well researched, full of facts, yet revealing of a deep humanity and of frailties in the man it follows. It is not often that we can at the same time enjoy the writer, admire the historian, and be fascinated by the topic. If you want to read only one book on Grant (I should say two, because the previous volume, "Grant Takes Command", is equally necessary), let it be this one. If you want to read many, make this one the first.

Average customer rating:
Grant Moves South 1861-1863
Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7ED4E

Average customer rating:
Grant Moves South: 1861 - 1863
Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTUM4G

Book Description

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were increasingly drawn together by an imperial press system. This is the first scholarly study of the development of that system. Revealed to contemporaries by the South African War, the basis on which the system would develop soon became the focus for debate. Commercial organizations, including newspaper combinations and news agencies such as Reuters, fought to protect their interests, while 'ccnstructive imperialists' attempted to enlist the power of the state to strrengthen the system. Debate culminated in fierce controversies over state censorship and propaganda during and after the First World War. Based on extensive archival research, this study addresses crucial themes, including the impact of empire on the press, Britain's imperial experience, and the idea of a 'British world.' Challenging earlier nationalist accounts, Dr Potter draws out the ambiguous impact of the imperial press system on local, national, and imperial identities.

News and the British World : The Emergence of an Imperial Press System 1876-1922 (Oxford Historical Monographs)

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News and the British World : The Emergence of an Imperial Press System 1876-1922 (Oxford Historical Monographs)
Simon J. Potter
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUEDL0

Book Description

High Temperature Mechanical Behavior of Ceramic Composites provides an up-to-date comprehensive coverage of the mechanical behavior of ceramic matrix composites at elevated temperatures. Topics include both short-term behavior (strength, fracture toughness and R-curve behavior) and long-term behavior (creep, creep-fatigue, delayed failure and lifetime). Emphasis is on a review of fundamentals and on the mechanics and mechanisms underlying properties.

This is the first time that complete information of elevated temperature behavior of ceramic composites has ever been compacted together in a single volume. Of particular importance is that each chapter, written by internationally recognized experts, includes a substantial review component enabling the new material to be put in proper perspective.
Shanti Nair is Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Karl Jakus is Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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