Book Description
Mornings on Horseback is the brilliant biography of the young Theodore Roosevelt. Hailed as "a masterpiece" (John A. Gable, Newsday), it is the winner of the Los Angeles Times 1981 Book Prize for Biography and the National Book Award for Biography. Written by David McCullough, the author of Truman, this is the story of a remarkable little boy, seriously handicapped by recurrent and almost fatal asthma attacks, and his struggle to manhood: an amazing metamorphosis seen in the context of the very uncommon household in which he was raised.
The father is the first Theodore Roosevelt, a figure of unbounded energy, enormously attractive and selfless, a god in the eyes of his small, frail namesake. The mother, Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, is a Southerner and a celebrated beauty, but also considerably more, which the book makes clear as never before. There are sisters Anna and Corinne, brother Elliott (who becomes the father of Eleanor Roosevelt), and the lovely, tragic Alice Lee, TR's first love. All are brought to life to make "a beautifully told story, filled with fresh detail", wrote The New York Times Book Review.
A book to be read on many levels, it is at once an enthralling story, a brilliant social history and a work of important scholarship which does away with several old myths and breaks entirely new ground. It is a book about life intensely lived, about family love and loyalty, about grief and courage, about "blessed" mornings on horseback beneath the wide blue skies of the Badlands.
Customer Reviews:
American Aristocrat.......2007-09-11
I commend the author for forging a career as a non-academic historian. Few of our tenured scholars write this well, few could get tenure in this day and age expressing affection and admiration for this great republican President and his family of Dutch aristocrats. McCullough is thorough and critical, but never hesitates to show his warm-hearted respect for this extraordinary man who devoted his life to conservation and social advocacy, two fields of life-endeavor totally abandoned by the modern Republicans. Founder of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum, TD was the product of that strange era in American life when the rich identified with America but were not duped into celebrating mediocrity and such popular institutions as the public schools. TD was tutored at home and kept away from the "coarsening" influences of the general public. He then set about to enrich the masses by supporting great institutions. Interesting, TD's arch-rival, John D. Rockefeller, dedicated his life to the same goals. In the 19th century, the rich held the public in contempt for their "commonness" but also felt obliged to "give." This is a charming study of this most charmed family.
TR Fan.......2007-09-06
Excellent, well written book! One of the better biography's of the late, great TR. A must read for all TR fan's.
Bully for This Book!.......2007-09-01
This has to be one of the best biographies I have ever read. David Mccullough's storytelling draws you in, and gives you an intimate look at Teddy's pre-presidential days. The only negative is that it isn't long enough!
How the last "renaissance man" president was created.......2007-07-15
I'll admit up front that I believe Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite president and certainly one of our greatest. He was probably one of the last "renaissance men" of our time; a successful politician, reformer, war hero, historian, naturalist, and rancher (ok, not too successful as a rancher).
But the beauty of Mornings On Horseback is that it adds another dimension to Roosevelt. Unlike many other books on the man, which focus on his accomplishments as a politician and leader, McCullough has used diaries and letters to paint a picture of the family side of TR. Not just a more developed picture of TR himself, but also of his family and the impact of their relationships on each other and on the future president himself.
If you're looking for a book about TR's accomplishments, this is not the book. However, if you're looking for a book that provides insights into how the great man was created Mornings on Horseback fills that need. McCullough notes that he ended his story after TR came back from the "badlands" and ran for mayor of New York. Although the TR story goes beyond that time, the author feels that the essential TR had been created by then, and McCullough's focus is on that story.
Typical McCollough Masterpiece.......2007-06-15
With completion of this biography, I've read all of McCollough's works and am somewhat saddened that there are no more to enjoy. He is quite simply the greatest biographer I've ever read.
In this work, McCollough explores the formative years of Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps the most American U.S. President in our nation's history. In doing so, he tries to identify the upbringing and experiences that resulted in this fascinating individual. As always, McCollough's writing is riveting, his research is rigorous and his analysis is flawless. Typical McCollough. Enjoy.
Book Description
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF JOHN ADAMS
Winner of the 1982 National Book Award for Biography, Mornings on Horseback is the brilliant biography of the young Theodore Roosevelt. Hailed as a masterpiece by Newsday, it is the story of a remarkable little boy -- seriously handicapped by recurrent and nearly fatal attacks of asthma -- and his struggle to manhood.
His father -- the first Theodore Roosevelt, "Greatheart," -- is a figure of unbounded energy, enormously attractive and selfless, a god in the eyes of his small, frail namesake. His mother -- Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt -- is a Southerner and celebrated beauty.
Mornings on Horseback spans seventeen years -- from 1869 when little "Teedie" is ten, to 1886 when he returns from the West a "real life cowboy" to pick up the pieces of a shattered life and begin anew, a grown man, whole in body and spirit.
This is a tale about family love and family loyalty...about courtship, childbirth and death, fathers and sons...about gutter politics and the tumultuous Republican Convention of 1884...about grizzly bears, grief and courage, and "blessed" mornings on horseback at Oyster Bay or beneath the limitless skies of the Badlands.
Customer Reviews:
Expecting more..........2007-05-14
I was really expecting more TR info in this book... a little more than I needed to know about his family and acquaintances and not enough about the man himself.
Excellent writing about Theodore R. and his family.......2007-04-03
David McCullough's writing is superb. I have to admit I liked Thedore Roosevelt better as a person in Theodore Rex. His personal correspondence in this book reveals too much about his apparent enjoyment in killing animals for my taste. IMO his image as a conservationist is tarnished by the joy he took in killing. I was especially offended by his shooting the neighbor's dog when riding his horse. If I had lived back then and he shot my dog, I can safely say it would have been the last dog he ever shot and his departure from life would have been made slow and painful...
But that dislike of his joy of killing aside, he and his family were extraordinary. One cannot change history, so I go with the flow to learn more about it and the people in it...
Review on Mornings on Horseback.......2007-03-25
This book is an excellent history material. For those who are studying or are just interested in American history, this a great secondary source that brings Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. to life. The style Mr. David McCullough uses is very easy to understand, and it is also very descriptive in nature which makes readers feel they were present at the scene. The only weakness is that the book limits T.R.'s life to a 19 year period, which happens before his greatest achievements. Basically, the author leaves you wanting more...
Great choice of biography, great author, and accessable price!
F.C, GA
Excellent Audio Version.......2007-01-08
The two readers for this meticulously researched biography of Theodore Roosevelt add appeal, especially when reading the parts with the southern lady or Irish accents. Well done!
Book Description
The fall of Singapore on February 15, 1942 was a military disaster of enduring fascination and seemingly unshakable myth. This is the dramatic story of 'the greatest defeat and largest capitulation' in World War II military history.
Customer Reviews:
Defenses Are Bad For Morale.......2007-10-07
The Japanese have landed in Malaya and have started their 400 mile trek south to Singapore. When various officers suggested building defense works on the north side of Singapore Island General Percival vetoed the idea saying that defense works would be bad for morale. Later when the Japanese army initiated its crossing of the narrow straits separating Singapore Island for the Malayan peninsula it was determined that General Yamashita was coordinating the attack from the top of a five story tower attached to the Palace of the Maharajah of Johore. When asked permission to fire on the tower in order to destroy this unique observation post permission was denied. The reason? If the Maharajah's palace was damaged the British government would have to reimburse the Maharajah for the damage after the war.
This book provides a detailed account of that desperate attempt to keep the Japanese from reaching Singapore. Lacking air and naval cover, and led by general officers of questionable ability the British, Indian, and Australian troops fought valiantly, but ultimately lost. It is interesting that Churchill insisted that the army fight to the last man. That directive resulted in about 10,000 casualties for the Allied Forces.
Then follows the account of the brutal occupation of Singapore. Another interesting point is that Korean soldiers in the Japanese army were even more brutal than the Japanese soldiers. While it is inspiring to read of the many heroes who fought hard and endured deprivation and torture at the hand of their conqueror, it is also sad that these men were so poorly led by their generals.
The author has written this historical drama in a fine narrative style. My interest in books like these may differ from the interests of others. I am interested in the psychological and social impact of war, how soldiers and civilians cope with the stresses of war. Why do people make the decisions that they do, and why are some people heroic while others lose their humanity. This book provides this sort of information in some detail. At times I became a bit weary of the detailed account of each battle and skirmish, but then again that is what some readers are looking for. All in all a well rounded account of a great disaster of World War II.
Disaster Daily.............2007-03-02
To truly understand a nation you need to understand how it reacts in defeat as well as victory. This is an excellent study of the former by Peter Thomson. Details of the adversaries on all sides of the conflict help to crystalise the thoughts and pervading attitude and atmosphere that both led to and propagated the greatest catastrophe and capitulation in British military history. The author's description of events, of the fighting retreat, tactics (especially of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Australian regiments and the Anti-tank and Artillery regiments) ,of the mistakes , mis-handling, bungling and lack of foresight, as well as some of the all too short successes is exilarating reading. The many atrocities covered make the ordinary mortal question the inhumanity of the Japanese Army. More balance might have been achieved by expressing more of the enemy military strategy and better maps would have help in the understanding, but this is nevertheless an outstanding historical read. I chose to read the book in parallel with Colin Smiths book Singapore Burning which developed my understanding . The culpability for the debacle was easily discernible through the narrative and politicians in Britain, Australia and Singapore play their part in this. The desertion, at the end , by the Australian commander General Bennett, all bull and bluster, was only counterbalanced by the extreme bravery of Australian and many other nationalities. It's also fair to say that others deserted Singapore by dereliction and were not brought to book. I strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in WW2 history and the fall of an Empire.
Amazon.com
Most Americans would agree that they are duty bound as beneficiaries of our democracy to pay taxes, and the majority of us do pay—-exorbitantly. But what about those who do not pay their fair share? David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, here reveals how fairness and equity have eroded from the American tax system. Johnston describes in shocking detail the loopholes our government provides the "super rich"--from private individuals to profitable corporations—-to hide their wealth, to defer or evade tax payments, and to pass the bill to law-abiding middle-class Americans. The loss in revenue "imposes a severe cost on honest taxpayers" through reduced services, increased federal debt, and a weight on the middle class that threatens to impede its ability to achieve upward social mobility. Admitting the extreme complexity of our economy and by extension our tax code, Johnston points out that the very wealthy do, of course, pay taxes. However, because of shelters that allow them to understate most of their income, they pay little more on average than most Americans on the dollar. This is regressive, and unquestionably favors the superrich. Johnston includes examples of outrageous corporate malfeasance (such as companies that establish off-shore tax addresses) and exposes the tax benefits of the particularly loathsome practice made famous by Jack Welch, in which thousands of wage earners are laid off while a handful of executives are granted hundreds of millions of dollars through deferred compensation, company stock options, and lucrative retirement packages, all at stock holders' xpense. In addition to these offenses, he describes the tax evasion methods of those who simply defy the law and are emboldened by a beleaguered IRS that is too underfunded to serve as an effective deterrent to tax cheats. Johnston calls for a complete overhaul of the system. But because those who most benefit from these laws comprise the "donor class" that supports the government power structure, our prospects for reform remain very bleak. --Silvana Tropea
Book Description
One of the country's top investigative reporters reveals how the richest 1 percent of the country has rigged the tax code and other laws in its favor.
Since the mid-1970s, there has been a dramatic shift in America's socioeconomic system, one that has gone virtually unnoticed by the general public. Tax policies and their enforcement have become a disaster, and thanks to discreet lobbying by a segment of the top 1 percent, Washington is reluctant or unable to fix them. The corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the gift tax have been largely ignored by the media. But the cumulative results are remarkable: today someone who earns a yearly salary of $60,000 pays a larger percentage of his income in taxes than the four hundred richest Americans.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston exposes exactly how the middle class is being squeezed to create a widening wealth gap that threatens the stability of the country. By relating the compelling tales of real people across all areas of society, he reveals the truth behind:
* "middle class" tax cuts and exactly whom they benefit
* how workers are being cheated out of their retirement plans while disgraced CEOs walk away with millions
* how some corporations avoid paying any federal income tax
* how a law meant to prevent cheating by the top 2 percent of Americans no longer affects most of them, but has morphed into a stealth tax on single mothers making just $28,000
* why the working poor are seven times more likely to be audited by the IRS than everyone else
* how the IRS became so weak that even when it was handed complete banking records detailing massive cheating by 1,600 people, it prosecuted only 4 percent of them
Johnston has been breaking pieces of this story on the front page of The New York Times for seven years. With Perfectly Legal, he puts the whole shocking narrative together in a way that will stir up media attention and make readers angry about the state of our country.
Download Description
"One of the country's top investigative reporters reveals how the richest 1 percent of the country has rigged the tax code and other laws in its favor Since the mid-1970s, there has been a dramatic shift in America's socioeconomic system, one that has gone virtually unnoticed by the general public. Tax policies and their enforcement have become a disaster, and thanks to discreet lobbying by a segment of the top 1 percent, Washington is reluctant or unable to fix them. The corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the gift tax have been largely ignored by the media. But the cumulative results are remarkable: today someone who earns a yearly salary of $60,000 pays a larger percentage of his income in taxes than the four hundred richest Americans. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston exposes exactly how the middle class is being squeezed to create a widening wealth gap that threatens the stability of the country. By relating the compelling tales of real people across all areas of society, he reveals the truth behind: ""middle class"" tax cuts and exactly whom they benefit how workers are being cheated out of their retirement plans while disgraced CEOs walk away with millions how some corporations avoid paying any federal income tax how a law meant to prevent cheating by the top 2 percent of Americans no longer affects most of them, but has morphed into a stealth tax on single mothers making just $28,000 why the working poor are seven times more likely to be audited by the IRS than everyone else how the IRS became so weak that even when it was handed complete banking records detailing massive cheating by 1,600 people, it prosecuted only 4 percent of them Johnston has been breaking pieces of this story on the front page of The New York Times for seven years. With Perfectly Legal, he puts the whole shocking narrative together in a way that will stir up media attention and make readers angry about the state of our country."
Customer Reviews:
Review of Perfectly Legal.......2007-06-22
This book is well researched and addresses an area every American should be aware of, but I suspect too few are. The author has done everyone a service by pulling together evidence that is both comprehensive and detailed. It acts as a sad indictment on American society, showing that many wealthy Americans maintain and enhance their wealth by corruption. That the book shows the US authorities actively support it is all the more cause for concern. I recommend evey American to read this book thoroughly and demand appropriate action from those in power.
Excellent.......2006-07-12
Another book which confirms my own. This book in general shows that the super-rich are (in general of course) evil, but it also shows that the U.S. Government is also very evil.
He points out something interesting which is that it was found by a scholar, that the laws of the former Soveit Union were better than those of the U.S.'s, and mainly because of our tax laws, which he found to be worse than those of all the socialist countries of Europe.
The prize is capital gains........2006-05-23
Blattmair devised a scheme where he would use a charitable trust for MS Bill Gates as a way to avoid paying $56 million in capital gains taxes for $200 million in stock profits. Charitable Trust provided a shelter from taxes for stocks or buildings that appreciated in asset. The asset is transferred to the charitable trust and the charitable trust sells the asset tax-free and invests the proceedings. The trust gives the donating individual a lifetime income typically 6% a year. However, Blattmair plan was to take back 80% per year for two years and Gates would pocket $192 million without paying taxes and the charity would fold, but not before 92% of the funds had been converted into cash. The government would collect nothing. Instead, Bill Gates could claim a tax deduction of $2 million. It became questionable whether the IRS reviewed or challenged the tax shelter devise or even if the device was used. The only fact known is that at one time it existed and provided a shelter against the capital gains tax. The capital gain is the source of ½ of all the income of the super rich. Capital gains tax fell from 28% rate in 1987 to 15% in 2003.
The rich are getting richer. Money is moving from the middle class too the super rich. Both the middle class and the poor are increasingly burdened with tax while the super rich repeat all the social benefits of the tax. The Reagan "Trickle down Wealth effect" is mythical: 1. Working class wages increases have not increased in three decades 2. Food and consumer products have become cheaper offsetting the cost of living for the middle class. Cost reductions made possible because of government subsidies and manufacturing efficiency 3. Government debt in the form of government bonds has absorbed cheap money supply making market growth slow and become more competitive for available money. Business profit margins have slimmed jeopardizing survival long term. Interest rate thresholds have lifted increasing bankruptcies and reaching levels of about 1 million claims a year. 4. Stocks returns averaging a 7 percent real return less inflation have barely broke even. The Stock market is transferring wealth from the middle class to the super rich. The super rich are realizing profits of about 25 to 40 percent a year on their money. 5. Property taxes, fuel taxes, and income taxes have placed a heavier burden on the working class reducing the percent diverted to savings and retirement. The US has the highest percentage separation between rich and poor (1 dollar saved in the lower percentile equates to 7,500 dollars saved in the top 5 percentile). The middle class is in trouble as interest rates rise, the dollar weakens, the stock market routes, the housing market deflates, and the commodity market switches back into bear territory.
The weakness discovered in Title 26 of the US code are the law is based on politics and not principles; the tax system in America is being rigged to benefit the super rich; the tax system is a vehicle designed to finance social change; the rules that government sets for their tax system and the degree they enforce them, affects and determines who will prosper. "Congress lets business owners, investors, and land lords play by one set of rules, which are filled with opportunities to hide income, fabricate deductions and reduce taxes," and on the other hand, "Congress requires wage earners to operate under another, much harsher set of rules in which every dollar of income from a job, a saving account or stock dividend is reported to the government, and taxes are withheld from each pay check to make sure wage earners pay in full."
The richests 1 percent, whose adjusted gross income of more than $313,000 in 2000, earned almost 21 percent of all reported income and pay more than 37% of individual federal income taxes. For three decades profits have been growing 1/3 faster than corporate income taxes; in 1993, 26 cents went to taxes for every dollar and in 1998, 22 cents per dollar earned while corporate income tax remained 35%. Many of the rich owned businesses, creating opportunities to charge a portion of their lifestyle to the company and managed to keep profits near zero while the owners built up wealth in the company; wealth that would not be taxed until they died.
The share of income going to taxes for the top 400 in 2000 was about the same ratio as that paid by a single person making $123,000 or a married couple making $226,000. The average amount been paid was about $38.6 million dollars each.
The super rich are finding the tax shelter opportunities in the law and is perfectly legal. Law-makers are haphazardly allowing these opportunities to be put into the law because from lack or scrutiny or from pressure both politically and economically to allow these opportunities into the law. Lawyers and tax consultants study the law and discover these opportunities and advise the super rich on the tax shelter mechanisms. The super rich are able to increase their accumulation velocity. The accumulation of money is invested into bonds, commercial paper, bank notes, and stocks that pay the super rich a dividend. The capital gains are sheltered and increase the velocity of accumulation favoring the super rich. The middle class and the poor divert more of their money away from savings and retirement into taxes used for social change. Big government threatens to slow-down the availability of money causing rising interest rates for companies and business seeking to borrow money for capital projects. A business growth slows down employee wages are fired, unemployment increases, and retirement funds are jeopardized in survival tactics to save the company. The super rich do not have an economic incentive to risk their money on growth companies that generate almost all of the new jobs, innovations, and consumption trends. Instead, the super rich invest in large cap companies that are cash rich and promise a fat dividend payment and capable of withstanding short term distress in the business cycle. Financial devises like hedge funds become popular as the super rich dump billions of dollars into these funds. Insurance devises are also a popular tool for shelter vast amounts of money from taxes. The super rich are accumulating rather than creating jobs and that is the wealth illusion. Taxes do not create wealth. Capital creates wealth by creating jobs.
interesting, very needed yet a little over the top.......2006-05-10
This book was incredibly interesting and probably the most useful piece of investigative journalism I have seen on this topic. The tax code is rediculously complex and this book shows how that complexity is exploited by the rich and their friends.
The only problem I had with the book is the built in asumption that the rich should be taxed more that the poor. The point of his analysis is that the code is too complex, exploited, etc. The logical conclusion is to SIMPLIFY or CLOSE LOOPHOLES. However, the author repeatedly claims that as the taxes fall on the rich they must go up on the poor and middle class which is not always true and certainly need not be true. Taxes can go down on everyone. Or we could just as easily easily lower taxes on the middle and poorer citizens as raise them on the rich. There are more than one option.
The author seems to set up a case for a major reform of the tax code but his bias for an old fashioned 1930's style progressive tax policy is clear. Advocating for a retro tax code is fine and I might even agree to an extent but it seems to be a failing of many financial journalists to not understand the economics ramifications of their proposals. The economy is to different to go backward and we need a tax code for a global, serviced based economy. Robert Reich has good ideas as do many conservative advocates for a consumption tax. Which is best is still open for debate.
In conclusion the book is a vaild analysis of the problems with our current tax code but combines this analysis with advocating an old fashioned progressive system that I am afraid would be economically hurtful.
Blinded by numbers.......2006-04-27
Simply put, this book uses statistics and uncited claims to wow the reader whenever possible. This book had tremendous potential to show how broken the US tax system is and how much in need of reform it is. Instead of doing this it appears that the author took more or less substantial research and well developed hypotheses and ran it through the NY Times Krugmanizer, making everything seem like a grand right-wing conspiracy that with a wink and a nod politicians and multi-billionaires are bilking "American families" (the political buzzword du jour) from their hard earned cash.
Furthermore, as the Supreme Court has ruled explicitly, it is not an American's citizens duty to pay anything but the minimum amount of taxes required by law by using whatever lawful deductions or tax shelters he/she chooses.
So the thesis of the book is that the super-rich have taken advantage of and, the horror of it all, used their money to influence lawmakers to make tax laws even more favorable for them. I'm aghast!! The thought that lawmakers could sacrifice the principals of fairness and their constitutional duty for monetary gain?!? Thank goodness we have such paragons of virtue (Randy Cunningham, Tom Delay and his good friends Jack Abramoff and Mike Scanlon, and my new personal favorite W. VA congressman Allan B. Mollohan) protecting we plebians.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Virginia Tax Review, published by Virginia Tax Review on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1425 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich and Cheat Everybody Else.(Book Review)
Author: Joel S. Newman
Publication:
Virginia Tax Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Virginia Tax Review
Volume: 24
Issue: 3
Page: 733(4)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Handbook of North American Birds III: Waterfowl (part II)
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0300019033 |
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