What a great read! As a post-Civil War lover, I am more than estatic that another book has been written on that time period.
Congrats to the author! Keep 'em coming!

Let me first issue this advisory: To truly enjoy Kenneth D. Ackerman's book, "The Dark Horse" you have to love reading about politics. Ackerman is a Washington type, and his love of the political game and all of its intricaces is very much evident in his writing. Fortunately, he is such a good writer that he can make even the most mundane and obscure political manuevering as compelling as any suspense thriller.

"The Dark Horse," as the subtitle indicates, tells the tragic tale of President James A. Garfield, who was the surprise Republican nominee in 1880 and won a razor thin victory that Novemeber. Garfield had not desired the Presidency, and was only beginning to become comfortable in the office when he was felled by an assasssin's bullet four months into his term. He died a slow, agonizing death, and in the process became a martyred hero to the country.

Ackerman argues that Garflied's killing, remembered (if at all) for being perpetrated by a "disappointed office seeker" was a residual effect of the wars going on within the Republican Party between two competing factions: the Stalwarts and the Half Breeds. Though the Stalwarts, led by irascible New York Senator Roscoe Conkling, were not directly complicit in Garfield's murder, their strident rhetoric helped set the political climate that made it possible.

Ackerman tells his story in great detail (the narrative portion of the book runs to well over 400 pages). The is a decent illustrations section and a number of helpful charts for the reader. Overall, this is an excellently well written book that will appeal most strongly to American History and politics buffs.

A beautifully organized guide, "The Orchids of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands / Las Orquideas De Puerto Rico y Las Islas Virgenes" by James D. Ackerman and Maria Del Castillo is a botanist's delight when it comes to identifying orchids commonly found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Published by the University of Puerto Rico Press, this hardbound, bilingual book allows readers who are admirers of the islands' ecological systems or anything else related to them, to clearly identify the many forms of orchids found on the Eastern Caribbean islands.

The book, which only can be obtained via special order, is beautifully designed and features paintings of many orchids, which I found unique, because it definitely captures the essence of flora more so than a photograph. The book will make an excellent gift to anyone who is fascinated by the island's and their contents. Overall, this is a beautiful, informative book for botanists or botany lovers out there.