Those hoping for an attack on mob rule and Andrew Jackson will be sorely disappointed; this 'treatise on Jacksonian democracy' is hardly a commentary on the current events of Cooper's age, and does not even mention Jackson. Rather, Cooper, spends more time discussing the merits of proper pronounciation than slavery! Further, for a polemic that greatly hurt its writer's reputation, the book is pretty weak and tame.

First published in 1838, The American Democrat is a wide-ranging series of essays, many of them couched in theoretical terms, about the historical and cultural bases of American democracy, and an informed critique of many aspects of American politics, society, and culture in the 1830s.. Cooper wrote the book shortly after returning to Jacksonian America after a seven-year sojourn in Europe, and it reflects much of his discontent with what he found. As a cogent and informed commentary on 19th Century America it belongs with a book with which it has often been compared -- Toqueville's Democracy in America.

Whereas, Alexis de Tocqueville offers his perspective on America as an outside observer, the literary genius James Fenimore Cooper offers his assessment of culture, politics and society in 19th century America. He doesn't hold democracy to be sacrosanct like we do today, but rather like any other system of government with its advantages and disadvantages. His look at the nature of liberty and its relation with equality is particularly intriguing.

He is cognizant of the dangers posed to American self-government, which values legal equality. Equality, is a virtue, only insofar as it pertains to equal rights and equality before the law. Any effort at establishing equality of outcome is tantamount to tyranny and opposed to liberty. Cooper illustrates the precarious relationship between liberty and equality. Unless, tradition, custom, the rule of law and the Constitution are revered and upheld- the American Polity could easily collapse into majoritarian tyranny under a demagogue.

One gains an appreciation of the system of government established by the American founding fathers after reading this book... They established a constitutionally-limited federal republic, with limits not only on the power of government, but with limits placed on the power of majority rule, so as to limit the fundamental role of government to protecting the rights of its citizens. This constitutional republic sought to balance out monarchial, democratic, and aristocratic elements...

This is still the best book I've read on Hadrian's Wall. Published in the 70's you can still buy it. The author does a great job of explaining the history of the wall and the significance and the impact it had on Roman Britain. It has great photos and very good outlines and graphs of the forts along the wall. He explains clearly the system of turrets and mile castles all along the wall. It is a little dated and I am sure they have excavated more or built other replicas of various buildings and civilian settlements along the wall, but this is still a great reference for anyone interested in Roman Britain. The author explains the wall was built as part of Hadrian's efforts to consolidate the Roman Empire (122 CE). When Hadrian died the policy of consolidation went away and the Roman army attempted to conquer the rest of Scotland and another wall was built about fifty miles north of Hadrian's wall, but the Romans were never able to fully conquer Scotland and the line of defense ended up back at Hadrian's wall and there it stayed until the fall of the empire itself. In the chapter on the history of the wall the author explains what the wall was used for. You see it wasn't really to defend against constant invaders along the wall. It was most likely used as a jumping point for the Roman Legions to be based and then moved forward past the wall and into the open fields where the Roman army was at its best. The most amazing thing is how long this wall stretched and it had armed guards every half mile. I bought this book to help me in an upcoming trip to Hadrian's Wall. The author also recommends the best sites to see along the wall and since it spans over 70 miles across England I don't think you could see all of it in one weekend. The tips on what to see are very helpful. Other chapters include Housesteads, Chesters, and Birdoswald which were the largest forts along the wall and where most of the army was based. There is a little social history in these chapters since these forts also had the largest civilian settlements and it is where the Roman army lived and socialized with civilians. They also raised families and retired at these locations. The book has a small bibliography, but not many books have been written on the subject so that is understandable.

This book is the most poorly written book I have ever read. The "story" makes no sense, the illustrations are horrid, but most importantly, the book is very badly written. Where was the editor? Instead of donating this book as I usually do with unwanted books, I threw this one in the trash.

As a substitute school librarian, I've taken this one with me wherever I go. It's an instant lesson in point-of-view, compare-and-contrast, and social variation. ("What is important about the traditional Cinderella?" [tiny feet, grace & elegance] "What is important in the bigfoot society?" [big feet, natural state, strength, generosity]) Reading it aloud, I get to use bigfoot voices. And the puns, similes, and other wordplay are inspired! Children enjoy the playful attitude and understand the deeper meanings.

As a teacher, I found this book a great read. It can be used to teach about forests and the environment as well as fairy tales. The unusual speech patterns of the characters provide a special flavor to this timeless tale.

Previous reviewers seem to think this book was either spectacular or terrible. It's neither. This is a decent book of edited letters. Let me explain its main strengths and weaknesses as I see them. Strengths: (1) Interesting story of brother vs. brother. You always hear of the Civil War as the brothers war--I know I've heard of several high-profile examples of relatives on opposite sides. But these letters acually illuminate an example among common soldiers. They (the Campbell brothers) were Scottish immigrants who settled in North and South. They actually fought against each other at Secesionville in South Carolina. I found their personal story both interesting and (at times) moving. (2) footnotes. There are many useful and insightful footnotes throughout the book. I suppose folks find these types of informative footnotes either helpful or distracting. I myself liked the fact that people, places and things mentioned in the letters were identified. Weaknesses: (1) Lack of battle content. Other than letters on First Manassas (which is good) and some on action in South Carolina, there is little written in detail about fighting. (2) Language of the letters. These brothers obviously weren't very educated. Their spelling is terrible and writing is choppy. The editor has left it as is. I can understand why--keeping alive the flavor of the letters--but it doesn't make them easier to read. I can see folks being put off by this. In sum, this is not a Civil War classic--not even close. But it certainly isn't the worst Civil War book out there, as another reviewer stated. I found it generally good. Again, I would liked to have seen more military content, and of course even more on the brother vs. brother theme, but overall I enjoyed it. Because of this, I rounded my 3 1/2 stars up to 4.

As the elected historian for the 79th New York National Regiment, I highly recommend this book. Real historical works are not embellished to please the common masses, like some folks obviously want. No one can read Dyer's Compendium and think it is an exciting book, and the Official Records are not for those who are just used to junk books and who are looking for a good "bed-time" story. Terry Johnston's book takes the letters of the two Campbell brothers regardless of their content, and he presents them as is. He gives us an insight to the everyday wants and the lives of the two men. The letter that James sends his brother Alexander through the lines after their regiments met at Secessionville, South Carolina, speaks volumes about how soldiers felt about duty in the Civil War. Mr. Johnston's footnotes are well-researched and highly informative. The layout flows and is well done, but what do you expect from a university press, which are notorious for their very high standards. The 79th New York has suffered a lot of insults with the recent printing of a very atrocious book, but Mr. Johnston's book honors the men of the 79th and he tells the truth about the soldiers using their own words. I did not find the book to be dull or boring, but to be interesting and full of insight. This book will last as a reference work long after the mass market books have faded into oblivion. If you are a real historian and know good books you'll like this work.

A well-edited collection of the letters of two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War and very nearly met in combat on one of the battlefields. This book has received much good press in the Civil War publishing community with good reason: concise, informative, and dramatic, it's everything you would want in a book of this nature.

World of Chemistry is a good introduction for those who've never taken a chemistry class before. It goes into great detail on how to successfully do everything there is in chemistry: identify compounds, determine atomic mass, and atomic weight, etc. It should be noted, however, that the last few chapteris in the book, starting with Chapter 12 are very confusing and hard to understand. At this point, you'd probably be better off listening to the teacher's lectures, or searching for another similar book. Beyond this point (Chapter 12), the book is worthless. If you want to buy this book, I suggest that you buy it used, or wait for it to go on sale.