Campbell, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toledo, is one of America's foremost experts on the development of the philosophy of pragmatism. In this book, he has carried his studies on that development into what one may call its fetal period -- the pre-pragmatism of Ben Franklin. The essential insight of pragmatism, and of Franklin, Campbell tells, us, is that the "search for wisdom" cannot be understood aside from the effort to "advance human well-being."

This is a wonderful book, and it brings alive the leading ideas of the generation of the founding fathers in a way few other recent books have!

My husband and I bought a Bookman each and we've had nothing but trouble with them! Not only do we have problems with the mechanics of the Bookmans, but we've also had a lot of trouble in dealing with Franklin Publishers' Customer Service in getting them to help us with anything. They send things to the wrong address and charge you the postage for their mistake. In light of all the trouble we've had with our Bookmans and in dealing with Franklin Publishers, you're better off sticking to the Bible in real book form, as it's also easier on the eyes!!

I recommend the bookman to everybody because it is one of the best learning tools available. It is sad that some people have problems with it. Over all, you will appreciate this product because it works very well. This is a great way to edify yourself and is great for sermons. I highly recommend it to all people interested, despite the criticizm.

This is my second Bookman Electronic Bible, and I use it constantly for personal Bible Study, and also to follow sermons in Church. Its reliability is excellent. Looking up words and phrases is a wonderful tool. This is one of the top five Bible Study Tools that every Christian should have.

Seeking to reprise his earlier success with The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper went on to write several other tales built around his heroic character Natty Bumppo (called "Hawkeye" in Mohicans and "Pathfinder" in the book of THAT name). In this one our hero is known as "Deerslayer" for his facility on the hunt and is shown as the younger incarnation of that paragon of frontier virtue we got to know in the earlier books. In this one, too, we see how he got his most famous appellation: "Hawkeye". But, this time out, our hero comes across as woefully tiresome (perhaps it's because we see too much of him in this book, where he's almost a side character in Mohicans). Yet some of Cooper's writing skills seem sharper here (he no longer avers that Natty is the taciturn type, for instance, while having the fellow forever running off at the mouth). But, while there are some good moments & excitement, this tale really doesn't go all that far...and its rife with cliches already overworked from the earlier books. The worst part is the verbose, simple-minded self-righteousness of our hero, himself, taken to the point of absolute unbelievability. He spurns the love of a beautiful young woman (though he obviously admires her) for the forester's life (as though he couldn't really have both), yet we're expected to believe he's a full-blooded young American male. And he's insufferably "moral", a veritable goody two-shoes of the woodlands. At the same time, the Indians huff & puff a lot on the shore of the lake where Deerslayer finds himself in this tale (in alliance with a settler, his two daughters, a boorish fellow woodsman, and Deerslayer's own erstwhile but loyal Indian companion Chingachgook -- "The Big Sarpent," as Natty translates his name). But the native Americans seem ultimately unable to overwhelm the less numerous settlers who have taken refuge from them in the middle of Lake Glimmerglass (inside a frontier house built of logs and set in the lake bed on stilts). There is much racing around the lake as Deerslayer and the others strive to keep the few canoes in the vicinity from falling into the hands of the tribe of marauding Hurons who have stopped in the nearby woods on their way back up to Canada (fleeing the American colonists and the British at the outbreak of English-French hostilities -- since these Hurons are allied with the French). And there are lots of dramatic encounters, with some deaths, but the Indians seem to take it all with relative equanimity, while trying to find a way to get at the whites who are precariously ensconced out on the lake. (It seems to take them the better part of two days, for instance, to figure out they can build rafts to make up for their lack of canoes -- and why couldn't they just build their own canoes, in any case -- and how is it they don't have any along with them since it's obvious they'll have to cross a number of waterways to successfully make it back to the homeland in Canada?) The settler and the boorish woodsman, for their part, do their stupid best to attack the Indians unnecessarily, getting captured then ransomed in the process, while Deerslayer and Chingachgook contrive to get the loyal Indian's betrothed free from the Hurons (it seems she has been kidnapped by them -- the reason Deerslayer and Chingachgook are in the vicinity in the first place). In the meantime the simple-minded younger daughter of the settler (Cooper seems to like this motif since he used a strong daughter and a simpler sister in Mohicans, as well) wanders in and out of the Indian's encampment without sustaining any hurt on the grounds that the noble red men recognize the "special" nature of this poor afflicted young woman (Cooper used this motif in Mohicans, too). In the end there's lots of sturm und drang but not much of a tale -- at least not one which rings true or touches the right chords for the modern reader. Cooper tried to give us more of Hawkeye in keeping with what he thought his readers wanted but, in this case, more is definately too much. --- Stuart W. Mirsk

Cooper's final Leatherstocking Tale, The Deerslayer, depicts young Natty Bumppo on his first warpath with lifelong friend-to-be, Chingachgook. The story centers around a lake used as the chronologically subsequent setting for Cooper's first Leatherstocking Tale, The Pioneers. Tom Hutter lives on the lake with his daughters and it is here that Deerslayer (Bumppo) intends to meet Chingachgook to rescue Chingachgook's betrothed from a band of roving Iroquois. A desperate battle for control of the lake and it's immediate environs ensues and consumes the remainder of the story.

Throughout this ultimate Leatherstocking Tale, Cooper provides Natty much to postulate upon. Seemingly desiring a comprehensive finality to the philosophy of Bumppo, Cooper has Natty "speechify" in The Deerslayer more so than in any other book, though the character could hardly be considered laconic in any. Though the reason for this is obvious and expected (it is, after all, Cooper's last book of the series), it still detracts a tad from the pace of the story as Natty picks some highly inappropriate moments within the plot to elaborate his position. And, thus, somewhat incongruently, Cooper is forced to award accumulated wisdom to Bummpo at the beginning of his career rather than have him achieve it through chronological accrual.

All things considered, however, The Deerslayer is not remarkably less fun than any other Leatherstalking Tale and deserves a similar rating. Thus, I award The Deerslayer 4+ stars and the entire Leatherstocking Tales series, one of the better examples of historical fiction of the romantic style, the ultimate rating of 5. It was well worth my time.

"The Deerslayer" is, chronologically, the first of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, although the last to be written. It takes place in the early 1740s on the Lake Glimmerglass. Natty Bumppo, called Deerslayer, and his friend Hurry Harry March go to Tom Hutter's "Castle," which is a house built on stilts on a shoal in the middle of the lake, and it is practically impregnable. March intends to get Tom's daughter Judith to marry him. More love is in the air, for Deerslayer plans to meet Chingachgook at a point on the lake in a few days in order to help him rescue his bride-to-be, Wah-ta-Wah, who is a prisoner of the Hurons.

War breaks out, Tom and Harry are captured by Hurons, and the untested Deerslayer must go on his first warpath to rescue them. That sets up the plot, and there follows many twists and turns, ending with a very haunting conclusion. Although the book drags in parts, it's still pretty good.

I would caution you not to expect realism in this book. "It is a myth," D. H. Lawrence writes, "not a realistic tale. Read it as a lovely myth." Yes, Deerslayer is fond of talking, but take his soliloquies the same way as you take Shakespeare's: characters in both men's works meditate and reflect on what they are going through. So toss out your modern preconceptions aside and just enjoy the myth!

The legacy of one of the Civil War's greatest leaders is shamelessly misrepresented in this book about one of the war's forgotten battles. Rather than present the reader with an unbiased and accurate depiction of the Battle of Franklin, the authors relentlessly rant about John Bell Hood, smothering
unsuspecting readers with unqualified speculation, rumor mongering, and unflattering conjecture under the guise of historical fact.

Hood's almost superhuman accomplishments as a brigade and division commander under Lee and Jackson, and his short but successful tenure as a corps commander at Chickamauga made him Jefferson Davis' candidate to save the fading fortunes of the Confederacy in late 1864. Replacing the tentative
Joe Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee, Hood launched several bold attacks on Sherman in an unsuccessful attempt to save Atlanta.

Burdened by disloyal and incompetent subordinates, and troops unaccustomed to offensive warfare, Hood nevertheless embarked on an ambitious invasion of Tennessee, in a last ditch effort to destroy Sherman's supply lines, and provide relief for R. E. Lee's exhausted Army of Northern Virginia. At Franklin, with the Federal army fleeing to the safety of Nashville, and having absolutely no other realistic alternative, Hood ordered a frontal
attack. The assault failed, with the Confederates suffering frightfully high casualties.

Authors McDonough and Connelly deny readers the mountain of historical record that clearly and concisely details the quite rational and logical reasons for the attack. They mislead readers with overt mischaracterization of historical facts, and present opinions that are not supported by facts or statistics.

It is bad enough when readers invest time in nonfiction literature and gain no knowledge, it is even worse when readers are provided inaccurate information and propaganda that results in incorrect knowledge. Reading this work will result in an inaccurate understanding of the Battle of Franklin, and General John Bell Hood.

This book, awash in prejudice and misrepresentation, should be avoided!

In a telegram to J. Davis dated 12 July 1864 from his headquarters near Petersburg Va

Telegram of today received. I regret the fact stated. It is a bad time to release the commander of an army situated as that of Tennessee.We may lose Atlanta and the army too.

Hood is a bold fighter.
I am doubtful as to other qualities necessary

This is a well written, easy to read account of the Battle of Franklin. The authors put the battle into focus, not only in a geographic sense but from the state of mind of the men and commanders who fought there. This work helps to explain much about General Hood (a proven leader and fighter of the war's earlier days) and his decisions made there. From this book it is easy to see the "why" and "how" of the fight at Franklin.

I am intensely interested in Franklin D. Roosevelt and his times, so I figured this book on a little-explored aspect of his career couldn't miss. Colorful characters straight out of "Guys and Dolls" rub elbows with the patrician Roosevelt in this account of the transition between the free-wheeling era of Tammany Hall to the do-gooder era of the New Deal. Too bad that author Mitgang lacks any sense of story-telling ability. The organization of the book is sloppy and confusing and robs the story of any drama. The humorous aspects fall flat. Great idea for a book, but the execution is a misfire.

Mitgang's presentation of the scandals involving NY Mayor Jimmy Walker, leading up to the Seabury Commission investigations and Walker's removal from office by then NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, offers a story that should be captivating. The personalities involved were among the major American political figures of their time. Walker's precipitous fall from power was one of the major political events of the era. But I laid down the book feeling that I had somehow been presented the story, but only at the most superficial level. Perhaps I should have known better given the book's brief length. But Mitgang has a good reputation as a journalist, and I expected more. For example, none of the major actors is presented with much depth at all. Their motivations are not explored in sufficient degree. The implications of FDR's action in this case for his Presidency are not explored. Walker's failure to run again for the mayoralty--if for no other reason than self-vindication--is not analyzed. Some major political figures--including former Governor Al Smith and succeeding Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia--are given what might be walk-on parts or cameo roles, if this were a movie, despite the fact that they were clearly major power brokers at the time. All in all, this book is a reasonable BASIC introduction to the story, but left me wanting more. It is hardly history; it is more a narration.

This thin book is a quick, breezy read. It shines a spotlight on an interesting time in American life -- the tail end of the Roaring 20s and the onset of the Great Depression -- and the long-cherished "spoils" system of municipal government.

Many larger-than-life characters are here: FDR, Jimmy Walker, Fiorello LaGuardia, Al Smith. Smith's metamorphosis from trail-blazing liberal to the anti-Roosevelt in four short years was particularly eye-opening for me. (In school, they only taught us about the "Happy Warrior"of 1928, conveniently foregoing the not-so-happy iteration of 1932 and beyond.) I was also struck by the enmity toward the pre-presidential FDR which was evident in many quarters.

For the bulk of the novel, Fennimore Cooper seems to spin his literary wheels attempting to develop depth into his characters. Failing miserably, the plot quickens and the novel becomes more entertaining, although hardly believable. The ultimate reason for the danger in the book becomes rather silly, but still there is some redeaming quality to the novel. This was basically Fennimore Cooper's first attempt at an American novel and so some tolerance is warrented. I shall try the next book, The Pioneers, in time.

The plot of this book is based on a real spy story. Therefore, although some do consider it unbelievable, the basis of it is entirely true. The way that the author slowly brings out the character of Harvey Birch is wonderful. He creates numerous sub plots that make the story very interesting. The only weakness is the fact that the author was rushed into stopping the story abruptly. As a result, one hears no more about many important characters until the very end when some are fleetingly mentioned. The ending is so strong, however, that this fault isn't as glaring as it would have been.