i didn't necessarily find what i was looking for in this book-- i wanted to see how the philosophy of nonviolence would be applied to the situation during WWII, for example, the alternatives to going to war. This book didn't have any of those answers, but it is still important. I know many people who say that even though they are pacifists they still believe that it is right that we waged war on japan and the nazis, but this book exposed me to the true pacifists, the ones that are hidden from the public eye. the stories are also very entertaining, with good info on the prison system in the u.s. at the time.

What does one make of war resisters? The answer is "plenty" and their narratives are wonderfully recounted in "A Few Small Candles"....a book long overdue.

The differences between resisiters during World War Two and those that followed twenty five years later in Vietnam certainly owes much to the public outlook on war at each of those times, but in the end it is the stories of those men who contradicted their country's policies that give us their full measure of devotion to peace. After finishing this wonderful little book I came to the conclusion that it is unfair to judge these men simply in light of their times. What becomes clear throughout is the profound conscience with which they "fought" their imprisonment. While not always clear as to every facet of core beliefs they possessed (some were more religious than others)or what course of action they might have deemed necessary to take when faced with prison obstacles, each of these men knew that to register for the armed forces of the United States and thereby be open to being put into a position in which they might have to kill other men was simply not acceptable.

It is especially poignant that I read this book during our country's current military battles in the Middle East. One doesn't have to judge them heroes or traitors, but rather men who stood up for what they believed. It is a part of World War Two that has been sadly missing until now and whose relevance helps to complete a more accurate picture of that age.

The "other" heroes of World War II are epitomized in this moving testimony by nine war resistors who paid the price for their beliefs. Each chapter illustrates the personal experiences of these individuals and what they went through as a result of refusing to kill other human beings. Many were treated worse than murderers and rapists, but they all stuck to their principles despite intense peer and family pressure, personal attacks and even death threats. Their stories are a tribute to the courage of those who would dare to stand up for their beliefs.

This is very dry reading. As well, there is almost no mention of Pierce! Instead, the author focuses on the issues/characters that shaped the times. These are crucial to understanding the political atmosphere surrounding Pierce's presidency, but a biography should focus on the individual. We learn next to nothing about Pierce.

The years before 1860 were a period of increasing cold war in the United States. From the perspective of over a century after the conclusion of the internal war, we tend to lose the knowledge that there was more to the separatism than the disagreement concerning slavery. While the North/South dispute over slavery was paramount, other regional differences such as the role of the frontier led to a political fragmentation that prevented any faction from being able to govern and solve the growing problems. Several new parties arose while the formerly powerful Whig party was dying. This fragmentation is the main theme of this book and Gara states it very well. With the modern emphasis on the slavery question, the other divisive forces in the nation are often overlooked, which leads to historical inaccuracy.
Gara explains in great detail how the political fragmentation prevented any real attempt to resolve the issues. One point in particular that is often ignored is the three-fifths representation. For census purposes a slave was considered to be three-fifths of a person, even though they were also property. This absurdity caused a great deal of resentment in free states, as it concentrated more political power in the slave states than the size of the free population should have allowed. This caused more representatives to be elected from the southern states, which altered the outcome of some of the votes in favor of the south. Deeply resented by many in the north, it points out the inherent absurdities of slavery and is well documented and explained.
The federal government was still largely a weak institution with most of the power held by the states. With all of these problems, it would have taken an extraordinary president to alter the course of history. Franklin Pierce was no such man, and the best that can be said is that he muddled through without any great catastrophes. More than anything else, it was his handsome, presidential appearance that earned him the white house. His rise to the presidency was largely an accident, as he was a compromise candidate after the better candidates were somehow disqualified. His administration also began on a tragic note, when one of the Pierce children was killed before the eyes of his father and mother. Being largely untested on the national political arena, Pierce also wore a colossal political tin ear, often making basic errors that made things worse.
Given all of these problems, it is surprising that the Pierce administration did as well as it did. As the author points out, his presidency is ranked somewhere above a failure, but nowhere near a success. In reading about all of the problems of the country at that time, it is hard to see where a great deal of improvements could have been made. The country was expanding rapidly and the industrial revolution with associated social changes was just beginning. Slavery was a historical anachronism, clearly in the process of being eliminated and had it not become the symbol of the rights and tradition of the southern states, it would have naturally ceased to exist. Even the ardent proponents of slavery referred to is as the "peculiar institution."
In retrospect, the forces that led to the regional split were so powerful that it is hard to envision any way that it could not have led to a civil war. Those forces were stronger than any man or political party and in this book you learn about the actions of a man who landed in a job beyond his talents and yet avoided being a total failure. Given the complexity of the circumstances, his time as president was close to the best that could have been done.

THE AUTHOR, LARRY GARA, SETS THE STAGE FOR FRANKLIN PIERCE'S EMERGENCE TO THE PRESIDENCY BY DELVING INTO THE POLITICAL SURROUNDINGS OF THE 1840'S AND '50S. PIERCE WAS AN OBSCURE CONGRESSMAN WHO SAID NO TO BECOMING PRESIDENT. HIS WIFE SUFFERED FROM DEPRESSION.THE FAMILY EXPERIENCED THE TRAGIC DEATHS OF FAMILY MEMBERS AND PIERCE DRANK A LITTLE TOO MUCH. THE FAMILY PROBLEMS WERE ENOUGH, BUT BECAUSE CONGRESS' VIEW OF THE PRESIDENCY BEING THE PERSON WHO EXECUTED CONGRESS' WISHES, THE TRUE LEADERS OF THE TIMES COULD NOT GET ELECTED. FACTIONS ABOUND!! THE NEW YORK HARDS AND SOFTS, DEMOCRATS AND WHIGS, THE NEW REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT, FREE SOIL, THE NATIVISTS AND MANY MORE SPLINTERED GROUPS THAT CAUSED SETIONALISM. THERE WERE NO MAJORITIES. PIERCE WAS DOOMED TO FAILURE. IF YOU ENJOY AMERICAM POLITICS OF THE 19TH CENTURY THIS BOOK WILL PROVIDE GREAT INCITE.

I found this book to reveal a very interesting character, with a look inside early American Jazz and the life-style of an Afro-American in the south. Baby Dodds was truly a remarkable person, and very charismatic, although I did feel his recall was skewed at times and wish we had more first hand observances on his place in drumming history.