I tracked down this book and read it, because after seeing Ragtime (musical) I realized I didn't know about Evelyn Nesbit and the "murder of the century." I'm so glad my curiosity led me to this particular book. It tells the story of the three main characters in the famous murder, but also tells the story of the time they lived in. Reading the book gave me a sense of knowing much more clearly a time in our American history. One gets a stong awareness of the free-wheeling expansiveness and frantic growth in New York City at the turn of the Century. It was fun and interesting to encounter three such unique personalities, and see how being placed in that particular historical moment affected their life pathways. Whatever his personal pathology, Stanford White, was an astoundingly energetic, creative, and productive person. And it is amazing how having $40 million enabled wife abuser and murderer Harry Thaw, who seems to have been "crazy as a BetsyBug", to run loose and live as he pleased.

Ah, back to the Hindenburg, the disaster that claimed few lives but played out so spectacularly it burned its image into our minds. Mooney's book looks at the event, giving us a brief history of the airship followed by a comprehensive account of the ship's last flight to New York. No airship enthusiast will be bored by this book. It is well written, despite the author's annoying tendency to start each chapter commenting on the sun's indifference to the human clock or calender. My only problem with the book was its contention that the explosion was an act of sabotage by one of the riggers. This idea is not new, and could of course be true, but I believe the evidence suggests a natural cause. Why do so many feel that arson and sabotage are necessary ingredients to a good disaster story? But this detracts little from the work. I recommend it to Hindenburg junkies and aviation historians.

While George Catlin is passionate of his desire to chronicle the North American indians and thier traditions, he falls short in the area of the east coast tribes and nations. The Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, and Six Nations (Iroquois,Mohawk,Algonquin,Oneida,Seneca, and Tuskaroras ) all were an integral part of American history, They are observed on a minimal note. Comparatively, the Mmandans,and Sioux were beautifully chronicled with respect to the traditions and fears of the white man that were held among many Indian nations of the period. The detailed description of the rituals that a boy must endure to become a man, make one realize how trivial our day-to-day challenges really are. You cannot read this book and not gain a renewed respect of the American indian, and all they endured to please the White man,and avoid bloodshed in the name of peace,as they believed the great spirit wanted.