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Fans of that sort of salacious shock should avoid Brenda Lee's memoirs at all costs. Her salubrious life is just what would be expected from the effervescent chanteuse who's now enjoying her fifth decade of stardom. Although she tells many interesting show biz stories from her days of prepubescent renown to her current status as music industry veteran, readers clearly see that her proudest accomplishments have been her successful roles as wife (nearing 40 years married), mother, and grandmother. Unlike the sleazy conquests that fill other celebrity tell-alls, Little Miss Dynamite boasts, "I never wore my 'Brenda Lee' hat at home; I was 'Mrs. Shacklett;' I was Julie and Jolie's mother; I was the obnoxious cheerleader with the cowbell at the basketball games; I became a master at helping with school projects." Fame and fortune were welcome bonuses accentuating her fulfilled life.
While glitz and glamour have been the undoing of several immature stars, Brenda had her priorities straight from the beginning. As a teenage bride of seven months she learned that she was to become a mother. Those in charge of her career were dismayed by how this development could negate her star. Brenda herself had a different reaction; "I never had one thought of the career, of the consequences, or what it might mean to my future." She was too thrilled establishing a family to worry about her job.
Her life was far from a bed of roses, but from early childhood she received solid grounding. Born into penury, her father died before her early-blooming career budded. Describing the rare luxuries of her childhood she sites oranges which they usually only had at Christmas and concedes, "looking back now, I can't believe that I didn't know we were poor...at that time I was happy; I had people around me who cared about me and loved me."
Another contrast from the Hollywood status quo was seen during the Vietnam War. Unlike the perpetually protesting celebrities, Brenda--who had serious reservations about the conflict--wanted to perform for the troops in Vietnam, but it was ruled too dangerous. She did manage to entertain many wounded soldiers including once on a tour of a military hospital in the Philippines with General Westmoreland. Describing her visit to many soldiers who had lost limbs she states "a lot of people wouldn't want to see that, but I felt it was the least I could do for these men who were giving their lives and limbs for America." Many soldiers asker her to contact loved ones back home, and she reveals "there were dozens of families, and I called every single one."
Unquestionably the most poignant vignette that additionally shows the power of wholesome music to touch the soul concerns the tale of a little girl whose stepmother balefully banished her to a mental institution where she was unjustly confined for years. Upon her release she contacted Brenda to say access to her music had sustained her through those nightmare years. Brenda felt blessed by meeting this incredible woman and said that by her travails, "she taught me never to feel sorry for myself or for whatever bad situation I was in."
Distancing herself even further from the Hollywood notables, Brenda is not shy in admitting her reverent faith. Once her daughter's cancer diagnosis was found to be in error--after the girl was prepped for surgery--Brenda attributed it to a miracle brought about by the prayers of so many.
Those looking for show biz tidbits won't be disappointed. Since Brenda Lee's career has encompassed so many styles, her path crossed with a cornucopia of performers. She shares her encounters with the diverse likes of Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Barbara Mandrell, Jimmy Durante, Tanya Tucker, Burt Reynolds, Art Garfunkle and scores of others.
At one point, Brenda admits, "I wasn't the new Judy Garland. I wanted something else out of life. I wanted roots stability and normalcy." It's easy to see that she achieved her goal, and has a very interesting and lucrative career providing icing to her cake.
People who don't like the book, were hoping to read about sex and drugs etc, but Brenda is clean living, loving wife and mother, and who loves her fan's, it's a shame other artist's don't care as much as Brenda does.
This book is a must for any true fan, you will enjoy.
The reading of this biography permeates vast knowledge of Robert E. Lee. Starting with his birth, education at West Point, emergence from the Mexican War, "with a reputation as the army's most talented young officer." Mr. Davis does a great job of conveying General Lee's concerns about the possibility of civil war. Robert E. Lee made the difficult decision to resign from the U.S. military. Here is a sample of General Lee's letter of resignation. "I have devoted all the best years of my life and all the ability I posed. During the whole time-more than a quarter of a century-I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. To no one, General, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration. I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration, and your name and fame will always be dear to me."
The book is worthy of reading I'll probably read it a few more times. Therefore five stars seems appropriate for a truly amazing book. This book is for folks from any geographical area. Whatever your race, creed, culture, religion is this book can be an enjoyable read. I leave you with one last quote this is Robert E. Lee's opinion of slavery. "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil...I think it greater evil to the white than to the black race."
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We start where "The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse" left off with both armies entrenched before the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania. Rhea discusses the thinking of both Generals Lee and Grant as each labors to decide what to do next. Another unsuccessful attack at the salient is orchestrated by Grant before he makes the first move by deciding to disengage and manuever Lee out of his trenches. He advances Winfield Hancock to the southeast with the idea of using him as bait to get Lee to follow. This strategy works as Lee starts his army southward toward the North Anna river. Troop movements and lost opportunities dominate this portion of the book as Grant and Lee engage on the next portion of the campaign. Cavalry battles also are covered at this point as Union General Philip Sheridan drives the Federal cavalry on a threatening movement towards the Confederate capital at Richmond. Rhea then discusses how this movement, although somewhat successful, ultimately hurt the Union cause.
Lee then wins the race to the North Anna by taking advantage of Grant's lack of intelligence that Sheridan's cavalry would have provided. He (Lee) then entrenches south of the river as he waits to see what Grant will do. The battles at Henagan's Redoubt and Jericho Mills (both Union victories in the maneuver to the North Anna) set the stage for the highlight of the book which is the defensive posture that Lee now incorporates. Rhea shows how Confederate chief field engineer Martin Smith "proposes an ingenious solution" that results in the famous inverted "V" entrenchment below the river. This fortification has the added advantage of splitting Grant's army below the river and (if Grant attacks) would give Lee a stunning victory. Grant initiates offensive probes and becomes increasingly concerned that his troops are trapped. The little known battle at Ox Ford on the North Anna is the final proof that he needs. Lee meanwhile becomes ill and fails to delegate to his subordinates his instinctive thought to attack and the opportunity is lost. Rhea ties all this together with some of his best writing to date: "Lee had slept little in the twenty harrowing days since Grant had crossed the Rapidan. He often worked after midnight and was generally awake by 3:00 A.M. Dysentery was endemic in the Army of Norhtern Virginia, and Lee had contracted the illness by the time he had reached the North Anna. Normally even-tempered and robust, he was now irritable and rode in a carriage. On the afternoon of May 24 Lee was seized with violent intestinal distress and his aide pronounced him 'quite unwell'. The Confederate commander lay confined to his tent, 'prostrated by his sickness' with a single thought dominating his mind 'We must strike a blow'. But the Army of Northern Virginia could not strike a blow. It required a firm hand to coordinate so complex an undertaking. In better times, when Jackson and Longstreet commanded the wings of the Confederate army, Lee had liberally delegated responsibility. But Jackson was dead and Longstreet disabled and Lee lacked confidence in their successors." Grant then realizes the danger of his position and extricates his forces to the Northern side of the river. His decision to maneuver again "by the left flank" to the southeast closes out the text portion of the book.
Rhea then ends the book with an excellent Epilogue section in which he discusses the heretofore unknown battle at Wilson's Wharf on the James River showing for the first time the fighting tenacity of the Federal's black troops and also whereby he draws conclusions that differ somewhat with the contemporary standard: "Historians have considered Lee's inability to attack on the afternoon of May 24 a lost opportunity of major proportions. In retrospect, it is doubtful that even a healthy Lee could have dealt a decisive blow. He would most certainly have wrecked much of Hancock's corps, but he would have lacked the strength and time to exploit the localized victory. Nightfall would likely have prevented him from crossing the North Anna. Grant could take severe casualties in stride. Terrible subtractions in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Court House did not deter him, nor did severe losses at Cold Harbor in the coming weeks. It is difficult to imagine Hancock's defeat inducing him to abandon his campaign. Sickness doubtless cost Lee a superb opportunity to damage an isolated portion of Grant's army at the North Anna River, but the lost opportunity should not be exaggerated. Judging from Grant's reaction to earlier and later setbacks, he likely would have treated defeat at the North Anna as a tactical reverse and gone on with his campaign."
Judiciously written and masterfully researched (Rhea discloses in the Introduction that little of any substance has been written on this period due to the confusing state of exisiting material), Gordon Rhea has created (in my opinion) another masterpiece, further fortifying his standing as one of the outstanding contemporary Civil War historians. I give this book a very high recommendation.
Rhea poignantly portrayed the misery and destruction in the Wilderness and at the Mule Shoe in his first two books. Those types of scenes are not in this work, but he successfully portrays the every day life of the common soldier on both sides. One such example is his vivid description of how fast the Confederate cavalry disintegrated after the disasterous battle at Yellow Tavern.
For the individual interested learning about the Civil War and the men of the conflict, this book is a necessary bridge between Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. This period is marked more by confusion and maneuver than bloody fighting. This work is a pause from the effusive bloodshed of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor where the reader can learn more about how Lee and Grant thought and how they adapted to the most competent foe either general faced in his career. We can only hope Mr. Rhea continues his study beyond Cold Harbor into the trenches of Petersburg.
Chapter II details Sheridan' raid threatening Richmond . Grant and Sheridan took great pleasure in the defeat of J.E.B. Stuart. Sheridan had defeated his cavalry and killed Stuart. However, the Confederate Cavalry Sheridan defeated in May 1864 was not the same splendid cavalry that J.E.B. Stuart had led on his June 12-15, 1862 ride around McClellan.. By May 1864 Stuart's mounts were tired, worn out and hungry with no replacements. His cavalrymen were also tired, hungry and replacements were at best limited. Perhaps stung by Lincoln's remark "Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?" Sheridan seems to have had a personal vendetta against Stuart. As Rhea notes serious criticism can be leveled against Sheridan's campaign as it deprived Grant of badly needed scouting thus "severely handicapped Grant in his battles against Lee." Grant should have learned this lesson in the Wilderness when critical union cavalry scouting was also absent.
The major battles/engagements from Spotsylvania Court House to the North Anna River are narrated. However, this book is primarily a discussion of commands with emphasis on Grant and his subordinates. Failure to react to promising situations are documented for both Lee and Grant with both failing to capitalize on significant opportunities. Referring to Lee the author noted that "His performance was a masterpiece of defensive fighting . ."; however Rhea notes several cases where Lee missed a significant opportunity and/or incorrectly judged Grants intended course of action.
The author notes an interesting situation regarding the frequent remoteness of Grant and his commanders from the field commanders at critical times. Referring to Lee's army moving down Telegraph Road virtually unmolested the author wrote regarding Grant and Meade "After nightfall they made no attempt to coordinate the movements of their corps and seemed content to leave decisions in the hands of local commanders. The union army floundered like a force without a head for several critical hours."
Finally, Rhea stated that this campaign suggests the two generals had "suprisingly similar military temperaments. Both were aggressive and willing to try unorthodox maneuvers." In essence both generals came out about equal. Grant's great strength laid in his firm support of the strategy to destroy Lee's army which was Lincoln's strategy. While Lee's true strength was his ability to turn unfavorable situations to his advantage.
Any negative about the book would be that it could use more descriptive type about the plant.
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As a fan of military history, Crocker's use of Lee's civil war experiences as the primary setting for this masterful analysis of Lee's leadership was as informative as it was entertaining. Crocker also used Lee's pre- and post-war experiences to present a complete picture of Lee the man as well as Lee the soldier. Ten of the book's eleven chapters ended with concise, bulletized leadership lessons that highlighted the chapter's key points. Lee's leadership was not always perfect, and the chapters' lessons allowed me to learn from and understand Lee's failures and successes.
Crocker's expert use of quotes complemented his descriptive narratives and in-depth analysis to create an easy-to-read character and leadership primer. Consider the following examples...
* In a letter to his son: "Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn them to your advantage."
* General Grant's recollection of Lee's April 9, 1865 surrender at Appomattox: "[Lee] was a man of much dignity, with an impassable face... my own feelings, which had been quite jubilant on the receipt of his letter [agreeing to discuss terms for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia], were sad and depressed. I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought."
* "...obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character...As a general principle you should not 'force' young men to do their duty, but let them do it voluntarily and therefore develop their characters...Young men must not expect to escape contact with evil, but must learn not to be contaminated by it. That virtue is worth but little that requires constant watching and removal from temptation."
Robert E. Lee was devoutly loved by the men he was privileged to lead, deeply respected by the commanders who opposed him, and always recognized as a true gentleman by all who knew him. Read this book and you will learn why Robert E. Lee remains one of the most revered American leaders in history.
Far more than a simple biography, Crocker uses bullet points at the end of each chapter to clarify Lee's leadership style for the reader. Only in "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" have I seen a person's life so well translated into practical, leadership examples. In "Lee," however, Crocker takes actual, historical evidence -- rather than semi-fictional supposition, ala "Atilla" -- and places them in the hands of the reader as a living, breathing model.
I have seen a number of hyper-critical reviews on this site which seem to be based more on pre-conceived notions about Lee and the motives of the South. When you read that Union generals and strategy are far more studied than their Confederate counterparts, don't believe it. The truth is that in modern war colleges, the successes of the tactics and strategy of generals like Lee, Stonewall Jackson and A.P. Hill are studied, while the failures of Union leaders are set forth. Now, in this book, we can study the personal example of the greatest leader in the Confederacy -- Robert E. Lee.
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I will say, though, that the author does spend at least a quarter of the book On the life of R.E. Lee outside of the civil war- the first 70 pages focusing on his Lineage, his training at West point, and his engagements in Mexico, and the Last 20 on his Presidency at Washington-Lee College. Also, sparsely placed throughout the book, Fitzhugh makes use of General Lee's personal correspondance with his wife and family. I would have appreciated seeing more of that, but people 150 years late to the party can't be choosers. Of the Author's style, it is mostly factual, highly romantic(though nothing like Gordon's memoir), and at times he makes allusions and references that let you know he's highly intelligent. This Book doesn't make any in-depth study of General Lee, and mostly considers his character to be untouchable....
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The book has an excellent introduction to ASP.NET for web services. It probably is worth just going over the first two chapters to get a flavor of web services. Word of caution, I downloaded the VB samples, and they were a bit buggy. If you are a C# developer, the code in the book was fine. The VB code was not...
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The Typees seem perennially happy and content. They spend a lot of time amusing themselves as food is plentiful and there is not much work to do. Their lives are idealized so much that I found myself raising a quizzical eyebrow at times. But the story was so good and so well written that I didn't let it get in my way of enjoying the book, which must have been received with similar delight when it was published as it not only painted a picture of a better world, it appealed to everyone's sense of adventure.
I loved the book, especially the social commentary. I found myself reading it quickly and at odd times during to day just to see what would happen on the next page. It sure was a good story and seems as fresh and meaningful today it when was published more than a century and a half ago.
"Typee" is a marvelous story of cross-cultural contact. It is also a fascinating glimpse at a pre-industrial culture; Tom (known as "Tommo" to the Typees) describes in detail the food, dress, tattooing, physiology, musical instruments, architecture, warfare, religious practices, and social customs of the Typees. The book is full of vividly portrayed characters: the gentle beauty Fayaway, the "eccentric old warrior" Marheyo, the talkative "serving-man" Kory-Kory, and more.
Melville's prose style in "Typee" is irresistible: the writing is fresh, lively, and richly descriptive. There is a satirical thrust to much of the book. And there is a lot of humor; at many points I literally laughed out loud. Such scenes as the description of a wild pig's frustrated efforts to break open a coconut really showcase Melville's comic flair.
A major theme of "Typee" is that of the "noble savage" (Melville actually uses the term). The narrator often wonders whether Typee life is in some ways better than Western life, and is quite critical of the work of Christian missionaries among Pacific Island peoples. The book is richly ironic, as Melville's narrator reflects on the problematic nature of cross-cultural observation: "I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing" (from Chapter 24).
"Typee" is more than just a colorful travelogue or a philosophical reflection; it is also a genuinely exciting and suspenseful adventure story. Melville's story of a visitor to a strange alien world curiously anticipates a major theme of 20th century science fiction; thus a novel like Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" would make a fascinating companion text. Also recommended as a companion text: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," another 19th century American classic which casts a critical light on Eurocentric Christianity.
I am myself interested in the statement above for another reason. Some fifty years ago, a small group of inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands, in which this book is set, came across this romance. They had long before adopted Western ways, but these individuals decided to use Melville's work as a means to recreate the pastoral moment which the author had captured in this book. Such an effort was as feasible as would be an attempt to recreate the America portrayed in Norman Rockwell's paintings, but these islanders were convinced of the necessity and possibility of this act, and they reconstructed, with admirable accuracy, a past that had never existed. They gave up their new houses, their churches, their Western foods, for a lifestyle closer to that portrayed in this work, a large part of which consists of quasi-anthropological description of rituals, feasts, customs and dress. Naming children after characters in the book became common, though only in those regions in which the Melvilles, as they were called, were predominant, just as there are still a few adults named Rainbow and Sunflower in the U.S., a legacy of the hippie movement. And in keeping with the full spirit of Melville's portrait of the Marquesans, and inspired by the passage I cited above, several families did indeed move to the United States in order to proselytize their lifestyle to the Westerners whose ways these Marquesans had rejected.
It is well known that their efforts failed, for the most part, both here and in their home country, but it was a happy accident that my interest in Melville led me to meet Fayaway, one of the descendants of that tribe of emigrants to the United States, and that she and I would soon after wed. As a result, I have become indoctrinated into the remnants of this culture; without either of us being true adherents to the religion, we observe its customs, much as agnostics celebrate Christmas. Our favorite part of the entire set of customs is to replay the Ritual of the Canoe from Chapter 18, as gently erotic now as when it was written, first in Hobomok Lake in Phoenicia, New York, and more recently in Malibu Lake, California. The puritanical fussbudgets in both neighborhoods were appropriately scandalized.
As a result of my marriage to the living incarnation of the female protagonist of the romance, I am well familiar with this work, and must say that it is more nearly perfect, in its own way, than is Melville's masterpiece _Moby Dick_. It embodies many of the same themes as that larger work, and reveals, because of its imperfections, a deep glimpse into the author's mind and his longing for that tropical paradise where he sought Arcadia and found a nymph fit to his fancy. Rarely have adolescent male fantasies been given such a beautifully complex form, and if, as many have noted, the anthropological tangents detract from the narrative, it is helpful to recall that Melville was attempting create a fiction that looked like an authentic travel narrative, and that in any case those tangents can become of themselves interesting diversions, and commentary on the greater narrative. They even inspired a small group of South Pacific Islanders to fly from their homes and settle in the wilderness of the United States, in an effort to save us from our wicked ways.
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Not only is this book extremly hard to understand, it's theme is also quite depressing... it's your basic everyday, good vs. evil, but in this book: Evil conquers all.
Save your time.. don't read this book....
First of all consider the seeming irony of the title, Benito Cereno. In the story itself all the direct focus is on Captain Amasa Delano. He is seen here endlessly as the embodiment of large-minded nobility and generosity. He seems to be the real hero of the story, (just as Babo, the negro who master-minds the mutiny, seems to be a stereotypical villain). But the story is not called, Amasa Delano, it is called, Benito Cereno. Why? Because the ultimate subject here is what happens inside Benito Cereno. The surface focus on Delano is a distracting screen that Melville deliberately and carefully constructs. Melville allows this screen to distract us because the type of 'decency' that Delano represents in real life is exactly what allows people who consider themselves 'civilized' and basically 'good' to be blind and distracted from the real horror of slavery or any other evil. Please recall that Delano " took to negroes, not philanthropically, buy genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs." And consider the scene where Babo is shaving Captain Cereno. Delano thinks he is watching an agreeable but basically simple-minded negro doing a job that perfectly suits his one-dimensional, inferior being. And in reality we are watching a charade devised by Babo's brain, a "hive of subtlety" that has Delano fooled. When Delano notices that Babo has used the Spanish flag as a barber towell to cover Cereno, he comments on it in a forgiving, playful way and Babo laughs and plays the clown, but in fact it is a revelation of how painfully aware Babo really is. Delano can not quite see the truth about anything. All of his confusion and uncertainty throughout most of the story, and the vaporous mists of the sea-scape, are meant by Melville to be reflective of Delano's deeper blindness. Delano has one moment in the story where he almost sees reality and says, "Ah, this slavery breeds ugly passions in man...," but he slips back again into his smug blindness. And his certainty and cheerfulness at the end of the story are part of this blindness. No, he is not the hero of this story. The real hero is the feeling/consciousness that rises in the heart of Benito Cereno. Delano thinks, and the reader may think with him, that what afflicts and almost paralyzes Cereno through most of the story is that he is simply afraid that if he makes the wrong move then Delano will be killed. But this is only a fraction of what really afflicts Cereno. Cereno, through his experience with Babo, sees the truth about slavery and he can never be blind again. Look at the last part of the story: After the mutiny has been crushed and the negroes are brought to 'justice' and Delano is then out of danger Cereno is still buried in shadow and pain.
Why? Please read very carefully the last conversation between Delano and Cereno here. Cereno explains so movingly how Delano is blind, but Delano still does not see. Delano asks why he, Cereno, is so melancholy. Cereno answers simply,"The negro." At the trial Cereno refuses to identify Babo and faints when he is forced to look at him. Three months later Cereno dies of inner pain and darkness in a monastery. The monastery is on Mount Agonia. Agonia gives us the English word, agony, and in Greek in means a wrestling contest. Here the struggle is between tuth and falsehood. Crereno dies in the struggle, but he dies on the right side. This is why the story is called Benito Cereno.
This particular collection, refracted as it is by a heartfelt introduction by contemporary American author Frederick Busch, highlights both author and character in alienated reserve in the well-known "Bartleby, Scrivener"; exhibits the writer's knowing infatuation with the great satires of Swift and allegories of Milton in "The Paradise of Bachelors and Tartarus of Maids" and "The Encantadas"; his obsession with the interplay of virtue and pragmatism in "Billy Budd, Sailor"; and reveals even prophetic intonations in a story about race, "Benito Cereno." Some seem little more than amusing studies, but even the least in this collection testifies to Melville's eternal ability to astonish and take your breath clean out of your body. Indeed, Melville's shorter work reveals just how far he was from the day's critical appraisal of him as an unsuccessful writer of mere adventures that simply didn't fit the bill.
"I would prefer not to," Bartleby, a lawyer's scrivener who ostensibly is hired to copy--by hand--the long-winded motions, quotidian depositions and byzantine judgments that pass through a New York corporate law office, tells his employer when he's needed to fill his role as a drafthorse of a copyist. While he's otherwise a model employee--nearly perfect handwriting, implacably accurate, always on time, never blotches the page, devoid of the scurrilous habits of his two oddball coworkers--Bartleby nevertheless stands out like a mythical portrait of Thoreau, cast upon the 19th Century urban business world, a conscientious objector, civil disobedient, a taciturn young man who, for unknown reasons, has chosen to literally step out of this world without leaving the office. Regardless of his employer's kindhearted attempts to convince Bartleby to "get with the program," Bartleby's unspoken show of both defiance and questionable sanity should tell us that, even then, individual sovereignty was being held hostage at the office.
This archetypically American conflict between ideals of freedom and practicalities of work--one more fully covered by the likes of Europeans such as Kafka, Sartre and Beckett, perhaps due to American considerations of "market forces"--is pallid in comparison to an epic tale of piracy and mutiny told in "Benito Cereno." An encounter in the South Seas between an American clipper and a wayward, sail-shorn Spanish slave galley--ostensibly a story of rescue--in the end turns into a timeless assessment of pan-Atlantic political and cultural affairs, and of the hypocricy of a young democracy's dependence on the slave trade. The ancient Mediterranian powers--Spain and the Catholic Church (itself a subject of widespread controversy in Melville's America...)--serving as puppets for those in the Third World who are determined to choose death before they lose their liberty in the service of commercial interests...well, imagine that! Did Melville ever feel himself a slave to the interests of literary commerce? Could he have been speculating on the ultimate fate of one of those Old World entanglements the nation midway through its first century obsessed over?
Like many American transcendentalists of the day, literary executors who found the world upon a doorstep, Melville's writing often takes a turn to the avant-garde as he stretches his themes--and the constraints of realism--to embrace much broader themes, many of them pitting Enlightenment bred values with Christian-borne systems from the decaying Old World of European monarchism. Nowhere in this collection is this more evident than in the gentle delight, "The Paradise of Bachelors and Tartarus of Maids"--a short dyptich that pairs (and obliquely seems to betray some of the secrets of) a masonic men's club with the unmentioned women in their orbit. According to Melville, it's high time the democracy criticizes--rather than continue to play along with--the suffocating heirarcy in which man's role is to have a breezy go at enjoying obscure rituals rich with wine--while women supply the paper upon which to write.
Although Melville, like most great writers, was a real stickler when it came to asking his world to live up to its own standards and ideals, readers can get whatever they put into relating to his stories. "Billy Budd," for example, is one of America's finest adventure tales. You can leave it at that, too. Beyond that, Melville asks if it is even possible to believe that the virtues of character can protect a man from those whose main conceit stems from an underhanded contempt of those very virtues. Even though this era's preoccupation with the barest of bones of very real values that underpinned Melville's times is usually uncultivated and malinformed, the ridiculous paces through which we take our own cultural values do not in any way detract from two important messages about Melville's life and times to remember: first, Melville seems to remember for us far more effectively--and more subtly, too--than many of today's more high-profile commentators; and second, Melville was, more than anything, a victim of the failure of those very values. Had those values been real--even in the mid-19th Century--Melville would doubtless have been recognized as the genius we rever today.