This book is essential for the library of every scholar of American constitutionalism. For those who have studied the subject, the superb selection of essays on different aspects of American political thought is enlightening. Those who are simply interested in America's founding may however be at a loss and overwhelmed by the wide range of arguments put forward in the different essays even if Gary L.Gregg did an excellent job in the introduction giving an overview to the reader of what he should expect in each essay. Thus, since all and even the American constituiton and its origins is a matter of perspective, this book can only be enjoyed after a thorough study of American political thought. For constitution freaks however it is not only useful to have, it is a real joy to browse through the essays.

There is a palpable fear that America has lost its way, and perhaps even been untrue to itself. Examples of this loss abound, from school violence to a youth culture nihilism. "Vital Remnants," a collection of essays by some of America's top scholars in history, philosophy, political science, and law, shows, with remarkable clarity, the ways in which contemporary American society has radically altered the course upon which it was originally set. To be sure, our century looks at America with a different set of assumptions than that of our ancestors. "Vital Remnants" gives us clues by which we might stay the course for the benefit of generations to come.

I read this book more for the cultural history than for an account of the actual battle. This was probably good, because I found the first couple chapters very choppy and thought they didn't do a good job of setting up the background to the battle in a clear way.

HOWEVER, once the siege of the Alamo started, the book improved tremendously. The account of the battle was very well handled and clear.

Still, I think the book's real strength is in what comes after, in dealing with the fate of the battlefield itself in the decades after. The story of how Walt Disney came to make the Davy Crockett movie is especially well-handled, avoiding both Disney worship and Disney bashing. The same for their treatment of John Wayne's Alamo movie. Also, they do a good job revealing how attitudes toward LBJ affected how people thought of the Alamo.

All in all, this is a very good book, very interesting even to people who are not that interested in Texas history as such. If you want to understand post-war American culture, this book is a must. I just wish the opening chapters had been as well organized as the rest of the book

I tend to read a lot of historical nonfiction, and much of it seems to range from either well-intentioned but amateurish to, worse, underresearched to support a (not-so-well-) hidden agenda. On the other hand, this book is exceedingly well-researched and well-written, and caught me up in a reading frenzy like none since Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage." The first half of "A Line in the Sand" covers the events leading up to the fight at the Alamo in 1836 from both Mexican and Anglo perspectives, and paints both sides in a fairly honest and unsentimental light. It also does the two thing all nonfiction should do: It doesn't play favorites, telling both sides of the story with journalistic integrity, and it shows the event to be what most similar events inevitably are: a collision of ideals, fate, timing and personalities. Concentrating first on what happened immediately following the battle, through the hagiographic treatment of Crockett, Bowie and Travis, and finally to the view of these men and their actions in 1999, the latter half of the book shows, with a surprising yet believable spin, that a combination of the Cold War, Walt Disney's politics, John Wayne's patriotism and increasing multiculturalism have caused people to view this hourlong battle as everything from a defining moment in American history (even though Texas wasn't IN America at that point) to an attempt by Bowie, Travis and others to preserve slavery and racism. Compelling and very enjoyable book.

This book is like a recipe for goulash; you just throw everything in it and see how it turns out. Actually, it's a very good book, although it tends to be overwritten in places and there are one or two incorrect dates. It gives a concise history of Mexico in the early part of the 19th century leading up to the Texas War for Independence, and what followed. Everything is presented quite clearly, and you can understand how things happened, and why they happened. The actual Alamo seige and battle pass fairly quickly, because that's how it was in reality. I found the later history extremely interesting, and combining LBJ's father, Walt Disney, John Wayne, and numerous others in the story was an excellent decision on the part of the authors. I'm of the generation raised on Davy Crockett, and my friends and I recreated the Alamo battle countless times on the cinderblock wall in my back yard, each of us taking turns as Davy. If nothing else, Disney's film of Crockett's life awakened in me the idea of history as something interesting, and worth studying. I've done that ever since, and the authors show that the Alamo is ingrained in our national consciousness because of Uncle Walt primarily, and also John Wayne's movie, which I vividly remember seeing as a young teenager. To those of a new generation, who don't have those memories of the Alamo films, this book is well worth reading, and I highly recommend it.

After a slightly tedious beginning (who cares if Styron had the sniffles and recurring earaches as a kid?), West's biography delves into the heart of Styron's life and work. I was stunned to learn of the many and varied connections between the two: much of what appears in Styron's books is based upon actual experiences he had and people he knew. West clearly has a deep respect for his subject, and the portrait we receive of Styron is one of a dedicated, sometimes angst-ridden literary genius, slowly and methodically creating his masterpieces. West occasionaly sidetracks into Styron's interesting relationships with other authors, including his controversial feud with Norman Mailer. The main quibble is that the final quarter of the book seems awfully hurried. One might expect "Sophie's Choice", Styron's most recent and well-known novel, to receive the most treatment, but West seems to give it the least. Those hoping for a more in-depth look at Styron's battle with depression than is found in his memoir "Darkness Visible" will probably be disappointed, as West adds little new to the saga, and in fact often seems to quote it directly (which seems rather lazy). Still, a mostly fascinating read, and one that any fan of Styron will find engrossing.

For anyone who is amazed by William Styron and all that he creates, this book provides the glimpses behind the start of each creation. We do not need to know every bit of Styron's emotional life to know what it is that compels him to write in the genius that he does. We understand him because we can see what motivates all of his great works. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is a writer, reader or lover of his works.

I've read all of Styron's fiction and all his published nonfiction, and was happy to find out that this biography explores in detail the mind of the writer who has created such beautiful, enduring prose. Author West has had unusual access to working papers, unpublished works, and early drafts of Styron's well-known books, and is able to illustrate how the changes Styron made during the editing process reveals his character. You couldn't ask for a more deeply felt biography. In contrast to the main review on this page, I also felt that this was one of the only biographies I've read in which the connection between the subject's childhood and writing was made clear. If the only book of Styron's you've read is the excellent Sophie's Choice, this biography may give you more information than you want. If you have more of an interest in Styron's other writing, this book is a fascinating adjunct. By the biography's end, you feel you know Styron and you hope he completes the "Marine novel" he's been working on for so long.

Sister Carrie is probably best known for being the American example of the Naturalist school of writing. Centering around Carrie, a girl who comes to Chicago to live the good life in the big city, it follows her action from being a factory worker, to a 'companion', to a housewife, and finally to fame and fortune on the stage in New York City.
Dreiser sets the measure of the game early, on the first page, with the statement that all women are provided two options in life. One is to work hard, live, and have children. The other is to fall into a life of sin.
For those who don't hold with that line of reasoning, the book will be a bit hard to swallow. Dreiser operates along the same line of logic that Emile Zola set down when creating this genre. Every action Carrie makes is predestined, in Dreiser's eyes, by her surroundings. She will not and cannot make any decision contrary to her 'nature'.
While this is all very well and good for Dreiser, it is not so for Naturalism. Thomas Hardy's famous Tess, and Jude, make decisions contrary to their nature all the time, it is society that is at odds with the characters and not the other way around. Carrie's society seems perfectly willing to accept her, but it is her decisions that one finds appalling. The feeling is more like being on a careening freight train, with the outcome inevitable and predestined but terrible nonetheless. There is none of the same despair and void that one finds in Hardy, and somehow that is the books biggest flaw.
Hardy's novels, that were written a full forty years before Sister Carrie, explore naturalism in such a way as to make the character the hero and society the villain. Dreiser's Carrie is no such hero, she is just the unfortunate victim of circumstance.

This book was written at the turn of the century and it is a great portrait of American life and ideals at that time. It is the story of a young girl named Carrie who leaves her small town to go to Chicago to live with her sister and find work. She soon finds that living with her sister and her husband is very boring and that work is hard and dull. Soon she is a mistress of a pretty wealthy man, and the rest of the book is the story of her rise in society.

One of the main themes of this book is materialism, and how people would do anything for money. During the book I could see how innocent Carrie becomes a victim of circumstances as she tries to fit into the environment around her and becomes swallowed by the anonymity of the city. I love Dreiser's style, although he goes off on unneccessary little lectures at times, and I really liked following the plot. The characters were drawn so well that I would forget they weren't real. This is a great book to read and it accurately portrays American cities at the rise of industrialism and materialism.

This novel hooked me from the first page - who can forget the opening scene where the young Caroline Meeber is "spotted" by the travelling salesman Charles Drouet on the Chicago-bound train? We follow in this novel two seemingly irreversible life flows: Carrie uses her beauty and ambition to rise in life, and Hurstwood falls from his secure position of middle-aged, upper-middle-class success to utter failure, all for the love of a woman half his age. It's the stuff of melodrama to some, but not when handled by Dreiser, who takes the reader into a vividly realized urban world with well-drawn characters whose virtues and vices are equally on display. You leave the book feeling that Carrie and Hurtstwood could very easily have stepped out of the pages of today's newspapers, such is the zone of uncomfortable truth inhabited by the denizens of this brilliant novel.

This Side of Paradise is the first F. Scott Fitzgerald book I have ever read. I know this is somewhat sad, as he is one of the most important writers in American literary history. If this is an example of his work, then this will certainly not be the last F. Scott Fitzgerald book that I read. The protagonist, Amory Blaine, is easy to identify with (at least for me), and his story fits in perfectly with the time period in which this novel was written. Most of the "classics" are portrayed as dry and boring; this one is not, and you should not hesitate to read it.

Fitzgerald is best known for The Great Gastby, his later work, but the earlier This Side of Paradise is nearly writing perfection(it is not hard at all to see how this novel catapulted Fitzgerald into superstardom). Amory Blaine is incredibly believable. Pompous, concieted, talented and sensitive, Fitzgerald's semi-autobiographical novel is intelligently written, not condesending like so many later writers tend to act. The unique way the novel is structured only adds to its feel of reality. Word to the wise: if a this-week bestseller is your idea of a good read, stay away from this insightful and clever story of a young man's coming of age in the dramatically quickly changing 1920s.

Reading some of these reviews has proven to be depressing - in the sense that everyone is focusing on the youthful 'flaws' of this novel. Perhaps it is not comparable in brilliance to Gatsby - but kids-Fitzgerald was a rarest of species-he was a literary genius and Gatsby was his masterpiece! 'This Side'...may have been his first attempt out but never the less a marvelous portrait of being young in the 20th Century. It's shameful that people constantly compare this story to Gatsby, his Sistine Chapel of novels. No, this is simply a terrific story - and it truly is. Amory Blaine is an exceedinlgy likeable protagonist(something all the 'young hip'writers of today seem to forget to have), his images are portraits and his prose are just beginning to blossom. Indeed, this a youthfully 'flawed' novel by a young genius - which still equals an excellent work of fiction. - Oh, and if one reads this book and does not like Amory Blaine, that someone either forgot what it was to be young - or simply doesn't want to be reminded. Ciao.

Fitzgerald may not have been overly fond of his short stories, but his writing skill and insight shine through anyway. In The Ice Palace and Bernice Bobs her Hair and the Four Fists in particular, Fitzgerald captures individuals struggling with themselves. Who/what should they be, and why? While I wasn't too fond of the pirate story, as it lacked these elements, the other stories in the book show a depth of understanding and introspection that makes for a wonderful, thoughtful read.

Fitzgerald's stories manage to unite his otherworldly grasp of the fluctuations in the human soul. He is a master at presenting its contrivances and vanities as things that happen to people. The tension in these tales rises with almost unconscious force. Red herrings of possible conclusions are whispered but almost in the style of a trickster. Someone always gets conned and someone unmasked- all within that now long-gone era that held a fullhouse of interesting details and premonitions of an ominous future. "Beatrice Bobs her Hair" always has something more to say about savage young ladies. It deserves its place, I think, in every highschool English curriculum. The spoiled rich girls inevitably fall madly in love- with the cads or the tricksters. It was interesting to read "Benediction" in this era of the priest scandals. How priests were seen by Fitzgerald, or perhaps how he conceived his alter ego- is apparent in his return to his natural self through the heroine's choice at the end. This writer always has a trick up his sleeve for the unpredictable conclusion.
I am surprised that there are not more raves over this collection, but perhaps that is the nature of the post modern era. I on the other hand -rave. Story, resolution, all those little formulas that separate the artist from the amateur in the impossible short story form. Fitzgerald, except for perhaps in Gatsby, never achieved such form and plotting in his novels. His youth too, can be sensed in the humorous and rather light-hearted manner by which he casts his characters and those obstacles that they encounter.

This collection of short stories takes a candid look at America in the early 20th century. There isn't a stinker in the lot, but I think "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is my favorite. Fitzgerald has a way of making his readers connect with unlikeable characters that seems almost magical.

Clowe, West and Kassow gather a collection of 22 essays that address from every conceivable angle the subject of Russian civil society, and civic identity-- aka "obshchestvo" and "obshchestvennost"-- all during the transitional period from imperial rule to the Russian Revolution. The volume looks through the lens of social history, work ethics, civic associations, professions, classes, and many more perspectives to create a definition of civil society (or "middle class" as Clowes, West and Kassow choose to identify it in the title.)

For those of us attempting to make sense of what is occuring in Russia today, it is critical to take a long hard look at its past. And, that is just to start the road to understanding. I recommend this book to the hard-core Russophile or anyone wanting to build a historical literature review of Russia.

This book is one of the best of the whole West Point series. The authors have found a way to describe an analyse historical events in detail and in a very serious way, yet the book is never boring nor exceedingly academic. The readers feels like a junior officer in a staff HQ and witnesses key decisions being made. A brilliant and innovative book, maybe a little too centered on the role of the United States. The Atlas is a useful complement, and reading the two in parallel is invaluable. Probably one of the best tools to understand WWII ever designed.