Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser (ISBN: 0-684-82291-1) provides a short overview of the original father of the country, George Washington. The book starts with an interesting discussion of modern history, which is history that often looks to break down the heroes of the past, find fault with them, and discount the stories that have been handed down for generations. Brookhiser claims he’s not looking to disparage Washington like other modern historians while being willing to set aside legend (“I cannot tell a lie,” for example) in order to give a clearer picture of the first president. The book then provides a basic overview of the major parts of Washington’s life, war, overseeing the writing of the Constitution, and his time as President, plus a review of the ideals and morals that drove Washington or that Washington chose to drive himself to achieve, as the case may be. A rather significant amount of time was spent relating Washington’s largely successful attempts at controlling his temper, other emotions, and tongue. The book finished with an interesting and very modern, despite the book being published in 1996, review of Washington’s patriarchal role. Brookhiser notes that fathers are not the rocks in people’s lives that they once were, and calling someone the father of a nation or a founding father may not really inspire anyone in modern America like it may have previously. Washington’s role as the father of his country and the strong, guiding presence behind many early American events is examined before the book ends with his death.Overall, I thought the book was fine. I think I didn’t find it as amazing as many reviewers did is because I didn’t need to rediscover Washington. I didn’t need to be disabused of any notions of Washington being a failure or some insufferable hypocrite who didn’t live up to lofty ideals he professed. The Founding Fathers were mortal and had shortcomings. That is why they are so inspiring. Like Washington, who spent his life striving to be better by controlling himself, many of the Founders strove to live on a higher plane and provide that for others. Washington, despite many efforts, has survived deconstruction rather well. For those who may be questioning the greatness of the heroes of the Revolutionary War, Brookhiser’s work is a worthy addition to that of the more based authors finding the good in the men and women who were willing to put it all on the line and sacrifice for a better life for themselves and their posterity. I was appreciative of the chance to re-acquaint myself, even if just briefly (the book barely makes it to page 200), with this great man and the great example he provides for us.
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Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention May to September 1787 by Catherine Drinker Bowen (ISBN: 978-0-316-10378-7) takes an intimate look at the coming into being of the Constitution. The book starts by acknowledging that the Constitution is the result of a miracle. That is not necessarily the author’s conclusion — although it is; it is what those who attended the Constitutional Convention themselves asserted it to be. The case for that is then made by simply recounting the events of the convention and providing a detailed look at the circumstances surrounding the Constitution’s inception. Bowen relies heavily on James Madison’s notes since they were the most comprehensive, but also incorporates the notes and other writings of other Founding Fathers. The picture painted is thorough, deep, and intricate. The account focuses on the major arguments and compromises, which help show how the birth of the Constitution was a miracle. Many delegates wanted nothing to do with a federal government, some leaving early or protesting every vote. Slavery was famously a contentious issue. The nature of the executive branch and whether or not the legislative branch should be mono- or bicameral were fought over tenaciously by men who held deep-rooted positions based on experience or strong philosophical convictions. America itself, a newborn nation only eleven years old at the time of the convention, was already rapidly changing with internal and external forces influencing it course. Finally, once the Constitution was drafted, there was still a high chance of failure since the document had to be ratified, and there were still many convention delegates as well as everyday citizens who were strongly opposed to what the Constitution proposed. Ultimately, it was successfully ratified and has stood the test of time.
Finding God in the Gulag: A History of Christianity in the Soviet Penal System by Jeffrey S. Hardy (ISBN: 978-0-19-775167-1) is a book that gives readers a chance to know more about life in the Gulag. Unlike Solzhenitsyn’s based-on-a-true-story novel, this book is an academic look at Christianity in the Soviet camps from the earliest days under Lenin to the dying days of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev with a little post-script about a few things in the post-Soviet times. It catalogs both attempts by inmates to life and express their religions and attempts by the prison management to suppress religion. It was interesting to note that efforts to extinguish religion in prisoners was not uniform in the Soviet Union. It was more lax in some camps than in others. There wasn’t always a central policy that camp managers could look to, so they did it their own way. Sometimes that meant believers were beaten and spent time in solitary confinement. Sometimes that meant a Christian guard did nothing when a prisoner prayed or sang a hymn or made an icon. There was a short section on faith among thieves and other such common criminals, including a few paragraphs about the fascinating world of Russian prison tattoos. The book also catalogs people losing their faith, which was unsurprising, and one that is not judged neither by the author nor by most prisoners who are cited in the book. They tended to believe the camps were inhumane and that one should not be judged too harshly or even at all for what they did in the camps. There was also a little proselyting that happened in the labor camps. This was especially true of Baptists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, but Orthodox and Catholic priests also preached and even baptized people. Toward the end of the Soviet regime, religion was sometimes encouraged because it generally had a good influence on prisoners and mediated their violent behavior.
He Walked the Americas: The Trail of the Prophet by L. Taylor Hansen (ISBN: 978-1-939149-19-0) is a compilation of stories from North and South American Indians that relate to a so-called white or pale prophet. The stories tell about the arrival of the prophet, his activities, and then his departure. The legends describe the man, usually as wearing white garments (most often with small crosses on the hem), having brown hair, usually a beard, wearing sandals, and usually with cross-shaped marks in his hands. Sometimes he was accompanied by other white men. Other times he organized churches, established temples, and called people to continue his teachings after his departure. The arrival is usually on a ship in the legends, but one of the stories recorded by the author noted that the mysterious white prophet’s ministry started with his appearance at the temple. The man’s activities while visiting the ancient Indians included preaching peace, ending human sacrifice, healing sick and otherwise afflicted people, and controlling the wind and water. The last two were kind of important in the legends because this god was often referred to as the feathered serpent. Wind was often represented by feathers and the water by the snake. The organization of churches, usually with twelve men called to be leaders and teachers, and the establishing of temples was the other main activity of this white prophet in the legends. The stories then tell of his departure, usually with the people mourning his leaving and eventually forgetting his teachings and reverting to war and human sacrifice.