“Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow

I recently finished reading Ron Chernow’s latest book about George Washington and found it to be a complete, single-volume, and quite readable biography of the first President of the United States.

What else is there to write about Mr. Washington, you might ask? Many other biographies have already been written. Some only focus on parts of his life such as his time in office or as the leader of the Continental Army. Others are multi-volume sets of seemingly day-by-day analyses of every moment in his life. Since the publication of the last detailed work on the president, many new personal letters and diaries of Washington’s have been published. Mr. Chernow has made extensive use of these as evidenced in the acknowledgment and endnotes of this book.

Any biographer who writes about George Washington has a wealth of material to research. Aside from what has already been written about him, Washington documented his daily life through diary and journal entries, almost as if he recognized he was creating his own place in history. These entries, along with the personal letters he wrote, he treated as valuable documents. They were carefully preserved, they made the journey from his estate at Mt. Vernon to the capitol and back as he took and left office, and their future ownership was declared upon the execution of his will. There are some letters we do not have – those personal letters shared between he and his wife, Martha Washington. Martha disposed of their correspondence after George’s death in 1799. She set the letters aflame as a grieving widow, a practice at the time that was not uncommon.

Chernow’s portrait of Washington is complete and well-balanced. He has created an image of Washington that rightfully secures his place as a leader in early American history, but does not ignore his faults. Slavery was a lifelong contradiction for the Father of Our Country. He was laying the foundations of a country based on liberty and freedom and yet owned hundreds of slaves that were “necessary” to maintain his farms at Mt. Vernon. These slaves would not be freed until Washington’s death.

Chernow spent equal time writing about George Washington’s life as president and statesman as he did describing his early life as frontiersman and army general, leading armies in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. The description of Benedict Arnold’s experience paints quite a different picture than the one I remember from my childhood history class. However my favorite aspect of Chernow’s book is how well he describes the emotional side of George Washington. Washington’s appearance was stoic, but the emotions he felt underneath were anything but. This trait translated into his wartime tactics. As a general he kept his adversaries (and his own men) under the impression that he had sufficient manpower, and sufficient gunpowder and artillery, but the reality was quite the opposite. And then, there are a few points in the story of his life where Washington cannot hold his emotions back. He was brought to tears by the reception he received by the public as he went to take the office of president for the first time, and by unanimous vote. Chernow’s descriptions of events like this were quite moving and made Washington seem very human. I think that is the ultimate goal of any biographer and in this Ron Chernow has succeeded.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Washington/Ron-Chernow/e/9781594202667/?itm=1&USRI=washington

Lord of the Rings: Gollum

As with just about any work of classic fiction, there is a protagonist and antagonist at work in the plot. For obvious reasons, the protagonist captures the heart and admiration of readers and often remains in their long-term memory when pondering the age-old "good versus evil" scenario.

Thanks to Hollywood and the silver screen, a beautiful piece of renowned classic literature, The Lord of the Rings by British author J.R.R. Tolkien, has been brushed off and reintroduced to new generations.

Readers and watchers of the silver screen know all about the primary protagonists, the Hobbits, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee (Sam), and my two favorites, Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), and Peregrin Took (Pippin) in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, but how much is known about the antagonist Sméagol otherwise known as Gollum?



Being familiar with Tolkien's work, Sméagol and his dark tale is first introduced to readers in the masterpiece titled The Hobbit and is further clarified and directed in subsequent works The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Sméagol, or more commonly known as Gollum, was once a Hobbit like Frodo, but while out fishing with Déagol they happened to stumble upon a mysterious ring. The fishing trip ended with Déagol's murder at the hands of Sméagol who was demanding the ring as a birthday present. This particular scene is dramatically portrayed in the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring and explains the transformation that Sméagol experiences thus rendering him a cursed and spiteful creature (Gollum).

Gollum, at times, can play with the heart of the reader and a sense of pity can overcome, but he has one motive: to recapture the ring, or as he refers to it, "Precious", at any cost, from Frodo and his friends who received it from Frodo's cousin Bilbo Baggins. Throughout what is commonly known as the trilogy (LOTR was originally penned as six books), Gollum, at times becomes redeemable and then homicidal the next moment causing readers and film watchers, alike, to sigh in frustration.

The last scene of conflict between Frodo and Gollum is best summed up by the Gollum's Wikipedia entry as: "Moments later, Frodo stood on the edge of the Crack of Doom, but was unwilling to destroy the Ring, claiming it for himself and putting it on. Gollum struck again, and struggled with the invisible Frodo. Finally, Gollum bit off Frodo's finger and seized the Ring. He gloated over his prize, dancing madly, but stepped over the edge and fell into the fires of Mount Doom, taking the Ring with him with a last cry of 'Precious!' Thus, the Ring was destroyed and Sauron defeated."

Summing up Gollum's character, he proved to the reader that he valued material possessions over friendship and love when he murdered Déagol. Despite his ability to occasionally show the Sméagol-side of his personality, which was redeeming, he quickly fell back into the sociopathic role once his eyes fell upon the coveted ring. Gollum is beyond redeemable with the ending of the book (and movie) touching on themes of poetic justice.

Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of Rings, is recommended to any reader who enjoys vivid literary detail, epic battle scenes, and of course, the age-old tale of good versus evil. The Lord of Rings can be found in a single volume or in the trilogy format. Literature to film critics have given positive praise as to the movie's fidelity to Tolkien's printed works; however, on the otherhand, criticism has been given as to the films' running time of 178 minutes, 179 minutes, and 201 minutes respectively.

The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon's Josephine

Andrea Stuart’s biography of Josephine Bonaparte, The Rose of Martinique, documents the unbelievable life of the Empress, from her childhood in Martinique to her death in France in 1814. Though this book is a historical biography, it often reads more like a novel, following Josephine throughout her childhood, to her rough transition into womanhood, and eventually Empress of France. While the book is full of historical background and context, I am sure that those usually bored by such details will find this book strongly engaging, as the dramatic events of Josephine’s life pull us into her world of nineteenth century France, arguably the most turbulent and infamous times of French history, including the Reign of Terror, in which Josephine narrowly escapes the guillotine, and the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Born in June of 1763 in Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique as Marie Josèph Rose Tacher de la Pagerie, she was known as Rose throughout her childhood, growing up on a sugar plantation. Stuart delves deep into the fantasy and myth surrounding the islanders, known in France as Creoles, as well as touching on the unfortunate truths of island life, which depended greatly upon the use of slave labor. Stuart makes no attempt to hide the atrocities that were committed by the French inhabitants of the island, noting the hypocrisy and confusion with which we may view Josephine and her family; though they were a close loving family, and though the island of Martinique was often seen as a luxurious, romantic and exotic locale, there were dark, morally ambiguous aspects as well, and the author makes sure to note this dichotomy. However, for the French, Martinique remains as an exotic and sultry ideal that is also applied to the women who live there, a myth that plays to Josephine’s advantage in her later life in France.

By the arrangement of an aunt living in France, Rose moves to Paris in 1779 to marry Alexandre de Beauharnais, who was also born, though not raised, in Martinique, the son of François de Beauharnais, who served as Governor of Martinique. However, the marriage proved to be extremely unhappy, as Stuart documents the numerous extramarital affairs had by Alexandre and the extreme isolation experienced by Rose, who found herself out of place in Parisian society. Estranged beyond reconciliation, Rose moved into a convent in November of 1783 with her son Eugène, leaving her infant daughter with her nurse. Stuart explains how convents in the nineteenth century were often seen as quite fashionable; many widows, unmarried women, or married women experiencing marital problems sought solace at such places, and it is here that Rose truly matures into a young Parisienne, shedding her Creole habits and adopting the ways of speaking and acting as fashionable young French women.

Rose’s involvement in the Reign of Terror is perhaps the most dramatic part of the book. Rose’s husband Alexandre was involved in much of the political debate leading up to the Revolution, and he was given both political and military appointments. As Alexandre’s fame grew, so did Rose’s. During this time, Rose became acquainted with most of the famous leaders of the Revolution. However, as figures such as Maximilien Robespierre came into power, those active in the early stages of the Revolution, and especially those of aristocratic background, such as Alexandre, came under suspicion. In 1794, Alexandre was arrested and kept in Les Carmes, a prison, only to be executed a few months later. Rose was also sent to the same prison, as she was married into an aristocratic family and familiar with many aristocratic and Revolutionary figures. Stuart aptly describes the horrific conditions under which Rose and her fellow captors lived, also suggesting that the health problems and mental state of Rose played a role in her inability to later conceive a child with Napoleon.

After the end of the Reign of Terror, Rose was released from prison and thrust into the Parisian society that would eventually lead her to her second husband, Napoleon Bonaparte. Before and during her marriage to Napoleon, Rose became a celebrated member of Parisian culture, enjoying romances with important military and political figures, setting the styles and fashions of the day, and attending and hosting parties. The remainder of the book discusses her relationship, marriage and divorce from Napoleon. The author does a good job of keeping the book focused on Rose, renamed as Josephine by Napoleon, rather than on her husband. What emerges is a portrait of Josephine that renders her as a real woman; we see both her flaws and her triumphs. We are able to get a feeling for her insecurities, her strengths, and her sincere kindness, which was remarked upon by many of the leaders of her time. Stuart does a wonderful and thorough job of providing a biographical account of Josephine Bonaparte, a woman who is often looked at only in the context of her second husband, and for this reason, I would recommend this book to everyone.

My Favorite Book

A book I recently read or I should say re-read is Stephen King's Bag of Bones, my all time favorite book. I have always been a fan of Stephen King but when I read Bag of Bones about 5 years ago, it became my favorite novel by him or by anyone. It isn't classic literature and it won't be studied in literature classes but what it exemplifies is what I want in a book- it takes you to a different place, into a different world for just awhile to look around and explore. Since the first time I read it I have read Bag of Bones every year at least once typically twice, so where it takes me is obviously an interesting one.

I don't want to give away what happens in the book but a brief summary would be that the book follows a man, Mike Noonan, who's wife passes away and he has to continue his life without her which is mundane until a chance encounter with a young woman, Stephen King would never allow it to be that simple though so expect the unexpected. Mike begins to believe the unbelievable and learn more about his past then he could have ever imagined. That being said, I think this is more novel than horror for Stephen King though and a great book to check out if you aren't into horror or fantasy but want to give a Stephen King book a try.

Bag of Bones is like a conversation with the main character, like you are sharing in Mike Noonan's life as a friend. I feel transported to the TR everytime I read the book through Stephen King's writing and descriptions of his characters and places. The characters are normal people who at the same time can be viewed as villianious and heoric, weak and strong. The humanity Stephen King is able to portray in this book is amazing, the characters are three dimensional and almost become real people.

I love this book and whenever I get a chance I recommend people read it because I wish what I feel when I read this book for everyone. At the very least it will start a conversation and that isn't so bad.