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Klein's biography of the most secretive reviled robber baron of the American 19th century affords its readers a front-row seat into stock market and railroad history, easily exploring the vanishingly fine line between creativity, invention, and illegality. It provides light on mining and publishing industries, and more than anything else, it is a story of one extraordinary man.
Jay Gould had a mind made for money: how and when it moved, its peculiar relationship to the law of the time, its ability to generate incredible beauty and nearly incomprehensible corruption in the country and in a soul.
It's a novel of manners for the business world in an age that explores debt financing, women's roles, the rise of Midwest cities, post bellum yellow journalism, and the effects of the gold and land rushes. Richly quoted and fully cited, almost every infamous and notorious name on the national scale, Presidential, professional, Congressional, and criminal, plays a role in this epic history. So detailed that I learned quite a bit about the stock market that I could use, in the context that made evrything I've read since, from Den of Thieves and The Predators Ball to The Big Short, much more accessible.
The good and the bad, mixed in a man, was writ large in that age. Gould, neither the best, nor the worst, of his kind, can help us know the age.
Last edited by gelofogo; 08-01-2017 at 10:55 PM..
Reason: title didn't show in post
12 years a slave : narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, Northup, Solomon, c2007, Barnes & Noble, 306.362 NORT.
Subjects
• Northup, Solomon, -- 1808-1863?
• Slaves -- United States -- Biography.
• African Americans -- Biography.
• Slaves' writings, American.
• Slavery -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century.
• Plantation life -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century.
Notes
• "First published by Derby & Miller in 1853"--P. facing t.p.
Length
• 198 pages :
The basis of the movie, of the same name. A disturbing look @ slavery in the old South, @ its fiercest in Lousiana, along the Mississippi River, in the years shortly before the Civil War. It’s remarkable that Northup apparently bore no ill will to the South as whole, faulting only those who kidnapped him & treated him abominably – despite knowing that he was born free. A map would be helpful.
I have the movie from the library. Haven't decided yet if I want to watch it.
12 years a slave : narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, Northup, Solomon, c2007, Barnes & Noble, 306.362 NORT.
Subjects
• Northup, Solomon, -- 1808-1863?
• Slaves -- United States -- Biography.
• African Americans -- Biography.
• Slaves' writings, American.
• Slavery -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century.
• Plantation life -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century.
Notes
• "First published by Derby & Miller in 1853"--P. facing t.p.
Length
• 198 pages :
The basis of the movie, of the same name. A disturbing look @ slavery in the old South, @ its fiercest in Lousiana, along the Mississippi River, in the years shortly before the Civil War. It’s remarkable that Northup apparently bore no ill will to the South as whole, faulting only those who kidnapped him & treated him abominably – despite knowing that he was born free. A map would be helpful.
I have the movie from the library. Haven't decided yet if I want to watch it.
Larger than life : New Mexico in the twentieth century / Ferenc M. Szasz, 1940-, c2006, U. of NM Press, SW 978.9053 Szas.
Subjects
• New Mexico -- History -- 20th century.
• New Mexico -- Biography.
Notes
• Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh and the shaping of New Mexican history -- J. Robert Oppenheimer and the state of New Mexico -- Congressman Bill Richardson and the 1984 creation of the Bisti and De-na-zin Wilderness Areas in Northwest New Mexico -- The cultures of modern New Mexico, 1940 to the early twenty-first century -- Cutting the gordian knot : how Leslie R. Groves and Norris Bradbury made the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory permanent, 1945-48 -- New Mexico's forgotten nuclear tests : projects Gnome (1961) and Gasbuggy (1967) -- The history of atomic photography -- Francis Schlatter : the spiritual healer of the Southwest -- The Tolar, New Mexico, munitions train explosion, November 30, 1944 -- The saga of Chaco Canyon's "threatening rock," ca. 550 B.C.E.-22 January, 1941.
Length
• xvii, 298 pages : photos, index, chapter notes
An interesting local history read. Lindbergh was apparently the very first US celeb – he pushed forward commercial air service in the US, aeronautical history, he barnstormed across the US. The atomic legacy in NM – a worthwhile read in & of itself. & tidbits of NM history that I'd forgotten or never knew.
Who wot nowe that ys here/Where he schall be anoder yere?
Read The Wars of the Roses : the fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors / Dan Jones, 1981- , c2014, Viking, 942.04 JONE.
Subjects
• Tudor, House of.
• Plantagenet, House of.
• Great Britain -- History -- Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485.
• Great Britain -- History -- Lancaster and York, 1399-1485.
Notes
• Beginnings (1420-1437) -- What is a king? (1437-1455) -- The hollow crown (1455-1471) -- The rise of the Tudors (1471-1525).
Summary
• The best-selling author of The Plantagenets traces the 15th-century civil wars that irrevocably shaped the British crown, particularly evaluating the roles of strong women including Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort in shifting power between two ruling families. Includes six maps and four genealogies.
Brilliant exposition on very confusing times in the UK. Excellent background for generalists, background to the historical Shakespeare plays, etc. The Tudors are very surprising in origin.
The great influenza : the epic story of the deadliest plague in history / John M. Barry, 1947-, c2004, Viking, 614.518 Barr
Subjects
• Influenza -- History -- 20th century.
• Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919.
• Influenza, Human -- history -- United States.
• Disease Outbreaks -- history -- United States.
• History, 20th Century -- United States.
Excellent history of the flu, US medical systems, doctor training, various bungling by US military, various state departments of health, American Red Cross, & the JIT medical training that turned the tide. A very close-run race, with lots of lessons for the next outbreak.
Again, a book I saw recommended here. A must-read, if you worry about the next Ebola.
The great influenza : the epic story of the deadliest plague in history / John M. Barry, 1947-, c2004, Viking, 614.518 Barr
Subjects
• Influenza -- History -- 20th century.
• Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919.
• Influenza, Human -- history -- United States.
• Disease Outbreaks -- history -- United States.
• History, 20th Century -- United States.
Excellent history of the flu, US medical systems, doctor training, various bungling by US military, various state departments of health, American Red Cross, & the JIT medical training that turned the tide. A very close-run race, with lots of lessons for the next outbreak.
Again, a book I saw recommended here. A must-read, if you worry about the next Ebola.
I read this a few years back. I agree it was great and I found the history of the medical system really interesting.
The outsider : my life in intrigue / Frederick Forsyth, 1938-, c2015, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 823.914 FORS.
Subjects
• Forsyth, Frederick, -- 1938-
• Novelists, English -- 20th century -- Biography.
Summary
• "From Frederick Forsyth, the grand master of international suspense, comes his most intriguing story ever--his own"-- Provided by publisher.
• He was the RAF's youngest pilot at the age of nineteen, barely escaped the wrath of an arms dealer in Hamburg, got strafed by a MiG during the Nigerian civil war; the Stasi arrested him, the Israelis feted him, the IRA threatened him. And that's just for starters. Forsyth has been writing extraordinary real-world novels of intrigue for over forty years-- but what most people don't know is that some of his greatest stories of intrigue have been in his own life.
Length
• xviii, 332 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : no index
Intriguing snippets of his life, work, various careers, incidents in his professional life. Very readable, he’s a charming rogue. & he still tells a good story.
Isaac's storm : a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history / Erik Larson, 1954- , c1999, Crown Publishers, 976.4139 LARS.
Subjects
• Cline, Isaac Monroe, -- 1861-1955.
• Hurricanes -- Texas -- Galveston -- History -- 20th century.
• Floods -- Texas -- Galveston -- History -- 20th century.
• Cline, Isaac Monroe.
• Galveston (Tex.) -- History -- 20th century.
• Galveston (Tex.) -- Biography.
Notes
• Beach: September 8, 1900 -- ch. 1. Law of storms -- ch. 2. Serpent's coil -- ch. 3. Spectacle -- ch. 4. Cataclysm -- ch. 5. Strange news -- ch. 6. Haunted.
• Based on the diaries of Isaac Monroe Cline and on contemporary accounts.
Summary
• Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based was to him preposterous. It is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets nature's last uncontrollable force, based on Cline's own letters, telegrams, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the hows and whys of great storms.
A terrifying story – the US triumphed in the Spanish-American War 1898, taking Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines. & consequently felt the need to lord it over the Spanish & Cubans who pioneered hurricane studies. Their warnings were suppressed, the fledgling US weather service was struggling to establish itself, & so felt it was their task to boost economic growth, rather than provide warnings - & so possibly provoke unnecessary panic. The weather service managed to deny the Cuban meteorologists use of the US telegraph submarine net in the Caribbean (we had offices in Havana, observers throughout Cuba) – denying them the weather services’ maps & advisories, & cutting off their warnings to the mainland. A lot of people died, were injured, & much material damage was caused thereby.
Isaac's storm : a man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history / Erik Larson, 1954- , c1999, Crown Publishers, 976.4139 LARS.
Subjects
• Cline, Isaac Monroe, -- 1861-1955.
• Hurricanes -- Texas -- Galveston -- History -- 20th century.
• Floods -- Texas -- Galveston -- History -- 20th century.
• Cline, Isaac Monroe.
• Galveston (Tex.) -- History -- 20th century.
• Galveston (Tex.) -- Biography.
Notes
• Beach: September 8, 1900 -- ch. 1. Law of storms -- ch. 2. Serpent's coil -- ch. 3. Spectacle -- ch. 4. Cataclysm -- ch. 5. Strange news -- ch. 6. Haunted.
• Based on the diaries of Isaac Monroe Cline and on contemporary accounts.
Summary
• Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based was to him preposterous. It is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets nature's last uncontrollable force, based on Cline's own letters, telegrams, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the hows and whys of great storms.
A terrifying story – the US triumphed in the Spanish-American War 1898, taking Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines. & consequently felt the need to lord it over the Spanish & Cubans who pioneered hurricane studies. Their warnings were suppressed, the fledgling US weather service was struggling to establish itself, & so felt it was their task to boost economic growth, rather than provide warnings - & so possibly provoke unnecessary panic. The weather service managed to deny the Cuban meteorologists use of the US telegraph submarine net in the Caribbean (we had offices in Havana, observers throughout Cuba) – denying them the weather services’ maps & advisories, & cutting off their warnings to the mainland. A lot of people died, were injured, & much material damage was caused thereby.
This is an excellent book (as are most of the author's books - Erik Larson). I read it, could hardly put it down, and then my husband picked it up as soon as I was finished and couldn't put it down till he was finished either!
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A terrifying narrative
