In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west; in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure. Raised in a fiercely pro-slavery household in bitterly divided Misssouri; at age sixteen James became a bushwhacker; one of the savage Confederate guerrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war; James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconstruction; when his reckless daring; his partisan pronouncements; and his alliance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely at the forefront of the former Confederates’ bid to recapture political power. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adventures of the famous gunman; T. J. Stiles shows how he resembles not the apolitical hero of legend; but rather a figure ready to use violence to command attention for a political cause—in many ways; a forerunner of the modern terrorist.
#1158314 in Books Tuszynska Agata 2016-05-17 2016-05-17Format: Deckle EdgeOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.51 x 1.41 x 6.04l; 1.51 #File Name: 0375413707400 pagesFamily History of Fear A Memoir
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Why do I love this book from the first minute of reading?By Marzena BeraYes; I love it. The memoir is like the book describing also my life... And though the topic is tough; this isn't despair-filled story. Perhaps because reading about WW II and Holocaust we; the readers; know from the beginning - oppressed certainly survived; because it their offspring describes the past; the present and gives the hope for brighter (?) future. At least each one of us may dream - the future MIGHT be better... I think that especially professionals; dealing with souls and bodies of traumatized First Generation of survivors; unavoidably suffering from the past horrors and demons; as well as those helping so-called second and third generations of survivors; children - now in their sixties seventies; and also; unfortunately - grandkids; sometimes great-grandchildren of survivors; who raised them among secrets; serious children growing up in silent homes; without aunts; uncles; cousins; too often not knowing about family roots; one day - when the truth is revealed at last - each one of us got the shock of the life; they/WE all went through this to some various degree and got damaged. So; this book looks like a must-read by professionals struggling with OUR demons; sometimes helpless and harming us instead of helping. This book tells it all what each such patient has to say... I recommend the book with all of my heart's beats!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Lawrence B. GrattAn interesting story of survival...6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Family Secrets RevealedBy John D. CofieldIn the twentieth century few countries had as tumultuous a history as Poland's. Beginning the century divided between Russia; Germany; and Austria-Hungary; Poland regained its independence after World War I; only to be conquered and redivided once more by Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. Looted and purged of its Jewish population (the largest in Europe before World War II) by the Nazis; then forced into Communism by the Soviets after 1945; Poland spent nearly 45 years behind the Iron Curtain before regaining full independence in 1989. The long journey of the Polish people through the twentieth century is well depicted in this memoir by the writer and historian Agata Tuszynska.Tuszynska grew up in a relatively privileged home during the 1950s and 1960s. Her father was a well known radio broadcaster; thus providing her and her family a higher status than the norm; even though her parents' marriage actually ended when she was a child. When Tuszynska was 19 her mother told her a secret: she was Jewish. The Holocaust had destroyed most of Poland's Jewish population; and most of the survivors had immigrated after the war; but a small minority had remained; assimilated and; in the younger generations; mostly unaware of its heritage. This book is a recounting of Tuszynska's search for and recovery of memories of both sides of her family.I found Family History of Fear fascinating. The interconnections between what had been a wealthy Jewish family with its less prosperous Polish Catholic in-laws were enlightening to study. From my perspective as an American who was born and raised at roughly the same time as Tuszynska; it was intriguing to learn how young Poles were brought up (at least on the surface) to believe that Communism was leading their country to a great and prosperous future. And there can never be too many memoirs recording the horrors of the Holocaust; especially now that so many survivors' voices have been stilled forever.Family History of Fear was written in Polish; then translated to French and thence into English. This may account for some parts of Tuszynska's stories of her forebears being rather dry reading. Nevertheless this is an important memoir of survival and resilience in the face of massive change. A similar tale can be found in Rita Gabis' A Guest At The Shooters' Banquet.
