September 2023 MBR The Biography Shelf

The Biography Shelf

Say Anarcha
J. C. Hallman
Henry Holt & Company
www.henryholt.com
9781250868466, $29.99, HC, 448pp

https://www.amazon.com/Say-Anarcha-Devious-Surgeon-Harrowing/dp/1250868467

Synopsis: For more than a century, Dr. J. Marion Sims was hailed as the "father of modern gynecology". He founded a hospital in New York City and had a profitable career treating gentry and royalty in Europe, becoming one of the world's first celebrity surgeons. Statues were built in his honor -- but he wasn't the hero he had made himself appear to be.

Sims's greatest medical claim was the result of several years of experimental surgeries (without anesthesia) on a young enslaved woman known as Anarcha; his so-called cure for obstetric fistula forever altered the path of women's health.

One medical text after another hailed Anarcha as the embodiment of the pivotal role that Sims played in the history of surgery. Decades later, a groundswell of women objected to Sims's legacy celebrated Anarcha as the "mother of gynecology". Little was known about the woman herself. The written record would have us believe Anarcha disappeared -- but she did not.

Through tenacious research, author J. C. Hallman has unearthed the first evidence of Anarcha's life that did not come from Sims's suspect reports. Hallman reveals that after helping to spark a patient-centered model of care that continues to improve women's lives today, Anarcha lived on as a midwife, nurse, and "doctor woman".

"Say Anarcha" excavates history, deconstructing the biographical smoke screen of a surgeon who has falsely been enshrined as a medical pioneer and bringing forth a heroic Black woman to her rightful place at the center of the creation story of modern women's health care.

Critique: A seminal contribution to the history of women's medicine, "Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health" by J. C. Hallman must be considered an essential, core addition to personal, professional, community, college, university, and medical school Women's Health History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for medical students, academia, women's health advocates, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: J. C. Hallman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._Hallman) is the author of five previous works of nonfiction and a book of short stories. His previous work on Anarcha has appeared in Harper's Magazine,the Forum (of the African American Policy Forum), the Baffler, Montgomery Advertiser, and Urology. He had been a recipient of fellowships from the McKnight Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, in the general nonfiction category.

Son of Southern Illinois
Carl Walworth, author
Glenn Pushard, author
Southern Illinois University Press
www.siupress.com
9780809339181, $28.95, PB, 340pp

https://www.amazon.com/Son-Southern-Illinois-Poshards-Education/dp/0809339188

Synopsis: With the publication of "Son of Southern Illinois: Glenn Poshard's Life in Politics and Education", co-authors Carl Walworth and Glenn Pushard have collaboratively written the first biography of Glenn Poshard and have traced the life of a young man who rose from rural poverty in Southern Illinois to become a United States congressman and president of the Southern Illinois University system. This profound portrait unveils a life and career dedicated to making higher education affordable and improving the quality of life for the community of Southern Illinois.

Beginning with his childhood in a two-room home near Herald, Illinois and the early, tragic loss of his sister, this biography navigates Poshard's service in the military, his time as a state senator and United States congressman, his run for governor, his years at Southern Illinois University, and the establishment of the Poshard Foundation for Abused Children.

Intimacies of his personal life are disclosed, such as his struggles with and treatment for depression, his passion for education, and the lasting bonds he formed with his teachers. His unpopular decision to refuse PAC donations is also highlighted, along with the work that went into sponsoring the Illinois Wilderness Act, and his relationship with civil rights activist John Lewis. Glenn Poshard's efforts for the Wilderness Act designated Southern Illinois's famous Garden of the Gods as a National Wilderness Preservation System, which continues to attract visitors from around the world.

Poshard's path from poverty was riddled with hardship, but his perseverance and family values ultimately allowed for longstanding personal and civic growth. From an admirable work ethic to a steadfast commitment to problem-solving, this biography illuminates the life and accomplishments of an impressive and generous leader.

Critique: Featuring B/W illustrations, "Son of Southern Illinois: Glenn Poshard's Life in Politics and Education" is a seminal study of the life and accomplishments of a truly remarkable man who overcame numerous adversities yet made a lasting impact on the state of Illinois that still resonates today. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Son of Southern Illinois" is a confidently recommended and important pick for personal, community, and academic library American Political Biography/Memoir collections.

Editorial Note #1: Carl Walworth (https://www.carlwalworth.com) worked for thirty-one years as a reporter, editor and later publisher in the newspaper industry in Illinois. He currently is the library director at the Mattoon Public Library. He is the author of The Mayor of Moultrie Avenue and a researcher for Lake Sara, the Hidden Jewel in America's Heartland. Walworth has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois in Urbana and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

Editorial Note #2: Glenn Poshard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Poshard) has been at the forefront of educational and economic development initiatives at the regional, state, and national level for more than five decades. His lengthy service-oriented career has included time as a soldier, teacher, Illinois state senator, a member of the U.S. Congress, chairman of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, and President of the SIU system. The Poshard Foundation for Abused Children, a volunteer organization founded by Poshard and his wife, Jo, has served the needs of vulnerable children in Southern Illinois for nearly 25 years.

Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland
Lawrence Schulman, author
James Fisher, contributor
John H. Haley, foreword
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887711850, $38.00, HC, 294pp

https://www.amazon.com/Garland-Thats-Beyond-Entertainment-Reflections/dp/B0C9SDN1K5

Synopsis: Differing from other biographies and studies devoted to the life and accomplishments of American actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian, Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) is that "Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland" by Lawrence Schulman isn't a traditional birth-to-death biography. Rather, it aims to remove her from the simplistic realm of such epithets as "world's greatest entertainer" and "Miss Show Business" and reconsider her as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century's Great American Songbook, as someone who took us beyond entertainment to a level of artistry unique in classic American popular music.

The importance of Judy Garland is amply highlighted in this detailed and richly-illustrated study covering Schulman's writings on Garland between 1993 and 2023 that concentrate on her recordings, and not all the hoopla, hagiography, and tragedy usually attached to her short 47-year life.

Utilizing published articles, reviews, liner notes, interviews, program notes, talks, and prefaces, the Schulman opus (which includes a Foreword by John H. Haley and an Afterword by James Fisher), took thirty years to write, and revolutionizes the trite take on Garland as having had just "a talent to amuse." A seminal study which meticulously includes all the facts but does not exclude amusing anecdotes and unsettling stories that shed light on this complicated artist, "Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland" resembles Garland in that it is indeed entertaining, but it also spotlights an artist whose frightening talent takes us over the rainbow to a reality in song that is devoid of complaisance or artifice.

Critique: An absolute 'must read' for the legions of Judy Garland fans, "Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland" is exceptionally informative, insightful, groundbreaking, well written biography that features B/W illustrations throughout. Throughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland" will prove an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library 20th Century American Entertainer Biography/Memoir collections and supplemental American 20th Century Popular Culture curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for Judy Garland fans that "Garland: That's Beyond Entertainment - Reflections on Judy Garland" is also available in a paperback edition (9798887711843, $28.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).

Editorial Note: Founded in 2001 by Publisher Ben Ohmart, BearManor Media is known for publishing books on Movies, Television, Old Time Radio, Theater, Animation, Circus Performing Arts and previously unpublished scripts. The BearManor Media catalog now features more than 900 outstanding subjects from the obscure to the eminent. BearManor Media is also considered a leader and innovator in publishing rare autobiographies and biographies of African-American show business legends, famous voice actors, well-known sitcom stars, and celebrated producers, directors, and screenwriters.

Onward & Upward
Michael Wiese
Michael Wiese Productions
www.mwp.com
9781615931392, $26.95

https://www.amazon.com/Onward-Upward-Reflections-Joyful-Life/dp/1615931392

Synopsis: From his humble beginnings in a small Midwestern town to becoming an integral part of the underground film scene of San Francisco in the '60s.

From studying with Balinese shadow puppet masters to presenting documentary screenings for the Dalai Lama.

From producing the best parody ever of Star Wars to documenting the spiritual healing powers of Ayahuasca in the Peruvian jungle.

From the hustle and bustle of film production in Hollywood to running the biggest "how-to" film making publisher in the world.

Michael Wiese has lived a life accompanied by countless paradigm thinkers such as Buckminster Fuller and Salvador Dali.

With the publication of his memoir, "Onward & Upward: Reflections of a Joyful Life", Michael candidly shares with his reader what his personal journey to true success (on every level of life) looks like.

Critique: "Onward & Upward: Reflections of a Joyful Life" by Michael Wiese provides readers with a thoughtful and memorable memoir from a publisher who founded Michael Wiese Productions and how he came to publish more books on film than anyone else. His extensive, informative, and inherently interesting memoir is an essential, core addition for personal, community, and academic library film and biography holdings alike, documenting both his rising influence in the film industry and his travels around the world in search of meaning. Originally published in

While "Onward & Upward: Reflections of a Joyful Life " candidly offers his personal revelations and insights as a book publisher and working in the film industry. Originally published in June 2013, "Onward & Upward" continues to be an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, community, and academic library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted that "Onward & Upward" is also now readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $25.60).

Editorial Note: Michael Wiese (https://mwp.com), is the founder of Michael Wiese Productions (MWP) with more than 200 published books on filmmaking. Director, author, producer and publisher, Michael has been instrumental in supporting the work of talented authors who bring to life unforgettable classics and have touched the hearts of audiences worldwide. His unwavering dedication to making life easier and better for independent filmmakers and creative minds worldwide, has earned him a reputation as a true champion of the arts.

Brass & Unity
Kelsi Sheren
https://brassandunity.com
Knox Press
c/o Permuted Press
https://permutedpress.com/knox-press
9781637588918, $28.99, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Brass-Unity-Journey-Through-Afghanistan/dp/1637588917

Synopsis: Fresh out of high school, Kelsi Sheren, a diminutive nineteen-year-old woman, sought to join the military to help liberate those oppressed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. While she was often the smallest person in basic training, she proved she had the biggest heart and often the most energy.

She made it to Afghanistan and joined a British military unit for house-to-house insurgent patrol. What she saw there was unimaginable death and destruction -- including the killing of a brother-in-arms. Devastated, Kelsi was sent home to get her head straight, but even therapy and medication couldn't clear her mind -- or let her sleep.

When two others who served with her later took their own lives, she feared that was the only way out. But clinging to life and the love of her husband and child, she knew she wasn't ready to give in. Finding respite in a jewelry business that utilized spent shell casings, and with the help of innovative grief therapy, Kelsi not only survived but continues to thrive -- and works tirelessly to spread the word and help others.

Critique: A compelling, candid, and ultimately inspiring true life story of struggle and survival, "Brass & Unity: One Woman's Journey Through the Hell of Afghanistan and Back" is a memorable and inspiring read from cover to cover. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Military History/Biography/Memoir and Canadian Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "brass & Unity) is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Kelsi Sheren is a combat veteran and artillery gunner in the Canadian military who served in Afghanistan in 2009 with the Canadian, American, and British armed forces. After deploying to Afghanistan at nineteen, Kelsi was diagnosed with PTSD and sent home only to begin a new war -- the war with herself. When her therapist recommended art therapy, Kelsi started making jewelry out of spent shell casings. She began with a warrior bracelet that led to the creation of a successful jewelry and eyewear brand, Brass & Unity. Twenty percent of net profits go toward helping veterans who are suffering from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Wandering through Life: A Memoir
Donna Leon
Atlantic Monthly Press
c/o Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
www.groveatlantic.com
9780802161581, $26.00, HC, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Wandering-through-Life-Donna-Leon/dp/0802161588

Synopsis: "Wandering through Life: A Memoir" by Donna Leon is a series of vignettes filled with affection, irony, and good humor, as she narrates a remarkable life that she feels has rather more happened to her than had been planned.

Following a childhood in the company of her New Jersey family, with frequent visits to her grandfather's farm and its beloved animals, and summers spent selling homegrown tomatoes by the roadside, Leon got her first taste of the classical music and opera that would enrich her life.

She also developed a yen for adventure. In 1976, she made the spontaneous decision to teach English in Iran, before finding herself swept up in the early days of the 1979 Revolution. After teaching stints in China and Saudi Arabia, she finally landed in Venice. Leon vividly animates her decades-long love affair with Italy, from her first magical dinner when serving as a chaperone to a friend, to the hunt for the perfect cappuccino, to the warfare tactics of grandmothers doing their grocery shopping at the Rialto Market.

Some things remain constant throughout the decades: her adoration of opera, especially Handel's vocal music, and her advocacy for the environment, embodied in her passion for bees -- which informs the surprising crux of the Brunetti mystery Earthly Remains. Even as mass tourism takes its toll on the patience of residents, Leon's passion for Venice remains unchanged: its outrageous beauty and magic still captivate her.

Having recently celebrated her eightieth birthday, Leon poignantly confronts the dual challenges and pleasures of aging. Complete with a brief letter dissuading those hoping to meet Guido Brunetti at the Questura, and always suffused with music, food, and her sharp sense of humor, "Wandering through Life" offers Donna Leon at her most personal.

Critique: A remarkable life story by a remarkable woman, "Wandering through Life: A Memoir" is an impressively written memoir laced with keen observation and humor. An inherently fascinating and memorable read from start to finish, "Wandering through Life: A Memoir" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Contemporary American Women's Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Wandering through Life: A Memoir" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Donna Leon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Leon) was born in New Jersey in 1942. She has worked as a travel guide in Rome and as a copywriter in London. She taught literature in universities in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia. Commissario Brunetti made her books world-famous.

Free Spirit
Tanya Same
Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781784728465, $26.99, HC, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Free-Spirit-barefoot-catwalks-fabulous/dp/1784728462

Synopsis: "Free Spirit" is the personal life story of Tanya Same, from barefoot childhood in Brazil. to her years as a top fashion model on the catwalks of New York. From busking with Andrew Loog Oldham before he managed the Rolling Stones to being invited to stay with Sharon Tate the night of the Manson murders, Tanya was (and is) one of those people who seems to have fitted more into one life than most of us would fit into nine. But above all, she is also modern day phenomena -- a female entrepreneur who has achieved true global success with the fashion brand of the 1990s, Ghost, solely as a result of her own hard work and talent and entirely on her own terms.

Critique: "Free Spirit" is an inherently fascinating and candidly informative memoir of the extraordinary life of a remarkable and talented woman. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Free Spirit" and will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in the world of High Fashion Modeling. "Free Spirit" is a very special and recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Contemporary Biography/Memoir collections.

Editorial Note: Born in 1945 as an only child to refugee parents, Tanya Sarne spent the first two years of her life in a children's home while her parents searched for suitable accommodation. After leaving Sussex University in 1967 with a degree in History, early career choices included a stint as an actress, work as a fashion model and a script reader for Universal Films. In the mid-1970s, when her first marriage collapsed, she started selling alpaca jumpers from Peru to support her children. Thus began her involvement with fashion. She launched Ghost in 1984 and it became the 1990s' biggest independent fashion brand, famous for its outrageous parties and clothes that made women feel confident about themselves. The brand is now owned by Touker Suleyman.

The Long Field
Pamela Petro
Arcade Publishing
www.arcadepub.com
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781956763676, $27.99, HC, 356pp

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Field-Presence-Absence-Memoir/dp/1956763678

Synopsis: Hiraeth is a Welsh word that's famously hard to translate. Literally, it can mean "long field" but generally translates into English, inadequately, as "homesickness." At heart, hiraeth suggests something like a bone-deep longing for an irretrievable place, person, or time -- an acute awareness of the presence of absence.

With the publication of "The Long Field: Wales and the Presence of Absence, a Memoir", Pamela Petro braids essential hiraeth stories of Wales with tales from her own life -- as an American who found an ancient home in Wales, as a gay woman, as the survivor of a terrible AMTRAK train crash, and as the daughter of a parent with dementia.

Through the pull and tangle of these true life stories and her travels throughout Wales, hiraeth takes on radical new meanings. There is traditional hiraeth of place and home, but also queer hiraeth; and hiraeth triggered by technology, immigration, ecological crises, and our new divisive politics. On this journey, the notion begins to morph from a uniquely Welsh experience to a universal human condition, from deep longing to the creative responses to loss that Petro sees as the genius of Welsh culture. It becomes a tool to understand ourselves in our time.

Critique: Deftly crafted, candid, inherently fascinating, exceptional, memorable, "The Long Field: Wales and the Presence of Absence, a Memoir" is a compelling, eloquent, and innately interesting life story told against a Welch backdrop. Especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library LGBTQ and Contemporary Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Long Field" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).

Editorial Note: Pamela Petro (https://pamelapetro.com) is a writer, artist, and educator and the author of four books, including Sitting Up with the Dead: A Storied Journey through the American South (published by Arcade) and Travels in an Old Tongue: Touring the World Speaking Welsh. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Atlantic, Granta, Guernica, Paris Review, and others. Pamela teaches creative writing at Smith College and in Lesley University's MFA Program, and is codirector of the Dylan Thomas Summer School at the University of Wales, where she is a fellow. Pamela is also a visual artist.

Unmasking the Klansman
Dan T. Carter
NewSouth Books
105 South Court Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
www.newsouthbooks.com
9781588384812, $28.95, HC, 400pp

https://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Ghost-Dancer-Carter-America/dp/1588384810

Synopsis: "Unmasking the Klansman: The Double Life of Asa and Forrest Carter" by Dan Carter may read like a work of fiction but it is actually the true life biography of Asa Carter, one of the South's most notorious white supremacists (and secret Klansman).

During the 1950s, this North Alabama political firebrand became known across the region for his right-wing radio broadcasts and leadership in the white Citizens' Council movement. Combining racism and thinly-concealed anti-Semitism, he created a secret Klan strike force that engaged in a series of brutal assaults, including an attack on jazz singer Nat King Cole as well as militant civil rights activists. "Unmasking the Klansman" explores the life of Asa Carter during these years and offers new insights into the legal maneuvers as well as the violence used by white Southern segregationists to derail the civil rights movement in the region.

In the early 1960s Carter became a secret adviser to George Wallace and wrote the Alabama governor's infamous 1963 inauguration speech vowing "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever".

When Carter disappeared from Alabama in 1972, few knew that he had assumed a new identity in Abilene, Texas, masquerading as a Cherokee American novelist. Using the name "Forrest" Carter, he published three successful Western novels, including The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales, which Clint Eastwood made into a widely acclaimed 1976 movie. His last book, The Education of Little Tree (a fake biography of his supposed Indian childhood) posthumously became a number one best-seller in 1991.

Author Dan T. Carter uncovered "Forrest" Carter's true identity while researching his biography of Georgia Wallace and in a New York Times' op-ed he exposed Carter's deception. Although the difficulties of uncovering the full story of the secretive Carter initially led him to abandon the project, in 2018 he gained access to more than two hundred interviews by the late Anniston newsman, Fred Burger. These recordings and his two decades of exhaustive research finally brought Asa Carter's story into focus. "Unmasking the Klansman" is the result.

Critique: An inherently fascinating read from start to finish, "Unmasking the Klansman: The Double Life of Asa and Forrest Carter" is a eloquent study in evil and a part of the 20th Century history of the American South that a new generation of white supremist political leaders is currently trying to erase from school history books and college history courses. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Unmasking the Klansman" is impressive informative and engaging life story of a man who strove to stop the long arc of history towards ending segregation -- a conflict that still goes on today. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library 20th Century American History & Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Unmasking the Klansman" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.38).

Editorial Note: Dan T. Carter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_T._Carter) is the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Professor Emeritus. The author and editor of more than forty scholarly articles and seven books, including Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South and The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, The Origins of the New Conservatism and the Transformation of American Politics. Carter has received eight major literary prizes including the Lillian Smith, Bancroft, and Robert Kennedy awards as well as a special citation in nonfiction from the Mystery Writers of America.

The Tafts
George W. Liebmann
Twelve Tables Press
9781946074409, $28.95, HC, 432pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tafts-English-French-George-Liebmann/dp/1946074403

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Tafts", biographer George W. Liebmann covers five generations of the Taft family -- America's longest-lived political dynasty but one that, unlike four generations of Adamses, three of Rockefellers and Kennedys, and two each of Oyster Bay and Hyde Park Roosevelts, has not captured the public's imagination.

Yet the impact of the Tafts on the present shape of American society may well be greater than that of any of the other political families. The Tafts' impact is unappreciated because, thanks to their unsympathetic biographers, William Howard Taft is thought of as a 'standpatter' and fat plutocrat and his son Robert A. Taft as a blind isolationist and opponent of domestic reform.

This long-overdue reconsideration of the Tafts shows them to be far-sighted, fair-minded, and in many ways good guides in dealing with today's concerns.

William Howard Taft served in more significant and varied public offices than any other American and, in his words, he always had his plate up when offices were being handed out. He was a collector of internal revenue, a state prosecutor, a state court trial judge, Solicitor General of the United States, a federal circuit judge, Governor General of the Philippines, Secretary of War, President of the United States, co-chairman of the War Labor Board under President Wilson, and Chief Justice of the United States.

His son Senator Robert A. Taft was a realist, not an isolationist, in foreign policy. He was the leader in repealing the embargo legislation and in allowing Britain to buy arms in the United States during the first two years of World War II. His Taft-Hartley Act still governs American labor law and is the only important modern statute passed over a presidential veto. He was also a champion of civil liberties, and was the only official in all three branches of government to publicly oppose internment of Japanese-Americans.

Senator Robert Taft Jr. was the first prominent politician to propose curbing "bracket creep" in the tax code to curb increases in the size of government.

Ohio Governor Robert Taft III made himself unpopular with both parties in the Reagan era by fostering fiscal responsibility; he also has a continuing interest in science education.

Public knowledge of the Taft family centers on the lives of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Senate Republican leader Robert A. Taft. In the age of Twitter and the tweet, where most politicians are "foolish, tawdy moths who fly into publicity's consuming fire", in American jurist Learned Hand's memorable phrase, it is useful to be reminded of a series of men who shunned personal publicity and glamour and who exerted great influence based on their breadth of knowledge and perceived good character -- The Tafts.
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Critique: Admirably rescuing from an undeserved and underappreciated obscurity, "The Tafts" by George W. Liebmann is a masterpiece of seminal and original scholarship. This biographic study of the Taft dynasty is further and informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a sixteen page Bibliography, a four page listing of Dramatis Personae, and a nine page Index. While especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Political Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Tafts" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.00).

Editorial Note: George W. Liebmann is a Baltimore lawyer, and has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester and Wolfson College, Cambridge. He is the author of "The Little Platoons: Sub-Local Governments in Modern History) (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995) and "The Gallows in the Grove" (Westport). (https://www.hoover.org/profiles/george-w-liebmann)

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