Rather than diminishing with time; the fascination with the Confederacy and its heroes seems to grow increasingly stronger. This volume features a wide selection of rarely seen photographs of Confederate heroes; such as Robert E. Lee; "Stonewall" Jackson; Jubal Early; Nathan Bedford Forest; A.P. Hill and Jeb Stuart; along with details of their military careers and personal lives that are little known to the average reader. Arranged chronologically and geographically; this book features descriptions of more than forty battles of the War Between the States; along with battle maps; which illustrate where the Confederates and the Union antagonists were located during these various fights. The first section discusses and provides images from 1860 to 1861; during the secession to Fort Sumter. The author then discusses the major battles that occurred in 1861 in northern Virginia and in the South and West; providing several photographs that take on much of the story telling. The sections for the years 1862 to 1865 are arranged similarly and each section also includes background about the Southern battle flags.
#67419 in Books Franklin Benjamin 2015-11-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.43 x 1.01 x 2.98l; .0 #File Name: 0785833501202 pagesThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Review
693 of 705 people found the following review helpful. The Original American DreamBy T. S.It's a little presumptuous to write a "review" of a book as historically important as this; so I'll just give a few reasons why you should read it.It's well-written and engaging; even 200+ (nearing 300+; Franklin was born in 1706) years later. It stops in 1760; well before his involvement with the Revolution; but it covers in detail his youth; apprenticeships; the formation of his philosophy and ideals; and his path from poor roots to business and social success -- the first telling of the American Dream; the idea that a poor young man could Find His Fortune in the New World through enterprise; wisdom; and work.There is a high degree of self-hagiography here; and it would be amusing to tally up (for example) how many times Franklin praises himself vs. how many times he advises on the virtue of humility. He smooths over controversial topics like his illegitimate son; he doesn't mention his membership in the Freemasons; etc. The construction is also a bit rambling ("Then I did this thing. Next; I did another thing. Then I did a third thing"); but Franklin simply did so many interesting things -- even in this short slice of his life -- that the book is interesting despite that. There's a great deal of discussion on his scientific and inventive accomplishments; and he talks at length about his development of his own personal moral code and how he achieved business success (along with Franklin's Personal Method You Can Use for Self-Improvement -- in some ways; this is the first self-help book!)All in all; this is very much worth reading; and gives a compelling picture of Franklin's life and times. I particularly liked the picture Franklin draws of contemporary American society -- free; open; and small; with most people in most towns all knowing each other; and business opportunities are wide open for anyone with industry and pluck. I'm not sure how similar modern-day America still is to Franklin's Philadelphia; but it's certain that Franklin -- and this book -- helped set the image that we still *want* to believe America conforms to. And for that alone; it's worth reading.If you like this book; you might also be interested in reading Alexis de Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_; for another view of colonial-era America; or any of Mark Twain's nonfiction (_Life on the Mississippi_; _Roughing It_; etc.); for similar accounts of America's growth and development a hundred-odd years further on. Any of those should be available as a free Kindle download.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. In many ways Franklin is the quintessential AmericanBy Gene Rhea TuckerThis version of Franklin's autobiography (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin; Volume One: 1706-1757; ISBN 9781596980303) is edited by Mark Skousen. His main work was to "compleat" the autobiography; which Regnery publishing has made a volume two to this volume (The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin; Volume Two: 1757-1790) by piecing together Franklin's other pieces into a similar autobiographical form. Skousen doesn't do much annotating here. Just a few footnotes explaining old terms (what's an "eleve"?) and adding a few details to Franklin's text (like; editing a date or name here and there). There is a short and interesting introduction to the project; a "cast of characters;" a chronology; and an index. Unlike the Skousen-edited Compleated Autobiography; there are no images. Read in tandem; these two volumes provide the classic Autobiography and the "compleation" in the same mode; even the same font and styling; which makes for a unified experience. It is well worth buying both if you can.As to the classic text of Franklin's Autobiography; what more can be said that already hasn't for a century. A story of pluck and determination. A story of hard work and humility. A story of virtue versus vice. A story of humor and wit. A story that encourages all the morals and values that made America great. You can see definitely why American children were made to read this all through the 1800s and early 1900s. It is a sort of shame that that is not the case now. Franklin's pragmatism; ecumenicism; public-mindedness; entrepreneurship; and joie de vivre is a story that should be told and emulated by all no matter their gender; age; creed; race; or color; i.e.; by every American. In many ways Franklin is the quintessential American.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Arguably the best autobiography ever written.By JDBeing a huge history buff and a lover of autobiographies; this is amongst my favorites. Franklin's writings are food for the soul. Such a.man of integrity of humble beginnings; there seemed to be nothing this man couldn't accomplish. So.many things attributed to him; everyone knows the kite and lightning experiments; but he also started the first fire Dept; was a postmaster general; a printer; writer; ambassador; the list goes on and on. If you read no other autobiography; read.this one; you will be better for it. The writing of the time is sometimes hard to follow; but still worth reading one of the most intelligent statesman and forefather of our country. Poor Richards Almanac is another great read. Published under the psuedonynm of Richard.Saunders; these are.great nuggets of truth; interspersed with some comedy. Well worth the time.
