What was it like to be pioneering man in the West?

"As Big as the West:

The Pioneer Life of Granville Stuart,"

by Clyde A. Milner II & Carol A. O'Connor

Granville Stuart, like thousands of others in the mid-1800s, dreamed of making it big in that great expanse of the western territory of the United States.

Stuart had yet a bigger dream than most; he wanted to be important, not just rich.

When mining for precious metals didn't earn as much of a fortune as he thought it should, he sought wealth and esteem in cattle ranching. Hobnobbing with the likes of Teddy Roosevelt as a founding member of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, Stuart did well for himself -- but just for a while.

An ego as big as the West?

This meticulously researched account of Stuart's life story could double as an early history of the state of Montana. Stuart felt he had played a huge role in that history -- and it might be a recognition he deserved, too -- but his reach never quite realized his ambition, either in wealth or fame.

Rather than Stuart's life being "as big as the West," as this Oxford University Press title suggests, maybe it was Stuart's ego that was that size.

Along the way Milner and O'Connor's history bears important information about the land-grabbing practices and the abuse of native peoples, the assumed racial superiority of Caucasians of the time -- and ours? -- over Indians, vigilante justice, and the rise and fall of fortunes thanks to the boom and bust of the industries that were supposed to make millions for investors back down the Missouri and points east.

Stuart's ego surfaced in politics, too. Always feeling he deserved government jobs because of his work for the Democratic Party, Stuart wasn't shy about asking for positions in government at any level, and he was sometimes rewarded and other times ignored in his quests.

Who can explain how this failed rancher from the middle of Montana is, in the 1890s, appointed the U.S. minister to Uruguay and Paraguay!

Is this a great country, or what? -- bz

What are people thinking? McNabb's short stories offer insight into others - and ourselves

"the body of this,"
by Andrew McNabb


Andrew McNabb penetrated the heads of dozens of characters, discovered their thoughts, and reports his findings in “the body of this.”

Often, it’s brilliant.

It’s writing filled both with humanity and a sense of place, descriptive in a way that refuses to ignore who and what we pass by everyday but fail to see.

Especially who.

The setting for most of the often very brief short stories in McNabb’s collection (published in paperback by Warren Machine Company) is Portland, Maine – and the old portion of Portland. The people whose minds McNabb has invaded are God’s people – church-going, Catholic people – and for the most part believable and real.

Meet some faith-filled folk

Take Terry, the central character of one short story who takes the approach to customer service that “could only, only be provided by loving your neighbor with all your might.”

Meet Lydia, the immigrant trying to dress well and fit in at high school.

There's Frank, the lonely senior citizen serving food to the needy in the church basement who feels misunderstood.

And that young couple who decorated the baby’s room in anticipation of their first child only to…no, you’d better read that one yourself.

Lots of winners, but not all

McNabb writes some pretty weird stuff, too. When someone can bring together both reality and a sense of imagination the way he can, a reader has to wonder why he stoops to vulgarity at times.

It’s offensive. And unnecessary.

I say unnecessary because the empathy McNabb has for what some might call the least of God’s people is truly eye-opening, a blessing for his readers.

His insight into America’s obsession with losing weight is gorgeously brought out in the little more than four pages of the tightly written “Habeas Corpus.”

And the first-person story about a lottery winner – “It’s What It Feels Like” – is a marvelously-told piece of work that’s more about marriage – and the sometimes one-sideness of marriage – than about winning millions.

Is it what it looks like?

Or is it what it feels like?

And how about us?

What are all those people thinking, the ones we live with, the ones we work with and study with and volunteer with – and love?

What's really on their minds?– bz

Power of the presidency comes alive in history of Andrew Jackson

"American Lion,"
by Jon Meacham

As a new American president takes the stage, reading a history of an American president some 180 years prior is an enlightening joy.
Watching Barack Obama utilize his mandate from the 2008 election has been the perfect backdrop for going back in time to learn how -- in 1828 and during the eight years of two terms Andrew Jackson showed many U.S. presidents how the power of the presidency might be used to lead.
A youth during the War of Independence, a hero of the War of 1812 and a renown Indian fighter, the man those close to him called "the General" won the popular vote as well as the electoral vote in two elections, and he never let it be forgotten by those who disagreed with his reasoning.
Meacham paints a thorough portrait of Old Hickory -- warts and all -- yet his loving brush strokes are obvious. Readers, too, will find much to admire in Andrew Jackson, yet much for which to find fault with him as well, and that's to the historian Meacham's credit: He lets Jackson be human, not all good, not all bad, but multi-dimensional.

One way: Jackson's
Jackson was the break-through candidate, the one who saw the president as the representative of the people against entrenched interests. He took that mandate from his election as a voucher giving him the right to make changes -- and that he did.
Coming from his Tennessee home (the Hermitage) to a Washington that was just decades old but already seemingly set in its ways -- particularly with regard to who had a "right" to government jobs -- Jackson made it plain that he do things differently -- and his way. Hundreds of long-time government staff found they were replaced by Jackson appointees, for one thing. That was new.
When it came to Congress, Jackson initiated greater use of the veto, enhancing presidential power: In 40 years no more than four or five Acts of Congress had been vetoed by six presidents; Jackson vetoed four in three days.

A man of firsts
Jackson was the first Democrat, and might be credited -- for good or ill -- as the one who started party-line voting, and a president who offered favors for votes in Congress.
During the election year of 1832, when he sought a second term, Jackson broke with tradition and initiated the first presidential campaign tour. Not willing to let others do his bidding, Jackson made the barbecue circuit, shaking hands and being seen as he made his way from his home in Tennessee to Washington and elsewhere. In New York City, one observer likened a Jackson torchlight parade to Catholic processions.
The campaign of 1832 may be where image first played a major role in how Americans voted. Jackson's men repeated the message that "a vote for Jackson was a vote for the people while a vote for (Henry) Clay was a vote for the privileged," Meacham noted.
Jackson understood the power of his personality and how the power of personality gave a president power.

Pro-slavery, anti-Indian
Along the way, though, President Andrew Jackson made what today society would say were serious errors -- even immoral ones.
For one thing, Jackson was a slave owner and upheld the practice of slavery. He moved to curb the forces of abolition, even suppressing with presidential orders the right of printed material to be delivered from abolitionist writers.
He also saw Native Americans as just in the way of the progress of white U.S. citizens, and his policies and practices led to cruel resettlement of Indian tribes. The "Trail of Tears" -- the forced removal of the Cherokee to the west -- was a shameful result of Jackson's Indian policy though it took place a year after he left office. An estimated 4,000 of the 16,000 Cherokees forced out of Georgia died along the way due to brutal treatment by the U.S. military.
Reading of his life now, though, is a good reminder, Meacham points out, "that evil can appear perfectly normal to even the best men and women of a given time."
Ironically, despite his own participation in slavery, Jackson is also credited with preventing the southern states from seceding from the Union. When South Carolina felt compelled to reject Acts of Congress, Jackson stamped down and denied that any state had the right to do that.
When the tariff on southern cotton proved to be a divisive issue that could lead to succession, Jackson worked out a compromise that cooled tempers.

He is still with us
For my taste, too much of Meacham's work pays attention to the pettiness of Washington society and how it impacted Jackson's cabinet and household.
But Meacham shines in showing how Jackson has influenced and continues to influence the presidents of the United States:
-- Running at the head of a national party;
-- Fighting for a mandate from the people to govern in a particular way on particular issues;
-- Depending on a circle of insiders and advisers;
-- Mastering the media of the age to transmit a consistent message at a constant pace;
-- Using the veto as a political weapon.
"He gave his most imaginative successors the means to do things they thought right," Meacham noted, citing examples of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman as evidence.

A man of prayer
Readers interested in Jackson's spirituality will find consistent references in "American Lion" that show the seventh president to have been a man of prayer.
Jackson's rhetoric regularly includes mention of the Almighty, he is seen in prayer and frequently a nearby church, though he didn't join a particular denomination -- Baptist -- until after he left office. His reasoning? He didn't want it to look like he was joining just to improve his image.
One wonderful anecdote that captures a whiff of Jackson's spirituality and a large bite of his sense of power is told upon his death near the end of the 360 pages of prose in this Random House book. Meacham writes:
"In Nashville, according to legend, a visitor to the Hermitage asked a slave on the place whether he thought Jackson had gone to heaven. 'If the General wants to go,' the slave replied, 'who's going to stop him?'" -- bz

Sequel to novel on building of cathedral depicts life two centuries later

"World Without End,"

by Ken Follett

I loved "The Pillars of the Earth," Ken Follett's epic that delivered readers back to the 12th century to meet the people who built a great fictional English cathedral. It was a great story of achievement, of overcoming obstacles -- human and stone -- and of hope's triumph.

"World Without End" picks up the story two centuries later, delivering us to that same cathedral, now in need of repairs after two hundred years of storms.

And the characters that populate the medieval cathedral town are just as interesting and compelling in the sequel as were their ancestors in the original story, which is why this was at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

It's a bawdy tale, I must warn you, and a gory one. Some sexual scenes are very, very explicit, and the violence is bloody, but not "chainsaw-massacre" stupid.

Remember, it's fiction

Catholics who read "World Without End" will have to keep in mind the fictional nature of this book, because elements of the Church of Rome play the black hat roles in many cases. Bishops, priests and nuns do things in the novel that we would hope bishops, priests and nuns don't do. I don't think modern-day readers can deny that incidents described in Follett's novel never happened in reality; some of the more contemporary sins by church people would be pretty good evidence that there is at least a possibility that 14th century clergy and religious were not immune from such sin.

For the most part, though, offenses of the moral kind are not held up to be celebrated; rather, the protagonists stand for what is good and right and moral despite displaying their humanity, sins and all.

It's a huge novel -- 1,014 pages in New American Library's paperback version -- and every bit a great read. -- bz

Minnesotan's work pitches baseball and faith

"The King's Game,"

by John Nemo

In the middle of a month when temps across the Midwest have bottomed out well below zero, a baseball novel can have a warming effect.

Minnesotan John Nemo -- who covers baseball as a professional journalist -- combines his knowledge of the national pastime with his deep spirituality to come up with a page-turner that will keep any fan on the edge of his seat.

"The King's Game" is more than just a sports story. People of faith will quickly pick up on the allegory woven through the compelling tale of the life of Cody King, a great pitcher. The events of King's life -- beginning a birth - would test anyone's belief in God.

Nemo adds a love element, a friendship element, and best of all a father-son relationship element, exploring all of these while all the while taking us through the seventh and deciding game of a fictional World Series.

As a baseball junkie myself, I notice one faux pas in the action on the diamond: In the third inning, the pitching coach goes out to settle down the opposing pitcher, and later in that same inning the manager trots out to the mound, too. Any fan knows that second visit to the mound means there has to be a pitching change, but that doesn't happen in the novel. The pitcher stays in the game. Ooops.

This appears to be a self-published book, so if you're interested in getting a copy, contact the author at john@johnnemobooks.com. -- bz