The Saboteurs, A Men at War Novel by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV
Category: War Novel Grade: B+
W.E.B. Griffin has, for the last 40 years plus, been the premier writer of military-based action novels (with a little soap opera mixed in). By my count, this is his 41st book, spread over six different series. Each series follows an ongoing group of characters through time periods ranging from a few years through decades. At their best, they provide an entertaining way to get an up close feel for what the military is and has been like during major periods of history.
This book, The Saboteurs, is the fifth book in the Men at War series. This series, so far, covers a pretty brief period of time - the early- to mid-forties during U.S. participation in World War II. The focus is on Wild Bill Donovan and the Office of Strategic Services or OSS, the precursor to today's CIA. This agency grew out of Donovan's personal friendship with FDR coupled with some of FDR's doubts about J Edgar Hoover and the FBI. FDR used the agency to run clandestine operations both at home and abroad during the war, especially those tasks that he didn't want to run through Hoover's "hooray for the FBI" PR machine.
There are a couple of interrelated story lines running through the book. The first continues the stories from the earlier books - the efforts of the OSS to (a) extract German and Italian scientists, especially those that could help the Manhattan Project and slow down the German's nuclear weapon efforts and (b) insert teams behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and to support the underground in Europe. This part of the book follows Dick Canidy, the young intelligence officer, as he sets up a team to go in to Sicily. You get a good flavor of, of all things, the Fulton Fish Market in New York, where Canidy works with fishmongers and mobsters to help his efforts. Even Lucky Luciano gets involved in the patriotic efforts from behind bars.
The second storyline is one you don't hear to much about - the German efforts to put saboteurs on to U.S. soil as part of Hitler's efforts to "bring the war home" to America. We actually follow four German intelligence men as a UBoat lands them in Florida and they split in to two teams to wreak havoc across the country. Even though the FBI is actively looking for these saboteurs, FDR is worried that the publicity splash that Hoover could be expected to make when (and if ) he caught the guys would only emphasize the German presence and create more panic rather than less. Because of this, FDR tasks the OSS with finding and quietly eliminating the German teams. I won't spoil this by describing how this happens, but it definitely doesn't end the way I expected.
These books, despite the subject, are light, easy reading. Griffin has always tried to make things more interesting by throwing in personal details about the (mostly) men he writes about - their friendships, backgrounds and, of course, their love lives. He even throws in some gratuitous sex every once in a while to keep you awake.
An interesting piece of side information -- if you like Griffin's works, like I do, there are two good signs in this book. First, a traditional cliff hanger at the end ensures that this isn't the last book of the series. Secondly, this books seems to be a training ground of sorts. For the first time, Griffin has a co-author - William E. Butterworth IV - his son. Good news for fans.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Next Man Up
Next Man Up by John Feinstein
Category: Sports Grade: B
When it comes to in depth writing about sports, there's nobody better than John Feinstein. You probably won't enjoy his books unless you're a sports fan which is kind of a shame. His books are typically about 30% hard core sports and the rest good stories about the people and the politics of sports. If you non-sports fans can get yourselves to skim the game details in the book, you'd probably enjoy the rest.
What makes Feinstein's books interesting is his approach. He typically spends a long period of time - usually a season - focusing on a particular sport, team or, occasionally, a rivalry. When he decided to write this book about the professional football, he started by asking a bunch of teams if they would give him total access to the team - not just sitting on the sidelines for practices and games, but sitting in on business and player personnel meetings. Nobody had ever done that before so, understandably, he didn't get a lot of interest from the teams. Fortunately, in one of those friend-of-a-friend circumstances, he was able to make contact with Steve Bisciotti, the Baltimore businessman who had just taken majority ownership of the Ravens from Hall-of-Fame owner Art Modell. Bisciotti like the idea and after securing agreement from the coach, Brian Billick (enthusiastically) and the general manager, Ossie Newsome (reluctantly), they had a deal.
Luckily for Feinstein, this turned out to be a narratively interesting, if ultimately unsuccessful, year (2004) for the Ravens. They had a new owner who was trying to figure out what it meant to be an owner. The Ravens had been successful over the past few years and thought they had a serious chance at making a run for the Superbowl. There were two off-the-field dramas during the year - the ultimately dismissed murder charge against Ray Lewis and a fairly bogus drug charge against Jamal Lewis. There were a slew of injuries to key players requiring the coaches and personnel people to do some fancy dancing with replacements. Finally, there were the ups and downs of the season itself. That year the Ravens were the last team eliminated from the playoffs.
As I said above, about 30% of the books is hard core with 3-5 pages devoted to the details of each game of the season. Even for a football fan, these are actually the least interesting parts of the book. What makes the book fun to read is the focus on the people and relationships. We get a lot of backstories about how the coaches and players got to where they are. You get to really know some of the marginal players who don't know from week-to-week whether they'll be playing football in front of 80,000 people or flipping burgers somewhere. You feel the agony of the players who get cut and, surprisingly, of the coaches who have to cut them. You get to see players near the end of their careers working to convince everybody around them that they can still play.
Did I convince any of you non-sportsfans? Didn't think so.
Category: Sports Grade: B
When it comes to in depth writing about sports, there's nobody better than John Feinstein. You probably won't enjoy his books unless you're a sports fan which is kind of a shame. His books are typically about 30% hard core sports and the rest good stories about the people and the politics of sports. If you non-sports fans can get yourselves to skim the game details in the book, you'd probably enjoy the rest.
What makes Feinstein's books interesting is his approach. He typically spends a long period of time - usually a season - focusing on a particular sport, team or, occasionally, a rivalry. When he decided to write this book about the professional football, he started by asking a bunch of teams if they would give him total access to the team - not just sitting on the sidelines for practices and games, but sitting in on business and player personnel meetings. Nobody had ever done that before so, understandably, he didn't get a lot of interest from the teams. Fortunately, in one of those friend-of-a-friend circumstances, he was able to make contact with Steve Bisciotti, the Baltimore businessman who had just taken majority ownership of the Ravens from Hall-of-Fame owner Art Modell. Bisciotti like the idea and after securing agreement from the coach, Brian Billick (enthusiastically) and the general manager, Ossie Newsome (reluctantly), they had a deal.
Luckily for Feinstein, this turned out to be a narratively interesting, if ultimately unsuccessful, year (2004) for the Ravens. They had a new owner who was trying to figure out what it meant to be an owner. The Ravens had been successful over the past few years and thought they had a serious chance at making a run for the Superbowl. There were two off-the-field dramas during the year - the ultimately dismissed murder charge against Ray Lewis and a fairly bogus drug charge against Jamal Lewis. There were a slew of injuries to key players requiring the coaches and personnel people to do some fancy dancing with replacements. Finally, there were the ups and downs of the season itself. That year the Ravens were the last team eliminated from the playoffs.
As I said above, about 30% of the books is hard core with 3-5 pages devoted to the details of each game of the season. Even for a football fan, these are actually the least interesting parts of the book. What makes the book fun to read is the focus on the people and relationships. We get a lot of backstories about how the coaches and players got to where they are. You get to really know some of the marginal players who don't know from week-to-week whether they'll be playing football in front of 80,000 people or flipping burgers somewhere. You feel the agony of the players who get cut and, surprisingly, of the coaches who have to cut them. You get to see players near the end of their careers working to convince everybody around them that they can still play.
Did I convince any of you non-sportsfans? Didn't think so.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The Husband
The Husband by Dean Koontz
Category: Suspense Grade: A-
OK, analogy time. Eating and reading, to me, are a lot alike. There aren't too many things in the world better than good piece of filet, cooked perfectly. If you've been following these reviews, you know that, the last book I read, Parting the Waters, was that caliber to me.
However, no matter how much you appreciate sitting down to the best possible food, sometimes you just really, really feel like a Big Mac! Dean Koontz, for those of you who have never tried him, is one of those authors who has become the MacDonalds of the literary world. All of his books are fast, easy and satisfying, even if they make you feel a little guilty about enjoying them so much.
First, the book goes down really easy. Short sentences, unchallenging vocabulary, lots of dialog. When you look at a page of a Koontz book, you see mostly white space. The time to read this book is measured in hours, not days.
Second, the book, of course, has to have meat - not much, but enough so that you've got something to bite in to. In this case, the meat is an interesting plot. The book begins when a fairly ordinary gardner gets a call on his cell phone. The caller tells him - "We've got your wife. You can have her back for two million dollars." Given that the gardner has about $25K in the bank and, by the way, truly loves his wife, this becomes a great set up for the story.
Third, you've got to have the "supporting material" - the lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Koontz gives us that by populating the book with interesting characters that push the story along, while making sure we never quite grasp which ones are important (the cheese) and which ones are just there for looks (the lettuce) - a scraggly surfer-dude sidekick, a father with weird ideas about parenting and, of course, an array of bad guys to choose from.
But, what makes a Big Mac a Big Mac is, of course, the secret sauce. Here is where Koontz is at his best giving us a fast paced plot with unpredictable twists and turns. Even though pieces of the plot might look like globs of unknown stuff, they constantly surprise the reader with how easy they go down.
The ending is a little weak - kind of like those last few cold french fries - but, by then, you've got a smile on your face and you're ready, after a brief diversion, to go on with the rest of your day.
The book was actually probably good enough to get an "A", but, like a Big Mac, it leaves you feeling a little guilty that you actually this crap, so......
Category: Suspense Grade: A-
OK, analogy time. Eating and reading, to me, are a lot alike. There aren't too many things in the world better than good piece of filet, cooked perfectly. If you've been following these reviews, you know that, the last book I read, Parting the Waters, was that caliber to me.
However, no matter how much you appreciate sitting down to the best possible food, sometimes you just really, really feel like a Big Mac! Dean Koontz, for those of you who have never tried him, is one of those authors who has become the MacDonalds of the literary world. All of his books are fast, easy and satisfying, even if they make you feel a little guilty about enjoying them so much.
First, the book goes down really easy. Short sentences, unchallenging vocabulary, lots of dialog. When you look at a page of a Koontz book, you see mostly white space. The time to read this book is measured in hours, not days.
Second, the book, of course, has to have meat - not much, but enough so that you've got something to bite in to. In this case, the meat is an interesting plot. The book begins when a fairly ordinary gardner gets a call on his cell phone. The caller tells him - "We've got your wife. You can have her back for two million dollars." Given that the gardner has about $25K in the bank and, by the way, truly loves his wife, this becomes a great set up for the story.
Third, you've got to have the "supporting material" - the lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Koontz gives us that by populating the book with interesting characters that push the story along, while making sure we never quite grasp which ones are important (the cheese) and which ones are just there for looks (the lettuce) - a scraggly surfer-dude sidekick, a father with weird ideas about parenting and, of course, an array of bad guys to choose from.
But, what makes a Big Mac a Big Mac is, of course, the secret sauce. Here is where Koontz is at his best giving us a fast paced plot with unpredictable twists and turns. Even though pieces of the plot might look like globs of unknown stuff, they constantly surprise the reader with how easy they go down.
The ending is a little weak - kind of like those last few cold french fries - but, by then, you've got a smile on your face and you're ready, after a brief diversion, to go on with the rest of your day.
The book was actually probably good enough to get an "A", but, like a Big Mac, it leaves you feeling a little guilty that you actually this crap, so......
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Parting the Waters
Parting the Waters by Taylor branch
Category: Historical Biography Grade: A+
First, warning. Starting this book is a huge commitment. It's 900+ pages long and is the first of three volumes of equal length. I.e. you really, really need to like this kind of book to get started down this path. If you do, however, as you can tell from the grade, you'll be well rewarded. You need to be willing to commit to a lot of reading since, if you make it through this first book, I can't imagine that you, like me, won't want to read the entire series.
The sub-title of the book tells you pretty well what it's about -- America in the King Years 1954-63. The author, in the introduction, summarizes his approach. He doesn't just want to write a biography of Martin Luther King; he also wants to tell the stories of the times and, in particular in this volume, of the broader civil rights movement. His story-telling style leads him to call this book a "narrative historical biography". It's an apt description. Branch won both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for this book.
Branch's choice of style makes this a very readable book even for those of you do don't read a lot of non-fiction. Based on contemporary accounts, many interviews and, in an interesting twist of irony, transcripts of FBI wire taps, the book is full of the day to day stories and conversations that made up this movement. Given that this volume covers the movement's early years it is almost exclusively about desegregation and voting rights. Most of the book dwells in fascinating detail on some of the most visible episodes in the decade long battle -- the Montgomery bus boycott, the battles with Bull Connors in Birmingham and the major freedom march on Washington, best known for King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
What makes the book so interesting, however, is that its far from just a recitation of the marches, sit-ins and demonstrations that are the visible symbols of this period. It really focuses on the people involved - in straightforward detail. King, is of course, the focus as he became the face and, especially the voice, of the civil rights movement. We see both the good and the bad about King - his leadership, his amazing oratorical skills, but also his insecurities and, late in the book, his personal weaknesses. We also get a great picture of some of the other movement leaders - Abernathy, Wilkins, Moses, Shuttleworth, etc. While there's a lot in the book about the backroom conflicts between the movement leaders, what comes out so strongly is the shear raw courage that was displayed by these men and the thousands of blacks who enrolled in the day-to-day actions that were as likely to be repelled by arrests, firehoses and dogs and they were to accomplish anything in the short run.
There's nothing like hindsight to bring moral clarity, but Branch doesn't really have to embellish much to paint the segregationist leaders in a bad light. From the major names of the South like Barnett, Wallace and, of course, Bull Connors, to the many small town sheriffs and officials, you watch in disbelief as these powerful people tried to stop black Americans from becoming participants in the American way. Not surprisingly, the most dramatic outcome of the actions of the racist leaders was to provide the dramatic pictures and soundtrack that made clear to the rest of the country where the "right" was.
Because of his historical approach, you also get pictures of some of the other major historical figures of the time -- Eisenhower's discomfort around blacks, the active roll played in the movement by Harry Belafonte, the mostly ineffectual leadership of the Kennedys and, most frighteningly, the level of control that J. Edgar Hoover exercised for decades at the FBI. Near the end of the book, we see glimpses of the very different atmosphere that will be covered in Branch's next book, Pillar of Fire. On the leadership side, this book ends just after the Kennedy assassination as Lyndon Johnson takes over with his surprisingly supportive policies. On the movement side, we see the splits in the black community growing with the arrival on the scene of Malcolm X and, of course, the war in Vietnam has begun to shape the national dialogue.
As is obvious by now, I really recommend this one to anybody who likes history or biography.
Category: Historical Biography Grade: A+
First, warning. Starting this book is a huge commitment. It's 900+ pages long and is the first of three volumes of equal length. I.e. you really, really need to like this kind of book to get started down this path. If you do, however, as you can tell from the grade, you'll be well rewarded. You need to be willing to commit to a lot of reading since, if you make it through this first book, I can't imagine that you, like me, won't want to read the entire series.
The sub-title of the book tells you pretty well what it's about -- America in the King Years 1954-63. The author, in the introduction, summarizes his approach. He doesn't just want to write a biography of Martin Luther King; he also wants to tell the stories of the times and, in particular in this volume, of the broader civil rights movement. His story-telling style leads him to call this book a "narrative historical biography". It's an apt description. Branch won both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for this book.
Branch's choice of style makes this a very readable book even for those of you do don't read a lot of non-fiction. Based on contemporary accounts, many interviews and, in an interesting twist of irony, transcripts of FBI wire taps, the book is full of the day to day stories and conversations that made up this movement. Given that this volume covers the movement's early years it is almost exclusively about desegregation and voting rights. Most of the book dwells in fascinating detail on some of the most visible episodes in the decade long battle -- the Montgomery bus boycott, the battles with Bull Connors in Birmingham and the major freedom march on Washington, best known for King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
What makes the book so interesting, however, is that its far from just a recitation of the marches, sit-ins and demonstrations that are the visible symbols of this period. It really focuses on the people involved - in straightforward detail. King, is of course, the focus as he became the face and, especially the voice, of the civil rights movement. We see both the good and the bad about King - his leadership, his amazing oratorical skills, but also his insecurities and, late in the book, his personal weaknesses. We also get a great picture of some of the other movement leaders - Abernathy, Wilkins, Moses, Shuttleworth, etc. While there's a lot in the book about the backroom conflicts between the movement leaders, what comes out so strongly is the shear raw courage that was displayed by these men and the thousands of blacks who enrolled in the day-to-day actions that were as likely to be repelled by arrests, firehoses and dogs and they were to accomplish anything in the short run.
There's nothing like hindsight to bring moral clarity, but Branch doesn't really have to embellish much to paint the segregationist leaders in a bad light. From the major names of the South like Barnett, Wallace and, of course, Bull Connors, to the many small town sheriffs and officials, you watch in disbelief as these powerful people tried to stop black Americans from becoming participants in the American way. Not surprisingly, the most dramatic outcome of the actions of the racist leaders was to provide the dramatic pictures and soundtrack that made clear to the rest of the country where the "right" was.
Because of his historical approach, you also get pictures of some of the other major historical figures of the time -- Eisenhower's discomfort around blacks, the active roll played in the movement by Harry Belafonte, the mostly ineffectual leadership of the Kennedys and, most frighteningly, the level of control that J. Edgar Hoover exercised for decades at the FBI. Near the end of the book, we see glimpses of the very different atmosphere that will be covered in Branch's next book, Pillar of Fire. On the leadership side, this book ends just after the Kennedy assassination as Lyndon Johnson takes over with his surprisingly supportive policies. On the movement side, we see the splits in the black community growing with the arrival on the scene of Malcolm X and, of course, the war in Vietnam has begun to shape the national dialogue.
As is obvious by now, I really recommend this one to anybody who likes history or biography.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Rainbows End
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
Category: Sci-Fi Grade: A-
Not sure why I'm even reviewing this one for everybody. Don't get me wrong -- as you can tell by the grade, this was actually a really good book. The problem, for most readers, is that, even though the story takes place in the relatively near future (never specified, but meant to be 15 or 20 years down the road), this is hard-core science fiction. I guess I should have left this kind of book behind with my teens, but, when I get a really good one, my inherent geekiness comes out.
Vinge is a well-respected mathematician and computer scientist who spent years in academia before becoming a full time writer. He combines a great knowledge base, a bent for speculating about where we're headed and strong storytelling skills to produce a book that's fast paced and entertaining. He extrapolates the current world of teens constantly "IMing" each other to a future where most everybody is "wearing" -- using intelligent contact lenses and clothing to be constantly online and in communication with everybody else. A wearer can instantly call up virtual reality "overlays" so that, for example, the building he's looking at can take on any of the solid-as-reality appearances that have been designed by other wearers from all over the globe -- with a blink or a flick, a plain concrete bunker can become a skyscraper, a castle or an ivy-covered cottage.
The story revolves around some cooperating intelligence officers who suspect, based on analysis of a surprisingly successful ad for a honey-nougat candy, that someone is close to perfecting the ultimate WMD - YGBM technology. Nah, you'll never figure it out - it stands for "You Gotta Believe Me" - the ability, using mass media, to convince everybody to believe something. I.e. the ultimate extension of Madison Avenue technology and, perfected, the ultimate in mind control.
To attach the problem, the intelligence officers recruit the Rabbit! This brilliant operative in cyberspace who, most of time, is seen in virtual reality as a carrot-chomping rabbit, mounts a campaign to find and destroy the YGBM lab. He pulls in some strange and sometimes unwitting cohorts - most interestingly a group of "back-from-the-near-dead" senior citizens who have been rejuvenated by advancing medical technology.
See, I told you -- by now, I've probably lost everybody on the list with the possible exception of Dan and Jason.
Anyway, its a fun read. A little confusing with all the technology but, at heart, a good-old shoot-em-up spy novel.
Category: Sci-Fi Grade: A-
Not sure why I'm even reviewing this one for everybody. Don't get me wrong -- as you can tell by the grade, this was actually a really good book. The problem, for most readers, is that, even though the story takes place in the relatively near future (never specified, but meant to be 15 or 20 years down the road), this is hard-core science fiction. I guess I should have left this kind of book behind with my teens, but, when I get a really good one, my inherent geekiness comes out.
Vinge is a well-respected mathematician and computer scientist who spent years in academia before becoming a full time writer. He combines a great knowledge base, a bent for speculating about where we're headed and strong storytelling skills to produce a book that's fast paced and entertaining. He extrapolates the current world of teens constantly "IMing" each other to a future where most everybody is "wearing" -- using intelligent contact lenses and clothing to be constantly online and in communication with everybody else. A wearer can instantly call up virtual reality "overlays" so that, for example, the building he's looking at can take on any of the solid-as-reality appearances that have been designed by other wearers from all over the globe -- with a blink or a flick, a plain concrete bunker can become a skyscraper, a castle or an ivy-covered cottage.
The story revolves around some cooperating intelligence officers who suspect, based on analysis of a surprisingly successful ad for a honey-nougat candy, that someone is close to perfecting the ultimate WMD - YGBM technology. Nah, you'll never figure it out - it stands for "You Gotta Believe Me" - the ability, using mass media, to convince everybody to believe something. I.e. the ultimate extension of Madison Avenue technology and, perfected, the ultimate in mind control.
To attach the problem, the intelligence officers recruit the Rabbit! This brilliant operative in cyberspace who, most of time, is seen in virtual reality as a carrot-chomping rabbit, mounts a campaign to find and destroy the YGBM lab. He pulls in some strange and sometimes unwitting cohorts - most interestingly a group of "back-from-the-near-dead" senior citizens who have been rejuvenated by advancing medical technology.
See, I told you -- by now, I've probably lost everybody on the list with the possible exception of Dan and Jason.
Anyway, its a fun read. A little confusing with all the technology but, at heart, a good-old shoot-em-up spy novel.
Friday, June 02, 2006
A Year in the World
A Year in the World by Frances Mayes
Category: Travel Grade: D
Well, we have our first "lay-down" of the summer. Those of you followed the blog last year know that I won't make it to the end of a mediocre book. This one actually really surprises me since I liked her previous books, especially Under the Tuscan Sun. Mayes is a poet, with six books of poetry to her credit, and the writing in her new book is very, well, poetic.
Unfortunately, what made her prior books so interesting was that, while they were basically about Tuscany and/or traveling, she quickly made them about interesting people she found on her travels. In the first 50 pages or so of this new book, nobody, with the exception of a long dead poet, occupies more than a few sentences. After reading about the old streets and the beautiful views over and over, this book just lost my interest.
If you're interested in details about some of the places she visits during her year of traveling, you might go for this one. Otherwise, you're in for some serious boredom.
Category: Travel Grade: D
Well, we have our first "lay-down" of the summer. Those of you followed the blog last year know that I won't make it to the end of a mediocre book. This one actually really surprises me since I liked her previous books, especially Under the Tuscan Sun. Mayes is a poet, with six books of poetry to her credit, and the writing in her new book is very, well, poetic.
Unfortunately, what made her prior books so interesting was that, while they were basically about Tuscany and/or traveling, she quickly made them about interesting people she found on her travels. In the first 50 pages or so of this new book, nobody, with the exception of a long dead poet, occupies more than a few sentences. After reading about the old streets and the beautiful views over and over, this book just lost my interest.
If you're interested in details about some of the places she visits during her year of traveling, you might go for this one. Otherwise, you're in for some serious boredom.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
American Gospel
American Gospel by Jon Meacham
Category: U.S. History Grade: B
This book is a survey of the place of religion in the United States from the Founding pretty much through the present day. Meacham's premise is that "public religion" - a general belief in God - has been a critical part of the formation of our country since its beginning. He starts with the Founding Fathers, most importantly Jefferson, Adams and Franklin, and shows that while all were deists, none were devout participants in organized religion. Jefferson, in particular, pushed the notion of the separation of church and state. His premise, a little surprisingly, was not necessarily to protect the government and citizens from the intrusion of relgion. In spite of his generic beliefs, he believed that the survival of organized religions were important to the future of our country.
Meacham shows how personal religious beliefs of our leaders have affected how they respond to the issues they face. He focuses on some of the obvious recent presidents - Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan. He also has some interesting things to say about the relationship between Billy Graham and Richard Nixon.
As you can tell, there's not a lot of enthusiasm behind this review. The book was good, but not great. If you've got a specific interest in either the Founding Fathers or the roll of religion in society, you'll enjoy it. If not, don't bother.
Category: U.S. History Grade: B
This book is a survey of the place of religion in the United States from the Founding pretty much through the present day. Meacham's premise is that "public religion" - a general belief in God - has been a critical part of the formation of our country since its beginning. He starts with the Founding Fathers, most importantly Jefferson, Adams and Franklin, and shows that while all were deists, none were devout participants in organized religion. Jefferson, in particular, pushed the notion of the separation of church and state. His premise, a little surprisingly, was not necessarily to protect the government and citizens from the intrusion of relgion. In spite of his generic beliefs, he believed that the survival of organized religions were important to the future of our country.
Meacham shows how personal religious beliefs of our leaders have affected how they respond to the issues they face. He focuses on some of the obvious recent presidents - Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan. He also has some interesting things to say about the relationship between Billy Graham and Richard Nixon.
As you can tell, there's not a lot of enthusiasm behind this review. The book was good, but not great. If you've got a specific interest in either the Founding Fathers or the roll of religion in society, you'll enjoy it. If not, don't bother.
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