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Although both the parliamentary and royalist sides in the English Revolution, the major revolutionary event of the 17th century, quoted the Bible, particularly the newer English versions, for every purpose from an account of the Fall to the virtues of primitive communism that revolution cannot be properly understood except as a secular revolution. The first truly secular revolution of modern times. The late pre-eminent historian of the under classes of the English Revolution, Christopher Hill, has taken the myriad ideas, serious and zany, that surfaced during the period between 1640-60, the heart of the revolutionary period, and given us his take on some previously understudied and misunderstood notions that did not make the conventional history books.
As been noted by more than one historian there is sometimes a disconnect between the ideas in the air at any particular time and the way those ideas get fought out in political struggle. In this case secular ideas, or what would have passed for such to us, like the questions of the divinity of the monarch, of social, political and economic redistribution and the nature of the new society (the second coming) were expressed in familiar religious terms. That being the case there is no better guide to understanding the significance of the mass of biblically-driven literary articles and some secular documents produced in the period than Professor Hill. Here we meet up again, as we have in Hill's other numerous volumes of work, with the democratic oppositionists the Levelers; the Diggers, especially the thoughts of their leader Gerrard Winstanley, in many aspects the forerunner of a modern branch of communist thought; the Ranters, Seekers and Quakers who among them challenged every possible orthodox Christian theory and the usual cast of individual political and religious radicals like Samuel Fisher and, my personal favorite, Abiezer Coppe.
In this expansively footnoted book Mr. Hill, as he has elsewhere, connects the dramatic break up of traditional agrarian English society; the resulting vast increase of 'masterless' men not bound to traditional authority and potentially receptive to new ideas; the widespread availability of the protestant Bible brought about by the revolution in printing and thus permitting widespread distribution to the masses; the effects of the Protestant Reformation on individual responsibility; the discrediting of the theology of the divine right of kings and the concept of the man of blood exemplified by Charles I; the role of the priesthood of all believers that foreshadow a very modern concept of the validity of individual religious expression; radical interpretations of equality and primitive communism, particularly the work of Gerrard Winstanley ; the Puritan ethic and many more subjects of interests to bring to life what the common people who hitherto had barely entered the stage of history were thinking and doing.
As I have noted elsewhere a key to understanding that entry onto history's stage and that underscores the widespread discussion of many of these trends is Cromwell's New Model Army where the plebian base, for a time anyway, had serious input into the direction that society might take. In many ways Professor Hill's book is a study of what happened when the, for lack of a better term, Thermodorian reaction- the ebb of the revolution set in and a portion of those 'masterless' men had to deal with the consequences of defeat for the plebian masses during the Protectorate and Restoration. I might also add that some of the ideas presented here seem very weird even for that time but some seem so advanced, especially in the case of Winstanley, that they put many a modern thinker to shame. Hell, in American society some of those Levelers and Diggers would be standing with us in the left wing of political society fighting today's royalists and reactionaries. Thanks, Professor Hill.
Marxist historian Christopher Hill gives us a lucid and thoroughly researched account of the English civil war and the radical revolutionary movements that followed in the mid-seventeenth century. Born during this period of history was the Protestant ethic, the value of individualism in man's relation to God and society. We also witness many political movements calling for egalitarianism (prefiguring Marx and socialist theory) and several variants of libertarian socialism (albeit with Christianity thrown in the mix). This work of history captures the radical breakdown of the traditional family structure, the decentralization of discourse through the printing press, and the breakdown of England's long lasting monarchy. A must read for any student of revolution and political theory.
There were two revolutions in mid-seventeenth century Britain, Christopher Hill writes in the introduction to The World Turned Upside Down. One was the successful Glorious Revolution that established the constitutional monarchy and secured the rights of property. The other was "the revolution that never happened;" one that threatened to create a political and economic democracy that would have turned Britain on its head.
The World Turned Upside Down documents the second revolution and the ideas and ideologies of the English radicals who sought to redefine freedom, faith and property, "the revolt within the Revolution" and the fascinating flood of radical ideas which it threw up." (13). Though he focuses on what he concedes could be characterized as the "lunatic fringe" of the English revolution, Hill argues that their ideas reflected a widespread popular challenge to power, class and authority in the 1640s and 1650s whose study permits "a deeper insight into English society than the evidence permits either before 1640 or after 1660." (15)
The English Civil War was not merely a struggle between Parliament and the Crown - the "first revolution" - it also unleashed the forces of class antagonisms that had been simmering in the wake of a breakdown of the feudal economy and society in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. A growing population of "masterless men" had begun to undermine the traditional bonds of "loyalty and dependence between lord and man" (32), incubating subversive ideas in the towns, forests and, above all in the parliamentary New Model Army and growing religious sectaries.
This was very much a religious movement, stimulated by the reformation and by frustration at Stuart attempts to reestablish the traditional Episcopal structures of the English Church. Printing technology, and the great relaxation of censorship after 1642 enabled a efflorescence of radical dissent that was articulated in oppositional religious and social movements like the Levellers, Diggers, Ranters and Quakers that not only questioned ecclesiastical authority, but challenged the social and economic relations that it supported. "For a brief time, ordinary people were freer from the authority of church and social superiors than they had ever been before, or were for a long time to be again." (293)
Though these movements and ideas were ultimately crushed - as with the Diggers - or emasculated with the Restoration in 1658, Hill sees in them the inchoate beginnings of an English radicalism that, he says, likely had a deep influence on the American revolution and English radicalism of the late eighteenth century, though he concedes that is difficult to prove. What is important is the effect radicals like Gerrard Winstanley and Richard Overton had on the "longer, slower, profounder changes in men's ways of thinking, without which the heroic gestures would be meaningless." (310)
The World Turned Upside Down is an effective and exciting genealogy of 18th century English radicalism. However, Hill's enterprise is weakened - though not fatally - by his assumption of a mature class dynamic at work in pre-industrial, early capitalist Britain, and by his use, almost exclusively, of political and religious pamphlets as his source material. He totalizes the masses of dispossessed peasants, urban poor, professionals, small merchants and artisans, collectively England's commoners, as a class, though they demonstrably had widely divergent economic interests. Indeed, the lack of cohesion and solidarity between these groups is one of the main themes of the book.
The focus on pamphlet literature, moreover, though fascinating, only reveals the ideas and motivations of literate men (and they are all men) who had the financial resources to print and distribute pamphlets. In effect, The World Turned Upside Down cannot, by definition, document the ideas of "ordinary people," but only their top stratum. While these may have been the leaders and ideologues of "the revolution that never happened," and instructive in itself, that is only part of the story Hill had hoped to tell.
In a culmination of a long period of challenges to royal prerogatives, Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army overthrew the royal government. His foot soldiers, if you will, included some of the most original, radical and exuberant political thinkers in Western history. For a brief moment the king was gone and radical leaders like John Lilburne and Gerrard Winstanley and their ideas held sway, although Cromwell and the gentry were shortly able to reassert control (before eventually losing power in the English reformation). Cromwell considered the radicals "a despicable and contemptible generation of men."
Hill's book tells the marvelously exciting stories of the Ranters and Seekers, Levellers and True Levellers (or Diggers), and the Quakers. Diggers, so called because they cultivated land they held in common in communes, were the most radical strain. They vied with the Levellers, who "merely" supported the universal right of every male head of household to vote for parliament. These events scared to death the usual powers-that-be. Thomas Hobbes' wrote the Leviathan in reaction against the chaos, as he saw it, of the English Civil War.
In summarizing the impact of the radicals' ideas, Hill quotes their enemy Clement Walker that they had "cast all the secrets and mysteries of government...before the vulgar (like pearls before swine)...[and] made the people thereby so curious and so arrogant that they will never find humility enough to submit to a civil rule."
Hill states, "For a short time, ordinary people were freer from the authority of church and social superiors than they had ever been before, or were for a long time to be again." Hill's excellent book tells the story of how such an event came to be and how the lords and gentry regained power and smashed the radicals.
A must read for anyone interested in the history of political ideas or English history.
Essential reading for any student of seventeenth century English history. While it should be kept in mind that Hill is a Marxist historian, his works are seminal to the period.
Furthermore, it arrived promptly and in mint condition.
Just some thoughts on Jean Hill and her book.
The only book I've purchased and read so far regarding the JFK assassination that gives you an insight on how (in this case) one of the witnesses life was affected by being in Dealy Plaza on that fateful day.
She like most of the witnesses in Dealy Plaza said that she thought the shots came from the 'Grassy knoll'. She was man handled by so-called 'secret agents' 'Magic bullet man' also grilled her about her affair with a Dallas motorcycle Cop. He also goaded her about the `White dog she saw' which turned out to be White toy given to Jackie.
Jean and her young daughter were involved in a car crash, her Lover and a mechanic friend of his checked out the car and found that the track rod ends had come loose. They like any mechanical minded person came to the conclusion that the car had been tampered with. Track rod ends just don't come loose so easily, if they did cars by necessity would have radically different steering assemblies.
If you believe as I do that the witnesses in the Plaza were correct in their recollections of where the shots came from and also in their contact with (according to the official report NON EXISTANT) Dallas cops and Federal \ secret officials just minutes after the tragedy, then there must have been a conspiracy.
Some reviewers have described this book as nothing more than a novel, so I looked up the words definition in the 'Collins English dictionary'
Novel: An extended work in prose, either fictitious or partly so.
I see, it's a novel because some reviewers disagree with Jeans recollections or because her recollections changed over the years. SO WHAT. Most peoples recollections of their life experiences change over the years, does this mean all our memories can only be fit for a Novel rather than a autobiography No.
Now to why I titled this 'So Jean Hill is no John Dean' (I could have replaced John Dean with Harold Weisberg or Cyril Wecht)
During the Watergate scandal John Dean being Nixons Legal counsel was set up for a big fall however because he had a photographic memory he could recall incidents and conversations in great detail without wavering under cross examination he deflected the blame to Nixon's Front line and eventually to Nixon himself.
Most of us (including Jean) haven't got that type of memory or fortitude.
Jean Hill passed away in 2000, she was a primary school teacher. Whenever her young students asked her to tell her story of the assassination, which in their young eyes was a part of American social history, she was always struck by their reactions.
Her story will have left an indelible memory on a good percentage of them. I am sure some of the students will continue the search for the truth.
Jean Hill was just an ordinary mother and schoolteacher.
Arlen Specter is a Senator & highflying lawyer.
Only one of them is a great American in my book: Jean Hill R.I.P.
Good, but ULTIMATE SACRIFICE the best book ever
While I thought this book was worthwhile in many respects, ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is simply the best book ever on the JFK assassination.Still, worth your time.
Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA
BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)
"JFK: The Last Dissenting Witness", published in 1992, was co-authored by Jean Hill, the famous "lady in the red raincoat" who witnessed the last seconds of President John Kennedy's life as Lee Harvey Oswald was firing three rifle shots at the President from the Texas School Book Depository in downtown Dallas, Texas, which resulted in JFK's death.
Within this book is the following passage.....
"Hill saw the shadowy figure of a man fire at President Kennedy from behind a picket fence atop the now-famous grassy knoll."
Anyone who owns a lot of archival TV footage of those four bleak days following JFK's assassination in November of 1963 will easily be able to verify what I have verified via just such an archive of video material. And that is the fact that, on November 22nd, 1963 (the exact day of the event, within less than two hours of the assassination itself), Jean Hill appeared on television (via a WBAP-TV tape-recorded interview), where she explicitly says she never saw anyone firing any weapon at the President. .......
QUESTION: "Did you see the person who fired the weapon?"
JEAN HILL: "No, I didn't see any person fire the weapon."
QUESTION: "You only heard it?"
JEAN HILL: "I only heard it."
What is a person to make of this flip-flop in Hill's testimony regarding the events of 11-22-63? In my view, her EARLIEST account of the shooting (which has been recorded on videotape for all to watch and listen to over and over again) should be looked upon as the BEST account of what she saw that Friday afternoon back in '63.
But nearly thirty years later -- after having served just months earlier as an official (but uncredited) "technical adviser" to Oliver Stone during the making of Stone's 1991 film "JFK" (coincidence?) -- Hill came out with this book, which claims she "saw a man fire at President Kennedy from the grassy knoll".
Did Jean's memory suddenly improve greatly in the intervening years? Everyone reading this publication should at least pause for a few moments to consider that question.
Another major piece of Jean Hill-created "evidence" that is easily knocked down is her ridiculous claim of having seen Oswald's murderer, Jack Ruby, racing across the grassy knoll at the exact time of JFK's assassination.
Multiple witnesses can place Jack Ruby in the Dallas Morning News building at the precise time the President was being murdered. Ruby HIMSELF, in fact, admits to having been in the DMN building at the time of the assassination.
Below is a portion of the verbatim testimony given by Jack Ruby to the Warren Commission on June 7th, 1964 (from the Dallas County Jail, where Ruby was being held after having been convicted on March 14, 1964, of murdering JFK's assassin, Lee Oswald):
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"I picked up the brochure that Friday morning {November 22, 1963}, and I also had business at the {Dallas Morning} News Building on Friday, because that is the start of the weekend, which is very lucrative, the weekend.
"So I went down there Friday morning to Tony Zoppi's office, and they said he went to New Orleans for a couple of days. I picked up the brochure. I believe I got downtown there at 10:30 or 11 o'clock that morning. And I took the brochure and then went into the main room where we compose our ads. That is the sales room where we placed our ads. And I remained there for a while. I started to write the copy of my ad.
"Well, John Newnam comes in, and evidently he took it for granted I finished my ad, and I don't recall if he paid for his ad, and suddenly there is some milling around. I think it was 12, or 15 minutes after 12, I don't recall what, but John Newnam said someone had been shot. And I am sorry, I got carried away. It is the first time I got carried away, because I had been under pressure. And someone else came running over and he said a Secret Service man was shot, or something to that effect. And I am here in the middle with John Newnam, because Newnam isn't paying any attention to anyone else, and there is a lot of going back and forth. So someone must have made a statement that Governor Connally was shot. I don't recall what was said. And I was in a state of hysteria."
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Therefore, how is it even remotely possible for Jean Hill to have seen Jack Ruby on the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 PM when President Kennedy was being shot? Quite obviously, this is not possible.
But Jean Hill and Oliver Stone (in his movie) would like to have people believe that Ruby was running around Dealey Plaza's grassy slopes at 12:30 PM on November 22, instead of where even Ruby himself admits he was at the time of the assassination (with gobs of witnesses to verify his story) -- and that's on the second floor of the Dallas Morning News building.
Since this book came out in 1992, Jean Hill has passed away. She died in Dallas on November 7, 2000, at the age of 69.
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This book's subject matter can get you to thinking about other eyewitness accounts of the events in Dallas' Dealey Plaza (and the shooting of police officer J.D. Tippit in nearby Oak Cliff, a suburb of Dallas, a mere 45 minutes after President Kennedy was gunned down).
I'm guessing that in a conspiracy theorist's fantasy world the only people with bad eyesight, or the only people capable of making an error, are those witnesses who gave testimony damning to "Saint Oswald" -- E.G.: Howard Brennan, Domingo Benavides, Helen Markham, Ted Callaway, Jack Tatum, Virginia Davis, Barbara Davis, William Scoggins, Johnny Brewer, Warren Reynolds, L.J. Lewis, Pat Patterson, Harold Russell, Robert Edwards, Ronald Fischer, etc.
But, if we're to believe the "CTers", those conspiracy-favoring witnesses like Jean Hill and S.M. Holland and Acquilla Clemmons, et al, were somehow born with unimpeachable "Conspiracy-Noticing" skills.
Acquilla Clemmons' account of the J.D. Tippit murder is taken as Gospel by many a-CTer, despite the wholly-ILLOGICAL "plot" that she supposedly witnessed on Tenth Street that day.....
I.E.:
Having TWO killers conspire to commit the Tippit murder, even though the conspirators' #1 goal here is to FRAME JUST ONE SINGLE "PATSY" FOR THIS MURDER (namely someone called "Lee Harvey Oswald").
Smart, huh?
Let's use TWO killers (needlessly, of course, for a practically point-blank killing of a policeman, who was just inches from the gun of the killer), instead of just using our trusty, present-at-every-murder-Oswald-supposedly-ever-committed-in-his-life "LHO Imposter" to do the job.
From what school for covert acts did these plotters graduate -- "The Academy For Brain-Dead Conspirators"?
Nobody could be as stupid and reckless as these November 22nd Plotters/Conspirators were said to have been (per CT-slanted versions of events). Not possible. And this recklessness extends far beyond just the Tippit murder scene as well. In fact, it applies ever more so to the JFK killing in Dealey Plaza.
Example:
WHY in the world would these professional killers even WANT to utilize THREE teams of assassins (as Oliver Stone claims in his movie), firing six bullets potentially into their one target (JFK) from a variety of different shooting locations, when the whole idea of this intricate, supposedly-well-planned "plot" is to frame just a single "Patsy" who is supposed to be located in the Book Depository? Did these conspirators deliberately TRY to make their assassination scheme as complicated and implausible as they possibly could? Seems like it.
And yet Oliver Stone actually has people buying this stuff. Kinda sad, huh? I think so anyway.
Well, anyhow, whatever you do, take the contents of this book with a very large-sized grain of salt. (That advice goes double, make that triple, for viewers of Oliver Stone's motion picture as well.)
Since writing my review of JFK: THE LAST DISSENTING WITNESS in 1998, I have been able to have my 35-page article - "Jean Hill -The Lady in Red" - included in Clint Bradford's JFK Assassination website. The address is: http://www.jfk-info.com/sitemap1.htm (scroll down for title).
This is a great eyewitness account of the events that day, and provides more proof that the assassination of JFK was an inside job. The objective reader can only conclude that our own government not only killed JFK, but also did everything possible to cover it up. Should be added to any JFK buff's library.
To be perfectly honest, all I expected to get from this book was a few minutes of amusement as I flipped through the 150 pages & looked at the dozens of color pictures of the interiors & exteriors of beautiful houses.
The big surprise, at least for me, began when I started reading the blocks of copy & the captions under the pictures. All of a sudden, I was getting an education on 19th century architecture & interior decoration.
When I came to page 47, for example, the heading read "Philadelphia Row." I might have heard of this section of Capitol Hill before, but I certainly didn't know anything about it: until I read the copy.
Not only was I treated to a charmingly romantic legend about how the row of houses came to be built, but then I learned--in just a few sentences--what makes this particular group of houses distinctive.
The Majesty of Capitol Hill truly is one of the best book bargains out there.
It is a beautiful book and good value for money. The focus is, as the title suggests, on the most beautiful and the most opulent homes. The authors unveil the interiors of those and some of their history. A lot to learn! I did not know, for example that Charles Lindbergh lived on the Hill.
But like the first reviewer, I would like to see more of the Hill's diversity in the books -- the most beautiful gardens, the back yards, the hidden swimming pools and roof top decks. I would also like to see some of the smaller and funkier homes.
Hopefully, the authors are working on a sequel titled: "The Diversity of Capitol Hill."
Does a nice job of showing the front and interior of various Capitol Hill buildings, mostly residences. The majority of the pictures are the standard frontal shot along with a handful of interior views of each building. Would have been an improvement to show some more of the exterior scenes such as the back of the buildings, the view of the streets, etc. This book is pretty good overall especially if you're looking for an overview and/or want to see what some of the homes look like on the inside.
The pictures are small and stingy looking and since this is a picture book that's a huge flaw. Plus, the most of the homes shown were remarkably ugly.
It surprises me that there are no newer editions of this book, or that so few people have bothered to review it yet. This book gives by far the best outline of what his contributions were to the revolution. While many books on Lenin's life seem to focus too much on his childhood, his years in exile, and his relationship with Krupskaya and Iskra, Hill focuses more on what Lenin's from the revolutionary standpoint. There is a great and brief introduction on how the Revolution (both 1905 and 1917) came about, and sheds a little more light on how exactly the Bolsheviks gained power, which according to Hill was by public persuasion and popular vote in the elections. There is also a great focus on what the Russian Revolution actually meant, and how it was a case of trial and error policies while still sticking to Marxist fundamentals. Hill argues that the uniqueness of the Russian Revolution prevented the Bolsheviks and Lenin from adapting Marx's and Engels' ideas directly. The book has a bit of a weak point as there is a large part dedicated to the crisis in World War I that I personally think could have been explained a little more in depth. Also, there are chronological inconsistencies as the book jumps from different periods sporadically; an aspect that hinders the flow of the book a bit. Aside from these minor problems, I think this book does a great job of telling Lenin's story from the most important perspective: the revolution.
Written in 1947 and updated in 1971 and 1992, this is a sympathetic and balanced summary of Lenin's life and the part he played in the rise of Russian communism and the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. As it is impossible to understand anything about Lenin without reference to Russia, it is fair to say that this book is equally about that great country's history too.
Part One skillfully covers a great deal of material, sketching the history preceding the Revolution (1870-1917), the state of the society then, international relations, and the formative influences on the Lenin himself.
Part Two covers the Revolution, the formation of the iron-fist in iron-glove state party, the appeal to the peasants' interests (usually by mere sloganism, 80% of the people still worked on the land), the rise of the Soviets (workers' caucuses) as an effective mechanism of power, and the building of a Socialism with a capital 'S', that is, with a world-dominating intent. The vision from the earliest was to bring Russia into the 20th century, expressed initially in the desire to industrialize, and bring electricity and railways to all parts of the land. The fervour with which they planned and worked is comparable to any other visionary movement of which we know the detailed history. The author draws interesting comparisons between the psychology of the English Puritans in the English Civil War (17th century) and that of the Bolsheviks.
Part Three covers the aftermath of the Revolution and the rise to power of Lenin's Generalissimo, Stalin (the self-dubbed 'Man of Steel'), who styled himself as Lenin's disciple. [The only clear inaccuracy in the book is the attribution of Lenin's death to a "stroke", which was put out as the official explanation. It has since been recently revealed from the Russian archives that he died of the disease he was being treated for, syphilis. His doctors were treating him with arsenic-based Salvarsan, only used to treat syph., and as it has some very unpleasant side effects no one is prescribed it on a just-in-case basis.) The essential nature of the personality cult of Lenin as autocratic father-figure, which was essential to the Revolution and its aftermath, was set early on. Lenin's ability to encompass the broad sweep of strategy and still focus on the fine detail is described by his foresight in the need to plan a full scale Russian armaments production capacity, and also know enough about a particular piece of anti-aircraft artillery to impress even military experts at an exhibition.
The short 1992 postscript fairly acknowledges that the Soviet Socialist experiment has failed radically and finally. And let's face it folks, if the Soviets could not subdue Afghanistan after ten years of occupation, but when push came to shove, the US managed it in six weeks, the end was never ever really in doubt, was it?
Robin Kane wants to be a special agent when she grows up. She also wants to know who drew the blue pelican at the ranch and where is the horse she loves so much. Robin and her friends add mystery, movie sets and trips to the beach to the excitement and danger of finding out who really did steal the cattle and what happened to "Nugget". I loved that the adult characters were pretty much in the background. Robin and her friends solve the mystery on their own. Note: I was happy and surprised at the end of this story.
The thrill of being a movie extra in a western film, turns into alarm when two people and a beautiful horse disappear. First Sentence: Robin Kane, thirteen, slowly hung up the telephone receiver. She ran her tanned fingers through her shock of brown curls, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.
That great historical event which began the modern age in earnest, the English Civil War is today remembered from perhaps too great a distance; and this not exactly on account of its contributions to world culture, but as an expression of faith not kept with the utopian visions of yesteryear. In *The World Turned Upside-Down*, Christopher Hill's lovingly-compiled volume of materials pertaining to those former aspects, we are presented with a vision of a strikingly "contemporary" Republic -- one which, in its political and spiritual enthusiasm, was rather pointedly failing to keep apace with the scientific and economic developments of the preceding era; but in its millenarianism none too sparing as regards the dependencies of political life, continuities such as permit of consensus-formation *en style directe*. Considering this legacy (by turns enlightening and subreptive, protestational and excavatory) what is not to be forgotten? The nimbus of "expansion" surrounding the new, and the filiations threading themselves along the striations of a new social body.
The World Turned Upside Down is a study of the radical ideas which were found in many pamphlets and books in the period of the English Revolution (approximately 1640 to 1660). If one can get by his occasional outbursts of joy over the Soviet revolution and his references to people like Herbert Marcuse this is a highly enjoyable read. The 1640s were a period of incredible intellectual ferment -- and these ideas made their way into print thanks to the freedom of the press which England enjoyed during this period and would not enjoy again for many, many decades. He introduces the ideas of the Levellers (True Levellers and Constitutional Levellers), the Diggers (who tried to reassert common rights over the waste lands of England by, yes, digging on them), the Ranters (who advocated a "Hippy-like existence" and preached free love, drunkenness, and other fun things -- Coppe seems almost like an English Rasputin), the early Quakers, the Shakers, and the Fifth Monarchists (you'll have to read this to believe it). He also discusses Winstanley's vision of the future and examines radical influences in the writings of Milton and Bunyan. Definitely check it out. It delves into the writings of the period to tell you what the "other half" thought and wrote and. above all, it is entertaining to boot.
I thought the book was easy and enjoyable to read. I read the hardcover version and the pictures were great. I was in suspense the whole time I was reading.
This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever purchased. 'Hill Country Cooking and Memoirs' is filled with delicious recipies and amusing and touching stories. Mrs. Ledford has included thorough and easy to follow instructions on everything from baking delectable cookies to suprise instructions involving a pig. This book would be great for novice cooks as well as experienced chefs. I highly recommend this book.
This book occasionally exhibits beautiful, poetic writing, but it has no plot. It's impossible to tell what's happening at any point. The writing, despite the beautiful images, is thoroughly opaque and nonsensical. It's sort of about a man during the Civil War who goes back to a plantation where he once worked as a scribe to see if his promiscuous, mysterious ex-mistress is still there -- I think. I *think* he's remembering all this while he's on his way to a Northern prison camp. It's really pretty hard to tell. I don't recommend this.
After moving to the Ozarks last summer, I felt it was time to read the novel that put the Ozarks "on the map." I think I have met most of these people already . . . I love the descriptions of the hills. It's a beauty you can't appreciate until you've seen it in all the seasons. After living all my life in the "flatness" of central Illinois, I still thrill driving up, down, and around these hills. I enjoyed reading Mr. Wright's novel, though at times the print was difficult to read, as if it had been photocopied from an old edition. Now I need to see the play . . .
This is one of two best books ever for me. The story is an old one, the characters are well described and I can't rave enough about the book. There is no sex, no profanity, no violence and guess what? It is a great book!! All of his books are readable, choose one and enjoy!
This is an inspirational message. I recently visited Branson, Missouri and picked up a copy of this book. Branson residents assure me this book is true and is based on Wright's visit to this region in the late 1800s. At the end of the story, Wright's image appears as the artist painting the Ozark mountains. I saw the cabin where much of the story takes place.
For those interested in a book that is as lively as Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn, this is a good addition. Why, because the language is much the same as what Twain uses in his book. The author was once a minister, and the main character in the book is a former minister working as a shepherd of a flock of sheep.
The reader should understand there are plenty of references to God in this book, but this is not the main tenet of this book.
This is a pleasant read and there is an inspirational message in the story. I read this 250 odd page book in less than a day, so the reading is light and at first difficult due to the language used. However, I would recommend this book to anyone desiring to read about the endless conflict of right versus wrong. This book is based on true events.
A wholesome classic novel written about the beauty of the Ozarks and the spiritual meaning found in a life lived in simplicity. The story centers around "The Shepherd", a man from the city who chose to live and share his life with the simple country-folk of Mutton Hollow. His fine education as well as his life-long lessons are shared with all those who will listen. The reader will enjoy multiple character developments and subplots that are intricately woven together throughout the book. A very peaceful, yet challenging story.
Once I read this book a few summers ago, it quickly became my all-time favorite book. I had seen the play, which is spectacular, and I had seen the movie (a bit disappointing to me), but nothing could prepare me for the book.
Harold Bell Wright creates a masterpiece. And that is an understatement. Several plots develop throughout the story, each one seeming irrelevent when compared to another, yet they are all interwoven masterfully by the end of the book. There is the lonely stranger, who wanders into the hills, and changes the community and then learns something about himself and the meaning of life. Readers then watch Sammy Lane struggle to become a "sure 'nough lady," and will most likely cheer on Young Matt as he fights to steal Sammy's heart from Ollie Stewart, though he knows Ollie promises Sammy a rich city life. Readers are also involved in Young Matt's and Wash Gibb's struggles to the title of "Strongest Man in the Hills." And Old Matt, Aunt Mollie and the Shepherd are forced to relive the past and learn from it, no matter how strong the pain is.
In conclusion, I just want to recommend this book to all people looking for some quality summer reading. The book may seem somewhat long, but it is hard to put down and you'll go through it quickly, wishing it would never end. Read this book and enjoy!
"Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, 1977" captures the events of 1976, which was a banner year for editorial cartoonists. The reason why is aptly captured by the cartoon on the cover of this collection, which shows the iconically toothy smile of Jimmy Carter, who came out of nowhere (a.k.a. Plains, Georgia) to be elected President of the United States. 1976 had it all: the nation's bicentennial, political scandals, a heated Presidential campaign, an election that went down to the wire and divided the nation along geographical lines, all wrapped up the distinctive facial features of Jimmy Carter (and an infamous interview "Playboy" magazine). The editorial cartoonist of the year was clearly Tony Auth of the Philadelphia "Inquirer," who won both the Pulitzer Prize, for a carton of Leonid Breshnev singing "American the Beautiful" in an American wheat field, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award, for a cartoon of Muslims and Christians killing each other in the name of their religions in Beirut. There are also several cartoons by my all-time favorite, Jeff MacNelly, along with choice cartoons by Robert Graysmith, Ed Gamble, Mike Peters, and Dick Locher. You will certainly get a sense of the new school and old school approaches to editorial cartooning. Cartoons about the 1976 Election provide the single largest chapter in the collection, with the vast majority of those being about the challenger Carter. The challenge to President Gerald Ford by Ronald Reagan in the Republican Party receives treatment as well, along with the Wayne Hays Scandal (does the name Elizabeth Ray ring a bell?). In terms of international affairs there was turmoil in Southern Africa, OPEC raising the price of oil, tension in the Middle East in general and Lebanon in particular, and the death of Mao Tse-Tung (that was the spelling used back then). There were, of course, cartoons on perennial topics like Crime, Defense, Education, and the Economy, as well as one time subjects such as the Swine Flu, Earl Butz, and the mystery of Howard Hughes' will. This is the fifth collection of the annual series that brings together hundreds of examples of the high art of editorial cartoonists by more than 130 of its practitioners compiled by Charles Brooks, award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Birmingham "News" and former president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. The introduction is written by Draper Hill, an editorial cartoonists for the Detroit "News" who comments on the change in this satirical art form, arguing: "Dignity is out of fashion. For the younger cartoonists, sentiment is so suspect as to be virtually taboo." Given that we are now talking about an American living in the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate era, this is not surprising.
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