Alyn Brodsky
Autore di Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character
Opere di Alyn Brodsky
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Grover Cleveland : a study in character di Alyn Brodsky
a nice balance between Cleveland the man and Cleveland the President. Enjoyed it
I just finished reading Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician by Alyn Brodsky. I am giving the book four stars only because I think chronological order, and more frequent listing of years as well as calendar dates would have helped readers. I am a fanatic of the subject of chronology.
I am a bit of a history buff and have often wondered about Benjamin Rush's role in history. He comes up prominently both as a doctor and as a patriot. I suppose I first learned of him in the context of his reuniting two former Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as friends after their famous falling out.
His role and importance is greatly under-recognized. As a doctor he was very much a man of his times, and espoused treatments such as bloodletting that proved counterproductive. However, he can be regarded as a father of both preventative medicine and psychiatry. His role as a patriot is also under-appreciated. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and had a major role in fostering Thomas Paine's Common Sense. This pamphlet electrified the colonies.
To its credit, the book was not a hagiography. It highlighted Rush's constant conflicts with others that hampered both his reputation and reputation. I suppose it could be said that he traveled in an ethereal crowd, all people with strong personalities. He clashed with the likes of George Washington, not to mention others in the medical establishment. Highly religious, he kept jumping around among three or four sects of Christianity.
Perhaps two letters of condolence, on from John Adams, one from Thomas Jefferson sum in up best:
Adams wrote to Richard (Rush, one of Benjamin's sons) on 5 May 1813:
Thomas Jefferson's letter of 27 May 1813 to John Adams upon learning of the passing of their mutual friend:
I am a bit of a history buff and have often wondered about Benjamin Rush's role in history. He comes up prominently both as a doctor and as a patriot. I suppose I first learned of him in the context of his reuniting two former Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as friends after their famous falling out.
His role and importance is greatly under-recognized. As a doctor he was very much a man of his times, and espoused treatments such as bloodletting that proved counterproductive. However, he can be regarded as a father of both preventative medicine and psychiatry. His role as a patriot is also under-appreciated. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and had a major role in fostering Thomas Paine's Common Sense. This pamphlet electrified the colonies.
To its credit, the book was not a hagiography. It highlighted Rush's constant conflicts with others that hampered both his reputation and reputation. I suppose it could be said that he traveled in an ethereal crowd, all people with strong personalities. He clashed with the likes of George Washington, not to mention others in the medical establishment. Highly religious, he kept jumping around among three or four sects of Christianity.
Perhaps two letters of condolence, on from John Adams, one from Thomas Jefferson sum in up best:
Adams wrote to Richard (Rush, one of Benjamin's sons) on 5 May 1813:
In what terms can I address you? There are none that can express my sympathy with you and your family, or my own personal feel. ins on the loss of your excellent father. There is not another person out of my own family, who can die, in whom my personal happiness can be so deeply affected. The world would pronounce me extravagant and no man would apologize for me if I should say that in the estimation of unprejudiced philosophy, he has done more good in this world than Franklin or Washington.
Thomas Jefferson's letter of 27 May 1813 to John Adams upon learning of the passing of their mutual friend:
Another of our friends of seventy-six is gone, my dear Sir, another of the co-signers of the Independence of our country. And a better man than Rush could not have left us, more benevolent, more learned, of finer genius, or more honest.… (altro)
While Brodsky's biography of Grover Cleveland is an entertaining read, the book is far too partisan to to be credible as a study of his life and presidency. Brodsky's greatest achievement, as a result, is to make it clear why he admires Cleveland, presenting him as a man of great conviction and character. But all too often flaws are spun as virtues, which prevents the sort of nuanced assessment necessary for a proper understanding of Cleveland and his times.
Grover Cleveland by Brodsky. Unfortunately, Cleveland still awaits a great biography. Brodsky does cover Cleveland's life. He covers his meteoric rise from Mayor of Buffalo, to Governor of New York, and on to President of the United States in only three years. The chief issues in his presidency were the silver issue, high tariffs, and labor unrest. In foreign policy he dealt with Hawaii, Cuba, the Monroe Doctrine, and Samoa. Even though he was initially elected as a reformer with the aid of the Mugwumps, Brodsky fails to criticize Cleveland for never fulfilling this promise. When the Haymarket riots occurred in Chicago, he too quickly sided with Big Business. Again, although Brodsky does note this angered Labor, Brodsky does not provide other possible avenues for Cleveland. Could he have worked with both Labor and Big Business or was sending in federal troops to crush Labor really the only way? On the silver issue, Brodsky does describe how Cleveland's silver letter was a courageous act on his part. Also, his signal achievement was the repeal of the silver coinage act. But again Brodsky fails the reader by not explaining why this defeat was economically necessary. In my meager research, I was unable to find that the repeal of the silver act solved the Panic of 1893. Brodsky does show how Cleveland lost the Democratic Party to William Jennings Bryan. Brodsky says unconvincingly Cleveland did not like Theodore Roosevelt because they were different personalities. But perhaps his dislike was because Roosevelt was a Progressive and a Trustbuster which Cleveland was not. Brodsky does describe Cleveland as being just as honest a president as Truman. But Truman had many accomplishments. Cleveland had one major accomplishment -- the defeat of the silver coinage act. His other major act was an attempt to repeal the high tariff act which failed. Thus, Brodsky fails to convince this reader that Cleveland was a more significant president than either Hayes or Arthur even though he had two terms to their one. Cleveland was noteworthy as the only Democratic President Between Woodrow Wilson and James Buchanan.… (altro)
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 6
- Utenti
- 188
- Popolarità
- #115,783
- Voto
- 3.6
- Recensioni
- 7
- ISBN
- 7