John SedgwickRecensioni

Sedgwick covers a nice piece of the western development story, that being of two competitors building railroad lines from the Midwest to southern California.½

A reporter spent a year at the Philadelphia Zoo and then wrote this book about it. He talks just as much about the keepers, administrators, construction, repairs, management problems and so on as he does about the animals- getting a lot of behind-the-scenes look at how the zoo operates. For me, these details about how the people and politics weren't nearly as interesting as the animals- so I ended up skimming quite a lot... That, and the fact that much of the humor missed the mark with me, is why this book rated low for me. On the other hand, I did enjoy reading about all the wildlife- attempts to breed a rhino, hand-raising baby animals- kangaroo, binturong, marmoset- veterinary procedures, moving gorillas from old bare cages into new outdoor habitats, tricky work with dangerously strong elephants, making a stubborn camel move into its shelter from the winter weather (it didn't want to go indoors), watching interactions among the group of wolves.. Some of the descriptions are very brief, others- the wolves, elephants, rhino and gorilla in particular- are longer or revisited through the book. You might want to know there's a several-page very detailed account of the rhinocerouses mating. He also keeps mentioning how dangerous certain animals are, or how stupid others, without much attempt to see beyond this sensational or disparaging attitude... There's a bit of history and side stories about collectors, which unfortunately only detracted from the main narrative for me. It's certainly a piece of its time, an honest look at what a zoo was like in the 1980's. Rather sad how ineffective most of the veterinary attempts were- there seems to be more mention of animals getting ill or dying than of new births and successful treatments- but maybe those just stood out to me more.

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Highly detailed insight in the early United States. A bot more comprehensive and differentiated than the Musical, sometimes I would have preferred the former to the amount of info and political animosities that are hard to understand and that sully the beginnings of this new nation.

War of Two is a great companion read for fans of Ron Chernow's biography Hamilton or Gore Vidal's novel, Burr. Author John Sedgwick, descendant of Theodore Sedgwick to whom Hamilton wrote his final letter before his fateful duel with Burr, does a fine job of capturing the complex relationship between these two mortal frenemies (well, perhaps they were never quite friends but they knew one another for much of their adult lives and even jointly defended a client in a famous court case). Because Hamilton makes an early departure before he was fifty, about halfway through the book, and Burr lived to eighty, War of Two goes deeper into Burr than Hamilton. You get a lot more than you did in the Hamilton biography about Burr's ill-fated attempt to establish an empire in the west, a crime for which he was not found guilty of treason but which propelled him to flee the United States nevertheless. You also learn about his five years exile in Europe which seems to have devolved from partying with royalty to living in abject, pathetic poverty. Burr's final twenty years stateside were pretty uneventful and are given scant attention. Sedgwick concedes that there is an echo of Burr's roguish personality in America today. However, it is but a fog compared to Hamilton's lasting influence as creator of this country's economic and financial systems.

This was not a quick read, but it was a great read. Fascinating story of the Cherokee Nation. I had to purchase it.

I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. In this amazing epic the author tells us the story of the Cherokee. They were forced off their land as European settlers moved into their lands. I feel ashamed by what our ancestors did to these people over time. Two leaders were able to negotiate with American presidents to protect their sacred lands and were friends and allies at the beginning. They had promoted culture, and had become one of the more civilized tribes. They were both very proud. Over time the subject of ‘removal’ caused a great rift between the two and they became mortal enemies. They were on opposite sides during the War Between the States. Eventually they turned against each other. Murders were committed. Everything began to fall apart leading to the ruin of the Cherokee. It is obvious that the author did a great deal of research before writing this saga. This book is well written and very informative though tragic and sad but well worth the read. It is good to learn about some of the historical horrors from the past within our own country. Hopefully we can do better in the future. I look forward to reading more from John Sedgwick in the future.

A fascinating piece of history I knew nothing about. Blood Moon delves deep into the Cherokee nation, looking specifically at two rival chiefs. Highly recommend for history enthusiasts as the research that went in to this book is evident in the details.

One of America's saddest legacies is the way European settlers and government combined to nearly wipe out an entire indigenous population. With Blood Moon, John Sedgwick shows us how Americans' greed and civil unrest tore the Cherokee Nation in half, while taking away their land, their homes, their culture, their beliefs, and often their pride.

The amount of research and detail Sedgwick put into this book is remarkable. I felt like I really knew and understood John Ross and The Ridge, two Cherokee leaders who found themselves on opposing sides when the US government demanded the entire Cherokee Nation relocate away from their homeland. The two leaders' inability - or, perhaps, stubborn refusal - to work together added to the Cherokees' confusion and inaction, inadvertently working in the Americans' favor.

John Sedgwick's narrative is entertaining and immersive, and this nonfiction book often reads as smoothly as historical fiction. He walks us through the entire collapse of the Cherokee Nation, from beginning to end, so we see it unraveling in all its glory and misery. This is a comprehensive read, certainly not quick or light, but I felt all the detail enhanced the experience, providing tremendous insight into this historic event.

*I received an advance ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*

Fabulous book ,and great to read before heading to see the Philadelphia Zoo!!

This book takes a look at the Philadelphia Zoo and all the goings-on for a year in the mid-1980s. Not only do we meet some of the animals and learn their stories, but we meet many of the staff, as well as other people (including the “Wolf Lady”, who came every day to watch the wolves). Other events were included, such as the planning and building of a new building, then moving the animals into said building.

I really enjoyed this. Of course, I love animals, so it would have been surprising for me not to. It was interesting to get behind the scenes. You could see in the book where things were much better than they had been for zoo animals (moving from concrete/barren (i.e. sanitary) enclosures to more natural ones), but at the same time I hope other things have changed still (they were still using bull hooks on the elephants...). Of course, my favourite parts were stories of the animals, but I enjoyed “meeting” some of the people, as well. I think the author did a good job wrapping up the book, though the lives of both the people and animals go on.

I didn’t know much about the 1804 duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr before I read this double biography, but that (of course) didn’t stop me from having an opinion: Hamilton, good; Burr (the “victor”), bad. Learning more about them was revelatory and provided some well needed nuance. John Sedgwick takes readers back to the beginnings of each man's life, revealing surprising similarities and stark contrasts. Both men fought in the Revolutionary War, practiced law in New York City, and held political office--Hamilton worked closely with George Washington and was the first Treasury Secretary, while Burr was Vice President during Thomas Jefferson’s initial term as President. But their contrasts started at birth.

Alexander Hamilton was born out of wedlock on a Caribbean island, and then orphaned early and put to work. At twelve he had charge of the Beekman and Cruger shipping business, a job that would have been daunting for most men twice his age. When he was sixteen a ferocious hurricane ravaged the island, but instead of hiding inside Hamilton ventured out to see the storm and then wrote a dramatic account of it for the island’s newspaper. His literary skills brought him to the attention of Hugh Knox, a local minister, who arranged for Hamilton to be educated in America. Hamilton never returned to the island.

Aaron Burr initially led a more privileged life than Hamilton because he was born into a kind of religious dynasty. His father was a minister and the second president of a prestigious New Jersey college that later became Princeton University, and his grandfather was Jonathan Edwards, a Calvinist minister and a leader of the Great Awakening religious revival of the 1730’s-40’s. Maybe because of his background Burr was driven to accelerate and excel in his studies, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree when he was just sixteen. Burr was a great admirer of early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and he made sure that his beloved daughter Theodosia was as well educated as any boy.

Sedgwick’s penetrating account of the eventually fatal rivalry between the two men provides fascinating insights into the personalities involved and the history of their time. The love lives of several Founding Fathers are laid bare and I was intrigued by deportment differences between Federalists and Republicans. Those supporting the Federalist party made formal bows upon meeting and considered the handshake a vulgar Republican custom. George Washington in particular couldn’t bare to be touched. One man who patted Washington on the shoulder to win a bet deeply regretted it afterwards, being almost undone by Washington’s cold stare.

Federalists and Republicans even admired different doctors--Republicans preferred old fashioned bleeding and purging styles of medicine while Federalists like Hamilton favored gentler cures with doctors who allowed the body time to heal itself. America’s polarized politics have a long history.

While I couldn’t understand how he did it, I enjoyed reading about reactions to Hamilton’s financial alchemy. He somehow managed to turn the country’s prodigious debt into money that could be invested in things that would help the young nation grow economically, like canals and roads, but Republicans like Thomas Jefferson, who envisioned a society made up of gentlemen farmers, considered the whole business unseemly.

Moving, informative, and entertaining, the book takes the story forward many years after the Hamilton/Burr duel, including Burr’s audacious attempt to hijack some Louisiana Purchase lands to found his own republic and ending with Burr’s death in 1836.

This is not one of your dry books on history with dates and details being listed as though you were cramming for the SATs. Au contraire, John Sedgwick lifts these larger than life statesmen and founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, out of the dark annals of history and brings them to life in such a way that one can more easily grasp what eventually drove them to blows on that fated day in July of 1804.
Author John Sedgwick carefully crafts in alternating chapters an easy to read narrative about the contrasting origins and evolution of each statesman from their early years right through to their bitter ends. The research is spot on but the story is what draws the reader in to really get to know these contrasting and conflicted players of the revolution and of their embryonic nation. In so many ways they were similar yet diametrically opposed to one another - at times friends and yet often fierce enemies. This one is definitely worth the reading.
I am grateful to Goodreads' First Reads, author John Sedgwick and Penguin Randomhouse LLC for having provided a free uncorrected proof of this book. Their generosity did not, however, influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.

This book was a pleasant surprise, a little slow at time hence 4 stars but a very good story. Rollins has an unusual hobby, he likes to pick out a car at random and follow it while speculating about the person and where they are going. One night he follows someone to a house that has a distant tie to him in the form of a missing cousin, but this time the person he was following was aware of it and begins to follow Rollins. This is where the story really gets good, you never know who is hiding what from whom. Overall a really good mystery.

I had the good fortune to read this soon after reading The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn. I reccomend the combination to genealogy fans.

I had the good fortune to read this soon after reading The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn. I reccomend the combination to genealogy fans.

I had the good fortune to read this soon after reading The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn. I reccomend the combination to genealogy fans.

Family history of the Sedgewicks - Edie, Kyra, starting with the Revolutionary War ones. After I read Edie by George Plimpton, in the 80s and became obsessed it, how could I not read this? ? He traces his family history, noting the depressive or manic depressive ones in each generation. The history stuff was interesting - I hadn't known about Shay's Rebellion - and the family dirt was good too, though the Plimpton book is better.

I picked up this book mainly because I enjoy memoirs, particularly family memoirs. The author could have helped himself (and his readers) by reading some good examples of the genre in advance of writing his own book. The book lacks balance in its treatment of the six generations. For about the first third of the book, we are treated to exhaustive details about Generation One, both the private and public works of Theodore Sedgwick. John Adams he is not, yet it seemed as if the author would like us to make that comparison. I didn't mind learning about him, but at some point I wanted the author to move the book along.

John Sedgwick is a good writer, which saves the book from being terrible. The book has its moments, but too frequently I found myself not all that interested in what he had to say; too often Sedgwick, evidently not realizing he's doing it, comes across as a spoiled, rich-kid adolescent, whining about his tough life. I was glad when I finally got to the last page. There are many better first-person accounts about manic-depression and mental illness, so unless someone has a particular reason to read about the Sedgwicks, then I wouldn't recommend this book.½

Perhaps one needs to be from Philadelphia, or be a zookeeper to like this book, I found it incredibly dull. On the one hand, with its old ideas of zoo keeping it was rather painful to read, on the other, there were not enough animal anecdotes for me. It had way too much information about the politics and business end of running a zoo. Lots of depressing stuff about the animals getting sick and dying. If you are looking for the nitty-gritty details of behind the scenes zoo keeping, you might enjoy this, but I was looking for something with humor and lightness.

I read at least half of this book, but did not finish it.

An original plot with original characters. Amazing. In this day and age. Neurotic guy who is so bored with his life that he follows people in his car, just to see where they go and what they do. Neurotic girl who thinks this is totally normal. Missing heiress. Sinister family members. I enjoyed this one.

Mrs. Bemis was completely predictable, but very enjoyable to read. No surprises, but very lovingly crafted characters that I cared about and worried over during the book. It's labeled a psychological thriller, but it isn't. It lacks tautness. But it more than makes up for it with excellent character studies of Madeline and Alice. Very well done and a nice, gentle, nostalgic read. Warm humanity and frailty radiates from the book and I just felt better about life and circumstances by reading it.