Here are some other history book reviews from non-fiction books that do not relate to Southern History...

 

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Young Men and Fire

By Norman MacLean

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992

Non-Fiction

 

 

“An unforgettable story of courage, tragedy, and redemption by the author of A River Runs Through It.”

Prolific author Norman Maclean studies the tragedy of the 1949 Mann Gulch forest fire in his work, Young Men and Fire.  While much of the book is about forest fire and fire behavior, Maclean mainly focuses on the Smokejumpers who perished while trying to contain the conflagration. He writes in fine detail about the fire as it occurred in the summer of 1949 and his investigation of the blaze thereafter during the 1970’s.  By sorting out the vague details of the fire and piecing together all the relevant evidence, Maclean hopes to determine whether or not the thirteen Smokejumpers who expired in the fire could have escaped the forces of nature and survived.  His work moves from being an objective study of the Smokejumpers and the fire into Maclean’s personal journey through the waning years of his life.

Written in a non-fiction style that is mixed with poetics, Maclean explores the Mann Gulch tragedy by employing sweeping metaphors braided with the hard facts.  His metaphoric style often overshadows the goal of his pursuit: To discover a working theory about the final moments of the lives of those involved in the Mann Gulch fire and the consequences thereafter.  He accomplishes this, to a certain extent, but carries the reader along his journey into the tiring task of proving his theories.

Young Men and Fire does not flow as smoothly as the Missouri River along the banks of the Mann Gulch.   It is choppy and at times whimsical, often not offering a clear answer to a question that was presented.  Several times I asked questions aloud: Why can’t Hellman’s body be immersed in cool water? What happens to the human body when it is severely burned? Was Wag Dodge burned at all when he made his escape fire? The Mclean narrative opens up many questions it refuses to answer.

Maclean is well known as a preeminent scholar of literature and poetry, which reflects in his study, but does not always aide in presenting the facts.

“Seemingly without relation to reality or to the working of the imagination the flowers that had grown into a garden distended themselves into an enormous light bulb and a great mixed metaphor.”(85)

Confusing and jumpy, the study lacks good continuity.  Yet, Mclean’s intent to unravel the mysteries of Mann Gulch is evident, and his story is well researched and authentic.  The reader takes away from the study a considerable amount of knowledge about the history of Smokejumpers, who are often an obscure group of forest servicemen that are only in the public eye when the alarm of a forest fire is present.

The reader will also learn a bit about the later years of Norman Mclean’s life.  Young Men and Fire was not fully completed at the time of Mclean’s death in 1990.  It was completed by a group of editors posthumously, although he had written most of the narrative in 1977, when he was in his early 70’s.  At times, the reader will note that Mclean is expecting death to take him soon, especially when he laments about the passing of his wife and the ages of the Smokejumpers who were consumed by the fire.  Toward the end of the study, Mclean becomes increasing reverent, citing the Book of Common Prayer and the Book of Job.  It seems to Mclean that his obsession with Mann Gulch, his book, and his life, are all finally coming to an end with the final pages. 

 

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The Johnstown Flood

By David McCullough

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968

Non-Fiction

 

 

 “The Incredible Story Behind One of the Most Devastating Disasters America Has Ever Known”

In his highly acclaimed style of attentive detail and seamless storytelling, David McCullough studies the history of one of the most dramatic natural disasters to occur on the American mainland in his book, The Johnstown Flood.   As in many of his previous works, McCullough painstakingly combs through hundreds, if not thousands, of sources to weave together his intricate story.  He references numerous first-hand accounts of the flood from both the perspective of the outside journalist who witnessed the flood’s aftermath and of the Johnstown resident who barely escaped with his life.

In the spring of 1889, after several days of steady western Pennsylvanian rainfall, a natural, weather-worn dam in the mountains north of Johnstown broke open.   Millions of gallons of water rushed down the Conemaugh River Valley and consequently down river into the city.   A tide of death and destruction flowed in its wake.   One of the greatest highland floods in United States history, the Johnstown flood killed close to 2,200 people and cost millions of dollars in damage.

While many different books have been written about the great flood of 1889, McCullough’s study is the most succinct.   He uses various other works about the flood to cull together a story which keeps the reader intrigued.   Much akin to his other Pulitzer prize winning documentary works, The Johnstown Flood may prove to be the catalyst for the reader to pursue individual study of the event for himself.

The most poignant segments of his study are the descriptions of how specific people survived the flood.   Their stories are amazing: families torn apart and then pieced back together, charitable men and women selflessly helping one another get to higher ground, outside groups like the Red Cross intervening immediately to give aid.   The remarkable tales of survival add a flavor of unpredictability to the documentary.

McCullough’s study does lack clarity in the legal squabbling which followed after the disaster.   Many new characters, playing only a minor part in the legal aftermath, are thrown into the storyline, at the cost of overall continuity. The legal wars raged tirelessly for years, with the finger of blame constantly changing from one group to another.   It is unclear at the end who, if anyone, can be held accountable for the disaster.

The Johnstown Flood falls in line with many of the other documentaries that David McCullough has produced over his career.   His writing describes the event as it happened, painting its picture as clearly and perfectly as possible.

 

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In the Heart of the Sea

By Nathaniel Philbrick

 

New York: Penguin Books, 2000

Non-Fiction

 

 

“The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex”

The story of the whaleship Essex was spun in the American maritime community for longer than a century before historian Nathaniel Philbrick studied the material in his book,  In the Heart of the Sea.  A captivating story which abounds in sea-faring facts,  In the Heart of the Sea is a conclusive note to all the embellished tales told in port taverns by seamen.

 

In the early 19^th century, fleets of whale fishing crews left the island of Nantucket to hunt down the sperm whale for its precious supply of oil.  While normally an innocuous creature, a giant sperm whale encountered the whaleship Essex and viciously attacked the ship, sinking her thousands of miles from land  in the heart of the South Pacific.  Twenty men piled into the three small ships used to hunt whales to attempt to survive at sea until they came upon land.  Several months later, the ships were spotted along the South American coast, laden only with a few moribund sailors and the bones of their fellow shipmates.    

 

Philbrick uses the journals of two survivors as the main source of his study.  Yet, he not only tells of the fate of the Essex crew, but also enlightens the reader on Nantucket history, whalefishing, cannibalism, human physiology under extreme conditions, and the hardened life of a 19^th century seafarer.  His study is loaded with pertinent first-hand accounts and comparative examples to compliment the story.  Not only does he write a good tale, he relates the tribulations of the lost sailors to scientific studies and other factual material.  It gives the reader an understanding of what the crew was going through at the time of their demise.

 

Although, at times, it is difficult for the reader to understand the seafaring terms Philbrick uses in the course of his study, most of his lexicon flows smoothly and is easy to understand.  The reader may also find difficulty in understanding the principles that go into navigating a ship (Philbrick often uses navigational terms to describe the locations of various points in the Essex journey).  However, In the Heart of the Sea has several detailed maps and drawings to elucidate any unclear parts.

 

It is generally assumed that Herman Melville was inspired to write Moby Dick by the grim, misfortunate story of the whaleship Essex.  Philbrick’s fascinating study of the tragedy pointedly brings a haunting tale of early 19^th century fishing to the current context of today.  Both authors were captivated by the real-life account and produced groundbreaking works in its wake.  Philbrick’s concise study is the final word to the story of the Essex, which is one of the most tragic tales ever told upon the sea.

 

 

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Cave of the Jagua

By Antonio M. Stevens-Arroyo

Scranton: University of Scranton Press, 2006

Non-Fiction

 

 

“The Mythological World of the Tainos”

In his latest study, Dr. Stevens-Arroyo focuses on the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean in Cave of the Jagua. The book “explores the nature of the Tainos” religion, and how their beliefs characterized the Tainos as a people. They were the first people to be contacted by the European world, when Christopher Columbus first landed in 1492. Sensational tales of the Tainos spread across Europe, but in the Stevens-Arroyo study he candidly puts them in historical perspective.

Stevens-Arroyo asserts that the Tainos were a people with no historical conscientiousness until they were affected by the spread of Christianity. As well, the Tainos have no written language. Thus, it is difficult for a historian to come to conclusions about their culture, with the only primary sources being from a 500-year old account written by a Spanish priest (which was poorly translated by an Italian academic) and their artifacts. But by using the Spaniard’s account, and their ethno-archeological pottery remains, Stevens-Arroyo attempts to structurally analyze their myths and history to tell the story of the Tainos past.

Stevens-Arroyo relies heavily on the work of academic Claude Levi-Strauss, who developed a structural analysis for dissecting myths. In fact, the first two chapters of the book purposefully explain the Levi-Strauss and other academic ethnoarchaeological systems, and why they would work for this study of the Tainos. It is busy, annoying, and will surprise the reader, who is expecting to learn about the Tainos, but instead is reading a defensive forword of academic methods.

Even after the first two chapters, there is much speculation in his study. While the book is saturated with good information regarding the Tainos, there is also a good dose of speculation and assertion. Stevens-Arroyo often makes the reader aware of his presuppositions, and then uses possibilities and “I thinks” to prove them. (193) He is also self-promoting and at times informs the reader that his work is fundamental in the study of the Taino people. “Since I was the first to scientifically identify Anacacuya…I will repeat the explanation offered in my dissertation.” (178-179).

While the Cave of the Jagua is a fact-laden study of the Tainos, and explores themes in the Taino religion that may be truthful, it is not a well-written study. Stevens-Arroyo seems to be defending his methods and promoting himself throughout the book, which takes away from his study. He discusses certain aspects of the Tainos too much (myths, pottery) and does not discuss other facets enough (warfare, social customs). This unbalanced look into the history of the Tainos does not do them justice, and only works to promote Stevens-Arroyo’s theories and personal image. In the end, the Tainos still need an authoritative documentation of their history to be produced.

 

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Brutal Journey

By Paul Schneider

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006

Non-Fiction

 

 

“The Epic Story of the First Crossing of North America”

Various scholars and researchers have documented the numberless non-fiction accounts of the Spanish Conquistadors’ tear across the American subcontinent over the past few centuries. Yet, until now there has never been a fully documented account of the failed Panfilo de Navarez’s expedition to La Florida. The new Paul Schneider study, Brutal Journey, unlocks many of the mysteries of the Navarez expedition, and traces the routes of four unlikely survivors along the perimeter of the Gulf of Mexico through New Spain, and consequently back to their mother country.

The Navarez expedition served as the unsuccessful precursor of the Hernando De Soto expedition of Florida. After petitioning the King of Spain to grant his request to conquer new lands in America, Navarez took four hundred adventurers on a fatalistic journey through the swamplands of current-day Florida. Under constant attack from hostile natives, Navarez and his fellow conquistadors slowly began to expire, until only four remained alive. These four traversed the Mexican mainland – living with various natives tribes and being fiercely harassed by some, hailed as prophets by others.

Paul Schneider used an immense amount of materials to tell the story of this fractured journey into the unknown, unmapped Americas. He spins a good story: Brutal Journey is easy to read and chalk-full of interesting historic detail of the Spanish conquistadors and an unsettled America. The study centers on Navarez until his demise, and then focuses on the final four adventures throughout the rest of their travels. But the break of the protagonists is seamless, and the harrowing story is presented in colorful facts.

Yet, the long and dramatic journey of the conquistadors is wrapped up with a curt, quick ending. Schneider does not expand on the legacy of the journey or the after-effects of the adventurers. Did the future generations of conquistadors learn anything from the failed Navarez expedition? How did it influence crown policy toward conquest in the Americas? Several questions arise with the reader which are not fully explained in the final chapters of the book.

Faced with the notion of conflicting details and scant primary-resource material, Paul Schneider’s study of the Navarez expedition is captivating and informative. Although it ends quickly, the study serves as an authoritative compilation of all the different pieces of the Navarez tale that have been researched by various historians throughout time. With that, Brutal Journey adds to the study of Latin American history by delivering a solid, detailed review of an obscure but incredibly important voyage into the savage Americas of the 16th century.

 

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Sugar, Slavery, Family and Race

Edited and translated by Elborg Forster and Robert Forster

Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996

Non-Fiction

 

 

“The Letters and Diary of Pierre Dessalles, Planter in Martinique, 1808-1856”

The life of Pierre Dessalles is documented in the biographical study by Elborg and Robert Forster, Sugar, Slavery, Family and Race. The book is a combination of Dessalles letters and diary, clearly translated and pieced together in a chronological format. This rare combination of primary source materials makes for a great story, and a detailed look into the life of a planter.

Dessalles was a Martinique planter who owned over 200 slaves at the height of the sugar boom in the French Caribbean, which brought enormous profits to the island. Yet, the life of Dessalles was wrought with despair and frustration, despite his elite social status among the Martinique planter class.

Dessalles suffers from an anxiety throughout his entire lifetime, foreseeing his end in financial ruin. This anxiety characterizes his relationship with his nuclear family, who wastefully live in Paris and spend all of his income on extravagant, sycophantic purchases. But Dessalles misses them, and often laments in his diary that he feels neglected and lonely without the warmth of his family.

He finds an outlet for his paternalistic needs in his slaves. His diary details the gossip and lives of both his house and field slaves, as their toil on his plantation for his benefit. Dessalles strikes up a “special relationship” with one of his house slaves, Nicaise, his man-servant, whom he dines with and sleeps in his room. (14) Both his letters and diary reflect the trends of passive resistance among his slaves, who constantly disrupt his sugar production by breaking tools, feigning illnesses, poisoning cattle, and letting piles of cane deteriorate before they are processed in the sugar mill.

Elborg and Robert Forster’s biography and translation is an outstanding example of how to bring primary source information to life. They translated the documents of Dessalles seamlessly, and omitted the parts that were not necessary or that rambled. Their final product is a concise, clear story of a man and his sufferings as a sugar planter. It leaves the reader to wonder more about his life and about what things bothered the sugar planters on Martinique. Did they fear a revolt, such as the one on St. Dominique? Did they seek to squeeze the cane fields of all their lucrative sugar and then return to France? Did they lead happy lives?

Sugar and Slavery, Family and Race gives a precise view of life on a 19th century sugar plantation, through the eyes of planter. While sad and lonely, Dessalles finds small moments of joy in his relationships with the slaves, whom he interacts with daily. After reflecting on this study, the reader may pity Dessalles, but may also want to admonish for his role as a major 19th century slaveholder and plantation despot.

 

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All pictures and reviews by Matt Mitchell

 

Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve