Book Nook Cafe discussion

My goal is to read at least one book on each president, in order of their presidential terms. I don't have DL titles for my unread Presidents, for the most part, because it depends upon which library i use & what they offer. Frankly, i'm trying to avoid buying these books.

Alias requested i rate the books, which i don’t usually do. For some bios i’m more forgiving because i’ve changed my opinion on these books since reading them. As a result, my original comments (in other threads) were probably harsher at the time than now. And i cannot promise to stand by the lower star ratings by the time i’m through with the reading.


18th Century

1. George Washington
6/99. Washington: The Indispensable Man-James Thomas Flexner
Flexner wrote a 4-volume biography on Washington. Fortunately, he also wrote an abridged edition, which is what i read. I liked it. One thing i learned is that after i read an abridged or shorter bio on these people, i find myself wishing i’d read the longer version. LOL—maybe next go ‘round.

4 out of 5 stars


2. John Adams
2/03. John Adams-David McCullough
5 out of 5 stars. This is my new standard, by which I judge the others.

19th Century

3. Thomas Jefferson
6/83 (Out of order, you’ll note.) Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate Biography by Fawn Brodie. (It isn't in the GR list, as far as i could see.)
I learned much about TJ and Sally Hemings, which other bios of the time barely addressed. Unfortunately it didn’t address too much else. Still, for what i learned & the fact that it probably established this idea in my head, i give it…
3 out of 5 stars.

4. James Madison
11/11 James Madison-Richard Brookhiser
Not enough of his life before age 20 but that is the only complaint i recall.
4 of 5 stars

5. James Monroe
6/11 The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness-Harlow Giles Unger
(No idea why i read this before Madison, unless I was using my memory & thought he was next!) This is what i consider the better beginning of the project. This was also the first i read that really seemed to address the era more than the man. By the end, however, i felt well informed on both.
4 out of 5 stars.

6. John Quincy Adams
2/12 John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life-Paul C. Nagel
This was the first I really disliked, although NOW I see it wasn’t as bad as I thought at the time. Nagel based the book primarily on JQA’s journals, which was a way to see inside the man, but not well enough, imo. And the history of the times was adequate but not great. I wanted more about his earlier life than was shared.
3 out of 5 stars.

7. Andrew Jackson
4/12 American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House-Jon Meacham
Good for material about his presidential years (if not too much about the societal aspects of his presidency, which apparently was important) but i wanted more about his youth. There may not be much factual material, i suspect, but i felt Meacham could have explained that.
3½ out of 5 stars.

8. Martin Van Buren
4/13 Martin Van Buren- Ted Widmer
This was the sole book on the man my libraries had and although i wanted to avoid serial bios or opinion books, i went for it. Because i’ve been to his home in the Hudson Valley, i knew there was more to the man than presented in the book. My rating reflects the fact I knew there was much more, even though i knew this book wouldn’t give it to me. The higher than expected (by me) rating is because i did learn some things about MVB’s times & his term in office. Bottom Line: the series is probably fine but it is not a bio series and i can’t seem to let that fact go. The book may be fine (although i’m not sure i agree with some author’s thinking on the topic, i want to stress).
2 out of 5 stars.

9. William Henry Harrison
5/13. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time-Freeman Cleaves
This book bothered me because his wife was slighted, there only to produce children, for the most part. As the bio was written in 1939, some slack could be allowed. I’m not that forgiving—sorry. Because WHH was in office a few weeks, the book covers his war days in detail but, sadly, wasn’t particularly interesting.
2 ½ out of 5 stars

10. John Tyler
3/14 John Tyler: The Accidental President- Edward P. Crapol
Pretty good one, although his younger days, including education were given scant attention. The material about his presidency, his family and the issue of slavery made this one a good bio, imo.
3 ½ out of 5 stars.

11. James K. Polk
3/15 A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent- Robert W. Merry
Pretty darned good. Again, I’ve visited his home, so knew some about his youth which wasn’t included, but which seemed a bit relevant. However, the material about slavery was superb, as was the way his entire presidency was presented. Unfortunately i was a tad distracted because he took the 4 main parts of the presidency & the (repeating) issues in chronological order, often i had to review material as each topic was re-introduced for the next year. My problem or his? Not sure.
3 out of 5 stars.

James K. Polk- John Seigenthaler
3/15 I read this because I felt I learned more about the issues than Polk as president. As this was part of the above-mentioned American President Series, I felt inadequate material was shared. Oddly, though, it filled in some areas POLK BIO hadn’t. Go figure.
3 out of 5 stars.

12. Zachary Taylor
4/15 Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest-K. Jack Bauer
Now we get to a man whose move to the White House is remarkable because the man was not. LOL. The author was an archivist, so there are too many dimensions of forts ZT erected and not enough about his early life. I was underwhelmed, much like the rest of the country when this man was president.
3 out of 5 stars.

13. Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore-Paul Finkelman.
7/15. This guy ended the Whig party almost single-handedly. His presidential doom was working for passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Well, that and the fact he fired his cabinet without having replacements in mind. Our present chief executive will give Fillmore a run for his money, imo. I must add, however, that i believe there was nothing that could be done to prevent the eventual war, which makes the efforts all the more interesting. This was part of the American Presidents Series, so not the true bio i prefer. I wasn't willing to seek out others, so the stars reflect the scant info.
3 out of 5 stars.

14. Franklin Pierce.
Franklin Pierce- Roy F. Nichols
8/15. Written in 1930s, this was rather old fashioned but fleshes out details in surroundings. The author expected readers to know history, which sometimes left me at a disadvantage. I found it interesting to see the ways Pierce apparently could only see the slavery issue as that, apparently not in terms of human enslavement. He saw parts of the slavery topic as constitutional issues; like both his Fillmore & Buchanan, the Founders were his reasons for not addressing slaver as a matter of humans.
4 out of 5 stars.

15. James Buchanan
President James Buchanan: A Biography-Philip Shriver Klein.
8/16. Good chronological bio. Learn more about minor, minor characters, which enlivened the account. In the last 5 chapters, he wrote about American’s behavior during the Buchanan Administration, including the Kansas issue.
4 out of 5 stars.

16. Abraham Lincoln
3/09 Team of Rivals, the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln- Doris Kearns Goodwin
Very good but really a bio of the team. I'm counting this bio for now but may add another when i "get there".
5 out of 5 stars.

A. Lincoln-Ronald C. White Jr..
I'm only a few chapters into this one but like it enormously. It gives some details of his youth, which i prefer, but i'll add more upon completion. Actually, i abandoned this one, even though i really liked it. There were too many details, as it turned out. I won't give it a star rating, as i hope to return to it one day.

Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln-
Richard Brookhiser.
This was a more readable bio for me at this time, however, it was less informative as i'd hoped. Brookhiser's premise was that Lincoln spent his political life living up to his interpretation of our founders. Frankly, i found the same to be true of all presidents i've read about in the early-mid 1800s, who tackled the issue of slavery. He alternated chapters, with the intervening ones being about the founder RB felt Lincoln fashioned his views after during the time in his life which he just mentioned. For me it chopped up the flow. However, it served to give me a good look at Abe.
3 stars out of 5.

LOVE LOVE LOVE reading your list. Though I don't want you to have to hassle giving a synopsis. If you rate a book and someone wants further info we can ask you.

The only thing GR has for me is the star rating. I don't write reviews on GR.

You really have done quite well on your list !

Great list, Deb! You guys are inspiring me to do this challenge as well.

Amy wrote: "Great list, Deb! You guys are inspiring me to do this challenge as well."

Come on in, Amy ! As you can see I've been working on this for years so there is no pressure.

Thanks for the positive feedback. What has surprised me is how much US history i've learned in the process. It makes sense but for some reason i began just thinking i'd learn about the human who became president. It would have been isolating bios, given i want their character but also how that played into their time in office (& other public life).

Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History----Fawn M. Brodie

Here is the GR link, Deb. Sometime if the title doesn't work just put the authors name in the search.

deb wrote:
39. James Carter
4/01 An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood- Jimmy Carter
This is the first autobio (memoir) of a president i've read. I really liked it but it wasn't about his presidency or politics. I'll read a bio when the time comes.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

-------------
After making my list today of presidential books I own but have not yet read, I realized I owned this book. :)

Currently I am reading President Carters latest. It's a winner. So far a 5/5 rating . It has a few painting that the president made (it's one of his hobbies) and poems that he wrote during his lifetime. It is so touching and makes his so accessable. The book is well written, too. It's not a huge book, so he keeps things moving along at a good clip and doesn't get bogged down in minutia.

One of the surprises, for me, was visiting the Carter Library & seeing how many post-Presidential "hobbies" he has. Painting, writing, woodworking, plus his international political work. What a life.

Alias, i appreciate the link. The day i tried the only Brodie book i could get from GR was The Devil Drives: A life of Sir Richard Burton. Even today, that's all i'm getting from her name but i can get the title. Regardless, i'm glad you linked it. Thanks.

madrano wrote: "One of the surprises, for me, was visiting the Carter Library & seeing how many post-Presidential "hobbies" he has. Painting, writing, woodworking, plus his international political work. What a lif..."

From the age of five or so he was already doing quite of bit on the farm. He certainly has led a very full life. He is also very intelligent. I am almost certain this book will be a top rated one for me.

Here's a tidbit for you. One of Carter's jobs on the farm was to keep the house lawn raked &/or swept. Raked because it was SAND! I've never seen that before, other than in a desert setting. We were most surprised.

Good luck with your presidential reading, deb!

Thanks, Lisa Ann. I'm reading A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White Jr. presently, although not at all steadily. The book is written the way i like bios to be but i'm distracted by other books now. Lately (last couple of years) i've tried to make it a goal to read at least two presidential bios per year. This one is a long one, though, so we'll see.

Awwww ..... being distracted from current reading plans by another book. That is a problem I encounter more often than I care to admit. :-)

Lisa Ann, you are proving yourself to be one of us with that comment. LOL!

Have you heard about the podcast that the Washington Post did last year for the 44 weeks leading up to the election in November? It's called "Presidential." One president per episode. I just discovered it last week. (I'm slow. ;) I'm up to John Quincy Adams.

Ooh, that podcast sounds great. I am definitely not up to speed in the podcast world. My favorite is This American Life but I couldn't tell you when I last listened.

That sounds interesting, Amy. Maybe when I can't find an audio-book for the gym, I'll can download one of these podcasts.

Thanks !

Here is the link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcas...

I am going to re-post this in the Presidential thread so we can find this info in the future.

Thanks, Amy. I had no idea about these.

Emma, i'm like you, the podcast world is fairly unfamiliar to me. I like that they are there but i don't think to turn to them when i want to learn something. This is probably because i've been disappointed in the few i've heard.

Almost a year later & i've switched Lincoln bios. Much as i liked the Ronald C. White Jr. book, it was a bit too full of detail for me. I read & read and was still only 100 pages into the book. So, i bit the page & moved to another, which i didn't particularly like as an idea but was all i could find in our library.

Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln by Richard Brookhiser is the third biography i've read by him. I'm not liking this one any more than i liked the previous ones. Looking at my notes i see that he wrote little about Dolley Madison in his biography of James Madison. I can't get to my notes about Alexander Hamilton, American but remember leaving the book without a sense of who AH really was.

One area where Brookhiser excels is in putting his subject in historic light, relative to those previous to them. That is, he illustrates how what came before this person influenced his life. In this Lincoln bio he does the same and in a much more obvious way than in the previous ones i've read by him. Indeed, as the title suggests, this is the focus of this book about Lincoln. After a chapter about one period of AL's life, RB follows it with a chapter about a founder (or two) and how they influenced Lincoln. I cannot help but wonder in his choice of Washington--who wasn't impacted by that man? Too obvious.

The book is easy to read, i began yesterday and am already 80 pages into the 360+ paged book, which includes notes. And having read details about AL's life in the abandoned A. Lincoln, i must say that RB hasn't missed much. Indeed, he seems to be adding some speculation which White bypassed, such as the illegitimacy of Lincoln's mother. Her history is murky, apparently, but this is the first i've read details.

ANYway, i just wanted to share that i've finally moved on in my Presidential DL, truly determined.

You might want to finish up Lincoln with one of the ones I read. A few were really quite good.

Today at the library I finally got my copy of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House I think there were around 800 holds on it. I think this will have to do for my book for he who shall not be named. I just don't think I could put myself through a bio. Anyway, I have a lot more on my list that will come before I ever read one about him anyway.

I'll be eager to hear what you think of the Michael Wolff book.

When i finish with all the presidential bios, i intend to go back to try other books about a few of them & Lincoln must be one. Your list is on my mind.

I feel i'm forgotten something here...are we unable to edit earlier posts? Specifically, i wanted to update the first post by adding my latest biography but there seems to be no "edit" option for that post, only the most recent post.

Regardless, i'll make note here instead.

Going in i felt i would be disappointed with Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln because i wasn't pleased by author Richard Brookhiser's biography of Alexander Hamilton, American. However, the bio was a compromise with myself, having found the attempted A. Lincoln too long for my present attention span.

The parts of the book which were strictly biographic were best in the beginning. Once Lincoln left home, Brookhiser barely mentioned the personal details of the man. Between each of the earlier chapters RB shares stories about various Founders who influenced AL, including George Washington, Thomas Paine, and a couple of others. While i don't doubt that they were influential, the same could be said by presidents prior to Lincoln. Indeed, they were still fresh with most of the country, it was only post-Lincoln and the Civil War that the power their names evoked were lessened by needing to deal with crises of a different sort.

By the time RB relates Lincoln's White House years, the family is summed up in one paragraph, which is truly a disservice. We learn more about a Quaker woman with whom he met and shared religious ideas than we do about Mary Todd Lincoln and their shared life. While the way he turned from indifference to God to a godliness is important, i'm not certain ignoring his wife's impact can be pardoned.

ANYway, the point of Brookhiser's book is more about his speeches and the impact the Founders had on them, as well as the man. There were the usual interpretations of AL's better-known speeches, using words from the Founders to flesh them out. I couldn't see that Lincoln himself ever made mention of their influence in his particular speeches and question the deduction of RB made in that area. One small problem arose for me when the author accented his interpretation of a speech by throwing in cliches, as though the reader herself couldn't figure that out or see the connection. Once or twice i could have forgiven him but by the end i was ready to shout at him.

RB also seems to think than Lincoln felt he had a certain connection to slaves because of the way his own father treated him. When still a strapping young man, his father, Thomas, hired out Abraham to neighbors to help with farm work. Apparently dad kept the money, which seems to be the genesis of this interpretation. I couldn't see that Lincoln himself ever made such a claim, however.

Overall, it was serviceable, but mostly because i'd read so much about AL's formative years in the first bio. This one would be good for those who want more about the speeches and how they connected to the origins of the United States. Frankly, i believe there are better authors for this task but i'm sure this is considered a fine contribution to the library of books about our 16th President.

Madrano wrote: "I feel i'm forgotten something here...are we unable to edit earlier posts? "

You should see for all your posts

reply | edit | delete | flag *


Edit is how we go back to our original DL and put in the READ and date.

It really is hard to find a good bio that covers all the topics we wish. Mary Lincoln is a big part of his life and very interesting.

Thanks for that, Alias. That is how i thought it was supposed to work but for some reason only my posts from this year are offering that edit option. Those prior to '18 only offer

reply I flag*

I know i've edited my DL for this year in that way. I wonder if the age (created in 2015) makes a difference?

Your point about Mary is exactly why i felt the sole paragraph about the family material from the Lincoln White House years were important. There is no sense that the family and losing their son had much impact while there.

I looked at my posts for the presidential list and I have the edit option for 2015 posts.

I am going in through the website. Not the app.

I recall you may have changed your GR screen name years ago.
Check that, too. If I recall it was similar. Perhaps it was that you changed how you log on to GR. I don't remember. But I know it was an issue years ago.

True. Additionally, we got a new computer last month, so that may be a factor, although i don't know how. Everything else on our board seems to work the same.

Deb check your GR email.

Thank you, Alias. The dual screen name seems to have been the problem. Gratefully.

You're welcome.

I've just begun reading Andrew Johnson: A Biography, written about 20 years ago by Hans L. Trefousse. It has the sort of details i like while also addressing some of the false stories about the man, too. I'm only 75 pages into it but am impressed by the man's determination to do good by his district (which changed a number of times).

And name another president who wooed his prospective mate by making a quilt for her! His occupation was a tailor and he grew wealthy from constructing well-formed suits to the movers and shakers of Tennessee. So, creating a quilt was probably a breeze for him, although it failed to impress her enough to marry him. However, it's still in her family, a prized possession! LOL!

madrano wrote: And name another president who wooed his prospective mate by making a quilt for her!

:)

I'm well into my bio of Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans L. Trefousse. It's hurting my eyes to read the small font (even with a magnifying page) but i want to finish and move on.

This book is making clear to me why post-Civil War's Reconstruction was a dismal failure. Johnson was positive that the states could not secede from the Union, therefore the Union did not have the right to grant votes to former slaves. From that point on, the once penitent South gained confidence they were right to see inferiority in the former slaves and didn't give them the vote. Ultimately Unionists who lived in the South left it, unable to abide the open hatred for blacks.

It's an education, i must say. This isn't the only factor, just the one which stuck in my craw. Somehow Johnson decided that former slaves would vote the way their former owners did, all at the expense of the poor white people, for whom Johnson viewed himself a defender. Logic would seem the opposite to me, but i cannot prove it any more than AJ could prove his belief.

It sounds like an interesting book. However, there is no way I would struggle with tiny print. You are a better person than I.

madrano wrote: "I'm well into my bio of Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans L. Trefousse. It's hurting my eyes to read the small font (even with a magnifying page) but i want to finis..."

Re former slaves voting the same way as their ex-masters--This is a similar argument that was used against women voting. Women would vote the same as their husbands thus giving married men more than one vote. The concept is that African Americans and women don't have minds of their own.

Perfectly stated, Shomeret. As i near the end of the book, i realize that this man never veered from his beliefs...and this is the reason for the biggest errors of his Presidency.

Well, it appears my first post on this thread is too long to edit. Therefore, at least for the present, i will just list one by one. (Is there a way for me to make a post the second message or must i be satisfied with another long post for the rest of my books? Anyone here know?)

18. Ulysses S. Grant
American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant
Ronald C. White Jr.

I started this tonight and welcomed what i read in the intro. White informs readers that he will address Julia, Grant's wife, fuller than most bios do, as well as his "lifelong love affair with Mexico" and his own religious odyssey. Interesting.

However, what compelled me to get online was the introductory quote from Grant for the first chapter. "I read but few lives of great men because biographers do not, as a rule, tell enough about the formative period of life. What i want to know is what a man did as a boy."

Long time readers here may recall that for me the childhood of Presidents is important and i dislike books i've read on Presidents which don't include much more than a page or two about their youth. How lovely to learn Grant felt the same way. Perhaps it will help in making this book easy to read, as it's 659 pages without endnotes. Really, he deserves it (& more, this is one of the slimmer bios on him) but it will take me some time to complete.

madrano wrote: "Well, it appears my first post on this thread is too long to edit. Therefore, at least for the present, i will just list one by one. (Is there a way for me to make a post the second message or must..."

You will see the Charcters left at the bottom of the box you are writing in on the left. You have close to 12,000. No way around that.

I guess you could have broken up your first post in two so you could edit and add on at a later date. You can do this by hitting Edit and coping the whole post to an email or word program. Then make 2 posts out if it.

Good thing to keep in mind when doing our 2019 Determination lists and presidential lists. I never thought about it.

madrano wrote: However, what compelled me to get online was the introductory quote from Grant for the first chapter. "I read but few lives of great men because biographers do not, as a rule, tell enough about the formative period of life. What i want to know is what a man did as a boy."

Long time readers here may recall that for me the childhood of Presidents is important and i dislike books i've read on Presidents which don't include much more than a page or two about their youth."

I so agree. I usually want to know what helped form the personality. That is why I liked
Being Nixon: A Man Divided

Alias, thanks for the tip...and i am making note about next year's list. Thanks.

Once upon a time (when i began reading biographies as an adult, so early 20s), i couldn't figure out why biographers went back a couple of generations before starting a chapter on the actual subject of the book. Now, i prefer it. The indications of character are enormously helpful.

As you may recall, some of my Pres. Bios of less popular men, only covered adult life and one only covered the Presidential Years. They were disappointing, to say the least. More detail was given in some cases, i must say.

This has happened once previously and i love it--Ronald C. White Jr. lists novels both Grant and his wife Julia have read. Not every book but ones he found referenced and which he felt played a part in their world view. And i take notes on these, just in case i want to delve into one, too.

I just reread all the above comments and see why White's name was familiar, although i couldn't locate his name on my "Books Read" list. He was the one who wrote the bio about Lincoln that i abandoned. I suspect this is the one alluded to in the first sentence. He shared titles of books Lincoln read. Now i will definitely return to that book after completing the entire presidential list.

madrano wrote: "This has happened once previously and i love it--Ronald C. White Jr. lists novels both Grant and his wife Julia have read. Not every book but ones he found referenced and which he fe..."

I would love that, too. I enjoy when famous people post their reading lists. When I see them I often post them here at BNC.

And i, for one, appreciate that!

Deb, President Obama must have heard you. :)
He just posted this on FB.

I added GR links


Barack Obama
7 hrs ·
I wanted to share a handful of books and articles that speak to the current political moment and something I’ve been talking about around the country this fall. Throughout our history, each time that Americans have pulled ourselves closer to our founding ideals – that all of us are created equal – the status quo pushes back. The powerful and the privileged work to keep us divided, afraid, and cynical, because it helps them keep their power. And we’re living through one of those moments of backlash right now.

When we turn away, when we take our rights for granted, when we don’t vote – then other voices fill the void. But here’s the good news: On November 6th, we have the chance to restore some sanity to our politics. I hope you’ll consider reading some or all of these, and then go out and vote. Our democracy depends on it.

The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die
The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne is a persuasive and highly readable account of how rising inequality, and not just absolute poverty, is undermining our politics, social cohesion, long term prosperity, and general well-being.

How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt is a useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy - and how quickly those things can erode when we’re not paying attention.

In the New York Times Magazine, Matthew Desmond offers a powerful account of the challenges facing the working poor even in a strong economy, and the political and policy choices we’ve made as a country that help make it so hard: https://nyti.ms/2MkTNLc
.

An excellent series of articles appeared in the October issue of The Atlantic; these two examine the threat that democracies currently face, both at home and abroad. Yoni Appelbaum writes about Americans losing the habit of democracy: https://bit.ly/2xbh4KP
. And Anne Applebaum on polarization in Poland: https://bit.ly/2N6Sll5
.

The Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt book sounds right up my alley. Thanks for sharing the article. Yesterday i heard someone reference the "bread and circus" atmosphere in the White House at present. I was familiar with the phrase but looked it up to see its origin. Here's what i found on Wiki, "[T]he phrase is attributed to Juvenal, a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century AD — and is used commonly in cultural, particularly political, contexts."

madrano wrote: "bread and circus"

New to me.

Glad to introduce you to it. Frankly, i haven't heard it very often but when i heard it this week, i took note, thanks to the exchange you & i have had about the ancient Romans recently.

I'm still plugging away at the Grant bio--the Civil War is just beginning. That's not why i'm writing. I was positively giggling with excitement when my local candidate for the Texas state senate told me that she was reading a bio on Andrew Jackson! She's reading a better one than i did, given what she shared--i've forgotten the name, though. I was just tickled to know that someone i actually know is reading presidential bios! Now i'm working even harder for her! ;-)

madrano wrote: "She's reading a better one than i did, given what she shared--i've forgotten the name, though. ."

Oh no ! You're such a tease. Maybe if you look on Amazon your memory will be jogged.

Sadly, i tried that. She didn't mention the author's name, which makes it worse because so many of the bios use his name as the title. I'll ask next time i see her, for certain...and i'll write it down.