Review: Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny

"Patton".

The name conjures up George C. Scott's rendition of the brawling braggart whose fame became infamy when he slapped and scolded a wounded soldier in Italy.  A man who was loud, brash, uncouth and even a bit sadistic. 

But, is this the true Patton? 

According to a new biography, co-authored by Agostino vonHassell and Ed Breslin, the answer would have to be "no"!  Patton was much more complex: a mixed bag of fears, hopes, joys, triumphs, intellect and pure drive.  Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny, published by Thomas Nelson (as part of their new series The Generals, edited by Stephen Mansfield), is a short, but fascinating relating of this general's life.  The authors describe a man who was larger than life, a man with a family history of "bravery under fire" who consistently fought his own fears of cowardice; a man who was tender and sensitive in letters to his wife and yet was a hard-talking, hard task-master with all those trusted to his guidance. 

Patton's family can date their military involvement back through the Civil War ... all the men in recent memory (well 150 years or so) were military heroes and George (born in 1885) wanted to uphold that tradition.  Unfortunately, raised in the early days of the 20th century out on a ranch in southern California with lackadaisical schooling, Patton's academics were severely lacking and he was initally refused entrance to WestPoint, a shock to the boy who wanted to follow in his family's military tradition.  Patton, using family connections and his classic chutzpah, won a slot at VMI in order to spend a year getting up to speed in the necessary academic background which he was missing.  After surviving not only his schooling but also the hazing of being a newbie, Patton left VMI with academic honors (all through hard-work as his learning disabilities would haunt him throughout his life) while also winning a coveted slot into WestPoint. 

The determination and drive evidenced in his early twenties carried him throughout his life:

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  an honor student in academics as well as military prowess at WestPoint and beyond
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  a voracious (almost fanatical) self-read student of military history
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  a self-taught German and French linguist (so he could read military history books in their original)
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  a daring military strategist who was more often succesful than not

Patton's life is fascinating and this book does a great job of bringing out this multi-faceted man's true nature.  By setting the stage of Patton's early life -- that is, before WW2 -- the reader understands Patton and his actions ... some of which have been misconstrued by contemporaries who misjudged or blatantly lied about this man.  The authors do a great job of spending the bulk of the book discussing Patton's life up till WW2, saving that final chapter of the General's life for the final couple of chapters of the book.  

Patton certainly wasn't perfect -- and the authors bring some of this out -- but, Patton was all NOT the schmuck as some would have it.

I highly recommend this book for high school students and higher -- it's important to read about these man of the modern age who showed commitment, resolve and determination to do the good (even though at times slipping from their pedestals). 

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This book was obtained as part of Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze program; the above review is my honest reaction to this book.

American History: Martha Dandridge Custis Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731-1802), lovingly nicknamed "Lady Washington" by George's troops, was a major force during the American Revolution.  This petite (only five-foot-even), Virginia-born lady brought cheer to her husband's troops FOUR(!) times during the Revolutionary War:

• Winter of 1775 -- Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Spring of 1776 -- New York
• Spring of 1777 -- Morristown, New Jersey (where she spent the time nursing George Washington back to health)
• Winter of 1778 -- Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

She would travel days (up to two weeks) to winter-camp with the American Army ... spending the 3-6 months darning socks, knitting new ones, mending clothes, and bringing light and joy to the dispirited boys.  Because of her presence, other officers' wives came to camp ... and she had them knitting and mending and darning right alongside her.

Martha Washington had her share of grief and sadness -- her first husband died when she was just 26; all of her children predeceased her as well as some of her grandchildren; George Washington, sacrificing for our fledgling country, was gone from Mount Vernon seven years with the Army and then just as he was home to retire, they asked him to become President.  Martha went right along with him.

String Bean did a presentation for her co-op class on Martha's role in the American Revolution.  In her research for this project, she found this quote (which String Bean made into bookmarks for her class):

String Bean also found a cookbook, Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats (edited by Karen Hess), and made Martha's Sugar Cakes (a shortbread-like cookie that is really delicious):

Sugar Cakes –
Take 2 pound of flower, & one pound of sugar, & ye youlks of 2 eggs, & a spoonfull of sack, & a spoonfull of rosewater, & make it up into a paste with melted butter. & roule it out pritty thin, & cut them with a beer glass, & put them on plates & set them in an oueun meanly hot ye stone downe.

Our translation (for half a batch of cookies):
2 cups unbleached flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbls vanilla or other flavoring, 3/4 cup melted butter, 1 egg, 1 tbsp milk. Mix together, chill for about an hour, then roll out thin; cut into circles (using a glass or biscuit cutter). Place on cookie sheet and place in a 375 oven till golden brown (about 10-15 minutes).

String Bean had such fun with this project, dressing like Martha chatting with the troops (her class) and knitting away on a pair of "socks for the boys".

Here are some of the books she used for researching this project:

• Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty by Helen Bryan
• Martha Washington (On My Own Biography) by Candice F. Ransom
• First Ladies: A Profile of America's First Ladies from Michelle Obama to Martha Washington by Stacie VanderPol
• Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady (I read this one for background and since I'd gotten interested especially with the references toMartha knitting for the troops.  It is an EXCELLENT adult biography of our First Lady)

 

Field Trip: James Madison's Montpelier

Today is James Madison's 259th birthday.  We know that because they celebrate at his home (and later retirement spot) with a special wreath-laying ceremony by representatives of the US Marine Corps (who knew that the USMC considers Madison their "father") at his grave and allow free admission to his home and gardens.  Which is great for us as it would cost $40 for the kids and I to go see this wonderful spot of American History!

Not only was James Madison our 4th president, he was the one who wrote the United States Constitution.  But he didn't just slap words on paper -- Mr. Madison spent the year before the conference, studying other past republics and non-monarchies to figure out WHY they failed and thus prevent our "great experiment" from failing .... and some two hundred twenty-three years later, we're still going strong!

It was a glorious Spring day down in Orange County, VA ... a strong breeze was slowly blowing the clouds away and you could see the Blue Ridge from the front porch of Montpelier ...

The original house (where the Madisons moved to when James was 13 or so) was smaller than what you'll see today.  Here, you can see the extensions that James Madison put onto Montpelier while he was President -- he and Dolley MUCH preferred entertaining down here than up in stuffy Washington at the new White House -- their guests concurred and there were always anywhere from 25-200 people "visiting".

The kids had a blast getting to know the Madisons ....

exploring the grounds ... including "Mr. Madison's Temple" -- 30 feet below this structure was the Madison "refrigerator" where ice from the nearby river kept food cold all summer long ...

we were also able to see the Archaeology Lab, where the kids could look at artifacts already tagged, bits and pieces still being identified and even practice at a "real" dig.  VERY cool!

We were sorry to end our tour ... although the kids were pretty hungry by then so willingly allowed mom one last look at the Kitchens before heading for lunch!

BTW, James Madison's mother, always called "Mother Madison" or "the old lady" .... always had by her side: her Bible, her prayer book, and her KNITTING!  (On top of that, she had 12 kids and homeschooled them all through what we would call middle school, if not beyond.)  I need to find out more about this woman!

On our way home (Montpelier is only 30 minutes from home ... pretty darn cool!), we stopped at our public library to drop off/pick up books and guess what -- I won a coffee/tea lovers basket for an adult reading program .... the end to a perfect outing!

Review: A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears

So, what were you doing in 1989? 

I was a newly hired Delta Air Lines corporate ladder-climber, wielding a recent MBA, marriage license and a brand-new baby boy.  I was (and still am) a Catholic, conservative and Republican (in that order). It was the dawn of a new decade, the last of the 20th century and we all had hopes and fears for the country.

For the next 20 years America would experience bad times and good times -- Iraq and Katrina, housing booms and economic busts, deaths of amazing people and births of children saved from abortion, technology advances beyond anyone's imagining.  Our country would move from a white conservative president to a black liberal president with little social upheaval, something that would be considered a miracle in any other country but the US!

But what do we really know about those 20 years -- other than we now have blogs, Wii, text-messaging, and higher national debt and a recession?  Read William J. Bennett's latest, A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears, and you will get a very good picture of how we got from there to here, and even a glimpse of where we're headed. 

This is actually volume three of Bennett's American history series titled America: The Last Best Hope .  But this one shifts a bit from the previous two:  Volume 1 and 2 of the series deal with the times 1492-1914 and then 1914-1989.  Dr. Bennett was personally involved in just a bit of the history-making of the last part of volume 2, but very actively involved in the events of the next two decades.  In volume 3 we are given his own personal thoughts and remembrances of the past 20 years in light of American history and politics. 

Dr. Bennett, who held various government jobs (including head of the Department of Education under Ronald Reagan from 1985-88) and currently acts as the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, is a noted conservative Republican who has a great love and interest in American history  and politics; further he wants to ensure that all Americans understand where we were and where we're going.   Because of his life experience, particularly as a Washington insider during the 20 years of this book, the reader gets a clear understanding of not just what happened but why and what it all means.  Now, Bennett's world-view is from a conservative (some would say, extremely conservative) viewpoint and yet his book attempts to give credit (or blame) where it is due, no matter which side of the aisle. 

From Bush Senior's one-term presidency, to the morally-questionable two terms of Clinton, through the war years and domestic issues of Bush Junior's two-terms to the eve of an American president who is not only African-American but is also a fairly unknown quantity in Washington circles (he was serving his first Senate term when he ran for election).  This book reads like a novel.  The writing is excellent, highly readable and informative.



The subtitle of this book is quite appropriate: new hope and new fears.  For the past 20 years we've seen the hope of new technologies which make our lives better and the fears of some of these technologies; we've seen the hope of new democracies and the fear of terrorism; we've lived through the hopes of housing booms and the fear of economic downturns.  And yet, we're still America ... we're still here and working through our problems and celebrating our successes.  As Bennett ends his book on the eve of Obama's first term in the White House ... yes, there is fear but there is a strong hope in the future.

One thing I didn't like about this book was whenever the conservative politicians would err, Bennett always seemed to have a footnote that mentioned he was against the event and warned the person.  Hind-sight is ALWAYS 20-20 and Bennett loses a little credibility in mentioning these, whether they're true or not.  Also, I thought his discussion of Obama's meteoric rise to the White House was a bit soft on information or analysis.  Other than those issues, I would recommend this book strongly to all American citizens who want to understand our Country's last 20 years!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”