Category Archives: Uncategorized

03.07.11
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Vox Populi

Bill O’Shaughnessy’s books run the risk of unfairly falling into the category of vanity publications. The Westchester County radio broadcaster, who is equally prominent as a political insider dating back to the Rockefeller era, is out with his latest tome titled VOX POPULI the O’Shaughnessy Files, Fordham University Press, 2011. His three previous anthologies are AirWAVES, It all Comes Back to Me Now and More Riffs, Rants and Raves.

Most who read Bill’s books go immediately to the index look for their name and quickly turn to those pages. There are very few names from the New York media, political and social elite that are missing!

Turning through this fourth O’Shaughnessy volume (not easy at 700 pages) it is best to go directly to the content, and discover that time spent with VOX POPULI will be very worthwhile indeed.  While O’ Shaughnessy is himself an excellent interviewer and he has made a great effort to make this publication exactly what the title implies, VOX POPULI ( The Voice of the People) with access through The O’Shaughnessy Files.( Thanks to Cindy Hall Gallagher, O’Shaughnessy’s right hand and the keeper of every detail for over thirty years)

Where else might you read THE UNDOING OF DON IMUS, (Page 5) written by Jonathan Bush, brother of President George W. Bush.  A DAUGHTERS LAST BREATH by Jimmy Breslin (page 554) will uplift you. BRUCE SNYDER  AT THE TWENTY-ONE CLUB about a special time and place.

Referencing Don Imus reminds me of the interview he did with Katherine Graham when she was introducing her own book Personal History.  O’Shaughnessy’s 2004 interview in VOX POPULI with Marian Javits, wife of Senator Jacob Javits, (Page 230) earns a place in the same category of excellence as the Graham interview.  The conversation is just one example of Bill’s ability to place his guests at ease and despite a few cream puff questions, his relaxed style encourages openness. If you had heard the audio of this interview on WVIP-WVOX you recognize that O’Shaughnessy’s approach is not dissimilar to that of Larry King.  

Bill O’Shaughnessy is a great friend of Governor Mario Cuomo. VOX POPULI shares some of Cuomo’s marvelous speeches made at occasions where Bill personally invited him. An example of an O’Shaughnessy- Cuomo pulpit was the one-hundredth-anniversary of the Dutch Treat Club on October 5, 2004 in New York City.  Regardless of your political persuasion, the remarks made there (Page 415) typify Governor Cuomo at his passionate best.  Also, “REASON TO BELIEVE.” LIFE LESSONS-MARIO CUOMO AT THE 92nd  STREET Y, January 25, 2010. It is still being rebroadcast on Public Television.

VOX POPULI is abundant with O’Shaughnessy writings and musings about the famous. However, Bill is often at his very best when focusing upon the less known.  MAMA ROSE MIGLIUCCI “The First Lady of Little Italy” (Page 524) is an excellent example of O’Shaughnessy empathy. His eulogy to “Mama Rose” of the famous Mario’s restaurant in the Bronx is extraordinary in its warmth and understanding of both his personal and the community’s feelings for this remarkable and legendary woman. Another piece falling in this same category is COMPOSER-SONGWRITER-SALOON SINGER: MURRAY GRAND AT EIGHTY-FIVE (Page 213).  Who but O’Shaughnessy would prepare this essay and interview?  I am not sure.

Mount St. Mary’s College is not among the country’s most prominent but on the day O’Shaughnessy delivered its 46th commencement address, he placed it and its graduates among the most special in the nation. (Page 364)

Two writings in VOX POPULI are among the most insightful. The first is Bill’s eulogy to Nancy O’Shaughnessy’s twenty-two year-old son Michael at St. Pius X Church in Scarsdale, New York on January 29, 2005. (Page 499). The remarks of Father John O’Brien (Page 504) for Michael Pasquale which followed Bill’s eulogy on that same sad occasion are worthy of every parent’s eyes. 

VOX POPULI indeed focuses a spotlight on Bill O’Shaughnessy’s writings but do yourself a favor and take advantage of the author’s generosity in sharing many of his radio interviews and the heretofore-unpublished works from his enormous community of friends. If you have the time, the new volume will stimulate your desire to page back through his previous three.

VOX POPULI the book shares the same ethos and namesake as O’Shaughnessy’s radio stations WVOX and WVIP. The coupling of the two is no surprise

03.02.11
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WORKING- STUDS TERKEL AND TOM BROKAW

Tom Brokaw  is doing a series this week on NBC Nightly News about jobs in America. His reporting incorporates the dramatically changing workplace, the need to re-educate workers and the rather old-fashioned concept of apprenticeship.

I urge anyone interested in this subject to read Studs Terkel’s book  WORKING ,written in 1974. ( I am sure Tom Brokaw has already done so, and I believe he interviewed Terkel  before his death in 2008.)  Terkel’s WORKING is typical of his attitude driven writing and reporting.  No one ever questioned that Studs Turkel had a point of view. 

However, through hundreds of interviews into the life of working men and women Terkel developed in WORKING a panoramic view from the factory floor, stock yards,  the highway crew, the ditch,  of just how people make a living. He writes exactly what workers think about their daily labors.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in the current crisis faced by many American working men and woman, please read this book!  It is a great platform for understanding the workplace of the 21st century and exactly how we  arrived at where we are today.  You may recall that Terkel won a Pulitzer for his 1985 book Hard Times an Oral History of the Great Depression.  Another timely read. 

This is one more instance whereby I can say, ” I am dam glad I read that book!”  I am tempted to read WORKING again!  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

03.01.11
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Atlantic/ Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester’s study of the history of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic,  is an examination of  the ocean’s creation and the evolution of civilization along its shores  

The Phoenicians venturing beyond the Pillars of Hercules, The Norsemen, The Age of Exploration, the great naval battles on Atlantic waters, Codfish,  Pirates, the Slave Trade, the Atlantic Cable, buried nuclear waste. Winchester examines in-depth the environmental concerns and of course envisions the great ocean’s geological destiny.

Atlantic is another respected scholarly work by Winchester but don’t expect the appearance of the characters you would find in a Michener novel. 

Atlantic is full of little known facts including speculation that the first rudiments of a democratic form of government were probably devised by Norsemen in Iceland in the fifteenth century.  You will learn that Canadian fisherman, after the Grand Banks had been placed under their protection by the Canadian Government, did more to devastate the native Atlantic Cod than had been previously done in all of history!

If you enjoy are a student of the Age of Exploration and the period of discovery of the New World, Atlantic fits very nicely into this body of knowledge.

02.28.11
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AN OSCAR FOR JACK VALENTI, A MEMOIR

Since beginning this blog I have been waiting for the right time to  recognize Jack Valenti.  There is a sentimental background to this posting as I was one of those incidental folks who worked with him tangentially on  some media events.  I mention that only to allow me to say that Jack Valenti made every individual he touched feel special.  In Jack’s world no one was ” incidental.”  His respect for all individuals was a basic tenet of his success.

Oscar week is the perfect time to remember his memoir This Time, This Place, My Life in War, the White House  and Hollywood. His last most prominent professional position was as  the legendary CEO of The Motion Picture Association of America. Jack Valenti died in  2007, the very year that this memoir was published.

Jack Valenti grew up poor in Texas, put himself through school delivering groceries,  graduated from Harvard and joined the Army Air Corps in World War Two.  He flew 52 combat missions as the pilot of a B-25 attack bomber based in Italy.

Upon his return, Valenti formed a small advertising and public relations agency in Houston and as fate would have it  then Vice-President Lyndon Johnson heard about this bright young man and in the summer of 1963 secured his services  as an advance man for the  Kennedy-Johnson 1964 campaign.  Valenti was in the Dallas motorcade on that fateful  November day, and flew to Washington on Air Force One  to remain at now President Johnson’s side. He became Special Assistant to President Johnson and served as his most trusted confidant.

The stories that Valenti recalls in his memoir are historically revealing and  personally insightful, including LBJ’s reaction when Jack announced  he was quitting to take the job at the MPAA!

As MPAA CEO Valenti transitioned into the Hollywood circles with the deftness of the master politician that he was. He accomplished his goals in those treacherous ego filled waters because he was good, trusted and loved. You will travel with Jack , in his element, among the moguls, stars and starlets of Hollywood.  The stories are wonderful. He star is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I can not recommend more highly this well written and fascinating look at  a great American story with all the elements of the child of emigrants working his way to navigate and thrive in the highest levels of the land. It is if course also a special and unique look inside the Johnson Presidency.

If you are one who is  fascinated by the persona of LBJ there is one other great book that must be mentioned here, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Lyndon Johnson and The American Dream.

These are not  ” text-book reads” they are fascinating page turners with characters and personalities as good as in the best novel!

02.25.11
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A Surprise President’s Week Finale. GRANT!

It would have been easy to wrap up my President’s  week blog with a most deserving biography, Truman by David McCullough. Few could question that salute. However,  Jean Edward Smith author of GRANT  will get the honor of closing out President’s Week.  Smith’s work is a remarkable eye opener and a re-evaluation of  General in Chief Grant and President Grant. 

 Lovers of history understand that time often serves former presidents better than the present.  Then again, history is not a science but rather observations of mortals.  Smith’s full-scale biography of Grant sheds tremendous perspective regarding  his accomplishments on the battlefield and as the first two term president since Andrew Jackson. The detailed study of Grant’s childhood and early life provide the framework for this great piece of historical writing.

I must admit that before tackling Grant I had somewhat of a dim view of his presidency based  in great part upon popular conceptions.  What Jean Edward Smith accomplished so well in this biography was to reconcile many of these popular views with the facts. As just one example, few would remember that following the disastrous Andrew Johnson term after Lincoln’s assassination, Grant did more to help Reconstruction than anyone and the same was true for his efforts to enforce constitutional freedoms to the newly freed slaves as American  Citizens.  In retrospect, Grant’s accomplishments as president are outlined as remarkable as his on the battlefield!

If you love American History,  you will do yourself a great favor  by heading for the library or Amazon. Not only is GRANT  the story of his presidency but it is a battle by battle description of Grant’s  skilful leadership during the Civil War. Jean Edward Smith is a scholar and you will come away from his book  with a scholarly view of Grant at this important time and place in American History.

02.22.11
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Doris Kearns Goodwin Gets Another President’s Week Nod

Yesterday we noted Doris Kearns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time, during our President’s Week picks.  Today she gets another nod with Team of Rivals  the wonderfully chronicled story of Lincoln’s bringing into his cabinet his four leading opponents for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 1860.  William Seward was named Secretary of State, Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, Edward Bates, Attorney General and Salmon Chase, Treasury Secretary.  

What is considered a brilliant move by some historians was not without its acrimony and behind the scenes dealings not altogether helpful to the new president.  Goodwin is brilliant in telling this story as it unfolds during the lead-up to the Civil  War.  It is a wonderful look at this period of American History from inside the president’s cabinet and offers tremendous insight into Lincoln’s thought process during the war.

Like to much of Goodwin’s writing and research Team of Rivals is relevant in its lessons for today.

It is no surprise that Team of Rivals brought Goodwin another Pulitzer.

02.21.11
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No Ordinary Time

 This Pulitzer Prize for History winner  dates back to 1995 but if you love history and have not read this one you have missed one of the best on the  Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt years.  The insight that Doris Kearns Goodwin has developed in No Ordinary Time is truly riveting.   Linda Gordon writing for the Boston Globe in 2005 said it so very well. ” The Roosevelt marriage is endlessly gripping because it was so consequestial….The reader feels like a resident in the White House.”  This volume is  one of Goodwin’s very best.  You will enjoy every page. It is so relevent and the characters are so vital that you might believe that Franklin and Eleanor were alive today.

02.20.11
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President’s Week

Beginning on President’s Day, tomorrow, I am going to post my thoughts on books I have enjoyed regarding the presidency.  They will not all be biographies or autobiographies but rather some very interesting takes on the presidency itself and how relationships have had lasting impact on our democracy. As an example, one of the most fascinating books I have enjoyed regarding the modern presidency is Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham.  This incredible personal relationship may have saved the free world!

I would also love to hear your thoughts on great books you have enjoyed relating to the presidency. Just scroll down to the comments and join in.

02.16.11
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Empire of Liberty-More Timely Than Ever

With the revolution for freedom and democracy sweeping the Middle East, I can think of no better backdrop to recommend Empire of Liberty by Pulitzer Prize Historian Gordon S. Wood.   The work is part of the Oxford Series on American History and covers the period 1787 through the War of 1812.

This scholarly book traces the evolution of  the American Republic from the end of the Revolutionary War  into the great debates over the writing and ratification of the United States Constitution including the paradox of slavery, states rights, foreign influence and the very nature of the presidency.

What quickly becomes evident is the enormity of the issues surrounding establishing a society and government free from the old ways of European monarchies. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton play leading roles in establishing a workable, permanent and cohesive  national government replacing the  looseness of the Articles of Confederation. 

Wood carefully brings alive individual contributions  and  the give and take,  often antagonistic, to reach compromise.  Jefferson and  Madison are  Wood’s  central figures with the contributions of John Adams  in my view somewhat marginalized.   Adams has his day in the sunshine in David McCulloch’s  biography, John Adams.

The more background the reader has in American history the easier the immersion into Empire of Liberty but that should not dissuade anyone with a love of our country’s history from tackling this landmark work. Despite the depth of the subject Wood has made his book an enjoyable journey and there is a clear and logical roadmap for the reader.  Yes, Empire of Liberty is a good read!

02.14.11
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RUSTPROOF! Holden Caulfield, Scout Finch, Jody Baxter

The newly released J. D. Salinger biography written by Kenneth Slawenski just a year after Salinger’s death will bring Catcher in the Rye (1951) and Holden Caulfield to the forefront again.    The same is true of the recent revived interest in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) on the occasion of last year’s 50th anniversary of its publication.  

Salinger’s death prompted me to revisit Catcher in the Rye and the publicity surrounding To Kill a Mockingbird’s anniversary placed me back in the center of those pages.  A wonderful experience reading these works as an adult!

While hunting for Catcher in the Rye in the   “Classics” section of my bookstore I found another gem, one which I  had not read,  The Yearling, written in 1939  by Marjorie Kinnan  Rawlings. 

The novel won a Pulitzer and was an instant best seller. Jody Baxter, growing up in back woods Florida “cracker” country with a father and mother preparing him for a life, which would be as difficult as their own. Originally it was labeled a children’s book but do not be fooled by the title, its message, descriptions and dialogue is a worthy read for all ages. The film The Yearling was released in 1946 and added tremendously to Rawlings fame.

The reference to “rustproof” in this  blog title is credited to Ivan Doig, author of House in the Sky, who wrote a wonderful prologue for the The Yearling’s paperback re-issue in 2002.  He is a well-known novelist raised on a ranch in Montana.

I believe the term “rustproof” is a wonderful description of so many great reads we have overlooked or forgotten. This blog aims to re Kindle the memory! Rawlings first novel; South Moon Under was published in 1933.