RIP Treat Williams

 

I had the honor of giving the fine actor Treat Williams, who died Monday as the result of a motorcycle accident, his first tour of Grant Cottage on July 10, 2014. He was a pleasant, interested and knowledgeable visitor.

 Diana O'Brien, on left in photo, was then dressed as the poet Emily Dickinson for a program, and is now a board member of The Friends of Grant Cottage. Williams became an honorary board member and spoke at last year's fund-raiser. He also wrote and performed a one-man play about Ulysses S. Grant.

Zoomin' to Kansas, Open to All (time clarified)

 

 I will be giving a Zoom PowerPoint presentation on James Montgomery: Abolitionist Warrior to the Kansas Historical Society at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time (6:30 in Kansas) on Wednesday, April 12. It is open to the public, as explained below by the KHS.

Please feel to share this link to the program with your friends, family, coworkers, or anyone else who may be interested, https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0NuLXrMQQtSrCleMwLOWhA     This is the link to the Zoom webinar, and people watching through Zoom will need to register. We’ve also put a link there for people who would like to purchase your book in advance of your program. The webinar will also be streamed live on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEQsILc7_8ttaPAgv9KVWVPY95dkBnOdR

Another Review and a Note About Wikipedia

 

Another review of the Montgomery biography has come to my attention, this one by David Marshall at The New York Military Affairs Symposium (scroll down to Feb. 22). Like all the others I've seen (see my previous posts below, and the "praise" tab from publisher's page) it is a largely positive review. But it's the second one I've seen to criticize my alleged use of "Wikipedia as a source".

This is a reference to a sentence in my Preface and Acknowledgments which said: "I somewhat guiltily acknowledge frequent use of the online Wikipedia encyclopedia, while not relying on it as a cited source."

If that needs clarifying, what I meant was I did not use Wikipedia as a source but as a very useful tool. I bet most historians and other inquiring minds also use it, whether or not they are prepared to admit doing so. Yes, it may be slanted, itself insufficiently sourced, or even, on rare occasion, sabotaged. But I have found it generally accurate and a good first reference when first looking up someone or something.

I gave a couple of graciously received local talks last week, one to the Capital District Civil War Round Table (see photo below) in Watervliet, NY, and the other to the Academy for Lifelong Learning in Saratoga Springs.

The latter presentation was about my novel The Last Circle of Ulysses Grant. Published in 2018 by Square Circle Press and still in print, it has drawn less attention than the two biographies published by Casemate, but may be my favorite book -- which could be why I'm now working on (or at least planning) another novel.

 

More Reviews of Biographies

I found this one of the Montgomery book quoted on the publisher's page. The other quotes there are from reviews linked to in previous entries on this blog, which -- along with other reviews -- you can scroll down below to find. 

The new (to me) one is from the Midwest Book Review (scroll down to their Civil War Shelf) -- to whom a tip of the hat. It is anonymous and very short:

"With a special appeal and relevance to readers with an interest in the abolitionist movement to end slavery in Kansas and Missouri, the American Civil War in general, and the role of Union Colonel James Montgomery and his African-American troops in particular, 'James Montgomery: Abolitionist Warrior' is as informatively detailed [as] it is inherently fascinating. ... an extraordinary and welcome contribution to the growing library of American Civil War histories and biographies."

A yet newer review is of a considerably older book, the Granger biography which was published in 2013 and reissued in paperback last year. It's by Meg Groeling, to whom go my thanks for another positive review, and appears in the January 2023 print edition of Civil War News, but does not seem to be online yet. (They reviewed my Montgomery book last October.) 

Still More Reviews

Sprague Mansion (see below)

I'll have to do a review roundup soon for the Montgomery biography, but you can scroll down on this blog to see links to all that I'm aware of. Here's one I've linked to on other social media, but not yet here, from Military Review, the professional journal of the U.S. Army, by Richard A. McConnell, which he graciously sent me. 

And here is J. Daley from the Civil War Book Review, which I first saw on Twitter today. While I'd characterize all the reviews so far, including this one, as broadly positive, Daley's does have a few pointed criticisms which prompted me, perhaps unwisely, to fire off a tweet in response.

Meanwhile, I've been addressing Civil War Round Tables from Binghamton, NY (where I found some interesting IBM retirees) to Newton, NJ, with the highlight being a stop at the Sprague Mansion last month to address the annual dinner meeting of the Rhode Island CWRT. That's the birthplace of William Sprague IV, most famous in my view for a disastrous marriage to Kate Chase. (Next up is a Zoom presentation Sunday evening to the Westchester County, NY, CWRT.)

On the Rhode Island trip I also got to stay overnight at the old Providence house of -- and go out on the town with -- Mark and Annette Dunkelman. Mark is himself a Civil War author, and a country musician.

My Montgomery book, the reissued paperback biography of Gordon Granger, and the still-in-print Grant novel would all, I presume, make excellent Christmas gifts.

Reviews Keep Coming ...

 ... of the Montgomery biography, that is. No need to rush, since we've been stroking our chins about the Civil War for well over a century and a half.

This one is from The Civil War Monitor.

Another Review, More Talks

 Another review of the Montgomery book is out, see here.  Apparently it will appear in the October 2022 edition of Civil War News.

After taking most of the summer off, I've also resumed giving talks to Civil War groups to plug the Montgomery, Grant and Granger books. In photo on left (taken by the gracious wife yesterday evening) I'm at Da Buffs, at the Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department in Colonie, NY.

A couple of weeks ago, we were at the Cape May Civil War Round Table in southern New Jersey. Next up is the Binghamton, NY, Civil War Round Table on Oct. 18. 

On Nov. 5 I head to Providence, Rhode Island, to address their CWRT, and on Nov. 15 to Sussex County, NJ, to the Henry Ryerson CWRT. 

On Dec. 11 I'll talk to the Westchester County, NY, CWRT online via Zoom.