“The Army of Frederick the Great”, by Christopher Duffy

360 pages, The Emperor's Press, ISBN-13: 978-1883476021

The second edition of Christopher Duffy’s The Army of Frederick the Great is not a perfect book, as there are numerous typos and spelling/syntax errors that mar this work. There is, however, excellent detail on the organization, training and equipment of the Prussian army between 1740-86, when the Soldier King led it to heights of glory unmatched by Prussian arms before or after. There are also several good individual chapters on Prussian infantry, cavalry, and artillery and support services. Frederick does not appear so “Great” here, though: an able tactician and aggressive general, to be sure, but also marred by pique and ignorance. He despised his artillerymen and engineers and, consequently, his efforts at siege warfare were failures. While the Prussian infantry and cavalry were superb, he under-utilized artillery and many of his oblique attacks were merely cleverly-executed frontal attacks. There is an appendix with unit summaries on all Prussian regiments. This could have been a superb work, but it is marred by inadequate maps, which are difficult to understand and don't depict battles well. Incredibly, there are no campaign maps. Additionally, there should have been a biographical chapter on Prussian leaders, as well as line and block charts on organization and a better campaign summary.

It was a famous army, but it is not always understood. It was praised for introducing a revolution in the art of war and notorious for the brutality of its discipline, but how did this army really work? This is a study of the greatest army of its time by the finest historian of the wars of the 18^th Century. The Prussian military machine is analyzed in detail, from top to bottom, from the mentality of the Junkers who led it to the way the men were clothed. The tactics, the recruitment, the finances of the military are laid bare. This is much more than a technical study, as we see how these regiments stood up to the test of the bloody battles of the Seven Years War and the long years of virtual imprisonment in barracks. The image of a formidable army forged by fear rather than leadership proves to be only partly true, but the tribulations of serving a hard taskmaster like Frederick the Great are well described by soldiers and observers of all ranks. The classic study of one of history's most famous armies has been heavily revised and updated through twenty more years of research and consideration. Now we can see the rise of the cavalry from the ridiculous to the superb, the once invincible infantry bleed white, and the light forces change from being negligible to being the terror of their enemies. A great army is made flesh and blood.

“The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York”, by Robert A. Caro

1246 pages, History Book Club, ISBN-13: 978-1582882611

Have you ever thought that you really understood something only to thereafter learned that you didn’t understand at all? This was my experience while reading The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro. The clarity and breadth of this book made me feel as if suddenly the curtain had been thrown back to reveal the real reasons for government actions that can appear so unreasonable to us unwashed. Don’t be daunted by the length of this book: Caro’s exhaustive work about one of the most politically-powerful men in 20^th Century New York (who was never elected to public office) is a page-turner and a classic story of a man acquiring power for power’s sake.

Until I read The Power Broker, I really had no idea who Robert Moses was and I knew even less about urban planning, New York City politics or public works. Caro handles the subjects so thoroughly that the lack of familiarity mattered not at all. Moses was obviously a giant of a man; he accomplished great things and made colossal blunders and was also a man of great vision who was blind to the effects his policies had on the less fortunate. The contradictions are laid out in full detail in this monster of a book. It is hard to comprehend the work that Caro must have put into this biography; it stands as the definitive work on Robert Moses and the textbook of urban policy in America.

Many readers and historians have used this book for a primer on how NOT to conduct urban planning. Moses’ heavy hand, disdain for delays and love of the automobile in transit-centered New York City are really only a small part of this story. Like the title says, I think Caro really wrote a tale of a man whose official job titles were “only” the head of the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority and the NY Parks system, but the power he wielded shook mayors, senators and even a president or two along the way. His power transcended political party and popular will, and only late in his career, as he battled society women over expanding a parking lot in Central Park, did he begin to fall from his once-untouchable pedestal. Caro emphasizes that Moses never used power for financial wealth, and lived modestly his entire life.

The amount of detailed research in the book is amazing: we are able to follow the character development of Moses from his days as an idealistic civic reformer through the transformation by which he became one the most shrewd (and venal) operators in the system he set out to reform. As the years go by, we learn that although Moses’s energy and ambition do not wane, his ideas of urban infrastructure design are hopelessly out of date. Furthermore, his preference for glamorous bridges instead of more practical tunnels, and his stilting of the mass transit system in favor of more and more expressways results in censure from Caro. In the end, we are intended to believe that the work of Robert Moses has become a barrier to the development of the greatest American city.

Historians today now look at Moses with a kinder light than Caro did in 1974, citing him for the quality and aesthetic touches he put into many of his highways and parks (remember, by 1974, “form follows function” reigned supreme, and all public buildings and projects were bland, faceless monoliths of concrete and cinderblocks). Even the oft-quoted statement that Moses deliberately designed his parkway bridges too low to accommodate buses has been discredited by Caro himself in later years.

Stupendous in the scope of its research, meticulous and flowing in its prose, Caro’s biography of Robert Moses is not only of interest to New Yorkers and students of urban politics, but is essential reading for anyone anywhere seeking insight into the exceptional human personality and its attendant darkness.

 

“Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787”, by Catherine Drinker Bowen

346 pages, Back Bay Books, ISBN-13: 978-0316103985

Thomas Jefferson’s statement about the quality of persons attending the Federal Convention, that they were an “assembly of demi-gods”, was an astute observation of the moment. Truly, it was a gathering of the finest minds available anywhere in the world, all collected at precisely the same time, with preservation of the new-found, hard won freedom uppermost in the psyche of all of them; determined to form as perfect a document of government as could be agreed upon; along with a separate bill of rights, and the miracle at Philadelphia did come to pass. It was not without pain, flaws and disappointments for some, but what emerged from this period of time between May and September of 1787 has endured as the lighted lantern of a free people.

One immense yet single goal, attested to through baptism by fire, by the magnificent, dedicated few, overcoming personal agendas to protect the future of the many. We sense the urgency to create a fail-safe document, mingling uneasily with the underlying fear that if mistakes were made now, all could be circumvented by the unscrupulous in the centuries to follow. We feel the intense, vibrant and varying personalities that tried to beat the political bushes enough to rout out the roaches that may be lurking in the document. It's such a mess today it's hard to justify the making of a central government without feeling somewhat foolish; but it was clear that something had to be done with the Articles of Confederation; the sovereign states had become so sovereign that they considered themselves untouchable with regards to sending monies to the common kitty to pay down debt. Nobody knew this better than George Washington; in the throes of the Revolution itself, his pleas for supplies, payrolls for his army, seemingly were tabled inexcusably, maddeningly, by the existing congress even in the face of possibly losing the war for liberty itself. So, after the was won under such duress (another miracle) the gathering of the demigods heeded the call together in high secrecy in Philadelphia for the forming of a central government, whose citizens were to be protected by a truly unique Constitution, even though those patriots such as Patrick Henry were absent in protest fearing another imperial government might be unfolding.

This is truly a magnificent book, highly recommended for those who follow history. One observation the author makes clear is the fact that many Americans today don't know as much as they should about the debates; and I fear our history teachers may be to blame for some of it. Such an event needs constant fanning of a flame, interesting dialog, and too often it becomes dry and boring without that flame. Another must have accounting for anyone interested in the actual debates over the Constitution, the Library of America offers one that is entitled simply enough: Debate on The Constitution, which is a venerable collection of the best and most eloquent of the many writings by the differing minds that were wrangling over its writing and ratification at the time. The collection was selected by Bernard Bailin and includes Benjamin Franklin's famous acceptance speech – “I agree to this Constitution with all its faults” – which is quite a missive in itself, of course.

We all know how it turned out, but she takes us there again, with strength of insight and devotion seldom seen. Yet another literary gem can be noted for posterity from Bowen’s book with this short, yet poignant verse of her own: “If all the tales are told, re-tell them, Brother. If few attend, let those who listen, feel.” She speaks for many with those words; I know she speaks for me.