Briefly Noted

“Sometimes the best moments in human relationships are the ones in which we have the self-restraint to say nothing at all, to demonstrate our love and our joy instead of trying to break down the experience and reshape it into words. This is the genius of dogs, one of the many geniuses of dogs—they have the nonverbal-expression thing down cold. And if we’re reading too much into everything they’re not saying, then so be it. They’ll forgive us. They always do.”

“Steve Elder writes with such “down to earth” candor that you get caught up in his story. Then you realize it is not so different from yours. His humorous, introspective and honest approach is refreshing and challenging. We need men who will be honest about their humanity. Men who aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves and talk about their mistakes and the lessons learned. Steve is one of those guys, and he speaks the refreshing language of an authentic heart in a way that invites you right in—to his story and yours.”

“When I was five years old, my dad was working at the New York World’s Fair, and he had gone to the Dutch Pavilion and he bought this kit—Make Your Own Medieval Village. One night after supper, we cleared the dining room table and cut everything out and glued everything together. It was like magic. I thought, ‘Wow, I want to do that.’ … After watching him build it, I went out to the driveway and drew our VW bus from all sides on a big sheet of cardboard, cut it out, folded it, then glued it together. I’ve been making things ever since.”

“Fresh from his masterful The Summer of 1787, Stewart takes on one of the seamiest events in American history: the vengeful impeachment of Lincoln’s successor as president; the Senate failed to convict Andrew Johnson by a single vote. At issue was the continuation of Lincoln’s plans to reintegrate the South into the union after the Civil War. But also at stake, as always, was party politics. Stewart takes readers through a tangled web of motives and maneuverings in lively, unadorned prose. … As he sums it up, in 1868 none of the country’s leaders was great, a few were good, all were angry, and far too many were despicable.”