Confessions of a Conservative1 review Garry Wills Doubleday, 1979 quirky gem from a true American intellectual This book is part autobiography and part essay. While Wills appears to have led a charmed life - breaking easily into conservative journalism and finding love at the same time - it is the essays that are in my opinion the best part of the book. In them, he argues with great sense about why the ...             Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare's Macbeth (Oxford Paperbacks)6 reviews Garry Wills Oxford University Press, USA, 1996 A Fresh Look at the Scottish Play + He Weaves a Compelling Spell + "Macbeth" in its times. Wills' little book takes a fresh look at Macbeth. It's certainly not a revelation that Macbeth was influenced by the Gunpowder Plot and King James' interest in the occult, but Wills' exploration goes deeper. His point of departure is the well-known difficulty in staging Macbeth, a play that ...             John Waynes America17 reviews Garry Wills, 1998 Spotty Trail This is a maddening book, so full of promise it never really delivers on. Yet I've read it twice, something I don't usually do. Though some might argue, the subject is an important one: the mythic stature of John Wayne as American hero. Given his unparalleled popularity over the years, Wayne's ...             Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)56 reviews Garry Wills Simon & Schuster, 2006 Must reading for everyone + A Gift to the Reader + I started reading again This is the second copy I have purchased of this book - the first is in tatters from being read so often, by me and by my friends. It is a classic, and should be required reading for all high school students. Full of insights into Lincoln, the classic forms of writing, and an extraordinary section ...             Reagan's America: Innocents at Home16 reviews Garry Wills Penguin (Non-Classics), 2000 Best of the biography's on Reagan + Part Biography, Part Critical Cultural History + Valuable treatment of the meaning of Reagan the man Gary Wills book on Reagan is an even handed portrayal of a great American figure. President Reagan's conservative vision and his strident anti-communist views changed the way America works and changed the way the world looks at us. As a liberal, I often disagreed with his views, his policies and ...             Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man3 reviews Garry Wills Mariner Books, 2002 Forgotten masterpiece + The Dark Side of The American Spirit + Excellent biography of Nixon and history of Presidential power It's too bad that this book is out of print. Probably it stopped selling because of its title -- people must have assumed that it was only relevant for the Nixon era. Not so! The book is valuable today for the evocation of the early part of that time (especially the summer of 1968), but more than ...             Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit148 reviews Garry Wills Image, 2001 Understanding + The real Catholic orthodoxy + I'd look for more negative reviews before buying books of this kind. With the growth of the anti-abortion movement (a good thing), some Catholics made their opinion known on other temporal matters, including contraception and papal Infallibility. Wills reminds us that the Catholic church is run by men, sometimes very good and sometimes very flawed. Each is ...             Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment2 reviews Garry Wills Doubleday, 1984 One of the finest books ever written analyzing Washington + An Immensely Important Book In this magnificent book, Garry Wills presents a shrewd, learned analysis of the reasons for George Washington's central role in the American Revolution and the creation of the American Republic. Far better than Joseph Ellis's HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, this fine book examines the three ...             Saint Augustine: A Life (Penguin Lives Biographies)31 reviews Garry Wills Penguin (Non-Classics), 2005 Not a Good Introduction but it will be Stimulating for the Informed Reader Any biography on Augustine will always linger in the shadow of the great Peter Brown's work, which is a classic treatment of the philosopher/bishop without rival in the English speaking world. Therefore, anyone desiring a complete portrait of St Augustine must first behold the masterpiece found in ...             Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment2 reviews Garry Wills Doubleday, 1984 One of the finest books ever written analyzing Washington + An Immensely Important Book In this magnificent book, Garry Wills presents a shrewd, learned analysis of the reasons for George Washington's central role in the American Revolution and the creation of the American Republic. Far better than Joseph Ellis's HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, this fine book examines the three ...             Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)56 reviews Garry Wills Simon & Schuster, 2006 Must reading for everyone + A Gift to the Reader + I started reading again This is the second copy I have purchased of this book - the first is in tatters from being read so often, by me and by my friends. It is a classic, and should be required reading for all high school students. Full of insights into Lincoln, the classic forms of writing, and an extraordinary section ...             Reagan's America: Innocents at Home16 reviews Garry Wills Penguin (Non-Classics), 2000 Best of the biography's on Reagan + Part Biography, Part Critical Cultural History + Valuable treatment of the meaning of Reagan the man Gary Wills book on Reagan is an even handed portrayal of a great American figure. President Reagan's conservative vision and his strident anti-communist views changed the way America works and changed the way the world looks at us. As a liberal, I often disagreed with his views, his policies and ...             Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit148 reviews Garry Wills Image, 2001 Understanding + The real Catholic orthodoxy + I'd look for more negative reviews before buying books of this kind. With the growth of the anti-abortion movement (a good thing), some Catholics made their opinion known on other temporal matters, including contraception and papal Infallibility. Wills reminds us that the Catholic church is run by men, sometimes very good and sometimes very flawed. Each is ...             Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare's Macbeth (Oxford Paperbacks)6 reviews Garry Wills Oxford University Press, USA, 1996 A Fresh Look at the Scottish Play + He Weaves a Compelling Spell + "Macbeth" in its times. Wills' little book takes a fresh look at Macbeth. It's certainly not a revelation that Macbeth was influenced by the Gunpowder Plot and King James' interest in the occult, but Wills' exploration goes deeper. His point of departure is the well-known difficulty in staging Macbeth, a play that ...             Confessions of a Conservative1 review Garry Wills Doubleday, 1979 quirky gem from a true American intellectual This book is part autobiography and part essay. While Wills appears to have led a charmed life - breaking easily into conservative journalism and finding love at the same time - it is the essays that are in my opinion the best part of the book. In them, he argues with great sense about why the ...             Saint Augustine: A Life (Penguin Lives Biographies)31 reviews Garry Wills Penguin (Non-Classics), 2005 Not a Good Introduction but it will be Stimulating for the Informed Reader Any biography on Augustine will always linger in the shadow of the great Peter Brown's work, which is a classic treatment of the philosopher/bishop without rival in the English speaking world. Therefore, anyone desiring a complete portrait of St Augustine must first behold the masterpiece found in ...             Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man3 reviews Garry Wills Mariner Books, 2002 Forgotten masterpiece + The Dark Side of The American Spirit + Excellent biography of Nixon and history of Presidential power It's too bad that this book is out of print. Probably it stopped selling because of its title -- people must have assumed that it was only relevant for the Nixon era. Not so! The book is valuable today for the evocation of the early part of that time (especially the summer of 1968), but more than ...             John Waynes America17 reviews Garry Wills, 1998 Spotty Trail This is a maddening book, so full of promise it never really delivers on. Yet I've read it twice, something I don't usually do. Though some might argue, the subject is an important one: the mythic stature of John Wayne as American hero. Given his unparalleled popularity over the years, Wayne's ...