Book Notes Archives - Richard M. Langworth

Guelzo on Robert E. Lee: “To Err on the Side of Absorbing Society’s Defaulters”

15 November 2021 Comments 0 Comments

Allen C. Guelzo, Robert E. Lee: A Life (New York: Knopf, 2021), 608 pages, illus., $35, Kindle $15.99. First published in The American Spectator, 9 November 2021.

“Who’s that man on the horse?”…

…I asked my father at a young age. “That’s Lee—he led a Southern army in the Civil War.” He gave me a book I still have, Illustrated Minute Biographies, by William DeWitt. Published 1953, it is utterly non-judgmental. Opposite the page on Lee (“Leader of a Lost Cause”) is a page on Lenin (“Father of the Russian Revolution.”)

Among DeWitt’s 150 personalities, Lee fascinated. I’ve always had a soft spot for underdogs.…

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Memories: Goldwater and Kennedy: 20 and 55 Years On

27 November 2018 Comments 2 Comments

A Goldwater Inscription

22 November 2018— A photographer friend sends along praise of Barry Goldwater (1909-1998). The Senator was noted portrayer of his beloved Southwest: “I am reading an issue of Arizona Highways devoted to his work. The only thing he was more passionate about than politics was his photography. And he was a great cameraman.” Praise of one photographer for another is high recommendation.

His note reminded me of People and Places, Goldwater’s fine book of photographs, from canyons to Hopi. The depth of feeling for Arizona’s native peoples and natural vistas in those photos belies the picture his enemies tried to paint of Goldwater when he ran for President in 1964.…

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1935 Triumph 8C Dolomite: The Big One….Is Back

25 August 2018 Comments 0 Comments

Jonathan Wood, Donald Healey’s 8C Triumph Dolomite. Wetherby, Yorkshire: Jonathan Turner & Tim Whitworth, 2017, 300 pages, profusely illustrated in color and b&w, $275. Available from the publishers. Written for The Vintage Triumph Register.

Donald Healey’s Dolomite

In 1977 I wrote the pre-World War II chapters of Triumph Cars, now reappearing in an expanded new edition, thanks largely to my co-author Graham Robson (blatant plug, please order).

At the time, though, there was little to describe about Triumph’s most impressive failure, the legendary straight-eight Dolomite. The only one built by the factory had come to grief (along, almost, with Donald Healey) at a railway crossing on the 1935 Monte Carlo Rallye.…

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Triumph in Texas, 7 October 2016

24 September 2016 Comments 0 Comments

Tanglewood Resort, Texas

Vintage Triumph Register 2016 Convention, Friday 7 October 2016.

Guest speaker: Richard Langworth

Location: Tanglewood Resort,Pottsboro, Texas.

Triumph Memories

Synopsis: Reflections on fifty years of messing about with Triumphs: “I’d never say this if I were not among friends, but Ferraris bore me. Just unaffordable excellence. My fun derives from funky vintage British cars.”

Speaker: Richard Langworth has been an automotive writer since 1969. After a freelance article in Automobile Quarterly, he joined AQ as associate and later senior editor. In 1975 he left to freelance. He has since written or co-authored more than fifty books and 2000 articles on automotive history. Richard…

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Hillsdale’s Alaska on “Crystal Serenity”

27 August 2016 Comments 0 Comments

North to Alaska

The 2016 Hillsdale College cruise of southwest Alaska aboard Crystal Serenity (27 July-3 August) provided an impressive visit to a spectacular state. Accompanying the fine dining and entertainment was a crew which could not have done more. Crystal Cruises seems to own all the highest ratings in the business, and it’s easy to see why. There’s no separate bar bill, and they’ll deliver up to two bottles a day to your stateroom. No one could drink this much! Tips are included, nobody duns you for handouts, and you’re not presented with a list of “estimated gratuities” on your last day aboard.…

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Winston Churchill: Not Much to Say Today?

28 June 2015 Comments 2 Comments

Every turn of events has its unique features. Understanding them, and applying principles to them today, is still the challenge. The challenge for leaders today is to judge whether discretion should take priority over boldness, whether diplomacy is a feasible option, and when and where to deploy a bluff. In these areas, Churchill’s experience is an invaluable guide, because human nature is unchanging.

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Errata & Addenda to “Churchill by Himself,” First American and English Editions

24 October 2009 Comments 0 Comments

Churchill by Himself is different from all other Churchill quote books through “correctibility.” It offers a reference to each quotation, and a method by which corrections may be sent in, verified, and made available digitally to readers.

Producing any work as complicated as this is a constant running battle between conflicting sources, experts who disagree with each other, and inexorable deadlines. For instance, one expert offered corrections based on the 1974 Complete Speeches (not complete and scarcely free of errors) that contradict the texts of earlier volumes by Churchill himself—which to me take priority.…

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