Book Review
 
                               Cradles of Power: The Mothers and Fathers
                                               of the American Presidents
 
                                                                By Harold J. Gullan
 
    
     Cradles of Power is a 360 page book by historian Harold J.Gullan about the parents of the presidents of the United States from Washington to Obama and how they influenced their presidential sons. The book takes them in chronological order and devotes a few pages to each, giving each their due, even Millard Fillmore.
     What first caught my attention about the book though is that on the cover there is this darling picture of Gee Dub, G. W., George W. Bush that is, as a little baby sitting on his mother’s knee. The look of pride and joy on his mother’s, Barbara Bush’s, face as she looks at her son is priceless. It will literally melt your heart.
      Anyway about the book, this book makes no political judgment about any of our presidents. All are treated fairly and no unkind words are spoken about any of them which is kind of a refreshing pause nowadays.This is because the book is not really about any of them anyway. It is about the people who raised them, their parents or step-parents. And some of these people  weren't exactly decent human beings. They weren’t like the Andersons (Father Knows Best), or the Nelsons (Ozzie and Harriet), or the Cleavers (Leave It To Beaver) on television that some of us grew up with. Some came from quite dysfunctional families. And yes Virginia there were dysfunctional families back then. It is not a new phenomena.
     A couple of our presidents grew up with parents or step parents who were alcoholics and violent and abusive to their spouses. Usually it is the man with the drinking problem but for one president it was both his parents that drank. I’m not going to tell you who that was or who the others with alcoholic problems were. Read the book and find that out for yourself. And oh yes don’t forget to read about Lemonade Lucy too.
     Most presidents though had loving parents who actually believed that in fact their son was special and blessed and destined for greatness. Thus they pushed him accordingly and did everything in their power to make that greatness happen. And it did. Their son became president.
     Each president’s chapter begins with the ancestor of that president who first got off the boat from Europe. A lot of presidential ancestors were of Scotch Irish descent, the Scotch Irish being political refugees of the day back then from England. A lot of them settled in New England and then from there their descendants pushed westward  with the country. Many future presidents grew up in the Midwest.
     Some of the presidents came from literally dirt poor, that is they didn’t own any land or if they had they lost it due to hard times, ancestors. Others came from very successful stock who greatly increased their land holdings and wealth. With those different backgrounds and how their parents responded to them while raising their presidential son is what the book is about. 
    Also this book tells us about those presidents who grew up with step parents and how they interacted with their stepson. Those with step fathers of recent history include Ford, Clinton and Obama. And the prize for best step mother of a future president goes to Abraham Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln. She loved her Abe dearly and in return he loved her dearly also. He was deeply indebted to her for her guidance through the hard times of his youth on the early frontier. She lived to see him become president and couldn’t have been prouder of him than if he had been born to her.
     On the other hand Lincoln and his father did not get along at all. Lincoln couldn’t wait to leave home at 21, the age of majority back then, and become a free man. Read the book and find out why.
     There are a few of other things that I gathered from the book about our presidents. First was that a lot of them lost a parent at an early age in their lives. Second most of them were highly educated graduating from prestigious colleges. But some like Lincoln and his successor were only self taught. And third a noticeable number had middle names that were their mother’s maiden name. Read the book and find out who besides Millard Fillmore carried their mother’s maiden name.  And finally a couple of them, and they were distinguished presidents, had red hair. I only throw that in because I still have red hair.
    If there is a criticism of this book, it’s that sometimes it delves a little too much into the history of the grandparents of the president's parents and after a while the genealogical chart becomes hard to follow. But that doesn’t detract from the book any. It just confuses one temporarily.
     One other note, this author makes a point of citing quotes from the biographers of each president when he writes about them. Thus quotes from noted historians Ambrose, Kearns, McCullough and others appear throughout the book.
     And finally this book also makes the point that our presidents were influenced as much by their mothers as their fathers even though most grew up in a time when fathers ruled the roost. There is a president of recent origin who had quite the mother, a character so to speak, and another in the not too distant past who raised her son as a girl the first few years of his life and never really gave up control of him.
     So read the book and find out about our presidents’ parents, if you’re an American that is. And if you’re not, still read it. It’s enjoyable. And don’t you worry none you Chester A. Arthur and Millard Fillmore fans, your man gets his due.
     

 

                                   Movie Review:  Baby Driver
 
 
    This is a movie review written by me a seventy year old man about the movie Baby Driver. Now movies today are geared toward kids and anybody up to about the age of forty five is a kid as far as I’m concerned. But the handful of people there that Monday afternoon when I saw this movie were old geezers and geezerettes like myself and my wife. I went to this movie thinking Baby Driver another wild reckless car chase Fast and Furious movie where things will get smashed up, blowed up and shot up good, real good. And that’s the way the movie opens, with pulsating throbbing music played to a death defying car chase scene. And things did get smashed up, shot up, and blowed up good, real good. But in a different kind of way sort of. And I liked it. The movie as a whole was different. And I like different.
    It centers around Baby a young man with a troubled past. His folks were killed in a car accident in which he, at about age five, was a passenger too. As a result thereof he was left with a constant ringing in his ears. So to combat that ringing he’s always listening to music on his Ipod and says little to anyone. Some people think he’s slow since he doesn’t talk much. And when he does talk he sounds like Elvis. But he lives for his music. It’s his way of coping.
     So music plays a big big part in this movie as part of the story itself and in the background too. The music the audience hears is the music that Baby hears when his earphones are in. Baby listens to all kinds of music and has eclectic tastes depending on his mood that day. The makers of this film geniusly knew what they were doing here and without the music much would be lost concerning the entertainment value, the story and quality of the film itself.
    Now in his troubled juvenile delinquent past Baby earned a reputation as a high speed driving car thief. He has become employed by Doc the mastermind of the bank robbery. Doc always puts together teams of four, three different robbers each time but with Baby always as the getaway driver. Doc tells Baby just one more job and we’re squared away between us due to a past debt Baby owes Doc. Well  Baby gets square with Doc but to Doc getting square doesn’t mean Baby’s done working for him. There’s another job to pull he informs him. And so the story develops around Baby trying to stay alive and get out of the crime business at the same time.
     But unfortunately along the way he falls in love with a young waitress and his life gets complicateder and complicateder. Things spin out of control this way, then that way, and one is kept on edge the whole time wondering what in the heck is going to happen next that could possibly make things worse for him. And there’s always something that does. The frustration tension factor runs high for our hero and for the audience.
     Every character’s role whether from the smallest part to a major role is beautifully intertwined a written into the story. They all fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  What’s here is just what’s necessary to move the story along. There’s no filler, no fat on this movie. It’s lean and clean with never a wasted scene. The script is well written and cleverly clever at times and that’s something different for a change too. And as I said I like different.
     Each character is well played by its actor. All the criminals, Joe Hamm and Jamie Foxx being the best known actors thereof, come across as someone you dare not offend for fear of losing your life. Doc is portrayed brilliantly by Kevin Spacey as the criminal mastermind. The actress as the waitress girl friend, Lily James, does a good job as a typical everyday run of the mill young innocent waitress, down on her luck, struggling to get by, while getting dragged into the world of crime by her reason of love for her boyfriend Baby. And Baby is of course is played by a truly baby faced young man, Ansel Elgort, who is perfect for this role as a tortured soul in a world he doesn’t want to be in. He’s the movie’s hero and we cheer for him, and for her, as they try to escape a doomed existence.
    Well after all the shoot outs, car driving scenes, and blow ups, which are many and are well orchestrated to music like a music video, the movie comes to a logical conclusion. Not the one you wanted or expected but a logical one. And just when you think the movie is about to be over, it isn’t.
    I’d recommend this movie for everyone except kids little kids because of course there’s lots of swearing in it. But then again how could you not have foul mouth criminals and have them be believable without swearing. And I’d recommend this movie because it’s entertaining. It ain’t Shakespeare. It’s not an artsy film. It’s an entertaining film. And when I go to a movie I want to be entertained. I want heartwarming, bone chilling, gut wrenching entertainment. Entertainment is my only standard. And this movie got the the job done for me. I’m looking forward to seeing it again on cable. Don’t you wait that long though. See it now. Today! You’ll be entertained.