By Mark Zwonitzer
In a twin biography overlaying the final ten years of the lives of neighbors and contemporaries, author Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and statesman John Hay (who served as secretary of country below presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt), The Statesman and the Storyteller not just presents an intimate inspect the day-by-day lives of those males but in addition creates an elucidating portrait of the us at the verge of rising as a global power.
And simply because the narrative info the knowledge, and the occasional missteps, of 2 nice males in the course of a tumultuous time, it additionally penetrates the seat of energy in Washington because the state strove to make itself recognized internationally--and within the technique devoted acts antithetical to America’s professed beliefs and promises.
The country’s most important stream during this time was once to visit struggle with Spain and to ultimately wrest keep an eye on of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. In what should be considered as the most shameful sessions in American political historical past, Filipinos who believed that they had been promised independence have been as an alternative informed they have been incapable of self-government after which violently subdued in a conflict that featured torture and execution of local squaddies and civilians. the U.S. extensively utilized its becoming army and political may well to snatch the whole lot of the Hawaiian Islands and a wide element of Panama.
As secretary of nation in this time, Hay, although a charitable guy, was once still complicit in those misdeeds. Clemens, a staunch critic of his country’s imperialistic activities, was once compelled by means of his personal monetary and kinfolk must mood his comments. Nearing the tip in their lengthy and noteworthy lives, either males came across themselves suffering to keep up their own integrity whereas last celebrated and esteemed public figures.
Written with a prepared eye--Mark Zwonitzer can also be an award-winning documentary filmmaker--and educated via the author’s deep realizing of the styles of historical past, The Statesman and the Storyteller has the compelling velocity of a unique, the epic sweep of ancient writing at its most sensible, and, in shooting the essence of the lives of Hay and Twain, the humanity and nuance of masterful biography.
NB: The greenback quantities during this ebook will not be rendered in present cash. those kinds of calculations keep away from precision, but when the 2016 reader multiplies any buck figures quoted via twenty-five or thirty she or he may have a good and beneficial approximation of present worth. —M. Z.
Source: Amazon.com Retail AZW3 (via library)
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Extra info for The Statesman and the Storyteller: John Hay, Mark Twain, and the Rise of American Imperialism
Example text
A small unit within the CIA called the Technical Services Division (TSD) was charged with running the top secret program. Like Bluebird and Artichoke, MKULTRA’s existence was known only to a select few—Congress was kept completely in the dark. Most of the research for MKULTRA was conducted at mainstream institutions. Between 1953 and 1963, the CIA funded human experiments by 185 non-governmental researchers at eighty institutions, including forty-four universities and twelve hospitals. This included work at prestigious universities like Princeton, Harvard,Yale, Columbia and Stanford and at centres like the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, the Boston Psychopathic Hospital and the Mt Sinai Hospital in New York.
At first his isolation is punctuated only by beatings at the hands of violent inquisitors but over time the ‘ruffians in black’ are replaced by men in spectacles. According to Orwell: These other questioners saw to it that he was in constant slight pain, but it was not chiefly pain they relied on. They slapped his face, wrung his ears, pulled his hair, made him stand on one leg, refused him leave to urinate, shone glaring lights in his face until his eyes ran with water; but the aim of this was simply to humiliate him and destroy his power of arguing and reasoning.
Under the watchful eyes of medical professionals, students at Stead were also subjected to a lengthy course of humiliating treatment tailored to their individual vulnerabilities. According to Wyden, ‘Lies and insults about a captive’s personality, race, national origin and religion are routine starters. (Catholics have it extra rough …)’. Tortures were also sexual in scope. ‘Men who are shy about undressing may not keep their shorts on’, noted Wyden. During questioning, thirsty students who asked for water ‘get it thrown in the face’ while ‘anyone asking to go to the latrine is sure to be questioned longer than scheduled’.