Monday, 27 February 2017

Have you heard about this?





At the moment, in the Guardian...

A series called:

The 100 best nonfiction books:

And one of them is... 

No 55 – Personal Memoirs by Ulysses S Grant (1885)

The civil war general turned president was a reluctant author, but set the gold standard for presidential memoirs

American military commander (and future US President) Ulysses S Grant, photographed towards the end of the civil war, 1865. Photograph: Stock Montage/Getty Images

Monday 20 February 2017

According to Mark Twain, these are “the best [memoirs] of any general’s since Caesar”, but we have to take that verdict with a pinch of salt: Twain was also Grant’s publisher. 

As a one-time Confederate soldier, Twain liked to joke that it was General Grant’s prowess on behalf of the Union cause that had persuaded him to desert the colours and become a journalist.

Twain had first invited the retired president to write his autobiography in 1881, but Grant had declined the offer. 
A modest man, he had replied, “No one is interested in me”, referring to two books about him which had recently flopped. 
But when, in 1884, he was swindled out of his savings, and desperate for money, Twain’s offer seemed much more tempting.

Now, writing in pencil, or dictating to a secretary, he began to compose the book that many commentators agree sets the gold standard for presidential memoirs.

His narrative has the simple directness of the finest English prose: the overall effect is both intimate and majestic

Perhaps he was lucky. 

The unputdownable heart of Grant’s book is his eyewitness account of the vicissitudes of the American civil war: the outbreak of hostilities; the battle of Shiloh; the campaign against Vicksburg; the battle of Chattanooga; Sherman’s March; Lincoln’s assassination; and Lee’s surrender. 

Although Grant was on the winning side, he was always brutally honest about both his successes and failures, and never failed to acknowledge the grinding poverty from which the civil war rescued him. Indeed, Grant’s life story is both remarkable and moving.

For the critic Edmund Wilson, who put Grant in the exalted literary company of Walt Whitman and Henry Thoreau, this powerful autobiography is “a unique expression of the national character. [Grant] has conveyed the suspense which was felt by himself and his army and by all who believed in the Union cause. The reader finds himself on edge to know how the civil war is coming out.”

Grant’s memoirs are all the more remarkable for having been completed under duress. When he began to write, he had begun to suffer the agonising pain of throat cancer. 

It was only his inflexible determination, the quality that had made him a great general, that mastered the torments of ill-health – sleepless nights, fear of dying – to articulate his account for a devoted American audience. 

By many accounts, Grant’s memoirs fully capture the man himself: they are well observed, often humorous, invariably charming, penetrating and lucid.


His account of the Confederate surrender is especially moving: “I was without a sword, as I usually was when on horseback in the field, and wore a soldier’s blouse for a coat, with the shoulder straps of my rank to indicate to the army who I was. When I went into the house I found General Lee. I had my staff with me, a good portion of whom were in the room during the whole of the interview…

“What General Lee’s feelings were I do not know. As he was a man of much dignity, with an impassible face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come, or felt sad over the result, and was too manly to show it… General Lee was dressed in full uniform which was entirely new, and was wearing a sword of considerable value. In my rough travelling suit, the uniform of a private, I must have contrasted very strangely with a man so handsomely dressed, six feet high and of faultless form. But this was not a matter that I thought of until afterwards.”

Throughout this very substantial autobiography, like the great man he was, Grant is supremely generous to his enemies, loyal to his friends and associates, and always devoted to another civil war hero, his president, Abraham Lincoln. 
On every page, his narrative has the simple directness of the finest English prose, inspired by the King James Bible on which he had been raised. The overall effect is both intimate and majestic.

In the spring of 1885, while Grant was struggling to complete his manuscript, Twain’s subscription agents were spreading out across the US to raise advance orders for Grant’s memoirs, a two-volume set offered for $3.50. 
They were dressed in the faded blue uniforms of the Union army, often wearing medals from Shiloh or Gettysburg. Countless veterans signed up for a story that was not just a presidential memoir, but a lasting and tangible mirror to their own individual struggles and sacrifice.

When Grant finished the manuscript in July 1885, it was rushed into galley proof. 
On 23 July, having completed his final corrections, Grant died in his summer cottage on the slopes of Mount McGregor, in New York state. 
His Personal Memoirs, published a few months later, were at once acclaimed as a masterpiece.
One contemporary critic wrote that “no other American president has told his story as powerfully as Ulysses S Grant. 
The book is one of the most unflinching studies of war in our literature.” More than a century later, Gore Vidal added his own assessment: “It is simply not possible to read Grant’s memoirs without realising that the author is a man of first-rate intelligence.”

Personal Memoirs immediately sold more than 300,000 copies. It has remained in print ever since.

A signature sentence

“Mr Lincoln was at City Point at the time, and had been for some days; I would have let him know what I contemplated doing only while I felt a strong conviction that the move was going to be successful, yet it might not prove so; and then I would have only added another to the many disappointments he had been suffering for the past three years.”

Three to compare

Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858
Omar Bradley: A General’s Story (1951)
Bill Clinton: My Life (2004)

An epic fail...


Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Valentine's day is coming...







Maddie's power...

If I had a superpower it would be bewitchment.




Whoever plunges its eyes into my eyes, would be 

under my influence for one hundred days. 

The only solution to break this charm should be to 

pronunce eighty-nine times the word «RASA» (a 

magic word) one fullmoon night. 


I've chosen this superpower because that allows me 

to have an influence on people and turn bad guys into 

good people. 


In this way I would change the World. 

Futhermore for my part this power is more real than 

other superpowers like flying or throwing fireballs. 


My power is sweeter because it wouldn't kill anybody 

just change themselves. 

And death is not the good solution contrary to a little 

charm. 

It's more effective and smart. 

We don't need superpowers to kill because nowadays 

in our World, we can also kill with things that aren't 

superpowers. 

But like all superpowers there are lot of 

disadvantages. 

To my power I think the problem should be that I 

may become crazy and control all the World. 

Or maybe I'll make a mistake and control good 

persons. 

And those disadvantages are why Superpowers don't 

exist anyway, even if this one is sometimes given to a

few people. 



Watch out!

Some reviews about Birth of a Nation




 


Do you agree? Disagree?

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Reese's super power...

Reese is back ! Hello everyone,

Today I’ll talk to you about a secret dream…

 If I had a power for just one day, I would like to see my dream. I think we miss our dreams and it could be so cool to realize what we think about during the night when we sleep.

I imagine I could direct a movie with all the dreams we had
Maybe I could discover a new hobby or the dark side of our brain… 
I could see terrible things because sometimes, during our dreams we just imagine the worst things possible.

I have so many questions about my dreams : How many time do they last ? 

Are they realistic or totally abstract ? 

Do my dreams represent what I want in my life ?

Maybe if I dream about someone I love, it could make me sad.



















For example, when someone dies and I dream about this person, I could remember the happy moments, but also the worst…

Finally, I think I don't want this power for all my life, I just want to try for some days because I think it's good and mysterious to keep the secret of our dreams.

Today we went to the cinema...


To watch Birth of a Nation, by Nat Turner.

What did you think of the film?

Happy birthday Cardinal!


Monday, 6 February 2017

Lady Gaga Super Bowl Halftime Show 2017 - Lady Gaga Opening Superbowl 20...






                
                  

It's an American tradition: millions of people watch the Superbowl (the American Football championship) and the half-time show is watched by even more people!

What do you think of Lady Gaga's performance? Didn't she look like a superheroine?

Today marks The Queen's Sapphire Jubilee


It has been 65 years since Her Majesty acceded to the throne.

On 6 February 1952, King George VI sadly died following a prolonged illness. 
 Princess Elizabeth immediately acceded to the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II and taking on all of the responsibilities which came with her new title.

In the photograph, The Queen is wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.

Find out more about The Queen's accession and coronation on the website: http://bit.ly/24irGhZ

For Fenrir, who mentioned it!


Minimalist's super power...

Super Minimalist !!!

I never dreamed of being a super hero but if I could have a super power for one day, I would like to have the power of precognition. 


Why ? Just because I find it practical.

With this super power I could see in the future or in the past. 

I'm not religious but I believe in fate so I could see what  fate has in store for me. ( A lot of good things, I hope ! haha)

With the power of precognition I could see myself in 20 years, for example; If I managed to become Makeup Artist for Chanel Company and if I created my cosmetic brand, but also if I have children or not (Nevertheless, I hope that when I am 37 years, I will have some). 

With this same power, I could see myself when I was a child and see again my childhood memories. 

I could see my parents and my grandparents in their teens. (I think that it could be very funny !)

With this power I could travel in  time; I could go back to Prehistoric times, in the Middle Ages but especially during the Victorian or Edwardian era. (You begin to know me, now !) 

On the other side, this power has some drawbacks because I could see my life without my family and for the moment I can't imagine my life without the persons I love. 

Next, I could see how I'm going to die, but I couldn't change my destiny so I couldn't avoid my death, for example. 

To give you another example, I could see bad things which will happen to me and I don't prefer to know that in advance.

I hope you enjoyed my article and I can't wait to see what power you have chosen. 

Bye !

Today...


...some students from our Extra English Class are visiting the local law School.


I hope they will tell us about it when they come back!

Answer to the game!


This lovely wolf is a FENRIR!

In Norse mythology, it is a monstrous wolf.
It is the son of Loki and is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son Vidarr.

So, the second element was RAGNARÖK...

Because of Fenrir and Riggnarok, your fellow pupils on this blog.

See, that was easy! 

[The wolf was from Mr P.'s collection] 

Wednesday, 1 February 2017



No ideas for Carnival?


Come to the Costume Ideas workshop
(If you don’t have class)


Thurday  February 2nd   
from Noon to 1:00 pm 

in Room 123