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Rating: 
Summary: Many Forces Culminate in Powerful "Feather"
Review: As a resident of Los Angeles, I purchased THE FORCE OF A FEATHER anticipating a biography of Biddy Mason, one of this city's early important religious/cultural figures. Before finishing the introduction, entitled "Coming to the Wall," I sensed that this book would be something else, itself quite apart from a standard biography. A meticulously researched work (along with vibrant illustrations), author Demaratus has managed to unearth the stories of some little known (and a few famous) Americans -- including Biddy Mason -- whose lives, by the mere forces of chance and fate, were to intersect during one of the most dramatic and fascinating periods of U.S. history (the years of Westward expansion leading up to the Civil War). Lives of free people and slaves, white and black, all of whom stood on the threshold of a defining historical moment, confronting hardship, brutality, adventure, loss and the fierce inevitability of change. Biddy Mason was an astonishing woman by any measurement and the force of her life would resonate farther than she could have ever imagined. And this is exactly where this unique book makes a precarious, yet carefully and perfectly pitched, departure. For it is the author's own story -- her own inspiration to write and her arduous process to complete this work -- that is woven into the narrative, breathing both immediacy and an extraordinary sense of intimacy into "a search for a lost story of slavery and freedom." It's a daring literary choice, and one that I found to be both moving and gratifying. It occurred to me more than once, while reading this book, that the progressive, embracing, non-judgmental style of the author might be a source of complaint for some. But Demaratus seems too respectful of her subjects to draw conclusions without fact, and is content on occasion -- and asks the reader as well -- to ponder what "might have been." As for the risks she took to tell this story, as well as her willingness to question her own conflicted personal beliefs, it only deepened my impression of this book as well as my sense for the author's integrity. As for the other posted review, I can only surmise that the critic wanted Demaratus to write a different book that she did. But I don't think it is the critic's job to tell the artist what to create - only to assess and analyze what has been created. If the reviewer simply wants a biography of Mason, then I suggest the critic turn writer and get busy constructing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Beg to differ...
Review: As both a professional librarian and practicing historian and biographer, I understand the sentiments of reviewers expecting one sort of book but unexpectedly finding another. Personally I am delighted that an author finally has the gumption to meaningfully address their role and biases toward their subject. There is no sanctimonius false objectivity here. The author is subjective and tells you so, yet it is one of the fairest books I have read. While readers who expect fact will find it in Demaratus's book, this more accurately described as a biography of emotions. It is a book about every character confronting themselves over an intensely emotional subject. Compare, for instance, the stories she includes of her experiences with Brenda and the man she calls Sam C. Ultimately, that theme binds together what otherwise could be an important but intensely impersonal narrative. Demaratus suceeds, in my opinion, in treating life--with its chance, missed opportunities, short-sightedness, and subjectivity--historically. This is tough. Slaves typically left little documentary material of their own and the case of Biddy Mason is no exception, so like Ladurie's "Montaillou" the author approaches her subject from a tangential documentary angle; in this case based upon material specifically for and about Biddy's owner, Robert Smith. I found one of the book's greatest strengths to be the author's acknowledgement of how this habeus corpus case affected not merely the plaintiff and defendant, but also the judge and herself. This book not only lays out but also wrestles with the first-hand issue of slavery: what was it like to be owned, and how did ownership affect people on both sides? I was not bothered by the "what ifs" because she stated them clearly and hung to the facts and sources well (and yes, I did check notes). The result is a book that is interesting without sacrificing academic integrity, emotional without being maudlin, and anything but stuffy. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Beg to differ...
Review: As both a professional librarian and practicing historian and biographer, I understand the sentiments of reviewers expecting one sort of book but unexpectedly finding another. Personally I am delighted that an author finally has the gumption to meaningfully address their role and biases toward their subject. There is no sanctimonius false objectivity here. The author is subjective and tells you so, yet it is one of the fairest books I have read. While readers who expect fact will find it in Demaratus's book, this more accurately described as a biography of emotions. It is a book about every character confronting themselves over an intensely emotional subject. Compare, for instance, the stories she includes of her experiences with Brenda and the man she calls Sam C. Ultimately, that theme binds together what otherwise could be an important but intensely impersonal narrative. Demaratus suceeds, in my opinion, in treating life--with its chance, missed opportunities, short-sightedness, and subjectivity--historically. This is tough. Slaves typically left little documentary material of their own and the case of Biddy Mason is no exception, so like Ladurie's "Montaillou" the author approaches her subject from a tangential documentary angle; in this case based upon material specifically for and about Biddy's owner, Robert Smith. I found one of the book's greatest strengths to be the author's acknowledgement of how this habeus corpus case affected not merely the plaintiff and defendant, but also the judge and herself. This book not only lays out but also wrestles with the first-hand issue of slavery: what was it like to be owned, and how did ownership affect people on both sides? I was not bothered by the "what ifs" because she stated them clearly and hung to the facts and sources well (and yes, I did check notes). The result is a book that is interesting without sacrificing academic integrity, emotional without being maudlin, and anything but stuffy. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: "The Force of a Feather"
Review: DeEtta Demaratus has taken the lives of five people--Biddy, Hannah, Robert, Rebecca and Benjamin--interwoven by circumstances and events during a time far removed from that of people today and has given life to each in a most refreshing manner. You are presented with not only a historical masterpiece, but a moving narrative of events that changed each life forever. I was immediately captivated by the authors ability to fairly treat each of the characters; especially since the issues involved were given to volatile possibilities in interpretation. Apparently, she chose to be impartial yet totally candid in her treatment of each. In order to have a well rounded narrative of "the search for a lost story of slavery and freedom", each life involved was given its place in this cause and effect chronicle. It was obviously vital for the characters involved to take his place and be counted and held accountable for his part in this gripping narrative. Ms. Demaratus deserves accolades for her beautiful portrayal of justice triumphing even in the most unlikely of circumstances!!
Kudos for a job well done!!
Rating:
Summary: In Pursuit of Ghosts
Review: I also found the book enjoyable and rewarding. For those expecting a traditional history or biography, the style is a little jarring at first. It is the first time I've seen a dual narrative applied to a biography, but the reasons behind it justify it and make it more natural than it at first appears. It reminds me of one of my other favorites "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig, which is the autobiography of a madman, switching with a critique of western philosophy. The dual narratives enrich each other like a good marriage, making a whole, which is better than the sum of its parts. Because this book isn't just about Biddy Mason, and was never intended to be. Its about the author and Biddy Mason, a person pursuing and dealing with centuries old ghosts, and the emotions they still have the power to evoke. It is the sausage factory of how histories are actually written. I think in many ways the heart of the book, is less about Biddy Mason, than in the brief confrontation between Demaratus and the staid archivist she meets while searching for some files. He is writing a military history, and brushes her off when she says she is writing a social history. She understands something that he does not, which is that history is the most personal, romantic, and human of all the sciences. Human events cannot be understood clearly apart from the human beings involved with them and why they decided to do one thing rather than another, whether it is Robert E. Lee inexplicably sending Pickett's brigade across a mile of open ground into the withering fire of the Union army at Gettysburg, or Truman's lonely decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, or Neanderthals burying their dead with flowers. Human history is not events. Human history is the human heart and events. Having said that, it would have been interesting at the end to know if the author had resolved her issues with black folks, or merely found more mysteries. Chris Garcia
Rating:
Summary: In Pursuit of Ghosts
Review: I also found the book enjoyable and rewarding. For those expecting a traditional history or biography, the style is a little jarring at first. It is the first time I've seen a dual narrative applied to a biography, but the reasons behind it justify it and make it more natural than it at first appears. It reminds me of one of my other favorites "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig, which is the autobiography of a madman, switching with a critique of western philosophy. The dual narratives enrich each other like a good marriage, making a whole, which is better than the sum of its parts. Because this book isn't just about Biddy Mason, and was never intended to be. Its about the author and Biddy Mason, a person pursuing and dealing with centuries old ghosts, and the emotions they still have the power to evoke. It is the sausage factory of how histories are actually written. I think in many ways the heart of the book, is less about Biddy Mason, than in the brief confrontation between Demaratus and the staid archivist she meets while searching for some files. He is writing a military history, and brushes her off when she says she is writing a social history. She understands something that he does not, which is that history is the most personal, romantic, and human of all the sciences. Human events cannot be understood clearly apart from the human beings involved with them and why they decided to do one thing rather than another, whether it is Robert E. Lee inexplicably sending Pickett's brigade across a mile of open ground into the withering fire of the Union army at Gettysburg, or Truman's lonely decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, or Neanderthals burying their dead with flowers. Human history is not events. Human history is the human heart and events. Having said that, it would have been interesting at the end to know if the author had resolved her issues with black folks, or merely found more mysteries. Chris Garcia
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: This is a very thought provoking book for anyone interested in southern history and especially for us with a genealogical interest of our "Deep Southern Roots". Since my husband descends from Robert Mays Smith, the book is a necessity in my "Genealogy Library"!
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: This is a very thought provoking book for anyone interested in southern history and especially for us with a genealogical interest of our "Deep Southern Roots". Since my husband descends from Robert Mays Smith, the book is a necessity in my "Genealogy Library"!
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