A Remarkable 2014 Biography of a Political Giant and Liberal Spender: Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller

My previous discussion of remarkable biographies of John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa Catherine- published in 2014-  can be accessed by clicking here.

8. NELSON ROCKEFELLER IS ANOTHER 'LARGER THAN LIFE' FIGURE,  
who leveraged his legacy, his unlimited financial fortune, to rewrite dramatically  political information gathering protocol and left behind a monumental architectural accomplishment.

His life was one of using his vast fortune and influence for the sake of PUBLIC SERVICE.

I am indebted to Jeffrey Frank's article "Big Spender" which appeared in the Books section of the New Yorker last year. Here he reviewed Richard Norton Smith's "On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller" (Random House).

Nelson was the son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. the man who built Rockefeller Center and the grandson of John D. Rockefeller Sr. the founder of Standard Oil who was once the richest man in the world.

He thrust himself into government service in a big way with no strong family mentors and public service role models as had John Quincy Adams. It was thus natural for Nelson to use his vast fortune  to buy 'brain trusts' to advise him.

Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (on right)
with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger 1/3/75;
in 1956, Rocky created the Special Studies Project
 a major seven panel planning group directed by Kissinger

from Wikipedia

Though Eisenhower did not bestow upon him Cabinet rank for the new Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Nelson showed unflagging skills and unlimited energy as an under-secretary. Ike then shifted him over to the State Department in 1955 as a special assistant for cold war strategy. Here he surrounded himself with large numbers of paid assistants such as Henry Kissinger then a Harvard Professor and Edward Teller, the "father of the Hydrogen bomb."

At one point, Rockefeller had forty-seven (47) people on his staff. He was, in effect, running his own 'shadow' department of State which was a foil, though a weak one, to that of  John Foster Dulles, the Secretary of State. The latter commented rather understatedly and snidely  at the time that "there is growing evidence that  [Rockefeller] is going into business in a rather big way."

When he bested Averill Harriman, a scion of the wealthy railroad empire, in the election for Governor of New York State, Rockefeller continued his penchant for creating "large staffing" in the form of task forces. Smith writes that as the new governor, he "convened more than forty (40) study groups"- to consider various issues ranging from pilot safety, increasing milk consumption to the state's electric power consumption.

Smith enumerates his accomplishments; under his administration, the State University of New York grew from thirty-eight thousand students and twenty-nine schools to about a quarter of a million students on sixty-four campuses.

"The state added fifty-five state parks, more than a hundred hospitals and nursing homes, and two hundred water-treatment plants and undertook a billion-dollar highway construction program.
Health and welfare programs expanded and the new Department of Environmental Conservation, which predated the federal Environmental Protection Agency, took on such issues as vehicle emissions, mercury in waterways and pesticides." (Franks, p. 116) )

He served as Governor of New York State for four terms from 1959-1973.

Rocky accepted, with great reluctance, Ford's invitation to serve as his Vice President (1974-1977) after Nixon was forced to resign under the cloud of Watergate. In this position he lent stability and credibility to the office especially after the forced resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew (1969-1973) under Nixon.

He never made it to the White House because of his frequent wavering, perhaps betraying a certain ambivalence about serving in the high office. Frank says: "Rockefeller never had a realistic idea of what was required to be nominated, such as winning actual delegates." (116)

Aerial view of the Empire State Plaza, looking 

eastward to the Hudson River

from Wikipedia

Frank concludes his homage to Rockefeller by discussing the vast and exorbitant construction of the Empire State Plaza also known as the South Mall in Albany. Budgeted originally at $250 million, it wound up being built between 1959 and 1976 for an astounding $2 billion. It is described as "an outsized complex consisting of government buildings and and egg-shaped performing-arts center." (Frank, 118)

Perhaps, Nelson's obsession with his Albany project was his answer to his father's building Rockefeller Center in 1930 for the more modest sum of $250 million dollars.

Rockefeller had a way, unlike
John Quincy Adams, of relating warmly to the common man.

He had the heart and conviction of a liberal-- and the means, to fulfill his notable assertion: "if you don't have a good education and good health, then I feel society has let you down."

Kudos to the New Yorker and authors Smith and Frank for spotlighting a very public figure: a man, who despite his personal foibles his too public womanizing, used his enormous financial legacy for the betterment of his fellow man.

Stay tuned for more to come.

Notable Biographies of 2014 John Quncy Adams and his wife Louisa Catherine Adams

This blog is a continuation of my previous article on Notable Stories of 2014 Continuing to  Resonate into 2015

Two biographies were published in 2014 and both individuals-scions of famous families,  are noteworthy because they each built upon a 'rich' legacy, one political and other financial, to live lives of remarkable public achievements. I am indebted to the New Yorker Magazine for bringing these monumental figures to my attention.

7. The first figure is JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President of the United States, whose father John Adams was the second President and whose mother was Abigail Adams, a remarkable First Lady.

The Old House, Quincy Massachusetts 

Home to Four Generations of the Adams Family (1788-1927)
nationalparklover.com

It should be noted in passing that about 10 years ago, I spent a full day touring The Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts administered by National Park Service (NPS) of the U.S. Department of the Interior. To quote from the NPS brochure: "The fourteen acre park is comprised of the Birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams; the Old House home to four generations of the Adams family [from 1788-1927]; and the United Parish Church, final resting place of both presidents and first ladies Abigail and Louisa Catherine Adams." (emphasis mine)

Thomas Mellon of the New Yorker reviewed in depth biographies of both John Quincy and his wife Louisa. Fred Kaplan wrote "John Quincy Adams American Visionary" (Harper); Two new books focus on his wife Louisa: Margery M. Heffron's "Louisa Catherine: The Other Mrs. Adams" (Yale) and "A Traveled First Lady" (Harvard), which includes selections of her private writings.

I urge my reader to read the New Yorker article, entitled "Born To Do It."

John Quincy could have amounted to nothing as two of his sons did; one supposedly leapt to his death and the other son, an alcoholic, debt-ridden fellow, died five years later. However, Charles Francis, the youngest, was Lincoln's minister to Great Britain and the first of the Adams' family historians.

Though a rather stiff and icy and a man of "austere and forbidding manners," (according to Adams himself) John Quincy developed the polish and statecraft to become the nation's Minister to four foreign nations: the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain. While abroad, he participated in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent (1814), which brought to a close the War of 1812 with Britain.

(Little known is that at the age of 14, JQA accompanied the Minister to Russia Francis Dana who sought Catherine the Great's aid for the American cause.)

He then served as Secretary of State to our fourth President Jame Monroe; here he negotiated a treaty with Spain that annexed Florida and helped to formulate the Monroe Doctrine proclaiming the inviolability of the states comprising North and South America.

He went on to become our sixth President in 1824 though Andrew Jackson superseded Adams in both the popular and electoral votes. Adams accomplished his 'feat' when the election went to the House. Here, he made an historic alliance with Henry Clay who Adams elevated to his Secretary of State.

As president, Kaplan writes: "The administration's lack of spectacular achievement characterized its success. There were no wars or threats of war. If there had been, Adams would have been a formidable commander in chief. His calmness, rationality, analytic skills and administrative competence would have served his country well."

After leaving the White House, Adams served as Congressman from 1829-1848, a total of nine terms; here, he supported a national bank and a protective tariff.

Here in short is a remarkable and greatly underrated public servant building upon and exceeding in many respects the achievements of his father.

Louisa Catherine Adams, the First Lady played a very strong role in promoting her husband's career enduring his lengthy foreign travels and his White House aspirations. She hosted a party with over a thousand invitees honoring Andrew Jackson in advance of the historic 1824 election.

She endured a total of nine miscarriages!

JQA is to be remembered as an admired diplomat (perhaps the best ever), U.S Senator (1803-1808), Secretary of State, US President, Harvard Professor, orator, poet and scientist.

Here is a life of unmatched public service.

To be continued by the next biography. http://tinyurl.com/prusmf3

Notable Stories of 2014 that continue to resonate into 2015

1. DRONES ARE HERE TO STAY. They are being used more and more for military purposes such as pinpointing enemy targets with small missiles. In Yemen and Pakistan they have taken out purported terrorists. They are allowed for recreational purposes in the US so long as they fly below 400 feet. They are not allowed for commerce; this leaves out Amazon's grand plan to use them for delivering packages to out of the way places.
  Obama just updated our position on drone strikes with these comments made during his current trip to India. He said that our policy of drone strikes combined with governmental information sharing isn't a perfect situation, but is the best approach in a bad situation. "The alternative would be us to play whack-amole every time there is terrorist action inside of any given country."
   DRONEGATE is now emerging with a two foot drone landing on the White House Lawn while the President and Michelle were in Saudi Arabia.

2. CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST MALALA YOUSFAZI wins the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.  While defying a Taliban order forbidding female children's education (that is both teachers and students are banned), the then 14 year old has endured a serious shooting incident to her head as she was returning home from school. For more on this story see last years blog about her on Thirteen Top News Stories for 2013.

200 Nigerian girls are still missing 8 months later.

Associated Press

3. A COMPANION STORY TO THAT OF MALALA'S ACHIEVEMENT IS ONE PENNED BY CONNECTICUT WRITER SANDRA EAGLE: EDUCATION IS GREATEST THREAT TO TERRORISTS. This story is a must read. The Taliban has banked on depriving female children from getting an education and thus render them unable to "provide for their children." "In 2001, there were only 900.000 children in school in Afghanistan, and very few were girls. Today, more than 10.5 million children are in school in Afghanistan and 42% are girls." The goal of the GPE, the Global Partnership for Education, an international group of donors, is to get 29 million children into schools--in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as Afghanistan. Let these efforts be an initial antidote to the abduction and suffering of the 200 Nigerian girls captured and still held by the Boko Haram.

4. THE STAMFORD ADVOCATE TURNED 185 ON APRIL 8TH (ONCE CALLED THE STAMFORD INTELLIGENCER IN 1829). It closed down after a few months for lack of funds. It reopened as the Sentinel and has been publishing continuously since it first appeared on February 16, 1830.

5. THE HARTFORD COURANT TURNED 250 ON OCTOBER 29TH. IT IS THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER IN THE UNITED STATES. On Oct. 29, 1764, Thomas Green, a printer, started a newspaper he named the Connecticut Courant; he published weekly and in 1837 the newspaper came out daily.

6. CONNECTICUT IS TO BE RECEIVING $12.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS TO FURTHER ITS PLAN TO PROVIDE UNIVERSAL PRE-SCHOOL. This great news follows my blog earlier this year that the Connecticut General Assembly established the Office of Early Childhood. This news represents a great start in jump starting early education, especially for children in low-income communities. By the way, in New York City, Pre-K applications this year are up 36%.

To be continued.... Go to Notable Biographies published in 2014:  http://tinyurl.com/nd6wuth

Happy New Year 2015 To All: Health Happiness and Good Cheer

Upbeat Quote of the Day: Celebrating the life and legacy of Naturalist John Muir (1838-1914)

"The Power of the imagination makes us infinite."

John Muir, the naturalist and author died on this day, 

100 years ago on Dec. 24, 1914: (1838-1914)

John Muir Trail Collage

from wikipedia

Muir was a passionate conservationist who spearheaded the founding of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. There is a trail named after him that traverses over 200 miles in Southern California.

The Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Canadian border down the Sierras to Mexico (over 2500 miles in length)  joins up with the JMT in the Southern Sierras. The peaks are as high as 13,500 feet.

The Pacific Crest Trail in the

Ansel Adams Wilderness

with a view of the Ritter Range​

from wikipedia

My home in Paradise California,in the Northern Sierras (3,000 foot level), was about a 20 minute drive to the Pacific Crest Trail.

 The views from the trails, which I often traversed, are spectacular and definitely opened up and stimulated my imagination--- and obviously continue to do so---to infinite possibilities-- to a better world.......

Have a great day!

An intriguing novel about an American/Chinese double agent: A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin

Ha Jin author of A Map of Betrayal

In Ha Jin's latest novel (Jin, who teachers English  at Brandeis University, has won numerous book awards for his writings), he presents with convincing accuracy the life of a Chinese- born double agent, Gary Shang, working concurrently for the CIA, and for the Chinese Government's espionage arm.

He is a bigamist, who is torn between his allegiance to two wives and two countries: in the late 1940's, he married a country lady in northern  Shandong Province, fathered twins with her and then never saw her again.  He is recruited by the Chinese Communists to infiltrate the spy networks of the retreating Nationalists under Chiang Kai- Shek.

He is living with separation pains from his first family as his espionage takes him far away to Okinawa where he gains recognition as a translator of key Chinese documents for US intelligence.

He then settles in the US, marries his second wife and fathers a daughter, who is key to the novel. Here, as a Chinese mole, and then a naturalized citizen, he shows his mettle to the C.I.A as one of the best deciphers of Chinese intelligence.

He meets with his Chinese handler occasionally in Hong Kong passing along valuable information.

His intelligence is so vital to the Chinese that at one point Chairman Mao declares that Gary's work is equal in value to four armored divisions.

Jin alternates chapters of the chronological story of Gary's life with chapters in which his American born daughter, a college teacher of History, travels to China as an exchange Professor; here she
unravels the secretive life of her father as well as that of her siblings.

The novel is an intriguing fast read-- against a background that covers 30 years of Chinese American relations.

If you enjoy spy novels, this is one not to miss.

Kudos to Ha Jin.

Eric Pleskow, onetime holocaust refugee then Head of Orion Pictures and producer of many Academy Award winning films is interviewed at Stamford's Bartlett Arboretum

The Stamford Arboretum was packed with an audience of over 100 people to hear nonagenerian Eric Pleskow highlight his amazing career which saw him rise from a refugee of the Holocaust to head a top Hollywood motion picture studio. He was interviewed by his son Tony and daughter Michelle.

Eric Pleskow at the Stamford Arboretum
Sunday, December 14th

He described his escape from Vienna on the last train to depart just days before the Nazi Anschluss in 1938. At the border of Germany and France, Nazi officials pulled a Jewish family off the train only to physically mar them (including gouging out eyes) in front of Pleskow and others.

Once in New York, he attended George Washington High School in NYC's Washington Heights (at the same time as Henry Kissinger) without understanding a word of English.  He got an early break by working at a firm that was making documentary films. He enlisted in the Army and after the war he was assigned to Munich. Here, he was instrumental in opening up over 800 movie theaters in Germany to disseminate US films and propaganda.

Back in the States he rose very quickly at United Artists (UA) and became president in 1973. His studio won the Academy Award for best picture three years in a row (1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: 1976, Rocky: 1977, Annie Hall).  Cuckoo's Nest garnered five Academy Awards.

He left UA in 1978 to build up Orion Picture where he presided until 1992. Under his aegis, his successes included Amadeus, Dances with Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs.

Movie Posters of Pleskow's 

successful films 

He ascribes his success by always agreeing to do jobs that he knew might be beyond his grasp. He succeeded at these projects by teaching himself on- the- job skills needed to succeed.

Ironically, after being entreated over many years by a Viennese journalist to return to Vienna, Pleskow assumed the Presidency of the annual Viennese movie festival, the Viennale, beginning in 1998.

You will be able to watch the entire interview on the Jewish Broadcasting Network (formerly Shalom TV) as soon as they air it. (Check with them).  DVD copies will also be available at the Harry Rosenbaum JHS Judaica Library at the Stamford JCC in the near future.

Kudos to the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County and Selah, the Reconstructionist Synagogue, for this stimulating and excellent program.