When Lincoln took office, the main role of the federal government was to deliver mail. The government also conducted foreign policy, defended the frontier with a small army, and collected import duties, but primarily, Washington was a post office. By the end of the Civil War, the government supported an army of a million men, carried a national debt of $2.5 billion, distributed public lands, printed a national currency, and collected an array of internal taxes. (p. 302) David Goldfield’s brilliant history of the Civil War is the best one-volume analysis of our tragic conflict that I’ve ever read. Goldfield shows how the build-up to the Civil War happened. He details the major events of the Civil War without getting bogged down in just a litany of battles (although his vivid descriptions of the carnage will cause your stomach to churn). There’s no sugar-coating of what war is like here.

Goldfield’s presentation of post-Civil War America is also graphic. Here’s how our ancestors dealt with Indians:
Some 30 or 40 squaws and children were hiding in a hole for protection. They sent out a little girl six years old with a white flag on a stick. She was shot and killed, all the others in the the hole were killed…I saw quite a number of infants in arms killed along with their mothers. (p. 447) This was a brutal time in our history. America Aflame is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read. GRADE: A

MAD MEN starts its sixth season tonight with a 2-hour opening episode (9 P.M. EDT on AMC, check your local listings for times in your area). Although I’m not fond of the soap opera aspects of MAD MEN, I find myself fascinated by the characters and the plots. Advertising is a shady business (basically telling lies) so having so many flawed characters spinning their stories just adds to the drama. I’m amazed MAD MEN has been able to keep their talented cast together for so many years. The series ends next year and I’m already missing it.

John Beilein, coach of Michigan’s men’s basketball team, is a local guy. Beilein grew up and played high school basketball in Newfane (a tiny town about 20 miles from my house). Beilein coached at my College before he got his chance at a Division 1 job at Canisius College in Buffalo. Then, it was off to West Virginia and then to Michigan. John Beilein has the support of Western NY basketball fans, but I don’t think that will be enough for the Wolverines to upset Syracuse. Syracuse is peaking at exactly the right time. I’m picking them to play in the Championship game Monday night against Louisville. Who are you picking?

Ed Gorman, wonderful writer and fellow FFBer, is presently being treated at the Mayo Clinic. You can leave your well-wishes for Ed by going here and following the instructions. The March 2013 issue of Mystery Scene magazine has Ed Gorman’s “My 10 Favorite John D. MacDonald Standalone Novels.” I thought I might honor Ed by reviewing Ed’s JDM picks for the next ten FFBs. Here is Ed’s list:
1. Dead Low Tide
2. Soft Touch
3. Deadly Welcome
4. Murder in the Wind
5. The Executioners
6. Slam the Big Door
7. The End of the Night
8. A Key to the Suite
9. A Flash of Green
10. The Drowner

As I’m sure you figured out, I’ll be reviewing these novels in countdown order. So, let’s start with Number 10: The Drowner from 1963. Lucille Hanson, separated from an unfaithful husband, has a $106,000 secret. When Lucille’s body shows up floating off the Florida coast, her death attracts private investigator Paul Stanial. Stanial suspects Lucille’s drowning wasn’t an accident but murder. John D. MacDonald presents a satisfying story of double-dealing and deception.

John Kenny’s entertaining novel will appeal to fans of MAD MEN. Finbar Dolan, the narrator of True in Advertising, works for a major ad agency. One of their clients, Snugglies Diapers, wants to run a commercial during the Super Bowl. But, Finbar and his team, have only a short time to Make It Happen with Christmas looming. Kenny captures the manic energy of advertising and the zaniness of the commercials. I was less interested in Finbar’s dysfunctional relationships and his dying father. Kenny’s background in advertising brings plenty of Real World experience to what actually goes on behind the cameras. Check out what Kenny has to say about his novel below. GRADE: B

The past couple months I’ve been plagued with cracked and chipped fingernails. Whether it was caused by the long, cold, dismal winter or my attempt to shed a few pounds by changing my diet, the result was annoyingly thin and weak fingernails. I checked the Mayo Clinic website and discovered that taking daily supplements of biotin could produce stronger fingernails. So I bought a bottle of biotin and popped a capsule daily. Within a week, I noticed the difference. My fingernails were stronger. They weren’t chipping or cracking any more. If you have weak fingernails, give biotin a try! It worked for me.

Bill Crider quipped that Olympus Has Fallen was “Die Hard in the White House.” Exactly! Terrorists take over the White House and only former Secret Service agent Mike Banning (played by Gerard Butler) can stop them. The cat-and-mouse games between the terrorists and Butler are suspenseful. And I was surprised that Gerard Butler was a convincing action-movie hero. I hope Butler does more of these kinds of movies. If you’re looking for an above average action movie, Olympus Has Fallen fits the bill. GRADE: A-

BBC America presents the first of eight new DOCTOR WHO episodes starting tonight. Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman return in this part of Season Seven to explore their relationship as Companion and the 11th Doctor Who. Also, check out the photo of Peter Jackson and his Doctor Who prop collection below.