Book Description
Who in Bethlehem could guess that their tiny, obscure village, populated by shepherds, would become the hinge upon which all history turns…and the focus of a terrifying rampage? Sixth Covenant is the conclusion of the three-book Nativity story within the A.D. Chronicles series. Sixth Covenant chronicles Mary, Yosef, and baby Yeshua in the first months of his life in Bethlehem. From the shepherd’s visit to the escape to Egypt to the Bethlehem babies who gave their life for Jesus, discover the most critical events in the history of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Better Then the Last Entry.......2007-07-24
The Messiah has come! After the angels visit, the entire village of Bethlehem is buzzing about His long awaited arrival. Rachel and Zadok are honored to have been such a big part of His arrival and lead the village in making Mary, Josef, and baby Yeshua feel right at home.
Meanwhile, a growing caravan of travelers is coming to pay homage to Yeshua. Crossing the wilderness, they face many dangers from the land and marauders as they approach their destination. And they continue to watch the sky as the signs continue to unfold.
Unfortunately for all, King Herod is still as paranoid as ever. He wants any sign of rebellion crushed immediately, and the news of the arrival of Messiah will mean bad news to all concerned. Can the arrival of Yeshua be kept a secret from the mad king? If he does find out, what will the consequences be?
After reading the last book in the series, I guessed at the general outline of this one, and I was right. Anyone familiar with the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus will find no surprises in the story. Yet the characters were rich enough that the book was able to draw me in most of the time. The lessons on the meanings of Jewish law and how that ties into Jesus' birth were kept shorter this time then the last book, which really help. And, even though I knew what was coming, the ending still gripped and moved me.
Interestingly, there was no mention of any of the characters from the first few books of the series. While the visit to Jesus' birth was interesting, I hope we get back to them in the next entry in the series.
Book Description
"Enthralling...As fascinating as any novel and more so than most!"
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia, unfolds the magnificent story of Peter the Great. He brought Russia from the darkness of its own Middle Ages into the Enlightenment and transformed it into the power that has its legacy in the Russia of our own century.
Customer Reviews:
Detailed insights into the life of Peter the Great.......2007-09-22
This is a rich, detailed examination of the life of Peter the Great. One almost gets a sense that his was a life characterized by ADHD--but with enough ability and imagination and focus that the almost out of control energy worked to his homeland's benefit.
This book examines in considerable depth the arc of his life, from childhood and the dangers that he faced, to his play warrior simulations, to his journey abroad, to his desire to reshape Russia as a more modern nation. Well told is his zeal to create a Russian navy that would be a force. From his childhood on, he was fascinated with this thought. The book recalls how his childhood imaginings developed until, indeed, he had developed a navy that was able to project Russian power.
His learning to be a soldier is also told well. He had ups and downs as a military leader. Part III of the book details dreadful losses and an ultimate triumph over the Swedish forces at Poltava.
Then there is his desire to create a new capital city, a city to be the envy of the world. The book outlines the many struggles and challenges in the creation of St. Petersburg.
The reader will feel almost exhausted by the end, as a result of the great ambitions, the enormous energy, the prodigious accomplishments of Peter the Great. The book balances well his failures with his triumphs and provides a nuanced view of this important historical figure.
Very enjoyable biography.......2007-09-12
I've just finished reading this book in 2 weeks - mainly when i'm commuting to and from work. There's very little i can add to the positive reviews. This is one biography that reads like an action-packed novel. Here's what i enjoy most about this book:
1. It's written in a very engaging manner. I breezed through all 900pages of the story not wanting to stop. Having read some shorter historical biographies where my interest ran out less than halfway through the book, this really says a lot about this book and its author. Robert Massie had stucked to the facts and yet narrated them in a way that was never boring.
2. You not only learn about Peter the great as a person - warts and all, you also get to know many luminaries of early 18th century Europe. E.g. the warrior-like King Charles XII of Sweden (Peter's archrival of the Great Northern War), William of Orange, King George I just to name a few. The narratives on these person are threaded together as part of Peter's life story and are no less interesting than that about Peter himself.
3. One gets a feel of what life was like in Europe at that time because the author described in detail the various places that Peter lived in, e.g. his beloved St Petersburg, Paris which Peter visited during his second grand tour of Europe, London/Amsterdam which Peter visited in his first grand tour.
After finishing the book you feel that you've learnt a great deal about Peter (the Tsar and person) as well as the stage (Europe from late 1600s to 1720s) on which he performed. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history.
An outstanding account of an astounding monarch.......2007-07-27
If it were a novel, Peter the Great's roller-coaster life would seem wildly implausible. As a small child he was seized and terrorized in a Kremlin revolt, with many trusted state councilors hunted down and murdered before his eyes. As the teenage Tsar of an almost landlocked country, he fell wildly in love with boats, rivers and the sea, and made it his adult policy to obtain a Baltic port and build a first class Russian navy. (His early tiny sail boat was later saluted by its "grandchildren", a magnificent Russian Baltic fleet.) Raised to be an isolated autocrat, he rejected pomp and enthusiastically toured Europe incognito, visiting and questioning people of all ranks, in all trades, and learning to be a shipyard worker. Leader of a backward, inward-looking country, he enthusiastically adopted change and almost single-handedly transformed Russia into an outward-looking European power. Seeking to build a navy, he endured a twenty year war with Sweden under its military genius Charles XII, culminating with the defeat of an invading Swedish army deep in the Ukraine. And there is much, much more...
Massie does not assume any prior knowledge of Peter's times and he carefully and skillfully introduces the rulers and the national policies of key powers such as France, Hanover and Turkey. Particular attention is paid to Peter's arch-rival Charles XII of Sweden, who was an astounding and enigmatic figure in his own right.
This is a lot of material to cover, even in 850 pages, but Massie moves along briskly and keeps it exceptionally lively and interesting throughout.
A True Enlightened Despot.......2007-03-26
This is a wonderfully written biography of Peter the Great. It goes deeply into the many challenges that Peter faced in his rise to power. It then looks at Peter's lifelong efforts to drag Russia from its political/economic/cultural slumber into the 18th century. No easy feat -not even for an autocrat who was never hesitant to break skulls to achieve what he wanted (as illustrated by the building of Peter's beloved "Window on the West"). Neverthless, Peter did transform Russia into a major European (and Central Asian) player and I think that Massie covers this nicely. Massie takes care to balance out Peter's ruthlessness with his devotion to modernize Russia. At the same time, he takes care not to judge Peter's brand of goverance with 21st century notions of human rights.
The best of the Romanovs.......2007-02-16
I read this book about a year ago, and in the year since i have read about 20 or so other historical biographies, and i can say without a doubt this is by far the best of the bunch. From the stories of the Peter's drunken debauches, to his trials as a dentist on his subjects, to the transformation of Russia from a backward backwater ready to be picked apart by the rest of Europe to a first class power. Whether Massie has one of the most fascinating figures in all history to work with or he's just an amazing writer, either way this book is one of the if not the best biography I have ever read, and certianly the most entertaining.
Book Description
As 25 year old Berengaria of Navarre journeys on a ship bound for Sicily, little does she know what adventures and trials lie before her. She must face an indifferent husband, a domineering mother-in-law and the turbulent political climate of twelfth-century Europe. Will she find happiness amid such tribulations?
Customer Reviews:
A Place in History.......2007-03-15
I really enjoyed this book. I was curious about someone whom I may have heard mention about, but knew nothing except that she had been Richard I's wife. I knew a lot about him so I was interested. What I like about this book, compared to so many other historical fiction novels, is the lack of rediculous, embarrasing sexual descriptions. Also, the main character is not a super-woman, but someone who seems very real and good. She was someone I could relate to as opposed to a sexual goddess type that you usually find in these sorts of books. The historical information is extremely well-researched and presented in an interesting way. The characters are well-developed and likeable.
Politically Correct Equals "Boring".......2006-12-05
I love the story of Berengaria but have had a hard time finding out about her life after Richard. Therefore, I was very happy to find this book.
Unfortunately, the author is so preoccupied with not writing about any scandal that the book just becomes boring. For example,
Richard is portrayed as a man who likes men and women equally. But for some reason, he finds it very difficult to bed his wife.
His first betrothed Alice is mentioned in passing -- no mention of her affair with his father.
There is no explanation of the animosity between Philip the King of France and Richard. Nothing about their relationship.
Not only those scandals/rumors are missing but also some of the most exciting parts of the crusade! No mention is made of Richard's massacre of the Saracens! The crusade comes off as a very boring war.
I can't comment on the second half of the book about Berengaria after Richard since I know so little about her. But, if the first half is any indication, I will need to read a different book to get an idea of what kind of woman she really was.
A Masterful Historical Novel.......2006-11-09
Richard I of England's charisma reaches out and grabs us 800 years later. He is the epitome of the chivalrous medieval knight. But Richard's behavior toward his wife, Queen Berengaria, reveals a cold, callus aspect of his personality.
From casual reading I have noticed that many accounts of Richard's life mention that he married Berengaria, daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre on May 12, 1191 in Cyprus. However, some biographers do not mention the marriage at all! Many state that the marriage was never consummated. Aside from the marriage, Berengaria is rarely mentioned in connection with Richard.
With this meager knowledge, I was eager to read Queen Without a County. Who was this woman? Why did she have such a weird name? What became of her after her marriage?
Rachel Bard has done a masterful job with this difficult subject. Facts are scarce. But she sticks to those at her disposal. There is a love interest Bard admits may not have occurred. But she believes the little evidence available indicates that it might have happened.
Because of the lack of information, to do justice to the subject, Bard was compelled to write a novel, not a history. Using her imagination in conjunction with the facts, she creates a warm, injured, patient woman who overcomes incredible obstacles. Bard's Berengaria is not a 21st century woman wearing long dresses and strange headgear. Berengaria is woman of the Middle Ages. She has medieval interests: doing embroidery; copying manuscripts from Arabic into Latin; building a monastery. Berengaria has medieval morals (e.g., she worries about when to cover her hair) and a medieval concept of herself as a woman.
A 21st century woman would not put up with kind of abuse to which Berengaria was subjected. Berengaria patiently put up with it for years and blamed herself as much as Richard.
Most historians seem to agree that Richard was at fault for Berengaria's problems. Some believe Richard was a womanizer and that no single woman could hold his interest. Most writers, however, seem to believe that Richard was gay. He was simply not sexually interested in his beautiful wife. Because Richard was not interested in her, it seems that the rest of his world scarcely gave her a glance. Because of that, history is not interested in her. The different perspective on Richard Lionheart will intrigue those interested in this period.
Berengaria Bares All ~ or ~ I'll Navarre Go Hungry Again.......2002-12-26
The author Bard (aptly named!) has crafted an ingenious combination of historic fact and valid conjecture into a novel that tells the story of an important and practically forgotten Basque woman. Thanks to Bard's efforts, Berengaria has escaped being a figure lost in history, and has risen out of the mists of obsolescence into the light of historic fiction.
Berengaria deserves this study. Her husband, Richard the Lionhearted, is certainly well known. Yet virtually nothing is known about his wife, nor the country she came from. How many of us can say they feel well-informed about Navarre and/or the Basques? And of those of you that have raised your hand, how many of you can say you know anything about Berengaria? If your hand isn't still up, buy and read this book. Even if your hand is up, do the same.
Well done, bard Bard! What's next? I can't wait!
This book will surprise you!.......2002-12-19
I can only honestly judge a book once I've finished it. And this one is a winner. There are no unfinished storylines nor unresolved issues in this story. Bard did her research well, and managed to bring history alive. The author was apt at weaving a particularly intriguing story among a myriad of historical facts. Most important of all, the writing is clean, her words very well chosen. For me, the topper was the sense of humor in the writing.Example:"Fortunately the city looked calm. No arrows were flying over the walls." Hmmm, READ THIS BOOK YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Customer Reviews:
A great bio of one of the last great queens.......2006-06-23
I recently re-read Hannah Pakula's spectacular bio of the British princess Marie who became the iconic queen of Roumania and I enjoyed it even more than I did twenty years ago when I first read it. Queen Marie exemplified what was best about royalty, a woman who through her training at the hands of her mother (who was daughter of the Tsar) learned to put the needs of her people before her own happiness. Marie overcame the sorrows of a difficult marriage, the scandals of her own indiscretions, and the loneliness of being a foreign princess in an exotic land, to be the inspiration and advocate the Roumanian people needed in the dark days of WWI and its aftermath. One is thrilled to become acquainted with a woman who was intelligent, cultured, sophisticated, an international beauty, a writer, full of passion and integrity. I highly recommend this book as one that is worth having in any private collection of royal biographies.
Book Description
Great Harry is dead, and England is ruled by a dour Protector for 10-year-old Edward VI¿-a Protector intent on keeping total control over the young king and no friend to Lady Elizabeth because of her brother¿s fondness for her. In the great lens and the dark pool that hold Visions for the FarSeers of the Bright Court and the Dark, the images change and waver. A pale, thin girl sometimes wears a crown and sometimes has no head; King Edward and his Court grow misty as he changes from boy to stripling. But the fires of Mary¿s reign still burn bright as they swallow writhing men, women, and children, and if she ever reigns the red-haired queen brings a burgeoning of art and joy. Elimination of that last possibility for England is Vidal Dhu¿s prime purpose, but he has been forbidden by King Oberon to attack Elizabeth. Though he may not attack her directly, still he hatches schemes within schemes. And if his plan to involve the young princess in a scandal that would render her unfit to rule in the opinion of the Proctor and his Council, he has more twisted plans to eliminate Elizabeth once and for all.
Customer Reviews:
After the Death of Henry VIII.......2007-06-04
By Slanderous Tongues (2007) is the third historical Fantasy in the Scepter'd Isle series, following Ill Met by Moonlight. In the previous volume, Henry VIII died and his death announcement was delayed for two days while Hertford arranged for Edward's crowning. Now Edward has become the King, but actual control lies with Hertford and the Regency Council.
Vidal Dhu learned that Elizabeth had been taken to an Unformed Land near the Unseleighe Lands and he attacked the party. Denoriel held off Vidal, but was losing Power when Oberon appeared and stopped the fighting. Elizabeth irritated Oberon by claiming Denoriel as her own, but Titania appeared and interrupted that conflict. Everybody fled while the Rulers of the sidhe settled their differences.
In this novel, as England mourns for their king, his children are uncertain without his presence. Ten year old Edward is now king and has been taken under the protection of his maternal uncle Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford. Mary is now an adult and has her own household. But no one seems to care about fourteen year old Elizabeth. Since her infancy, the King has directed her living arrangements. Now that Henry is gone, she wonders who will take charge of her life.
Her good friend Lord Denno -- Denoriel -- enlists the aid of the Dowager Queen to provide a place for Elizabeth. Catherine eagerly accepts the chance to do something meaningful and asks for permission from the Council to take the youngster into her household. The Council agrees and Catherine invites Elizabeth to live with her.
Denoriel has been Elizabeth's friend for a long time -- in mortal terms -- and is now having lascivious thoughts about her. Since he believes that she would never think of him in a lustful manner, Denoriel tries somewhat unsuccessfully to school his thoughts. Little does he know that Elizabeth is having the same problem about him.
Lady Alana -- Aleneil -- keeps watch over Elizabeth as one of her maids of honor. So does Blanche Parry, a mortal with some ability to sense magic. Both are necessary, because Prince Vidal Dhu of the Dark Sidhe still wants to kill Elizabeth. Even though Oberon has forbidden him, or any other Dark Sidhe, to directly attack the child, Vidal knows that Elizabeth's succession to the throne would lead to a wanting time for the Dark Court.
Rhoslyn -- half-sister to Denoriel and Aleneil -- performs a similar service for Vidal among Lady Mary's household. Yet Rhoslyn is becoming ever more dissatisfied with the Dark Court. Contrary to what she had been told, Rhoslyn has found that the energy that feeds the Bright Court can also sustain her. But she doubts that her brother Pasgen would leave the Dark Court with her, so she continues to follow Vidal's orders, if not quite as he would have preferred.
Pasgen discovers that the mists in one area of the Chaos Lands have developed sentience. Apparently the mists were awakened by Elizabeth's request for assistance and then provided a lion to attack her enemies. Now these mists are inhabited by vaguely humanoid shapes: one with red hair like Elizabeth and the other with gold hair like Denoriel. The mists welcome Pasgen and even solicit his return, but he is afraid of their potential.
Harry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, finds a calling in Underhill. The Sidhe domains of Alhambra and El Dorado have been cursed by the Spanish Inquisition and are now infested with the Great Evil and minor malignities. He has been enticing older Sidhe back from the Dreaming to fight against these malevolent forces.
In this story, Denoriel meets Thomas Seymour in Queen Catherine's home and notes that the man is very welcome there. Yet Thomas is a man of lusty desires and selfish concerns. He wants to marry either Elizabeth or Mary to gain political power. Mary has little use for him, but Elizabeth is too naive (and devoted to Catherine) to plainly state her objections to his unwelcome attentions.
Vidal nurtures various plots to increase hostilities in the British Isles and to remove Elizabeth from the succession. He urges the Scots to continue their raids across the border and to repel offers for political settlements. He also encourages the followers of the old religion to instigate slanders against Elizabeth.
Denoriel is kept busy defending himself from personal attacks and trying to protect Elizabeth from political ploys. Even Rhoslyn and Pasgen become involved in defending Elizabeth and Denoriel. Their efforts lead to Denoriel becoming less averse to peaceful relations with his Dark Court siblings.
This story continues the fantastic explanations of English history leading up to the Elizabethan Age. Of course, all the magical effects are hidden from history, but much happens beyond mortal kenning! This volume leaves plenty of unexplored history for sequels.
Highly recommended for Lackey and Gellis fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical adventures, Unseleighe plotting and Underhill romances.
-Arthur W. Jordin
By Slanderous Tongues.......2007-06-02
As ever, Mercedes Lackey always entertaining. This is a fun series and am looking forward to the next.
Okay, but starting to get ridiculous.......2007-02-12
I really liked this series when it started out, since I was fans of Lackey's Serrated Edge series and I also like historical fiction with twists. The Guardian Sidhe plot line combined with the era of the Tudors seemed like an excellent idea. However, sorry to say, the believability of the novels seem to have gone downhill since This Sceptr'd Isle. In Isle and in Ill Met By Moonlight, Denoriel and Aleniel are presented as trusted friends, protectors, and advisors. Denoriel, especially, is shown to be a father-figure to both Harry and Elizabeth. Makes sense, since he is after all, centuries older, wiser, and is possessed of the Sidhe's love for children.
Which is why I was shocked when Lackey and Gellis decided to present him as Elizabeth's lover, of all things. To me, this just doesn't work. It's absurd to have a man, or elf if you prefer, go from raising a child to suddenly seeing that same child as a potential love interest. Yes, I know Denoriel is unbelievably hot and sexy, but STILL. And the reasoning given, that in order to protect Elizabeth from being attracted to Thomas Seymour, she needs another lover to distract her, and Denoriel is conveniently available and can't get her pregnant, plus she has stirrings of puppy-love for him . . .no this is just ridiculous. They would have done better to go with the original historical line that Elizabeth disliked Thomas Seymour since she saw him only as a stepfather, with Denoriel protecting her the way a father or brother would have. The teenage Elizabeth, from all the biographies, was not the type to have casual affairs with men at ANY age, she valued her autonomy too greatly and she knew that once a man gets a woman in bed, back then it was seen as a powerplay, which was why she always avoided such things. Also she hated marriage because of the dangers it presented to a woman, witness her mother and Henry VIII, because it gave total control to the man. Saying she would never marry because she could have her Sidhe lover and thus never miss out on sex or have to worry about commitment doesn't fit the image of Elizabeth that I know. And what about Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's great unrequited love? He barely gets a mention, Elizabeth is so preoccupied with Denno. Unless they're going to bring him up in the next book and say that the reason Elizabeth was able to resist him for so many years was because she loved Denoriel. Spare me! All in all the whole Elizabeth-Denno affair seemed tawdry and cheap to me instead of tender and loving. It would have made better sense for him to have fallen in love with Elizabeth once she was queen and Dudley had married her cousin Lettice, then she would have been looking at him as a woman who has known love and loss, not as a starry-eyed adolescent. I felt it also diminished the very real danger Seymour's advances caused her reputation, since there was no chance she might respond to them and jeopardize herself, the way there was in actual history. It would have been better if there HAD been a chance, then the book would have had some tension and Denoriel would have been tested as to how he could protect his charge without revealing himself and the whole scene of questioning at the end would have been a lot more dramatic. Yes, i know this is alternative history, but I think Lackey did a much better job with her other series, alternate Venice in Shadow of the Lion and This Rough Magic.
excellent Elizabethan historical fantasy .......2007-02-07
The prophecy is clear that Princess Elizabeth will eventually sit on the throne bringing an enlightened period to the mortals. The fairy realm remains divided as it has for several years over the now fourteen year old offspring of the late King Henry VIII who is being hounded eternally by a gaggle of executed spouses. The dark Unseleighe Sidhe Prince Vidal Dhu believes that preventing Elizabeth's ascension will mean a return to their glorious Dark Ages filled with horror and misdeeds that fueled these malevolent elves.
However, to achieve his side's darkest objective of insuring Elizabeth's fall from grace, they must remove preferably by death her overly protective guardians, the traitorous Seleighe twin elves, Lord Denoriel and Lady Aleneil. Dhu assigns the elimination of the Princess' protectors to twins Rhoslyn and Pasgen; if anyone can get at Denoriel and Aleneil it is their Dark elven half-siblings. With them removed from the scene the prophecy will fail as Elizabeth will surely find a spouse or some way to alienate her half-siblings the recently crowned boy King Edward VI and the heir their older half sister Princess Mary.
The third Scepter'd Isle Elizabethan historical fantasy (see ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT and THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE) is an excellent blending of mid sixteenth century English royal history and a fantasy thriller. The stakes are high as the rival elven groups battle not only for their future but that of the humans. The key players from the mortal and paranormal realms seem genuine including the target Princess Elizabeth due to the mixing of real events and known facts of her young teen years into the story line. Fans will cherish this top quality collaboration between two distinguished authors from differing genres who prove that adding one and one can surpass two when greatness join forces.
Harriet Klausner
Amazon.com
Popular classicist Peter Green (author of Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.) offers an engrossing narrative of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians. This is real David-and-Goliath material, with the scrappy, feuding city-states of ancient Greece fending off a much larger aggressor. The conflicts themselves are a kind of struggle for the soul of Western civilization: "On the one side, the towering, autocratic figure of the Great King; on the other, the voluntary and imperfect discipline of proudly independent citizens." The Greeks surprisingly fare better in these encounters, and make themselves legends on the plains of Marathon (192 Greek casualties versus 6,400 Persians), during the heroic last stand at Thermopylae, and elsewhere.
The Greco-Persian Wars is full of wonderful stories featuring bravery, cowardice, and treachery. Unlike so many of his fellow historians, Green understands the importance of a dramatic narrative, sometimes employing novelistic techniques to relate what happened. It's not an overstatement to say that the course of Western history might have taken a strikingly unfamiliar turn if these battles had had different outcomes. Green is a natural storyteller, and The Greco-Persian Wars is a delight to read, even for readers who have no background or special interest in the classical world. --John J. Miller
Book Description
This is a reissue, with a new introduction and an update to the bibliography, of the original edition, published in 1970 as The Year of Salamis in England and as Xerxes at Salamis in the U.S.
The long and bitter struggle between the great Persian Empire and the fledgling Greek states reached its high point with the extraordinary Greek victory at Salamis in 480 B.C. The astonishing sea battle banished forever the specter of Persian invasion and occupation. Peter Green brilliantly retells this historic moment, evoking the whole dramatic sweep of events that the Persian offensive set in motion. The massive Greek victory, despite the Greeks' inferior numbers, opened the way for the historic evolution of the Greek states in a climate of creativity, independence, and democracy, one that provided a model and an inspiration for centuries to come.
Green's accounts of both Persian and Greek strategies are clear and persuasive; equally convincing are his everyday details regarding the lives of soldiers, statesmen, and ordinary citizens. He has first-hand knowledge of the land and sea he describes, as well as full command of original sources and modern scholarship. With a new foreword, The Greco-Persian Wars is a book that lovers of fine historical writing will greet with pleasure.
Customer Reviews:
biased garbage!.......2007-08-09
Obviously mr. peter green has some hostility toward the the persian (iranian)culture. Right at the intro, he goes on about how achaemenid persia gave no contribution to the world at all! well, for one, the persian court was a frequent learning place for the greek scholars for at least 200 years.(according to herodotus himself), postal system,tolerating free practice of religon and culture, no use of slavery, intricate governmet system(which completely was a failure when greeks attempted after alexander's barbaric conquest),pioneering army technological advances( check out "persian army" by nick sekunda), building great roads connecting the empire(two third of the known world then)... not to mention that alexander and the rest of the greeks burned down and destroyed alot of persian literature, and scentific recordings, alot of persian achievements were destroyed. Therefor, what is left today is known to be the greek's acheivements to their credits without a solid proof for the most part. only the battles that the greeks had won are grossly portrayed which to the iranians was nothing but an insignificant setback, untill the barbaric advances of alexander ofcourse. Even the bible praises cyrus, darius, xerxes, and artaxerxes for the humane, and generous actions of the persian emperors especially to the jews. mr. peter green get a clue! there was a reason that the persians were always envied by the greeks, and there was a reason that the greeks call the persian emperors lord of asia!
History at its best.......2007-03-25
History books should be interesting and supported by facts. Peter Green's Greco-Persian Wars scores well on both counts. He combines the historical fact with a narrative that maintains the reader's interest.
Excellent historical book.......2007-03-21
The book writes like a story. It is beautifully written and well researched. Anyone who is wanting to know the clash of the Greeks and the Persians, the battle of Marathon, the Hot Gates (a.k.a., the famous battle for the West) and the aftermath that leads to rising power of the great Greek empire, this is a must book. Mr. Green truly knows his Greek history and is not shy in making the narrative alive and reader friendly. Five stars all the way!
Par excellence........2007-01-26
This is quite simply THE book to read to thoroughly understand the conflict between Classical Greece and Imperial Persia. It rivals Kagan's "The Peloponnesian War" in depth and detail. And while not quite the break neck read of Holland's "Persian Fire" it compensates with an eminently readable style and makes Cartledges's "Thermopylae" look anemic and cadaverous even given the significantly more limited scope of the latter's work.
Green does an exceptional job of comparing and contrasting the ancient sources of information on the period, Herodotus, Plutarch, Aeschylus etc. and weaves them together with the modern scholarship of Burn and Pritchett etc. while injecting his own theories to provide a narrative that brings both the players and their times vividly to life.
Green takes Herodotus to task for bias and obvious propagandistic nonsense early and often and with common sense and logic corrects many of the more egregious errors of the primary sources, in particular the size of Xerxes army, specifically the probable confusion between chiliarchs (commander of 1,000 men) and myriarchs (commander of 10,000 men). Using Munro and Maurice among others he corrects the likely decimal error in Herodotus's calculation of the size of Xerxes army. Reducing it from a phantasmagorical 1.7 million men to more credible 170,000 infantry with another 40,000 cavalry, quisling Greeks and miscellaneous others.
Add in no small amount of irreverent levity and you have the perfect tract on what Thomas Cahill (How the Irish Saved Civilization) refers to as a "hinge" of history.
In two words, BUY IT!
Excellent and Epic.......2006-12-14
I recently bought a copy of Prof. Green's book The Greco-Persian wars and I could not put it down. The book is amazing and well-worth every penny I spent on it. Just the account of Thermopylae had me on the edge of my seat and filled with excitment and pride in what these barve 300 Spartans and their allies did for Greece and western civilization. Green's love-affair with Heroditus is quite evident and was a great use to him in this book. I loved Green's Alexander to Actium and I greatly love the Greco-Persian Wars. Buy this book and you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend this book
Book Description
"An outstanding biography of the most unusual and controversial king of the 20th century. Highly recommended."—CHOICE
"Vivid and atmospheric, but based on solid and scrupulous research, this is an outstanding account of one of the most intriguing figures in twentieth-century Balkan history. Non-specialists will read it with pleasure and fascination, and even specialists in Albanian history will find much to learn here from Jason Tomes's marvelously lucid analysis of the politics and diplomacy of the period."
—Noel Malcolm, author of Bosnia: A Short History and Kosovo: A Short History
"Very well researched, critical yet balanced, this is the best book about Zog to have appeared in any language."
—Bejtullah Destani, Director of the Centre for Albanian Studies
Shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 1, 1928, Europe gained a new kingdom and its only Muslim king: 32-year-old Zog I of the Albanians. Few foreign journalists were present in the Parliament House in Tirana to hear him swear his oath on the Koran and the Bible, yet the birth of the Kingdom of Albania—a native monarchy, not an alien imposition—did not go unnoticed abroad.
King Zog (1895-1961) was a curiosity, and so he has remained: the most atypical European monarch of the twentieth century, a man entirely without royal connections who created his own kingdom. By contemporaries, he was variously labeled "the last ruler of romance," "an appalling gangster," "the modern Napoleon," "the finest patriot," and "frankly a cad." Even today his reputation is disputed, but Zog is undeniably one of the foremost figures in Albanian history. Though notorious for cut-throat political intrigue, he promised to bring order and progress to a land that had long known little of either. "It was I who made Albania," he claimed.
Zog's reign ended in 1939; Italian Fascists forced him into exile and post-war Stalinists kept him there despite his best efforts to return. In this first full biography, Jason Tomes explores the reality behind the man described in The Times as "the bizarre King Zog" and shows him to have been the product of a unique time and place. Tomes invites readers to set aside their assumptions about modern European monarchy and meet a king who fired back at assassins and paid his bills with gold bullion.
Customer Reviews:
Pulling Your Country out of the Middle Ages by Its' Bootstraps.......2007-07-16
Ahmet Zogolli (Zogu, King Zog) is one of the great 'characters' of the early twentieth century. Born into a powerful clan in Northern Albania, he was destined to be a leader of men from birth. But Zog wanted to be more than just another petty warlord, he wanted to be a King. Jason Tomes has done a yeomanlike job of turning this 'myth' into a real person, he has shown him (as much as possible) with all his faults and gifts; trying his best to see through the smoke screen that swirls around him.
The man who at 22 was a colonel in the Austro-Hungarian Army, Minister of the Interior at 24, President at 29, King at 34 and ex-King at 45, is not an easy one to pin down. Like Albania during the second half of the twentieth century, little was published or known of the goings on during the early days of the Republic/Kingdom. Even today, few people could tell you much about Albania, much less find it on a map. It was the only country carved out of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WW1 that did not have a nationalist movement. The country was created more to keep it out of the hands of Greece and Yugoslavia than anything else.
Under the Ottomans, the valleys were divided up into separate administ- rative area that were each ruled by a Bey who then reported to a Pasha who had power over a larger district. Albania was made up of more than six districts one of which was Kosovo. When the Balkans were divvied up at Versailles, Albania ended up over 90% Albanian, but, leaving more Albanians living outside of the country than in. The Greeks wanted the South which was Greek Orthodox, and the Yugoslavs wanted the north which was Roman Catholic (as part of Croatia).
Zog managed to set-up a government in Tirana (which was the middle of nowhere) and stage manage a government by playing off the different Beys against each other. He relied heavily on a gendarmarie that was primarily made up of his historical supporter (from the Mati Valley). While holding off both the Greeks and Serbs (Yugoslavs) he became more and more indebted to the Italians and finally lost his Kingdom to Mussolini in 1939.
As an ex-King he only was acknowledged by Turkey and Egypt, and during his time in England during WW2 he was never given any recognition or money for guerilla warfare from the Allies. The country was handed to the communist insurgents under Enver Hoxha (with a lot of help from Stalin and Tito) at the end of the War. He finally died a recluse in the south of France.
Tomes shows the tragedy of how Albania never was important enough to anyone but the Italians (and then as a colony) for Zog to be able to create a viable government. He talked as if he wanted to create a constitutional monarchy, but first he had to create a country and an educated middle class. He was not altogether altruistic, since he probably stole half the money that came into the country as aid from the Italians, but then he strikes one as a realist and put himself in the forefront whenever he could.
A must read for anyone interested in Balkan history/politics.......2005-06-18
Noel Malcolm calls it fantastic - this should be enough of a reason for anyone who has interest in Balkan history and politics to read this book. Well researched, balanced but witty and with a tat of the usual Western cynical eye describing Balkan events, people or politics. I doubt there is a more well researched book ever written, in any language, on King Zog and the period of the Albanian Monarchy.
King Bird the First.......2005-06-14
In hindsight, it was probably inevitable that King Zog of Albania would be driven from his throne in 1939. A British diplomat who worked with Zog found him amusing, but believed the King would probably end up assassinated. The conditions in Albania made that a very likely fate. It is a time and place well described in this groundbreaking biography of King Zog written by Jason Tomes.
When Albania broke from the Ottoman Empire in 1913, it was a poor and rural country. The Ottomans had forbidden the teaching of the Albanian language in the schools and many of the people were illiterate. There had been very little done in recent years to develop the country and it was isolated from neighboring Europe by its mountainous terrain and perhaps because it was largely a Muslim country.
The Ottoman system of benign neglect did nothing to discourage the clannishness of the Albanians. Europeans were skeptical that there could even be an independent Albania. Zog saw that it was necessary to make Albanians into citizens, instead of clansmen. This would not be an easy task. The "average Albanian knows nothing about nationality," Zog said. "He has always looked up to the head of his tribe, or his Bey, as the supreme authority."
Ahmet Zog was born in 1895 in Mati environs. He spent some of his adolescence in Istanbul, soaking up the political atmosphere of the Young Turks. He returned when Albania was liberated and later fought alongside the Austrians against the Italians who were occupying part of Albania. The Austrians, who had designs on Albania, considered the young chieftain useful enough to keep in Vienna in case they would need him after the First World War. Later, Zog staged a coup d'état with the help of Yugoslavia and, during his reign, he made Albania into an Italian satellite state.
Zog picked up foreign languages and some sophistication that many of countrymen didn't have, but he also needed to maintain his Albanian roots. Zog was born the son of a Mati Chieftain and his clansmen were his power base. As described in Edith Durham's "High Albania," northern Albania was the land of the blood feud, a place reminiscent of the West Virginia of the Hatfields and the McCoys, where people asked not what their neighbor died of, but who had killed him. His clansmen were both credits and debits to him. It was with their help (and well distributed gold) that Zog was able to overthrow the republican government of Fan Noli. Yet, even when he was trying to introduce laws outlawing blood feuds, he was obligated to participate in them to keep face with his clansmen.
The story of Zog's reign is mostly one of manipulation by the Italians. The Greeks and Serbs were both interested in carving up Albania, but the Italians were the neighbors with the most money. The Italians built roads and sold the Albanians weapons (often hopelessly obsolete) and made Zogist Albania into a puppet state. For his part, Zog got a good deal of loot, including funds for "a white silk tunic with gold frogging, epaulettes...a white fur hat with plume, a black cloak, and white patent leather boots with gold spurs." Besides looking the part of a king, he became rich as one by often getting the better part of a deal, as when he pocketed 300,000 lira selling the Italians inaccessible forestlands in Mati. He always regarded refusing a bribe as looking a gift horse in the mouth, Tomes writes. After Zog was exiled from Albania, he moved from country to country burdened with the many cases of gold that he had acquired during his regime.
Besides being a biography of a scoundrel dominated by an even bigger scoundrel (Mussolini), Tomes gives some interesting descriptions of Albania in the 1920s and 1930s. He describes the capital of Tirana as city that smelt of mutton and coffee grounds, which was covered in a cloud of dust in the summer and slimy mud in the winter, and where school children were required to recite a catechism that included the lines "where does the mud seem sweeter than honey? In Albania." Many Albanians were more Turkish in manner than the Turks in Atatürk's new republic, yet they were still drawn to European and American culture. Tomes writes about moviegoers who boggled at the fancy-dress films of Greta Garbo while scoffing at westerns and war movies as being hopelessly unrealistic.
Zog was a hard-working ruler and physically brave, but when the Italians overthrew him, the people hardly noticed. Tomes even writes that the invading Italians made the country more prosperous. When Zog (or "bird" in Albanian) became king and rather hopefully named himself King Zog the first, he was mocked abroad as King Bird I. Yet he couldn't name himself "King Ahmet" because he didn't want to be seen as a Muslim ruler and yet he couldn't disavow Islam. Looking at Zog's reign, it is easier to understand how later Albanian rulers became suspicious of foreign powers and organized religion.
After Zog and the Second World War, the communists came to power under the Stalinist Enver Hoxha. His regime was so repressive that many Albanians today hold King Zog in some esteem. Tomes calls this a sobering thought.
Fascinating, well-written.......2004-08-05
Obscure subject, but a wonderful book -- thorough, well-researched, and well-written. If you're a history buff, this is a must-read.
Book Description
With stylistic brilliance and historical imagination, the first five books of Livy's monumental history of Rome record events from the foundation of Rome through the history of the seven kings, the establishment of the Republic and its internal struggles, up to Rome's recovery after the fierce Gallic invasion of the fourth century bc. Livy vividly depicts the great characters, legends, and tales, including the story of Romulus and Remus. Reprinting Robert Ogilvie's lucid 1971 introduction, this highly regarded edition now boasts a new preface, examining the text in light of recent Livy scholarship, informative maps, bibliography, and an index.
Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt with an introduction by Robert Ogilvie.
Customer Reviews:
Livy shipment.......2006-11-10
The book came in great condition and qucikly which is always a plus for school books.
Want to Understand the World? Start with Livy! .......2006-04-13
Livy is not one of the better stylists out there. Plutarch, Suetonius, and even Ceasar stand out beside Livy, but none comes close to the breadth of description of the rise of perhaps the greatest civilisation known to mankind. One that serves as a source of awe, wonder and inspiration to much of mankind.
What Livy is describing is really how democracy and republics form. We have been raised on the romance of the Greek Polis and its percieved benefits, but the Romans in my estimation started elemental politics in a way that we know it today. They were the first to evolve largely from a Kingship to a republic in gradual largely non-violent internal changes. They stand in marked comparison to what are often call "less civilised" races and groups of peeople, precisely because they did not evolve institutions such as the Romans.
This process is described in intimate detail by Livy. The cut and thrust of political debate, the jockeying for position in the Senate, the addition, revision and abolishing of political institutions as a society evolves -- all are described in fairly sharp detail, but lacking the wit of Seutonius or the opinions of Plutarch.
All of the above takes place against the warring between the early Roman states and their neighbours (learn that the "Rape of the Sabine Women" was not really a "rape" in the traditional sense of the term -- it was far worse: the Romans lured the Sabines for a night of partying then surrounded them in the city walls, expelled all the men and took all their womenfold for themselves!!! This was a novel idea to end a paucity of brides inside early Rome).
Against all of the events of Livy one keeps thinking of the political machinations of the US or British Parliamentary goverments, one immediately recognises reoccuring themes. The necessity of putting down nearby barbarian tribes was a yearly exercise. The working (plebian) classes realised that they could withhold their consent to be drafted in exchange for political concessions. This lead to tough fights inside the senate with the plebians usually unbending to allow themselves to be sent to fight... until the absolute last minute. The patricians were also, when the danger passed usually likely to go back on their word to undertake some land reform.
Read and learn. The world changes, but it does not change. That is why we have classics. And this one is perhaps more of a classic with relevance for right here and now... especially if one is an American.
Good, but not his most accurate.......2006-01-31
first of all, amazon reviews are meant for anything, not just new releases.
the first five of livy's books are, it is generally accepted, his most innacurate. the other 130 or so books that he wrote were far more accurate. think about it: he covers about 700 years of history in 5 books, then another 100 or so in the other 130. the inaccuracy is, however, not entirely his fault. for much of it, there was simply no history kept, and he had to go with what was available.
while most historians wrote history to glorify their families, livy was not of noble birth, and therefore had no family to glorify, which did enable him to write a more acurate history of rome than some other historians. livy wrote to escape the world in which he was living.
im not saying that this book is bad, merely that it is not as accurate as his others. it is actually quite an interesting read. but dont expect every detail of the stories to all work out - you have to take it with a grain of salt.
Reviews of masterworks of literature?.......2005-12-03
We must not presume to review masterworks of literature!
Reviews are meant to let other readers know what you thought of recent releases. Volumes printed and coveted for thousands of years need not be reviewed by laypersons (I am a layperson.)
I'm satisfied that the previous review didn't insult the memory and achievement of Livy or his reputation established around 24B.C. but the reviewer was out of line to even press the "Write your own review" button.
Certainly readers will need to decide if they will be interested in reading such important works but you do yourselves a disservice if you let your literary decisions be influenced by the Jaywalk Allstars.
There are many websites devoted the the "Greatest Books Ever Written" and it's a simple task to do type "Livy History of Rome" into a search engine.
Amazon reviews are meant for new releases. A work that is still being collected after over 2,000 years is not a new release.
History of Rome.......2005-09-21
Titus Livius, (Livy) 59BCE-17ACE, born in Padua he was a popular and much admired writer in his day. His history was a favorite of Caesar Augustus who reigned during the time of the writing of the "History of Early Rome". His facts are not the most accurate, but like Plutarch, he believed that; "if history were not morally instructive, it was nothing." "History of Early Rome" is a valiant effort at recalling and preserving the memory of the noble deeds of the Romans. The history opens with the Trojans wandering into Rome to found a new city around 750BCE. It traces the history of Romulus the founder, the period of Roman kingship and then the Roman Republic era. Livy has a wonderful description of the "rape of the Sabine women" in which Rome's men conduct to increase their population. Wonderful telling of the life and acts of the noble and humble Cinncinatus who many of George Washington's contemporaries believed modeled himself after and held many of the same virtues. It contains an in depth look at Coriolanus, which was the source material for Shakespeare's play "Coriolanus". "Shared danger is the strongest of bonds; it will keep men united in spite of mutual dislike and suspicion."
Machiavelli loved reading Livy's histories and wrote his most important philosophical work from it, "The Discourses", in which he glorifies republican Rome as a model of good government. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact, all the founding fathers of note had read Livy and learned much from his history of Rome.
If you are truly interested in obtaining a classical education, put this book on the top of your reading list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.
Average customer rating:
- extraordinary
- Fascinating Peek into Palace Intrigue
- Uncanny observations
- incapable of distniguishing between fact and fiction
- Eyewitness to a Strange History
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The Emperor
Ryszard Kapuscinski
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Amazon.com
Haile Selassie, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, enjoyed a 44-year reign until his own army gave him the boot in 1974. In the days following the coup, the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski traveled to Ethiopia and sought out members of the imperial court for interviews.
His composite portrait of Selassie's crumbling imperium is an astonishing, wildly funny creation, beginning with the very first interview. "It was a small dog," recalls an anonymous functionary, "a Japanese breed. His name was Lulu. He was allowed to sleep in the Emperor's great bed. During various ceremonies, he would run away from the Emperor's lap and pee on dignitaries' shoes. The august gentlemen were not allowed to flinch or make the slightest gesture when they felt their feet getting wet. I had to walk among the dignitaries and wipe the urine from their shoes with a satin cloth. This was my job for ten years." (Well, it's a living.)
Elsewhere, the interviewees venture into tragic or grotesque or downright unbelievable terrain. Kapuscinski has shaped their testimonies into an eloquent whole, and while he never alludes to the totalitarian regime that ruled his native Poland during the same period, the analogy is impossible to ignore.
Book Description
Haile Selassie, King of Kings, Elect of God, Lion of Judah, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, reigned from 1930 until he was overthrown by the army in 1974. While the fighting still raged, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Poland's leading foreign correspondent, traveled to Ethiopia to seek out and interview Selassie's servants and closest associates on how the Emperor had ruled and why he fell. This "sensitive, powerful. . .history" (The New York Review of Books) is Kapuscinski's rendition of their accounts—humorous, frightening, sad, groteque—of a man living amidst nearly unimaginable pomp and luxury while his people teetered netween hunger and starvation.
Customer Reviews:
extraordinary.......2007-07-04
This is an extraordinary rendition of how a totalitarian regime works. What the people interviewed have to say is very much to the point, most of the time putting the lofty words and the evil deeds beside each other in a most revealing way. This is so good that in the end you will ask if those people indeed have two parallel truths in their heads which come out simultaneously, if they talk rather ironically or cynically, if R.K. has so much polished (no pun intended) their talk or if he has made this up altogether creating a tale about absolutism and the resulting evil (R.K. was the representative of a communist news agency and the communist world backed the revolutionaries, thus a good propaganda piece might not have been beyond him). But whatever the truth (which we will not find out), wether a documentary or a work of fiction, it is a very good book giving deep and clever insights.
Fascinating Peek into Palace Intrigue.......2007-03-27
The Emperor is a speed-read glimpse into the palace intrigue and daily life at the court of Haile Selassie (King of Kings, Elect of God, Lion of Judah). It takes place over the last years of Selassie's reign, and is in effect an oral history by the people who lived in the palace. Kapuscinski supplies just enough historical context to barely stitch the stories together into a cohesive whole. One is left with the feeling of having been there, of having witnessed the end of the reign and the end of an era for Ethiopia, for Africa, and for world politics. For all of Kapuscinski's hands-off style, he clearly has an opinion and argues it deftly. The 80-year-old emperor appears to us out of touch with his people, his country, and the age of things in the world. He lives in unimaginable luxury while thousands starve at the hands of the greedy nobles. He governs a vast country in a micomanagement style that has him authorizing any purchase with government funds over $10. Perhaps the clearest picture is the capricious autocracy with which he governs has all other government figures so focused on currying favor that they can't see the wretched starvation just outside their windows. All court employees, including the emperor's pillow-man, who's job is it to select just the right pillow to place under the emperor's feet so his little legs don't dangle from whatever throne he happens to be occupying, see themselves as indispensable to the governing of the country. Our final view of Selassie, being taken from the palace by the Derg officers who overthrew him, and caring only that he's being taken in a Volswagen rather than a limousine puts the final curlicue on a the picture Kapuscinski has been painting from the first page.
Uncanny observations.......2007-03-26
Kapuscinski has a knack for describing both the geographic landscape and the human condition in such a way that you can visualize it. He has a keen eye and mind for observation and analysis. All his books should be compulsory reading for anybody and everybody involved in any kind of aid activity in the third world - government agencies or charities.
incapable of distniguishing between fact and fiction.......2005-04-09
For a writer who is a trenchant critic of inaccuracy in news reporting this is a rather dysmal work as the reliability of his reportage is questionable. First off his informants here are mainly former Ethiopian court servants toiling in anonymity, indistinguishable and faceless like characters in one of those West-about-Africa movies. Only one of those who assisted him is given a full name because, Kapuciñski assures as, he is dead.
The book's entire strength derives mostly from the transcribed speech of these unnamed witnesses, their banters, hyperboles and turn of phrase. The cardinal sin that Kapuciñski commits is that he invented many of his informants. Many of the people who actually had the titles in the palace denied ever having said what Kapuciñski ascribes to them! It is only too convinient that the absence of proper names for the informants safety shrouded the whole issue of factuality.
The second glaring error, though effective in evoking irony and subtle narrative is his invented use of the courtly references to Sellasie: His Venerable Majesty, Benevolent Majesty, Sublime Majesty, His Charitable Majesty, Most Virtuous Highness, Exalted Majesty, to name a few; these honorifics correspond to no known expressions in the Amharic language. In actual fact speech employed at the court was strictly limited to one or two names for the king of kings. Some of the titles, the dog pee cleaner for instance are invented, perhaps for dramatic impact. Kapuciñski does not make any of this known in the book.
There are many other factual errors that are sloppy at best. For instance, Kapuciñski asserts that Haile Selassie did not read books! Everything had to be relayed to him by word of mouth. Dear oh dear me! Haile Selassie's reading habits are historically documented by writers and specifically by one Hans Lockot, in his memoir, The Mission. Lockot was the head of research at the National Library of Ethiopia during the Emperor's reign. Also the huge library Haile Selassie kept attest to his skills in Amharic and French. Add to this his written office records and the recorded speeches he made in English, Kapuciñski appears foolish for labouring this point rather too long.
These errors make the book feeble. However Kapuciñski could have corrected them by revealing the names of his informants in subsequent editions (after all it is thirty years gone now and besides many of the so-called informants have officially served as witnesses in the Dergue officials' trials). He could also make a clear statement in the introduction that the book should be taken as an allegorical tale of autocratic regimes based on actual events.
On a positive note the book's technical achievement is in its brilliant device, of whispers, old manner of speech, operatic hyperbole of cloak and dagger politics and the pervasive pompous tone of imperial court which gave a continuous vivid picture of sustained subversion and a sketchy account of the incipient revolution. Shame that such a quality work is overshadowed by Kapuciñski reluctance to drop his claim of factual reportage.
Eyewitness to a Strange History.......2003-08-25
This is a very unique book presenting a seemingly casual investigation of the last days of Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia. Note that this is not a history of Ethiopia or Selassie's reign, so prior knowledge on these subjects would be an advantage. Kapuscinski offers clandestine interviews with members of the Emperor's court and ministries, as they watched the slow and rather bizarre downfall of the autocrat. While non-Ethiopians often see Selassie as an enlightened visionary and Moses-like leader of his people, the reality was much different closer to home. Here we find an entrenched demagogue more concerned with preserving his power with little knowledge of the lives of his subjects. He surrounded himself with yes-men with the same self-preserving motives, and like any fading dictator he regularly purged anyone even remotely connected to independent thinkers. In one interview, a member of the court regrets sending his son to college, as the young man became infested with ideas that were not loyal to the Emperor, though they were probably accurate. Kapuscinski's anonymous subjects underhandedly point out their leader's faults while constantly heaping titles on him like "His Enlightened Majesty" or "His Benevolent Highness." This indicates the leader's cult of personality and his employees' pathological fear of losing his favor. We then see the classic fall of an out-of-touch despot, as he was ousted in one of the weirdest revolutions of all time. This unique book seems like lightweight reporting at the surface, but ultimately offers numerous lessons in power and corruption, and Selassie's story offers many parallels for autocrats around the world and throughout history. [~doomsdayer520~]
Book Description
Edward I--one of the outstanding monarchs of the English Middle Ages--pioneered legal and parliamentary change in England, conquered Wales, and came close to conquering Scotland. A major player in European diplomacy and war. with Philip IV a decade later. This book is the definitive account of a remarkable king and his long and significant reign. Widely praised when it was first published in 1988, it is now reissued with a new introduction and updated bibliographic guide.
Customer Reviews:
Too detailed and dry.......2006-03-12
At times I was very pleased with Prestwich's biography of Edward I. The detail is very precise and complete, leaving you with a very close inspection of Edward I. But this could be one of the reasons I didn't particularly care for this biography. Prestwich went into way to much detail of absolutely every aspect that touched Edward I the slightest in any way. If two kings were going to have a duel or a battle this would be described since Edward wrote a letter of conciliation to the two kings. Furthermore, whole chapters would be devoted to people that worked for Edward I, which meant the chapter was just a continuous list of names.
His descriptive abilities are very dry, leaving the reader uninterested. This biography is a very scholarly, detailed work for someone looking for an exhaustive look at this important English king. This is an amazing task he accomplished, but also casts a negative shadow because it seems that he didn't really know what to write about so he simply wrote about everything. I never thought I would not care for a biography because of too much information but, alas, Prestwich has done it. Unfortunately, biographies need to have more of a structure behind them, more of a game plan.
I would recommend this book to those looking for an exhaustive portrayal of Edward I. Even for those looking for information on Edward I I would recommend, but would advise to not try and read the whole thing, as this may kill your desire to read anything from this book, but instead pick and chose the chapters that interest you. So, to sum it up, a great detailed biography with too much detail. A book meant to reference, not read.
3.5 stars.
Excellent biography on one of England's best rulers.......2004-06-02
Along with J.R. Maddicott's biography on Simon de Montfort, I would put this biography as one of the best biographies written for historical figures of this time period. Good thing is, they both compliment each other well.
Michael Prestwich's work proves to be superbly researched, highly informative and above all for me, very readable. It does help to have some previous reading on the subject since Edward I had a long career from his teen age years and it kept going until he died. The thick book covers all aspects of Edward's long and colorful life in richness of details and facts.
In this book, you will not see Edward Longshank of that movie, Braveheart, which probably did its outmost to ruined the reputation of this great ruler. In this book, the reader will understand why many regards Edward I as one of England's greatest rulers, easily in the top five, maybe the top three!!
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this subject and had read on this material before. Good background reading would be helpful in getting the most out of this book. Written by a great scholar for other scholars or "scholar want to be".
excellent look into Longshanks' life.......2002-04-09
This books is so rich in historical fact and details, drawn from medieval records of that period. For someone wanting more than the superficial, this book supplies it, showing Edward in a scholarly fashion rather than the usual pro or con look. It's very details in what it cost to run Longshanks' kingship, right down the wars against Wales and Scotland.
Very balanced in presentation and offers us a deep insight into the man who remade England, conquered the Welsh and Irish, fought France and faced the rise of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
Highly recommended.
scholarly exposition of the memorable reign.......2001-05-16
Edward I (Yale English Monarchs) by Michael Prestwich is an extremely well researched, cross-referenced and influential book on the subject of early Plantagenet history. Drawn on the original records of the age (late 13th, early 14th century) is portrays different achievements of the productive reign - Edward a Lawgiver, Edward a Warrior in Scotland and France, Edward a Family Men, Edward a Diplomat, and ... of course Edward loosing his temper. Especially well presented are the accounts of the Household and Exchequer, and a review of Parliamentary activities of Edward. Books somewhat dry tone is justified by extensive reference collection. A great first scholarly introduction to one of the most important reigns in British history.
Informative, but DRY.......2000-02-19
A bit dull, but likely the best researched volume available on E1. I would recommend this title more for scholarly use than for the "armchair historian", as I think it would fail to hold the attention of any but the most devoted reader. Contemporary documentation dealing with the private Edward must be quite limited, so reliance upon administrative documentation is inevitable, but it makes the work less than personable. Prestwich's, "The Three Edwards", though grander in scope actually seems to hone in better on the personalities of the subject (and his son and grandson, to boot!) That being said, I doubt one could find a more detailed and comprehensive study.
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Fifth Seal (A. D. Chronicles, No. 5)
Fourth Dawn (A.D. Chronicles, No. 4)
Third Watch (A.D. Chronicles, No. 3)
Second Touch (A.D. Chronicles, No. 2)
First Light (A. D. Chronicles #1)
