2 comments about Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair.

1. After reading a previous biography on England's current monarch and spouse by Gyles Brandreth, I was keenly keeping an eye out for his next book, this time talking about the current Prince of Wales and his second marriage, this time to his long-time mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowles. Along the way, Brandreth takes a look at the history of royal mistresses, the ancestry of the couple in question, and reveals that there's quite a bit more going on than meets the eye.
   
   The custom of a prince or king having several mistresses -- what can be called 'girlfriends' today -- is a custom as old as when the first monarch plopped a crown on his head. Until recently, most royal marriages were arranged, where King A was available, or his son was, and King B had an unmarried daughter, and would exchange daughter in return for say, a peace treaty or financial support or whatever it was that they needed at the time. History rarely records what the poor girl thought of the match, and what was expect of her was to be fruitful, bear several heirs, and if she was lucky, there would be genuine affection in her marriage. For fun, royal men have turned to other women, an arrangement that winked at, but so long as they didn't make a fool of themselves, the men got away with it. It was only recently, with the union of England's Queen Victoria with a minor German princeling by the name of Albert, that romance -- and fidelity -- began to be the norm. For the first several chapters of the book, Brandreth discusses the various peccadillos of England's royal families, and shows how the standard came to be.
   
   The first cracks showed up with England's Edward VIII and the notorious Mrs. Simpson, a woman who was divorced, twice, and certainly not the virgo intacta that was expected of a royal wife. But Edward VIII stepped down for the woman he loved, and his younger brother Bertie -- George VI -- took the throne, and did a pretty good job of a task he never wanted. Stress and smoking made his reign a short one, and his elder daughter, Elizabeth II, is now England's queen. Which brings us to the current royal heir, Charles, the Prince of Wales, a young man of rather nervous temprament and the resources to live a life of a popular playboy.
   Unfortunately, he had those ears, and somehow the good looks of his parents skipped a generation. At a polo match, he met a young woman of aristocratic stock, funny, and just as interested as he was in polo and horses.
   
   She was Camilla Shand, somewhat pretty, and when she met the Prince, she commented, "My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress, so how about it?" The story, whether true or not, has entered myth, and it was rumored that the pair became lovers, and at least friends. But Charles was a bit uncertain about asking anyone to be his wife, and that lack of confidence let Camilla slip away to another man, a dashing Army officer by the name of Andrew Parker-Bowles. Camilla got married, raised some children, and remained a good friend of the Prince, while Charles went on to his chase after women, and finally, when he was in his thirties, asked another aristocratic young woman to marry him, and this time, he was accepted.
   
   This is where Brandreth's book gets interesting. Besides all of the gossip about who's sleeping with whom, a tanscription of the notorious 'tampon' conversation, he paints a very telling portrait of the Prince of Wales. As well as looking at the outside, he also attempts to look at the why as well. This is where the book becomes the most interesting, and there's quite a few AHA! moments there for the reader who isn't numbed and dazed by all of the various begats and mudslinging.
   
   And yet -- this isn't nearly as good as the biography that Brandreth wrote about Charles' parents. For one, it gets a bit too intimate in spots, and I was downright embarassed. It's one thing to read about someone who has gone on to their eternal reward, but quite another when they're alive and kicking. Diana Spencer doesn't come off too well in this one either, showing her as a very naive, not-too-bright young woman, who was just as emotionally needy as her husband, and didn't have the wits to be quiet about it. There's plenty of venom being flung about, and at times, it's not much more than a scandal sheet, and not too objective.
   
   Still, out of all the various books out there (and no doubt will continue to appear), it's not too bad, and better than most. For anyone who enjoys eavesdropping on royalty, it's not a bad read at all. There are some problems -- Brandreth is a cackling hen of a writer, flooding the pages with footnotes and smirking connections among Europe and England's elite. One thing that this book really needed was a genealogical chart or several to show all of the connections and help to keep everyone straight. I had to be constantly backing up now and then to make sure I was thinking about the right person he was discussing. Too, by scattering the footnotes throughout the book, instead of lumping them at the end as most histories do, makes it very distracting to follow along.
   
   On the other hand, there are quite a lot of photographs in several inserts, several appendices that talk about the various duties and organizations that the Prince is involved with, along with various sources and an index to track down minor royals.
   
   Summing up, this one is actually better than what I make it sound. It's a very solid four star read, despite the problems, and one that I suspect I will reread again in the future. What it does do is help to understand a very complex relationship, and finally, a love story that managed to survive scandal, death and publicity to finally come to a settled, and maybe even a peaceful resolution.
   
   Four stars. Recommended.



2. I picked up this book expecting the advertised insight into the relationship between Prince Charles and his long-time mistress Camilla, who at long last became his wife and is now known as the Duchess of Cornwall.
   
   It took perseverance.
   
   The flashes of insight are scattered through a narrative that begins with the monarchs of England and their mistresses from about the year dot. Or 736. Or something. And meanders down to the present day with endless details about the ancestors and descendants of kings, princesses, mistresses, near-mistresses, cousins, courtiers, generals, admirals, and probably a few of their horses.
   
   Reading this book is like a Sunday afternoon visit with a gossipy old uncle who knows everybody - and their dogs and cats. He rambles and rummages among a lot of boring history, can't resist going off on tangents, and yet if you listen long enough he does eventually dish the dirt. When you leave, you have learned something new, and you feel you've cheered up the old boy by engaging in the visit. Even if most of the begats and ranks and titles went in one ear and out the other.
   
   I agree with another reviewer: this book cries out for some charts to help the reader follow all of that genealogy described in such excruciating detail.
   
   This isn't a fast read. Nor is it uncritically admiring of anyone, including Charles and Camilla. On the subject of Charles' ill-starred first marriage, it's nowhere near as comprehensive and gifted as Tina Brown's The Diana Chronicles. But Brandreth leaves us with a portrait of Prince Charles as an intelligent, sensitive, dutiful boy who didn't respond as well as his sturdier sister to the often harsh regimens of his school days. Who grew into a dutiful and complex young man, still oddly diffident with women, and working hard to fulfill the duties of the unique lifelong role he was born into. Although it ended in tears - and worse - he began his first marriage in good faith, retained some affection and concern for Diana long after the marriage died, and was always an involved father.
   
   The portrait of Camilla is less complete, but then she wasn't famous from birth so information is harder to obtain. Brandreth presents her as a naturally happy person who likes to have fun. She's intelligent but not an intellectual, and is devoted to horses, hunting, gardening, and her close-knit family. And, for much of her life, to the Prince of Wales. Camilla grew up in a close and happy family, and her stability, warmth and optimism no doubt play a strong counterpoint to some of Charles' more skittish tendencies. She sounds like a good person to have as a friend: ready to have fun, loyal, and unlikely to make a fuss about a little mud tracked into the house.
   
   In Camilla, from the beginning, Charles found his soulmate. Brandreth eventually gives us a portrait of a deep and strong relationship that has survived against all odds. Whether you like these two people or not, they clearly belong together. I wonder what would have happened if they could have married each other first.
   
   As a "portrait of a love affair" this book is cluttered with too much information, both irrelevant and intimate. I didn't need the transcript of the entire "Camillagate" phone call, but it's in there. And I don't care who begat whom in 14th Century Britain. I'll take it as read that kings have historically married for duty and taken mistresses for everything else. Some historical perspective is helpful, but Brandreth piles on too much detail.
   
   You might while away a long plane flight with this book, but better also pack something else to read when you get fed up with Brandreth's incessant fussing and fidgeting.

1 comments about The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton: The First Domestic Goddess.

1. Who'd think reading about a woman who wrote a book over 150 years ago would be so fascinating? Was I wrong!
   
   Isabella (nee Bella Mayson) married Sam Beeton--leaving behind her mother's "blended" family of nearly 21 children. She was the oldest daughter and had done much work around the house and with the children.
   
   Sam was a struggling magazine and book publisher. Isabella joined him, mostly out of necessity, and was listed as his editor. In her early 20s she started writing a advice and homemaking column in the The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. She also became very savvy about marketing.
   
   As time went on, Sam and Bella had two surviving children, but also numerous stillbirths and miscarriages. Apparently Sam had contacted syphilis before they were married--and Isabelle was never told (common tact with doctors of that Victorian era). She died at age 28, as a result.
   
   However, before her early death, she put her knowledge and that of anyone else she could adapt, and cobbled together a 900-page book, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management."
   
   Written to the middle class, a growing group, during this Victorian period, they were hungry for advice on the correct behavior. Her readers assumed Mrs. Beeton was a wizened and experienced woman who had experienced proper dinner parties, how to train servants and everything needed about running a home.
   
   Author Hughes did a wonderful job of bringing all the facts of this amazing woman's short life--giving us interesting details about a smart women whom she obviously respected,
   
   We learn about the society then, religious attitudes, sexual mores, the rise of consumerism, advertising and marketing--and the people (and especially the woman's role). Mrs. Beeton was household then--and still is in England. If you thought you knew abut the Victorian era and the people who populated it, Hughes work might prove you wrong.
   
   A very impressive biography and peak that the England of the 1850s and beyond.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Mrs. Beeton lives on in Hughes' book and in the mind of the English.

2 comments about The Nine Day Queen of England: Lady Jane Grey.

1. Nine Day Queen of England is a wonderful book, convincing and truthful. Faith Cook tells the true story of Jane Grey as no other book I've read has! This book is truly amazing. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in Lady Jane Grey, or in English Monarchy!
   This is certainly a truthful account of one of England's most tragic and brave monarchs.



2. I love historical biographies and have read numerous, especially on the Tudor's and English royalty. My favorite author of this genre is Carolly Erickson, who always has a deep respect and appreciation for her subjects, yet will show them truthfully and unbiased. The Nine Day Queen of England, Lady Jane Grey by Faith Cook is a great read for someone of christian faith who wants to know about an innocent girl that in the face of death, held to her beliefs even when letting them go would have saved her life. Faith Cook is a strong christian and focuses on Lady Jane Grey as a christian martyr. Cook's opinions of the events of the time and of other courtisans is evident in the book and is biased by her faith. I, having no affinity towards either religion and just looking for a faithful account of a girl in a very interesting situation in an influential time in history, started to become annoyed with this bias by the end. I wish I would have noticed that this was published by the Evangelical Press before I bought it.

No comments about 274 Things You Should Know About Churchill.

5 comments about Shakespeare: A Life.

1. A wonderfully written book that cuts through the myths and speculations concerning Bill's life. A view of Shakespeare's life as he lived it. As a boy, a writer, a business man. Easily the best book on the Bard.



2. We will perhaps never be able to come across a "definitive" (in the modern sense) life of Shakespeare because of the obviously sketchy nature of the extant documents relating to his life .Realising this,Mr.Honan has done the next best thing : to fill in the bare bones of the Bard's life with information from the Elizabethan period & done it in an exquisite fashion.What we get is not what Shakespeare DID at any given point in his life but a sense of what he was MOST LIKELY DOING given the socio-cultural milieu,Elizabethan mores,surviving public documents ,comments by his contemporaries and autobiographical fragments from his plays and sonnets.Mr.Honan's view is by its very nature "oblique" but given the paucity of "hard data" ,it is the wisest approach .Moreover he doesn't gloss over the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's life but freely acknowledges them .Each chapter is thoroughly referenced and annotated .The picture that emerges from this account is of a remarkably sensitive genius endowed with a superlative gift for expressing the universal & the ineffable pertaining to the human condition____ in timeless prose .Interestingly ,Honan manages to do this without deifying Shakespeare ,which is wise given that Shakespeare is too fascinating a man to be 'deified away' !In the final analysis genius is always inexplicable in that it breaks the existing molds and "liberates" us to see,hear and experience the world in a novel and yet distinctly human way .This is an exquisite and enjoyable book .



3. A great deal of Shakespeare's life appears never to have made it into the official record, and Park Honan, for all his skill as a writer, cannot change that.

   What Mr. Honan does do, however, is construct in detail the setting for what facts we do know about Shakespeare's life. Even if we lack many of the basic facts of Shakespeare's boyhood, for instance, we know what Stratford was like, and we know what kind of lives boys in Stratford led. Mr. Honan lays out this setting, gives us the known facts about young Will, contents himself with making the occasional relatively safe guess, and leaves it at that.

   Despite the fact that Mr. Honan's book is mostly setting, with a fairly scarce plot, it's a good read, flowing well and entertaining. Your study of Shakespeare should start here.




4. Honan's biography of Shakespeare is superb. The writing style is good, the research reliable, and the play reviews are appropriate. The reader ends up with a detailed knowledge of the life of the bard. That is the purpose of a biography. Highly recommended.



5. I enjoyed this biography of Shakespeare very much. My wife and I were in London at the just opened Borders on Oxford St. when I saw a signed copy of this book for sale and decided to purchase it. It was a great read and quite convincing in its approach to the playwright and poet. There is not enough direct evidence of the man's life to flesh everything out, but Park Honan uses the plays forensically. What does a close reading of the plays tell us about the man who wrote them? And then look into how that matches with what we know directly of him. It matches quite well and becomes a wonderfully fleshed out portrait. That being said, there is much more direct evidence about Shakespeare and his plays than many of the conspiracy theorists would have you believe.
   
   We follow him from his youth in Stratford along his journey to London and what work in the theater of those days was like. We learn about the sheer volume of lines an actor of those times would have had ready for use in their mind at any given time; it was thousands and thousands of lines. It is drawing upon that resource, just as a Handel or a Teleman or a Bach called upon the hundreds of works they had in their minds, that allowed him to compose with such rapidity. It was his genius to improve upon his sources just as Bach and Handel always made more of their borrowings. Genius never requires a noble source. In fact, it is usually sprung from seemingly poor soil. Yet it comes.
   
   The author is very specific about what we know directly from the record versus what is a normative behavior for the time and a possibility for Shakespeare. Honan never allows speculation and possibility to become fact. Nor does he follow other modern anachronisms of wondering about the psychology of Shakespeare or whether he was "Gay" since even the term homosexual would be out of place in Elizabethan times, though homoerotic attachments were not.
   
   I believe the author makes such a powerful case the William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the plays that the Oxfordians will simply attack the book because of their faith, however unfounded in anything beyond desire and assertion.
   
   I recommend this book highly.

4 comments about Queen Victoria's Children.

1. A very in depth and intriguing view into the life and lifestyles of the children and grandchildren of the "grandmother of europe", Queen Victoria. If you are after something easy to read and digest but not too in depth,on a wide variety of royals, then Van der kiste is the author for you. I find his books to be very interesting to read as well as informative, which is a hard combination to find. Very good reading! Im on to his next book.



2. If you have nothing else in your library re: the 9 children of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert -- no other biographies of Vicky, Albert Edward, et al.-- then this is the book to have. It gives a good overview of the lives of all nine children. However, I found it a little tedious to read because I HAVE read separate biographies of Vicky, Albert Edward, Louise, Arthur & Beatrice, and those biographies are the sources for Van der Kiste's book. So, if you are like me a royalty buff who's already got the biographies, you don't need to read this because it has nothing to add. But it's a well-written & concise history of all the children's lives.



3. This author produces very workmanlike and highly readable popular histories of the modern period, this time with a bio-political survey of Victoria's nine children and forty grandchildren. They possessed widely differing personalities but remained a close-knit family -- though relations often were strained by divided loyalties through marriage into other European dynasties. The author also makes good use of illustration and includes a good (though brief) bibliography.



4. "Oh madam, it is a princess!"
   "Never mind, the next will be a prince." -- Queen Victoria's comment when informed as to the gender of her first child
   
   I've always been interested in the Victorian period of English history. One of the most fascinating of the people of the time is the woman who gave her name to the era, Queen Victoria herself. Longtime author John van der Kiste, who has penned several biographies of the European royalty, now turns his attention to the Queen and her nine very different and unusual children.
   
   While this is a good place to start research on the various children of Victoria, the treatment is just too light and shallow to be of any real use. Most of the information that is given is of the 'who was born, married, and died' variety, along with various illnesses and mishaps. Almost nothing is given of the sibling rivalries and dramas that must have played out in such a huge family with so many distinct characters. Van der Kiste has written other collective biographies of royal siblings, and several stand-alone biographies of various royals, but this is not one of his better efforts.
   
   The best part of the book is one of the appendices that lists all of the children, and provides pertinent information about their own children and the many intertangled relationships that they would create -- by the First World War, descendants of Queen Victoria would be found either occupying or marrying into nearly every throne in Europe with the exception of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, several small German principalities and the Italian royal house.
   
   The author did update his book and bibliography, making note of the new material and books published on the individuals, it's still not really worth the effort to seek out a copy unless you are a fan of van der Kiste's work. The photographs are rather muddled, and not very unique to the work -- many come from other sources. Most of all, the entire narrative has the feel of a cut-and-paste job; while it is good to see the story of Queen Victoria and her children presented in a cohesive whole, and in chronilogical order, it simply lacks the depth of other, far better written, biographies.
   
   Somewhat recommended.

3 comments about The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English.

1. I found this book fasinating. The beginning is a bit jumbled, hard to follow, but soon it launches the reader into the world of Empress Matilda. The author has done an excellent job of bringing the empress, her father and sons back to life for me espcially, she and son Henry are my ancestors. What better way to get to know them!



2. This is a great book about a wonderful woman, who got lost in the shuffel. As there isn't very much written about Matilda, the first almost English Queen in her own right, the author deserves applause for their ability to put together such a checkered past. The thrown was stolen out from under her by her cousin Stephen, and they began the civil war that English people discribed as the time when "Christ and his saints slept." Speaking of which, if you like this book, you'll love "When Christ and His Saints Slept" by Penman.



3. You can't find a better study on the topic, and the author is mistress of the sources like few other living historians. The only thing left to do is to look more at the gender issues raised by the whole issue, but this book is so good and thorough there is absolutely no use criticizing it for what it is not intended to be!

4 comments about The Knox Brothers.

1. Penelope Fitzgerald's father was Edmund Knox, first son of an Anglican bishop. Edmund became editor of Punch. His next youngest brother was Dillwyn, who played a major role in the British cracking of the Nazi Enigma code. The next brother was Wilfred, an Anglo-Catholic author and social worker who never told a lie. The youngest was Msgr. Ronald Knox, who converted to Catholicism and single-handedly translated the New Testament from original sources. The wonder of the story is not only that all four brothers were so great, but also that Ms. Fitzgerald can write the four disparate stories so gloriously. She seems to know as much about Oxford faculty politics as the working of the German code machine. I'll end with two cliches: (1) I couldn't put it down, and (2) I was sad when it ended.



2. Penelope Fitzgerald produced some of the finest short novels written. Before she started her career as a novelist she wrote these collected biographies of her father and his 3 brothers in 1977. It seems appropriate that this collection of familial histories was updated and placed in its final form by Ms. Fitzgerald shortly before her death.

   For those that believe Genetics play a role in the hereditary talent of later generations, this book certainly will reinforce that view. Whether when reviewing her Father's life, or that of his 3 brothers, all these men were exceptional in there own manner. There were characteristics they held in common; amongst them were brilliant wits, and integrity. The latter trait would seem redundant, or perhaps should be one we hope someday will be for all men like her Uncle Wilfred and her Uncle Ronald. Both of these men were Priests, but even here these Brothers maintained their own identities. Wilfred was an Anglo-Catholic Priest, and his Brother was a Priest of The Roman Catholic Church. The History of these men's lives are all of great interest, however the differences in the Religious Denominations, at first so similar to the ear, and then so different theologically, provided some of the more interesting aspects of the book.

   Father Ronald went beyond the normal duties of his calling, and expanded his talents not only into journalism, but I believe rather specially as an Author of Detective Novels. All this was in addition to being The Chaplain At Oxford, and a man who translated a revised form of The New Testament, so that so many more could enjoy the writings.

   For readers familiar with World War II, the word Enigma has a meaning in excess of the dictionary definition. Enigma was the machine that the Germans used for enciphering their communications, had it remained a secret, the War if nothing else would have been lengthened, perhaps dramatically. Uncle Dillwyn was repeatedly promoted and was critical to "finding a way in" to Enigma, and was credited with contributing to several strategic victories that without the understanding of Enigma could not have taken place.

   Her Father was again a man of many gifts, but it is his time as Editor of the legendary "Punch Magazine" that seemed to best define the man's many traits. He too was a writer, journalist, humorist, and devoted Husband and Father. He may or may not have foreseen that a short 6 years after his death his Daughter Penelope would begin her own literary career with a book that paid tribute to he and his brothers.

   Ms. Fitzgerald does honor to the memories of her family members without appearing to lose objectivity, and succumbing to fawning over her subjects. If you have read her books, or the interviews she gave none of this will come as a surprise. She was a woman of great talent, minimal ego, and she happily, for readers, shared all her gifts.




3. Fitzgerald is to be congratulated for her frank portrayal of her father and uncles. Even so, I felt something was being withheld. After all, the Knox brothers were part of the Waugh generation and lived through an incredibly revolutionary period in world history. As interesting as each of these brothers is, it's hard to believe they were as domestic and tweedy as she wishes to think of them. One needs to look elsewhere for the dirt on these fellows (but, alas, I know not where).

   My interest was primarily in Ronald Knox, the youngest of the children (the Knoxes had two daughters, as well, but neither of them seems to have made much of an impression on their neice). As a young man Ronald converted to Roman Catholicism, to the chagrin of his father, an Anglican bishop of Evangelical leanings, and of his brother Wilfred, an Anglo-Catholic priest. Although Fitzgerald does not sidestep religious issues, I sensed that she herself was not very religious and that she never quite understood why dogmatics could be so divisive in her family. Ronald wrote so-so detective fiction. His great achievement, however, was the translation of the Latin Bible into modern English for Roman Catholics (sadly at a time when the Roman Catholic church was just about to realize the importance making Bible translations from the original Hebrew and Greek). I wanted to know more about Knox's process of working and the public response to the finished translation. But Fitzgerald, ever bouncing from one Knox brother to the next, gives very little information on this subject.

   Fitzgerald doesn't waste much ink, either, on examining sibling rivalry (it must have been strong--not one Knox could be considered a slacker) or on psychoanalysing family dynamics. There are no lessons here to glean about family life in general, nothing that could serve as a mirror to one's relationships with one's own siblings. The Knoxes seem to have been truly unique, and are probably best appreciated as accomplished individuals.

   Those looking for juicier portraits of bright young Brits in the years leading up to World War II, should turn to Humphrey Carpenter's "Brideshead Generation: Evelyn Waugh and His Friends" or Martin Green's "Children of the Sun: A Narrative of 'Decadence' in England after 1918."




4. Why read biographies? Several reasons come to mind: to get a glimpse of a vanished past, to live vicariously through glamorous and interesting people, to learn truths about the good life that survive those vanished pasts and apply to even the unglamorous.

   All of these apply in spades to _The Knox Brothers_, novelist Penelope Fitzgerald's 1977 biography of her father, Edmund ("Evoe") Knox and his brothers, Ronald, Wilfred and Dilly.

   The most famous of the Knox brothers today is Ronald, a famous British convert to and apologist for Catholicism. His conversion is well-detailed by Fitzgerald, along with the strife it caused within the family: his father was an Anglican bishop, and remained essentially unreconciled to his convert son, and his brother Wilfred also became an Anglican clergyman. Evoe, who also achieved great fame as editor of the humor magazine Punch, was an indulgent agnostic, but Dilly was rigorously atheistic.

   Despite such differences, mutual love and respect prevailed among the brothers, and as Fitzgerald writes, "one would think it must have been as clear then as it is now that if human love could rise above the doctrines that divide the Church, then these docrines must have singularly little to do with the love of God." The humane perspective that would later distinguish her novels is on ample display in this biography, as is her wry humor.

   Perhaps most fascinating and unusual of the four brothers was Dilly, who served in both world wars as a codebreaker, and played an instrumental role in cracking the German Enigma machine during World War II. Fitzgerald describes his work in generous detail, and places it in the context of the family's general fascination with language and wordplay.

   I highly recommend this biography, which like the lives of its subjects is briskly paced and rich in variety. One caveat: if you have no place in your heart for Anglophilia, you may find the personalities of Fleet Street and Oxbridge rather tiresome.

5 comments about The Highly Civilized Man: Richard Burton and the Victorian World.

1. One of the most remarkable men who ever lived was Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton. He was a poet, explorer, linguist, soldier, and translator, with remarkable accomplishments in each of these fields. The best biography of this astonishing and energetic man is still _The Devil Drives_ by Fawn Brodie, but in _The Highly Civilized Man: Richard Burton and the Victorian World_ (Harvard), Dane Kennedy has written something else. His book covers aspects of this multi-faceted man who was busy all his life making his own legend, but who is revealed here as "very much a man of his time, a product of nineteenth-century Britain and its imperial encounter with the world." Kennedy traces the sources of the intellect behind Burton's many efforts, even his famous physical feats such as his pilgrimage in disguise to Mecca or his role in finding the source of the Nile. Among other things, Burton was, as the chapter headings here classify him, an Orientalist, a relativist, a racist, and a sexologist, and Kennedy has taken a useful look at all these roles.
   
   The different chapters with their themes cover Burton's life in a more-or-less chronological way. Burton had a genius for languages and would eventually become fluent in perhaps a couple of dozen of them. His first foreign assignment was to the British East India Company, and although Burton sought glory in battle, his contribution was really to increase the knowledge of the land, the language, and the people. He took his capacity for imitation of other cultures to its most famous exercise in making the hajj in 1853. As Kennedy points out, there was no reason for any disguise; he could have simply have asserted his belief in Islam (a freethinker, he always did value the societal strengths of Islam, and he considered Christian missionaries to be on a misconceived quest) and joined the flood of foreigners in the pilgrimage. But this would not serve his purposes. A convert to Islam (no matter of what degree of sincerity, or how loosely attached to the Church of England) would be outcast from respectable society, preventing him from becoming a national hero and limiting sales of his great _Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah_. Burton's racism was a product of his time, and of his travels in Africa; he respected African cultures, even if he felt Negroes to be inferior and incapable of improvement. Kennedy makes the case that Burton had a relativist conception of culture, but such relativism did not encompass any struggle for improvement of political rights. Burton's value of other cultures included his view of their acceptance of sexuality, an acceptance he found lacking in his own country. Kennedy explains that with publication of his translations of the _Kama Sutra_, _The Perfumed Garden_, and especially _The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night_, Burton intended to subvert his nation's "purity forces." While Burton wrote that the _Nights_ was not fit for women to read, he filled it with strong and independent female characters who exhibited the sort of sexual desire women were supposed to keep hidden. Burton wanted to change British sexual morality, and his views would have grated against the current "just say no" philosophy. "Shall we ever understand," he sighed, "that ignorance is not innocence?"
   
   Kennedy makes the case that not only was Burton remarkable in the many aspects of his efforts, he was eager to "advance the larger epistemological quest to understand, explain, and classify difference." He thus informed Victorian debates on race, religion, and sexuality, debates that are continuing into our own contentious times. Burton is a compelling character, and these essays on different features of his career and interests are filled with important insights about him and about the times of which he was a product.



2. When I first discovered that a new Burton biography by a professor of history was soon to be published I had high expectations. Upon receipt of Professor Kennedy's Burton biography titled The Highly Civilized Man, I started digesting his work. The asserted themes of the work included 1) placing Burton and his work in context with the larger issues and challenges of Victorian times, and 2) using Burton to better understand the nature of changes beginning to percolate socially due to the interaction of Victorian England with its colonial enterprises. Indeed, as far as I know, this approach is pioneering and insightful. As I continued reading to about page 90, I thought Professor Kennedy's effort was well done, and the book would be another jewel to adorn the crown of Burton research, along with the work of Mary Lovell. I am of the opinion Professor Kennedy succeeded in achieving both this stated objectives. From this standpoint, his book is a success.
   
   The observations of Burton as a harbinger bridging the transition from the Victorian Era to the Modern Era reflect the type of insights one expects from a biographer trained in the rigors of academic scholarship. I enjoyed the in depth academic analysis of Burton from the standpoint of concepts of relativism as applied to notions of cultural difference. Professor Kennedy has also highlighted the role played by Burton in the early development of anthropology as an academic discipline. Social/Cultural Anthropology's primary research methodology is called participant/observation. Certainly, this approach was an inherent part of Burton's nature, and the scope of his anthropological observations were derived by this research approach. I was also glad to see that Professor Kennedy gave particular attention to discussing Burton's Stone Talk and his Kasidah. The earlier biographies did not devote much attention to either of these important works.
   
   As long as Kennedy stayed focused on academic based scholarship he avoided the pitfalls that plagued the earlier biographies that predated Lovell's Rage to Live. Unfortunately, the book digressed into complicated histories that are not fully recounted. Yet, Professor Kennedy felt compelled to make several definitive conclusions sorely lacking the professional level of scholarship a professor should be required to meet. The outcome of Kennedy's failures is a setback in Burton scholarship. Given the effort to place Burton in context, the irony is that the book with notable examples omits necessary context to understand and evaluate some of the Professor's conclusion. For example, the recounted history of Burton firing over the head of a crowd of Greek Orthodox Christians fails to acknowledge that Burton resorted to this solution after trying less violent alternatives, and after he and fellow members of his party were injured by rocks thrown at them. The key point is that Burton used a hierarchy of options to confront unstable situations. This point also relates to the absurd conclusion that Richard and Isabel were role-playing in the desert, and that there is a hidden psychology to uncover. The decision to have Isabel act as Richard's son was an attempt to protect her from rape and death, and to give Richard an option before resorting to lethal force. The Burtons took their personal safety serious as illustrated by their habit of carrying two revolvers and three Bowie knives when traveling.
   
   
   
   Professor Kennedy has a mildly obsessive theme about people Burton did not know going into the desert for homosexual interludes that randomly pops up in the book. He includes a discussion of Burton and several earlier biographers who speculated about Burton's sexuality. But Kennedy failed to note those writers assumed Richard and Isabel had a loveless and sexless marriage, and they used outmoded, almost now quaint, modes of Freudian analysis. The illusion of the Burton's loveless marriage was gutted by the original sources brought to light by Ms. Lovell. Professor Kennedy fails to point out the deficiencies of Brodie and Mclynn concerning their analysis of Burton and sexuality. The deficiencies in The Highly Civilized Man about the question of Burton's sexual interests are too numerous to address in a short review nor are the issues he raised concerning Damascus, Crowley and others. Kennedy's treatment of Burton in Damascus is a travesty. Not once does the professor inform the reader that all segments of society in Damascus worked to bring Burton back from his recall. The Damascus treatment is lacking in necessary detail and skewered to the degree that the discussion should have been deleted form the book. It is also one of the examples where Kennedy included information that is extraneous to accomplishing his two professed themes.
   
   The book appears to have been written with segments produced using an academic analysis methodology with other portions written in an almost stream of consciousness with points lacking critical evaluation. Moreover, there are instances of contradiction. This leads one to conclude the work was not scrutinized properly before going to press. The Kasidah analysis includes a conclusion that Burton believed there is no God or afterlife, yet in the chapter titled the Afterlife, Kennedy indicates Burton may have concluded there is continuing life. In fact, towards the end of the Kasidah and towards the end of note 2, Burton makes it plain he has a positive view on a continuing future life. It is not a life however with the attributes of anyone's religious acculturation. The chapter on the afterlife in large part is one of the commendable aspects of this biography.
   
   All of the hallmarks of a work that will withstand the centuries are present in this work if only the good professor would later reissue it, and correct the many deficiencies and expand the themes of Burton as harbinger, Burton as catalyst, Burton as a pioneering mystic and Burton as scribe in the manner of Thoth, the Ancient Egyptian principle of wisdom.



3. A thoughtful book which most of the time attaches its arguments firmly to sources, scrupulously researched. A little verbose at times, tending to fall prey to the current academic fashion of attaching a superfluity of labels (particularly those ending in -ist) to its subject. Certainly there's the intention to 'de-mythologize' Burton and expose him to some quite valid criticisms, as well as plaudits. Kennedy reminds us that J.L. Burckhardt, not Burton, was the first European to travel on the Hajj in disguise. He suggests that in Burton's day, such disguise would only really have been necessary to enter the holiest places; simply because Burton could have professed conversion to Islam. I'm uncomfortable on those occasions when Kennedy states speculation as fact, for example (p63): 'Burton saw an opportunity to tap into this rich vein of curiosity by undertaking the pilgrimage to Mecca and exposing the city and its Muslim faithful to the scrutiny of his Christian Countrymen'. And then, later: "It must be understood, however, that Burton's decision to undertake a hajj in an "Oriental" disguise was directed as much at a British audience as it was at the Muslims with whom he associated during the journey." Although the facts are suggestive that this may be true, no proof is given - that would be very hard to do.
   
   Kennedy concludes (p92) "There is little doubt that Burton too was attracted to impersonation precisely because it provided a way of transgressing against the codes and conventions that governed society, challenging the psychic shackles imposed by civilization." This conclusion could be a little superficial: we might also add that his daily dress of grotesque beard; eyes sometimes ringed with kohl; the brandishing of iron cane, pistol or navaja and his frequent adoption of a truly wicked and fearsome persona ("to shock"), could well have been a part of the same charade - whose ultimate purpose was to divert attention away from self. Did Burton suffer from some profound insecurity and a distaste for who he really was? Was he truly the "Sheep in wolf's clothing" that W.S. Blunt claims? The book had perhaps an opportunity to take this further.
   
   The point is raised that, far from hacking their way through virgin African forest - unexplored territory - as is the general impression (my own, anyway), Burton and Speke took advantage of well-trodden arteries which had been used for slave and ivory traffic by Arab traders for generations - affording themselves of the supply infrastructure and information sources already in place to tend these parties. Wielding what must surely be humour, Kennedy observes that Burton was faced with insurmountable difficulties in the use of disguise on his African expeditions.
   
   The subject of race and Burton's undeniable racism threads its way unceasingly through this book. Kennedy uses the word `troubling' numerous times when confronting it. He employs an early 21st century scrutiny to pass clear judgment on a latter 19th century culture - perhaps unconsciously setting relativism aside.
   
   In 1633, Galileo Galilei was forced to abjure and recant his prior assertion of "...having held and believed that the sun is the center of the world and immovable, and that the earth is not the center and moves." Although we are dumbfounded by this today, we shouldn't be. There are dogmas in place in 2006 which no historian or anthropologist dares to contradict - on pain of professional suicide and even jail in a few countries. These dogmas touch upon versions of history enforced by law and statements upon the subject of race that are officially held to be modern heresies. Thus when judging Burton by the measures of our day with regard to racial matters and, then, reversing the scrutiny and weighing this book's criticisms by my own unfashionable standards; I, as a reader, am forced to conclude that neither one of them has the right of it. I am hit on the nose by the consequences of relativism!
   
   Burton had good and bad to say about everybody - and an awful lot of the bad is directed at white Victorian society (which is nowhere labeled `racism'). The scientist in Burton (and he was a very good one I think) brought out his objectivity; the human being railed mightily and emotionally against slights, insults and injustices; some the consequence of his own misguided actions; some dead on target. I think Kennedy walks into the pitfall of early 21st century political correctness: time and again he is so troubled by negative remarks made concerning a particular race, yet seems to accept those that are positive without demur. In true critique, must we not take exception to all such generalizations? Burton made `hurtful' observations on colour and physiognomy which, I predict, in future times, will be done in the painless language of DNA base-pairs.
   
   Certainly Kennedy cites instances where Burton takes relativistic stands, such as (p155): "There is more of equality between the savage and the civilizee - the difference being one of quantity, not of quality - than the latter will admit. For every man is everywhere commensurate with man". Kennedy then asks "How can these remarks be reconciled with Burton's insistence on the innate inferiority of the African?" Having raised the idea that the contradictions could be ascribed to "an undisciplined and volatile mind", Kennedy points out that such a conclusion would cause us to:
   
   "... miss what may have been Burton's most intriguing contribution to Victorian conception of race. His understanding of race as a closed space defined by difference serves a double purpose: it supports the standard racists' contention that biology is destiny, but it also ventures the view that races have their own systems of beliefs and behaviour, each incommensurate with the other and implicitly standing against a universalist standard of values."
   
   Doesn't that take rather a lot of words to say (without any of the promised reconciliation) that Burton was inconsistent: giving the Victorians a fresh new viewpoint on race while at the same time reinforcing their old prejudices?
   
   The chapter entitled "The Sexologist" thoroughly covers a lot of well-trodden ground; over-trodden one might say. On homosexuality, Kennedy is of the opinion that Burton had probably actually indulged and cites a rather telling letter of Swinburn's in support, yet, knowing this was rather likely (even close to certain), so what? What more can be written about Burton? The answer is evident here: very little. This, by the way, is not a criticism of the book.
   
   The final chapter "The Afterlife" is for me one of the more interesting. Kennedy speculates on Burton's spiritual beliefs and brings out his agnosticism as well as his horror of annihilation at death. In "A Glance at the Passion Play" (I quote the full context which Kennedy doesn't), Burton says (p165), on Spiritualism, " it satisfies a real want, a crave which is to millions - a part only of our kind but numbering millions - the bread of moral life." He then offers a `Spiritualist's Decalogue' of which Kennedy quotes article VI "Death, physically considered, dissolves a certain organic unity; it is not, however, annihilation, but change."
   
   This was an astute selection by Kennedy and brings us closer to an understanding of Burton's spirituality.



4. Nineteenth century Western colonialism and imperialism including the Industrial revolution changed Western values and social perceptions and mores, but more so, our awareness of the world as a whole, in terms of defining ourselves against difference. The Victorian influence towards modernism is far greater than historians first realized. One of the most romantic and pivotal figures of the Victorian age was Sir Captain Richard Burton. In Kennedy's critical biographical overview of the man's life and thought, unlike most of the numerous biographies to date, attempts to represent and reinterpret Burton's life and thought in the context of the Victorian era. By doing this, he proposes, we come to understand this highly complex genius in terms of the historical values of the time.
   
   Kennedy outlines Burton's numerous accomplishments as a prolific writer, linguist, (twenty-five languages and many dialects) explorer, archaeologist, spy, amateur physician, translator, artist, poet, expert swordsman and sexologist. He wrote over twenty-five travel volumes containing his many adventures, and translated the Kumar Sutra and The Arabian Nights which is the most often read an quoted in present time. Similar to many of his contemporaries, his studies of Orientalism and African cultures were done in the spirit of difference, or the `other'. Kennedy's thesis is that Burton was a product of the Victorian age but an important precursor to modernism.
   
   As the 19th century has a virtual endless list of incredible men and women, according to Kennedy, what set Burton apart, was "...restless determination to extend the reach of his experience to ever more pockets of humanity and to draw insights from those increasingly varied encounters in order to advance the larger epistemological quest to understand, explain, and classify difference." (p.270) Burton's vast written work, his copious notes and observations reveals this holy quest, his unwavering pursuit of hidden knowledge and knowledge of the `other', strange cultures and bizarre religions until his death in 1895.
   
   The author devotes most of his analysis on Burton's works as a sexologist. Burton's many erotic translations, promoting his notion that Victorian repression of sexual matters and desire is tremendously unhealthy, paved the way for future sexologists to study the subject within a scientific framework. His controversial translations and writings also revealed a sexual hypocrisy that the Victorian age is infamously known for. Rather than study sex on moral grounds, Burton proposed a relativist position, attributing different climates around the world to certain sexual behaviours. We know this to be nonsense, however, including this premise, Burton achieved distance from the moral position, giving his subject a form of objectivity.
   
   Dane Kennedy's approach to Burton is a fresh perspective of the man. He was an individual that accomplished more in one lifetime than many, but he was a man of his times, attempting to define the identity of western culture during a period of vast change. Despite over one hundred years since his death, even a critical appraisal of his life and work, does not in any way lessen his accomplishment nor profound influence in the Romantic age towards modernism.
   
   A Highly Civilized man is a fresh and well-written account of an icon of the Romantic-Victorian age.



5. A critical study of Sir Richard Burton. Most of his biographers, bowldered by the epic nature of their subject (understandably so, this is one remarkable guy), often smooth over some real contradictions in his thought, less than favorable interpretations, etc.. This author brings Richard under real scrutiny, examining his views on religion, sex, race, and his persona as a "explorer" or "impersonator"; Not much new info; just bringing to light what is usually in the background of most biographies. Perhaps a finer portrait emerges of the man- though its undeniable that some of his statements- esp about race were wildly contradicting. He tries to demonstrate how Victorian attitudes influenced who Burton was- which is obvious in a way, he knew what his countrymen would find shocking and played on it- thus building his persona as a man who flaunted social conventions, though of course in other respects- sexuality, his Stone Talk work- he didn't cater to anyone, - one thing I couldn't help noticing, and which Kennedy points out, though a compulsive, prolific author, and highly opinionated, Burton was not a particularly good writer.

5 comments about We Shall Not Fail: The Inspiring Leadership of Winston Churchill.

1. Anyone who gave less than 4 stars for this book needs to have their head examined! This is a great book about a great man. I read a lot, but when I read that this man read entire volumes, I was impressed. The fact that England isn't speaking German today is largely due to the perseverence of Churchill. As far as good writing, Celia Sandys (Churchills grand-daughter) did a wonderful job. Any leader would learn a lot by reading this or other books about or by Churchill.
   
   I liked it and highly recommend it.



2. I am a Churchill fan and have read much by many on the subject. This book might serve as a primer on Churchill. It captures some of his distinguishing characteristics. While some of them relate to leadership, others were just extensions of his personality. He was a bullish, long winded, contrarian, egoist. Without a doubt he was also an extraordinary leader and a man for his time during WWII.
   
   Unfortunately, in some chapters Celia Sandys takes a personality style or quirk and tries to stretch it into an inspiring nugget of leadership truth for the masses. She gives anecodtal evidence of a particular facet of Churchill's outlook and then ends each chapter with Churchillian Principles. They are meant to convey that he had distilled these principles and lived by them, however, there are many biographies out there that will show you the complete Churchill. He was a leader. He was stubborn, relentless and fully taken with himself. But let's don't over do it. These were manifestations of WHO Churchill was, not leadership principles. Churchill wouldn't have changed any of them even if he discovered they weren't exceptional leadership traits. He simply would have continued on undeterred.
   
   Still, I would recommend this book to any not familiar with Churchill and who may not be up for a lengthy biography. You'll get enough for a flavor of the man or you may be intrigued enough to conduct more serious study about him. I don't think you will be able to take any one of the "Churchillian principles" and infuse it into your personal management or leadership style.



3. First a caveat to my review. I only bought this book for information on Winston Churchill, and have no interest on the business aspect of this book at all. I got exactly what I wanted, insight on Churchill the man, and even learned a bit about some great business minds. The book is full of little vignettes of Churchill, and how he operated and used his personal skills. Divided into chapters which define Churchill at his best, and even some of his worst. The gems of the book are the little stories given to reinforce thought processes of the authors on Churchill. Such as the one where Churchill, after a late night meeting, ran into a trunk G.I in a hallway. The G.I addressed Churchill as "Fatso", and asked him where the bathroom was. Churchill gave the man concise instruction on finding the restroom, then added "It is marked Gentlemen...., but do not let that discourage you." Priceless, stuff on a great man. If I were more intersted on the business side of the book a five would have been given.



4. Found the book in my case that had kind of sit there for some time. Was a book short without the library being open so why not? It was a great decision. Having always thought alot of Churchill this book was excellent to expose his deep thinking and ways with people. Any executive could learn a multitude of actions from this book. Todays world does not follow most of these ways and it probably is the reason we are in the mess we are currently in. We need more men as great a Churchill. Are you out there?



5. There is no question that Winston Churchill was an inspiring and powerful leader, probably the best that the twentieth century produced. He took over a nation reeling from defeat and standing literally alone against the mightiest military power ever assembled before the massive American forces were mustered at the end of World War II. When many were convinced that England would be forced to surrender, he rallied the British so that they held on until the Soviet Union and the United States entered the conflict.
   This book is a recapitulation of many of the actions and principles used by Churchill to achieve his war aims and at that level, the book is a success. Beyond that, there is an attempt to relate these actions to managing a modern business. While there is some justification to the comparisons, the book is very weak in that area.
   The problem of course is that the British position in the first years of World War II was a literal matter of life and death. If they failed, the nation could cease to exist and even in the best case scenario of victory, thousands of British citizens would be brutally killed. This simply cannot be transferred into the leadership of a business. The capitalist system has programmed a rate of business failures into the regular operations, so the failure of a business is at most a local catastrophe. Therefore, all such comparisons suffer from a serious, if not fatal flaw.
   The authors use the incident of the destruction of the World Trade center towers as the most similar modern incident and there is repeated praise of the American and British leaders after the fact. While some of that praise is justified, the reality is that despite the horrific nature of the event, it was a singular event, unlike the Blitz, which was nightly.
   For these reasons, I rank the book highly in the historical sense, although there is a glossing over of some of Churchill's mistakes. This is balanced by a poor rank in the modern business sense, because the situations are just not that comparable.