5 comments about The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England: 1327--1330.

1. It was with extreme pleasure that I read The Greatest Traitor, life and time of Sir Roger Mortimer written by Ian Mortimer although the author insisted that there is no relationship between himself and his subject. The book proves to be well written and researched although lack of primary sources in many part of Roger Mortimer's life hampered the author's effort. Many of these parts lies with Mortimer's personal life. He did married young and had host of children but there's really nothing in the book that reflects what Mortimer was like, as a father and husband outside of few references. This proves to be the book's only weakness and it may have been out of the author's control to provide.
   
   The author make his case very well that Roger Mortimer was one of England's greatest traitors. Mortimer's actions against his country, his King Edward II, his oath of fealty, his relationship with Queen Isabella and his dominates over Edward III clearly marked him as worst offender of his class. However, the author also tempered that case with the reasoning that many of the things Mortimer did was in self-defense of his lands, honor and life. That Edward II was a bad ruler who ruled terribly. It wasn't until Mortimer and Isabella had total control during the regency of Edward III that they began to act and ruled like tyrants.
   
   This book goes well with Alison Weir's Queen Isabella biography as both of them reflects on the same theory about the fate of Edward II. The Fieschi letter dominate both books that Edward II died peacefully as a religious exile in Italy and not murdered horribly in Berkely Castle as regular history books goes. Weir introduced that theory openly to exonerate Isabella from Edward II's murder and author in this book did the same to exonerate Roger Mortimer as well from that charge.
   
   Overall, very interesting book about an important mediveal English nobleman who effectively ruled England for nearly 3 and half years with his lover, Queen Isabella. While regular history books shows Edward III following his father in rule, anyone reading this book will realized that there's an footnote between the two. Mandatory reading material for anyone interested in this time period and subject matter.



2. I do not see what all the yelling is about. Mortimer's conclusion that Edward II secretly survived some years into his son's reign are not logical. He tells us the Edward II considered himself the absolute monarch of England and Ireland and would share no control of the contry with anyone except his very close favorites. After he lost then regained control of the country he so abused his nobles and gentry (the ruling classes) that they would not turn a hand against him. In regaining control Roger Mortimer fled to France. Eventually Roger hooked up with Edward II's wife who was sent to France, her home, on a diplomatic mission. Eventually Roger and Isabelle returned to England to overthow Edward II and claim the crown for Edward III. This is where I think he argues unconvincingly. Edward II is reported dead, a body purportedly his is buried with full honors in a noticable grave. The author aruges that Edward III was told by his mother and Roger his father was still alive and if he wanted to stay king he had better play along. Edward III gets tired of Roger's increasing abuse of power behind the throne and arranges his judicial murder. He also goes after those who are considered responsible for his father's death, but most get away.
   
   Then comes a letter supposedly reporting that Edward II did survive, being moved to Corfe Castle instead of killed, but killing a sleeping porter on the way out of the castle he was being held in, thoughtfully accounting for the substitute corpse. After being held at Corfe for 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 years, he is taken to Ireland where 9 months later he is apparently released, goes on foot in the guise of a pilgram across England, sailing to Europe, dropping in on the Pope to whom he is admitted on the strenght of having a sovereign to bribe the porter there, eventually joining a hermitage and maybe seeing his son and second grandson some years later.
   
   Excuse me. A man who genuinely believed he was autocrat of England shuffles across the width of it without visiting any of his remaining friends and without trying to reclaim his throne? The Pope sees people because his porter is bribed? And the man who is supposed to have been keeping him, when accused of murdering him, gets away with saying, in effect, "what do you mean? I didn't know he was dead!" To which Edward III does not say: if he is not dead, who did I pay to bury with such honor and such visibility? Nor does Queen Isabelle or any member of the nobility ask any of these questions either. Bottom line: Ian Mortimer's conclusion that Edward II got a way simply does not mesh with the man he spends the greatest part of the book describing.



3. This year's reading has included three of my all-time favorite histories. The Princes in the Tower was lucid and reasoned in its indictment of Richard III, with the kindness to provide sufficient context in the reigns of both Richard's predecessor (Edward IV) and successor (Henry VII). The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry was an engaging recounting of the physical tapestry's own amazing story, and a critical exegesis of the tapestry's tale.
   
   Better than both is Ian Mortimer's The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England: 1327--1330.
   
   Like Bridgeford's illumination of Eustace II of Boulogne, Ian Mortimer brings light to Roger Mortimer's upbringing and exploits, mitigating his rebellions against Edward II and his domination of Edward III while exposing Mortimer's descent into the same arrogant tyranny that brought down Edward II's favorites Gaveston and Despenser. He also brings compelling documentary evidence to substantiate what chroniclers of the time considered wild rumors. In short, nothing but a gripping tale wrapped in conscientious scholarship.
   
   And you can complain about Mortimer's (and Alison Weir's) assertions that Ed. II lived out his life in Ireland and then Italy all you want. Mortimer makes a compelling case from documentary evidence. So there.



4. This biography offers a far different perspective than one usually finds in studies of the unfortunate Edward II. The son and the father of the brilliant Edwards I and III, Edward II was an ineffective king who seemed to actively repel the support of nobility that would otherwise have been loyal to the crown, while promoting "favourites" on whom he showered power and wealth. Edward's queen, Isabella, and her lover Roger Mortimer launched a successful invasion and defeated Edward's army, deposed and imprisoned Edward, and (the conventional wisdom says) murdered him in a particulary grisly manner. (I have read other speculation that he escaped and lived in exile in France, and I want to believe that, but who knows?) It would be helpful to the reader to have some background knowledge, at least in broad strokes, of the era before beginning. I would recommend having read Alison Weir's biography of Isabella or even some Sharon Kay Penman period fiction before tackling "The Greatest Traitor". That said, this biography is clear, detailed, and provides fairly extensive insight into the era and Roger Mortimer's possible motivations. Mortimer (the author) thankfully does not tell the reader what Mortimer (the subject) thought or felt--rather he provides documentary evidence of where Roger Mortimer was, when his children were born, with whom he was allied, and so forth. He suggests some motivations based upon the evidence and the known events. The book is, in my view, compelling. The Mortimer name has always connoted a somewhat unsavory character for me: Marcher lords exploiting the Welsh, opportunistic, smart and brave but not trustworthy or loyal. This biography does not completely alter that impression, but provides motivations that make Roger Mortimer's actions seem less opportunistic and more responsive to the crises provoked by the Despensers and Edward's failed reign. Perhaps this is biography is not the place to start exploring Edward II's era, but once you've been hooked on the drama of the period, I think it's a must-read.



5. I read this book while on holiday in England. It was the perfect companion. If you enjoy history, especially history that is alive and vibrant, you will like this book.
   Mortimer takes us back 700 years to become engaged with Sir Roger and his world. We come to understand what a familial dynasty and legacy meant to a medieval knight/baron. We come to fully understand the failures of Edward II, and how those failures drove Mortimer and others to do the unthinkable - overthrow their king.
   The scholarship and research that went into this account are top notch and the authors theory (I won't give it away) is quite compelling.
   Great book!

4 comments about The Queen's Slave Trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Trafficking in Human Souls (P.S.).

1. First, the good: Nick Hazlewood gives us a thoroughly researched book about an interesting character from English history, the seafarer/pirate John Hawkyns. I was constantly amazed at the in-depth information that Hazlewood was able to provide, even going so far as to relate many of Queen Elizabeth's conversations with or about John Hawkyns to the reader. We also get the words of Philip II, the Spanish king, and his ambassadors in London. We even get the gist of John Hawkyns' conversations with all the dignitaries he dealt with in the new world as he sold his horrific cargo. All in all, we get a fairly complete picture of Hawkyns the brute, the opportunist, and Hawkyns the leader of men. It is an interesting portrait.
   
   And now the bad: John Hawkyn's adventures in New Guinea and the New World aren't really enough to fill a book from cover to cover with enough drama or information to keep the reader enthralled. Hawkyns makes three missions to the New World to sell slaves, and each time he visits the same places, and employs the same tactics. By the third trip, I was reading out of obligation rather than excitement. And of couse, the drama of his defense against the Spanish Armada falls outside the scope of this book, though there is an attempt to tie it to an earlier conflict that occurred at the end of Hawkyns' slaving career. What I missed most was a sense of history throughout the course of the book. Oftentimes events were merely relayed in sequential, if wonderfully thorough, order, but an analysis of these events place or influence on world history were saved for the final chapter of the book.
   
   All in all, an OK read if you enjoy Elizabethan or Age of Sail histories, but not enough to recommend it to the general readership.



2. Nick Hazlewood has written an engrossing book that gives us a rare and in-depth look into the opening salvos of the English slave trade through the voyages of Sir John Hawkyns (also spelled John Hawkins), the first English trader. Hazlewood supplies a brief biography of the Elizabethan mariner but focuses on Hawkyns' three major slave-trading voyages starting from 1562, from his departure from England to his actual acquisition of slaves in West Africa, through to his transactions in the New World and return to England.
   
   This book is a must-have for those interested in the early Age of Exploration and the nature of early trans-Atlantic commerce, but it is of far greater significance and value for a general audience since it provides a rare glimpse into the little-known details of the wretched commerce in human beings that took place as the Americas were being settled. Treatments of the African slave trade often leave a reader wondering about the mindset and nature of the participants who were profiting from it, and Hazlewood provides us with a "you are there" feeling. He has clearly done his homework here, consulting primary literature in both English and Spanish archives to reconstruct the means by which Hawkyns acquired his slaves in West Africa, the "currency" exchanges which took place to seal the deal, the wretched and horrendous conditions on the slaving ships, and the nature of Hawkyns' eventual transactions in the Caribbean and Spanish outposts in America. What emerges is that Hawkyns was a remarkably shrewd and ruthless businessman, able to secure such an extraordinary profit margin from his deals that even Queen Elizabeth I-- initially opposed to the human commerce-- became a crucial investor in Hawkyns' slave-trading schemes, providing ships and resources for raising his crews and launching further voyages.
   
   Hazlewood also casts Hawkyns' commerce within the broader context of 16th-century European seafaring, demonstrating how Hawkyns' actions-- viewed as smuggling by Spanish authorities-- in many ways constituted the root of the conflict that would flare between the Spaniards and English (leading to the Spanish Armada attack and a 16-year war between the two countries) later in the century. The reader is treated to an in-depth look at Hawkyns' fateful third voyage in 1567, in which his ships were attacked by a Spanish squadron off Veracruz. Hazlewood provides perhaps the best description in any recent book of the clash at Veracruz and its aftermath, both for Hawkins and his unfortunate crew members who were seized by the Spaniards. The book does drag somewhat in its later chapters but is not at all a chore to read, and Hazlewood's evocative style ensures that readers have a concrete tableau of the events that were transpiring, rather than merely an abstract depiction of them.
   
   For what would become the United States as well as for Britain, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was integral to their history. Indeed, Americans are well aware of the brutal consequences of slavery from the Civil War in the 1860s, yet are often much less aware of the background to that "curious institution." Hazlewood details these often obscure origins with both accuracy and a highly readable presentation. The reader emerges from the book with a sense of the Hobbesian mentality and conditions that dominated seafaring in the 1500s, and a better sense of the psychology that enabled so many to allow themselves to partake in the bloody business of human enslavement and trans-Atlantic trafficking. Hawkyns is shown in all his complexity as a ruthless merchant and as an inspiring leader of his crews, who braved on-ship conditions and hostile oceans that would make most of us cringe barely minutes away from the dock. Hazlewood's book is an excellent complement to Harry Kelsey's book on John Hawkins-- which covers similar territory-- and to Hugh Thomas's general history of the slave trade. It's a must-have for historians, for teachers and school libraries (at many levels), and for those who want to learn about the often-obscure history of slavery and of the fascinating details of 16th-century Atlantic exploration and maritime commerce.



3. Attempts to analyze the historical sociology of capitalism and slavery too often deal in abstractions. And the morality of power politics, and economic globalization, as with Marx, tends to be sublimated into the account by value-free laws of history, etc,... All well and good, but. This account of a one vignette of the early gestation of the Atlantic slave trade, in England, speaks more eloquently by its plain account of actual people, at the moment of the crystallization of a dreadful circumstance. Significant is the detail of Queen Elizabeth, quoted early on as denouncing the traffic in human beings, succumbing to royal patronage once the immense profits possible became clear. While one can practically hear the ghost of Marx snorting with contempt, the plain fact of the matter is that there is an ethical history possible, and there was nothing inevitable in the way slavery, almost extinct in Europe, made a comeback in the early modern period. It is not utopian, as this portrait makes clear, to consider that politicians, instead of being untrustworthyfrom the word go, might actually not succumb to terrible temptations and enter in league with poor devils like the Hawkins portrayed here, basically a capitalist thug, soon a courtier. The portrait of John Hawkins gives a fine-grain series of images of one of the great and classic failures of economic globalization, and the terrible legacy and bitterness that it led to.



4. I absorbed this read with great interest. The subject of slave-trading has been too painful for me to tackle it head-on but here I got into it because I am interested in Elizabethan personalities. The thing that shocks me in the book is how matter-of-fact the trading really was. This fact-based account puts the reader into the then-contemporary perspective of humans as just another commodity to be dealt for profit and a highly lucrative one at that. The rewards for successful trading were enough to turn the Queen, Elizabeth, into a profiteer. In fact, we see an Elizabeth in denial after she has waxed moral in her view of the abduction of Africans. She says they should be asked to volunteer. (Which is ridiculous on the face of it.) Of course, Hawkyns only saw the green light to GO. One cannot view Elizabeth in any ideal sense after this: there is no Gloriana or Astraea in this book. The business of the Queen is business; Queen and country are one.
   
   There isn't much of a biography of Hawkyns in the book. At least, insofar as a biography fleshes out the nuance of the character. What we get is a very competent individual who is able to make both military and financial decisions in quicktime. The depth of the book is focused on the ambivalence of Hawkyns in matters of religion. This is, in my opinion, is what places the story into it's deeper historical context. The English, as other Europeans, who were destined to fight bloody civil wars in the next century, were obsessed with the outer manifestations of Christianity (ritual, plastic images, etc. or not) and had lost any real sense of Christian teachings. In this book, we lose any ability to condemn Hawkyns as an individual; we are overwhelmed by the brutality of the times. I think the author, Nick Hazlewood has done quite a good job here.

5 comments about Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess.

1. This is an awsome book on Lady Diana. It has TONS of pictures. I enjoyed it ALOT!!



2. I have many books on Diana and was pleased to see this one come out. It has nice colourful pictures of her and some different poses. Highly recommend it.



3. I have a few books about Diana, but this one, A Tribute to the People's Princess, I found to be very excellent. It shows Diana in many pictures in her different roles in life:Princess of Wales, mother, wife and humanitarian. I recommend everyone who wants to learn more about Princess Diana, to read this book, you'll be glad you did.



4. Just when you think that you've read all there is about the late POW, along comes this well-written volume. It wasn't just the same old text with a few changes of words to make you think it was all new. I really found this book refreshing in content. One of the best coverages of the funeral I've read to date! Also pictures that I had not seen previously--and I have an embarrassingly large collection of them! However, while you're waiting for this book at Amazon.com to be released, I purchased mine at Waldenbooks on the clearance table for $2.99. I was shocked to see such a great book at such a steal, it's definatly worth the asking price here!



5. This book has been in my collection since its publication and has been read many times. It's still difficult to believe that this beautiful, young princess is no longer on her earthly sojourn but has moved on to a much better place.

   The forward is written by The Reverend Tony Lloyd who is The Executive Director of The Leprosy Mission. The following quote is taken from the foreward on page 11: "Leprosy may not be mentally and physically damaging, but it is often erroneously seen as a curse from the gods, and the 'victims' then become outcasts. Since Diana herself was the frequent victim of pain and anguish, she had a special empathy for those who suffered in the same way. It is not a coincidence that five of her six remaining charities are associated with stigma.

   "She was charismatic, witty, and, above all, a womain of extraordinary compassion. This was demonstrated both in the limelight and, more often, when there were no cameras or reporters present." So many times, one tends not to read the preface or the forward of a book and, often, valuable information can be gleaned from these. I, for one, feel that the last sentence of the above quote is crucial since there are still may people who think that Diana did everything in full view of cameras.

   If one collects books on Diana, this book is a must. There is not any new material, there are several pictures not seen before; however, as with all books, it is presented in a different format and style. One is taken through Diana's life as a toddler, as a small girl, as a teenager, as an adult, and lastly, through her funeral service and to her final resting place on the small oval island at Althrop - her ancestral home.

   Following are three quotations of Diana's: "I shall get married when I am sure that I am in love, so that we will never be divorced," said by Diana as a small girl - page 15. On page 30, "I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world when I looked at Charles through my veil. I had tremendous hope in my heart." On page 72, "I think the biggest disease this world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved, and I know that I can give love for a minute, for half an hour; for a day, for a month, but I can give. I'm very happy to do that and I want to do that."

   This is a great, but sad tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. This book contains many beautiful pictures in color and a few in black and white. This book is a must for anyone who collect books on Diana, Princess of Wales.

3 comments about In Camera: Francis Bacon: Photography, Film and the Practice of Painting.

1. "In Camera" is one of the most interesting books on Francis Bacon, one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, ever published for several reasons: First, it takes good advantage of the meanwhile fairly large array of books, catalogs and articles which have been published on Bacon. Second, Harrison had access to materials, mainly photographs that have not been published before. Third, he was able to interview several persons close to Bacon, notably John Edwards, Bacon's last companion. Fourth, and most importantly, the book has a clear thesis that the author is able to present convincingly. It is Harrison's position that Bacon used mainly photographs either taken by photographers by his request or from books and magazines to the effect that they: "triggered decisive turning points in his stylistic development" (from book jacket).
   
   In five chapters Harrison explores different type of media and images and how these affected Bacon's painting: Motion pictures, Interior Design, different artists such as Picasso and Michelangelo, the photography of Eadweard Muybridge, and the photographers that he hired to take photographs for him such as Deakin and Edwards. From the thousands of objects found in Bacon's studio at his death many were photographs from the above mentioned sources, but also taken from magazines and torn from books. Of these many had paint splatters and finger smudges in paint proving that Bacon used these for his paintings. A cut out photo of George Dyer, Bacon's lover from the 60's until his suicide in 1971 was even used as a template for several paintings. For many paintings Harrison shows the painting and the image or photograph that it was based on side by side. For example the Triptych (1991) used a front cover of "The Correspondent Magazine", a Muybridge photograph of mane wrestling, and a photo of Bacon. The book has over 270 excellent illustrations, of which at least 100 I saw for the first time and I own an extensive collection of Bacon books and catalogs.
   
   The fact that Bacon used other images for inspiration does not mean that he merely copied these. One look at Bacon's paintings will prove that this is not the case. It is well-known that Bacon did not use models for his paintings and the images acted as catalysts for Bacon triggering other images, emotions or memories which then manifested themselves in his extraordinary paintings. Bacon was always reluctant to discuss the meaning of his paintings, insisting that they had none. Harrison goes farther than any book since the Sylvester interviews in proving that this is not the case and that the paintings were highly personal. The following two quotes from the end of the book are in my opinion right on the mark:
   
   "..it should be remembered that most of Bacon's paintings were explorations of selfhood". (p.228)
   
   "He conveyed his inner life without compromise, but in code, in his paintings." (p.229)
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Bacon's art and Bacon the artist and man. The book is well presented, written and organized and the many images are fascinating. Though published by Thames & Hudson, it is printed and bound by Steidl an excellent German printer.
   
   For more information on books about Francis Bacon, please see the listmania list I compiled. Readers are also welcome to email me for more information on Bacon books and web sites.
   
   Review by Walter O. Koenig



2. It seems the number of books about British artist Francis Bacon, both biography and art monograph, grows each year, an indication of just how important this innovative and strange painter is in the spectrum of art history. IN CAMERA FRANCIS BACON: PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM AND THE PRACTIVE OF PAINTING is an erudite and fascinating work that opens previously sealed windows into the dark life and immensely controversial creativity of this daring genius.
   
   Bacon, unlike most artists of his time and even of the present, had no problems discussing the fact that he utilized the art of photography in gathering information and inspiration for his huge canvases. Bacon saw the camera as a ready resource of information from which products he then could study, cut and paste, distort and wildly mix as the impetus of his own painted creations. But the extent to which Bacon immersed himself in the images he collected and deposited in the ungainly mess of his studio at 7 Reece Mews is now brought to light by author Martin Harrison.
   
   Harrison not only understands photography's history and impact, he also understands painting. He wisely interviewed Bacon's last lover and inheritor of Bacon's estate until his death, John Edwards, and through Edwards' auspices Harrison gained access to many of the never before seen images that grace this book. Here are sketches, manipulated and notated photographs, photographic images of some of Bacon's destroyed canvases and plates of drawings and paintings not included elsewhere, making this volume of information invaluable to the Bacon devotees, no matter the number of volumes on their library shelves!
   
   Harrison writes with the style of the scholar he is and at times the writing itself is rather dry and academic. But if the reader perseveres these thick passages of documentation, the reward is new knowledge of just how Bacon utilized photos, newsprint snaps, movies, and all manner of the camera's output to gain the spark of brilliance that resulted in his amazing output. The book is on the finest paper and is filled with superb reproductions of the photographic stimuli and the resultant paintings. This is an invaluable volume for the study of Bacon's art. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 06



3. This book is an essential tool to better understand the process in which Francis Bacon produced his master works. As an artist, this book demystifies the painter while testifying his genius.

5 comments about The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II.

1. With the Constitutionally-mandated reduction in the sovereign's power in the past hundred years, it's easy to see the Queen of England as a figurehead. A mascot, if you will, whose only powers are to be advised and to consent. A study of Ben Pimlott's nearly seven hundred pages will teach you why this has happened, particularly in the last nearly fifty years.

   The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II is something of an oddity in today's world--a study of the political power the monarch still holds and how that power has been wielded (or not) during the current reign. It's fascinating, and in a world filled with tawdry junk bios about the private lives of the Royal Family, this factual reference book is a gem.

   It's true the Queen commands less politically than any of her predecessors, but that's more her own fault than anyone else's. She appears to have CHOSEN, for some reason known only to her, to reign but not rule. Even her father, George VI, that most dutiful of monarchs, often made important decisions in critical situations---and no one questioned him because he was the King. His daughter has spent her reign, since 1952, playing it safe, never pushing the Constitutional line between Sovereign and Government. Because the line's never been pushed by the Queen, the Government has encroached ever more obviously onto what was once unquestionably the Monarch's territory.

   It would be difficult for the Queen to push back now; she's already given up too much. It will be nearly impossible for the next monarch (most likely Prince Charles) to recover lost ground; he will most likely be only a ceremonial king, in the manner of the Danes and Swedes. Elizabeth II has allowed herself, her decendants, and the British monarchy itself to become Constitutionally hemmed in, and it's doubtful they'll ever cut their way out.

   Pimlott explains all of this with several examples of laws passed since 1952, each limiting the sovereign's power a bit more. The Queen has, for whatever reason, not refused her signature to any of these laws though, technically, she still has that right.

   Elizabeth II: A Biography is well-written and exhaustively referenced. The many photographs included aren't the ones that always show up in biographies about the Royal Family; there are several I've never seen before. There are no anonymous sources to question; everyone is either well-known, or he/she is explained to the reader. This may be a better book for English readers than for Americans, since several of the matters discussed pertain only to the English, and Americans may be bored by the minutiae of individual British case law.

   Final decision: A tad dry, but the best examination of Elizabeth II's reign I've seen.




2. This book goes into extreme depth of the life of the fifth longest reigning monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II. What she is like, what she must do as her position as the Queen, and what she stands for are a few of the questions that are answered in this biography by Ben Pimlott. Reading the book was an interesting and enjoyable experience that helps to understand the stresses of living life as a monarch.



3. ...lots of interesting, to-be-expected historical facts, dates, names, places, political intrigue, etc. (this is NOT a short book), but numerous anecdotes turned what could otherwise have been a dry historical narrative into a really enjoyable read---everyday life stories, palace gossip, and comical happenings of the Family Royal---examples: Queen Mary used to refer to granddaughter QE2 as "the little bambino"...and, though the death of Edward VIII was in no way a laughing matter, the description of how the Palace treated Wallis was really a scream.



4. Her Majesty's immediate family, her mother, also Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mum, her father, King George VI, and her sister Margaret, were considered the "family of families" by the British public throughout King George VI's reign, particularly during the War years of 1939-1945. When Ben Pimlott wrote this book in 1996 the year of Her Majesty's 70th birthday, the Royal family's reputation was beseiged during a time when (British, I assume, anti-monarchical) republicanism was at its height and on the rise. However, during the first decades of Queen Elizabeth II's lengthy reign, the publics' feelings on the monarchy were unquestionably favorable which you'll understand by reading the book. Millions the world over watched Her Majesty's wedding, (when she was still a Princess), and later her coronation; for many people, it was the first time they had ever watched television. So Ben Pimlott writes in his Preface that his book "is a book about the Queen in people's heads, as well as at Buckingham Palace".
   
   Ben Pimlott was "absolutely a patriot", his wife declared to the press following his death at age 58, almost a year ago, (he died on April 10, 2004, the day before Easter), after a short travail with leukemia. "He wanted, and believed, that the world and Britain could be a better place and that Goldsmiths could be a better place, and that poor people ought to have a brilliant university." Stumbling on his obituaries, I've become enamored with his life's work, (although short), and impressed with how well he was thought of; so many people were saddened by his passing. He was Warden of Goldsmiths University of London at the time. He had attended Oxford University when Bill Clinton was then a student there for one year. Professor Ken O Morgan wrote of him in an obituary that "he was one of the most important historians ever of the British left". Poor Brit, he was born on the fourth of July!
   
   Ben Pimlott wrote two other biographies before The Queen, one about Hugh Dalton, another Labour leader who was Chancellor during WWII and also son of Queen Victoria's chaplain, and Harold Wilson, who was prime minister and also of the Labour party. He also edited and made available to the public Hugh Dalton's private diaries. He was somewhat apprehensive about writing this book, anticipating criticism from his colleagues.
   
   Her Majesty invited Ben Pimlott over to Windsor Castle while he was writing this book, but interestingly, the book's contents were not discussed; he was merely invited over, I assume, for tea and a nice chat. In writing this book, he interviewed several former prime ministers, Princess Margaret, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Runcie. He used The diaries of Jock Colville, Queen Elizabeth's and Churchill's private secretary for source material. The Telegraph noted that he wrote this book to "examine constitutional issues such as the royal prerogative, her relationships with her prime ministers and her role as Head of the Commonwealth. These were matters which had tended to become obscured by the scandals and the gossip which were increasingly the preoccupation of some sections of the media." In 2002, he gave a lecture on the monarchy at St. Paul's Cathedral. This past January at Goldsmiths, the Ben Pimlott building was dedicated.
   
   I write all the above about Ben Pimlott to suggest that this is the definitive biography of Her Majesty, the queen. It is a rather lengthy one about a rather lengthy reign. Ben Pimlott's treatment of her life is extremely thorough; the many chapters' headings are years. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Her Majesty's childhood; I also knew precious little about the majority of her life. She was one of King George V's favorite grandchildren. She did not have the typical childhood friends when she was little. She had her sister Margaret, of course, but of other childhood friends, she had mostly visitors. She and her sister were babysat on occasion of the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain's, dubbed the "evil envoy" by the public, visit to her father the King by Rose Kennedy, the ambassador's wife. She was closest in age to Ted and Jean of this Kennedy clan. Other Americans became enamored with her, most notably Harry Truman. No telling how many hands she has shaken or people she has met the world over. My mother tells me that everyone has often commented that she is more beautiful in person, more beautiful than the best photos or portraits of her. A British aquaintance of mine who has met the Queen told me that "she's only 5 feet tall, you know", yet he is more than 6 feet tall, as Pimlott was, which accounts for his inaccuracy; she is actually 5'4".
   
   I had hoped to learn more about how the Sovereign's power has been diminished by, I assume, Parliament, and to understand more just how different America's structure of government is from the British system, but, again, that is subject material for other books. I had come to the conclusion in the 90's that the Queen should be taxed like everyone else, makes sense to Americans, yet King George V had always urged the Windsor family not to give in to these parliamentary demands, demands that, in the 90's had reached such a pitch and fervor, that the monarch, finally, acquiesced which Pimlott reveals. Another biographer of royalist sentiments is Kenneth Rose who wrote a book on King George V who Pimlott mentions now and then. When I read in Rose's book the chapter on Constitutional Monarchy, I was so shocked that I couldn't finish the chapter or the book, (it was actually a difficult, but substantive, chapter to read). Didn't we Americans get rid of the king to get the Constitution? How can there be a king and a constitution at the same time??? Anyway, the one thing that enamours me to the queen is that she studied constitutional issues, long before she ever ascended the throne. What a smart monarch! (I'm afraid I'm fast becoming a royalist, how unamerican of me!) Anyway, CHEERS, and GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!



5. The Queen is an engima, she is very hard to understand indepth, she was raised to have that stiff British upper lip. This book is hella long, but very interesting, it gives some insight into this extraordinary woman. She may be fabulously wealthy and she may be given millions of pounds each year by her country, but she earns it, she takes her duty very seriously and nobody doubts that she loves Britian and her subjects. To an American, like me, the monarchy seems so anachronistic, I mean the idea of somebody being inherantly better than somebody else simply because of their blood line, it so alien to me, but if I did have to chose a monarch, I'd chose Elizabeth Windsor....as for one of the other reviews statement that the Queen squandered her power, early in her reign, is just plain wrong, she and her advisors understood what the British public would accept, she saved the monarchy, Christ, she is the most famous monarch in the world by far, she is one of the most famous faces on the globe and Helen Mirron is about to win a academy award protraying her, she is respected the world over..That is squardering her crown?

3 comments about Clinging to the Wreckage.

1. As always Mortimor has shown brilliance in the world of literature. I was surprized to have found this book without a customer review. I thoroughly enjoy it and highly recommend it for readers of biography. Comparable with Robert Graves "Goodbye to All That".



2. CLINGING TO THE WRECKAGE is the first of John Mortimer's three-part autobiography (to date--as of 2001 he is 83 years of age and going strong). Mortimer is known to BBC/PBS fans as the multi-talened writer who developed the screenplays for the TV series BRIDESHEAD REVISITED based on Evelyn Waugh's book of the same name; creator of Rumpole, Queen's Counsel (QC) for the underdog; and author of many novels including the Titmuss trilogy, and SUMMER'S LEASE. In WRECKAGE, John tells of his childhood and young adulthood.

   Mortimer grew up the son of a British barrister/counselor and his wife a former artist. Against his will he was sent off to boarding school at an early age. However, Mortimer's father lost his eyesight owing to a retinal detachment that could not be repaired. As a result the family source of income was placed in jeopardy and young John and his mother became his father's eyes helping him prepare his legal briefs.

   Mortimer says he fell in love with the theater at an early age. His family made pilgrimages to Stratford-on-Avon to see the great Royal Shakespeare company perform the bard's works. There he was able to see Lawrence Olivier, John Gielgud, and other fabulous actors of the period. These theater experiences coupled with his work on his father's briefs, led to his own career as a QC, and planted a love of the English language and the theater in the young John which led to his subsequent success in the theater, on television, and in his many books.

   The book also covers his first marriage to Penelope, with whom he formed a family of six childen which included her four daughters from a previous marriage.

   Whether or not you have been lucky enough to enjoy the witty dialogue of Rumpole--including his verbal exchanges with wife Hilda (SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED), the clever plot twists of the Titmuss series, or the wonderful and inspirational BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, you will love this book if you love Brit Wit. Mortimer is incredibly human and very funny.




3. This is the first of two autobiographies by John Mortimer. If you'd like to see where Rumpoles come from, this is how you find out. Amusing in many places, serious in others, possibly a bit more revealing than the author intended.

No comments about Finding God in the Story of Amazing Grace.

No comments about Winston Churchill (Very Interesting People S.).

5 comments about At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit.

1. AT HOME WITH BEATRIX POTTER is a delight to the eye and the spirit for those who love this children's author and her "little books." It is written by Susan Denyer of Britain's National Trust. (Potter's property was left to the National Trust.) The focus of the book is Hilltop Farm, the first farm Beatrix Potter acquired. Although she lived across the road in Castle Cottage, Potter often used Hilltop for its library, guestroom, and workplaces. She also used it to display her "treasures." This book reveals her love of nature, the English Lake District, and of old things--carved dressers, chests, spinning wheels are a few of the "gems" portrayed. Two-page color spreads convey the beauty of the Lake Area, where Potter became a major landowner, sheepfarmer, and a happily married woman. It is wonderful to see the original places, buildings, and objects that she incorporated into her books (examples are shown side by side). The book's layout, photographs, and design are first-rate. Reading this book reminded me of THE PRIVATE WORLD OF TASHA TUDOR and its wonderful photographs by Richard Brown. Like Tudor, Potter drew what she knew and preferred country to city life. (Tudor also was a working farmer in New Hampshire.) Finally, this book presents information about Beatrix Potter and the things and people she loved in an informative and respectful way. This book is not a biography, and Denyer avoids the biographer's temptation to "sum up" or "explain" Beatrix Potter. Rather, we draw our own conclusions after being exposed to the things Potter loved. The select bibliography at the book's end provides a list of works on and by Potter (her journals and letters have been published) that is very helpful to those who want to know more about this author. This is a book to treasure.



2. Being the big fan of Beatrox Potter, the woman and not just the author I was overjoyed to get this as a gift recently and the book is a treat for the eyes. While it has pages and pages of stunning photographs as well as her own water colours, it is the text and complete history of her farms that is awesome.

   That and reading and seeing photographs of her as well as her farms and reading why she bought each property and the breeds of sheep she raised was of special interest to me. I loved seeing the inside of her farms, although I had seen the inside of a few, via the National Land Trust to whom she left her properties.

   I loved the photographs of Beatrix and how she was so eccentric, kind yet firm and a woman ahead of her time. And it was nice to read that she was a true homestead style woman who had the waste not want not mentality, as well as a deep appreciation for quality and hated to see old bridges torn down for modern ones, although she was quick to make sure the stones and plants, wood and other things being discarded by some, didn't end up in some dump area but were recycled into new walls and buildings and plantings on her property.

   This is a book a cottage gardener, keeper of sheep. painters, stone masons and anyone who loves working with their hands will love. As well as sincere environmentalists and organic gardeners and farmers.




3. What a beautiful book. Clear, inviting photos, and interesting information. A book you will enjoy reading and sharing.



4. A gorgeous collection of photos and information
   about one of my most favorite children story writers.



5. This book was a real pleasure to read very slowly. It is a room by room description of Beatrix Potter's Hill Top farm house and includes the gardens. Beatrix started journaling about what she loved in a home from the time she was nine years old and this house is the cummulation of a life long interest in interior and exterior design theory. She fit in with the whole Arts and Crafts movement of the time. The house was deliberatly her largest artistic creation, she didn't actually live there very much. Again, it is a beautiful book and has many fasinating details about Beatrix Potter, her family and her times.

5 comments about Churchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian..

1. John Lukas clearly states at the beginning of his short book that his collection of essays is neither a biography nor a scholarly study of Winston Spencer Churchill (pg. xiii). Therefore, potential readers of Lukas' book who do not know anything about the key milestones in the life and career of Churchill should not start here. These readers can read books such as "Churchill a Life", "Churchill a Study in Greatness", "Clementine Churchill The Biography of a Marriage", "Winston and Clementine The Personal Letters of the Churchills" or "The Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill" to fill in the most glaring gaps in their knowledge of Churchill for that purpose.

   Lukas writes to the attention of an audience who has an unquenchable thirst to know more and more about an individual who remains a source of inspiration to many men and women who stand in the way of barbarity and illiberalism around the world.

   Although Lukas is generally sympathetic to Churchill, he is not blind to his major shortcomings: impetuosity, impatience, stubbornness and fancifulness (pg. 4, 154). Furthermore, Lukas reminds his audience in his essay "His Failures. His Critics" that Churchill had accumulated errors and mistakes that Churchill critics and detractors were attributing to his flawed character (pg. 129). For example, Churchill's futile fight against granting Dominion status to India from 1929 to 1935 was perhaps compatible with his imperialist credentials but certainly a clear blemish on his record. As a very experienced politician and knowledgeable historian at that time, Churchill should have known much better (pg. 14-15, 24, 135-136). Therefore, Lukas' collection of essays should not be construed as a shameful hagiography.

   Furthermore, Lukas reminds his audience in "Churchill's historianship" and "Churchill the visionary" that Churchill was generally cognizant of the lessons that he could draw from past events to articulate his often-visionary policies while reflecting on and shaping history on his turn (pg. 1-18, 47). Churchill was not only a spectator, but also a key actor and play writer of human comedy (pg. 102).

   Lukas also explores the ups and downs that Churchill had in his relationships with other history shapers such as Charles De Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin (pg. 19-20). Lukas convincingly explains that Churchill was facing an unpalatable choice between a Europe entirely ruled by Nazi Germany or half of Europe dominated by the Communists in case of allied victory (pg. 11, 27-28, 35). Churchill rightly first gave top priority to successfully fighting Hitler to death before trying in vain to stop Stalin in 1944-1945. Unlike some unimaginative people, Churchill understood right at the birth of the Soviet Union that the Bolsheviks should be stopped immediately before they grew into a gathering threat to the world. War-weary, the victors of WWI, unfortunately, gave only half-hearty support to the White Russians in their desperate fight against the Soviets (pg. 23). Once again, long-term pains were the reward for short-term gains.

   Some (American) readers will not be very pleased while reading Lukas' unflattering portrait of Eisenhower and the men around him in "Churchill and Eisenhower." As mentioned above, Churchill was definitely right to try to thwart in 1944-1945 the apparently irresistible advance of the Soviets in Central and Eastern Europe. Churchill clearly understood that geography and territory mattered, not ideology (pg. 42). For that reason, the British army met the Russians east of the entry to the Danish peninsula at the request of Churchill in 1945 (pg. 45). Unfortunately, the American leadership did not want to hear anything about it at that time (pg. 35-40, 46). Some European regions such as former East Germany and the Czech Republic should have been eventually spared the murderous and inefficient rule of the former Soviet Union (pg. 43). The Greeks should continue to be very thankful to Churchill for saving them from a communist tyranny (pg. 41, 48).

   In his famous, visionary Iron Curtain speech in 1946, Churchill expressed his concern with the murderous, inefficient embrace of Communism in the European regions under Stalin's control. American reception of this historic speech was at best lukewarm (pg. 47). Churchill knew better and was predicting at the end of 1952 that time was not on the side of Communism (pg. 48, 79).

   After the death of Stalin in 1953, Churchill, Prime Minister again, could not convince his friend Eisenhower, who in the meantime became President of the U.S.A., of finding some kind of accommodation with the new Soviet leadership (pg. 70, 73-74). Subsequent events proved that Eisenhower was right when he saw no difference after Stalin was gone (pg. 71, 77). Contrary to what Lukas thinks, Eisenhower should not be described as a leader without any vision under the nefarious influence of men such as John Foster Dulles (pg. 79-80). Many western leaders shared Eisenhower's views on this subject (pg. 81-82). The former Soviet Union was not yet in sufficient decline in the early 1950s to negotiate in a position of force with it as world leaders such as President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher understood very well in the 1980s.




2. This was my first book by Lukacs and I am not a historical scholar. I picked it up to learn more about Churchill, and where this admirable leader was coming from. If you are looking for a primer or a thorough biography of W.S., this is not the book for you. However, if you are already familiar with his background, ancestry, and accomplishments in detail, this book serves as a kind of postmortem love letter.
   
   It is certainly well-written--Lukacs is a talented writer who knows how to turn a phrase, as he exhibits in his diary entries describing Churchill's funeral. However, for all of W.S.'s greatness, Lukacs seems a doggedly loyal to the man and utterly resistant to any criticism. There is also noticeable resentment toward Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and other American officials, as the author apotheosizes Churchill above any and all other leaders during the most critical time in 20th century history. Regardless of the veracity of his position, I would recommend reading up on other perspectives to temper Lukacs' ode to Churchill's infallibility.
   
   Overall, this is a brief and awe-inspiring read: a worthy eulogy for a worthy man that sometimes sparkles in prose, sometimes fizzles in excessive reverence.



3. What we have is a series of essays written about Churchill by a man who is both a highly regarded historian and a fan.
   
   The last essay, I found quite moving where he discusses his time at Churchill funeral.
   
   Yet the quality of these essays is not brilliant. In some ways they are repetitive with the same facts repeated again in another essay. Also the writer is also prone to exaggeration eg that the Germans could in June or July 1940 successfully invaded Britain.
   
   I have read much on Churchill and found this book disappointing maybe as from a historian of the quality of John Lukacs, I expected more.



4. I read this book here in Brazil, last year.It's cheap, concise and easy to understand.There's failures in this book?Yes.
   At first, this book is biased.John Lukacs is a Churchill's fan.
   To exemple, Mr. Churchill was a deeply eugenist.This book never talks about this.Another exemple is that in 1899, Winston Churchill spoke against Islam something like this:"How dreadfull are the curses which mohammedanism slays on its votaries...No stronger retrograde force exists in the world..."
   The core of this book is to show Churchill after 1930.Even this, it fails sometimes.In chapter 4, Lukacs claims that Eisenhower was wrong about than USSR, and Churchill was right.In fact both were right.The american politics for Cold War, was basically the same, for every american president, since Truman,in 1945, to George Bush in 1991.
   Churchill also was among the men who created Iraq.Churchill also put the last Iran's Xah in power.All of these Churchill's mistakes aren't in this book.
   This is a fan's book, not an unbiased book.



5. This is another of the "short" Churchill books that have become popular over the last several years and are less than full blown biographies but more than just private musings of the author. This author has an engaging style and if you've read any of his previous books on this subject it should come as no surprise that this book is for the most part a positive portrayal. The book covers the several themes stated in the title with a varying degree, (in this reader's opinion), of success. The high points include insight into Churchill's role, (and motivation), as an historian, his role with Stalin and the division of post WWII Europe and the evolution of Churchill's relationship with Eisenhower, (maybe the best chapter in the book). Considering all that has been written on Churchill this reader found some "new" perspectives and food for thought in the above. On the downside, several of the other chapters - the rehashing of Gallipoli, Churchill's "wilderness" years do not provide much detail or insight and the last chapter - a journal entry written contemporaneously describing Churchill's funeral - was little more than filler to this reader. This disparity in the writing is unfortunately one of the salient points I took away from the book. That being said, (written), this book would not be the place to start with Churchill but it is a more than an adequate supplement.