1 comments about Princess Margaret: A Biography.

1. Over the course of seven decades she has gone from being the cherubic little princess who captured the hearts of the pre-war public, to the controversial, often badly behaved tabloid darling whose escapades foreshadowed those of her nephews and their wives, to the shadowy figure whose recent stroke would seem to have more or less removed her from the public stage.

   In this evenhanded but essentially sympathetic biography, the Princess emerges as both surprisingly interesting and sadly adrift, a woman whose only substantial accomplishment may end up having been the mother of two apparently well-adjusted and happy children (a feat her older sister might well envy).

   Having interviewed members of the Royal Family for various other projects over the years (an advantage denied most unauthorized biographers), Aronson weaves first-hand quotes into his narrative to good effect. He effectively discounts some earlier biographers' wilder claims (of inherited madness, for example) while, it must be admitted, adding some of his own (is it really possible that the Princess confessed to having "detested" her grandmother, the formidable but endearing Queen Mary?). All in all, though, a pleasant and worthwhile read for Royal-watchers.

5 comments about Princess Diana - Her Last Love.

1. This book isn't one to really enjoy. Ms. Snell uses other books(listed in back) as references, no real problem with that but then she goes further and uses anonymous sources. I never really like that because you have no way of knowing how good that source is or whether or not they might have a grudge against the subject. I suspect that some enemies of the Princess more than her friends contributed, that stuff about Diana trying to pay Simone Simmons with gifts instead of cash is an example of this. Anything I've ever read indicates to me that she most likely would not have done this (although she could be very generous with gifts), that would be a trait more of the born Royals. The love life details, are they true? I don't know, the Princess is dead and Hasnat Khan isn't talking. A person should also remember that in 1997 his relatives embarassed him by talking so much, sounds to me like they're still at it.



2. Kate Snell's book is 100% fiction. She said the relationship between Diana and Dodi was not serious.

   Few months agao a priest broke his three- year silence to reveal how Princess Diana confessed her love for Dodi Fayed - and was going to marry him.

   Father Frank Gelli said the Princess even asked him if he could conduct her wedding ceremony. She confided in the highly- respected Church of England minister at secret meetings in the weeks before she and Dodi were killed.




3. Based upon the other Amazon.com reviewers, I didn't expect much from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. The writing is good, a little hero-worshiping of Diana comes through but that's OK. I notice she only interviewed some of the more wacko or cheeseball "friends" of Diana (Simone Simmons, the faith healer, taken seriously?? but I guess Diana took her seriously at one time). However, at least you learn more about Hasnat Khan & his background (sounds like a really nice person, and all his family too) than you do from any other Diana book. I can't agree that Diana was a stronger person at the end of her life -- she seemed to be very immature still. Imagine taking up with Dodi Fayed to make another man jealous, sure he was a multi-millioniare but please, the guy had had so many women (what did he tell Diana about his fiance, Kelly Fisher??)...I wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. That's mature, strong behavior? I think she was so devastated when Dr. Khan finally broke it off, that she went into a tailspin & into her old, self-destructive, immature behavior. Manipulative, too, if you believe that she planned for the "Kiss" picture & the others being taken (which I believe). The author doesn't agree with my thoughts but she doesn't force the issue, she just mentions that other friends thought Diana sounded strong at what turned out to be the end of her life. It's an interesting book, not the best one on Diana but thoughtful & brings out some unknown background on her relationship with Hasnat Khan.



4. After reading this book, I am convinced that the author speaks the truth. Hasnat Khan's name comes up in several books, and they all state Diana felt strongly for him. I do believe she was with Dodi Fayed to make Mr. Khan jealous. I certainly can picture her with a heart surgeon more easily than I can with a playboy who didn't know what to do with all his money. I also read Paul Burrell's book, "A Royal Duty" and he alludes to Diana's true love, though he doesn't give him a name. He does say it was not Dodi. I believe that had Diana lived, she would have possibly married Hasnat Khan, or at least maintained a loving relationship with him. She didn't know Dodi well enough to even think of marrying him; the relationship was simply a summer fling. It's sad that she did not live to see that happiness with Dr. Khan come to fruition.



5. I think that the author tells the truth but I don't agree with her,I think Diana was manipulative, she planned several strategies to win Hasnat back including using the media and Dodi to make the doctor jealous.The pess describes him like a playboy, a bad man, but he was the only man who loved her so much, he was very kind with her.His life looked like her life: his mother leaved his father when he was 3 years old,he was a mediocre student,he loved to have beautiful women because he didn't like to stay alone , he believed women loved him only for his money.Sometimes he prefers to stay with a woman who did not really love him, because he didn't like to be alone.He has insecure behavior.in the past diana manipulated media in order to send a power message but this timesI think she really cruel woman because when someone was in love with you , you should't joke with his feelings, and used media to create illusion of love,it's really unbearable to an human being. I read a lot of books about Diana: her true story by andrew Morten death of a princess by Thomas sancton and Scott Macleod, the day Diana died by christopher andersen , shadows of a princess by p d Jephson
   In fact I was a great Diana 's fan but when I read this book I didn't like her anymore. The media show us a superficiel dodi's picture. people have been influenced by the press

5 comments about Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown.

1. I loved this book. It is well written and contains such detail that the characters truly come to life. I have many books on the Restoration and none of them describes James, Duke of York and his second wife Maria Beatrice and the "ungrateful daughters" better. Many jucy details. What they wore, how they looked, their quirks and peculiarities give a much fuller picture of the court and courtiers. This book is an easy read and would engage a reader who does not like usual history books. This does not mean it is light. It's the writing of an author who is a keen observer of the subjects.



2. Better books on the time period can be found. The writer distorts historical fact to fit her own agenda.



3. The Stuarts were more than a series of Scots-English monarchs, they were a contentious family filled with ambitious, egotistical, often ignoble figures who were not above slipping the knife in to advance their own careers. The generational and religious tension chronicled in this well-written true-to-life soap opera began with James II's move toward the Catholic Church, which alienated both his people and his two staunchly Protestant daughters, Mary and Anne, each of whom reigned after him. Whether Mary's husband, William of Orange, usurped the crown in the Glorious Revolution depends on your point of view, but Anne (who wasn't speaking to her older sister at the time of her early death) declared her half-brother, James ("The Old Pretender"), an outlaw -- having previously claimed, in letters to Mary, that their hated stepmother's pregnancy was a Catholic hoax and plot. Waller's narrative is compelling and enjoyable as well as informative. You can almost see a screenplay waiting to be written.



4. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was a compelling human drama as well as a major political event. At the center of the political events were Mary II and Anne, daughters of James II, real human beings who faced difficult decisions as to where their duty lay. Unfortunately, Ungrateful Daughters does a very poor job of telling this story. Instead of a story of real people dealing with an actual dilemma, Waller's book tells the tale as a shallow soap opera with the principals divided into neat categories of victims (James II and Mary Beatrice) and villains (William, Mary, and Anne).
   
   The theme of James II as victim has come into vogue in recent years, as the result of a revisionist historical interpretation which casts him as a proto-modern champion of religious toleration. Regardless of the sincerity of James's professions about liberty of conscience, they were the result of the fact that members of his own Roman Catholic faith were a minority in Britain and would thus be the beneficiaries of any alteration in religious policy. James certainly never exhibited any inclination toward tolerance that would not end up benefiting members of his own Church. There is no record that his enthusiasm for toleration ever led him to press for better treatment of Protestants in countries with a Catholic majority. At exactly the same time that James was advocating tolerance of Catholics in Britain, the Protestants in Louis XIV's France were being forced to either convert to Catholicism or emigrate, and there is no record that James II ever protested to Louis about their treatment.
   
   However, the deeper issue between James II and Parliament was not religious but political. James professed that he, as king, had the power to suspend and dispense with laws enacted by Parliament. Parliament, understandably, strongly disagreed with this claim, and there was bound to be a clash at some point. Religious policy just happened to be the issue upon which the disagreement came to a head. Waller is not as sympathetic to James as the most extreme revisionists (which incurred the ire of at least one reviewer on this site), but the theme of James as victim is a major one, as evinced by the title of the book itself.
   
   Waller spends a great deal of time discussing a pivotal event leading up to the revolution - the birth of Prince James Francis Edward (later known as the Old Pretender) to King James and Queen Mary Beatrice in the summer of 1688. It was the prospect of a Catholic heir to the throne that pushed many who were undecided into supporting the intervention of William. Even before the birth there were many rumors circulating that the Queen's pregnancy was a conspiracy on the part of the Catholics to ensure the birth of a Catholic heir to the throne, and the rumors became certainties for many people after a boy was born, just as many Catholics had predicted. The fact that both Mary and Anne gave credence to these rumors is the crux of Waller's portrait of them as "ungrateful daughters." Historians have long accepted that there was no truth to the rumors insinuating that the new prince was not the son of the king and queen, and Waller excoriates both Mary and Anne for doubting it and doing nothing to stop the rumors. Anne in particular is held up as the villain of the piece, and, reading Waller's account, one gets the impression that she single-handedly fomented the rumors surrounding the birth of her half brother and could have stopped the revolution in its tracks had she acted differently.
   
   However, Waller utterly fails to take into account that the circumstances of the prince's birth were not nearly as clear in 1688 as they are with the benefit of hindsight. At the time there were plenty of suspicious circumstances for those who wanted to doubt. The very fact of the birth of a healthy son to a woman whose eight previous pregnancies either ended in miscarriage or produced sickly babies who died soon after birth was in itself suspicious. Also, the birth took place a full month earlier than was expected. Waller argues that the discrepancy was due to a mistake on the part of the royal physicians as to the date of conception, which was probably the case, although she does not explain why this should have been clear to everyone in 1688. Additionally, although the birth was witnessed by numerous people, they were all either Catholics or political allies of James, whose testimony was regarded as suspect. Notably absent, besides Anne herself, were the Dutch ambassador and Edward and Lawrence Hyde (brothers of James's first wife and thus uncles of Mary and Anne), whose testimony would have been accepted as conclusive. From the perspective of three hundred years in the future, all these things may appear insignificant next to the fact that a baby boy was born in full view of numerous witnesses. However, in the atmosphere of 1688, with the prospect of a Catholic heir who might someday decide that a re-conversion of Britain to Catholicism was preferable to toleration (just as Louis XIV had reversed his grandfather's edict giving toleration to French Protestants), the questionable aspects surrounding the birth gave plenty of material to justify doubts on the part of those who were disposed to be suspicious.
   
   The doubts about the new prince's legitimacy did not rest upon the testimony of either Anne or her sister. Neither Anne nor Mary started the rumors, although Anne repeated them and Mary in Holland believed them. The stories were spread throughout the country by such popular press as existed at the time and many prominent political figures lent credence to them and spread them. Anne's conduct in this affair leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, but it is far from clear that she could have done anything effective to quash the rumors, even if she had wanted to. Even if she had publicly denied the rumors, there was nothing to prevent people from dismissing this as done at the behest of James. Nuance, however, has no place in this book. By portraying Anne as holding the balance of affairs in her hand and failing to accurately consider events in the context of their time, Waller gives an incomplete and distorted picture of events.
   
   There are numerous instances throughout the book of sloppy research and assumptions presented as fact. For example, Waller claims at one point that certain letters (not written by Anne) "imply" that Anne promised her father that she would restore the throne to her brother. There is no solid evidence that Anne actually made such a promise, and Waller does not present any. However, this supposed promise becomes a major theme in the book, and Waller refers to it again and again as fact, describing certain actions of Queen Anne during her reign as violations of the promise that she made to her father - a promise that there is no proof Anne ever made. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated example, but rather typical of Waller's method. Assertions are made on flimsy evidence, or no evidence at all, and thereafter referenced as fact.
   
   The story of the Revolution of 1688 has the potential to be a compelling tale of real people living through momentous events. The two princesses who are the chief subjects of this book could be portrayed as real women who had to make difficult choices when their duty to their father came into conflict with what they saw as their duty to their faith and their country. Instead, what this book gives is a two-dimensional caricature of two women who "stole their father's crown" for no better reason than petty vindictiveness.



5. Ungrateful Daughters is a beautifully written book that I highly recommend to any English history nut. I not only felt as if I knew each person intimately, but the sequence in which the author writes keeps it fast-paced and interesting. It is the first book I've read about the latter Stuarts (and I've read many) that kept me involved from start to finish. It is a skillful study of personalities, motives and all the human strengths and weaknesses everyone of us possess. Ms. Waller presents the political influences on the women in question in an engaging manner - a great accomplishment since politics during the Stuart reign are so complex one can easily be overwhelmed by them. Ungrateful Daughters is one of the best historical biographies I have ever read!

2 comments about In the Footsteps of William Wallace.

1. There have been many books written on William Wallace and all provide a look into the history of Scotlands greatest hero.In the back of my mind I have often tried to imagine a picture with those written words and now the reader can get that "In the Footsteps of William Wallace". Each part of the life of William Wallace and the history of the "Wars of Independence" are described and images are provided in related photographs and maps...a most excellent book for those with an interest in this great hero!!



2. The combination of Alan Young's writing and Michael Stead's picture help bring to life and make Wallace more of a tangible person in my mind's eye. Mr. Young's biography is a nice and balanced presentation of the facts of a man with enormous strengths and some faults. I have seen the movie Braveheart and read many of the other books which make Wallace an almost unbelievable hero. This book brings balance to the history and tells of a passionate patriot dedicated to his life's end to his country and its people. This presentation make's him more of a real man and real hero to me. Wallace did his best as he got caught among the church and the Noble families' power plays. The Stewarts, Bruces and Comyns all support themselves, family interests and lands many times before their country. But not Wallace. He had nothing to loose but his life and a Nation to gain, for which he paid the ultimate price. He went from outlaw, to Knight to Guardian of Scotland to outlaw and finally wrongly executed by Edward I. Wallace is a true Martyr and patriot. This book is a fine balanced historical tribute to William Wallace.

No comments about Oliver Cromwell: the Man and His Mission.

1 comments about Charles George Gordon.

1. This is not so much a biography as a tribute to that unusual man, General Charles Gordon. In typical Victorian style, he is praised lavishly as a fine, upstanding hero -- but his eccentricity and fanaticism come through as well. A very useful book for Gordon enthusiasts and those interested in the past and ongoing issues in the Sudan.

No comments about Oliver Cromwell (Very Interesting People S.).

2 comments about Going Back: A Navy Airman in the Pacific War.

1. This book brought back poignant memories of the reader's World War II experiences which related in many incidences to those of the author. Well done.



2. Going Back is more than just another memoir of the Pacific War. First of all, this is the story not of a flag officer or pilot but rather of an enlisted aircrewman. This alone makes it somewhat unique. Secondly, this is not simply a collection of anecdotes and "war stories." Rather, this is the poignant story of the author's journey through the war from his blue-collar neighborhood in Philadelphia to the farthest reaches of the vast Pacific and back. It also chronicles his transition from adolescence to manhood. At each stage of these dual journeys we are treated to evocative word pictures of his experiences and feelings. He has an uncommon talent for conveying the gestalt of a situation-the smells and sounds of a Liberator bomber in flight, the enervating feeling of the steaming and fetid jungle, the dark loneliness of a remote hospital ward. Going Back is a far deeper book than one would expect. This is truly a case of not judging a book by its cover. As we accompany the author on his journey, we are treated to his vivid recollections of life as an aircrewman with its adventures, dangers, hardships, and camaraderie. We are treated in even greater measure to his remarkable perception and introspection. With easy language and painful honesty, he tells us a compelling tale, one well worth the reading.

5 comments about Christopher Lee, Tall, Dark and Gruesome.

1. In an age where many of today's actors lead lives of wreckless irresponsibility, excessive substance abuse and have multiple marriages, here is a man who has been entertaining us for 50 years AND also has managed to lead a most examplary life. Here is someone who can be a role model for your children.

   Enter Mr Christopher Lee: we all know him as a superb actor, but did you know he is a wonderful singer as well? We may know he is of British and Italian ancestry, but did you know how he is related to Charlemagne or to a brave Cardinal who stood up to Napoleon himself? Here is a man who courageously served his country in WWII, is a extraordinary linguist, and is married to the same lady for 39 years. And now at an age where many people have since long retired, he is STILL charming and entertaining us with yet more magical movie moments. You will not be able to put this book down. I read it over a weekend. You will be moved to laughter, tears, and perhaps inspired to do more with your life than you've done after you witness this man's story. And you'll read it again and again.

   It's just nice to know that heros still exist. And in the show business field no less! Bravo, Mr Lee!




2. Time to get up close and personal with an actor we've all admired for years. This is a facsinating book and with each chapter, we come to realize just how multi-dimensional this versatile actor really is. As he tells the story of his childhood, the World War II years, his film career and his personal life as a husband and Father, you really learn to appreciate this amazing gentleman on more levels than simply his acting. You see Mr. Lee as very human, humerous, talented and outspoken. If you read just one autobiography this year, make it this one!



3. Christopher Lee reveals himself to be tenacious, diligent, precise, hardworking and tireless. He cares about many things and many people. His beliefs are evidenced in his loving actions: serving in the elite armed forces for his country; putting his family first in thought and in deed; and by founding the Charlemagne film company, dedicated to eradicating evil. Mr. Lee appears completely worthy of having Knighthood bestowed upon him. It is most unclear why that hasn't yet happened, and quite disheartening when folks with less transparent qualifications have achieved the honor. At times we fail to fully realize to whom we should bow, to return the service in kind. On behalf of the human race, thank you, Mr. Lee, for advocating for our well-being.



4. Christopher Lee tells about his career in motion pictures, but of course the interesting parts are where he talks about playing Dracula and the problems he had with Hammer Studios. Having seen all of the Hammer Dracula movies it is easy for me to understand why Lee felt frustrated in the role. The character was reduced to being so animalistic; in some films he never even speaks. This autobiography makes it clear Lee could have done much more with the role (and actually got the chance to do so, but in a film made after this book was published). Certainly an interesting book for Lee's fans, but hopefully they will end up with more of an appreciation for the man's entire career in acting.



5. Written in a style that is easy to read and genuinely fun to follow, this autobiographical account of Christopher Lee's "life and times" is delightful. Mr. Lee's own account of his childhood, early adulthood, film career, and genuine love for his wife and daughter often brought me to tears, made me laugh, and inspired me. This was, clearly, someone who made the most of what was given to him in life.

   After reading his autobiography, I can honestly say that this is a man worth knowing. He has had a phenomenal life, accomplished more than most, and appears to be a genuine "good guy" trying to make it through life, just like the rest of us! Hats off to you, Mr. Lee! You are superb.

3 comments about Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers: Prophet of the Computer Age.

1. This book is not about Ada but rather the author's defense of Ada's image and place in history.

   There are gratuitous associations of Ada Lovelace to truly famous geniuses and science. For instance, this part of a letter (page 124) --

   It cannot help striking me that *this* extension of Algebra ought to lead to a *further extension* similar in nature, to the *Geometry of Three Dimensions*; & that again perhaps to a further extension in some unknown region & so ad-infinitum possibly...

   -- leads to this comparison (page 122) --

   In the next series of letters Ada hyposthesized a geometry of the "fourth dimension." Several popular books today deal with this subject: Rudy Rucker's The Fourth Dimension, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, and Philip Davis's Descartes' Dream.

   I don't see any reference in Ada's letter to time. I expect it is simple 4 dimensional geometry she is thinking of.

   There is some incredible gushing over the programming language ADA. This book was written in 1992, when it surely should have been obvious that ADA was not the be-all and end-all. Yet the author has apprently fallen hook, line, and sinker for the party line over the programming language named after her hero. Here are some examples. Note these are the author's words, not Ada Lovelace's.

   Pages 176-177: It is accordingly most fitting that the programming language ADA, developed in the early 1980s by the US Department of Defense, provides the most precise facilities for this software development (specification) task of any general-purpose software language for large-scale problems existing today.

   Add this idolatry to the author's infatuation with Ada Lovelace, and the reuslt is some far-fetched comparisons between Ada Lovelace's documentation and later computer concepts.

   Page 179: Here again, the ADA software language contains somewhat unique facilities corresponding in a sense to Ada's insight... A second unuusual ADA facility, exception handling, reflects in a ! different but related way Ada's vision of the Analytical Engines's superiority over the DIfference Engine...In a sense the ADA language exception handler operates at a level of control above the program itself, confirming Ada's foresight.

   Page 185: One can read into the following quotations the germ of perhaps the most important advance in software development in the past twenty years, an idea variously referred to (in its many forms) as *sbatraction*, *modularity*, *separation of concerns*, *information hiding*, or *object-oriented design*.

   Pages 187-188: In the first excerpt from Note D, Ada commended the use of indices, a now-basic technique for reducing complexity in the processing of regular data structures.

   Page 190: ...Then she expanded the visual image she had of weaving and symmetry to highlight the *cycle*, a conceptual building block of programs for both the Analytical Engine and later the computer.

   This exaggeration is also extended to Babbage's Analytical Engine.

   Page 173: Babbage planned to store over 1000 fifty-digit numbers.

   Page 181: It was not until the mid-1960s that the modern computer could store as many digit numbers as did the Analytical Engine.

   Quite wrong; I worked on computers from the 1950s that had more storage capacity.

   Pages 186-187 compare Babbage finding a new use for the Jacquard loom punched card to software reuse: Some predict that the 1990s will be the decade in which software reuse becomes the principal software development mechanism, and that the ADA software language, which simplifies software reuse because of its precise interface specification and generic subprogram facilities, will lead the way.

   Page 189 compares multiple Analytical Engines operating together to current parallel supercomputers, with further comments on ADA supporting this.




2. Toole's book is an excellent introduction to the life and work of the mathematical visionary, Ada Byron King. Toole's treatment allows the reader access to King's luminous mind--no small achievement.

   Although it may not be appreciated by those who clearly clearly wish to argue with issues external to the text, I highly reccomend "Ada" to anyone who enjoys work which is sensitive, illuminating, and well-written.

   There will probably be a richly-deserved resurgance of interest in King's life and work after the wide release of Lynn Hershman Leeson's film "Conceiving Ada," and Toole's book will be a fine resource for all who are inspired or intrigued by this singular figure.




3. I have reviewed most of the books that are readily available on Ada. This book was well written and Dr. Toole is truly the recognized authority of Ada and her life. I found an earlier edition of this book through interlibrary loan and was disappointed that this edition did not offer the same illustrations and pictures. If you are interested in finding out more about Ada especially from her own letters, this is truly one of the best books out there. I would recommend reading at least one other book on Ada Lovlace in addition to this one, for balance, at times Dr. Toole may have been too kind to Ada's memory.

   Ada is a great role model for girls, her life had much turmoil and many obstacles. She fought for her right to do math (and early computer science) in a male society. This book may be a little too steep for early high school reading, a really fabulous young adult book on this subject is Ada Byron Lovelace : The Lady and the Computer (People in Focus Book) by Mary Dodson Wade.