4 comments about Maconochie's Gentlemen: The Story of Norfolk Island and the Roots of Modern Prison Reform (Studies in Crime and Public Policy).

1. Seldom have I read a book with which I agreed more completely.



2. "Maconochie's Gentlemen" displays Norval Morris's large gifts as a fine narrative writer and a preeminent social scientist. This is a book that fits Aristotle's directive that fine art should enlighten and entertain. It is, in the first instance, an illuminating story, told through the eyes of Captain Maconochie and the family and colleagues he brought with him to Norfolk Island in 1840, of Western society's first efforts at penal rehabilitation. The fiction is followed by incisive reflections by Morris in his role as one of America's leading criminologists, relating Maconochie's experiment to the circumstances today. The book is engrossing in both modes and is thoughtful, moving, and revealing at all points. My hat is off to Norval Morris."--Scott F. Turow



3. NORVAL MORRIS
   THE MODERN DAY JOHN HOWARD

   [The power of political leadership in pursuit of popular support by relentless and unscrupulous means has surely and frequently been demonstrated....a public misled by false statistics, sensational and selective sound bites, and political leaders seeking votes is plain to see....Consequently, a prison regime defines the razor edge between power and freedom, authority and autonomy. NM]

   In this compelling "roman a clef" entitled: "Maconochie's Gentlemen: The Story of Norfolk Island and the Roots of Modern Prison Reform," the humanism and the incisive intellect of Norval Morris are beautifully revealed. Published in 2002, the novel gives a vivid portrayal of Alexander Maconochie's heroic achievement of creating a "token economy" for rewarding positive behavior through a convict "Marks System" in the penal colony at Norfolk Island, a thousand miles off the coast of Australia, 1840-44. Moreover, it shares a passionate belief that a virtuous prison is possible in the process of maintaining humane and safe prisons. This belief epitomizes the life and work of Norval Morris.

   Why would anyone devote himself to penal reform? If there is a viable alternative, why choose to suffer the chill breath of adverse public opinion, the bemused stares of neighbors, the frustrations and lack of reward? It is a vexing question; a satisfying answer is not easily come by. Yet, down through the history of prisons, penal reformers are legion. In contemplating the extraordinary saga of John Howard (1773) and his narrative, The State of the Prisons in Europe and England, Norval makes note of his own life's journey of penal reform.

   In an incomparably lesser way, I have devoted the last five-and-a-half decades to the minutiae of prison regimes in four continents. Yet, a vocation in the academic side of criminal law provided all I needed by way of a comfortable, professional, and personal life. To add myself to the list of prison reformers is not to draw a self-serving comparison. Rather, it is to seek an answer to the troublesome question: Why should anyone of reasonable ability see the conditions of prison life as meriting serious and sustained concern? So, when devising prison conditions, you should devise them for yourself. (NM)

   As the nineteenth century American prison reform heroine, Elizabeth Gurney Fry has advised: If thee should build a prison, consider thee and thine children might inhabit it. In tribute to Norval Morris, and at his behest for achieving a better understanding of the dilemma(s) of corrections, I recommend an absorbing read of "Manonochie's Gentlemen." Here one will find the heart and soul of a life committed to penal reform. Here, too, one will discover how we will all continue to benefit from the enduring legacy of Norval Morris.

   Jess Maghan
   Chester, Connecticut (2/25/04)




4. I bought this book for my Corrections class. It's not really the most exicting class in the world but the book proved to be a great subjective source of Prision Reform. Aside from random sexual references, this book is a must for Criminology Majors!

5 comments about The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor.

1. Was the most interesting book I have ever read on Britains royal family. The facts are stated in such a way that the reader is never bored. There is just enough information to really get to know the characters without getting bogged down with too much detail.



2. The reviewer who wrote: "There is just enough information to really get to know the characters without getting bogged down with too much detail" pretty much sums it up. How do you get to know people and still avoid details? Thus the flaw in this type of trash. Save your money. If you want to get to know Queen Mary, read Anne Edward's biography.



3. Donald Spoto is an American. By that I mean that he approaches a subject - royalty - with a skeptical eye, never forgetting that he is a citizen of a country whose entire political system was designed to prevent a monarchy from being established. This attitude stands in refreshing contrast to the bulk of American writing on the Windsors, who seem to stimulate some atavistic longing for royalty on the part of writers who should know better (see the review immediately below for a fairly typical complaint obviously rooted in Windsor-worship). Kitty Kelly's recent THE ROYALS is similar in its irreverence for the superhuman panoply of royalty. Spoto, however, is a far better writer than Kelly. As several other reviewers have commented, Spoto's previous works have been biographies of Hollywood celebrities, and this book extends and refines Spoto's musings on the history and implications of modern society's obsession with media-generated fame. The overarching theme of this book is celebrity as an intrusive phenomenon that is slowly stripping the Windsors of their ancient royal mystique, a glamour which requires distance from the masses to remain viable. Spoto generates a certain amount of sympathy in the reader for the tribulations of what one realizes, after all, are a very ordinary (perhaps even downright mediocre) group of human beings who have done little to merit the attention so relentlessly thrust upon them by the media and their (it must be said) fans and followers. That said, Spoto, with his gift for creating vivid impressions of personalities with a few concise phrases, leaves the reader with a very unpleasant picture of a family gone seriously awry psychologically and dominated by a line of mean, selfish and grasping women who keep their weak male relatives on a very tight leash (all of which may be hallmarks of dynasties in decadence). The most heartbreaking sections of the book deal with the present Queen mother's repulsive treatment of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and will certainly make the reader think twice when he or she sees the next photograph of the smiling, befrilled, Dowager Queen Mary, for an iron heart lies behind that mask of "sweet little old lady." Equally affecting is Spoto's history of the "Diana years." He depicts a family ruthlessly using a teenage girl as a brood mare, then becoming vindictive when she refused to do exactly what they told her to do. In fact, the activities of the entire clan in recent years, as reported by Spoto, cast serious doubt on their fitness for the role their birth has expected them to play. I was unable to avoid a certain feeling of contempt for these people and their ridiculous courtiers. Spoto's book enables us to see the Windsors for what they really are - the living exemplars of feudalism, still undead as we enter the 21st century. As such, they are a useless anachronism and deserve to go. Kudos to Spoto for daring to write a sharp, well-documented book that pulls no punches!



4. I have read several House of Windsor histories but few make as much sense of Edward VIII and George VI as this one. I'd recommend this book to others because it is a good explanation why the present royal family is what it is today.



5. Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor could best be summarized as a survey class on the British Monarchy from Queen Victoria to the present. A interesting trashy read indeed, but along the way Spoto recounts stories both well known and relatively unknown, rehabilitating somewhat forgotten figures such as Queen Alexandra and recasting familiar subjects such as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Wallis Simpson in a different light. Spoto is adept at pointing out major breaches of protocol if not outright violations of the British Constitution made by King George VI, the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth II along the way. Spoto is able to explain some of the arcane rituals of the monarchy, peerage, royalty, and nobility in a comprehensible and easy to understand manner. His coverage of the Wallis Simpson affair involving the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) is particularly well told and perhaps the most engaging chapters in the book.
   
   Nowhere near as vindictive or hateful as Kitty Kelly's The Royals (1997) Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor is well researched and well annotated but is a bit out of date. Since its publication Princess Diana, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret have all died as have other figures such as Princess Alice. Spoto leaves us with the image of Diana and Prince William and Prince Harry enjoying the Magic Kingdom at Disney World and posits that may be the closest they come to an actual Kingdom, but the events that have transpired since then seem to have changed things. Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor is handy ammunition for Republican sentiments and won't be well received by ardent monarchists, but along the way it renders its subjects more human and less regal. Spoto's fair, frank, and honest assessment of the Windsors, faults and all is certainly one of the better books written on the royals. While his assessment of the future of the monarchy is bleak the events since that time seem to indicate a somewhat happier future. But it is evident that light has indeed been allowed in on the magic and the spell that bound subjects to sovereigns has indeed been broken.

5 comments about Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days.

1. I bought this book for my fifteen year old son. He enjoyed it so much that I read it too. I've read many books about the life of Agatha Christie but I've never read one more honest and well researched. Although the book does concentrate on the Agatha Christie disappearance in the 1920's it also covers all of her life. You'll learn about her upbringing, her daughter, her friends and her two frustrating and disappointing marriages. This is a not to be missed book!



2. On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party.

   Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found.

   It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia.

   But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story.

   It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.




3. Fame and wide acclaim came to Agatha Christie in 1926 when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published. In the same year, however, her disappearance and the eleven-day search for her attracted even more attention. Subsequently in interviews and in her own autobiography, Agatha Christie refused to explain or refer to the incident. It was inferred that the breakdown of her first marriage had been one aspect of the mystery, and her reluctance to refer to anything so painful was respected.

   Since her death, she has been the subject of several biographies. None that I have read, even that of her second husband, Sir Max Mellowan, provides a satisfactory motivation or time table for the eleven missing days in 1926.

   It seems remarkable that a young writer from the smallest state in Australia should be the one to adequately research the subject and to have access to the best informants. Jared Cade knows Agatha Christie's novels, plays, poetry and short sories well, and demonstrates how insights into this major crisis in Agatha Christie's life reside in them. His theories are sound, his rebuttal of false and misleading explanations is strong, and his judgments - even of Dame Agatha herself - are balanced.

   Interest in what happened to the world' best-selling author back in 1926 may no longer be strong, but it is good to read something that at last sets the record straight. It is, moreover, a fascinating and focussed biography of someone who tried to keep herself away from public scrutiny. I like the compliment paid to the author by his principal informants, descendants of Agatha Christie's best friend: "This is the only biography that tells Agatha's life as it really was. Your insight into her life and personality is unsurpassed."




4. There have been many books written about Agatha Christie since she died 32 years ago and I place this brilliantly researched biography second only to her own autobiography. A number of events, not least the famous disappearance, were completely ignored and left out of her autobiography - either at her own discretion or that of her immediate family's since it was published after her death. Jared Cade's objective and affectionate accounts fills in the missing blanks and unravels what happened when she disappeared. His biography is particularly merit-worthy because it is the only biography to be officially endorsed by Agatha Christie's sister-in-law's side of the family. The same relatives also featured with him in a television documentary based on this book. If you missed it, don't despair. Buy this book instead. A great book that deserves a place on any self-respecting Christie addicts bookshelves.



5. This well-research, accessible analysis of the legendary "disappearance" of the notoriously shy author is a must-read for every Christie fan, as well as a treasure-trove of informed speculation and fact for students of the pathology of unhappy marriages.

5 comments about Brian Jones : The Last Decadent.

1. ... This book about the life, death, and character of Brian Jones is absolutely as beautiful as it is chilling! ... Jeremy Reed has the gifted ability to transcend time and space and bring us right into the heart and soul - and life circumstances at the time of his death - of Brian Jones, founder and one-time leader of The Rolling Stones. ... I do not know if the conclusion of this book is true...and why did they NOT insist on a thorough, precise, and intense investigation into his death?! THIS question haunts me MORE than if Brian was murdered or died of "misadventure...So, the real question to ask is: If Brian Jones was murdered, WHY was Brian murdered - and more importantly - to WHOSE BENEFIT would it be to see Brian dead? ... RIGHT?!... This book sheds much light on the sensitive soul of Brian Jones. Pages 29 and 94 also have some very inuitively perceptive and right-on remarks about serious sociological realities in modern capitalist societies; realities that - as a true artist - Brian found himself at odds with... when Brian got busted the first time, he honestly and openly admitted that the pot and / or hash - and ONLY that - were his. He did not lie! He may have been a petty thief at times, an irresponsible parent, and an abusive misogynist - to say nothing of his alcohol abuse - but he was honorable, dignified, and true to his artistic and individualistic spirit till the end. ... He loved music. Brian Jones was a Dionysiac Adonis and a Lord of The Muse, who he served with all his heart and soul. ... This book sheds light on the truth. If you love Brian Jones, if you love The Rolling Stones, and if you love the music that inspired them all to devote their lives to it, then you MUST read this short, but very insightful, book by Jeremy Reed. It is truly a labor of love. - The Aeolian Kid.



2. ... This book about the life, death, and character of Brian Jones is absolutely as beautiful as it is chilling! ... Jeremy Reed has the gifted ability to transcend time and space and bring us right into the heart and soul - and life circumstances at the time of his death - of Brian Jones, founder and one-time leader of The Rolling Stones. ... I do not know if the conclusion of this book is true: that Brian Jones was killed and murdered in the swimming pool at his own country home by a group of bloody blockheads who were friends with employees of the Rolling Stones organization; but after reading this book, Bill Wyman's STONE ALONE, and the most recent OLD GODS ALMOST DEAD (about The Rolling Stones, by Stephen Davis), there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Brian Jones' death was no accident! ... I was [mad] after reading this book! [Mad], and sad. ... Where in the hell were the other Rolling Stones within hours of this happening to Brian, and why did they NOT insist on a thorough, precise, and intense investigation into his death?! THIS question haunts me MORE than if Brian was murdered or died of "misadventure;" MORE than if Brian was heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; and even MORE than if he, indeed, was getting his act together and on the verge of forming another great band. (On the last postulation, I have no doubt!). ... So, the real question to ask is: If Brian Jones was murdered, WHY was Brian murdered - and more importantly - to WHOSE BENEFIT would it be to see Brian dead? ... RIGHT?! ... 1969 was a bad year: The Beatles broke-up, Brian Jones "died," and The Rolling Stones had to suffer their own DEGREE OF MURDER (indeed!) during Altamont. ... The Beatles and The Stones had a lot in common, but especially astrologically. Both bands had a combination of 2 trines and 2 squares. In the Beatles, Lennon (Libra) and McCartney (Gemini) were both trined AIR signs, whereas Harrison (Pisces) and Starr (Cancer) were both trined WATER signs. Also, Lennon was "squared" to Starr, and McCartney was "squared" to Harrison. ... In the Stones, Jones (Pisces) and Wyman (Scorpio) were both trined WATER signs, whereas Jagger (Leo) and Richards (Sagittarius) are both trined FIRE signs. Jones was "squared" to Richards, and Wyman was "squared" to Jagger. The 5th member of The Stones, Charlie Watts (a Gemini), is "opposite" Richards, "sextiled" to Jagger, "inconjunct" to Wyman, and ALSO "squared" to Jones. THIS made Brian the odd man out, with a DOUBLE-SQUARE against him!! Oppositions are no picnic, but they harbour a certain degree of respect. Squares, on the other hand, can be VERY disrespectful. ... This book sheds much light on the sensitive soul of Brian Jones. Pages 29 and 94 also have some very inuitively perceptive and right-on remarks about serious sociological realities in modern capitalist societies; realities that - as a true artist - Brian found himself at odds with. Yet, unlike Jagger & Richards - who tried to bribe their way out of jail - when Brian got busted the first time, he honestly and openly admitted that the pot and / or hash - and ONLY that - were his. He did not lie! He may have been a petty thief at times, an irresponsible parent, and an abusive misogynist - to say nothing of his alcohol abuse - but he was honorable, dignified, and true to his artistic and individualistic spirit till the end. ... He loved music. Brian Jones was a Dionysiac Adonis and a Lord of The Muse, who he served with all his heart and soul. ... This book sheds light on the truth. If you love Brian Jones, if you love The Rolling Stones, and if you love the music that inspired them all to devote their lives to it, then you MUST read this short, but very insightful, book by Jeremy Reed. It is truly a labor of love. - The Aeolian Kid.



3. ... This book about the life, death, and character of Brian Jones is absolutely as beautiful as it is chilling! ... Jeremy Reed has the gifted ability to transcend time and space and bring us right into the heart and soul - and life circumstances at the time of his death - of Brian Jones, founder and one-time leader of The Rolling Stones. ... I do not know if the conclusion of this book is true: that Brian Jones was killed and murdered in the swimming pool at his own country home by a group of bloody blockheads who were friends with employees of the Rolling Stones organization; but after reading this book, Bill Wyman's STONE ALONE, and the most recent OLD GODS ALMOST DEAD (about The Rolling Stones, by Stephen Davis), there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Brian Jones' death was no accident! ... I was pissed after reading this book! Pissed, and sad. ... Where in the hell were the other Rolling Stones within hours of this happening to Brian, and why did they NOT insist on a thorough, precise, and intense investigation into his death?! THIS question haunts me MORE than if Brian was murdered or died of "misadventure;" MORE than if Brian was heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; and even MORE than if he, indeed, was getting his act together and on the verge of forming another great band. (On the last postulation, I have no doubt!). ... So, the real question to ask is: If Brian Jones was murdered, WHY was Brian murdered - and more importantly - to WHOSE BENEFIT would it be to see Brian dead? ... RIGHT?! ... 1969 was a bad year: The Beatles broke-up, Brian Jones "died," and The Rolling Stones had to suffer their own DEGREE OF MURDER (indeed!) during Altamont. ... The Beatles and The Stones had a lot in common, but especially astrologically. Both bands had a combination of 2 trines and 2 squares. In the Beatles, Lennon (Libra) and McCartney (Gemini) were both trined AIR signs, whereas Harrison (Pisces) and Starr (Cancer) were both trined WATER signs. Also, Lennon was "squared" to Starr, and McCartney was "squared" to Harrison. ... In the Stones, Jones (Pisces) and Wyman (Scorpio) were both trined WATER signs, whereas Jagger (Leo) and Richards (Sagittarius) are both trined FIRE signs. Jones was "squared" to Richards, and Wyman was "squared" to Jagger. The 5th member of The Stones, Charlie Watts (a Gemini), is "opposite" Richards, "sextiled" to Jagger, "inconjunct" to Wyman, and ALSO "squared" to Jones. THIS made Brian the odd man out, with a DOUBLE-SQUARE against him!! Oppositions are no picnic, but they harbour a certain degree of respect. Squares, on the other hand, can be VERY disrespectful. ... This book sheds much light on the sensitive soul of Brian Jones. Pages 29 and 94 also have some very inuitively perceptive and right-on remarks about serious sociological realities in modern capitalist societies; realities that - as a true artist - Brian found himself at odds with. Yet, unlike Jagger & Richards - who tried to bribe their way out of jail - when Brian got busted the first time, he honestly and openly admitted that the pot and / or hash - and ONLY that - were his. He did not lie! He may have been a petty thief at times, an irresponsible parent, and an abusive misogynist - to say nothing of his alcohol abuse - but he was honorable, dignified, and true to his artistic and individualistic spirit till the end. ... He loved music. Brian Jones was a Dionysiac Adonis and a Lord of The Muse, who he served with all his heart and soul. ... This book sheds light on the truth. If you love Brian Jones, if you love The Rolling Stones, and if you love the music that inspired them all to devote their lives to it, then you MUST read this short, but very insightful, book by Jeremy Reed. It is truly a labor of love. - The Aeolian Kid.



4. This is the worst book about Brian ever. It is a thesis and the author's opinions. It is based on Nicholas Fitzgerald's book that was fiction and embellishment! There are better and more current books about Brian's murder. As far as the author projecting that Brian was bisexual or repressed that is nonsense! People alluding to that only want to sell books because sensationalism sells. When Brian was arrested for cannabis he was made to take a psychological profile - the results of which were disclosed, stating that he was HETEROSEXUAL. Many other men dressed in the dandy fashion of the time that Brian made famous and they weren't written about and compared to Lord Byron or the complex Oscar Wilde. When he was kicked out of England for impregnating a girlfriend at sixteen and went to Germany, Scandanavia etc. his parent's sent him money and many women cared for him, along with singing on corners for change. Mr. Reed would have you believe Brian hustled for men to support himself... Ridiculous and not factual!! He was there for barely 3 months, when his money ran out he went home. Brian himself told his friends about those days and hustling was not a part of them, I'm tired of people trying to cast aspersions on his sexuality, when former girlfriends and many friends including former bandmate Bill Wyman state emphatically Brian was straight. Also many poets and musicians, celebs in the 60's supported the gay rights movement, it didn't mean they were. Brian has children and grandchildren and I'm sure they don't like hearing him being trashed and lied about in order to sell books. He was no saint and he was not always nice to his girlfriends nor the best father, but he was very young (remember he died at 27, but deserves better than this book). I dont care if anyone agrees or not, but the people who were close to Brian and are not former friends trying to sell tell-all books (including some shameless rock celebs) truly remember him. This fantasy book along with it's Nicholas Fitzgerald predecessor deserve no stars!



5. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Z0T6S888YUU5 This book is satisfactory , no more than that.
   It deals with other decadents from way long ago most frequently Oscar Wilde.
   Reading about Brian Jones was the purpose of my purchase.
   I really didn't want to read about Oscar Wilde and the comparisons between the two.
   If you are interested in reading about decadents of long, long ago and Brian Jones as well, then this thin book is ideal for you.
   If you are only interested in reading about Brian Jones, pass on this book.

No comments about Cockburn and the British Navy in Transition: Admiral Sir George Cockburn 1772-1853 (Studies in Maritime History).

5 comments about Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World.

1. I literally couldn't put this book down once I started it. That hardly ever happens to me.
   
   Having only been 4 when the Beatles exploded on the U.S. scene in '64, I have only vague memories of the early Beatles--I do remember skipping across the playground at Our Lady of Providence School, circa '66, and singing "She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah" with playmates. And I remember circulating the riddle du jour: "What did the boy octopus sing to the girl octopus? I wanna hold your hand, hand, hand, hand..."
   
   If you're already a fan who knows every bit of minutiae about the Fab Four, this book probably isn't for you. But this is THE book to read if you're a new fan or if you were too young for the Beatles Experience when it was happening or especially if you question WHY the Beatles became a virtual religious experience when no other bands did.
   
   My only complaint is that author Stark far too often overlooks my two fave Beatles -- George & Ringo. They receive precious little ink with regard to their own biographies. In that respect, the book should really be titled _Meet Paul & John_.
   
   Not having read any other Beatles books, I've been recently informed that this is typical of books about the Beatles. That's really too bad. Perhaps it's because (as I learned in this book) George had the most normal and loving childhood of the four and was the only Beatle with a fully intact family in which a parent neither fled nor died. Maybe that's why Stark gave us so little info. about George. Perhaps George was too boring because of this--too few sensational stories.
   (Do read the new, '06 biography of Harrison, _Here Comes the Sun_ if you long to know more about him.)
   
   As for Ringo, God love him, the little that is in the book helps one understand his incredible "everyman" appeal and also why he's always seemed the most empathic of the four. It's because he was an only child who spent most of his childhood sick, in bed, at the doctor, and/or in hospital. But his mum was quite steadfast and loving (dad wasn't around), and little "Richie" seems to have coped by developing quite the sense of humor as well as a sensitivity to the downtrodden "little guy" which he both figuratively and literally was in the Beatles. (Though he got the most fan mail, much of it from children.)
   
   Overall a great read. I just hope Stark writes another book that focuses on the two "economy class" Beatles (George Harrison's term, not mine.)



2. this book is good. It is not excellent, but it is good. It does touch on the background of the fab four and I would say that it is intrresting to read. I have tons and tons of books on the Beatles and I saw them on stage "live" twice back in 1966, the last year that they stopped touring on stage.
   
   I would recomomend this book to anyone who wanted to know their background .



3. This is yet another biography of the Beatles. This particular one tells the story of the Beatles while explaining the influences that shaped them, and also the ways that they helped to shape culture, especially the women's movement and the youth movement. The author does a particularly good job in discussing "the boys" childhoods, and how that influenced the men they became. It's true that John and Paul are mentioned much more than George and Ringo, but then again, they were the "leaders" of the group and thus of the most influence to society. Overall, I found the book to be quite interesting.



4. As a child of the 60s, the Beatles' music can be recalled in my mind more easily and indelibly than any other tunes. This both hinders my objectivity as a listener and heightens my pleasure at reading about them. This modest book, a sort of condensation of the detail that can be found within such newer studies as the weighty Bob Spitz biography (also reviewed by me) and Jonathan Gould's 2007 social history "Can't Buy Me Love," (which will be reviewed by me, and which does not mention Stark!), efficiently retells the familiar story. Where, as the author admits right away, it differs remains in the stress given the cultural factors.
   
   Not a professional scholar of the group, and not a hagiographer of the band, Stark writes with less passion than Spitz and less range than Gould. The book does move over the later years too rapidly, and while it lists many sources consulted, the references within the text are less easily cross-referenced. This does ease readibility but may frustrate those wishing for more exactitude. The music, likewise, appears but cursorily covered compared to the social impact. Songs remain understated. You will not find the day-by-day chronicle or the musical cut-by-cut analyses; Stark cautions us early on that other books have done this already. So, any reader needs to understand that this book offers instead an overview, if chronologically ordered, of the wider implications of the Beatles upon their decade. John and Paul gain the most notice; relatively little to Ringo and George has been given. There is very little attention paid to the songs. Artistic trends and packaging of the band and its records receive little direct interpretation. For instance, the discussion of "Revolver" ignores totally its cover art!
   
   But, for a relatively brisk read, Stark does add nuances that pleased me. For instance, reminding us of the power of the limited range of TV and radio, the single-sex enrollment of English schools that encouraged students to imitate in drama the (absent) opposite sex, nostalgia and romanticism as literary forces in Britain, the gender-bending tradition of British humor and fashion, Liverpool's ties to the American South but not the African American diaspora, the ambiance of the art school, or the influence of drugs of various types on the band. The Hamburg years and the fact the Beatles played a thousand gigs before coming to America make clearer their musical and psychological development before 1964.
   
   Also, rarely noticed points to those of us less than totally obsessed, such as that Ed Sullivan did not even learn of the band's fame prior to the show until he had been delayed on a plane due to the band's landing ahead of him causing congestion, make this a worthwhile version of another explanation for the band's prominence. He explains why they made it when Elvis, the Stones, or earlier musicians did not. He emphasizes the group dynamic that changed how audiences regarded collective endeavor in the arts. Most of all, Stark shows why in regard to the counterculture, gender roles, intellectual currents, and their quasi-religious allure, the four young men were able to lead the boomers into a revolution after all-- not the one Yoko might have expected, but one that changed hairstyles, demeanors, LPs, and the process of how artists relate to and are in turn changed by their fans.



5. Being a Beatles fan,I am wary of how the "lads" are portrayed in books & media. I like a balanced POV of a band that was both a musical & cultural phenomenon and whose music(for the most part) still sounds as fresh and exciting as the day it was recorded. That being said,I think the author did a fairly balanced job of portraying them as talented,intelligent yet without mythologizing them. I especially liked how he showed the unique contributing factors of their native Liverpool & later,Hamburg's) influence on their music & look. They were originals,(the first rock band to work as a collective unit,for example)which we take for granted now and this book reminds of us this fact.(though the author's description of them as "androgynous" is a bit extreme,in my opinion(perhaps "boyish" is a better term)& their effect on the women's movement is an interesting concept,if a bit over-stated. That being said This book is a fast,highly involving read that does make you appreciate the band's contributions to popular music even more.

No comments about Elizabeth: 80 Glorious Years.

1 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Henry VII (The English Monarchs Series).

1. Professor Chrimes has splendidly captured the life and reign of a sovereign traditionally overlooked in English history. From his bittersweet youth through a climactic battlefield victory against Richard III to nearly a quarter century of stable rule, Henry Tudor's intelligence, cunning and administrative abilities are convincingly and thoughtfully portrayed.
   A domestic, tender side of the King is even shown as he comforts Queen Elizabeth after the death of their firstborn son, Prince Arthur.
   This is a worthy entry in the Yale Series and a must for any serious Tudor historian.

2 comments about Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom.

1. The story of Nora and James Joyce's unconventional relationship and how it shaped the writings of one of history's most controversial authors. This book is nothing short of riveting, both in terms of the story it is telling and the way it is told. It explores the influence Nora held over Joyce in his life and his writing and gives countless examples of how he used the experiences of those around him in his books. More than anything, this is the story of a woman struggling to hold her life and her family together in the face of hardship after hardship. A truly incredible read that I couldn't put down until the last page - I even read the bibliography!



2. This is the perfect companion to Richard Ellmans bio of JJ. I first read it when it came out a few years ago and I found it to be a good "other side of the story". Much has been made of Joyce's letters to his wife and of her being the model for Molly Bloom. He must have been a happy man if that was the case. She was all woman.

5 comments about The Bride of Science: Romance, Reason, and Byron's Daughter.

1. We will forever wonder if Charles Babbage could have given the computer age a jump start of a century. His brilliant designs for intricate and complicated calculating machines included the never-built Analytical Engine, which would have had a memory and a processor like our electronic versions, and would have run on punched cards, programmable and flexible enough to vary its routine through the If-Then steps familiar to any programmer. It never got funded because others were not able to envision just how singularly useful the gadget could have been, but Babbage had one friend and interpreter who knew the potential of his creation, and who handed the world a prescient account of what this computer might be expected to do.

   Her name was Ada Lovelace, and although her ties to Babbage and his machine give her a connection to our century, she was a sensation in her own times by right of birth. As told in the exciting biography _The Bride of Science: Romance, Reason, and Byron's Daughter_ (McGraw-Hill) by Benjamin Woolley, everyone knew about Ada because she was the one child of Lord and Lady Byron. Their stormy marriage had endured only eleven months when Ada was born, and a month later, Lady Byron left him; he left for the continent, never to see his daughter again. Lady Byron was motivated ever after to vindicate herself against Byron, and she raised Ada to be a soldier in this cause; she tried to make sure that the child was raised on mathematics to suppress imagination and keep any elements of the Byronic temperament from breaking out.

   Raising Ada was thus a science experiment, one that didn't work. She remained curious about her father, and as she got older, she was convinced that she had genius from him and was impelled to express it. She couldn't do it through mathematics, as despite all the intense training, she wasn't a mathematician. But she was introduced to Babbage, and in 1840, set out to translate a paper he had presented on his Analytical Engine in Italy. She didn't just translate, but with Babbage's help, she made her own notes on the meaning of the computer and what it could and could not do, amazingly prescient for her time.

   Woolley has not only given a fine biography of a limited woman who happened to be at the center of events that presaged our future. He has given capsule biographies of Lord and Lady Byron, Babbage, and many others who were connected with her. Furthermore, he has given historic notes on phases that touched Ada's life, such as phrenology and mesmerism, which are extremely interesting and valuable, and his argument that the Analytical Engine could not catch on because the Victorian world was not ready for the computer is fascinating. Even feminists and cyberhistorians who want to make Ada something she wasn't (and there are many of these) should be thrilled with this portrait of what she really was.




2. Every computer programmer knows (or should) that Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer, honored with the name of the DoD's official programming language. What I didn't know was that she was the daughter of Byron, the poet.

   Her parents were a very strange match, actually: Byron the flamboyant Romantic poet and Annabella Millbanke, a coldly rational woman he dubbed "the Princess of Parallelograms." Their relationship was a brief one, followed by a bitter estrangement, but it produced a daughter, Ada.

   Ada was raised exclusively by her mother, seemingly more as a science project - a demonstration of rational childraising principles - than as anything involving parental affection. Not surprisingly, she grew up to be a brilliant woman prone to nervous disorders which, when combined with attempts at treatment, led to a short life, with her dying at 37.

   The focus of this book is set by the dichotomy between science and poetry exemplified by Byron and Annabella. The time period is one of extraordinary technical advancement, with the locomotive and the telegraph shrinking the world in a way that even our jet planes and satellite links can't compare. Some embraced this revolution, even some of the poets, while others rejected it.

   Those like me who came to this book looking for a detailed account of Ada and her association with Babbage and his Difference Engine will come away disappointed. It is indeed covered, and Woolley describes Ada's monograph on the principles of the Engine as being a hundred years ahead of its time. But after providing a copious lead-in (to such an extent that Annabella seems as much the subject as Ada), he quickly moves on to the latter part of her life.

   Still, this is an interesting book about a fascinating age and fascinating people.




3. Ada Lovelace had a rich intellectual life.

   As a huge disservice to her, this book is one extended gossip column of speculation and opinion about her personal life and that of her parents. In contrast, only a few pages are devoted to the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine.

   At first I thought the author was gossiping about her parents as what he considered a necessary background to understanding Ada, so I kept reading, hoping to get to the substance of the book soon-- but the gossip never stopped, right through the description of her death.

   If you too have a rich intellectual life, you will enjoy this book as much as you enjoy reading gossip about celebrities in the National Enquirer.




4. As a historian of science and technology, and also a person very interested in computer science and fascinated by poetry as well, this book looked like a full 5 stars at first. Like some of the other reviewers, I felt swamped by the details of Ada's emotional life; yet, there are flashes of brilliance where the author makes a clear connection between her social position, her interior life as we can best judge it, and her pursuits. I wonder if there would have been a better way to organize the book; as it stands now, the book is almost purely narrative (with some asides and flashbacks), and appears to be aimed at the popular reader with a seasoning of technical information to goad the more serious critic into reading on. On the positive side, I was pleased to read a clarification of Ada's role in the Babbage Difference Engine's precocious presentation. And at times, the story was fascinating. Other times, it was just plain soggy.



5. I bailed out of this about a third of the way through, having gotten extremely frustrated waiting for the author to discuss Ada Lovelace. She never was as vividly portrayed as her parents; I have learned more about her from snippets in books about Victorian intellectual life. Even when she is on stage, it is as the puppet of her domineering mother - the incidents are at least as much about Lady Byron as about Ada. I suggest that my review title would be a more accurate description of the contents. Or perhaps, the Martyrdom of Lord Byron at the Hands of His Demented Wife.
   
   It appears that the author's real interest is Lord Byron, who appears in what is supposedly a biography of his daughter more than can be justified, since he had virtually no involvement in her life after the shipwreck of his marriage. I am somewhat skeptical about how good a father Byron would have been in any case - writing touching lines about the loss of one's child is a far cry from the actual inconveniences of being a parent. This really isn't the point. Byron must have haunted Ada's life: he was famous, and Woolley would have it that cleansing his daughter of any similarities was the obsession of Lady Byron's life. But this wasn't the flesh-and-blood Byron, but society's and Lady Byron's view of him. Woolley rambles on about his doings that were probably irrelevant to Ada. Meanwhile, she is a dimly glimpsed cipher.
   
   Despite the one star, this might be an interesting book for someone who wants to read about Byron and his marriage, particularly a reader who isn't expecting something else.
   
   It's a pity that the Byrons' marriage was such a disaster, but really, I picked this up to learn about Ada Lovelace, not how vicious unhappy marriages can get. For that purpose, an article would have sufficed.