5 comments about Nelson: Love and Fame.

1. There are new works on Nelson that contain more originality--that's true. But I believe that this may be the most accessible single-volume biography and will thus probably sell well, and deservedly so, during 2005, the bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar. I hope so. I thoroughly enjoyed it.



2. This is a new perspective about "Love and Fame", and so it emphasizes the women he loved. I have read other bios. of Nelson, where the authors seem to know Nelson better. Here in this bio., Vincent gives psychological explanations for the motivations of Nelson, and gets them wrong. The author seems to be a 21st-century person explaining an 18th-century man in today's terms, and ultimately not understanding him. Nevertheless, the numerous large, color pictures of Nelson and his very lovely Lady Hamilton were wonderful additions.



3. In 1805, almost exactly 200 years ago, Horatio Nelson was killed just as his plans to defeat the French fleet were suceeding. Beautiful timing for a new biography that brings new light on Nelson's life.
   
   The basics of the his life are not unknown. The interesting points addressed in this work concern things like his rise to such heights of power within the British Navy. The navy was a bastion of priveledge. The higher the social/royal ranking of a person, and the more wealth to impress one's peers the greater likelihood of promotion and power.
   
   As the fifth son of a clergyman his rise to power had to depend on performance, fame, competance. Also there had to be hidden drives and an ability to self-promote in a manner that would not be offensive. How did Nelson rise to the top of the power pyramid? How did he get the captains of other ships, often people of higher social standing to follow his commands. The author was a senior manager at a large firm in England. He is able to analyze Nelson's life from a slightly different point of view than that of the more normal academic writer.
   
   The result is a book that is likely to remain a classic for many years.



4. I like this book very much, even though I concede that another reviewer is right: Edgar Vincent does analyse Nelson's personality and motivations through a modern (21st century) lense.
   
   My other complaint is that the book deals too much with the topics identified in the sub-title (love and fame) but not enough on the qualities that made Nelson the great historical figure he is. Those relate to his naval mastery. To understand Nelson as an admiral, a warrior and a hero, see the new books by Joel Hayward, Brian Lavery, Jo Callo and, for Nelson's early career, John Sugden. Remember also that the doyen of Nelson studies, Colin White, has just published NELSON THE NEW LETTERS, which is an invaluable source collection.
   
   Now, is Vincent's book good on the stuff that I'm not personally that interested in? The short answer is YES. Mr Vincent has researched admirably and painstakingly and created a three-dimensional portrait of the little fellow that generally rings true.
   
   Vincent's Nelson is vainglorious, passionate, complex, humane and sometimes a bit foolish. We knew all that, but Mr Vincent has depicted all these qualities and weaknesses with considerable empathy and an obvious unwillingness to sensationalise or trivialise.
   
   The book itself is a handsome volume, one that looks as good as it reads.



5. I have been wanting to read a biography of Lord Nelson for some time now - mostly due to my reading of the entire "Master and Commander" series. It may be that I wished too much for Patrick O'Brian's passion when detailing the life of a real person but this entire biography felt like nothing more than a series of quotes being strung together. And, too often, the quotes were so out of context it was hard to even understand them. Besides that, often the quotes completely contradicted each other. I never got any real sense of the man or what it was like to live his life. If anything, it was like a time line with occasional context. There must be a better read out there about this fascinating man.

No comments about BeWitched: Backstage Pass.

No comments about My Dream From Ireland to America: Please Call Me Sheila.

4 comments about Guerilla Days in Ireland.

1. This on the scene writer grimly reveals the unbelieavable atrocities the English purpetrated on the Irish people in this century. This book is a beginning to the understanding of the relations between the English and the Irish. The actions taken by armed mercenaries, English military, and English puppet police against the Irish people in their own country is appalling and brings to mind Hitler's treatment of the Jews in Europe twenty years later. A must read for all who seek an understanding to the Anglo/Irish situation.



2. The incredible career of Tom Barry and that of the West Cork Flying Column is an inspirational example of what virtually untrained volunteers fighting for their families and their country can achieve, even in the face of overwhelming odds. The British had over 12,500 men in West Cork chasing after about 310 IRA Volunteers...and never defeated them. Barry discusses many military topics and personal thoughts which the student of Irish warrior traditions will find extremely helpful. Members of many guerrilla movements around the world have read and profited from the lessons in this book including Che Guevera (whose last name was "Lynch" thanks to his Irish grandfather) and the early Jewish guerrillas in the Irgun and Lehi. Anyone interested in understanding the mindset of Irishmen bent on taking a stance and fighting for what they believe in, will be well rewarded for reading this book.



3. The first problem with the two previous reviews is that they make no distinction between Loyalist (Protestant) and Republican (Catholic) Irishmen so claiming this book to be an account of "the unbelieavable atrocities the English purpetrated on the Irish people" or "The actions taken by armed mercenaries, English military, and English puppet police against the Irish people" or even "Anyone interested in understanding the mindset of Irishmen" is clearly wrong. This is the account of the Southern, Republican Irish on the events that took place and should not be accepted as Ireland's (as a whole) views as Protestant Northern Irish are loyal to Britain, not Ireland. Reading reviews on the books about the troubles it is striking how from people's locations and surnames they seem to have no link whatsoever to Ireland yet claim this book is the definitive account without any other evidence!!! Look into the situation for yourself. Who's asking for control of more land? That answer alone should tell you who the real aggressors are. The comment that this book "brings to mind Hitler's treatment of the Jews in Europe twenty years later" is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. You're telling me that about 10million people were exterminated!?!? To this day Irelands population isn't close on that so I STRONGLY suggest you check your obscenely inaccurate views before posting a review that incredibly 8/12 people found useful!!!???!!! It is truly disgusting how World War II gets banded about as an example whenever an injustice occurs, you are souring the memory of those who truly had probably the worst human injustice ever done to any human beings. British rule of Ireland vs. Hitler's Nazi Germany. Only a fool would try to compare them. The main aim of this review is purely for people to understand this is a Southern, Republican Irish view on British actions in Ireland (therefore not taking into account Loyalist Irish views) and I will leave it to you to decide whether this account MAY have bias.



4. For the third reviewer : you don't need to be English , Russian , German or American to understand and condemn nazi or stalinist atrocities ; similarly , you don't need to be an Irishman to realize Britain's unfair , oppressive and intolerant rule of Ireland , not yet finished by the way . There's ample historical evidence of all kinds of wrong doing by the British during their centuries-long illegal occupation of Ireland , denial of elementary basic rights to the Irish (catholics obviously)and the establishment of an unnatural separation of the North from the South that it is still unresolved .
   
   Like any other country in the world , Britain has had brilliant pages in history and also dark , shameful ones , with their handling of the Irish case probably being the worst - to day .
   
   As for the book , I'll only say this : don't miss the opportunity to learn how a small group of determined men (basically peasants)were led with brilliance to defeat a much bigger , stronger and modern army . Probably much to the dismay of some , still today .

1 comments about Karl Kraus: Apocalyptic Satirist: Culture and Catastrophe in Habsburg Vienna.

1. It was a pleasure to receive Timms' second volume on Karl Kraus. It came new and in mint condition. Thank you Amazon.

2 comments about Forgetting Ireland.

1. The book arrived Friday and I couldn't put it down. It is an absolutely fascinating account of the early settlement of Minnesota by the Irish. I grew up in Graceville but had no idea of the rich and controversial history of the area. It's a great book but difficult to categorize. It's one person's search for understanding of her family, a historical account of an controversial incident in the history of Minnesota and the Catholic Church and an example of the difficulty we face in understanding our history. Was John Ireland "worse than Jesse James"?



2. My great grandfather was one of the Famine Irish who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. He came from County Cork with his parents and little brother to the Port of New York. After living in Pennsylvania for several years they found their way to the rich farmlands of southern Minnesota. To learn more about his life and times, I recently began doing some family research. During the course of that work I came across Bridget Connelly's wonderful book.
   
   Not only did I find Forgetting Ireland well written and fascinating, it also helped me to unravel my own family's story. While reading her book I found myself spending time in county courthouses, small town libraries, church graveyards, and at the Minnesota Historical Society. I poured over old township maps, land patents, census records, death certificates, and tombstones in order to piece together my great grandfather's life in Minnesota. Reading Bridget Connelly's book while doing my research was like taking two parallel journeys through Minnesota's Irish immigrant past. It was great fun; like being one of the History Detectives on PBS.
   
   The next step for me is to contact the genealogy societies in Cork to see if they can locate the town and parish where my ancestors came from. If they're successful, then I would like to travel to Ireland like Bridget Connelly did and look for our relatives.
   
   Anyone interested in oral histories, 19th century Irish immigration, or the development of Minnesota's prairies should read this great family story.

1 comments about The Mind of Gladstone: Religion, Homer, and Politics.

1. And what a mind it was! Gladstone was undoubtedly the most deep-thinking and intellectual prime minister Great Britain has ever had. He took as much trouble corresponding with the leading minds of his time (both in England and abroad) as he took with his weekly sermons to his surely often uncomprehending household. He wrestled, often successfully, to bring apparently opposed ideas into a kind of Hegelian synthesis (though Hegel was not one of the authors in his vast library). He was a voracious reader and engaged deeply with everything he read, as the annotations in his books and the memoranda he wrote for himself bear witness. David Bebbington must have read nearly as much, and with as much attention to detail, as Gladstone had done by the time he was Bebbingtopn's relatively young age. He has read deeply not only in Gladstone's own voluminous writings but in practically everything of note that has ever been written about the statesman.
   
   Readers who are acquainted only with Gladstone's political activities will know how much these were affected by his religious beliefs, and they will alos have formed an idea of Gladstone's Liberalism. In this book we can, firstly, trace in detail the progress of Gladstone's religious thought, culminating in due course in the remarkable combination of an intense commitment to High Anglicanism and an equally intense commitment to secure equal political rights to those outside the Church of England.
   
   In his magisterial last chapter, Bebbington shows the architecture of Gladstone's Liberalism: a seamless progression from his moral commitment to the individual to an equally morally-based commitment to the family, the local community, the nation, the international community and to humanity itself.
   
   What is perhaps least familiar to those who know only of Gladstone's religion and politics is how these were integrated not only with each other, but with his study of the Greek classics and of Aristotle and Homer in particular. That he should have let Aristotle shape so much of his political outlook is, once one comes to think about it, not unexpected. However, his debt to Homer - or rather to what he read into Homer - is rather more surprising, distinctly peculiar and even, at least to this reader, positively dotty. Not only did he see in Homer a prototype of his own social and political vision, but this devout Christian was convinced that his God had shown Himself to Homer and his contemporaries in a "primitive revelation".
   
   But in general, notwithstanding this quirky aspect of Gladstone, my long-standing admiration for him has been further enhanced by Bebbington's splendid book. It is not an easy read - partly because Gladstone's style was even more complicated than his thought, and partly because Bebbington occasionally assumes a knowledge which many readers will not have. But then you can always look up what exactly the filioque clause was.

No comments about David Trimble: The Price of Peace.

5 comments about The Book of Kehls.

1. The Book Of Kehls is a memoir that is honestly and bravely written. The author probes her deepest feelings about coming from a family smitten with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and shares her candid insights with depth as well as with humor.
   
   The book also provides education about the disease to those that are unfamiliar with the ravaging toll it takes on its victims and their families. It helps the reader to understand the horror that living with this disease can bring, and provides insight into how families cope both effectively and ineffectively with chronic illness.
   
   Ms. O'Hagan also gives us a glimpse of the past as she shares her childhood growing up in the 50's and 60's and in many instances with great nostalgia. This was quite enjoyable to read.
   
   The layout of the book is very well created and the themes excellently threaded throughout. The beginning is extremely powerful as is the ending, leaving the reader to ponder life, its personal meaning and the necessity of gratitude for what many of us take for granted.
   
   For me, the book was a quick read because it was so interesting that I couldn't stop......The cover was a beautiful, the title wonderful and the picture of the children so poignantly presented. I highly recommend The Book of Kehls for its message of love and spirit.



2. This book is not your ordinary story, it is the blood, sweat and tears of a brave family suffering from generation to generation with Muscular Dystrophy. Christine O'Hagan should be proud of how elloquently she is able to share her losses from her brother Richie to the ultimate loss of her own precious son Jamie.
   She shares so much in this book, you can't help but wonder how she was able to sit all those long hours and re-live so much sorrow. But don't be fooled. Christine knows just how to tell her story with her very fine sense of humor which has always been
   her strong tool through her struggles.A book to read not only for the journey of her life, but also for what it gives the reader.... The true meaning of what live is about. God Bless you Chrissie.



3. A book you can't put down - that's the way I would describe Mrs. O'Hagan's The Book of Kehls. You get the feeling that you grew up with her in the way she draws the reader into the most intimate part of her life in dealing with her parents, her siblings and her disabled son, Jamie. This book is about an Irish family and how they deal with a disease that affected everyone in their family. It is about a mother who is above all human, unashamedly sharing her emotions that run the gamut from being frustrated to being hilarious. Above all, this book shows Mrs. O'Hagan's strength and unending love in letting her son know that it is okay to stop fighting and to find peace. A must read.



4. Christine Kehl O'Hagan, born in Queens in 1950 carried a tragic secret. Duchenne's Muscular Dystophy (DMD), which is an X-linked trait runs rampant throughout her family. DMD claimed several male relatives throughout the generations in her family. Females are born carriers of this tragic condition and every male born in a family where this trait is present is at risk for developing it at some point in life.
   
   As much as I enjoyed this book, there were two things that irked me: the constant references to sneakers and being Irish. Even the tablecloth was made of Irish lace! The O'Hagans' beagle was named Finney! Sharing the traditions of Irish heritage was all well and good, but the constant references to being Irish did seem a bit excessive at points. As for the sneakers, the symbol of mobility and childhood play and sports, the message could not have been made more plain.
   
   Christine's younger brother Richie Jr., born in 1957 showed signs of MDM early. Poor coordination and balance and difficulty managing stairs were the tip-offs to his having MDM. By 1966 Richie was no longer able to walk and remained confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He died in July of 1979 at the age of 22.
   
   Some very touching anecdotes are shared; in 1961, Christine, then 11 would take her 4-year-old brother to the neighborhood church and pray for him. That was really heartwarming. I also liked it when the neighborhood boys took Richie under their wing and would hang off the back of his wheelchair, including him in their games. I loved it when Richie would sing the Beatles' songs from 1967's "Sgt. Pepper" in 1967-68. The Kehl children's Aunt Nelly's bizarrely quaint expressions involving hygiene and bathroom usage are sure to bring a smile; the unfamiliar term "kitty murphies" was made quite clear in the context and feline reference.
   
   Christine and younger sister Pam (born 1953) both had sons with DMD. Christine's younger son, Jamie was diagnosed at age 7 on October 16, 1980. He was tested in the hospital for DMD in December of 1980. Her older son, born in August of 1971 did not inherit the condition. Sadly, Jamie died on May 20, 1998 at the age of 24, one year after his maternal grandmother died.
   
   Pam's two sons, born in 1976 and 1977 also had DMD which ultimately confined them to wheelchairs as well. I especially liked the descriptions of Queens in the 1950s and 1960s and the parts about family interaction and the way Jamie's brother went to bat for him and that they owned a beagle, although I disagree with the author's finding that the hound was homely. Beagles are beautiful little hounds. Luckily, during the roughest points and bleakest moments the family stayed together. Christine's friends, Ruth and Tony sounded like genuine angels.
   
   The book ends on an upbeat note with the 1999 birth of Christine's granddaughter, Alanna Nicole.



5. What an amazingly well written book! I have never read a more true account of what it means to be the parent of a child with special needs. The Kehl family has been marked for generations by muscular dystrophy. Anyone who wants to understand how it really feels to deal with such a legacy should read this. The power of denial was so powerfully shown by how long the author was able to keep up the idea that her son was "just having trouble with the bus stairs", and when she finally did get a diagnosis, I found it the most amazing analogy to say that being able to handle a child with special needs is like deciding you are going camping, knowing nothing about it and having none of the equipment, and then finding your closet is filled with a tent, campfire dishes, flashlights, etc---you already have what you need to handle it, and you never knew. The effects of a child's sickness on a strong marriage are also so truthfully shown here---how you can blame and yell and say horrible things and still love each other and the child so much. It is hard to believe this author has not written many best selling books already, as this book is just astonishing. It came to me at a time when I really needed it, when I am dealing with the possibility of a serious diagnosis for my child, and I am so thankful it did.

No comments about The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.