1 comments about Joseph Chamberlain: Entrepreneur in Politics.

1. British industrialists were never considered "parliamentary material" prior to Joseph Chamberlain's election to Parliament from Birmingham. His years as Mayor, town councillor, and school board trustee were marked by tremendous reforms of all aspects of Birmingham: the schools, the workplace, sanitation, the local economy & government, and the town infrastructure all benefited from his business know-how and political skill. He built what was in fact the first political machine, the National Liberal Federation, in British history, and which delivered first Gladstone than Salisbury the Prime Ministry. A master of coalition politics, Chamberlain was also a destructive force. He shattered the Conservative & Liberal Parties, and never achieved his dream of becoming Prime Minister. However, serious legislation addressing land reform, the introduction of social insurance, the extension of the franchise, the rights of labor, and industrial welfare, all bore his mark, and might have taken longer to bring about had it not been for him. Initially a Liberal, he split with Gladstone over Irish Home Rule, formed the Liberal Unionist party, and from then until his death supported the Conservatives. This biography is unsurpassed in it's detail and impartiality. All aspects of Chamberlain's life are addressed: his family history; his marriages; his religious views; his gradual conversion from Liberal to Conservative, all are given considerable detail without sacrificing the joy of reading. This is biography at its best!

No comments about The Age of Disraeli, 1868-1881: The Rise of Tory Democracy (A History of the Conservative Party Series).

1 comments about Mary of Guise (Scot¬s Lives).

1. Mary of Guise is probabely best remembered as the mother of Mary , Queen of Scots, but was a fascinating women in her own right. A devout Roman Catholic , she was also a women of courage and determination , she was never wantonly cruel or spiteful as portrayed by John Knox and some British historians , but had to operate with sharp cunning and resolve. Marshall provides a very different portrayal to that of Mary of Guise in the movie Elizabeth (1998),directed by Shekhar Kapur.
   Mary was born on November 22, 1515 at at Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine.
   Widowed , at 21, after her first marriage to Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville, she became wife of James V of Scotland , at age 23 , in 1538.She was crowned as Queen Consort at Holyrood Abbey in 1540, and the mother of two sons who died in infancy. King James died in 1642 , leaving the 27 year old Mary , Regent of Scotland , with her little daughter Mary (who was sent to France as a little girl for her own safety) .Mary was forced to manouver between various powerful nobles of shifting allegiances , she was loyal to France and the Roman Catholic Church , determined that Scotland should stay Catholic and in alliance with France, she was threatened by the growing power of Scotland's Protestants and of an ever threatening England. This is the story of her life and character , and of her ultimate failure and death.
   Rosalind Marshall provides as sympathetic portrayal of Mary of Guise as well as a sharp eye into the Scotland and Western Europe of the time.
   An impressive personal and social history.

No comments about Reminiscences Of Lenin.

1 comments about Connemara After the Famine: 1853 Journal of a Survey of the Martin Estate.

1. I can't find any info about this book. I'm looking for books specifically about famine & after in Connemara - with historical refs.

4 comments about Luck of the Irish-C.

1. I have thoroughly enjoyed this fourth installment in the saga of Niall & Christine, and Deirdre and Joseph (the first chapter tells of their adoption of Joseph.) This book is very contemplative in nature, and focuses on what it is to belong to a community, a society, a nation. What does it mean to be Irish? to be American? And how are these things changing? Change is the other theme that is present throughout the book. There have been many changes in the West since Niall & Christine first moved there: some good, some bad, but most not so easily classified as "good" or "bad". This book is very thought provoking, and a very enjoyable read. Thank you Niall and Christine for continuing to share your lives with us.



2. Over the last few weeks, I've become quite the fan of Niall and Chris. Reading or acquiring all of their books -- fiction and nonfiction. This book left me feeling a bit disappointed but at the same time wanting an update.

   I had to smile at all the visitors from abroad showing up at their doorstep --- I envisioned myself doing the same thing. Now I doubt I would show up unannounced -- but I still will make an effort to see the town of Kilmihil.

   This book definitely should be read after reading at least the first book -- O' Come Ye Back to Ireland. I doubt that those who haven't read the first book will be able to keep interested. And whereas the first book made settling in the west of Ireland sound romantic, Niall Williams seems to be discouraging people from doing what he and Chris.

   That said, I am glad I read it and loved hearing about young Joseph and his sister Deirdre.




3. I just reread all 4 Kiltumber books by Niall and Chris and I must say I enjoyed them more now in 2005 than I did 9 years ago. To experience the trials and tribulations of this family in Kilmihil makes me wonder how many people followed their path and relocated to Ireland.Now, 20 years after the 1st book the children are grown,Niall is a world class and best selling novelist and Chris about to publish again soon in 2005.
   Read all 4 books in order and I promise you'll be tempted to move to County Clare.



4. Weak. The writing is simple and insights into life in Ireland are superficial. No great insights here and everything is centered around a very personal perspective with no real feel for the heart of the community or the nation. A mildly pleasant read that can be accomplished in a night or so. Not nearly the "Under the Tuscan Sun" Irish equivalent as a friend had suggested to me. I just felt like I'd learned less than if I'd watched a PBS special on Ireland. The writing was really weak and I can't believe the author is actually a playwright. Very superficial. Frank McCourts books are better if you want a feel of Ireland, albeit from an earlier time.

1 comments about A London Home in the 1890s (Oxford Paperbacks ; 402).

1. This is the third volume in Mary Hughes's autobiographical trilogy. The first two are "A London Child of the 1870's", and "A London Girl of the 1880's". Both are highly recommended, and I strongly suggest that you read both before you read this.
   
   In this third volume, the quality is at times not quite as high as in the first two. There are exceptions -- a tragic episode is described unsentimentally at one point, and brought me close to tears -- but the book is very anecdotal. It covers the time from her engagement, as Mary Thomas, to Arthur Hughes, in the late 1880's, to their marriage in July 1897, and a few years past that into early marriagehood. During that time, while still single, she visits the World's Fair in Chicago to attend an educational conference, and manages to visit Washington and Boston as well.
   
   There are stories about her prospective in-laws; her brothers and their families; her fiancé; and her work as a teacher and a trainer of other teachers. The stories are uniformly well-told and interesting, but the book feels a little more episodic than the first two, both of which have a densely textured feel, as Hughes recounts in loving detail old memories. This volume is well worth reading, but doesn't quite come up to the same very high standard that the first two do.
   
   Recommended, but do get hold of the first two volumes.

2 comments about Ria Mooney: The Life and Times of the Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre, 1948-1963.

1. McGlone writes a compelling and truly enjoyable story about one the most influential figures of Irish theatre in the 20th century. Why, one wonders, does it take a college professor from New Jersey to singularly herald this theatrical giant who alone held together the Irish national theatre during its most perilous time? Her personal and professional history spans from O'Casey to Friel, and, as a woman in 1950's Ireland, forged the greatest acting company the Abbey has ever known - yet her picture does not hang in the National Theatre's lobby alongside the other Abbey legends (Yeats, Synge, etc.). McGlone writes a must-read for anyone who's a student of Irish theatrical history, and sends a blaring wake-up call for the current Irish theatrical establishment to arise and start discussing this great woman's prodigious artistic output and impact, and, ultimately, to restore the plays initially produced under her tenure back on today's Abbey stage.



2. Not only is this a wonderful biography of a great actress/producer/director/teacher - but a lovely insight into Dublin during her life.

   There is a protrait of Ria (in costume) that hung in the theatre bar. It was presented to the theatre by former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey - where is it now ?

No comments about Gladstone and Women.

No comments about An Audience with Tony Benn.