5 comments about A Drink with Shane MacGowan.

1. This book was a major disappointment for me, I write annoyingly. It seems the "author" had a deadline to meet and threw this trash together at the last minute, I write this time frustratingly. If you like reading an adverb at the end of every sentence this is the book for you. The author has an amazing subject to work with here and chooses to simply mail it in. I can't believe the publisher let her get away with this. If I ever meet this author I will ask for my money back quickly. I teach third grade and most of my students write better than this garbage. I wish I never bought it, I end this review disappointedly.



2. I love all things pogues/Shane, but this was rather dull. i would recommend it if i could get it at the library.



3. "A Drink with Shane MacGowan" is just that. It's a series of Shane MacGowan interviews by his closest companion, girlfriend/wife of over 14 years, Victoria Mary Clarke. Arranged like a play, in 8 acts, Clarke goes into the depths of the mind of the former singer and leading force of the Pogues, Shane MacGowan over various discussions.
   
   The book is a great read that takes you back to his childhood in Tipperary, Ireland, thru his teenage years in London and on the road as the singer of the Nipps and of the Pogues.
   
   Shane MacGowan is a great read because he is honest about his opinions and himself. He doesn't try to please people in this book. He talks about his life from his point of view.
   
   I found many hilarious anecdotes throughout the book such when he recalled Lisa Stansfield breaking his nose and how the Pogues lovely bassist, Cait O'Riordan knocked Matt Dillon down a flight of stairs during the shooting of a the video "Christmas in New York."
   
   The book doesn't talk enough about the songs he wrote. Early in the book, there's a wonderful passage where he discusses the lyrics to "The Dunes."
   
   At times, MacGowan goes off on tangents that aren't clear. But these are mainly sections where he attempts to make a distinction between traditional Irish instruments and replaced instruments (such as the accordian).
   
   MacGowan has a very comical side in his psyche in the form of contradictions. At times, he'll come off as crass, invigorated by the very thought of violence, yet at the same time, intensely religious, but in a "Taoist/Roman Catholic" sense.
   
   He really sheds a lot of light on his proud Irish heritage and made me reflect on my own Irishness proudly.
   
   MacGowan's most interesting sequence in the book came from his contempt of the music industry. At one point he discussed about how pop hits were mundane and boring and blamed that because those with the power like mundane and boring music. To further illustrate his point, he compared a mundane and boring pop song to a mundane and boring murder.
   
   That particular sequence I found hilarious. It also says something to me when it only took me three days to read this 358 page book. With a very bad flu mind you.
   
   Anyway, if you have no one to go to a pub with. Go to the pub anyway, order lagers and read this book. Its company is as good as any great drinking moments with your best friends.
   
   
   Do not read this literally. I mean, he was and may still very well be a drug addict despite his denials. I think some of his "expertise" should be read more humorously such as when he repeatedly emphasizes that "Brandy" is the worst of all drugs.



4. I love the Pogues. I love to read about music. I love to read about the creative process, especially from songwriters. And I consider Shane MacGowan to be a brilliant songwriter. This book, however, is a stream of drunken conversations about his life, his opinions, explanations that he's not really that much of a racist, bragging about his ability to bed fans, etc. The main problem, though, is that his songs boil down his experiences to the essentials, giving brilliant snapshots of certain times, places and characters. These rambling, unedited accounts almost seem like an attempt to give merit to his detractors that say he's not much more than a mouthy drunk. The DVD "If I Should Fall..." balances the two very well. This doesn't even try.



5. I was so looking forward to reading this, however Victoria Mary Clarke (hereafter VMC) chose this to be her sounding board on her self importance. Practically every chapter had some form of self praise "Victoria nodded attractively" "Victoria shook a prada cladded foot" "Victoria nibbled a digestive biscuit attractively" (not word for word quotes)
   
   What should have been a riot of a read was sullied by an amateur shot of VMC trying to grab the limelight
   
   Terrible

5 comments about Documents of Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen of England 1553.

1. If the book is used as the author indicates it's only purpose is to be, which is for reference, then Mr. Taylor has done a great job of bringing all the literary remains of Lady Jane Grey together in one edition for others to use. Though I do not believe that the "Lane Letters" should have been included, I will commend Mr. Taylor on not following the format that some recent authors have chosen of embellishing a few facts and sensationalizing them to appeal to the masses. I have used this book in my classes and the book is a time saver for my students who often research Tudor history.



2. Mr Taylor has clearly spent a great deal of time and effort in producing this volume. Unfortunately the result is useless for anything other than entertainment. It cannot in any way be called legitimate "history." The book is replete with flaws, errors and omissions. Mr Taylor relies very heavily on a late-eigtheenth century collection of "letters" published by William Lane through Minerva Press. The collection is tellingly entitled "Lady Jane Grey: An Histoircal TALE"..."tale" being the operative word. Mr Taylor notes that the Lane collection had been "lost" to historians for over 200 years until he "re-discovered" it. There is a good reason why the "letters" were "lost": any trained historian would immediately recognize them as complete fiction. The "letter" from Henry Grey to "Lord Protector" Northumberland, for example, reveals the fiction (p. 18-20, Lane Letter 86). Northumberland was never titled "Lord Protector," and Henry Grey would never have addressed him as such. Any trained historian familiar with the Tudor era would have known this. But Mr Taylor is apparently not a trained historian. This is evident from his bibliography. He has "primary" and "secondary" sources utterly confused. Further, he cites works such as Jane's prayerbook by using a secondary source (a later Harley Manuscript). The original prayerbook is Harley MS 2342, and has been microfilmed. That microfilm is available in many US libraries. Why not look at a microfilm of the original rather than a printed transcription of a later manuscript that simply describes the original? A serious error. And finally, in his bibliography he lists a work as having been written by Guglielmo Facciotti. In actuality, Facciotti was a PRINTER, not an author. He was active in Rome ca. 1592-1637. The AUTHOR of the work cited is actually Giovannni Raviglio-Rosso. Read this book for what it is: a compilation of factual AND FICTIONAL documents that take Jane Grey as their subject. But for legitimate ("real") history, look elsewhere. This book is a perfect example of why amateur historians and sloppy publishers should never be brought together. The result is a complete mess, and leaves readers completely misinformed and confused...and legitimate history teachers scrambling to pick up the pieces.



3. I will admit that I was skeptical about this book after reading the contrasting feedback left by other readers but after completing the book I feel that Mr. Taylor should be commended for several reasons. First and perhaps that most important to a retired professor of European history as myself is that Mr. Taylor did not follow the same format as many "historians" do by using colorful embellishments to retell a few known facts. The second being that Mr. Taylor also refrained from criticizing other author's lack of information or misuse of. It is clear that Mr. Taylor only recites the sources that he felt were the most accurate. I have learned in 30 years of teaching college level classes that if you present 10 people with 10 primary and secondary sources that you will have 14 different opinions about them. I feel that Taylor's use of the Lane Letters is questionable and after contacting the author, he explained that the publisher omitted a sentence in the introduction indicating the use and source of letters. Nevertheless, the Lane Letters should have been placed in a separate chapter away from the main body of the book, but when they are read as the author intended, they are entertaining. Ill regardless of the rather harsh criticism left by another reader, I would have used the book in my classes if I were still teaching. Publishing Weekly left an accurate feedback and I do feel that there is a fresh approach here that does belong in a library. From what I can see, Mr. Taylor is the first to present all known information about this young lady. I look forward to a revision



4. I have read much more reader friendly books that incorporate primary source documents. The book was dull and did not provide any new insights or information about an interesting character in the Tudor era.



5. When I first purchased this book I thought I was getting something legitimate, but after going through it I found myself asking over and over, "Is this for real?" The answer is no. I don't know if Jane Grey ever had a cousin named Anne, but if she did they wouldn't have written to each other in flowery 18th century sentences such as "Fly to your Anne" or "Adieu, hasten to your Jane Grey". All of Jane's letters are written in 16th century English and most of them are religious in tone and theme. The only people she would have flown to would have been her governess Mrs. Ellen and her teacher John Aylmer, to escape her abusive parents. Jane supposedly being distracted from her studies by falling for dashing young Guilford Dudley is ludicrous. Nothing could keep her from her daily lessons except marriage to Guilford, which her parents had to beat her into accepting. She disliked him for being spoiled and demanding while he very likely thought her a prudish little bookworm. My advice is to skip this book and go with Hester W. Chapman's "Lady Jane Grey", Alison Plowden's "Lady Jane Grey and the House of Suffolk", or even Alison Weir's novel "Innocent Traitor".

4 comments about Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782.

1. I was originally attracted to this book out of a simple curiosity about the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence (Charles Carroll outlived Adams and Jefferson by about six years, or about 56 years after 1776!). On a deeper level, I hoped to learn more about the kind of early capitalist that would be attracted to signing on to the American Revolution in general. What this book helped me discover was a family that had over time become focused, almost obsessed, with making a buck under fairly adverse circumstances (namely, continuing in their Roman Catholic faith that made it difficult for them to thrive, even in an enclave as seemingly sympathetic as colonial Maryland, with its relatively large Catholic population). But when the time came for this family to rise above its simple wealth building and to champion the cause of the Revolution, it did indeed rise to the occasion, however brief and painful the process might be. (Hoffman attends to both the private and public lives of the Carrolls.) The history of the Carrolls is a part of the history of the magic that was the American Revolution. It is not surprising that the book ends abruptly with the death of Charles Carroll's father and his wife, about 10 days apart from one another in 1782 (though there is a brief summing up of Carroll's remaining 50 years and the attention attracted by his death in 1832). The story is told, the dynasty pretty much complete.

   What's the book like? At times it seems downright willfully prosaic, and the story proceeds much like a carefully written doctoral dissertation - all conclusions fully supported and made in as logical a context as possible, all contentions politically correct for our time. Hoffman's goal is of course to be scholarly and thorough, not to be entertaining or controversial. Thus the sweep of this history must emerge and coalesce in the mind of the reader. Leave being beaten over the head with the broader conclusions inherent in the narrative to more popularly written histories.

   Suffice it to say, if you're a municipal library and you need to beef up your Revolutionary War material, this is a prime buy. If you're a true history buff, this would be an excellent choice to work into your reading list. It has the effect of immersing you into the spirit of the times and providing you with detail you could not have imagined you would find interesting (but you do). If you're a casual reader, just be advised - this is heavy stuff. It's not an easy read, but it is ultimately a rewarding one.




2. Ronald Hoffman is an excellent historian who has brought great knowledge of Chesapeake social and cultural history to this biographical work that places three generations of the Carroll family within their colonial context. It is a wonderful biography that gets the reader into the minds and lives of these three Charles Carroll's. But for me the best thing was the number of times it made me think, "Oh, that's how it was." I have read enough colonial history to know that there were lots of tenant laborers and not just slaves in the region, to know that Catholic Maryland quickly became Anglican Maryland, and to know that the Revolution was not just about ideas but also about social change. Ronald Hoffman's narrative, however, really brings these facts home. His book is not about any one of these issues in particular, but in telling the story of three generations of Carroll's in Maryland he brings home the greater circumstances of the colony better than many historians who have set out to make a case for one of the above arguments, or many of the other fascinating takes on early Chesapeake society contained in this highly readable book. I have not read any book lately that I enjoyed more.



3. Traditional patriotism demands that we believe that the founding fathers of America were all great democratic idealist. Although this may have been true for some, many others had no problem with the idea of an elite ruling class, so long as they were considered the elite. Thus the victory over England can be viewed as less of an American Democratic Revolution and more of a power transition from the English crown to the new American aristocracy.
   
   A primary example of this American elite class was Maryland representative Charles Carroll of Carrollton. A signer of the American Declaration of Independence, Charles of Carrollton was a wealthy planter and businessman who became such not by his own doings but primarily through the inheritance and molding of his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis. Ever mindful of his Irish and Catholic roots and the persecution therein by English aristocrats, the elder Charles did everything in his power to equip his son to fend off those who would attempt to cripple him politically and economically. In so doing, the elder Charles created a mindset of elitism within his son.
   
   This irony is highlighted by Ronald Hoffman in his book, "Princes of Ireland, Planters of Europe," in which he examines the Carroll family and traces how a persecuted family from Ireland in 1500 came to be one of the prominent families in America by the time of the American Revolution



4. This is perhaps the most pleasurable "academic" history I have come across. Although it provides an extensive account of life in the Chesapeake through the lives and business dealings - and there are plenty of those enumerated - of the tenacious Carroll family, I was also struck by Ronald Hoffman's major theme of family continuity, of purpose driven by recollection and ambition that the Carrolls had in spades. The very tightly researched accounts of the family history in Ireland, and of all the other families like them in the chaos of the 17th century, is little short of astonishing. I'll admit to an enduring interest in Irish history, but this one illustrates why Carrolls and others left their broken aristocracy. That continuity touches on my own forebearers, one of whom was a first cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's. She married another Irish immigrant Marylander and set out in 1796 to populate the then frontier in Kentucky with other Catholics, I am sure at direction of one of their neighbors in Upper Marlborough, MD, Fr. John Carroll, first Catholic bishop in America and also Charles' first cousin. A great read on many levels.

No comments about Eminent Edwardians: Four Figures who Defined their Age: Northcliffe, Balfour, Pankhurst, Baden-Powell.

5 comments about Mick: The Real Michael Collins.

1. This account portrays Collins as cold, calculating, incompetent and a sly opportunist...without any real skills or leadership. Every aspect of his life is presented as a lie, this is revisionist histroy on the level of David Irving...



2. I finally finished Mick: The Real Michael Collins by Peter Hart which I began almost exactly one year ago. My attraction to this book was my obvious admiration of Collins and the opportunity to read a new biography (there have been many before). Although I was excited, I was also wary because this book was supposed to take a not-very-flattering look at Collins' life. I found this to be true as Hart attempted to look through the praise and hero-worship that has accompanied Collins since his untimely death in 1922. Hart in several places goes too far, interjecting spite and taking the opposite position just to stir things up.
   
   I can say one good thing about the effect the book has had on me, though: if I had not been reading this book, I would never have chosen the topic I did for my final university history paper and broken new ground in the canon of Collins literature. Overall I found it to be very informative and an exciting read (this is probably due to the fact that this is the first Collins biography that I have read cover to cover and there were many things that I learned for the first time). Despite all of Hart's best efforts, I still find myself a devotee of Michael Collins, maybe even more than before, and for that reason I would recommend this book to anyone interested.



3. I enjoyed this book. M. Collins was shown to be an interesting man living among interesting people in interesting times. I am an interested, but not as interesting, amateur and not qualified to speak to the detailed criticisms made by some of the earlier reviewers or Publishers Weekly. All in all though, I found the subject matter fascinating, to the extent that plowing through this dense biography was a joy. I may pick up some of the other sources and try to gain another perspective some day. I was willing to tolerate a few stylistic lapses on the part of Mr. Hart (at times he was on too familiar terms with his subject, but this is a small matter). One can forgive the fact that a good understanding of the era may be necessary for a full appreciation; many readers will be able enough to overcome the gaps in their knowledge.
   
   Best for me was that the portrait of Collins and his era was nuanced and new. It also helped me to understand just how an old-fashioned revolution against a colonial power could come to be. The romanticism is thankfully kept to a minimum, and the author's opinions are stated with sobriety. I felt he truly liked his subject and found myself in agreement with his closing assessment.



4. This is the 92nd Anniversary of the Easter Uprising of 1916- Chocky Ar La
   
   I have spent a fair amount of my adult political life fighting for a just solution to the national question in Ireland and for justice for the Catholic minority in the North (and any Protestant workers who will listen) thus I am no stranger to the name Michael Collins. However, as Peter Hart has gone to pains to describe in his well-thought out biography Mick is a very contradictory man both in his expression of his personal aspirations for Ireland (and himself) and the political choices that he made in the important 1920-22 period just before his death. The consequences of his actions (and others, notably Eamon de Valera) are still being played out today as the struggle for that just solution to the national question continues.
   
   For those who are not familiar with Collins' biography (affectionately known as the Big Fellow) or have not seen the fairly recent commercial film about his life (starring Liam Neelson) Collins represented that next generation of leaders who survived the Easter Uprising of 1916- the event that is the real start of the modern national liberation struggle in Ireland. Mr. Hart spends some useful time detailing Mick's schooling, upbringing and the development of his administrative skills that would prove very helpful in his rise to the top of the Irish revolutionary movement. The real meat of the book, however, describes the rocky road to the top in the struggle to break Ireland from English domination.
   
   This period from about 1917 to his death in 1922 is both where his huge reputation was made but also where the limits of his capacity to lead Ireland to real independence from the British are displayed. That failure, exemplified by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, has caused no little ink to be spilled on both sides of the divide that ultimately led to the civil war that tore the republican camp apart. This is hardly the place to have a full discussion of that question but I confess that I am still baffled by Mick's decision to sign the treaty. To a great extent he, more so than de Valera, was the very Irish face of the military struggle lead by the then current version the Irish Republican Army.
   
   Despite Collins' well-informed and industrious intelligence apparatus formed in his role as `commander-in-chief' of the republican military forces I believe that he overrated the ability of the British to stay in Ireland in the immediate post World War I period. Lloyd George, not for the first time, got the better of the revolutionaries (as he did with others, witness the 1919 strikesin England and Scotland). That miscalculation, among other issues, led to the signing of the treaty widely seen as a betrayal of the republican struggle and the abandonment of the peoples in the North. While Collin's historically has had the best of it on this question though the efforts of his many biographers this thorny issue is still with us. Too much blood has been spilled to ignore it. Read on.



5. Hart,we get it - you've an opinion that is contrary to history. Yet you do not put forth any evidence in support of your contrarian views.

5 comments about All Will Be Well: A Memoir.

1. This story, so beautifully told, of McGahern's family is like a microcosm of Ireland in the 1940s and 50s: the rough indifference of his callous father alongside the selfless warmth of his mother. So it was in Ireland during that time: an era marked on the one hand by the cruel exclusion of those who did not buckle to the rigid demands of society, in contrast to much altruism and a shared sense of decency.
   How McGahern didn't emerge a bitter man from his childhood (the latter part of which was dominated by his father) is beyond me. But it seems that he chose to build on the strengths inherited from his mother and to disregard the rest.
   He writes beautifully. His descriptions of the rituals of country life, the ordinary events and day-to-day struggles, are conveyed in a way that manages to be both simple and sublime. About his mother he writes with honesty and heartbreaking grace. It is a book to keep and reread.



2. I have read all of McGahern's work, and sadly this is the last such exactingly prepared book that I presume will appear under his name. Any reader of The Dark, The Leavetaking, or By the Lake (aka That They May Face the Rising Sun) will find much here to document how McG hacked out from his own servitude much of the raw material for his justly praised prose constructions. Most deeply rooted in the straitened years of the 40s and 50s excavated here are seeds of what blossomed into his first novel The Barracks and his later success Amongst Women. The tone, shared with his fiction, often is shadowed more than sunny. This does make for a challenging read in parts, notably as the book goes on and McG battles with his father after the death (halfway through the book, when the author was nine) of his beloved mother.
   
   The grimness of great stretches of this memoir makes it sobering for any naive reader expecting a rural idyll romanticized. I would have edited more of the micro-detail that McG presents, as not all of it is germane to his larger arc, although he labors long in providing the meticulous array of details and spare dialogue to pace his vignettes. McG is known for his concerted rewritings and revisions of his work before publication. Perhaps his early death, soon after this memoir appeared, may account for the hastier (only by comparison with his other works, spaced out often over decades rather than years) appearance of "All Will be Well." Intriguing to find that the British version that appeared first is titled only "Memoir;" terse contrast with the more poetic and much more fitting "That They May Face the Rising Sun" title abroad of his final novel that for Americans was redubbed the less evocative if also enigmatic "By the Lake."
   
   The lack of breaks in the autobiography deepens the feeling of unrelenting struggle engaged in by the narrator. You feel more trapped in the telling of his difficult coming of age. Beauty and sorrow tumble one after the other. You never know which will appear next as you read--he recreates the surprises and terrors of anyone's life, no matter, as he says, how softly led. "I am sure it is from these days that I take the belief that the best of life is lived quietly, where nothing happens but our calm journey through the day, where change is imperceptible and the precious life is everything." (87)
   
   But the book is lopsided. Presumably intentionally, for perhaps McGahern anticipated a sequel? However, as half the book takes place only up to his ninth year, the remaining couple of decades rush by with alarming brevity. The author does not have intimations of being such until he's late in his teens, and this occurs first on p. 217 of a 290 pp. account.
   
   Necessarily and deliberately, McG's young adulthood and the start of his career is compressed into much less space. I would have preferred much more attention to his maturation as a writer than the extreme emphasis paid his early formation. I understand the polarity of his parental positions and how they marked irreperably McG's own soul, but if more follow-through had been given to how he wrested himself free of the restraints of his family and his nation would have made for a more memorable, and also less suddenly fast-forwarded, depiction of himself. (This portrait of the artist as a young man conveys shades of Stephen Dedalus at the end of Portrait; like Stephen, McG too returns, however, to Ireland after overseas self-exile has not fully freed the artistic imagination from its first inspiration.) Yet, McGahern knows that he cannot stand apart smugly from his inherited legacy, in its joys and its sorrows, and he comes to accept this if not find comfort in it later in his telling.
   
   Despite its uneven pace, this story will endure as an self-penned and as always in such books, a prematurely engraved epitaph. McGahern's courage in standing up for himself against the powers of Church, School, and State makes for engrossing if often reticently told autobiography. Refusing the comforts of faith as he grows, he nonetheless is fair-minded and balanced in crediting the good that the Church instilled in him during very dark years. Never concealing the sins, but noticing too the comforts, he looks at himself with as much detachment as he does others, no easy feat, considering what we now know would have been his last couple of years (dying at seventy of cancer)as he wrote this memoir.
   
   He hides as much as he exposes, the privilege of any teller of one's own tale. This is recommended for those already familiar with his fiction, as his early publications find only bare mention here, but a grounding in his harsh and bracing, and later more nuanced and forgiving, tales is necessary if you wish to savor all the textures here evident, poignantly, in the last two pages. He spent a decade on By the Lake, and his craft is never hurried or unmeditated. As with his last novel, the conclusion to "All Will Be Well" ends this intense narrative elegantly and powerfully.



3. John McGahern's memoir summarises the leitmotifs of his fictional works, where recurring themes of abused children, put-upon wives, and dominating, "old-school" husbands are echoed here. Indeed, one can trace the genesis of the themes of his novels from the people, places, and circumstances that provide the unity of his prose in "All Will Be Well".
   And the kind of man and writer into which McGahern matured is elegantly presented in this quote (p. 87):
   "I am sure it is from those days that I take the belief that the best of life is life lived quietly, where nothing happens but our calm journey through the day, where change is imperceptible and the precious life is everything".



4. I am only a few years younger than John McGahern and my maternal grandparents grew up in County Leitrim prior to coming to the US in the early 1890's. McGahern chose to focus on his early years for most of this book because, in many ways, it is an ode to his mother. The author's Mom was an educated woman who taught in the local schools, but sadly, she died from cancer when the author was 9 years of age. From then on, he and his 4 younger siblings were raised by several "hired girls" and his father, who was a Sargeant in the Garda (the Irish Republic national police).
   McGahern, who died around the time this book was published, was an excellent writer who captures what life in County Leitrim was like as he was growing up in the late 30's and 40'. He describes how he rode his little bicycle for miles at a very young age in order to spend the weekend with his father where he was stationed. We are also told how his demanding father had him cutting turf from the bog from an early age and that his father seldom, if ever, uttered a work of praise or encouragement to him or his siblings.
   Later in the book, we learn that some of McGahern's writings were banned in his native country. It is to his credit, that McGahern never engages in tirades against his tyrannical father or the Catholic Church in Ireland. However, from this book and his writings in general, it is clear that he stood up to both his father and the Church.



5. This is the kind of book that ligers on in the memory long after the reader has finished the final page. It's a very vivid portrait of a deeply devoted sons love for his mother only for her to die and for authors life to be dominated by a bullying insensitive rural policeman father in a tiny hamlet with no crime to tackle. This truly is a wonderful book that is enriching and life affirming.

4 comments about Oliver Cromwell (Reputations Series).

1. Cromwell is an amazingly enigmatic figure in spite of an incredibly public career. He was revered and feared by the people around him to the point where they could not know him the way they knew each other - from the time he assumed the leadership of the English Revolution, he became an object of awe, a force of nature, a figure so much larger than life that he seemed above even the most extraordinary of his peers. This book goes a long way toward helping the reader understand Cromwell the man riding the crest of English history.



2. I have always been interested in European history, particuarly English History. I bought this book with the hopes of learning objectively (or at least as objective as a person can be) about a truly forceful and powerful man. For better or for worse, Cromwell was certainly a tranformative individual in the course of human history.
   
   I was disappointed in a big way. The author spends a lot of time trying to absolve Olvier Cromwell of any guilt, claiming that what's publicly known about Cromwell is simply the "Public" story.
   
   So what was the great unveiling of knowledge that will exhonerate Oliver Cromwell? According to the author, well, he was a religious man after all. Somehow in the authors mind (and many other unfortunatly) being religious presupposes ethics, honesty and integrity - all in the name of God to massacre people. Are we to write-off all the misdeeds he did to his fellow man because he was religious? If anything, religion has been used against man as a weapon for cruelty, torture, subjegation and killings. According to the author the argument boils down to this: Cromwell was a religious man, like our illustrious president, Dubya, Who feels it necessary to translate the word of God for us plebians, and feels justified to act according to the messages he received. Its these dangerous justifications that have caused a great deal of danger to this planet. It makes you wonder how the Religious Right will one day interpret this invasion of Iraq.



3. Oliver Cromwell will forever remain an engimatic figure as he was both a reluctant leader and a military dictator at the same time. Davis' look into his lifely is incredibly fraught with attempts to justify his actions as being for the overall "good" despite how much "evil" he committed. While I do not believe that this is a book to "condone the war in Iraq" as one reviewer put it, it is extremely biased and any researcher using it must be careful not to take everything Davis' says to heart. As my favorite English professor used to say, "Take everything written with a grain of salt." What is a fact is that Mr. Davis is an extremely well versed historian and expert on Oliver Cromwell. It can also be a difficult read if you have no interest in the time period, the man and feel no love toward Cromwell. Otherwise, it is something every European historian should own.



4. J.C. Davis examines Oliver Cromwell's reputation and historians' assessments of Cromwell. Davis states that Oliver Cromwell's reputation is a study in paradoxes. He was ambitious for power yet refused to declare himself king. He believed in the power of Parliament yet used military force to shut one down. While Cromwell believed in his own greatness, and many biographers have tried to tarnish his image, Cromwell manages to escape. Those who thought him evil thought him greatly evil; those who considered him good considered him heroic. His greatness, good or ill, cannot be denied.
   Davis seeks to analyze how historians have viewed Cromwell in several key areas. Davis first gives a brief biographical sketch of Cromwell to provide context for the reader. Davis then focuses on the historical opinions and assessments of Cromwell through the past several hundred years, including reactions immediately following Cromwell's death. The harshest criticism of Cromwell came during the Restoration. One particular example presented him as a personification of Satan. It was not until over one hundred fifty years later that historians stopped painting him as a clear-cut villain or hero, and instead focused more on Cromwell as a fallible human with both bad and good characteristics.
   Davis studies each section of Cromwell's life to show the differing opinions historians have held. In presenting the rise of Cromwell from obscurity to fame, Davis evaluates several biographers to show how Cromwell's reputation as a self-made man varies from author to author. There are two basic views: the first saw Cromwell as a representative of the middle class who rose to great power; the second saw him as a representative of the rising Puritanism movement. In either case, great movements were the key to his rise to power.
   Davis also analyzes Cromwell's reputation as a military leader. Historians generally conclude that he was an excellent military leader, primarily because his military victories are hard to refute. Next, Davis looks at Cromwell's reputation as a man of God, because they are inextricably linked with politics. Cromwell believed that every action he took in politics and the military was God's will and he sought daily to reaffirm that his actions were in accordance with God's wishes. Cromwell the politician and state builder is Davis's next focus. Cromwell was an inexperienced Member of Parliament who rose to Lord Protector, and then struggled to build a new state. His actions that violated the tenets of the ancient constitution of England created a void; he filled it by building a different, functioning state.
   Davis makes his theme clear in the introduction: he will look at the differences in the portrayals of Cromwell throughout history. The theme was clearly stated and adequately previewed, giving a good understanding of what Davis was going to be looking at and analyzing. The author consistently brings each of the arguments back to his theme and shows how they fit. His theme is particularly clear when discussing Cromwell's religious beliefs, probably due to the fact that so much has been written about that topic. The theme was perhaps the least effectively seen in the section dealing with Cromwell as a military leader. Davis tended to focus more on the facts of history and less on the reactions of historians. At the end of each chapter, he sums up the point and indicates how it related to his primary point.
   At no time did Davis attempted to use emotionally persuasive appeals. He utilized clear and unbiased language to make his point, backed up with objective evidence, and generally allowed the historians' words to speak for themselves, with commentary for context.
   The style of writing was clear and easy to understand most of the time. Occasionally Davis tried to squeeze too much information into one sentence, making it convoluted and difficult to comprehend. But the sentences were normally short and clear. One problem I did see repeated frequently was that commas appeared to be missing at places in the text. Whether this can be attributed to the English writing style or to typos, it does make some paragraphs and sentences hard to follow, and these are in need of several readings to fully comprehend where one thought ends and another begins.
   Since the thesis relates directly to other historians' work, it is appropriate that the author's research is composed largely of secondary sources. While Davis used the published speeches and letters of Cromwell for Cromwell's personal reaction, Davis also read widely to achieve a complete look at the opinions about Cromwell. Hundreds of secondary writings about Cromwell, from directly after the Restoration to the time of publication, are cited. Primary works, such as diaries, government records, and letters are also included. The "Notes" section functions as a brief annotated bibliography, including further explanation about the material cited, evaluations about the usefulness of the work, and suggestions for further study.
   Two other helpful devices are included: an index and a chronology. The index is not particularly detailed, but it does list the main characters and ideas. The chronology covers 1599 to 1658 (from Cromwell's birth until death). It is primarily useful because it places significant events in Cromwell's life in context with the important events occurring at that time.

1 comments about Stone Mad.

1. My gr grandfather was a stonecutter from Ireland so I was very interested in this. Its all about the characters he met as an apprentice stonecutter in Ireland about 100 years ago. Its about people and how they were before the modern conformist factory system destroyed individuals.

5 comments about The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation.

1. It's amazing and refreshing that Mr. Mortimer can make 13th C English history come alive. This reads like a novel, and provides a lens through which to see the context in which the "barbarities" of this period must be appreciated. This historical period has been substantially inaccessible to me, using the available resources, and this book illuminates it beautifully.



2. Ian Mortimer is a meticulous historian with the ability to seamlessly blend momentous historical sweep with touching personal account. Edward the III is portrayed with all his strengths and weaknesses, ultimately emerging as a sympathetic character. Mortimer himself creates a new history of the period that goes beyond Froissart, Le Bel and other traditional medieval historians to find a history that is not jaded by period bias. He delves into primary sources resulting in a convincing and thrilling tale.
   
   It is rare for history to come alive as it does in this book. Battles are fought by flesh, blood, and spirit, and kings and queens agonize over their decisions, delight in their children, and experience the drama of the human condition which we all share. A marvelous book that will instill a love of this fascinating and pivotal time in English history.



3. Edward III reigned over England and Wales for over 50 years (1327 to 1377). He also had claims over Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man (from 1333) and France (from 1340).
   
   In this book, Ian Mortimer combines a very clear respect for his subject with meticulous research and succeeds in providing a detailed contextual picture of this monarch.
   
   Many with an interest in this period of history will know of Edward III as the king who started the 100 Years War, who won a number of battles (including at Crecy and Calais) - and who added Calais as a long standing English possession.
   
   `For the 30 years between 1334 and 1363 he was the greatest exponent of chivalric kingship there was.'
   
   The Black Death (1348-1349) occurred during his reign. The tragic loss of life and resulting labour shortages brought changes to the structure of society: a subject of study in their own right.
   
   Ian Mortimer lists five overarching achievements:
   (1) Kingship
   (2) Domestic peace
   (3) England's standing in the international community
   (4) Modernised warfare
   (5) Participatory government
   
   I agree with these broad headings, but would make special mention of The Statute of Pleading (1362). This was the first piece of legislation to officially recognise the English language - thus making the law (potentially at least) more accessible to all.
   
   I'd highly recommend this book to those with an interest in the life and times of arguably one of England's greatest monarchs. In his later years, Edward's authority waned but his achievements stand alone.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith



4. Ian Mortimer goes a long way in this amazing feat of work. He lets us begin to see Edward III in his (Edward's)eyes. In some way he remakes Edward's story and protrays him as a warrior, a lawmaker, and a knight. This is the most amazing work on Edward yet.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who wants to go deeper into the life of an amazing man. Without a doubt the warrior-king known as Edward III was the real Arthur



5. This is a fine book about the long and memorable 14th century reign during which occured the beginings of the Hundred Years War, the Black Death, the height of medieval chivalry and the rise to importance of the House of Commons.
   The narrative moves along at a nice pace and the author writes with a genuine feeling for his subject and the time period. If there's anything negative to say about the style, it's that some readers may be left craving even more detail, as I was, being a great fan of the "Yale English Monarchs" series.
   Mortimer does, however, indulge in some revisionist history. For centuries it's been accepted that the subject's father Edward II was done away with after being deposed. Mortimer is a firm believer that Edward II survived for at least another 15 years, incognito, wandering through Europe. In spite my being a traditionalist, and not buying any of that, I didn't find that it took away from what was a well rounded and authentic portrait. Mortimer does present all the evidence in a rational and non-sensational way. All in all a wonderful, concise, well balanced book.

5 comments about Let Me Die in Ireland, the True Story of Patrick.

1. I just grabbed this book for something to read on the bus and didn't have high expectations for it. Although I'm starting to get into the writings of early Christians, I didn't thnk Patrick would be that important. Was I wrong! His story is very interesting, but more important I was extremely inspired by his message and convictions. A couple of examples in particular are how he prayed like "the persistant widow" to get out of Ireland where he was taken to to be sold as a slave, and how when he did escape, God called him back to spread the good news. The seriousness of his commitment inspired me deeply. He did not hesitate to excommunicate anyone who wasn't living according to the Word and he preached that the decision to become a Christian is not something to be taken lightly. "...there is no turning back. It would be far better to never become a Christian than to become one and revert to your former ways." Also, just how he totally devoted himself to Christ, was willing to put up with hardship and make any sacrifice, had utmost integrity and forgave his betrayors. You can sense the struggles reading this book, but he persevered.
   The book is a quick read, and while the author admits using artistic license to recreate the dialogue, his main sources of information for the book are Patrick's "Testimony" and his letter of excommunication sent to the British king.
   I highly recommend this very inspiring book.



2. We do have Patrick's autobiography, and little else. This book adds to this some commentary and extra which show a particular point of view. It is an interesting point of view but not entirely doucmented.



3. A sixteen year old boy - Patric - from a prosperous family belonging to the autonomous Celtic church is taken captive, along with some of his family's servants. Patric is portrayed as whiny and snobbish, which provides more depth and drama as he learns to survive in a strange, savage land where he is kept as a slave. The only thing that turned me off was the way people spoke in modern English. Bercot didn't need to make them use "thees" and "thous" - but he fubbed up in using "Don't kid yourself". Through the help of an elderly slave, Cedd, who is also a British captive, Patric finds faith, and purpose, and meaning in life. After God has decided his time of trial in Ireland is over, He helps Patric escape. This suspensful journey is the a real heart-throbber. Then comes the tear-jerker, as Patric, who is now a grown man, is finally reunited with his parents. When it looks as though his life was about normal, Patric has a dream where God tells him to return to Ireland. Oh no! Patric doesn't really want to go back, but knows he must, and faces ridicule and rejection as those around him respond with either condecension, or with jeers. A wise man advises him to wait until the church leaders send him, rather than going on his own, and years pass without them doing more than elevating him to the office of a deacon. Finally, after another church sends a missionary to Ireland, people realize that Patric's bright idea was more than an idea: It was a calling. Journey with Patric as he shares the light of the Gospel with those he has come to love, and receives the answer to his prayer, "Let me die in Ireland."



4. Despite my opinion that David Bercot is one of the best writers around, interesting and captivating, this book is not. I couldn't get through it, though I eventually will. A good friend did get through it, and he told me that it gets interesting around the last quarter of the book. I'm interested in Patrick, but the story format just isn't captivating. Even my friend, who finished it, said he debated putting it down several times, but he really wanted to get to the end.
   
   The history's accurate, I'm sure, because Bercot's careful to use original sources and interpret them reasonably, but as a story, it's just dull. Again, that's amazing, because Bercot is an gifted and captivating writer. My thought is that he should have approached it as a history rather than writing it as a story, because his history books can't be put down.
   
   I'm only giving it 3 stars, because I know the history can be trusted.



5. There is a lot in this book that I never knew about St. Patrick. Here in America the person is never considered, mostly just the country of Ireland around St. Patrick's Day. It was an easy read, which I finished in just a few days. It definately helped strengthen my realationship with God to see one person's conviction so strong.