No comments about Peter the Great Transforms Russia (Problems in European Civilization).

5 comments about Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.

1. A wonderful book by Tomie dePaola filled with helpful information about the true story of St. Patrick's life, as well as fun legends attributed to the patron Saint of Ireland. dePaola's bold illustrations lend to the attraction of the book. He mentions at the end of the book his reasons for writing it and his attraction to Saint Patrick. My own eight year old son has a strong devotion to Saint Patrick and this book is among his favorites. I appreciate the clear differentiation between fact and legend in this book and would highly recommend it for any family.



2. Growing up in an Irish Catholic family myself, I had heard a great deal about St. Patrick. When we received this book as a gift I started reading it to my children, and they loved it. There were stories even I hadn't heard about St. Pat! As with his St. Francis book, Tomie DePaola's book holds children's interest throughout the many stories while other books of this length lose children. Kids remember the stories and repeat them because they are told so lovingly and in such a fun way! I now bring this book to their school and read it to all their classrooms every St. Patrick's Day to let children know that there is more to Patrick than green beer!



3. This book is fine if you are Catholic, but I was hoping for something more accessible for non-Catholics. For example, the legend of the shamrock is not very meaningful if you are not already acquainted with the trinity or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, etc. This would definitely not be a book to use to teach anything about the Catholic faith to non-Catholic, non-Christian children, which is what I was hoping to use it for.
   
   I like how dePaola has a section at the end for the legends of St. Patrick, separating these from the biography. I was raised an Irish Catholic and I was hoping to be able to share some of that heritage with my own children through this book, but in the end, all of the miracles and mumbo jumbo are too hard to swallow. My daughter was confused about which parts of the story were "real" and which were "for pretend." I think it was a little too much for her to choke down. I had to try to explain to her what baptism is, but she just stared at me blankly.
   
   The illustrations are quite lovely, and I would recommend this book highly for all Catholic school libraries.



4. I have always enjoyed the picture books of Tomie dePaola. His unique illustration style is immediately recognizable and is reminiscent of religious icons found in Catholic and Orthodox churches.
   
   Not surprisingly, dePaola often tackles Christian themes, making them accessible for younger readers and their parents. Among my all-time favorite children's book is his "The Clown of God," which I have enjoyed reading to children prior to Christmas.
   
   "Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland" is another such book. The simple narrative mainly addresses Patrick's early years as a British boy, captured by the Irish to become a slave shepherd in Ireland. After many years alone in prayer, he escapes, but eventually is called in a dream to return to Ireland to spread the love of God. After religious studies, becoming a missionary and then a bishop, he finally returns to Ireland, setting up churches, but not without opposition from some of the local rulers.
   
   What I appreciate about this version of St. Patrick's story is the dependency on historical fact in the main narrative. The book concludes with six one-page summaries of the better-known legends of Ireland's patron saint, such as driving out the snakes, and his use of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Refreshingly, these legends are briefly, but affectionately, told without judgment. It is left to the reader (or the parent) to decide what to make of them.
   
   The author concludes with a one-page epilogue, lovingly explaining how he was introduced as a young child to St. Patrick by his Irish Catholic grandparents.



5. This is a very lovely presentation of the life of St. Patrick. I used it for a vacation bible school group of 2nd and 3rd graders. They easily understood the story and really loved the pictures.

5 comments about Sagittarius Rising.

1. If you want to read a book which perfectly describes the atmosphere and meaning of flying in the first air war, then this is it.



2. The author covers many different aspects of being an English WW I pilot. He ranges from the limitations of the WW I airplanes (the wings fall off!), rapid tech advancements during the war (machine gun interupter gears), to being young, to the stress of combat, to views on stopping wars, etc. Pleasant read and highly recommended to anyone interested in air warfare in WW I. He does go off on little preachy tangents sometimes, but they are short and fit into the overall book just fine. This is a personal story, so don't expect a broader picture of the war.



3. This account of WWI aviation is a unique version not found in other books from this time period. It gives an inside look into the thoughts and feelings of a combat aviator during the infant days of aerial combat. A must have for any WWI aviation buff. I truely enjoy reading this book.



4. Mostly, Sagittarius Rising is a "War" book of interest to aviation and history buffs. But, the writing is so interesting and imaginative, readers without deep passion for planes or period are likely to start...and not stop until the last page.
   
   Lewis writes with a rare gift for pictures and even structure. Readers of pleasure will appreciate the work like it were a good meal. Historians, however, may find Sagittarius a little light on details, but the book's credibility and authority seems solid.
   
   If you're reading this review, you obviously have an interest in the arena - Sagittarius Rising is an excellent seat.



5. This book is well written, interesting to read even if you don't know anything about airplanes, and informative about history of first world war airwar. I think it was worth the money.

5 comments about A Criminal and An Irishman: The Inside Story of the Boston Mob - IRA Connection.

1. I had high hopes for this one, in light of the pros working with Nee. It just seemed to degenerate into a political polemic, however, about half way through; almost like two mini-books with stange pacing by the editor. Without trying to, I found myself mentally substituting "Al Qaeda" for IRA, trying unsuccessfully to differentiate in my mind why these guys were substantially different from middle eastern "freedom fighters". Left unexamined was the tragic way his family started him on his path in life, making him a really angry guy in general. Despite service in the USMC, he doesn't refer to himself as an American throughout most of the book. I really wish I could have liked this one more but I know plenty of guys like Nee who made better life choices.



2. This is a solidly wriiten book on criminal activity in Boston and arms smuggling to Ireland. The author pulls no punches about what he did and offers no apologies to the lifestyle he choose. You can either love or hate him but he seems to be a respectable guy from this book. The co-authors do a pretty good job putting his voice into a readable manner.



3. This is the best book in its class. Nee is everything that Mac, Weeks, Shea aren't. He is truthful and honest. Nee's story puts it all into perspective and negates all the other fiction. Nee's story is the one that you want to hear about. Recounting the events of his life, that he remembers. The South Boston gang war chapter is outstanding, and the valhalla chapter is almost a "how to smuggle" for those of you interested. Nee's story is both moving and compelling, with his sentiment towards his brother and his belief in the IRA as opressed people. Nee's image of Whitey Bulger is outstanding. This is a definite good read. buy it.



4. A Criminal and an Irishman is a terrific read, particularly for anyone interested in American connections to the defiance of British rule and oppression in Northern Ireland. Highly informative and entertaining, the novel also provides a great deal of excitement in its recounting of its anti-hero's adventures as a criminal and a gun runner for Irish freedom fighters. Pleasantly, it avoids glorifying crime, yet it does provide insight into why Pat Nee made the choices he did, as both a criminal and an Irishman. Further, it provides facts too often ignored in the US press about Britain's continuing atrocities against Nationalists and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Anyone who wants to know the truth about what goes on in that enemy-occupied country would do well to read this book.



5. Well, let's see....I bought this book in the hopes of learning about some type of connection with the P.I.R.A and the Southie Irish "mob". First, I had to get through the first ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE PAGES which had to do with Mr. Nee's life prior to his involvement.
   
   If you couple that with the forty or so pages that dealt with the actual boat trip, which Mr. Nee wasn't even privy to, then you have about TWENTY pages actually dealing with the topic of "The Inside Story of the Boston Mob-IRA Connection".
   
   Listen, Mr. Nee, I understand you not wanting to tell the "whole" story about what you did as I'm sure the statute of limitations hasn't run out. But don't spout off about some huge connection between the Irish "mob" and the P.I.R.A if you don't have much to say. You wrote more about Jimmy Bulger than you did about anything else!
   
   The only saving grace of the book was that you felt like you were bellied up to the bar in some run down gin mill swapping stories with ole' Patty himself. It's an easy read, completed it in a night, but only pick it up if you're interested in one-sided war stories about criminals who victimized Southie.

5 comments about The Young Hitler I Knew.

1. This is one of the most important books ever written on Hitler. It is an honest memoir of Hitler's best childhood friends. There is no book that even comes close to the coverage this book provides of Hitler's early years. Perhaps, the most important section of the book is the chapter where Hitler sees Wagner's opera Rienzi for the first time and sees a larger vision for his own life. Indeed, one aspect of the book is the huge influence of Richard Wagner on both Hitler and a generation of Germans. Check my German history book list on Amazon for more interesting books including a book on Wagner's influence on Hitler.



2. This book is one of those resources that is in nearly every history of Hitler and stands as a sole personal reference to Hitler's early years.
   August Kubizek through this work is able to fill in the gaps the public records, scant as they are, provide about Hitler's life as a boy and an artsy vagabond on the streets of Vienna. I found the author's approach to this book straightforward and written in the way that someone wishing to study the personality of an individual. He segments his chapters looking the town the mother and the father and Hitler's social life among other things. While the delivery is somewhat simplistic it is what would be expected of an average person who knew Hitler as a youth.
   
   While the book is somewhat contradictory in that it says that Hitler's mother wasn't nearly a smothering as often said and interestingly Kubisek says that Hitler always had the gift for compelling oratory which seems odd seeing that he was a social misfit at the same time. It is interesting too because it seems even in trying to writing objectively the author has some strange affection or admiration for Hitler. No matter what it's a quick and interesting read that any historian studying Hitler should not pass up.



3. Written by Hitler's closest ever friend, what he tells us rings true. By the end of the book you have a pretty good idea of how his mind works and what ideas are important to him. Later when he had the power, he put these early ideas into effect . This book is recommended to understand Hitler's development.



4. This book is not for the uninterested nor the passing historian. It is important to bear in mind that this perspective on Hitler is for a particular period of time, from a particular person. And lacking a relatively thorough understanding of Hitler, one may be compelled to think that the "Young Hitler" was completely different, as if possessed by demons later in life (as some biographers suggest) than the "Fuehrer Hitler".
   
   The Young Hitler, however, is really the only decent, detailed recollection of Hitler before he became active in the Nazi party after World War 1. And the reader will be astounded at the twists and turns in the fortunes of the young Hitler. Indeed, if one wasn't aware that it was Hitler, they might feel some sympathy for the struggling young artist. Surely more than Hitler have struggled to find their way and place in the world, resisting tedious daily work and eduction. And if Hitler had never become someone, this biography might still be an interesting story of growing up in the terbulant years of 1900-1921, with the fall of the Austro-Hungrian Empire and WW1. And it is also an intersting tale of a struggling artist. What aspiring actor in Los Angeles today doesn't struggle to make ends meet, dream of great fame as an actor, but not necessarily work hard?
   
   As Kershaw says in the introduction, there are some half-truths and unique spins from Kubizek, but the essense of his story is true. It is astounding to learn about how a young, teenage Hitler designed bridges and monuments and cities with the conviction that he would one day realize these dreams - and that he eventually did. Or to learn about Hitler's enormous capacity to read and remember.
   
   In this book, one does not really see a maniacal leader determined to conquer Europe and enslave its population. Rather, as it ends, one is left with the impression that Hitler was an old childhood friend who remembered his one friend, and invited him to be a guest of honor at Wagner's Bayreuth festival.
   
   Kubizek had little to do with the Nazi party, politics, or the war, so these issues are largely ignored or simply have no relevance. It is hard to imagine a Hitler book without these things... but here it is.



5. This is a unique first-hand account of the young life of Adolf Hitler.Hitler,for better or worse,changed global politics forever.Time magazine ,out of concern of mass cancelation,named Albert Einstein over Hitler,as the most important figure of the 20th century.The US did not have a nuclear weapons program,in development,until after World War 2 started.The Soviets were already pursuing a nuclear defense program against Hitler's Germany.Yet,this is all much later.This book covers the care-free days of Hitler's youth in Vienna.The growing political and economic troubles is what fostered the atmosphere of fear and extremism.And it was the hard times,that young Hitler suffered that pushed him into nationalist politics.Had the times been happier,Hitler may have turned into a qualified architect of repute or bloomed into a serious kunstler artist.Years later,Hitler saw Albert Speer,as the budding architect he once was and wanted to patronize him into cultivation.Hitler may have even been labeled a 'socialist' or 'liberal', before the outbreak of World War One.His war experience forever changed his views about the outside world and how he felt they disregarded Germanic cultural values.Sadly,Hitler had no regard himself for other cultures and their values.I guess when the Bavarian brown-shirts favored Hitler to be the Furher for the Nazi party,they were thinking of 'Empire' and not of isolationist seclusion.The Nazi party has its roots in the pagan-occult and the runes. Yet,the nazi ideology was and is a muddled credo of christianized paganism.And Hitler was the ideal leader for this modern form of christianized 'VooDoo' political movement.Hitler had rejected the catholic church and the protestant church,as well.Yet,he did marry Eva Braun,fearing that there may be a christian after-life to face for eternity indeed.That's VooDooo christian thinking.After reading these book,i was amazed at how the opera scene really affected his social values.Hitler's favorite was Richard Wagner.His favorites 'the Flight of the Valkries' and 'the Twilight of the Gods',both based on pagan mythos.So,if you want to see the development of the young Adolf Hitler,this book paints a rather interesting early portrait of the most enigmatic figure of all time.

1 comments about Romanovs: Europe's Most Obsessive Dynasty.

1. A fast read with basic information - a good book if you are just getting into this era. If you are already an avid reader about the Czars of Russia, and the Romanov Dynasty, you won't find a whole lot of new information here. I enjoyed the chapters on where churches, palaces, etc., are located. Haven't really had that before. I would recommended it.

2 comments about Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of Housewife, 49.

1. Nella Last was a participant in the Mass Observation project. Her diary of the life of an "ordinary" British housewife during the war was open, honest, and reflective. I loved watching her grow from a submissive housewife to an independent, confident woman who found she could remain loving and caring without being a doormat. I found many of the mundane details of dealing with rationing, running a canteen, preparing for bombing, etc. on the homefront to be fascinating. I would have like to have known her, but at least I had the opportunity through this book.



2. I had been wanting to read this book for two years, having seen Lynne Hymers reading it in "The 1940s House." It was definitely worth the wait--I devoured this book like a good meal. Nella Last was a very resourceful, imaginative woman. I very much enjoyed her candid honesty, and the way she kept her sense of humor, even while missing her boys and dealing with her husband. I'm very much looking forward to the second volume of her diary.

5 comments about Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year.

1. One of my favorite authors on the subject of royalty continues to be Greg King. He has focused most of his work on Tsarist Russia, but now with Twilight of Splendor he has taken a look at one of the most pivotal years of Great Britain's Queen Victoria -- a monarch who set her mark on an entire century, and whose presence still lingers today.
   
   King takes one year in the Queen's life, and explores her daily life, starting first with an outline of her childhood, and marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and then to some of the momentous events of the years 1896-1897, when she became Britain's longest reigning monarch, and the festivities surrounding her Diamond Jubilee year to celebrate sixty years on the throne. By this time Victoria was not just a queen, but also Empress of India, and the British Empire was indeed a land where the sun never set. Colonies and possessions sent emissaries and gifts, all building towards a grand festival in London to mark the occansion.
   
   But King goes beyond a mere listing of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren -- he explores the rather tempetuous relationships that she had with them, especially her daughters. Neither were her sons spared the maternal disapproval either -- her eldest son Bertie, the Prince of Wales, she blamed for his father's death and his social life brought further displeasure. He in turn, took out his frustrations at not having any sort of decision-making in political roles in hard living, mostly involving smoking, chasing women and sport. Nor was Bertie the only fast living Royal -- daughter Louise was notorious for her acid tongue and mischief making, and Helena developed a near crippling addiction to opium.
   
   The most interesting section was an exploration of the various courtiers that surrounded the Queen. There was an enormous army of servants, from those who laboured in the royal kitchens, footmen who carried messages and opened doors, housemaids who swept and scrubbed and tidied, all the way up to the aristocratic men that oversaw their work. While these men would never be confidants or friends, they would form close bonds of trust with the Queen, working with her for years, until ill-health or death remove them from the office. Much more shadowy were the servants that worked more closely with the Queen, most notorious being a Scotsman by the name of John Brown, of whom it was said that the queen had actually married him, and after his death, two Indian servants who were arrogant scoundrels.
   
   The Queen's court of servants, family and attendants moved in a predictible round of seasons and holidays. Springtime and most of summer were spent at the castle complex at Windsor, autumn in the Scottish highlands at Balmoral, and winter at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Buckingham Palace was a place that the Queen loathed to stay in, and it was only during the most formal of events that the queen would stay at the Palace for even a night. In addition, the Queen and her household would holiday on the French Riviera every two months in springtime, an activity that continued from 1890 to nearly the very end of her long life. Pilgrimages would be made to her beloved husband's tomb every year on the anniversary of his death.
   
   And sometimes, relatives would visit from the far reaches of the world to visit. One of the more momentous occansions was when one of Victoria's favorite granddaughters visited during the autumn of 1897. Alix and her siblings had been raised mostly by the Queen after the death of their mother, Alice, and Alix had been wooed and won by Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia. Now Alix was Empress, and with her husband and child went to visit as the new couple toured Europe after their coronation. Another momentous occansion that is covered is the grand costumed affair at the height of the London season at Devonshire House. Royalty and aristocracy mingled, as much to show off their wealth, and to be seen and see. Several ladies managed to arrive as the same characters from history, accompanied by much glaring. Other little snippets included the rituals of garden parties and presentations, Christmas celebrations, and finally the Diamond Jubilee itself.
   
   I have to say that this was a real eyeopener of a book. All too often authors skip over the people who kept the various castles and palaces running and livable. King also adds in plenty of gossipy details, little touches that help to make these stiff figures from formal portraits come alive as well. While King's narrative does get repetitous what with the same descriptive passages being used over and over, the story does move along crisply, with quite a bit of detail being given. There are several inserts of black and white photos and etchings as well. Along with the bibliography and footnotes, there is an appendix that list the various members of the Queen's hosuehold during the final years of her life.
   
   For anyone interested in the details of how royals lived in the nineteenth century, this is a splendid read. I discovered that the royalty of the time were imprisoned as much as they ruled from a golden, rather spendid, cage. Days were carefully measured and plotted out, and oridinary people and the journalists were just as curious about them as they are now in the twenty-first century. While the reading does get a bit dull in spots, it's still enjoyable, and there's quite a bit of humor here and there to liven things up.
   
   Recommended.



2. Queen Victoria is the longest reigning monarch in English history. She ascended the throne in 1837 dying on January 22, 1901. During those sixty plus years she saw the Western World transform itself from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Though she preferred candles she saw electricity come into general use. Victoria stoold 4ft 10. high.She was proclaimed as Empress of India in 1877. Victoria lent her name to an age and a vanished nineteenth century world explored in depth by historian Greg King in "Twilight of Splendor." King is most noted for his earlier work on the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.He focuses on her life and that of her empire in 1897 as her jubilee year on the throne was celebrated by millions of her obedient subjects.
   In this 300 page book the author examines Victoria and her family. She was raised as the daughter of the Duchess of Kent who was early widowed. She and her mother did not get along well. Victoria spoke with a German and Scotch accent. She became queen when her sailor uncle William IV died in 1837. She was plain and intelligent. Victoria came to rely on such Prime Ministers as her beloved Lord Melbourne and later Disraeli.
   She was honest and witty. She lacked a good formal education though she could read foreign languages and the occasional novel. Victoria had a fierce temper and a tart tongue. Victoria was very obese and had no fashion sense. Her tastes in art and literature were middle-brow.
   Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Cothburg. The happy couple were parents of nine children prior to Albert's death in 1861. Victoria worshipped Albert sleeping each night next to a picture of him taped to the headboard of her bed. Albert's room and possessions remained as they had left them when he died. She was buried next to him at Frogmore. The Royal Albert Hall was built in his memory. When Albert died Victoria refused to wear anything but black for the rest of her long life.
   Victoria had rocky moments with her large brood of children. She did not get along well with the Prince of Wales who lived a womanizing, dissolute playboy life. He became King in 1901. Victoria was closest to her eldest daughter Vicki who became the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Several of her children married crowned heads of Europe. She was truly the grandmother of monarchy.
   In addition to telling the story of Victoria's family we learn from Greg King about the architecture of her palaces of Buckingham, Osborne on the Isle of Wight, Balmoral in Scotland and Windsor Palace. Victoria hated London living in Buckingham and prefered Windsor or her other castles. She was waited on hand and foot by hundreds of servants in a well organized royal househod. King goes into detail on what she ate along with her guests. He tells us what attendance at balls and social events was like in her day. Victoria was no snob enjoying friendships with an Indian servant and the Scottish gilly John Brown. She did not like the British aristocracy and practiced middle class morals. She enjoyed painting and wrote two books on her life in the Highlands at Balmoral. All of her life she kept a detailed diary of her life and times.
   Victoria was no intellectual but a good person who gave millions to chairty and led England with dignity and honor. When she died in 1901 over one-fourth of the world was ruled by Great Britain.
   King's book is well-researched and gives us a good insight into the private and public life of one of England's greatest rulers. He does fail to discuss the poverty of many of Victoria's subjects though he does briefly cover the conflict with the Boers in South Africa and Irish unrest.



3. just got the book on her daughter the last princess.i hope it is as good as this one was.



4. I don't think I've ever criticized a book for too much detail, but I do need to in this case. The book is obviously very well-researched, but sometimes it absolutely overwhelms the reader with details. A tour of a circa-1897 room, for example, provides the author with an opportunity to describe nearly every item in the room, how long it had been there, when it had last been moved, and who liked which items more than the others. Sometimes it was just too *much*, and I felt I was drowning in detail. In addition, every time the author cited an amount of money circa-1897, he provided a currency exchange in dollars and pounds in 2007 figures, down to the last dollar! I think it would have been enough to say that a diamond necklace would cost $22 million today, and not necessarily have to say that it would cost $22,316,812. The obsessive detail on that was a bit overwhelming.
   
   There were also a couple places where the author had favorite terms or words he liked, and used over and over. Lace wasn't just lace - it was always "Honiton lace". A member of the public who wrote something was *always* referred to as a "wag".
   
   Overall, while it was an interesting look into the Diamond Jubilee year of Queen Victoria, there was just *too* much detail. The minutiae of the book detracted from the splendor and grandeur of her celebration.



5. king explores the rather tempetuous relationship queen victoria had with her childern and grandchildern,their relationship with each other.who just happen to be many of europe's royal houses.

5 comments about Eleanor the Queen.

1. This is an interesting work of historical fiction by a noted writer of historical fiction and gifted storyteller, Norah Lofts. the author capably details the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most famous and celebrated women of the middle ages. Touted by the troubadours of her time as being a woman without compare, Eleanor of Aquitaine could certainly be held to be the first feminist.

   Married first to the pious King of France, Louis VII, she bore him two daughters and went with him on an unsuccessful Crusade, where she was to have a number of adventures. Stifled by the King's somewhat misogynistic advisors, she and the King would come to a parting of the way after fifteen years of marriage. No sooner was she divorced and returned to her Duchy of Aquitaine, than she met eighteen year old Henry Plantagenet, who was to become King Henry II of England. Nearly a dozen years separated them but this was to be no bar to their marriage.

   Eleanor and Henry were to marry, and she bore him numerous sons and daughters. She lived happily with Henry for many years, until she discovered that he had a mistress, the fair Rosamonde of legend. The break in their relationship would eventually result in the estrangement of Henry from his sons and the imprisonment of Eleanor for nearly eighteen years.

   This is an excellent work of historical fiction, filled with the political intrigues of the day, historical events and personages, and a story that has withstood the test of time. It is a book that those who like well-written historical fiction will, undoubtedly, enjoy.




2. Eleanor of Aquitaine must be one of the most interesting women in history. Her intellegence, her legendary beauty and her joint crusade with her first husband, the King of France would make for an amazing story alone. Now add to it that she was also the wife of King Henry II of England and the mother of Richard the Lionheart (and SEVERAL other children) and you have the makings of an epic story filled with love, betrayal, political intrigue and so much more! Instead, Lofts tells a nice story though uninspiring which touches areas of excitement briefly toying with them and then instead wanders down the a road that is interesting but dull. This is my third Norah Lofts novel and I am still seeking the same talent and style I found in A Wayside Tavern. I am again left disappointed and wondering how the same woman wrote that book and this.



3. I think Norah Lofts is an excellent writer of historical fiction & this book was very well done, however, it is not a story with many happy moments for Eleanor of Aquitaine. I usually will re-read books that I enjoy, but I find this one too sad to want to read it again - Eleanor just can't get a break, it seems. I've read Jean Plaidy's Plantagenet books involving Eleanor and she's presented in a less accurate but somehow more cheerful way in those books. This is certainly a more accurate account, but just not something that will put many smiles on your face.



4. Though Ms. Lofts prose is lovely, there is no substance to this novel. Eleanor of Aquitaine was perhaps the most influential woman in European history, culture, and politics until Elizabeth I of England, yet Ms. Lofts ignores most of Eleanor's most important contributions to Western Heritage (e.g. troubadour poetry and her patronage of Fontevrault). Ms. Lofts inexplicably ends the novel with the departure of Richard I on the Third Crusade, which means that Eleanor's role as Regent is utterly ignored. Personages who had significant roles in Eleanor's story are never or barely mentioned, such as Empress Maude and Thomas Becket. The information provided in the work seems designed for a much younger reader than the style of writing indicates.



5. Although the writing is fair in this book, I was disappointed by the lack of depth to the characters, including Eleanor. This is one of the most fascinating queens in history, whose story is multi-faceted. However, this book only scratches the surface of Eleanor's life. It does not develop the relationship between her and Henry (or their sons, for that matter), which is a major pivoting point in Eleanor's life. I did like Eleanor's prison companion, Kate, and thought her character was not as flat as most were in this book. And what about the Princess Alys, who was betrothed to Richard from a young age? This book doesn't even go into the possibility of the rumored relationship between King Henry (Richard's father) and Alys as being the reason Richard called off the betrothal. I would not recommend purchasing this book unless you can find it for a quarter or less.

5 comments about Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder.

1. My first experience with Bess of Hardwick was through a historical romance novel several years ago. After some research online, I discovered so much more about her. I find her to be an extraordinary woman who lived in difficult times. I felt that Mary Lovell captured her perfectly. There was so much more information that I had never read before. I would recommend this biography to anyone who enjoys reading about life in the Tudor era.



2. I love history and this was a great book. My friends want to read it as well and they are not history lovers. So it is a great read.



3. Bess of Hardwick was born the daughter of a gentlemen squire, that is, a sort of farmer with a few servents, but an ancestry that allowed him (and his wife) to be part of the "gentry" in the age of King Henry VIII. She was able to become, by the time of her death at the (then) remarkable age of 80 the second most powerful and richest woman in England, after her friend Queen Elizabeth I. She had been able to marry off her children and step children very well,into the most powerful names of Tudor aristocracy and the author shows how many aristocratic houses of England are directly descended from this woman, including the Dukes of Devonshire.
   Bess began the building of the fabulous home "Chatsworth" which is still a showpiece, though re-done over time. (See the biography of "Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire for more on Chatsworth).
   Bess was the grandmother of the Princess Arbella, who could have just as well been the next Queen of England after Elizabeth I: Arbella had the exact same blood lines as her cousin James I, but her life, plotted and planned by her grandmother who had raised her with Queenship in mind, ended tragically).
   Bess was a formidable yet at times kindly woman, as the author says, a type of CEO in the Tudor world.
   It was a fascinating biography and a great glimpse in the Tudor/ Elzabethan world. (Having read so much about Henry VIII, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, etc, it is interesting to read about a non royal person, for other insights into that world.) Very well and clearly written. Highly recommended.



4. To be honest, I was hoping for (and thought I ordered) a work of good historical fiction, such as "The Tower and the Dream," a book about Bess that I couldn't put down. This book is a biography and I don't find the author particularly interesting to read. Her style of writing tends to be dull and unimaginative, which is a shame because the story of Bess of Hardwick is quite a fascinating one. In my opinion, the one word that sums up this work is "dry."
   
   If you are looking for details and facts about the life of Bess of Hardwick, this work will provide them. If you are looking for a good read, this just isn't it.
   
   Alexandra, Visalia, CA



5. Bess of Hardwick defied the norms of Tudor society and became the most powerful and wealthy woman in Tudor England after Queen Elizabeth I. Bess married four times, each time more successfully then the last, negotiating before the marriage to ensure she was financially stable should her husband die.
   
   She was a loving, but strict mother and grandmother, dedicated to advancing her family, through court contacts and cunning marriages. She is known for marrying well, but it is her second husband, Chatsworth, through whom she set up her dynasty. Chatsworth House is still one of the finest in England. Bess is also known as the "houser" of Mary, Queen of Scots, held in England by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth for years.
   
   This is a great story of one woman's power of personality and sheer determination in a man's world.