5 comments about Elizabeth I CEO: Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire.

1. I do have a comment on history content, in response to one of other reviews I read -let's keep in mind that, if it wasn't for Elizabeth I there would be no empire to pass along to James I-England would be swallowed up by either France or Spain. Surely, Elizabeth I made a few mistakes like every other monarch, but they fade out in comparison to her achievements. She truly did build an empire, and serves as a great example of a true leader.
   Tudor scholar



2. Elizabeth I CEO was a wonderful reading that inspired me a lot. It is one of those books that you hate to leave unfinished. The lessons of Elizabeths leadership are compelling and quite inspiring.
   
   I never thought that I would need a book on inspiration in my life, but this book indeed changed this view as well.
   
   Excellent work.



3. It was a woman who gave birth to the British Empire where the sun (son) never set on England's territory. None other than the Virgin Queen herself, who bore no heir, but lived to a very ripe old age. In her time, Elizabeth turned around her country from bankruptcy and discord. The book takes snippets from her life and there are some gems of wisdom from Elizabeth's reign. Like her father, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth the First lived large and had the courage to be powerful, was an orphaned Princess who ascended to the throne and a nation in tatters ... and whose life was a testament that resulted in Rule Britannia until the last colony, Hong Kong, was relinquished in 1997.
   
   But if you really need lessons from a Monarch: read Margaret Thatcher's own words on her ascent. First hand knowledge is the most useful.



4. While I don't believe that Elizabeth was totally the excellent strategizer, I do believe she was well advised and did her own thinking. This book goes back and imposing upon historical events the decisions made by Elizabeth-I and how it would apply in business today. There are certain parallels between a monarchy and corporation that do fit together and can be seen in examples. The major portion of the book covers the image that Elizabeth set forth by taking on being the image of the Mother Mary (Catholic church) to her subjects, thus, to make the people more accepting of the new Church of England as the religious seat of power, thus diffusing the Vatican's hold over the people. My only complaint, like others opinions, there were no mention of where things went wrong, only highlighting the good things. This is a very good book still and I recommend it along with another book called Big Chief Elizabeth (which is more of the history of the new World and Elizabeth's funding of the voyages to capture more land).



5. This transaction was easy and fast. The book was in better condition than expected. Thank you!

1 comments about Magic Moments: The Greatest Royal Pictures of All Time.

1. The subtitle says "The Greatest Royal Photographs of All Time" which is difficult to imagine since they were all taken by the author, a photographer for The Sun. There are some good photos here; I wouldn't classify any of them as `great.' The choices are limited to the last 30 years which eliminates the exquisite photos of Cecil Beaton, for example. Of redeeming grace are the cutlines (photo IDs) that share private and off-camera moments between the Royals and Edwards. Separate sections on both Diana and Camilla in addition to Charles, Philip, the Yorks, surround a justifiable emphasis on the Queen.

5 comments about Diane: A Signature Life.

1. Diane gives us a facinating glimpse into her world of the fast lane of the 70s and the glamous life which she led. But a glimpse is all we really get and Diane spares us many details which she must have felt would offend the people still important in her life. Further, while she ostensibly takes responsibility for how her businesses went horribly wrong, we somehow get the feeling that everyone else was to blame. Hey, the next time you license your products to Sears, please take a step inside. You will see that it's not Saks! In sum, a fun read but it not a revealing biography or any kind of a business book.



2. Diane lets us inside her very glamourous life. she takes us from the 60's to the 90's. her life is full of fashion, family, friends and love. i really enjoyed this book and have a new admiration for diane.



3. This has to be one of the most insipid tales yet told. It's promoted as "she didn't have to work - but she did". She did? When? Where? Look - don't promote an idea and then tell the story that completely contrasts it. This person has yet to understand what "work" is. This book is a story of a rich person who uses connections to get richer. Wow! - what a story!
   Now if it was about a person who worked from nothing - and built a brand like the rest of us schleps would have to, then I'd say she did something - "she worked"! But not the case here, even though she portrays it that way. Unconvincing and boring.



4. This book is very interesting. YOu get to learn about the fashion industry and what to expect. Since I myself am interested in entering the fashion world as a career this book helped me understand that at times buisness may be stressful but always worthwhile. Diane von Furstenberg is a women that went through many hardships but was dedicated to her work, and someday i hope to do my work as succesfully as she did.
   -amanda, Grayslake



5. Yes, she came from a privileged background, and had many doors opened for her as a result, but definitely deserves all credit for what she made of those opportunities. She plays down the business side of herself, preferring to highlight the creative aspects of her personality, but underneath it all, she does seem to possess a sharp business sense and an intuition for how to best position and market her products. Also, the ability to constantly reinvent herself, and seek out new ideas comes through in the book. Her success story is inspiring.
   
   On the negative side, there was too much name-dropping. Some parts were annoyingly elitist - I think she must have said at least half a dozen times in the book (or at least it seems that way) that her ex-husband was a prince whose bloodline descends from the roman empire (or some other empire, don't remember). Connections to royalty are mentioned in awestruck tones, which is grating on the nerve. There is also a lot of touting of her own achievements - admittedly the pride is well deserved, but some subtlety in talking about it would have been classier.

5 comments about Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III.

1. After THE UNRULY QUEEN I was already an admirer of this author but now I am in awe of her. Knowing the mountain of original sources Fraser used I find her selections, editing and writing of the overall narrative simply wonderful. It is a very complicated landscape The Princesses lived in and yet the author has succeeded in not only turning up the volume on each Princess as an individual, but portrays the dynamics of that huge family within one of the most turbulent periods of modern history. Also, explanations of the manners and mores of the times are seamlessly interwoven, which in turn nicely contrasts public propriety with the daily private reality. I have a large George III library and this is a valuable addition to it.



2. I have seen occasional references to the children of George III, apart from George IV and William IV, usually in biographies of Queen Victoria, but this is the first in-depth treatment that I have read of his daughters. They usually don't even rank a mention in the oft-told tale of the race to provide an heir to the throne after the death of Princess Charlotte (George IV's daughter) since, due to the rules of primogeniture and their father's reluctance to allow them to marry before middle age, they didn't even have a shot at it.
   
   Continuing in the family tradition of writing absorbing biographies of figures in English history, Flora Fraser provides a sympathetic, if sometimes a bit too minutely detailed, picture of these six very different sisters: Charlotte, Princess Royal (known as Royal), always conscious of her rank and position, as she could hardly fail to be with such a nickname; Augusta, the family correspondent; Elizabeth, artistic and charitable; Mary, the beauty of the family, who survived all her siblings and lived well into Victoria's reign; Sophia, who "disgraced" herself by bearing an illegitimate son; and Amelia, the headstrong youngest child who was passionately in love with a man whom she could not marry. These are only thumbnail descriptions and do not do justice to Fraser's portrayal of the loving and occasionally acrimonious relationship that the princesses had with each other, their brothers, and their parents.
   
   We often read about the political repercussions of George III's mental disability and the deterioration of the relationship between the Regent and his parents, but I found Fraser's description of the effect that it had on the Queen and their daughters to be particularly moving. However, three of them did find happiness in marriage, if not children, late in life, and with the others, were able to build satisfying lives around nieces and nephews, as well as artistic, intellectual and charitable pursuits. We can only speculate on what they might have done with their lives had more opportunities been open to them.



3. In my opinion this is one of those books that it is well researched,well organized and the story is pretty much well told.But at the end of the day i asked myself why i bought this book, because when i finished reading the book i realized that the lives of these ladies wasnt interesting at all.I mean the thing is that, basically, nothing happened to this ladies.They were completely separated from the outside world and they really didnt had that much to contribute or much to get involved with the world.The narrative is not bad because the author makes a great effort in trying to make the story interesting.The problem is that the story is boring and dull.The author also just takes too many pages to tell a story that doesnt need that many pages.I've could have done without a least 100 to a 150 pages.The only parts that were interesting were the ones that talked about the English etiquette in Court.I got to learn a lot about what's the etiquette when someone died and the proper order in which to enter a room or signed a document.Again good effort by the author but there's no story to tell



4. This was a very detailed and indept biography of the six daughters of George III. Charlotte, Augusta, Elizabeth, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia they were not allowed to marry an unusual step at the time since most kings marry off their daughters for alliences George III decided not to marry his daughters off after witnessing one of his own sister's plight in marriage. Yet that didn't deter them from flirting, illegally marrying or in Sophia's case even giving birth to an illigmate child creating scandles of their own. It was interesting reading about their interests and charities and living with their parents through middle age. Two sisters did end up marrying after well into middle age. A very good bio.



5. The six daughters of King George III have been overlooked by biographers for too many years. Therefore I had high hopes for Princesses. Unfortunately it was one of the most difficult biographies I have ever read. Flora Fraser painstakingly read and researched hundreds of existing letters written by the princesses as well as others involved in their lives, and it seems she made use of each and every one of them - to the point of annoyance. To borrow a line from Shakespeare, Fraser needs to be told "More matter with less art". The writing is dense, arty, and agonisingly slow to read, and too many pages are spent rehashing insignificant details. These pages would have gone to better use going into more depth about the personalities, characters, and personal relationships of the women. For all that, the subject of the princesses' lives is piquant, moving, joyful, and tragic. But is it worth such headache and laborious reading?

5 comments about Trump : The Art of the Deal.

1. Great book!!! I purchased this book because it was a best seller. Glad I did, it was before all the drama with his wives and near declaration of bankcruptcy. It explains his roots to his rise as one of the wealthiest land owners. Great read, hard to put down.



2. Wow, The Donald has no real wig on this cover! Actually, this book is quite different from his later books. Here he gets into detail much more often and gives you better insight into the rise of his career (his fall and second rise came after this book).
   
   In this book you'll get the examples about Trump that made him rise. He was as bold then as he is now. Only difference was he had less money, but it'll make you realize that if you want to be succesful in the future you have to act succesful in the present.
   
   All the casino's and buildings he built early on in his career are mentioned in the book and the details about the deals are fun to read. Just consider this is a one-sided story, but the examples fit their goal.
   
   This book is like The Donald without a wig: strange, but fun to see.



3. This is a excellent wealth of information and insight in Mr. Trump's life and business dealings of his early years. Learned he is a very good man. It is as intended very inspiring. Made me fill like I needed to go out and build sky scrapers as well, witch after reading this book now believe we all do in ways that fit each of us. Recomend reading his following book next Trump: The Art of the Comeback for more clairity.



4. The Art of the deal is the only book written by Trump that I recommend; however, I rate this as one of the finest autobiographies I have read.
   
   The Art of the Deal takes you behind the scenes and into the thoughts of one of the great deal makers of our time. Donald jumps right in with a detailed daily account of his business dealings for an entire week offering a genuine feel for the life of high society and big-time business decisions. He goes on to discuss his childhood and the brilliance of his self made father whose millions enabled Donald to jump start his own career in Manhattan.
   
   Donald spends the bulk of his book discussing in detail his triumphs in Manhattan; from starting as unknown developer to gaining celebrity status as an entrepreneur. He outlines his often unpopular decisions such as filling half of one of his buildings with the homeless while waiting for tenants to give up their leases. He also outlines his knack for efficiency by taking over the construction of the Wollman Rink from the city and finishing the project in far less time and for reduced costs. Donald further discusses his entrance into the casino industry in New Jersey as well as his plans to build the world's tallest building on the west side and court NBC as its main tenant (something that obviously did not come to fruition). Perhaps this book is at its best in its discussion of Trump Tower, Donald's largest love and possibly most significant investment having been profitable even before completion of construction.
   
   Since the time when he finished the book, Donald's life has taken numerous turns many of which fall outside of real estate development. The Art of the Deal at its core is all about his real estate empire. Donald gives off none of the arrogance that he is often associated with, the only exception being in his aggressive approach to business. If you enjoy the real estate industry and want to hear from one of its great tycoons, The Art of the Deal is essential reading.



5. I bought this book for my husband and he really loves it. He even reads it to our kids sometimes! Great condition and arrived quickly.

1 comments about Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love.

1. It was dangerous to be married to Henry VIII. His first wife was cast away and died prematurely; the second was beheaded; the third died in childbed. When Henry was casting about Europe for his next wife, Christina of Denmark is supposed to have quipped, "If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal." Fortunately for his fourth wife, she was merely divorced (and outlived Henry); but the fifth was beheaded; and the sixth too had a brush with the king's deadly wrath. Only by her wits did Catherine Parr survive.
   
   In the first biography of Catherine Parr (1512-1548) in a quarter century (since Anthony Martienssen's), Susan James approaches her subject as more than just the sixth queen of Henry VIII (which is the context of books like Antonia Fraser's, Alison Weir's, and David Starkey's). The present book is a new, slightly shortened edition of the 1999 biography Kateryn Parr: The Making of a Queen. The footnotes of the earlier book have been relegated to the end, and gone is the last section on Catherine's brother William Parr after her death, as are the appendices, including the love letters of Catherine and Thomas Seymour and a discussion of the painting previously thought to be of Lady Jane Grey. What remains is a lively (if abruptly ended) account of Catherine Parr's life, rich in detail about her before, during, and after her reign as queen.
   
   It is a Victorian misconception that Henry married Catherine for her nursing abilities--but she was well-versed in the medical arts of that period. She also had a humanist education normally given to noble boys at the time, since she was tutored in the same group as her brother, her sister, and their cousins, all under the keen eye of their mother Maud Parr. (Maud had been widowed young and took advantage of the independence this allowed; she was also a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, who, ironically, was probably Catherine's godmother.)
   
   Rather, Henry became genuinely attracted to Catherine when she was still married to Lord Latimer (her dying second husband) and in the service of the princess Mary. No doubt it helped Henry with his competitive spirit that Sir Thomas Seymour was also courting the soon-to-be widowed Catherine. And it was perhaps key that Catherine (unlike Anne of Cleves) didn't offend Henry's sensitive nose: "she carried with her small jewelled boxes of lozenges flavoured with liquorice or clove or cinnamon for sweet breath."
   
   The notion of Catherine as Henry's nurse gives the impression--wrongly--that she was secure in her position. She certainly found her niche in the royal family, making peace between its warring members and restoring her stepdaughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession (she'd had practice with her Latimer stepchildren, and this part of the traditional view is correct). And she made a good and competent regent when Henry was making war in France--almost too good, though, because her conservative enemies (including Bishop Gardiner and Thomas Wriothesley) began to conspire against her. Ever since the break with Rome, Henry had been growing steadily more conservative in his religious views, although he tolerated Catherine's progressive beliefs and her choice of his younger children's tutors (enthusiastic reformers). She'd had to keep her beliefs secret during her previous marriage, especially when she was a hostage in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace protesting Henry's dissolution of the monasteries. But now as queen, she felt the freedom to read forbidden books and argue with the king--tendencies that the conservatives exploited in their efforts to overthrow the queen.
   
   When the conservatives contrived to have Catherine arrested, she had her forbidden books destroyed and then took to her bed, sick. She was probably more sick with fear than anything, but the ploy brought Henry to her, and she expressed her fear of his displeasure and eagerness to make amends. The next day when she was permitted to visit him, Henry baited her for another argument, but she demurred, saying that she had only argued with him to distract him from his health troubles and to learn from him. This savvy appeal to his self-concern and vanity had the intended effect, and Henry received her back into favor--and into his bed. Wriothesley and the guards were not informed, and when they came to arrest the queen, Henry publicly humiliated them. The conservatives thus fell from power, and into their place came the reformers, including Edward Seymour and John Dudley, who would wield power during Edward VI's reign.
   
   Catherine, too, had influence with the new king, until she alienated him by her ill-advised affair and hasty marriage with Sir Thomas Seymour. It was, finally, a marriage for love long frustrated--but it was fateful all around. Catherine herself died in childbirth (and the child appears to not have survived infancy); Thomas Seymour went to the block; and her stepdaughter Elizabeth suffered a blow to her reputation and nearly lost her life.
   
   Susan James has written an excellent scholarly biography of Catherine, illuminating her motives and passions and highlighting her influence on the future Elizabeth I (who shared with Catherine a particular "restraint in the face of religious excess"). Catherine Parr comes across as a formidable woman, a match for Henry VIII, and a role model for her stepdaughters.

5 comments about Elizabeth I.

1. This is the most substantial and elegantly written of the recent biographies of Elizabeth I. Somerset is especially good on Elizabeth's character (indecisiveness was a big element in it). The book includes excellent summaries of complicated and obscure issues like the England's campaigns in the Netherlands. You get a clear sense of Elizabeth's learning and mastery of languagde, but I did wish for more quotation from Elizabeth's speeches and letters. On that front, it's helpful to read this biography together with Elizabeth I: Collected Works, which includes modern-spelling versions of these (plus her poetry, etc.).



2. I had never read a historical biography before, and I had no idea a book like this could be such a page turner. I could hardly put it down! Somerset does a superb job placing this brilliant monarch in the context of her time period. She goes into detail about court intrigues, political strife, and personal relationships. I found the book much more exciting and dramatic than the movie. after reading this book, I felt that I understood not just Elizabeth better, but the whole Elizabethan era. To top things off, Somerset's style is easy to read. The book is well researched and objective; never over romanticizing or over criticizing. Plus, it's a thick book so you get more for your money. I would have liked to hear more about the Queen's supposed virginity (Somerset goes with the Virgin Queen angle) but I'd still pick this book over Allison Weir any day.



3. In my opinion this is the best of the numerous biographies I've read about this fascinating person. A balanced and fair, warts and all approach that allows the reader to form their own opinion. Highly recommended.



4. elizabeth was the most fascinating ,complex woman who every rule in the world.the author capture the reader's imagination by tell story of motherless princess who mother beheading darking her life,but her cunning lead her to become ruler over england for 45 years.



5. This book arrived with a broken spine; I did contact the seller who defended their description and offered a refund since they did not have another to replace it. I found that with shipping costs it would double the original cost of the book and so I chose to keep the damaged book instead.
   This is the first time I have had a problem with used sellers on amazon but I think I will stick to amazon products instead of used since it was a bad disapointment to receive this book in this condition.

No comments about In Triumph's Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory.

5 comments about Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany.

1. A VERY WELL DOCUMENTED BOOK REGARDING THE RELATIONS BETWEEN GERMAN PRINCELY FAMILIES AND THE NAZI REGIME FOCUSING PRIMARILY ON THE HESSEN-KASSEL BRANCH.
   
   UPON READING IT WE CAN SEE HOW THE PROMISES OF THE REICH AND THEIR DEFINITE HOSTILITY TOWARDS COMMUNISM MADE THESE PRINCES SUCEPTIBLE TO THE NAZI REGIME. AFTER ALL ON THE WAKE OF THE DISASTER OF WW I, THEY WERE DISPOSSED OF THEIR TITLES, POSITIONS AND IN MANY CASES THEIR SOURCE OF WEALTH.
   
   HOWEVER, IT IS NOT QUIET CLEAR IF THEIR ASSOCIATION WAS A MEANS OF SURVIVAL AND FINANCIAL BETTERMENT (OR AT LEASE A STATUS QUO) OR AN ACTUAL POLITICAL/ECONOMIC CONVICTION BY THEM OF THE NAZI RPHILOSOPHY AND REGIME.
   
   THE BOOK IS VERY WELL DOCUMENTED...BUT A BIT TEDIOUS READING. NOT SOMETHING YOU READ FOR ENJOYMENT BUT FOR ITS SCHOLARLY INFORMATION.
   
   STILL, AN INTERESTING BOOK ON AN INTERESTING CHAPTER IN HISTORY.



2. Philipp and Christoph von Hessen-Kassell were great-grandsons of Queen Victoria and nephews of Kaiser Wilhelm II. They were born into the highest circles of wealth and privilege in pre-World War I Germany, living in a variety of palaces and castles and secure within a wide family circle which extended into nearly every royal dynasty in Europe. Petropoulos' central story examines how such men could have been seduced into participating in the highest levels of one of the most thuggish regimes in modern times.
   
   The Hessen family, like other royal/noble clans, was severely shaken by World War I. Although they did not lose all their property (or their lives) as so many of their relations did, Philipp and Christoph's family saw their status slip and some of their wealth vanish. This, along with the terrible suffering more ordinary Germans underwent in the post-World War I period, made the Hessen princes prime targets for the appeal of Nazism: militarism, aggressive nationalism, revenge for past defeats.
   
   After Hitler's coming to power in 1933 and the establishment of the Third Reich, the Nazi Party made a concerted effort to win the support of highly placed individuals and families. Much of the German aristocracy and many members of former royal houses joined the Party, and while they may have privately sneered at the lumpenproletariat side of the Nazis and contrasted it with their own urbane sophistication, they were not above working for and doing the bidding of those they considered so uncouth. Philipp and Christoph were two prime examples. Philipp assisted Hitler in cultural affairs and, since he was married to a daughter of the Italian king, often served as an envoy to Mussolini. Christoph ran one of the Nazi intelligence agencies and served as a fighter pilot in World War II. Both were members of the SS, and both were used by Hitler to try to win influence with their cousins, the British royal family.
   
   Having so much access to Hitler meant making a lot of moral compromises for the Hessens. Neither was particularly anti-Semitic (at least by the standards of the time) and had Jewish friends, but both were silent participants in the early stages of the Final Solution and similar atrocities. Both were artistic and fairly well educated by the standards of their caste, but neither protested the Nazi book-burnings or the destruction of art deemed insufficiently Aryan. Petropoulos does a good job contrasting this lack of action by the Hessens with the opposition of such aristocrats as Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, who with his family suffered enormously because he refused to collaborate.
   
   As so often happens to those who cooperate with evil, Philipp and Christoph became victims themselves. Philipp and his wife (the beautiful Princess Mafalda of Savoy) ended up in concentration camps where Mafalda died after terrible sufferings. Christoph was killed in a suspicious plane crash after he too lost the Nazis' favor. After the war Philipp spent time in POW camps and went through a long drawn out denazification process before being allowed to retire, poorer and hopefully wiser, to what was left of his estates.
   
   Petropoulos had the cooperation of many members of the Hessen family and other German nobles as well as that of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was Christoph's brother-in-law. He does a good job depicting the two men as the cultivated, charming cosmopolitans they were, and the reader is left with a disturbing question: If men such as these could be corrupted by the Nazis, is anyone really safe from similar extremism?



3. Petrouplos'has a remarkable knack for gathering valuable hisotrical information, not to mention wangling an interview with the formidable Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is a serious academic historian and his work includes a list of previous books he's written about the Nazi era and the holocaust. His fluency in German, and his academic background, put him in a league of his own among royalty writers. The book is written with the stiff prose of an academic research paper, but on its face, it may appeal as much to royalty buffs as to historians of World War II and the Nazi movement.Often the sensational facts underlying the story are dulled by the musty language. However, the reluctance to sensationalize gives the book more credibility. Petroupols downplays the sizzling hot genealogy of the principal players, Christoph and Philipp von Hessen. Even the family tree fails to branch out as far as it could, straight into the heart of the living royal family of England. A typical royalty writer such as Kitty Kelley would have put the facts in big bold font: the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of the Queen of England, had three sisters and three brothers-in-law who became members of the Nazi party. The facts are interesting, if deplorable. Petroupolus seeks to lay out the facts objectively, looking at root causes. Maybe there is enough distance between us and the Nazi era to admit with some calmness the appeal of the movement. Royalty buffs may want to turn their idols into saints, but this book makes it evident that some royals backed Hitler long and enthusiastically. One vivid passage in the book quotes a conversation between Phillip von Hessen and Hitler, and the Prince sounds both subservient and fanatical: 'Jawohl, mein Fuherer!'he says, several times in one minute.
   
   I admit to being a royalty buff, and I bought this book because my current obsession is the house of Hesse. I found mayself seeing Princess Margaret of Hesse-Kassel in a new light. A daughter of Victoria, the English Empress of Germany, who was herself the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Margaret and her husband became devout fans of Hitler and Nazism. The root cause seems to have been a hatred of Communism and an admiration for the German economic and social renaissance ushered in by the Nazis. True, many German nobles gradually or quickly became disillusioned by the regime as it showed its profoundly evil side...and suffered military defeat. One can't help wondering how one would have acted in the same circumstances. And how our own reaction to the policies of the current administration will be viewed.
   
   We all get caught in our times. Petroupolos's book doesn't convey this vividly, and it is not a miracle of literature. But the facts he discloses resonate long after the last page is turned.



4. A rich account with impeccable sholarship of a German royal family's historical roots, European connections, and role in the Third Reich.



5. 
   Petropoulos goes where no one has gone before. I had often wondered about the rumors surrounding the Windsors for which JP carefully separates facts from fiction. I had also wondered about what had become of the many royal houses of pre-Weimar Germany. With this book, I understand a lot more about their post WWI history.
   
   This is not just a story of the von Hessen princes, while they are the focus, they are used as a benchmark for many royals in this period.
   
   The devastation of Germany in WWI (22% of its young men killed) was followed by a new governance and the Weimar Republic arose. It exiled the Kaiser, rescinded royal titles, and voted on the status of lands formerly owned by a patchwork of royal sovereignties now abolished. While this vote on the lands failed passage, it was alarming to the aristocracy.
   
   Noting this, and perhaps the fate of the Romanovs, and the socialistic/communistic aspects of the times, the royals and aristocrats were seduced by Hitler's message. They joined the Nazi party earlier and in greater proportion than any other demographic.
   
   The prose in this book is heavy, and for someone like me, without much background in the history of Germany in this period was a slow read. It was, nevertheless, a page turner. Because I didn't know this family, what they did, nor their fate, I was glued to it. A map would be useful for readers, like me, with little background in Germany and its geography.
   
   You came to understand the thinking and the loss which would compel the royals to do something, anything, following their loss of status and wealth. The Nazi party with its militaristic overtones was a match for their feudal ideals. JP documents the anti-Semitism of the aristocracy. He also notes that while their childhood training taught them their role above others, it also inculcated a sense of honor which should have precluded the activites they later got caught up in.
   
   Philipp and Christoph, perhaps typical of royals and aristocrats, were deeply entrenched in the party as it turned homicidal. Phillipp either approved or ignored the conversion of the former mental hospital to a torture and/or elimination facility in the town over which he presided. As the author notes, due to the heavy censorship of the times, and his inability to confide, we don't know the disposition of Phillipp (and the other royals and aristocrats in similar situations, nor their feelings and motivations as the party turned on them) as events careened into deeper madness. We do have Philipp's denazificaiton testimony, which of course is steered to his defense.
   
   A debt is owed to not just the author for assembling this massive amount of material, but to the von Hessen family who provided full access to their personal papers.

5 comments about King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. Kirsch's account of King David's life is highly questionable to say the least. The book is full of conjecture. The flaws in the author's reasoning are apparent on the face of every page. His perception of King David's relationship with God and country is severely unschooled and a danger to follow. Anyone interested in appreciating the true story of "The man after God's heart" would be better off reading the Biblical accounts. Don't waste your money on this quack historian who seems committed to justifying base persuits with the flaws of the great men and women of Biblical antiquity.



2. "King David" introduces the reader to the most central figure of the Old Testament. Author Jonathan Kirsch does an excellent job of fleshing out this legendary figure from the sketchy stories recorded in the Bible. Kirsch follows the biblical writings very closely, unlike other tomes on Biblical subjects which tend to discount the Scriptural accounts. Kirsch starts out with the Scriptural texts and then explains them in light of scholarship concerning the identity and purpose of the various sources and how each may have influenced the final draft of the story. He talks often of the Court Historian, believed to be the primary author, along with later editors who may have supplemented or altered the original text.
   
   This book does a good job at exploring how King David, with all his faults, could be "A man after God's own heart." It tries to part the mists of history to find the flesh and blood man behind the ancient legend. It weaves the scattered Biblical accounts together to form a biography. It explains how David is central to all Biblical characters who follow him.
   
   One standard by which I measure a book is whether it wets my appetite to read more on the subject. I am now reading the David narratives in the Bible. By this measure it passes with flying colors.



3. I listened to this book on tape as read by the author himself.
   
   This is one of what appears to be a significantly developing genre of books in the area of theology and Biblical History, designed to be read by the general populace to put in their hands what modern scholarship is saying.
   
   This book does this reasonably well for anyone who is unfamiliar with such terms as Modern Bibical Criticism, J theory, Court Historian etc.
   
   What is not so clear to the average listener is that the primary sources drawn from such as Howard Bloom, Wellhausen and company are considerably from the more liberal and secular camps and that there exists a large body of more conservative material that deals with thses issues with somewhat different conclusions.
   
   There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. What I find distrubing in these types of Historical Overviews - turned novel is that the hybrid product, while purporting to be factual, uses the change in genre to present the material as somehow more certain or less controversial than is really the case. What's wrong with being a little more deliberate in making the source literature drawn upon a little more diverse and truly allowing the reader to enter into the dialogue and interact with the issues, rather than being led to believe that things are as neat and tidy as a reading of this book would seem to indicate to a reader otherwise unfamiliar with the field?
   
   Those concerns expressed, I did find this to be an interesting and worthwhile listen (read). Old Testament history has been a weakness for me and this did help to fill in some gaps in terms of the what some of the modern scholarship has been giving. In addition, it did present David in terms that helped to place him historically and, as much as the author's approach could allow for with all of its provisos and doubts, somewhat personally.
   
   Listen critically to this work. It seeks, in my opinion, to gloss over some of the ommissions in terms of conflicting material, by making the format flow like a historical novel and a reader can be carried away with that and walk away feeling they have a strong grasp on all that is available in this field. They will not.
   
   Life of David by Arthur Pink would be a good contrast work to see some of the other camp and provide some balance.
   
   Interesting read, but again, read criticically and ask yourself what you're not being told in the midst of it.



4. "Wanna read a bad book?" my friend asked. I wished I had had the foresight to answer "no." Unfortunately, I didn't, and I read all of Jonathan Kirsch's King David. This book is worse than bad, it's an embarrassment. If there's an original idea in the book, Kirsch does an incredible job of hiding it among his numerous quotations or, I should say, "adaptations" from Samuel. The scholarship is paper thin; Kirsch slavishly relies upon the work of others and offers nothing new himself. Basically, Kirsch takes the magnificent KJV translation of the story in I and II Samuel and "punches it up" with Newsweek style. Kirsch appears to pride himself on reading the stories skeptically, as one would hope of any modern journalist reading Samuel, and peppers his comments with phrases such as "as the biblical authors wished to remember him [David]," "so it would seem," and "theological spin." However, except for questions raised by others, Kirsch is one of the most credulous readers of this story I've ever met. He buys almost everything the author tells us about David and the others in this story. As just one example, Kirsch dutifully reports the description in I Samuel 13:3 of Amnon's cousin, Jonadab, as "a very subtle man." And what incredibly subtle advice to Jonadab give his cousin? That Amnon should rape his half-sister Tamar in his own bedroom after setting up the meeting in such a way that all the royal family would know what was going on. If this is "subtlety," then Micky Spillane is John LeCarre! Now of course, it is subtle if Jonadab were in cahoots with someone else in order to destroy Amnon, but Kirsch hasn't the imagination to explore that possibility - or even the possibility that the rape never occurred but its report was concocted for other reasons. On the other hand, if Jonadab was actually trying to help Amnon, then to buy Samuel's description of him as "subtle" is the apex of naivete. Indeed, you'd think Kirsch would ask: is the author being ironic? But no, that would be to expect too much from Kirsch.
   
   Rather than waste your time on this book, let me suggest two others. If you want to accompany a masterful literary scholar reading the story of David, buy Robert Alter's illuminating The David Story. If you want to examine the story of David from the perspective of a modern, secular historian at the top of his craft, buy Baruch Halpern's David's Secret Demons. These are two very different books, and many who like one of them won't like the other. But happy is the reader who can appreciate both. If you choose to read neither Alter nor Halpern, don't waste your time on Kirsch. Just go get a copy of the KJV at your local motel and read Samuel for yourself.



5. A partir principalmente de los libros de Samuel, se hace una recreación lineal de la vida de David con inclusiones esporádicas de ciertos relatos contenidos en estos. Básicamente tenemos aquí los libros de Samuel explicados. No tiene, como el título sugiere, ningún aporte de alguna otra fuente o de algún hallazgo contemporáneo, solo la narración de quien se estudió estos libros.
   
   No obstante lo anterior, el libro es muy ameno y sirve para lo que los libros deben servir: entretener y enseñar. Y el autor evita a toda costa ofender a los lectores y mas bien intenta explicar las contradicciones encontradas a lo largo de la narración original