5 comments about The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor.

1. Although somewhat hard to follow ; this is a book definitely worth reading.An indepth look , from the only survivor of a car crash that changed history!What could be more exciting.Somewhat rough around the edges;but ,nevertheless honest and telling Never knowing how these fateful events would unfold as they left the Ritz with Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana , Trevor
   and Kez only knew that they were between a rock and a hard place.You don't disrespect the Boss's son when he's entertaining a Princess .It wouldn't be the first time Dodi's last minute change of plans surprised the bodyguards .At the recent screening of "Air Force One" Dodi had seated Diana in Trevors' usual seat by the door.Trevor nearly landed in Diana's lap.That same evening on route to the theatre with the Princess,Trevor had shown professionalism in eluding the paparazzi - so why the change in plans at the Ritz? Dodi's former girlfriend ,Kelly Fisher testified that Dodi was a "real dictator to Trevor".It was apparent that Dodi began to mistrust those around him ; and he just may have tried to impress the Princess with Henri Paul ; someone he knew he could trust. Trevor should have been compensated handsomely for his injuries.Money and justice just don't seem to mix .



2. I have always wondered what kind of a person Trevor Rees-Jones was and his book gave an in-depth view of him, personally and professionally . . . in his own words.

   The saying goes that "truth is stranger than fiction." The truth is also less sensational and colorful than the portrait painted by tabloid hacks and unethical "journalists" the world over.

   From the start, I didn't think Trevor was trying to cash in on his time with Diana, Princess of Wales. In the foreward, he stated that writing the book (author Moira Johnston helped him write it) was his way of dealing with the situation and moving on with his life.

   Trevor is an ordinary guy who had a very high profile job. It was because of circumstances on the job (that lead to what Trevor called "an industrial accident") and the fact that he was in a car with the world's most famous woman that has put him center stage for the rest of his life.

   I felt sorry for the entire Rees-Jones family as diary entry after another explained the turmoil going on inside each of them: His mother and stepfather's struggle to getting Trevor on the road to recovery, the whole family having to deal with the intense media pressure, having Trevor's professionalism called into question by so-called experts (that, in his own words, were not at the Ritz nor in the car), Trevor's having to cope with the fact that he was the only survivor, the family's having to deal with the first overprotective and subsequently vicious hand of Mohammed Al Fayed. The list goes on.

   I did get mad at, but then later understood, Trevor's wanting to keep his job with Al Fayed. He was the textbook case example of a loyal employee. Unfortunately, Mohammed Al Fayed was (and still is) so hung up on his conspiracy theories that he thought Trevor was lying to him about how much he remembered of the accident. It was only when he (Al Fayed) was more forthright in wanting to take complete control of the investigation that Trevor had finally had enough and quit (his good friend, Kez, would also quit about two years after the crash for the same reason: He told Al Fayed to his face that he thought his theories were rubbish).

   I give Trevor and his family (his real last name is just Rees but he changed HIS name to Rees-Jones because he was so in love with his now ex-wife Sue Jones) MUCH credit for coming through such a trying time in their lives not only intact but stronger than ever. They did not let any of the media attention go to their heads (even as Trevor's so-called friends and even Sue were selling themselves to the highest bidder in the media). They remained true small town folks to the end (and Trevor was even able to play his beloved rugby not a year after the crash).

   Some folks may find this book boring as Trevor is a very down-to-earth chap who just shoots straight from the hip. He doesn't trump up the facts (or make things up entirely as the media decided to do time and again while Trevor refused to give interviews). He presents Diana in a very positive light and tells the unexciting truth about the goings on of the case and behind the scenes shananigans of one Mohammed Al Fayed.

   Highly recommended (if you can still get it) for a first hand account of wha it's like on the other side of the camera and news reports.




3. There is only one person that knows what actually happened before, during and after the horrific accident that left most of the world in shock and disbelief and that is Trevor Rees-Jones.
   
   This was a fascinating look "behind the scenes" of a royal and much beloved figure and a very foolish "commoner". The fault of this accident seems to rest with Dodi making a bunch of unwise decisions that ultimately led to 3 people losing their lives.
   
   A fascinating read, albeit a bit slow in some chapters, but fascinating none the less!



4. 'The Bodyguard's Story' is ghost written and very readable. It has the intimacy if a biography, a pace befitting the events, and the readable style of novel. Recommended to anyone for a good read, 'The Bodyguard's Story' essential reading for those interested in the events of Diana's death.
   
   As the sole survivor of the crash, the bodyguard's story should be the book to end the conspiracy theories. Its doesn't. First because of the inevitable pre-shock amnesia endured by all crash victims, especially a victim who injuries were so horrific as to bring him close to death. The Bodyguard's Story leaves gaps. Gaps left by the investigation, such as the existence of the Fiat Panda. However 'The Bodyguard's Story' does cover the exhaustive French investigation and accounts for the long period between crash and arrival at hospital for both Diana and 'her' bodyguard.
   
   The book does reveal one fact that is not commonly perceived. The Body guard was not Diana's but for Dodi Al Fayed as employed by his father Mohamed Al Fayed. Diana had no body guard that day.
   
   'The Bodyguard's Story' paints a picture of incompetent security and security officers as worried about instant dismissal by a dictatorial boss, Al Fayed, as they were for the security of their charges. The bodyguard's enduring loyalty to his 'Boss', Al Fayed, leaves a open the possibility, may even appear to suggest, that there were other reasons for the employee's amnesia. The book begs the question as to why Diana put herself at such risk, in the hands of a person known to be at odds with the British government and in a relationship which was bound to be of concern to all.
   
   An intriguing and well written read.



5. Once you read Trevor Rees-Jones' story about the automobile crash which killed Princess Di, Dodi Fayed, and chauffer of the car, you'll clearly realize that the three died SOLELY as a result of a man, Henri Paul, who was drunk out of his mind and driving like a complete maniac... nothing more -- end of story.
   
   Rees-Jones was employed as the personal bodyguard of Dodi Fayed, and who was a young man not long out of the British military when he took on this job and, whom any parent would be proud to claim as a son. His story is a straight-forward one, absent any of the various bizarre and egregious agendas of others who have attempted to turn this crash into some sort of heinous conspiracy by the paparazzi, and/or the British government, and/or The House of Windsor, to murder the Princess.
   
   I'm no fan of British royalty and there is no doubt whatever that Queen Elizabeth II despised her former daughter-in-law and was totally unmoved (and was perhaps even pleased) by her untimely death; however, as much as conspiracy theorists wish to perpetuate the mythology behind the 31 August 1997 fatal crash, the story of Trevor Rees-Jones (the lone survivor of the crash) stands as a jewel of shining truth which totally explains the event. The primary reason that the crash continues to be controversial even today is due to a tragic and venomous old multi-millionaire, Mohamed Al-Fayed, who lost his son and whom has now made it his life-long quest beyond all other desires to lay the blame on someone other than upon whom it belongs: squarely upon the shoulders of Henri Paul, the alcoholic chauffer whom Mohamed Al-Fayed unfortunately employed without having adequately vetted his personal drinking habits.
   
   Here's a quote from Rees-Jones' fine book which puts this story into clear perspective: "Within two days [after the crash], nine would be named as suspects in the French criminal investigation... at 6:40:59 a.m., two and half [sic] hours after Diana's declared death, the first Diana website went up and, thirteen minutes later the first conspiracy website. Conspiracy theories would eventually rage worldwide on 36,000 websites..." (p. 119).
   
   Rees-Jones details the weeks and days prior to the crash, including the details and circumstances of his employment with the Fayed family. He also reveals, absent any sort of personal venom, how rotten Mohamed Al-Fayed has been concerning this highly-publicized event. It becomes similarly clear that Diana herself was no angel -- as the man who was with the pair 24/7, Rees-Jones was unmistakably in a position to know all the facts and he conveys them as honestly and in such detail as to convince any coherent reader of his own personal integrity and knowledge.
   
   This work is not the page-turner that one might anticipate emerging from such a monumental incident mostly because the author has forsaken the tabloid sensationalism approach in conveying his account. But it becomes quickly clear to the reader that no other person on the planet was in a position to know all the facts and details in regard to the death of Princess Diana.
   
   Highly recommended.

No comments about Las Seis Esposas De Enrique VIII/ the Wives of Henry VIII.

5 comments about A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur.

1. This story is enjoyable because it's her real life and it opens up a priveledged world most of us never get to see. It's pleasure reading and it's escape reading. There is nothing ground breaking or earth shattering here but maybe that's the point. It's an open look at a life that didn't turn out exactly as expected but was lived with joy and appreciation. You get to experience her grace and her zest. I liked it, I've even kept my copy but I doubt I'll be pulling it out to read again any time soon.



2. it is an amazing book if u want to have an insight to the lives of our so called indian royalty...a life full of nothing but parties and balls ... going to france for shopping the sarees...amazing..especially for a woman who was born in the times when the whole country was struggling against the britishers...and all the country was involved except theses so called royalty who are interested in showing off their close relations with the british..i am amazed when they claim their love for the country yet they didn't do anything to make this country independent..all they are lamenting is their loss of titles when millions lost their lives ...complete apathy and lack of feeling for the land they were born in...it is eye opening.. a must read book



3. I read this book over a span of 2 days, which leads me to conclude that the prose and sequencing are comparable to any best seller fiction. For a person born in independet India, it was fascinating to read about the jet setting lifestyles of the royals 80 years ago. The author has a selective memory and chooses to speak about the non-controversial aspects of royal living, which was immensely enjoyable. However I wish she had devoted some more pages on the cultural differences between Cooch Behar & Jaipur, for instance what language did she use to communicate with her husband , his other wives....english?? How did she adjust to the lifestyle in post independence India.



4. This book gives a detailed picture of personal life of Maharani Gayatri Devi. Kind of gave me more thoughts on how the India could have evolved had it been not given to the hands of Nehru(subsequently to Indira Gandhi). The book has details of early childhood, adolecense, after marriage and post independance aspects of the life of Gayatri Devi.
   
   I think the book needs a updated version, with one or 2 chapters dedicated towards her life in 80's and 1990's. This is one of the best auto-biographies I have ever read.
   
   A must read for some one interested in Indian history just before and after independance; also for folks interested in dwelling into royal lifestyles.



5. A Princess Remembers is a terrific book for anybody who wants to understand India--what it was, what it is, and how it has made the very bumpy journey from then to now. Not only does it give a very good glimpse of the system of Maharahas that once ran the country, but because Gayatri Devi served in the Indian Parliament, it provides a fascinating window on the triumphs and pitfalls of an emerging democracy. The Maharani has lived a life that reaches from the not-so-old days of Purdah--when a princess was not free to show her face in public when men were present--through the jet-set world of a more modern, educated royalty, to the productive (and not-so-productive) era of state and world politics. Her life reflects, from a high mirror, the tremendously complicated life of her beloved state of Jaipur and her country, and as such, it definitely deserves to be read. But her story also explains much for those of us who have traveled to India and marveled at the forts and the grand palace hotels, and even, perhaps, met scions of the old ruling families. The picture of India that a traveler forms is not truly coherent without literature about the Maharajas. This book provides a rare, personal, readable, non-scholarly source, a vital piece of the enormously complex puzzle that is today's India.
   
   Susan O'Neill, author, Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Vietnam

4 comments about Queen Victoria.

1. I was expecting a bigger book, so I was surprised when this whimpy little paperback arrived. It reads more like a textbook, but is full of great information. Highly recommend if you are looking for a fact filled biography.



2. I enjoyed reading this book. It gave a good overview of Queen Victoria's life. The information was complete and pertinent.
   
   I also found it to be a very quick read.



3. Actually, I probably shouldn't review this book as I am more familiar with the approximately 600 page biography of Queen Victoria that the Countess of Longford published in 1965. It is excellent. I only mention this as one reviewer was disappointed by the length of this version. Those seeking a far more in-depth account by the same author should search for QUEEN VICTORIA-BORN TO SUCCEED.



4. this book is a good little read with a overview of the life of queen victoria.

5 comments about The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II.

1. The book is good because it examines one of the figures who was instrumental in shapping the 20th century. The author proves that he was very erratic with his forighn policy and his views on the world. The author also disproves the misconception that it was his imperial ambitions that led to the first World War and points out that it was the militarism of prussian aristocrats.



2. The most recent English language biographical study of Wilhelm is The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II by Giles MacDonogh (2001). MacDonogh seems to have set out deterministically to write something other than an "indictment" of Wilhelm. He asserts that historians have been unduly critical against the emperor for eighty years, which has prompted him to examine Wilhelm "in a light which, if not ridiculously positive, [is] at least a little more indulgent than that which as coloured attitudes in the past." (viii) While MacDonogh's study is not "ridiculously positive," it does tend to minimize Wilhelm's culpability for the various blunders historians commonly associate with his reign. While he concurs with other scholars of Wilhelmine Germany that the emperor was "a mass of contradictions," (1) MacDonogh also minimizes the Kaiser's documented anti-Semitism, and strongly implies that the "cases brought up against the emperor" such as the Kruger telegram (1896), the "Hun Speech" of 1900, and the Daily Telegraph Affair (1908), were handled "reasonable, and in some cases well" by the Kaiser. (7) This attempt to show that Wilhelm did not act maliciously, criminally or incompetently is what differentiates The Last Kaiser from its predecessors.
   In MacDonogh's account of Wilhelm's wartime role, he reaches a familiar conclusion: "it would be impossible to make out that he played the role of `Supreme Warlord' between 1914 and 1918." (3) He shows that Wilhelm "wavered over the preventive strike" long advocated by the General Staff, and "each time he looked in to the abyss he drew back in horror and countermanded" his generals' orders for such an attack. (9) This gives the kaiser too much of a benevolent, conscientious role for the time. MacDonogh portrays a Kaiser swept up with the emotions and events of August 1914, a leader who allowed himself to be carried into the war. By the first weeks of the conflict, "he had become increasingly peripheral." (367) This declension culminated in January 1917 with Bethmann Hollweg's removal at the insistence of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, at which point Wilhelm "was no more than a shadow emperor. No one listened to him." (391) Probably true.....
   Despite showing far more sympathy toward his subject than other biographers of Wilhelm II have done, MacDonogh echoes many of their conclusions. "It is perhaps right that we condemn William," he suggests, "for if the First World War was not his undertaking, the finger of blames points over and over again to the failure of German diplomacy in which he tried so hard to play a positive role." (460) MacDonogh seems reluctant to assign Wilhelm much direct blame for the origins of the Great War or how it was conducted. On the contrary, most students of the last Hohenzollern ruler of Germany concur with the concise biographical entry in The Oxford Companion to Military History (2001): Kaiser Wilhelm II was "seduced by...nationalism and militarism," and came to discover that "leading a cavalry charge on maneuvers...is not the same thing as presiding over a beleaguered state engaged in total war." The last German Kaiser "lacked the strength of character and consistency of purpose which his role demanded, and if he cannot be blamed for leading Germany into war, he may be more justly censured for what one historian has called `a childlike flight from reality' in the crisis of 1914."



3. I picked up this book on recommendation from my dad, a history buff much like myself, and was extremely disappointed in it. Instead of dealing properly with the Kaiser himself it spent the vast majority of the time discussing and analyzing German politics and political figures active during the Kaiser's reign and made only the most fleeting references to the personal life of the Kaiser (or anything to do with him personally, for that matter). It's as if the author was too afraid to delve into the private life of this controversial figure because he knew that the bright picture he put forth of the Kaiser would be blown to pieces. Needless to say, this book should be entitled "Politics and Political Figures During the Reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II."
   Go to another book if you are looking for a true biography of Wilhelm. This one will only disappoint.



4. I enjoyed reading this book. There were a few times I lost track of who was who doing what to what and when and where, but for the most part I felt I understand better the role and personality of a complex and contradictory charactor in history.
   
   In regard to the Kaiser, the quote by Daisy Pless in this book may say it best. "Poor man, he means so awfully well, and everything he does is intended for the best, and still he is completly destitute of tact that everything turns out exactly opposite to what he intends."
   
   Still,little comfort to the millions who died in the "War to End All Wars."



5. This author seems to have a problem with fact checking and editing. The flaws in this book are too numerous to mention and appear in other reviews. Also, his writing style is not exactly engrossing and he focuses on being revisionist for the sake of being revisionist. This is at least superior to his book on Allied brutality during the occupation of the defeated Third Reich.

1 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Henry VII (The English Monarchs Series).

1. Professor Chrimes has splendidly captured the life and reign of a sovereign traditionally overlooked in English history. From his bittersweet youth through a climactic battlefield victory against Richard III to nearly a quarter century of stable rule, Henry Tudor's intelligence, cunning and administrative abilities are convincingly and thoughtfully portrayed.
   A domestic, tender side of the King is even shown as he comforts Queen Elizabeth after the death of their firstborn son, Prince Arthur.
   This is a worthy entry in the Yale Series and a must for any serious Tudor historian.

3 comments about Las Hijas de Sultana (Biblioteca).

1. Sultana, una mujer decidida, nos enseña con este relato la cruda realidad de lo que vive este pueblo Saudi. Aqui no hay nada escondido, la narradora de este relato quiso que conocieramos detalle a detalle lo que viven estas mujeres, y que a veces el dinero no compra la felicidad ya que si de dinero se trata esta familia lo tiene casi todo. Es un libro facil de entender, no tiene palabras complejas y aquellas tipicamente arabes , el libro nos trae un pequeño traductos para no quitarle la esencia, despue que lo terminen, yo lo hice en dos dias tiene que leer LAS HIJAS DE SULTANA. Que lo disfruten!!!



2. This book blew me away its the last of 3 books and I can tell you that I personally cried very much but I also learned the value of freedom and choice. Sultana should write more about her life.



3. Just love the Sultana trilogy, compelling,shocking,funny..its a must. I cant wait to read more of Jean Sassons books.

1 comments about The Reign of Charles V (European History in Perspective).

1. First off, this is not a biography of Charles V. It is as the title says and what Maltby says in his Introduction, it is a history of the reign of Charles V. This glances quite a bit on Charles V, so you do see quite a bit of his life. Even more so you see his realms and the wars and laws that were enacted.
   
   For the most part this is a short and succinct analysis of this important ruler's reign. It is a bit dry and sometimes reads more like a recital of facts, but it does move well from chapter to chapter.
   
   I would recommend this book only to someone who has read a biography or is familiar with Charles V and would like a more close analysis of his reign.
   
   3.75 stars.

2 comments about The Palace Diaries: The True Story of Life at the Palace by Prince Charles Secretary.

1. I normally don't read books of this type, but, yesterday (Sunday, 21 Sep 2008), I walked into the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Natick, Massachusetts, and discovered a discussion going on with the author of this book, Sarah Goodall. Struck by her attractiveness, I decided to take a seat and listen. In the end, I decided to purchase the book and have her sign it. After she signed her book for me, I told her that the photo on the cover doesn't do her justice (Sarah Goodall is a beautiful woman). And, last night, I read the entire book in one sitting. It's a very easy read. It's a very open and frank account of her life as the Lady Clerk to HRH (Prince Charles) from 1988 to 2000 when she was fired and banned from the palace. She's holds nothing back as we watch her grow (with the help of her inner nanny) amid a very entertaining series of events. She is refreshingly open about her many sexual affairs with men which lends the book an extra spicy appeal -- she's obviously a woman with a very healthy libido. The book paints a good and syspathetic portrait of HRH, who she quietly loves (though never acts upon). I've come away with a different perspective of Prince Charles because of this book. He comes across as a sensitive and well-meaning man who has finally found happiness with Camilla. In the Prologue at the beginning of the book, she confesses that she wrote the book for two reasons: 1) to make some much-needed money, and 2) that her story of her twelve years inside the household of the Royals is an interesting one. Yes, it is, and I do wish her well in her quest to be financially rewarded for a lively and intimate account of her life during this period.



2. normally don't read books of this type, but, yesterday (Sunday, 21 Sep 2008), I walked into the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Natick, Massachusetts, and discovered a discussion going on with the author of this book, Sarah Goodall. Struck by her attractiveness, I decided to take a seat and listen. In the end, I decided to purchase the book and have her sign it. After she signed her book for me, I told her that the photo on the cover doesn't do her justice (Sarah Goodall is a beautiful woman). And, last night, I read the entire book in one sitting. It's a very easy read. It's a very open and frank account of her life as the Lady Clerk to HRH (Prince Charles) from 1988 to 2000 when she was fired and banned from the palace. She's holds nothing back as we watch her grow (with the help of her inner nanny) amid a very entertaining series of events. She is refreshingly open about her many sexual affairs with men which lends the book an extra spicy appeal -- she's obviously a woman with a very healthy libido. The book paints a good and syspathetic portrait of HRH, who she quietly loves (though never acts upon). I've come away with a different perspective of Prince Charles because of this book. He comes across as a sensitive and well-meaning man who has finally found happiness with Camilla. In the Prologue at the beginning of the book, she confesses that she wrote the book for two reasons: 1) to make some much-needed money, and 2) that her story of her twelve years inside the household of the Royals is an interesting one. Yes, it is, and I do wish her well in her quest to be financially rewarded for a lively and intimate account of her life during this period.

2 comments about Queen Victoria in Her Letters and Journals.

1. "If you could have dinner with any figure in history, who would it be?" My answer to this question would definately be Queen Victoria. This is especially true after having read this book. Even though Princess Beatrice "edited" Her Majesty's journal, it is still worth the read. These letters and excerpts from the Queen's journal are full of interesting facts, tender moments, and, of course, fiery quotes. I didn't want to put this book down! Even though I now have finished it, I still like to pick up the book and read little sections. I highly recommend this book for those who really want to get to know the real Queen Victoria. My only wish is that the editor had left the Queen's numerous underlines in tact. He says it was too expensive for the printing (which I can understand), but it really adds a lot. If readers are interested in that, they can find it in quotes in other works. This book is a must have!



2. This is a wonderful book which is compiled of letters and journal entries written by Queen Victoria. I have read other books about Queen Victoria and find her life to be very interesting. I thought that this book might be difficult to follow because of the format. Christopher Hibbert does a wonderful job with this book making it very easy to follow because of the bits of information he puts into it as the book goes on. The introduction is also very informative. I have trouble putting the book down and highly recommend it!!!!!