No comments about Queen Victoria - The Story of Her Life and Reign.

No comments about Henry VIII (Seminar Studies in History).

2 comments about George I (The English Monarchs Series).

1. The author's writing style is easy to follow, without being simplistic and her grasp of the historical issues of the period is excellent.

   She presents a great deal of information about the women involved in the history of George, which is unusual for a historian of the Hanovers.

   The book is approachable without an in-depth knowledge of the German principalities (though this obviously helps).

   Solidly recommended.




2. I read a Hard back copy from the local library and could not believe it. I loved this bio. I have read many other biographies and books on the Stuart and Hanover Dynasties of Britain but most were from Charles II and the pretenders and George III through Victoria. George I seems to be remembered as the British King who really didn't care; He took his time accepting the throne, refused to learn English, ran away to Hanover every chance he got and only wanted English money proven by the South Sea Bubble scandal. This book gives us more. A lot more. It shows the who and why, it dispels the stories I have listed above and gives us the man, flesh, blood and emotions. He becomes a real and more understood human than just an uncaring figure from history. I highly recommend this book. It is a great read. I didn't want to put it down. It flows easy and gives enough detail and background to keep you moving through history and his life without bogging you down. All those, Jacobites included :) who do not know George I outside of the usual should read this book. I can't say enough about it.

5 comments about Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II.

1. Obviously, Robert Lacey is a dedicated biographer. His book is characterized by research, depth, and scope. What's more, he doesn't resort to cheap sensationalism to add a few more chapters. Yet somehow, "Monarch" is still one of those books that doesn't just capture you and leave you gushing about how wonderful it was.
   
   Lacey begins his book by attempting to chronicle the development of the "modern" royal family, beginning with reign of Queen Victoria and providing glimpses into several other monarchs' rule. It would be true to say that these "foundations" help one understand the current queen. Occasionally, this extended history lesson was just plain fascinating, too, imparting nuggets of history that any royal buff delights in.
   
   Unfortunately, the history lessons definitely became too textbook-ish at times, too. Lacey has an extremely unfortunate habit of seeming to bring up every single name, place, and government activity when talking about an event. This leaves the reader with an overly long and dull account of event that could have been summed up much more interestingly.
   
   The same analysis, to a lesser extent, holds true for the queen's own story in this book. At times, Lacey fabulously describes people and events, knows just where to place a well-chosen quote, and makes one want to read about the queen's life forever (as in the opening chapters about the queen's dealings with Diana's funeral). Yet the "bogged-down-in-boring-detail" problem still surfaced in this part (the parts dealing with the Margaret-Townsend affair were dry and too long).
   
   Lacey is certainly to be commended for his obvious knowledge about the queen, and it is also fortunate for readers that he is able to convey his respect for the queen while still offering up intelligent, constructive criticism. If you really must read everything about the British royal family or the queen, this is a solid offering, yet other readers would probably enjoy Carolly Erickson's masterfully written "Lillibet" much more.



2. I was kind of hoping that Robert Lacey did a follow-up to his earlier biography, Majesty but instead, he seem to rehashed many of the old material from that book while writing a whole new biography. So while this book proves to be an interesting read to those who have not read Majesty, you cannot help but to be disappointed by how the last 20 years of Elizabeth's reign have been written. Its almost appears to be a mini-biography of Princess Diana. I believed this spell out the major weakness in this biography of Elizabeth II. Some of the readers might questioned although others may praised the fact that Lacey did not treat Diana with any sort of adoration that seem to be so typical of many of the current writers.
   
   I thought the book could have better written, in more details and with more insights to Elizabeth's character as she grew older. There's probably not enough information on her husband in this book as well. He's probably more important to Elizabeth's life then Diana could ever be. The author's unwillingness to dig deeper for a more complete biography make this book somewhat of a compromise quality. There's really nothing written about Elizabeth in this book toward her last 20 years of reign that we couldn't pick up already from the mass media. Do we have to wait until after Elizabeth's death to get a decent indepth biography on her life??



3. Enjoyable and educational - very well done. Lacey is a very good "royal watcher" - always seems to be honest enough without blowing his own horn.



4. I was preparing for a speech about Queen Elizabeth the Second, purchased this book and never looked back. Full of information but not over one's head, a very enjoyable read.



5. I have read numerous books about the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II/the British Royal Family and this is one of the best so far. It feels more like history than tabloid and is easy to follow. I also feel that it sets the record straight on many subjects, especially the difficulties with Diana. I truly could not put this book down! Read and enjoy!

2 comments about Prince William: Born to Be King.

1. The author promises to let the reader know: " Why William was know as 'Billy the Basher,' How he coped with his parents' troubled marriage, What he does for fun and excitement, Why his former nanny is now his closest friend, and How he feels about being popular with girls all over the world." Richard Buskin does accomplished these things. However, if one has kept up with the Royal Family, then, one know everything in the book and much more. Princes William possesses many more nicknames than just 'Billy the Basher.'

   Despite this, the book is well-written which one can not say about many of the books written about Prince William. This book can be appreciated by adults and not just gushing teenagers who are crazy over Prince William. It's easy reading and can be easily read in an hour.

   Richard Buskin has written several books about the Royal Family - Diana in particular.

   Prince William has had to grow up rapidly considering the events which have taken place in his life. As everyone knows, the world is on the verge of a new millennium, and for William, the twenty-first century king, it appears to be there for the taking. There are many picture of Prince William from infancy to the present; however, there are no new ones.

   Since the death of his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince William has grown into a mature young man, and whatever the future holds, the eyes of the world will certainly be on Prince William.

   This is a paperback book which contains 159 pages and measures 4x63/4 inches.




2. I live in England but, do you know, I've never followed the activities of the royal family. It's not always something special when you've grown up with it all your life, and they've done much to let themselves down in the past 20 years, the poor souls. So I've never followed Prince William and, really, know nothing about him. That is, I didn't until I read this book. I was at O'Hare airport in Chicago, flying back to England, when I saw it in at the bookstall. Something made me take it off the shelf - I've no idea to this day why - and it caught my interest as I flicked idly through the pages. I immediately liked the writing style - it's very descriptive, but not too much: it's artfully done. Why, for just a few bucks I got to learn more, much more than I ever thought I'd want to know about William. But I enjoyed it! It's quite a rollercoaster story, and an amusing though pretty accurate insight into British life and culture, written by one who should know - The author biography says that Mr Buskin "is a British journalist". It shows. (It also says that another of his books, about Princess Diana, was a New York Times bestseller. That must be one heck of a book - I'm already looking out for a copy.) I think Buskin must be a pretty savvy guy, and he certainly writes a witty line reminiscent of the British Carry On films. For example, I think he had tongue firmly in cheek when he wrote: "And so the stage was set: His naughtiness was about to evolve into Dreamboat Willy."

2 comments about Mary Queen of Scots: A Spiritual Biography.

1. My eyes grew big as I read. Carol Schaefer's eloquent language, combined with an "at the edge of your seat" story-line, gave me chills. I never knew reading a biography could be this entralling.



2. Mary Queen of Scots by Carol SCcaefer was a great find. This wonderful book tells an epic tale. The intimate style of storytelling kept me turning the pages. Carol Schaefer's skillful weaving of fact and fiction allowed me to harbor a secret wish that all would go well for the remarkable and doomed heroine. The dusty historical facts I had so often read in shcool came to life with the use of such lyrical language, language fit for a queen. I recommend this book as a perfect gift for friends and family. A discerning reader will appreciate this book by a gifted writer. I await Carol Schaefer's next contribution to the literary world.

No comments about Margaret Pole, 1473-1541.

2 comments about The Emperor Domitian.

1. When it was published in 1992 this book was the first significant scholarly biography of the emperor Domitian (ruled AD 81-96) since 1894. The author is an Associate Professor and a leading specialist in Flavian political and prosopographical history, and has produced a very reliable, readable work that is a critical and valuable interpretive synthesis of the considerable modern scholarship relating to Domitian. The study is organized thematically and with a very solid prosopographical approach. The first chapter examines the social and political rise of Domitian's family, his early life and role under his father Vespasian and brother Titus (both emperors). The next two chapters provide a detailed examination of Domitian's court and his relationship with his courtiers. These are then followed by two chapters on Domitian's financial, administrative and provincial policies. Chapters 6 and 7 examine the major wars of Domitian's reign and his military and foreign policies.! After these there are two chapters on the senatorial and equestrian aristocracy during Domitian's reign, and his relationship with them and other policies and problems. The conclusion completes the study with detailed end-notes and an exhaustive bibliography. The three indices (on persons, ancient authors and general subjects) at the end of the book are very useful and effective. For serious scholars of this period this biography is an indispensable work. A more recent biography of Domitian with a psychological approach ('Domitian: Tragic tyrant') is in many ways simply based upon the present study.



2. The Emperor Domitian presided over a period in which many of the later New Testament texts were written, such as Revelation and the Gospel of John. Close study of the reign of Domitian provides enormous insight into these biblical texts and the situations they addressed for their own readers. Jones' biography of Domitian should be standard reading for anyone seeking to understand the world that generated such claims for Jesus as "savior of the world" (John 4) and "Lord and God" (John 20), both attributed to Domitian. One of the great strengths of Jones' book is its placing of Seutonius' own "Twelve Caesars" in historical context. Many previous interpretations of the lives of the caesars took Suetonius as a reporter, rather than as the imperial propagandist for his patron that he was.
   
   Very readable and highly recommended.

5 comments about The Romanovs 1818-1959.

1. If you've read any of Mr. Van Der Kistes works you will usually find them to be sound bytes rather than a volume filled with information. The Romanovs is a decent book, but hardly worth this price. Mr. Van Der Kiste as usual skims the surface, doesn't even go near his subject matter. He crams a history of a family, into two hundred pages, five generations, and at least 100 members. Some he mentions some he doesn't. And unfortunately it's been done much better. Perry and Pleshakov recently did a very good job with The Flight of the Romanovs. If one is going to tackle such a subject, one should be able to provide information, rather than sound bytes. But this is the fourth book I've read by Mr. Van Der Kiste, and they're all pretty much the same. Lacking in substance.



2. This book on the Romanovs is a good description of the Romanov dynasty in its last century, concentrating primarily on the lives of Tsar Alexander II and his descendants. It does a good job covering the political and military events of the time, but is quite sketchy on the personal lives and characters of the last three Tsars and their relatives. This is a good book to have along with Charlotte Zeepvat's "Romanov Autumn", which covers the same time period but with a more personal slant.



3. Mr. Van Der Kiste has once again given the reader a history of a royal family that presents the members as real people and not just historical personages. He also mentions collateral members of the family, not just the czars. Many photos enhance the text. A very enjoyable read.



4. Van der Kiste is a prolific author on the subject of modern British and Continental royalty, and this is one of his better efforts. While the Romanovs had ruled imperial Russia since 1613, the male line died out in the mid-18th century. The succeeding Holstein-Gottorp dynasty (a branch of the Oldenburgs), in the person of Peter III, took the Romanov name and produced five more tsars before the Russian monarchy came to an end in 1918. Tsar Paul was idealistic and generous but also vindictive and paranoid, and ultimately was assassinated. Alexander I, a complex and contradictory figure with mystical leanings, was also the most powerful ruler on the Continent after the fall of Napoleon. Nicholas I was a repressive autocrat of limited intellectual ability and was succeeded by Alexander II, a despotic but soft-hearted reactionary, nevertheless emancipated Russia's serfs. He, too, was assassinated, which led his son, Alexander III, to tighten his control of the Russian state. And his son, Nicholas II, was totally incapable of meeting the demands of the job in an age of world war mixed with long-simmering revolution. Moreover, all the tsars in this period married German princesses, which did nothing to endear the ruling family to the Russian people during the Great War. The author does a good job of tracing the psychological threads and social and political environments that formed this disastrous family.



5. This novel focuses mainly on Tsar Alexander II, his children, and grandchildren. It also follows the lives of the children from Alexander II's second family with Catherine Dolgoruky. The novel reveals just how many colorful characters the were in the Romanov family besides Nicholas and Alexandra. In my opinion the book really doesn't go into as much depth when it comes to the section on Nicholas II than the ones on his father or grandfather and the last 2 chapters that are supposed to be for Nicholas seem to deal more with his uncle Paul Alexandrovich than with the emperor himself. That aspect of the book is actually kind of refreshing considering the deluge of information on Nicholas II, and by writing less about him may have the author's aim. The section on Alexander III, Nicholas' father, was very revealing seeing as how not much is written about him. The information on Alexander II's youngest child Catherine, by his second wife, was also equally revealing especially her life after the revolution. The book also throws in political information with the personal to create the prevailing moods of the different time periods.

4 comments about Sissi, Elisabeth, Empress of Austria (Albums).

1. Excellent reading, appropriate for both the novice in history as well as the versed reader.

   Well written, easy to read and put in the proper historical perspective, recommendable to all!!




2. A nice little book. Great photos, however, when compared to contemporary commentaries by person's whom actually knew the Empress this book seems a bit biased toward the "official" and "political" interpretation of Sissi's life, personality and problems. I have kept it for the lovely photos. I prefer to garner a less biased history from a myriad of other sources.



3. A wonderfully illustrated book with a short but complete biography. The text is written by acclaimed historian Brigitte Hamann and is accurate though sometimes overly simplified by comparison to her 500+ pages biography about Empress Elisabeth. A very good book which shows another side of Elisabeth of Austria and a must for every admirer of Sissi.



4. Hamann's little book on Elisabeth has some great pictures and a fairly good accounting of Sissi's life. This is a good starter book, if you're just curious about her. But if you're looking for the who shebang, I'd go with Joan Haslip's "The Lonely Empress" which is much more detailed and gives a more all-inclusive look into Elisabeth's life and the people who were a part of it.