No comments about The Secret People of the Palaces: The Royal Household from the Plantagenets to Queen Victoria.

No comments about Frederick the Great.

No comments about Mad Madge: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, the First Woman to Live by Her Pen.

1 comments about Queen Salote of Tonga: The Story of an Era, 1900-65.

1. After trying to secure this book through Barnes and Nobles, I was told that there would be a delay on the shipment date. That would just simply not work as it was a present for a friend, so I turned to reliable Amazon. As a Peace Corps Volunteer from the South Pacific, I try to read as many books about that region of the world as possible, but it is often extremely difficult to find books about the South Pacific. This is a great find. Thanks!

5 comments about After Diana: Irreverent Elegies.

1. I've read almost everything about the Royal family in recent years. This book puts it all in perspective. We've been "snookered". Tne Emperor has no clothes. Neither does the Emperoress.

   I followed the order of service for the funeral that had been e-mailed from a friend in London. It was terribly sad, but not quite real. This book gives one a lot to think about.

   I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the royal family, but since no one is quite sure of what is the truth wonder if we should bother?

   Please read the book and make your own decison. It give you a lot of things to think about.




2. A collection of short essays, most of which consist of little more than psychobabble. Get it through the public library - don't buy it.



3. I got this book some time back and just cannot stand it. I'm not a Monarchist but from what I did get through of this book it is just plain mean. The general tone is as the subtitle says, irreverant. From one end to the other the writers spend their time denigrating the Princess as well as the Royal family, showing no liking or even respect for anyone. It seems to me to be a compilation of hatred or at least lack of respect for the subject and those who have any sort of interest and/or respect for the British Royal family and their way of life.



4. I am a member of the large, but mostly silent, majority who simply could not understand why so many people went berserk following Diana's death. I was never interested in Diana's travails while she was alive, but the mass hysteria in the wake of her death prompted me to try to understand this phenomenon and its implications on modern-day society. It was difficult to find literature that would answer my search for comprehension, but this book has certainly delivered. It is well-written, academic, well-balanced, provocative, and laden with perceptive and practical insight.
   If you worship Diana and believe her to be a saint, you'll hate this book. It portrays her as a human being with both strong points and bad points. If on the other hand, you want to understand the meaning of Diana's death, why the mass hysteria erupted, how it reflects on our culture, and attendant food for thought, then you'll love this book. I certainly enjoyed reading it.



5. I waited for ten years to read this book on the anniversary of the death of Diana. I did not enjoy reading this book. Sometimes the writing didn't even concentrate on Diana. I believe the only ones who would find this interesting would be researchers who are covering the mourning of the Princess or any celebrity for that matter. It was interesting how the book did point out that many British people could have cared less. I guess the book did not flatter Diana or the royal family for that matter. It was extremely dull. I cannot believe that one of the authors referred to Katie Couric as Miss Couric. I don't recommend it!!

No comments about Queen Margot: Wife Of Henry Of Navarre.

1 comments about Windows for the Crown Prince: Akihito of Japan.

1. Windows for the Crown Prince - Akihito of Japan by Elizabeth Gray Vining 1952, 1989.

   How much influence can one person have? The author is asked to serve as the private tutor of English for the Crown Prince by the Emperor of Japan in the post WWII era. He lives a life very isolated from the rest of the real world. Her Quaker background and her desire to help him see the "outside" world beyond palace walls helped shape the man who is the figurehead leader of Japan today. Her inside look at the life of the young future leader gives an interesting and informative look at Japan and its people at this time period. A delightful book for people who enjoy history, culture studies, memoirs and Japanese society. Easy to read and enjoy.

5 comments about The Real Diana.

1. I enjoy reading every detail about Princess Diana I can get my hands on, good and bad, so I can get some idea of what this person was like. I have adored Diana since I was a young girl.

   However, this book was very biased against Diana and basically does make anything positive written about Diana seem as though it was just written to please the Princess.

   Also, she pretty much says that Diana was sleeping around long before Charles did, yet other books I've read indicate not only was he with Camilla, but also did cheat on Diana even around William's birth with a lady in Canada that he saw on and off even while he was just with Camilla.

   I've seen some recent interviews, and other published books which actually cite NAMES of people who have nothing to gain now the Princess is dead, and dispute what this author has to say.

   So it is fun gossip, albeit cruel, but take it with a grain of salt.

   Also, I could not find documentation of Diana's abortion anywhere, and I would think by now more explicit details would have come out about it. This is the first and last I've heard of it and would really like to know if it is indeed true.




2. Lady Colin Campbell may not be the best writer I have ever read, but she writes the truth, and what is better than that for a biography? The people who don't like this book are the ones who don't seem to be willing to ever think that their beloved Princess of Hearts could be a vengeful b*tch, who was a bit off in the head, or that Charles was not the devil Diana wished him to portrayed as.
   
   As it has been widely reported by pretty much everyone who knew the Princess, including her own family, she was very vindictive and a known liar. So read her accounts with a grain of salt (or a shaker), then read this book. Nothing is black and white, so remember the gray matter. I also reccomend Piers Morgan's new book to show the side of Diana many don't want to admit she had.



3. This is a vicious book written by someone who obviously hated Diana, Princess of Wales. And if anyone is 'mentally ill' it is Lady Campbell. I understand 'lady' Campbell had a very strange childhood. Apparently, her parents could not decide whether she was a boy or girl! And I think it created a 'crack' in her brain.
   
   Diana paid dearly for standing up for herself and getting out of her pathetic marriage. Her husband was a Prince who turned out to be a selfish toad. She was definitely a lamb to the slaughter. And as for saying that Diana was schizophrenic that is postively ludicrous!



4. Vile, vituperative, vicious, and about as "true" as the "Lady" in front of the "author's" name, this cowardly piece of fantasy isn't worth buying to burn.
   Don't bother reading it, unless you go in for the kind of story headlined in the supermarket tabs, featuring lurid photos of the "Two-Headed Martian Child."
   If so, read on--you just might find Hoffa and see Elvis while you're at it.
   Stars??????? Are you kidding?!



5. to actually read a full story of Diana's life, rather than the glossy image we've all been fed for years. Very interesting book.

3 comments about With Love from Diana: the Princess of Wales' Personal Astrologer Shares Her First-Hand Account of Diana's Turbulent Years.

1. I feel that Andrew morton protrayed Princess Daina as the Angel that we all knew of that helped those in need. I espesially enjoyed the chapter "My cries for help" talking of her problems with Prince Charles and her marriage. And that of her Bulimia. I would like to take this moment to thank Andrew Morton. For his kind words, and his honesty about Princess Diana. Sincerley, Catherine M. Catron



2. Author Penny Thornton describes 2 dreams she had in 1986 or '87, in which Diana is seen with "a white car moving ahead, leaving the black car behind." Consider that this book was published two years BEFORE Diana's accident, and this is nothing short of phenomenal!! Several other parellels occur in these 2 dreams, as well. This is a book worth reading for those who can't get enough of Diana.



3. I'm not saying that people don't have spiritual gifts, but I do question much of Penny Thornton's vision. I must agree with the previous "critic", however, regarding the dream about the car: it shocked me so, that I read it over and over and got tears in my eyes; (if this part is pure fiction, I would have a terrific bone to pick with Ms. Thornton about lies and playing with another's emotions!).The book is a good enough read, but nothing spectacular.

No comments about King George III (the Mad King).