5 comments about Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of the Baroness De Pontalba.

1. Vella brings to life with splendid detail the life in New Orleans and Paris in the 1800's. Vella is unquestionably a tireless scholar who has dedicated much time and passion into assimilating an astounding amount of archival materials to bring to life the realities and sensibilities of the different ranks of the aristocracies. Sophisticated, realpolitic, Machiavellian. A wonderful work and a great read. This is how history should be written (for non-academia). Well footnoted & bibliographed.



2. Having grown up in New Orleans and visiting the Pontalba buildings on many many occassions, I thought I knew a bit about the countess. This book has brought up many aspects of her life and the lives of her family that I was totally ignorant of. It is quite fascinating even though there are times when the pace is a bit tedious. It is a bit academic at times, but it is afterall a biography and not a work of narrative fiction. There are aspects in everyone's life that tend to be less than thrilling.
   Regardless I will recommend it to my many friends, paticularly those who grew up in New Orleans.



3. Having grown up in New Orleans i have a love for it's history.i've heard about the story of Baroness and it caught my attention. i wasn't disappointed having read this book.



4. The used book came from a 3rd party and was in excellent shape as advertised. It was a good bargain.



5. This is good, well-researched history with a compelling human interest to it. Who hasn't had in-law problems? Well, compound them with restrictive laws that give your father-in-law the upper hand in controlling your wealth. Then the intelligent, indomitable Baroness gets her money back. What she does with it is as interesting as the story of her revenge. This is a serious book that is a page-turner.

2 comments about Sir Robert Bell and His Early Virginia Colony Descendants: A Compilation of 16th, 17th, and 18th Century English and Scottish Families with the Surname Bell, Beale, le Bel, ... et al..

1. The Book "Sir Robert Bell and His Early Virginia Colony Descendants" is a most throughly researched tome. It is a well written history of this clan of Bells. There are dozens of interesting Maps, Charts, and Photos that augment the history. The time line, "Bell Britain-American History, 1520-1790", is helpful relating a time in history with various Bells on both continents. This book has already helped answer a number of questions I have had in my research, and I'm sure it will be of further use in the months to come. I highly recommend the book for those researching with lineage to Sir Robert Bell.



2. A resource for early English/American geneological research. Great asset, opened a new chapter for us.

5 comments about Into a Paris Quartier.

1. Nice book. The writing isn't very clever, nor humorous. Pretty straight forward. However, if one knows the 6th as I do, I found the book very informative and I felt like I learned a lot about this wonderful arrondisement! If you don't know the 6th district, I'd pass on reading the book. If you do, I think it's a must read.



2. This book is absolutely marvelous! Especially for those who travel to Paris and like to stay in the St. Germain des Pres district, as I do. Ms. Johnson gives many informative bits of info on this area in Paris. It's an absolute delight to read!



3. I read the reviews of this book after reading the book. I read the book while planning for and staying in an apartment in the St. Germain des Pres neighborhood. I have read Ms. Johnson's fictional series as well. Like those books, I found this to be a pleasant conversational recounting of her relationship with her neighborhood.
   
   What I have enjoyed about Ms. Johnson's albeit modest fictional works is her feel for the shared spaces of the American living in Paris, as an ex-patriot or accidental player in the space, with the French and with Parisian life. They seem to be stories of what happens the space of the intersection and the effect on both the American players and the French. I found the same quality in this book.
   
   Into a Paris Quartier isn't a guidebook or a profound memoir. It's a conversational piece written in the greatest part from the subjective point of view of the author's influences and experience. Take it for that, and I think it meets expectations. Ask for something more or different and you probably really want to read a different book.



4. I wish I had read these reviews before purchasing this book (these reviews do not appear for the paperback version). I was so disappointed by this book. The storyline is disjointed and the writing style (those long, rambling sentences) is downright annoying. I liked the photo on page 74 and not much else. I wanted to sell my copy of this book, but used paperback copies are going for 49 cents. I guess that tells you something.



5. Diane Johnson's stream-of-consciousness approach to the history and contemporary life of St. Germain-des-Près is often enjoyable and sometimes irritating. Her book's cover art promises a focus on turn-of-the-century Paris à la Lautrec posters, but the history which interests her most is that of the 17th century and the life of Queen Margot, daughter of Henri II and first wife of Henri IV. Her choice to organize the book around her own life, centered on her apartment at 8 Rue Bonaparte and its proximity to Queen Margot's chapel (now part of the École des Beaux-Arts), gives her plenty of opportunity for chatty commentary, but does not provide a clear framework for the history.
   
   In a book which is clearly "travel history lite," does this matter? I think so. Ms. Johnson could easily have written a book which used the history of St. Germain strictly as a backdrop for her daily life, encounters with interesting Parisians, and comparisons of French and American mores. There's plenty of this in the book. But she is also seriously interested in the architectural history of the quarter and clearly enjoys ferreting out the dramatic history of its occupants. She's done some wonderful research and there is much fascinating information here - but this book doesn't quite make it, either as a guidebook (too haphazardly organized) or as an armchair read (despite a very nice map, it is hard to avoid the sense of being bounced about from street to street and century to century, somewhat willy-nilly). As bedtime reading, which will be forgotten quickly, OK. But I think her hope was for a more serious reception. Better organization could have helped.
   
   There are some fun facts here. I can easily ignore her silly remarks about identifying with Diane de Poitiers because she is named Diane (DUH!), but her reflections on French and American history also strike me as pretty wide-eyed and superficial. She is fascinated with the Huguenots and her description of their history in the 6th arrondissement was new to me. But even after describing the terrible persecution that they endured, she is bemused by why it is often so hard to find out who was Huguenot and who was not. Seems obvious to me - if you may get killed for a belief, you don't exactly advertise it. She subscribes to the point of view that the Huguenots' adoption of Calvinism was politically motivated; this would have been a surprise to my Huguenot ancestor, whose beliefs brought him no material benefits and led only to persecution and exile.
   
   Nevertheless, I'm glad to have read the book. I agree with Ms. Johnson that it's much more interesting to traipse around looking at doorways and courtyards and discovering the history behind the walls of Paris, than it is to stand in lines to climb the Eiffel Tower. It's nice to find so much information about the Institut de France - I asked several people about this lovely domed building but since it's not a stop on a tour, no one had much to say about it. There's a library inside where she writes her books! Yes, fun facts. So if that's your need, and you're interested in St. Germain, this is a nice read. Another plus - some great books listed in the bibliography!

2 comments about The Fabrication of Louis XIV.

1. The theory that ritual, pomp and circumstance can serve to enhance political power is not a new one. This book, however, makes the case that Louis XIV, in everything he did, worked to style himself as an absolute leader, a god-like ruler. From his artistic and architectural programs, to sumptuary laws, and official celebrations, Louis XIV's goal was always to assert and enhance his power. This is an enthralling book that gives insight to the era of Louis XIV as well as perspective on the use of symbol and ritual to create and maintain power.



2. I read this book in grad school, and it was one of the most enjoyable and accessible books I read. It is not a biography of Louis XIV but an extensive study on the image-making of the king. The use of the negative-sounding word "Fabrication" in the title makes the cover look very intriguing as it may imply to some that Burke has uncovered much deceit surrounding Louis' image. Actually, Burke uses this term to mean the process and constant renewal of the representation of Louis XIV (10-11). Burke includes chapters on the following subjects: the types of persuasion used (medals, festivals, allegories, etc.), a brief background on Louis' "sunrise", the organization of Louis' image-making system (academies, etc.), the royal image from the time of "personal rule," image-making through victories, reconstruction through peacetime, Louis' "sunset," differences between the ideal and the real, antagonistic images (loyal subjects making gentle fun or giving hopeful advise and actual enemies of the king), the ways in which Louis' image was perceived including the "targets" of Louis' image-makers, and a comparison with rulers before, during, and after his reign. Strangely enough, the Third Reich is not mentioned in the latter chapter which would be a glaring omission to me had it not left the door open for me to write a term paper making such a comparison.

   Burke presents a very thorough study examining such things as the changes in medal inscriptions through the years of Louis' rule to a look at what was meant by "public" during this time (pp. 131 and 152). The many photographs makes for a very interesting and enjoyable book. There is also appendixes on the numbers of medals and portraits created during the different decades of Louis' reign. It is a case study of image-making which, if taken as that, is an excellent, complete study. Do not expect a complicated thesis from this work. Burke, for example, does not pursue very strongly the idea of "charisma" (introduced on page 11)and how much "charisma" is tied to personality and "fabrication." One petty complaint is Burke's tendency to throw in French words and phrases. Most often it does not detract from an understanding of the study but, in certain cases, it can be very frustrating. Two of the worst examples are when Burke is describing how the king was surrounded by the gentlemen of his chamber "even when he was..." [the rest being in French] (91) and when Burke mentions a man who found himself in court for remarking "in brutal simplicity, that..." [the rest being in French] (167). But I won't knock off a star because I do not know Francaise.

5 comments about The Sun King.

1. Nancy Mitford is best known as an author of witty, elegant novels like The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. In the 1950s and 1960s she also produced a number of historical works, of which The Sun King is one of the best.
   
   The Sun King is a personal biography of Louis XIV. It does not deal in great detail with the political, military, or economic issues of Louis XIV's reign but primarily focuses on his personal life and that of his family. Louis married his double first cousin Marie Therese of Spain (she being his genetic sister for all intents and purposes, the reader is amazed that his family turned out as strong and healthy as they did). He also had three major mistresses and a string of casual acquaintanceships which produced a number of illegitimate children. His numerous relations also produced a quantity of children and had many extramarital relationships.
   
   A major part of the book deals with the construction of Versailles. Indeed the book seems almost to be a biography of the chateau. The profuse illustrations, including many photographs of the chateau and its grounds, add immeasurably to the pleasure of reading this work.
   
   But the most compelling reason for reading The Sun King is to enjoy Mitford's elegant, witty, prose style, which is as much in evidence here as in her novels.



2. Ok, I will freely admit that this may not be considered by some to be a scholarly historical assessment. I have been interested in the reign of Louis XIV since childhood when my mother purchased for me a coffee table book of photographs of Versailles. I wondered what could possibly have taken place at such a monstrous and wonderful palace. Since then I have read at least a dozen books on the period which tend to focus on the development and impact of absolutism in 17th century Europe. But this little book is a gem because of its author. Nancy Mitford was the daughter of an English Baron and spent her life as both an academic and a socialite. Her telling of the lives that swirled around Versailles palace is authenticated by the impression one gets that she would have been completely at ease in that setting. This book was written in 1966, just 7 years before her death. Her style sounds more like gossip than history, but is generally regarded as very well-researched. I warn you that if you read this book or one of her other historical biographies, you are in danger of becoming hooked on Mitford and will probably seek out some of her other well-loved books. This was a very enjoyable book and I find myself going back to certain chapters from time to time. One of the most memorable portions is the end where she describes a ghoulish sacrilege; the looting and desecration of the tombs during the revolution. As any good book will, it fascinated me and left me wanting to know more.



3. This book is an absolutely amazing piece of work. I was introduced to it while looking for audiobooks on ITunes. The audiobook was so enjoyable that I felt compelled to purchase the actual book to read along with it.
   
   Mitford makes each of the historical figures come alive, and makes an opulent and enclosed society accessible to readers of any age. The work is gossipy enough to be interesting, but not to such a degree as to detract from the historical accuracy. I would recommend "The Sun King" to anyone who wishes to learn more about the age of France's greatest king and the people that surrounded him.
   
   The only drawback is that for one to fully appreciate the book, they should have a very basic knowledge of French and European history (at least as far as names and dates are concerned). Having long been interested in history, I did not find this a problem, but I can see how one who was not familiar may find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Otherwise, this book is about as close to perfection as I've seen.



4. I greatly enjoyed this book. To start with, it is a nice size and has many many color reproductions of paintings of the people and places... since they were royalty, this is often great art, so the larger size qualifies it as a small art/picture book.
   
   There is, of course, well written, engaging text on the lives of these people and the intertwinings of public and personal history. In this story, we see how the seeds of revolution were sown by moving the royals away from the city, so that two generations later we have people who are completely unfamiliar with real life outside Versailles.
   
   Some will find this confusing and frustrating because so often names were similar or honorific titles overlapped. Person A is called "Monsieur" by person B, but person C calls him "Sir John" and person D calls him by his title, the second Earl of the Whoosie. Do be prepared to flip back and forth to clarify whether is is the Duke of Borne or the Duke of Burne (I just made that name up, but you get the idea), especially when they are married to each other's sister, and every other woman is named Marie Thereses or Anne Marie. All this to say it does require some attentiona and committment from the reader.
   
   The reward is a rich history where personal piques shaped the lives of hundreds, and in many cases, misshaped the lives more than a corset misshapes the body. The writing is often witty but we see enough of their foibles to care about these folks too. Informative and enjoyable.



5. I bought this book hoping to learn more about Louis XIV. I cannot deny, I learned a lot. The colors and dresses and nuances of Versailles are beautifully rendered, the daily life at the court becomes vivid.
   Yet despite this pleasant and entertaining writing, which never shies away from taking sides, the book ultimately disappoints anyone who has hoped for some historical insight. Military campaigns and the historical position of the King a simply left out of the picture. One wonders why his enemies (Marlborough, Prince Eugene) were not able to defeat him. he revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the atrocities of the Dragonards - in which historical context does it have to be seen? was Louis XIV the founder or the destroyer of French Monarchism?
   And even if one reduces all to the court life and Versailles and claims that this book is about Louis XIV in Versailles only, the King himself remains an elusive figure. What were his motivations? Why was he able to exert such unchallenged rule and transform France? All this one can only guess at, nothing more.

No comments about Paris from the Ground Up.

5 comments about The Knight in History.

1. Since I have an interest in the Middle Ages (900AD-1500AD) I was recommended this book by a history professor, and I wasn't dissapointed. This is an interesting analysis of the Knights in Medieval Society not only of England and France, but Europe in general. Easy to read, analytical and comprehensive this explains the initiation, rituals, valor and hardship that the Knight had to endour everyday. The author(s) have written many outstanding books of the middle ages and this is a welcome addition to the series they have written. A MUST have book for anyone studying the middle ages or the casual reader who picks it up in a store or library.



2. Puts the development of the mounted knight in its correct historical perspective. It is particularly important to realize that the our image of the knight (fully clothed in plate armor) never fought a battle. However, the book is no competition for Barbara Tuckman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century. Ever ready to jump on my horse and ride into the melee:

   Gies points out that the long bow could fire much faster than the crossbow, but fails to draw any conclusions. The big lessons of Agincourt and Cr‚cy were that mobility is very important. Tuckman's opinion is that from Cr‚cy onward (1346), the mounted knight was in decline.

   "...the campaign of the knights was a model of efficiency. Its [the First Crusade's] five armies...arrived in Asia Minor intact and in fighting trim..." She doesn't mention that they also arrived richer and morally uplifted, having looted and hacked their way across Europe.

   She describes the battle of Verneuil (p.175) as a "second Agincourt", then fails to elaborate. The first one didn't get much press, either.

   Several of the original members of the Order of the Garter (p.177) are described as "Du Guesclin's foes". What does that add?

   She whines about Shakespeare apparently parodying the name of the redoubtable English knight, one John Fastlof, described elsewhere as "cruel and vengeful", and whose "scorched earth" exploits she recounts in some detail, by naming his "corpulent and cowardly buffoon" Sir John Falstaff. I don't even know where to begin on this one! Fastlof should be so lucky as to be redeemed by playing with his name. Falstaff is one of the greatest imaginary creations of all time; Fastlof slogged around western France for thirty years or so bent on pillage, terror and murder.

   How about some diagrams of these various pieces of armor?

   A remarkably cool assessment of barbaric behavior, this. Only five lines from the end of the book does she lose it and say "Knights fought for profit and killed without mercy, robbed
   those whom they should have defended, and violated those whom they should have respected."




3. It would be pretty hard to find a better concise history of European knighthood than this book by Frances Gies. Her research is very thorough and she understands the Medieval world well. At the same time, she brings her subjects alive and never lets her erudition intrude to interrupt the flow of the story. In little more than 200 pages of well-written text she traces the whole arc of the knight's history, from Charlemagne to the end of the Hundred Years War -- and beyond into the long twilight of knighthood down to the Victorian era.
   
   After tracing the origins of knighthood she gives a vivid description of the First Crusade. Then she turns to the troubadours and the development of the literature of knighthood, as well as its impact on the knights themselves. Next she takes up the career of a very notable knight of the second half of the 12th century, William Marshal in an account filled with details that reveal his character and that of knighthood in his time. The story of the remaining Crusades is organized around an account of the crusading orders, particularly the Knights Templar. Next comes a vivid mini-bio of one of the most remarkable characters of history, the mid-14th century French knight and commander Bertrand Du Guesclin. Then the story of Sir John Fastolf, a major English commander of the 15th century (only very tenuously related to Shakespeare's Falstaff) nicely illustrates the transition between the world of knightly warfare and that of armies on the modern pattern. A final chapter traces the lingering influence of knighthood in early modern Europe.
   
   There are many well-chosen black-and-white illustrations, extensive source notes, and a good bibliography.
   
   The book addresses the knight's armor and fighting techniques, but only briefly. Combats and battles, too, are treated largely in schematic fashion. The focus is on the knight's character, his views of himself and his world, and his place in his society. There is also a clear summary of the overall development of the patterns of Medieval warfare.
   
   Although there is some mention of knighthood elsewhere, the book concentrates very strongly on England and France; treatments of Southern and Central Europe of comparable quality would be very welcome. Gies does not have an ideological slant or a theory to defend -- she neither "debunks" nor extolls. Since the book's writing, two decades ago, further evidence has been discovered which naturally alters some details, but on the whole the book holds up very well.



4. Another gem of Medieval studies by Professor Gies!
   Within you will find an account of Western European Knighthood from the perspective of the Anglo-French tradition.
   The Knight is described and defined in terms of the mounted warrior-elite he was, his training, his role in society, in the Chivalric ideal presented by Troubadors,...and the grim reality in warfare.
   Professor Gies uses three notable knights in history as a sample of how they varied in character, in deed, and in living up to the Code of Chivalry: William Marshall and John Fastolf of England, and Bertrand du Guesclin of France.



5. This book was exactly as advertised. It was a gift for someone else, and they were pleased with it.

5 comments about Eugenie: The Empress and Her Empire.

1. Desmond Stewart's biography does an excellent job of rehabilitating Eugenie's reputation. In earlier accounts, she has been portrayed as a vicious airhead, a bigoted zealot, or a clueless encumbrance on the Second Empire. Stewart's elegantly written, well-organized book shows Eugenie's strengths--her intuitive grasp of French politics, her social liberalism, and her dignified life in exile after the deaths of her husband and her only child. Stewart's research is impressive, and he provides a helpful Bonaparte genealogy as an appendix. I came away from this book with heightened respect for Eugenie and a much clearer sense of the historical importance of France's Second Empire and its legacies: the Suez Canal, the music of Waldteufel and Offenbach, the literary splendor of Flaubert and the Goncourts, as well as France's disastrous defeat by Prussia in 1870 and Eugenie and Napoleon III's ill-fated Mexican adventure. This book is an excellent introduction to Eugenie the woman and to the world of international diplomacy in the Victorian era.



2. I've always been interested in the lives of royal women, especially when I discover that they were more than just royal spouses or fashion plates. While such women as Elizabeth I of England, Mary of Scotland, and Catherine the Great of Russia have gotten plenty written about them, all too often, women with lesser notoriety tend to be forgotten or passed over by historians.
   
   One such woman was Eugenie, the Empress of Napoleon III of France. Author Desmond Seward, a long-time biographer of royalty, takes what at first appears to be a woman of little notice and turns her into someone to be reckoned with. At first I was rather skeptical, remembering that most of what I had read of Eugenie was that she was Spanish, a fashion setter who was known to have never worn the same evening gown twice and who was a patron of Worth, and that most of history regarded her as a conniving, bad woman who frittered life away. To say that I was in for a surprise was an understatement.
   
   Born Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augusta de Montijo , Eugenie grew up in an Europe that was going through revolutionary changes. Her father had fought with Napoleon's armies, and Eugenie soon developed a fascination with all things having to do with the Bonapartes . Clever, beautiful, and with the ability of being able to say the right thing in the right situation, Eugenie should have been wed quickly, but even after a tour of Europe with her wealthy mother didn't manage a good catch, and at twenty-three she was facing the prospect of spinsterhood. But it seems that Eugenie already had someone in mind -- the nephew of the formidable Napoleon, who had just managed to create himself Emperor of the French, by a coup-de-stat.
   
   Napoleon III, as he was known, was also charming, but also short, rather ugly, and inscrutable. An able politician, that side of his personality has been mostly overlooked for historians, focusing instead on his insatiable need for women, and his lack of military leadership. He was also an innate showman, knowing how to catch people's imagination, and able to push through schemes and ideas that most would never take seriously.
   
   Together, Napoleon and Eugenie formed a partnership that managed to survive for more than seventeen years, recreating Paris from an aging medieval slum to the magnificent City of Lights that we know today. Eugenie gave European fashion a chic flair with her patronage of the coutiere Worth, the artist Winterhalter, and her own innate sense of design.
   
   But there were also serious flaws to the couple as well -- Eugenie had a vicious temper, and one that got worse as it got older; Napoleon's infidelities drove her to jealous rages, especially after the difficult birth of her only child. For his own part, Napoleon backed the feeble attempt to turn Mexico into a monarchy, found himself embroiled in a war with Prussia and dwindled into history as a laughing stock. As for Eugenie, besides losing her throne, she would face a long, lonely exile from Paris that stretched to nearly fifty years, and was emotionally devastated by the loss of her only child at a young age.
   
   It's an intriguing look at a woman who was both villified and worshipped during her lifetime and afterwards, much as Marie Antoinette had been in an earlier generation. Indeed, Eugenie was fascinated by her predecessor, and would avidly collect any sort of memorabilia and objects that were associated with that unfortunate queen. In fact, Eugenie's life would eeriely echo that of Marie Antoinette in many ways, and she always lived in fear of the Parisian mob seeking to overthrow her.
   
   Despite the book being a bit light in treatment -- gossip is constantly recounted, and Seward often repeats himself -- this was an engaging, enlightening read. I had known very little about the Second Empire, and discovered that most of my preconceptions of this period were wrong. Seward draws on the memoirs, newspaper accounts and Eugenie's own letters and recollections for his source material. At just under three hundred pages, it's a quick read, and a good start to exploring this period of French history. A selection of engravings and photographs are included in a black-and-white insert, and there are copious notes and bibliography.



3. From the professional reviews, I had expected a well-written, scholarly book. This is neither. The writing is sometimes poor, and never eloquent or outstanding.
   
   The real problem, however, is the material. The portraits of Eugenie & Napoleon III are favorably one-sided. I don't feel as thought I could tell you the character of either after reading this book. Eugenie is impetuous is stated again & again but very few examples are given. Napoloen III is "pathologically secreative" but again no examples are given to support this statement. A very light-weight book.



4. I had very little knowledge on Eugenie other then she was Empress of France and lost her only child. I've never been interested much in Napoleon III's reign or his consort but decided to give this book a try. I was pleasently surprised by what I read. Like the Eugenie was Spanish or that she was probably a better politican then her husband. Eugenie went from being bascially a no body to Empress of France and only to end up in exile after her husband was defeated. It must have been heartbreaking to lose her only child. A wonderful bio.



5. capturing napoleon iii heart and becoming empress of france would lead you to think her life would be happy ever after.but eugenie had a difficult birth of her only child made made it dangerous for another child ending her sex life with husband who carry on affairs that cause her great angry and pain.she became a fashion plate ,but also put reforms to help the poor and disavantage of france.after fall of empire she lived in england for 50 years losting her husband and son.

5 comments about The Life of Charlemagne (Ann Arbor Paperbacks).

1. Charlemagne's reign was a brief flash of light in the dark centuries that followed the collapse of the Roman empire. As king of the Franks, Charlemagne unified much of Western Europe - what today is northeastern Spain, all of France, and parts of Germany and Italy. He revived education and learning, repaired existing churches and built new ones, and helped strengthen the position of the Pope in Rome. In the year 800 Charlemagne was crowned Emperor Augustus, ruler of the new Roman empire.
   
   This new empire was short lived, but Charlemagne became legend. Einhard, a scholar in Charlemagne's court and author of this short biography, was faced with a difficult question: how does one write a balanced and honest biography of a revered king, a king that had become legendary in his own time?
   
   Einhard had few examples to follow. The religious biographies of saints were not entirely appropriate. He turned to a classical source, The Lives of the Caesars by the Roman historian Seutonius. Einhard devotes about half of his work to Charlemagne's extensive military campaigns, but his focus remains on Charlemagne the leader and Charlemagne the man, not on military tactics and strategy.
   
   The modern reader will find it helpful to read between the lines. Einhard obviously admired Charlemagne, and his criticisms are muted. Also, Einhard's writing reflects a world view very different from today.
   
   For example, Einhard in discussing the continual uprising of the Saxons says: he never allowed their faithless behavior to go unpunished, but either took the field against them in person, or sent his counts with an army to wreak vengeance and exact righteous satisfaction.
   
   Wreak vengeance? Exact righteous satisfaction? The editor's footnote explains that at the time of a revolt in 782 Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded in one day at Verden. Similarly, after a formidable conspiracy in Germany was put down, "all the traitors were banished, some of them without mutilation, others after their eyes had been put out".
   
   Einhard provides many details of Charlemagne's character and private life. Charlemagne enjoyed the exhalations from natural hot springs. He often practiced swimming; few could surpass him in this sport. Einhard carefully describes the clothing worn by Charlemagne. He apparently disliked foreign costumes, and was most comfortable in the common dress of the Frankish people.
   
   He was temperate in eating, and especially drinking. He was particularly fond of roast meat prepared on a spit and disregarded medical advice to eat only boiled meat. He could speak Latin fluently. St. Augustine's The City of God was among his favorite books. He never developed proficiency at writing, although he practiced regularly during his later years.
   
   Einhard's biography was immensely popular and more than eighty manuscripts still exist today.
   
   My copy of The Life of Charlemagne was published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, University of Michigan Press. The foreword by historian Sidney Painter was quite helpful in establishing the historical context. My copy includes a ninth century map of Europe, footnotes, and a genealogical table for the family of Charlemagne and Hildegard.



2. Written in the decade following Charlemagne's death, Einhard's biography is based on over twenty years of personal service to Charlemagne and gives readers a tightly-woven narrative of the sovereign's life, personal character, and military conquests. Although presenting an idealized version of events, the historical accuracy of most of the book's details have been largely confirmed by modern historians. The book's modern index reaffirms this conclusion by documenting less than ten minor factual errors.
   
   The biography was obviously written to honor Einhard's former patron, but the deeds and exploits chronicled in Einhard's book are nevertheless plausibly presented in a idealized manner reminiscent of patriotic middle school textbook renderings of George Washington or Theodore Roosevelt. The book's format is continuous, breaking only at the end of a four-page preface before continuing on with an unbroken string of pages which are presented without the benefit of chapter divisions. The style of Einhard's writing tends to be wooden and Spartan - the biography tells the reader of Charlemagne's accomplishments but makes scant mention of the difficulties he faced - and any criticism of Charlemagne is obviously muted by the author's attempt to balance the idealized expectations of his partisan audience with the Roman ideal of factual honesty.
   
   Einhard's biography starts with a concise outline of Charlemagne's lineage, beginning with a brief mention of his great-grandfather Pepin of Heristal, followed by three pages summarizing the exploits of grandfather Charles Martel and father Pepin the Short. Due to an admitted lack of source material, Einhard skips Charlemagne's childhood and proceeds directly to his first military undertaking; the Aqauitanian war begun by Pepin the Short. The rest of the book's sixty seven pages are essentially divided into two parts: the first half concisely presenting a chronological, episodic narration of Charlemagne's military campaigns (confining the focus to Charlemagne's motives and decisions while largely ignoring his tactics and strategy), before backtracking to conclude with a twenty seven page glimpse of the monarch's personal and family life.
   
   The author's purpose in writing the book, plainly stated by him in the book's preface, reveal an unmistakable admiration which borders on hero worship. Descriptive phrases like "most excellent," "justly renowned," and "a very great and distinguished man" clearly display Einhard's to write the book as tribute to the greatest man of his age. In this he succeeds; although the book's superficial and miserly accounting of its subject's exploits leave the reader hungry for more details.
   
   The book effectively chronicles the subject's glorious life and accomplishments from the point of view of a member of his court. Simultaneously, Einhard manages to shine some much-needed light onto Charlemagne's moral stature and political machinations, in addition to providing the reader with a general military history of the period.



3. This chronicle was commissioned at the request of Louis the Pious one of Charlemagne's successors, was written by Einhard, a monk, historian, and a dedicated servant of Charlemagne. His Life of Charlemagne, written between 817-830 is clearly in the vein of the famous Roman historian Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars (a text that existed at the monastery where the author worked). The work is brief, to the point, and for the most part does not include tangential information, and is biased. The bias is completely understandable and the introduction to the text points out where and why. His chronicle was written to make Louis the Pious' famous father look good. For example, one of the morally stained aspects of the Charlemagne's reign were the actions of his unmoral daughters, which Einhard carefully does not tell us about. Einhard, in short, sometimes deliberately obscures the truth. However, what is so appealing about Einhard's text is the fact that his most of his information was based off of 26 years as a servant of Charlemagne and his court, and information that he includes of actions before Charlemagne's reign most likely was gathered from sources and documents which he had access to. Lastly, Einhard's attempt at stringently following the model of Suetonius Twelve Caesars makes him connect the characteristics of great emperors such as Augustus to Charlemagne, obscuring Charlemagne's actual habits, personality etc...
   
   The introduction is ok but is mostly summary, the map is good, but the notes are scanty. A MUCH better addition would be the Penguin Classics text, Two Lives of Charlemagne, that also includes the equally interesting (although vastly different) De Carlo Magno written 70 years after Charlemagne's death.



4. King Charles the Great, more commonly known as Charlemagne, was the first truly great leader of France. His reign was one of great expansion as he created a French nation that controlled nearly all of Western Europe. Charlemagne was a great military commander and one who appreciated learning, he did a great deal to promote the relearning of so much that was lost with the fall of the Roman Empire.
   Einhard was one of the learned people that Charlemagne sponsored, and so in this book Einhard quite naturally praises the great king. Yet, it is historically accurate and written in 830 CE, it is contemporary to the life of the great king. Einhard's direct observation of the life of Charlemagne is a historical classic, one that should be read by all students of what we now call the Dark Ages. For Charlemagne was a rare glimmer of light during those times of meager learning and education.



5. This is an excellent book with great information. I used it for a research paper and made an A due to the extensive areas of his life that it covered.

5 comments about A Village Lost and Found.

1. This book comes in a hard slip cover along with Brian May's self designed OWL viewer which is in a separate, gold embossed folder. Every aspect of this book shows its quality in printing, binding and reproduction of these long forgotten photographs.
   
   The images in this book are a series of hand tinted 3D stereocards from the 1850's of, what was thought to be, a lost village in the UK. They portray a pastoral and still slightly primitive way of life that was on the very cusp of ending with the coming industrial revolution. The photographer, T.R. Williams had to pose every shot and make sure the poses were held while he took one image and then another. Where I see window violations in all sorts of old stereocards, Mr. Williams seemed to have grasped the concept very early and he does an excellent job of maintaining the window.
   
   This book is an obvious labor of love with substantive research going into each an every image. No stone is left unturned and one cannot help but appreciate this not only as a beautiful 3D experience but an academic one as well. I'll skip the surface incongruity of a `rock-n-roll god' longing for such a simple and idyllic way of life between these pages. What emerges most is the artistic work of T.R. Williams and his ability to create wonderful 3D images at a time when cameras were unwieldy items and stereo cameras certainly didn't exist. Weather it was remarkable foresight and a need to preserve a way of life in images or just a love of the village life at the time, this photographer has saved a bit of history that we can all admire.
   
   Along with this book comes Brian May's OWL viewer which has a slide focusing adjustment feature. Thoughtfully designed and with a sturdy construction, this is a quality viewer. I was also happy to see that the London Stereoscopic Company is offering these viewers for separate sale at [...]. With an introductory price of £15 plus £11.50 shipping (to US non-European customers), and with an apparent planned hike to £20, they end up being a bit steep in price, but worth it in the long run if not just to have one. In the pantheon of 3D viewer inventors, we have names such as Wheatstone, Holmes, Gruber and now, should we be adding May? Face it, he could have just included a longorette or a Loreo lite viewer, but due to Brian's passion for 3D, he decided this tome deserved its own high quality viewer, and when one wasn't available, he designed his own. How cool is that?
   
   As a historical record and for the high production value, A Village Lost & Found gets 5 stars from me.



2. Great book, excellent printing and packaging. Amazing 3D viewer useful for many other images beside the ones in the book. If you like 3D and a bit of history, this is a wonderful book.



3. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R150TWY43EWMN4 Enjoy the video. For more information go to [...]



4. I was crazy about this book, as I love 3D pictures, and with this book, you get the OWL to look at all the wonderful pictures done by TR Williams.
   Thanks to Brian May for inventing this "modern day" stereo-viewer..that folds flat, but especially to Elena Vidal and Brian May for bringing back
   this wonderful hobby! (Remember Viewmaster")?
   I had my whole family taking part in this book, and enjoying the "olden days"!



5. I've been waiting for this book for sometime, being a Queen fan, I had heard about this project awhile ago, and then just waited. Brian May has a previously published book called BANG! co authored w/ Sir Christopher Lintott which I also enjoyed, as much for the brilliant photography as the informative text.
   Like BANG! this is a high quality publication, a hard slipcase with a beautiful book and the well thought out and crafted OWL viewer which makes the photos truly come alive, I got this as a holiday gift to myself and am just so pleased with it. As an added plus, Brian's instuctions on the method of shooting a 3D photo were easy and informative, and something that I'll try myself soon. If you have an interest in stereoscopic photography or rural Victorian England I'd highly recommend this book.