1 comments about The Hundred Years War, Volume III: Divided Houses (The Middle Ages Series).

1. The bad blood that boils between nations can last generations. "The Hundred Years War III: Divided Houses" is the third volume of the complete and comprehensive coverage of one of Europe's longest and bloodiest sustained conflicts between England and France throughout the fourteenth century. With maps and much discussion over many of the historic events during the twenty four year period from 1369 to 1393 where the leaders were mentally unstable and inexperienced, exacerbating the existing problems of the conflict. "The Hundred Years War III" is a core addition to any European medieval history collection, enthusiastically recommended.

5 comments about The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle (The Middle Ages Series, Volume 1).

1. The Middle Ages in Europe, a time of poor sanitation and brutal men terrifying local communities into submission; where the rule of law may have been as tenuous as the mortality people might expect to achieve. The Middle Ages in Europe is as near as one might get to the post apocalyptic nightmare depicted in the movie Mad Max 2 the Road Warrior where decisions are terrible and give very short shrift to our political correct world of today. This is the world Jonathan Sumption evokes in his Trial by Battle. It's a time of shortages of food and resources, the golden age of the plentiful thirteenth century is drawing to a close and the economy of Europe is coming under strain. Thrust into this crisis are the rulers of the lands of those times. Principally the Kings of England and France. But theres a host of other lesser nobles, of Dukes, Earls and Counts in north west Europe effected and effecting the politics of the times. In this book, Mr. Sumption gives a crash course in the organisation of the various kingdoms, principalities, counties and dukedoms as they become involved in the story of the Hundred Years War. Its not necessary to know in depth about the running of a kingdom though it might help to have a little background knowledge. The pace of the book carries this history at a good rate of knots. My only criticism is while Mr Sumption produces a suitable statistic here and there to back up the picture he paints in words, there can be a lack of colour, the description of an event or cultural or technological details, is lacking in places. This left me at a loss for an image to anchor my understanding (after all I am a product of an age addicted to visualisation), That said it is only a small detraction from a really interesting work. The battle descriptions are spot on and the developments in between give the theme a sense of continuity. This volume brings the history from the origins of the war to ten years into its execution. You'll have to buy the next volume (which I did) to find out what happens but Trial by Battle is good in itself if you like the at times bizarrely mystical and nonsensical Middle Ages and at times utterly no nonsense people of those hard times



2. Sumption's history of this sordid and bloody conflict will be the defining opus of this era. In this first volume of 600 pages he covers intimately all aspects of the war's first 10 years. He is mostly skilled at both the economic and diplomatic machinations of the conflict, emphasising how armies were fielded and then supported.

   His scope is grand and he covers events as far away as Scotland, Flanders, Britany, and the Popes involvement from the Avignon palaces.

   His strategic interpretation is superb, without equal. He has an ability to get into the head of participants and show their ultimate motivation in fighting. Why particular courses were decided upon are also fittingly reviewed; why a campaign in Flanders? Why get involved in Britany? How did England ultimately expand and prevail in Aquitaine when their foothold was so tenuous? Why were the French completely unable to exploint a fundamental postion of strength by working with their internal lines of communication? All of these questions are answered in good detail.

   There are no real weaknesses in this work but there are a few things that readers should be prepared for:

   1) Sumption is not writing a biography of any of the characters and although we understand a lot of their emotions in the heat of dimplomacy and battle, we hear little about the individual idiosyncracies of both Edward III and Philip VI. We learn almost nothing about their respective sons in this volume, which is amazing considering the future role they played.

   2) Although this is a story of battle and slaughter, we are largely spared the details of the minutea of battle, who fought whom, the real intricacies of the weapons involved and the fate of those who were turned to bones. Sumption leaves that to other military historians who have written hundreds of pages on individual battles. There are however amazing revalations here about Crecy which deserve to be noted; Sumption notes that the repeat regrouping and charging of the English lines was not characterisitic of a disorganised French attack. As such this contracdicts the traditional version of the French falling over themselves in the battle. In the end the longbow won the battle. No new surpises here.

   3) There is little actual focus on how the war effected the peasant. Perhaps because we know so little of them, but Sumption's research is so exhaustive that he purposefully concentrates on the diplomatic, military alliance structures and their respective figures.

   This was a major project to get through. I had to admit that times I did wander in my attention span. But the detail in the text is rich and his coverage of the impact of the war in Britany and the northern English Marches against the Scots, is something largely ignored by other historians of this war.

   I have already bought volume II and determined read all future volumes as he finishes.... although at this rate it will be a total of at least 10 volumes to get throught this particularly depressing interval in human history.




3. Trial By Battle is a magnificent achievement. Though daunting to look at, the 600+ page narrative sweeps by with the excitement and suspense of a great novel. Sumption fails to give any real background details (the marriage of a king will be mentioned in passing without so much as a clue as to his wife's name!). We learn nothing of castle construction, arms and armour, architecture, geography, or anything else of the spectacle of life in 14th century Europe. But the step-by-step analysis of the intricacies of medieval politics more than compensates, throwing the reader headlong into the meeting rooms of the royal courts. The narrative, for all its complexity, never ceases to be anything but fascinating. The reader is able to see all the seemingly small and random details, the mistakes and misunderstandings and mistimings, and how they build to create a situation in which all out war is the only option.
   
   Trial by Battle isn't simply the best book I've read about The 100 Years War, but the best I've read about the challenges faced by the medieval politician, and the strategic maneuvering required to achieve an acceptable outcome. Brilliant.



4. the title says trial by battle but never once does any battle ever rate more then one or two sentences. this book is very slow. If you are looking for the total history of this conflict and era including the armour,weapons and battles hence the title the hundred years war trial by battle, this is not the book for you.



5. This is the first book(part 1) of the authors' lengthy study of the hundred Years and covers from the beginnings of the war to a little after Crecy.He starts by comparing the 2 kingdoms of France and England,with France appearing to be 5 or 6 times more populated than England and France with alot more financial resources.French allies are also formidable with the Italian kingdoms including Genoa which had a powerful navy and well equipped army.True,Genoa was a "piracy type" kingdom but with really deep pockets.England at this time had vitually no navy of any consequence and relied on private contracts and war loans for transport.Privateers seemed like the English naval mainstay although Edward III had a few ships which he owned.The author spends alot of time on the English wool industry and its threats of economic embargo to get its way in continental politics. Other books I've read on this "King Cotton" type bullying downplay the English wool industry and point out that the Netherlands areas had previously sought out other alternatives to English wool.With the economies of France and England so unevenly matched how could the English midget overcome the French giant other than a cheap groin shot.As the author points out however,the main English way of financing their war was by "sneaky" taxes that people don't generally notice.The French rulers used fluctuating coin valuations with some taxation.So the author concluded that while the French were more wealthy,the English ruling class were better able to get their hands on the "hard cash"which gave them a big advantage.The "jokers in the deck" that could overcome the odds were the alliances and here is where the author spends time on diplomacy and counter lawsuits of both English and French interests.The English policy is generally,"the enemy of my enemy is my friend".This includes the use of both papacies to legitimate the rival claims.After all noone wants to appear like the "bad guy". A groin shot however is fair in war.The French giant was badly arthritic and that was an awfully "scrappy" midget anyway.
   I liked the way the author spent alot of time on the conflict between Scotland and the English because this aspect of the 100 Years War is often either omitted or covered sparsely.It is important because the wars with Scotland gave the English practice and expertise in regard to strategies and combat as well as treacherous politics.The author points out the evolution of longbow tactics used by the English came about as the result of the numerous wars with Scotland.The French were tied to continental warfare practices,the crossbow and cavalry charges and the strategic retreats that can use up an opposing army through attrition more effectively than combat.Also this book gives a good deal of information on the more easterly Germanic speaking territories and their swinging alliances.So far the English to be somewhat the beneficiary of swinging Germanic sympathies,a love/hate relationship which will flower in Germanic speaking English kings and then degenerate to the worst later on.French nationalism is budding at this time and the author mentions that "France for the French"is becoming an issue in itself although still not prominent enough to overcome local infighting and schisms.Then there was the powerful Flemish influence,(the low countries below sea level)ruled by France on paper,but independent in reality and pro-English to the max.
   There is a good section of the book devoted to ransoms of captives(knights only worth 100 pounds), which could in some cases make this war not appear as so savagely conducted.After all why fight too hard when you could be ransomed and go home with honors(and spoils).Next year you might be on the winning side since the fortunes of war shift so rapidly during this conflict. Edward the Third vs. Phillip of France is the main billing in book 1. However you can realize that the general population must have suffered immensly from these roving bands of commissioned armies and freebooting mercenaries(as well as outright brigands).I was never able to figure out however if Edward the third really believed he was the King of France or if he was just asserting his realization that England was too vitaly immersed in Continental politics for his kingdoms' lifelines.Was Phillip of France a "milquetoast" or were his avoidance of battles more strategic hopes of attriting the English and their alliances.Still his strategy seems cold at times as the English and numerous bands of roving brigands roam the countryside virtually unopposed.In book 1 of Sumptions study the English seem to be gaining the advantage but with major setbacks.
   Book 2 spends alot of time giving account of the private companies and their "private wars" switching sides so often it's hard to keep track.The book spends alot of time on "escalades" by the companies,that is simply taking over a small town by stealth, or if the town had a wall,by the use of ladders and from a read of the book, a bunch of brigands with a few ladders can do more damage than a major seige and cover alot of territory.Armies of today are more PR and politics but back then war is a trade much like a blacksmith,ready for hire to the highest bidder.And what is worse than an unemployed blacksmith or soldier(at least pre-welfare state)!Poitier and Crecy are only a small part of both books.The riots in Paris after Poitier rival any of the French Revolution period.Back then there was no "National Razor" so the mobs had to content themselves with bludgeonings.You can just feel Charles V's ,of France,anger and frustration at the English as he viewed the Paris mobs' handiwork.This book contains graphic medieval type descriptions of executions with lots of revenge slayings.Trial by Fire is an apt name.While in the first book the Low Countries are discussed often in book 2 Spain is the main focus.Charles of Navarre(A spainard)switches sides so often that I couldn't keep track and he actually makes it through book 2,(maybe by increasing his ransom value)? The overland campaigns of the Black Prince are covered well in the book.Remember well,1200 pages for 30 years but as easy to read as a comic book because of the author's human interest type focus.There are alot of histrionic speeches in the book where the speaker later eats his words(maybe a treaty bunched up and waddled as he is forced to chew the paper,cursing and salivating.) Book 2 ends as book 1 began,with the machinations of litigating lawyers,engaged in legal combat. The Hundred Years war comes off in this series as more like a World War with all of Europe involved.

5 comments about Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris.

1. Well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize that it won, this book
   tells the story of the growth of the industry - and the political
   controversies about it - largely through the eyes of the main Tobacco Industry executives and lawyers. Beautifully written and
   wittily objective, this is the best single place to start to understand this complex 20th century American phenomeon.



2. Just about every great society has one crop whose presence is intertwined throughout its history, effecting the history, culture, and economics of the nation. For China it would be rice, potatoes for Ireland, coca for Columbia, and most likely tobacco for America. This Pulitzer-Prize winning book shows how and why tobacco is so important to America's history. Specifically, the book traces and examines the economic role of tobacco and the economic policies of the tobacco companies (growers, traders, sellers, etc...) from the 1800s on through the 1990s.
   
   Subjects that are covered in this tome include tobacco farming, the making of cigarettes, advertising in papers, radio, TV and billboards, lobbying of govt officials to reduce regulation, PR wars with health advocates, promotion of overseas sales, and of course, the court cases fought between Big Tobacco (RJR,Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson, etc...) and various consumers, consumer groups, government agencies, and governments. The book puts all of this together in a chronological history of tobacco with an emphasis on the role of big corporations like Philip Morris. The author has put this book together using a wide variety of sources both primary and secondary, including a lot of interviews with former and current employees at tobacco companies.
   
   By reading this book, one learns a lot about various aspects of American law, culture, economics, and history. These include consumer relations, agro-business, medical research, lobbying, and advertising. OVerall, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it for anyone to read.



3. The strongest part of the book follows the business side of tobacco. The author is especially adept (as you would expect from a novelist) at sketching out the players in the history of tobacco. He is also very good on the history of various cigarette brands, their composition, advertising, their ups and downs, sales strategies. This is the best part of the book. A number of wonderfully told stories and incidents pepper the book. The author weaves this information into a steadily growing body of evidence that smoking is harmful, and then pits the industry figures against scientists, and tosses in politicians and anti-smoking groups as the battles go on.
   
   The book has one glaring weaknesses, obvious to anyone. The author badly needed an editor to exercise control over his tendency to go off course and to go overboard and tell everything he knows about something. For example, the business diversification of Philip Morris is really tangential to the story, and should have been cut. The author's style is encyclopedic, which is not a problem at first, but it wears the reader down by the halfway point.
   
   The author seems very weak in essential areas of chemistry and biology. At one point he even refers to cellulose as "protein-like". He struggles badly with the effect of air and flue drying on the chemistry of tobacco, particularly nicotine. He seems to miss the boat on ammonia technology and the rise of Marlboros. But maybe that information came out too late for him to include it.



4. It amazes me just how twisted our society is. How we can't seem to learn from previous mistakes and have to keep trying to infringe on the rights of others just because we don't agree on something. That is the basics of freedom, that you don't have to agree so long as you don't take away the rights of others.



5. Since the start of the so-named "tobacco wars" is about the time that this piece of tripe hits the bookstores, and is eventually honored by the New York Times and by a Pulitizer, we have to give credit where credit is due. Where is it due? The essential apping of the progress of a tobacco company and the history of it is just like putting a cloak over a puddle for the tobacco cartel to cross over. I have no idea why this got a good publisher, except the writer is "established". His view, to trace the company idiom, is far from what eventually happened, and it was a book dead in the water when it was published. Who would imagine that this tripe would be saying that the slight discovery that fell into the hands of Haines (Cippallone), was enough for the world? Surely, in a footnote, calling the B&W documents, handily taken by Glantz, et.al., would evolve into many, many documents - most are useless, but we need no clarification for the point here. It's author was writing a PR piece for tobacco, even if that wasn't his purpose, and that's that. It's a stinker.

5 comments about Chronicles (Penguin Classics).

1. I bought this for my son. He now tells me that it has only 1/3 of the original work. The cover nowhere states that this has been abridged, edited or selected. My son says it is like abridging Herodotus - not a good idea, and best left to the original reader to decide what is interesting and what isn't.



2. If you are coming to Froissart only casually, then this is a fine edition to use. The translation is fluid and the interstitial notes just fine. The work is heavily abridged, of course, but one can expect nothing else from an edition for the reader-on-the-street: the full text of the Chronicles is enormously long, and at almost 500 pages, this volume is already a lengthy read. The selected excerpts are great reading, though one wonders sometimes what one is missing. There is nothing quite like reading a history of times past from the pen of a contemporary master historian: Froissart depicts the customs and conflicts of his day in wondrous vividity and with considerable charm. All in all, a hearty recommendation.



3. Jean Froissart was a historian, writer and poet who chronicled some of the events of medieval Europe. That his work survives and is widely read to this day is remarkable in itself since Froissart's original books are more than 600 years old. Froissart's importance as a historian, strangely enough, is not because of his primary focus on European conflicts or the chivalrous nobility and in fact, Froissart has been shown to be inaccurate in some areas. The true value of Froissart's perspectives lie in the combination of subjects and the details of his accounts. Froissart wrote contemporary history that was meant to be read and appreciated in his own time. Even if Froissart might be a bit off on the details of a certain battle, we can be sure he related how battles in general were viewed. The same is true for tournaments, dress, food, etiquette, opinions and class perceptions. In a general sense, Froissart gives us much on excellent authority because his contemporary audience would have demanded realism in the particulars of daily life. Froissart presents us with a window into medieval society.
   
   Chronicles is a very enjoyable read as either history or literature. Froissart's chapters are bite-sized and easy to digest. Even those who like medieval style fanatasy may warm to Froissart's realistic descriptions of battle, noble knights and elegant ladies.



4. The Penguin edition of Froissart's Chronicles translated from the French by Brereton in 1967 is the best modern English version of this history of the 100 Years' War I have found. It is condensed to apx. 500 pp. and some important passages are left out or paraphrased. There is heavy emphasis and detail on events in England, somewhat neglecting events in France and the continent. Froissart devoted attention in the original to both sides. The Penguin I ordered was new and reasonable priced.



5. Froissart's work, as translated into the modern English by Geoffrey Brereton, provides a glimpse into the history, culture and intrigues of the 100 Years War period from 1322-1400. The abridged work presented here is accessible for any reader. While there are significant abridgements as noted by other reviewers, the work itself is well put together and flows reasonably well, with the abridged pieces described by the editor in italics throughout the book. The translation into the modern English makes the book eminently readable for non-scholars, and the insights into culture, warfare, court life and historical events are both interesting and poignant.

No comments about The Last Crusaders: The Hundred-Year Battle for the Center of the World.

5 comments about The Hundred Years War: The English in France 1337-1453.

1. This series of conflicts really starts with the ascendency of the plantegenet line at the time of Henry II. This was an inevitable conflict due to a sovereign King of England also having a Lordship over Gascony, a title held when King Henry II married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. With Edward III having a legitimate claim to the throne of France through his mother Isabella, Seward's book tells the story of the off and on conflicts that occured from 1337-1453.
   
   Early in the conflict, with victories at Slurs, Crecy and Poitiers, the French became aware of the fact that they could not defeat the English forces in the field. However, though the English were capable of conquering territories, they never possessed the strength to hold them indefinately. Seward does a good job of putting the reader in the shoes of the main characters, from the proud but unlucky Philip VI, to the crazy mental patient known as Charles VI. He also gives a good biographical sketch of English monarchs and princes during this period, from Edward "the Black Prince", to John of Gaunt's militarily incompentent bastard granchildren, the Beaufort brothers John and Edmund.
   
   Seward gives a historically accurate portrayal of English hero Henry V that is a far cry from the anglo-centric version we all know through Shakespeare. A man with a tenuous claim to the throne of England invaded France and nearly became the King of France. The atrocities he committed are repugnant, even by the standards of the day and should include him with other evil despots who have ruled through terror and murder. After Henry V's death, despite the competence of his brother the Duke of Bedford, England was doomed to a protracted conflict when the young religious fanatic Joan of Arc decided she was called by God to evict the English from France.
   
   Seward does a good job of viewing the conflict from the perspective of the French peasant, who suffered mightily under the oppression of English rule and the anarchy that existed in the conquered lands. He also details how the loss of the alliance with Burgundy, coupled with the ending of the minority of the incompetent Henry VI doomed England and precipitated the Wars of the Roses.
   
   This is a fascinating period of time in English history that impacted greatly the history of the world. One of the most significant conflicts that shaped the modern world, I highly recommend this book as an overview of the period.



2. Mr. Seward gives a good overview of the war and a fair overview of the consequences to everyday peasants. His accounts of the crushing English victories are well told. What's missing is the ultimate French victory. They drove the English out, but the battles and campaigns by which they did are very slightly recounted.



3. This book gives an economic explanation for the 100 years war.Remember at the time there was no France per se nor an England.The area comprising the present day France was very wealthy, but not united, with bitter rivalries between territories.The English were able to exploit these rivalries very successfully in the beginning of the war and continental plunder became a major source of wealth for the Brits.It took about a hundred years for the French speaking continental territories to finally come together and make the War too expensive for the English to continue.
   The book downplays any role by Joan of Arc,but it must be noted that by the time of the maid,the French were well on their way to unity and Joan was "icing on the cake",a heroine for the times.Someone to rally around,and whose to say if her martyrdom didn't give a final push to french morale.Her burning did make the English seem very cruel,even their staunchest allies deserted the English shortly after the burning.



4. This book offers a quick and reasonably short summary of what must have been one of the worst periods of european history. Battle after battle, siege after siege, French and British killed each other mercilessly for the control over the resources of France, the whole period under a code of behavior that today we have great difficulty in understanding. Towns changing hands quite often, alliances lasting the time of a battle or two, honestly the whole reading gives a sense of surreal dynamism, rather than boring middle-age immobilism.
   Indeed some reviewers cite a rather speedy treatment by the author of some crucial battles, and this is the only minor criticism that I would make to this book. Certainly it triggered my interest in reading more and other authors about this period, but one thing is clear: this was all but a monotonous period of european history.



5. In 1337, a war began that would change the course of European history. It was the Hundred Years War between England and France. It has generally been vastly overlooked, but Desmond Seward's book is a really great history of the war and its impact on the people of the two countries.
   
   Seward has a good, clear, and desicive knowledge of events as thye happened. He makes sure the various kings like Edward III, Henry V, John II, and Charles VII are protrayed as important characters in this struggle. He gives great detail to the Regency of John, Duke of Bedford in Normandy, while Henry VI was just a child. I loved hearing about this period since I really didn't know much about it. I also loved the various descriptions of the battles: Sluys, Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, Verniuel, and Castellion. Seward closes with a theory as to how the events unfolded between 1337-1453. Everything is good about this book.
   
   I recommed this book to anyone who has an interst in the late Medieval period or Medieval Warfare. This book has it all.

5 comments about In Afghanistan: Two Hundred Years of British, Russian and American Occupation.

1. Loyn provides a convincing explanation of how over the past 200 years the British and later, the Soviets, enjoyed rapid military victories in Afghanistan and saw the governments they supported undermined by the Afghan people. Today the U.S. faces the same age old challenges: duplicity, changing sides on the spur of the moment or over the long-term, an "alliance" with Pakistan, the illusion of taking over the country shattered by the need to refight again and again for the same territory, guerrilla tactics, jihad, tribalism, inadequate support and troops, savage cruelty, generations of people that have only known internal strife and bad governments and so on. The U.S. faces a challenge of enormous magnitude and Loyn fears history will repeat itself.



2. Something which prevents the general reader from picking up a book, like Loyn's "In Afghanistan," is the threat of being bored or bludgeoned by an agenda. Instead, Loyn approaches his topic with the eye of an experienced and accomplished journalist, helping the reader experience what is profound and historic about the small country of Afghanistan, why it keeps appearing in the geo-political ambitions of the West (Alexander's Greece, the British Empire, the current USA), and why its people have proved so intractable to conquest. First, it should be noted that Loyn's book is just over 200 pages, so it can be easily read in a week. Second, Loyn's discussion of the British empire's engagement with Afghanistan in the nineteenth century is fast-moving, with an eye to accounts of the exoticism and beauty of the region recounted by its first explorers. And, third, any readers who have looked for the historical context of the Great Game played out between the British and the Russians will find this book extremely useful.
   Finally, while the book sets up as a "cautionary tale" about "any" Western involvement in Afghanistan, I did not find that the book has an agenda. To make this point, I believe, Loyn strips the Taliban of ideologic, "Islamist" motives, and tries to demonstrate that their behavior more closely resembles the behavior of Afghan warriors, as they were encountered by Alexander and the British. This code of behavior, known as "pushtanwali," however barbaric and bloody it appears to us, nevertheless establishes a code of behavior that regulates family relations, gradations of honor, and personal moral behavior and that has lasted for 3,000 years. One would hope that Loyn's book would be required for any civilian and military official going to Afghanistan, so that they could see the country and its people from a different point of view. At the same time, even a casual reader will be extremely enriched by Loyn's personal history of Afghanistan.



3. For anyone interested in the War in Afghanistan, this should be required reading. David Loyn breaks this book down into four parts, each concentrating on an era of Afghanistan and its neighbors Persia and the ever-looming threat of the Russian Empire, which had fought for control over that area in the last 200 years.
   
   The book starts out in 1808 and the British attempt to gain Afghanistan as a buffer against the growing Persian Empire to its west. Britain controlled India at the time, and threats of a Persian-Russian attack were the crown's biggest fear. But even 200 years ago Afghanistan was an area of tribal alliances and war fronts, each tribe joining and breaking alliances to its own liking. British ambassadors traveling through the region noted even then the often barbarious means by which each tribe fought and made peace with each other.
   
   The four parts of this book make comprehending the ever-warrioring region easier: "First Encouters and the First Anglo-Afghan War, 1808-1842," then "Russian Moves and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1842-1880," "Revolution and the Soviet Invasion, 1973-1994" and the final part, "The Taliban and the US-led Invasion 1994-2008."
   
   The reader sees how the region, especially the mountainous region between modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, has always been a mysterious, barbaric region populated by tribes not too keen on strangers (non-tribal members). This region, known even 200 years ago as Waziristan, is today one of the most violent in the area.
   
   David Loyn adds a detailed list of characters at the beginning of this book, to give a reader some introduction to the many people who have made this region what it is today. Located in the center of three growing and powerful adversaries (Iran, Russia and former British-India), what was regarded as a mere buffer zone or Nomansland has grown into the most contentious, opium-growing drug smuggling route of the world. Anyone who has tried to conquer this region has left in defeat, and it is this last sentence that current war leaders engaged in that region must consider.
   
   Very eye-opening read, and required reading for anyone interested in current affairs, history or a good understanding of the on-going war,



4. From 19th Century Anglo-Russian rivalry to today's War on Terror, the world has tended to view Afghanistan -- if at all -- as a pawn in a larger game. Even next-door neighbors like Pakistan have done so. And it has typically come to grief, for foreigners and Afghans alike. Those who consider the current intervention in Afghanistan necessary -- even more than those who don't -- should be eager to read the history of such interventions from an Afghan point of view, and that's exactly what David Loyn does.
   "In Afghanistan" is exceptional in many ways. Although a Westerner, Loyn primarily yields to Afghan voices and sources. Although even a good journalist tends to focus on individual and incident, Loyn synthesizes the memorable pieces, revealing the patterns behind seemingly senseless violence. On a hot-button topic where it's easy to start with an ideological conclusion and then cherry-pick examples, Loyn starts with a wealth of narrative and data, and only cautiously draws conclusions.
   The only criticism I would offer is that there are important questions left unanswered. Why is corruption worse in the Karzai government than under the Taliban? How are Afghan relations with the states of Central Asia, and how will they affect its future? If the solution is to leave Afghanistan alone, then what do we do when Afghanistan (or at least a guest like Osama Bin Laden) doesn't leave us alone?
   Perhaps David Loyn can tackle those questions in his next book. In the meantime, he has done us a great service.



5. A well-written and informative history of 2 centuries of contact between Afghanistan and the outside world.

5 comments about Secret Wars: One Hundred Years of British Intelligence Inside MI5 and MI6.

1. Inside British Intelligence is described by its publisher as "the definitive and up-to-date history of two of the oldest and most powerful secret services in the world" though it has no source notes, has very little on M15 and M16 before 1990 - and what there is is unfamiliar only because it is often inaccurate - and is largely devoted to the activities of Mossad and CIA.
   
   There is no mention of important British intelligence episodes such as the Zinoviev letter which influenced the outcome of the 1924 election, the breaking of Enigma, the Venlo incident where two SIS officers were captured at the outbreak of war, the Profumo Affair, Buster Crabb, the running of Penkovsky and his role in the Cuban missile crisis and the intelligence services role in Empire. All very curious.
   
   Mr Thomas a self-styled "leading expert on the intelligence community" knows a great deal about what people wore (suits "tailored by Gieves & Hawkes, a hand-sewn shirt with double cuffs and his Travellers Club tie" etc), what they said, thought, ate and drank at particular moments but is less certain in other areas: sometimes Century House is the headquarters of M15 (p.208 and 255) and sometimes correctly M16 (p.286); sometimes Sir Christopher Curwen is head of M15 (p.216)and sometimes rightly M16 (p.195); Vernon Kell is head of MI6(p.421) and sometimes accurately M15(p.78); the M15 chiefs Stella Rimington and Patrick Walker also mysteriously work for M16 (p.177 and p.255). Maybe Mr Thomas knows something we don't?
   
   He makes much of his `prime sources' which for the UK are: Eddie Chapman, a low-level World War Two agent who died aged 83 twelve years ago; the former M16 officer Richard Tomlinson who claims Princess Diana was murdered by British Intelligence and the former M15 couple Annie Machon (who believes Mossad was behind the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in London in 1994) and David Shayler (who has declared himself the messiah after having discovered eternal life). For some reason, Mr Thomas prefers these accounts to the thousands of readily available M15 documents declassified over the last twenty years.
   
   He cites an extensive bibliography but doesn't appear to have consulted the books himself . A few pages about The Cambridge Spies, extensively chronicled in numerous books, gives a flavour of the Thomas interpretation of history : Kim Philby's father St John Philby is called Sir Harry Philby, Kim is a member of the Apostles (he was not) and is recruited at Cambridge (he was not) is a fluent Spanish speaker (he was not) and appears to defect from Britain rather than is commonly assumed Beirut. Maclean begins his spying career in 1938 some three years after the generally accepted date of his recruitment and his London apartment is bugged though in truth he didn't have one and commuted from just outside London.
   
   Guy Burgess is described as a counterintelligence officer (he wasn't), serves alongside George Blake in the Far East Department (he doesn't) , his outrageous behaviour in Washington leads to calls for his recall in the summer of 1950 (he only arrived in August 1950) ; he is ordered to leave America "within forty-eight hours" of engineering traffic violations to warn Maclean( the violations take place in February1951 , have nothing to do with his departure and he leaves in May 1951), he returns to "a job in the Foreign Office" (he doesn't) etc. Blunt is identified by the press as `the Third Man' thirty years earlier than the reality. You get the picture.
   
   The book, a series of incorrectly spelt names, discredited conspiracy theories and repetitious, often completely fabricated, stories the purpose of which it is sometimes difficult to ascertain, jumps around in time and location with no central narrative and it is difficult to ascertain at whom it is aimed since readers new to the subject will be baffled and those with some knowledge will be exasperated. One can only assume in this wilderness of mirrors that a deeper deception game is being played by the proof reader and our intelligence expert, a winner, as he proudly states , of "the Mark Twain Society Award for Reporting Excellence and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Investigation" to confuse us when the official histories of M15 by Christopher Andrew and M16 by Keith Jeffery appear later this year and next. That can be the only explanation for this farrago of nonsense.



2. Gordon Thomas has produced an interesting read with numerous revelations, but also with a number of jarring, sloppy factual errors. These errors, in addition to the ones pointed out in other reviews, detract from the credibility of the author's pronouncements, despite the first-person sourcing.
   
   For example, Thomas noted that the US Navy was assigned to manage the rescue of US hostage from Iran in 1980, leading to the debacle at Desert One. The author, however, identifies the US Marines as the strike force, not Delta Force as has been covered by actual participants Eric Haney and Charlie Beckwith, in their books Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unitand Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit respectively.
   
   Secondly, Thomas has the US invading Kuwait from Kuwait during Desert Storm, rather than from Saudi Arabia. This is simply sloppy writing/research/proof-reading.
   
   Lastly, stupid errors abound, such as the failure to correctly identify the Israeli versions of the F-15 and F-16 fighters as F-15I and F-15I. Thomas names them the F-151 and F-161.
   
   For an author who repeatedly cites discussions and meetings with the actual participants in the operations discussed in this book, the repeated failures in original copy and/or proof-reading are surprising, distracting at best, and have the overall effect of creating uncertainty in the reader. If he can't get fundamental, widely documented facts correct, what chance do the lesser-known items have?



3. Being a James Bond fan, I have always been interested in MI5 and 6 but never found anything really meaty on the subject. this books covers every aspect of the history of both branches. It has enough snippets to satisfy every conspiracy theorist as well as one up any James Bond enthusiast. I picked it up and read it in one sitting. I simply could not put it down.



4. Outstanding read!!
   The author got it right, very imformative and loaded with history.
   If you are into espionage this book is a must read!



5. I really wish I hadn't spent money on this book. It is billed as a history of MI5 and MI6 but from what alternate universe?
   
   I won't get into details of its inaccuracies since they have been well covered by other reviewers here but in general this slipshod collection of imagined anecdotes, invented details, inaccurate accounts, and speculative fiction does a huge disservice to the thousands of people who work in these agencies.
   
   There are events in this book that are so startling and worrisome that one has to wonder why we haven't heard about them in other media, either before or after this book was published. Possibly the reason might be because the more interesting and explosive events don't have any sources attached to them, not even the disingenuous "anonymous sources" label that lazy reporters like to sprinkle through their stories.
   
   But even without attributions in the text it would still be possible for a competent reporter to check our some of this nonsense. It is remarkably easy for a credible journalist to contact senior people in the intelligence world, even if it has to be on the deepest background, and ask, "What about this stuff in Secret Wars?" The merest hint that something might be true would be enough to ignite a journalistic feeding frenzy. That hasn't happened.
   
   This book is poor and unacceptable journalism, fraudulent history, and deeply suspect.
   
   Having said that, if you approach it as a source of ideas for a thriller novel you might want to write then it is pretty good.

5 comments about Vagabond (The Grail Quest, Book 2).

1. Vagabond, like the first story in the series, The Archer's Tale, was equally historically believable. Since the story is based on real events the author has to stay within what actually happened. The tendency to make nobles continues, but many nobles of the time were pretty despicable. The characterization in this segment wasn't as strong, as some of the behaviors Mr. Cromwell attributes to them seem a little unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely. People have made remarkable escapes. Happens.
   In all, worth reading, but it didn't quite rise to the level of the first installment. Part of the problem is the search for the Grail, but people back then were sure it was real.



2. I purchased this trio as a gift for a history buff and he was quite pleased. It arrived quickly and in great shape.



3. Cornwell is probably the best historical fiction writer today. This a very good series well written ans as always historically correct.



4. This is a great read. Don't start this series without finishing it! Amazing writer does a fantastic job mixing fact and fiction, and happily tells you which is which.



5. Vagabond turns one of our least-studied periods of history into high adventure. Of course "those people" "'way back then" were real men and women with strengths and foibles. But it takes a gifted author to breathe the gift of realism into folks portrayed as living centuries ago. Bernard Cornwell has obviously done his research. This isn't really an historical novel, but rather a splendid novel set in an historical era.

5 comments about Heretic (The Grail Quest, Book 3).

1. I read the entire series and it was wonderful. All the books were very entertaining.



2. Great series! This is the final volume of the three-volume "Archer" series, and it's every bit as good as the Richard Sharpe series. If you like historical fiction, you'll love Bernard Cornwell's books.



3. This book is great except for its anti-Catholicism. The portrayal of the Dominincan Order is very false. But as an adventure story it is great.



4. If you have read any of Bernard Cornwell's work you know that he has yet to write a "bad" one. The Grail series is perhaps a good series, enjoyable and well researched you feel like you are there.



5. Cornwell is probably the best historical fiction writer today. This a very good series well written ans as always historically correct. I enjoyed this series.