5 comments about Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia.

1. Janet Wallach's history of Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), Desert Queen, was read by my book club at least twice over the years, and several members have remarked that this was one of the best books the group has ever read. Hmmm. I guess they forgave the author her writing style...
   
   Without question, Bell is a fascinating subject; a woman who played a major role in Middle Eastern politics, and yet whose story has rarely been told. A brilliant, curious female, she was the first woman to earn a first-class degree in modern history at Oxford, she wrote seven influential books on the Middle East and, following WWI, was named oriental secretary to the British High Commission in Iraq. She spoke several languages fluently, including Persian and Arabic and was an expert on Arab affairs and Middle Eastern politics. She created detailed maps of the country that would become Iraq, wrote travel books, served as an intelligence agent, was instrumental in creating present-day Iraq, maneuvered to put King Faisal on the throne of the new kingdom of Iraq, became an accomplished historian and archaeologist, and founded the first museum for antiquities in Baghdad.
   
   All this she achieved while facing the obstacles and prejudices of being a woman in a man's world. She enjoyed a challenge and defied all social customs for women of her day. Being a woman was both her greatest asset and her biggest barrier in a lifetime of unusual ambition. She found women insufferably dull, and at parties she would head straight for where the men were gathered discussing important topics. Needless to say, she offended the wives and annoyed the men wherever she went. Yet she had a unique ability to endear herself or make herself indispensable to all levels of male Arab society. As a woman, she understood the subtleties of the culture, which were crucial to political success. This ability enabled her to build relationships with the people, helped her reach her goals, and gave her an important advantage over her team members.
   
   Unfortunately, what should be a lively and exciting account of one woman's incredible achievements is impeded by Wallach's dry, tedious, academic prose. Though the book's academic tone might seem to lend credibility, Wallach's level of research itself seems questionable and not as thorough as her subject deserves. While Desert Queen offers biographical information on a praiseworthy woman and an important perspective on the situation in the Middle East, it should not be considered a definitive work for either or an afternoon's light reading. Put on your hip boots, Myrtle. The slogging is heavy.



2. Very comprehensive and detailed account of an extroardinary woman whose influence still shapes the Middle East today.



3. I enjoyed learning of this part of the story of the Arab revolt, as well as something about Ms. Bell's life and activities, and for those reasons I appreciate Ms. Wallach's efforts in producing this book. On the other hand, I found her repeated and gratuitous belittlements of T.E. Lawrence, and her attempts to diminish his work and achievements in order to promote Ms. Bell's stature and significance, annoying. Combined with her tendency to gush over her subject's behaviour, accomplishments, and daily life, it left me feeling that I could only consider the work to be suggestive, rather than authoritative, and that I would have to independently verify anything of importance that I found in her narrative. This seems to me a pity, since the main advantage of a historical or biographical work would seem, to me, to be making unnecessary or redundant such labour for potential readers.



4. As has been mentioned by others, I too wonder at the literary excesses of this book. "She sensed his profound hunger....". "....her heart pounding, her cheeks burning hot, and as his blue eyes burned with desire, he took her in his arms".
   Gertrude Bell, an outstanding woman, deserves a better, a more maturely written biography. Thankfully, they are out there.



5. I began to read this book with anticipation. I was a put off by the sort of breathless tone more worthy of a bad romance novel.
   
   About twenty pages in, I was surprised by a reference to the Ottoman Empire expanding since the 13th century from Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire expanded around Constantinople from the 13th to the 15th centuries, until they finally took the city in 1453, and promptly renamed it Istanbul.
   
   I soldiered on, until I was informed that British were fighting Germans in the Boer war in the late 1890s. The Boers, descended from Dutch colonists, would have been surprised to hear themselves described as German.
   
   These two mistakes, obvious to anyone with a decent knowledge of history, ruined my willingness to accept anything else in the book. I put down the book, never knowing if Miss Bell was able to overcome her lost early love.
   
   Gertrude Bell's life seems to be worthy of a good biography. This isn't it.

5 comments about Henry VIII: The King and His Court.

1. Henry VIII by Alison Weir is a well written historical review of the life of the king. It is written in a manner to provide both factural and personal information about the life and court of Henry VIII. Her writting style is easy to read. I throughly enjoyed reading the book.



2. This book is great! It is not only for people who like history but for people who like to discover interesting and uncommon facts too. The book is not boring. The author reveals a lot of interesting facts from the life of a "usual" King and his court. There were many times when while reading I would exclaim: "I could never imagine that!"
   
   English is not my native language, so when I choose something to read it has to be really worthwhile because it takes me time to read it and look up new words in a dictionary and this book is bright and vivid. I thoroughly enjoyed it.



3. I agree with all the positive reviews written about this book. One additional comment about what I love about the book is that it details what still exists from the Tudor era and who owned it (clothes, desks, beds, personal articles, Anne' prayer book, etc.) and where these items can be seen ie: Hever, Hampton, etc. I loved the reference to a worker in the 1970's finding one of Henry's tennis balls wedged between beams at Hampton Court. If you are mildly interested in the Tudor era, this may be too much detail for you. If you love this era and have not read this book, you will love it.



4. Finally, an exploration of Henry VIII and his wives that does not read like a cheap romance novel. Ms. Weir makes history exciting. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone!



5. I read this after reading Weir's Six Wives of Henry the VIII. It added addition information about him and was very interesting. While it got a little too detailed with names at times, overall I thought it was great! I especially like how when she talks about how much something costs that she also noted what that would equate in today's terms.

5 comments about The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street.

1. This book offers a fascinating look into everyday life in Shakespeare's London, specifically the few years Shakespeare lived as a lodger on Silver Street. The book is very well researched, and while Mr. Nicholl sometimes speculates on how events in Shakespeare's life may have affected his work, Mr. Nicholl is always cautious about doing so. Because any information about Shakespeare's life is so precious, I highly recommend this book, even though it is more about the people who surrounded Shakespeare than about Shakespeare himself. Finally, I always find it interesting how the sleazy side of life went hand in hand with perhaps the greatest literary renaissance of all time. It certainly adds to my belief that great literature is not reserved for the few, but for the many.



2. THE LODGER SHAKESPEARE starts with a clever insight. While we have millions of words written by Shakespeare, we have only a few words--a deposition in the case of Belott versus Mountjoy--that may reflect Shakespeare's spoken words. In TLS, Charles Nicholl builds from this deposition to create a story about the world of Shakespeare in 1603-1605, when the Bard rented a room from Christopher Mountjoy on Silver Street and had a role in persuading Stephen Belott, Mountjoy's apprentice, to marry his daughter. In the deposition, Shakespeare testifies about the shortchanging of the dowry.
   
   Overall, I'd say Nicholl has mixed success with this story. On the plus side, Nicholl makes ingenious use of old maps, church registries, court records, and contemporary descriptions of Elizabethan and Jacobean London to create a plausible version of Shakespeare's life on Silver Street. In particular, I enjoyed his chapters on the probable appearance of the Mountjoy house, its neighborhood, its household stuff, and even Shakespeare's chamber--including the books on the Bard's shelves. This stuff is fantastic.
   
   Further, Nicholl explains Shakespeare's decision to rent from the Mountjoys--a French couple in xenophobic London--with great insight. And, he shows how elements of the Mountjoy's trade--the creation of stylish and elaborate female headgears called tires--became metaphors in Shakespeare's plays. In TLS, Nicholl also offers perspective, establishing that the GREAT MAN was, in his days in London, a person in the entertainment business with a mere foothold at court. He was a good match for the Mountjoys who counted the Queen as a client for their tires.
   
   On the other hand, the book does develop information about the Mountjoys, as well others who were deposed in this case, at greater length than this reader needed. While Shakespeare clearly knew and worked with these deponents, these were also ordinary people that Nicholl has pulled from history's dustbin. Yes, their stories enable Nicholl to identify subjects influencing Shakespeare's work. But the plays themselves get pushed to the side, as we learn about tire-making, prostitution, marriage customs, and so on in Jacobean London.
   
   THE LODGER SHAKESPEARE is based on conscientious and inspired research and is a good read. Still, I think I learned more from A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, and Shakespeare the Man.



3. It's hard to imagine how anyone could think of anything else to say on the subject of the Mountjoy depositions, now that Charles Nicholl has had his say. It's a relatively minor incident in the life of Shakespeare, but it offers several advantages, even over the kind of detailed analysis of a single period that James Shapiro offered in "1599". For one thing, as Nicholl notes, it's one of the only times on record that people quoted Shakespeare directly -- not his plays, but his everyday conversation. It's the only time on record that he offered an opinion about another human being. The neighborhood, the business, and the associates open up fascinating avenues of inquiry into what life was like for someone living in London in the early 17th century.
   
   The analysis is based on Nicholl's examination of primary documents from legal and other archives. It corrects and extends the basic known facts of the case. Every lead is assiduously pursued until it reaches a natural point of diminishing returns. Hence my description of it as "definitive." (On the other hand, there's always the possibility of fresh discoveries, hence my putting that description in quotes.)
   
   As a species of biography, Nicholl's book is at the other end of the pole from Stephen Greenblatt's "Will in the World." To me, the comparison is all to Nicholl's advantage: firmly anchored in documented fact; based on primary documents; admitting when leads have reached dead ends, rather than continuing to build them up into layer upon layer of speculation. It's instructive to note that the incident on which Nicholl's book is based rates barely a mention in Greenblatt's biography -- even though it was one of the best-documented incidents in Shakespeare's life, even BEFORE Nicholl took up the case.



4. Search the name "William Shakespeare" on Google and you will obtain 46,300,000 hits. The Library of Congress lists 7,000 volumes with Shakespeare as their subject. He is the most celebrated playwright in the English language, yet the mysteries of his life are such that Shakespeare scholar Charles Wallace observed that "every Shakespeare biography is five percent fact and 95 percent conjecture." In this vast ocean of material, one would think that there could be little new information about the man who lived and wrote more than four centuries ago.
   
   THE LODGER SHAKESPEARE by Charles Nicholl offers insight into a little-known episode of Shakespeare's life and provides readers with something truly unique. In his plays and sonnets, Shakespeare gave his audience over one million written words. This book offers something far different: the actual spoken words of the man who still remains a mystery as a person to those who know him well as a writer.
   
   During the early years of the 17th century, around the period when he was writing "Othello," "All's Well that Ends Well" and "Measure for Measure," Shakespeare lodged in London with a French family named Mountjoy. Christopher and Marie Mountjoy's daughter, Mary, was involved in a romantic relationship with Stephen Belott, the Mountjoys' apprentice. The young Belott appeared reluctant to enter into matrimony, and the senior Mountjoys sought Shakespeare's help to convince the reluctant suitor of the wisdom of marriage.
   
   It turned out that Belott's reluctance was due in part to his concern that the father would not honor his obligation to provide the promised dowry. Shakespeare assured the young couple that "they should have a sum of money for a portion from the father." Not only did Shakespeare encourage the marriage, he had Mary and Stephen join hands and swear commitment, a legally binding ceremony identical to the one lightheartedly undertaken by Orlando and Rosalind in "As You Like It.
   
   In 1612 Shakespeare was called upon to give testimony concerning the dowry that Belott had never received. His statement, what the law would now call a deposition, was transcribed by a court clerk, reviewed by the 48-year-old playwright and then signed. The document is one of six known Shakespeare signatures, the earliest discovered.
   
   While knowledge of Shakespeare's involvement in the Mountjoy family battle has been common knowledge since the discovery of the court papers in 1909, Nicholl provides readers with a vivid portrayal of the Bard's life and times during the period when he resided with them and wrote several of his greatest plays. Scholars have long debated how Shakespeare came to write many of the plays that bear his name. The theories surrounding authorship of his work range far and wide. Regardless of one's views, there can be little debate that events inspired his works. It is Nicholl's view that the time spent living with the Mountjoys may have influenced some of his later plays. "All's Well that Ends Well" features a young man being forced into marriage, a not-uncommon event during the Elizabethan times when Shakespeare lived. Perhaps his experience with the young couple he met on Silver Street shaped that play.
   
   THE LODGER SHAKESPEARE is very much like the plays Shakespeare crafted in his lifetime. At one level, it is simple and straightforward and can be enjoyed by ordinary readers. At a higher level, Shakespeare scholars will find important biographical materials. In either respect, the characters introduced in this historical biography will provide readers a few more glimpses into a life that remains one of the most scrutinized in literary history.
   
   --- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman



5. Charles Nicholl is on a roll. This is at least the fourth Nicholl book I've read (the others being "Borderlines," "The Reckoning," and "Somebody Else"), and each has been better than the last. Nothing could be more mundane, on its surface, than a book about one of the houses where Stratford property owner and family man William Shakespeare lodged when writing his plays in early Jacobean London. Surprisingly, however, the story of how he tendered his services in bringing about a "handfasting" (or betrothal) of his head-tire-making landlord's daughter and his apprentice, and the subsequent story of the couple's suing (some eight years later) of that landlord for failing to pay a promised dowry, makes for compulsive reading. Along the way, we learn something about the seamier side of Shakespeare's neighborhood, as well as the surprising character of some of his neighbors and acquaintances. These latter include a fortune-telling "doctor," Simon Forman, who had the ear of England's distaff elite, and a brothel-keeping poetaster (and the bard's collaborator on "Pericles"), George Wilkins. How all these characters come together makes for a fascinating journey into research on one of literature's most enigmatic geniuses, William Shakespeare himself. The text is supplemented by "the chief documents relating to the Bellott-Mountjoy case," most notable of which is the playwright's own 1612 deposition, signed "Willm Shaks." Francis Bacon could never have made this stuff up.

5 comments about Fever Pitch.

1. This is simply put, a great book. I have been a fan of football for a few years now and have to admit I am always interested to read or hear about people experiences. More importantly I was always interested in how people picked their team and the life of an English fan. This is a very well written version of how someone became a life long football fan. It will keep you laughing and show you exactly how important football and sports in general can be to people.
   
   1 Warning: Do not buy this book simply because you enjoy Nick Hornby. This is a book about a football fan, not a novel. That being said if you enjoy football, or sports, and a good witty read, this book is for you!



2. I pretty much hate all forms of football. The fact that I read a book about football (to the British, that is: the rest of the world calls it soccer) from cover to cover, smirking, chuckling and at times laughing out loud, attests, once again, to the talent of Nick Hornby as a wordsmith. This book is witty and clever, incredibly insightful about obsession and definitely worth a read!



3. A 2007 summer reading list mini review
   
   If you are so passionate, it's scary about sports you must read this book. Many reviewers have said here and elsewhere that a rudimentary understanding of British Football is imperative to enjoying this book. Quite simply, they are wrong. All I knew about soccer in Britain, prior to reading this, was from watching Bend it like Beckham. However,I had no trouble following the book, as obsession translates for itself.
   
   When Hornby tries to take partial credit for Arsenal's championship seasons simply because he attended their games I related. I still feel partially responsible for the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005. The previous 2 seasons the Sox had excellent records at home but were 0-8 when I attended. The sign that states welcome to the ballpark was modified adding except Dave Roller. But that did not stop me. I bought my first and only multi ticket plan and the White Sox went on their winning journey (musical pun intended).
   
   I encourage obsessive fans of any sport to put the lessons of Fever Pitch in their arsenal (again pun intended) of sports literature.



4. Great book. An excellent account of what it means to be a loyal fan or supporter.



5. The only thing keeping me from giving this book 5 stars is my own complete lack of interest in anything soccer-related. Take that personal bias out, and its a great read. The insight into the soccer culture in the UK is frankly frightening, but in a very funny way. Having lived through the Denver Bronco Super-Bowl failures of the 1980's as a kid, I empathized with Hornby as he details his own irrational emotions growing up as a fan.
   
   I think anyone, sports fan or not, will enjoy this book. Sports fans because they empathize, non-fans because it will help explain the mystery.

5 comments about The Beatles Anthology.

1. No other book tells the beatles story like this, awesome pictures and comments by the fb4 as well as people that worked with them



2. I am 56 and so just caught the end of the Beatles era. I enjoy their music, but would not label myself as a Beatles "fan". What I liked most about this book was discovering what happened in fact that I was only vaguely aware of at the time.
   
   One strength of the book is the illustrations. Many of these would not be considered worthwhile to include in a biography, but they can stir interest, such as seeing portions of contracts for their performances did for me. Another strength is hearing the story directly from the band members. (John's "contributions" were taken from interviews he gave prior to his death.) They do debunk some silly rumors that have persisted about the band. I also enjoyed hearing the circumstances that prompted the writing of many of the songs they recorded.
   
   One negative is that, being an anthology, you get the various opinions on what occurred at key points in time. These can be repetitive and even contradictory among the different band members. So, you do not get the persistence and continuity of having one point of view from the author. The book follows the general sequence of the band's development, but doesn't provide an exact chronology which is sometimes an annoying omission. At times the Beatles are quite candid and at other times I feel like they are offering up answers that protect one another as I would expect from any close group of musicians.
   
   All in all I now have a much greater appreciation of the Beatles phenomenon, their contribution to popular culture and their personalities. However, I still feel that I know "the whole story" and would only consider this book to be one key reference towards understanding the group.



3. This is an excelent book, it is the Beatles story told by them, the book quality is amazing, clear pictures, hardcover is the way to go with this book.
   The only problem I see in this book is the size, it would be almost impossible to carry it in a bag, it is heavy and big to carry, it is a book to read confortably in your bed drinking a Margarita and imagining the adventures of the most succesful band in the history of music.



4. The only negative is the size of the book. There should be a smaller hardcover or paperback edition. The content is superb and a great coffee table book, but it's difficult to curl up with this book in bed.



5. I really liked Anthology. Not because it told the basic story, which I already got from other biographies. What makes this book really valuable is that it gives the view from inside the eye of the hurricane.
   
   I mean, what's it like when the world starts screaming in your face?
   
   Telling moments... There's a snapshot of John and Paul clutching their guitars as they head onstage for a concert, but their eyes are grim and tired. Paul is holding up his guitar like he needs a shield to ward off a punch to the face. It's a rather frightening photograph, and you feel sorry for them.
   
   Or you wonder, what was George Harrison thinking, when he set off on a stroll through Height-Ashbury - that no one would notice him?
   
   Or you sense, how much fun they seem to have had touring Australia.
   
   Or their "family photos" from vacation trips... about as boring as anyone's photos. Except it's them. THEM.
   
   The book seamlessly works fresh material from the three Beatles (and a few others) with parts of old John Lennon interviews, so it all reads smoothly, like it was all done at once - really great. The book is a fascinating trip all over again... I read it for two days through and hardly put it down.

5 comments about The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory.

1. well this is the first book i read on winston churchill . bought it in 1983 . the foreword is unforgettable but historical mistakes in it makes this work not the very best on the luife of sir winston. great prose nevetheless.same can be said of book number two.



2. Manchester is one of those writers who appears unable to disappoint. This is a book to be read and savored. For years, it sat on my shelf - I saw as a large undertaking that I wanted to do right.
   
   The book has a very interesting structure. First, it begins with a kind of interpretive introduction to the man, vividly characterizing him while also evaluating his strengths as a man of history and his glaring weaknesses. You see him, worts and all, and it is both funny and enlightening. The psychological depth is virtually unprecedented in any other bio I have read. Second, you get a view both into his milieu - as an aristocrat of talent and privilege in Victorian Britain - and a biography of both of his parents. This is crucially important, as we come to see Churchill as an anachronism, but also as a boy neglected by narcissistic parents. (Interestingly, the absence of one or both parents is a common trait in extraordinary achievers.) Third, you get his life story, more from the events he was involved in than as an intimate portrait, though much of his personal life is covered. Indeed, he used action as the most effective tonic against depression.
   
   The man that emerges is flawed and complex, but evidently a political genius. In my view, the key to his character is that he remained a Victorian gentleman, who viewed martial valor as the greatest source of meaning and glory in life. This suited him to titanic struggles, such as the one he faced with Hitler that places him in the ranks of the greatest historical figures. As an egotist, he always wanted to place himself at the center of events and yet did so with courage and tenacity in spite of his physical weaknesses. When out of power, he exercised other gifts, such as writing, with equal talent and energy.
   
   Nonetheless, Manchester proves that Churchill was not a politician deeply in touch with his constituency: he never developed a typical base of power and often his views did not synch with the mainstream. Without Hitler, his hour might never have arrived: this duality is a theme that runs through the entire book.
   
   If there is any flaw here, it is that Manchester includes a plethora of detail, not only about world events but in Churchill's political maneuverings. Normally, I delight in these details, if I know there is a purpose to all of it, which I did not always sense in this book. (Here a comparison with Robert Caro is instructive: you always know where he is going and why.) Others may see it differently, of course. Also, many of the historical details I already knew, so did not need Manchester's wordy introductions, but they were useful in the many cases of which I was ignorant.
   
   All in all, this is one of the most engrossing and fascinating bios I have ever read. Warmly recommended.



3. Winston Churchill was not a likable or even an admirable man.He was dishonest,childish,ruthless and disloyal.Perhaps worst of all,he was a megalomaniac-he knew that he was a Great Man,and that some day he would fulfill a magnificent destiny. But when war and catastrophe came to England he was perhaps the only politician psycholigically capable of inspiring continued resistence and defiance to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.Given that England had already lost the war,that was a breathtaking achievement.
   
   James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson",published in 1791,is generally considered the finest biography produced in the English language.However,Manchester's work is perhaps superior. Boswell was of Johnson's world and therefore conveyed it to his reader only incidently;that is,he naturally assumed that his reader would be familiar with the things and events with which he was familiar.Manchester,writing of the past,appreciated the necessity of re-creating Churchill's world for the reader.He was brilliantly successful.The world which Churchill inhabited would have been amazing even to most of his contemporaries because of his social class.As Manchester points out,in over 90 years of life Churchill never drew his own bath;one of his relatives,visiting friends without his valet,sent down word that he was having trouble getting his toothpaste to "froth properly".He'd never applied toothpaste to a toothbrush himself.It isn't just the story of Churchill's life that is so engrossing.It is the wonderful recreation of Churchill's world,of the people he knew and the conversations he had,the events which occurred and the way that Churchill and his friends and enemies reacted to the events.
   
   As Boswell loved Johnson,Manchester worshipped Churchill.Indeed,Churchill was in some ways a lovable man.He was devoted to his wife and family(happily married for almost 60 years-how many men can say that?) He revered his father (a syphlitic,who depised him,)and he was loyal to his country and the Empire it ruled.Personally,I doubt that I'd have been able to spend more than ten minutes in a room with Churchill.But this book is one of the finest I've ever read.I was honestly sorry to read the last of its almost 900 pages and I'm opening the second volume tonight.In the forward to the second volume Manchester quotes a definition of biographer.The biographer is judged "by his ability to suggest the sweep of chronology and yet to highlight the major patterns of behavior that give a life its shape and meaning."Boswell did that. Manchester,I believe,did it better.



4. This is William Manchester at his best. This is fascinating reading and fascinating writing. Of course Winston Churchill was quite a character but to be honest I didn't know that fact until I read this book and its companion volume.
   After reading this book I put it to my mind that I would read everything that Manchester wrote. I've got a couple more to go. You can't miss with this purchase. A great story, great writing, and good history. What more could you ask for?



5. I am a little half way through the book, but it already is one of the best books I have ever read. The book deserves all the accolade. Manchester's approach to biography is a little different from many others in that he did not shy away from coloring the narrative with events that were yet to occur. He always hinted the historical significance of events in light of what happened later. I find this extremely helpful. For example: Churchill's fascination with early airplanes, his conception of tanks when dealing with a domestic riot are just two examples. These illuminated Churchill was indeed ahead of his peers in recognizing important trends.
   
   The buildup to WWI is masterful. The book weaves Churchill's struggle with the Irish Home rule question together with the naval arms race with Germany in 1913. Since we know WWI started in 1914, the realization that Churchill and the British government were struggling with a domestic problem (which surely was exploited by the German Kaiser) enhances our understanding of the immediate pre-war times.
   
   I knew the old US of A was not a world player before WWI. This book adds to that impression. Until the outbreak of the war, the US is just not on Churhill's radar: it does not show up much in his writing, travel, and speech. Yes, he did a book tour in the US, but that was before he started his political career.
   
   Can't wait to read the second half of the book.

5 comments about Jane Austen: A Life.

1. 1997's "Jane Austen: A Life" is Claire Tomalin's highly readable, even dramatic account of the life of the ever-popular romance novelist. Jane Austen left little for her future biographers beyond her published novels and some surviving letters and manuscripts. Tomalin approaches her subject by addressing Jane in the context of her large and interesting Austen family and their Hampshire friends and relatives. The result doesn't necessarily add a great deal to our limited store of knowledge about Jane Austen, but does provide some interesting insights into her context, and should bury forever any concerns about where Austen might have drawn her acute understanding of human nature or the material for her novels.
   
   The good news about "Jane Austen: A Life" is that Claire Tomalin is a gifted writer and her book will be a page-turner for many fans. Tomalin has done her extensive research. In addition, Tomalin is not shy about speculating when it comes to the signficant gaps in our knowledge of Austen's life. Her speculation is generally reasonable and plausible, and almost always fascinating to read. It is less clear how much of the book is reasonable inference from the limited record and how much may be closer to historical fiction.
   
   Tomalin includes her own literary criticism on Jane Austen's various works. This criticism is frankly hit or miss. Her comments on "Lady Susan" are interesting with respect to its unusual leading character. Her analysis of the novel fragment "The Watson" provides a reasonable explanation of why Jane Austen never finished this novel. However, she unfairly slights one of the two main characters in "Sense and Sensibility" on thoroughly modern grounds, misreads the fate of Mr. Wickham and Lydia in "Pride and Prejudice", and perhaps misses the point of "Mansfield Park." Readers familiar with Jane Austen's novels can draw their own conclusions.
   
   Jane Austen is as vivid as Claire Tomalin can make her in this biography. The Jane Austen we find here is a clever and acutely observant woman who must on occasion have been a little intimidating in person. She is also very much a family person, at the beck and call of brothers and cousins, nieces and nephews all her life. We come away from the narrative with a real appreciation for how difficult Austen's life must have been, especially after her father died. After she failed to marry, she, her spinster sister Cassandra, and her widowed mother were left in genteel poverty, dependent on support from her brothers and with few choices about where and how they would live. Unfortunately, Jane's writing did not begin to produce real income until after her early death in 1817.
   
   "Jane Austen: A Life" is highly recommended as an interesting, even dramatic biography. The book includes an excellent selection of portraits of Jane Austen's family members. It is perhaps ironic that the one portrait of Jane Austen in life was acknowledged by her family to be inadequate, just as the person behind the novels continues to be elusive to biographers and fans alike.



2. Claire Tomalin in Jane Austen: A Life really delivers a wonderful story, not just a boring listing of events from the author's life. I've used this book for research before, and finally decided to buy it for my own collection and read it just for fun. I recommend this to anyone that has been curious about the author's life or any serious Janite.



3. Claire Tomalin is one of the foremost biographers in the world today, in an exclusive group that includes Peter Ackroyd, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and a few others. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed her recent books on Samuel Pepys and Thomas Hardy, I purchased this book to look at one of Tomalin's older works. I also knew next to nothing about Jane Austen. I was not disappointed on either count. The book is outstanding, and I am currently in love with Jane Austen.
   Jane Austen was a brilliant, witty, unsentimental woman who led a remarkably unremarkable life. One expects great writers to live dramatic lives, but this just isn't true in Austen's case. She had written her first three novels by age 24, but wouldn't publish them or write another for ten years. She would never get rich off of her writings.
   Though she certainly drew on characters and scenes in her own life, much of Miss Austen's novels come from her vivid imagination. For instance, Jane Austen didn't socialize with the rich upper crust, but many of her books are about them.
   It seems Jane was a bit of a tomboy as a youth, and her high intelligence and biting wit often intimidated potential suitors. She was apparently in love only once, and this didn't work out. So she became, like her sister Cassandra with whom she was very close, a spinster. At least she was able, in her thirties, to support herself through her writings.
   Jane Austen died young, at age 41. Thus her life, her career, and Claire Tomalin's biography end prematurely. But as Jane Austen herself wrote, "If a book is well-written, I always find it too short."
   This book ended too soon. It is a beautifully written biography, highly recommended.



4. Although there have been many biographies of Jane Austen, few of them are as good as this one. I bought the book both because I love Jane Austen's novels and because I had just read Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy (Thomas Hardy, The Time-Torn Man) and hadn't been able to put it down. It's easy to see why she is considered Britain's foremost biographer. Her subjects are fully imagined and consequently come to life on the page as real people, rather than remaining dry studies. In this book, Tomalin's approach is to take issue with the received wisdom that Jane Austen's life was remarkable only in that nothing of importance happened in it.



5. I could not find a good biography of Jane Austin at any of our local bookstores....this item was exactly what I was looking for. It arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

4 comments about Shakespeare the Thinker.

1. What makes this book especially valuable to me is that A.D. Nuttall brought not only a lifetime of reading and discussion of the plays, but a lifetime of seeing them performed.
   
   This book has already proven to be an excellent companion when considering a specific play (using the Index helped), especially before and after seeing a new production. The contexts and meanings of the histories so remote in time and place are especially useful.
   
   Nuttall writes with fearless precision that honors the best academic standards, yet in an almost conversational style. He writes about nearly all the plays, and his approach is variously appropriate to that particular play as well as its relationship to the others, to its "type," to Shakespeare's times and what we know about him. He does not shrink from the issues which certain plays raise for 21st century audiences: the role of women within marriage in "The Taming of the Shrew", for example. Other commentators may suggest that Kate's submission is meant ironically, but Nuttall does not take that easy escape.
   
   I'm not a Shakespeare scholar, and I don't agree with all of Nuttall's interpretations, but that's the joy of Shakespeare--the dialogue with the plays can be endless. For reference and for reading, I will be returning to "Shakespeare the Thinker."



2. That Harold Bloom sees A.D. Nuttall as his hero should be a tip-off to potential buyers of this book: it is not one for the average reader (like me).
   
   There is no doubt that the author is a scholar of the first rank. However, this book is written for his fellow scholars and those intense amateurs who have a good existing command over the full breadth of William Shakespeare's many plays.
   
   I was disappointed since the title seems to indicate there would be a more overt and accessible discussion of the thought patterns of the great playwright. Instead I entered a great forest, which as Professor Nuttall notes, "is a place to get lost in."



3. Nuttall who recently passed away was considered by his colleagues one of the great Shakespeare scholars of our time. I have read at least two reviews praising this book in the highest terms possible.
   Thus to my own surprise and slight disappointment I did not find myself enjoying the book as much as I had hoped.
   There are a couple of reasons for this. The title suggests that we are going to understand far more deeply, and in something like a systematic way that which Shakespeare thought on the major issues of life.
   This is not exactly what happens. Nuttall continually stresses Shakespeare's extraordinary intelligence but he never really develops lines of thought in a rich and complicated way. What he does is 'read the plays' often by seeing how they grow out of each other. He also in doing this includes a lot of extraneous information often supplying short - summaries of concepts which in many cases it might be assumed the reader of his book would have a knowledge of.
   The writing itself somehow does not flow, and feels to me ' broken up' shifting attention needlessly in a less than coherent way.
   But the writing does contain an enormous knowledge about Shakespeare. It too reveals an encylopediac knowledge of scholarly disputes which often to the general reader seem less than interesting.
   Nuttall does make a strong case for his own conception of Shakespeare as an enormously intelligent thinker, who uses a variety of literary techniques to hide himself and his own position on the question at hand. Shakespeare's long- noted multi- sidedeness, his ability to think sympathetically into and out of the positions of diverse and contradictory characters is also amply illustrated. Nuttall has a wonderful feeling for the most remarkable passages in Shakespeare, and in fact for me the most enjoyable part of the work was confronting and reading again, for instance , what Nuttall considers the greatest speech in all Literature, Antony's funeral oration for Ceasar in 'Julius Caaesar' or Gaunt's sad lament on the decline of the England he has known.
   I believe that there is much to learn for all lovers of Shakespeare in this work.
   But the kind of new depth in understanding which came with reading the great critics like Coleridge and A.C. Bradley I , perhaps mistakenly, did not find in this work.



4. In this delightful book, Shakespeare the Thinker, A. D. Nuttall seeks to defend the great playwright against those who view him as just a product of his time (a view that is a strong form of Historicism). I'm a huge fan of Stephen Greenblatt, who wrote the terrific biography Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, so I was glad that Nuttall did not disagree with the nuanced New Historicism of Greenblatt and Pierre Bourdieu. Rather he agrees with them that Shakespeare interacted or "negotiated" with his milieu in a complex way, and that the "causation [was] a two-way street." Nuttall goes even further, asserting that "although knowledge of the historical genesis can on occasion illuminate a given work, the greater part of the artistic achievement of our best playwright is _internally_ generated" and that "[i]t is the product, not of his time, but of his own, unresting, creative intelligence."
   
   Shakespeare the Thinker takes the form of a well-integrated commentary on the plays--almost too well integrated, as it is hard to find discussion of a particular play just by thumbing through the book. Several plays are discussed in each chapter, which the skimpy table of contents doesn't mention (my only real gripe with the book). In a way, this is good, because much is gained by reading the book, or at least a chapter, straight through. For instance, Romeo and Juliet is followed by A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Nuttall examines some common themes and how interpretation depends on which play one believes was written first.
   
   Nuttall's new book probably won't replace Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All, but will complement it. His synthesis provides a nice counterpoint to her fine-grained analysis; and his (sometimes elliptical) engagement with other critical works, to her careful culling of observations from such works.
   
   Nuttall's writing is enjoyable, sprinkled with insightful references to modern pop culture--for example, Ian McEwan's Atonement, Wife Swap, Goodfellas, and Star Trek! He takes delight in language (and not just Shakespeare's), like when he's describing Katherina's response to Petruchio in the sun-moon exchange: "Turning his non-committal `say' into `know' exposes the lunacy of all this moonshine with solar clarity."
   
   What shines through, most of all, is Nuttall's admiration of Shakespeare's intellect, encapsulated in his "law": "Whatever you think of, Shakespeare will have thought of first." Fellow admirers and students of the playwright will enjoy this excellent book.
   
   Here is an expanded table of contents:
   Ch. 1. To the Death of Marlowe
   p. 25: Henry VI, parts 1-3
   45: Richard III
   56: The Comedy of Errors
   63: Two Gentlemen of Verona
   70: The Taming of the Shrew
   Comparison of Shakespeare and Marlowe.
   
   2. Learning Not to Run
   87: Love's Labour's Lost (preceded by brief discussion of Titus Andronicus)
   99: Romeo and Juliet
   119: A Midsummer Night's Dream
   
   3. The Major Histories
   133: Richard II
   150: Henry IV, parts 1 and 2; Henry V
   
   4. Stoics and Sceptics
   171: Julius Caesar
   192: Hamlet
   205: Troilus and Cressida
   
   5. Strong Women, Weaker Men
   221: Much Ado about Nothing
   226: As You Like It
   239: Twelfth Night
   247: All's Well That Ends Well
   
   6. The Moralist
   255: The Merchant of Venice
   262: Measure for Measure
   
   7. How Character May Be Formed
   277: Othello
   284: Macbeth
   290: Coriolanus
   
   8. Shrinking and Growing
   300: King Lear
   312: Timon of Athens
   321: Antony and Cleopatra
   
   9. The Last Plays
   333: Pericles and Cymbeline
   345: The Winter's Tale
   360: The Tempest

5 comments about Good-Bye to All That: An Autobiography (Anchor Books).

1. Obviously a must read for all Graves fans and pre-world war Britain. Later chapters will be worth the wait for World War I fans. The reading is clear, fluid, and to the point; making it am excellent reference to the war. I gave it four stars since I am not a Robert Graves fan; although he seemed like a nice bloke.



2. If you want to learn about and from Graves, then you will love this book. The Great War was a turning point for the generation of Robert Graves just as post September 11th is a turning point for the current generation: nothing can ever be exactly the same, but it takes a great poet to put those changes into context for the rest of the world. Graves was that poet for his generation.
   Misunderstood early in life, at times labeled a subversive, after ninety years, he departed this world as a wise sage. This is the story of his early life, including his experiences in the Great War. It is a must read for any ex-soldier and for anyone who wants to understand the core of Graves' thought.



3. This account by Robert Graves is one of the better personal journals I have read concerning the Great War. The very fact that Graves is in almost at the beginning of the conflict / situation of Trench warfare make this a very valuable work. Because he is an accomplished writer, it flows and reads very well. There are no sections of the book that lag. You will absolutely gain some insight to the way that the officers and men behaved and especially appreciate his commentary on French citizens caught in the middle of the conflict, individual soldiers that have some sembelance of a brain versus the moronic mass, and how much stupidity there is in military conduct based on previous experiences in war, not realizing that this was a new and different sort of conflict, yet trying to constantly apply outdated and dangerous methods in attack. One such crazy result of it is that officers had a high casualty rate. Why? Well, you could always identify them in the field of battle. They were the guys carrying a pistol and swagger stick versus a rifle. Easy pickings to say the least and you would think they would learn and make adjustments accordingly but tragically the practice continued. Anyway, a great book. Well worth your time and small investment to a window on another era by a first hand witness.



4. Good descriptive text of WWI in the trenches and on the way to them, but other than that, not a particularly well-written book. Graves's 'better than thou' attitude sours what could have been a masterpiece if written by somebody with a heart. A bitter story by a bitter man who should have stuck to his poetry.



5. This is the edition that Graves edited to all Jesus hell! I've seen excerpts of the unedited version and THAT is the book to aim for, though you have to find it through an antiquarian book peddler and the cheapest edition I could find cost $300. Rats. But hopefully perhaps an electronic edition of the original will somehow find its' way to the internet one day.
   
   What is left is still an excellent read. Concerning the up to that date unprecedented rate of slaughter and the technological changes of modern warfare that made it so, his way is understatement which I believe made it that much more impactful. I like this man's mind - I like him. It would have been very interesting to corner him by a fire with a bottle of good sherry and to let him expound on the Latin or WWI or poetry, or perhaps Hebrew mythology.
   
   Speaking of Hebrew mythology, he wrote a wonderful wonderful book on it, a treatise really on the book of Genesis. If you have any interest whatsover in religion, etymology or anthropology, please read this book - it is wonderful! Just google or "amazon" Graves and Hebrew myths and you will find it.
   
   I have his "White Goddess", but have not read it yet.

5 comments about The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill.

1. I am a long-time admirer of Sir Winston Churchill. As a leader he had few (if any) equals, but I have always been impressed with his sharp wit and stinging retorts. One can learn much about the man from what is found in this little book, not only from the quotes attributed to him, but also from those zingers hurled his way by friend and foe alike.
   This book is an easy read. It can be picked up for a few moments' pleasure without distracting from the greatness that is Sir Winston Churchill.



2. You do have to think about many of his quips, most are very funny in a dry, perhaps a bit cynical manner. It is sometimes difficult to place his statements in the context of WW-II (I was born in 1944 and I do have a memory of that era because it was the biggest event in my parents lives - they talked about it all the time).
   
   After a session with Mr. Churchill, I often wish American politicians had a bit of his prespective (though I reall doubt they would ever get elected).



3. 
   The wise and witty words of Winston Churchill ring throughout the 20th Century.Any that knew him personally or had anything to do with him must have waited with anticipation of hearing what he would say anytime he opened his mouth.This held true for Kings,Presidents,Generals and yes even for his family,including his grandaughter.At times, his use of silence could be as cutting
   a reply as anything he could say.No doubt, he took as much enjoyment in his words as anyone he was aiming them at.It wasn't all one way either,he seemed to love a well delivered line,even if he was the object.
   He neither claimed to be nor in fact was an'educated man',he
   was similar to Mark Twain,in that he could cut to pieces,people of much greater formal education,if they tried to engage him in 'a battle of words'.
   In his book "My Early Life" he said."It's a good thing for an
   uneducated man to read books of quotations" and described how he read "Bartlett's Quotations".It is obvious that he often used and modified others quotations.
   His friend Lord Brinkenhead quipped,"Winston has devoted the best years of his life to preparing his impromptu speeches."
   "One of Churchill's most famous speeches is that of June
   1940:'We shall fight on the beaches,we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,we shall fight in the hills...' It is said that,as he paused in the great uproar that greeted these words,Churchill muttered to a colleague next to him,'And We'll fight them with the butt ends of broken beer bottles because that's bloody well all we've got!"
   A great little book reminding us of the words of one of the great voices of the 20th Century.



4. I received this book as a birthday gift from my lovely wife. I loved this book so much I bought is twice more as a gift for a departing superior and for a friend of 10 years. Anyone who has a love of history (particularly this era) will love this book, anyone in possession of a sense of humor will appreciate this book as well.
   
   Recommended for a quick, witty read and as a gift for anyone you know with an 'off' sense of humor. We all know someone like that, are related or married to them, or publicly disavow any association with them. Regardless, buy them or yourself (ii case its you who is openly disowned) this book.



5. This relatively small book is divided into several sections with slices from Churchill's life and quotations related to politics, speaches, friends, animals, family, etc.
   
   Here are few excerpts:
   
   While campaigning in 1900, it is said that the young Churchill was doing a spot of canvassing when one of those he approached exclaimed:
   
   "Vote for you? Why, I'd rather vote for the Devil!"
   
   "I understand", Churchill answered, "But in case your friend is not running, may I count on your support?"
   
   * * *
   
   When passed a very long but turgidly written memorandum on some worthy but uninspiring subject, the elderly Prime Minister weighed the thick wad of paper in his hands and commented, "This paper by its very length defends itself against the risk of being read."
   
   * * *
   
   Churchill liked animals; sometimes he found this difficult to reconcile with his fondness for rich food. Anthony Montague Brown recalled that 'One Christmas he was about to carve a goost. Learning it was one of his own, he put down the knife and fork and said, "I could not possibly eat a bird that I have known socially."
   
   * * *
   
   A BBC broadcaster described once sitting next to Churchill as he gave a speech, keeping his audience hanging on to his every word. The boradcaster noticed, howver, that what appeared to be notes in Churchill's hand was only a laundry slip, and he later remarked upon this to Churchill. "Yes", said Churchill. "It gave confidence to my audience."