No comments about Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.

2 comments about Wedgwood: The First Tycoon.

1. There was a time when consumers had no brand names to go by, and now we have plenty of them. What was the first one? A good case could be made for the name Wedgwood, the fine pottery that has come for over two hundred years from the factory founded by Josiah Wedgwood in the pottery towns of Staffordshire, England. Not only has the name continued, but it has been from the beginning synonymous with fine taste. Its finest wares were bought for their elegance by aristocrats, and then there were other pottery creations that lesser mortals could buy as their betters set the trends for taste. Josiah Wedgwood knew all about the importance of a name, and about the need to catch the public taste and predict the next fashion. In _Wedgwood: The First Tycoon_ (Viking), Brian Dolan has given us a compelling account of a commercial success story that has many resonances with modern business practices on the cutting edge of technology, while taking into account a wider view of the social aspects of commerce in the eighteenth century.
   
   It is in many ways a rags to riches tale. Wedgwood's family had been Staffordshire potters for generations, but the potting works had been allowed to languish by Wedgwood's grandfather and father, who had no idea what innovation was. He was determined to do things differently, and he had absorbed the idea that progress and profits could be made scientifically. He was a Dissenter, a non-Anglican who favored rational inquiry rather than biblical interpretation as be the best manner of understanding the way the world works. He loved experimenting all his life. "Labor I will not call it," he said of his time-consuming and exacting experiments. He instead called it "entertainment," and he entertained himself into some of the most technically advanced potting techniques of the time. His innovations allowed calculated business gambles, which generally paid off. He was astute in predicting or making tastes; when Pompeian styles became vogue, Wedgwood was at the fore with the invention of "colored jasper", his medium for reproducing ancient pots.
   
   Wedgwood was dedicated to self improvement and to improvement of his society, and knew that business was a means to accomplish both. In pursuit of better business, he caused better roads and then a canal to be built as part of his social schemes. He provided training, housing, education, health care, and even retirement plans for those who worked for him. He was a tough boss, fuming against "dilatory, drunken, Idle, worthless workmen." When he strolled through the workshop, he might spy an offending vessel that failed to meet with his standards. He would smash it with his stick, exclaiming, "This will not do for Josiah Wedgwood." He was troubled by others stealing his ideas; there are tales here of commercial chicanery and theft that are the same as newspapers might report today. He valued fair competition; of another manufacturer, Matthew Boulton, he wrote, "He will not be a mere sniveling Copyist like the antagonists I have hitherto had," but rather a spur to better wares. Wedgwood had enormous confidence; having become Potter to Her Majesty, he wrote that he wanted to become "Vase maker General to the Universe." He largely succeeded, harnessing the technological, social, and commercial forces of his time. Dolan's admiring but full portrait shows that many of Wedgwood's values of style, research, innovation, and marketing were new with him but have continued to our own age.



2. My mother and some of my siblings worked in a pottery factory, and in my youth I went there many times and caught some glimpses of how things were done. This factory employed hundreds of workers. doing some awful, monotonous, carpal tunnel-generating routines. They made only the most basic stuff, quickly and cheaply. Nothing produced was of much beauty, but it was the town's most important employer, and many workers gave their lives over to it.
   
   Wedgewood pottery has always intrigued me--how the devil do they produce such incredibly beautiful stuff, so different from what I saw there? How are the finer pieces made with such reproducibility and perfection? There is a fine story here and Dolan has told it well.
   
   When Josiah Wedgewood was born in 1730, the youngest of twelve children, into the home of a potter in the Britain's Midlands. His humble beginnings, rising through the ranks, finally, at the age of 29, led him to establish his own small pottery business. Wedgewood was determined to achieve greater success and made a key decision--that he would continuously improve the processes used and invent new and wonderful things. He established a routine of constant experimentation and recorded all of his results meticulously into a laboratory notebook. He was constantly looking for new combinations of materials and firing methods to get new glazes and improved results. He looked for reliable, reproducible processes that could be introduced into his small factory. And he inspired his men to improve right along with the processes by paying careful attention to their working conditions, their safety, and their security. His men loved him, and he succeeded to become the foremost manufacturer of his day.
   
   Wedgewood's paid very careful attention to the fashions of the day, and strived to keep abreast. This required an approach that was constantly changing--resting on one's laurels and yesterday's success would only lead to failure. He produced much that was top of the line, and learned to market to the trend setters and royalty, then moving the product into the growing middle class.
   
   The setting in which he struggled was the early industrial revolution, where change was accelerating in Britain through a confluence of forces that are only poorly understood even today. Giants seemed to stalk the earth, and Wedgewood came to know many of them. He knew James Watt, and his metal-working partner Mathew Boulton, who at one point even tried to compete with him. This was the era of canal-building, and Wedgewood played a big role in this too.
   
   Much of this story is contained, though in much less detail, in _The Lunar Men_ by Jenny Uglow, which I would also recommend. Curiously, though, Wedgewood is counted as one of the five central members of the Lunar Society (encompassing a whole column in the index), this is mentioned only once by Dolan.
   
   The author has done an outstanding job in this book and it is well written. The sixteen pages of glossy photos contribute a lot to the book too. The story told here is an inspiring one, and will certainly encourage the reader to learn more about this astounding era.

No comments about For Freedom: The Last Days of William Wallace.

2 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Queen Anne (The English Monarchs Series).

1. I throughly enjoyed this book by Edward Gregg. It reads well and tells a story of one of England's most misunderstood monarchs. Much of our views about Queen Anne come from that excellent British series "The First Churchills" based mostly on the memoirs of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Churchill shows Queen Anne as dull, easily bullied and indecisive. In fact, as Gregg demonstrates, Anne was engaged in all aspects of British political life. She pursued a balanced policy between Whigs and Tories. Under her reign, Britain emerged as the premier military power in Europe- defeating the Sun Kings' plans to unite the Spanish and French empires into one political unit. The empire expanded to new heights. Importantly, she navigated England through a tumultous time. While stubborn, like most Stuart monarchs, she did not display the arrogance of power that afflicted her father, James II. She appears to me to be somewhere between the pragmatism of Charles II and the implacable Mary II. Handel has written a wonderful ode about Anne "The day that gave great Anna birth, Who fix'd a lasting peace on earth." Gregg has done a wonderful job in reminding us that Queen Anne deserves better recognition as one of England's great monarchs.



2. During Queen Anne's reign Britain consolidated its position as a first rank
   European power. Prior to that England had been the doughty underdog, who
   somehow survived to trade another day, its politics plagued with factions and bloody
   divisions. During Anne's reign the divisions persisted, but was worked out with less
   bloody consequences.

   Professor Gregg's was allowed access to the large volume of correspondence between
   Anne and her one time close friend Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough were the power couple of the period. The Duke won great military victories for Britain on the continent and the Duchess was very influential in the early years of Queen Annes' rule. So the correspondence is very revealing of the twists and turns of the political process. Anne could only rule through parliament, and being childless (despite sixteen pregnancies!) was
   susceptible to pressure as to who should succeed her. Her father, James II, a Catholic, had been deposed and was living in exile in France, where he had the support of Louis XIV. The next nearest Protestant relative was George Augustus of Hannover, a rather dour, provincial potentate. Through the later
   years of her reign, Anne struggled with parliament to establish her own authority, limit the power of Louis XIV in Europe, secure the Protestant succession and
   simultaneously deter the George Augustus from coming to Britain while she lived - this last was necessary to stop a rival power structure emerging. This was done against the backdrop of increasing expensive military campaigns and a country which was sentimentally attached to the Stuarts and neutral about the Hannovarians. The struggles within parliament and between parliament and the court are well described by Professor Gregg, who is especially good at describing the rather-stoic Anne's stuggle to establish her authority. The early letters to the Duchess of Marlborough are unusually revealing of her struggle to assert herself.

   If the book has a weakness it is the over-reliance on these letters. The friendship between Anne and Sarah soured considerably, as Anne took more and more
   decisions which contradicted Sarah's advice. Eventually Anne turned to a number of
   other advisors, however correspondence with these others is much more limited, while Sarah continued to inundated Anne with increasingly shrill correspondence. Gregg, in the absence of other documentation, quotes heavily from later correspondence between the women, even though the relevance to contemporary events diminishes.

   Overall the book is an excellent, personalized description of Annes times and life.
   By being so focussed on the monarch it gives an insight into the connections between families in the fight for preferment - several examples exist of proximity to royalty translating into high office; the father of James II's `low born' wife became the Earl of Clarendon, and Anne spent most of her reign ignoring and avoiding him. In this way it is possible to trace and understand the patterns of
   patronage and influence which make English history seem so impenetrable.

   I highly recommend this book

5 comments about Lewis Carroll: A Biography.

1. I am not going to review Morton's biography as it has been acclaimed for many years since it's publication.
   What caused me to comment here is the statements by some readers that Cohen's book should be updated due to "new evidence" by Karoline Leach that Carroll was not in love with Alice, but her governess. She further states that the Carroll was not as attracted to children as one is led to believe and the whole "little girl" thing is a myth!
   
   I will not comment in great length about this since I am not reviewing HER book, but I feel I must make a few points.
   
   Nothing in the diary page that Ms. Leach quotes from proves anything, and is greatly taken out of context. She totally ignores more obvious evidence to the contrary.
   
   While many people in Oxford thought Carroll's attentions to be for the governess, this was understandable because to think of a grown Oxford don in love with the Dean's daughter was more far fetched.
   
   However, Mrs. Liddell and Carroll himself didn't think so....
   Not only did Carroll in his later diaries admit to a long talk with Alice's' mother after her marriage, where he admits to his "foolish" ways (toward Alice) in the past, his estrangement from the Deanery. During that talk, Mrs. Liddell forgives him. (note: that with Alice's marriage, she didn't view Carroll as the "threat" he once was)
   
   Ina, Alice's sister in letters to Alice before her death , mentions that she always thought Dodgson was in love with her sister, and when Alice denies this, Ina points out the many times she had been sitting inappropriately on Dodgson's lap and alludes to other incidents.
   
   Then, there is the letter to Carroll's uncle, where he is upset at the news that his brother wants to marry 14 year old Alice Jane Donkin.
   Carroll alludes to the similar problems he himself had gone through with "AL"..now..who could THAT be??
   
   And why DID Alice's mother burn all of Carroll's letter to her daughter?
   
   Because of his love for the governess?
   
   I think not.
   
   While it is certain that Dodgson was not the shy recluse, and had many adult friends including women, and did remain loyal to his girl friends even after they grew up.... a man who spent his time, money, and most of his life devoted to his child-friends is clearly not using it as a smoke screen to meet adult women.
   
   If anyone still has doubts about Carroll's love and devotion to Alice, one just has to re-read the framing poems of the two Alice books again.
   
   In Through the Looking Glass, published a few years after his falling out with the Liddell family, he wrote:
   "Still she haunts me phantom wise, Alice moving under skys..never seen by waking eyes...
   
   Yeah, he was in love with the governess all right!!!!
   
   Read Morton Cohen's book if you seek the truth, as much as we can know, about Lewis Carroll.



2. Lewis Carroll: A biography
   
   Morton Cohen's biography of Charles Dodson ("Lewis Carroll") is an insightful examination of a complex and flawed man. Dodson (1832-1898) was an English clergyman, mathematician, writer and photographer. He is better known to us as the author of "Alice and Wonderland." A prolific correspondent, Dodson wrote thousands of letters and kept extensive diaries, many of which are included in Cohen's book. But there are several gaps in the narrative: his diaries from 1858-1862 are missing, and many pages have been excised with a razor from the remaining ones.
   Dodson apparently was a man whose conscience bothered him; his diaries contain countless references to "impure thoughts" and temptations, which might be traced to his inordinate fondness for pre-pubescent girls.
   Dodson made no secret of his affection for children, spending hours in their company, buying them gifts, and photographing them "au naturel." Cohen writes: "ever in the company of children as he grew, he became accustomed not only to their presence but also to their childish ways. In time, perhaps through a combination of biological, spiritual, and psychological forces, this interest developed into a need, an essential component of his own happiness." But this affection, which in today's world would be ascribed to nascent pedophilia, was apparently chaste and innocent. Whatever its origin, it made for memorable literature. "Alice" stands as a monument to the Victorian idealization of the child and to the imagination of one man.



3. This book seems dated now and we need a new edition as another reviewer has said. The commentary on Alice Liddell needs to be updated following Leach's work. Some of the claims he makes have been shown to be based on dubious data or to be mistaken, and he needs to modify his text to take account of that. But in many other ways this book is indispensible.



4. The only real negative about this beautiful and compassionate portrait is the fact that there is some newer information that conflicts with some of what is present in this book. Another edition of the book to address these issues would be welcome, but that doesn't mean this book is obsolete! It is still a very interesting and well-written account of the life of C. L. Dodgson, the man who would become better known as Lewis Carroll, and this book shouldn't go overlooked. If you are only mildly interested (or perhaps not very much at all) in the subject, you will likely find that this book is capable of holding your attention until the end. An excellent starting point for budding Carrollians, but less an excellent *ending*.



5. Cohen's book was seriously challenged by the publication of Karoline Leach's 'In the Shadow of the Dreamchild'. We Carrollians have been waiting for five years now for Cohen to update his book in response. He needs to do so.

   Is he going to rebut Leach's claims that the whole in-love-with-Alice-story is a myth? What is his response to the amazing discovery of the 'cut pages in diary' document? What does he say to Leach's claims that Dodgson befriended numerous adult women and was probably sexually normal?

   I for one and many like me are very keen to know where this debate is going. Mr Cohen has promised a reply 'soon'. But when is 'soon?'

   We need an updated version of this book. Until then I have to give the book just two stars, though I'd like to give more.

2 comments about The Diary Of Samuel Pepys 1661.

1. This is a wonderful annotated expose of seventeenth century British life throughout the city of London. Pepys' language is florid and filled with eccentricity. Also, the editing enables the original language to stand, only with contemporary spellings --to allow clarity of comprehension. The additional explanatory notes are excellent.



2. Having only read "excerpts" before -- and the "shorter" Pepys is massive -- I supposed the short version was the exciting and interesting parts and the complete diary was the boring version that put everything in.
   Well it turns out all PEPYS IS EQUALLY GOOD. The reason? This man loved life and said so, with great enthusiasm, and at the same time was a conscientious and effective(not always right or wise) public servant. This startling mix, in the end makes him seem a completely modern person. Fascinating.

2 comments about William Tyndale (Heroes of the Faith).

1. From the cover (loosely): Five hundred years ago, no one had a copy of the Bible in the English language. One man dreamed of spreading the gospel by putting the Bible into words the English peasant could understand. Then church officials objected to his work, Tyndale determined to continue his translation efforts, no matter what the risk. In spite of persecution, hunger, and hardship, Tyndale persevered with his mission until he was betrayed, arrested, convicted as a heretic, and burned at the stake.



2. This is a wonderful book. I have never read anything so well writen. There are even explanations for the less common words right next to the word instead of having to go to a dictionary or the back of the book.
   Very honest writing they always tell you when something is speculation and not proven fact.
   Lots of information about the people surrounding the main subject, I really couldn't put this book down. Only took me a day and a half to finish it even with working full time and household chores.
   I plan to read many more from this series.
   Well worth the price.

5 comments about George Harrison (Beatles).

1. Thankfully I received this book as a gift - I would be upset had I paid money for this drivel.
   
   Clayson's knowledge of George Harrison's life is comprised mostly of information that has been hashed over a million times and recollections of people who had nominal contact with Harrison. However, write-arounds are not unusual in journalism; what is unusual is that a book with this little substance coupled with an alarming number of inaccuracies was published at all.
   
   My favorite "error," as such it is? Clayson refers to Robbie Robertson of The Band as "Jaime Robertson." Now why, I ask, would someone who knows enough about Robbie Robertson to know that his first name is indeed Jaime refer to him as Jaime, also knowing that few but the most rabid fans of The Band would even recognize Jaime Robertson as Robbie Robertson?
   
   Pass this up. I wish I had a recommendation for a better Harrison biography, but alas. Guiliano's (spelling?) "Dark Horse" is no better, and in fact may be worse.



2. Having read the 1996 and updated 2001 editions of this book, I think it's the worst book on George Harrison I've ever read (and there are more books about him out there than you would think). It just never seemed to talk directly about him, but around him and at times seemed very negative towards him. The only part I really enjoyed was Appendix 1 in both editions about George's sister. "Behind Sad Eyes", "Harrison", "Dark Horse", and even George's "I Me Mine" (even though he doesn't give a lot of personal information) are better books. Of course, if you are a great George fan (like me) you may still want to own it (again, like me) in order to have all the books written about him.



3. This intense biography of the youngest Beatle is rich in facts and information. This work traces George Harrison's life from his youth in Liverpool to his meteoric rise in fame as a musician and his tragic demise in 2001. People who knew George Harrison as well as the backdrop of events and issues of the times are richly expounded upon, thus making this work exceptional.

   I like the way many details are included in this work because it gives readers a multi-faceted look at the man who would set new standards among lyricists and guitarists. This unique individual, George Harrison stood out among his peers including the other Beatles. Clayson does him justice in portraying him in his natural state. He has a rich supply of sources and is able to account for each documentation. I really like the chapter Clayson included about George's 1963 trip to America to visit his sister, brother-in-law and their children. The impact the young Beatle had on the people he met in Benton, Illinois is well chronicled in this work.

   This is work well worth the read and I am the proud owner of it. Try Some, Buy Some and enjoy this book. It is very riveting and intense.




4. Not The best George Harrison book out there. Very tough read due to a lot of meaningless detail.



5. All i can say is that this author is some bitter hack, who tries to reduce George Harrison to the level of mediocrity. Very boring with no real insight or focus. Also it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth, brain, & heart.

5 comments about A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings.

1. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Tillyard, but it won't be the last. She is an outstanding writer, and the tale she tells here is both novel and worthwhile. Despite having read a good deal about George III and his reign, including Christopher Hibbert's terrific biography, I nonetheless was relatively clueless about his troublesome siblings, especially the precocious and infinitely ambitious Caroline Matilda. Good story very well told.



2. 
   The book is at it's best when it develops the characters, be they the pricipals, their spouses, tutors, ambassadors, in-laws. Tillyard's description of the parental situation and upbringing of George III is an excellent prelude to his responses to his family's challenges.
   
   George III was true believer in the monarchial system. For him, it was an unchallenged law of nature: his brothers and sisters were his diplomatic pawns. Other generations of siblings had been more compliant. Other monarchs didn't face such a free press or such a powerful parliament. George, by his temperment and training, would and could never understand that the world had fundamentally changed.
   
   The story of Caroline Mathilde is both sad and exciting. Tucked away in Denmark at age 16, what was she to do? George's condescending letter and attitude provide no preparation for a normal monarchial role, let alone the one she's thrust into. It would only be human for her to seek companionship, mentorship and comfort.
   
   The princes, according to George, must also scarifice their lives for dynastic marriages. Having more say in their future, they respond in quite predictable ways. Their choices are complicated by not only their brother the King, but a society that has largely bought into the monrachial system.
   
   I held back a star, because many times details interferred with the flow
   (I think biographers who work with original material, are often disposed to include something in order to document/preserve it whether or not it is interesting to the reader or germain to the larger story) and that the US Revolution is treated separately and briefly at the end.



3. Stella Tillyard's latest effort brings to mind her magnificent earlier work Aristocrats. In A Royal Affair she moves from the nobility to the Royal Family itself, and has produced another fine, scholarly work which has more drama and interest than any novel.
   
   George III and his siblings were the children of Frederick, Prince of Wales and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Frederick was despised by his parents King George II and Queen Caroline for no very good reason except that he was the next generation in line to the throne. Despite a lonely upbringing devoid of love and affection he appears here to have been a caring and fairly decent husband and father until his untimely death in 1751.
   
   Losing their father at an early age had an enormous impact on Fred's children. Raised in somewhat straitened and isolated circumstances by a mother who had few maternal feelings, they grew up with various quirks and personality problems which made their lives painful but fascinating to read about. George III, as the oldest son, tried to take on a paternal role even before he became King. His siblings not unnaturally rebelled at this and showed it in a variety of ways. His three brothers Edward Duke of York, Henry Duke of Cumberland, and William Duke of Gloucester caroused and whored their way around London, shocking society and the literate public and infuriating their older brother, who had become oppressively staid and inflexible in dealing with sins of the flesh. The two daughters who lived to adulthood made unhappy political marriages, especially the youngest Caroline Mathilda, who was married off at the age of 15 to the King of Denmark, a 16 year old who was already displaying signs of what today would be diagnosed as schizophrenia.
   
   Tillyard tells the stories of these royal siblings compassionately and well. As she does so she also provides some fascinating discussions of such varied subjects as Enlightenment philosophy and how it led to the development of a literate English public and a national press inclined to investigate and criticize the conduct of royalty, nobility, and politicians alike; the well-developed espionage networks in northern Europe and the Baltic; power politics between and within Britain, Denmark, Germany, and France; and, most importantly, the similarities between George III's troubles with his family and his problems with the American colonists.
   
   If after reading A Royal Affair you are eager for more about the House of Hanover, I recommend Tillyard's earlier work Aristocrats; Christopher Hibbert's George III: A Personal History; and Flora Fraser's Princesses and The Unruly Queen.



4. After reading Stella Tillyard's previous work, Aristocrats about the four Lennox sisters and their romances, I was hooked on this author's wit and style. Most of all it was her ability to look down deep into the hearts of her subjects and help the reader understand why someone would do what they did. Now Tillyard takes on another British family in A Royal Affair.
   
   This time, it's none other than the Hannoverian kings, who first took the British throne in 1714 after the death of Queen Anne. Having a tenuous descent from the Stuarts, they took to the English in a way, happy to have control of a growing empire, and a well-established military and navy, but perhaps not quite comfortable yet with a government that shared power with Parliment and where the monarch was an example and figurehead, and expected to defer as needed to the actual government. Compared to other monarchies in Europe, where the King's word was absolute, it was a very new system to adjust to. Sons who did not become the monarch would be expected to take on leadership roles in the army and navy, and daughters would become bargaining points in arranging treaties and making marriages with other royalties, leaving the homes they had known and doing as best they could in foreign lands.
   
   Unfortunately for King George II, he loathed his eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and the relationship was anything but good. Harried, and accused of trying to commit treason, Frederick turned to his wife, a German born princess for love and comfort, and their growing brood of children. There would eventually be eight children, the eldest son, George, would become George III, most famous for losing the American colonies and his madness. Two of the daughters, Augusta and Caroline Matilda, would survive childhood and marry into European dynasties. The other sons grew up without the seriousness of their elder brother, and all of the siblings would cause anguish for their brother and king, who after the deaths of their father and grandfather, viewed himself as both a brother and parent.
   
   While Tillyard touches a bit on the other siblings, it is on the youngest child, Caroline Mathilde that she focuses most of her attention. Only four months old after the early death of her father Frederick, Caroline grew up knowing that she would be married off to some prince or king, and watching her own mother's unhappiness and that of her elder sister, was no doubt a sobering influence on her own prospects. She was pretty and blonde, with the pale blue eyes and full mouth that ran her family, and figure that promised to be plump later on in life. At the age of fifteen she was married by proxy to the young king of Denmark, Christian VII. He was also a cousin, with Great Britain and Denmark having regularly suppling princesses to serve as queen consort in each others countries for a while. An etching survives of Caroline at the time, dressed in ermine and pearls, her eyes brimming and a look of misery on her face; she knew that it was unlikely that she would ever return to England, or see anyone in her family again.
   
   Unfortunately for Caroline, her husband was young and immature, and subject to fits of mania, and a strong sadomasochistic streak. Caroline managed to bear her husband a son and heir, and tried to make the best of a bad situation; she hated formality and ceremonial, and yearned for simplicity and more pastorial life. When a doctor came to consult for the king, Caroline found herself involved in intrigue, and a scandal erupted that rocked Europe.
   
   Struensee was ambitionous, much older than Caroline, and a man that Christian VII trusted. It became a sort of three-sided relationship, with Caroline acting more for the king when he was lost in his fits of violence, and turning ever more to Struensee for advice, which the good doctor was more than happy to give to her. Eventually, the relationship became much more intimate and personal, and when the scandal broke, Caroline had not only given birth to a child who was not the king's, but faced the very real possibility of exile, imprisonment or even execution.
   
   What happens next was a shocker. I was fascinated by this story of royalty gone wrong and especially one that I had never heard of before. It also shed light on George III's relationships with his own children, from the sons who gambled, were spendthrifts and married all sorts of the wrong women, and to his six daughters that he adored, but didn't want to marry. Could it be that his own observations on his sisters' and mother's fates influenced his decisions for his daughters' futures?
   
   Tillyard's writing is excellent, and the stories of these unfortunate royals makes for compelling reading. While the story does get a bit dry in the telling of it, the emotional pitch is high, and I found myself caring if anyone in these stories was going to have a happy ending. It's also a very personal tale of love and politics.
   
   Included in the text are two inserts of colour and black and white depictions of the main characters, and there is a map of Denmark, as well as two genelogical charts showing the links between the English and Danish royal families. Extensive notes, bibliography and index provide an opportunity for future research.



5. Stella Tillyard continues in her singular mode of enlightened gossip from the age of enlightenment that she has employed in previous histories. I was delighted a few years ago by her "Citizen Lord: The Life of Edward Fitzgerald, Irish Revolutionary," which gave a spirited biography of a real-life romantic figure. In "A Royal Affair," the era is a little earlier and the environs a bit more easterly. Once again, Tillyard has done her homework and cites heavily from original sources. Yes, it is gossip on a grand scale. But if it were just that, it would simply be People Magazine transposed by two-hundred and thirty-odd years. Instead, Tillyard brings the zeitgeist of London and Denmark to this readable book; moreover, she links the personal actions of the principals to the intellectual eddies brought forth by the French philosophes Rousseau, Voltaire, etc. Most interesting to me was her consideration of how budding aristocrats were educated. This linkage between grand ideas and real actions of large players on the European stage which welded both childcraft and statecraft renders this a winning book. The final chapter gives an interpretation of how George III's behavior in his family affairs may be mirrored in his actions to his rebelling colonies. I must re-read this section before I am convinced that it is not a tidy, but stretched, bow to wrap around an otherwise fine book.

5 comments about Churchill and America.

1. The actual content was very interesting; but there were some problems with the CD's; there were two substantial bad sections.



2. This is a brilliant book!
   
   I love well-written history, especially about Winston Churchill, one of history's great and truly interesting figures.
   
   In "Churchill and America" Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, proves himself, once again, a tremendously talented historian and writer. He describes Churchill and the British leader's love affair with America with passion and skill. He highlights Churchill's American roots (his mother was American) and his growing affection with the United States over the course of a life time.
   
   No interesting detail is overlooked. George Washington was part of Churchill's family pedigree. Three of his ancestors fought against the British in the American Revolution. And Churchill himself was an honorary American citizen, an honor of which he was immensely proud.
   
   Churchill first visited the United States in 1895, when he was twenty-one. "What an extraordinary people the Americans are!" he wrote to his mother. During both the First and Second World Wars he worked closely and effectively with his American counterparts to defeat Germany. His love and understanding of the United States and its people helped to ensure that the Allies emerged victorious, especially in WWII. His close relationship with FDR was seminal to that victory. He sought to ensure that Great Britain and America remained friends forever and cautioned his colleagues upon his retirement as Prime Minister: "Never be separated from the Americans."



3. I am an avid reader of history. Martin Gilbert is an excellent writer who is the preeminent Churchill historian. As with all Gilbert books on Churchill, he adds new details to an extraordinary life for us normal folk. Churchill loved America and was anxious to see the US enter WWII for obvious reasons. Gilbert goes far beyond that period in this excellent history of Churchill. I recommend this book to anyone who loves history and enjoys the history of Churchill.



4. I don't think it would be possible for Sir Martin to write other than a superb book about Churchill if he tried. And this latest volume is no exception. The only thing better than reading it is to hear the author, as I did recently at the National Archives, speak about the book and take questions. One of the most remarkable things about Gilbert is that despite the fact he has written so extensively on WC, he still manages to add something new or a novel perspective.
   
   I think if a single theme dominates the book, it is that WC fought a life-long battle against British anti-Americanism. In the mid-1930's, WC began using the expression "English-speaking Peoples," which was another device to build unity between the two countries. I had assumed the book would begin with WWI, but I was very wrong in that regard. Rather, Gilbert begins by looking at WC's parents, and particularly the American connections of his mother, Jenny Jerome. WC makes his first visit to America in 1895. Each visit thereafter (some 17 or so) is discussed, and an important bonus feature is an appendix containing maps of WC's various U.S. travels.
   
   But the book is about far more than visits. It is about the manifold way WC interacted with Americans over nearly 70 years, sometimes to his benefit, other times resulting in frustration. For example, WC always maintained that the U.S. refusal to enter the League of Nations played a major role in the rise of Nazism and the need to fight a second great war. There were also constant negotiations during and after both wars relative to British debt and the means of repayment. Gilbert is particularly effective in discussing the 1930's period when the European war was about to commence and how WC interacted with FDR in trying to secure necessary materials and induce the U.S. to join in the battle. The discussion of the "special link" between FDR and WC is acutely perceptive and much attention is devoted to it. A relationship full of affection and joint success, but also marred by fundamental disagreements, such as the priority of the cross-Channel invasion and whether Ike should race to beat the Russians to Berlin.
   
   The points of increasing stress between WC and the U.S. are interesting to say the least. Among the most pressing issues were: (a) how to treat Stalin; (b) intervening in Greece; (c) the puzzle of Poland; and (d) the priority of taking Prague. Always, there are disputes about the enormous wartime and postwar British debt and whether the Americans were trying to "skin" the Brits. There is no doubt that Churchill paid a steep price at home for his heavy reliance upon the "special relationship," and he also exasperated subsequent presidents Truman and Ike. Nonetheless, this is almost a love story--Churchill and his dedication to Anglo-American interests and dominance.



5. Not a book for the person seeking to investigate the sweep of Winston Churchill's grand and worthy life. Instead, it is a plodding factual history of almost every aspect of his interaction with the United States. Sir Martin does not provide much in the way of interpretation nor does he very often cite the views of others towards Mr. Churchill's pro-American policies; almost all is mined directly from the written articles, letters, cables, or speeches of Winston Churchill.
   
   If he ever mentioned America, it is likely in this book. I can not imagine people from other countries enjoying this particular effort. And, I think a great many here will find this book, with its repetitious statements of the vital need for a close relationship between the two countries, deadening after a full reading.