No comments about King David and Queen Victoria: The Inside Story of the Beckhams.

No comments about Mrs Duberly's War: Journal and Letters from the Crimea, 1854-6.

3 comments about Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers: Prophet of the Computer Age.

1. I have reviewed most of the books that are readily available on Ada. This book was well written and Dr. Toole is truly the recognized authority of Ada and her life. I found an earlier edition of this book through interlibrary loan and was disappointed that this edition did not offer the same illustrations and pictures. If you are interested in finding out more about Ada especially from her own letters, this is truly one of the best books out there. I would recommend reading at least one other book on Ada Lovlace in addition to this one, for balance, at times Dr. Toole may have been too kind to Ada's memory.

   Ada is a great role model for girls, her life had much turmoil and many obstacles. She fought for her right to do math (and early computer science) in a male society. This book may be a little too steep for early high school reading, a really fabulous young adult book on this subject is Ada Byron Lovelace : The Lady and the Computer (People in Focus Book) by Mary Dodson Wade.




2. Toole's book is an excellent introduction to the life and work of the mathematical visionary, Ada Byron King. Toole's treatment allows the reader access to King's luminous mind--no small achievement.

   Although it may not be appreciated by those who clearly clearly wish to argue with issues external to the text, I highly reccomend "Ada" to anyone who enjoys work which is sensitive, illuminating, and well-written.

   There will probably be a richly-deserved resurgance of interest in King's life and work after the wide release of Lynn Hershman Leeson's film "Conceiving Ada," and Toole's book will be a fine resource for all who are inspired or intrigued by this singular figure.




3. This book is not about Ada but rather the author's defense of Ada's image and place in history.

   There are gratuitous associations of Ada Lovelace to truly famous geniuses and science. For instance, this part of a letter (page 124) --

   It cannot help striking me that *this* extension of Algebra ought to lead to a *further extension* similar in nature, to the *Geometry of Three Dimensions*; & that again perhaps to a further extension in some unknown region & so ad-infinitum possibly...

   -- leads to this comparison (page 122) --

   In the next series of letters Ada hyposthesized a geometry of the "fourth dimension." Several popular books today deal with this subject: Rudy Rucker's The Fourth Dimension, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, and Philip Davis's Descartes' Dream.

   I don't see any reference in Ada's letter to time. I expect it is simple 4 dimensional geometry she is thinking of.

   There is some incredible gushing over the programming language ADA. This book was written in 1992, when it surely should have been obvious that ADA was not the be-all and end-all. Yet the author has apprently fallen hook, line, and sinker for the party line over the programming language named after her hero. Here are some examples. Note these are the author's words, not Ada Lovelace's.

   Pages 176-177: It is accordingly most fitting that the programming language ADA, developed in the early 1980s by the US Department of Defense, provides the most precise facilities for this software development (specification) task of any general-purpose software language for large-scale problems existing today.

   Add this idolatry to the author's infatuation with Ada Lovelace, and the reuslt is some far-fetched comparisons between Ada Lovelace's documentation and later computer concepts.

   Page 179: Here again, the ADA software language contains somewhat unique facilities corresponding in a sense to Ada's insight... A second unuusual ADA facility, exception handling, reflects in a ! different but related way Ada's vision of the Analytical Engines's superiority over the DIfference Engine...In a sense the ADA language exception handler operates at a level of control above the program itself, confirming Ada's foresight.

   Page 185: One can read into the following quotations the germ of perhaps the most important advance in software development in the past twenty years, an idea variously referred to (in its many forms) as *sbatraction*, *modularity*, *separation of concerns*, *information hiding*, or *object-oriented design*.

   Pages 187-188: In the first excerpt from Note D, Ada commended the use of indices, a now-basic technique for reducing complexity in the processing of regular data structures.

   Page 190: ...Then she expanded the visual image she had of weaving and symmetry to highlight the *cycle*, a conceptual building block of programs for both the Analytical Engine and later the computer.

   This exaggeration is also extended to Babbage's Analytical Engine.

   Page 173: Babbage planned to store over 1000 fifty-digit numbers.

   Page 181: It was not until the mid-1960s that the modern computer could store as many digit numbers as did the Analytical Engine.

   Quite wrong; I worked on computers from the 1950s that had more storage capacity.

   Pages 186-187 compare Babbage finding a new use for the Jacquard loom punched card to software reuse: Some predict that the 1990s will be the decade in which software reuse becomes the principal software development mechanism, and that the ADA software language, which simplifies software reuse because of its precise interface specification and generic subprogram facilities, will lead the way.

   Page 189 compares multiple Analytical Engines operating together to current parallel supercomputers, with further comments on ADA supporting this.

5 comments about Burying Caesar: The Churchill-Chamberlain Rivalry.

1. This book is fantastic. I found it superb. Joseph Chamberlain was one of the giants of 19th Century English politics - the family owned a business now known as GKN Plc.
   
   In the Conservative Party his great rival was Lord Randolph Churchill, father of Winston who started out as a Conservative, became a Liberal, and switched back to Conservative.
   
   Chamberlain's eldest son Austen [his mother died 2 days after his birth] once dined with Bismarck and won the Nobel Peace Prize as Foreign Secretary. He died just as his younger half-brother, Neville became Prime Minister after a superb track record of social reform but inspired by his brother's work he found a very different Germany and dreams of peace became delusions



2. Offers an interesting perspective on the background to the rivalry between Churchill and Chamberlain. Of course, it wasn't really a rivalry at all until Munich blew up in Chamberlain's face. Until that moment Chamberlain was utterly dominant and Churchill was a widely disliked "has been". The author demonstrates how luck played a key role in elevating Churchill from the "backbenches" to the "Treasury Bench".
   
   In my untutored opinion, the author is far too kind to Chamberlain who was, again in my opinion, an arrogant fool. Read Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott, The Appeasers, for a better take on the enormity of what Chamberlain and Halifax (et al) perpetrated.
   
   Don't waste your time unless you have a strong interest in the gritty details of English history.



3. In a democracy, the people have the leaders they deserve. This would seem a rather self-evident observation, but one which is often forgotten when the inadequacy of Britain's political leadership facing Hitler in the thirties is discussed. As a citizen of a country that was ultimately liberated from nazi oppression by British troops, I certainly have no wish to belittle the heroism of the British people during World War II, but you need to make a clear distinction between Churchill's Britain living out its finest hour between 1940 and 1945 and the Britain of Baldwin and Chamberlain, struck hard by the twin calamities of World War I and the great depression and seeking only peace and comfort at almost any cost. This is what Burying Ceasar brilliantly demonstrates.
   
   With the future of mankind hanging in the balance, the drama of Britain dealing with the menace of Nazi Germany boils down to a political and personal struggle between two elderly gentlemen, Chamberlain and Churchill, both striving to fulfill the ambitions of their fathers and families: Neville Chamberlain was both a son and a brother of great men, while Churchill, allthough the scion of a great family, was in reality the son of a demented political loser whom he nevertheless adored. No materialistic approach to history here - events are shaped by individuals, their qualities and flaws have decisive influence on the course of history. Burying Caesar portrays both men in an honest and objective way, neither vilifying Chamberlain nor glorifying Churchill and this is one of the great strenghts of the book.
   
   It has been stated that the book seeks to redeem the reputation of Neville Chamberlain, but I do not agree. Burying Caesar merely frees itself from the conventional wisdom that Chamberlain was a narrow-minded and untrustworthy coward, showing us instead a basically decent and well-meaning politician who unfortunately (not least for himself) advanced to a position that demanded greater talents than this rather mediocre personality had been provided with. Chamberlain had been a reasonably succesful chancellor of the exchequer during the worst years of the depression and had his career ended at that, he would have been remembered in a mostly positive light as a minor figure of British history rather than as one of the worst failures of world history. Still, faced with an electorate which (naturally) did not want another war and hampered by his own lack of international experience, Chamberlain no doubt tried his best to serve his country. That he was no match for Hitler is obvious but one might wonder if any other British PM could really have prevented World War II (given, for instance, the attitude of France...).
   
   Which brings us to Churchill. A vain, self-serving man of immense personal ambition, idiosyncratic in his view of the world yet ready to compromize if it might bring him back into the corridors of power. Not a man to be trusted, not a leader for times of great crisis. Yet history proved him right about the nazi menace and he turned out to be just the right leader for Britain when war came and the British people were ready once more to demonstrate heroism in the face of terrible adversity. Burying Caesar depicts Churchill with all his flaws, yet also shows us how he held on to his basic belief that Freedom and Justice would have to stand firm against Oppression and Crime and how that very staunchness made him into the leader now revered by all mankind - a fascinating portrait of the imperfect genius among men who were merely imperfect.
   
   Graham Stewart writes historical non-fiction in the great tradition of British scholars such as A.J.P. Taylor, Corelli Barnett, Martin Gilbert etc. More, please....



4. It is all well and good to make this big deal over Chamberlian's
   conscience, honour etc something that history does not record that had much to do with stopping Chamberlian from breaking his word fairly fairly regularly. A leader has to take responsibilities for the decisions that he makes within the parameters that he works under. In Chamberlain's case, he totally misjudged Hitler and his regime. It is not like the Nazis made any secret of their aims. As this book points out many in his own party like Churchill were worried that his actions.

   Before the war and during the war, Chamberlain failed to produce the type of leadership required by his nation.

   To Chamberlain credit, as the book points out, once he realized that Hitler could not be trusted his appeasement policy came to an end. I wish that other world leaders would have this sort of moral strength to admit sometimes that what they did was wrong and try to correct it.




5. Much has been written about Churchill's wilderness years in the 1930's ranging from the lavish praise of William Manchester to the scorn of a John Charmley. I have never before seen a history covering the precise topic of this book which is the rivalry between Churchill and Neville Chamberlain during the decade which began with Churchill an ostracized outcast and Chamberlain a rising star and yet ended with Chamberlain a scorned failure and Churchill a triumphant war leader.

   Young British historian Graham Stewart has put together a massive and meticulous study of just how and why events played out as they did between the two men. American readers be warned, this book is extremely British in tone, use of idiom and most of all, in its intricate discussion of British Parliamentary politics in the thirties. Stewart certainly assumes his readers are aware of the British electoral and Parliamentary system and the way it works. I myself, an American reader, am not but this was not too much of a handicap as I was able to follow the story without too much difficulty.

   The first part of the book provides a good deal of background on British politics from the age of Churchill's father, Randolph and Chamberlain's father Joseph through the beginning of the twenties. Stewart describes the rise and fall of various parties, in particular the National Liberals of Lloyd George in the early twenties. While Chamberlain was not a player in national politics during the twenties (although his brother Austen was), Churchill was at the height of his influence, having left the Liberal party and slowly edging back towards the Conservatives. Stanley Baldwin would make him Chancellor of the Exchequer and Churchill became a full fledged Conservative once again in 1925. Further chapters describe the Conservative's loss to a Labour/Liberal coalition and Churchill's resignation from the shadow cabinet over the "India Bill". When he gets to the thirties, Stewart covers the Parliamentary maneuvering in incredible detail. Contrary to popular belief, Churchill, though out of favor with the party powers, maintained his supporters, known as Winstonians.

   Chamberlain was quite different than Churchill as Stewart demonstrates, unlike Churchill, his primary loyalty was to the party not to any specific principles. It was not for nothing that Churchill referred to him as "that clerk from Birmingham." But this was the sort of man Baldwin was looking for. Churchill's first true breach with the party came over his demand that Britain re-arm in order to protect itself from the designs of Nazi Germany. Although his criticism of the Baldwin government was muted by his desire to regain office, Churchill consistently called for stronger defense preparation. After 1935, when it was clear he would never gain office under Baldwin, Churchill became a vocal and outspoken critic earning him the ire not only of the Conservatives but of the Labourites as well, who favored suicidal disarmament.

   Chamberlain became prime minister in 1937 upon Baldwin's retirement. With no background in foreign affairs, he was immediately confronted with foreign crises caused by the growing belligerence of Nazi Germany, the Spanish Civil War and the actions of Fascist Italy. Despite the book's subtitle, there really was no rivalry between Churchill and Chamberlain until the Munich crisis of 1938. At this point Churchill moved into open opposition with his own party by delivering one of the most eloquent addresses of his career, denouncing the Munich pact before the House of Commons. This is the best part of the book. Stewart is never unfair to either man and not at all a revisionist. Nevertheless, he never hesitates to point out the fantastic assumptions upon which Chamberlain based his policy of appeasement. A most interesting point is how little Churchill actively did to maneuver himself into power. Although an outspoken opponent of appeasement, Churchill did nothing either publicly or privately to create the conditions which led to his return to office and his eventual ascension to the prime minister's office. In fact, once he joined the government and the war cabinet upon the outbreak of war, he muted his criticisms of Chamberlain and became a loyal soldier. In the end, despite his best laid plans and hopes, Chamberlain died a sad and broken man, his policy of appeasement in ruins. Churchill ascended to the ultimate heights of greatness in which he is held today. The reader of this book will learn a great deal about Churchill about whom much has been written as well as a great deal about Chamberlain about whom less has been written. Once the story begins to focus on the rising menace of Naziism, it is always riveting and frequently fascinating. The book is dense, scholarly and yet eminently readable. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any serious reader of history.

5 comments about Granuaile: The Life and Times of Grace O'Malley 1503-1603.

1. Anne Chambers is the authority on Granuaile O'Malley, and she has written the definitive scholarly work in this biography on her.



2. Anne Chambers' book provides a fascinating and inspiring glimpse into the life of an extraordinary Irish woman. Ms Chambers does an excellent job painting a picture of life in Ireland during the 16th century and the role of women in Ireland through the ages. Anyone traveling to Ireland or interesting in Irish history and the role of women in Irish society will benefit from reading this biography.



3. It's my fault really but this book is just not what I was looking for and I could not get through it.



4. This book was excellently written. To the person who said the anti-christian statements were not true- Let me guess? Your a christian right. Thats the problem with christians, they still deny the truth no matter what. Christianity has always been a man's religion and its the most degrading religion to women and womens rights that has ever existed. I'm glad this author had the guts to be more unique and unconventional to tell the TRUTH. Sorry Christians. I know you never appreciate that.



5. I'm an O'Malley, so you can bet I was looking forward to this book. However, with all due respect to the author, at least in the early going, this book contains some anti-Christian, radical feminist claims that put into question the integrity of the rest of it. For instance, on page 17-18 (paperback edition) the author states: "The writings of the early Christian saints, such as Paul, John, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine, reflected the degraded position of women in Roman society. Augustine wrote of the 'horrible beastliness of women'..."
   
   Not surprisingly, the author can not substantiate this claim and therefore does not give reference to the original source documents in her endnotes as she does with other claims. Don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that the period in which Granuaile lived was male dominated, and at times, shamefully so. However, that doesn't give an author a license to try to right any injustices by yet another injustice.
   
   It's a shame that the apparent good intentions of this author were laid waste by her seeming desire to bash males and Christianity. A biographer should, at the very least, seek, know and uphold the truth, and then tell the good, the bad and the ugly in an even handed way. This isn't too much to ask.

1 comments about The Letters of Virginia Woolf, Volume IV, 1929-1931.

1. Volume 4 of Virginia's letters is the best, so far, of the three volumes I have (2,3,4). (I have ordered 1,5,and 6). What makes this volume stand out to me are Virginia's letters to Ethel Smyth. Virginia's letters to Ethel are the most obviously witty. Some make one laugh out loud. I've often heard that VW could be witty/funny but haven't seen much evidence of it, at least that I could fathom. But here Virginia may be at her funniest. V obviously feels very free to be herself to Ethel; more than to anybody else I'd dare say. For the letters to Ethel alone this volume is precious, but there are many very good letters in this particular volume. An added bonus in this volume are 14 photos. Excerpt; "I felt very compunctious and rumpaxtious and gromboolious into the bargain (when I saw you go off...); bought a new camera said to be unrivalled in the portrayal of the human-if mine can be said to be human-face. So I shall send you a whole series of Virginia, and you will say very properly curse the woman for a quick silver mine of vanity - those will be your very words, and justified too: but also it shall record the noble features of the dripping cat", etc., etc., etc.. Another sample: "Well Ethel dear, I'm very glad that the poor cat - oh no I mean the happy the hirsute, the erect, the brindling and bristling cat - in fact the hedgehog, has gone to bed happy", etc... Highly recommended book.

No comments about Gordon Brown: Past, Present and Future.

4 comments about Uncrowned King.

1. After seeing the A&E production of "Victoria and Albert," I was curious to know more about the lives of the said characters (I'm also a history major so that helps, too). I was browsing through my university's library to find this book on Prince Albert and I read it. I just finished reading it today and wow, this is a stellar book. It's so comprehensive that my mind almost exploded while reading it. There were some minor details that could've been left out, hence the four star rating. I plan to read more about Victoria and Albert in the future. So take my advice. Treat yourself to this wonderful book and put it in your personal library. I'll be sure to buy this book when I have the chance.



2. I questioned myself before i picked up this book in the library; brought up as a good Englishman, i already knew all i wanted or needed about the Prince Consort, and was unimpressed with it, nor did i care to learn any more. Now i see i was quite correct in my questioning, and i'm afraid i may have to change my long-held, and therefore cherished, beliefs about him. Darn intellectual honesty, anyway! Weintraub's Albert was a responsible, educated, thinking man, thrust into a situation both wonderful and intolerable (his marriage and lack of acceptance in England, respectively). Weintraub shows him as having enjoyed the one side and, through hard work and dedication, partially overcome the other. One is left to wonder, as Weintraub indeed does, what would the monarchy be today had Albert lived as long as Victoria. Surely there would be some differences. On the basis of this book, it is not fair to say (as a previous reviewer did) that Albert laid the foundation for the pax Britannica; he did, however, through his fecundity, insight into both politics and industry, and though a great deal of hard work, aid the shaping of Europe through the First World War. As i look back now, it is hard for me exactly to define just why i have disliked His Royal Highness; i suspect it has to do with his rather poor treatment of his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, which Weintraub does not gloss over, but implies was deserved; also the wreck Victoria made of her life after he died, which really can't be laid at his door; also, though i am probably of the last generation to instinctively feel nothng good can come from Germany, the man was a German (though not a Prussion, at least). Two hundred plus years of racial dislike are hard to overcome. I would not say that i have yet overcome them; Weintraub has helped me see with a clearer vision, though.



3. At a time when marriages of royals were political matches, and not romantic ones, this is a story of an insignificant German prince who is married to the very young, Queen of England. Victoria and Albert actually fall in love with each other. Unfortunately, physicians at the time did not know when human females ovulated, which resulted in the many children of Victoria and Albert. However, her numerous pregnancies allowed Albert to become a more integral part in the monarchy. He became King in all but name as Victoria retired to the "sidelines." His diligent, untiring work set the stage for the great Victorian Era and the Pax Britannia.



4. This book is a balanced account of Prince Albert's life - both in his public role as prince consort and as a husband and father. Albert often had to be content to work "behind the scenes" in order to accomplish his goals, and the author provides the details of both his success and his failures.

   It is a very enjoyable book. If you liked the author's earlier biography of Queen Victoria, you will like this book too.

1 comments about Fanny Burney: A Biography.

1. I confess that Burney's never been my favorite novelist, but I do like biographies so I picked this one up. I found it extremely readable and engaging, and I grew more sympathetic toward Burney and her writing upon learning more about her life--her learning disability and subsequent insecurity, her father's interference with her career, her miserable years at court, her rushing to publish novels so that she could pay the bills, and, of course, her horrifying mastectomy (about which I read with my fingers across my eyes, as one might hide one's face during the scary part of a movie).

   I wish there had been more room for "Harman's careful disentangling of fact from wishful thinking and manipulation," but I can see why this would be more appropriate for a book of criticism than a biography.

   If you're at all interested in Burney or the times in which she lived--even (or especially?) if you don't like her writing--I believe you'll find this book worthwhile.

2 comments about Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World.

1. This is an important introduction to, as the title says, the life, times, and works of Geoffrey Chaucer. For those who are thoroughly versed in the 15th century, or who are intimately familiar with Chaucer scholarship, this work will probably be a rehashing of familiar ground. However, as a work to introduce a budding scholar or amateur enthusiast in history or literature, this work is second to none. This work is highly readable, even for those with a casual interest in the subject.
   
   I took a class on Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", and I read this book as a prelude to beginning the course. I feel that this work provided me with crucial context for Chaucer and his world, and enabled me to appreciate reading the "Tales" in their original Middle English at a much greater level. Thank you Dr. Howard!



2. Extensively detailed biography of this medieval great poet, of interest to anyone interested in the intricacies of medieval history and literature. Definitely not for the dilettante, though much of it is quite readable.
   The book is approximately evenly divided between history and literary analysis. We learn of Chaucer's role as a soldier in the wars with France; of his role as appointed court poet and custom's officer; of the black death; of his travels to Italy; we are given a great deal of detail about his literary influences on the Continent and his major literary works, not limited to the Canterbury Tales. Really more for the literary medieval scholar, though anyone interested in history might like it. We learn that Chaucer was probably in London at the time of the Peasants' Revolt.