4 comments about Public and Private Worlds of Elizabeth I.

1. After checking this book out of the library multiple times, I decided to buy it because of the balanced overview of the Queen and her England. Many biographies of Queen Elizabeth I are riddled with the author's personal prejudice for or against the Queen and this one does not. I enjoy the photos as do students in the workshops I teach.



2. This work has a wealth of information about Elizabeth I and
   the era itself. She is portrayed as an elegant monarch, dressed
   in silk and other fine clothing. A portrait of Elizabeth
   depicts her stately appearance as a Tudor. Elizabeth liked to
   stroll in the area of the Great Hall at Hatfield. A personal
   astrolobe is depicted-a fine personal item created circa 1560.
   Her coronation was a stately affair depicted in a personal
   portrait considered to be priceless today. This work is perfect for historians and others interested in the period of Elizabeth. The full color portraits are valuable
   in their own right.



3. Excellent, excellent book for anyone who is interested in Quenn Elizabeth I or the Elizabethan era. Interesting little tidbits of knowledge about court life, politics and Elizabeth's private life. The pictures are absolutely beautiful and go along so well with the the written text. Definate A+!



4. The Public and Private Worlds of Elizabeth I is a nicely written look into her personal and private life. It is very informational; from the workings of Elizabethan politics to the fashion of the time. It is informative with out getting overly academic. It is great for anyone wishing to research and/or recreate aspects of that time period. I encourage anyone who is intererested in Elizabeth I to purchase this book. One of the greatest features of this book is the full color pictures. Definitely a must have!!! A wonderful coffee table book too.

5 comments about Charles: Victim or Villain.

1. This is a run down on Prince Charles' behavior. A single guy(and a future king) cheats with his friend's(Andrew Parker-Bowles) wife(Camilla); then continues to cheat with this same married woman while engaged to Lady Diana.
   Then takes gifts to his married lover against the wishes of Lady Diana. On his honeymoon, tokens of his continuing love affair shows up in Camilla photos falling from his diary and cuff-links(two C's connecting).
   The new Princess of Wales is rightfully hurt and confused.
   This behavior of Charles hardly gets the marriage off to a good start.
   Throughout the marriage, Diana is witness to numerous occasions where Charles(through actions or words) declares his never-ending love for a married woman and continues with his adultery.
   Charles and Camilla showed as much disregard for Andrew Parker-Bowles' feelings as they did for Diana.
   What is especially upsetting is that rather than publicly admit he was a heartless, cheating man, Charles continued to portray himself as a loving husband to Diana and a respectable man who would one day be crowned king. He was willing to let his subjects believe he was an honorable man.
   Not only is the future king a cad, he is a liar as well!
   Besides there is NO evidence showing Diana as metally ill, un-balanced or anything before her association with Charles. As for her tantrums, I would site inmaturity and sheer frustration as the reasons for her outbursts.
   Diana was a normal, sane, healthy young woman prior to her engagement. Her bulminia did not start until after she moved to Buckingham Palace and she realized she was a Lamb to the Slaughter. It was then she realized her future husband did not love her and was very much committing adultery with a married woman. Adultery was something that Charles would continue to practice throughout their marriage.
   What is equally the mark of a cad, is Charles even cheated on his mistress!
   To write a book that basically white-washes Charles' moraless antics, is a disgrace and an insult to everyone's itelligence.
   He is a Villain if I ever saw one!!!!!



2. This book is very pro-Charles which was to be expected. After all, both author and Charles are still alive. Diana can't fight back. And who knows what the truth is anyway?

   There isn't anything really new in this book except details about how news of Diana's death was received at Balmoral, actions of Charles and the Queen then, etc. There are conflicts with other accounts I've read. Was Diana's face damaged? Was an autopsy done in Paris? Other sources said her face was unmarked and body was not autopsied until it was returned to London. It is little details like this that make me wonder about rest of the book. What is the truth?

   I continue to be amazed at the influence the press has in England. Do they really have that much control over the Royal Family? Apparently they just make stuff up and everyone believes it. The Royals are so out of touch and isolated. I think they should just be left alone and out of the newspapers like they used to be.




3. I knew when I picked up this book that Ms Junor was always very anti-Princess Diana - even when she was alive she was very outspoken - and was obviously very pro - Prince Charles. I had hoped though that with the death of the Princess even this hardened lady would present a balanced view of both sides. Instead I was left with the distinct impression that she had swallowed the whole "poor Charlie " line. It takes two to make a marriage and two to destroy it. But her bitterness towards both the princess and the Queen were quite frankly astonishing - especially for someone who used to be editor of the Majesty magazine. This lady has more chips on her shoulder than a totem pole.

   I was horrified when Ms Junor decided she had the right to take on the role of amateur psychiatrist. That for me - was the end. I finished the book - but at the end of it all her superior attitude and downright condemnation of the Princess was appalling. I have no illusions that the Princess was not perfect. But she sold the princess as someone so calculating and evil that it does not equate with anything the rest of the world saw. I am not sure any of us thrown into that kind of limelight at the age of 19 would have coped any better - most of us would not. That does not excuse bad behavior. We all behave badly but most of us do not have "staff" to tittle tattle and exagerate our worst points.

   I enjoyed certain parts of the book and learned a lot more about Prince Charles - assuming that that part of the book is a true and detatched discription. However - having just read the introduction to another biography where the biographer states that it is easy to become self absorbed with the person they are writing about and to loose their sense of detatchment. I feel that Ms Junor did not achieve that.




4. Where does the author get her evidence? First that Diana was first to cheat, second she threatened Camilla Parker Bowles. The book seems to justify the fact that Charles was involved with Mrs. Parker Bowles from even before the marriage and that it was alright because Diana was scheming and nasty to him. It tries to create a spin on the royal marriage favoring Charles and his liaison with Camilla. This is the book to buy if you are ardently pro-Charles and agree that Diana was completely to blame for the breakup of the marriage.



5. This book is very interesting! The author is obviously a GREAT fan of Prince Charles! From interviews that I have seen with the author, I fully expected a Diana-bashing book and I wasn't far from the mark! Just the mere fact that the Princess of Wales is not here to defend herself against these so-called "facts" of Ms. Junor's shows you what kind of diabolical mind the author has! Ms. Junor herself is making quite alot of money writing about the misfortunes of the Prince & Princess of Wales. I should hope that the proceeds for this book would go directly to royal charities and those who are TRUE victims all around the world! Surely Ms. Junor would not want to line her own pockets with this scathing book - or would she? Think on, Ms. Junor!

5 comments about Married to the Sas.

1. Having known a few military families, and having the odd friend or two in similar circumstances, the book rings pretty true. Interesting but also so very predictable. Too many partners marry into the military with no real understand of the stress and strains that the military places on a relationship. Every prospective military "other half" should be required to read this book as preparation!
   
   And yes, she's very likely capitalizing oo her former husband's fame - but so what, she went thru a lot herself - without being paid to do it. The shame of it all is, the military hierarchy knows what the military does to family relationships but makes no effort, or at the best, very little, to help families, to provide any serious "relationship counselling" and to provide assistance when things "go wrong." This is even more pronounced for special forces guys, who are under a lot more stress and away from families a lot more than the regular army guys. This book and the similar book by Jenny Simpson are very much descriptions of the symptoms of a major military problem that extends far beyond the SAS.
   
   I give the book 3 stars for a good personal account. A good editor would probably have ensured a bit more analysis of the problem was added.



2. well I am not menopausal but I am a female who does dishes after I get home from work. I am also a big fan of Andy McNab's writing and recommend his books to anyone.
   
   I'm glad to say I didn't buy this book but rather mooched a friend's copy. No offense to the author it's nothing personal. But despite all the naughty bits this book is BORING and offers no insight. I will stick with my B.Davies and Andy McNab books, thanks.



3. To be honest I haven't read the book, but looking at the front cover and reading other reviews it's an obvious attempt to make money from her ex husbands success. She apparently tries to make mcnab come off as an insensitive something or other but being in the army is a very demanding and stressful job, adding a family to that doesn't make it any easier. McNab put his life on the line for his country while she did the dishes. No need to say who has more of my respect.
   
   Personally I don't like to read the whining of a menapausal woman. I'm sure this book will appeal to many bored housewives but I doubt that fans of mcnab will be too pleased with it.



4. I roared with laughter while reading the book, it's like watching monkeys in the zoo. But after I finished it, I understood it's a sad book. Yes, sex is a very important part of our lives, but in Hereford, UK, it seems they have nothing else to do except for drink hard and ... with their own lives, each others' and their kids'. What adults do to each other is their own business, but I'm really very sorry for their kids.
   There are some clever thoughts in the book, but it seems they belong rather to an editor than to the author, who not only made all her intimate life public but even cynically devoted the book to her daughter, Jo. Good luck to Jo, hope her parents did not manage to make another "Hereford girl" of her, though her mother tried hard and father, according to the book, stayed passive.
   If even the tenth part of the book is true, all the 'SAS and Co.' need a looooong session with a psychiatrist and a sex-pathologist. Just hard to believe that all that dirt that Mrs. Nicholson wrote about is true. But the desire to tell the world about that dirt says much about the author's personality. Congratulations to her new American husband!
   Can't really say whether the book is good or bad. It's a collection of bizarre and amusing stories of sexual lives of primates in the zoo called Hereford. I stay neutral, 3 stars.



5. I KNEW ANDY, SHE HAS WRITTEN A LOAD OF DRIVEL THERE ARE LOADS OF SAS WIFES THAT ARE MORE THAN HAPPY WITH THERE LOT FRANCES NEED TO GET A LIFE AND THIS TIME HER OWN I AM JUST SORRY I HAD TO GIVE THIS BOOK ONE STAR

2 comments about The Erotomaniac: The Secret Life of Henry Spencer Ashbee.

1. Face it-- if you're reading a review of this book, you're knowledgable and interested enough to enjoy it. I'd guess that 1 out of 1000 readers might get a kick out of "The Erotomaniac," but if you read "My Secret Life" and wondered about who "Walter" was, or know who Gershon Legman is, or have a bibliographic bent, then this book is for you. Ashbee wasn't the most likable of men, but his utter obsession to collect and classify his erotica ruled his life, and the people he met (including Richard Francis Burton, who comes off even more perverse than I'd imagined) make for a compelling narrative. I developed a great sympathy for him-- he was ruled by sex, but enslaved by his books. He could only share his fetish with a few other devotees, and had to hide his love for smut from his own family. If only he could have lived to see our century!



2. The ongoing detection of the mysterious author of the huge erotic classic _My Secret Life_ has advanced a step further (although the sources of information are only slightly better) by Ian Gibson, in _The Erotomaniac: The Secret Life of Henry Spencer Ashbee_ (Da Capo Press). Ashbee had a Jekyll-and-Hyde existence as a successful London businessman, travel writer, and paterfamilias. He also tended his huge collection of pornography. It was so large a collection that he rented rooms in Gray's Inn especially to contain it (and perhaps to keep it from being a family concern). Ashbee was no supporter of the suffragettes, but he liked the idea that women took pleasure in sex and could actively participate in it, ideas that were unfashionable or obscene at the time. In his own writing, Ashbee railed that "the English nation possesses an ultra-squeamishness and hyper-prudery peculiar to itself." He was furious that missionaries were trying to intrude this morality into societies where sexuality was more open.

   It is clear that Ashbee's books ridicule these notions, even when Ashbee made it seem that he was supporting them. He is the author of three books, magnificently produced private editions cataloging his own books and those he was interested in. The titles give away his game: _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_ ("Index of Books Worthy of Being Prohibited," mocking the Vatican's own catalogue, 1877), _Centuria Librorum Absconditorum_ ("A Hundred Books Worthy of Being Hidden Away," 1879) and _Catena Librorum Tacendorum_ ("String of Books Worthy of Being Silenced," 1885). Ashbee produced his volumes under his scatological penname Pisanus Fraxi; he seems to have enjoyed rebuses of his name, and Pisanus Fraxi is an anagram of the Latin words for "ash" and "bee."

   When it is known that Gibson has produced this biography after being allowed the first glance at Ashbee's diary, one might expect that there would be many personal revelations. Sadly, with some exceptions which Gibson quotes, the diary is discontinuous, and mostly dull. Ashbee was too busy reading and buying books to spend much time on a diary. If Gibson is to be believed, he spent a good deal of time writing _My Secret Life_, too. The final third of _The Erotomaniac_ is an amusing list of correspondences of style, phraseology, and philosophy between the writings of Pisanus Fraxi and those of the "Walter" who wrote _My Secret Life_. Gibson allows that someday electronic scansion of the texts may make the identification more positive (and perhaps someone will pay literary sleuth Don Foster, of _Author Unknown_, to take the case). To me, the most compelling evidence is that Ashbee's volumes all have an obsessively inclusive index, just as "Walter's" book hilariously does. Under the gerund form of the most shocking verb in English, Walter has seven columns of entries, including: in masks / wheelbarrow fashion / modesty hinders complete pleasure / is the great humanizer / in a grotto / in cabs / in a church / in a calf shed / in a cow shed / against trees. On and on the list goes, a tribute to someone obsessed with sex, with lists, and with compilations. As Gibson says, if Ashbee didn't write it, who on Earth did? Gibson's own book, meticulously researched and genially entertaining, has just about as much of Ashbee as we will ever know, as well as genuine insights into Victorian times and morals.

No comments about Masters of the English Reformation.

5 comments about Julie Andrews: A Life on Stage and Screen.

1. A great book with lovely pictures. I just couldn't put it down.
   The writer obviously knew her well and shared her amazing story. It was witty, sad and yet it often made you smile. She's also a gutsy lady with a gentle kind nature and very, very talented. Recomend this to anyone..



2. Julie's a great actor, but this bio isn't as interesting as its subject. An editor is needed for Mr. Windeler's overdrawn overdone prose.



3. What's with the cover picture? I mean, I love Victor/Victoria, but Julie is a beautiful woman... why did he choose this picture? Also, there were times in the book where Windeler's personal opinion was a little offensive to me. I suppose that is alright, because he is allowed his opinion, but it seemed to me like he was bashing the movie "Star!", which happens to be one of my favorites. Other than the difference in opinion that occurred occasionally between the reader and the author... this book was a delightful, yet 'real' holiday about Julie Andrews. It's loaded with anecdotes and great accounts of 'The Adventures of Julie and Carol (Burnett)' (as I call them). Over all, this is a good read for the Julie Fanatic, just keep in mind that you don't always have to agree with what this biographer has to say . ;)



4. This book about Julie Andrews is extremely interesting. Julie has had many inspiring experiences in her life and continues today to have many more. This book explains how she became what she is today. Also, this book tells the reader many interesting facts about Julie Andrews personal life and career.



5. Julie Andrews: A Life on Stage and Screen is a great read and I have to say that I found it rather informative. Aside from a few spelling and grammatical errors, it was a good book. Any serious Julie fan should read this!

No comments about Winston Churchill by his Personal Secretary: Recollections of The Great Man by A Woman Who Worked for Him.

1 comments about Jennie: The Life of the American Beauty Who Became the Toast--and Scandal--of Two Continents, Ruled an Age and Raised a Son--Winston Churchill--Who Shaped History.

1. This book is just a rehashing of what is pretty common knowledge of Jennie. No new information, and this book, unlike similar books about Jennie, does not have any photographs at all, so if you were expecting some rare photos or even a photo (other than the cover), you will be disappointed. This book may seem nice and thick, but it's somewhat illusional. Page 622 to 757 is all Notes, and this is 135 pages that isn't really "all book". The font and spacing also seems somewhat big, adding girth to this book due to 'largeness'. Also, a good portion of this book is letters, or excerpts from letters. I was not impressed with how the material was presented - it was textbook dry and actually left me more disenchanted with Lady Churchill than when before I started. I haven't read too many books about her, but I would not recommend this one for any sort of entertainment factor, it's terribly dry and boring, and due to its immense weight and girth makes a better doorstop.

5 comments about The Day Diana Died.

1. I usually don't go for all the books about Diana, Jackie, and other celebrities. However the author has written a concise book about the making and death of a Princess. It details how Diana fell in love with Charles, and then how the marriage soured. Then it details her after marriage relationships with other men including Dodi. The last half of the book details the relationship with the press, and how the accident fell in place after a number of variables. These include a defective car, a drunk driver with emotional problems, and Dodi trying to escape the grasp of the press. The accident resulted in the death of three of the occupants of the car.
   
   This is a surprisingly good read. The flow of the book was excellent, and Andersen went through and connected all the pieces. The author places all the information into a easy to read account of the death of Diana.



2. The book has a gossipy tone, and it portrays Queen Elizabeth II in an extremely poor light. For example, the author makes a big deal over the flagpole at Buckingham Palace and the Queen's alleged initial refusal to fly the flag at half mast. That flagpole is for the Royal Standard. When the Queen is home, the Royal Standard (not the Union Jack) flies full. When the Queen is not home, the flagpole has nothing on it. Merely following that tradition is not a sign of disrespect, except in the minds of people who are not knowledgeable.
   
   The book describes Diana and Mother Theresa as "two humanitarians." Give me a break. Mother Theresa did far more for the poor in a day than Diana did in her whole life. Shaking hands with an AIDS patient (as a lawyer meeting clients, I have done that lots of time) or spouting the liberal view on land mines does not qualify a person as "humanitarian." It is a genuine shame that Mother Theresa, after a lifetime of dedicated service to the poor, had the misfortune to die in the same week as Diana, and, as a result, be virtually ignored.



3. "No single event in history had ever been witnessed by so many people at one time. Across the globe, an audience of more than 2.5 billion watched the solemn progress of Diana's cortege through the silent streets of London and the funeral service at Westminster Abbey."
   
   This aspect gives the book a little gravitas -- the sheer impact of her fame and her death's interplay with her influence worldwide. This book was a fast read (2 days). The real value of the book comes, I think, from Andersen's reportage of the details in the opening of the book of what happened in the hospital in Paris right after she died: how Prince Charles reacted to viewing her body, how no one could find any clothes to put on her (since her pants and top had been cut off her in the ambulance and Mohammad Al Fayed had had all of her things immediately removed from Dodi's Paris apartment) so in the coffin on the way back to England she wore a dress from the British Ambassador's wife's closet, how the hospital had taken privacy precautions against the press, etc. The second part of the book that is interesting here distinctly is the last section, which dissects the events leading up to the crash (the driver Henri Paul's drinking problem and psychological state), the explication of exactly how the crash happened, who came on the scene first, how Diana was treated at the scene, her injuries, what she may have said (according to Andersen, her last intelligible words were, "Oh, God, what's happened?"), and how a variety of interplaying factors led to the deaths of Paul, Fayed and Diana. For example, if she had been wearing her seatbelt, which she almost always did, she probably would have walked away from the accident, and how, ironically, of all the people who got in the car that night, she was probably best qualified to drive it. This section and the first seem to contain the real reportage of the book.
   
   The middle section about her life appears to have a lot of recycled material in it, that if you've followed Diana stories and books, you've probably read this before (and to be fair, this may be just because I've read this six years after its publication). Morton's earlier Diana: Her True Story is quoted along with other somewhat accepted sources on the subject of her life. There are some tidbits, such as the assertion that Diana was set to star in a second Bodyguard movie with Kevin Costner, and that whilst Dodi was preparing to propose to her, no one who knew her well believed she would have accepted. While Andersen seems pretty objective in not portraying the princess as a saint, noting that she cut people out of her life when they said something to her she didn't want to hear, he does leave out of his book some well-traveled stories that paint her in a bad light (such as the comment she made to princes William and Harry's nanny post divorce that hinted that the nanny had had an abortion), or he glosses the negative trends in her life, living too much by (bad) instinct, her immaturity, etc.
   
   I thought that this book was going to be more serious reportage on the accident. While it did contain that element, it was really a book about her life, with all the usual suspects included. Really, the stuff that's new here is about the day Diana died. The rest seems somewhat tired.



4. When I first heard about this book coming out, I was afraid it would be a tasteless and exploitative piece of paparazzi trash exploiting the death of a beautiful woman. However, I was more than impressed and pleased with the way the author combines hour by hour events on the day Diana died with background on her life and relationships. Diana was one of my favorite celebrities ever, not just for her beauty and elegance but for what she survived through and the fact she was such a good mother. This book combines all of those elements and also gives us a window into what happened on the day she died. One of the only tasteful and well-written books to come out after her death...



5. I found this book to be incredibly informative and a fascinating read, which I read almost in one sitting. Instead of the usual tawdry gossip of most Diana biographies, it describes exactly, and in fascinating detail, about the events that led up to her death, the day she died, and the ensuing mourning that followed. We are made privy to details we never knew, and they are very essential details, in my opinion.

   To me, the most interesting and ironic part of this entire tragedy is that Diana lay in the hospital in Paris, dead, with nothing to wear. Prince Charles and Diana's two sisters were on their way from London, and the world's most famous and well-dressed woman literally had nothing to wear. The clothes she had been wearing when she died had been torn from her body by doctors who were attempting to revive her. Her luggage had been whisked back to London by a paranoid Mohammad Feyed. And, here was the world's most glamourous woman, at death, being forced to wear a dress donated by the wife of the English Ambassador to France. This irony is just one of many sad ironies and twists of fate in this account.

   We learn of the behind-the-scenes machinations leading up to Diana's funeral, the conflict between Prince Charles and his mother, the Queen, and how Diana's boys reacted. Prince Charles is definitely painted in a much brighter light than ever before. I was absolutely fascinated by this book, and I think it is well worth reading.

3 comments about Wives of the Kings of England: From Hanover to Windor.

1. As an American, I was only given a cursory glance at British History in Public School (which isn't much). As a lover of History (especially British) I've noticed so many studies have been about the various ruling Monarchs and very little (if anything) is mentioned about the wives. Mark Hichens has done a wonderful job of giving his research a tone that is in no way boring.
   
   The book covers the wives from George the First through George the Sixth. While I had heard of both Queen Elizabeth (wife to George the Sixth) and the infamous Wallis Simpson, I knew only what I had seen on television. It was very interesting learning more about both of these women and shed a whole new light on them for me.
   
   The other seven Consorts, Sophia Dorthea of Celle (wife of George I), Caroline of Anspach (wife of George II), Charlotte of Mechlenburg-Strelitz (wife of George III), Caroline of Brunswick (wife of George IV), Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen (wife of William IV), Alexandra of Denmark, (Wife of Edward VII) and Mary of Teck (wife of George V).
   
   With the exception of Caroline of Brunswick, all of these women were devoted & faithful to their husbands (despite that most, of these husbands were either unfaithful or idiosyncratic or both, with them). While they enjoyed the trappings of "royal life", I wonder how much of their true-self they gave up for that. Mary of Teck & Elizabeth of Galmis seemed to enjoy a true love & faithfulness with their respective husbands. But most of the others existed at the whim of their husbands fancy. And in some cases the wives were more intelligent and/or had more common sense than their husbands.
   
   While I certainly don't feel sorry for any of them or the circumstances of their lives, this book gave me a different view on the Consorts I had heard of and educated me in the ones I didn't know.
   
   The book is an enjoyable read and is one that I intend to keep. If you are looking to find out more about these women or are looking for a reference book for studies, these is an excellent book to have on hand.



2. I am appalled. I did never receive this book. Why are you considering that I received this book? This book has never been with me. I ask you an explanation.
   
   Andres E. Rodriguez



3. A very interesting book of royal wives. This also included the Duchess of Windsor which was very interesting.