1 comments about Great Harry: The Extravagant Life of Henry VIII.

1. Erickson demonstrates her profound knowledge of the Tudor era in England through the amazing variety of details she fits into her easy and engaging narrative of the life of one of England's most loved but notorious kings. The reader learns about the perosn, the monarch, his family and his country, and how all were intertwined. The development of Henry, second son not meant to inherit the throne, into Great Harry, fearless and fearsome king who practically destroyed his kingdom to get his own way are beautifully chronicled and bristles with personal touches. It's high drama and well worth it.

3 comments about The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer.

1. There are several events that are seared into Indian memory. One was the massacre at Delhi by Nadir Shah's troops in 1739. The second is the one ordered by General Dyer at Jallianwala Bagh in 180 years later. This book, by a British scholar, is a sort of soul-searching biography of the General.
   
   The story starts with General's family history, and covers his education, his military training, and subsequent career. His career is described in great detail, in nearly 200 closely typed pages. The rest of the 200 odd pages are devoted to the massacre, the investigation and trial, and General Dyer's natural death.
   
   There is a great deal of detail. There are extensive notes as well. There are 28 photographs, apart from some maps. The photographs bring out the horrors of colonial rule clearly - one showing an elderly man having to crawl in the street to get to his own house, because of the dehumanising crawling order. Mr. Collett has done a painstaking job. To my knowledge, this is the most detailed and authentic work on this tragic event.
   
   The British were at the zenith of their power and glory, and this was getting reflected in their behaviour and thinking. This comes through very nicely in Mr. Collett's work. He shows how British opinion about the massacre was divided. There were a large number of people who were horrified, but there was also a determined group which defended his actions. General Dyer himself remained defiant, unrepentant to the end.
   
   Mr. Collett's book is also timely - the curtains have not been drawn on such excesses. They were repeated across Europe during the second world war. They continue to take place today in Iraq. Today's military may have become more accountable, but it has certainly not become more responsible in its use of force than General Dyer was.
   
   There was a post-script to this, which Mr. Collett has not mentioned. On 13-March-1940, an Indian named Udham Singh, who had seen the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, searched out and shot dead Sir Michael O'Dwyer (the then Governor of Punjab, and an untiring defender of General Dyer) at Caxton Hall in London. He surrendered to the Police, giving his name as Ram Mohammed Singh D'Souza, signifying brotherhood among Indians of different faiths. He was hanged by the British on 12-June-1940.
   
   All in all an excellent book for scholars, and those interested in this period of Indian history or in colonialism.
   
   If you read Hindi, you may also be interested in a shorter book 'Jallianwala Kaand ka Sach', Major General Sooraj Bhatia, published by Prabhat Prakashan, Delhi.



2. The summary over here reads over 200 dead. This isn't anywhere close to the 1500 plus people who died on this day.
   
   1 star is more of a neutral view, having not read the book.



3. This was a carefully thought out, well researched biography of a person whom I had heard only a few facts about. While I grew up in India, history in India is not well taught and one reads basic facts without the details. This book shows the details behind the person from his childhood to his adulthood that lead to the culmination of the major dead he did, ordering the firing on the crowd without reason. It was prompted by the attack on one English woman before. It shows that colonialism is never simple, it is always accompanied by such atrocities. The crawling order that followed was also terrible. What is worse is that so many English felt that Dyer was justified in doing what he did and supported him, both in India and in England. To people who have not read the history, this will be a painful remainder that the positives that India got from the British came with terrible negatives. He felt that there should be a eleventh commandment, "Thou shalt not revolt". He felt Indian to the core as long as every Indian knew his place and served every Englishman. What is not covered in the book is the reaction to Dyer by the Indian freedom fighters. The author marginalizes the work done by people like Gandhi. However, having known what the British did in India and how they debated Dyer's actions, I for one am glad that they are not in India anymore. India may have limitations in its democracy, it may have deficiencies, but it is improving. When part of the colonial empire, the literacy of India moved from 6% to 11% from 1900 to 1945. The British spent more in the city of Manchester in city system than one whole province. Now, India's literacy is more than 60% in 50 years and economy is improving. Anyone would take that to a colonial power. What General Dyer did was epitomize the worst of what was in the British at that time.

1 comments about Winston Churchill: His Life As a Painter.

1. I enjoyed reading this oversized book, I went through it like water! The book is well illustrated and gives a good sampling of his works (landscapes, still lifes & portraiture). It is an easy read, this book was not written for those in academia--its a very approachable book.
   The author, the daughter of Winston Churchill, Mary Soams, did a marvelous job of creating a lively narrative. She goes into the reasons why he began to paint, what his philosphy on painting was and how he learned (via a wide circle of artist friends). She also mentioned that he was accepting of using modern inventions (photos) to aid in his memory and composition of creating his paintings. She also included many humorous stories of her father.
   The book is very inspiring in that Churchill, who already had an extremely full life and who started late in life painting, was able to create such beautiful works of art. The book shows that he did have natural talent, BUT, that he also worked hard to build upon that talent and the book clearly shows this.
   The chapters are lavishly illustrated with his paintings, and many times the book describes the creation of the paintings that are in the book (and it includes the page number where you can find them). My only complaint is that in the last few chapters there are virtually no paintings and I wish I could have seen more of his later works, even though they may not have been up to the same artistic value of his earlier works.
   This was a fun and inspiring read, go out and buy this book.

1 comments about David Douglas: Explorer and Botanist.

1. The adventures of an ardent plant lover/collector during the 1820s and 1830s. David Douglas documented, collected, and returned to England over 200 new species of plants commonly found in contemporary gardens. The Douglas fir, arguably the most significant timber source of the 20th century, is named for him. He walked more than 10,000 miles during his travels across North America enduring many hardships while experiencing an unexplored wilderness. His interaction with native peoples demonstrated his inate skill as a diplomat.
   His wonder at the marvels of nature will resonate with any plant lover.

No comments about Gladstone: God, Politics and the Million.

2 comments about Queen Victoria: An Eminent Illustrated Biography.

1. This book was sloppily produced. Typographical errors permeate. There are distracting mistakes in some of the captions, too, such as that for a picture of a gray bearded, corpulent Prince of Wales supposedly taken in 1863 when he would have been a man in his early twenties (p. 205). The author -- and his subject -- deserve much better. The publisher deserves a spanking.



2. This book is a "must have" for anyone interested in royalty or history in general. It's a lovely book in a scaled down coffee table format.

1 comments about Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution.

1. This book presumes that you are an Oxford history professor. It presumes facts not in the book. Meaning it presumes you come to the subject with a vast array of knowledge and therefore spends all of its time on the grand academic questions rather than the chronology of Cromwell. If you are looking for a book to answer the question - who is Cromwell and why was he important - look elsewhere. If you want to know what are the most esoteric academic questions posed by Cromwell, this book is for you.

   It is more commentary on history rather than history. It is disjointed and disorganized.

4 comments about The Soul of an Indian 2 Ed: And Other Writings from Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman).

1. Very profound words of wisdom written over 100 years ago. An excellent read and reference to timeless knowledge that crosses over all cultures. I would recommend this book for one's private library or for a great gift.



2. This book is good, but has been heavily edited.

   I would recommend against buying this book, but instead buy "The Soul Of an Indian" Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa); published by University of Nebraska Press; ISBN: 0803267010.

   Ohiyesa puts his spirituality in simple words without getting bogged down in ceremonies by rote, and dogma.

   I HIGHLY recommend the writings by Ohiyesa. Just not this heavily edited version.

   I encourage questions and comments via E-Mail. Two Bears.




3. If one wants to know what it is "really" like to have the problems of a drug addict, one doesn't ask the therapist (sorry), but rather the addict. Only a true Native American can explain the life, in its many aspects, of a Native American----and, although we have many examples of the wisdom of Native American chiefs, few attain the level, from a philosophical/religious view, as does Ohiyesa (C. Eastman). He is truly a poet in the simplicity of the words he uses, while simultaneously imparting a veritable glimpse of the meaning behind his words. For this reason alone, he, I believe, will be time-honored, when one wants to get a view of Native American life in the future.
   Sadly, but perhaps necessarily, Ohiyesa was torn between two worlds---the white (education and profession, as well as residence in the East) and his heritage, which he felt bound to,as the atrocities continued to unfold in his lifetime, some of which he experienced firsthand.
   For persons of "a certain ilk", I believe that the many people who respect the wisdom of "The Prophet" (Khalil Gibran)will equally respect this writing.



4. The presentation of the indians life and purpose will challenge a persons prespectives of life and the purpose to which all of us have been called. Do you live a life of love or are we so drawn to the material and success orientations of this world that we have lost perspective of the real purpose of life? Ohiyesa will challenge each of us to look into yourselves and ask the question do I truly care for what is right or are my values based upon what I have acquired. Do I walk in truth or do I live a lie? Do I care for my neighbor or do I only think of myself? Do I see God in what has been created or do I deny His existence? Ohiyesa, will challenge the very foundations of western society and our ways of thinking. He challenges the christian and the church as presented in our society today. Do we live as Christ, or do we use Christ to obtain control? I found this book a great treasure of clear thinking and profound statements that make me question the values that I have what of you?

No comments about On or About December 1910: Early Bloomsbury and Its Intimate World (Studies in Cultural History).

1 comments about The Autobiography of Maud Gonne: A Servant of the Queen.

1. On the top of everything else--Maud Gonne was never Yeat's mistress in the ordinary sense!