1 comments about Sir Gardner Wilkinson and His Circle.

1. With the death of Champollion and Young, Gardner Wilkinson was for a while probably the world's foremost expert on the emerging study of hieroglyphics. He spent several years in Egypt and even built a house using a tomb in the Theban hillside at Gurna.

   This well written, eminently researched book is a fascinating read. It sheds light on the early days of Egyptology and shows us the relationships between some of the giants of the then nascent discipline. It also illuminates the often competitive world of 19th century scholarship in the days of European dilettantism.

   Thompson obviously had great interest in his subject and presents Wilkinson in an interesting light, although not much dimension comes through concerning Wilkinson's personality until late in the Egyptologist's life. This may be due to a lack of materials that supply such information about the man. His work is covered much better. While I couldn't help admiring Wilkinson's work, I found little to like about the man, especially considering that like many of his European contemporaries, he bought himself a female slave in Egypt (with whom he apparently later made financial arrangements before leaving Egypt). He also had a rather unenlightened opinion of the modern Egyptians, whom it seems he did little to get to know.

   Those facts notwithstanding, the book keeps the reader's interest from start to finish and anyone interested in Egyptology would enjoy this book.

5 comments about Goldfinder: The True Story of $100 Million In Lost Russian Gold -- and One Man's Lifelong Quest to Recover It.

1. A good read, I was glued to the page turner till 1am last night. This book displays the real world of salvage work, the burocracy you have to work against, the pitfalls, the ways wrecks are found, the research needed and where to find it.
   As for the main story of the Edinburg, it is a classic example of a man too focused to worry about the non-research details. His lack of tax planning, failure to background check his partners, and his gruff demeanor set the story up for a sad ending.
   Its a real world study of the salvage industry and a great read, but its real life. Don't expect a Dirk Pitt ending with him getting the girl, the gold and the respect of his peers.



2. I'm always fascinated with stories of shipwrecks and lost treasure and this book definitely quenches my thirst for both. An amazing story of Keith Jessop's plight in recovering ten tons of Russion gold that went down in the belly of the HMS Edinburg during WWII in the cold Arctic Sea. I especially liked the early part of the book where Keith spends some time giving you the background on how he got started in underwater salvage. I especially enjoyed his insight into some of the legal issues involved in running a salvage operation. Keith takes you through every step of his long journey in planning for and putting together a team of experts to execute and oversee the actual recovery of the gold. The book is full of suspense, as you don't know what will happen next, which inevitably keeps you glued to each turning page. At some times Keith goes into a lot of detail, but this was necessary for the reader to get an appreciation for the levels of frustration he most likely experienced while dealing with the bureaucracy. He also pays tribute to the lost sailors aboard the HMS Edinburg through his heartfelt synopsis of the events that led up to its tragic demise and how his team of professionals handled their uncovered remains. If you like stories of sunken treasure, no matter how big or small, this book has got you covered. You won't be dissapointed. Keith's way of depicting the events was so clear and vivid that at times I swear I could smell salt in the air.



3. an amazing book, Keith Jessops passion of diving and particuliarly wreck salvage, leave indelible memories.
   the books balance is great, enough early details to establish his character, the book really picks up pace with the various wreck salvages leading up to the edinburgh, the background and research is well documented, as are the details of setting up expeditions for locating and then salvaging the wrecks.



4. I wish I found the Gold.
   Clive Cussler was right,this was a great Marine Archology book.
   It was intresting,how the diver started his carere.I found the History of the Edinburgh very intresteding.One of the best marine Archology books I ever read.



5. Keith Jessop's achievement in successfully salvaging the treasure of the HMS Edinburgh parallels that of Tommy Thompson, who found and salvaged the gold from the 1857 wreck of the SS Central America. Jessop's book GOLDFINDER compares favorably to Gary Kinder's book SHIP OF GOLD; both books tell the full story of how the vessels (Edinburgh and Central America, respectively) came to grief, and both excel in their descriptions of the background and personal details of the men who would ultimately bring their treasures to the surface.

   Jessop's accomplishment is particularly remarkable in that his expedition did not utilize ROVs, but instead relied upon surface-supplied divers who descended more than 800 feet to the bottom of the frigid Barents Sea to penetrate the armored bomb room of the sunken Edinburgh, retrieving her cargo of gold bars while enduring the danger and privations of saturation diving.

   Fast-moving and charmingly told, the author brings his unique sense of humor and adventurous spirit to life on every page, resulting in a book that is engaging and fascinating. If you enjoy a grand adventure, and especially if you find interest in tales of shipwreck, diving and marine salvage, don't miss GOLDFINDER!

2 comments about Columbus: His Enterprise: Exploding the Myth.

1. This is a book that attempts to set the record straight on Columbus the man and the chain of events set off by his voyage of discovery. Koning does not delight in debunking the myth, nor does he gloat in the exose'; rather the tone is one of moral despair over the actual facts. Essentially the Christian Spaniards slaughtered and enslaved as they plundered the New World. Convinced he had found the fabled way to Cathay ahead of the rival Portuguese, Columbus appears every bit the avaricious social climber of his era. Skilled and daring, he was also venal and petty. Koning's portrait is not a pretty one, but then we've had enough of those.

   Koning takes the revered Samuel Eliot Morrison to task for his sanitized portrait of the Great Explorer. Most reprehensive, in Koning's view, is Morrison's utter disregard for the death and destruction left in Columbus's wake and to which he was a party. Seemingly, Morrison's brand of biographical myopia represents a particularly deadly brand of Western ideology at work, one that cleans up the official record on behalf of the powers that be.

   Perhaps most praiseworthy in Koning's tratment are the succinct moral parallels he draws between the civilizing forces of Spain in the New World and their 20th century American counterparts in Vietnam, where additional tens of thousands were slaughtered resisting Western conquest. A book like this exposes unmistakably the self-serving mythology that surrounds so much of our official history. Such versions are not misleading by accident, instead they work to a purpose and there seems no better word for describing that purpose than ideological. They are distortions that preserve current institutions of power; namely, those political and economic arrangements that also happen to be products of Columbus's bloody wake. It's interesting to speculate the direction our polity would take were Koning's book, rather than the traditional sanitized versions, required reading in the nation's high schools. Be that as it may, don't expect to see Koning in a Columbus Day parade any time soon.




2. Koning gives a very valid speculation on Columbus' life and voyages. Thoughout the years, the story of Columbus has been twisted and glamourized, making the people of America believe that he was a hero. Koning goes in to great detail when explaining the truths behind all these mythological ideals. It is an easy read as well as a very good piece of writing.

2 comments about Young John Muir: An Environmental Biography.

1. Environmental History is a growing and much-needed field of Academia. John Muir, a peaceful yet titanic figure in America's own enviromental movement, like Rachel Carson, like, in his own right-Teddy Roosevelt, is a Pioneer of this movement. Professor Steven J.Holmes. Lecturer in History and Literature at Harvard University, has produced a deeply poignant book about this deeply thoughtful man, i.e. in Muir's "formative" years, wherein his Scottish roots clashed, then melded and germinated beautifully with the ever-more wild Wisconsin of Muir's American years. Yet this child of Dunbar, Scotland, was to, even at the "tadpole's age" of five, begin having transformative and even existential experiences, mostly derived from and spawned by the "Wilderness," by Nature, but too by Muir's love for his beloved mother. According to Holmes' carefully-documented and sourced biographical history of Muir, the young Lad had, even at a VERY young(before age 2)age, an UNCANNY ability to interact with, respond to, and above all, Deeply TRUST his Mother-especially, began when John Muir was just two months of age. Yet to me, with Mother Earth being THE all-powerful and nurturing, kindly force that this species MUST needs be recognize(i.e., Patriarchal societies are NOW too destructive, for Mother Earth to sustain, much longer), these Youthful, formative instinctive developments on Muir's part would become incredibly important in and to that "ecocentric perspective,"(182) as Holmes terms it, that would dominate this quixotically wild but peace-loving man's entire Life's viewpoint, all to the LONG-TERM betterment(IF we can only LISTEN-NOW, if not SOONER) of this Nation-State, and this species.



2. I have been an admirer of John Muir since I was a young child. This book is excellent in the way in which Steven J. Holmes captures the essence of a man who continues to inspire persons of all ages and backgrounds with his life. It offers intimate glimpses into Muir's experiences as well as a new perspective into understanding Muir as a universalist humanitarian and hero.

No comments about Ismalia.

No comments about The Hernando de Soto Expedition: History, Historiography, and "Discovery" in the Southeast.

5 comments about Prince Henry "the Navigator": A Life.

1. Prince Henry 'the Navigator' provides the reader an intricately detailed account of the life of this crusader, geographical visionary, and aggressive entrepreneur. Seeking an end around the Saharan caravan trade, Henry pushed maritime exploration down Africa's Atlantic coast into a region shrouded in myth and mystery. Ostensibly claiming a crusader's fervor for the conversion of the barbarous, Henry initiated the Afro-Atlantic slave trade, charted Africa's western shoreline, commercially developed the Azores, battled desperately for control of the Canaries, and, as time and events allowed, launched invasions of Morocco with varying degrees of success.

   Henry thrust medieval Europe into the Atlantic providing the impetus for empires to come. Like any mortal, he was imprisoned by the consciousness of his times, yet unfettered in his drive to explore the unknown. Both flawed and famous, P.E. Russell's Prince Henry is placed firmly within the chronological context. He can be detested for his commerce in flesh, his cynical exploitation of faith, and his innate impulse to conquer, but he would then be measured not by the standards of his day, but of our own. In settling this score, Russell admirably adheres to objectivity.

   Despite spotty source material, P.E. Russell has presented a comprehensive, entirely readable account of Henry the Navigator. This is a solid and satisfying book which easily merits a rating of 4 stars.




2. Mr. Russell's book is superb in many ways: the prose is very elegant, even to a French speaking reader, the author's erudition is impressive and any amateur historian will find here a fascinating introduction to a side of European history which he or she is most unlikely to have been familiar with prior to acquiring Mr. Russell's book. That "the navigator" hardly ever set foot on a ship of any kind, I must confess I didn't know! His cupidity, pettiness in certain ways and magnanimity in other are very intriguing. The context is beautifully described. In other words, here is a splendid book by a very gifted historian. One word of caution, though: this is not an easy read! Don't take Mr. Russell's book to the beach after a stressful few months at the office. It takes a relaxed and attentive mind to really enjoy the book. I read it whilst in a yoga camp on a carrot juice fast. Both were perfect!



3. In 1385, when Henry the Navigator was born, Europe was a Eurasian backwater--fragmented and poor, inferior to China in marine technology, and far behind the Islamic world in geographic scope and cultural achievement. Two centuries afterward, Europeans dominated the world. Henry was one of the individuals at the root of this turnaround.

   As Peter Russell's biography is at pains to point out, Henry himself had no such grandiose vision. As a younger son of King John I of Portugal, he helped lead an attack on the Moroccan port of Ceuta in 1415, and was given responsibility for governing and supplying the enclave afterward. In the course of this work he seems to have devloped an appreciation for the special capabilities of Portuguese sailing caravels, and to have seen how they might be used to promote Portuguese expansion overseas.

   Beginning in the 1420's, Henry sent out a series of state sponsored voyages of exploration and commerce. As Russell relates, his motives were not always clear and were sometimes contradictory. At various times his captains sought uninhabited land to colonize, pagans to convert and enslave, allies to fight against Islamic North Africa, and new markets in which to trade. At times Henry seemed to relish fighting for its own sake, since the medieval culture in which he had been steeped required worthy enemies against whom to perform chivalric deeds of valor.

   In the 1430's Henry's captains began charting the coast of Africa south of Morocco, which had previously been unknown to Europeans. By his death in 1460 they had reached as far as Sierra Leone and had established profitable trading relationships with many of the kingdoms of West Africa--with slaves, sadly, as one of the principal commodities. After Henry's death the project continued until Portuguese ships had rounded Africa and reached India and the Far East. Henry took time off from these endeavors to sponsor further (unsuccessful) attacks against Morocco and to intrigue against his fellow Christians in Castile and Aragon.

   Russell, however, emphasizes Henry's medieval mindset so much that he almost misses what was unique about Henry's life and work. No other ruler of his time thought to direct state resources to maritime expansion. No other prince required his captains to keep such careful charts and records so that discovery might be cumulative. No one else, a century before Columbus, saw the potential for improved sailing ships to revolutionize commerce and warfare.

   Nevertheless, for all its flaws, this is a ground-breaking and carefully researched biography, marked by judicious evaluation of source material. One only wishes that Russell had not been so anxious to debunk his subject as to make him seem like just another medieval grandee, rather than the remarkable innovator which he was.




4. A fascinating book for history buffs and professionals, although maybe hard going for the general reader. It's wrong to criticize an author for not writing a different book, and this is a biography rather than a history of maritime technology but I felt shortchanged in the scientific history department. Why were the Portuguese able to make these voyages at this particular time? He mentions the caravels as better able to sail close to the wind than were purely square-rigged ships but does not say when and where they were developed or what the evidence is that this was a major development. Did anyone in Portugal possess any kind of sextant? Did the King really have "a court astrologer" ? Did Henry have access to the Majorcan maps? I'd like to have known more about these, and how they were circulated.
   Sir Peter's main message is debunking. He wants to show that Henry was a narrow-minded incompetent, literally Quixotic, medieval bigot and not a scientifically curious Renaissance man. He holds no punches about his involvement in the slave trade.
   Without endorsing post-mortem psychanalysis it seems strange that the author so resolutely withholds comment on Henry's celibacy and relationship with his adopted heir, while freely speculating about his motives in other areas.
   I was puzzled about the fate of Henry's brother Don Pedro. Regent of Portugal. The table at the front shows that he was killed in 1449, and on page 357 of my paperback edition we are told that Henry contributed to his death, but no details are given. Did I miss something?



5. Don Henrique, younger son of Portugese royalty, represents the cusp between the medieval and the Renaissance; the 14th and 15th centuries. As Russell's life of Henry shows us, he was a passionate crusader whose stupefyingly backward prejudices fueled a succession of costly wars against the Arab world (and won only one prize: the Moroccan port of Ceutes, still technically part of Europe). He founded his own religious order and lived a wholly ascetic life. Yet he was also an extremely risk-happy entrepreneur, funding exploration to the Azores, Madiera and the African coast as far as Guinea. Henry is not to be glorified, and in fact Russell's portrait is quite damning; he was a stubborn, greedy, violent man responsible for killing and enslaving countles Africans. But he was a force of history, and can be argued to have pioneered Spanish and Portugese expansion, even if, as Russell shows us, he may not have been fully conscious of this.

No comments about Opening Africa: James Martin - from finding Obama's tribe to founding Nairobi.

5 comments about Wayward Sailor.

1. I'd just like to point out to folks, whether this account is true or not, its quite easy to condemn a man thats not alive to defend himself.
   
   True or not, no-one has the right to make that judgment.
   
   GB.



2. This is a fascinating biography of an infuriating poseur. Tristan Jones, Royal Navy, had great skill as a teller of autobiographical tales of danger at sea and adventures ashore. Unfortunately, as Anthony Dalton demonstrates in a book that started out as an attempt to spread Jones's fame, it turns out that most (and possibly all) of his spellbinding tales are untrue. He made them up. They didn't happen.
   
   Old salts are expected to tell "sea stories." Memoirists, however, are not. It will come as a real disappointment to anyone who, like me, enjoyed the hell out of Jones's books, to discover that such wonderful reads like Ice! and The Incredible Voyage are effectively no more than tall tales. They remain great tall tales, I admit (so great you just want to keep on believing them), but fiction should be labeled as such.
   
   Public records revealed to Anthony Dalton that the old sea dog, who died in 1995, simply was not where he claimed to be when he claimed to be there. Dalton himself was reluctant to accept the evidence until it became overwhelming.
   
   Example: Jones wrote a compelling "memoir" entitled Heart of Oak about serving in the Royal Navy in World War II. It's so good that even the prominent, crotchety critic Paul Fussell mentioned its virtues. Turns out Navy records show that Tristan Jones didn't even join the RN till World War II was over. And so it goes.
   
   I used to be a big fan of his, too.



3. ...that de-bunks the Tristian Jones self created "persona". It is clear that the end of the book was hard to write and researching the latter parts of TJ's life was made harder by his isolation abroad coupled with TJ's recognition that he was in the process of getting "caught out" and so made his life hard to research. This makes the end of the book rather flat - but it is worth it in its own right for the first two thirds.



4. 
   The other reviews say alot so I will only add that Jones was prominent enough to be on Larry King's talk show and feature in the IMAX film Race the Wind. Jones was not a very likeable character but he had a diffucult life with no family, education or money and few friends and he did what he could to survive. He had the makings of a very good writer and produced 16 books and many articles. He concealed the fact that he was gay until the very end of his life, at which time he had lost both his legs to diabetes and was destitute. He accomplished a lot with very little and if you accept his stories as fiction they are good reading. Only those who are really interested in Jones or sailing will enjoy the book as most of it is otherwise very boring.



5. I find it interesting that someone would go to such great lengths to prove a book wrong. Its seems to me that Dalton had more to loose by not proving Tristan wrong than Tristan would from not doing the things in his books and then writting it as if he did.

No comments about Soldier of Fortune: Adventuring in Latin America and Mexico with Emil Lewis Holmdahl.