5 comments about The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

1. I recieved this book in perfect condition and it came a day before the estimated time of arrival. Thank you.



2. The book is great so far. I ordered it because its my ex girlfriends favorite book and i trust her taste in books.



3. What I liked most about this book is also what since distresses me most about films circulating on this topic. Weir so thoroughly researches the profusion of biographic material available (besides Britain, courts throughout Europe had documention on the wives of Henry and him) that it is clear there is no need to fictionalise this fascinating story (you wouldn't even try to imagine it). And although it lends itself so well to a series (or a film) once you have read this book the inaccuracies in (Gregory's, for example) fictionalisions on the screen tend to get annoying. Wonderful book -the story is historic and timeless at the same time. (If you can recommend a good, unembellished biographic DVD, please do.)



4. The Six Wives of Henry VIII
   Wonderful book. Very well written. It has increased my desire to know more about Henry the VIII and his times.



5. Very informative book! Weir manages to give us a detailed description of the personalities of each of these six queens. What makes this book such a success is that its very easy to read making it impossible to get bored!

5 comments about The Children of Henry VIII.

1. Once again (I bought three books related with Henry VIII) the contents were the expected, the conditions in wich I received the book were perfect, and in a very reasonable lapse of time



2. From the moment I picked up this book, I got glued. I have never read anything about Henry or his children in the past. I had been wanting to read about Elizabeth but it took awhile for me to find the right book. I read many reviews on the books written about her and based on those reviews, Alison Weir was the biographer I chose. Many have commented how she has put this book and the book on Elizabeths adult life together very well. And she has by my opinion. I'm still reading the book and look forward to reading about Elizabeth's adulthood.



3. As usual Alison Weir has written a great non-fiction. The research that she does makes her my number one author.



4. This was my first voluntary non fiction historical read. I am impressed! This story was very easy reading. I don't think I really had any idea what was going on back then, the English "subjects" must have been completely at a loss as to what religion to practice. I was disappointed that the book didn't go more into Elizabeth's reign but I now understand that there is another book out there ready to explain it. The only advice I could offer someone who is about to read it is: keep up with people's names/titles. As they are given (and taken away) titles they are from then on referred to as their new title. If you miss the transition or don't make a metal note, you get lost as to who the author is talking about.
   
   I think my biggest shock was when Mary took over, after complaining and moaning about being able to practice her own religion (Catholic), and how she shouldn't have to give up her beliefs...moan...moan...moan (she did a lot of that). She takes over and forces her own religion onto everyone else, I had no idea "Bloody Mary" was a real name, I just thought it was something you scared the crap out of your friend with in the girls bathroom back in middle school. I just dated myself didn't I?
   
   Final thought: I enjoy fiction for the most part, I actually recommended this book to friends.



5. Alison Weir has done it again. I love historical fiction, including such as The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and wanted to expand my reading to nonfiction. I started with Weir's Six Wives of King Henry VIII and was not at all disappointed! I just finished Children of Henry VIII and could not be happier with it. (though it is misleading to think that she discusses Elizabeth's actual reign because she does not) By this did not prevent me from giving it a well deserved 5 stars. She made historical nonfiction exciting! I am now looking for more of her books. She is fair, unbaised, and I truly appreciated how she would present ideas and clearly state what evidence did or did not support certain perspectives. I learned much and am thrilled to add it to my library.

5 comments about Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman.

1. I am astonished at the 5 star reviews for this book. Pay attention to what other readers are saying. I read this book because it was our book club selection of the month. Out of many years in book club, this was the worst book we have read. I am writing this review so others may be spared by the glowing marks of 'professional' reviewers.
   
   It's difficult to describe how rampant the name-dropping was in this book. There were parts of the book in which 10 or more names would appear per page for dozens of pages. I don't care if the names are notable authors, it's boring to read lists of names! This was not writing, this was 'list making'.
   
   The book couldn't hold a theme for more than a couple sentences. (spoilers next)... The author has a miscarriage, which gets just 2 or 3 sentences of attention. The author is raped. Apparently something as life shattering as that gets only a brief mention as well. There are many traumatic and life-changing events that are barely explored in the book, because the look is too busy name-dropping every person she has met.
   
   This memoir should have been exciting, it should have been a great book. What an amazing life she has led, against tragedy and great odds. Yet somehow she manages to make this story sound boring.
   
   An interesting development is the 'Afterward' after the book has ended. It's so well written you can't help but wonder if it was done by the same author? The first 20 pages and the Afterward of this book are great, the 200 pages in the middle are a mess. Do yourself a favor and pay attention to the reviews here. Life is short and there so many great books to read, I regret I'll never get the time back I spent reading this disappointing book.



2. This is a splendidly written autobiography, unbelievably rich in detail and raw emotion. While other reviewers have ably described her life's journey - from a chaotic household with alcoholic parents to a very good job as TV producer and then columnist - this is also a beautiful and vivid evocation of a changing Ireland. O'Faolain provides the grittiest of portraits, of a stalled society that is emerging from centuries of repression and excessive religiosity to a modern society. She herself embodies much of it, journeying (across class lines) from desperate loneliness (seeking love as a panacea) to a self-empowered feminist writer who has the strength to keep going. It is deep and gets you to reflect on your own predicament, particularly middle age.
   
   Warmly recommended.



3. Nuala O'Faolain writes reasonably well. She has developed her craft enough to be labeled lucid, although inspired isn't a word I would use. When she writes about the shift in the concept of family that has taken place over her lifetime she can hold my interest. But what she did with whom over the course of her life, without a deeper examination of why, falls more in the category of vaccuous gossip, and won't hold any serious reader's interest.
   
   Most disappointing of all is the absence of the story that Nuala can't relate, the one she has yet to understand herself. Ms. O'Faolain tells us all about her upbringing as a child of alcoholics, complete with a horrific description of seeing her mother dead drunk on the floor of her home. She even laments the alcoholic demise and early death of her younger brother. But she never admits to alcoholism herself despite a book-long description of irrefutable symptoms. Aside from a borderline flippant remark about what she refers to as a brush with alcoholism and a one-line mention of "addiction" to pills in her younger years, Nuala never conveys any grasp of the nature of the disease that killed her mother and brother, and shortened the life of her father.
   
   For those of us with more than a casual relationship with alcoholism, Ms. O'Faolain's present condition of relative isolation is revealing, as well. It's another predictable phase in the inevitable progression of the disease. She also talks (writes) like a "dry drunk," and has the dysfunctional relationships to prove it. When she writes about retiring alone to read - with a bottle of wine - it is painfully obvious that she is living in denial of her own condition, that she has missed perhaps the most important revelation available to her. As she left us at the end of her book, it appears that the lessons her ancestors paid such a terrible price to impart have escaped Ms. O'Faolain.
   
   Alcoholics and their families and friends are among the many who would want to read "Are You Somebody?," and they want to read it with the hope that an understanding of alcoholism was reached by the author, especially after such a traumatic lifetime experience with the disease. Nuala has yet to absorb that lesson. When she does, the story she can relate will acquire a depth that escapes her present version.



4. I love the flow of Nuala's writing style. So beautifully written, almost poetic. I find myself reading some passages over many times to contemplate what is being said. She's so insightful to human character.



5. Nuala O'Faolain has been a waitress, sales clerk and maid; a university lecturer; a television producer, and, most recently, a columnist at The Irish Times. She is Dublin-born and bred, but received an education at Oxford, England, and did tv work in the United Kingdom. She has now returned to Dublin, and, in middle age, written this well-received memoir.
   
   Through most of its history, Ireland has been a tough country for women merely to live, let alone to establish satisfactory lives and careers, and O'Faolain's struggle to do both is at the heart of her memoir. Born one of nine children to an overwhelmed alcoholic mother; and a charming father who chose to spend his time, his money, and his charm elsewhere, leaving his family day-to-day poor, O'Faolain claims to have had the classic hard-scrabble Irish childhood. And from her writings, it seems she did. Though it should be noted that, whatever her father's faults, he was one of Ireland's best-known journalists, under a "nom de plume," as it happened. And it simply does not seem to me that, however hard Ireland was on women -- and we know it was-- it's quite so miraculous that a child of a well-known journo, whether male or female, should rise to become a well-known journo in his or her own turn. It's just not quite as extraordinary as, say, a child of an illiterate day laborer taking that same career path.
   
   Be that as it may, the North Dublin family was poor, and Mam wasn't up to much. Nuala reads books, struggles to get herself an education, discovers boys, pushes at the restrictive boundaries of Catholic Ireland at that time, and finally leaves the country to complete her education and begin her career. She seems to have been expert at finding help in stony ground, always a helpful ability. She seems also to take pride in having been an icebreaker for others as she pushed at those booundaries, as well she might, and she gives us quite an interesting view of talented young people struggling to find the way out of stultifying mid-20th century Dublin. She also seems to have found help in working herself up the career ladder, on her back, as they say. Some pretty heavy names are dropped, some others are held back. But there's no denying a girl can, at a minimum, learn a lot from pillow talk, if she picks the right pillow talkers. And she's certainly not the first or last woman to have gotten that kind of help up the ladder; let anybody who cares to throw the first stone.
   
   Now in lonely middle age, without male companionship or children, O'Faolain's unusually honest about her circumstances. Of course, it seems evident that, as a younger woman, O'Faolain was choosing her male companions for qualities other than the likelihood that they would stick with her for the long haul. Nevertheless, plenty of men and women have looked hard for mates for the long haul, without necessarily finding them. Ways to live must still be found. A lot of people wind up middle-aged and lonely, and can be grateful for the author's honesty.
   
   O'Faolain's trip has taken her some interesting places, and she has always been a keen-eyed observer with a keen pen. At one point, she writes of life in Oxford,"In real life, glamour consisted of my friend and myself getting done up in high heels and tight black skirts. Tucked into the skirts, and anchored by wide elastic belts, we wore men's white nylon shirts with the sleeves rolled up. We had big pointy breasts (old nylons stuffed in our bras), a thick layer of yellowy Pan-Stik on our faces, black lines going up from the corners of our eyes, Vaseline on our shocking-pink lips. In the Crystal Ballroom we two beauties eyed guys with duck's arse haircuts and crepe-soled shoes, while we condescended to dance with awe-struck Malaysian students." It's the next best thing to being there for us readers.
   
   Later she remarks, " I am still acquainted with a lot of the people I knew in Dublin around 1970. But most of them are so different now that the past might never have been. I remember the vulnerable, not always dignified young people who are, now, dignitaries: a judge, a professor, a feared critic, a consultant. In a more confident culture, people like these would reclaim their youth. In North America, people, however powerful they become, are happy to go to reunions to recapture the innocence of youth."
   
   O'Faolain found her way through her years, through alcoholism and severe depression, to become, at least, a person who owns her own life. And, hey, that's not so bad: generations of women all around the world have never achieved it, and still don't.

5 comments about Teacher Man: A Memoir.

1. If Angela's Ashes is about the struggle for raw survival, Teacher Man is about the struggle for happiness in the affluent if alienated world of the latter half of the Twentieth Century. McCourt is wonderfully honest about his strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and his story to survive and excel as a teacher has real drama.
   
   McCourt is able to show the crushing burdens and limited rewards of his profession. But his humor and his ability to show how he ultimately connects with his students make this book in some ways more emotionally rewarding than Angela's Ashes.
   
   The story can be a bit desultory at times, and greater detail, particularly regarding his later years at Stuyvesant High, would have made this a better book. While administration is painted as the great obstacle to teachers, McCourt's treatment of this issue is a bit one-sided and superficial. He may be right, but he does not make his point effectively.
   
   The strength of the book is its emotional honesty and the vividness with which he can portray his own internal conflicts as well as the connections he is able to make with his students.



2. Frank McCourt writes about his teaching years and the students he remembers most. When I finished the book, I had the same question as with his previous books - "and then what happened next?" In other words I never want the stories to end, I could keep reading forever. His writing is unique, exciting, and brings to life everyone he writes about. I especially recommend the audio version - he records them himself in his wonderful Irish accent - they are just a joy to listen to.



3. I only picked up this book one day when I was bored at work and a co-worker lent it to me. After reading the first chapter, I got up from my desk walked 5 blocks to the nearnest Barnes & Noble and bought the book. I had to finish reading it and I couldn't wait til she finished to borrow it. I could only wish to have had a Teacher Man like Frank McCourt when I was in school.



4. Before gaining worldwide fame and acclaim for writing his memoir of a terrible Irish Catholic childhood, Frank McCourt used the stories of his life to teach high school English for thirty years. "Teacher Man", his third foray into memoir writing, examines those years spent teaching from the very beginning to the bittersweet end. Scattered in between stories of the classroom are bits of Frank's life at those times, some comic, some searing, all of them evocative of his colorful life.
   
   After serving in the U.S. Army, Frank McCourt went to New York University on the G.I. Bill and decided to become a teacher, knowing that people back home would be amazed and respect him. He chronicles his struggle to get (and sometimes keep) a teaching job in the various high schools in New York, and his time wondering if he really wants to spend the rest of his life worrying about grading those 175 essays of 350+ words each. McCourt is a wonderful storyteller, and readers can easily understand how he could captivate classrooms, even the unruliest, with tales of his childhood. Anyone who has taught will appreciate his raw admission that he often felt like a fraud in front of the classroom, wondering why certain things (like how to handle unruly kids) isn't taught in those college education classes, and whether or not to admit they don't know the answer to something. Readers can also recognize the struggle that is common to everyone, of finally figuring out what they want to do in life, and where they finally belong.
   
   "Teacher Man" is a quick, honest, and sometimes brutal examination of teaching. So many are quick to dismiss teachers since they have the summer off, and teachers are treated as the lowest of the low on the professional totem pole. McCourt nails these feelings exactly, especially the image of his schoolbag full of ungraded papers sitting in the corner with eyes that follow you everywhere. Some people may find it hard to believe that he can recall the names of these students and aspects about their lives so many years later, but McCourt is right on when he talks about your life as a teacher: these lives stay inside your head, whether you want to give them that room or not. The struggles and glories of the classroom remain even as you try to go to bed at night, and will remain for years on end.



5. If you enjoyed either of his other two books, you will no doubt enjoy this one. He writes in the same witty manner and gives you a decent insight into how difficult teachers have it when trying to deal with high school brats :)

5 comments about The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn.

1. From all the books I've ready about Anne Boleyn, this is by the far the best in all aspects. Ives really gives the reader an inside glimpse as to who Anne Boleyn was and not just known as the second Queen of England that brought down Katherine of Aragon and was beheaded. I would recommend this book highly to any avid readers of Tudor history. Excellent, factual and well-researched!



2. Eric Ives's book about Anne Boleyn is absolutely the best study of her life and death I have ever read -- and I've read quite a few. Finally, Henry VIII's rejection of his "entirely beloved wife" makes sense, given the whole story of Anne's involvement with the religious reformers; the factions at court; and the loss of power that Thomas Cromwell faced because of her. Ives's depiction of Cromwell's engineering of Anne's arrest reads like a thriller. It was not as simple as Henry's wandering eye and Anne's "miscarriage of her savior". A very complex and moving book.
   
   Caitlin Scott-Turner
   (author, The Queen's Fencer)The Queen's Fencer



3. I think that this book was very infomative. I didn't need to do anymore research to find the answers I was looking for. This book had it all.



4. It has been very tempting for many Boleyn biographers to paint Anne as a feminist icon and victim of male power. It has been equally tempting in other generations to paint her as a conniving, power hungry witch who brought about her own donwfall and whose only value was sex-object and mother of one of England's greatest rulers. The truth one might rightly suspect lies somewhere in the middle. Ives gives us enough information-- at times, too much-- to find that middle ground, exploring not just Anne's family and social roots but the development of her tastes, values and beliefs. There can be no doubt Anne did plenty of scheming and had a thirst for prestige and power, and did not hesitate to wield it once she had it. But she was also a highly educated, engaging and interesting Renaissance woman, bringing the sophistications of the Continental Renaissance to the English court, a court which was in many ways, still Medieval in a world that had long passed into the era of "New Learning" and scientific exploration. There are rather extensive lists of her belongings, friends, writings, but that is what one would expect in a thorough study such as this (the most thorough yet done in all likelihood). Some of these listings might be better suited to an appendix rather than contained in the text but that was for editors to decide and one assumes they made their choices for informed reasons. And throught this dense documentation Anne emerges not as a stock Renaissance Comedia character, colored of one mood or dimension, but as a complex human being with the same appetites as any of us. And like any of us she is by turns infuriating, admirable, pitiable, likeable and annoying. In the end she proves tragic, but brave: after being offered a way out of her death sentence by the king himself, she goes to the scaffold and the swordsman rather than disinherit her blood and admit to any wrongdoing. If you've an interest in this period, and in this Court in particular, this is a biography worth owning.



5. It is impossible for me to ignore the impressive amount of scholarship, reasearch, time, thought, and effort that went into this book. Mr. Ives has no doubt done a service to Anne Boleyn Scholars. HOwever, the book is nearly impossible to read. Mr Ive's introduces many ancedotes into his narratives, which he then proceeds to argue are apocryphal, and then sometimes states they could be true after all. This makes it hard to understand his point, especially when he repeateadly uses words like might, perhaps, and maybe. But the worse thing about this book is that ignores, or dismisses other respectable scholarship on his subject matter as, "nonsene." He sometimes presents things as history, which are as a point of fact a matter of scholarly debate, and the footnotes demonstrate that his arguments are not always as sound as he would make them appear.
   Most specifically he dismisses the work of Harvard scholar Reetha M. Warnicke, who wrote a fascinating biography of the same subject called, "The Life and Death of ANne Boleyn." He needs to tell us when historical ideas are in dispute. His language can also be pretentious at times. (E.g. the repeated use of the word of rusticated.)

5 comments about 'Tis: A Memoir.

1. This book was great and was definitely more light-hearted than Angela's Ashes. You don't need to have read his first book (Angela's Ashes) to enjoy this part of his memoir; in fact reading the first book made me enjoy this one less simply because there was just no way for it to compare to the first.



2. although this book is long, and often times it shows the mundane life of a teacher, it truley makes me want to move to ireland! i love this book! it's so hard for me to put it down.



3. This book is a continuation of the story, Angela's Ashes. I enjoyed the writer's style and insight into Irish immigrant life. I recommend these two novels to anyone interested in real Irish life.



4. Many reviewers have noted that the first two-thirds of this book is strong, while the final third falls flat. I'd agree, and I think I know why: by the time the memoir reaches the late 1960s, McCourt has become a New Yorker and the book loses the premise: the fun of seeing New York and American society in general through the eyes of a naive outsider. The first two thirds are like all of Angela's Ashes: insightful, funny, bittersweet, tragic, and the book finds the power of its voice in the ironical gap between the perceptions of the naive young man and the understanding of the knowing older man who wrote the memoir. In the last third of the book, McCourt is not a stranger in a strange land -- he's your average New Yorker in a midlife crisis, with an increasing estranged wife, the difficulty of caring for an aging mother, questions about his career choice, etc. Nice to know how some of the story lines played out, but the final third is not really of any inherent interest in itself, and since there's less of a gap between what McCourt perceived at the time and what he perceives now, it is lacking in that quirky ironical voice that made what went before so captivating. On the basis of the first 2/3rds, I recommend it highly. The last 1/3 may be significantly less interesting, but is not objectionable.



5. 'Tis is a wonderful follow up from Angela's Ashes. One of the differences from 'Tis and Angela's Ashes is that the tone is different. Angela's Ashes is told from Mr. McCourt's view from childhood to adolescence where as 'Tis is told from an early adulthood voice. Mr. McCourt is trying to learn the norms and customs of America because he has been away for so long. He makes mistakes and stumbles through this phase of his life without anybody to really guide him.

5 comments about The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.

1. Caroline Alexander's work of non-fiction The Endurance is a wonderful read, effectively portraying Shackleton's Antarctic expedition in an exciting and enjoyable manner. Alexander effectively uses the journals of the members of the expedition to demonstrate the feelings of the crewmen about their plight, their leader, and other members of the crew. One such example would be from the diary of Frank Worsley, the skipper of Endurance, describing crewmate Timothy McCarthy. "`He is the most irrepressible optimist I've ever met,' Worsley wrote in his navigating book,'" (Alexander 148). In addition, Alexander also demonstrates how optimism can lead to survival in situations in which the odds are heavily stacked against it. "`Optimism,' Shackleton once said, `is true moral courage'," (Alexander 56). Alexander's choice to include this Shackleton quote demonstrates how she believes that optimism is important in a time of crisis. The one aspect of the book that is mildly irritating, however, is the placement of the pictures. There are many pages of pictures placed at seemingly random intervals throughout the book, and this can cause quite some confusion due to the fact that the pictures often interrupt a sentence or a paragraph. However, overall The Endurance is a wonderful book about facing impossible odds and living to tell the tale.



2. Caroline Alexander's The Endurance, the memoir of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, is a relentlessly intriguing story, even with its few passages of slow, monotonous detail. This recollection of the voyage and survival of the Endurance is consistently awe-inspiring in its seemingly mythical events and journeys of Shackleton's 28 men. The artistic weaving of the crew's diaries and quotes with the haunting photographs of Frank Hurley, the expedition's photographer, is powerful and, for the most part, attention consuming. Its only problem is a few passages of too much detail, creating a slow, less interesting pace for the story.
   
   The amazing situations and actions of the men, particularly Shackleton, is what made the book so enjoyable. The men lived in sub zero degree weather for over a year, eventually journeying almost 80 miles in three wooden life boats, but still come across as normal human beings. They argue about wives and hold grudges over dead pets. It is Shackleton, the timeless leader that he is, who creates something special from these men and drives them to safety. His ability to draw from others and please all (only Chippy McNish expressed any unhappiness during the journey) is an awe-inspiring feat that exemplifies what a great leader is and should be. The most amazing accomplishment of the expedition, created by the men and Shackleton alike, was the 800-mile journey by six men in a 22-foot-long life boat through a hurricane in the most inhospitable ocean in the world. When they finally made contact with civilization, they met another sailing crew. Frank Worsley recorded the following interaction with one man in particular: "He said he had been at sea over 40 years; that he knew this stormy Southern Ocean intimately, [...] and that never had he heard of such a wonderful feat of daring seamanship as bringing the 22-foot open boat from Elephant Island to South Georgia [...]. All the seamen present then came forward and solemnly shook hands with us in turn" (Alexander 166-167). To impress fellow seamen of the day, not to mention Norwegian seamen, truly displays the power of the accomplishments of the Endurance and the intriguing nature of the book. What made it all better was the care and leadership of Shackleton. After such an unbelievable adventure, he did not take time to celebrate, but turned to the help of the Chilean government in order to complete his journey. According to Shackleton, "[...] the grace and strength that had brought them so far would count for nothing if, when they eventually arrived, they found even one man dead on Elephant Island" (Alexander 169) The incredible strength and leadership of Shackleton, along with the endurance and misfortune of the crew in The Endurance leads to a very interesting read and an unforgettable story.



3. The Endurance, by Caroline Alexander, is an exceptionally well-written epic about the human will to survive. The story begins with legendary Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew's daring quest to be the first to cross the continent of Antarctica. But bad luck and poor planning leave their ship, the Endurance, trapped in the Antarctic ice. As their ship is slowly crushed by the ice, the crew realizes that their journey is no longer about discovery, but survival. The crew eventually leaves the safety of their ship to brave the dangerous floes of the Antarctic ice, because "what the ice gets, the ice keeps" (Alexander 3).
   Now laid before the crew is a situation that is "not merely formidable; it was, as every sailing man of the company knew, impossible" (Alexander 133). Shackleton's brilliant leadership and determination bring his men to safety from the brink of death, and his optimism keeps his crew believing that they can still survive. The diary entries of the crew leave nothing to speculation about the hardships of the men of the Endurance. From their lack of food and dry clothes, to the freezing Antarctic weather, the men of the Endurance survive for almost two years in a land not at all hospitable to humans.
   As with every story, a picture is worth a thousand words. The breathtaking pictures by Frank Hurley put the reader right onto the ice with the crew. The reader can witness the sheer cliffs, never ending ice floes, and the break up of the Endurance, just as seen by the men of the ship themselves. Alexander truly puts the reader into the minds of the crew, and shows the Antarctic from the crew's eyes. This tale of survival brilliantly documents one of history's most daring stories of survival.



4. Excellent book; well presented with photo's. Difficult to put down. It was recommended by Jeff Masters from Weather Underground and is well worth reading. It is surprising the amount of difficulty that people can experience and survive. It really shows how leadership and discipline, something we lack in our socitey, can be used to assist in goal attainment.



5. My only wish for this world today is that Shackleton could lead us the way he lead the men of the Endurance. Yes, he made mistakes, we all do. But he triumphed over those errors and brought all souls home. He was able to keep his men together emotionally while they were apart physically until they were reunited again. This is a story that I have read numerous times and one that I will return to again and again. Well written and well illustrated with actual photographs from the ship's photographer.

5 comments about Nicholas and Alexandra.

1. nicholas and alexandra should never had become czar and crazina of russia.nicholas was just to weak spirit and alexandra to strong without know the real russia people.she saw russian as childern who needed to be told how to run their lives by the papa czar.she hide her son illness and brought in a sexual twisted man of god into her family,ruin the romanov's relationship with it's people.stopping changes that would give citzen russian say in their country.in the end the people turn on the romanov's every thing end tragical.



2. I read this book many years ago and have never forgotten it, and I just recently purchased a copy of my own. Robert Massie is an excellent writer who makes this book memorable for the fun and loving family that the Romanovs were and their terrible, tragic end. I'm now collecting more books on the Romanov dynasty and the individual people who made up this fascinating family. For anyone with an interest, this is the place to start.



3. Far and away one of the best biographies I have ever read. Massie masterfully gives life to the doomed, tragic last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family. I was absolutely rivetted from page one by this outstanding work. The book gives a sympathetic portrait of Tsar Nicholas, his wife Empress Alexandra, and their ongoing struggle to cope with their haemophiliac son, Alexei, heir to the Russian throne. Alexei's illness indirectly leads to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and the family's murder. An astonishingly good read, and one I highly recommend to all who are interested in this era of history.



4. Robert Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" is a biographical study centered on the lives of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. Massie's portrayal of the last ruling Romanavs is like many other works on the subject in that it is poignant, dramatic, and vibrant; but never dull. However, Massie's work stands out above other works on the subject for its thorough account of the lives of the imperial couple and most of all, its sympathetic portrayal of them.
   
   Nearly all works of the period agree that Tsar Nicholas II was not the blood-drenched despot the Bolshevik revolutionaries claimed him to be, and although he may not have been as benevolent as his contemporary Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, he at least lacked the bellicose nature of his German counterpart (and early advisor), Wilhelm II. Massie's account demonstrates how Nicholas II was ill-prepared to ascend the throne in after Alexander III, but unlike the contention of other historians, Massie makes a reasonable case in defending the intelligence of the fallen autocrat.
   
   Massie's account of Nicholas and Alexandra does not absolve the couple from their failure to prevent the collapse of the reign and ultimately their country, but it does partially excuse their inflexibility and fatalism on the serious of misfortunes that continued to plague Nicholas from the very day of his coronation; when hundred of Russian peasants were stampeded to death in a overzealous crowd on Khodynka Meadow. Yet, no Romanov apologist can ignore the detrimental influences on Nicholas's reign, including his wife Alexandra, a German Kaiser, and especially a corrupt starets. That such an array of persons from various strata of society could at times impose their will on a man raised to be an autocrat was a tarnish on Nicholas' character.
   
   Despite his habit of being easily swayed at times, Nicholas is not one-dimensional in Massie's account. It is noted how Nicholas ignored the advice of able ministers and most of all; remained unyielding to grant the masses of his subjects the representation and constitution they desired--until it was too late. Even Massie can be counted among the historians who muse whether the Romanov dynasty might have survived had the Tsar been more accommadating to the popular demands of his people--or if war had not erupted in the manner it did in 1914.
   
   Although Massie's work is very thorough, it only briefly touches the clandestine operations of the Tsarist police state in rooting out revolutionaries and assassins from its masses prior to 1917. Indeed, other works (e.g. Edmond Taylor's "The Fall of the Dynasties") are careful to point out that Tsarist police included a host of known double agents whose loyalties were perpetually in doubt. While Massie makes note of that insecurity in his account of Prime Minister Peter Stolypin's assassination in 1911 by a Tsarist agent, he fails to explain how widespread the problem actually was. Indeed, Taylor describes as monarchy's slide to collapse as a "suicide", not because they were unable to stop that slide, but rather because they were unwilling.
   
   Just as it is difficult to excuse the corrupt system of Tsarist counter-revolutionary activity, historians are also unable to justify the Russia's policy in WWI of placing the needs of France above that of her own. The disaster at Tannenburg early in the war is described in detail by Massie, and is correctly portrayed as a premature offensive launched by Russia (with the support of Nicholas) to rescue its beleagured ally from the German onslaught through northern France. Indeed, even after his abdication and arrest, Massie notes how Nicholas pleaded with Kerensky to continue to support the Russia's allies in the war effort--a mission with which the Provisional Government leader would complete in the summer of 1917 with disastrous consequences. Although Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" does not outright label the monarchy as a principle agent of its own destruction, his book nevertheless provides a strong case to the conclusion that the last rulers (and their ministers) of the Romanov dynasty practiced an inexplicable policy of self-immolation.
   
   It is perhaps this mystery--or lunacy--of the Romanovs that continues to fascinate so many readers 90 years after their unglorious deaths in their Siberian imprisonment. Undoubtedly, the story of the last Romanovs will continue to perplex students of history for decades to come, and Robert Massie's work will will remain the foremost account of the twilight of Imperial Russia.



5. Massie has written a masterpiece.
   Graceful, informative ,never boring.
   One of the best introductions into the insanity
   of the Red Revolution and the rise of communism.

5 comments about The Ride of Our Lives.

1. This was a wonderful real life account of a family's journey
   through life's many turns.A story all family's can relate too!
   Bought young and old will enjoy it. I liked it very much.
   
   Brian Klune, Colchester,CT.



2. I enjoyed the book so much. Mike Leonard has written an amazing book about a trip with his parents and how much he learns about them. The book makes you feel like you are riding along with them in the RV experiencing every mile of the trip. I laughed out loud and even cried like a baby in spots. I am now watching the series on the PBS channel on Thursday nights. If anyone can tell me how to get in touch with Mike Leonard (ie) email. Please let me know by emailing me at rangersfan5@optonline.net. I would love to let him know how great his book was.



3. I laughed till I cried tears!! Very vivid in his writing, you feel like you were a fly on the wall and living the dream with them! WONDERFUL READ!
   It was nice to read a book like this in the world today!



4. This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Mike Leonard has a way with words in describing this multi-generational life experience. I laughed so hard during parts of the book. What a sweet and funny tribute to his family.



5. This book is a joy to read. Mike Leonard's description of this ultimate road trip has you laughing out loud, and, for a few minutes of insanity, thinking this would be a good idea for your own family!

5 comments about The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory.

1. well this is the first book i read on winston churchill . bought it in 1983 . the foreword is unforgettable but historical mistakes in it makes this work not the very best on the luife of sir winston. great prose nevetheless.same can be said of book number two.



2. Manchester is one of those writers who appears unable to disappoint. This is a book to be read and savored. For years, it sat on my shelf - I saw as a large undertaking that I wanted to do right.
   
   The book has a very interesting structure. First, it begins with a kind of interpretive introduction to the man, vividly characterizing him while also evaluating his strengths as a man of history and his glaring weaknesses. You see him, worts and all, and it is both funny and enlightening. The psychological depth is virtually unprecedented in any other bio I have read. Second, you get a view both into his milieu - as an aristocrat of talent and privilege in Victorian Britain - and a biography of both of his parents. This is crucially important, as we come to see Churchill as an anachronism, but also as a boy neglected by narcissistic parents. (Interestingly, the absence of one or both parents is a common trait in extraordinary achievers.) Third, you get his life story, more from the events he was involved in than as an intimate portrait, though much of his personal life is covered. Indeed, he used action as the most effective tonic against depression.
   
   The man that emerges is flawed and complex, but evidently a political genius. In my view, the key to his character is that he remained a Victorian gentleman, who viewed martial valor as the greatest source of meaning and glory in life. This suited him to titanic struggles, such as the one he faced with Hitler that places him in the ranks of the greatest historical figures. As an egotist, he always wanted to place himself at the center of events and yet did so with courage and tenacity in spite of his physical weaknesses. When out of power, he exercised other gifts, such as writing, with equal talent and energy.
   
   Nonetheless, Manchester proves that Churchill was not a politician deeply in touch with his constituency: he never developed a typical base of power and often his views did not synch with the mainstream. Without Hitler, his hour might never have arrived: this duality is a theme that runs through the entire book.
   
   If there is any flaw here, it is that Manchester includes a plethora of detail, not only about world events but in Churchill's political maneuverings. Normally, I delight in these details, if I know there is a purpose to all of it, which I did not always sense in this book. (Here a comparison with Robert Caro is instructive: you always know where he is going and why.) Others may see it differently, of course. Also, many of the historical details I already knew, so did not need Manchester's wordy introductions, but they were useful in the many cases of which I was ignorant.
   
   All in all, this is one of the most engrossing and fascinating bios I have ever read. Warmly recommended.



3. Winston Churchill was not a likable or even an admirable man.He was dishonest,childish,ruthless and disloyal.Perhaps worst of all,he was a megalomaniac-he knew that he was a Great Man,and that some day he would fulfill a magnificent destiny. But when war and catastrophe came to England he was perhaps the only politician psycholigically capable of inspiring continued resistence and defiance to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.Given that England had already lost the war,that was a breathtaking achievement.
   
   James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson",published in 1791,is generally considered the finest biography produced in the English language.However,Manchester's work is perhaps superior. Boswell was of Johnson's world and therefore conveyed it to his reader only incidently;that is,he naturally assumed that his reader would be familiar with the things and events with which he was familiar.Manchester,writing of the past,appreciated the necessity of re-creating Churchill's world for the reader.He was brilliantly successful.The world which Churchill inhabited would have been amazing even to most of his contemporaries because of his social class.As Manchester points out,in over 90 years of life Churchill never drew his own bath;one of his relatives,visiting friends without his valet,sent down word that he was having trouble getting his toothpaste to "froth properly".He'd never applied toothpaste to a toothbrush himself.It isn't just the story of Churchill's life that is so engrossing.It is the wonderful recreation of Churchill's world,of the people he knew and the conversations he had,the events which occurred and the way that Churchill and his friends and enemies reacted to the events.
   
   As Boswell loved Johnson,Manchester worshipped Churchill.Indeed,Churchill was in some ways a lovable man.He was devoted to his wife and family(happily married for almost 60 years-how many men can say that?) He revered his father (a syphlitic,who depised him,)and he was loyal to his country and the Empire it ruled.Personally,I doubt that I'd have been able to spend more than ten minutes in a room with Churchill.But this book is one of the finest I've ever read.I was honestly sorry to read the last of its almost 900 pages and I'm opening the second volume tonight.In the forward to the second volume Manchester quotes a definition of biographer.The biographer is judged "by his ability to suggest the sweep of chronology and yet to highlight the major patterns of behavior that give a life its shape and meaning."Boswell did that. Manchester,I believe,did it better.



4. This is William Manchester at his best. This is fascinating reading and fascinating writing. Of course Winston Churchill was quite a character but to be honest I didn't know that fact until I read this book and its companion volume.
   After reading this book I put it to my mind that I would read everything that Manchester wrote. I've got a couple more to go. You can't miss with this purchase. A great story, great writing, and good history. What more could you ask for?



5. I am a little half way through the book, but it already is one of the best books I have ever read. The book deserves all the accolade. Manchester's approach to biography is a little different from many others in that he did not shy away from coloring the narrative with events that were yet to occur. He always hinted the historical significance of events in light of what happened later. I find this extremely helpful. For example: Churchill's fascination with early airplanes, his conception of tanks when dealing with a domestic riot are just two examples. These illuminated Churchill was indeed ahead of his peers in recognizing important trends.
   
   The buildup to WWI is masterful. The book weaves Churchill's struggle with the Irish Home rule question together with the naval arms race with Germany in 1913. Since we know WWI started in 1914, the realization that Churchill and the British government were struggling with a domestic problem (which surely was exploited by the German Kaiser) enhances our understanding of the immediate pre-war times.
   
   I knew the old US of A was not a world player before WWI. This book adds to that impression. Until the outbreak of the war, the US is just not on Churhill's radar: it does not show up much in his writing, travel, and speech. Yes, he did a book tour in the US, but that was before he started his political career.
   
   Can't wait to read the second half of the book.