1 comments about Uphill Walkers: Portrait of a Family.

1. I commend Madeleine Blais for her effort to record her childhood experiences. She recalls her reaction to her father's untimely death and draws nicely described vignettes of her five siblings and their not-quite-able-to-cope mother. The scenes are linked with mentions of songs, current events and other minutiae of the 50s. Unfortunately these sound like they were gleaned from an almanac to serve as fillers.
   She has some pleasant moments in the book, and I was reading it just for that "growing up in the 50s" ambience. I grew up as one-of-six and was interested in her experience in a large family.
   There's nothing much wrong with the biography, but it just seems lacking somehow. The account lacks the elegance of language of Trevanian's The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street while their middle class life lacks the drama quotient of The Glass Castle. Maybe if I hadn't read those first, I'd find Uphill Walkers more compelling.

1 comments about My Village My World.

1. This is a wonderful book. Serious with a simple spirituality but with some of the funniest stories I've ever read. As far as I know his short description of the Anglo-Irish situation is very accurate. At the end I was inwardly shouting, "More...more!!!"

5 comments about King Arthur.

1. This is a very well researched book, and I am very impressed by Goodrich's connections from disparate stories into geographical and linguistic results. That being said, many of her claims and explanations are spurious, relying on an overriding implied belief. At best her results are inconclusive, if intriguing, while at the worst they are foolish.



2. Reviewers' opinions of Norma Lorre Goodrich's "King Arthur" jump from those who hate it to those who love it. There's not much middle ground. "What grief and what a shame!" as Lancelot says on page 160. It's time to bridge the extremes. Speaking of bridges, I shall cross carefully, as if on Lancelot's sword bridge (p.167). Of course, as Goodrich tells us, the blade-like quality of that bridge was nothing of the sort. It was a mis-translation which gave French listeners a good laugh to imagine English knights doing something as stupid as walking on blades. If only Goodrich employed more humor she would score points for explaining such pieces of arcana, leaving fewer reviewers mad at her. (I can't resist this digression. Lancelot's sword bridge falls into the category of Cinderella's slippers. In French they weren't glass (verre). They were made of the finest squirrel fur (vaire). The English never caught on.)
   
   Here's what is really at work between these covers: impeccable, exhaustive research is rescued from its envelope of academic writing by a great index, making "King Arthur" a valuable reference book. And not just about Arthur and his court, but also the machinations of King Henry II of England and his consort Eleanor of Aquitaine, who pressed the legends of Arthur into use as a political tool. Like Arthur, they ruled a large empire (from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees) whose peoples had different customs, spoke different languages and owed loyalty to different lords. Henry II, struggling to reassert the broken line of his grandfather after nineteen years of dynastic war in England, promoted the Arthurian legends as a shining possibility, of a polyglot empire enjoying peace under a central government such as Arthur's in a former, golden age.
   
   Goodrich's book limits the great wizard Merlin in these pages, perhaps because the author was holding him back: Merlin would become the subject of her next book a few years later.
   
   I used Goodrich's "King Arthur" as valuable research. If you are a general reader, here's a tip: open it at random and read section by section; or open to the index and wander from there. Personally, I needed to learn about Queen Eleanor's propagandist, the author Wace. Not many other books give thirteen page references for Wace. Goodrich can, and does. Accept what she gives in good grace. If you let your mind bend like a reed to the subject, you'll enjoy her "King Arthur" on its own terms. If you want a quick read, this is not for you.
   
   By Robert Fripp, author,
   "Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"



3. Goodrich provides evidence that King Arthur had life beyond the myth, based on Medieval documents, her knowledge of Middle-Ages languages, and present-day Ordinance maps. In conjunction with her works on Merlin, Guenievere, and The Holy Grail she documents his life and times and is most persuasive. She cites research by Marie of France, Eleanore of Aquitane's daughter, and the story that one written account was lost by Richard the Lionheart in a card game.
   
   This dense-with-information study takes dilligence -- I'm a college graduate with an English minor and it's the hardest book I ever read. But well worth it.



4. I waited a long time to pick this book up and I am sorry I did not do it sooner. This book gets many bad reviews, most claiming that it's unreadable or not well researched. While the reading may be tough going for some, to claim that this book isn't well researched shows that you didn't read it. The author loses a star for her method of research though, because she mainly deduces sixth century locations from the consistencies in twelfth century texts.The author is a philologist so most of her arguments are based in those ancient languages in which she is an expert. Most of her arguments are convincing and some are not, but her work should not be discounted when trying to locate Arthur in history.



5. It has taken me several years to read this and I'm still not finished. The "scholarly" writing is confusing at best and totally lost me at worst. As much as I try, I cannot find anything about this book making it worth recommending to others. Goodrich's theory (theories?) rambles all over the place, she goes on and on about phonetics and linguistics to the point where even the most dedicated reader must be bored to tears, and it makes me wonder exactly what the point is that we are supposed to get from the book. If I had a professor who rambled like Goodrich I'd probably have dropped out of the course in the first week from boredom.

2 comments about Henry VI (The English Monarchs Series).

1. Bertram Wolffe's biography is readable and entertaining, however, the vast majority of the book describes Henry's relationship with France and how he squandered his father's legacy in Normandy. As mentioned in a previous review, the book is woefully short on detail regarding the Wars of the Roses. The book could have been much more entertaining and informative had it included more detail regarding the last years of Henry's life and the Wars of the Roses.



2. Bertram Wolffe's biography on Henry VI actually read more like a study of politics instead of a biography of a king. The politics involves the inner working of the court of Henry VI as he grew from a child king to an adult king. We really don't get to know Henry personally but understand him by his official actions as King of England and working of his advisors, favorites and office holders.
   
   But one thing the author make very clear in this book was that Henry VI was truly an incompetent man and his ineptitude as a ruler marked him as an unworthy monarch. But its also clear that he was let down by almost everyone around him. Premature death of his father left a power vacuum around the young king and Henry was unlucky enough to have self-interest men around him who probably ruined him during his formative years. Foundation of his father kept things stable for awhile but cracks began to show because Henry wasn't capable and neither were men around him. In some ways, he seem to compared favorably with Henry III although the third Henry was more lucky.
   
   If there is a major weakness in this book, it appears that the book get weaker as Henry VI get weaker on the throne. His last ten years get a mere 15 pages even although it was probably one of the more exciting parts of his personal life.
   
   This book appears to be well researched and well written but it seem to be geared toward people who are well versed in English mediveal history. A novice reading this book may feel bit overwhelmed by massive amount of information regarding English mediveal politics of this time period.
   
   Overall, this book does come highly recommended, although not a great biography of any sort, its a great study of English politics prior to the War of the Roses. Its explained the working of the English policies and reflects well why they lost all that Henry V have won for them.

No comments about The English Royal Family of America: From Jamestown to the American Revolution.

1 comments about SHOOT TO KILL (Cassell Military Paperbacks).

1. This extremely well written book recounts the first hand experiences of Michael Asher throughout his time in the British Parachute Regiment, the Special Air Service and the Special Patrol Group in Northern Ireland. The book proceeds at a brisk pace throughout but is replete with enormous detail.

   The brutally honest text grips the reader into a sense of "almost being there". Having completed a regular engagement in the British forces during the same period as that illustrated here, I can confirm the accuracy of many of the matters described, including some of the "less savoury" elements which may upset some readers.

   The reader does not have to agree with the views expressed throughout this book, but needs to understand the realities on the ground which are so commendably portrayed and which form the basis of this work. Not least of these are the realism and humanity of the raw recruits undergoing such harsh physical & military training as well as the raw honesty of the writer.

   The stress and pain endured throughout the many stages of specialist training are almost tangible and the reader can but grimace at times along with the author as he relates pivotal periods of his experience where the reality and atmosphere of occasional brutality & intimidation together with periods of humiliation are so vividly evoked.

   The book is not one to be "enjoyed" as there is little here to lead the reader in that direction. This is a soldier writing about soldiers' experiences and some of the content might be considered "distasteful" to many readers who are not familiar with military life. Be warned.

   The fear and frustration during patrols in Northern Ireland during the "Troubles" are among other realities really brought home to the reader, where every street corner, window, alleyway or shadow might hide a gunman. (The politics of the situation in Northern Ireland are largely avoided apart from reference to the occasional quote from those involved in a number of incidents.) Situations now being experienced by the military in numerous locations Worldwide.

   All in all this is a thoroughly readable and informative study which reveals aspects of the British military and the "soldier on the ground" which might otherwise be largely overlooked. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in military history and experience. Thank you.

No comments about The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam: Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. With a Commentary by H. M. Batson and a Biographical Introduction by E. D. Ross.

No comments about Astride the Moon.

No comments about DUKE OF HAZARD: THE WIT AND WISDOM OF PRINCE PHILIP.

1 comments about Hard Driving : My Years with John DeLorean.

1. I just read this book and I don't regret it.
   I feel I could see -through the authors eyes- what one side of John Z DeLorean was like...
   
   This is a story that covers only a very brief part of DeLorean's life (obviously) and I don't consider it the entire measure of the man.
   
   I would say that the author presents a credible account of his perspective, I did not get the feeling that it was biased beyond that of someone who was so close to the matter. The excitement, enthusiasm, frustration, disappointment and regret show through. But it does not spoil the read, it instead reinforces its credibility and makes the whole journey more intimate.
   
   I am left wondering about the other side of the coin, I wish I could know what JZD was thinking and what were his true motivations and timings. Like anyone out there, he was unique. -even if things done in his business and personal life were later perceived as 'predictable in hind sight'.
   
   It truly was a fascinating read, my unfounded, biased and preconceived ideas about JZD were challenged and I am now waiting the delivery of DeLoeran's own book on the matter.
   
   
   -I dream a world where dreamers succeed and the righteous lead.