2 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Edward the Confessor (Yale English Monarchs).

1. Wow - this man knows his history! If you are a serious historian interested in Edward the Confessor - this is your Bible! The reading is extremely dry - don't think you'll find more here than the facts, but there are facts galore! Barlow begins with an indepth look at Edward's background and the background of the political situation in England. He ends with the impact of Edward during the reign of Henry III and covers literally EVERYTHING in between. Then for good measure, he adds nearly another 100 pages of appendicies, time lines, maps, tables and illustrations. I'm very impressed with the author's knowledge of the subject. I only hold back that last "star" because I regret that the author didn't make it a bit more "friendly" to read. It is dry and moves slowly and is not probably a book that would generate interest in Edward the Confessor so much as it is a book to verify facts for those already interested. I personally prefer history and historical fiction that can introduce a reader to a subject and make them want to read more. I'm afraid that his work will be too daunting to many and makes Edward sound extremely dull - which he truly was not.



2. Though the subject of this book may seem a bit daunting and even boring, I promise you that Frank Barlow has done a fabulous job. He has brought to life the enigmatic and somewhat obscure lives of the most important Englishmen of the late 11th century: Edward the Confessor, Earl Godwin, Edith Godwin's daughter, King Harold II, Swegn Godwinson, and Tostig Godwinson. A must-read.

1 comments about Architects of Empire: The Duke of Wellington and His Brothers.

1. As John Severn notes in his introduction, the First Duke of Wellington is such a towering figure in British history as to have completely overshadowed his four brothers, at least two of whom were consequential figures in their time. 2007's "Architects of Empire" attempts to place Arthur Wellesley in the context of his Anglo-Irish family and document his often mutually benefial interaction with his brothers.
   
   Arthur Wellesley was the third of five brothers. The oldest, Richard, who succeeded to his father's title in the Anglo-Irish aristocracy, was supposed to be the annointed one. Brillant, articulate, and ambitious, Richard had a dazzling school career and entered British politics with a promising network of prominent friends. Richard unfortunately was an indifferent politician, his own worst enemy in pursuit of his ambition. He did look out for his brothers, arranging the Army commissions that eventually sent Arthur to India as a lieutenant colonel. Richard followed Arthur to India as the Governor General for the East India Company, superbly suited by temperment and ambition to create Britain's destiny on the Indian subcontinent. By dint of war and negotiation, Richard vastly expanded British power and influence in India. Arthur, Richard's trusted agent but also a highly compentent young officer, found repeated succuess on the battlefield and as an administrator of new territories. The Wellesley's youngest brother Henry came out as Richard's secretary, beginning a long career in diplomacy.
   
   The next great stage for the Wellesleys was in the Iberian Peninsula as it became a cockpit of the Napoleonic Wars. Richard went to Spain as the British Ambassador, there to spend three years trying to keep the Spanish in the fight with France. Richard was succeeded by his brother Henry as ambassador. For Arthur, the Peninsular War was the making of his reputation as a commander. In a five year campaign, Arthur, with astonishing patience and military skill, outgeneraled vastly superior French forces and liberated Portugal and Spain. In 1815, he led one of the two allied armies that combined to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo, winning a permanent place in history.
   
   Richard left Spain in 1812, having laid the groundwork for success and returning for a larger role in government. In the event, Richard seriously misjudged the step to prime minister. He would over the years occupy a number of government posts, but his career had clearly peaked. Ironically, his brother Arthur would become prime minister in 1829 as a result of leadership shuffles. Arthur would last only three years, but would continue to hold various offices and to act as senior statesman for the rest of his long life. Henry would enjoy a long and reasonably successful career in the diplomatic corps.
   
   The two remaining brothers lived quieter and only relatively less successful lives. Second brother William dabbled around the edge of politics for years, but his primary role in the Wellesley saga seems to have been as manager of his brothers' affairs while they were overseas. Fourth brother Gerald was a hardworking and respected cleric in the Church of England, who never played any role in politics.
   
   Severn's book represents a prodigious amount of research. The five brothers Wellesley were by turns competitive and cooperative. Severn establishes how much Arthur's early rapid rise relied upon assistance from Richard, and how Richard, Arthur, and Henry collaborated on the eventual British successes in India and in Iberia. "Architects of Empire" documents the very human side of the Wellesleys: their ambition, jeolousy, and endlessly squabbling.
   
   This is a long book at over 500 pages, with some redundancy of coverage and commentary. It isn't clear that two of the brothers played any prominent role in either empire or family building. Nevertheless, this is a very worthwhile read as a family take on the Duke of Wellington and his remarkable career.

No comments about Hail and Farewell: Ave, Salve, Vole.

No comments about Charles J. Kickham: A Study in Irish Nationalism and Literature.

No comments about The Joy.

No comments about Henry VIII (Very Interesting People).

No comments about Charles the Second: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

No comments about Shaw's People: Victoria to Churchill.

3 comments about The Island of the White Cow.

1. Deborah Tall, professor of English and Comparative Literature, died on October 19 at age 55 after two years of resisting inflammatory breast cancer, a rare, aggressive form of the disease. She had lived in Ithaca, N.Y., since 1990 with her husband of 27 years, David Weiss, and their daughters, Zoe and Clea Weiss.
   
   Since 1982, Tall taught at Hobart and William Smith where she was named The John Milton Potter Professor of Humanities and won the 2001 Faculty Scholarship Award, as well as numerous faculty research grants. She was editor of the literary journal Seneca Review.
   
   "Deborah was deeply admired throughout our community and far beyond," said President Mark D. Gearan. "She inspired us with her original talent as a writer and her dedication to literature, teaching, her family and her friends. Those close to her will be able to share their memories in a public celebration of her life to be held on campus this fall."
   
   Both a poet and nonfiction writer, she was published widely and gave readings and talks around the world. Her books include Summons, which was selected by Charles Simic for the Katherine A. Morton Poetry Prize in 1999; The Island of the White Cow; From Where We Stand: Recovering a Sense of Place; and The Poet's Notebook, which she co-edited with Hobart alumnus Stephen Kuusisto and Hobart and William Smith Professor of English David Weiss. A memoir, A Family of Strangers, has just come out this fall from Sarabande Books.
   
   Born in Washington, D.C., she grew up in the Philadelphia area and spent five formative years on Inishbofin, off the west coast of Ireland. She earned a B.S. in English from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Goddard College.



2. This memoir describes the time period from 1972 to 1977. It is both a book about Ireland, and a book about college-educated Americans. As a book about Ireland, it is a beautifully written memoir of five years on the small island of Inishbofin. We learn much about the islanders and their hopes and frustrations. Although the book talks much about their struggles with isolation, drink, joblessness, family troubles and jealousies, the overall effect is more uplifting than depressing.
   
   The book is also a record of the way that young, educated Americans encountered the world in the sixties and seventies -- through travel, study, the Peace Corps and many other ways. In the wake of the Sixties, many were seeking new ideas for living and new models of community relations. Some, such as Deborah Tall, hoped to find inspiration for art or writing in their pilgrimages to remote and isolated places. At the time, the far corners of Europe were still quite primitive, and part of Deborah Tall's experience was coping without electricity and running water. Now, of course, Inishbofin has telephones and websites and one would have to go much further afield for as exotic a cultural experience.
   
   The writing in the book is very finely crafted, and its words are carefully chosen. Occasionally the author's prose becomes slightly mannered, but overall she is a pleasure to read and the book merits a continued audience.



3. In this book, Deborah Tall describes life on Inishbofind, 'Island of the White Cow', a remote island off the coast of western Ireland. An American herself, she meets an Irish writer who gives a lecture at her university. They fall in love and she follows him to the island, far away from the distractions of bustling city life, where they both try to make a living as writers. She describes her stay as if it were one year, divided into four seasons. In actuality, Deborah Tall lived on the island for five years.

   I loved this book. Having lived in Ireland for a number of years, this made for a great read. The descriptions of the beauty and harsh life on this barren island, always open to the western winds, were very recognisable. Life feels different on these small islands. Even though it is only a few miles to the mainland, it seems infinitely far removed, and people don't even consider themselves part of Ireland. Life on the island is like living in the past. Inishbofind does not have a doctor. It has no dentist (one comes over periodically to pull teeth - nothing fancy like plaque removal here). There is no secondary education. It has only one telephone. There is no running water.
   What it does have is charm, some very interesting people and, above all, quiet.

   The islanders are much like the island itself: rugged on one hand, charming on the other. They are always up for a story, always good for a song, always in for a drink, always ready for a new audience. As the book goes on, and once Deborah Tall and 'Owen' are more accepted by the locals, one gets glimpses of the real emotions of the people on Inishbofind, an island slowly losing more and more people - mostly young ones - to the main land.
   On one hand, people are helpful, friendly and interested in the new arrivals. On the other hand, there is bitterness, resignation, resentfulness, frustration, desperation and jealousy. And always, there is pride.

   This book describes life as it really is on an island - not a tourist experience. If you are looking for a book on how wonderful everything about Ireland is, you may want to read a travel guide. If you are looking to read about Ireland, this is definitely a good choice.

5 comments about The Mastermind Behind Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat: The Capture of Singapore 1942.

1. Reference the excellent review by Glen Buchanan, "Why Japan fought the White Races of Asia in WWII?" ... which underscores Colonel Tsuji's claim that Japan went to war to "emancipate" the oppressed peoples of Asia. Tsuji further claims that "... Singapore was indeed the hinge of fate for the peoples of Asia ... and as if by magic, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippine Islands one after another gained independence overnight." I wonder ... and am unconvinced that emancipation was the real reason. Perhaps one of the reasons, but surely not the sole, nor primary, reason.
   
   A bit of a personal background, please. I am a Nisei, second-generation Japanese-American, born (1938)and raised in Hawaii. My parents were from Hiroshima and Kyoto and were puzzled and angered that their country of origin would attack America and throughout Southeast Asia. They asked, and I have too, just "why did Japan go to war"?
   
   Tsuji writes that "war must have a morality and a reason which is understandable at home and abroad." (pg 11) Later, he offered the reason, "the emancipation of the oppressed peoples of Asia" (pg 13-14). This explanation does not fly for me in face of: 1) Japan's militarist past, including the aborted invasion of the Korean peninsula in the 15th century; 2) the 1937 full-scale invasion of China; and, the attack on Pearl Harbor, a legitimized Territorial entity of the United States (albeit, the British "takeover" of the Hawaiian Islands in late 1890's.)
   
   Furthermore, to add to my confusion, Tsuji makes reference to Mr. Tojo's statement in the International Court of Justice, "the war activities of Japan were really unavoidable for self-defense"; and, Tsuji writes, " I, too, firmly believe that it was a war without preparation and a war which was forced upon us." I wonder ... why would a nation go to battle for the emancipation of the oppressed without "preparation" and then say that "the war was forced upon us".
   
   So ... what would I conclude? I would not nor take offense to the conclusions of my friend, Glen Buchanan, who is much more knowledgeable regarding these matters, but I believe he gives much too much credence to the claim of emancipation. Rather, I would suggest that Japan was as much, if not more, concerned with the "anti-Japanese economic measures of Great Britain and the United States".
   
   Admittedly, much of my thinking stem from my military background ... a geo-military/political basis for why nations make war against each other. I get the sense from reading Tsuji's book that he was motivated by altruism (an unselfish interest in or care for the welfare of others ... other yellow-skinned people, in this case), and translating that altruism to justify the Japanese military actions in China, etc ... and simply the desire for expansionism for whatever the reason ... power, ego, protectionism, etc. The latter has often been used to justify attacking Pearl Harbor (extending the "borders" of Japan as far out as possible to protect the homeland).
   
   I am still "wondering" ... and have come to accept the inevitable; that theories abound depending on one's perspective borne of many factors (i.e., race, ethnicity, economic/social influences, experiences, training, readings, etc.
   
   Colonel Tsuji's book is worth reading ... especially if you are interested in military strategy and tactics.
   
   Signing off ... Tom Tamura, Colonel USAF (Ret.)



2. An excellent account of the invasion of Malaya and the fall of Singapore as seen through the eyes of one of the men who planned it. Answers many of the questions as to how the "impregnable fortress" of Singapore fell so quickly



3. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji writes a compelling book on the reasons why Japan fought the White Race and their Asian camp followers during World War ll. Colonel Tsuji's accounts are realistically portrayed and sheds some light on the thinking of Japan during the Pacific and South Asia/Singapore Campaign:
   
   Colonel Tsuji writes--"Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, [December 7, 1941 ], the White Race ruled and subjugated the following Yellow and Brown races of people within Asia:
   
   "350 Million Indians", rule by--500 Thousands White race of people, [British].
   "60 Millions South/East Asians", ruled by--200 Thousands Dutch.
   "23 Million Indochinese", ruled by--20 Thousands French.
   "6 Million Malayans" ruled by--10 Thousand British.
   "13 Million Filipinos", ruled by--10 Thousand Americans.
   
   Total: 452 Million Asian and Brown people were ruled by 740 Thousand White Race of people.
   
   The Final Blow to White Rule in Asia.
   
   Colonel Tsuji's book describes how Japan believed that they were embarked upon a great mission which called upon Japan, as representative of all people of the Far East, to deal a resolute and final blow to centuries of European aggression in Asia. In this connection, Colonel Tsuji's book tell us how Japan entered upon a noble and solemn undertaking which changed the course of World History.
   
   To motivate its troops, Japan told them that:--
   
   "Once you set foot on the enemy's territories you will see for yourselves, only to clearly, just what this oppression by the White man means". Imposing splendid buildings look down onto the tiny thatched huts of natives. Money, squeezed from the blood of Asians maintains these small White Minorities in their luxurious mode of life,or disappears to the respected home countries. These White People may expect, from the moment they are issue from their mothers' womb, to be allotted a score or so of natives as their personal slave. "Is This Really God's Will"?
   
   The Results of my review of Colonel Masanobu Tsuji's book has established that:
   
   Although Japan lost the war, her actions weakened the power of the Ruling White Races in Asia and showed the Yellow/Black/Brown Races of People of the world, that the White Man could be beaten and driven out of Asia as decision making elites. In this connection, the Asians and other Colored Races of the world later drove the White man out of Indo-China, Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu, Indonesia, India, North Africa, and check-mated the White Man in North Korea. These freed Countries were able to help Black Africa with guns and training for their final push for freedom from the White domination.
   
   Without Japan's war efforts this could not have happen and without Colonel Masanobu Tsuji's book we would not have understood the specific objectives of Japan's actions in the Second world war. The main portion of Colonel Tsuji's book discribes the capture of The City Fortress of Singapore.
   
   By the end of the 100 day Singapore campaign, a British Empire army of 130,000 had been wiped off the map by a Japanese force of 60,000 men. The worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history,----"Winston Churchill's, Second World War Memoirs",the fourth volume, "The Hinge of Fate", which was published serially in Japan in 1951.
   
   "Western Civilation itself was successfully challenged; the white races were obliged to remember their minority status in the world as a whole".See Rand McNally, Atlas of world History, Edited by--R.R. Palmer, Copyright: MCMLVll. [1957]. Volume--"The World in The Mid-Twentieth Century".
   
   Accordingly, I highly recommend this book as an excellent source on the history of World War ll, Pacific Theater.



4. Colonel Tsuji was an example of the field-grade officers who so influenced Japanese foreign policy in the 1930s. He literally wrote the book on the outbreak of December 1941--"Read This Only and the War Is Won," which appears as an appendix to this narrative history of the Malaya campaign. Tsuji later turns up in the Philippines, Guadalcanal, and China, where he earned immortality of sorts by cooking and serving the liver of an American pilot. He was a tactical genius and a monster, and this was only one of his campaigns, and only one of his books. Later he became a respected politician--until he mysteriously disappeared on a trip to China and perhaps Vietnam.



5. Colonel Tsuji, chief planner for the stunning Japanese victory in Malaya and Singapore, was an intelligent and brave soldier. He is also an unapologetic spokesman for the Japanese view of the war who insists the war was "forced upon" his country.
   Conceding that the invasion of Thailand "seemed a breach of international good faith", "we had to disregard this aspect". Colonel Tsuji also disregards the tens of thousands of Thais murdered for insufficient appreciation of Japanese assistance, not to mention the POW's worked and starved to death after Japan's glorious victory.
   Those unpleasant developments are not dealt with in the present work, but only the military aspects, which are covered in detail with good maps, photos, orders of battle, and appendices. No index.

   (The numerical rating above is an ineradicable default setting within the format of this page. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)