1 comments about Richard III: A Royal Enigma (English Monarchs-Treasures from the National Archives).

1. Wonderful depiction of Richard III and his times, daily life. Could have been even more detailed, but I want my kids to read it. Illustrations great.

No comments about The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-Fishers in the Highlands of Scotland (Canongate Classic).

No comments about Rob Roy Macgregor.

No comments about John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth-Century Italy.

1 comments about Fiddlers And Whores: The Candid Memoirs of a Surgeon in Nelson's Fleet.

1. It's not really about fiddlers and whores, despite the title. It is an extended letter from Dr. Lowry to his brother explaining to him what he did while he was away from home for 7 years. Lowry left his home in Ireland to go to medical school in Scotland. Upon graduation, just as physicians do today, he needed further training before being able to set up his own practice. Not being able to find a mentor to take him in, he joined the navy as an assistant surgeon...and the adventure begins! What follows is a fascinating description of life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars from the perspective of a young officer, including commentary on the other cultures he encounters in the Mediterranean, navy life, health, war, medical training, and (ah, yes) his attempts to meet women. He also describes his adventures as a tourist and amature naturalist, including his tour of a Roman house of pleasure in the newly-excavated Herculaneum, and his attempt to keep an ostrich on board the ship. His writing style pulls you along through his adventures, and his observations are astute and witty. I absolutely loved this book, and I particularly recommend it for any Aubrey-Maturin fan suffering from Patrick O'Brian withdrawal syndrome.

5 comments about George Iii: A Personal History.

1. Who was the English King at the time of The American Revolution? I dunno!!! Well, now I do know and, furthermore, I now know something about his private and public life before and after The American Revolution. He reigned for over 50 years and the last years of his reign were about 200 "short" years ago. One thing that impressed me was the sorry state of "the medical art" even in those days. Taking blood from sick people was supposed to cure them. Giving arsenic was supposed to cure certain ailments. Today, we are way ahead of these primitive practices....all we do is give medicines that are "poison" such as depression medication and cold medicine and "antibiotics" for viruses which have no effect.....and doctors do unnecessary surgeries frequently so they can get money from the naive and trusting patients. But, that's another story and another book! Read about King George 3rd; you'll find it interesting. Boland7214@aol



2. I used this book extensively for a research paper I wrote on George III. This book does a great job at dispelling the myths about George III and his character.



3. Christopher Hibbert is one of those historians that seems to write about everything. Peter Gay is another that comes to mind. Hibbert provides us a very readale account of George's life. The early years are a bit confusing keeping track of the lineage and order of succession in the Royal family. Many biographies of monarchs suffer from this problem because there are so many family connections to keep track of. Once we get past this point and the young george becomes king, the book starts to pick up.
   
   What becomes apparent is that George III was extremely fare and decent man for his time. We should have such politicians today with this kind of integrity! The emphsasis in this bio is on George's private life. His dealings with his German Queen Charlotte, his son and sucessor the future George IV, who was a continual source of stress for him. The chapters on his dealings with the colonies provided a much less bias account than one normally hears from most US historians. The King was willing to come to any reasonable settlement short of independence. This book shows how he tried to grapple with the American problem, but that it just got out of control.
   
   His dealings with the various parliamentry governments provides a classic example of how personalities shape governments. Petty likes and dislikes lead to complete policies that are often inane. Still, the British people stuck by their old George, espesically when the excesses of the French Revolution became known.
   
   The book gives a good account of some of the other Royals, including George IV, the Duke of York, etc. Most come across as aristocratic fopps and losers, but some manage to have some merit. Over all a great book which chronicles both the life and times of Georgian England. The life of George III was indeed that of England in its heyday. A great read for the time and persoanlities concerned.



4. This very well-written and researched book provides a wealth of detail on the life of Britain's King George III and his family.
   
   The last British king of the American colonies, George III directed the ill-advised war against his independence-minded colonies. Long and terribly destructive, the war saw the defeat of George's armies and navies in North America. Still, having spent eight years fighting the Americans, the King quickly decided to lay the foundations of a lasting peace and friendship between the two countries.
   
   Hibbert depicts King George as a constitutionally-minded monarch and a competent ruler. Initially detested by his people, he ended his life and reign greatly loved. Certainly his greatest challenges revolved around his large and dysfunctional family and his fight with porphyria and insanity.
   
   "George III" is a scholarly work. Though not an easy read, it is an interesting one!



5. Nice overview of the times. The fact that George III was just as determined to maintain the credibility of the British empire as that other George was at finding a way to separate from it. A renewal of the more believable story of 'mad king george'.

2 comments about Forgotten Lunatics of the Great War.

1. Superbly researched and well presented work on the subject of the psychological cost of the Great War. The author writes with compassion and insight as well as with wonderful wit. Deeply touching and haunting, this book will leave the reader with a deeper understanding of the psychic wounds suffered by soldiers and perhaps a sense of outrage at society's ignorance of the hidden suffering of the military veteran.



2. This is a heartbreaking book, in that the plight of the mentally wounded soldiers of WWI are revealed, and in realizing that so many could probably have been helped with today's therapies and drug treatments. Barham does an excellent job in uncovering the brutality (it's not too strong a word) of the "establishment" over the soldiers' disability pensions. There was no government assistance available to the in-home caregivers, and the mentality of the physicians and medical personnel of the time was extremely limited. Basically, severely shell-shocked soliders had no chance of recovery, given the limited medical understanding of the condition.
   
   This is an important book. I could wish the writing was just a little looser; the author obviously has sympathy with the subject matter, and the detailed research can't be faulted, but there is something dry about the presentation. I still strongly recommend the book, and I think it can be useful & interesting to both the WWI "buff" and anyone interested in mental health topics.

1 comments about Never Sang for Hitler: The Life and Times of Lotte Lehmann, 1888-1976.

1. To date this book is the "definitive Lehmann" biography. Previous books did not have access to sources now available, or were oriented to Lehmann, "The Beloved Voice". They really cannot be compared to this, as they had other agendas in mind. Thus we do no find detailed analyses of her roles or her recordings, something thoroughly done by Lehmann herself and others, but much more about her personal life. There is more space devoted to Lehmann in exile, her pupils, her family life, and a fuller account of her behavior towards the Nazis, and the famous meeting with Goering. Not all of this is complimentary, far from it. This is about Lehmann, an intelligent but fallible human being making her way thru a competitive profession during a turbulent era. But when all is done, Kater does tell us what is that makes Lehmann still a beloved icon by many, even those who know only her records. It is not just the unique vocal timbre, but her ability to personify each piece she sings so that we encounter the "Ewigweibliche" of German song, with her uncanny and natural gift to infuse all she sings with the most deeply felt tones. I can only think of one or two others who can compare with her in this regard. That is what Lehmann's greatness is all about.

No comments about Jacques-Louis David, Revolutionary Artist: Art, Politics, and the French Revolution.

1 comments about To Kill Rasputin: The Life & Death of Grigori Rasputin.

1. The scheming and charismatic Rasputin has tantalized historians for 90 years, and there are many books attempting to give all the answers about his influence on the last Russian Tsar and claiming to solve the mysteries of his assassination. This book is the latest, and though Andrew Cook doesn't find any real surprises, he does debunk many stereotypes and tall tales with a high degree of believability. For instance, legends have it that Rasputin was so evil that he was nearly impossible to kill, as he wouldn't drop after being poisoned and shot and stabbed and bludgeoned and kicked and beaten and impaled and cornholed before finally being entombed in an icy watery grave. Cook examines the forensic evidence (and supplies the reader with plenty of gruesome autopsy photos to boot) and finds that while Rasputin was a healthy tough guy, he wasn't really so indestructible. For instance, the prissy Russian noblemen who plotted the assassination purchased their poison several weeks in advance so it lost its potency, while as gunmen they couldn't hit the side of a barn.
   
   So Cook ably dismantles those stereotypes, and while his research doesn't really lead to any blockbusters that would surprise the knowledgeable reader, he does find some strong evidence that British agents were in on the plot - wishing to rub out Rasputin because he was giving the Tsar war advice that could damage England's prospects. The interested reader should be willing to believe Cook's conclusions here because he has looked at all the evidence objectively. Just note that the reading experience doesn't get too far beyond a dry investigative report, and anyone looking for robust historical background will probably be disappointed. The bizarre true history of the last Russian Tsar is better found elsewhere, as are insights into the intriguing treachery of Rasputin himself. Alas, in this book he's not much more than a rugged corpse. [~doomsdayer520~]