No comments about William the Conqueror: The First Norman King of England (Leaders of the Middle Ages).

3 comments about SHE WHO DARED: Covert Operations in Northern Ireland with the SAS.

1. This is a valuable work because it gives insight into one of Britain's most secretive organizations - the 14th Intelligence Company. One of the organization's jobs was to conduct covert surveillance and direct action operations against the IRA in Northern Ireland. The author, as a former member of the unit, gives great detail of her training and actual execution of real world missions. True, she cannot go into complete details about sensitive operations and she does give her opinion on unit politics, but that is both understandable and did not detract from the quality of the work. If you want a better undertanding of how covert units operate in a guerrilla war, read this book. I am sure the IRA already has.



2. The history of women who served in military special forces or intelligence operations is completely virgin territory. However, the promise of She Who Dared by "Jackie George" is ultimately unfulfilled.

   The book, in a similar manner to ex-SAS trooper Andy McNab's Immediate Action, details George's upbringing, joining of the British Army, and recruitment into the British Security Forces operating in Northern Ireland. She mentions the difficulties involved in being a woman in a man's world, but readers should not expect sociological discussions of this!

   Most of the book is detailed with her training. The publishers try to tie George's account into the mania for British SAS (Special Air Service) accounts. While SAS members trained her unit, she actually belonged to the 14th Intelligence and Security Company, a highly secret British Army unit performing surveillance on Irish Republican groups.

   Readers hoping for detailed accounts of her operations "over the water" will be disappointed. The authors state that the book has been submitted to the Ministry of Defence for review, and that probably accounts for the shortness of these accounts.

   A reader well versed in British special forces history or that of Northern Ireland may appreciate this book more. I would refer readers to McNab and the SAS writings of Barry Davies.

   George has no love lost for the British Army officer corps and details many of their transgressions with the enlisted ranks. However, she does not really explain why her officers would act in such a manner, or how the British Army managed to operate effectively in spite of this. Her rants thus become a shortcoming.

   I give the book three stars, mainly because of the dearth of similar accounts. However, in time, with other accounts, I might have to remove a star.

   C. Husing ex-Dept. of the Air Force military historian




3. an excellent book, information albeit sensitive was put across in a very professional manner,The author managed to maintain the readers interest from the start to the finish also ensure that the human emotions of what was and is a particulary sensitive occupation

2 comments about The Village Carpenter.

1. History is at its most compelling when it comes to us from an individual account. The author experienced the village carpenter's craft through some momentous changes from 1890-1930. This rare glimpse into a carpenters shop as it was will appeal to anyone who likes a good story and especially to those who have a reverence for wood.



2. This is a lovely little book I first heard about while on assignment in Scotland. It's a welcome counterbalance to the plastic, tarmac, neon, speed, and shallowness that characterize much of western life these days. Nicely written by a man who makes no pretense of being a writer, but who cares deeply about craftsmanship, respect for some of the vanishing ways of the past, and about simplicity and substance. I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book. Learned quite a bit about life and joinery in turn of the century Buckinghamshire too.

1 comments about The Life of St. Patrick: Enlightener of the Irish.

1. The life of Saint Patrick is brilliant, but simple in this colorful page turner. The illustrations depict celtic art style mixed with eastern iconography. There are pictures within pictures. Wonderful color. The story line is one that all ages can enjoy and follow. A must have for the bookshelf.

5 comments about Henry VIII (Penguin Classic Biography).

1. Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. When I first received this book and saw how HUGE it was (and in small print, yet), I thought I was in for a long, tedious and boring read. In other words, the kind of book that you start but it becomes harder and harder to keep reading until you finally give up way before the ending.
   
   To my surprise, this book engrossed my attention from day one and became impossible to put down. Jasper Ridley has done a masterful job of giving us a very detailed biography of one of the most memorable kings in history. Unlike so many other books about Henry, Ridley refuses to monopolize the subject matter with sensationalistic details revolving around Henry's wives. Instead, he concentrates on the much more important religious, political and social aspects of his reign.
   
   I think this book captures the true essence of Henry VIII--a tyrant, selfish, arrogant, and demanding. A person who in almost every instance was able to manipulate people into doing his dirty work for him. An individual who could play tennis with a subject he considered a "friend", such as Thomas More, and then easily have this bosom companion executed without nary a shred of remorse whenever it would serve Henry's advantage to do so. One of Henry's most popular practices was to sail the Thames surrounded by women and fawning courtiers while a former close advisor, friend etc. was being executed. This king was a master of disguise, making it appear that he had little or nothing to do with distasteful events and absenting himself from the controversy at hand.
   
   The author mentions early on that, in effect, while gazing at the famous Holbein portrait of Henry VIII in all his glory, people were mesmerized by the majesty as portrayed in the painting. What they did not notice were the hard, unfeeling and pig-like eyes that were barely visible in the already bloated face. If the eyes indeed are the "windows of the soul", Henry was a very cruel individual indeed.
   
   Although his reign was extremely productive in many ways, such as his interest in solidifying England as a naval power, the most striking aspect is, of course, the religious break with Rome. Here too, Henry waffles back and forth as the winds blow. To say this was an achievement is merely subjective; it began a period of intense religious misunderstandings which resulted in the deaths of untold innocent people who refused to accept this or that form of religious belief and worship. As such, I cannot classify Henry's break with Rome as a positive issue. I am not religious, and therefore perhaps not qualified to judge this. But the results of this action are being felt well into modern times. It is a subjective issue as to whether this extreme action on his part set his country and Europe on the right course.
   
   As initially stated, do not be put off by the size of this book. It will engage your attention and provide a picture of Henry (essentially minus the much touted wife leaping) that probably comes closest to what this famous monarch was actually like.



2. Yet again, J Ridley takes the reader on a remarkable journey, guiding you through the maze of factual background without ever letting your hand go. His mastery of the English language and notable training as a barrister make him the best narrator of the century.



3. Ridley is brilliant as ever. In his masterly style, he portrays both historic detail and periodic insight in such manner that the reader is captivated from the first page onwards. The ongoing battle with Lady Antonia Frazer's biography is a delight (especially when historical inaccuracies in her biography are condemned to footnotes). A book one cannot put down for a single moment.



4. Jasper Ridley's bio of Henry VIII, if nothing else, suggests to me that executioners must have had a steady employment during early 16th-century England. In Ridley's biography, England's formative king is essentially a psychopath, and the country became Protestant, not because of any doctrinal attachment to the Reformation, but as a consequence of political machinations and goals on Henry's part. This, in fact, is one of the book's great strengths; Ridley is rare among biographers in his thorough attention to and excellent summary of the thicket of political events surrounding Tudor England, and this book does an excellent job of explaining these intricacies. Especially fascinating was the depiction of the conflict between Henry and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Henry would have probably gotten the papal annulment that he wanted to dissolve his marriage to Katharine of Aragon, if only Charles had not effectively controlled the pope and been such a bitter enemy of Henry's; then Henry would have found no need to break from the Catholic Church, and history would be entirely different! For a Renaissance monarch, Henry seems more to resemble one of the 20th century's bloodthirsty dictators in this book. While the depiction initially surprised me, Ridley backs up his claims with such excellent documentation and use of primary sources (which I was able to check), that he definitely has a point! A fascinating bio.



5. Ridley paints a picture of a King who is as ruthless a tyrant as any 20th Century dictator. Henry VIII is shown as a ruler who forced his ministers to do his bidding and then executed them to satisfy public opinion, once his policies began to loose popular support. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, including breaking with the Pope in Rome and reforming the Church in England with him as the head, when the Pope refused to grant him an annulment from his wife, who could not give him a male heir. Thereafter, Henry played Protestant and Catholic factions against each other, so that he could remain in complete control as an arbiter; alternatively burning influential Protestants as heretics and Catholics who refused to recognize him as Supreme head of the Church of England as traitors. Ridley's picture shows us a king who would stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wanted, including turning society and 1000 years of religion completely upside down! A fascinating look at the Stalin of the 1500s!

No comments about Tony Blair (Biography).

3 comments about Patrick Pearse and the Politics of Redemption: The Mind of the Easter Rising, 1916.

1. I really enjoyed this book written by my ex-professor. This is a marvelous psychohistorical, highly engaging, and at times pleasantly shocking reading about one Patrick Pearse. Moran goes deeply into the Pearse's psyche and explores the possible reasons for Patrick's (i)-rational actions. Was he a suitable hero-figure or was he a man driven by circumstances, his perception of injustice, and his powerlessness.



2. Incredibly insightful treatment of the Easter Rising and the man who lead it. This book gives us a new way of seeing this great Irish hero and shows us an in-debt psychological study of what brought him to lead the rebelion. A marvelous book.



3. Incredibly insightful treatment of the Easter Rising and the man who lead it. This book gives us a new way of seeing this great Irish hero and shows us an in-debt psychological study of what lead him to lead the rebelion. A marvelous book.

No comments about The Life of Daniel Defoe: A Critical Biography (Blackwell Critical Biographies).

1 comments about The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats: Consisting of Reveries over Childhood and Youth, The Trembling of the Veil and Dramatis Personae (A Collier Book, 05559).

1. So, why should you read this book? (Especially if it's not assigned reading in your college class.)
   
   Because it's a fascinating read, recording (among many other things) Yeats' relationships with contemporaries Oscar Wilde, John Synge, Madame Blavatsky, George Moore, and others. It also lends a great insight into his passions for cabalistic thoughts, occultism, the Irish theatre, politics and poetry.
   
   Yeats covers 58 years of his life, from his earliest memories to his winning of the Nobel Prize. The man considered to be 'the greatest master of the English language in verse' comes to life here in his own words. He was complex, preoccupied with seeking answers to life's most compelling and elusive questions, and intensely devoted to his art. This autobiographical account provides an unforgettable portrait of Yeats - and offers a great look at the era in which he lived.

No comments about Portraits of Medieval Women: Family, Marriage and Social Relationships in Thirteenth Century England.