1 comments about To Keep the Ball Rolling: The Memoirs of Anthony Powell.

1. To earn the reputation of a literary giant within the generation of Waugh, Orwell, and Greene is no mean feat. To do so with the grace and genius that characterized Anthony Powell...is nothing short of spectacular. This book of Powell's memoirs is the first one-volume collection to be published in America. The reviews for this book are glowing. "Powell was indeed a literary giant, and eminently deserving of the praise that was lavished upon him."- The Wall Street Journal. "A Master of wit, paradox, and social delineation."- The New York Times. "[Powell was] more fun than Proust, and at least as true to human nature."- John Perry, Salon Magazine

1 comments about Last Dance at the Hotel Kempinski: Creating a Life in the Shadow of History.

1. Hirsch's account of growing up German Jewish in England is wonderful - while his story is often laugh out loud funny, it remains a thoughtful exploration of the repercussions of the Holocaust and the pain in growing up with a difficult father. After Hirsch sets out on adulthood, his own story is not as compelling, but his encounters with elderly Holocaust survivors, as well as his attempts to come to terms with his father, are still fascinating.

No comments about Edward II 1307-1327.

4 comments about Michael Collins: A Life.

1. I must have ready a dozen or so bios of Michael Collins in the past few years and this is one of my favorites. Some of them seem to spend so much time on Michael Collins, the administrator, that they don't pay enough attention to Michael Collins, the human being. If you have to read one, I recommend this one. If you want a more exhaustive bio, then read Tim Pat Coogan. My other favorite is by Frank O'Connor.



2. For anyone wishing to know more about the bombastic, bullish side of Michael Collins, look no further. James MacKay captures Collins' thoughts-- even the most flamboyant-- with style and verbal panache. It is clear that his work has been very heavily influenced by the biographies from Frank O'Connor and Tim Pat Coogan, but MacKay distinguishes himself by emphasizing Collins' personality and his military accomplishments. He describes Michael's physical stature (5'11" with a bulky build), Michael's nature (quick to laugh, quick to cry, quick to anger, and quick to make an apology), Michael's health (his bouts with pleurisy, Spanish flu, stomach and kidney problems), Michael's orderly manner (he hated pencil writing and signatures from rubber stamps), and Michael's many other contradictions. MacKay includes several b/w photos along with explorations of Michael's military brilliance, e.g. his ability to run an entire guerrilla war from the back of a bicycle. MacKay begins with Collins' boyhood and concludes with an epilogue regarding the aftermath of Collins' assassination. If you are curious about Michael Collins the man, I can strongly recommend MacKay's biography.



3. This biography was my introduction to the life and times of Michael Collins and it was a good one, though not as detailed and extensively annotated as Tim Pat Coogan's. The author is clearly an admirer of Collins but the portrayal appears to be objective and covers all the biographical bases in Collins' life--the Irish childhood and indoctrination with nationalist ideals from family and teachers; the years between 15-25 working in London; the participation in the Easter Rebellion and imprisonment in Wales; the return to Ireland and rise to leadership in the War of Independence; and the transformation to statesman in the Treaty negotiations. What Mackay particularly brings to the portrait of Collins is a warmth that allows the reader to see the real man behind the legend--the interactions with the men and women who shared his struggle or who opposed him, and the reaction of his countrymen to his leadership and to his untimely death during the bitter Civil War at the hands of former comrades who in many cases still revered him. Overall, an engrossing read.



4. This was the first biography of Collins I read and it is a good one, though not as exhaustively detailed and annotated as Tim Pat Coogan's. The author is clearly an admirer of Collins but it does not seem to slant his portrayal of the man and he covers all the biographical bases in Collins' life--the quintessentially Irish childhood and indoctrinization with nationalist ideals from family and teachers; the years between 15 and 25 working in London; the participation in the Easter Rebellion and imprisonment in Wales; the return to Ireland and his destiny as leader of the Anglo-Irish War of Independence; and the transformation into statesman in the Treaty negotiations. What Mackay particularly brings to the portrait of Collins is a warmth that allows the reader to see the real man beneath the legend--the interactions with the men and women who shared his struggle or who opposed it, and the reaction of his countrymen to his leadership. Overall, an engrossing read.

No comments about Eminent Victorians: The Definitive Edition.

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

1 comments about Daniel Defoe: His Life.

1. Paula Backscheider is widely regarded as Defoe's leading biographer on the strenghth of this book written eighteen years ago. It is both scholarly and contradictiory. Was Defoe the victim of religious persecution triumphing over adversity ot was he a man of poor character constantly on the run from the law? What we know now was that Defoe was illegitimate and brought up harshly on the margin of things.He was constantly on the run from the law. A homosexual, at a time when this was against the law, he sought the favours and protection of powerful men. He had eight children by three simultaneous wives and ended his life in poverty a refuge from the law. There is little of this in Backscheider's book. But what is there is scholarly and entertaining.

1 comments about James Joyce: 2.

1. I was looking for a biography on Joyce and was pleasantly surprised by this one. I picked it up for a very cheap price. Despite the fact that it is brief, it offers the basic outlines of the great man's life and is an excellent introductory work. There seems to be pictures on every page which was a wonderful side benefit as the visual images tell a story of their own. Before reading this, I really had no idea as to how autobiographical Joyce's fiction was. That so many of characters parallel people he knew was unexpected given the unbridled level of creativity he possessed. Upon finishing it, I immediately wanted to read more about his life in Trieste and Paris which I will do in the future.

No comments about The Memoirs of John M. Regan: A Catholic Officer in the Ric and Ruc, 1909-1948.

No comments about Daniel O'Connell (Compact Irish History).