No comments about Conor: A Biography of Conor Cruise O'Brien.

2 comments about Henry VIII and the English Nobility.

1. While I did not love this book, it is well-researched and makes a solid contribution to a relatively under-researched area of Tudor history. Given the extent of the shadowy way in which Henry VII came to the thrown influenced Henry VII and Henry VIII's actions, you would think there would be more books written on Henry VIII's relationship with his nobles.
   This book is relatively bland but it gives real insight in to the pressures of faction politics in HVIII's court, discussing how some nobles refused to participate in the trial of Anne Boleyn, how Henry VIII's succesful "judicial murder" of Buckingham cowed the nobles and encouraged Henry in his other outrageously tyrannical prosecution of nobles, and how some nobles would be complicit in these actions since they occasionally benefited if the victim's land was divided amongst the jurors.



2. Whatever his personal and political faults, Henry VIII was astute in the art of government, weaving a network around the throne, and around the dynasty he was setting out to create, of old aristocratic families and newly created noblemen. By examining the way in which the king selected "new men," created new titles, promoted existing peers, and saw to it that the extinction of a title was always to his own advantage, Miller shows how Henry's attitudes, policies, and use of patronage reflected his dynastic insecurities.

No comments about Paradise and Pestilence: Aspects of Provence.

1 comments about White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke.

1. The book tells the life story of Sir James Brooke, the British-born rajah of the kingdom of Sarawak in Northern Borneo (today part of Malaysia). Brooke's life has been told many times and this retelling does not shed much new light to it, except for the unabashed recognition of the fact that, by all indications, Brooke was homosexual (probably not latent), and especially attracted to handsome young men. Otherwise, it's an easy-to-read, well written retelling of a story which, at a closer look, actually proves a lot less interesting and adventureous than you'd think if you only know the bare skeleton of it.

No comments about On the Trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie (On the Trail of).

No comments about Los Picaros Borbones.

5 comments about Diana: The Last Year.

1. While Andrew Morton's "Diana Her True Story" and "Diana Her New Life" chronicled the Princess's unhappy life in the Royal Family prior to her 1996 divorce from Dumbo Ears (sorry, Prince Charles), Donald Spoto's account describes her life post divorce until her tragic and untimely death. In the process he highlights all the aspects of her character, both good and bad, that caused the world to fall in love with her forever. This is a great tribute to you, dear Diana. May you rest eternally in peace.



2. A good accounting of Diana's last year as she was spinning out of control. When you read about all of her comings and goings you wonder if she had any idea of how it would turn out? Did she know it would soon end?

   One of my favorite books about her. I wonder about the Royal Family and how they manage to keep going. Is a puzzlement.




3. This is an excellent book that towers on the other biographies because this book doesn't dwell on tawdry scandal, but simply concentrate on the most important aspect of Diana: her charity work. No other book has covered her good deeds so well. The only problem with the book, and it is small problem is the somwhat heavy-handed use of poems.



4. One gets the full story from Soto. You don't get every salvo from the war of the Wales.But does one need that? Important facts, such as Diana's understanding that the 10,000 bouquet from the public, was as important as her first, are there.

   I felt he understood Diana and her impact on people better than most. It' has a tenderness that's vital when considering her life.

   The book I recommend when asked about Diana books.




5. I have been reading books on Princess Diana since 1981 and this has to be one of the best. Diana, The last year has to be one of the better written books on Diana. It is worth the money and is the type of book that you will go back to time and time again

No comments about The Royals.

1 comments about The Pilgrimage of Grace: The Rebellion That Shook Henry VIII's Throne.

1. A brilliant account of a pivotal moment in the cultural history of England, taken mainly from local accounts and records. Goes into an extraordinary level of detail without bogging down, remaining readable and interesting all the way through.

2 comments about Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies).

1. This biography goes a long way towards a balanced, even-handed, and realistic portrait of an Emperor who has been mischaracterized as either completely powerless or disingenuously powerful by recent biographers such as Herbert Bix. I believe Stephen Large's book is an excellent reference and goes a long way to exposing the overreach of Herbert Bix's interpretation of history while nevertheless agreeing that Hirohito had more involvement in the war effort than has been previously assumed. Citing numerous original source documents, of particular interest to me was the writings of the aged genro Saionji, it becomes quite clear that Hirohito was buffeted by several conflicting impulses: an initial desire to avoid war while remaining patriotic and a desire to avoid influencing government while at the same time willing to make exceptions in rare cases. I believe Large makes a convincing case that Hirohito was not, in fact, initially enthusiastic about the war, and he did side with the so-called "peace party" --- it was only later in the war that he became more involved, and Saionji lamented that the Emperor no longer listened to him --- however I think it's fairly clear that the Emperor was merely going along with a decision that was certainly not his to make, and by the end, when defeat became obvious, he gratefully came back to his "peace party" roots. I think there's little doubt that Hirohito was a man thrust into a position of symbolic influence when he wasn't well-suited for the task, and Large does a great job of documenting and validating this view.
   
   I highly recommend this book for serious scholars of wartime Japan.



2. When did he become Emperor and where did Mr. Lange get his information? Doesn't he know that President Wilson lied about Pearl Harbor and that the real Emperor is not from Tokyo Castle at all but south where the older castles are? Is he sane?