5 comments about The Death of Kings: A Medical History of the Kings and Queens of England.

1. I bought this book years ago at Heathrow Airport and devoured it on the flight back to New York. It's the only time I haven't been bored on that 7 hour trip. If you love history, especially English royalty, you will enjoy this. It's well written and while some of the conclusions may be speculative there is enough information on each death to hazard a few guesses on your own. You don't need any medical knowledge to throughly enjoy this book.



2. This is a great book to read if you are into history and always wondered about the vague descriptions given in history books as to why people died in olden times. It is pure speculation, taking the symptoms that some historian wrote hundreds of years ago, and trying to figure out what the person really died of. The book will still leave you wanting more information but the only thing to work with is what someone way back when wrote and they hardly had the ability to properly disgnose an illness. This book has many good plausible reasons for their deaths.



3. I was worried when the introduction tactfully implied that the author was playing fast and loose with the facts. Was that the best person they could get?! Then, I was just plain bored. It wasn't bad as a history lesson, but that's not why I bought the book. Perhaps the fact that I do have a medical background made me more skeptical. I expected to find more than unfounded speculation. I would suggest only reading this book if you did not take any biology classes after you left high school.



4. Excellent. Interesting, well-written, fascinating. And I'm not even a doctor.



5. A fantastic book full of gory facts. No medical knowledge needed.

5 comments about The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II.

1. This author seems to have a problem with fact checking and editing. The flaws in this book are too numerous to mention and appear in other reviews. Also, his writing style is not exactly engrossing and he focuses on being revisionist for the sake of being revisionist. This is at least superior to his book on Allied brutality during the occupation of the defeated Third Reich.



2. I enjoyed reading this book. There were a few times I lost track of who was who doing what to what and when and where, but for the most part I felt I understand better the role and personality of a complex and contradictory charactor in history.
   
   In regard to the Kaiser, the quote by Daisy Pless in this book may say it best. "Poor man, he means so awfully well, and everything he does is intended for the best, and still he is completly destitute of tact that everything turns out exactly opposite to what he intends."
   
   Still,little comfort to the millions who died in the "War to End All Wars."



3. I picked up this book on recommendation from my dad, a history buff much like myself, and was extremely disappointed in it. Instead of dealing properly with the Kaiser himself it spent the vast majority of the time discussing and analyzing German politics and political figures active during the Kaiser's reign and made only the most fleeting references to the personal life of the Kaiser (or anything to do with him personally, for that matter). It's as if the author was too afraid to delve into the private life of this controversial figure because he knew that the bright picture he put forth of the Kaiser would be blown to pieces. Needless to say, this book should be entitled "Politics and Political Figures During the Reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II."
   Go to another book if you are looking for a true biography of Wilhelm. This one will only disappoint.



4. The most recent English language biographical study of Wilhelm is The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II by Giles MacDonogh (2001). MacDonogh seems to have set out deterministically to write something other than an "indictment" of Wilhelm. He asserts that historians have been unduly critical against the emperor for eighty years, which has prompted him to examine Wilhelm "in a light which, if not ridiculously positive, [is] at least a little more indulgent than that which as coloured attitudes in the past." (viii) While MacDonogh's study is not "ridiculously positive," it does tend to minimize Wilhelm's culpability for the various blunders historians commonly associate with his reign. While he concurs with other scholars of Wilhelmine Germany that the emperor was "a mass of contradictions," (1) MacDonogh also minimizes the Kaiser's documented anti-Semitism, and strongly implies that the "cases brought up against the emperor" such as the Kruger telegram (1896), the "Hun Speech" of 1900, and the Daily Telegraph Affair (1908), were handled "reasonable, and in some cases well" by the Kaiser. (7) This attempt to show that Wilhelm did not act maliciously, criminally or incompetently is what differentiates The Last Kaiser from its predecessors.
   In MacDonogh's account of Wilhelm's wartime role, he reaches a familiar conclusion: "it would be impossible to make out that he played the role of `Supreme Warlord' between 1914 and 1918." (3) He shows that Wilhelm "wavered over the preventive strike" long advocated by the General Staff, and "each time he looked in to the abyss he drew back in horror and countermanded" his generals' orders for such an attack. (9) This gives the kaiser too much of a benevolent, conscientious role for the time. MacDonogh portrays a Kaiser swept up with the emotions and events of August 1914, a leader who allowed himself to be carried into the war. By the first weeks of the conflict, "he had become increasingly peripheral." (367) This declension culminated in January 1917 with Bethmann Hollweg's removal at the insistence of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, at which point Wilhelm "was no more than a shadow emperor. No one listened to him." (391) Probably true.....
   Despite showing far more sympathy toward his subject than other biographers of Wilhelm II have done, MacDonogh echoes many of their conclusions. "It is perhaps right that we condemn William," he suggests, "for if the First World War was not his undertaking, the finger of blames points over and over again to the failure of German diplomacy in which he tried so hard to play a positive role." (460) MacDonogh seems reluctant to assign Wilhelm much direct blame for the origins of the Great War or how it was conducted. On the contrary, most students of the last Hohenzollern ruler of Germany concur with the concise biographical entry in The Oxford Companion to Military History (2001): Kaiser Wilhelm II was "seduced by...nationalism and militarism," and came to discover that "leading a cavalry charge on maneuvers...is not the same thing as presiding over a beleaguered state engaged in total war." The last German Kaiser "lacked the strength of character and consistency of purpose which his role demanded, and if he cannot be blamed for leading Germany into war, he may be more justly censured for what one historian has called `a childlike flight from reality' in the crisis of 1914."



5. The book is good because it examines one of the figures who was instrumental in shapping the 20th century. The author proves that he was very erratic with his forighn policy and his views on the world. The author also disproves the misconception that it was his imperial ambitions that led to the first World War and points out that it was the militarism of prussian aristocrats.

5 comments about Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi.

1. This book was a good read; it showed a glimpse of 17th/18th century China in a very unique way: through the very words of the emperor at the time. Although it was interesting, it was not exciting or captivating and it became difficult to keep track of who was who in parts. I would recommend it, but only because it doesn't take very long to read so the benefits outweigh the costs.



2. A remarkable portrait of a Chinese emperor. I have read few other books on Chinese history by Spence, and they inform the reader in an engaging style that is a true genius, and this, I think, is one of his best.
   
   Don't miss the selection of letters in the appendix - it hits home the portrayal of the emperor as a real person, not a historical fiction cooked up by the court historians.



3. Ordered several books which I received faster than expected in perfect condition. great job!



4. This is an excellent book of absorbing interest. Not only does it open a wondow on Chinese history as told in the first person by one of its greatest emperors, it sheds light on the nature of power and the way absolute monarchs exert their power. It is a unique book, touching at times and terrifying at others. Being an absolute monarach wasn't easy, even for an enlightened emperor. The book is essentially a collection of the writings of a Mogul emperor describing in detail his life and the way he exercised power, including the decisions he had to make about his use of capital punishment. This book has something for everyone who is interested in the world about them.



5. Spence deserves his wide reputation as America's foremost China scholar. In this book (which I admit that I had to read for class) he tells of one of the most famous emporers from the Qing dynasty. Spence wrote this book using scraps and notes found from this era. Sometimes it's hard to see where the line is between hard fact and Spence's conjecture, however, given the quality of his other research, I'll trust his conjecture even if he doesn't always offer up the evidence to support it. Read it carefully though, so you know what's what.

5 comments about Philip of Spain.

1. This book did the job for which I bought it i.e to cover the complete life of Philip & thus provide more knowledge & understanding of the Spanish Ride to its Abyss in the 16th Century. I have passed it to my Russian daughter-in-law accordingly. She,a keen Roman Catholic,while generally highly knowledgeable said she knew little about Spain & felt the impact of the Inquisition has been exaggerated. I disagree & this book substantiated my point. Philip accepted the Inquisition to govern Spain. Other counties both Protestant & Catholic perpetrated ghastly deeds against dissidents but with them it was Politics utilising Religion,not Religion managing the State.



2. I suppose it is true of many a biography, and in individual experience, that we rarely recognize greatness in people we know well. Kamen does an excellent job painting an unconventional portrait of Philip. In the process, however, the "Black Legend" is reduced to a somewhat flighty renaissance princeling.

   For whatever reason, I never received the anglophile's disdain for Philip. Perhaps it was Warren Carroll's portrait of Philip in his Christendom series, or Hillaire Belloc's view, both of which tended to paint Philip as the tragically ineffectual hero of Catholic Europe, standing in the breach against both the heretic and the Turk, and only partially saving Europe while dooming his own Empire.

   As ought to have been expected, Kamen's well researched and presented portrait shows a complex individual, capable of progressivism (ala opposition to blood purity laws and early support for Tridentine reforms), while simultaneously enjoying the public manifestations of the Inquisition. The casual nature of Philip's early marriages contrasts starkly against his reaction to the death of his fourth wife. "Philip the Bureaucrat" would seem to be an apt title for a King paralyzed by paperwork, and unable to govern his vast realms due to slow communication, shifty underlings, and a byzantine political system that only Umberto Eco could love.

   It is hard, in the end, to get a bead on Philip. It is indeed tragic for Spain that the many great chances for the establishment of their empire were lost in the various cataclysms of Dutch piracy, stormy seas, and overzealous generals - thus contributing to the later usurpation of Portugese westernization of the orient, English dominance of North America, and setting the stage for Cardianl Richelieu and far bloodier events in Europe.

   Of course, Kamen avoids projecting out consequences, only hinting at the damage done to Spain by the misfortunes of Philip's reign. For a biography of "the world's most powerful man," the focus is so narrow as to be somewhat myopic. But it is at this price that we obtain the detail which saves Philip from both the Black Legend and latter-day sanctification - neither of which he deserves.




3. About time the Prudent King received treatment worth his contemporaneous status! Not much has been written on Phillip II that would pass the most superficial test of historical accuracy. This book, a survey of his reign, is balanced and well written. Kamen describes neither a demon (the characterization of Phillip which most English readers would find familiar) nor a saint (the preferred version among Spanish monarchists), but the first modern bureaucrat. Kamen scholarship has some precursors in the English historical world, ie Elton, Parker, but his contribution to popular history in the form of biography is unique at this point. The 30 Years War, the casus belli for Modern Europe, is inconceivable without Phillip II's presence. This book paints with an informed brush the Spanish dynastic cause. I recommend this book highly.



4. That's right! I am, at this moment, making a powerful epic screenplay about the greatest king in the 1500s. It is called PHILIP, KING OF SPAIN - and it will star me as the great king Philip II. I will show him as the man, the king, the warrior, the father, the husband, and the ruler of his court!

   So forget about those other little biopics like THE LAST EMPEROR, AMADEUS, ELIZABETH, and others! PHILIP, KING OF SPAIN will be an Academy Award-winning, Best Picture epic film made by yours truly - Kristoffer Infante! It will be a companion to my other Oscar-winning Best Picture, PRISONER OF WAR - written, directed, produced, and starring me - and TRIANGLE, another Oscar-winning Best Picture!

   I will be faithful to the man and the myth, and destroy all that negativity that has dogged Philip in the last 400 years! Philip will be loved and appreciated again!

   Count on it!




5. Kamen offers a very complete and detailed description of the great grandson of the Catholic Kings and the difficulty of managing the most extensive empire the world has ever known. The facts are taken from great sources and presented in an honest fashion. Kamen strays from legends and myths and even challenges some of them as he did in "The Spanish Inquisition". The dedication of Felipe II to his realm is explained realisticly. Finally, the chronology is followed with discipline and is commendable. I would recommend this book to anyone desiring information on this Hapsburg leader.

5 comments about Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride (Philadelphia Museum of Art).

1. A bride figure of really beautiful Grace.
   The photograph which photographed her is splendid. Various articles used at the time of marriage are carried.
   This is a precious document.



2. I bought this book for the sole purpose of learning more about Grace Kelly's wedding dress. At the time I bought the book, I was planning my own wedding and I wanted a wedding dress that looked similar to Grace's. However, I had not been able to find good pictures of the dress online or in other books I had of Grace. Therefore, I was delighted with this book, which has beautiful pictures of the dress. Furthermore, the book has also proven to be a great addition to my collection of Grace Kelly books as it provides particular attention and detail to one of the most important days in Grace's life. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in Grace, and particularly in her wedding dress.



3. I, for one, think that Grace Kelly was the epitome of the most beautiful, elegant brides of the modern edge...even to Princess Diana..that dress and the work that went into it is mindblowing. I've seen the dress in person and it TRULY is BREATHTAKINGLY stunning! The lace, alone, in this modern age (although no longer available) would be over $10K ALONE! I plan to copy some of Grace's elegance in my very own wedding...a Rose Point Lace garter, the beautiful Juliet Cap...all I can say is this: It's not a Grace Kelly Bio--this is strictly dedicated to the dress and it's making: fabrics and laces used and how they were all put together. Truly and informative book besides being a wonderful reference as well as a Keepsake. At LEAST 5 stars on this. Check it out..you won't be disappointed!



4. This book gives a very detailed representation of Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress. It also gives lots of details of the events leading up to her wedding day. It is not a biography of her life. It focuses on her wedding day and the events leading up to it with the wedding day itself being the culmination.



5. I was a bit disappointed when I received the book as I thought it would have more colored pictures of her wardrobe. Many were in black and white. The photos of her wedding dress were lovely though -- I guess that was the true focus of the book.

5 comments about Richard and John: Kings at War.

1. The battle between church and monarchy for control of England in the 12th and 13th centuries is a fascinating look at greed, power, some chivalry and life during hard times. Throw in Robin Hood, Magna Carta and beautiful ambitious women for a great story.



2. I must say that I am very disheartened by some of the other reviews here that chide author McLynn for using big words or for going into excessive detail in Richard and John: Kings at War. For me, McLynn's prose was the highlight of this experience, his colorful and extremely engaging writing made exploring the often confusing and complicated world of medieval European politics and culture.
   
   I'm the kind of reader who likes a challenge, who enjoys coming across words that I need to look up in a dictionary, and relishes the opportunity to immerse myself in a vast, unfamiliar world like that of Richard the Lionheart and the Angevin dynasty. When I come across a word like "uxorious" or "gallimaufry," I don't resent the author for obfuscating his thoughts in the arcane or obscure, I'm thankful to be introduced to new methods of expression.
   
   Richard and John is a challenging read, without a doubt, but McLynn's approach is not condescending to the reader. Quite the contrary, by not dumbing down his text he reveals a level of respect to the reader, and puts his faith in our ability as learned adults to not merely allow the book to wash over us passively, but to actively engage the text, and include ourselves in the rich dialogue he has set-up.
   
   I enthusiastically recommend Richard and John as an excellent and exciting narrative which sheds light on the distant yet in many ways familiar world of medieval Europe and as an example of well-tuned writing that should invigorate readers, not discourage them.



3. Its nice to learn that "King John was not a good man", and that Richard actualy earned his reputation. Well written, exciting as a good detective story, history the way it used to be written and the way it should be written. Besides its fun to see the revisionists revised. A good read as well as good history.



4. I enjoyed McLynn's book, which is unashamed in its traditional bias. He is incredibly scrupulous about citing his sources, with a vast array needing practically the last 50 pages of the book to list. I only wish that he had drawn upon a somewhat wider vocabulary to match. After reading this and his 1066 book back to back, I would not be entirely inconsolable if I never came across the words 'uxorious' or 'contumacious' again which he is particularly fond of. Or a state of affairs described as a 'cockpit' of intrigue or tension.
   
   Still. I enjoyed Richard & John a great deal. Though it is clear, throughout the book, that whom he truly relishes writing about is Richard. John is pretty much an afterthought, beyond the fortunate circumstances of living a bit longer after Richard's death, which provides McLynn with the opportunity to take sadistic pleasure in detailing his failures in comparison with Richard's heroic nobility. If the Lionheart had lived a decade longer, this book might as well have been called 'Richard'. Which wouldn't have been bad. Since the book truly soars when Richard takes center stage. There is also fine treatment given to an array of memorable if little known characters, such as William Marshall, who had a rather hilarious affinity for tournaments.



5. I admire "Richard and John: Kings at War." But one suspects that a rush to meet its release date hurried the editing, creating a faustian bargain for this book.
   
   "Richard and John: Kings at War" is encyclopedic. I have read this period widely, but still found a new treasure-trove of facts. And back-stairs whispers. Her contemporary chroniclers gave Eleanor of Aquitaine a bad press. Now, Frank McLynn's diligent research shows the rest of this weird family faring no better. He lets us into secrets, confiding foibles of perhaps the most dysfunctional imperial family since First Century Rome.
   
   Readers will recognize sibling rivalry between brothers of unequal aptitute. To this, add faction-fights between parents playing favorites to influence their sons, while also fighting France, the Church and each other. Fans of the Asian board game "Go" -- objective: seize and control territory -- will understand the Angevins intuitively! Richard is the brother (or classmate) we envied: he captains the teams, gets the girls and is deemed most likely to win. John grits his teeth, struggles and slips into poor moral and practical judgments.
   
   Those who strive to read "Richard and John: Kings at War" from end to end may struggle, too. It's that editing challenge I mentioned.
   
   I dissent from McLynn's description of Eleanor of Aquitaine; and from Alison Weir's opinion, which he quotes, that Eleanor's likeness is unknown. The British set-designer Claude Marks had a deep knowledge of medieval Poitou and Aquitaine. Moving to New York, Marks lectured at the Metropolitan Museum, whose medieval busts of Henry and Eleanor he considered plausible likenesses. In "Pilgrims, Heretics, and Lovers" Marks also cites a contemporary source for Eleanor's eye color. (I confess bias: I commissioned a portrait modeled from that bust of Eleanor. Then a forensic artist working from the same bust projected Eleanor's features into old age for me.)
   
   That aside, in summary, readers familiar with the general story who skim over rough passages will find "Richard and John" informative. Amusing and entertaining, too.
   
   Robert Fripp, author,
   "Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

3 comments about Las Hijas de Sultana (Biblioteca).

1. Just love the Sultana trilogy, compelling,shocking,funny..its a must. I cant wait to read more of Jean Sassons books.



2. This book blew me away its the last of 3 books and I can tell you that I personally cried very much but I also learned the value of freedom and choice. Sultana should write more about her life.



3. Sultana, una mujer decidida, nos enseña con este relato la cruda realidad de lo que vive este pueblo Saudi. Aqui no hay nada escondido, la narradora de este relato quiso que conocieramos detalle a detalle lo que viven estas mujeres, y que a veces el dinero no compra la felicidad ya que si de dinero se trata esta familia lo tiene casi todo. Es un libro facil de entender, no tiene palabras complejas y aquellas tipicamente arabes , el libro nos trae un pequeño traductos para no quitarle la esencia, despue que lo terminen, yo lo hice en dos dias tiene que leer LAS HIJAS DE SULTANA. Que lo disfruten!!!

5 comments about The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea.

1. Not only that this is the only book about Korean politics at the court from a woman's perspective, but it is also one of a very few pieces of literature that was written in Hangul. Korea, together with Japan and Vietnam were influenced heavily by Chinese culture and literature. Noble men during this time studied and wrote in Classical Chinese, which left women, the less educated ones, to be masters of their native languages.
   
   Lady Hyegyong memoir was written in her old age for the purpose of restoring honor to her father, uncle, brother and husband who were either disgraced or killed during the time they served at the kings' courts. This book gives the readers vivid (and even shocking) details of the ways of life under Confucian laws, how people lived, died and even murdered. In Confucius teachings, the authority of the king and the father was absolute. When the king ordered his subject to die, if he did not obey, he would be deemed disloyal. When the father ordered the son to die, if he did not obey, he would be deemed unfilial.
   
   When Sado's mental illness was to the point of uncontrollable, king Yongjo had no choice, but to have him put to death for the kingdom's sake. When king Yongjo ordered his son to step into the (4ft x 4ft x 4ft) rice chest, and prince Sado did it without any objection, he was evoking the righteousness between father and son. If he evoked the death sentence as a king, Sado's wife and son would also be tainted by Sado's crimes and potentially would also be sentenced to death with Sado In having Sado's brother adopting Sado's son posthumously, he also was able save his daughter in law and grand child from the question of legitimacy.
   
   Lady Heyegyong also demonstrated a life of virtue when she successfully maintained these proper relationships between herself and her parents, husband and son: `a perfect woman must obey her father when she is a child, her husband when a wife and her son when she is a widow' (Confucius).



2. an interesting book. It makes the writings of a crown princess more informative and intense. I would recommend this book but readers might want to read a simpler version. The book is a little messy and isn't in the form of the beginning of the story to the end. Bits and pieces are told in different chapters.
   
   Overall, an interesting story.



3. Beyond the scholarly merit and historical significance of this book, the story is hugely compelling, not merely for the facts of the chilling event, but for several other reasons.
   
   First, the view Lady Hyegyong provides of the court life and the strict Confucian beliefs that hinge on filial piety, loyalty, virtue and honor is evident more in what she doesn't say than what is said. It's a growing subtle presentation of how life unfolded within these confines of faith, and as a result, how tragedy after tragedy continued to compound. One could read the Analects or any Neo-Confucian work, and not understand to the degree shown here the depths of the practice and belief that affected every aspect of life in the late Choson era.
   
   Second, along with JaHyun Kim Haboush's careful introduction, the annotations she has so helpfully added, the glossaries and appendices, the book presents a highly respectful translation that brings forth all the humanity of the players in a way that makes the story unfold like a novel of hope, horror, survival and the desire for inner peace and heavenly redemption.
   
   Third, by providing the historical literary context of these MEMOIRS (in the introduction), we benefit from understanding not only the historical events but the tense cultural climate and the severe limitations that Lady Hyegyong had to challenge and overcome in order to redeem the honor of her family. Almost as a self-reflective postmodern work of existentialism, the book stands as its own redemptive testament to its themes.
   
   To read of this historical event from one who suffered in its aftermath, and who despite the strictures of her sex and position could tell of it with artistry, is an amazing literary experience.



4. I think Haboush was trying to adhere to the original piece how the Crown prince wrote it but the sequence of events perhaps could have been ordered better? Because they are divided into 4 sections and each memoir tells the same story in different perspective and you have to go back.
   
   Also some of the Korean names and terms I would have liked to have seen them typed both in Korean as well. It was had to make out what it meant.
   
   It clarified, especially the last memoir (1805) how and why Sado seja was killed. History often sites that It was his father's extreme dislike for that drove to it. He could not have been disposed because there would have been factions that would try to put him back up on the throne.



5. "The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong" is actually four different works written by one woman, a circumspect, scrupulous, unfortunate 18th Century Korean aristocrat. The memoirs are, successively, a family injunction, a memorial, a biography, and a historiography. At the center of the collection sits Hong Hyegyong and her husband, Crown Prince Sado. "The Memoirs" span the reigns of Yongjo, Chongjo, and Sunjo, and the careers of Lady Hyegyong's father, Hong Ponghan, and her older brothers.

   Lady Hong Hyegyong was the wife of Crown Prince Sado, who in 1762, was ordered by his father, King Yongjo, to step into a rice chest, which was susequently bound and covered in sod. Crown Prince Sado had been punished by his father for a series of heinous murders caused by Sado's mental illness. Lady Hyegyong and her family, including her son, the future King Chongjo, then became the focal point of factional quarrels at court, each side using the execution of the Crown Prince, to its own political advantage.

   Lady Hyegyong, in the first three memoirs, strives to defend her father and brothers against chages of treason and complicity in Sado's execution. The last memoir is a defense of her husband. All four are addressed to her grandson, King Sunjo, to restore the honor of her family.

   Although Lady Hyegyong nor Haboush could ascertain the specific cause of Crown Prince Sado's illness, and Lady Hyegyong's anecdotal evidence is hardly scientific, I would like to offer ''hwabyong'', or, in Korean, ''fire disease'' or ''anger disease''. ''Hwabyong'', as offered by Alford in "Think No Evil: Korean Values In The Age Of Globalization" (see review), is ''...a unique Korean folk syndrome...'' characterized by ''...anxiety, panic,...and the suppression of anger...'' (p. 77). Korean fire disease's ''...symptoms reflect[s] the constraints of the culture: not just on the expression of of emotion, but the lack of opportunity...to change...''(p. 79). Only Crown Prince Sado,and the evidence offered in "The Memoir of 1805", can affirm this conjecture.

   The last work, "The Memoir of 1805", is a brilliant psychological portrait of Crown Prince Sado. It is a revealing exercise in historical writing, and also reveals the mind of an extraordinary woman trying to understand some of the most harrowing personal tragedies any spouse or daughter might face.

   "The Memoirs" can be compared to Lady Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji", "Hamlet", and the lives of the Roman Emperors. One major failing of Haboush's''Introduction'' is, that she does not place the incidents in a broader historical and international context. But she does manage to argue against abridging and collecting each work into a longer historical novel. A broader focus would further aid in understanding Lady Hyegyong's dedication in defense of her brothers and father.

   This is not only a valuable history, but it is also another demonstration of the narrative powers of Asian women authors operating in a patriarchical, almost misogynistic, culture.

4 comments about The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life.

1. I ordered it without realizing this is the exact same biography on the Duchess of Windsor I read about ten years ago but the book seems to have been so updated with new facts it really is worth buying the newer version. She really was a tenacious and riveting woman...no wonder the King left his throne for her. I would have done the same. I find the authors writing to be very unbiased...he does not seem to approve of the politics or the activities of the Duke and Duchess very much, but he gives a very balanced presentation of the facts. Like most people born after world war 2, anyone who supported the Nazi's was automatically evil in my mind but this book caused me to reconsider such a snap judgement. The arguments presented for why so muchof the European elite and American elite supported Hitler are very sound. Fascism was just another right wing philosophy...most of the royals and aristocrats who believed in Hitler were not interested in committing genocide. Hitler went off on the rails on his own in that aspect.
   
   In addition to being insightful and gossipy, this book made me revise some of my own opinions.



2. How History portrays Edward V111 and Mrs Simpson will probably vary somewhat - but this book from Charles Higham is an excellent starting point for history buffs.
   With the passing of time, more and documents are being made available for perusal from a wide range of sources. The Governments of Britain,Germany, Austria and Italy for starters.
   Then add Buckingham Palace letters and documents,and the views of FDR and the Whitehouse staff, Winston Churchill,Hitler et al.
   The level of research can make or break a biography and this one succeeds because of Higham's thoroughness.
   It has always been clear to me that the Duchess had no idea what she was embarking on when she became involved with Prince Edward.
   She was vilified,loathed, shut off from the Royal family.
   At various times during her life she experienced real despair and
   depression.
   Their lives became empty and meaningless - just endless rounds of entertaining and being entertained.
   Many of the upper class in England were Nazi sympathisers, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were no exception.
   It was this allegiance that was the root cause of all their problems, as British and American spys kept abreast of their activities,their friendships and of course the notoriety they received when visiting Germany did not go unnoticed.
   It was because of this concern they were in effect banished to
   the Bahamas and had their requests to travel abroad refused or at least severely curtailed.
   The Duke seemed to forget the promises he made when he abdicated. He was born to be King and the reality of NOT being King was something he never managed to adjust to. He thought that he and Wallis would return to England to live but his support of Germany and plotting with the Germans to again become King should Britain lose the war, was well known to George V1 and to Churchill, and thus a return to his homeland became an impossibility.
   The most revealing access to the character of the Duchess of Windsor were in her letters to her Aunt Bessie. On one occasion she was complaining bitterly about the Bahamas, and the house etc, never once mentioning the war and the hard times people were experiencing.
   On another occasion a visiting British friend mentioned the London bombings, loss of life etc and the Duchess' response was along the lines of why should she care, the British had made her life hell and she would never forgive them etc.
   Interestingly enough, Wallis was regarded as a spy of long standing, and her later annual trips to America were viewed with alarm by the US government and she was constantly under surveillance.
   Both the Windsors spoke fluent German and yet despite living in France for many years,they knew only a few words of French.
   This book shows Wallis as a woman of expensive tastes,very chic
   beautifully groomed, and a fine hostess of great taste and style.
   Many who knew them well noted that the Duke was besotted by her
   but she less so with him. Then again, when his final illness struck him down, the Duchess of Windsor was there for the Duke until the last.



3. This book came out about 12 years ago and it was presented in a beautiful hardcover jacket.I read it as a novel and it fascinated me.The writing and the pictures are great.The story on the other hand is about this unpleasant and ugly woman, who stole the heart of a king.Mr. Higham wrote it beautifully,unfortunately she was not a very likeable person.Whether some of the stories are true or not, we shall never know. Like the duke running around in diapers....Read it if you are interested in British History.Sadly Wallis is in it.The Duke on the other hand gave an impression of being somebody without character, extremely weak,and a puppet in Simpson's hands.



4. "The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life" purports to shed scandalous light on the life and times of Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson Windsor. Higham paints the Duchess as a sometime spy, a Nazi-sympathizing party girl, and the dominating figure in the life of her weak, dim husband. At the same time, he touts her vaunted personal charm, fashionable elegance, and supposed genuine affection for the man who surrendered his throne to marry her.

   Unfortunately, the author's slapdash writing (replete with repetitive facts and anecdotes and endlessly laced with self-congratulatory details of his mostly unrevealing research) mean that "The Secret Life" doesn't even read well as mindless escapism. Higham's great revelations -- that the Duchess faked some details of her life as a military wife in China, and that the Windsors' contacts with various Fascist sympathizers were more substantial than they themselves were willing to reveal -- are hardly surprising in the context of a life devoted almost entirely to self-gratification and hedonistic consumption.

   "The Secret Life" fails to convince the reader of anything except the almost overwhelming mediocrity of its subject, and by extension her hapless consort. Nothing fades faster than news of yesterday's parties; much the same is true of the once glittering and romantic legend of the Duchess of Windsor.

4 comments about Diana Style: Foreword by Manolo Blahnik.

1. Although I am still reading through this book, I am enjoying reading details about the fashion side of her life. It's a nice change from speculation about the rest of her life. The pictures of her fashion style bring back pleaseant memories of how I would like to remember the princess, as the beautiful woman she was. The commentaries from the designers are also loving written and offer details about the princess that add something to the pictures.



2. This is a great book if you are a fan of Princess Diana or just a fan of her fashion. The book is full of great pictures. I highly recommend this book to any Princess Diana fan!



3. I agree with the review left by "Dressmaker": save your money and buy it used, if buy it you must. There is only one picture, a fashion drawing by Roland Klein, that doesn't appear in lots (and lots!) of other Diana fashion books. The text contains a number of glaring errors of general fact, date, and dress description that could have been easily checked. For a very minor example, the Travolta Gown was described on one page as black, and on the next, as ink blue. Shouldn't a "fashion expert" have known the color of one of Diana's most famous gowns? Many of the designer comments are also available elsewhere, in better books.
   
   That said, the text is an interesting take on Diana's use of clothing to make a statement, and her gradual development of the style associated with her at any given period. You won't see anything new here and shouldn't believe everything you read here, either -- by a long shot. If McDowell can't get his facts right, what weight should a reader give to his opinions?



4. This book, on an ever-popular topic, is not as complete or well-illustrated as other, similar books such as "Dressing Diana," "Diana, Queen of Style," or "Diana: The Secrets of Her Style." However, it is more thoughtful in its analysis of her fashions and how they changed over the years. Most such books just burble about her eternal beauty and perfection; this one acknowledges some missteps and gaucheries from time to time, while appreciating her growth and maturity.
   
   I noticed a couple of mistakes: A reference to a pearl necklace that Diana supposedly wore on her wedding day (she didn't wear a necklace at all) and stating that Fergie's gown was made of satin, just like Diana's (Diana's was taffeta). Odd mistakes, considering all you have to do is look at the photos to check the facts.
   
   Overall, this is a nice little book with some good observations, but if you want lots of photos, buy one of the other Diana fashion books.