5 comments about The Housekeeper's Diary: Charles and Diana Before the Breakup.

1. this is the first book i've read about the royal family. i do trust everything this housekeeper says in the book. she seems very trustworthy and gets into VERY specific details (gossip!) is it wrong for her to have written this book? probably, but who cares?! you get to see the true sides of charles and diana's personalities, from how they treat their help, to how they treat their kids and each other. i read through the whole book with interest, so i must give it a good rating.



2. The book is written by the woman who worked as housekeeper to Prince Charles and Princess Diana for eight years. Much is made of the fact that it was "banned in Britain" - because the writer breached the confidentiality agreement she signed when she took the job, and would have had to give up the income from it had it been published in the UK. This sums up the book. It's a tattletale book, a dreadful breach of confidence on her part, and heavy on judgement about the royals and their lifestyle. In view of this, I find that I cannot take what Berry says on trust - she's a judgmental gossip and as such not about to write a truth and nothing but the truth book. If you want to read gossip, you will enjoy this book. It's not very well written, the grammar is poor, and Berry is not a good writer. She jumps around in time with her anecdotes, which are based only on what she saw as housekeeper, in one place where the royals lived. Since she was not with them when they were working, she does not describe the work involved, and makes no allowances for how exhausting it must have been, nor can she imagine this. She is critical of Princess Diana, and delighted to pass on others' criticism, while having no insight into what made the Princess what she was. It's a poor, shabby book.



3. It's a fun read, no doubt about it. Being a Midwestern girl, I'll never know what it's like to be a royal and I found this insider's view fascinating. To be fabulously wealthy, yet get all manner of freebies and presents. To have a staff there ready to wait on you, yet to never be away from their judgemental eyes. What a life! No wonder both Charles and Diana were spoiled and far from perfect. I don't see how anyone could be remotely normal given the lives they led. For this peek into Highgrove, I was grateful. However, Ms. Berry herself seems rather unlikeable. Always gossiping, making sure we know that's she's more educated that the Prince and Princess realized, saying that Diana never would have "dared" lose her famous temper with the housekeeper, it kept me shaking my head. Like other, I'm sure, I suspect if she didn't take this job in the first place just to pen a tell-all.



4. I got this book from Ebay as it was out of print. And Banned
   in London. It was a good book all in all. But, I learned nothing
   really new. We all know that Diana had alot of problems
   I guess I would as well if I lived with the Royals. Not an
   easy family to live with. She did her job and won the hearts
   of many people. She is still a hero in my heart. Hey, she was
   a person before she was royal.



5. I bought this book several years ago and have just re-read it.

   It's an interesting look at life inside the Royal Family. Well, at least one part of it. The self-centeredness of Prince Charles is not surprising. He expects every whim to be catered to without question and immediately. He comes across as very spoiled and out of touch.

   Princess Diana is another matter. Her instability is so apparent. It is too bad that she did not get professional help.

   The last sentence, "But where is it all going to end?" is sad when you think about what happened to Diana.

   The author doesn't take sides, but has given us a good look into the private lives of a very unhappy family.

1 comments about A History of Jordan.

1. Jordan is a nation that according to some accounts, was "dreamed of from the backseat of Churchill's car." Formerly an Ottoman ruled area, Jordan Stretches from the Syrian Desert in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south. the nation was considered by most to be a backwater inhabited by various Bedouin tribes. It is interesting to note that on Amazon.com I have seen only a few histories of this pivotal nation, when you search for "Jordan" most of the results deal with basketball player Michael Jordan. This book came as a fresh surprise.
   
   After the allied victory in 1918, over the Central Powers (including the Ottoman Empire), Ottoman lands were split up by the victorious French and British. As a result the nation that later became known as Transjordan and later Jordan was administered by British as part of the Mandate of Palestine. Another result of World War 1 was that England's former ally the Sherif of Mecca needed to be rewarded for his assistance. After the French kicked Abdullah out of Damascus, the English had to give him some slice of land, that "slice" was Jordan.
   
   Later in 1922 Jordan gained "independence" from the British Palestine Mandate becoming Transjordan, and achieving full independence in 1946. After the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 Jordan had complete control over the West Bank and the Eastern half of Jerusalem. Later in 1967 Jordan lost control of the West Bank and 3 years later fought a civil war with Palestinians (and Syria).
   
   In the present time Jordan has proved itself to be not just some desert backwater inhabited by warring Bedouin tribes. It has become a geographically strategic nation, bordering Syria, oil rich Saudi Arabia, war torn Iraq, and Israel. This nation has seen a succession moderate kings who have pushed for peace with Israel in addition to a tourist Mecca (with sites like Petra and resorts like Aqaba).
   
   Robins has done quite an exstensive job explaining the many facets of Jordanian culture, history, and politics. From when the Ottomans ruled to the modern era, the author has delved into a wide variety of topics ranging from the influence of Islamists on Jordanian politics, the result of massive influxes of Palestinians (that are now over half of the population), descriptions of leaders ranging from Wasfi Tall to King Abdullah, to how familial and tribal relations still effect the nation.
   
   The book while only about 200 pages long does offer a very exstensive and well written history of this nation. I would recommend this to anyone studying the Middle East. While it is a shame that many books on this small nation have not been forthcomming, this book does a very good job at explaining the nation, its people, and its politics.

5 comments about Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II.

1. I have read numerous books about the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II/the British Royal Family and this is one of the best so far. It feels more like history than tabloid and is easy to follow. I also feel that it sets the record straight on many subjects, especially the difficulties with Diana. I truly could not put this book down! Read and enjoy!



2. I was preparing for a speech about Queen Elizabeth the Second, purchased this book and never looked back. Full of information but not over one's head, a very enjoyable read.



3. Enjoyable and educational - very well done. Lacey is a very good "royal watcher" - always seems to be honest enough without blowing his own horn.



4. I was kind of hoping that Robert Lacey did a follow-up to his earlier biography, Majesty but instead, he seem to rehashed many of the old material from that book while writing a whole new biography. So while this book proves to be an interesting read to those who have not read Majesty, you cannot help but to be disappointed by how the last 20 years of Elizabeth's reign have been written. Its almost appears to be a mini-biography of Princess Diana. I believed this spell out the major weakness in this biography of Elizabeth II. Some of the readers might questioned although others may praised the fact that Lacey did not treat Diana with any sort of adoration that seem to be so typical of many of the current writers.
   
   I thought the book could have better written, in more details and with more insights to Elizabeth's character as she grew older. There's probably not enough information on her husband in this book as well. He's probably more important to Elizabeth's life then Diana could ever be. The author's unwillingness to dig deeper for a more complete biography make this book somewhat of a compromise quality. There's really nothing written about Elizabeth in this book toward her last 20 years of reign that we couldn't pick up already from the mass media. Do we have to wait until after Elizabeth's death to get a decent indepth biography on her life??



5. Obviously, Robert Lacey is a dedicated biographer. His book is characterized by research, depth, and scope. What's more, he doesn't resort to cheap sensationalism to add a few more chapters. Yet somehow, "Monarch" is still one of those books that doesn't just capture you and leave you gushing about how wonderful it was.
   
   Lacey begins his book by attempting to chronicle the development of the "modern" royal family, beginning with reign of Queen Victoria and providing glimpses into several other monarchs' rule. It would be true to say that these "foundations" help one understand the current queen. Occasionally, this extended history lesson was just plain fascinating, too, imparting nuggets of history that any royal buff delights in.
   
   Unfortunately, the history lessons definitely became too textbook-ish at times, too. Lacey has an extremely unfortunate habit of seeming to bring up every single name, place, and government activity when talking about an event. This leaves the reader with an overly long and dull account of event that could have been summed up much more interestingly.
   
   The same analysis, to a lesser extent, holds true for the queen's own story in this book. At times, Lacey fabulously describes people and events, knows just where to place a well-chosen quote, and makes one want to read about the queen's life forever (as in the opening chapters about the queen's dealings with Diana's funeral). Yet the "bogged-down-in-boring-detail" problem still surfaced in this part (the parts dealing with the Margaret-Townsend affair were dry and too long).
   
   Lacey is certainly to be commended for his obvious knowledge about the queen, and it is also fortunate for readers that he is able to convey his respect for the queen while still offering up intelligent, constructive criticism. If you really must read everything about the British royal family or the queen, this is a solid offering, yet other readers would probably enjoy Carolly Erickson's masterfully written "Lillibet" much more.

5 comments about Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder.

1. To be honest, I was hoping for (and thought I ordered) a work of good historical fiction, such as "The Tower and the Dream," a book about Bess that I couldn't put down. This book is a biography and I don't find the author particularly interesting to read. Her style of writing tends to be dull and unimaginative, which is a shame because the story of Bess of Hardwick is quite a fascinating one. In my opinion, the one word that sums up this work is "dry."
   
   If you are looking for details and facts about the life of Bess of Hardwick, this work will provide them. If you are looking for a good read, this just isn't it.
   
   Alexandra, Visalia, CA



2. Bess of Hardwick was born the daughter of a gentlemen squire, that is, a sort of farmer with a few servents, but an ancestry that allowed him (and his wife) to be part of the "gentry" in the age of King Henry VIII. She was able to become, by the time of her death at the (then) remarkable age of 80 the second most powerful and richest woman in England, after her friend Queen Elizabeth I. She had been able to marry off her children and step children very well,into the most powerful names of Tudor aristocracy and the author shows how many aristocratic houses of England are directly descended from this woman, including the Dukes of Devonshire.
   Bess began the building of the fabulous home "Chatsworth" which is still a showpiece, though re-done over time. (See the biography of "Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire for more on Chatsworth).
   Bess was the grandmother of the Princess Arbella, who could have just as well been the next Queen of England after Elizabeth I: Arbella had the exact same blood lines as her cousin James I, but her life, plotted and planned by her grandmother who had raised her with Queenship in mind, ended tragically).
   Bess was a formidable yet at times kindly woman, as the author says, a type of CEO in the Tudor world.
   It was a fascinating biography and a great glimpse in the Tudor/ Elzabethan world. (Having read so much about Henry VIII, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, etc, it is interesting to read about a non royal person, for other insights into that world.) Very well and clearly written. Highly recommended.



3. I love history and this was a great book. My friends want to read it as well and they are not history lovers. So it is a great read.



4. My first experience with Bess of Hardwick was through a historical romance novel several years ago. After some research online, I discovered so much more about her. I find her to be an extraordinary woman who lived in difficult times. I felt that Mary Lovell captured her perfectly. There was so much more information that I had never read before. I would recommend this biography to anyone who enjoys reading about life in the Tudor era.



5. A well researched, very interesting study of a remarkable woman who kept her head when many around her were (literally) losing theirs. She also managed to keep and enlarge a fortune.

5 comments about Camilla: Her True Story.

1. A woman who broke up the marrige of Princess Diana along with her husband Prince Charles.Who admitted to never loving Diana on a TV special.Charles & Camilla consorted to make Diana appear as Diana would say Looney.Diana dies a suspicious death in paris almost one year to the date of her divorce from charles.Diana sealed her fate when she went on Al Fayed's yacht.The establishment as Diana called the royals said she was a liability to the crown.Diana was & would never be free to live the life she allways wanted.The royals seen to that Diana came up removed by death.So Camilla the Horseface & Charles the Pig got married.Never in a million years would i buy anything from these two people.Give this book a -20 forever?????



2. In response to some who run to the defense of Diana, and regard any other view as gossipy, there are other sides to a story, and the fact was that there were many, many more than three in this marriage, Diana bringing into it an enormous amount of "lovers", starting early in her marriage with her own infidelities, and after reading about every book there is on this triangle, and Diana herself, it is nice to see some authors presenting Charles and Camilla's side to the story in a decent, mature way. Diana used the media to trash this woman for years, not considering what her actions would to do others, while the entire time she was dabbling in numerous adulterous affairs, so in all fairness, it is nice to read a study into the other side of the story, written with compassion to the other players in this scenario, compassion that Diana and her journalists never gave them, while covering her own indiscretions, which were to numerous to imagine. Diana was a master of using the media to put out the story that she wanted a naieve public to believe, and sadly there are too many followers of hers that still will not believe that there is another story to be told, and am glad to see authors that are willing to give us the other side to this story, and if they tend to put Camilla in a good light, perhaps the woman merits some of that, goodness knows she has been trashed enough by Diana and the journalists that she had eating out of her hand!!! Good for Ms. Graham.



3. They met when they were young; now some thirty years later, they are still together, and still very much in love. How long will it take for their love to be fully accepted by the public? This is a great love story, yet Prince Charles and Camilla still deal with slurs and scorn every day. Haven't they earned our respect? In my opinion, they have. How many people do you know who are still so much in love after thirty years? They deserve the fondest and best wishes from everyone. Even Diana, if she were still here, would have agreed, by now.



4. She will justify anything coming from Camilla and Charles, gossiping like Lady Campbell and attribute every single fault to Diana. Where is your moral? Camilla was pestering this couple for all these years, insincere in wanting their best. Why she didn't get a life ? Leave the poor couple to live peacefully? She really stole another woman's husband. I imagine how much Camilla is paying to this wretched author to write this sordid book. Diana should have sent or hire someone to eliminate this bothering woman in the first place. This will put her in her right place. But Diana was decent in just getting out of this sham marriage instead of persisting it despite all the privileges of royal life. She was being far more honest in wanting to terminate it than many women who will stay in this sordid marriage just for the food.



5. This is just an update of an earler Caroline Graham book, The King's Mistress. I dont beleive that the author was being very objective in her treatment of the subject matter. The late princess Diana is not portrayed in a good light, whilst Camilla is seen as just a woman in love. She comes across as so very caring, kind, giving and loving, its a wonder her own ex-husband didn't hold on to her. Overall though, the book is well written and does give some insight into the woman who may or may not be queen.

5 comments about Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria.

1. Like most reviewers, I found this delightful little volume a good read, without the detail one normally encounters in a biography. One gathers from this work that the the queen's unhappy childhood had a profound effect upon the rest of her life; including, in rather a perverse way, the relationship with her husband, whom she is said to have both adored and harassed.
   
   I have to admit that I purchased my new copy for one pound in London (remainder!). I am doubtful if I would have paid full price. But a good read.



2. I was hoping for a lot more from this book after reading other reviews and noting how many biographies of famous women Carolly Erickson has written. Frankly this book read like a student's history project, that is, essentially a time-line with only a small effort to truly express who Queen Victoria was. The book was not very captivating and I only finished it because it was the only book I had on an 8 hour flight. There are probably better biographies of the Little Queen out there.



3. This is a very brief and often inaccurate portrayal of Queen Victoria and the 19th century, during a time when everything that people knew and accepted was changing. For a more accurate biography about Queen Victoria, I suggest "Victoria Victorious" by Jean Plaidy. Much better.



4. This book is very well written. THere are many similies and metaphors which put you back into the life of Queen Victoria. It is an educational book, yet it reads like a story. It is most definetly not like most historical non-fiction books.



5. This is a small book for such a large subject. It keeps to the facts and indeed it does not overwhelm you with those. I found some of the expressions used in the book to be a little odd, almost as if the writer was trying to write in style that she thinks is "real" English.

   I enjoyed the book and it has made me want to learn more about this quite remarkable woman. In short ;read it and enjoy , but don't expect to be turned into an expert by the end of the book.

5 comments about The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin and Eleanor, the King and Queen of England, and the Friendship that Changed History.

1. We often loose sight of the reality that even the most globally sweeping events in history are ultimately influenced by the individual personalities of the protagonists. Broad political and economic forces are certainly the context and catalysts behind major historical developments, but the actual sequence and nature of events can often be most fully understood by an analysis of the psychological and emotional temperament of the key players in the drama. Will Swift's fascinating study of one paradigm moment in the history of the 20th Century clearly illustrates this premise. In clear, colorful and energetic prose, he unfolds the narrative of the evolving relationships between two of the most influential married couples of the century, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The fascinating counterpoint of both parallels and contrasts between the respective partners themselves and the two couples, are traced with the evident professional expertise that Dr. Swift brings to this study as a psychotherapist. Of particular interest are his portraits of the First Lady and the Queen. The unsensationalist, candid and sympathetic discussion of Eleanor's intimate relationship with Lorena Hickcok is nothing less than the coming of age of Roosevelt scholarship, which for too long has been unable to confront this dimension of the story with the calm objectivity it calls for. And for those of us for whom the Queen Mother was little more than a silent, smiling, waving icon with extravagant hats for the past fifty years, this portrait brings a remarkably strong and intelligent woman to life.
   
   While the narrative builds up to its symbolic climax with the Windsor's famous visit to Hyde Park in June 1939, all of the complex events, personalities and issues surrounding the alliance of the United States and Great Britain in the years preceding and following World War II, are covered and synthesized with clarity. And while the focus is certainly the War years, the respective chapters offer comprehensive and intriguing personality-centered biographies of the four individuals whose lives they weave together.
   
   I have long been an admirer and student of both the Roosevelts and of British royalty - a combination that is not unlikely, and clearly has contemporary parallels in the popular linkage between Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana and their respective personalities and experiences.I found "The Roosevelts and the Royals" a wonderful addition to the literature of both Anglo-American relations, and the distinctive culture of both countries. It's a great read, fun and even suspenseful as it's subject unfolds... the lavish praise of the leading scholars of the Roosevelts and the Royal Family are richly deserved !



2. Please, FIVE stars? The professional book review above says it all -- this book is melodramaticly written & padded to the nth degree. And for all that Hugo Vickers (per the Author's introduction) was supposed to have read it from cover to cover before publishing, it's got flawed research & repeats hoary old gossip as the truth (but then, Vickers isn't much of a writer either). Too much 'reaching' being done by the author. A few good anecdotes but not much else here; give it a pass.



3. If you like a blend of biography and history as I do, you will love this book. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are vividly portrayed here. Their alliance and, later friendship, and their commitment to mix charm and duty for the public good are set against Joseph Kennedy and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's self-serving attempts to gain attention and power. The author, a psychologist, shows us the inner workings and motivations of all the main characters without sounding like he is doing a case study.
   Most of us are aware how FDR and Churchill worked together to build the "special relationship" between America and Britain, but this book rounds out the story by showing the complicated three-way partnership between Churchill, Roosevelt and the king. I was surprised by how little I knew about the king and queen's role in softening American isolationism and in persuading Roosevelt to send war materials to Britain when it was at the brink of extinction.
   I was fascinated by how the king and queen won over Americans in Washington and New York during their 1939 state visit. The author gives us the full drama of the hot dog picnic at Hyde Park and explores how it helped to heal British-American relations.
   The Roosevelts and the royal family remained friends until Eleanor's death in 1962. There is a wonderful vignette in the book about Eleanor's visit with her granddaughter to Buckingham Palace for tea with Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. The Roosevelt- royal connection has recently been revived by Prince Andrew on visits to Hyde Park.
   The author has obviously done his homework- with careful research at both the FDR Library and Windsor Castle- and has talked to many of the Roosevelt grandchildren. Like Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston, and Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time, this book brings historical relationships to life, and provides an accurate depiction of a period in time. This is a truly impressive biography of four of the twentieth century's greatest leaders.



4. Will Swift does a terrific job in bringing to life the personalities and issues of a critical time in world history. This book is a must read for those interested in the events of the time, and how those events influenced today's relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.



5. The potential audience for this engaging work extends far beyond the royal watchers. Will Swift's unique lens framing The Roosevelts and the Royals brilliantly illustrates the political culture tie (not ascot) that binds. This psychologist masterfully showcases the subtlety that allowed the American public to access the royalty from which they once fled. As world reknowned Seymour Martin Lipset tells us in his theory of American exceptionalism, Americans have more values that join them than separate them-but always assumed that these value distinctions are what cut the cord from the mother country. The visit between the Roosevelts and the Royals tapped a major American vein, the undercurrent of core American values-egalitarianism, populism, individualism, laissez faire and liberty. We were "free" to serve hot dogs, what many Americans might be dining on in picnics across America. Compelling in both organization and writing, the book reveals the ultimate complexity of people, and that leaders can serve distinctive purposes in different time periods, often based on our fundamental orientations as people. Perhaps only such a well-trained psychologist could detect and successfully communicate what resonated between these people, in quite genuinely a friendship that changed history, and could capture the symbolical roots of the now formidable US-British alliance. Swift is able to show the generational learning the can occur between countries-the mother country, and the rebellion of the fledgling toddler nation, who ultimately sees what "genetic" propensities remain. So well-researched and written, it need not be reserved for political scientists and royal watchers, but for good book lovers everywhere, who truly appreciate an original.

2 comments about Secret Memoirs of Princess Lamballe: Her Confidential Relations With Marie Antoinette.

1. How can anyone (except experts who can prove it's not true) place a value on a book written by a person who was actually there with Marie Antoinette and lived to tell the tale? Anyone with any interest in the beheaded queen will want to read this book.



2. Lovely, thoughtful, tormented Princesse de Lamballe, close friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette, tells her story in her own words, as edited by her adopted daughter Catherine Hyde. As a student of the French revolution, I found this first hand account of the fall of the French monarchy to be indispensable. I came to am understanding of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette that I never had before. I highly recommend this report for those doing serious research or just looking for a good book to read.

No comments about Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace.

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'.