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'.

No comments about Diana, Princess of Wales: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

5 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Richard I (The English Monarchs Series).

1. Gillingham does it again. John Gillingham, again,provides us with another superb account of a remarkable ruler of England.



2. I was sceptical getting started on this biography. Certainly, the early parts were fact-laden, slightly uninteresting and slow going.
   
   I am very glad I did not give up.
   
   This is one of the few strictly historical books that restores one's faith in objective research and non-agenda, non-ego driven truth finding.
   
   One might wish for a bit more of a picture of Richard's persona, but from the remove of nearly a millenium, this would be fudging anyway. The facts that there are are clearly and neatly laid out regarding all of Richard's attributes, and some of the modern fadist mythologies (so many of which have their underpinnings in a given academic's desire or need for attention) are dealt with fairly and thoroughly.
   
   Example: Richard was not a homosexual, as "The Lion in Winter" would have a viewer believe. The evidence against it is clear and plenary. It isn't that one doesn't wish him to be, it's just that this notion has its roots in a modern attempt to overlay ancient male and political bonding customs with a template of modern behaviours and modern conclusions which would stem from modern interpretations of those behaviors.
   
   All in all, Richard emerges from the historical record as a great warrior King, who was grossly treated following his exertions during the Crusades, and was forced to try to reclaim the lands that Phillip of France stole while Richard was away. He was therefore forced to stay away from Britain, because the Angevin and Acquitainian and Norman parts of his empire were on the continent. He did not stay away from Britain by choice or by neglect (another myth debunked), but because he was forced to by the duties of his Kingship. Also, Britain WAS part of continental Europe as well in those days. (Or vice versa, if you happen to be English.)



3. A great introduction to those curious about this legendary monarch. Gillingham pulls off a bit of a hat trick here. While he does have strong opinions of surrounding figures, particularly Philip and John, he lets the facts speak for themselves about Richard and does not argue one particular point of view. With one exception, his sexuality. This also one of the few times where I found the primary historians, both Arab and Norman, becoming "characters" and their presence is missed when they die or no longer are around the King. The very difficult task of giving all of the counts of Normandy, the Vexin, and the Aquitaine distinctiveness is handled incredibly well. In the hands of a less skilled author this would have been very dry reading and frustratingly convoluted. Also, bit of a heads up to the future reader: This is Gillingham's second book on Richard the Lionheart and he has written numerous articles and essays on the monarch. He has no problem using himself as a reference and he flat out lifts an entire chapter from his previous work and places it in this one. I found this shrewdly entertaining. It does benefit this volume and since the older version is no longer in print, no harm done. After reading this you come away better informed, entertained and with a desire to pick up another book on this era and this king. I can't think of much better praise than that. An essential work for a medieval library.



4. This is the most balanced royal biography I've read to date. Gillingham begins by tracing Richard's reputation through the ages, beginning at it's peak in the 12th and 13th centuries, when he was considered one of the great leaders of his time to it's nadir in the 1950's when academics began to consider him a "Bad son and a bad king..." who spent far more time on the continent than he ever did in England, leaving it in terrible financial straits when he went off to fight in the crusades, and began to conjecture about his sexual preference. Gillingham explores and discounts these and other myths about Richard and his reign simply by letting the historical record speak for itself and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions, rather than stating his own opinions as facts and then selectively using the historical record to back them up. He also isn't afraid to admit that he can't be sure of something when the historical evidence is either too thin or simply obscured by the mists of time, which is refreshing. The author is among the first to rely heavily on contemporary Muslim sources in constructing his portrait of Richard, because he believes they are less biased in their evaluation of Richard's character than a European chronicler might be. These sources are, for the most part, complimentary, and add great perspective and depth to the reader's understanding of Richard as a warrior. Gillingham strikes the perfect balance between academic research and popular history, making the book very readable. Whether you're interested in Richard himself, or merely seeking an introduction into reading further about his fascinating family dynamics, or the crusades, this is the book to read!



5. Richard the Lionheart's life and personality may be the stuff of legend, but they are hidden by the mists of time -- or rather the paucity of relevant documents. Gillingham does a brilliant job of breathing as much life as possible into rather arid fragments without stepping beyond what is warranted by the evidence. For his understanding of the king, he draws as much on contempory Arab sources as European ones, arguing convincingly that the Arab writers may have had fewer axes to grind in talking of Richard. Gillingham goes so far as to place his evaluation of Richard's character at the point where the evidence ends -- following his captivity in Germany -- rather than at the end of the book. Instead the book ends with a well reasoned argument that it was John (and John alone) who lost Normandy whereas Richard was winning the war against Philip Agustus of France. Gillingham also points out that, had Richard lived to complete that struggle, the empire of Henry II might still have disappeared with his death.

   Inevitably, some of the work is frustratingly dry -- especially for the process of Richard's development into a strong ruler and military genius against the background of one of history's most disfunctional families. But that dryness arises from the lack of evidence, not from immersion in trivia at the expense of substance.

   The book itself is a delight, with strong narrative supported by a myriad of footnotes which are where they should be -- at the bottom of the pages. All in all, a good story well told with insightful analysis based on the record.

4 comments about Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur.

1. Pendragon is Blake and Lloyd's second book, and builds creditably on their first one, Keys to Avalon. They have painstakingly documented the evidence which leads them to the conclusion that Arthur was Welsh and lived, fought, and died in Wales. The evidence for this appears incontrovertible, even if the particular details are not necessarily as easily fleshed out. If nothing else, this is an incredibly important gift to Arthurian research, which hopefully will eventually supercede the always dubious, Arthurian claims of regions from Cornwall to Scotland.
   
   As an anthropologist, I most appreciate their attention to the differences in language and culture which prompted later chroniclers and authors to shift Arthur from his original location to Great Britain as a whole.
   
   Anyone looking for the 'real', historical Arthur will find him here.



2. Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur does indeed come closest of all the Arthurian literature to identifying the real 6th century man. Mssrs. Blake and Lloyd do a great job of peeling away the later Medieval romanticist mythology to get at the northern Welsh warband leader as depicted in the original Welsh texts. Their examination of the geographic locations associated with Arthur and his compatriots is much more plausible an explanation than any other. Enlightening and again sound is their assertion that he fought most, or even all, of his battles against fellow Welsh Britons rather than Saxons (except possibly at Badon).
   
   If there is one criticism it would be that the authors failed to follow their own evidence to what seems to me to be an obvious conclusion. They claim that Arthur was only a war leader and never a king but admit that Arthur is not a Welsh name. From their own information, it is possible that he started as a war leader under King Maelgwn of Gwynneth, where one of Arthur's hill fort 'courts' resides and where the early documents reveal to be his original homeland. Yet, he may have later become a king in his own right, the one they identify as Cuneglasus of the Bear's Stronghold. (Arthur comes from the Latin Artoris, which means The Bear.) He may well have been one of the adulterous underlings that Gildas criticized but also later one of the five kings who Gildas likewise lambasted. The second hill fort 'court' they identify lies within the small realm of that minor Welsh king. It is a real possibility that Arthur was Cuneglasus. As they point out, it was Gildas who attached animal names to the five kings he criticized, that one being the Bear. They also cite several early Welsh texts that call him a king or sovereign as well.
   
   Their analysis of the origin of Pendragon, as part of that discussion, is ingenious.
   
   All in all, for anyone who is interested in clearing away the Medieval Romance and finding out about the real Arthur, this is probably the most important tome to read. I heartily recommend it.



3. One of the best written historical references I have had the pleasure to read. Gives a historical document based evaluation of the Authurian theory.



4. Who was King Arthur? The honest answer is, "We don't know." However, it certainly is a lot more fun to at least try to see what the evidence says. And in that vein, this book excellently approaches answering that question by looking at the oldest Arthur evidence written more closely in time to when Arthur would have lived and written in a tongue that he was more likely to have spoken. While it's true that for most people these limitations would produce only a small amount of literature akin to a book of haiku, this book uses that evidence as a starting point to make educated suppositions as to who Arthur was and when he lived.
   For those who's interest in Arthur was piqued by the recent movie featuring Keira Knightly in a leather bikini, it's an interesting topic so read the book. To those who've read only the book, go see the movie because you need to get out more.

5 comments about A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman.

1. I had the opportunity to read this book. From the moment of the first word to the very last word, the book draws you in to read more. The graphic descriptions can take you to the other side of the world and stand next to the author on his travels. You know what it was like be black during the "Jim Crow" days on the trains in the south. Granted that my 25 years never saw the ugly side of America, his visual imagery is just so vivid that I seriously think they should dump "Scarlett Letter" and place this book on the reading lists of High School Students.



2. Charles Dryden's book forces people to see the trials and tribulations encountered by black servicemen and women during WWII. I was shocked to read about the different encounters with 'Jim Crow' that Dryden and his peers waded through during their service years. A must for anybody curious about WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen or about the fight for civil rights in America.



3. I meet Col. Dryden when he gave a talk about his experiences and his book. I then read the book a felt a tremendous respect for the author and all the Tuskeegee Airmen. Col. Dryden tells his personal story in a way that made me feel as though I was there with him the whole time. The challanges of blacks in America in his story left a powerful impact on me, the courage the author displayed is an insperation. A-Train is very well written and reads easily. It is an powerful story that left me feeling inadequate and ashamed to be white. I had the oportunity to meet Col. Dryden again and sought him out just to shake his hand again, knowing him from his book, it was hard to hide my emotions.



4. Every young African American boy should read this book. It is an inspiration.



5. I initially bought this book expecting it to be similar to the other slew of WWII books out there ( The ME-109 dove at me out of the sun with guns blazing...). Instead I got an honest account of a man who wanted to fly for his country and be treated with the same respect as any other pilot. Dryden's memories and descriptions of his voyage through training to be a pilot as well as the segregated and de-segregated Air Force are interesting and honest. Dryden't narrative is not the heart-pounding, can't-put-the-book down type but rather the story of a man who, faced with tremendous adversity from his own society and country, persevered. There is no bitterness in Dryden's story, and I put the book down tremendously impressed by his belief in himself, in his religion and his friend. It's a good book

No comments about In Triumph's Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory.

3 comments about Queen Victoria's Grandchildren.

1. This book provides a wonderful history of the grandchildren of Queen Victoria. As well as being detailed and interesting, this book is also rich in photos of the royal family. Through this book, the reader can gain clear insights into this fascinating family and their unique personalities and how their intermarriage linked all of the houses of Europe together. A helpful family tree is also included, and I liked the format of this book, the way it was divided into sections.



2. This book provides a wonderful history of the grandchildren of Queen Victoria. As well as being detailed and interesting, this book is also rich in photos of the royal family. Through this book, the reader can gain clear insights into this fascinating family and their unique personalities and how their intermarriage linked all of the houses of Europe together. A helpful family tree is also included, and I liked the format of this book, the way it was divided into sections.



3. "Queen Victoria's Grandchildren" is not particularly long-- about 130 pages-- but it is large-format (about 8 1/2 by 11 inches). It is a photographic tribute to Queen Victoria's grandchildren. It has been divided into sections, one section for each of the grandchildren. These vary in length from one page to five pages. Except for two grandchildren who died in very young infancy, at least one photograph-- usually more-- is included with each section. I've read a lot of books on Queen Victoria and her various offspring, and many of the photos are new even to me. There is a slight bias, of course, to the more-photographed grandchildren. (A lot of photographs of King George V, Queen Marie of Rumania, and Empress Alexandra of Russia, etc.) But two or three pictures are included of all of them, including the ever-elusive ones who died in childhood (except for the two babies). I especially enjoyed finding a picture of the ever-elusive Prince Frederick (Frittie) of Hesse.

   The text serves more as a synopsis of the person's life to provide background for the pictures; there are no real analyses or insights. The writing is usually very simplistic, but get this book for the pictures.

3 comments about Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours.

1. Jean Markale presents us with a very in depth look at Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of King Richard the Lionhearted and King John and wife to both the King of France, Louis VII and the King of England, Henry II.
   
   The book is in three parts. The first part of the book is an in depth biography of the Queen, from her early youth thru her death. For those who would not be familiar with Eleanor, this section of the book is a must read. Mr. Markale does a wonderful job of making this a most interesting read, including all the references and all the stories that make this woman one of the most interesting historical figures of the time.
   
   The second part of the book takes a look at the instance of her divorce from Louis VII of France. While there is much speculated about this, it is the single most important piece of history at the time. It set the stage for the events that followed.
   
   There is much discussion here about what the duties of a Queen were at the time. The discussion follows the concept of "courtly love" or "fine amor" and also discusses the "indiscretions" that were alleged of Eleanor. There is evidence presented that there may have been many things going on at the courts at that time, and there is evidence to suggest that Eleanor was not only aware of it, but that she played it to her advantage. She was a maker of history, not just an observer.
   
   The final part of the book looks at the phenomenon of the Troubadours of the time, and how they played an important role in not only creating the literature and developing the culture of that time, but also how they played a part in communication and how they were responsible for the myths that were developed. There is some very interesting discussion of how one story of Tristan and Iseult becomes the story of Arthur and Guinevere. And how all these stories are most likely about Eleanor herself, or at least inspired by her.
   
   For the history alone this book is worth the read. Jean Markale is a wonderful weaver of story and history, and his style never bores. It is a credit to John Graham, the translator, that the material is kept as Mr. Markale intended; to weave the story, to look at the plots, subplots and court intrigues and yet still be interesting and involving the reader in the thoughts, the plot twists and assisting the reader to understand the conclusions that Mr. Markale draws. The last part, on the Troubadours, is an added bonus to the book looking at yet another aspect of the history at that time. It plays an important role as to how we see Eleanor today.
   
   If you are into medieval history at all, you will not want to pass up this book and it's valuable content. Eleanor is a singular figure causes history to change at this point in time and her impact cannot be ignored. And the presentation by Mr. Markale is just the vehicle you need to make it interesting and enjoyable to read. medievalcrusadesbabe



2. Eleanor of Aquitaine has been noted for her political achievements - yet here the focus is on her spiritual influence, nature and side, which considers her as a figure restoring a feminine face to medieval religious life, representing female power and leadership. Collections strong in medieval studies, both at the high school and college level, will find this a different kind of biographical coverage which examines the spiritual representation of Eleanor of Aquitaine.



3. Jean Markale, a controversial French author retired to Celtic Brittany, has a background in writing about ancient, iconic feminine qualities. Markale's earlier titles suggest how he might approach Eleanor of Aquitaine. He had already written: 'Women of the Celts' (1987), 'The Great Goddess: Reverence of the Divine Feminine from the Paleolithic to the Present' (1999), and 'Cathedral of the Black Madonna: The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres' (2004).
   
   Regarding those mysteries of Chartres with its womb-like labyrinth and Black Madonna, Queen Blanche of Castile encouraged the funding-drive for Chartres' new cathedral: she also donated windows. Blanche was a grand-daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine whom the old queen personally selected and escorted across the Pyrenees to marry the heir to France. Young Blanche (12) and Eleanor (78) travelled north together from Burgos to Poitou in the spring of 1200. Months in private company with Eleanor must have helped to form and harden young Blanche's character. Markale knows the royal family lines through many centuries, and one suspects that he had been closing in on Eleanor as a subject for years before he wrote this book.
   
   In her time Eleanor of Aquitaine embodied, and knew that she embodied, iconic feminine qualities (the 'feminine ideal'?) that Markale treats in 'Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of the Troubadours'. Modern society celebrated these qualities in, say, Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana. And Eleanor? In his third section, Markale shows how a troubadour press corps amplified Eleanor's persona. Here, with her coterie of troubadours, comes the twelfth century's "great goddess" and "reverence of the divine feminine." Markale may be controversial, but not necessarily wrong. He is entertaining and he captures the labyrinthine spiritual complexities of Eleanor's times.
   
   Robert Fripp,
   Author, Power of a Woman. Memoirs of...Eleanor of Aquitaine
   
   P.S.: Why did Markale's English-language publisher use an image of a woman clad in fashions of the early 1500s to adorn the cover of this book? The illustration (she may be Eleanor of Spain) does nothing for a fine book.

5 comments about The Royal House of Monaco: Dynasty of Glamour, Tragedy and Scandal.

1. This is a very interesting book to read, what with the glitz and the glitter that the author presents.
   However, the historical accuracy is slipshod at best. There are a lot of lies published in this book that the author tries to pass off as true fact. He gets many dates and names mixed up as well.
   
   I'd like this book better if there was at least some research put into it.



2. While some "revelations" in this book should probably be taken with a grain of salt, overall, this is better than many Grimaldi biographies in that it is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job. Glatt doesn't portray, say, Princess Grace as a saint, nor does he portray, say, Princess Stephanie as a monster. Glatt, though he clearly feels a measure of annoyance, even disgust, for some of the antics of the Grimaldi family, he also has compassion for them. For instance, when recounting one of the most salacious scandals to plague the family -- the videotape and photographs which showed Stephanie's husband making love to a Belgian stripper -- Glatt clearly feels bad for Stephanie (despite her appalling lack of judgement in latching on to the creep in the first place); she had really loved him and was genuinely hurt and humiliated by his betrayal.
   
   Glatt also thankfully clears up allegations about Grace having a drinking problem -- allegations that surrounded her toward the end of her life because of her visible weight gain, and which another biographer, James Spada, dug up in the late 80s. Grace was, in fact, a moderate drinker, because she suffered terrible hangovers if she had more than a glass or two of champagne.
   
   Though Prince Albert has managed to steer clear of the tabloid cover stories that followed his sisters around (due, no doubt, to Grace instructing him on how to be discreet about his love affairs, an education which she never gave to either of her daughters), he too has had his share of troubles. Glatt even makes a half-convincing case for one of the more outlandish assertions: that Albert fathered a love child who is a dead ringer for Princess Grace.
   
   So all in all, a good, juicy read about fascinating and flawed people.



3. John Glatt pens a more truthful version of "The Royals," with less favoritism and more fact. Admittedly this isn't the British royal family (who have provided us with entertainment for many years) but a lesser-known (and no less juicy) dynasty, the Grimaldi's of Monaco.

   Monaco first came to attention when Prince Rainier married the film star Grace Kelly, who brought glamor and modernity to the teeny little country. Grace's past -- involving multiple love affairs -- was swept out of sight as she ascended to the glamorous -- and severely stress-inducing -- position of princess, wife and mother. Rarely happy in her long and paparazzi-studded marriage, she nevertheless gave it her darndest and died tragically and suddenly when she was starting to find fulfillment again.

   The book shifts focus after Grace's death in a car accident, to her three *ahem* spirited children: Caroline, who married one playboy after another, got pregnant out of wedlock, and once burst out of her top at a club, then had to shift into the social position that her mother left vacant. Albert, a playboy himself, who played around with one woman after another but wouldn't make even a vestige of commitment--even to one ex-girlfriend who had his baby, Tamara Rotolo. Stephanie, who shocked Monaco with her wild antics, drug use, explicit singing career and wild modelling career, bodyguard live-in boyfriend, and humiliating divorce after marrying said boyfriend.

   Sound like a tabloid? Well, that's a royal family for you. Fortunately, Glatt doesn't speculate on the inner thoughts of the Grimaldi family (said to be under a curse from a witch raped by a Grimaldi) but allows their actions to speak alone. His writing style is pleasant to read, and gives us insights that other biographers apparently didn't get. I especially enjoyed the interviews with Cassini (Grace's ex-fiancee) Robyns who wrote a steamy biography but edited it at Grace's request, excerpts from members of the Grimaldi family, and from people who knew/know them.

   This is hardly flawless. He describes Grace as a devout/militant Catholic, yet chronicles love affairs (with men married and single), an abortion, astrology beliefs, etc. Sorry, these are not the actions of a "militant" Catholic, though admittedly it is possible that she confessed these to a priest (something we will never know). He does occasionally linger on stuff that is more than we want to know, but it does give us a good look at the Grimaldis.

   Stephanie, Caroline and Albert have already been in the spotlight, tabloidwise, so I suppose Glatt felt that there was no real reason to sugarcoat things. Rainier gets away the easiest, for though he was unfaithful to Grace during their marriage, very little space is given to it (as compared to Albert's girlfriends, Stephanie's partying days, etc).

   In recent years the Grimaldis seem to have calmed down, but this book is nevertheless a heckuva read. If you liked the Royals but didn't like the made-up parts, try this book on for size.




4. Make no mistake, this is a book by a journalist, not a historian, and it reads that way. If that's what you're looking for going in, this will most likely satisfy your curiosity.

   Although the subtitle mentions the Grimaldi 'dynasty,' 70 percent or so of the book is about the, um, 'complex' personal lives of Princesses Caroline and Stephanie and Prince Albert, the three children of Rainier and Grace. There's little effort to put the dynasty or the principality in more than the immediate historical context, and although Rainier is frequently described as an absolute monarch or even 'Europe's last dictator' (which isn't even true), matters of state take a distinct back seat to the 'glamour, tragedy, and scandal.'

   This is too bad. One of the most interesting assertions in the whole book was a comment from one of Glatt's sources to the effect that the Grimaldis were not becoming tawdry, but rather had always BEEN tawdry, and had hidden that fact behind a false front of elegance while Princess Grace was alive. I don't know if that's true or not: Glatt unfortunately lets the statement pass almost unanalyzed.

   Glatt is to be commended, at least, for the variety of his sources, including several who (at least according to Glatt himself) had never spoken on the record before. While the book frequently reads like an extended essay in People magazine, Glatt avoids the temptation of acting omniscient about his subjects' thoughts and motivations. When they act inexplicably (which is disturbingly often), he says so. Glatt's tone is respectful and polite, but he didn't pull his punches. As someone who only paid cursory attention to the Grimaldis, I think I have a better understanding (and a lower opinion) of them as a result of this book.

   A worthwhile read, all in all, for monarchy fans whose interests lie more in the personal than the political, the contemporary rather than the historical.




5. For those who feel the Brits have the dysfunctional royal family from hell, this book about the Grimaldis of Monaco will be an eye-opener. It covers Grace's marriage to Rainier--an unhappy sham of a marriage contrived to boost Monaco's economy, ending with Grace's tragic death due to a stroke while driving. Roughly half of the book covers the three troubled children, Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie, who are, to put it politely, a handful. We follow the two daughters through their teenage rebellions, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, troubled marriages, and (in Stephanie's case) drug problem; one cannot help but sympathize with their troubled parents and the heartbreak they've experienced watching their daughters destroy their lives. The sole son, Albert, is the most responsible of the three siblings, but even he is still 'sowing wild oats' at an age when he should be thinking about creating an heir to the throne. It's a gossipy sort of book--not an academic tome--but readers with some familiarity with Princess Grace will be fascinated.

5 comments about Cleopatra.

1. There are naturally times in this book when it reads like a soap opera, but this has got to be the most detailed, believable, and scholarly work on Cleopatra I have ever read. Such is the background Mr. Grant gives on her father Ptolemy Auletes, the Roman situation with Egypt, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty for the first half of the book I almost forgot who it was about.
   
   As with most ancient people little is known of Cleopatra's early life, but the author reconstructs it as best he can, and gives us a view into her world and her mind from her early years to her final days. Included, of course, are detailed retellings of her affairs with Caesar and Marcus Antonius, her fiasco of a marriage to her brother, and the common opinion of her held by the Romans, Egyptians, and even the Jews of her period.
   
   This book really repaints the stereotypical image of this fascinating, but indeed deadly woman. She was, of course, not an Egyptian but a Macedonian by birth and a Greek by language and upbringing, and was known not so much for her beauty as for a combination of her magnetic personality, her keen intelligence, and her large, bent nose; this final feature is depicted in all the few contemporary portraits of her.
   
   Overall this is an excellent and scholarly reference to the life of Cleopatra and the Egypt and Rome of her day, and is not at all dry but an absorbing read. Very highly recommended!



2. I'm not a classicist as some of the other reviewers on this site appear to be, but as a layperson I can say that this book was pretty interesting. There are some boring parts, as others noted, but what biography does not have some boring parts? Here's what I found especially interesting:

   Grant gives readers a good idea about how most of the chronicles he consulted were written from one perspective or another and thus tended to be sentimentally biased in one direction or another. Grant points out significantly that as "Westerners" we have clung most closely to the "Occidental" version of matters, rather than anything leaning toward the other side, the "Orient." He points out consistently how ancient writers who disliked Cleopatra changed facts around to disparage her, while the opposite was true of those who liked her.

   The point being, it seems, that you have to take your history with a grain of salt (just as we do the news from the various modern media). Some reviewers seem to feel that Grant himself is slightly biased, in Cleopatra's favor, but as long as we're aware of it, we can perhaps discern the bias and read other viewpoints to get a well-rounded sense of what actually occurred.

   The other interesting point was how many people, mostly men presumably, died during these ancient wars. And how little their deaths accounted for anything. In other words, life was a lot cheaper then than today. In Cleopatra's time, only the top dogs had the sense of individual rights that most of us have today. Is that progress?

   Grant's book, of course, is thoroughly documented for those wishing to do further investigation.

   Diximus.




3. It's the splashiest period of all ancient history... a near Jerry Springer opera of lust, betrayal, and tawdry affairs. And yet, Michael Grant makes it about as dull as he possibly can.

   He presents a very factual and well-researched account, though I take exception to several of his assertions and theories, including the one where he asserts that Octavian wanted Cleopatra to commit suicide because he was afraid the Romans would want to free her as they did her sister Arsinoe. Arsinoe was just one random Egyptian princess who defied Julius Caesar. Cleopatra was the occidental temptress who had ensnared and ruined two of Rome's best men. She was probably the most vilified and hated of all Rome's enemies in history, for with Cleopatra, it was intensely personal. The very idea that the bloodthirsty Romans would have a sudden sentimental streak towards her is pretty laughable.

   But on the whole, his theories are soundly researched and well justified, even when I disagree with them. The book has some lovely portraits and a more in depth examination of Cleopatra's forebearers than is usually presented in her biographies. Moreover, he has an excellent perspective on the supposed 'inevitability' of Cleopatra's loss, and how the world may well have been different had things gone another way.

   It's a reasonable and scholarly work that makes a fine addition to my collection. If you're looking for something to move you, you may prefer Margaret George's "The Memoirs of Cleopatra".




4. Cleopatra is a fascinating figure... renowned as a patron of arts and learning, a gifted linguist, and a canny politicians, she is too often remembered as a sex kitten. Grant cuts thru the myths, pro- and anti propaganda to deliver what is probably the best biography on Cleopatra. Writen by one of the marquee lights of classical history, the book is written in academic style, although for the most part it is highly readable. To be honest, I found the first preliminary chapters to be somewhat slow going, but once the story begins it takes off like a grand soap opera. Not as splashy as some other works on the great queen, this is *the* place to go for a detailed, comprehensive look at Cleopatra.



5. When it comes to ancient history, Michael Grant is the greatest! I've read several of his other books and he never fails to amuse and inform. His book on Cleopatra is informative as well as entertaining. Cleopatra was a Greek Macedonian ruler of Egypt with a deep love for culture and powerful men. Her liaisons with Caesar and Antony are very well described, as are her achievements as queen. Mr. Grant is truly the greatest!