5 comments about Farewell in Splendor: 9The Passing of Queen Victoria and Her Age.

1. no one ever thought queen victoria could ever die.she regein for 62 years ,over a country who became the worlds most powerful superpower.this book is about how her family and servants deathbed watch of the end of a era.inside fight between kasiar and edward soon to be king .the doctor who tooking care of his queen for 20 years.



2. If anyone ever perfected the art of mourning, it was Queen Victoria. Plunging the court into black on the death of the Prince Consort, the Queen maintained full mourning until her own death forty years later.
   This book brings to life the final days and subsequent funeral of the monarch who ruled longer than any other in English history. We see Victoria, old and failing, clinging to life. The doctors trying to balance Victoria's last wishes with those of her family. The family frictions as the clan gathers: the Prince, who had waited so long for the throne; the princesses about to lose precedence; Kaiser Wilhelm, a reigning emperor who loved his grandmama but was resented by aunts, uncles and cousins. And the people, waiting outside the palace gates for the next bulletin on the Queen's health. Victoria reigned for 64 years; many were born and grew to old age in her reign. The passing of the Queen was an epic event - literally the end of an era.
   
   A fascinating behind the scenes look at the staging of a state funeral - a funeral for a woman who had devoted much of her life to funereal trappings. The Queen was dead; God save the King



3. I liked the book. I thought it had a lot of information well presented but also found it to be less than perfect.

   "Farewell in Splendor" is an interesting and readable account of the last week in the life of Queen Victoria and her funeral. When an old woman has nine children and forty grandchildren, it is easy to see that there is bound to be confusion and differences of opinion about her care. However when that woman is also the Empress of the largest empire on earth. The difficulties seem to multiply for each of her subjects. This is the case in 1901 as Victoria, the doyen of Royalty, finally fades after a record breaking sixty-four years on the throne.

   Jerrold M. Packard has written two books on the subject of Victoria and her family. I found that much of the background material in this book was a reprieve of "Victoria's Daughters". Since any book about the death of Victoria is bound to have a limited audience, much of the background material seemed to be out of place in a book devoted mostly to a three-week period. I think that people willing to read about Victoria's death might already know something about her life.
   
   From the book, I get have a strong impression that Packard simply does not like Queen Victoria and saw her only as a mean and selfish old woman. I'll grant you that in many ways she was, but in this book so many of her more endearing traits are omitted. It draws a rather one-sided picture of Victoria and not the most flattering side. I think that a little more balance would have served this book well.

   I like that fact that the book was easily readable and had many interesting facts to present. His parenthetical remarks really added to the book and helped it rise above being a rehash of newspaper accounts and old. Letters. However, I also found that on occasion there was too much trying to show how much better the late 20th century was from the 19th. His interjection of the modern mind-set into the Edwardian/Victorian eras was a more of hindrance than help.

   I did enjopy the book and think is a solid additon to the world of victoria Liturature but I would not reccommend it as a starter book.




4. The focus of this book is the death and funeral of Queen Victoria. The topic is well-researched, and Jerrold Packard does an excellent job of suitably setting the scene. As he describes the days leading up to the legendary queen's death, he artfully illuminates the cast of supporting characters. Thanks to Victoria's prolificate offspring, this includes most of the European nobility. Packard also examines Victoria's daily life, both personal and public. Furthermore, the significance of the great monarch's passing is put into context by his succinct analysis of the political situation in England and abroad. All in all, a very interesting and well-written book that will whet your appetite for more information about this fascinating era.



5. Farewell to Splendor is a fascinating look into the private life of the British royal family in the week surrounding the death of Queen Victoria. I found myself spellbound by the atmosphere Packard describes and by the events he relates.

   It's too bad, then, that Packard's research is less than sterling, and his work filled with modern stereotypes and assumptions irrelevant to Victorian times.

   For instance, Packard writes that Victoria herself was an unpleasant, unamusable person, when in fact the Queen was a normal woman who liked nothing more than a good joke. (She said "We are not amused", but only because her target was telling dirty jokes in the presence of children.)

   There are other minor errors in fact, by themselves unimportant perhaps but it does make me wonder: if there are so many minor errors, how many major errors are there?

   I was also distracted by Packard's many references to Victoria's fitness level and his wonderment at her reaching an advanced age without being physically fit. Methinks Mr. Packard has been brainwashed by the health and fitness detachment of the Politically Correct Police. People who live long do so for many reasons. Fitness is only one piece of the puzzle, and compared to genetics it may not even be that big a piece. It's also irrelevant on a cultural level. Virtually nobody at the time exercised; to point out that Victoria was out of shape is roughly similar to pointing out that Elizabeth II couldn't fight the Romans because she doesn't paint her face blue as did Boadicea.

1 comments about The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont: Volume 2. The Bear Flag Revolt and the Court-Martial.

1. This is an essential book for the student of Western exploration. The editors put together three hefty volumes about the expeditions of John Charles Fremont of which this is the second.
   
   Volume one includes Fremont's official reports of his first two expeditions to Wyoming's South Pass in 1842 and to California and Oregon in 1843-1844; Volume two details his participation in the war with Mexico, including his court martial; and in volume three he writes of his later and less successful expeditions. In their day these accounts were best sellers and they made Fremont a national hero which led to him being the candidate for President of the new Republican party in 1856. Today, Fremont seems forgotten except by specialists -- and mostly scorned by them (Bernard de Voto called him "Childe Harold") -- and the fame of his mountain man guide, Kit Carson, as an American hero has eclipsed that of Fremont
   
   The heart of this book is Fremont's accounts of his expeditions. He recorded the progress of his expeditions daily in the form of a diary and he was no novice at colorful writing. Possibly his wife Jessie Benton Fremont improved upon his prose before the accounts were published. Nor was he modest, but he gave credit where credit was due to his men, mostly French voyageurs, and especially Carson whose rise to prominence was due to Fremont. Fremont's writing is very readable to this day. Along with his dairy he also collected scientific and meteorological information which may be of interest to specialists. Fremont blotted his copybook with a number of egotistical fiascos but on his first two expeditions he was an appealing young man.
   
   Supplementing Fremont's diary are a large number of letters, vouchers, and other documents related to Fremont's career and the expeditions. You can learn for example that Fremont paid his French voyageurs as little as 62 1/2 cents per day wages, but Kit Carson earned $100 per month, a hefty salary in those days for an illiterate mountain man -- and Carson was worth it. The editors provide copious notes to amplify and clarify the text. They produced a top notch multi-volume book of scholarship that's also fun to read.
   
   Smallchief

3 comments about Queen Elizabeth I: A Vision Transcending Time.

1. This book is interesting reading and keeps your attention. Alot of good facts about the life of the Queen.



2. I just got it and it may take awhile to get in but it's worth it!



3. This book offers a fresh perspective on the gender issues surrrounding Queen Elizabeth I in Tudor time.
   
   Are readers aware that Elizabeth threw shoes, lost her temper, cussed, flirted with her suitors, and lost the men she loved?
   
   She may have safeguarded the secret of her marriage from the world.
   Elizabeth lives on and holds close the answers to the questions still surrounding her mystique.

5 comments about Diana--The Last Word.

1. After reading this book, I could only think that perhaps Simone is pathetic and self-centred and quite obviously jealous of Paul Burrell's (the princess's trusted butler) close friendship and loyalty to his highly respected boss Princess Diana. However, it is quite an interesting book, maybe there were some heart-to-heart women's talk in which Princess Diana would never have confided in Paul. Or perhaps Paul is totally aware of many events but chose to remain silence or just briefly mention in his books, out of his prefessionalism and respect for his boss. However, I doubt the authenticity of some contents written in Simone's book, especially the Kennedy junior flint. Having read books written by Simone (the best friend) and Paul (the butler), I would give my respect to Paul Burrell.
   p.s. Simone, how could you ever mention colon irrigation? And repeating it throughout the book?



2. Whilst Ms. Simmons has been slaughtered in the mass media over her revelations, it is interesting that since the inquest into Diana's death has begun, she appears to be receiving vindication on an almost daily basis.
   
   Whilst newspapers do not report the full facts, they are on the inquest website... but much of it was in Ms. Simmons's book published a couple of years ago.
   
   Simmons's writing style is accessible to all, covers some previously unexplored and fascinating insights into a fabulous woman and it is likely only to upset those who have created for themselves a fairytale illusion that they do not want shattered.
   
   Read it and accept what you like, read it and dismiss if you wish, but accept that Diana was a person not just a media image.



3. This is one of my favourite books about Diana, The Princess Of Wales.It is a genuine human book about a genuine human being.The ancedotes are what bring it to life such as Diana liking to wear blue nail polish but only on her toes.
   I fail to see why others are so critical of this book perhaps it comes to close to the truth for some people



4. This book is the worse form of petty gossip ever written. Definitely NOT historical, and should NOT be attributed to Diana's memories. This book should be called Simone Simmons: The lowest of the low.



5. I have not even read the book yet, and I find a huge mistake. The picture in the book that is labeled Hasnat Khan is actually Dodi Fayed. If you look at pictures of Khan and there are several online, you can see that he has fuller lips and straight thick hair. When you compare the picture in the book to pictures of Dodi you can see it is the same person.
   
   If they can't even get that right or missed the correct name in the editing, you begin to wonder about the rest of the book.

3 comments about Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire.

1. The improbability of this ruler makes the story! I might have never known for the positive things that Napoleon III was responsible for, like the Eiffel Tower.
   
   If you enjoy reading about the lesser known facets of history, I highly recommend this book.



2. The author gives a vivid and amusing picture of Napoleon III and the French society of his time. The fascinating story of how an almost comic character, who very likely did not even have Bonaparte blood running through his veins, was paradoxically shrewd enough to resurrect his alleged uncle's empire and then lose it all due to his own incompetence is told in a amusing way but without neglecting references to sources and documents. The mild despot Louis Napoleon was a omen of much more barbaric dictators that would taint with blood the landscape of 20th century Europe.



3. This is History as sheer entertainment. The story of how a used car salesman of a man becomes the Emporer of France. Against all odds, with shameless optimism, populist appeal, administrative incompetence and relentless sexual exploitiveness, protected and tolerated by virtue of a booming economy, Louis Napoleon proceeds Clinton in a virtual parody of the present by coming to power in an unlikely set of scenarios filled with irony and hilarity in the middle of 19th century France. The first elected populist turn Dictator - Louis Napoleon Bonaparte preceded Hitler by 90 years. More Clinton than Hitler, This story of a harmless flirt turn despot is a marvelous parady of the banal ambitions of all politicians. This man is so much like the present day Clinton in shamelessness, ambition, optimism, sexual opportunism and maybe unlike Clinton, gross administrative incompetence as to form the most unlikely story in all history. With so many cunning men greedy for power, how is it that such a man should come to power? Not only did he achieve power but the Charlatan Napolean III out lasted the Original Napolean by ruling France from 1848-1870 (22 years, The First Four years as an legaly elected President, the Last 18 years as Emporer). His reign gave stamp to an age and a style refered to as "Second Empire". Napolean III's rule, like Clinton's, was sustained by a period of unprecedented Economic Growth - preciding over the initial stages of Industrialization in 19th Century France. All but forgotten now, Napolean's greatest legacy to the present is modern Paris, to which he gets very little credit. Of course none of this would be worth while if not exploited properly. Fortunately John Bierman is more than equal to the task. Well written, both insiteful and humorous, Bierman's sophisticated repartee never fails to exploit an opportunity for irony or the humor in his subject. Reading this book was more like eating a box of candy - I could not put it down - and was sad when it came to an end. It has been said great men are produced by times of dire circumstances. Bierman proves this postulate by pointing out how great times produced, in 19th century France, a man of small stature. Despite the shallow glamour of the Second Empire, it crashed on the sham that it was when confronted by the politics of real consequence in Bismark's Prussia (Bismark's Realpolitik of Blood & Iron). For the next hundred years, begining with the tragedy of the Paris Commune, France had to struggle to cope with Napolean III's other great legacy: a unified Germany on its eastern boarder. Napolean III stands as an important history of the dangerous consequences that self serving populist charlatans pose for all history. Clinton ought to be carefull of the entanglements he gets involved in. Like Napoleon III, it could very well be his undoing.

No comments about Crown of Thorns.

No comments about A Royal Affair: George III and his Troublesome Siblings.

No comments about Diana: Fashion and Style.

3 comments about Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen.

1. Any potentional historian of Spain must contend with the work of William Prescott. Though cutting edge historians of Spain dismiss Prescott as old fashioned (he wrote over 150 years ago), his work can still be read with pleasure and little awe (particulalry when one remembers that Prescott was blind when he was active as a historian.

   Nancy Rubin makes use of Prescott and in a sense pours old wine in new bottles. Her Isabella is more acceasable than Prescott's pius queen. She also very ably puts Isabella in the proper perspective as the co-founder of modern Spain (at least from a geographic perspective). Isabella's reputation rests on her funding of the voyages of Columbus, but as Ms. Rubin's book ably demonstrates, she was much more than that. In a time when political couples (like FDR and Eleanor) are described as "political partners" Isabella and Ferdinand were true co-equals. He fought the wars and she tended to the quartermaster functions. No wonder they were a magnificent success.

   If this book has one problem it is the rather ambiguous relationship between Isabella and the Jews and Moslems of Spain. Though she made use of the former throughout her career (particularly early on), she later was a willing participant in their forcible conversion. Perhaps this subject requires a book of its own.




2. Nancy Rubin's work on Isabel la Católica was very refreshing and difficult to put down. As a Spanish Literature student at UCLA, I recommend this book to anyone interested in the brightening their knowledge of this great woman. The chronology was consistant and the surrounding facts of the Catholic Queen were just the right size. It emphasized the rennovations that the queen implemented on the broken kingdom and the tenacity of her character, all fueled by her faith.



3. Maybe should be called, "I, Isabella". One could think Isabella's reign was decidedly a mixed blessing, but still appreciate the drama of this book. Rubin takes us step by step through the bewildering maze of Spanish politics; she suggests answers to a lot of nagging questions (we see what a long shot it was against Columbus getting his funding); she conveys, ultimately, a sense of the loss and tragedy that followed on power.

No comments about Kings & Queens: The Concise Guide.