History: 476-1850
Ackroyd, P. (1998). The life of Thomas More. London: Random House.
A very fine biography of the clever, loyal, and admirable “man for all seasons.” Ackroyd attempts to convey the strangeness and credulity of the mediaeval mind. More is portrayed as a mediaeval intellectual fighting a dogged rearguard action against the floods of the Reformation and modernism. Highly recommended. I plan to find more of Ackroyd’s work.
A very fine biography of the clever, loyal, and admirable “man for all seasons.” Ackroyd attempts to convey the strangeness and credulity of the mediaeval mind. More is portrayed as a mediaeval intellectual fighting a dogged rearguard action against the floods of the Reformation and modernism. Highly recommended. I plan to find more of Ackroyd’s work.
Ackroyd, P. (2001). London: The biography. Toronto: Doubleday.
I thought I would like this book because I greatly admired Ackroyd’s biography of More. I didn’t much like this biography of London though. It does have some interesting vignettes and many odd facts, but this giant tome grows tedious and prompts the fatal question “Why am I reading this?” The author tries mightily to provide some underlying themes to motivate the book but they fail intellectually and are somewhat tiresome. Unless one knows the London streets very well, I don’t think there is a reason to read this book.
I thought I would like this book because I greatly admired Ackroyd’s biography of More. I didn’t much like this biography of London though. It does have some interesting vignettes and many odd facts, but this giant tome grows tedious and prompts the fatal question “Why am I reading this?” The author tries mightily to provide some underlying themes to motivate the book but they fail intellectually and are somewhat tiresome. Unless one knows the London streets very well, I don’t think there is a reason to read this book.
Ackroyd, P. (2004). Chaucer. London: Random House.
A brief life of Chaucer for non-specialists. Chaucer was an urban man of the world and a successful senior servant of the crown. He was married but he and his wife seldom lived together—it makes you wonder about how the nature of his marriage was related to the many views that his characters expressed on the relations between the sexes. Many of Chaucer’s works appear to been meant for reading to small groups of people he knew, yielding many opportunities for ironic expression.
A brief life of Chaucer for non-specialists. Chaucer was an urban man of the world and a successful senior servant of the crown. He was married but he and his wife seldom lived together—it makes you wonder about how the nature of his marriage was related to the many views that his characters expressed on the relations between the sexes. Many of Chaucer’s works appear to been meant for reading to small groups of people he knew, yielding many opportunities for ironic expression.
Ackroyd, P. (2006). Shakespeare: The biography. London: Vintage.
This is much better than other books on Shakespeare I have read. The emphasis is on the political and social context of the plays and on how differently Shakespeare and his colleagues acted and thought from us.
The playwrights thought of themselves in the main as craftsmen, as opposed to artists. Theatrical effect, audience appeal, and the political and financial support of patrons was all. Shakespeare was an actor as well as author and an investor in his acting company. This was a communal venture in which plays underwent repeated revisions based on audience reaction and actors’ suggestions. Different versions of the same play were staged according to the venue (outside or inside performance), the time available, and various current events that might be profitably alluded to.
The Elizabethans loved spectacle, costumes, dancing, special effects, and music—they weren’t particularly interested in actors acting like normal everyday people. The actors in fact had to project their voices while speaking quickly and communicate a great deal with their bodies because few in the audience could actually see the details of their faces. There were traditional postures and arm gestures to assist them.
Shakespeare was not university-educated and not nobly borne, although from a somewhat prosperous family. His family of origin was covertly Catholic. Shakespeare maintained his interests and his wife and children in the small town of Stratford while he pursued his career in London. Most of his plays were composed more or less anonymously until he became better known, his growing renown was partly based on his publication of some very popular poems under his own name. In any case, Shakespeare became moderately wealthy and quite famous early in his career. He wrote his inspired work at incredible speed. Shakespeare’s characters are in some sense real in themselves and stand apart from their creator. Shakespeare’s peculiar genius for character and his amazing facility for language remain a mystery.
This is much better than other books on Shakespeare I have read. The emphasis is on the political and social context of the plays and on how differently Shakespeare and his colleagues acted and thought from us.
The playwrights thought of themselves in the main as craftsmen, as opposed to artists. Theatrical effect, audience appeal, and the political and financial support of patrons was all. Shakespeare was an actor as well as author and an investor in his acting company. This was a communal venture in which plays underwent repeated revisions based on audience reaction and actors’ suggestions. Different versions of the same play were staged according to the venue (outside or inside performance), the time available, and various current events that might be profitably alluded to.
The Elizabethans loved spectacle, costumes, dancing, special effects, and music—they weren’t particularly interested in actors acting like normal everyday people. The actors in fact had to project their voices while speaking quickly and communicate a great deal with their bodies because few in the audience could actually see the details of their faces. There were traditional postures and arm gestures to assist them.
Shakespeare was not university-educated and not nobly borne, although from a somewhat prosperous family. His family of origin was covertly Catholic. Shakespeare maintained his interests and his wife and children in the small town of Stratford while he pursued his career in London. Most of his plays were composed more or less anonymously until he became better known, his growing renown was partly based on his publication of some very popular poems under his own name. In any case, Shakespeare became moderately wealthy and quite famous early in his career. He wrote his inspired work at incredible speed. Shakespeare’s characters are in some sense real in themselves and stand apart from their creator. Shakespeare’s peculiar genius for character and his amazing facility for language remain a mystery.
Adams, M. (2006). Napoleon and Russia. NY: HambledonContinuum.
A detailed account of the famous ill-fated French invasion of Russia. The strategies and the personalities of the combatants are nicely laid out. Napoleon appears to have been losing his edge (either because he wasn’t as good as he was formerly or because his opponents were getting better). Nevertheless, this war of attrition was a close run thing and the Tsar could have negotiated a settlement instead of letting Napoleon sit in Moscow waiting in vain for battle.
My favourite line from the Napoleonic wars (I don’t think in this book though) was from Napoleon to Josephine--“Home in four days, don’t wash”.
A detailed account of the famous ill-fated French invasion of Russia. The strategies and the personalities of the combatants are nicely laid out. Napoleon appears to have been losing his edge (either because he wasn’t as good as he was formerly or because his opponents were getting better). Nevertheless, this war of attrition was a close run thing and the Tsar could have negotiated a settlement instead of letting Napoleon sit in Moscow waiting in vain for battle.
My favourite line from the Napoleonic wars (I don’t think in this book though) was from Napoleon to Josephine--“Home in four days, don’t wash”.
Ambrose, S.E. (1996). Undaunted courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the opening of the American West. N.Y.: Touchstone.
A very detailed account of the Lewis & Clark expedition by an outdoorsman who is well acquainted with the route that was taken to discover the Northwestern US. Despite the commonplace irony of explorers "discovering" an area filled with people, Lewis's detailed journal provides a sense of what the land was like before European settlement and how bloody difficult the journey was.
A modern reader, well this modern reader, had the uncomfortable sense throughout the book of how everything that was being described would soon be ruined or swept away by "civilization". Already, patterns of Indian settlement had changed: Tribes who had access to guns chased their less well armed traditional enemies into the mountains. Soon after the expedition, the populous tribes to the West of the Rockies would be wiped out by smallpox and similar diseases. Remnants of the abundant game in the prairies would hang on in the mountains.
There is a sense of incredible naivete about the Lewis and Clark expedition. As the party killed and ate its way into the West, Lewis practised diplomacy with the various tribes. He lectured the Indians about peace and how they should stop making war on each other. The young Indian men couldn't figure out how they were supposed to get wives if they couldn't go on raiding parties. Lewis, of course, was not only naive, he was also more than a little disingenuous. The plan was to pacify the tribes in order to make them junior partners in the fur trade. When the furs ran out, the area would be settled by miners, farmers, and ranchers and annexed to the US.
None of the explorers, or anyone else at the time, had any sense of conservation. The idea was to exploit the land and when done, move on. This was as true of tobacco farming as it was in the fur trade. The expedition itself, as it shot its way across the land, was a harbinger of things to come.
A very detailed account of the Lewis & Clark expedition by an outdoorsman who is well acquainted with the route that was taken to discover the Northwestern US. Despite the commonplace irony of explorers "discovering" an area filled with people, Lewis's detailed journal provides a sense of what the land was like before European settlement and how bloody difficult the journey was.
A modern reader, well this modern reader, had the uncomfortable sense throughout the book of how everything that was being described would soon be ruined or swept away by "civilization". Already, patterns of Indian settlement had changed: Tribes who had access to guns chased their less well armed traditional enemies into the mountains. Soon after the expedition, the populous tribes to the West of the Rockies would be wiped out by smallpox and similar diseases. Remnants of the abundant game in the prairies would hang on in the mountains.
There is a sense of incredible naivete about the Lewis and Clark expedition. As the party killed and ate its way into the West, Lewis practised diplomacy with the various tribes. He lectured the Indians about peace and how they should stop making war on each other. The young Indian men couldn't figure out how they were supposed to get wives if they couldn't go on raiding parties. Lewis, of course, was not only naive, he was also more than a little disingenuous. The plan was to pacify the tribes in order to make them junior partners in the fur trade. When the furs ran out, the area would be settled by miners, farmers, and ranchers and annexed to the US.
None of the explorers, or anyone else at the time, had any sense of conservation. The idea was to exploit the land and when done, move on. This was as true of tobacco farming as it was in the fur trade. The expedition itself, as it shot its way across the land, was a harbinger of things to come.
Bakewell, S. (2011). How to live: A life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer. London: Vintage.
Montaigne (1533-1592) was a charming and sensible member of the regional French nobility who wrote meandering essays about whatever he felt like. He seldom got to the “point” but has enthralled readers for centuries. Well, not the clergy of France in the succeeding generation. He was banned in France because, although he professed to be a Catholic, he didn’t spend any time worrying about the fate of his immortal soul. In fact one of the most important of his answers about how to live is not to worry about death. He came to this conclusion as a result of a near death experience in which his lapses of consciousness felt kind of relaxing.
The author is charming as well. She is amused by Montaigne’s confession that he sometimes made love with only “half a buttock”. I am amused by her not knowing the English expression “half-assed”.
This fine little book might encourage people to read Montaigne in the original.
Montaigne (1533-1592) was a charming and sensible member of the regional French nobility who wrote meandering essays about whatever he felt like. He seldom got to the “point” but has enthralled readers for centuries. Well, not the clergy of France in the succeeding generation. He was banned in France because, although he professed to be a Catholic, he didn’t spend any time worrying about the fate of his immortal soul. In fact one of the most important of his answers about how to live is not to worry about death. He came to this conclusion as a result of a near death experience in which his lapses of consciousness felt kind of relaxing.
The author is charming as well. She is amused by Montaigne’s confession that he sometimes made love with only “half a buttock”. I am amused by her not knowing the English expression “half-assed”.
This fine little book might encourage people to read Montaigne in the original.
Barber, M. (1978). The trial of the Templars. Cambridge.
This is the history of mind-boggling, even magnificent, cynicism hard at work creating the modern state; a lovely complement to the similar story of the crushing of the Cathar heresy in Southern France. The Templars were a holy order of crusading knights. After the failure of the crusades in the 1100s, they retained their lands and banking activities, particularly in France. The tragedy of the Templars was caused by their riches and the King of France’s chronic inability to fund his political and military ambitions. Since the Templars were wealthy and helpless, why not accuse them of something, torture them to induce confession, and take what they had?
This is a timely tale because the Pope so recently decided that the Templars were not guilty after all of such sins as kissing each other on the buttocks and spitting on the cross. Contemporary observers, particularly outside of France, had reached the same conclusion because the financial motivation of the accusations was transparent and the Templars did not confess until after they were abused, terrified, and/or tortured (even then, they recanted when they got the chance, even though such an action often led to burning at the stake).
This is the history of mind-boggling, even magnificent, cynicism hard at work creating the modern state; a lovely complement to the similar story of the crushing of the Cathar heresy in Southern France. The Templars were a holy order of crusading knights. After the failure of the crusades in the 1100s, they retained their lands and banking activities, particularly in France. The tragedy of the Templars was caused by their riches and the King of France’s chronic inability to fund his political and military ambitions. Since the Templars were wealthy and helpless, why not accuse them of something, torture them to induce confession, and take what they had?
This is a timely tale because the Pope so recently decided that the Templars were not guilty after all of such sins as kissing each other on the buttocks and spitting on the cross. Contemporary observers, particularly outside of France, had reached the same conclusion because the financial motivation of the accusations was transparent and the Templars did not confess until after they were abused, terrified, and/or tortured (even then, they recanted when they got the chance, even though such an action often led to burning at the stake).
Bartlett, W.B. (1999). God wills it! An illustrated history of the crusades. Somerset, U.K.: Sutton.
Give these folks some AK-47s and they would feel right at home in the Mideast today, committing a great deal of religiously and monetarily motivated murder and mayhem. An interesting book because it shows that the conflict was not only between Muslims and Christians but among Muslims and Christians, leading to cross religion alliances. Not a period, however, within which to search for admirable causes or characters, although Saladin is a cut above the rest. I think it is best to conceptualize the majority of the leaders as a cross between bandits and war-lords.
The legendary Assassins often allied themselves with the Christian side, using their terrorist techniques against their co-religionists. Eventually, however, they went a bit too far when they assassinated the son of the invading Mongol Huns. The Huns were not amused and wiped them from the face of the earth.
Give these folks some AK-47s and they would feel right at home in the Mideast today, committing a great deal of religiously and monetarily motivated murder and mayhem. An interesting book because it shows that the conflict was not only between Muslims and Christians but among Muslims and Christians, leading to cross religion alliances. Not a period, however, within which to search for admirable causes or characters, although Saladin is a cut above the rest. I think it is best to conceptualize the majority of the leaders as a cross between bandits and war-lords.
The legendary Assassins often allied themselves with the Christian side, using their terrorist techniques against their co-religionists. Eventually, however, they went a bit too far when they assassinated the son of the invading Mongol Huns. The Huns were not amused and wiped them from the face of the earth.
Bellonci, M. (1939/2000). Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press.
A very interesting biography of Lucrezia Borgia. It reminds us that the history of the Borgias was written by their enemies and they were really no different from the rest of the conniving nobility who strove mightily for themselves and extended families using whatever resources they could. They were also very young as a group because so many died early from plague, poisoning, or combat.
A very interesting biography of Lucrezia Borgia. It reminds us that the history of the Borgias was written by their enemies and they were really no different from the rest of the conniving nobility who strove mightily for themselves and extended families using whatever resources they could. They were also very young as a group because so many died early from plague, poisoning, or combat.
Bergreen, L. (2007). Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu. NY: Knopf.
“In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree…” Marco Polo discovered for the West what exactly this 13th century pleasure dome was like. Kublai Khan had a very good time living in luxury with his six very carefully selected and frequently replaced concubines (the Khan did more than his share to further Genghis’s Y chromosome). It could be argued that the Khan should have paid more attention to affairs of state in his declining years then to sexual gymnastics. In any event, a couple of disastrous naval expeditions were a sign that the dynasty was in decline.
This is an excellent account of Marco Polo’s incredible journeys and subsequent life. Marco was brave, smart, ambitious, and very, very lucky. After a period of genteel imprisonment in Genoa (where he dictated his stories), he ended up old and well-off in his native Venice.
“In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree…” Marco Polo discovered for the West what exactly this 13th century pleasure dome was like. Kublai Khan had a very good time living in luxury with his six very carefully selected and frequently replaced concubines (the Khan did more than his share to further Genghis’s Y chromosome). It could be argued that the Khan should have paid more attention to affairs of state in his declining years then to sexual gymnastics. In any event, a couple of disastrous naval expeditions were a sign that the dynasty was in decline.
This is an excellent account of Marco Polo’s incredible journeys and subsequent life. Marco was brave, smart, ambitious, and very, very lucky. After a period of genteel imprisonment in Genoa (where he dictated his stories), he ended up old and well-off in his native Venice.
Biagioli, M. (1993). Galileo courtier: The practice of science in the culture of absolutism. University of Chicago Press.
When they used to say "It's not who you know, it's who you blow" in Thunder Bay, they must have been talking about Renaissance Europe. In the period around 1600, the patronage of princes made the world go round. Galileo and contemporary scientists were intimately involved in a world of ritualized sycophancy that makes sense but is hard to empathize with. A different world.
Biagioli is a bit heavy handed and repetitive in pressing his argument but he does illustrate the manner in which scientists marketed themselves and were marketed in this system of patronage. Galileo was the master at this delicate and high risk business.
When they used to say "It's not who you know, it's who you blow" in Thunder Bay, they must have been talking about Renaissance Europe. In the period around 1600, the patronage of princes made the world go round. Galileo and contemporary scientists were intimately involved in a world of ritualized sycophancy that makes sense but is hard to empathize with. A different world.
Biagioli is a bit heavy handed and repetitive in pressing his argument but he does illustrate the manner in which scientists marketed themselves and were marketed in this system of patronage. Galileo was the master at this delicate and high risk business.
Blaise, C. (2000). Time lord. Toronto: Knopf.
An exposition of 19th century scientific and bureaucratic efforts to standardize time. Of course, various countries had difficulties in agreeing about where the Prime Meridian should be on nationalist grounds. Historical precedent with American brokerage eventually won over French objections. The vehicle for this history is the life of Sandford Fleming. Fleming exemplified the practical Victorian man of science and was a major force in the planning of the Canadian railways. Unfortunately for the plan of the book, Fleming’s role in the time standardization debates petered out before its resolution. A moderately good read. The most interesting part is the commentary on how railroads changed everything.
An exposition of 19th century scientific and bureaucratic efforts to standardize time. Of course, various countries had difficulties in agreeing about where the Prime Meridian should be on nationalist grounds. Historical precedent with American brokerage eventually won over French objections. The vehicle for this history is the life of Sandford Fleming. Fleming exemplified the practical Victorian man of science and was a major force in the planning of the Canadian railways. Unfortunately for the plan of the book, Fleming’s role in the time standardization debates petered out before its resolution. A moderately good read. The most interesting part is the commentary on how railroads changed everything.
Bodansky, Y. (1999). Bin Laden: The man who declared war on America. New York: Random House.
Imagine the pecuniary advantage of writing a book about September 11th just before it happens! This book is rambling and repetitious and it is unclear to me how sound its political analysis is. However, the broad outlines of the book, arguing that there is lots of cooperation among intelligence forces and Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, assorted emirates, Pakistan, Chechyna, Bosnia, and Somalia, appears to be correct, if not very encouraging. Certainly, this analysis seems to be accepted by the American government.
Imagine the pecuniary advantage of writing a book about September 11th just before it happens! This book is rambling and repetitious and it is unclear to me how sound its political analysis is. However, the broad outlines of the book, arguing that there is lots of cooperation among intelligence forces and Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, assorted emirates, Pakistan, Chechyna, Bosnia, and Somalia, appears to be correct, if not very encouraging. Certainly, this analysis seems to be accepted by the American government.
Bostridge, M. (2008). Florence Nightingale. Toronto: Penguin.
Not quite the lady of the lamp I had expected. Florence was a very ambitious upper class woman stifled by convention—there were no useful social roles for unmarried upper class English women in the 1840-50s. Reading books aloud, knitting, and tinkling on the piano in the bosom of one’s family each evening could drive one balmy, and in Florence’s case, almost did. Florence longed to be useful and was motivated by quasi-religious feelings of duty to the poor and sick.
Florence’s role in organizing better treatment for the wounded in the Crimean war made her an English heroine. Her reputation continued to grow through the years.
Florence was very smart and played an important, sometimes crucial, behind the scenes role in reforming the army after the Crimean debacles and reforming hospitals (for most of her life she was not a believer in germ theory—but she wanted cleanliness and lots of ventilation). She also worked tirelessly to establish a nursing profession independent of (male) doctors. Although she was very ill and irritable a lot of the time (probably because she picked up some bug in the Crimea), she continued for decades to exert her mostly anonymous influence on the English government through various parliamentarians and bureaucrats who relied on her statistical work. Ironically, her most important influence occurred long after the public believed her to be dead or incapacitated.
Long, but very readable.
Not quite the lady of the lamp I had expected. Florence was a very ambitious upper class woman stifled by convention—there were no useful social roles for unmarried upper class English women in the 1840-50s. Reading books aloud, knitting, and tinkling on the piano in the bosom of one’s family each evening could drive one balmy, and in Florence’s case, almost did. Florence longed to be useful and was motivated by quasi-religious feelings of duty to the poor and sick.
Florence’s role in organizing better treatment for the wounded in the Crimean war made her an English heroine. Her reputation continued to grow through the years.
Florence was very smart and played an important, sometimes crucial, behind the scenes role in reforming the army after the Crimean debacles and reforming hospitals (for most of her life she was not a believer in germ theory—but she wanted cleanliness and lots of ventilation). She also worked tirelessly to establish a nursing profession independent of (male) doctors. Although she was very ill and irritable a lot of the time (probably because she picked up some bug in the Crimea), she continued for decades to exert her mostly anonymous influence on the English government through various parliamentarians and bureaucrats who relied on her statistical work. Ironically, her most important influence occurred long after the public believed her to be dead or incapacitated.
Long, but very readable.
Brumwell, S. (2006). Paths of glory: The life and death of General James Wolfe. Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
It’s strange that all I knew about Wolfe was that he was a British general who was killed on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the siege of Quebec and the words to the song “Brave Wolfe”. Wolfe has an important part in Canadian history, so important that even children know about it—my five year old asked my daughter about her marriage to a French guy: “Why do you want to live with someone who attacked us?”
Wolfe was a somewhat sickly, skinny, and homely boy from a military family. His ambitions and sense of efficiency were continually thwarted in the anachronistic and class-ridden British army. Eventually, he got his chance to shine in the successful siege of the fortress at Louisburg. Wolfe came to represent bravery, concern for the common soldier, modern efficiency, and an emerging meritocracy. Of course, he was also the target of jealous gossip.
The siege at Quebec was a close-run thing and for a long time things went poorly for the British. Wolfe became seriously ill but recovered sufficiently to lead the successful surprise assault on the Plains of Abraham above the city of Quebec.
Wolfe’s death at a young age in the most successful campaign of the Seven Years War ensured that he achieved the glory that was his childhood dream. He became as famous a military figure as his childhood hero, Nelson. Wolfe’s reputation, however, fell victim to historical revisionism in the wake of the Quebecois separatist movement.
This is a good read.
It’s strange that all I knew about Wolfe was that he was a British general who was killed on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the siege of Quebec and the words to the song “Brave Wolfe”. Wolfe has an important part in Canadian history, so important that even children know about it—my five year old asked my daughter about her marriage to a French guy: “Why do you want to live with someone who attacked us?”
Wolfe was a somewhat sickly, skinny, and homely boy from a military family. His ambitions and sense of efficiency were continually thwarted in the anachronistic and class-ridden British army. Eventually, he got his chance to shine in the successful siege of the fortress at Louisburg. Wolfe came to represent bravery, concern for the common soldier, modern efficiency, and an emerging meritocracy. Of course, he was also the target of jealous gossip.
The siege at Quebec was a close-run thing and for a long time things went poorly for the British. Wolfe became seriously ill but recovered sufficiently to lead the successful surprise assault on the Plains of Abraham above the city of Quebec.
Wolfe’s death at a young age in the most successful campaign of the Seven Years War ensured that he achieved the glory that was his childhood dream. He became as famous a military figure as his childhood hero, Nelson. Wolfe’s reputation, however, fell victim to historical revisionism in the wake of the Quebecois separatist movement.
This is a good read.
Burns, J.M. (2013). Fire and light: How the enlightenment transformed our world. NY: St. Martin’s Press.
Although the book covers well-trodden ground, it sustains interest because of its organization and writing style. The enlightenment (the age of reason) was preceded and influenced by the Protestant reformation (1517) and the scientific revolution (1620). Its close is usually dated to the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815.
The international (European-North American) aspects of the enlightenment are particularly interesting. Burns traces the influences among the principal enlightenment intellectuals to good effect.
Although the book covers well-trodden ground, it sustains interest because of its organization and writing style. The enlightenment (the age of reason) was preceded and influenced by the Protestant reformation (1517) and the scientific revolution (1620). Its close is usually dated to the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815.
The international (European-North American) aspects of the enlightenment are particularly interesting. Burns traces the influences among the principal enlightenment intellectuals to good effect.
Byock, J. (1982). Feud in the Icelandic saga. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Disputes over land holdings were common in early medieval Iceland, particularly when kinship was tangled (as when a man had old and young families by different wives). These frequently led to killings, each of which would be avenged. Widows would save keepsakes of their dead husbands (preferably something with blood on it) to arouse their sons’ anger when they were old enough to fight. These feuds could easily escalate. To Byock, the sagas illustrate how civil wars were averted by a mixture of litigation, mutual intimidation by rival kinship groups, exile, and a limited amount of killing.
Disputes over land holdings were common in early medieval Iceland, particularly when kinship was tangled (as when a man had old and young families by different wives). These frequently led to killings, each of which would be avenged. Widows would save keepsakes of their dead husbands (preferably something with blood on it) to arouse their sons’ anger when they were old enough to fight. These feuds could easily escalate. To Byock, the sagas illustrate how civil wars were averted by a mixture of litigation, mutual intimidation by rival kinship groups, exile, and a limited amount of killing.
Byock, J. (2001). Viking age Iceland. Toronto: Penguin.
This book is fairly interesting but repeats a fair bit of material from the 1982 book. I’m not sure that I buy the author’s analysis of the sagas in terms of narrative units used by the authors like Lego blocks.
This book is fairly interesting but repeats a fair bit of material from the 1982 book. I’m not sure that I buy the author’s analysis of the sagas in terms of narrative units used by the authors like Lego blocks.
Canduci, A. (2009). The greatest lies in history: Spin, doublespeak, buck passing, and official cover ups that shaped the world. Pier 9.
This is a catalog of various lies. It starts with an account of the “victory” over the Hittites at Kadesh in 1275 BCE (written by the losing Egyptians), and ranges through the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to the propaganda that justified the American annexation of Northern Mexico in 1846.
The book is long on survey and short on analysis but it’s an easy read and there are lots of good illustrations and pictures. It would be great for a high school student who is keen on history. It does make one wonder, however, what lies one would choose for such a catalog—such an embarrassment of riches!
This is a catalog of various lies. It starts with an account of the “victory” over the Hittites at Kadesh in 1275 BCE (written by the losing Egyptians), and ranges through the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to the propaganda that justified the American annexation of Northern Mexico in 1846.
The book is long on survey and short on analysis but it’s an easy read and there are lots of good illustrations and pictures. It would be great for a high school student who is keen on history. It does make one wonder, however, what lies one would choose for such a catalog—such an embarrassment of riches!
Cornwell, B. (2014). Waterloo: The history of four days, three armies and three battles. Collins.
Even though one knows what is going to happen, this is a suspenseful account of the three-day battle of Waterloo. Hard to put this fast-paced narrative down.
As the author explains, military tactics in the Napoleonic wars involved a mathematical game of rock, paper, scissors. To advance in a line meant exposing all your troops to fire, so one advanced in a column—the problem was that when you got close, most of your troops couldn’t fire, so you had to deploy in line. Meantime, the artillery needed to have opponents bunched in a square for maximum effect. The way to accomplish this was to threaten them with cavalry. Cavalry could annihilate infantry in a line formation but was helpless against infantry arranged in a square. There were a variety of tactics designed to thwart this calculus: for example, Wellington would deploy his troops on the reverse slope of a hill when possible to avoid cannon (but not howitzer) fire.
Cannon balls were much more effective when the ground was relatively hard because the balls could be shot low and would skip (as one skips a rock on water) through enemy ranks. At close quarters grape shot and canisters were more effective.
Cordingly, D. (1995). Under the black flag: The romance and the reality of life among the pirates. N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace, & Co.
Very young out of work sailors enjoyed usually brief careers as pirates. They had a well developed MO: The basic idea was to have a very fast ship, scare the hell out of the victims so they would comply (they really used the “jolly Roger” for this purpose), torture those suspected of having hidden treasure into revealing its whereabouts, and force essential tradesmen, such as coopers and ship carpenters, into service.
There are some good pictures of scary pirates. It turns out that Robert Louis Stevenson accurately portrayed pirates. It was, for example, common for sailors in the British Navy who had lost a leg in battle to be made into cooks, just like Long John Silver.
Even though one knows what is going to happen, this is a suspenseful account of the three-day battle of Waterloo. Hard to put this fast-paced narrative down.
As the author explains, military tactics in the Napoleonic wars involved a mathematical game of rock, paper, scissors. To advance in a line meant exposing all your troops to fire, so one advanced in a column—the problem was that when you got close, most of your troops couldn’t fire, so you had to deploy in line. Meantime, the artillery needed to have opponents bunched in a square for maximum effect. The way to accomplish this was to threaten them with cavalry. Cavalry could annihilate infantry in a line formation but was helpless against infantry arranged in a square. There were a variety of tactics designed to thwart this calculus: for example, Wellington would deploy his troops on the reverse slope of a hill when possible to avoid cannon (but not howitzer) fire.
Cannon balls were much more effective when the ground was relatively hard because the balls could be shot low and would skip (as one skips a rock on water) through enemy ranks. At close quarters grape shot and canisters were more effective.
Cordingly, D. (1995). Under the black flag: The romance and the reality of life among the pirates. N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace, & Co.
Very young out of work sailors enjoyed usually brief careers as pirates. They had a well developed MO: The basic idea was to have a very fast ship, scare the hell out of the victims so they would comply (they really used the “jolly Roger” for this purpose), torture those suspected of having hidden treasure into revealing its whereabouts, and force essential tradesmen, such as coopers and ship carpenters, into service.
There are some good pictures of scary pirates. It turns out that Robert Louis Stevenson accurately portrayed pirates. It was, for example, common for sailors in the British Navy who had lost a leg in battle to be made into cooks, just like Long John Silver.
Cummins, J. (1995). Francis Drake: The lives of a hero. New York: St. Martin's Press.
The first part of this book is more interesting than the remainder, which tends to drag a bit. The account suffers from a lack of documentation on Drake's early life. Most interesting is the combination of English state and private enterprise in both piracy and war.
Poor Drake died in a completely unsuccessful attempt to relive his earlier spectacular success against the Spanish.
The first part of this book is more interesting than the remainder, which tends to drag a bit. The account suffers from a lack of documentation on Drake's early life. Most interesting is the combination of English state and private enterprise in both piracy and war.
Poor Drake died in a completely unsuccessful attempt to relive his earlier spectacular success against the Spanish.
Coss, S. (2016). The fever of 1721: The epidemic that revolutionized medicine and American politics. Toronto: Simon and Schuster.
Apart from the ridiculous part of the title after the colon—no it didn’t and the author doesn’t argue it did (I loathe marketers)—this is an excellent book.
In 1721, Boston was trying to keep smallpox and other communicable diseases out of the city. An English captain docked his boat in the harbour with some infected sailors on board rather than taking his ship to the designated island and waiting out the mandatory quarantine. As a result, many Bostonians died, others were blinded or suffered brain damage, and almost all who caught it were badly scarred.
Cotton Mather, a prominent puritan preacher (yes, the same guy who had played such an ignoble role in the Salem witch trials) read several accounts in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of a successful inoculation procedure commonly used in Turkey and Africa. He also interviewed some slaves that had been successfully inoculated with smallpox before they had been captured and sent to America. Perhaps to salvage his reputation, he wrote to the Boston physicians, telling them of his discovery and recommending the procedure. But only one of them, Zabdiel Boylston, took up the procedure, the others scoffing at this very counter-intuitive and potentially lethal practice.
As Boylston began inoculating people, starting with his family, the local populace, whipped up by local politicians and some prominent physicians (especially one who was planning to study the epidemic) began threatening Boylston and vandalizing his property. He hid out and continued. Only after the epidemic had run its course was Boylston considered a hero.
It should be remembered that inoculation involved getting fluid from the pustules of an infected person and injecting it into the body of someone uninfected. This is very different than the later vaccination procedure that achieved immunity from smallpox by injecting cowpox (which had no serious effect on humans).
It was not clear why infecting someone directly conferred immunity and caused only minor symptoms whereas getting infected naturally was lethal. It was also not clear why an inoculated person didn’t simply pass on the disease. It makes one wonder how inoculation was originally discovered! Even Mather, having advocated the procedure, hesitated and dithered about inoculating his family until it was almost too late.
The controversy over inoculation played out in the fraught colonial political scene: Populists raging against the unpopular governor of Massachusetts (who was, of course, appointed by the crown), religious tensions between Puritans and Anglicans, brutal competition among the first American newspapers (one of them run by Benjamin Franklin’s elder brother), and tension between the needs of the tottering economy and public safety (the epidemic was played down by the government to avoid Boston’s economic isolation).
Apart from the ridiculous part of the title after the colon—no it didn’t and the author doesn’t argue it did (I loathe marketers)—this is an excellent book.
In 1721, Boston was trying to keep smallpox and other communicable diseases out of the city. An English captain docked his boat in the harbour with some infected sailors on board rather than taking his ship to the designated island and waiting out the mandatory quarantine. As a result, many Bostonians died, others were blinded or suffered brain damage, and almost all who caught it were badly scarred.
Cotton Mather, a prominent puritan preacher (yes, the same guy who had played such an ignoble role in the Salem witch trials) read several accounts in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of a successful inoculation procedure commonly used in Turkey and Africa. He also interviewed some slaves that had been successfully inoculated with smallpox before they had been captured and sent to America. Perhaps to salvage his reputation, he wrote to the Boston physicians, telling them of his discovery and recommending the procedure. But only one of them, Zabdiel Boylston, took up the procedure, the others scoffing at this very counter-intuitive and potentially lethal practice.
As Boylston began inoculating people, starting with his family, the local populace, whipped up by local politicians and some prominent physicians (especially one who was planning to study the epidemic) began threatening Boylston and vandalizing his property. He hid out and continued. Only after the epidemic had run its course was Boylston considered a hero.
It should be remembered that inoculation involved getting fluid from the pustules of an infected person and injecting it into the body of someone uninfected. This is very different than the later vaccination procedure that achieved immunity from smallpox by injecting cowpox (which had no serious effect on humans).
It was not clear why infecting someone directly conferred immunity and caused only minor symptoms whereas getting infected naturally was lethal. It was also not clear why an inoculated person didn’t simply pass on the disease. It makes one wonder how inoculation was originally discovered! Even Mather, having advocated the procedure, hesitated and dithered about inoculating his family until it was almost too late.
The controversy over inoculation played out in the fraught colonial political scene: Populists raging against the unpopular governor of Massachusetts (who was, of course, appointed by the crown), religious tensions between Puritans and Anglicans, brutal competition among the first American newspapers (one of them run by Benjamin Franklin’s elder brother), and tension between the needs of the tottering economy and public safety (the epidemic was played down by the government to avoid Boston’s economic isolation).
Dean, T. (2001). Crime in medieval Europe 1200-1550. Toronto: Pearson.
Here’s the bird’s eye lowdown: At the beginning of the period, trials increasingly replaced vendettas and the ordeal was dropped as a mode of proof. Serious crime patterns varied little across time or rural versus urban location, the states relied on unpaid judicial officers, punishment was selective and increasingly focused on the poor, shaming punishments declined, out-of-court settlements declined, and imprisonment grew more common. At the end of the period, the state curtailed clerical immunity and the right of sanctuary.
This is a text-bookish volume and definitely not popular history. As you can see from my little summary, there isn’t enough theory of any consequence to motivate the exposition.
Here’s the bird’s eye lowdown: At the beginning of the period, trials increasingly replaced vendettas and the ordeal was dropped as a mode of proof. Serious crime patterns varied little across time or rural versus urban location, the states relied on unpaid judicial officers, punishment was selective and increasingly focused on the poor, shaming punishments declined, out-of-court settlements declined, and imprisonment grew more common. At the end of the period, the state curtailed clerical immunity and the right of sanctuary.
This is a text-bookish volume and definitely not popular history. As you can see from my little summary, there isn’t enough theory of any consequence to motivate the exposition.
Defourneaux, M. (1970). Daily life in Spain in the Golden Age. Stanford University Press. Translated by N. Branch.
A marvelous piece of history writing about Spain from 1556 to 1665. The book is very well written, entertaining, and consistently informative. Academics will enjoy the portrayal of university life, economists and moralists will like the description of the effects of New World gold on Spain’s economy, and anti-clerics will particularly enjoy the descriptions of the Inquisition. Of course, everyone is interested in the topic of sex and romance, ably dealt with here. The book provides the cultural and political context to Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Highly recommended.
A marvelous piece of history writing about Spain from 1556 to 1665. The book is very well written, entertaining, and consistently informative. Academics will enjoy the portrayal of university life, economists and moralists will like the description of the effects of New World gold on Spain’s economy, and anti-clerics will particularly enjoy the descriptions of the Inquisition. Of course, everyone is interested in the topic of sex and romance, ably dealt with here. The book provides the cultural and political context to Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Highly recommended.
Downey, K. (2015). Isabella: The warrior queen. NY: Penquin.
A readable biography of the Spanish Queen Isabella (1451-1504), one of the most important rulers in the world during her lifetime. She was a politician to the marrow of her bones—this meant advancing her family through marriage, war, and diplomacy. She was the leader of Christian Europe in the war against Islam. The Muslims had taken Constantinople, the Mideast, North Africa, Eastern Europe as far as Vienna, much of Spain, and had their sights set on Italy. They were motivated primarily by booty, of which slaves formed the most important part; they got them by trade, territorial conquest, and large scale organized piracy. Isabella drove them out of Spain and kept them from taking Italy.
Isabella backed Columbus thereby acquiring a large section of the New World. She was very religious and sought to convert the Indians. The occupation, however, was terribly mismanaged, marred by corruption, greed, cruelty, and ignorance. Domestically, Isabella became more hard line over time, leading a brutal policy of ethnic cleansing against Muslims, Jews, and Conversos (Christianized Jews). The policy was implemented by the Inquisition and expanded to include Christians who did not toe the orthodox line. Although graft was built into the system, it was, at least in the minds of those at the top, a fundamentally religious enterprise. For example, one of Isabella’s daughters married a prince of Portugal who shortly thereafter died. The daughter interpreted the death as God’s punishment for tolerating the Conversos.
This is a worthwhile book despite a liberal use of secondary sources. It is a bit tarnished by feminist ideology but one can skip over those parts.
A readable biography of the Spanish Queen Isabella (1451-1504), one of the most important rulers in the world during her lifetime. She was a politician to the marrow of her bones—this meant advancing her family through marriage, war, and diplomacy. She was the leader of Christian Europe in the war against Islam. The Muslims had taken Constantinople, the Mideast, North Africa, Eastern Europe as far as Vienna, much of Spain, and had their sights set on Italy. They were motivated primarily by booty, of which slaves formed the most important part; they got them by trade, territorial conquest, and large scale organized piracy. Isabella drove them out of Spain and kept them from taking Italy.
Isabella backed Columbus thereby acquiring a large section of the New World. She was very religious and sought to convert the Indians. The occupation, however, was terribly mismanaged, marred by corruption, greed, cruelty, and ignorance. Domestically, Isabella became more hard line over time, leading a brutal policy of ethnic cleansing against Muslims, Jews, and Conversos (Christianized Jews). The policy was implemented by the Inquisition and expanded to include Christians who did not toe the orthodox line. Although graft was built into the system, it was, at least in the minds of those at the top, a fundamentally religious enterprise. For example, one of Isabella’s daughters married a prince of Portugal who shortly thereafter died. The daughter interpreted the death as God’s punishment for tolerating the Conversos.
This is a worthwhile book despite a liberal use of secondary sources. It is a bit tarnished by feminist ideology but one can skip over those parts.
Elliott, J.E. (2009). Strange fatality: The battle of Stoney Creek, 1813. Hamilton: Robin Brass Studio.
The war of 1812 was described by an historian as “a succession of timorous advances and hasty retreats, of muddle-headed planning and incompetent generalship, interspersed with a few sharp actions and adroit manoeuvres which reflected credit on a few individuals and discredit on many”. Such was the case in the series of engagements culminating in the battle of Stoney Creek. The Canadians had been driven out of Fort Niagara and were allowed to escape toward Hamilton. The Americans finally got their act together and were poised to annihilate the remnants of the British regulars and win the war.
The Canadians launched a surprise bayonet attack under cover of darkness that, in a confused but deadly action, drove the Americans from the field. Although the battle was a close run thing, the Americans began a confused retreat and in the ensuing weeks suffered more serious losses. The invasion of Upper Canada was over.
Part of the reason for the precipitous retreat of the American army was their fear of attack by the Canadian’s Indian allies. The Indians, however, were sitting on their hands waiting to see who would be on the winning side and did not join the Canadians in any numbers until after Stoney Creek.
The story illustrates the deplorable state of leadership on both sides. The Canadian general “went missing” during the Stoney Creek battle and only turned up the next day when all was over. The American general, whose appointment was a disastrous product of partisan politics, was far too ill to leave Fort Niagara.
This book is very crisply written and has a lot of good pictures and maps. As a bonus, there’s a brief and clear account of the naval war on Lake Ontario. Highly recommended.
The war of 1812 was described by an historian as “a succession of timorous advances and hasty retreats, of muddle-headed planning and incompetent generalship, interspersed with a few sharp actions and adroit manoeuvres which reflected credit on a few individuals and discredit on many”. Such was the case in the series of engagements culminating in the battle of Stoney Creek. The Canadians had been driven out of Fort Niagara and were allowed to escape toward Hamilton. The Americans finally got their act together and were poised to annihilate the remnants of the British regulars and win the war.
The Canadians launched a surprise bayonet attack under cover of darkness that, in a confused but deadly action, drove the Americans from the field. Although the battle was a close run thing, the Americans began a confused retreat and in the ensuing weeks suffered more serious losses. The invasion of Upper Canada was over.
Part of the reason for the precipitous retreat of the American army was their fear of attack by the Canadian’s Indian allies. The Indians, however, were sitting on their hands waiting to see who would be on the winning side and did not join the Canadians in any numbers until after Stoney Creek.
The story illustrates the deplorable state of leadership on both sides. The Canadian general “went missing” during the Stoney Creek battle and only turned up the next day when all was over. The American general, whose appointment was a disastrous product of partisan politics, was far too ill to leave Fort Niagara.
This book is very crisply written and has a lot of good pictures and maps. As a bonus, there’s a brief and clear account of the naval war on Lake Ontario. Highly recommended.
Fagan, B. (2008). The great warming: Climate change and the rise and fall of civilizations. NY: Bloomsbury.
Written in the spirit of Diamond’s Collapse and covering some of the same ground (pun intended), this book documents the effects of world-wide warming in the tenth to fifteenth centuries. The chief effect of the “Medieval Warm Period” was widespread drought resulting in millions of deaths and the destruction of a number of states. These effects were caused by only a few degrees of temperature change.
Fagan’s thesis is that the Medieval Warm Period is a gentle warning of what’s coming. Although a lot of this material has been described before, it is of interest that quite a bit more has been learned recently.
Written in the spirit of Diamond’s Collapse and covering some of the same ground (pun intended), this book documents the effects of world-wide warming in the tenth to fifteenth centuries. The chief effect of the “Medieval Warm Period” was widespread drought resulting in millions of deaths and the destruction of a number of states. These effects were caused by only a few degrees of temperature change.
Fagan’s thesis is that the Medieval Warm Period is a gentle warning of what’s coming. Although a lot of this material has been described before, it is of interest that quite a bit more has been learned recently.
Fletcher, R. (2002). Bloodfeud: Murder and revenge in anglo-saxon England. London: Penguin.
This is a detailed and interesting story of the endless intrigue and murders in a balkanized land where life was nasty, brutish, and short. My favourite Viking, Egil Skallagrimson, sets the tone when writing a poem about Eric Bloodaxe’s Northumbrian kingdom:
where the king kept his people cowed
under the helmet of his terror.
From his seat at York he ruled unflinchingly
over a dank land.
One of the more interesting historical tidbits in this book is a discussion of how incredibly lucrative Viking intimidation could be around the year 1,000. The Danegeld (a tax raised to pay the Vikings to go away for a year or so) amounted to a 100 percent level of taxation in one year; this was followed by a levy to raise an army to fight off the Vikings in subsequent years. People who couldn’t pay lost their land to other parties who could cover their taxes. The unfortunates often had to sell themselves into slavery.
Unfortunately, the story of the particular feud around which the book is structured is incompletely documented and this leads to a bit of frustration for the reader.
This is a detailed and interesting story of the endless intrigue and murders in a balkanized land where life was nasty, brutish, and short. My favourite Viking, Egil Skallagrimson, sets the tone when writing a poem about Eric Bloodaxe’s Northumbrian kingdom:
where the king kept his people cowed
under the helmet of his terror.
From his seat at York he ruled unflinchingly
over a dank land.
One of the more interesting historical tidbits in this book is a discussion of how incredibly lucrative Viking intimidation could be around the year 1,000. The Danegeld (a tax raised to pay the Vikings to go away for a year or so) amounted to a 100 percent level of taxation in one year; this was followed by a levy to raise an army to fight off the Vikings in subsequent years. People who couldn’t pay lost their land to other parties who could cover their taxes. The unfortunates often had to sell themselves into slavery.
Unfortunately, the story of the particular feud around which the book is structured is incompletely documented and this leads to a bit of frustration for the reader.
Fox, J. (2007). Jane Boleyn: The true story of the infamous Lady Rochford. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
Wealth, land, and success could be gained by noble families in the court of Henry the VIII. All depended, however, on earning and keeping the increasingly irascible king’s favour. This was a hazardous enterprise. Jane Boleyn survived the execution of her husband, returning to court (after a brief disgrace) as a lady-in-waiting for the new queen, Catherine Howard. Catherine, not yet 20, and Henry, aged 49, had a happy marriage at first. But Catherine was incredibly foolhardy, despite having managed to capture the king’s heart. Revelations of her pre-marital sexual indiscretions led to the discovery of current infidelity. Jane was complicit in Catherine’s adultery (it is unlikely that she could have avoided complicity given her dependence on the queen) and paid with her head.
Very well done book. Entertaining and informative.
Wealth, land, and success could be gained by noble families in the court of Henry the VIII. All depended, however, on earning and keeping the increasingly irascible king’s favour. This was a hazardous enterprise. Jane Boleyn survived the execution of her husband, returning to court (after a brief disgrace) as a lady-in-waiting for the new queen, Catherine Howard. Catherine, not yet 20, and Henry, aged 49, had a happy marriage at first. But Catherine was incredibly foolhardy, despite having managed to capture the king’s heart. Revelations of her pre-marital sexual indiscretions led to the discovery of current infidelity. Jane was complicit in Catherine’s adultery (it is unlikely that she could have avoided complicity given her dependence on the queen) and paid with her head.
Very well done book. Entertaining and informative.
Fraser, A. (2001). Marie Antoinette: The journey. Toronto: Doubleday.
A very interesting and enjoyable biography. Marie Antoinette was never a master of her fate and was an ordinary, if unfortunate, sort of person until ennobled by her response to her persecution during the revolution. The incompetence of the hidebound court of Louis the Sixteenth (talk about a somewhat less than ordinary man) overshadowed its wastefulness. Not that they deserved to be turned over to the Parisian savages.
There are some striking psychological and political similarities between the situation of the French royal family before their execution and those of the Romanoffs before theirs.
The most remarkable part of the book is the descriptions of the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary crowds, driven into a frenzy by a steady diet of outrageous, scurrilous, and implausible lies fed to them by the pamphlets of the day. I couldn’t help but be reminded of some of the heatedly partisan paranoidal commentaries one hears on TV shows. Enthusiasm should have remained a term of abuse.
A very interesting and enjoyable biography. Marie Antoinette was never a master of her fate and was an ordinary, if unfortunate, sort of person until ennobled by her response to her persecution during the revolution. The incompetence of the hidebound court of Louis the Sixteenth (talk about a somewhat less than ordinary man) overshadowed its wastefulness. Not that they deserved to be turned over to the Parisian savages.
There are some striking psychological and political similarities between the situation of the French royal family before their execution and those of the Romanoffs before theirs.
The most remarkable part of the book is the descriptions of the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary crowds, driven into a frenzy by a steady diet of outrageous, scurrilous, and implausible lies fed to them by the pamphlets of the day. I couldn’t help but be reminded of some of the heatedly partisan paranoidal commentaries one hears on TV shows. Enthusiasm should have remained a term of abuse.
Glendinning, V. (1998). Jonathan Swift: A portrait. Toronto: Doubleday.
A curiously unsatisfying biography. At the end of it, I couldn't decide whether I liked Swift or how important he was as a thinker. Part of the problem is that the information on Swift's life is either very detailed or non-existent, depending on the issue and the particular period. The other difficulty concerns biographers who depend on aristocratic patronage--they always seem to be waiting around for someone to do something for them. In Swift's case, an ultimately futile wait, although he did have his hour. Obviously frustrating for him and frustrating for us to read about.
A curiously unsatisfying biography. At the end of it, I couldn't decide whether I liked Swift or how important he was as a thinker. Part of the problem is that the information on Swift's life is either very detailed or non-existent, depending on the issue and the particular period. The other difficulty concerns biographers who depend on aristocratic patronage--they always seem to be waiting around for someone to do something for them. In Swift's case, an ultimately futile wait, although he did have his hour. Obviously frustrating for him and frustrating for us to read about.
Gough, B. (1997). First across the continent: Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. New Haven: Yale University Press.
A terse account of Mackenzie's journey up the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean and across the Rockies to the Pacific (but not down the raging Fraser River). Mackenzie's successful journey was a stimulus to Jefferson's plans for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson wanted to secure the Northwest for the Americans instead of the British (or Russians).
Mackenzie showed that there was no easy passage across the continent for trade with China. He did, however, show that the area was great for the fur trade and died a rich man (unlike Lewis, who killed himself shortly after returning from his expedition). Mackenzie's scheme of trading furs directly from the West coast across the Pacific, although insightful and feasible, was never taken up by the British.
A terse account of Mackenzie's journey up the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean and across the Rockies to the Pacific (but not down the raging Fraser River). Mackenzie's successful journey was a stimulus to Jefferson's plans for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson wanted to secure the Northwest for the Americans instead of the British (or Russians).
Mackenzie showed that there was no easy passage across the continent for trade with China. He did, however, show that the area was great for the fur trade and died a rich man (unlike Lewis, who killed himself shortly after returning from his expedition). Mackenzie's scheme of trading furs directly from the West coast across the Pacific, although insightful and feasible, was never taken up by the British.
Greenblatt, S. (2018). Tyrant: Shakespeare on politics. NY: Norton.
In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, populist passions are exploited by nobles vying for the throne. Behind the scenes, the sinister York stirred up a murderous mob led by Jack Cade. Cade interrogates a clerk, asking if he can write his name or signs with a mark like an “honest plain-dealing man.” When the man proudly states that he can write his name, Cade tells the crowd to “hang him with his pen and ink-horn around his neck”. “Famously, it is at the end of one of Cade’s speeches, that someone in the crowd shouts, ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’” Greenblatt notes that the scene was played for laughs in Shakespeare’s time but it doesn’t sound so funny to a modern ear.
In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, populist passions are exploited by nobles vying for the throne. Behind the scenes, the sinister York stirred up a murderous mob led by Jack Cade. Cade interrogates a clerk, asking if he can write his name or signs with a mark like an “honest plain-dealing man.” When the man proudly states that he can write his name, Cade tells the crowd to “hang him with his pen and ink-horn around his neck”. “Famously, it is at the end of one of Cade’s speeches, that someone in the crowd shouts, ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’” Greenblatt notes that the scene was played for laughs in Shakespeare’s time but it doesn’t sound so funny to a modern ear.
Gregory, A. (1911/2001). Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The story of the men of the Red Branch of Ulster. Toronto: General Publishing.
The tales of Cuchulain (pronounced Kuhoolin) are about the head-hunting Irish. The date for the composition of the original stories is unclear but probably much earlier than the 12th century. They certainly seem earlier than the Icelandic sagas and likely predate Beowulf. The stories are a strange mix of heroic sentiment, magic, incredible exaggeration, glorification of ancestors, and stories about the origin of place names. Some of it is quite childlike. Nevertheless, the resemblance of these stories to those of the Odyssey and Iliad is striking.
Something about killing for revenge, women, and livestock appeals to the male psyche. The relationship of a fearsome reputation to the acquisition of the most desirable women is palpable in these stories. Of course, this relationship is found in many societies, as is head-hunting. The imperialist Aztecs, for example, were great head-hunters who displayed their trophies on skull racks (even the heads of the conquistadores’ horses!). Aztec boys started to grow a lock of hair when they were about ten. They were not allowed to cut it off until they had taken a prisoner in battle. The female age-mates of these boys were given to mocking the “stinking” lock of hair. But I digress.
When did Cuchulain’s oft repeated motivation, “It is little I would care if my life were to last one day and one night only, as long as my name and the story of what I had done would live after me,” which he first expressed as a boy too young to bear arms, become Shakespeare’s “pursuing the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth”?
The tales of Cuchulain (pronounced Kuhoolin) are about the head-hunting Irish. The date for the composition of the original stories is unclear but probably much earlier than the 12th century. They certainly seem earlier than the Icelandic sagas and likely predate Beowulf. The stories are a strange mix of heroic sentiment, magic, incredible exaggeration, glorification of ancestors, and stories about the origin of place names. Some of it is quite childlike. Nevertheless, the resemblance of these stories to those of the Odyssey and Iliad is striking.
Something about killing for revenge, women, and livestock appeals to the male psyche. The relationship of a fearsome reputation to the acquisition of the most desirable women is palpable in these stories. Of course, this relationship is found in many societies, as is head-hunting. The imperialist Aztecs, for example, were great head-hunters who displayed their trophies on skull racks (even the heads of the conquistadores’ horses!). Aztec boys started to grow a lock of hair when they were about ten. They were not allowed to cut it off until they had taken a prisoner in battle. The female age-mates of these boys were given to mocking the “stinking” lock of hair. But I digress.
When did Cuchulain’s oft repeated motivation, “It is little I would care if my life were to last one day and one night only, as long as my name and the story of what I had done would live after me,” which he first expressed as a boy too young to bear arms, become Shakespeare’s “pursuing the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth”?
Grosskurth, P. (1997). Byron: The flawed angel. Toronto: Macfarlane, Walter, & Ross.
Byron was a crash dieter but ended up fat. He had a history of manic-depressive illness in his family and suffered from it himself. He engaged in a poorly concealed incestuous relationship with his half sister. The Westermark hypothesis survives disconfirmation because they were not raised together.
This book fails to answer the major question I have about Byron: Why is anybody interested in this guy? He appears from the biography to be petty, vain, politically and economically naive even for his class and time, snobbish, selfish, mean, unfaithful to his friends, associates, relatives, and lovers in many different ways, and, as far as I can tell, never accomplished very much. Nor did he have a particularly interesting life. I'm told his poetry is good and I'm no judge, although I wasn't impressed with what was quoted in this book.
This book is a little hard to follow and not well organized. The author has difficulty in emphasizing what's important (perhaps because in this case, nothing is).
Byron was a crash dieter but ended up fat. He had a history of manic-depressive illness in his family and suffered from it himself. He engaged in a poorly concealed incestuous relationship with his half sister. The Westermark hypothesis survives disconfirmation because they were not raised together.
This book fails to answer the major question I have about Byron: Why is anybody interested in this guy? He appears from the biography to be petty, vain, politically and economically naive even for his class and time, snobbish, selfish, mean, unfaithful to his friends, associates, relatives, and lovers in many different ways, and, as far as I can tell, never accomplished very much. Nor did he have a particularly interesting life. I'm told his poetry is good and I'm no judge, although I wasn't impressed with what was quoted in this book.
This book is a little hard to follow and not well organized. The author has difficulty in emphasizing what's important (perhaps because in this case, nothing is).
Gurevich, A. (translated by J.M. Bak & P.A. Hollingsworth). (1990). Medieval popular culture: Problems of belief and perception. Cambridge University Press.
A very thoughtful attempt to discern the mentality of the illiterate majority of people in medieval Europe from the penitentials, sermons, eschatological visions, and lives of the saints. The idea is to use written material that was about the people or for priests to use with the people as a guide to what the masses thought. Although the book moves a little too slowly, it is well worth the effort of reading. There are many contradictions in medieval thought, for example, it was simultaneously believed that there was an individiual judgment that occurred upon a person's death and a judgment that occurred at the end of the world. These two ideas can't be fitted together in a coherent account.
Gurevich argues that the peasant masses were never fully converted to Catholicism. The peasants were Christian in an instrumental and superstitious sense but neither understood nor were very intereseted in theological niceties. That turned out to be a blessing.
Gurevich describes the Elucidarium written by Honorius of Autun at the end of the 11th century in some detail. This book was intended to summarize complex theological thought for the ill-educated priesthood and was very popular over several centuries. It is difficult for a modern reader (me, at least) to understand how such a vicious set of beliefs could ever have commanded widespread acceptance. Honorius's beliefs make Sade's fantasies appear beneficent. Honorius believed that most people will be eternally tortured in hell (a few good priests and simple farmers will go to heaven where they can watch the torture - it will make them feel better, even if it's their relatives and friends who they are watching). God has always known who the elect (those going to heaven) are and those who are damned. Good works are of no avail. Getting the chance to do good works is of no consequence either (unbaptized babies for example go straight to hell). The damned have been created only so that the elect may rejoice more greatly. A crueler, more futile, and more unjust universe is hard to imagine.
A very thoughtful attempt to discern the mentality of the illiterate majority of people in medieval Europe from the penitentials, sermons, eschatological visions, and lives of the saints. The idea is to use written material that was about the people or for priests to use with the people as a guide to what the masses thought. Although the book moves a little too slowly, it is well worth the effort of reading. There are many contradictions in medieval thought, for example, it was simultaneously believed that there was an individiual judgment that occurred upon a person's death and a judgment that occurred at the end of the world. These two ideas can't be fitted together in a coherent account.
Gurevich argues that the peasant masses were never fully converted to Catholicism. The peasants were Christian in an instrumental and superstitious sense but neither understood nor were very intereseted in theological niceties. That turned out to be a blessing.
Gurevich describes the Elucidarium written by Honorius of Autun at the end of the 11th century in some detail. This book was intended to summarize complex theological thought for the ill-educated priesthood and was very popular over several centuries. It is difficult for a modern reader (me, at least) to understand how such a vicious set of beliefs could ever have commanded widespread acceptance. Honorius's beliefs make Sade's fantasies appear beneficent. Honorius believed that most people will be eternally tortured in hell (a few good priests and simple farmers will go to heaven where they can watch the torture - it will make them feel better, even if it's their relatives and friends who they are watching). God has always known who the elect (those going to heaven) are and those who are damned. Good works are of no avail. Getting the chance to do good works is of no consequence either (unbaptized babies for example go straight to hell). The damned have been created only so that the elect may rejoice more greatly. A crueler, more futile, and more unjust universe is hard to imagine.
Haines, M.R. & Steckel, R.H. (Eds.). (2000). A population history of North America. Cambridge University Press.
This is designed for academics but is accessible to a wider public. Debates over the population of the New World prior to the arrival of Europeans are covered in some detail. The material on the Aztecs was the most interesting to me. If you want to stop plagues, it is a good idea to forbid the selling of the victims’ clothes and very large funeral parties! Quebec turns out to have the best long-term demographic data. The Québécois were astonishingly fertile before the demographic transition. Marrying young, not living in cities, having lots of land, not having wars, and living far from malarial swamps seem to have been the keys to maximum reproductive performance.
This is designed for academics but is accessible to a wider public. Debates over the population of the New World prior to the arrival of Europeans are covered in some detail. The material on the Aztecs was the most interesting to me. If you want to stop plagues, it is a good idea to forbid the selling of the victims’ clothes and very large funeral parties! Quebec turns out to have the best long-term demographic data. The Québécois were astonishingly fertile before the demographic transition. Marrying young, not living in cities, having lots of land, not having wars, and living far from malarial swamps seem to have been the keys to maximum reproductive performance.
Heaney, S. (2000). Beowulf (a new verse translation). N.Y.: Norton.
Beowulf 's continuing interest lies in the pre-Christian psychological context of the stories. Being a hero is admirable but it is grim work and one does one's duty entirely alone. The ravens start to circle as soon as the hero weakens, just as in the real lives of the poem's original audience.
Beowulf 's continuing interest lies in the pre-Christian psychological context of the stories. Being a hero is admirable but it is grim work and one does one's duty entirely alone. The ravens start to circle as soon as the hero weakens, just as in the real lives of the poem's original audience.
Hendrix, S.H. (2015). Martin Luther: Visionary reformer. Yale University Press.
Julian Huxley, writing in 1941about how trying to solve insoluble problems was a misery-inducing waste of time, recalled “the story of the philosopher and the theologian. The two were engaged in disputation and the theologian used the old quip about a philosopher resembling a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat—which wasn’t there. ‘That may be,’ said the philosopher: ‘but a theologian would have found it.’” (from http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/02/19/philo-cat/)
There is something deeply saddening about Luther’s life. He started out an Augustinian monk but, with his close colleagues, became convinced that the Roman church was corrupt and that many of its practices were only “of man” and did not reflect God’s wishes. The only place where God’s wishes could be discovered was in the Bible. Trouble was the Bible was often opaque—in order to discern the true meaning of a passage through prayer and theological discussion, one must first work with Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts. Luther attempted to democratize access to the Bible by translating it into German. Alas, Christians proved unable to agree on what was of man and what was God’s wish and disagreed about the meaning of specific passages.
Hendrix sums it up thusly: “History is always a reconstruction of the past that reflects the bias and the unavoidable short-sightedness of those who write it. And when religion is the subject, there is no way to verify what was true or false. One person’s true religion was the other person’s heresy or fanaticism. Religious colloquies did not succeed in reconciling Catholics and Lutherans—not to mention other Protestants, Muslims, and Jews—because hidden beneath the differences about what was true and what was false were the stakes identified by Luther: mercy and life, or wrath and death. Tradition, customs, injustices, and ethnic loyalties also played their parts, as they still do in the choice and exercise of religion. In sixteenth century Europe, however, religious conflicts were so bitter and conciliation so rare because, for most people involved, including Martin Luther, everything was at stake.” (p. 269).
Luther became more impatient toward the end of his life, seeing Satan manipulating those who disagreed with him—in fact, seeing Satan behind any- and everything that burdened him. Luther was like an old veteran of modern day academic disputes, rehashing old arguments in pedantic fashion. But worse, because the stakes were cosmic, and enormous even in this world—the thirty-years war was on its way.
Julian Huxley, writing in 1941about how trying to solve insoluble problems was a misery-inducing waste of time, recalled “the story of the philosopher and the theologian. The two were engaged in disputation and the theologian used the old quip about a philosopher resembling a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat—which wasn’t there. ‘That may be,’ said the philosopher: ‘but a theologian would have found it.’” (from http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/02/19/philo-cat/)
There is something deeply saddening about Luther’s life. He started out an Augustinian monk but, with his close colleagues, became convinced that the Roman church was corrupt and that many of its practices were only “of man” and did not reflect God’s wishes. The only place where God’s wishes could be discovered was in the Bible. Trouble was the Bible was often opaque—in order to discern the true meaning of a passage through prayer and theological discussion, one must first work with Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts. Luther attempted to democratize access to the Bible by translating it into German. Alas, Christians proved unable to agree on what was of man and what was God’s wish and disagreed about the meaning of specific passages.
Hendrix sums it up thusly: “History is always a reconstruction of the past that reflects the bias and the unavoidable short-sightedness of those who write it. And when religion is the subject, there is no way to verify what was true or false. One person’s true religion was the other person’s heresy or fanaticism. Religious colloquies did not succeed in reconciling Catholics and Lutherans—not to mention other Protestants, Muslims, and Jews—because hidden beneath the differences about what was true and what was false were the stakes identified by Luther: mercy and life, or wrath and death. Tradition, customs, injustices, and ethnic loyalties also played their parts, as they still do in the choice and exercise of religion. In sixteenth century Europe, however, religious conflicts were so bitter and conciliation so rare because, for most people involved, including Martin Luther, everything was at stake.” (p. 269).
Luther became more impatient toward the end of his life, seeing Satan manipulating those who disagreed with him—in fact, seeing Satan behind any- and everything that burdened him. Luther was like an old veteran of modern day academic disputes, rehashing old arguments in pedantic fashion. But worse, because the stakes were cosmic, and enormous even in this world—the thirty-years war was on its way.
Hibbert, C. (1993). Cavaliers and roundheads: The English Civil War, 1642-1649. N.Y.: Scribner’s.
Thousands of deaths and enormous destruction was visited upon the British Isles by the civil war that ended with Cromwell’s ascendancy and the Execution of King Charles the First. It all began with what appeared to be political arguments over taxation (the Ship Money Bill) among participants who shared a belief in England’s ancient liberties, a hierarchical social structure, and the role of the King. But the traditional social order soon unravelled and religious extremists (Puritans and Catholics) were at each other’s throats. In the process of winning the war, Cromwell’s New Model Army became increasingly radicalized under the influence of the Levellers, as documented first in the Putney Debates and later in the Remonstrance of the Army (directed at Parliament’s mistreatment of it).
After Cromwell’s death, the monarchy was restored under Charles the Second, leading many to wonder what all the fighting had been about. I recall the following lines from somewhere (maybe about this war): ‘And what was the upshot of it all?’ quoth little Peterkin. ‘Why that I cannot tell said he, But twas a famous victory.’
Thousands of deaths and enormous destruction was visited upon the British Isles by the civil war that ended with Cromwell’s ascendancy and the Execution of King Charles the First. It all began with what appeared to be political arguments over taxation (the Ship Money Bill) among participants who shared a belief in England’s ancient liberties, a hierarchical social structure, and the role of the King. But the traditional social order soon unravelled and religious extremists (Puritans and Catholics) were at each other’s throats. In the process of winning the war, Cromwell’s New Model Army became increasingly radicalized under the influence of the Levellers, as documented first in the Putney Debates and later in the Remonstrance of the Army (directed at Parliament’s mistreatment of it).
After Cromwell’s death, the monarchy was restored under Charles the Second, leading many to wonder what all the fighting had been about. I recall the following lines from somewhere (maybe about this war): ‘And what was the upshot of it all?’ quoth little Peterkin. ‘Why that I cannot tell said he, But twas a famous victory.’
Horan, J.D. (1997). Desperate men: The James Gang and the Wild Bunch. (Rev. Ed.). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
This is a reprint of a book originally published in 1949. Horan was the first author to have access to the Pinkerton archives. These archives proved a rich source of material and Horan’s conclusions have fared well according to later scholarship. The book is well written and moves quickly.
The author is neither credulous nor romantically inclined and his portrayal of Jesse James as a genuinely “bad guy” is credible. Much of what was written about the James gang was either propaganda or sensationalized material designed to sell newspapers and books.
The Wild Bunch was certainly that. They managed to spend their money on prostitutes and drinking amazingly quickly. Like good desperadoes, they died young.
This is a reprint of a book originally published in 1949. Horan was the first author to have access to the Pinkerton archives. These archives proved a rich source of material and Horan’s conclusions have fared well according to later scholarship. The book is well written and moves quickly.
The author is neither credulous nor romantically inclined and his portrayal of Jesse James as a genuinely “bad guy” is credible. Much of what was written about the James gang was either propaganda or sensationalized material designed to sell newspapers and books.
The Wild Bunch was certainly that. They managed to spend their money on prostitutes and drinking amazingly quickly. Like good desperadoes, they died young.
Hughes, R. (1993). Culture of complaint: The fraying of America. N.Y.: Oxford University Press.
This book presents what has become the standard criticisms of muli-culturalism and related excesses. The book is based on some lectures and magazine articles written earlier by Hughes (an Australian expatriate). Probably the lectures and articles were very good but there is not enough material here to sustain a book length treatment. I’d give it a miss.
This book presents what has become the standard criticisms of muli-culturalism and related excesses. The book is based on some lectures and magazine articles written earlier by Hughes (an Australian expatriate). Probably the lectures and articles were very good but there is not enough material here to sustain a book length treatment. I’d give it a miss.
Isaacson, W. (2003). Benjamin Franklin: An American life. Toronto: Simon and Schuster.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) had an amazing life. He knew everybody and seemed to be involved in everything. A journalist by trade, he was a great joiner and originator of clubs and voluntary associations, some of which, like lending libraries, survive today. He was a tinkerer and inventor (of, for example, the Franklin Stove and the lightning rod) and a more important scientist than I had imagined. His work on electricity was fundamental—he, for example, was the first to recognize the polarity of electricity. Franklin played an important diplomatic role in the American Revolution, although it appeared that he really preferred to live in England.
This book also describes his personal life. Franklin had trouble getting on with his son (leading to some dramatic moments at the end of the revolution), lived apart from his wife for much of their marriage, and exhibited socially successful, although over-the-top, flirtatiousness throughout his long life.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) had an amazing life. He knew everybody and seemed to be involved in everything. A journalist by trade, he was a great joiner and originator of clubs and voluntary associations, some of which, like lending libraries, survive today. He was a tinkerer and inventor (of, for example, the Franklin Stove and the lightning rod) and a more important scientist than I had imagined. His work on electricity was fundamental—he, for example, was the first to recognize the polarity of electricity. Franklin played an important diplomatic role in the American Revolution, although it appeared that he really preferred to live in England.
This book also describes his personal life. Franklin had trouble getting on with his son (leading to some dramatic moments at the end of the revolution), lived apart from his wife for much of their marriage, and exhibited socially successful, although over-the-top, flirtatiousness throughout his long life.
Isaacson, W. (2017). Leonardo Da Vinci. Toronto: Simon & Schuster.
An interesting, albeit annoying, biography of Leonardo (1452-1519). The good part is that one learns a lot about Leonardo—he was handsome, popular, and gay. His relentless curiosity led to very many intellectual accomplishments—he was the quintessential renaissance intellectual—but his relentless curiosity edged into obsession. He used an empirical approach to intellectual problems involving both observation and experiment, making discoveries that wouldn’t become general knowledge for centuries—for example, he discovered how the aortic valve worked; physiology didn’t catch up until the nineteen-sixties. Unfortunately, he had a habit of not finishing things: he never published his voluminous notebooks that detailed his discoveries and failed to complete many of his paintings, he was still fussing with the Mona Lisa when he died. It’s a small miracle that so much of his work survived.
The author is not a specialist in Leonardo or Renaissance Italy, although he talked to the leading Leonardo scholars—this is largely an “as told to” sort of book. Unfortunately, and this the annoying part, the book is pitched at a high school level with lots of repetition, belabouring of the obvious, and moralizing. Although the author mightily attempts to illuminate the phenomenon of genius through this biography, his attempt is amateurish. The book, for example, makes no reference to the large and informative scientific literature on genius.
Jenish, D. (1999). Indian fall: The last great days of the Plains Cree and the Blackfoot Confederacy. Toronto: Penguin.
Interesting reading. It must have been an exciting and rewarding life for the young hunters and warriors of the plains. Their heroic ethos resembles that of many other peoples. In the mid-nineteenth century, Blackfoot boys, such as the future chief, Bear Ghost, were encouraged to become brave warriors. "'If you want to be somebody,' they would tell the boy, 'you must be brave and unflinching in war. You must not think it is a good thing to grow old. The old people have a hard time. They are given the worst side of the lodge. They are sometimes neglected. They suffer when the camp moves. Their sight is dim, so they cannot see far. Their teeth are gone, so they cannot chew their food. Only misery and discomfort await the old. It is much better, while you are young and strong, while your body is in its prime, while your sight is clear, your teeth are sound and your hair is long and black, to die in battle, fighting bravely.'" (p, 72).
As elsewhere, everybody lived surrounded by inconstant allies and hereditary enemies. Revenge was a way of life. Nevertheless, the pacification of the Blackfoot and Cree was an awful lot worse for them, not to mention more boring.
Interesting reading. It must have been an exciting and rewarding life for the young hunters and warriors of the plains. Their heroic ethos resembles that of many other peoples. In the mid-nineteenth century, Blackfoot boys, such as the future chief, Bear Ghost, were encouraged to become brave warriors. "'If you want to be somebody,' they would tell the boy, 'you must be brave and unflinching in war. You must not think it is a good thing to grow old. The old people have a hard time. They are given the worst side of the lodge. They are sometimes neglected. They suffer when the camp moves. Their sight is dim, so they cannot see far. Their teeth are gone, so they cannot chew their food. Only misery and discomfort await the old. It is much better, while you are young and strong, while your body is in its prime, while your sight is clear, your teeth are sound and your hair is long and black, to die in battle, fighting bravely.'" (p, 72).
As elsewhere, everybody lived surrounded by inconstant allies and hereditary enemies. Revenge was a way of life. Nevertheless, the pacification of the Blackfoot and Cree was an awful lot worse for them, not to mention more boring.
Jennings, P.S. (Ed.). (1983). Medieval legends, NY: J.K.&T.
There are 20 legends presented in the book. Some, like The Song of Roland, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Death of Arthur, are famous, while the remainder are obscure. Many of the tales are cautionary, some poke fun at hypocritical clerics, and others deal with valour and chivalry. The proportion of tales that treat adultery, however, is remarkable. Love comes instantly on sight and unrequited love makes one ill to the point of death. All this is completely involuntary.
These stories provide some insights into the concerns of the age, particularly sexual conflict. In all a good read. There are also some very good illustrations.
There are 20 legends presented in the book. Some, like The Song of Roland, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Death of Arthur, are famous, while the remainder are obscure. Many of the tales are cautionary, some poke fun at hypocritical clerics, and others deal with valour and chivalry. The proportion of tales that treat adultery, however, is remarkable. Love comes instantly on sight and unrequited love makes one ill to the point of death. All this is completely involuntary.
These stories provide some insights into the concerns of the age, particularly sexual conflict. In all a good read. There are also some very good illustrations.
Kagan, F.W. (2006). The end of the old order: Napoleon and Europe: 1801-1805. Cambridge, MA.: Perseus.
This book concerns the links between diplomacy, military strategy, and battlefield tactics in producing the outcome of the middle series of Napoleonic wars. There is a great deal of detail in this book (there are more volumes coming) but it is on the whole interesting. Many of the diplomatic themes appear in subsequent European wars—Realpolitik, historical sentimentality, bungling, and nationalism . Interestingly, a longing for the restoration of Poland among some members of the Russian court plays a small part in this series of debacles. The principal problem among the allies (England, Austria, and Russia) was that they could not effectively coordinate their armies (there was a gross underestimation of the logistical difficulties) and they faced a united foe (Napoleon). Prussia ended up mobilizing but too late to get involved in the fighting. Napoleon was superb in the military and diplomatic game but also lucky. Too bad he never thought about the long-term consequences of his (temporary) domination of Europe.
I think it must be my declining orientation abilities (doubtless induced by vanishing testosterone) that caused me to find the many maps of troop movements very hard to follow.
In the end, the dominant impression is of vast numbers of more or less innocent men being killed for no particularly compelling reason.
This book concerns the links between diplomacy, military strategy, and battlefield tactics in producing the outcome of the middle series of Napoleonic wars. There is a great deal of detail in this book (there are more volumes coming) but it is on the whole interesting. Many of the diplomatic themes appear in subsequent European wars—Realpolitik, historical sentimentality, bungling, and nationalism . Interestingly, a longing for the restoration of Poland among some members of the Russian court plays a small part in this series of debacles. The principal problem among the allies (England, Austria, and Russia) was that they could not effectively coordinate their armies (there was a gross underestimation of the logistical difficulties) and they faced a united foe (Napoleon). Prussia ended up mobilizing but too late to get involved in the fighting. Napoleon was superb in the military and diplomatic game but also lucky. Too bad he never thought about the long-term consequences of his (temporary) domination of Europe.
I think it must be my declining orientation abilities (doubtless induced by vanishing testosterone) that caused me to find the many maps of troop movements very hard to follow.
In the end, the dominant impression is of vast numbers of more or less innocent men being killed for no particularly compelling reason.
Kay, D. (1992). Shakespeare: His life, work, and era. N.Y.: Morrow.
An ambitious attempt at a biography of Shakespeare and an interpretation of his plays in the context of his life and times. Ultimately, the author is stymied and the reader frustrated because so little is known for sure about Shakespeare, particularly his formative years and his early career as a playwright. We know a great deal more about his later life and his business career. Despite its limitations, the book is worth a read, particularly if one wants to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays a little better.
An ambitious attempt at a biography of Shakespeare and an interpretation of his plays in the context of his life and times. Ultimately, the author is stymied and the reader frustrated because so little is known for sure about Shakespeare, particularly his formative years and his early career as a playwright. We know a great deal more about his later life and his business career. Despite its limitations, the book is worth a read, particularly if one wants to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays a little better.
Kelly, J. (2004). Gunpowder: Alchemy, bombards, and pyrotechnics: The history of the explosive that changed the world. NY: Basic.
This is a very good piece of popular history writing. It’s a page turner without extraneous detail but with lots of little known and interesting pieces of information. It starts with an intelligible explanation of how gunpowder works and how it was made (very, very carefully). Gunpowder underwent a slow evolution to make it more reliable, although it was never safe to manufacture. The process was perfected by the Dupont Company before further technological developments confined its use to firecrackers. In all, a fascinating story in which gunpowder is shown to have had an important influence on the course of history. One interesting observation relates to the almost unbelievable inaccuracy of early firearms and the slow adoption of more accurate ones. They could have dropped the “aim” from “ready, aim, fire!”
This is a very good piece of popular history writing. It’s a page turner without extraneous detail but with lots of little known and interesting pieces of information. It starts with an intelligible explanation of how gunpowder works and how it was made (very, very carefully). Gunpowder underwent a slow evolution to make it more reliable, although it was never safe to manufacture. The process was perfected by the Dupont Company before further technological developments confined its use to firecrackers. In all, a fascinating story in which gunpowder is shown to have had an important influence on the course of history. One interesting observation relates to the almost unbelievable inaccuracy of early firearms and the slow adoption of more accurate ones. They could have dropped the “aim” from “ready, aim, fire!”
Kelly, J. (2005). The great mortality: An intimate history of the black death, the most devastating plague of all time. NY: HarperCollins.
This book recounts the story of the black death and is moderately interesting, although sometimes pointlessly repetitious. Histories of the plague constitute very well worn ground and very little in the way of new material is presented. OK if you haven’t read previous histories of the plague.
This book recounts the story of the black death and is moderately interesting, although sometimes pointlessly repetitious. Histories of the plague constitute very well worn ground and very little in the way of new material is presented. OK if you haven’t read previous histories of the plague.
King, D. (2008). Vienna 1814: How the conquerors of Napoleon made love, war, and peace at the Congress of Vienna. NY: Harmony.
A great read! The congress goers (who never formally met to discuss issues as a congress) seemed much more sophisticated about love, life, and politics than the dour and self-righteous politicians that gathered in Paris a hundred and four years later to once again decide Europe’s fate.
All the nineteenth century glitterati were there: for example, Metternich, Castlereagh, Talleyrand, Tsar Alexander, Beethoven, Jacob Grimm (of fairy tale fame), the Duke of Wellington, assorted kings and aristocrats, and the beauties—Princess Bagration (“the beautiful naked angel”), her arch rival, the glamorous Duchess of Sagan, and the beautiful younger sister of the duchess, Dorothée, who served as hostess of the French Embassy.
The fun ended when Napoleon made his triumphant return to Paris from Elba. Very awkward indeed for Talleyrand, the brilliant emissary of the deposed king of France.
A great read! The congress goers (who never formally met to discuss issues as a congress) seemed much more sophisticated about love, life, and politics than the dour and self-righteous politicians that gathered in Paris a hundred and four years later to once again decide Europe’s fate.
All the nineteenth century glitterati were there: for example, Metternich, Castlereagh, Talleyrand, Tsar Alexander, Beethoven, Jacob Grimm (of fairy tale fame), the Duke of Wellington, assorted kings and aristocrats, and the beauties—Princess Bagration (“the beautiful naked angel”), her arch rival, the glamorous Duchess of Sagan, and the beautiful younger sister of the duchess, Dorothée, who served as hostess of the French Embassy.
The fun ended when Napoleon made his triumphant return to Paris from Elba. Very awkward indeed for Talleyrand, the brilliant emissary of the deposed king of France.
Lacey, R. (2004). Great tales from English history. NY: Little, Brown.
This small book uses contemporary historical knowledge to relate what appears to have actually happened in a number of oft-described incidents in English history. Included are Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Newton, and so forth. There is no theme here but it’s kind of interesting for the most part. Light reading—it’s pitched at about a high school level.
This small book uses contemporary historical knowledge to relate what appears to have actually happened in a number of oft-described incidents in English history. Included are Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Newton, and so forth. There is no theme here but it’s kind of interesting for the most part. Light reading—it’s pitched at about a high school level.
Lawday, D. (2009). The giant of the French Revolution: Danton, a life. NY: Grove Press.
Danton was a bearish, homely man from the country. He loved to eat and drink with friends and was the opposite in temperament and appearance from the priggish Robespierre. When accused of conspiracy at his “trial”, Danton replied incredulously, “A conspirator? Why I bed my wife every night”.
Danton, although a lawyer in royal employ, was the favourite of the Parisian radical working class. He had a popular following greater than that of the murderous Marat and one that Robespierre could never attain. Danton was a fabulous orator (despite being dyslexic) and became the most powerful figure in the National Assembly. He sat with the radical Mountain faction on the left side of the assembly, although he was not a member of that group. Danton often got carried away with his own rhetoric, sometimes saying things like advocating violence, which he later regretted.
Robespierre’s tragic outmaneuvering of Danton is well known but splendidly recounted in this book. Danton said to the weary executioner as he was placed in the guillotine, “Show the people my head, it’s worth it”. He was 34
Danton was a bearish, homely man from the country. He loved to eat and drink with friends and was the opposite in temperament and appearance from the priggish Robespierre. When accused of conspiracy at his “trial”, Danton replied incredulously, “A conspirator? Why I bed my wife every night”.
Danton, although a lawyer in royal employ, was the favourite of the Parisian radical working class. He had a popular following greater than that of the murderous Marat and one that Robespierre could never attain. Danton was a fabulous orator (despite being dyslexic) and became the most powerful figure in the National Assembly. He sat with the radical Mountain faction on the left side of the assembly, although he was not a member of that group. Danton often got carried away with his own rhetoric, sometimes saying things like advocating violence, which he later regretted.
Robespierre’s tragic outmaneuvering of Danton is well known but splendidly recounted in this book. Danton said to the weary executioner as he was placed in the guillotine, “Show the people my head, it’s worth it”. He was 34
Lindahl, C., McNamara, J., & Lindow, J. (Eds.). (2002). Medieval folklore: A guide to myths, legends, tales, beliefs, and customs. Oxford University Press.
The fact that I read this book from cover to cover is proof positive that I don’t have a life. However, even though it is an encyclopedia, it is more interesting than reading the phone book. There are some interesting narratives and observations here—the medieval folk were much more scatological than I was aware—simply the nicknames are revealing, having to do with the size, cleanliness, and use of one’s genitals for example. There’s a fair bit of humour in many of the stories as well as the nicknames. For example, the East Anglian Godlef Crepunder Hwitel (Godlef Creep-Under-the-Blanket), a Monty Pythonesque sobriquet if I’ve ever heard one.
There is much effort expended in trying to identify the origin and evolution of the many overlapping folktales. Most of this effort is futile because evolution usually can’t be distinguished from reinvention or borrowing from another tradition or copying from a classical written source. The problem is everybody talked to everybody.
The fact that I read this book from cover to cover is proof positive that I don’t have a life. However, even though it is an encyclopedia, it is more interesting than reading the phone book. There are some interesting narratives and observations here—the medieval folk were much more scatological than I was aware—simply the nicknames are revealing, having to do with the size, cleanliness, and use of one’s genitals for example. There’s a fair bit of humour in many of the stories as well as the nicknames. For example, the East Anglian Godlef Crepunder Hwitel (Godlef Creep-Under-the-Blanket), a Monty Pythonesque sobriquet if I’ve ever heard one.
There is much effort expended in trying to identify the origin and evolution of the many overlapping folktales. Most of this effort is futile because evolution usually can’t be distinguished from reinvention or borrowing from another tradition or copying from a classical written source. The problem is everybody talked to everybody.
Lovejoy, A.O. (1936). The great chain of being: A study of the history of an idea. NY: Harper & Row.
This is one of the great classics of intellectual history. I first read it 40 years ago when I had just received my undergraduate degree. It was a bit more tedious in spots than I remember it being (there’s more detail than necessary, I think, or maybe I’m just getting tired). It remains, however, a tour de force. The use of certain intellectual ideas or building blocks that originated in Plato’s writings is traced in philosophical and religious thought through the ages. The amazing thing is that the major idea (an infinite hierarchy of worth stretching from inanimate things to God’s omnipotence and perfection) and the attendant ideas (e.g., the principle of plenitude which asserts that all gradations must exist) held such great appeal across the ages despite the fact that the ideas are inherently self-contradictory. I think I was more impressed this time with the extent of the confused thinking at the core of European philosophical thinking that Lovejoy tries to get us to appreciate than I was the first time round.
This is one of the great classics of intellectual history. I first read it 40 years ago when I had just received my undergraduate degree. It was a bit more tedious in spots than I remember it being (there’s more detail than necessary, I think, or maybe I’m just getting tired). It remains, however, a tour de force. The use of certain intellectual ideas or building blocks that originated in Plato’s writings is traced in philosophical and religious thought through the ages. The amazing thing is that the major idea (an infinite hierarchy of worth stretching from inanimate things to God’s omnipotence and perfection) and the attendant ideas (e.g., the principle of plenitude which asserts that all gradations must exist) held such great appeal across the ages despite the fact that the ideas are inherently self-contradictory. I think I was more impressed this time with the extent of the confused thinking at the core of European philosophical thinking that Lovejoy tries to get us to appreciate than I was the first time round.
Marks, K. (2009). Lost paradise: From mutiny on the Bounty to a modern-day legacy of sexual mayhem, the dark secrets of Pitcairn Island revealed. NY: Free Press.
After the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, nine of the mutineers kidnapped twelve Polynesian women, six men, and one baby, and found their way to Pitcairn Island, literally in the middle of nowhere. Each of the mutineers took a wife and left three women for the Polynesian men to share. Over the first decades, the men murdered each other, one committed suicide, and one died of asthma. By 1800, only one man, John Adams, survived, with all the women.
Most of what people know about Pitcairn and the mutiny is derived from highly romanticized Hollywood movies that glorified the mutineers. The reality of the mutiny and subsequent life on Pitcairn was quite different. This different reality came to light when some contemporary women complained that they were repeatedly raped in childhood. The ensuing judicial and internet brouhaha went on for years. The Pitcairners closed ranks and many of the women recanted. This long story reveals a lot about post-colonial sensibilities, strongly biased interventions designed to save Pitcairn “culture”, and the types of exculpatory stories people in trouble invent.
Even more interesting, however, are the implications the history of the Island suggests. Basically, all of the girls on the island were fair game and were “broken in” way before puberty. Surprisingly, fathers did not protect their daughters (leading one to wonder about the degree of paternity certainty). Men of poor prospects sexually assaulted the younger girls, while men of better prospects monopolized the older girls and women. Not uncommonly, repeated rape led to longer-term liaisons. This Darwinian reproductive soap opera invites us to consider what life among our isolated bands of ancestors may have been like. Could it be that the sexual psychologies of contemporary men and women were forged under such circumstances?
After the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, nine of the mutineers kidnapped twelve Polynesian women, six men, and one baby, and found their way to Pitcairn Island, literally in the middle of nowhere. Each of the mutineers took a wife and left three women for the Polynesian men to share. Over the first decades, the men murdered each other, one committed suicide, and one died of asthma. By 1800, only one man, John Adams, survived, with all the women.
Most of what people know about Pitcairn and the mutiny is derived from highly romanticized Hollywood movies that glorified the mutineers. The reality of the mutiny and subsequent life on Pitcairn was quite different. This different reality came to light when some contemporary women complained that they were repeatedly raped in childhood. The ensuing judicial and internet brouhaha went on for years. The Pitcairners closed ranks and many of the women recanted. This long story reveals a lot about post-colonial sensibilities, strongly biased interventions designed to save Pitcairn “culture”, and the types of exculpatory stories people in trouble invent.
Even more interesting, however, are the implications the history of the Island suggests. Basically, all of the girls on the island were fair game and were “broken in” way before puberty. Surprisingly, fathers did not protect their daughters (leading one to wonder about the degree of paternity certainty). Men of poor prospects sexually assaulted the younger girls, while men of better prospects monopolized the older girls and women. Not uncommonly, repeated rape led to longer-term liaisons. This Darwinian reproductive soap opera invites us to consider what life among our isolated bands of ancestors may have been like. Could it be that the sexual psychologies of contemporary men and women were forged under such circumstances?
Maddocks, F. (2001). Hildegard of Bingen: The woman of her age. London: Headline.
Hildegaard, a twelfth century German abbess, entered a nunnery as a young girl where she lived for the remainder of her life. She became influential as a saintly mystic through her letters and books. Her book Scivias was dictated to her faithful amanuensis, Volmar, and contains descriptions of her strange waking visions. Some think she suffered from migraines of which the visions were auras. Her correspondence reveals a disputatious and opinionated theologian. Although we have letters and books that Hildegard wrote, there is a great deal more we would like to know about her. Despite the lacunae in her history, this book provides an interesting glimpse into a very foreign time and an indication that the social lives of these people were very similar to our own.
Hildegaard, a twelfth century German abbess, entered a nunnery as a young girl where she lived for the remainder of her life. She became influential as a saintly mystic through her letters and books. Her book Scivias was dictated to her faithful amanuensis, Volmar, and contains descriptions of her strange waking visions. Some think she suffered from migraines of which the visions were auras. Her correspondence reveals a disputatious and opinionated theologian. Although we have letters and books that Hildegard wrote, there is a great deal more we would like to know about her. Despite the lacunae in her history, this book provides an interesting glimpse into a very foreign time and an indication that the social lives of these people were very similar to our own.
Martines, L. (2013). Furies: War in Europe 1450-1700. NY: Bloomsbury Press.
This is a view of Renaissance warfare from the point of view of the common people. It is meticulously researched and thoroughly depressing.
To get a sense of what warfare in this period was like, imagine the civil war in Syria but much, much larger in area so that refugees have nowhere to flee to, lasting not years but decades, and involving armies in the tens of thousands. Each army had an equal-sized horde of camp followers accompanying them—prostitutes, wives, receivers of stolen goods (booty), provisioners, and so forth. And then there were the poor horses, starving and being worked to death. Horses, however, were absolutely necessary for the cavalry to scour the surrounding countryside for food, firewood, valuables, and fodder to steal. They were also the first thing to be eaten when conventional food ran out. Think about what it would be like for 60,000 or so people to suddenly move into a small agricultural area—how could they be fed, how could they get enough drinkable water?
Warfare on this scale couldn’t possibly be funded by the nascent nation states so when their credit ran out the rulers simply didn’t pay their soldiers. The soldiers lived off the land, billeted on their own people or on their enemies. They were like evil-tempered giant locusts—evil-tempered because they had often been pressed (forced) into service and were frequently starving and dying of typhus or whatever illness was going around. So the pitiable soldiers robbed, killed, and raped the even more pitiful peasantry. Typically, when absolutely everything had been taken, villages and towns were burned to the ground. It was even worse in urban areas subjected to siege.
All of this was associated with a giant black market in stolen goods, the selling of government offices and services to fabulously wealthy bankers, and massive bribes offered by cities and villages to generals in order to avoid being sacked. All in the service of religious purity and dynastic imperative. As Mr. Prufrock remarked: “I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker”.
This is a view of Renaissance warfare from the point of view of the common people. It is meticulously researched and thoroughly depressing.
To get a sense of what warfare in this period was like, imagine the civil war in Syria but much, much larger in area so that refugees have nowhere to flee to, lasting not years but decades, and involving armies in the tens of thousands. Each army had an equal-sized horde of camp followers accompanying them—prostitutes, wives, receivers of stolen goods (booty), provisioners, and so forth. And then there were the poor horses, starving and being worked to death. Horses, however, were absolutely necessary for the cavalry to scour the surrounding countryside for food, firewood, valuables, and fodder to steal. They were also the first thing to be eaten when conventional food ran out. Think about what it would be like for 60,000 or so people to suddenly move into a small agricultural area—how could they be fed, how could they get enough drinkable water?
Warfare on this scale couldn’t possibly be funded by the nascent nation states so when their credit ran out the rulers simply didn’t pay their soldiers. The soldiers lived off the land, billeted on their own people or on their enemies. They were like evil-tempered giant locusts—evil-tempered because they had often been pressed (forced) into service and were frequently starving and dying of typhus or whatever illness was going around. So the pitiable soldiers robbed, killed, and raped the even more pitiful peasantry. Typically, when absolutely everything had been taken, villages and towns were burned to the ground. It was even worse in urban areas subjected to siege.
All of this was associated with a giant black market in stolen goods, the selling of government offices and services to fabulously wealthy bankers, and massive bribes offered by cities and villages to generals in order to avoid being sacked. All in the service of religious purity and dynastic imperative. As Mr. Prufrock remarked: “I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker”.
Matossian, M.K. (1989). Poisons of the past: Molds, epidemics, and history. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Not a scintillating page-turner but fascinating nonetheless.
After a cold winter and wet summer, rye is prey to a fungus, a mycotoxin of the genus Claviceps. The fungus can cause ergotism in either a convulsive or gangrenous form. The fungus contains a chemical similar to LSD and produces hallucinations of burning in fire or ants crawling under the skin, convulsions involving strange writhing of the limbs as well as other symptoms. Fungal poisons interfere with reproduction through spontaneous abortion, sterility, and the death of young infants (because the fungal poisons are transmitted through breast milk). Cooking does not destroy the poison and pink discolouration of bread sometimes betrays its presence. Young people are differentially affected because they eat more than adults relative to their body weight; in early modern Europe, richer people were less affected because they ate white bread. Farm animals fed ergoty rye frequently die.
These are not small potatoes (potatoes when they go bad are simply not eaten (I joked lamely)), for example, over 80% of variations in the age-corrected death rate in various rye-growing areas of Russia in 1898 are accounted for by a couple of average monthly temperatures. January temperature alone accounted for 66 percent. Eighty-six percent of the variance in infant mortality was predicted by the model, as was78 percent of variance in crude birth rate. Even though these are aggregate data, the correlations are very high.
In medieval times affected people reported being cured after journeying to monasteries and religious sites. And it’s certain they were because the monks fed them better quality grain.
In early modern Europe, the incidence of witchcraft prosecutions mimicked the distribution of ergotism. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that ergotism was related to the Salem witchcraft trials in New England as well (cf. Featherly, 2010; Rutter, 2003).
References
Featherly, J. (2010). Black devil called ergot. http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/id/111852/Featherly/;jsessionid= 16014A3F2E85F932E6835B4B86D84297. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Rutter, G. (2003). Witches, madness and a little black fungus. Field Mycology, 4, 44-48.
Not a scintillating page-turner but fascinating nonetheless.
After a cold winter and wet summer, rye is prey to a fungus, a mycotoxin of the genus Claviceps. The fungus can cause ergotism in either a convulsive or gangrenous form. The fungus contains a chemical similar to LSD and produces hallucinations of burning in fire or ants crawling under the skin, convulsions involving strange writhing of the limbs as well as other symptoms. Fungal poisons interfere with reproduction through spontaneous abortion, sterility, and the death of young infants (because the fungal poisons are transmitted through breast milk). Cooking does not destroy the poison and pink discolouration of bread sometimes betrays its presence. Young people are differentially affected because they eat more than adults relative to their body weight; in early modern Europe, richer people were less affected because they ate white bread. Farm animals fed ergoty rye frequently die.
These are not small potatoes (potatoes when they go bad are simply not eaten (I joked lamely)), for example, over 80% of variations in the age-corrected death rate in various rye-growing areas of Russia in 1898 are accounted for by a couple of average monthly temperatures. January temperature alone accounted for 66 percent. Eighty-six percent of the variance in infant mortality was predicted by the model, as was78 percent of variance in crude birth rate. Even though these are aggregate data, the correlations are very high.
In medieval times affected people reported being cured after journeying to monasteries and religious sites. And it’s certain they were because the monks fed them better quality grain.
In early modern Europe, the incidence of witchcraft prosecutions mimicked the distribution of ergotism. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that ergotism was related to the Salem witchcraft trials in New England as well (cf. Featherly, 2010; Rutter, 2003).
References
Featherly, J. (2010). Black devil called ergot. http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/id/111852/Featherly/;jsessionid= 16014A3F2E85F932E6835B4B86D84297. Accessed July 20, 2015.
Rutter, G. (2003). Witches, madness and a little black fungus. Field Mycology, 4, 44-48.
McEwan, G.F. (2006). The Incas: New perspectives. NY: Norton.
This is a straightforward didactic book. Interesting, even though the perspectives were not as new as I had expected. Steady, if unspectacular progress has been made on the origin of the Incas but more archeological work still needs to be done than I had realized.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Inca state is that it evolved quite independently of states elsewhere in the world, had no real writing (apart from a knotted string reckoning system), no wheels, and no good draft animals but, it nevertheless greatly resembled other early civilizations. We can recognize all of their institutions.
The Inca Empire expanded out of inadvertent economic necessity. The Inca had personal estates and a great deal of wealth. When the Inca died (often because of assassination), his cult kept the wealth and his impoverished successor would have to conquer neighbouring states to acquire more. The phenomenally lucky and cruel Spanish bandits arrived at the end of a civil war and decimation by European diseases.
The most attractive girls were selected to live in nunnery type places—this was a real honour. The crème de la crème were given to the Inca and the remainder to Inca officials (the number and the attractiveness of the girls in proportion to rank).
This is a straightforward didactic book. Interesting, even though the perspectives were not as new as I had expected. Steady, if unspectacular progress has been made on the origin of the Incas but more archeological work still needs to be done than I had realized.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Inca state is that it evolved quite independently of states elsewhere in the world, had no real writing (apart from a knotted string reckoning system), no wheels, and no good draft animals but, it nevertheless greatly resembled other early civilizations. We can recognize all of their institutions.
The Inca Empire expanded out of inadvertent economic necessity. The Inca had personal estates and a great deal of wealth. When the Inca died (often because of assassination), his cult kept the wealth and his impoverished successor would have to conquer neighbouring states to acquire more. The phenomenally lucky and cruel Spanish bandits arrived at the end of a civil war and decimation by European diseases.
The most attractive girls were selected to live in nunnery type places—this was a real honour. The crème de la crème were given to the Inca and the remainder to Inca officials (the number and the attractiveness of the girls in proportion to rank).
McLaren, A. (2002). Sexual blackmail: A modern history. Harvard University Press.
Attempts to legislate morality by criminalizing various sexual behaviours serve chiefly to support blackmailing as a cottage industry. Depending on the time and place, English and American blackmailers focused on alienation of affection, bigamy, adultery, abortion, and homosexuality. It is noteworthy how frequently police and lawyers were blackmailers themselves.
There’s an interesting section on how homosexuals came to be viewed as security risks during the McCarthy era. It was argued without evidence that their vulnerability to blackmail made them ‘unreliable.” The irony of the closeted J. Edgar Hoover’s focus on gays is duly noted. The book as a whole, however, fails to sustain interest. One problem is that there isn’t much in the way of theory or analysis and what there is, is presented repetitively. A bigger problem is that most of the book is simply a catalogue of cases.
McMillan, A.D. & Yellowhorn, E. (2013). First peoples in Canada. 3rd ed. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre.
Written in the style of a social science/history introductory university textbook, McMillan and Yellowhorn sacrifice reader interest for completeness and intermittent political correctness. Nevertheless, the book successfully shows that steady progress is being made in unearthing the past of Canada’s first peoples and in documenting their recent history.
Two things surprised me. First, the geographical mobility of the post-contact tribes; the present location of many tribes is very far removed from where they were when Europeans first arrived. Tribes that were the first to acquire guns displaced their neighbours, some moved westward with the fur trade, some moved into areas where the original inhabitants had been extirpated by disease, and some were forcibly displaced by European settlers. Second, I had not appreciated just how close to the knife edge aboriginals in the arctic lived. People were very poor and often starving in large areas of the central arctic; some had lost significant parts of the material culture of their ancestors before European contact.
Attempts to legislate morality by criminalizing various sexual behaviours serve chiefly to support blackmailing as a cottage industry. Depending on the time and place, English and American blackmailers focused on alienation of affection, bigamy, adultery, abortion, and homosexuality. It is noteworthy how frequently police and lawyers were blackmailers themselves.
There’s an interesting section on how homosexuals came to be viewed as security risks during the McCarthy era. It was argued without evidence that their vulnerability to blackmail made them ‘unreliable.” The irony of the closeted J. Edgar Hoover’s focus on gays is duly noted. The book as a whole, however, fails to sustain interest. One problem is that there isn’t much in the way of theory or analysis and what there is, is presented repetitively. A bigger problem is that most of the book is simply a catalogue of cases.
McMillan, A.D. & Yellowhorn, E. (2013). First peoples in Canada. 3rd ed. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre.
Written in the style of a social science/history introductory university textbook, McMillan and Yellowhorn sacrifice reader interest for completeness and intermittent political correctness. Nevertheless, the book successfully shows that steady progress is being made in unearthing the past of Canada’s first peoples and in documenting their recent history.
Two things surprised me. First, the geographical mobility of the post-contact tribes; the present location of many tribes is very far removed from where they were when Europeans first arrived. Tribes that were the first to acquire guns displaced their neighbours, some moved westward with the fur trade, some moved into areas where the original inhabitants had been extirpated by disease, and some were forcibly displaced by European settlers. Second, I had not appreciated just how close to the knife edge aboriginals in the arctic lived. People were very poor and often starving in large areas of the central arctic; some had lost significant parts of the material culture of their ancestors before European contact.
Menzies, G. (2004). 1421: The year China discovered America. NY: Harper Perennial.
A hoax. The author and publisher are ethical morons subtracting from the sum total of human knowledge. Check out <www.1421exposed.com>.
A hoax. The author and publisher are ethical morons subtracting from the sum total of human knowledge. Check out <www.1421exposed.com>.
Mersey, D. (2002). Legendary warriors: Great heroes in myth and reality. London: Brassey’s.
A good account of nine legendary warriors: Arthur, Dracula, Achilles, Beowulf, Robin Hood, Hiawatha, Roland, Cuchulain, and Wallace. For each warrior, Mersey starts with the best-known legends and moves to what we know about the history of the time the warrior lived (or is alleged to have lived) with an emphasis on contemporary military equipment and tactics. There is an interesting dissection of the accuracies and inaccuracies of the portrayal of Wallace in the movie Braveheart.
A good account of nine legendary warriors: Arthur, Dracula, Achilles, Beowulf, Robin Hood, Hiawatha, Roland, Cuchulain, and Wallace. For each warrior, Mersey starts with the best-known legends and moves to what we know about the history of the time the warrior lived (or is alleged to have lived) with an emphasis on contemporary military equipment and tactics. There is an interesting dissection of the accuracies and inaccuracies of the portrayal of Wallace in the movie Braveheart.
Moore, L. (1997). The thieves’ opera. NY: Harcourt.
This is an entertaining description of the 18th century London underworld, enlivened by a number of Hogarth’s engravings (for example, Gin Lane). These are great but a little small.
There was widespread poverty in London, leading to a high death rate and rampant crime. Everybody seemed on the take, especially in the prisons. The book deals with two principal criminals: Jack Sheppard, a robber and jail breaker, and Jonathon Wild, a more complex and sinister figure. Wild was London’s Thief –Taker General (there was no real police force). He would return people’s stolen property to them for a fee, having often had it stolen earlier. Wild would turn in thieves who operated outside his authority or who displeased him (the phrase "double cross" originated here). He controlled his associates through black mail because he could prove that they were guilty of capital offenses. In the end, both Sheppard and Wild were hung.
This is an entertaining description of the 18th century London underworld, enlivened by a number of Hogarth’s engravings (for example, Gin Lane). These are great but a little small.
There was widespread poverty in London, leading to a high death rate and rampant crime. Everybody seemed on the take, especially in the prisons. The book deals with two principal criminals: Jack Sheppard, a robber and jail breaker, and Jonathon Wild, a more complex and sinister figure. Wild was London’s Thief –Taker General (there was no real police force). He would return people’s stolen property to them for a fee, having often had it stolen earlier. Wild would turn in thieves who operated outside his authority or who displeased him (the phrase "double cross" originated here). He controlled his associates through black mail because he could prove that they were guilty of capital offenses. In the end, both Sheppard and Wild were hung.
Moorhouse, G. (2002). The Pilgrimage of Grace: The rebellion that shook Henry VIII’s throne. London: Phoenix.
Northern England half-heartedly rebelled, ultimately failing because of its own hesitations. Henry the VIII, in case you didn’t already know, was a thoroughly dislikable, relentlessly duplicitous guy. The pathetic truth is that the vast majority of the rebellious were loyal to the king, naively blaming his rapacious and often incompetent policies on the low-born ministers of the crown. The pilgrims wanted to set religious and economic things right by returning to the good old days. The rebellion was started by the commons but they forced various nobles to join them because they lacked credible leaders—these folks couldn’t escape their feudal psychology even in rebellion. The nobles that they coerced into joining had to make knife-edge calculations concerning whether they were more likely to be murdered in the short run or hung in the long run.
There's far too many names (like a Russian novel) and too much geographical detail in places for a general reader but it's worth persevering.
Northern England half-heartedly rebelled, ultimately failing because of its own hesitations. Henry the VIII, in case you didn’t already know, was a thoroughly dislikable, relentlessly duplicitous guy. The pathetic truth is that the vast majority of the rebellious were loyal to the king, naively blaming his rapacious and often incompetent policies on the low-born ministers of the crown. The pilgrims wanted to set religious and economic things right by returning to the good old days. The rebellion was started by the commons but they forced various nobles to join them because they lacked credible leaders—these folks couldn’t escape their feudal psychology even in rebellion. The nobles that they coerced into joining had to make knife-edge calculations concerning whether they were more likely to be murdered in the short run or hung in the long run.
There's far too many names (like a Russian novel) and too much geographical detail in places for a general reader but it's worth persevering.
Morrison, R. (2009). The English Opium Eater: A biography of Thomas de Quincey. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
I had to read this biography of my purported ancestor, De Quincey. De Quincey (1785-1859) was an English author who wrote for a variety of magazines—a kind of public intellectual. His most famous work was the “Confessions of an English Opium Eater”. And prodigiously eat opium throughout his life he did, in the form of laudanum mixed with alcohol. De Quincey developed an almost superhuman tolerance for both drugs despite his diminutive stature and, although the drugs made him sick and brought him bizarre dreams, seldom affected his lucidity.
De Quincey was born fairly wealthy and was extremely well read. His passion for book collecting rivaled his other addictions. He became a very early admirer of the Lake Poets, including Wordsworth and Coleridge (the latter also an opium addict). De Quincey introduced himself to the two poets and then moved to a cottage nearby Wordsworth’s.
Through a combination of generosity and the purchase of innumerable books and oceans of laudanum, De Quincey quickly impoverished himself. He spent the rest of his life borrowing from friends and associates, hiding from creditors, living in debtors’ prison, and causing his wife and children a lot of misery. All the while, he wrote because writing was his only source of income.
The book is long but pretty good.
I had to read this biography of my purported ancestor, De Quincey. De Quincey (1785-1859) was an English author who wrote for a variety of magazines—a kind of public intellectual. His most famous work was the “Confessions of an English Opium Eater”. And prodigiously eat opium throughout his life he did, in the form of laudanum mixed with alcohol. De Quincey developed an almost superhuman tolerance for both drugs despite his diminutive stature and, although the drugs made him sick and brought him bizarre dreams, seldom affected his lucidity.
De Quincey was born fairly wealthy and was extremely well read. His passion for book collecting rivaled his other addictions. He became a very early admirer of the Lake Poets, including Wordsworth and Coleridge (the latter also an opium addict). De Quincey introduced himself to the two poets and then moved to a cottage nearby Wordsworth’s.
Through a combination of generosity and the purchase of innumerable books and oceans of laudanum, De Quincey quickly impoverished himself. He spent the rest of his life borrowing from friends and associates, hiding from creditors, living in debtors’ prison, and causing his wife and children a lot of misery. All the while, he wrote because writing was his only source of income.
The book is long but pretty good.
Newman, W.R. (2004). Promethean ambitions: Alchemy and the quest to perfect nature. University of Chicago Press.
The author argues that modern worries over the relationship between technology and nature are anticipated by ancient and medieval debates about whether art can reproduce nature and whether alchemy resulted in real or only apparent changes in matter. Modern debates about the wisdom of cloning and my childhood neighbour’s worry that sending rockets into space risked “putting the light out” are continuations of historical arguments. Interesting enough intellectual history but this presentation is so pedantic and slow paced that I ended up skimming the last parts. Not recommended.
The author argues that modern worries over the relationship between technology and nature are anticipated by ancient and medieval debates about whether art can reproduce nature and whether alchemy resulted in real or only apparent changes in matter. Modern debates about the wisdom of cloning and my childhood neighbour’s worry that sending rockets into space risked “putting the light out” are continuations of historical arguments. Interesting enough intellectual history but this presentation is so pedantic and slow paced that I ended up skimming the last parts. Not recommended.
Nicolson, A. (2003). God’s secretaries: The making of the King James’ Bible. NY: HarperCollins.
Surprisingly little is known about the men who wrote the King James’ version of the Bible and much of what is known is fairly recent. Nicolson does a wonderful job of telling us about these men and their times. There are excellent portraits of the personalities of the principal figures, including King James himself, who was very much in charge of this giant project. Much of the book concerns the choice of language in the King James Bible—these choices were made with extraordinary care by a series of committees who with great effort usually succeeded in producing the clearest meaning with the most magnificent sounding phrases (this bible was meant to be read aloud). It’s marvelous to think of how many of the best phrases of English come from this Bible.
Highly recommended.
Surprisingly little is known about the men who wrote the King James’ version of the Bible and much of what is known is fairly recent. Nicolson does a wonderful job of telling us about these men and their times. There are excellent portraits of the personalities of the principal figures, including King James himself, who was very much in charge of this giant project. Much of the book concerns the choice of language in the King James Bible—these choices were made with extraordinary care by a series of committees who with great effort usually succeeded in producing the clearest meaning with the most magnificent sounding phrases (this bible was meant to be read aloud). It’s marvelous to think of how many of the best phrases of English come from this Bible.
Highly recommended.
Nicolson, A. (2008). Quarrel with the king: The story of an English family on the high road to civil war. NY: HarperCollins.
The Pembrokes were among the first families of England from the early 1500s to 1650. The fabulously wealthy earls of Pembroke created an Arcadia in one of the most beautiful areas of England—Wiltshire, adjacent to Salisbury. A remarkable wedding portrait painted by Van Dyck in 1635 is reproduced in the book and gives the flavour of the whole. “At the top left, the dead children of the family float on clouds. Below them, the three youngest brothers…look up to heaven. In the center.… the bride in white. Two steps above her, the boy she is marrying…and his younger brother… with whom she is in love. Holding center stage, Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and his wife, Lady Anne Clifford” [who looks desperately unhappy, as if she grieved for her dead children or was disaffected from her husband and family]. “On the right, the earl’s daughter… and her husband, the highly glamorous Cavalier Robert Dormer, Earl of Carnarvon. Life for the Pembrokes would never again seem as complete.”
The Pembrokes started out as arriviste Welsh bullies but soon entered the high aristocracy because they attracted the favour of successive monarchs. As the monarchy became more centralized, there was increasing pressure on manorial magnates to become royal bureaucrats. The Pembrokes resisted such change, they were reactionaries, committed to upholding the liberties and customs of England that had existed since time out of mind.
Excellent book. Very reflective. The author paints a vivid picture of the lives of the earls and farmers in the Elizabethan countryside (there’s a lot more to customary practices than one might imagine) and the intrigues at court.
The Pembrokes were among the first families of England from the early 1500s to 1650. The fabulously wealthy earls of Pembroke created an Arcadia in one of the most beautiful areas of England—Wiltshire, adjacent to Salisbury. A remarkable wedding portrait painted by Van Dyck in 1635 is reproduced in the book and gives the flavour of the whole. “At the top left, the dead children of the family float on clouds. Below them, the three youngest brothers…look up to heaven. In the center.… the bride in white. Two steps above her, the boy she is marrying…and his younger brother… with whom she is in love. Holding center stage, Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and his wife, Lady Anne Clifford” [who looks desperately unhappy, as if she grieved for her dead children or was disaffected from her husband and family]. “On the right, the earl’s daughter… and her husband, the highly glamorous Cavalier Robert Dormer, Earl of Carnarvon. Life for the Pembrokes would never again seem as complete.”
The Pembrokes started out as arriviste Welsh bullies but soon entered the high aristocracy because they attracted the favour of successive monarchs. As the monarchy became more centralized, there was increasing pressure on manorial magnates to become royal bureaucrats. The Pembrokes resisted such change, they were reactionaries, committed to upholding the liberties and customs of England that had existed since time out of mind.
Excellent book. Very reflective. The author paints a vivid picture of the lives of the earls and farmers in the Elizabethan countryside (there’s a lot more to customary practices than one might imagine) and the intrigues at court.
Norwich, J.J. (2011). Absolute monarchs: A history of the papacy. NY: Random House.
There have been about 266 popes. On average, they are sixty-five when elected and die at 78. Quite a few of them spent much of their pontificate being seriously ill. In part, this book can be viewed as empirical evidence for the proposition that important jobs shouldn’t be given to the aged.
A few popes stand out as exerting great influence: For example, inspiring crusades against Muslims or assorted heretics, increasing the influence of the Church in politics, and promoting mystic piety among the clergy and general populace. Others stand out because of their promotion of painting, art, and personal luxury. Many more are outstanding in the promotion of their relatives to high Church and secular office.
Norwich reviews all this with an uncritical eye. Basically, he appears convinced that popes that strengthened the Church did a good job and those who merely enriched themselves did not. He does not ask the question of whether the job or the Church itself was a good thing.
There have been about 266 popes. On average, they are sixty-five when elected and die at 78. Quite a few of them spent much of their pontificate being seriously ill. In part, this book can be viewed as empirical evidence for the proposition that important jobs shouldn’t be given to the aged.
A few popes stand out as exerting great influence: For example, inspiring crusades against Muslims or assorted heretics, increasing the influence of the Church in politics, and promoting mystic piety among the clergy and general populace. Others stand out because of their promotion of painting, art, and personal luxury. Many more are outstanding in the promotion of their relatives to high Church and secular office.
Norwich reviews all this with an uncritical eye. Basically, he appears convinced that popes that strengthened the Church did a good job and those who merely enriched themselves did not. He does not ask the question of whether the job or the Church itself was a good thing.
Ollard, R. (1966). The escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
This engaging little adventure story begins in 1651 after Cromwell defeated Charles the II’s Scottish army at Worcester. Charles had initiated the campaign in spite of the views of his advisors, with predictable results, and hardly endeared himself to his largely disaffected subjects by inflicting an invasion of barbaric Scots upon them.
Charles narrowly escaped after the battle and, with Cromwellian agents and soldiers scouring the countryside for him, lived an underground existence aided by brave Royalist sympathizers. Many of these were papists who were used to covert operations and maintained “pope’s holes” (places where priests could hide) in their houses. While sequestered in one safe house, Charles witnessed the joyous celebrations of the townsfolk occasioned by a rumour that he had been captured. Charles was fast on his verbal feet and talked himself out of a number of precarious situations. Some of these dangerous situations were caused by the fact that he had never been taught to do work of any kind—he didn’t know how to put a bridle on a horse, use common kitchen instruments, and so forth. This was a serious problem when he was going about dressed as a commoner.
Charles was on the run for about three weeks before his helpers managed to get him on a small boat (later renamed the Royal Escape) that returned him to France. Nine years later, Charles returned in triumph to resume his rule.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is the attitude of the royalists toward the king. It hadn’t been long before that people believed that scrofula could be cured by the king’s touch. People believed that the king was very, very, special. The rather ordinary acts of courtesy, foresight, and bravery of the king were remembered and cherished. If these acts had been done by anyone else, they would have been considered unremarkable. The author, in a muted fashion, shares this sense of the specialness of royalty. Lady Diana aside, I think that it’s a bit hard for many North Americans to really understand this perception.
Charles handsomely rewarded those brave individuals who helped in his escape, usually with pensions to the individuals and their sons. This was exceptional because Charles didn’t ordinarily show gratitude for past services. Remarkably, there remains a family today that continues to receive a pension from the crown stemming from Charles’ escape.
This engaging little adventure story begins in 1651 after Cromwell defeated Charles the II’s Scottish army at Worcester. Charles had initiated the campaign in spite of the views of his advisors, with predictable results, and hardly endeared himself to his largely disaffected subjects by inflicting an invasion of barbaric Scots upon them.
Charles narrowly escaped after the battle and, with Cromwellian agents and soldiers scouring the countryside for him, lived an underground existence aided by brave Royalist sympathizers. Many of these were papists who were used to covert operations and maintained “pope’s holes” (places where priests could hide) in their houses. While sequestered in one safe house, Charles witnessed the joyous celebrations of the townsfolk occasioned by a rumour that he had been captured. Charles was fast on his verbal feet and talked himself out of a number of precarious situations. Some of these dangerous situations were caused by the fact that he had never been taught to do work of any kind—he didn’t know how to put a bridle on a horse, use common kitchen instruments, and so forth. This was a serious problem when he was going about dressed as a commoner.
Charles was on the run for about three weeks before his helpers managed to get him on a small boat (later renamed the Royal Escape) that returned him to France. Nine years later, Charles returned in triumph to resume his rule.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is the attitude of the royalists toward the king. It hadn’t been long before that people believed that scrofula could be cured by the king’s touch. People believed that the king was very, very, special. The rather ordinary acts of courtesy, foresight, and bravery of the king were remembered and cherished. If these acts had been done by anyone else, they would have been considered unremarkable. The author, in a muted fashion, shares this sense of the specialness of royalty. Lady Diana aside, I think that it’s a bit hard for many North Americans to really understand this perception.
Charles handsomely rewarded those brave individuals who helped in his escape, usually with pensions to the individuals and their sons. This was exceptional because Charles didn’t ordinarily show gratitude for past services. Remarkably, there remains a family today that continues to receive a pension from the crown stemming from Charles’ escape.
O’Shea, S. (2000) The Perfect Heresy: The revolutionary life and death of the medieval Cathars. Toronto: Douglas and McIntyre.
When the walls of Béziers had been breached in the siege of 1209, soldiers asked Arnold Amaury, the monk who led the first Albigensian crusade how to distinguish Catholics from Cathar heretics. Amaury is said to have replied “Kill them all, God will know his own.” The slaughter of 20,000 or so of the hapless inhabitants followed. Over the next 200 years, the Cathar heresy was extinguished along with the political independence of Languedoc in Southern France. The crusade was particularly thorough and barbaric: There is the tale of a long line of men wending their way toward a Cathar fortification, each man with his hand on the shoulder of the man in front. All had been blinded by the crusaders save the first, who was spared one eye.
This is a very worthwhile read. It is interesting because the nature of the Albigensian heresy is not widely known and because the sophisticated and brutal methods developed its extirpation were later applied widely throughout Europe against heretics, such as relapsing Jews, and pernicious witches.
When the walls of Béziers had been breached in the siege of 1209, soldiers asked Arnold Amaury, the monk who led the first Albigensian crusade how to distinguish Catholics from Cathar heretics. Amaury is said to have replied “Kill them all, God will know his own.” The slaughter of 20,000 or so of the hapless inhabitants followed. Over the next 200 years, the Cathar heresy was extinguished along with the political independence of Languedoc in Southern France. The crusade was particularly thorough and barbaric: There is the tale of a long line of men wending their way toward a Cathar fortification, each man with his hand on the shoulder of the man in front. All had been blinded by the crusaders save the first, who was spared one eye.
This is a very worthwhile read. It is interesting because the nature of the Albigensian heresy is not widely known and because the sophisticated and brutal methods developed its extirpation were later applied widely throughout Europe against heretics, such as relapsing Jews, and pernicious witches.
Ozment, S. (1996). The Burgermeister's daughter: Scandal in a sixteenth century German town. N.Y.: Harper
A very interesting read. It is remarkable how much correspondence, such as love letters, and legal documentation survives from a dispute between a father and daughter from so long ago. Neither party is particularly admirable but both very human. One of the fascinating aspects of this history is how it illustrates the detail and sophistication of sixteenth century German family law. The issues and many of the specific rules concerning the inheritance and distribution of family property are both sensible and very familiar. It does, however, require at least some good will to make things work and that good will was conspicuously absent in the soap opera described in the present work.
A very interesting read. It is remarkable how much correspondence, such as love letters, and legal documentation survives from a dispute between a father and daughter from so long ago. Neither party is particularly admirable but both very human. One of the fascinating aspects of this history is how it illustrates the detail and sophistication of sixteenth century German family law. The issues and many of the specific rules concerning the inheritance and distribution of family property are both sensible and very familiar. It does, however, require at least some good will to make things work and that good will was conspicuously absent in the soap opera described in the present work.
Phenix, P. (2006). Private demons: The tragic personal life of John A. MacDonald. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
This book, true to its title, doesn’t talk a lot about MacDonald’s political career but does talk a lot about his private life. Demons indeed, if I were more medievally-minded, I would conclude that MacDonald was cursed. First, there was his alcoholism. MacDonald was not a “problem drinker,” he was a full-blown alcoholic from his teenage years until almost the last years of his life. He was regularly literally carried out of bars and parties because he was too drunk to walk and incurred the costs of such heavy drinking (insulting his friends, missing work, massive hangovers, and so forth).
MacDonald was also chronically in debt and suffered recurrent anxiety about whether he would be able to somehow come up with the money he owed (it didn’t help that both he and his two wives were spendthrifts). His first wife was a dependent, manipulative opium addict. Their first son died very young for no obvious reason. Their second son was raised by MacDonald’s sisters and brother-in-law (who were constantly bickering among themselves) because his invalid wife finally died and MacDonald himself was too busy with politics and law to raise him (they were estranged while the boy was young—the son was a real twit as a young man but seemed to improve somewhat with age).
MacDonald’s second marriage was better than the first but the daughter born of that union had severe cerebral palsy and mild hydrocephaly. Then MacDonald’s friends and relatives started dying—including his dear friend, drinking partner, and political ally, Darcy Magee, who was murdered by a Fenian near to MacDonald’s house in Ottawa (incidentally, the house was built atop a stinking sewer pipe). And so forth--if you didn’t know the story, you’d be waiting for him to kill himself (he did try once, however). The wonder of it all is that MacDonald had a great sense of humour, was extremely attractive to the ladies (he was a big flirt), and was one of the most successful Canadian politicians ever.
This book, true to its title, doesn’t talk a lot about MacDonald’s political career but does talk a lot about his private life. Demons indeed, if I were more medievally-minded, I would conclude that MacDonald was cursed. First, there was his alcoholism. MacDonald was not a “problem drinker,” he was a full-blown alcoholic from his teenage years until almost the last years of his life. He was regularly literally carried out of bars and parties because he was too drunk to walk and incurred the costs of such heavy drinking (insulting his friends, missing work, massive hangovers, and so forth).
MacDonald was also chronically in debt and suffered recurrent anxiety about whether he would be able to somehow come up with the money he owed (it didn’t help that both he and his two wives were spendthrifts). His first wife was a dependent, manipulative opium addict. Their first son died very young for no obvious reason. Their second son was raised by MacDonald’s sisters and brother-in-law (who were constantly bickering among themselves) because his invalid wife finally died and MacDonald himself was too busy with politics and law to raise him (they were estranged while the boy was young—the son was a real twit as a young man but seemed to improve somewhat with age).
MacDonald’s second marriage was better than the first but the daughter born of that union had severe cerebral palsy and mild hydrocephaly. Then MacDonald’s friends and relatives started dying—including his dear friend, drinking partner, and political ally, Darcy Magee, who was murdered by a Fenian near to MacDonald’s house in Ottawa (incidentally, the house was built atop a stinking sewer pipe). And so forth--if you didn’t know the story, you’d be waiting for him to kill himself (he did try once, however). The wonder of it all is that MacDonald had a great sense of humour, was extremely attractive to the ladies (he was a big flirt), and was one of the most successful Canadian politicians ever.
Ramirez, J. (2015). The private lives of saints: Power, passion, and politics in Anglo-Saxon England. London: WH Allen.
Between 383 and 410, the Romans pulled out of Britain, leaving the partially Romanized Christian Celts on their own. They were assailed by the Irish from the West, the Picts and Scoti from the North, and the Anglo-Saxons from the East. The Anglo-Saxons would be followed over the next centuries by successive waves of pagan Vikings and their Christianized descendants in France, the Normans. The Anglo-Saxons were gradually converted to Christianity by Irish monks and Roman bishops, the latter gaining ascendancy as time went on. Conversion was highly politicized and undertaken by rulers for dynastic reasons. Many of the dynastic reasons involved international politics. The legacy of the dying Western Roman Empire was a remarkable degree of internationalism (to use an anachronism).
Although a few early saints were administrators, most were martyrs to the faith. They resemble modern-day suicide bombers, eager to get to paradise through death. If not martyrs, many, especially in the Irish tradition and in the earlier Roman empire, practiced extreme asceticism and mortification of the flesh. They appear to modern sensibilities (and indeed to many at the time) to be frankly nutty—this in a time where there were nutty religious cults everywhere (even more than today).
Saints were immediately co-opted by clerical and lay authorities. Their lives (hagiographies) used to foster tourism, raise patriotic fervor, and propagandize among the heathen.
The struggle between the Irish monks and the Roman bishops involved more than the dispute over the calculation of the date of Easter. The Irish monks were thought to be infected by the Pelagian heresy. A heresy that has co-existed with what is now known as Catholic and Protestant orthodoxy from the nearly the beginning to the present day. Pelagius was a theologian from the British Isles who spent a lot of time in Rome. He was “disturbed by the immorality he encountered in Rome and saw Christians using human frailty as an excuse for their failure to live a Christian life. He taught that the human will, as created with its abilities by God, was sufficient to live a sinless life, although he believed that God's grace assisted every good work. Pelagius did not believe that all humanity was guilty in Adam's sin, but said that Adam had condemned mankind through bad example. The value of Christ's redemption was, in his opinion, limited mainly to instruction and example.” (from Wikipedia). For centuries thereafter, Pelagius was the loser in the argument with St. Augustine.
The author does a good job of bringing this post-Roman world to life.
Between 383 and 410, the Romans pulled out of Britain, leaving the partially Romanized Christian Celts on their own. They were assailed by the Irish from the West, the Picts and Scoti from the North, and the Anglo-Saxons from the East. The Anglo-Saxons would be followed over the next centuries by successive waves of pagan Vikings and their Christianized descendants in France, the Normans. The Anglo-Saxons were gradually converted to Christianity by Irish monks and Roman bishops, the latter gaining ascendancy as time went on. Conversion was highly politicized and undertaken by rulers for dynastic reasons. Many of the dynastic reasons involved international politics. The legacy of the dying Western Roman Empire was a remarkable degree of internationalism (to use an anachronism).
Although a few early saints were administrators, most were martyrs to the faith. They resemble modern-day suicide bombers, eager to get to paradise through death. If not martyrs, many, especially in the Irish tradition and in the earlier Roman empire, practiced extreme asceticism and mortification of the flesh. They appear to modern sensibilities (and indeed to many at the time) to be frankly nutty—this in a time where there were nutty religious cults everywhere (even more than today).
Saints were immediately co-opted by clerical and lay authorities. Their lives (hagiographies) used to foster tourism, raise patriotic fervor, and propagandize among the heathen.
The struggle between the Irish monks and the Roman bishops involved more than the dispute over the calculation of the date of Easter. The Irish monks were thought to be infected by the Pelagian heresy. A heresy that has co-existed with what is now known as Catholic and Protestant orthodoxy from the nearly the beginning to the present day. Pelagius was a theologian from the British Isles who spent a lot of time in Rome. He was “disturbed by the immorality he encountered in Rome and saw Christians using human frailty as an excuse for their failure to live a Christian life. He taught that the human will, as created with its abilities by God, was sufficient to live a sinless life, although he believed that God's grace assisted every good work. Pelagius did not believe that all humanity was guilty in Adam's sin, but said that Adam had condemned mankind through bad example. The value of Christ's redemption was, in his opinion, limited mainly to instruction and example.” (from Wikipedia). For centuries thereafter, Pelagius was the loser in the argument with St. Augustine.
The author does a good job of bringing this post-Roman world to life.
Reston, J. (1998). The last apocalypse: Europe at the year 1000 A.D. Toronto: Doubleday.
An easy, pleasant read. A very good idea to write a book about various societies about the year 1000. A very good piece on Spain (more bloodthirsty than one might expect) and the Vikings (who are about as bloodthirsty as one expects). Lots of violence and intrigue.....
An easy, pleasant read. A very good idea to write a book about various societies about the year 1000. A very good piece on Spain (more bloodthirsty than one might expect) and the Vikings (who are about as bloodthirsty as one expects). Lots of violence and intrigue.....
Reston, J. (2005). Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the defeat of the moors. Toronto: Doubleday.
This is a very readable book about an interesting, if brutal and mean-spirited, period of history. The rise of the Spanish Inquisition is described in the context of the final victory over the Moors in Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the competition with Portugal over trade with the Orient. A nice explanation of the motivation of Ferdinand and Isabella to (finally) fund Columbus’s voyage is provided. There are some very good pictorial illustrations of some of the practices of the inquisition but, strangely, their provenance is not made clear in the book (other than courtesy, Library of Congress). I tried to find them on the net and couldn’t. I did find, however, a whole bunch of sites of Catholic apologists who claimed that the Spanish Inquisition wasn’t really so bad, was largely a fiction of Protestant propaganda, was a good idea because it forestalled civil war, and so forth. Nothing’s ever over, I suppose.
This is a very readable book about an interesting, if brutal and mean-spirited, period of history. The rise of the Spanish Inquisition is described in the context of the final victory over the Moors in Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the competition with Portugal over trade with the Orient. A nice explanation of the motivation of Ferdinand and Isabella to (finally) fund Columbus’s voyage is provided. There are some very good pictorial illustrations of some of the practices of the inquisition but, strangely, their provenance is not made clear in the book (other than courtesy, Library of Congress). I tried to find them on the net and couldn’t. I did find, however, a whole bunch of sites of Catholic apologists who claimed that the Spanish Inquisition wasn’t really so bad, was largely a fiction of Protestant propaganda, was a good idea because it forestalled civil war, and so forth. Nothing’s ever over, I suppose.
Rhodes, R. (2004). John James Audubon: The making of an American. NY: Knopf.
A moderately interesting book on a mostly self-taught naturalist and artist working just before the Darwinian revolution. Audubon escaped being pressed into the French army or execution during the French revolution as a very young man, ending up in frontier America. He made and lost several fortunes, gradually becoming ever more dedicated to painting birds. This passion slowly and by dint of enormous effort led to success—especially in England. What a tireless worker he was. Audubon had a very strong marriage that survived his endless wilderness traveling. Audubon witnessed and participated in the wholesale slaughter of innumerable species of wildlife. As he grew older, this caused him increasing discomfort because he could see where it was leading.
A moderately interesting book on a mostly self-taught naturalist and artist working just before the Darwinian revolution. Audubon escaped being pressed into the French army or execution during the French revolution as a very young man, ending up in frontier America. He made and lost several fortunes, gradually becoming ever more dedicated to painting birds. This passion slowly and by dint of enormous effort led to success—especially in England. What a tireless worker he was. Audubon had a very strong marriage that survived his endless wilderness traveling. Audubon witnessed and participated in the wholesale slaughter of innumerable species of wildlife. As he grew older, this caused him increasing discomfort because he could see where it was leading.
Ruggiero, G. (1980). Violence in early renaissance Venice. Rutgers University Press.
There is a surprising amount of documentation concerning crime and punishment in Venice in the 1300's. Should we be surprised that people murdered for the same reasons they seem to now? Trivial quarrels, quickly escalating to murderous brawls. Contract killings of business rivals. Murdering unfaithful wives, husbands in the way of love affairs, and unwanted children.
And sex offenses. Rape of children was punished most severely. Rapes of post-adolescent girls not very much. Rapes of married women the most severely. Rape was not, however, seen as that important (there were problems of corroboration, potential blackmail of the rich by the poor, and so on). Physical injury and breaking into one’s house to commit the crime were viewed as more serious. In general, compared to today, property crimes were viewed as more serious than non-fatal crimes against the person.
The nobility were a violent lot who were not punished very severely for transgressing against the non-nobility. Punishments were meted out in a politically sensitive manner. The stability of the state was the most important issue (vendettas among the nobility had to be suppressed and the poor must not strike against the rich). In this connection, a great distinction was made between crimes of passion and premeditated crimes (the latter punished more severely).
There is a surprising amount of documentation concerning crime and punishment in Venice in the 1300's. Should we be surprised that people murdered for the same reasons they seem to now? Trivial quarrels, quickly escalating to murderous brawls. Contract killings of business rivals. Murdering unfaithful wives, husbands in the way of love affairs, and unwanted children.
And sex offenses. Rape of children was punished most severely. Rapes of post-adolescent girls not very much. Rapes of married women the most severely. Rape was not, however, seen as that important (there were problems of corroboration, potential blackmail of the rich by the poor, and so on). Physical injury and breaking into one’s house to commit the crime were viewed as more serious. In general, compared to today, property crimes were viewed as more serious than non-fatal crimes against the person.
The nobility were a violent lot who were not punished very severely for transgressing against the non-nobility. Punishments were meted out in a politically sensitive manner. The stability of the state was the most important issue (vendettas among the nobility had to be suppressed and the poor must not strike against the rich). In this connection, a great distinction was made between crimes of passion and premeditated crimes (the latter punished more severely).
Santagata, M. (2016). Dante: The story of his life. Harvard University Press.
Dante (1265-1321) was from a humble family but rose to a prominent position in the government of Florence. He was a well-known poet in the genre of the new classical learning. Civil strife in the byzantine politics of Italy and wider Europe led to his exile. Exile was a serious business, as anybody who cared to, could have him killed with impunity. The Inferno was largely written during his exile and he peopled hell with his political enemies.
The book assumes, wrongly in my case, that the reader has a good knowledge of the poem and not a lot is said about it. The book also assumes, again wrongly in my case, that the reader can keep the myriad individuals involved in the endless intrigues and battles of the period straight in his mind. Not really for the casual reader.
Dante (1265-1321) was from a humble family but rose to a prominent position in the government of Florence. He was a well-known poet in the genre of the new classical learning. Civil strife in the byzantine politics of Italy and wider Europe led to his exile. Exile was a serious business, as anybody who cared to, could have him killed with impunity. The Inferno was largely written during his exile and he peopled hell with his political enemies.
The book assumes, wrongly in my case, that the reader has a good knowledge of the poem and not a lot is said about it. The book also assumes, again wrongly in my case, that the reader can keep the myriad individuals involved in the endless intrigues and battles of the period straight in his mind. Not really for the casual reader.
Saunders, F.S. (2005). The devil’s broker: Seeking gold, God, and glory in 14th century Italy. London: Faber & Faber.
John Hawkwood participated in the rape and pillaging of France under the Black Prince. In 1360, he and his band of marauders (the White Company) headed for richer pickings in politically fragmented Italy. Hawkwood, through many adventures and fluctuations in fortune, became successful and a political power there. His goal was to retire with enough wealth to be respectable and to finance his children’s entry into the nobility.
Nicely done history. It’s amazing how frankly mercenary these mercenaries were—they had contracts and such, just like the contemporary trading companies and other economic institutions. This book complements Unger’s biography of Lorenzo— but it’s written about the other (dark) side of the Italian city states.
John Hawkwood participated in the rape and pillaging of France under the Black Prince. In 1360, he and his band of marauders (the White Company) headed for richer pickings in politically fragmented Italy. Hawkwood, through many adventures and fluctuations in fortune, became successful and a political power there. His goal was to retire with enough wealth to be respectable and to finance his children’s entry into the nobility.
Nicely done history. It’s amazing how frankly mercenary these mercenaries were—they had contracts and such, just like the contemporary trading companies and other economic institutions. This book complements Unger’s biography of Lorenzo— but it’s written about the other (dark) side of the Italian city states.
Schele, L. & Mathews, P. (1998). The code of kings: the language of seven sacred Maya temples and tombs. N.Y.: Scribner.
This is a very disappointing book. The authors describe the various Mayan sites in great detail and present drawings of the murals that are too small to be seen without a magnifying glass. There isn’t much context setting or story-line and what there is was covered in their earlier books. Still, it is of interest to see how the ability to read the glyphs has progressed. Very gradually, the builders of these magnificent sites are being brought into written history.
The similarities among all of the early civilizations never cease to boggle my mind.
This is a very disappointing book. The authors describe the various Mayan sites in great detail and present drawings of the murals that are too small to be seen without a magnifying glass. There isn’t much context setting or story-line and what there is was covered in their earlier books. Still, it is of interest to see how the ability to read the glyphs has progressed. Very gradually, the builders of these magnificent sites are being brought into written history.
The similarities among all of the early civilizations never cease to boggle my mind.
Seward, D. (1978). The hundred years war: The English in France, 1337-1453. NY: Atheneum.
Seward provides a very readable account of what can be a very confusing period of history. The wonder was that tiny England nearly prevailed against giant France, mostly because of French disunity. The tremendous waste caused in France because of the scorched earth policy of the English, the omnipresent routiers (multi-ethnic groups of bandits), and English stealing boggle the mind. Whatever is said about the war, one of the primary motivations of the English was the economic advancement of individuals and the state through ill-gotten gains.
Seward provides a very readable account of what can be a very confusing period of history. The wonder was that tiny England nearly prevailed against giant France, mostly because of French disunity. The tremendous waste caused in France because of the scorched earth policy of the English, the omnipresent routiers (multi-ethnic groups of bandits), and English stealing boggle the mind. Whatever is said about the war, one of the primary motivations of the English was the economic advancement of individuals and the state through ill-gotten gains.
Seward, D. (2014). The warrior king and the invasion of France: Henry V, Agincourt, and the campaign that shaped medieval England. NY: Pegasus.
Fresh from the successful war in Wales, Henry V (1386-1422) was on campaign in France throughout most of his reign, asserting his God-given right to rule that unfortunate country. The principal reason for English success against the much larger and richer country was that the French were engaged in a civil war.
The author takes aim at generations of English historians who have used Henry to advance their nationalist agenda—for example, the “band of brothers” standing bravely against the French foe at Agincourt. He describes the scorched earth policy these rapists and pillagers pursued. Part of this policy (the pillaging part) occurred because Henry had no money to pay his troops or to supply them with food—very bad but standard in medieval and later wars. Although many English nobility in France enriched themselves, the continual campaigning drained the English economy. The war of conquest was, in short, unsustainable and doomed to failure.
Henry’s public rationale for the war (he was seeking justice—God loves justice) sounds simply childish to a modern ear, particularly because his legal claim to the English throne was itself shaky. One might think of the wars in France as serving to distract the English from thinking too deeply about political matters at home.
It is interesting to learn about the figures, like Glendower and Hotspur, who were made familiar by Shakespeare.
Fresh from the successful war in Wales, Henry V (1386-1422) was on campaign in France throughout most of his reign, asserting his God-given right to rule that unfortunate country. The principal reason for English success against the much larger and richer country was that the French were engaged in a civil war.
The author takes aim at generations of English historians who have used Henry to advance their nationalist agenda—for example, the “band of brothers” standing bravely against the French foe at Agincourt. He describes the scorched earth policy these rapists and pillagers pursued. Part of this policy (the pillaging part) occurred because Henry had no money to pay his troops or to supply them with food—very bad but standard in medieval and later wars. Although many English nobility in France enriched themselves, the continual campaigning drained the English economy. The war of conquest was, in short, unsustainable and doomed to failure.
Henry’s public rationale for the war (he was seeking justice—God loves justice) sounds simply childish to a modern ear, particularly because his legal claim to the English throne was itself shaky. One might think of the wars in France as serving to distract the English from thinking too deeply about political matters at home.
It is interesting to learn about the figures, like Glendower and Hotspur, who were made familiar by Shakespeare.
Sharpe, J.A. (1984). Crime in early modern England 1550-1750. Burnt Mill, Haslow, UK: Longman.
All criminology books begin with a tedious description of the fallibility of the measures of crime employed. After the ritual deconstruction, the authors go on to use what they have available regardless. This book is no exception.
I found this book a bit tedious but persisted nevertheless out of sheer perversity and lack of a real life. There were a few interesting things though. I was unaware how seldom the “bloody code” was actually used to effect executions. The bloody code made more and more minor offenses punishable by execution—it was enacted piecemeal over time—almost in fits of inadvertence and with no awareness of what was occurring. There were, however, many alternatives to the gallows, including the popular transportation to the colonies, but more importantly, character witnesses were generally sufficient to save miscreants from the noose. Only people who were universally despised, total strangers to the community, or extremely unlucky were hung for any of the many minor capital crimes.
All criminology books begin with a tedious description of the fallibility of the measures of crime employed. After the ritual deconstruction, the authors go on to use what they have available regardless. This book is no exception.
I found this book a bit tedious but persisted nevertheless out of sheer perversity and lack of a real life. There were a few interesting things though. I was unaware how seldom the “bloody code” was actually used to effect executions. The bloody code made more and more minor offenses punishable by execution—it was enacted piecemeal over time—almost in fits of inadvertence and with no awareness of what was occurring. There were, however, many alternatives to the gallows, including the popular transportation to the colonies, but more importantly, character witnesses were generally sufficient to save miscreants from the noose. Only people who were universally despised, total strangers to the community, or extremely unlucky were hung for any of the many minor capital crimes.
Singer, C. (1928). From magic to science: Essays on the scientific twilight. Montana: Kessinger Publishing Co.
In those bygone days early in the century, one could still characterize folks from the dark ages as dirty, ignorant, barbaric, superstitious savages and not have one’s office picketed. Singer demonstrates that the old saw that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste (or the intelligence) of people applied to the mediaeval peasantry.
Knowledge in the dark ages was very limited in extent and a perverted and corrupt version of that developed in the classical world. The botanical works, for example, were entirely based on idealized and not very good copies of Roman works. It was often unclear what plant was actually being depicted. Because nobody had any idea about the geographical distributions of different plant species, people were generally confused.
Part of this book’s appeal is its very arcaneness. The reader learns about the sixth or seventh century “Lorica of Gildas the Briton.” A lorica is a chain mail shirt which is used as a metaphor in a very lengthy charm designed to protect one from the darts foul demons were wont to hurl at “my flanks, skull, head with hair and eye, forehead, tongue, teeth, and nose, neck, breast, side and reins, thighs, under-rump and two hands.......uvula, larynx, and frenum of the tongue, to head-pan, brain and gristle......breast, peritoneum, and breast bone, mammae, stomach and navel.....bladder fat.....” and so forth, including anything the reciter forgot.
Then there are the migrainous visions of Hildegaard of Bingen (b. 1098) woven into a theoretical tapestry of the mind and cosmos.
All in all, an appealing book. Too bad many of the figures did not fare well in the reissue.
In those bygone days early in the century, one could still characterize folks from the dark ages as dirty, ignorant, barbaric, superstitious savages and not have one’s office picketed. Singer demonstrates that the old saw that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste (or the intelligence) of people applied to the mediaeval peasantry.
Knowledge in the dark ages was very limited in extent and a perverted and corrupt version of that developed in the classical world. The botanical works, for example, were entirely based on idealized and not very good copies of Roman works. It was often unclear what plant was actually being depicted. Because nobody had any idea about the geographical distributions of different plant species, people were generally confused.
Part of this book’s appeal is its very arcaneness. The reader learns about the sixth or seventh century “Lorica of Gildas the Briton.” A lorica is a chain mail shirt which is used as a metaphor in a very lengthy charm designed to protect one from the darts foul demons were wont to hurl at “my flanks, skull, head with hair and eye, forehead, tongue, teeth, and nose, neck, breast, side and reins, thighs, under-rump and two hands.......uvula, larynx, and frenum of the tongue, to head-pan, brain and gristle......breast, peritoneum, and breast bone, mammae, stomach and navel.....bladder fat.....” and so forth, including anything the reciter forgot.
Then there are the migrainous visions of Hildegaard of Bingen (b. 1098) woven into a theoretical tapestry of the mind and cosmos.
All in all, an appealing book. Too bad many of the figures did not fare well in the reissue.
Somerset, A. (2003). The affair of the poisons: Murder, infanticide and Satanism at the court of Louis XIV. London: Wedenfeld & Nicolson.
If you think that the sexual permissiveness occurred in the sixties because of relaxed religious values and hormonal birth control, you know nothing about Paris and Versailles at the end of the 17th century. Ah, the French—like rabbits!
Louis 14th lived out a male adolescent’s dream—desired by the most beautiful women in the land. Marriage was no impediment--the husbands of most noblewomen lubricated their wives’ paths to Louis’ bed and Louis’ own wife bore not only his children but bore with his many mistresses and his children by them.
Power in France was successfully centralized by requiring the nobility to live at the court of the king in very expensive style and in perfect idleness. Being completely dependent upon the king’s favour but not being able to earn it through good or useful works, social competition and the pursuit of status among the nobility became everything.
Competition among the women for access to the king’s bed was intense. The king’s chief mistress was second in status only to the queen herself. No wonder then, that women turned to the occult for a leg up (pun intended). Popular interest in fortune-telling and alchemy, together with a spectacular and well documented case of a woman who had poisoned her husband and sundry others, made rumours that noblewomen at court used poison to strike at the king’s current female favorites very credible.
An investigation of poisoners and Satanists was held in an extraordinary court set up for the purpose. Low-life con-men and women, some of whom actually did sell poison to rid wives of inconvenient husbands were caught up in the investigation. Desperate to stave off torture and execution, these unfortunates made up more and wilder stories the longer they were questioned. Soon the stories involved people at Louis’ court—generally people who were out of favour with the guy running the investigation. Things were made worse by the credulity of the inquisitors.
Eventually it was all brought to an end by Louis himself who, aided by some of his counselors, grew skeptical of the court’s findings, particularly when they touched upon his former mistress of many years, Mme de Montespan herself.
An excellent read.
Suchet, J. (2012). Beethoven: The man revealed. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press.
Beethoven really was a “mad” genius and grew weirder as he got older but was supported by the public and a variety of patrons throughout his life. Very sad family relationships. I’m not sure that this is the right biography of Beethoven to read--it’s not a page turner but on the other hand maybe it’s that Beethoven’s life doesn’t make for a good story unless one understands his music at a deeper level than I can.
Beethoven really was a “mad” genius and grew weirder as he got older but was supported by the public and a variety of patrons throughout his life. Very sad family relationships. I’m not sure that this is the right biography of Beethoven to read--it’s not a page turner but on the other hand maybe it’s that Beethoven’s life doesn’t make for a good story unless one understands his music at a deeper level than I can.
Stubbs, J. (2011). Reprobates: The cavaliers of the English civil war. London: Norton.
The English civil war (1642-1651) is an interesting but chaotic period of history. England had largely avoided the ruinous thirty years’ war (1618-48) but the factional religious enthusiasms that had fueled that war then worked their dark magic on English society. What started as quarrels among the upper .01 percent became a war that pitted hereditary privilege and graft against urbanism and Puritanism. The theological issues that so many were willing to die for now appear silly. As Trump would tweet—“sad”. More understandable are the economic roots of the conflict. King Charles needed money for war but wanted it on his absolutist terms; to obtain it he geographically expanded the “ship money” tax without getting support from Parliament. A series of debacles led to war and his eventual execution. It’s likely that Charles could have kept his head had he and his court been more competent.
This book is a bit difficult to read because the author often makes rather cryptic remarks whose understanding requires knowing (or remembering) various bits of 17th century history. There are no pictures of the principal actors!
The English civil war (1642-1651) is an interesting but chaotic period of history. England had largely avoided the ruinous thirty years’ war (1618-48) but the factional religious enthusiasms that had fueled that war then worked their dark magic on English society. What started as quarrels among the upper .01 percent became a war that pitted hereditary privilege and graft against urbanism and Puritanism. The theological issues that so many were willing to die for now appear silly. As Trump would tweet—“sad”. More understandable are the economic roots of the conflict. King Charles needed money for war but wanted it on his absolutist terms; to obtain it he geographically expanded the “ship money” tax without getting support from Parliament. A series of debacles led to war and his eventual execution. It’s likely that Charles could have kept his head had he and his court been more competent.
This book is a bit difficult to read because the author often makes rather cryptic remarks whose understanding requires knowing (or remembering) various bits of 17th century history. There are no pictures of the principal actors!
Sugden, J. (1997). Tecumseh: A life. New York: Holt.
Tecumseh was a warrior and political advocate of a cause that was lost before he took it up. Even the ancestors’ unifying religious precepts advanced by his brother “the Prophet” were already a mix of European and aboriginal beliefs. Nonetheless, Tecumseh was a capable and admirable man. The book is hampered by the lack of information about Tecumseh’s early life but he comes into focus in his prime as a political and military leader.
Tecumseh was a warrior and political advocate of a cause that was lost before he took it up. Even the ancestors’ unifying religious precepts advanced by his brother “the Prophet” were already a mix of European and aboriginal beliefs. Nonetheless, Tecumseh was a capable and admirable man. The book is hampered by the lack of information about Tecumseh’s early life but he comes into focus in his prime as a political and military leader.
Swanton, M. (Ed. & translator). (1993). Anglo-Saxon prose. London: Orion.
Fairly short excerpts of surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Some interesting pieces on the ravages of the Vikings (oh the terror and expense!) and a large number of sermons and saints lives. The latter raise some interesting questions about the minds of the monks who originally wrote them.
Consider the obviously false tales in these hagiographies—birds and saints conversing, people raised from the dead, instances of precognition, long-buried bodies perfectly preserved, and so forth. One can understand the credulous people who accepted these childish tales as true because some one in authority told them they were, but what about the individuals who made the stories up? They knew for sure that the tales were untrue—what were they thinking?
As everyone knows, instances of people knowingly promulgating falsehoods abound—the lost golden tablets of the angel Moroni, accounts of socialist progress in Stalin’s Soviet Union, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, corporate denial of the link between smoking and lung cancer, Hoover’s crusade against rampant communism in post-WWII America, and so on, ad nauseum. In each case, the assertions were certainly known to be false by the people who originally made them. These are not simply instances of mistaken judgments or credulous acceptance. Nor is it the case that these lies are associated only with totalitarian regimes, an ignorant populace, religious zealotry, or remote times and places. The phenomenon appears ubiquitous.
In the case of the saints’ lives, the lies were likely told by people who in fact believed in miracles. If they didn’t see one but believed that such things could, should, and occasionally did happen, did they take it upon themselves to make the story truer than truth?
Fairly short excerpts of surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Some interesting pieces on the ravages of the Vikings (oh the terror and expense!) and a large number of sermons and saints lives. The latter raise some interesting questions about the minds of the monks who originally wrote them.
Consider the obviously false tales in these hagiographies—birds and saints conversing, people raised from the dead, instances of precognition, long-buried bodies perfectly preserved, and so forth. One can understand the credulous people who accepted these childish tales as true because some one in authority told them they were, but what about the individuals who made the stories up? They knew for sure that the tales were untrue—what were they thinking?
As everyone knows, instances of people knowingly promulgating falsehoods abound—the lost golden tablets of the angel Moroni, accounts of socialist progress in Stalin’s Soviet Union, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, corporate denial of the link between smoking and lung cancer, Hoover’s crusade against rampant communism in post-WWII America, and so on, ad nauseum. In each case, the assertions were certainly known to be false by the people who originally made them. These are not simply instances of mistaken judgments or credulous acceptance. Nor is it the case that these lies are associated only with totalitarian regimes, an ignorant populace, religious zealotry, or remote times and places. The phenomenon appears ubiquitous.
In the case of the saints’ lives, the lies were likely told by people who in fact believed in miracles. If they didn’t see one but believed that such things could, should, and occasionally did happen, did they take it upon themselves to make the story truer than truth?
Taylor, P.B. & Auden, W.H. (translators). (1970). The Elder Edda: A selection. NY: Random House.
These Icelandic poems were transmitted orally for hundreds of years until written down in the 13th century. They are a mixture of advice and stories about the Nordic pantheon. Both the advice and the myths tell us about aspects of the lives in pre-Christian Northern Europe.
This was a life of violence, feuding, and drinking. A man is advised never to go out at night except to “relieve himself” or spy on his enemies, to enter another man’s hall warily, not to travel unless heavily armed, to be careful not to drink too much, and to handle insults at table with care. There is lots of evidence of sexual conflict. Men (and male gods) boast about their conquest of “white armed” women, assert that women become reliable after being tamed, and insult women by accusing them of sleeping around.
The gods live in a similar world. They are forever taunting and fighting with giants and one another. In Loki’s Flyting, Loki (Loki is the mischievous god and a flyting is a contest of insults, usually conducted in verse) delivers coarse insults to each of the gods in turn and is later punished by being bound with his son’s entrails so that poison drips on him. Some of the poems appear to be comedic—farting, belching, and dressing up as a woman appealed to the Norse sense of humour.
This is the material (in cleaned up form) that Tolkien drew upon to create the world of the Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the volume is dedicated to him.
It’s hard to appreciate what the Norse saw in these lying and buffoonish, albeit powerful and dangerous, gods. There is no moral content here. What kind of mind could have taken this supernatural silliness seriously? It doesn’t help to recall the similar Greek pantheon, the bizarreness of the medieval cults of saints, the bloodthirstiness of the Aztec gods, and so forth. There is a difference between these prescientific/pre-enlightenment beliefs and the world view that came later that no amount of empathy can bridge. But hold on!—what about the scientologists, fundamentalists, and other credulous folk about today? Historical throw backs? I fundamentally don’t get it.
These Icelandic poems were transmitted orally for hundreds of years until written down in the 13th century. They are a mixture of advice and stories about the Nordic pantheon. Both the advice and the myths tell us about aspects of the lives in pre-Christian Northern Europe.
This was a life of violence, feuding, and drinking. A man is advised never to go out at night except to “relieve himself” or spy on his enemies, to enter another man’s hall warily, not to travel unless heavily armed, to be careful not to drink too much, and to handle insults at table with care. There is lots of evidence of sexual conflict. Men (and male gods) boast about their conquest of “white armed” women, assert that women become reliable after being tamed, and insult women by accusing them of sleeping around.
The gods live in a similar world. They are forever taunting and fighting with giants and one another. In Loki’s Flyting, Loki (Loki is the mischievous god and a flyting is a contest of insults, usually conducted in verse) delivers coarse insults to each of the gods in turn and is later punished by being bound with his son’s entrails so that poison drips on him. Some of the poems appear to be comedic—farting, belching, and dressing up as a woman appealed to the Norse sense of humour.
This is the material (in cleaned up form) that Tolkien drew upon to create the world of the Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the volume is dedicated to him.
It’s hard to appreciate what the Norse saw in these lying and buffoonish, albeit powerful and dangerous, gods. There is no moral content here. What kind of mind could have taken this supernatural silliness seriously? It doesn’t help to recall the similar Greek pantheon, the bizarreness of the medieval cults of saints, the bloodthirstiness of the Aztec gods, and so forth. There is a difference between these prescientific/pre-enlightenment beliefs and the world view that came later that no amount of empathy can bridge. But hold on!—what about the scientologists, fundamentalists, and other credulous folk about today? Historical throw backs? I fundamentally don’t get it.
Tetlow, E. (1992). Hastings. N.Y.: Barnes and Noble.
A nice little book about the Battle of Hastings and its political and military context. Quite an amazing series of events, chief among them, Harold’s victory over Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge just before William’s invasion. Tetlow is very sceptical about William’s claim on the English throne, arguing that most of it is simply Norman propaganda.
A nice little book about the Battle of Hastings and its political and military context. Quite an amazing series of events, chief among them, Harold’s victory over Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge just before William’s invasion. Tetlow is very sceptical about William’s claim on the English throne, arguing that most of it is simply Norman propaganda.
Tomalin, C. (2002). Samuel Pepys: The unequalled self. Toronto: Penquin.
An excellent read. Pepys was an important bureaucrat in the navy of Charles the Second’s restoration monarchy but is remembered today for his compendious diary. The diary recounts in a compelling narrative the story of Pepys’s ascent to power and his navigating the shoals of his puritan and republican youth in the circumstances of a royalist and covertly Catholic government. Pepys himself had no interest in religion but had to appear to hold the religious beliefs in favour at the time.
Pepys was good at his job and made a handsome living by accepting bribes from navy contractors. This was officially frowned upon, although one couldn’t live on the tiny salaries these jobs provided, and the practice was ubiquitous. Pepys claims that he accepted gifts but did not allow them to affect his judgment. Amazingly, his diaries record many instances of shameful conduct, such as cheating one of his associates and forcing his sexual attentions on a variety of servants, wives of acquaintances, serving wenches, and so on. Pepys was fascinated by his life and presents it to us warts and all.
An excellent read. Pepys was an important bureaucrat in the navy of Charles the Second’s restoration monarchy but is remembered today for his compendious diary. The diary recounts in a compelling narrative the story of Pepys’s ascent to power and his navigating the shoals of his puritan and republican youth in the circumstances of a royalist and covertly Catholic government. Pepys himself had no interest in religion but had to appear to hold the religious beliefs in favour at the time.
Pepys was good at his job and made a handsome living by accepting bribes from navy contractors. This was officially frowned upon, although one couldn’t live on the tiny salaries these jobs provided, and the practice was ubiquitous. Pepys claims that he accepted gifts but did not allow them to affect his judgment. Amazingly, his diaries record many instances of shameful conduct, such as cheating one of his associates and forcing his sexual attentions on a variety of servants, wives of acquaintances, serving wenches, and so on. Pepys was fascinated by his life and presents it to us warts and all.
Troubetzkoy, A. (2006). A brief history of the Crimean War: The causes and consequences of a medieval conflict fought in the modern age. London: Robinson.
The Crimean War was something like the Dieppe Raid, only a whole lot bigger. This is a war that was fought over essentially nothing: An obtuse, out of control, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, lots of ambitious intriguing among the European states, and the casus belli (believe it or not) was an argument between Catholic and Greek Orthodox priests about who should have the key to a basilica in Jerusalem. The war could easily have been avoided and almost was. Nevertheless, once begun, it was pregnant with long-term political and military consequences. Nicholas I, the autocratic Tsar, was an ardent anglophile who had thought his honourable and friendly intentions and his personal relationships with the English leaders could prevent a war with England.
Very well done history of a war that I, at least, knew scarcely anything about.
The Crimean War was something like the Dieppe Raid, only a whole lot bigger. This is a war that was fought over essentially nothing: An obtuse, out of control, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, lots of ambitious intriguing among the European states, and the casus belli (believe it or not) was an argument between Catholic and Greek Orthodox priests about who should have the key to a basilica in Jerusalem. The war could easily have been avoided and almost was. Nevertheless, once begun, it was pregnant with long-term political and military consequences. Nicholas I, the autocratic Tsar, was an ardent anglophile who had thought his honourable and friendly intentions and his personal relationships with the English leaders could prevent a war with England.
Very well done history of a war that I, at least, knew scarcely anything about.
Unger, M.J. (2008). Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo De’ Medici. NY: Simon & Schuster.
This is a wonderful book. Surprisingly, Lorenzo (1449-1492) “the magnificent” really was magnificent and not just in comparison with contemporary rulers, such as his son and successor, Piero, “the unfortunate”. Lorenzo was smart, brave, civic-minded, a patron and connoisseur of the arts, a poet, and skilful in politics and intrigue. He inherited the Medici banking empire from his father and grandfather, along with the family arthritis.
Unger artfully portrays the constraints on Lorenzo as the “first citizen” of Florence, as well as the opportunities he exploited. Lorenzo was not nobly born and lived in a kind of republican democracy. This was a problem for Florentine rulers because there was no noble lineage to offer irrefutable legitimacy. Florentine political power and wealth was vested in extended families who in turn were embedded geographically in neighbourhoods and socially in clusters of clients and dependents (sounds a lot like ancient Rome!). Unfortunately, the government was legally organized in such a way that it wouldn’t work if the laws were actually followed. Power had to be exercised behind the scenes through cabals of cronies. Propaganda, and subtlety, not to mention a sound economic program, were necessary. And, one had to avoid assassination by rival families.
The goal of all of the intrigue and striving was not only to have the most stuff when one died, but to advance the fortunes of one’s kin, particularly one’s children. One way to accomplish this was to amass a fortune and then marry into the landed nobility. Lorenzo succeeded admirably--he became one of the ancestors of the Kings of France and two of his sons became popes (ironic, because he had to face down a pope to accomplish what he did).
This is a wonderful book. Surprisingly, Lorenzo (1449-1492) “the magnificent” really was magnificent and not just in comparison with contemporary rulers, such as his son and successor, Piero, “the unfortunate”. Lorenzo was smart, brave, civic-minded, a patron and connoisseur of the arts, a poet, and skilful in politics and intrigue. He inherited the Medici banking empire from his father and grandfather, along with the family arthritis.
Unger artfully portrays the constraints on Lorenzo as the “first citizen” of Florence, as well as the opportunities he exploited. Lorenzo was not nobly born and lived in a kind of republican democracy. This was a problem for Florentine rulers because there was no noble lineage to offer irrefutable legitimacy. Florentine political power and wealth was vested in extended families who in turn were embedded geographically in neighbourhoods and socially in clusters of clients and dependents (sounds a lot like ancient Rome!). Unfortunately, the government was legally organized in such a way that it wouldn’t work if the laws were actually followed. Power had to be exercised behind the scenes through cabals of cronies. Propaganda, and subtlety, not to mention a sound economic program, were necessary. And, one had to avoid assassination by rival families.
The goal of all of the intrigue and striving was not only to have the most stuff when one died, but to advance the fortunes of one’s kin, particularly one’s children. One way to accomplish this was to amass a fortune and then marry into the landed nobility. Lorenzo succeeded admirably--he became one of the ancestors of the Kings of France and two of his sons became popes (ironic, because he had to face down a pope to accomplish what he did).
Warner, J. (2005). The incendiary: The misadventures of John the Painter, first modern terrorist. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
Very interesting little biography of a guy who tried to burn down several English shipyards during the American revolution. If he had succeeded, he would have had a big effect on the English war effort. Excellent historical details and well-fashioned. It’s marvelous how much the author could discover about this obscure historical figure.
Very interesting little biography of a guy who tried to burn down several English shipyards during the American revolution. If he had succeeded, he would have had a big effect on the English war effort. Excellent historical details and well-fashioned. It’s marvelous how much the author could discover about this obscure historical figure.
Weatherford, J. (2004). Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world. N.Y.: Crown.
One doesn’t have to agree with the author’s contention that the Mongol Empire was the first secular state to appreciate its importance in the development of the modern world. The Mongols were superb cavalrymen, conquering everyone that was not separated from Asia by water or living in heavily forested areas. At its height, the empire stretched from the Middle East to Korea. Unlike the Americans, the Mongols succeeded in conquering Vietnam. It has been argued that the Mongols saved Chinese culture for the Chinese by retaining and promoting the best of what they had. As a matter of policy, when conquering an area, the Mongols killed all of the nobility, were totally indifferent to the fates of commoners, but preserved all those who had particular manufacturing, mining, or agricultural skills, were literate, or holy men. They used the skilled people they conquered where they needed them in their vast empire.
As a very young man of bleak prospects, Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rescued his new bride from wife-stealing abductors. The resulting uncertain parentage of Ghenghis’s eldest son had political consequences but apparently little effect on Genghis’s fitness. There is genetic evidence that one in two hundred men alive today owe their Y chromosome to Genghis Khan (Tyler-Smith et al., 2003, American Journal of Human Genetics). Though the “universal ruler” was happily married, the most beautiful women in his gigantic empire were reserved for him.
One doesn’t have to agree with the author’s contention that the Mongol Empire was the first secular state to appreciate its importance in the development of the modern world. The Mongols were superb cavalrymen, conquering everyone that was not separated from Asia by water or living in heavily forested areas. At its height, the empire stretched from the Middle East to Korea. Unlike the Americans, the Mongols succeeded in conquering Vietnam. It has been argued that the Mongols saved Chinese culture for the Chinese by retaining and promoting the best of what they had. As a matter of policy, when conquering an area, the Mongols killed all of the nobility, were totally indifferent to the fates of commoners, but preserved all those who had particular manufacturing, mining, or agricultural skills, were literate, or holy men. They used the skilled people they conquered where they needed them in their vast empire.
As a very young man of bleak prospects, Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rescued his new bride from wife-stealing abductors. The resulting uncertain parentage of Ghenghis’s eldest son had political consequences but apparently little effect on Genghis’s fitness. There is genetic evidence that one in two hundred men alive today owe their Y chromosome to Genghis Khan (Tyler-Smith et al., 2003, American Journal of Human Genetics). Though the “universal ruler” was happily married, the most beautiful women in his gigantic empire were reserved for him.
Weber, E. (1999). Apocalypses: Prophecies, cults and millennial beliefs through the ages. Toronto: Random House.
Not a worthy successor to Norman Cohn’s classic 1957 book, The pursuit of the millennium. There are two difficulties with this book. The first is that there are so many cults and millennial crises over the years that the reader is overwhelmed and the second is that the author doesn’t seem to have a purpose in writing this book and presents no satisfying theory.
Not a worthy successor to Norman Cohn’s classic 1957 book, The pursuit of the millennium. There are two difficulties with this book. The first is that there are so many cults and millennial crises over the years that the reader is overwhelmed and the second is that the author doesn’t seem to have a purpose in writing this book and presents no satisfying theory.
Wheatcroft, A. (1995). The Habsburgs: Embodying empire. London: Penguin.
An examination of the Habsburg dynasty from 1020 through the present. Some very interesting history and a penetrating examination of the symbolism that the Habsburgs used as propaganda for their family. Unfortunately for the historically ignorant, the author assumes the reader is familiar with all of the more famous political events in the Habsburg dynasty. A good book to read while one is in Vienna!
An examination of the Habsburg dynasty from 1020 through the present. Some very interesting history and a penetrating examination of the symbolism that the Habsburgs used as propaganda for their family. Unfortunately for the historically ignorant, the author assumes the reader is familiar with all of the more famous political events in the Habsburg dynasty. A good book to read while one is in Vienna!
Wilson, P.H. (2010). Europe’s tragedy: A new history of the Thirty Years War. London: Penguin.
Europe’s tragedy? No kidding. A map of the mortality rate in the principalities of what is now mostly Germany shows that the war (1618-1648) killed over half of the people in Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Wurzburg, and the Palatinate, nearly half of those living in Fanconia, and about a third of those in Brandenburg, Magdeburg, Bohemia, and Bavaria. Estimates of the number killed (the majority from disease) range from 5 to 11.5 million in total. Even the lower estimate shows the war to be more destructive of human life in Europe than either of the two twentieth century World Wars--in terms of percentage loss of pre-war population, the Thirty Years War (20%), the First World War (5.5%), and the Second World War (6%).
The reasons for the Thirty Years War’s greater destructiveness were that it was much longer than more recent major wars and that armies were not directly funded by states. Armies lived off civilian populations—expropriating their food and goods, wrecking their farms, and driving them off of their land. Armies spread a variety of diseases among civilian populations as they marched around.
The war started with the quaintly named “defenestration of Prague” during which a pair of Catholic officials were thrown out of a window. From such humble beginnings, the war dragged on for thirty years, ending with the Peace of Westphalia. Although the war started primarily as a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants, it became more of a political struggle between the Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties. Everybody got involved, although not simultaneously: Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Spain, England, and France were the major players.
Wilson does a fine job, albeit in very small print, in guiding the reader through the battles and political developments of the war. It is so big and complex a story though, I think that most readers would prefer more of a Coles Notes version
Europe’s tragedy? No kidding. A map of the mortality rate in the principalities of what is now mostly Germany shows that the war (1618-1648) killed over half of the people in Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Wurzburg, and the Palatinate, nearly half of those living in Fanconia, and about a third of those in Brandenburg, Magdeburg, Bohemia, and Bavaria. Estimates of the number killed (the majority from disease) range from 5 to 11.5 million in total. Even the lower estimate shows the war to be more destructive of human life in Europe than either of the two twentieth century World Wars--in terms of percentage loss of pre-war population, the Thirty Years War (20%), the First World War (5.5%), and the Second World War (6%).
The reasons for the Thirty Years War’s greater destructiveness were that it was much longer than more recent major wars and that armies were not directly funded by states. Armies lived off civilian populations—expropriating their food and goods, wrecking their farms, and driving them off of their land. Armies spread a variety of diseases among civilian populations as they marched around.
The war started with the quaintly named “defenestration of Prague” during which a pair of Catholic officials were thrown out of a window. From such humble beginnings, the war dragged on for thirty years, ending with the Peace of Westphalia. Although the war started primarily as a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants, it became more of a political struggle between the Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties. Everybody got involved, although not simultaneously: Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Spain, England, and France were the major players.
Wilson does a fine job, albeit in very small print, in guiding the reader through the battles and political developments of the war. It is so big and complex a story though, I think that most readers would prefer more of a Coles Notes version
Winchester, S. (1998). The professor and the madman: A tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. N.Y.: Harper Collins.
Interesting story detailing how the “madman”, an American named William Minor, helped create the Oxford Dictionary from his confinement in Broadmoor Security Hospital. Minor had been a physician in the Yankee Army during the American Civil War before his breakdown. Subsequently he took a trip to England and murdered an innocent man as part of a psychotic delusional episode. Although a combination of schizophrenia and repressed sexuality ruined his life, he managed to achieve something worthwhile before his pathetic end.
Interesting story detailing how the “madman”, an American named William Minor, helped create the Oxford Dictionary from his confinement in Broadmoor Security Hospital. Minor had been a physician in the Yankee Army during the American Civil War before his breakdown. Subsequently he took a trip to England and murdered an innocent man as part of a psychotic delusional episode. Although a combination of schizophrenia and repressed sexuality ruined his life, he managed to achieve something worthwhile before his pathetic end.
Wilson, I. (2007). The Bible as history: Exploring the book that changed the world. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
A fascinating book on several levels. The author first deals with the archeological evidence for the history in the Old Testament. There is lots of new and interesting historical and archeological evidence and a good deal of it lends plausibility for several of the Old Testament stories. The illustrations are very well selected and complement the text admirably. I learned a lot—for example, when and why the Israelites dropped Hebrew for Aramaic. Then—POOF!—the author is suddenly bitten by the credulity fairy (or ingests something that affects his brain) when he turns to the New Testament. The treatment of Jesus’s life is essentially a religious tract that I couldn’t be bothered to finish reading. It does go to show you, however, that religious beliefs can be encapsulated in an otherwise perfectly sensible mind.
A fascinating book on several levels. The author first deals with the archeological evidence for the history in the Old Testament. There is lots of new and interesting historical and archeological evidence and a good deal of it lends plausibility for several of the Old Testament stories. The illustrations are very well selected and complement the text admirably. I learned a lot—for example, when and why the Israelites dropped Hebrew for Aramaic. Then—POOF!—the author is suddenly bitten by the credulity fairy (or ingests something that affects his brain) when he turns to the New Testament. The treatment of Jesus’s life is essentially a religious tract that I couldn’t be bothered to finish reading. It does go to show you, however, that religious beliefs can be encapsulated in an otherwise perfectly sensible mind.
Wroe, A. (2004). The perfect prince: Truth and deception in Renaissance Europe. NY: Random House.
This is the story of how a pretender to the throne, the fraudulent “Richard, Duke of York” attempted and failed to take the English throne from Henry the Seventh. Richard claimed to be the younger of the two pathetic sons of Edward IV who had been taken to the Tower upon Henry’s accession and never seen again. Richard was encouraged to varying degrees by various European kings and nobles for their own purposes but was supported in England only by the poorest and most marginal people. The tale is psychologically rich, involving deceptions, betrayals, naiveté, and pathos.
The author has a somewhat convoluted style that makes this book slow reading. In addition, the pace of action is glacial. However, the reader is sustained by the level of description of the background to the events of interest and the many asides describing what people believed and how they expected others to act in the 1450s to 1490s. All this context pays off in the second half of the book when the events come to have much greater interest and significance than they would have otherwise.
This is the story of how a pretender to the throne, the fraudulent “Richard, Duke of York” attempted and failed to take the English throne from Henry the Seventh. Richard claimed to be the younger of the two pathetic sons of Edward IV who had been taken to the Tower upon Henry’s accession and never seen again. Richard was encouraged to varying degrees by various European kings and nobles for their own purposes but was supported in England only by the poorest and most marginal people. The tale is psychologically rich, involving deceptions, betrayals, naiveté, and pathos.
The author has a somewhat convoluted style that makes this book slow reading. In addition, the pace of action is glacial. However, the reader is sustained by the level of description of the background to the events of interest and the many asides describing what people believed and how they expected others to act in the 1450s to 1490s. All this context pays off in the second half of the book when the events come to have much greater interest and significance than they would have otherwise.
Wulf, A. (2015). The invention of nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s new world. NY: Random House.
A detailed and readable, if somewhat repetitious, account of Humboldt’s long life (1769-1859). Although Humboldt was by far the most famous and admired scientist of his time, I knew nothing about him before reading this book. He first achieved fame with a book describing his heroic and arduous travels in South America. Humboldt combined scientific measurement with a poetic sensibility. A series of wildly popular books followed, covering geology, geography, biology, and anthropology. He wrote for both scientists and the general public and supported many younger scientists. He was the first to draw attention to the pernicious effects of colonial “development” on the ecosystem and the first to describe worldwide plant distributions as a function of temperature (altitude, latitude, ocean currents, etc.) and rainfall. Humboldt can be viewed as the founder of ecology and the conservation movement.
Humboldt was a man of enormous physical and mental energy; his intellectual output was astounding. This energy was reflected in his speech—he didn’t discuss, he lectured nonstop. A behavior known as logorrhea. He knew and corresponded with everyone. Although he was decidedly liberal politically, he received a salary from the Prussian king—a necessity because he had spent his large inheritance in pursuit of knowledge. Humboldt lived in Paris for many years, postponing requests by the king to return to Prussia and ornament his court. Humboldt preferred Paris because it was the intellectual center of Europe and likely because it was easier to have discreet homosexual liaisons there than in Prussia (oddly, this latter possibility is not entertained by the author).
Humboldt’s plans to visit the Himalayas were chronically frustrated by the British East India Company because of his anti-colonialism. Eventually, when he was sixty, he got the next best thing—permission and support to explore Russia. He covered 10,000 miles in six months by coach taking thousands of measurements and gathering thousands of samples. The journey allowed him to start his most ambitious writing project, “Cosmos”, he was working on the last volume, despite a failing memory, when he died at age eighy-nine.
Wulf describes Humboldt’s intellectual influence by his profound effect on specific individuals, notably literary illuminati (Johann Goethe, Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Jules Verne, Aldous Huxley, and Ezra Pound), scientists (Charles Darwin, Ernst Haeckel, and Louis Agassiz), conservationists (George Marsh and John Muir), and sundry others (Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, and Frederic Church (the painter). After his death, he was described by the Prussian king as the “greatest man since the deluge”.
A detailed and readable, if somewhat repetitious, account of Humboldt’s long life (1769-1859). Although Humboldt was by far the most famous and admired scientist of his time, I knew nothing about him before reading this book. He first achieved fame with a book describing his heroic and arduous travels in South America. Humboldt combined scientific measurement with a poetic sensibility. A series of wildly popular books followed, covering geology, geography, biology, and anthropology. He wrote for both scientists and the general public and supported many younger scientists. He was the first to draw attention to the pernicious effects of colonial “development” on the ecosystem and the first to describe worldwide plant distributions as a function of temperature (altitude, latitude, ocean currents, etc.) and rainfall. Humboldt can be viewed as the founder of ecology and the conservation movement.
Humboldt was a man of enormous physical and mental energy; his intellectual output was astounding. This energy was reflected in his speech—he didn’t discuss, he lectured nonstop. A behavior known as logorrhea. He knew and corresponded with everyone. Although he was decidedly liberal politically, he received a salary from the Prussian king—a necessity because he had spent his large inheritance in pursuit of knowledge. Humboldt lived in Paris for many years, postponing requests by the king to return to Prussia and ornament his court. Humboldt preferred Paris because it was the intellectual center of Europe and likely because it was easier to have discreet homosexual liaisons there than in Prussia (oddly, this latter possibility is not entertained by the author).
Humboldt’s plans to visit the Himalayas were chronically frustrated by the British East India Company because of his anti-colonialism. Eventually, when he was sixty, he got the next best thing—permission and support to explore Russia. He covered 10,000 miles in six months by coach taking thousands of measurements and gathering thousands of samples. The journey allowed him to start his most ambitious writing project, “Cosmos”, he was working on the last volume, despite a failing memory, when he died at age eighy-nine.
Wulf describes Humboldt’s intellectual influence by his profound effect on specific individuals, notably literary illuminati (Johann Goethe, Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Jules Verne, Aldous Huxley, and Ezra Pound), scientists (Charles Darwin, Ernst Haeckel, and Louis Agassiz), conservationists (George Marsh and John Muir), and sundry others (Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, and Frederic Church (the painter). After his death, he was described by the Prussian king as the “greatest man since the deluge”.