Editorial Review

At its peak in the nineteenth century, the British Empire was the largest empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the world's population. In Read more

Reviews (58)

Rule, Brittania

consise treatment of an otherwise daunting subject
I am not accustomed to reading books on history.This book is ideal for someone like me.At only 380 pages, this book does not intimidate, yet draws the reader in, and gives him an overview and basic understanding of how the British Empire came about (mostly by accident) and how it came to an end (WW1 and WW2).In between it offers interesting chapters on America, Africa and India.In particular the section on the Indian Raj has inspired me to pursue other books on this topic.
harmless time waster
This is a kind of casual time wasting stroll with a chipper professor of no great consequence, with his good decorum, correct opinions (eugenics is "snake-oil science", Kitchener was a butcher etc.) and dreadful witticims (on fishing being more important than religion in early Mass. "it was cod not God"). Fergie hassome interesting stuff on the beginnings of Empire (stealing gold from the Spanish) and how the heck Britain acquired India in the early days (by way of the East India Company, kind of an old day Halliburton with a private army). However past about 1880 it all becomes rather slipshod, complete with the oft regurgitated Churchill's personal observations on the Boer War and Sudan (if you have read "The Last Lion" by William Manchester you'll recognise the quotations) and stuff that seems clearly lifted from "A Peace to End all Peace" (albeit this is speculation as footnotes and citations of quoted materials are clearly not for philosopher kings like Mr Ferguson).
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. Great Britain - History    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Imperialism    7. World - Colonial Studies    8. World - Post-Colonial Studies    9. British Empire    10. World history: c 1750 to c 1900   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (9)

Russian Muckraking
This is a hard book to judge. In the first place, it's a collection of articles for what the author refers to as a newspaper, though the "New Gazette" appears to publish biweekly. This leads to some jarring articles next to one another: the first article denounces officials involved in the identification of the corpses of Russian soldiers killed in the first Chechen War 1994-6, and the second article, immediately following, denounces the first one as biased and reverses all of its statements. It's a bit strange.
Good overview
I have to disagree to some degree with those who say this is a *completely* biased piece.I also have suspicions that those who trash this work have not read it in it's entirety, if at all.Anna is certainly an advocate for the Chechen people, but she also attempts to show, albeit in small bits, the human side of Russian troops.Her writing is vivid, impassioned, but sometimes choppy.It can be difficult to read sometimes, but that may be the translation.I'm not sure how the September 11th attacks should obscure any opinions in favor of Chechen independence.Those views expressed appear to be shallow, with a blind, "follow the leader" approach.This shouldn't be an issue where you chant, "go team!"--Why not consider both sides?If you go to www.hrw.org there are plenty accounts of Russian abuse of Chechens, to be fair there is also abuse from Chechen fighters on civilians.This is a dirty war because it is corrupt on all sides.You can also find numerous other articles, not just from Politkovskaya, that echo the same problems with corruption, human rights abuses, etc.Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times is also a good source.Why is it so unfathomable that soldiers might commit abuses, be xenophobic, rape, etc.What about Elza Kungayeva's rapist?He was a high ranking colonel.Even though her rape was ommitted from her autopsy report and he was never actually convicted of rape, he still murdered her.Is that okay?Is that fair or right?Is that not terrorism at it's finest? To form a solid opinion you really need to consider all sides; you need to look at the root problems, it isn't a simple issue.---And it's obvious that it cannot be resolved through military measures alone.There really has to be some considerate discussion.(Putin has blasted that idea so I don't think it will happen.)And you cannot put blinders up and think that abuse is impossible, or even okay.It's too easy to reduce the Chechens to a nation of terrorists.

An Interesting Story yet Too Biased for Comfort
This book was somewhat of a disapointment. This is largely due to it's obviously biased viewpoints. However, what really bothered me was its lack of real information. The story was basically a compilation of dramatic stories all stressing how inhumane or heartless the Russian soldiers were and how ignorant westerners are, which would have been okay had that not been the only thing Politkovskaya said throughout the book.
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Subjects:  1. Chechnia (Russia)    2. Chechnëiìa    3. Civil War, 1994-    4. Current Affairs    5. Government - Comparative    6. History    7. History & Theory - General    8. Media Studies    9. Political    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Politkovskaia, Anna    13. Politkovskaëiìa, Anna    14. Press coverage    15. Russia (Federation)    16. Travel    17. Armed conflict    18. CHECHNIA (RUSSIA)_HISTORY_CIVIL WAR, 1994-    19. Chechnia    20. Chechnya    21. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    22. History / General    23. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    24. Journeys    25. Other prose: from c 1900 -    26. Politkovskaya, Anna    27. c 1990 to c 2000   

Editorial Review

Frances Mayes continues her love letter to Italy in this sequel to Read more

Reviews (19)

Beautiful photographs
This book is quite different from Mayes' first two books about Tuscany, which were more like travel memoirs. This book's focus is photographs, accompanied by some commentary, thoughts, and insights from Mayes, as well as some recipes. Frankly, I didn't read the text at all. I just enjoyed the photographs. I wish I'd had this book when I was reading Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany because all the places she talks about in those books are scattered throughout the pages of this book in beautiful photographs. We finally get to see what Mayes' charming Bramasole house looks like, as well as the town of Cortona and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. If you haven't read Mayes' first two books, read them and have this one handy so you can see for yourself just how beautiful these houses, towns, and people are.

In Tuscany
If you are the least bit interested in anything Italian then this is the book for you. "In Tuscany" has a great intro into the lifestyles there and more. There are many beautiful pictures and easy to follow recipes. A must have for those who are looking for a ecsape from our busy lives or an inspiration to redecorate your own home.

Complete the Experience
A delicious feast for the eye and heart.If you have read the book, if you have travelled in Tuscany this book brings it all home visually. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Description and travel    2. Europe - Italy    3. Italy - History    4. Mayes, Edward Kleinschmidt,    5. Mayes, Frances    6. Pictorials    7. Social life and customs    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Travel Guides    11. Tuscany (Italy)    12. Mayes, Edward Kleinschmidt    13. Travel / Pictorials   

Editorial Review

This is the exciting and highly literate story of the real Lawrence of Arabia, as written by Lawrence himself, who helped unify Arab factions against the occupying Turkish army, circa World War I. Lawrence has a novelist's eye for detail, a poet's command of the language, an adventurer's heart, a soldier's great story, and his memory and intellect are at least as good as all those. Lawrence describes the famous guerrilla raids, and train bombings you know from the movie, but also tells of the Arab people and politics with great penetration. Moreover, he is witty, always aware of the ethical tightrope that the English walked in the Middle East and always willing to include himself in his own withering insight. ... Read more

Reviews (48)

Deserves the highest acclaim it gets
I read this book after visiting Turkey and Jordan some years ago andwas bedazzled by it in every respect.A remarkable military campaign, the extremely complex Lawrence and the account of WWI with the historicalfigures Ataturk, Feisal, Allenby etc.The victory of the Arabs and the British, with all the military daring and intrigue is one of the most amazing stories of the war.That Lawrence just happened to be a literary giant as well and could write as intensely well as perhaps any other 20th C English writer (that I know) is one of those strange coincidences that defies probability.
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Lawrence of Arabia. we have all heard the name and or seen the movie. But who is this guy who was able to unite semitic tribes and help force the turks and germans out of the desert and back into the mountains of Turkey. This is a well written book that is 80 years old. It is a look at a time before oil dominated the economy of this very harsh land. Lawrence autobiographically explains his part in the Arab uprising and how he won confidence and trust from a people who avoided all outside contact. Lawrence's style of writing was difficult at first but by the third chapter the reader will adapt and then it gets fun. This is a must read for anyone doing business or war in the mideast. If only our present leaders would have read this book first. They might have avoided a few of their missteps.

One of the best books ever written!
I first read this book in the early 1960s and because of it T. E. Lawrence became my favorite author. And after all of these years he still is. It's not a frivolous book; the writing does demand your attention and effort. The book is full of adventure, humor, history, analysis, and biographical insight of Lawrence and the Arabs and their life. And as other reviewers have noted, much of this book helps people understand the Arabic situation today.
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Subjects:  1. (Thomas Edward),    2. 1888-1935    3. 20th century    4. Arabian Peninsula    5. Arabs    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Campaigns    8. Historical - General    9. History    10. Lawrence, T. E    11. Literature - Classics / Criticism    12. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    13. Military History - Modern    14. Personal narratives, British    15. Saudi Arabia - History    16. World War, 1914-1918    17. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Reviews (34)

A useful starting point, but not a conclusion
One measure of success for a book such as this is how effectively it stimulates discussion.Unfortunately, opinion seems to have polarised around those who think every statement in this book is correct, and those who do not.
It's Called Treason
Mark Steyn says it best: "Much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most Western European countries." - January 2006 THE NEW CRITERION
Chilling information
The first chapter is weak, because the author gives opinions not facts. The remainder of the book is very factual, well researched, well presented.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. 21st century    3. Europe    4. Europe - General    5. General    6. History - General History    7. Influence    8. International Relations - General    9. Islam    10. Islam - Law    11. Islam and state    12. Jihad    13. Political Science    14. Politics and government    15. Politics/International Relations    16. Sociology    17. International relations    18. Middle East   

Subjects:  1. Blue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)    2. History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. United States - South - General    6. United States - State & Local - General    7. United States - State & Local - South    8. 20th century    9. American Indian Federation; Appalachia; Appalachian culture; Arno B. Cammerer; Asheville, North Carolina; Blue Ridge Parkway; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Bureau of Public Roads; Cahterine Bauer; Civilian Conservation Corps; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Eastern National Park-to-Park Highway; eminent domain; environmental history; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Fred Bauer; Fred L. Weede; George Stephens; Good Roads Movement; Grandfather Mountain; Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Harold L. Ickes; Harlan P. Kelsey; Harry F. Bird; Heriot Clarkson; highway building; historic interpretation; historic preservation; historic sites; Hugh MacRae; Hugh Morton; Indian New Deal; Jarrett Blythe; John Collier; Josephus Daniels; Josiah Bailey; Kenneth McKellar; Knoxville, Tennessee; land use; landscape; landscape architecture; Linn Cove Viaduct; Linville, North Carolina; Little Switzerland; Luther H. Hodges; Mabry Mill; Mission 66; National Park Service; Native Americans; New Deal; North Carolina State Highway and Public Works Commission; parkways; Peaks of Otter, Virginia; Public Works Administration; regional planning; R. Getty Browning; Robert L. Doughton; Roanoke, Virginia; Sam P. Weems; Shenandoah National Park; Skyline Drive; Stanley W. Abbott; Tennessee Valley Authority; Terry Sanford; timbering; tourism; Yonahlossee Trail    10. History / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)    11. Local history    12. North Carolina    13. Transport planning & policy    14. Virginia   

Reviews (3)

A remarkable and exceptional book
When I read Charles Gati's prize winning "Hungary and the Soviet Bloc," I then thought that he had written the last and best word on our understanding of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 during the Cold War. Then, unexpectedly, several years later the Berlin Wall came down, Hungary and the USSR's East European satellites regained independence, and heretofore closed Cold War archives began to open. From archives in Budapest and Moscow as well as from dozens of interviews with participants of '56 both East and West, Professor Gati has written a classic of Cold War history and analysis which arguably will become the definitive account of the multi-sided, tragic events of 1956 in Hungary. No stone has been left unturned -- the author has read the minutes of the Politburo meetings in the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as the interrogation and trial transcripts from the last days before his execution of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. This fluently written, masterfully organized, and exeptionally well integrated small volume deserves to sit on the Cold War history shelf along with Allison's "Essence of Decision," the study of another major event of the era, the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A HumanJourney
Take the experts' word that this study is a reliable, extensive, and insightful account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolt. What strikes me is the personal element. We go from the recollections of a young, unsophisticated journalist of 22, caught in the tide of momentous events he does not understand, to the retrospection of a highly sophisticated scholar revisiting those events and doing his very best to look behind history's curtain to resolve their meaning. It is a gripping, honest, and personal account, rendered with the binocularity of five decades of study. A century from now, this will still be the book to read, not just for the facts but also for the feel of one of the 20th century's signal struggles.

First rate history
Gati's definitive account of the Hungarian revolution and the American role in it reads like a LeCarre novel with documentation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Austria & Hungary    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Foreign relations    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Hungary    9. Revolution, 1956    10. Revolutionary    11. Soviet Union    12. United States    13. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    14. Revolutions & coups    15. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (5)

"Du Marivaudage" or about Seduction in french style fashion and interiors
This is a book you will enjoy. It will appeal to anyone interested in decorative arts in France between 1750 and 1789. The fashion focuses on dress and its aesthetic interplay with art, furniture, and the decorative arts of the period. Presented in a dramatic setting, the beautiful pictures of the Metropolitan Museum exhibition explore the dressed body's spatial negotiation of the 18th-century interior as a choreography of seduction and erotic play.

Stunning collection of costume photos
Beautiful full color photographs of the Met's Louis XIV's clothing collection and furniture.Manequines are dressed in beautiful originals and posed in drawing rooms and boudoirs in real life poses, flirting, playing piano, having their hair done, playing cards.The photographs are very well done, clear and the detail pieces will be a boon to any costumer.I highly recommend this book for costumers and other historical clothing buffs.

Fusion of Fashion and Style, done with amazing grace
When I was young, I read a biography for children about the tragic Marie Antoinette, last queen of France, and found myself enthralled by the exquisite decorative arts of the time. It was a culture that viewed that every surface and substance was an opportunity to embellish and use. Sometimes the end results were overblown, but also managed to stay on the edge of good taste.
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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Clothing and dress    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Design    7. Design - Decorative    8. European    9. Exhibitions    10. Fashion    11. France    12. Furniture    13. History    14. History - General    15. Metropolitan Museum Of Art - Exhibition Catalogs    16. Art / Design / Decorative    17. Fashion design    18. Furniture & cabinetmaking    19. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (43)

Koestler Reveals Mistaken Heritage of Displaced Khazars
If some Chinese leaders decide to be Religious and
Khazar
The book delivered the information I was looking for.There were times that I got lost trying to follow the nomadic patterns of the tribe.Overall, the book is a good read, and I recommend it to others.

Historically Interesting, Conclusion Value Poor
From circa 700 ce to 1100 ce, there was a Khazar Empire that existed north of the Caucasus Mts between the Black and Caspian Seas, that controlled the Volga-Don River portage.They were a bullwark against tribes moving east to the Ukraine and the European plains; against the moslems moving north from Persia; and the Viking-Rus moving south from Muscovy/Kiev.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History: World    3. Judaism - History    4. Khazars    5. Medieval    6. Eastern Europe    7. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    8. Non-Classifiable   

Editorial Review

María Rosa Menocal's wafting, ineffably sad Read more

Reviews (51)

A Forgotten Chapter in European History
Maria Rosa Menocal's ORNAMENT OF THE WORLD is a lively and highly readable account of Al-Andalus, the Spain created by Muslims. It was a world which sparkled with brilliant achievements in poetry and literature, architecture, and technology-- for instance it invented the astrolabe, one of the first instruments facilitating successful navigation. It alone kept Greek learning alive when the rest of Europe was still ignorant of the major Greek classics. Most importantly, it was an oasis of tolerance, for its Muslim leaders considered the adherents of all three Abrahamic religions to be dhimmi, or People of the Book.It was founded in 711 when Abd al Rahman, successor of the Umayyad dynasty driven from Damascus by the victorious Abbasid dynasty, established a new caliphate in Cordoba, Spain.For centuries the empire it unified on the Iberian peninsula produced great writers and scholars of all three religions.Perhaps the best known Muslim product of this culture is Ibn Hazm, author of the Ring of the Dove, a treatise on love.But it was also a golden age of Jewish learning, and an age in which Jews could rise to the highest positions in government as well-- for instance Hasdai ibn Shaprut, or Son of Isaac, grand vizier and general of Abd Al Rahman III.By the 11th Century the unified kingdom of Cordoba had broken apart into a number of competing taifa or city-states, which retained some measure of the glory of Cordoba.It was in this atmosphere that Rodrigo Diaz, known as El Cid from the Arabic Al Sayyid ("lord" or "chief"), a Christian warrior, became a general fighting for one Muslim ruler against another with armies which contained large contingents of Christians.The first groups to try to stamp out this cultural tolerance were Muslims, puritanical and uncultivated Berbers known as Almovarids or Almohads.But the real death knell came in 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella conquered the last Muslim taifa of Granada, site of the famous Alhambra, and established a form of persecution even worse than religious bigotry, with the most ominous implications for the future of Western civilization.But that dismal turn of events is the subject for another book review.

Rosa's rose-colored glasses
Elegantly written and copiously researched but when considered against a slew of other popular works, Professor Menocal's tome is an overly exuberent romanticization of Islamic Spain (al-Andalus). al-Andalus had its epoch of extraordinary brilliance, most notably in the rise of the Cordoba Caliphate but this shining moment quickly dissipated by the early century 11th century. Its demise heralded a 400 year descent into civil war, chaos and the arrival of Islamist fundamentalism in the guise of the Almohads and Almoravids, spiritual predecessors of Salafists/Wahabis and al Qaeda. So severe and intolerant was their programme that they scattered not only Jews and Christians but drove away many Muslims not meeting "muster". The book would be a benign literary excess were the subject not so topical. Islamists the world over yearn for, among other things, a victorious return to al-Andalus. Waxing poetic about a perfection that never was only feeds the fantasies of radicals and disarms those well-meaning readers in the West most likely to lose out. For a better balanced, equally erudite and far more sober look, consider "Moorish Spain" by Richard Fletcher.

An ornament, worthy of 5 stars
This book possesses the characteristics of a novel rather than a book of history in many ways. The author describes and narrates historical events, personalities and notions in a very delicate, riveting, and beautiful manner yet maintaining a plain language and thus addresses all levels of intellectual capacity among readers.
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Subjects:  1. Christians    2. Europe - Spain & Portugal    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Medieval    7. Medieval World History (Circa 450 - Circa 1450)    8. Muslims    9. Spain    10. Toleration    11. Western Europe - General    12. European history: c 500 to c 1500    13. History / Medieval    14. Interfaith relations    15. c 1000 CE to c 1500   

Reviews (8)

A Stunning Inspirational Expression of the Louvre
I admire deeply the work put together in this book. I believe it was compiled with integrity to the purpose of relaying the center of some of the world's most exquisite art. First of all it is a massive volume in deep, rich color and when you receive it no matter what price you paid it feels well worth it. On several pages you will see a whole painting and then on the next page an enlarged version of the painting's focal point, a section of the art to show the rich detail. Of course you will lose some detail with any representation of this work. But if you can't make it to the Louvre or have been to the Louvre and would like to bring some of the soul stilling art home I highly recommend this book.

Overrated
I'm surprised by the glowing reviews for this book.The reproductions are of poor quality.My advice would be to buy a book published in the last ten years, no more.

Paintings In the Louvre
Unparalleled in its breadth and scope, and unique in the quality of its sumptuous color reproductions, "Paintings In the Louvre" is THE BEST, the most lavish and comprehensive book ever published on the greatest collection of paintings in the world - in the Louvre Museum, in Paris.If you really like beautiful, fine European art, then this oversized, weighty, hard-back book is the book for you!Crisp, clear, beautiful full-color reproductions of more than 800 of the most important paintings that hang in the Louvre, this book is especially wonderful in that a good portion of this book is some of the most striking Christian art in the world....Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Catalogs    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    5. Dictionaries    6. France    7. History    8. History - General    9. Painting    10. Paris    11. Techniques - Painting    12. Art / Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    13. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    14. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (8)

Puts the French on Pedestals
The book is written as if the French have a monopoly on good taste.B. Phillips gushes over the French lifestyle to the point of annoyance.I found myself saying, enough already! I got the book because I've travelled to France since I was a kid and now I'd like to decorate my home with French influences.But after reading her book, with its genuflecting and contradictions, I was turned off.An example of contradiction:At one point the book states that the French are not ostentacious and prefer simple, tasteful items in the home.But from the interior pictures of mansions, that hardly seems to be the case.Also, I couldn't see any children being happy in these homes.They look like hotels and museums.The book had one very redeeming quality.The guides outlining "must haves" are very good.

French Details
"Detail is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary." ~Unknown The Nicest Room is on the Cover
The rest of the book is page after page of heavy, ornate rooms that lack individuality and warmth.The decor is superficially beautiful because all the "signals" of wealth are there:expensive sofas and chairs, brocade curtains, period furniture, "French" bric-a-brac, but ultimately it's a collection of overly-designed showpieces. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Decorating - General    4. Decoration and ornament    5. France    6. History    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. Influence    9. Interior Design - General    10. Interior decoration    11. United States    12. Architecture / Interior Design    13. Interior design   

Reviews (6)

Very Good
This is a very good overview of Plato's philosophy. I would recommend this volume for those that want to learn of his philosophy without reading that acual works.

(no title)
I cannot recommend this volume highly enough. It's a collection of essays, all (bar one) especially written for this volume, each of them authored by a leading scholar on the respective dialogue or topic. Especially the pieces by Frede and Fine constitute path-breaking, durable contributions to Plato scholarship; each of them would merit the purchase by itself. Between them, Frede and Fine also introduce the reader to two rather different approaches to interpreting Plato, and at once present these approaches at their very best.
Your time and money are better spent elsewhere
Plato is perhaps the most approachable of the major philosophers. His work is largely presented in short dialogues. Their brevity allow them to be read in a single sitting, and their characterizations, humor, and stories engage even the reader new to philosophy.Read more

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