Reviews (2)

Hmmmmmm...............
This book is very interesting, contrasting 2 execptional men.It's a very easy book to read, although at times, it's slow.

Readable and interesting.
This book is a very interesting comparative study of two relevant statesmen of the XVII century, Richelieu and Olivares, the former very [bad-]known through the eyes of The Three Musketeers by Hollywood with the cooperation of Alexandre Dumas, the latter ignored by most of the people, as it usually happens with those that lose a war. Apart from being very readable (I bought it on Sun-day and I have finished by Tuesday) and not very long, the contrast between Richelieu and Oli-vares is useful to avoid topics and myths based on the supposedly a-religious and modern per-formance of the French Cardinal versus the obsolete behaviour and ideas of the Count-Duke, or on the national character of France and/or Spain. In the case of Olivares, I have found that this book dedicates more pages to deal with the psychological and/or personal aspects than Elliot's "The Count-Duke of Olivares. The Statesman in an age of decline", who focuses more on poli-tics. Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. France    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Political History    7. Reference    8. Western Europe - History    9. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    10. History / Europe / General    11. Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmn    12. Richelieu Armand du Plesses, duc de    13. Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis    14. Spain    15. c 1700 to c 1800    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (14)

Holes In The Grand Narrative.
The soul of this book is that the future of the west depends on the new remembering its roots in the ancient foundations of Rome, Christianity, and the Germanic traditions to create a smoother synthesis. The virtues we hold as sacred liberty, reason, and progress grew out of the old west. "We cannot flourish when its roots are ignored, or vilified." The author uses well crafted points to refute the emotional histrionics of political correctness used by his critics. He eloquently defends the west with a finely sharpened pen. Painfully pointing out that the west is more under siege from within than from external enemies. "Note this was written before 9-11-2001." The crucial points he made were as follows. Ch1-47-8, ch2-debunking some of our Greek roots 74-6,91-4. Ch3-108-9 He thoroughly proves that Rome deserves far more credit than the faulty "grand narrative gave it." Notable scholars like Fergus Millar and J.M. Roberts support his point. Ex: Without Rome's legions, how would Greek culture have reached central and western Europe? Ch4-He dissects Hollywoods distorting of our history and the non-scholars who fed their scripts. Ex: on 162, he proves how the revisionists were wrong, the Dark Ages were very bleek! Ch5-185-7, he reveals our often neglected German Heritage. Ch7-261-70,how the growth of the new west came about. Ch8-He reveals the various schools of the west in debate. Note-on 335 it is revealed that French author Arthur Gobineau inadvertantly founded "Nazi racialdoctrine." Ch9-Goes over the mistakes the west has made. Ch10-He deconstructs the "New Lefts Delusions." Ch11-The west vs. itself, how we have become overly self critical. Lastly, in ch12, on 556-9 Universalisms failure and how the west can thrive.

Thought-provoking Analysis
Gress' book is intensively researched and well formulated.It somewhat overstates the case "against" Greece as an ancestor of the modern West, but this really amounts to the author being very vigorous in deconstructing the "Grand Narrative" (the post-WWI narrative concocted by mostly American scholars and public intellectuals that celebrated Greece as the cradle of Western "democratic" civilization).
An Invaluable Deconstruction of the Liberal Grand Narrative.
David Gress's _From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Opponents_ is not only a 550 page book on the history of Western culture and civilization, but a deconstruction of the way Western history has been commonly taught in the past twentieth century.The so-called "Grand Narrative," developed after WWI by Columbia University, the University of Chicago and the popular historians Will and Ariel Durant in their multi-volume _History of Civilization_ series, told a story of the progressive development of civilization, democracy, freedom and liberty beginning in ancient Greece, continuing unabated until modern democratic states.Actually, not totally without negative incidents.The history of imperial Rome, the rise of Christianity in late antiquity with its subsequent Church-state symbiosis, and the middle ages, represent a break in this historical liberal continuity that reemerged during the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment out of which the modern West arose.This Grand narrative failed to acknowledge, the main point Gress makes, the contributions of Rome, Christianity and Germanic culture to Western civilization.However, the Grand Narrative's time frame was limited from its origins in the 1920s until roughly 1960 when far-left, multicultural, universalistic, postmodern and feminist interpretations of Western history made their appearance.While the Grand Narrative took a positive look at the West as a bastion of liberalism and progressivism, the 1960s interpretation took a totally negative perspective: the West as racist, sexist, patriarchal, capitalistic and oppressive.According to Gress, one of the reasons the Grand Narrative became so unpopular so quickly was that it was founded on the wrong presuppositions as to what constituted the West and overemphasized Greece at the expense of Rome, the Germans and the Catholic Church.Part of the entire problem with interpreting history is how the all-important concept of "liberty" is to be defined.Two distinct definitions exist.One is the original or classical definition of liberty as freedom over one's property without any undue government interference.The other, more upbeat stance defines liberty in terms of equality-of rights, privileges, etc. for everyone in society.However, liberty and equality tend to cancel each other out; people can be dummied down to be "equal" with others but they cannot be "forced to be free."Although Gress dismisses environmentalist concerns as pseudo-science and impeding progress especially in the Third World, I agree that environmentalism should not be attached to collectivist left-wing political agendas.In his conclusion, Gress discusses the different views--all of them liberal and multicultural--which have attempted to define Western identity since the fall of the Soviet Union, such as it continues to remain distinct from the rest of the world.The "West" itself has stood for many different things in the past.It is a land of youth, power and beauty but simultaneously where the sunsets and darkness and decline seem to inevitably set in. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Civilization    3. Civilization, Western    4. Historiography    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    8. History: World    9. Liberalism    10. Philosophy    11. Political science    12. Western Europe - General    13. Western Europe - History    14. World - General    15. Cultural studies    16. Europe    17. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    18. History / World    19. Political ideologies   

Reviews (1)

Monte Carlo is more than a casino
The author has previously published works on Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, and Countess Tolstoy -- but also on Judy Garland, Shirley Temple, Ronald Reagan, and P.T. Barnum, so the reader may be forgiven for unfounded suspicions of tabloidism. The second half of this workmanlike narrative does, in fact, concern itself mostly with the lively affairs of the current younger generation but the reader may ignore all that (or the reader may try).Read more

Subjects:  1. 1923-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Genealogy    6. General    7. Great Britain    8. Grimaldi family    9. III,    10. Monaco    11. Prince of Monaco,    12. Princes    13. Princesses    14. Rainier    15. Western Europe - History    16. Family    17. Grace   

Subjects:  1. 1871-1933    2. Antisemitism    3. Austria    4. Europe - General    5. General    6. Germany    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: American    10. History: World    11. Politics and government    12. Race And Ethnic Relations    13. Western Europe - History    14. History / General   

Subjects:  1. Children    2. Children's Studies    3. General    4. History    5. History: World    6. Parent and child    7. Sociology    8. Western Europe - General    9. History / General    10. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    11. Social history    12. Western Continental Europe   

Editorial Review

This illustrated history is an outstanding summary of current scholarship on the war that was supposed to end all wars. Nearly two dozen contributors write smart and accessible essays on a range of subjects, including the military strategies of the Allies and the Central Powers, the war at sea, economic mobilization, politics on the home front, and the peace settlement. The chapters are full of intelligent insights. John Morrow, writing on the air war, notes that fighter pilots became "the ultimate heroes of the First World War" because their feats of individual combat could be easily romanticized, in contrast to the mass slaughter taking place in the trenches below.Read more

Reviews (7)

Pretty good but not for beginers
I bought this book because I was hoping for more of a overview of WWI.I've read a lot about WWII and always have found it useful to read something general first, then identify the elements you found really intersting and go buy a focused book on those aspects.
Not for the Beginner
Let me add a disclaimer to this review, I am only moderately interested in the First World War and was hoping to get an easy to read and complete history of the conflict to aid my understanding.I thought this would be a good book to accomplish this task and cover the basics.What I found was that I had made a mistake.The book is a collection of essays written by some very competent and well thought of British historians.It appeared to me that each of them was very familiar with the topic chosen and the essays really were good, well thought out and written documents.The issue I had is that I was looking for more of a overview of the war, these essays left a lot of the basic information out, thus many times I felt that I was not getting the full story or even that I was lost. World War 1
The essays in this book are excellent. Writen by some of the greatest historians, of the First World War. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. History: World    4. Military - World War I    5. United States - 20th Century    6. Western Europe - General    7. European history: First World War    8. First World War, 1914-1918    9. History / Military / World War I    10. History, Other | Military History | WWI    11. Social history    12. USA    13. Western Continental Europe    14. World history: First World War   

Reviews (1)

The standard work on Ireland's military traditions.
In "A Military History of Ireland" editors Thomas Bartlett and Keith Jeffery brought together some of the best essays on Irish military history available to the modern reader. The authors discuss the early and medieval military traditions of the Irish and trace these traditions into the modern era. Those looking strictly for information on battle tactics etc. will be disappointed however. Throughout the book the focus is on the formation of bands of Irish fighting men and the evolution of this process in Ireland to the creation of modern military regiments and armies, and includes extensive information about the formation and nature of British army regiments in Ireland. The first few essays on the medieval Gaelic and Norman Irish military traditions however, makes this book worth getting, especially now that it's available (for $29.95!) in softcover. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Military - General    6. Western Europe - General    7. British & Irish history    8. British Isles    9. History / Great Britain    10. History / Ireland    11. History-Military - General    12. History-Western Europe - General    13. Ireland--History, Military    14. Warfare & Defence   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: American    5. Western Europe - General    6. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    7. Burghley, William Cecil,--Baron,--1520-1598    8. History / Great Britain    9. United Kingdom, Great Britain    10. c 1500 to c 1600   

Reviews (2)

Better Than Most, But Repeats Common Generalizations
This book mixes historical facts and stereotyped generalizations. Owing to space limitations, only a few of the latter can be reviewed. The prewar economic boycotts and numerus clausus at universities are mentioned, but not the fact that Polish Jews, at 10% of the Polish population, owned over 40% of Poland's wealth, and were over-represented at universities. These anti-Jewish policies were, using modern parlance, a form of affirmative action designed to get more Polish gentiles into Jewish-dominated institutions. The Most Important Book that You will Read on this Subject
The continuing debate between historians as to how to view the invasion of Poland and the Holocaust is perfectly expressed in this collection of essays.A must read for any historian, or anyone with an interest in the subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethnic relations    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jewish - General    8. Poland    9. Public opinion    10. Western Europe - General   

Reviews (1)

One quick, in-depth and conservative view of the Isles...
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. Great Britain    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Western Europe - General    7. 20th century    8. British & Irish history    9. Great Britain--History    10. History / Great Britain    11. United Kingdom, Great Britain    12. c 1700 to c 1800    13. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. 711-1516    2. Church history    3. Europe - Spain & Portugal    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Jimenez de Rada, Rodrigo,    8. Jimâenez de Rada, Rodrigo,    9. Medieval    10. Middle Ages, 600-1500    11. Spain    12. Western Europe - General    13. ca. 1170-1247    14. European history: c 500 to c 1500    15. History of religion    16. Religion / General    17. c 1000 CE to c 1500   

Reviews (41)

A Well-thought out and researched novel
In response to the review from 'Eric Rachut "Government doc"', I think that it is very important to point out that while people do need to read both sides of any story and decide for themselves, it is also important to be sure that both sides are based on historical fact, not historical imaginings. Free speech is important, of course, but Evans has every right to expose the lies for what they are.
This book is a pack of lies!!!
David Irving, for those who read his books and read the Trial Transcripts, makes it quite clear that
WHAT HAPPENED TO FREEDOMOF THOUGHT AND SPEECH?
David Irving, fluent in both German and Russian, was at one time the only historian who had access both to German and Soviet files of the Second World War. He was the one who, forty years ago, made the world aware of the terror-bombing and bloodbath at Dresden. Now, at age 67, he is facing three and maybe ten years in prison for "Holocaust" denial (the term, incidentally, was the invention of Elie Wiesel, who has urged perpetual hatred of all things German). Questions:
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Western Europe - General   

Reviews (1)

A glimpse into the written words of Napoleon
I loved this little book and read through it very quickly. It was interesting to me to read Napoleon's personal and private correspondence to Josephine. Each of the letters are presented in chronological order as they were written. One can very easily read Napoleon's varying moods through his written words at the time of each letter that is presented. This alone allows the book to be very readable and interesting on so many levels.
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Subjects:  1. 1769-1821    2. Correspondence    3. Emperor of the French,    4. Empresses    5. France    6. Historical - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Modern - 19th Century    11. Napoleon    12. Relations with women    13. Western Europe - General    14. Biography: historical    15. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    16. Western Continental Europe    17. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Interesting but misguided
I found Christopher Lee's 1603 to be a somewhat of an interesting if not misguided effort to present what life and events were like back in 1603. There's a lot of information in this book which proves to be interesting but they are poorly organized and presented. The author appears to throw them in without much explanations as if he wishes to showed off his primary sources.
As irritating as it is fascinating
This is what the title says: A book about the year 1603. A reader who expects an in-depth explanation of the machinations surrounding the succession of Elizabeth I by James I will be disappointed. Any discussion of this interesting subject remains extremely superficial.
Incoherent, garbled and convoluted
Lee scatters material across the pages with little regard for the book he's writing and its title, and no thought whatsoever for the supposed structure of the book. At any point, he is likely to digress into a confused and confusing family history of a minor player in the saga for no detectable reason. Not the slightest attempt has been made to edit his rambling style or apply rules of grammar, punctuation, or consistency. The result is a book that is actually unreadable, with its only saving grace being the generous quoting of contemporary sources.
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Subjects:  1. 1533-1603    2. 17th century    3. Civilization    4. Death and burial    5. Elizabeth    6. Europe - Great Britain - General    7. Great Britain    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. James I, 1603-1625    12. Modern - 17th Century    13. Queen of England,    14. Western Europe - General    15. History / Great Britain   

Reviews (2)

Microstates deserve more analysis of this kind
This fascinating compendium fills an important gap in the area of political and cultural geography.One hopes for a further augmented second edition that covers in more detail the Order of Malta (a sovereign entity), the Channel Islands (which are personal dependencies of the British Crown, not part of the UK and EU - and beyond the jurisdiction of the UK Parliament) and perhaps such unusual European enclaves as Campione d'Italia (a piece of Italy within Switzerland that functions as a quasi-Swiss jurisdiction).
A Masterful Geographical and Historical Work
In researching sources for information on Malta for a forthcoming excursion after the Universala Kongreso de Esperanto next year, I came across Tom Eccardt's "Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe."I not only found everything I needed to know about Malta, but was fascinated by his treatment of the other six small states. This is an excellently researched work, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in geography or history.
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Subjects:  1. Europe    2. Europe - General    3. Guidebooks    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. States, Small    8. Western Europe - General    9. World - General    10. Andorra    11. European studies    12. Liechtenstein    13. Luxembourg    14. Malta    15. Monaco    16. San Marino    17. Vatican   

Reviews (1)

Not a history book
This book was poorly conceived and even more poorly written. Most of the material should have been be presented in a sociology forum, not in a history book. The book has a short, but interesting chronology, and a few interesting maps, but overall, not worth the time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Civilization    3. Europe    4. Europe - General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. History: World    9. United States - Colonial Period    10. Western Europe - General    11. Designed / suitable for A & AS Level    12. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    13. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    14. European studies    15. History / Europe / General    16. History, World | Modern    17. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (1)

Smart and surprising
Soll is a scholar of political culture and information culture, which is a critical relationship these days, both at home and abroad. Soll specializes in the early modern period, and the surprise of this sophisticated, elegantly written book is that French humanist political culture came into being as an instrument of monarchical absolutism and evolved over time into radical, Enlightened political criticism. (Perhaps there is hope for top-down democratization, after all.) "Publishing the Prince" is erudite, but compulsively readable -- a rare partnership in the academic book market -- and an eye-opener into the origins of grand political arrangements many of us take for granted. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Europe    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Intellectual life    7. Modern - 17th Century    8. Philosophy    9. Political science    10. Western Europe - General    11. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    12. History / Europe / Western    13. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    14. USA    15. c 1700 to c 1800   

Subjects:  1. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    2. Europe - Great Britain - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Western Europe - General    7. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    8. England    9. English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism    10. History / Great Britain    11. London, Greater London    12. Social history    13. c 1500 to c 1600    14. c 1600 to c 1700    15. c 1700 to c 1800    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

A well-documented history of the Rump.
Blair Worden's The Rump Parliament is an exceptionally well researched piece discussing the inception of the Rump, what this body did while in power, and what led to its dissolution by Oliver Cromwell. Dr. Worden discusses the Rump's failures and successes with an insight shared by few of his contemporary historians.This book when read in tandem with Professor David Underdown's Pride's Purge will give the read a full understanding of the political intrigues and infighting which eventually caused this body to be dissolved in favor of the Barebones Parliament ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Western Europe - General    6. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    7. British Isles    8. History / Great Britain    9. Western Continental Europe    10. c 1700 to c 1800    11. c 1800 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

Turkey, write journalists Nicole and Hugh Pope in this well-made narrative history, is a land that defies easy categorization, a melange of elements "European, Western, Eastern, Islamic, fascistic, anarchic" that has always been something of an enigma to outsiders. After decades of stagnation, it is now emerging as a nation of central importance in Eurasian geopolitics, as it was in the days of the Ottoman Empire. The authors describe the growth of the modern Turkish state in the aftermath of World War I, when that empire, defeated by the Allied powers, splintered into some 30 independent states. Led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his so-called Young Turks, the postwar state sought to curb the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, to introduce some measure of democracy into a formerly autocratic system, and to secure a place for Turkey in the constellation of world powers. They were only partly successful; Atatürk, the authors contend, "led Turkey on the path of Westernization, but left it stranded half-way to full democratization because, deep down, he was not a democrat." Now, after years of military rule, the Turkish government is making efforts both to continue that democratization and to secure influence among the emerging Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. The nation, the authors write, is now the arena of conflict between left and right, fundamentalist and secularist, nationalist and cosmopolitan: it stands at a crossroads both political and historical. Westerners, they suggest, would do well to pay closer attention to Turkish affairs, and their book is a fine contribution toward that end. Read more

Reviews (35)

Journalistic and Biased
Don't think this book is completely useless. But it's not a serious resource about Turkey. If you already know a lot about this country (I mean if you already read for exemple Kalaycioglu's Turkish Dynamics or at least Zürcher's History of Turkey) Popes' book may be interesting in order to understand how foreigners see Turkey, Turkish people and turkish politics.
Good reference for the history of modern Turkey
This book is probably one of the best books to read about modern history of Turkey, which commonly starts from 1923, the establishment of Turkish Republic. Some date it back to 1908, the year the Constitution was reinstated for the second time and after when Committee of Union and Progress had been really dominant in Turkey's governance. Some might date it back to 1876, recognition of the First Constitution the by Ottoman Sultan, or to 1839, when Tanzimat Ferman was declared in Gulhane Park. Whatever it dates back to, Popes give some background on second half of the 19th century of Turkey, which lays the basics to understand the years of the new Turkish Republic.
Eyes Unveiled
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder as the saying goes. But if eyes can't see beauty is lost just the same. This book demands eyes of minds be unveiled to appreaciate the majesty of an honorable country and its people.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History: World    4. Middle East - Turkey    5. Turkey - History    6. Western Europe - General    7. History / Middle East