History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present

Average customer rating:

Francophobia does not reflect well on the Anglo-Saxon world.
An esepcially enjoyable reading experience - and quite a fresh perspective for Americans
A good book for serious readers
A Fascinating Review of 300 Years
Quite brilliant

That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present
Robert Tombs , and Isabelle Tombs
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Western | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1400040248
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Book Description

A brilliantly original account—narrated from both sides—of the love-hate relationship between Britain and France that began in the time of Louis XIV and shows no sign of abating.

That Sweet Enemy brings both British wit (Robert Tombs is a British historian) and Gallic panache (Isabelle Tombs is a French historian) to bear on three centuries of the history of Britain and France. The authors take us from Waterloo to Chirac’s slandering of British cooking, charting the cross-channel entanglement and its unparalleled breadth of cultural, economic and political influence. They illuminate the complexity of the relationship—rivalry, enmity, misapprehension and loathing mixed with envy, admiration and genuine affection—and the ways in which it has shaped the modern world, from North America to the Middle East to Southeast Asia, and is still shaping Europe today. They make clear that warfare between the two countries often went hand in hand with hardy, if hidden, strains of anglophilia and francophilia; conversely, though France and Britain were allies for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it has been an alliance almost as uneasy, as competitive and as ambivalent as the previous generations of warfare.

Wonderfully written—acute, witty, consistently surprising—That Sweet Enemy is a triumph: an eye-opener for the experts, and a feast for the general reader.

Customer Reviews:

Francophobia does not reflect well on the Anglo-Saxon world........2007-08-26

This book is another "monument" to the francophobia of the Anglo-Saxon world. It is full of clichés and often it distorts the truth. I will take only three examples :

- 1 - The section on Napoleon is ridiculous. To start off by putting on the same level Napoleon, Stalin and Hitler is just not right.

- 2 - The narration of the start of WWI is not right too. I suggest that Barbara Tuckman's book "The Guns of August", Pulitzer price, is the correct history. It shows how poorly the English were prepared for the war, how they kept retreating and that the French were left alone against the full fury of the German attack. Come on, be fair ! The French won the first World War, not the English.

- 3 - Then what happened in the thirties is not reported fairly. Churchill, in "Gathering Storm" writes : "How the English speaking people through their unwisdom, carelessness and good nature (?) allowed the wicked to rearm". Many others make the same point, for instance, Zara Steiner in her book "The Lights that failed". The result of francophobia was Hitler.

This book was a waste of my time. And I would venture that the English and Anglo-Saxon world are now in permanent relative decline. As the subprime mess is showing, finance has its limits. Nial Ferguson in his book "Colossus" writes about the three Anglo-Saxon deficits : attention deficit disorder, people deficit, money deficit. How true!

In 1945, the Anglo-Saxon world was the victor. But since then, it has lost all its advantage and more.
The defining moment was when Jean Monnet understood that France and Germany should be tied together so tightlty that never a European war could again take place. Monnet succeeded. Since then, continental Europe is an island of prosperity and good life : perfect infrastructures, education for everybody, good health system, high productivity and long holydays. The Anglo-Saxon world is the reverse: the rich live very well but the low and middle classes are being squeezed to complete dispair. Continental Europe shows more balance and less greed.
The rest of the world has progressed a lot. China, Brazil, India, Japan, etc... are great success stories. The problem of the Anglo-Saxon world is that it has not yet realized that the rest of the world has improved so much that it is tired of Anglo-Saxon arrogance.

Today, when America does something right, in six months it has been taken up by the rest of the world . When something right is done in Europe and elsewhere, the Anglo-Saxon world will argue for five years before taking it up... The surest path to mediocrity. Just look at what happen to the Anglo-Saxon automobile industry.

Today Europe is prosperous. America and England still have to spend billions - that they don't have - to rebuild their education system, their health system and their infrastructure. France is not agressive toward England, but France is amazed at the fact that England is still Bush and America's poodle... France and continental Europe want peace and democracy but they understand that it is a process to be negotiated and which requires time and respect. Bombs don't solve problems, diplomacy does. Jean Monnet showed the way. Thanks to his honesty, sincerety, openness and patience, peace was achieved. Read his memoirs...

I am a solid anglophile but this book could make of me an anglophobe. But I shall not condescend to such pettiness. Let us stop this cheap in-fighting. Climate change is the biggest threat that the world ever will meet. We need England to convince America to give up on its selfishness and work with the rest of the world on an equal and generous footing.

An esepcially enjoyable reading experience - and quite a fresh perspective for Americans.......2007-05-22

Yes, I read a lot of books. And I review the books I enjoy (there is no point to reading what one dislikes, is there?). Once in awhile I run across a book I find to be very special and am especially enthusiastic about. This is one of those books.

Robert and Isabelle Tombs are scholars on the history of France and Britain and the combine their wonderfully expansive knowledge of those histories to give us a tour of the social, economic, military, political, and cultural histories of these nations from Louis IV through the first few years of the Twenty-First Century. As an American who grew up while America was always a dominant (if not the dominant) world power, it is particularly interesting to see how the world's major powers interacted and contended when America was largely, as yet, unpopulated by the Europeans.

Even our Revolution, so central to every American's understanding of our nation, takes a minor role in a much larger global struggle for supremacy. Both Britain and France tried to cause the other to stretch their ability to hold their growing Empires together. Each had to make choices on what to hold onto and what had only secondary importance, and what to let go. This happened over and over again. Eventually, their mutual struggles became a mutually cooperative relationship to deal with the rising German (and other) threats.

What I like about this telling is that the authors do not feel the need to side with anyone in particular. They provide quite a number of side articles (in the shaded areas) to flesh out specific points. There are also special sections such as the "interlude" (a couple of pages) on the French and Shakespeare. We also get some wonderfully chosen illustrations. However, what I like most are the chapters where the authors draw their separate conclusions and disagreements on various topics. The provide differing perspectives on the same topics that through the subject into better relief than one side alone. These sections provide for a rich perspective and help make the reading experience seomthing I wanted to savor.

The book has a tremendous amount of information about economic expenditures, the great leaders, the common folks, the literary digs at each nation, the technological leaps, the balancing of the benefits of a strong navy with the amazing costs incurred to build and maintain it. The authors are also quite clear about what was fortune (for good or ill) and what happened that actually looks like good judgment and skillful execution.

For Americans, this is can be a very helpful and educational book. It has been for me and I am grateful to the Tombs for writing it.

A good book for serious readers.......2007-04-16

This is a well-written book about the relationship between Britain and France over the past three centuries or so. It reviews the history, the development of their cultures and identities, and the influence that both have exerted on one and another, and in fact on many aspects of modern society allover the world in areas ranging from politics and economics to art, literature, fashion and cuisine. The authors are a couple, a British husband and professor of history at Cambridge University, and a French wife with a Ph.D. in modern British history. The authors' background, in my view, might help ameliorate some potential biases. The authors have attempted to provide several point and counterpoint discussions to illustrate the difference between the British and the French views.

The book however is a lengthy tome of a little more than 700 pages. Many scholars tend to believe that writing about history usually benefits from looking backward at events after the passions of the day have subsided, and more historical records become available for serious study. Perhaps this book could have presented a more balanced and a somewhat shorter review by omitting Part IV,"Revival" dealing with recent history. In particular, chapter 14, "Ever Closer Disunion", including commentary on ongoing events such as the War against Militant Islamic Terrorism, seems to suffer from the lack of a decent historical distance to allow a dispassionate review; and seems to be somewhat influenced by anti-American propaganda.

The authors seem to consider that the American Independence War, as a part of the British-French continued wars in the 18th century. They further argue, "France's victory in 1783, though it created the United States of America, has bankrupted the French Bourbon monarchy and led to the French revolution. Clearly, France's assistance to the American colonies was not only important but also instrumental for the ultimate victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. After the French and Indian war 1754-1763,France attempted to foment rebellion against Britain in the American colonies. In 1775, the French minister of foreign affairs, Comte de Vergennes, dispatched a representative to Philadelphia, who secretly met with five of the leaders of the colonies, one of whom was Benjamin Franklin. These attempts however did not stir up the Americans to take the French bait. However after approximately a year of war between the British and the American Continental armies 1775-1776, and the declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress sent Benjamin Franklin in December 1776 to France to seek assistance. The initial French assistance was relatively small, measured in a way so as to avoid war with Britain. It was only after the Americans prevailed at the battle of Saratoga in October 1777, that the French attitude started changing, and finally agreed to sign a treaty with the colonies in 1778. A more serious assistance was attempted by France afterwards. Also it seems that the French Bourbon monarchy bankruptcy is more related to a spree of spending and borrowing from 1783 to 1787 managed by France's controller general, Charles de Calonne. The spending and borrowing bubble ultimately burst in 1787. The bubble burst was further aggravated by the Assembly of Notables refusal in February 1787 to authorize further taxation to increase revenues, and remedy the incipient Bourbon bankruptcy.

This is a well-written book that I believe the serious readers and aficionados of modern western civilization would find both informative and entertaining.

A Fascinating Review of 300 Years.......2007-02-23

This very long (I guess about 750,000 words of text), informative and frequently amusing narrative and analysis of the clashes and misunderstandings between Britain and France (even when they were on the same side) over the past 300+ years is fascinatng and very well done. I thought I knew the history pretty well, at least from the British side, but this opened my eyes many times.

The strict focus on the two protagonists has produced what to me as an American seems to be an oddly distorted (although not inaccurate) picture of the last 70 years or so, because there is relatively little discussion of the participation of the United States in world events.

I have two complaints about the book. One is that the detailed comparison of the economic position of the two countries in recent times virtually overlooks the stultifying effect on France's employment level and economic activity of its restrictive and "protectionist" trade policy.

The second is that the index is truly dreadful, particularly considering the length of this book. I frequently looked, for example, in the index to see if a particular person was mentioned. When I failed to find that person's name in the index I assumed he/she was not mentioned. But it turned out that the index was incomplete.

Quite brilliant.......2006-05-08

This tome of nearly 700 pages of text about the relations between Britain and `that sweet enemy, France' (a phrase from a sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney) is like a huge pudding stuffed with goodies: I have rarely read a history book whose brilliance is sustained over such an immense time-range - from the reign of Louis XIV to that of Jacques Chirac. The authors - the husband an Englishman, his wife born in France - handle the story with skill, and efficiency, and they frequently employ a joyous felicity of phrase to point up differences and similarities between England and France. There are neat descriptions of personalities - the authors are always forthright in their judgments - and spirited accounts of campaigns. Even someone who, like myself, considered himself quite familiar with the political narrative will come across sections which throw a new light upon it. I learnt much, for example, from the Tombs' description of France's involvement in the American War of Independence, and from their interesting reflections on how the loss of the American colonies, even in the short term, turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Britain. And the wider narrative is frequently interrupted by vignettes of little-known episodes, set in a different type, which further illuminate the themes under discussion.

There is a particularly striking chapter about the differences between the British and French navies during the Second Hundred Years' War: here, as throughout the book, the authors fully acknowledge and make excellent use of the secondary literature they have consulted. (Their list of secondary authorities runs to 28 pages.)

After the Napoleonic Wars Britain and France were never again at war with each other, and since the Entente Cordiale of 1904 they have technically been allies. But that does not mean that there have not been tensions and suspicions between the two countries throughout all these years, even during the First and Second World Wars, and of course during the inter-war period also. The authors are interesting on Appeasement. Most historians say that the French could not stop Hitler marching into the Rhineland or the Sudetenland because the British would not have supported them. The authors say that for various reasons the French governments, like the British, would not have wanted to risk a conflict anyway and were glad later to blame their non-intervention on the lack of British support.

After the Second World War Britain and France took such different attitudes towards `ever closer union' in Europe that there really has been very little cordiality between them. The parts of the book dealing with the issue of Europe bring out very well the very different visions of the two countries in an account that shows clearly how British policy handed the leadership of Western Europe to France for more than half a century, but which has broken down in today's enlarged European Union. Besides, the book argues, that leadership was exercised in a way which, after early economic successes, eventually brought stagnation to France.

The political chapters are interspersed with sparkling chapters on culture and society: how each nation saw and often stereotyped the other; how each alternatively (or simultaneously) mocked and copied, despised and envied, hated and admired the other, but could never be indifferent. Travel, manners in general and table manners in particular, sport, fashions in clothes, attitudes to the theatre, the views the two countries had about each other's women, philosophical traditions - these are some of the subjects that are treated with wit and learning.

Not the least among the charms of this book are the debates between husband and wife which end each of the four parts into which the volume is divided. It is perhaps a bit of a knockabout, in which both rally fairly uncompromisingly to the defence of their native countries; but the summing up of the `British' and `French' points of view is very well done and thought-provoking.

This must already be the most authoritative and enjoyable treatment of the period under review; but I hope that the success of this book will encourage the authors to produce a prequel, from the Norman Conquest to the 17th century, or at least from the 16th to the 17th century: the Tudor-Valois period is, in my opinion, the defining period during which the most essential differences between England and France took shape, and I would love to see the authors tackle it with the same verve which has made this book such a remarkable achievement.

Average customer rating:

I wish I'd never started.
dont go beyond the warning!...spoilers!!!
The Crimson King Revealed
A little disappointing.
I liked it ...

The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743254562
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Amazon.com

At one point in this final book of the Dark Tower series, the character Stephen King (added to the plot in Song of Susannah) looks back at the preceding pages and says "when this last book is published, the readers are going to be just wild." And he's not kidding.

After a journey through seven books and over 20 years, King's Constant Readers finally have the conclusion they've been both eagerly awaiting and silently dreading. The tension in the Dark Tower series has built steadily from the beginning and, like in the best of King's novels, explodes into a violent, heart-tugging climax as Roland and his ka-tet finally near their goal. The body count in The Dark Tower is high. The gunslingers come out shooting and face a host of enemies, including low men, mutants, vampires, Roland's hideous quasi-offspring Mordred, and the fearsome Crimson King himself. King pushes the gross-out factor at times--Roland's lesson on tanning (no, not sun tanning) is brutal--but the magic of the series remains strong and readers will feel the pull of the Tower as strongly as ever as the story draws to a close. During this sentimental journey, King ties up loose ends left hanging from the 15 non-series novels and stories that are deeply entwined in the fabric of Mid-World through characters like Randall Flagg (The Stand and others) or Father Callahan (Salem's Lot). When it finally arrives, the long awaited conclusion will leave King's myriad fans satisfied but wishing there were still more to come.

In King's memoir On Writing, he tells of an old woman who wrote him after reading the early books in the Dark Tower series. She was dying, she said, and didn't expect to see the end of Roland's quest. Could King tell her? Does he reach the Tower? Does he save it? Sadly, King said he did not know himself, that the story was creating itself as it went along. Wherever that woman is now (the clearing at the end of the path, perhaps?), let's hope she has a copy of The Dark Tower. Surely she would agree it's been worth the wait. --Benjamin Reese

Visit the Dark Tower store
Over 30 years in the making, spanning seven volumes, Stephen King's epic quest for the Dark Tower has encompassed almost his entire body of fiction. Find every volume of this fantastic adventure, an interview with the master himself, and much more in our Dark Tower Store.

Authors on Stephen King
Mystery writer Michael Connelly thinks Stephen King's "one of the most generous writers I know of." Thriller author Ridley Pearson says "King possesses an incredible sense of story..." Read our Stephen King testimonials to find out what else they and other authors had to say about the undisputed King of Horror.

The Path to the Dark Tower
There are only seven volumes in Stephen King's Dark Tower series but more than a dozen of his novels and short stories are deeply entwined with the Mid-World universe. Take a look at the non-series titles, from Salem's Lot to Everything's Eventual. Can you find the connections?

History of an Alternate Universe
Robin Furth, an expert on Stephen King's Dark Tower universe if ever there was one, has created a timeline of Mid-World, the slowly crumbling world of gunslinger Roland Deschain. Read it and get up to speed on a world of adventure.

Hail to the King
Fans applauded and critics howled when Stephen King was awarded the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Service to American Letters. In typical fashion, King accepted the honor with humility and urged recognition for other "popular" authors. Listen to a clip of his acceptance speech, then order the entire speech on audio CD.

Book Description

Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is unlike anything you have ever read. The final book opens like a door to the uttermost reaches of Stephen King's imagination. You've come this far. Come a little farther. Come all the way. The sound you hear may be the slamming of the door behind you. Welcome to The Dark Tower.

Download Description

"All good things must come to an end, Constant Reader, and not even Stephen King can make a story that goes on forever. The tale of Roland Deschain's relentless quest for the Dark Tower has, the author fears, sorely tried the patience of those who have followed it from its earliest chapters. But attend to it a while longer, if it pleases you, for this volume is the last, and often the last things are best. Roland's ka-tet remains intact, though scattered over wheres and whens. Susannah-Mia has been carried from the Dixie Pig (in the summer of 1999) to a birthing room -- really a chamber of horrors -- in Thunderclap's Fedic; Jake and Father Callahan, with Oy between them, have entered the restaurant on Lex and Sixty-first with weapons drawn, little knowing how numerous and noxious are their foes. Roland and Eddie are with John Cullum in Maine, in 1977, looking for the site on Turtleback Lane where ""walk-ins"" have been often seen. They want desperately to get back to the others, to Susannah especially, and yet they have come to realize that the world they need to escape is the only one that matters. Thus the book opens, like a door to the uttermost reaches of Stephen King's imagination. You've come this far. Come a little farther. Come all the way. The sound you hear may be the slamming of the door behind you. Welcome to The Dark Tower. "

Customer Reviews:

I wish I'd never started........2007-10-03

Other (negative) reviews seem to sum up my opinion pretty well. Please don't start this series. If you start, please don't read the last book. It's really just bad. And it could have been so good.

dont go beyond the warning!...spoilers!!!.......2007-09-13

when i finally put down book six of this epic adventure i found myself relishing every page of the 7th and last book. before i could start the last book i had to get myself in the right mind set, it was that important to me. for all those who say the whole series was ruined by this books, i feel sorry they feel so strongly. this book is really a great book. the only problem is the ending of it all. after Roland leaves patick to go to his finally won dark tower i should have stopped reading. even stephen king tells the reader to stop if you enjoy the first ending. and i was close to putting the book down then,so close.
but i kept reading.
i remember telling a good friend who had finished the series already that i though the worst ending to the series would be if all the main characters had forgotten what they had achieved. i told him i would hate such a cop-out ending. well i cant say jake and eddie really forgot, since they died and Susanah, i could have over looked her memory loss since i was glad to see she found her way back to new york.
but when i finished the book, the one thing i had feared had come true. Stephen king ended the series with such a cop-out ending, the one i had told my friend i would hate. Roland standing in the desert he began in. "the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." and he remembers nothing of his preiviouse adventure. really. i wanted Roland to die in that tower. i wanted him to have his final resting place in the top room of his finally won tower. in my mind that is where Roland died. in the worst way possible. THANKs KING. THANKS FOR COPIN-OUT!!!!!!

The Crimson King Revealed.......2007-09-13

this is the one we've been waiting for! Those stalwart souls who have journeyed with Roland,the gunslinger, and his cohorts finally arrive.
It's ben rough going,to put it mildly;my designated source of disgust were the "lobstrocities"Although the Wolves in the Calla were "no picnic".
Book 7, "The Dark Tower" introduces us to a revolting little half baby half spider but when The Crimson King is encountered this entity disintigrates into ashes to ashes dust to dust.
Stephen King"s "Crimson King is a shock but not really for "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came" by Niina Lockwood
fermbois@yahoo.com

A little disappointing........2007-09-07

I started the Dark Tower series with anticipation of a really good epic tale and for the most part it was...at least until Steve decided to interject himself into the story. Sigh..how self-serving and unimaginative can you get. I actually stopped reading and said out loud, "You have got to be kidding! Oh, Steve, no". I only continued on with the series because, in spite of this egotism, he had written some truly memorable characters and I just had to see what happened next. I particularily loved that he wasn't afraid to kill them off. Most writers are too insecure to trust their readers enough to do away with a really good character. I think this just enhances the experience of a good story. All in all, I would recommend this series as a whole just for the plain good storytelling of King at his most imaginative and to just overlook the author's intrusion.

I liked it ..........2007-09-06

Especially the part when Roland sings the names of all the people who helped (and died) so he could reach the Tower. If this series could be made into a movie or movies (which I doubt) that would be one of the best moments in cinema ever, it gave me goosebumps and haunted me (that night I dreamed of the Tower and what could be inside - I hadn't read the Coda yet). The ending is cruel, but I think it worked as a metaphor for the cleansing of one's karma (ka - karma?). I also hoped that Roland could get his much deserved rest when he reached the Tower, but maybe his whole quest perfected him somehow, and now he will make the right choices through his journey, so he can be worthy of entering the White and be at ease at last... Just my opinion.

The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Average customer rating:

If there is a better book about the Dauphin, please let me know
A searing tale
The Suffering of the Innocent
Great Read, Poorly Made Book
Well written

The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Deborah Cadbury
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312320299

Book Description

Two years after the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at the height of the French Revolution, a ten-year-old boy, his skin covered with scabies, his sanity gone, died in a Paris prison. Was this tortured child of royal birth, or had the young prince escaped? In time, the prince's surviving sister was approached by count-less 'brothers' claiming not only the dauphin's name, but also his inheritance. For the next 200 years, as rival royal dynasties vied for the French throne, this mystery went unsolved. It was not until experts discovered a mummified human heart in a crystal urn that the truth unfolded. Examining this historical mystery from every absorbing angle, Cadbury explains how modern DNA analysis uncovered a surprising answer to this centuries old mystery.

Customer Reviews:

If there is a better book about the Dauphin, please let me know.......2007-07-29

You read about how this little boy, who'd known only the best the world had to give, ended up in a sunless room, curled in a fetal position, full of puss and unable (or unwilling) to speak. This is a creepy tale that makes what happened to the son of the Tsar Alexander's son in 1917 (or there abouts...who knows for sure?) seem like a kind ending. It also gives you insight into his mother's execution and his sister's life.

A searing tale.......2007-05-23

Of all the human tragedy that marked the French Revolution, perhaps none was so acute as that experienced by the royal family. In this well-researched and engrossing book, Deborah Cadbury conveys the full measure of this tragedy in her description of the unspeakable horrors visited on the little Dauphin of France, Louis-Charles, son of Louis VXI and Marie-Antoinette. It is impossible to avoid that sick feeling in the pit of one's stomach as we read this harrowing tale, and it certainly helps explain why, to this day, many people can't bring themselves to believe that it was indeed Marie-Antoinette's "chou d'amour" who ended his days in so wretched a manner.
Cadbury also does a fine job of recounting in a very readable manner the seemingly endless procession of pretenders that began to emerge shortly after the Terror, and keeps the reader in suspense until the final denouement.
All in all, an excellent, moving book, not to be missed.

The Suffering of the Innocent.......2007-05-23

I enjoyed Deborah Cadbury's "The Lost King of France," although I would never recommend reading it at night, unless stories of small children being brutalized help one to sleep. Cadbury has a dry, logical style which makes her descriptions of the royal family's descent into hell all the more horrifying. I was perturbed when she stated that Fersen and Marie-Antoinette were probably lovers, without giving any evidence, especially when she was careful to give evidence for everything else. Also, on the cover of the book is most likely a picture of Louis-Joseph, not Louis-Charles (Louis XVII).

Many say that the book proves beyond doubt the death of Louis XVII on June 8, 1795, but it does not. The DNA merely concluded that the desiccated heart which was allegedly removed from the little victim who died in the Temple was the child of a Habsburg princess. As anyone familiar with European history knows, Habsburg princesses were legion; many not having the last name of Habsburg, but having Habsburg genes. Although it is highly probable that Louis XVII did die in the Temple at age ten after horrendous sufferings, it should be recalled that Madame Royale herself had doubts about the fate of her brother, since she had not been allowed to identify the body.

Great Read, Poorly Made Book.......2007-02-22

I purchased my soft cover copy of The Lost King of France in February 2007 through Amazon. As I began reading, the pages began to fall out of the book. The ink on the pages was thin, spotty,frequently irritating to read as one's eye stopped to make out whether a letter was an "e" or an "o." The publisher is St. Martin's Griffin. Fine work by the author - excellent read. Check it out of the library or find a hardback to buy. By the time you finish reading the paperback, you'll have a lap full of single pages and a severe case of eye strain. Paper's cheap too.

Well written.......2007-01-29

Oh , this is such a sad book, about a poor child that suffered so much---just because he was the son of Marie Antoinette. Parts of this book simply made me cry (especially at the very end of this book).

The author is AMAZING!...Wow, what a writer! I'd love to read more of her books after buying this one.

The information given inside this book (ie: on whether the "real" Boy King died in the horrible way which he did) were proven to me, in my humble opinion. The author covers all bases, in order to come up with the final conclusion on what truly happened to the poor King child.

I recommned this book if you like mysteries, biographies of famous people, and also if you like the topic of History , in general.

Average customer rating:

Exploring the Humanities, Combined
Laurie Schneider Adams , and Laurence King Publishing Ltd
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130490911

Book Description

Introduction to the Humanities, Combined Edition provides a comprehensive, color and illustration-filled compilation of the history of civilization. Volume One encompasses the development of art, culture, society, architecture and religion beginning with prehistory and the ancient Near East and progressing through the Renaissance periods. Volume Two examines humanity and its components from the reformation and reform in sixteenth-century Europe through to present day society. The volumes provide extensive social and cultural background material reinforced with fascinating information on key persons, events, ideas and inventions of the time period to provides readers with a âyou are there’ experience. Cross-Cultural Influence features highlight influences exchanged between different cultures to give readers a look at contact and artistic exchanges between cultures. Thematic Parallels sections compare universal themes over different time periods and in different places across the world, providing readers with an extensive and fascinating look at humanity through the ages. Introduction to the Humanities, Combined Edition examines the following time periods: prehistory; the ancient near east; ancient Egypt; the Aegean world; the emergence of historical Greece; ancient Greece–classical to Hellenistic; ancient Rome; pagan cults, Judaism, and the rise of Christianity; the Byzantine Empire and the development of Islam; the early Middle Ages and the development of Romanesque; the development and expansion of gothic; the transition from gothic to early renaissance; the early renaissance in Italy and northern Europe and the high renaissance in Italy and early mannerism; the reformation and reform in sixteenth-century Europe; Absolutism and Baroque; from enlightenment to revolution in the 18th century; the early nineteenth century and the romantic movement; nineteenth-century realism; industry, and social change; the late nineteenth century; turn of the century to World War I; World War I through World War II; 1945 to 1989 â the cold war to dÃ©tente; and after 1989. For those interested in a comprehensive view of humanities throughout the ages.

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England

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Approachable History
Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England
History the way it should be written
Excellent read
Agincourt: A great medieval battle in France leads Henry V of England to greatness

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England
Juliet Barker
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316015032

Book Description

From a master historian comes an astonishing chronicle of life in medieval Europe and the battle that altered the course of an empire.

Although almost six centuries old, the Battle of Agincourt still captivates the imaginations of men and women on both sides of the Atlantic. It has been immortalized in high culture (Shakespeare's Henry V) and low (the New York Post prints Henry's battle cry on its editorial page each Memorial Day). It is the classic underdog story in the history of warfare, and generations have wondered how the English--outnumbered by the French six to one--could have succeeded so bravely and brilliantly. Drawing upon a wide range of sources, eminent scholar Juliet Barker casts aside the legend and shows us that the truth behind Agincourt is just as exciting, just as fascinating, and far more significant. She paints a gripping narrative of the October 1415 clash between outnumbered English archers and heavily armored French knights. But she also takes us beyond the battlefield into palaces and common cottages to bring into vivid focus an entire medieval world in flux. Populated with chivalrous heroes, dastardly spies, and a ferocious and bold king, AGINCOURT is as earthshaking as its subject--and will confirm Juliet Barker's status as both a historian and a storyteller of the first rank.

Customer Reviews:

Approachable History.......2007-09-15

Juliet Barkers' Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England is a one of those rare history books where the characters and context all come to life. Immensely readable and highly informative I recommend this book to anyone wishing to know more about the history of England and the English speaking peoples. The only negative comment would be that, on occasion, there is too much detail about minutia, usually minor characters. However, that is just a quibble. Overall I highly recommend this book.

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England.......2007-06-07

This is a fabulous read. Showing a high degree of respect to her sources, Barker treats the subject with integrity - provides the historical facts while educating the reader on conflicting conclusions of other historians. She also shows how contemporary reactions differ from a more modern reading of history.

This book also provides good insights into dynastic change in England primarily, but also in France.

I couldn't believe how hard it was to put the book down.

History the way it should be written.......2007-06-04

This is an outstanding book that manages to do the seemingly impossible: It's a scholarly, heavily annotated study that is also fast-paced and exciting. It's literally a stay-up-late page-turner.

The book does require some "unlearning." That is, what most people know about the Battle of Agincourt is based on vague memories of Shakespeare's play or film versions. The real story is actually better and more exciting than those. The battle was not fought in isolation; Barker's book allows us to see and feel the complexities of the social, political, and military situation in Europe at the time of the battle, and these complexities require some unlearning of what most of us think we know about that time.

The political situation at the time was hellishly complex, and at the time of the battle, Henry V knew for a fact that he was not only King of England, but King of France, too. Of course, since his father had deposed Rickard II to become King, his claim rested on shaky ground. In addition, the King of France knew for a fact that he was King, though France was plunging into civil war at the time over that claim. In addition, everyone involved was convinced that God was on his side. In short, the pot was boiling when Henry V decided to invade France to assert his claim. The Battle of Agincourt was the culmination of the struggle.

The book is divided into thirds. The first third details-- and I mean DETAILS-- the background, describing the lines of succession, the political and economic institutions of the day, and the basis of chivalry. The second third details the battle, both in military terms and in human ones. This is one of the most vivid accounts of what it must have been like to be in combat then that I have ever read. The final third details the aftermath and the long-term effects of the battle.

Barker is an academic historian, and she is very careful to offer sources for her conclusions, particularly when they differ from popular thinking. But she doesn't let this get in the way of keeping her story moving. It's actually easy to forget that this is serious history, but the annotations are always there for the checking.

The one thing that would have improved the book for me would be more and better maps. The two that are included just don't have sufficient detail. The genealogy charts for the British and French royal families could have been more detailed, too. It can be a challenge to keep track of the various dukes, barons, etc.

This is an outstanding book. It will reward someone engaged in serious historical studies and someone who just wants to read more about the battle after seeing Kevin Branagh's Henry V. I recommend it very highly.

Excellent read.......2007-02-21

I cannot begin to imagine the difficulty in writing history that can be read easily. Authors who are able to do this have a special gift. I have bought many books over the years that are dry as dust and hard to chew. The author of this book does an excellent job in making the nitty gritty details stay alive and the pages easy to turn.

Agincourt: A great medieval battle in France leads Henry V of England to greatness.......2006-10-20

Agincourt is the lastest book by noted Bronte biographer Juliet Barker. Barker received her Ph.D. from Oxford in Medieval History; needless to say she is an expert on Agincourt!
Henry V (reigned 1413-1422) was the greatest warrior king in British history. His victory over his French enemies at Agincourt on Oct. 25, 1415
led to an overwhelming victory. High ransom paid for French hostages added to Henry's coffers; the fame of England's victory was celebrated
in minstrely, poems, songs and most famously in Shakespeare's history play Henry V. (Later made into a famous film by Laurence Olivier in 1944 as the British along with their allies were planning for the D-Day landings in France.
Barker is excellent in limning the characters of such renowned figures as Rauol de Gaucourt the gallant French soldier who defended the town of Harfleur until it was forced to surrender. He was later imprisoned in England. Henry V comes across as a pious, good king who could exert cruelty and diplomacy in equal measures in the governing of his kingdom (he considered himself to be king of both England and France),
The book details how a medieval army was paid, fed, quartered; taught the arts of war and chilvary and what weapons were utilized (the English archers won the battle as they slaughtered the French attacking them in a rainy, misty dawn across muddy fields). The English had about 6,000 troops but triumphed over the vast French forces facing them.
The French were divided by hatreds and factions being poorly led. The English troops were led by Henry a military genius and charismatic leader.
Juliet Barker has done a fine job making this 600 year battle come alive for the reader.

Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty

Average customer rating:

Kings, queens, nobles, lords, ladies and guffaws
I am glad I didn't buy this book...
A purchase that I regret
Titillating but many glaring errors in facts
Thats it!! I'm now a complete Republican

Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty
Karl Shaw
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767907558
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Amazon.com

From the madness of King George to the equine escapades of Catherine the Great, from the intramural squabbles of Elizabeth and Di to the staggeringly decadent exploits of Charles X: in this gossipy chronicle of regal shenanigans, British journalist Karl Shaw dishes plenty of dirt--and ably demonstrates why royal watching is such a satisfying hobby.

Was there ever a good monarch? To judge by Shaw's account, it's unlikely. Instead, he writes, "Every monarchy in Europe has at some time or another been ruled over by a madman," adding in passing that only Bavaria's King Ludwig had the good grace to turn his madness into a source of tourist revenue for his subjects' descendants. Of the mad and the downright curious there's no shortage in these pages, as Shaw delivers anecdote after anecdote concerning the demented, sometimes awful, sometimes entertaining behavior of the likes of Germany's Frederick the Great, who "drank up to forty cups of coffee a day for several weeks in an experiment to see if it was possible to exist without sleep"; Russia's Catherine I, "a raddled old alcoholic with bloodshot eyes, wild and matted hair and clothes soiled with urine stains ... [who] once survived an assassination attempt too drunk to realize that anything had happened"; and England's Queen Mary, "the only known royal kleptomaniac," whose aides would surreptitiously gather the knickknacks she'd lifted from her subjects' parlors and return them with muffled apologies.

Royal Babylon is a guilty pleasure of a book, and one that does a fine job of explaining, in Shaw's tongue-in-cheek words, "why most continentals can't get enough of royalty, provided it isn't their own." --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

Kings, queens, nobles, lords, ladies and guffaws.......2007-10-07

I read this excellent book, here in Brazil.This book is very fun.Kings, queens are the focus of this excellent book, but counts, barons, lords and even artists are also present.
This very fun book tells about three centuries of madness, debautchery, drug adiction, sex, adultery, gays, lesbians,etc. among kings, queens, lords, ladies, nobles in Europe.
If you want to read history and to laugh, this book is an excellent choice.As is book concludes and also shows that monarchy can be laughable, but as an institution it is far from dead worldwide.

I am glad I didn't buy this book..........2007-09-24

...I found it at my local library. It's like reading news from National Enquirer! The author sounded like a cheesy tour guide:
* Louis XVI was mistakenly referred to as Louis XIV's great-grandson
* Louis XIV's sister-in-law was an English princess, somehow the author decided to move her birth place to Austria
* Perhaps the author felt sorry for Louis XV, an only child orphaned at age two, so he made Louise de la Valliere, the well-known mistress of Louis XIV who left Versailles to become a Carmelite nun, his sister
...there are just too many obvious and laughable errors, makes you wonder if the author has ever heard of the word 'Google'!

A purchase that I regret.......2007-08-07

This book was not at all what I had expected. What I thought I purchased was a book with amusing anecdotes about European royalty. What I ended up buying was a book filled with gossip, rumors, and just plain old trash. I could not even bring myself to finish it. Why taint the memory of anyone who is not alive to defend themselves? What ever happened to respect for the dead?

This book is not worth the paper that it is printed on. Period.

Titillating but many glaring errors in facts.......2007-07-14

I enjoyed reading this light treatment of the royals of Europe, but was seriously distracted by the numerous errors in facts regarding names and relationships. As a retired professor of history, I find this to be very poor editorial work on the part of both the author and his editorial "professional" at the publisher! Just a couple of examples of what I consider serious errors:
(1) p. 94 - "Louis [i.e., Louis XIV of France] was at one time enamored of his new sister-in-law, the buxom Austrian Princess Henrietta." This Louis had only one brother, Prince Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Orleans, who married twice: (1) Princess Henriette Anne of England, daughter of Charles I, King of England, and his wife, Princess Henrietta Maria of France; and (2) Elizabeth Charlotte, Countess Palatine of Simmern, daughter of Charles Louis, Elector Palatine, and his wife, Charlotte of Hesse-Cassel. There was NO SISTER-IN-LAW who was a 'buxom Austrian Princess Henrietta."
(2) Likewise, the entire treatment of Prince Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Orleans, the brother of Louis XIV, emphasizes the numerous heterosexual activities he supposedly had with multitudinous women....yet it is a confirmed fact that his primary sexual nature was homosexual and was known for his "mignons" and the way he and his followers dressed and cavorted at Versailles and other places.
(3) p. 113 - "Alphonso [i.e., Alfonso XII of Spain] plunged into an almost suicidal depression from which he never quite recovered. He regained his poise sufficiently to honor his dynastic obligations, and a year later was remarried to Maria, daughter of the star-crossed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand."

The Iberian rulers named Alfonso (in English) rarely if ever had their names written as Alphonso...rather as Affonso. As for this second marriage, (and not technically a "remarriage" since the couple had never been married before to each other) the cited bride, Maria, was not called just Maria, since almost every daughter of the Austria and Spanish dynasties was named Maria + other names. She was actually named Maria Christina (Cristina)and was NOT the daughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, Countess Sophia, but the daughter of Archduke Charles Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen and his first cousin-wife, Archduchess Elizabeth Francesca of Austria-Hungary.

So if readers are seeking factual history, they need to read this book with the caution that the gossip is more important to the author and publisher than the historical facts.

Thats it!! I'm now a complete Republican.......2007-06-22

I'm an Australian, for those of you unaware of our nation's attitude to Great Britain vis a vis our colonial past, we are still a 'constitutional monarchy'. This means that even after a fairly recent referendum to change the constitution and declare ourselves a republic, the Australian people STILL voted to retain our ties with the queen and remain linked to our past within the 'Commonwealth'. My attitude personally was that the year 2001, marking 100 years of 'Federation', was probably a very good time to also declare ourselves a nation in its own right completely. A republic. This didn't happen.

That said, like the many Australians who voted to retain ties with the English monarchy, I still harboured this bizarre affection for the English Royal Family, in my case not enough to actually vote that we should still recognise the queen as some kind of fairy godmother figure head constitutional monarch, more a sense of shared identity and ethnicity. I KNOW this is completely bogus, we are a very multicultural country right in the middle of Asia and the pacific islands. Even bathed as we are now in American cultural imperialism, most Australians still chose to affirm their British heritage, mythical or not. That's the picture here and now I WILL talk about the effect of this book on me personally.

Royal Babylon has in one stroke completely cleansed me of any notions that it is kind of a cute idea to let the British Royal family linger in the background of our nation's future. It also woke me up completely to the fact that they really aren't even 'British'. I'm more British than the Royal family!! And I'm 4th or 5th generation Australian!! Beyond that, I will guarantee that this horrific documented history of inbreeding, madness, STDs, syphilis, inbreeding, mass philandering, inbreeding, Nazi sympathising and inbreeding again will cure ANY reader of proceeding beyond mere curiousity to affection for the idea of monarchy.

What a sick, sick history!! Almost a milennium of mass suffering, war, national upheaval and slaughter for the majority of people while a very very priveleged minority wallowed in massive excess and madness for no better reason than a documented history of inbreeding (the royal lineage) and a fairly savvy sense of self-preservation (and the funds to ensure it).

This book doesn't cover just the British Royal family, it is a history of all the royal families in Europe. It is an easy read, it's not a heavy historical tome, but it succeeds where these fail: by unrolling almost endlessly the history of insanity and excess in an easily digested format. I've read a lot of history and was familiar with the more obvious figures of royal lunacy like Ludwig of Bavaria, Henry viii, George the Regent, the Romanovs (enough said), Catherine the Great (earlier), but I've never seen it compressed and presented like this and as it stands, Royal Babylon is a damning indictment of the divine right of anyone to rule anybody and the modern day equivalent of retaining these people at vast expense to the average person for no good reason.

The author is circumspect about the current royal families, referring once to Prince Charles as a 'frankenstein' and making the point that of the 10 royal families that remain in Europe, 7 are heavily related to the British royal family. But honestly, at the end of this book it's a case of 'nuff said!'. It certainly did it for me, I am now completely an avowed Republican!

The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation

Average customer rating:

Good Reading
Torturous Text Makes Fascinating Subject Less Exciting
Tactical and strategic
Being the Boy-King

The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312238304

Book Description

Edward VI, the only surviving son of Henry VIII and the last of the male Tudors, died while still a teenager. Yet his reign has a significance in English history out of all proportion to its brief six-year span. In this lavishly illustrated book, Diarmaid MacCulloch looks at the life and beliefs of the young king and the ruthless politicians around him. Although the regime collapsed in apparent failure on Edward's death in 1553, a second half-sister, Elizabeth, brought Protestantism back. MacCulloch traces the strange afterlife of Edward's reign, its surprising connections with the civil wars which convulsed the British Isles a century later, and the effect it still has on English life.

Customer Reviews:

Good Reading.......2007-01-28

This book is a good story for researchers as well as the general audience.

Torturous Text Makes Fascinating Subject Less Exciting.......2005-09-02

(This refers to the Softcover Edition, which I bought at a bookstore but notice is not currently offered on Amazon. Much more affordable---)

There is no doubt that author Maccullogh is a first class scholar when it comes to religion in the Tudor Age; however, I faced the same woeful problem with this book that I encountered on his masterful and massive work on my own ancestor, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer--and that is that the attention to infintesimal detail is constructed in such density that it makes for unfortunately slow reading. It's almost like reading a text book...and spending an entire semester on a course in Edwardian Reformation. A historian he is. A storyteller, no.

However, those who would dismiss Edward as merely a "boy king" with a short reign would be well advised to take some time with this work and discover how much of a serious and lasting impact he did manage to have on politics and religion.

Tactical and strategic.......2003-11-29

Diarmaid MacCulloch should have a well merited following by now. His extremely readable books finally made Church History a fascinating subject. His mastery of theology, ecclesiology, iconography, architecture, ceremony, and other dimensions of Tudor England are unrivalled, and he weaves them into a comprehensive whole. The depth and quality of his research are exemplary, and his prose is very good literature.

In this book he shows how most events which make the pace of Edward VI's reign seem frantic, were prepared but had to be postponed during Henry VIII's last years. Even during his first year, Edward's establishment under the Duke of Somerset's protectorate was reluctantly forced to appease the Emperor Charles V, the majority of lay politicians, and conservative bishops as powerful as Stephen Gardiner of Winchester. After Somerset's disgrace, John Dudley, first Earl of Warwick and later Duke of Northumberland maintained a more consensual relationship with the Lords. He made peace with France and Scotland, and inaugurated a phase of political reconstruction at home, thus permitting the evangelical revolution to recover its pace.

Dr. MacCulloch lets us see that in England as in the Continent, the cost of being too specific on the Lord's Supper was soon perceived, since the matter was admittedly of more importance to traditionalists and evangelicals alike than justification by faith, and also produced more martyrs. This determines a very gradual, even stealthy accumulation of arguments and liturgical reforms up to 1550, although at least Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer and Thomas Cranmer had much earlier become convinced that the Lutheran doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist was as blasphemous as the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation. Nevertheless, MacCulloch argues convincingly that Cranmer's convictions on the Lord's Supper are more in agreement with Heinrich Bullinger's than with either Zwingli's or Calvin's theology. Whether, as John Knox believed, had he reigned longer Edward would have evolved into a doctrinaire Calvinist, is now a moot point.

One of this book's main attractions is that it conveys a sense of indebtedness to a very young and serious boy, a great promise that flickered and died. Edward is portrayed as a real believer, not just an immature tool of vested interests. Since he appears to have been gifted with a more thoughtful and less egotistical character than his father, it's very possible that he would have grown up to be a great leader of the Reformation, and Cranmer could have finally convened the General Council of Reformed Churches of which he dreamt.

Regardless of how much anglo-catholicism and theological liberalism alike have done to demolish the Edwardian heritage, it's possible that in a critical juncture such as the one Anglicans worldwide find themselves in today, MacCulloch's closing lines might awaken their concern:

"Perhaps the Anglican Communion, most enigmatic member of the Christian family of Churches, might show more gratitude for Edwardian mischief -or at the very least, some remembrance and understanding".

The book carries ninety-two well-chosen illustrations, with very helpful captions. The bibliography includes primary sources in manuscript and in print, secondary sources, and unpublished dissertations. Though softbound, the book is very sturdy, and should survive casual handling. It's quality work from the University of California Press.

Being the Boy-King.......2001-04-18

In the years since publication of his award-winning biography of Thomas Cranmer, one cannot stop marveling at the scholarship of Prof MacCulloch, at his indubitable talent of an author, and at how deftly and effortlessly he adapts it to the restrictions of an academic narrative. `The Boy-King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation', published in 2001 in hardback and in 2002 in paperback, has been a definitive treat for many Tudor students, providing them with an engaging story of the English Reformation in the years between 1547 and 1553, as well as containing references to a mesmerising range of archives, from the good old British Library to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Thanks to Prof MacCulloch's being one of the leading British church historians, this book has rather successfully done what other monographs did not quite manage to achieve. Its main achievement is in the fact that one can no longer think of Edward VI as a juvenile parrot in terms of his political involvement. Although this does not immediately imply that his raison d'etat was promising to be terrific, his participation in the matters of state must not be underestimated, let alone overlooked. MacCulloch illustrates this, for example, with his brilliant analysis of Edward's proposal for the reform of the Order of the Garter in the light of its deriving from Edward's tutorship and contemporary political discourse.

The reason why this change in the view of Edward seems so important is because scholars until this day continue to debate the political potential and intellectual faculties of a young king, being mostly critical about both. The most blatant example is Stephen Alford's biography of Edward VI and the review of it by George Bernard. Those, however, who read MacCulloch's book attentively will - hopefully - realise by the end of the last chapter that it is futile to either extol Edward or to dismiss him. Indeed, the boy did not reach his 16th birthday, and no matter what promises had been there, these were buried with him in June 1553. He nevertheless contributed to the affairs of state, by writing proposals, notes, discourses, etc. Certainly, one must still see the forest for the trees, but these documents, written by the young king himself, cannot ever be ignored. One must remember that in all times children were engaged in political discourse, however superficial, especially if they had been destined to the throne. Consequently, these documents, even if they had little or no impact, must be read with all due seriousness to catch the glimpses of an emerging character. For this reason, there cannot be too much praise for MacCulloch, who with a simple phrase `the boy-king' captured the whole ambiguity of Edward's reign and his contribution to the mid-Tudor politics.

The book's attention to the representation of power in Edward's reign only further stresses this ambiguity. The careful analysis of many `personas' attributed to Edward VI at different stages of his life in politics shows that today's historians are preoccupied with the same paradox, as perplexed Edward's contemporaries. As A. Pollard said, for the first time a ten-year-old became the head of the Church, and MacCulloch studies two main religious `images' attached to Edward - Josiah and Solomon. He carefully investigates the rationale for choosing these exact kings and the incongruities of the lives of these biblical characters, to see how those were adapted to the mid-Tudor realities.

This is all the more significant, as prior to MacCulloch's book there was no in-depth study of this peculiarity of the English Reformation in Edward VI's reign, which stemmed from the fact that the Church reform was now heralded by a child. Some scholars, most successfully, perhaps, the late Jennifer Loach, paid much attention to Edward's secular activities and representation of him as the head of the State, which, although giving out new information, hardly made historians any more serious about the boy-king. Normally, before and even after her post-mortem book, scholars have preferred to focus on political moves of Somerset, Northumberland, Cranmer, et al., overlooking, for example, the necessity those had to represent the king's age and his legitimacy in both domestic and external affairs. MacCulloch's study of representation of Edward as the head of the Church puts the reader in the position of making a choice: to look at the years 1547-1553 as a series of farcical attempts of mid-Tudor officials to pretend that England was high and mighty; or to admit that political farce has always been there, and hence Edward VI's reign is not an exclusion and must then be treated appropriately. Books by both Loach and MacCulloch are the examples of this kind of treatment: they both showed the full awareness of the fact that their study of either mid-Tudor monarchy or Church would not break free from any conventions, unless they constantly kept the boy-king in the focus.

In addition to a variety of sources used, MacCulloch's book is rich in illustrations, supporting his arguments that derive from the reading of the written documents, and thus providing his reader with much food for thought. In that, his book dwells both on Loach's monograph, as well as on a brilliant, although not always definitive study by Margaret Aston, `The King's Bedpost'. The trend was continued by Stephen Alford in his biography of Edward VI, and will certainly carry on.

Together with the books by Loach, Aston and, most recently, Alford, `The Boy-King' by Diarmaid MacCulloch underlines the importance of the ever-wide scholarship and the use of different sources, if one wants, in Ranke's words, to penetrate history. And this is exactly what MacCulloch's book allows to do to its reader. To a professional historian, like myself, it gave insight into new sources and the way to employ them, as well as highlighted the questions that require an answer. To those who are simply interested in Tudors, the book tells the story of one of the most ambiguous yet fascinating periods in English history, after reading which one may be compelled to understand why it is better if the monarch is mature, even if he is not very popular.