Book Description
No book before this one has rendered the story of cigarettes -- mankind's most common self-destructive instrument and its most profitable consumer product -- with such sweep and enlivening detail.
Here for the first time, in a story full of the complexities and contradictions of human nature, all the strands of the historical process -- financial, social, psychological, medical, political, and legal -- are woven together in a riveting narrative. The key characters are the top corporate executives, public health investigators, and antismoking activists who have clashed ever more stridently as Americans debate whether smoking should be closely regulated as a major health menace.
We see tobacco spread rapidly from its aboriginal sources in the New World 500 years ago, as it becomes increasingly viewed by some as sinful and some as alluring, and by government as a windfall source of tax revenue. With the arrival of the cigarette in the late-nineteenth century, smoking changes from a luxury and occasional pastime to an everyday -- to some, indispensable -- habit, aided markedly by the exuberance of the tobacco huskers.
This free-enterprise success saga grows shadowed, from the middle of this century, as science begins to understand the cigarette's toxicity. Ironically the more detailed and persuasive the findings by medical investigators, the more cigarette makers prosper by seeming to modify their product with filters and reduced dosages of tar and nicotine.
We see the tobacco manufacturers come under intensifying assault as a rogue industry for knowingly and callously plying their hazardous wares while insisting that the health charges against them (a) remain unproven, and (b) are universally understood, so smokers indulge at their own risk.
Among the eye-opening disclosures here: outrageous pseudo-scientific claims made for cigarettes throughout the '30s and '40s, and the story of how the tobacco industry and the National Cancer Institute spent millions to develop a "safer" cigarette that was never brought to market.
Dealing with an emotional subject that has generated more heat than light, this book is a dispassionate tour de force that examines the nature of the companies' culpability, the complicity of society as a whole, and the shaky moral ground claimed by smokers who are now demanding recompense.
Customer Reviews:
Great history book.......2005-10-15
Just about every great society has one crop whose presence is intertwined throughout its history, effecting the history, culture, and economics of the nation. For China it would be rice, potatoes for Ireland, coca for Columbia, and most likely tobacco for America. This Pulitzer-Prize winning book shows how and why tobacco is so important to America's history. Specifically, the book traces and examines the economic role of tobacco and the economic policies of the tobacco companies (growers, traders, sellers, etc...) from the 1800s on through the 1990s.
Subjects that are covered in this tome include tobacco farming, the making of cigarettes, advertising in papers, radio, TV and billboards, lobbying of govt officials to reduce regulation, PR wars with health advocates, promotion of overseas sales, and of course, the court cases fought between Big Tobacco (RJR,Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson, etc...) and various consumers, consumer groups, government agencies, and governments. The book puts all of this together in a chronological history of tobacco with an emphasis on the role of big corporations like Philip Morris. The author has put this book together using a wide variety of sources both primary and secondary, including a lot of interviews with former and current employees at tobacco companies.
By reading this book, one learns a lot about various aspects of American law, culture, economics, and history. These include consumer relations, agro-business, medical research, lobbying, and advertising. OVerall, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it for anyone to read.
Wall Street Journal Reporter Narrates History of CIgarette Making.......2005-08-03
Well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize that it won, this book
tells the story of the growth of the industry - and the political
controversies about it - largely through the eyes of the main Tobacco Industry executives and lawyers. Beautifully written and
wittily objective, this is the best single place to start to understand this complex 20th century American phenomeon.
A History Lesson in Tobacco.......2002-10-21
I highly recommend Ashes to Ashes, by Richard Kluger, to anyone who wants to know more about the tobacco industry. Kluger provides a comprehensive history, beginning with the temperance of the tobacco leaf and the physical labor involved in producing marketable tobacco, and ending with the struggles the tobacco industry now faces with public health groups and government regulations. Kluger's narrative style makes this thick, fact packed book easy to read. Rich in history, critical, and thought provoking, Ashes to Ashes is a worthwhile read.
Long, but good.......2002-07-03
I'm not a smoker (fortunately my parents totally discouraged me from it, and I had enough smarts to avoid it anyway) but I found this history of the cigarette industry to be quite interesting--especially the facts about the early years.
It got a little dry towards the end, and the whole indictment of the industry has gotten a bit repetitious; I suspect at the time the book was published the message was new, but the message has gotten old fast. (Yes, it's clear that they knew about the health issues, and yes, they did very little about it.)
Overall it's a good read, especially the first half. If you're at all curious about how the cigarette industry came to be, the book does a great job of describing the companies and personalities involved.
Y'all said it: good but loooooong.......2001-09-28
Kluger's research is impressively thorough, his writing is lucid, and his insights -- well, insightful. But his inability to leave any detail unexamined makes this more of a resource book than a narrative. Slogging through to the end, became a chore. I mean, there ARE a few other books I'd like to get to before I die . . .
Amazon.com
Vagabond, the second entry in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, has been eagerly anticipated by those who read the first book, and it doesn't disappoint. Thomas has managed to survive the battle of Crécy. Still nursing his wounds, he is dispatched by the king on a mission to look into the matter of his father's inheritance, which is obscurely connected to the Holy Grail. This most precious relic of the Christian faith is a much sought-after object, offering the power of total victory in war to its owner. But Thomas finds himself in the middle of a battle against an army invading the North of England, and other shadowy forces pursuing the grail are prepared to slaughter anyone who stands in their way. In the ruins of his birthplace, Thomas discovers more about his father, and a dangerous voyage to France brings him up against his cousin and arch-enemy, Count of Astarc Guy Vexville. The stage is set for a merciless showdown.
Thomas is a protagonist drawn quite as pithily as his much-loved predecessor, and the sheer verve of Cornwell's storytelling here is irresistible. We are plunged into a distant age: bloody, colourful and dangerous. Roll on, volume three! --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
In 1347, a year of conflict and unrest, Thomas of Hookton returns to England to pursue the Holy Grail. Among the flames of the Hundred Years War, a sinister enemy awaits the fabled archer and mercenary soldier: a bloodthirsty Dominican Inquisitor who also seeks Christendom's most holy relic. But neither the horrors of the battlefield nor sadistic torture at the Inquisitor's hands can turn Thomas from his sworn mission. And his thirst for vengeance will never be quenched while the villainous black rider who destroyed everything he loved still lives.
From internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell comes the spellbinding second chapter in his Grail Quest—the majestic epic adventure of duty, war, and destiny that began with The Archer's Tale.
Customer Reviews:
Vagabond.......2007-10-01
Second Book in an outstanding series about an English Archer tasked with trying to find the Holy Grail. Great descriptions of English battles against the French in the 1300 or 1400's. Super character development, great story line, I'm anxious to get the 3rd book in the series delivered any day now.
Good Writing is Gone.......2007-08-13
Whether you fancy 14th Century England/France and its historical interest or not, you cannot escape the excitment which Cornwell brings out in the characaters who existed in that time. Such good writing with attention to detail is lost and Cornwell brings it back. I thought I would never find a writer like Glenn Cook or Michael Moorcock, but I have and I will continue to enjoy his good writing for years to come....
T. Williams, Michigan
As engrossing as the first in the Grail trilogy.......2007-06-24
VAGABOND is the second book in the Grail trilogy, following THE ARCHER'S TALE. It continues Thomas of Hookton's duel mission - to lead archers in the English king's army and to find the holy grail, if it exists. Thomas is skeptical about its existence because he has never seen it, and because his father was thought to be a bit crazy.
As with the first book, VAGABOND accurately reflects the history of the Hundred Years War. Because the characters develop throughout the trilogy, it's best to begin with THE ARCHER'S TALE.
Don't miss the third book, HERETIC.
Historical Fiction: Well done again!.......2007-02-10
Bernard Cornwell has continued "The Grail Quest" trilogy with book 2 of the series, "Vagabond". This book continues the story of Thomas of Hookton, master archer in the English army, son of a "crazy" priest, and apparently, heir to the family burden, grail-keeper.
Book 1, "The Archer's Tale" in the U.S. (Harlequin in the U.K.), begins the story and the first battles of the hundred-years-war, but if you don't read the first book, you can still read "Vagabond" and be kept up to speed. This is both a positive and a negative. The positive is that, due to the fact that there is so much happening in the first book, Cornwell must recap alot of the information as backstory in the second book; the negative is that, having just finished the first book, I was a little bored with the redundancy of the backstory because I wanted to move on with the current storyline. The book was good nonetheless and I was never too put off by the inclusion of the backstory. I STILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT THE FIRST BOOK BE READ BEFORE THIS ONE. The "Archer's Tale" ("Harlequin") was wonderful and, obviously, all of the first book cannot be included in the second.
This is well written historical fiction, accurate concerning the battles, the cities and the major players (i.e. kings, lords, dukes, etc.), that were all part of the beginnings of the hundred-years-war. Cornwell is meticulous in his descriptions of the battles and the reasons for why each commander did what he did during the battle, providing interesting insight in to the nature of man and the causes of the war.
Cornwell also delivers the information with surprising candor and does not present the story from the side of the French, the English, the Scottish, or the many other countries who had men fighting in the war.
Most surprising and liberating about this book, as with the first, is Cornwell's blunt portrayal of Catholicism, The Inquisition, priests, and the greed of the church during this time. Cornwell again leaves nothing to the imagination and removes any shroud of solemnity or respect that is often offered the medieval church, but truly not deserved.
This book continues the story of Thomas of Hookton, his travels from France to England, back to France, his capture and torture by The Inquisition, his return to his love from the first novel and, ultimately, the acceptance of the burden that was presented to him in the first book; he is responsible for recovering the grail, the cup of Christ, and restoring his family, which was wiped out by the French aristocracy and the Catholic church as heretical, to their proper place in the world. His family, the Vexilles, were lords and members of the Cathar religion that was wiped out by the early Inquisition due to their growing numbers and their defiance to the Catholic church. They were, according to Thomas of Hookton's father, the chosen ones of God, responsible for protecting the grail and using it's power to bring peace to the world. Thomas was given the burden of recovering the grail after his father was murdered in the first book.
Historically accurate, vividly descriptive, with well-developed characters both from the first book and some newly added, and intriguing from beginning to end, I am again desperate to get to the next book and discover the fate of Thomas of Hookton.
Tepid Drama.......2007-02-06
Repetitious wordiness and a slow-moving story line detract from the interesting detail of the tumultuous events covered by this novel.
Book Description
James L. Gelvin's new account of the century-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians presents a compelling, accessible and up-to-the-moment introduction for students and general readers. Placing events in the disputed area within the framework of global history, the book skillfully interweaves biographical sketches, eyewitness accounts, poetry, fiction and official documentation into its narrative, including photographs, maps and an abundance of supplementary material as well. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century in Palestine, it traces the evolution and interactions of the two communities from their first encounters up to the present conflict.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding analysis of the roots of the Israel-Palestine question.......2006-01-14
Like Gelvin's other general readership work, The Modern Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2005), this is more an analytical essay than traditional textbook. In a field of study that is almost impossibly broad, this work aims to center on central themes and problems rather than a step-by-step narrative of events. More than anything else, reading this work is like sitting down with a very smart, very knowledgeable person for many cups of coffee: you learn a lot, but a lot gets breezed by as well. And the time passes quickly.
This emphasis on the "big picture" is both the book's greatest strength and its most significant weakness. Although aimed at undergraduates and a general audience, without recourse to other works, the reader may not feel that they have a sufficient grasp of chronology or of major actors. For this reason, readers may well find a basic textbook like those by Charles Smith or Mark Tessler to be of value. At the same time, what this work offers - far more than any other work that I know of - is an understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict as rooted in the very modern problem of nationalism. In a field that often gets caught up in the details or polemics, this broad approach is both engaging and intellectually provocative, offering the reader a means of seeing the Arab-Israeli conflict in a broader context than is generally offered.
Gelvin's breezy style is, at times, too dismissive and, while he argues that both Zionism and Palestinian nationalism are both modern constructions, his fundamental sympathy for the Palestinian cause is clear. This "imbalance" will, no doubt, engage some readers and annoy others. Regardless of political inclinations, however, there are few readers, either novice or specialist, who would not benefit from a careful reading of this engaging and important survey.
A Historian's Historian; A Reader's Writer.......2005-12-17
As an amateur historian, I appreciate it when I read a book that takes an over-exposed subject and makes it fresh. Gelvin is a superb historian and writer as well as a polymath who is entirely comfortable writing about politics, literature, international exhibitions, poetry, and world history. He uses a short story by the Jewish-Austrian writer Joseph Roth to investigate how and why European Jews turned to nationalism, archaeological evidence to describe how nationalisms like Zionism remake national histories, Palestinian poetry to elaborate the experience of exile, and biographical sketches (Theodor Herzl, Ariel Sharon, Yasir Arafat, Mahmoud Darwish) to make history come alive. His writing is fluent, witty, and never pedantic. I almost felt guilty reading a book this enjoyable about such a bloody and endless conflict.
BRILLIANT and ENGAGING.......2005-09-08
I've read many books on the Israel/Palestine conflict (Smith, Tessler, Bickerton/Klausner, etc.) but this one is by FAR the best. First, it's actually fun to read. Gelvin writes as if he is there in the room having a conversation. The book is peppered with jokes and wry observations, and although Gelvin obviously knows his way around the academic world, there is none of the usual academic jargon. Second, most historians present history as one disconnected thing after another. Gelvin states a theme at the beginning of the book and sticks to it. For Gelvin, the conflict has had three phases: the first involved the initial encounter between two peoples (Jewish settlers and Arabs); the second began in 1948 when it was defined as an interstate "Arab-Israeli conflict" and the Palestinian question dropped off the map for most of the world (except the PLO); the third began in 1993 when Israelis and Palestinians recognized each other and brought the conflict full circle. This should be obvious, yet no one else I've read has said this directly. Also, the author keeps reminding the reader of the global context for the conflict, from the emergence of nationalism in Europe and its impact on Jews and Arabs in the nineteenth century to the impact of the end of the Cold War.
This is definitely a five star book, but I can see how it will drive some people nuts (i.e. those who can't bring themselves to use the words "Palestine" or "Palestinian" in their reviews). Zionists claim their nationalism is special, but Gelvin points out that it is pretty much a typical 19th century nationalism: it reconstructs Jewish history in its image, it insists that Jews have a right to establish a sovereign state on a piece of land they ruled thousands of years ago, etc. But all nationalisms do the same thing. What will really drive people nuts is that Gelvin shows how much Zionism and Palestinian nationalism resemble each other: both invent traditions, both claim to fulfill their peoples' national destinies, both have used terror to accomplish their goals. Gelvin doesn't let the Zionists off the hook, but he doesn't let the Palestinians off the hook either. Just read his analysis of the PLO doctrine of armed struggle or his profile of Arafat. His argument here is simple: while both national movements have a lot to answer for, if you accept the right of Jews or Palestinians to self-determination, you really can't ignore the right of the other side to self-determination either.
One small criticism: I read another book by this author (The Modern Middle East) in which he added inserts with anecdotes and stories that were related to points raised in the main text. They were a really good read, and I wish he did the same in this book.
Misleading.......2005-08-20
Gelvin is a professor who knows plenty of facts. But that does not stop him from misleading his readers in this piece of propaganda.
This book does have some really interesting material in it. Some of it is about Masada. Here, the author complains that the traditional Masada story is pretty far off. I tend to agree with much of what Gelvin says here. But I also feel that Gelvin is wrong to imply that Masada is being used as an excuse by Jews for the policies of Israel. I think Israeli policies are typically driven by a desire of Israel to protect the rights of its citizens.
The author discusses Golda Meir's comments about the Levantine Arab nation not having existed prior to 1967. Gelvin and I disagree here: he says that Meir's claim was absurd, while I say it was accurate. As a matter of fact, I think the Levantine Arabs still do not behave like a nation. They do not ask for rights for themselves. They do not ask for land. They ask only for less rights for Jews. They are more like the Sudeten Germans, who did not ask for independence, but merely for an end to Czech independence. Or the Ku Klux Klan, which does not ask for freedom for Whites, but an end to freedom for Blacks.
Gelvin spends some time discussing the Levantine Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. This exhibit looked like an idealized Jewish "tower and stockade" construction. And I found the whole section quite interesting. But I was shocked that Gelvin did not appear to take a strong stand against the way the British were treating the Jews at the time. As I see it, the British White Paper of 1939 was one of the most obviously evil acts of a rather wicked twentieth century. I can't imagine why anyone would want to appear to be neutral about it. But Gelvin implies that the Jews should have been more moderate, at a time when we can all see that moderation was totally unsuccessful in preventing a truly huge disaster in which millions of Jews were murdered. That's quite a view to take.
Just to make sure that we readers can be sure where Gelvin stands, he then whitewashes the "poetry" of racist thugs such as Mahmoud Darwish. And he casually mentions that the Jews took land that belonged to the Arabs. But wait a second. Does all land belong to the Arabs? Even land that wasn't Arab before, or was sold by the Arabs to others? Gelvin is misleading his readers quite badly here by implying that all of the Levant was (and is) rightfully Arab land. And he has to know better than that.
In my opinion, if the Arabs want peace, they can have it in five minutes, just by calling off their war and abiding Jewish rights in the region. I suspect the Jews truly want peace, even one that may not be totally fair to them. But it doesn't matter: the Jews would have no choice but to accept such a peace, since they need peace to survive and prosper.
I think we need some scholarly works on the Arab war against Israel, rather than all the propaganda we see. And I think that Gelvin knew enough material to write such a book. Unfortunately, he did not write that book. He wrote this one.
Book Description
A best-selling historian's gripping account of the powerful men who controlled America's financial destiny.
From the first days of the United States, a battle raged over money. On one side were the democrats, who wanted cheap money and feared the concentration of financial interests in the hands of a few. On the other were the capitalists who sought the soundness of a national bank—and the profits that came with it.
In telling this exciting story, H. W. Brands focuses on five "Money Men": Alexander Hamilton, who championed a national bank; Nicholas Biddle, whose run-in with Andrew Jackson led to the bank's demise; Jay Cooke, who financed the Union in the Civil War; Jay Gould, who tried to corner the gold market; and J. P. Morgan, whose position was so commanding that he bailed out the U.S. Treasury.
The Money Men is a riveting narrative, a revealing history of the men who fought over the lifeblood of American commerce and power.
Customer Reviews:
"The Money Men" intriguing ..........2007-02-10
I found this book to be a bit of a challenge, since it takes the reader through the history of U.S. money from before the nation's establishment as a country independent from the crown of England, and the accompanying tax structure, all the way through the Federal Reserve days of Alan Greenspan. Yet what I learned about the men profiled in this book gave me a glimpse of their "inner workings" and how their business - and personal - biases have had an affect on the entire development of the U.S. An excellent read.
Another great contribution from Dr. Brands.......2007-01-05
Dr. Brands never disappoints. His research and witty style makes him a must-read in any topic on American history. Here, he's taken what some might consider a dry economics topic and turned it into a pleasurable experience that will help anyone understand this important current in the course of our country.
Brands Doesn't Disappoint.......2007-01-01
I am a big fan of Bill Brands' work. He's one academic historian who can make complex subjects understandable to Average Joes like me. Unlike the previous reviewer, I don't have much background on the Money Question, which, as Brands explains, so deeply divided the nation for the first dozen or so decades of its existence. So this book was a learning experience for me.
In "The Money Men," Brands elucidates five pivotal stories in America's economic development:
*Hamilton's efforts to establish a national bank and his program to finance the developing country's growth through national debt
*The Jackson-Biddle "War" in which Pres. Jackson prevailed in killing off the Second Bank of the United States
*Jay Cooke's role in financing the Civil War
*The failed attempt of railroad barons Jay Gould and James Fisk to corner the gold market
*J.P. Morgan's role as the nation's de facto central banker.
Of these, I was particularly drawn to the story about Cooke's innovations in selling Union war bonds to the general public. Major bankers, especially New York bankers, had shown only tepid appetite for such bonds amid Union battlefield setbacks. Indeed, except for Lincoln, Cooke may have been the man most responsible for keeping the Union army in the field.
I was also surprised to learn -- as apparently were his contemporaries --of the relatively modest size of Morgan's estate: $68 million. By comparison, Andrew Carnegie amassed a $225 million fortune.
Brands wraps up with the resolution to the Money Question -- the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913. The Fed system was a compromise that combined elements of Hamiltonian capitalism and Jeffersonian democracy. With a couple of glaring exceptions (late 20s/early 30s and 1970s) the Fed system has served the nation's economy well across nine decades now.
Not up to Brands very high standards.......2006-12-20
The Money Men by H.W. Brands is a good, albeit quite brief, review of our nation's historical struggle between the forces of capitalism and democracy. Clearly the two, while a recipe for economic success, opportunity and global power, have collided both philosophically and politically over some two hundred thirty years.
Brands, a highly regarded historian at the University of Texas, and the author of such definitive books and "Andrew Jackson" and "The Age of Gold" seems to have radically tailored his prose for this entry into The Enterprise Series. As it is my first read of these books I cannot be sure if the editors at Norton are seeking to spoon feed a reader audience where little existing knowledge of the specific topics is assumed. It seems as if that is the goal and it is a shame as Brands has so much more to offer. His writing is crisp in The Money Men and the history of a developing economic, financial and monetary system is well done, but from a cursory and overview perspective. Those looking for more should do just that, keep looking.
THE MONEY MEN follows their lives, philosophies, clashes and lasting influences........2006-11-07
The Money Men: Capitalism, Democracy and the Hundred Year's War Over the American Dollar charts the influence and struggles of the financial industry in American history, using biographical sketches of five key financiers to follow the story of the American dollar. Andrew Hamilton, Nicholas Biddle, Jay Cooke, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan each helped form the monetary system in this country - and thus helped shape its political choices. THE MONEY MEN follows their lives, philosophies, clashes and lasting influences.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
This is a comparative study of how the societies of late-medieval England and France reacted to the long period of conflict between them commonly known as the Hundred Years War. Beginning with an outline of the events of the war, the book continues with an analysis of contemporary views regarding the war. Two chapters follow that describe the military aim of the protagonists, military and naval organization, recruitment, and the raising of taxes. The remainder of the book describes and analyzes some of the main social and economic effects of war upon society, the growth of a sense of national consciousness in time of conflict, and the social criticism that came from those who reacted to changes and development brought about by war.
Customer Reviews:
A Very Long War.......2007-04-29
Read this for graduate history course in medieval history.
Christopher Allmand, is an excellent historian who tells the story of the Hundred Years War in a very succinct manner. End of 14th C England emerges with a real national identity. Edward III 1327-77. An example, 1362 Edward III has official records kept in English, not French, moving away from Norman influence, this is a defining moment. This helps English literature to flourish. A political identity is being built as well.
Edward III (13 November 1312 - 21 June 1377) was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. He remained on the throne for 50 years; no English monarch had reigned as long since Henry III, and none would until George III. Having restored royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, he went on to transform England into the most efficient military power in Europe. To a large extent, Edward III can be credited with the birth of the English nation. He pushes idea of 100 Year's war his reign saw vital developments in legislature and government--in particular the evolution of the English parliament--as well as the ravaging of the Black Death. Where 1/3 population dies which also causes him to scale back on 100 Year's war.
Parliament as a representative institution was already well established by the time of Edward III, but the reign was nevertheless central to its development. During this period membership in the English baronage, formerly a somewhat indistinct group, became restricted to those who received a personal summons to parliament. This happened as parliament gradually developed into a bicameral institution. Yet it was not in the House of Lords, but in the House of Commons that the greatest changes took place. The widening of political power can be seen in the crisis of the Good Parliament, where the Commons for the first time--albeit with noble support--was responsible for precipitating a political crisis. In the process, both the procedure of impeachment and the office of the Speaker were created. Even though the political gains were of only temporary duration, this parliament represented a watershed in English political history.
The political influence of the Commons originally lay in its right to grant taxes. The financial demands of the Hundred Years' War were enormous, and the king and his ministers tried different methods of covering the expenses. The king had a steady income from crown lands, and could also take up substantial loans from Italian and domestic financiers. To finance warfare on Edward III's scale, however, the king had to resort to taxation of his subjects. Taxation took two primary forms: levy and customs. The levy was a grant of a proportion of all moveable property, normally a tenth for towns and a fifteenth for farmland. This could produce large sums of money, but each such levy had to be approved by parliament, and the king had to prove the necessity. The customs therefore provided a welcome supplement, as a steady and reliable source of income. An 'ancient duty' on the export of wool had existed since 1275. Edward I had tried to introduce an additional duty on wool, but this unpopular maltolt, or 'unjust exaction', was soon abandoned. Then, from 1336 onwards, a series of schemes aimed at increasing royal revenues from wool export were introduced. After some initial problems and discontent, it was agreed through the Ordinance of the Staple of 1353 that the new customs should be approved by parliament, though in reality they became permanent. Through the steady taxation of Edward III's reign, parliament--and in particular the Commons--gained political influence. A consensus emerged that in order for a tax to be just, the king had to prove its necessity, it had to be granted by the community of the realm, and it had to be to the benefit of that community. In addition to imposing taxes, parliament would also present petitions for redress of grievances to the king, most often concerning misgovernment by royal officials. This way the system was beneficial for both parties. Through this process the commons, and the community they represented, became increasingly politically aware, and the foundation was laid for the particular English brand of constitutional monarchy.
In the 1356 Battle of Poitiers against Edward, the Black Prince (son of King Edward III of England), John II suffered a humiliating defeat and was taken as captive back to England. As a prisoner of the English, John was granted royal privileges, permitted to travel about, and to enjoy a regal lifestyle. At a time when law and order was breaking down in France and the government was having a hard time raising money for the defense of the realm, his account books during his captivity show that he was purchasing horses, pets and clothes while maintaining an astrologer and a court band.
The 1360 Treaty of Brétigny set his ransom at 650,000pounds and 1/3 French territory. In keeping with the honor between himself and King Edward III, and leaving his son Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as a replacement hostage, John was allowed to return to France to raise his ransom funds. While King John tried to raise the money, his son Louis, accorded the same royal dignity, easily escaped from the English. An angry King John surrendered himself again to the English, claiming an inability to pay the ransom as the reason. The true motive of John's decision remains murky today, with many pointing to the devastation in France caused by war with England and the Jacquerie peasant uprising as likely candidates. His councilors and nearly the whole nation was critical of the decision, since they had raised the ransom through painstaking sacrifice. However Jean arrived in England in early 1364, looked upon by ordinary citizens and English royalty alike with great admiration. Accordingly, he was held as an honored prisoner in the Savoy Palace but died in London a few months later. His body was returned to France, where he was interred in the royal chambers at Saint Denis Basilica.
Richard II (6 January 1367 - 14 February 1400) was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent". He was born in Bordeaux and became his father's successor when his elder brother died in infancy. He was deposed in 1399 and died the next year. He was arrogant and had problems with Barons; he wanted to be more of an autocrat. As Richard began to take over the business of government himself, he sidelined many of the established nobles, Instead he turned to his inner circle of favorites for his council, men such as Michael de la Pole, whom Richard created Earl of Suffolk and made chancellor of England. The nobles he had snubbed formed the head of a group of the disaffected who called themselves the Lords Appellant. The central tenet of their appeal was continued war with France against Richard's policy of peace, an aim that many of them pursued in the interests of personal gain since it is the best way for them to make money by looting France. Rather than the interests of the nation.
In 1387, the English Parliament, under pressure from the Lords Appellant, demanded that Richard remove his unpopular councilors. When he refused, he was told that since he was still a minor, a Council of Government would rule in his place. Richard had the Earl of Arundel, leader of the Lords Appellant, arrested; but Richard's small army led by de Vere was overpowered by the forces of the Lords Appellant outside Oxford, and Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Subsequently Richard agreed to hold a parliament in order to resolve the Appellants' grievances; the unpopular councilors were forcibly disposed of (eight being executed for treason and the others exiled) in the Merciless Parliament of 1388. Richard was forced to accept new councilors and was temporarily stripped of almost all his authority. By 1398, some of them are repealed.
However, Richard was more concerned with Gaunt's son and heir Henry Bolingbroke, (Lancaster his cousin) whom he banished for ten years on a spurious pretext in 1399. After Gaunt's death, Richard also confiscated Bolingbroke's lands, this is seen as a violation of Baron's rights. Bolingbroke's inheritance was huge, large enough to be seen as a small state within the greater state of England and thus an obvious obstacle on the path of a unified and peaceful England. At this point Richard left for a campaign in Ireland, allowing Bolingbroke the opportunity to land in Yorkshire with an army provided by the King of France to reclaim his father's lands. Richard's autocratic ways, deeply unpopular with many nobles, facilitated Bolingbroke's gaining control quickly of most of southern and eastern England. Bolingbroke had originally just wanted his inheritance and a reimposition of the power of the Lords Appellant, accepting Richard's right to be king and March's right to succeed him. However, by the time Richard finally arrived back on the mainland in Wales, a tide of discontent had swept England. In the King's absence, Bolingbroke, who was generally well-liked, was being urged to take the crown himself. Richard was captured at Flint Castle in Wales and taken to London, where crowds pelted him with rubbish. He was held in the Tower of London and eventually forced to abdicate. He was brought, on his request, before parliament, where he officially renounced his crown and thirty-three official charges (including `vengeful sentences given against lords') were made against him. He was not permitted to answer the charges. Parliament then accepted Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) as the new king.
Richard was placed in Pontefract Castle, and died there in 1400. He is believed to have been killed by starvation (perhaps he refused to take nourishment and starved himself) or otherwise murdered. Richard was dead by 17 February. By 1400, England has a stable government. You see the tensions play out between King, Barons, and Parliament, Edward III did well at this.
France- Lots of problems. It has a much larger population 10-12 million as opposed to England's 3-4 million. This makes the country unwieldy to deal with. It also suffers from bad politics from a slew of bad kings. Philip IV the Fair (French: Philippe IV le Bel) (1268 - November 29, 1314) was King of France from 1285 until his death in 1314. The Valois Dynasty succeeded the Capetian Dynasty as rulers of France from 1328-1589. They were descendants of Charles of Valois, the third son of King Philip III and based their claim to be ahead of Edward III of England and Jeanne de Navarre on a reintroduction of the Salic law.
Philip VI of Valois (French: Philippe VI de Valois; 1293 - August 22, 1350) was the King of France from 1328 to his death, and Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois 1325-1328. He was the son of Charles of Valois and founded the Valois Dynasty.
John II of France (French: Jean II de France; April 16, 1319-April 8, 1364),
Charles V the Wise (French: Charles V le Sage) (January 31, 1338 - September 16, 1380) was king of France from 1364 to 1380 and a member of the Valois Dynasty. His reign marked a high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armies recovering much of the territory ceded to England at the Treaty of Bretigny.
Charles VI the Well-Beloved, later known as the Mad (French: Charles VI le Bien-Aimé, later known as le Fol) (December 3, 1368 - October 21, 1422) was a King of France (1380 - 1422) and a member of the Valois Dynasty. The king would suffer from periods of mental illness 1/2 his life. This is disastrous for France.
France doesn't have Parliament or any central control due to fact the King was never able to interfere with the autonomy Baron's had in the lands. Also political problems because many French baron's side with the English. In addition, the English are used to having assemblies under Anglo-Saxon rule, French have no such tradition. French king has great councils like English Privy but it's not well defined. No exchequer, but 2 men in control of money, income and expenditure, thus both become corrupt, spendthrifts, bankruptcy. French kings have habit of devaluing money. The 100 Year's war goes bad for them which causes them trouble. He has no money to pay his professional army, so they become organized bands of highwaymen and robbers even laying siege to towns for ransom money. The French country is scarred by war thus harder to get tax revenue from people.
Lavish living among nobility. Systematic taxation becomes harsh by 1356 because they are having to raise ransom money. Bureaucracy has to use non nobles so they will be loyal to the king and not their family interests. Court is 500 people who are a drain on money, don't do much. Only 200 bureaucrats do the real governing of the country. Flanders is a constant problem for them. Textile manufacture using English wool makes them close allies against French interests. Gascony in France is an English possession. 1347-50, low point for taxes because of devastation of plague. 1330's 210K hearth tax, 1378 30K this is a big drop.
Recommended reading for those interested in medieval history.
An excellent analysis of English/French medieval rivalry.......2000-10-20
Christopher Allmand has taken a very long timeframe of medieval rivalry between the two great powers of the time, England and France and has done an excellent job of describing the begining, preperation and culmination of a very Bloody and Nasty war between England and France. These two great nations were always antagonistic with each other and had finally reached a "boiling point" around 1300, thus declaring official and unofficial war with each other that did not end until the beginning of the 19th century. Allmand doesn't use schollarly details to confuse the reader, he writes in a good prose and is easy to understand the background of the French and English Kings who honestly did not like each other, even though in most circumstances they were related to each other by blood or marriage. This book also gives analysis of how the war between these two nations affected the innocent victims such as the villiagers, serfs and even nobility. This was a war of gaining territory, sacking villiages in the name of the King, very nasty and terrible battles and political status in Medieval Europe. I highly recommend this book to all who want to know about how the rivalry between England and France developed and how the rivalry led to war that made it not just a hundred year war, but a war that lasted well over 400 years.
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell has written his masterpiece, a roiling saga about love, honor, belief -- and, above aft, about bravery in its many forms -- in which a young warrior's religious heritage sets him on a quest for a mysterious treasure rumored to be the Holy Grail itself.
Thomas of Hookton is a young man but already a seasoned veteran of King Edward's army. His fearlessness and uncanny prowess with the longbow make him a natural leader in what will be remembered as the Hundred Years' War. Accompanied by a small but able band of soldiers -- among them Sir Guillaume (a landless lord seeking to regain his fortune as a mercenary) and Robbie Douglas (a Scottish prisoner spared by Thomas, and who now serves him loyally) Thomas is sent to Gascony to capture the castle of Astarac. But he has ulterior motives for accepting the charge: Gascony is the home both of his forebears and of the black knight -- Guy de Vexille -- who brutally slaughtered his father, a priest, when Thomas was a lad. It is also reputed to be the place where the Grail was last seen.
While capturing Astarac, Thomas learns of a tragedy in the making: a beautiful young woman named Genevieve, innocent if not pious, is to be burned as a heretic for refusing to adhere to the strict religious guidelines of the day. Thomas prevents the corrupt local priest from carrying out his "God given" duty -- a sacrilege that taints Thomas with the same heretical brush, and which turns him into an outcast, even among his own men. Eventually he and Genevieve have no choice but to flee across a landscape of blood and fire. While hidden away at a monastery, they learn of a plot involving the creation of an imitation Grail for a diabolical end, and they witness' the murder of a trusted priest at the hands of the man Thomas has been chasing his entire adult life -- Guy de Vexille.
At last reconciled with his allies, Thomas leads his brave band in a bloody battle to the death, the outcome of which could determine the seat of power -- and the direction of Christendom -- forevermore.
An epic saga steeped in myth and legend, Heretic presents a portrait of the fourteenth century -- and, especially, of the fate of the Holy Grail -- as only master storyteller Bernard Cornwell can.
Customer Reviews:
Boring carnage? It is possible........2007-06-06
As I wrote in my review of The Archer's Tale, I was very disappointed in the way this series fizzled out in this, the third installment.Bernard Cornwell was one of my favorite
authors up until "Sharpe's Waterloo", but I feel he's again showing
symptoms of being too prolific.I just don't feel it.....
Fair conclusion to the Grail Series.......2007-06-04
First off: This is book 3 in the series. Go back and read the first two if you aren't starting here.
While you could jump into this book without the first two, you really lose the full effect without it.
Also, the first two books are better while the third wraps everything up, with a somewhat "standard" Grail story.
However a full review is probably silly, because either you read the first two -- and all you want to know if the 3rd one stinks -- and it is an OK book, so I wasn't disappointed reading it since it closed the series. As another review mentioned there is an interesting epilogue to the book.
And if you *haven't* read the first two, start there.
Excellent end to the series.......2007-05-13
The 3rd Book was as good as the first two. Couldn't put them down. Excellent read. Everything that this guy writes is both entertaining and educational.
Good historical fiction.......2007-03-08
I love historical fiction, and I really liked this trilogy by Bernard Cornwell.
Heretic is a confused conclusion to an average trilogy.......2007-02-20
Let me preface this by saying that Bernard Cornwell is probably my favorite living author. I am a huge fan of the Sharpe series, his Warlords trilogy, and his new Viking/Alfred the Great series promises to be his best yet. However, his trilogy about Thomas of Hookton and his adventures in the Grail Quest series have left me unsatisfied. This series started out well enough with the Archer's Tale, which was a riveting account of the English armies in France during the Hundred Years war. Cornwell's usual incredible attention to detail transported the reader back in time (like he always does) and really explains to you why things happened in the historical context. In this case, why the longbow was king of the battlefield. Thomas was your typical Cornwell hero, young and inexperienced but quickly a veteran in the arts of war. He was surrounded by the usual cast of battle hardened but friendly (to Thomas) veterans along with the usual well born foes looking to foil our heroes dreams. Hey, its a formula that works and I have no problem with Cornwell recycling this in different historical eras. He even added a very interesting female character in Jeannette and Thomas was caught up in the events leading up to the Battle of Crecy. Great stuff.
The second book, Vagabond, continued a good story, but started to really delve into the quest for the Grail and the historical events in France, while still relevant, were starting to take a back seat to the Grail quest. My biggest problem with this book is that Thomas would have been crippled for life following a certain episode (an episode I really hope Cornwell doesn't start using on his protagonists - we have George Martin for that). So for me, the book starts to take on a bit of a unrealistic format.
Finally, we come to the final book Heretic, and in my opinion Cornwell loses control of the story. First, he almost completely ignores history. This is more or less a fantasy novel set in France about the Grail. England and France reach a truce, and Thomas' liege the Earl of Northhampton sends him on an improbable task to take a castle in southern France and look for the Holy Grail. Ummm...OK. A shaky start, but the story is engaging as Thomas has his first command and we have a great scene where a castle is stormed and several good episodes of raiding. Then Geneiveve comes in and the story falls apart. She's a heretic condemend by the church and set to burn. She falls into the hands of Thomas and he defies the church and won't burn her, eventually getting excommunicated and losing all his men in the process. Cornwell has never written women well so I give some leeway on his female characters. However this is just sloppy. Someone else pointed this out but it bears further mentioning, I don't think Geneiveve has more than 100 words of dialog in the book. Who is she and why would Thomas throw away his soul and the duty to his liege lord (something conviently overlooked in his decision process) for this girl? All we know is she is anorexic thin and beautiful. Empoverished girls who bathed maybe one a month in the 14th century were not beautiful and its surprising that someone normally so attuned to period detail just lets this pass.
After Part One, the book moves in one confusing circle around the land of Astarac, the historical home of Thomas' ancestors and his cousin Guy Vexille, who I wish would have had a bigger role because he was actually the only interesting character in this book. Instead, we get chapter after chapter about a stereotypical and boring French Knight Joscelyn who we never for a moment suspect is a match for our hero. Vexille meanwhile is consumed by a religious quest and a warrior monk mentality that makes him dangerous (and ruthless). In the meantime, one of Thomas' best friends from the series goes completely insane and illogically turns against him and everyone he's fought with for the last several years. The conclusion isn't bad but it doesn't make up for the several hundred pages of aimless wandering it took to get there.
Lots of good history of course, as always. In particular I like how God and the belief in God is portrayed in the 14th century, even among vicious killers. But Geneiveve has to be one of Cornwell's worst main characters and Thomas slips several notches down the list of Cornwell heroes by the time this book is over. I can see myself rereading book one again, but I'll pass on the 2nd two books in this trilogy. Maybe Cornwell should pick up the war in the 15th century and try again.
Book Description
A remarkable and engrossing account of medieval England's epic conflict with France.
From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "hundred years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. The protagonists of the Hundred Years War are among the most colorful in European history: Edward III, the Black Prince; Henry V, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare; the splendid but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London; Charles V, who very nearly overcame England; and the enigmatic Charles VII, who at last drove the English out. Desmond Seward's critically-acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.
"Mr. Seward shows us all the famous sights of those roaring times . . . and illuminates them with an easy scholarship, a nice sense of detail . . . and a most agreeable clarity of style." --The New Yorker
Customer Reviews:
How did the French win?.......2006-07-14
Mr. Seward gives a good overview of the war and a fair overview of the consequences to everyday peasants. His accounts of the crushing English victories are well told. What's missing is the ultimate French victory. They drove the English out, but the battles and campaigns by which they did are very slightly recounted.
Excellent overall view of the conflicts.......2005-03-05
This series of conflicts really starts with the ascendency of the plantegenet line at the time of Henry II. This was an inevitable conflict due to a sovereign King of England also having a Lordship over Gascony, a title held when King Henry II married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. With Edward III having a legitimate claim to the throne of France through his mother Isabella, Seward's book tells the story of the off and on conflicts that occured from 1337-1453.
Early in the conflict, with victories at Slurs, Crecy and Poitiers, the French became aware of the fact that they could not defeat the English forces in the field. However, though the English were capable of conquering territories, they never possessed the strength to hold them indefinately. Seward does a good job of putting the reader in the shoes of the main characters, from the proud but unlucky Philip VI, to the crazy mental patient known as Charles VI. He also gives a good biographical sketch of English monarchs and princes during this period, from Edward "the Black Prince", to John of Gaunt's militarily incompentent bastard granchildren, the Beaufort brothers John and Edmund.
Seward gives a historically accurate portrayal of English hero Henry V that is a far cry from the anglo-centric version we all know through Shakespeare. A man with a tenuous claim to the throne of England invaded France and nearly became the King of France. The atrocities he committed are repugnant, even by the standards of the day and should include him with other evil despots who have ruled through terror and murder. After Henry V's death, despite the competence of his brother the Duke of Bedford, England was doomed to a protracted conflict when the young religious fanatic Joan of Arc decided she was called by God to evict the English from France.
Seward does a good job of viewing the conflict from the perspective of the French peasant, who suffered mightily under the oppression of English rule and the anarchy that existed in the conquered lands. He also details how the loss of the alliance with Burgundy, coupled with the ending of the minority of the incompetent Henry VI doomed England and precipitated the Wars of the Roses.
This is a fascinating period of time in English history that impacted greatly the history of the world. One of the most significant conflicts that shaped the modern world, I highly recommend this book as an overview of the period.
Great overall view of this important time in history.......2005-01-19
Seward does a great job in illustrating what the Hundred Years War was and how it affected the French and the English. For someone looking for a concise overview of this important time, I would recommend this book. It does not go into too much depth within the actual battles and how they were fought, focusing only on who fought and the general formation taken, so if you are looking for the military approach this book should only be used as a reference.
Seward is a great historian and one that I will gladly turn to when I have a question.
Loses the forest for the trees.......2003-04-25
This is a straightforward and well presented narrative history of the Hundred Years War. It concentrates mostly on the military conflict, with some asides on major figures. It is quite detailed and pithy. On these terms it's a good book. Alas it gives short shrift to the wider aspects of the war and the time. The rest of Europe, the Great Schism, the growth of nationalities, the effects of the Black Death ... these all get only a glancing look. I also hoped for more on military tactics and weaponry.
The Hundred Years War.......2003-03-27
The Hundred Years War is about the war that the English fought with the French. Due to the fact that the French had no king and the pretext was that the English king had the right to the French throne . The two groups of people involved in this story were the English crown and Army, and the French Noble(wo)men and the French Army. England repeatedly invaded France and the French, which was a small, weak country at that time, stood strong against the English. Due to France's lack of resources and weaknesses, their army wasn't that strong. The English dominated most of the war and won most of the major battles. During the period of the war, one of the major things that happened was Joan of Arc, who lead Charles VII to become the king of France and France finally had a sovereign. My favorite character was France because they were more disposed to win the war by using whatever they could find. They also had much better looking armor.
I did liked the book. My favorite parts were the battles where Joan of Arc was. I didn't quite like the begining because it went pretty slow. If I could change anything in the book it would be adding more exitement in the starting part, because I'm an author also and I know what most of the people want.
I think I might recommend this book to a person who might like history.
Book Description
From master storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a spellbinding epic of duty, love, and valor forged in the fires of the hundred years war.
A brutal raid on the quiet coastal English village of Hookton in 1342 leaves but one survivor: a young archer named Thomas. On this terrible dawn, his purpose becomes clear: to recover a stolen sacred relic and pursue to the ends of the earth the murderous black-clad knight bearing a blue-and-yellow standard -- a journey that leads to the courageous rescue of a beautiful French woman, and sets him on his ultimate quest: the search for the Holy Grail.
Customer Reviews:
Historical Fiction at its Finest!.......2007-08-31
The history is accurate, the characters are engaging, and the story lines are superb - everything you want from historial fiction. Read just one Bernard Cornwell book and you'll be hooked for a very long time. Trust me - read "The Archer's Tale" and you'll find it quite impossible not to finish the series.
Thomas of Hookton has a Hook.......2007-08-12
Right from the first chapter you know this is another Bernard Cornwell hit. The tone is set with a daring raid, a quick set up of "good guys" and "bad guys" and a unique spin on the Hundred Year War. Bernard Cornwell manages to blend his awesome command of history with a snappy driving plot and typical Cornwell larger-than-life-yet human characters. Cornwell brings to a boil and we never quite get down to a low simmer -- which is a good thing. Grand adventure, hip characters and a thriller-like pace make for a great read and another Cornwell triumph. Perhaps I didn't quite enjoy this at the level I did his "Saxon Chronicals" or the "Arthur" trilogy, but it's immensely wonderful for all of that.
Excellent History and Action together.......2007-07-10
Cornwell is always an entertaining read and The Archer's Tale holds true to form. Excellent character development makes the reader feel like they are part of the story. Definitely recommend the book to readers who enjoy action based historial fiction.
Wonderfully entertaining!.......2007-07-07
This is the kind of historical fiction that can sustain itself over a series of books. That is good as this is the first of three (The Grail Quest). What I enjoyed in this book was the knowledge that Cornwell uses to establish the context of the story. His knowledge of the national movements, motivation of various leaders, the technology that is crucial to each side, is simply superb. In this book, the main character is likeable enough that anyone would want to know what happens next. His motivations never get muddled or are neglected.
One strength of Cornwell's writing is that his characters are true to the time. Their worldview is captured in what they do, how they think, where they go, and what they believe. This is not one of those Historical novels set in the 13th or 14th centuries populated by 21st century characters. Thank-you Mr. Cornwell.
Finally- Cornwell's books creates an urge in me to go to the UK, France, and see the land for myself. It is that good.
I look forward to the next volume in the series.
Engrossing, entertaining tale, the first in a trilogy.......2007-06-24
THE ARCHER'S TALE was my introduction to Bernard Cornwell. While I favor historical fiction, I never thought I would be intrigued by novels about distant wars or battles. Was I wrong! The story draws you in straight in the beginning and leaves you wanting more.
I defer to nessiemonster's (see An excellent adventure, June 23, 2003) description of the story and comments on the accuracy of the history. It's a very well-written review.
Don't miss VAGABOND and HERETIC, the second and third in the trilogy, respectively.
Book Description
A city awash in garbage; rats skittering through heaps of rotting debris; disease spreading through choked waterways; citizens threading through piles of filth - urban nightmare or profiteer's dream come true? Benjamin Miller's panoramic view of New York's garbage takes us from the earliest antebellum collectors, to 19th- century barons trading in fertilizers and explosives, to the current feuding bureaucrats and environmentalists. Fat of the Land covers social and scientific theories of class and disease, in the process offering a richly textured history of urban development. The book reveals for the first time the plotting of power broker Robert Moses that gave birth to the controversial Fresh Kills landfill and examines the curious logic behind its untimely end. Fat of the Land brings to light an often hidden subject, assessing who gains and who loses in the endless battle over garbage.
Customer Reviews:
Political history of infrastructure in NYC.......2004-03-03
This book is the story behind the people responsible for taking care of waste removal in New York City. The book begins with a chapter that traces the infamous woeful journey of the Mobro, the garbage barge that could not find a home. The main text of the book is divided into 4 sections: Engineering Reform (public health in Europe and America in the mid-1800s, early NYC contracts for gathering bones and organic matter in the mid-1800s), Expanding Opportunities (contracts for Central Park, elevated railways, the Brooklyn Ash incinerator), Public Work (roads and rails, bridges and tunnels, parks and parkways, ports and airports, all covering the 1930s to 1940s), and Landscape Sculpture (Rachel Carson, DDT, dioxins and incinerators, landfills, transfer stations, and NIMBYs). The book concludes with a chapter on the "Pew Yew Choo-Choo", a Mobro-like train that looked in vain for a place to unload. The book is amply illustrated with black and white photographs and drawings. At the end of the book are 90 pages of documentary notes, but presumably to strengthen the narrative of the text, they are not linked directly to the main text with endnote numbers.
The subtitle of the book,"Garbage of the New York the last two hundred years", is a very inaccurate guide to the book's actual contents. The book isn't about garbage, but about the people who wanted the garbage contracts over the years, and the politics involved with getting the contracts. Actually, the book also doesn't focus particularly strongly on garbage contracts either, since quite a few pages or even chapters are devoted to the contracts for other infrastructure projects, like Central Park and public transit systems. Many of these other projects do have a loose connection with garbage, in the sense that some of them depended on garbage for fill (such as LaGuardia Airport), but others seem to be included only because they involved some of the same people who were also vying for the garbage contracts. In any case, the book can hardly claim to cover the last two hundred years, since the text begins in the 1840s.
I picked up this book because I was interested in learning more about how one of the largest cities in the country has dealt with its garbage over the years. There was no description at all of early garbage disposal arrangements in NYC before the 1840s. I did learn how dead animals and bones were boiled for grease in the mid-1800s, and there was limited discussion of incinerators, as well as some information about landfills and shipping garbage out of town. But a few clues in the book lead to me to believe there was more to be said about garbage. For example, at one point, Miller mentions a NYC law that required all buildings with more than 12 residential units to have their incinerators. Does this mean that there was some sort of responsibility or expectation for garbage to be dealt with at the point of disposal? Was this a wide-spread practice? For how long? To write a comprehensive history of garbage in NYC, Miller might have put more focus on questions such as these, and a bit less on issues that are only marginally, if at all, related to garbage.
Ho hum.......2002-04-18
This book contains a useful timeline, just a few pages long, chronicling the significant events contained in the rest of the book. Save time -- read that part instead. He has a few good points to make, but then it comes across as mostly padding. I had been hoping for more, on such a fascinating topic. (yawn) On second thought, it did help me get to sleep.
Blood and Filth and Fat and Foam.......2000-11-23
The colorful and fetid history of waste makes for an enervating read. Miller has done exhaustive and meticulous research to share with us the forgotten tale of where the trash went and the distressing facts about where it goes today.
There are many new, never-before revealed facts Miller has unearthed from the landfill of time-- he introduces us to an astounding and entertaining parade of bold scoundrels, do-gooder public health pioneers, social theorists, corrupt politicans, self-righteous environmentalists and a few good, clear thinkers tossed in for good measure. Miller himself is certainly one of them. He digs deep and leads us with a steady hand and a cool, observing eye to the places where were planted the seeds of public policy that have brought us to the ruin we face today. This cautionary tale applies not only to New York, though New York, as in many things, stands as the example, good and bad, of how disposal works.
Don't be put off by the subject or think this is an academic book. Miller is a superb prose stylist and his ability to summon vividly the characters and tenor of past times is often wonderfully Dickensian. This sleeper is a ripping good read. Enjoy! I've heard the author is going to be on NPR's Fresh Air in December. No pun intended, I gather...
Power Politics.......2000-11-09
A richly rewarding read -- unrepentant, greedy politicians; real estate moguls of the Guilded Age; emerging awareness of public health needs; New York pathos. And a double espresso of gossip!
History and political buffs will devour; anyone interested in how one of the world's most dynamic cities rose from the mud will find this facsinating.
"Ragtime" but real.
Fat of the Land.......2000-11-09
As a former New Yorker, I'm enjoying this engrossing tale of money and politicians, public health and urban real estate moguls, and behind the scenes views of the forces that shaped the growth of one of the world's most dynamic cities.
Good read for those interested in history and politics, but also has enough nitty-gritty gossip and well-researched tales of corruption to be entertaining for the general reader.
Product Description
Published by Scramasax, the book details the creation of miniature Knights as well as giving the reader an accurate historical background of the Hundred Years War. Full color pages of Heraldry displayed in the battles of Crecy and Poitiers help make this book an essential addition to a true collector's library.
The Foreword, written by Moira Macfarlane (British Consul-Florence), marveled at the illustrations. She writes, "As I read Creating Miniature Knights, and marveled at the illustrations, I realized that once again, I was in the presence of genius".
It is a 182 page, 12 x 8.5 inches full color hard back edition containing 150 color photographs, 25 color illustrations, 20 black and white illustrations, 3 battle plans and 290 colored shields of Arms.
We are so confident that you will absolutely love this book, we are offering a full money back guarantee ! If for any reason you are not satisfied, send it back to us and we will refund the purchase price of the book.
Customer Reviews:
Relieve the hundred years war.......2007-09-19
Peter Greenhill & Mario Venturi are two of the leading miniaturists in the world! They both explore their work using the battle of Potiers to showcase their individual interpertations of the Knights and heraldry of the period! The photos alone are worth the price of the book! This is a "Must Have" addition to any military history buff,or collector of all things medieval!The book has extensive information on weapons and armor development, as well as 6 pages of Heraldry of the major battles of the Hundred Years War. I highly Recommend this book!
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- The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World
- In Cold Blood
- American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community
- Bioassays of Entomopathogenic Microbes and Nematodes
- Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interi
- Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World
- Forfeit
- Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing
- Authentic Small Houses of the Twenties: Illustrations and Floor Plans of 254 Characteristic Homes
- Pathogenesis & Host Specificity in Plant Diseases, 3-Volume Set : Viruses & Viroids
Economic History
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America
A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle With a Deadly Industry
Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization
Cigarette Papers
Regulating Tobacco
