Reviews (118)

Smashing Success!
I have read every book ever written about Diana, Princess of Wales and this one was by far the best. Paul Burrell had and probably to this day has a sense of respect and duty to his ex boss as well as her sons. It takes you behind the scenes with a look inside the Royal family that is not only unbiased, but truthful. It dispells the myths about Diana's relationship with the Queen and Prince Phillip. Critics would like us to believe that she was not well liked by her in-laws and unloved by Prince Charles, but that is not true. I rather enjoyed this book.

good read for royal watchers
paul burrell's book provides a glimpse of Princess Diana that well captures the ups and downs of her personality. Most intriguing, perhaps, is the picture of life of Buckingham and Kensington Palaces from a butler's viewpoint. The author was consumed by his devotion to the Princess, and that devotion was so extreme that his entire life was effected during his tenure with Princess Diana and since then. That his wife and family stood by him while he was in her employ is remarkable, but his relationship with his wife during that time is not entirely clear. While Burrell has much insight into his extraordinary fascination and devotion, his present state of mind and ambition are not fully put forth. This book is not a salacious tell all, but a vivid portrait of an unusual relationship and his descriptions both of the royals and of the palace life are compelling.

Interesting Royal Read
This book was tastefully written by a man whom obviously shared a very close relationship with Princess Diana and the royal family. It was particularly interesting to delve into the bits of details surrounding incidents that only he could have known about. By books end, I couldn't help but feel this was more than just an intimate protrait of a personal relationship but more a written testimony of the facts surrounding the scandal of the "butler possessing royal belongings" as given by Mr. Burell. After reading this book, it's impossible not to believe in Mr. Burell and the torid time he must have gone through in not only having lost his "family" but his credibility. If there was one aspect of the book that truly disgruntled me even if done with discretion in mind, I couldn't help but be continually perturbed by the referal to the men in Diana's life without the validation of their identities. I understand the nuance of protocol and respect involved but they could have been better portrayed at the very least. Overall, it's an interesting tribute and sad memorial of the most vivacious royal family member I have ever read about. My heart goes out to the Burell family.

Wasn't going to buy this, but.........................
I held off for the longest time buying this book because of the accusations against Paul Burrell, though he was exonerated. Still, being the eternal Diana fan, I finally took the plunge and I am SO GLAD that I did.

The book surprised me in that although it's writing style is somewhat fragmented, going back and forth in time, it held me captive for two days right up to the end. At several points, I actually got rather tearful, which surprised me greatly, until I realized that I had not admitted to myself how very much I missed Diana.

This is a wonderful book that shows the late Princess as she really was, a person, a mother, a royal, and a very public persona. Probably the most interesting parts of the book for me were finally seeing the suspicions I had long held about the Spencer family in print. I had always thought that her own family used her when she was alive if they needed something, but that especially she has been used by them after her death to their own monetary advantage. I truly hope that anyone who journeys to England NEVER visits Althorp or spends money to buy any of Althorps souvenirs, but instead gives money in her name to any charity that she supported while living.

I wish for Mr. Burrell and his family nothing but the best in the future, and hope that anyone that has doubts about this book has doubts no more. I recommend it to any Diana fan.

Burrell is a Hero
Paul Burrell has only the best of intentions here. He was and still very much IS Princess Diana's "rock". He is clearly setting the record straight, and nothing of an excessively personal nature is revealed in this book. I don't think Diana would have disapproved at all - Burrell is speaking for her since she's no longer with us. If there was a plot to injure or kill her, then it desperately needs to be exposed. Because of Diana's premonitions and they way she revealed them to Burrell, perhaps now we will know the real truth about what happened in Paris seven years ago. This book is also very respectful to the princess, and I doubt very strongly that either of her sons has read it. If they had, they'd have realized that Burrell has done their mother a favor, and she's no doubt cheering him on! It was a very enjoyable read, and hard to put down. I would highly recommend this book for any real fan of Princess Diana. ... Read more

Book Description

Featuring major wartime speeches of Winston Churchill.Memorable speeches of Great Britain's Prime Minister from the time England was all but alone, until final victory. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Best of the Best
The editor's introductions to the speeches are sometimes inaccurate, but Churchill is a wonder to listen to. Highly recommended by anyone with an appreciation for history or literature.

Sir Winston Churchill:his finest hour
Those 16 of his finest speaches made during the darkest days of WWII demonstrated courage and inner strength of a great leader in modern world. I and my 11 year old have enjoyed it very much. ... Read more

Book Description

Napoleon called him le loup des mers ("the sea wolf"). One cannot visit a town in Chile (where he is seen as a hero) without crossing at least one street or town square that bears his name. He proposed the use of saturation bombing and chemical warfare over half a century before their use. As one of England's most famous naval heroes, Admiral Lord Cochrane's exploits inspired the likes of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester. Now with a new introduction, The Autobiography of a Seaman chronicles the exciting life of Britain's most controversial admiral of the Napoleonic era. Known as a dashing, brilliant young sailor for his exploits against the Spanish, Cochrane was also a fearless campaigner against incompetence and corruption in the navy and in politics. Charged with a daring assault on the French in the famous Battle of the Aix Roads, he publicly accused his superiors of timidity when the action was called off at the last minute. He was elected to the House of Commons, where he fought vigilantly for the pensions of war veterans, only to make enemies with some of the most powerful families in Britain, including future prime minister of England Lord Palmerston. Later, he commanded the Chilean Navy in their fight for independence against Spain, helped develop naval warfare under steam, and devoted himself to developing a weapon of mass destruction (poison gas), which was so shocking to his contemporaries that his plans were shelved as classified until World War I. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Essential Reading for Naval Historians
The autobiography of Admiral Lord Cochrane was first published in 1860, the year Cochrane died at the age of 85. Richard Woodman has added an introduction to the present edition. Cochrane only covers the period of his life up through 1814 when he was 39. Consequently, he covers nothing of his later career in Chile, Brazil, and Greece; nothing of his reinstatement in the Royal Navy; and nothing of his immediate family other than a brief account of his marriage to Kitty Barnes (about 20 years younger than Cochrane) by whom he had 5 children.

Autobiographers always have a bias as the authors are presenting their side of the case (see, for example, Bligh's "Mutiny Aboard the H.M.S. Bounty"). While presenting the details of his early naval career, the main thrust is his campaign against corruption in the Admiralty Courts, the Royal Navy, and the Government in general. Some accounts are almost like comic opera, e.g., the Admiralty Court in Malta.

Cochrane's service commanding the Speedy from 1800 to 1801 has been fictionalized by Patrick O'Brien in the novel "Master and Commander" in which he replaces Cochrane with the fictional James Aubrey. All the major details are the same, but O'Brien added considerable color to the account.

Like many good military commanders, Cochrane lacked tact and was not a diplomat. He was promoted to command the Speedy at the age of 25 without having the experience to deal with the protocols of the Royal Navy. He could best be described as a loose cannon. He was unwilling to compromise when a little tact, a closed mouth, and a small amount of back scratching would have achieved major results. His lack of diplomacy caused others to reject well thought out plans simply because he proposed them. Cochrane damaged others around him simply by trying to be their champion, undoubtedly being responsible for Parker's ruin - people in power who Cochrane had offended would naturally take it out on his proteges.

While not great literature, the autobiography is both a good account of naval service from 1793 to 1809, and a good first-hand account of corruption within politics and the government. The writing style is somewhat like Churchill's history of World War II.

Cochrane's Life to 1815
Readers familiar with Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series will immediately recognize the source of many of those novels in Admiral Lord Cochrane's "Autobiography of a Seaman."

Admiral Lord Cochrane was born into a noble Scots family whose fortunes had declined by the time of his birth (1775). Through family connections, he secured a berth as a midshipman at the age of 17 on a British man-of-war in the early years of the Napoleonic Wars. Thereafter, he rose through the ranks of the British navy on the strength of several truly daring and remarkable attacks, capturing or destroying many French and Spanish vessels in a small sloop, and later, a frigate.

This book tells the stories of those triumphs.

The romantic aspect of the Napoleonic era is here too, and the tales abound with numerous examples of the dubious military notions of honor among combatants. Moreover, Cochrane moved in the highest circles of the navy and government, and it is surprising to see many prominent names in naval history, (e.g., Admiral Nelson, Captain Bligh) appear casually in these pages.

Lord Cochrane's exploits - at sea, in politics and in business - are clearly the source of O'Brian's Jack Aubrey. However, whereas O'Brian presents his tales in a highly-polished narrative style similar to Jane Austen, Cochrane croaks out his stories with bombastic self-apology, and delivers the narrative in a choppy and archaic military style, viz., by attaching copies of his despatches to superior officers to explain the events.

Anyone interested in naval warfare or anyone who likes a good adventure story should read this book. Napoleon's characterization of Cochrane as "le loup des mers" is well deserved. It is unfortunate, however, that Cochrane did not spend more time at sea. The last 100+ pages of this book (except for a trip to Malta) are tedious. Cochrane, perhaps at the peak of his career as a naval officer, became embroiled in reform politics, the court martial of a superior officer, and a stock fraud trial. These three episodes ended his career in Britain, (although he did go on to great success in Chile commanding its revolutionary navy.) Cochrane whines and complains about the most minute details of each case in an attempt to prove his innocence. As a practising litigator, I have represented a few clients who became obsessed with two or three facts which the client believes proves his or her innocence, in the face of dozens of facts which indicate guilt. It is difficult to listen to this type of complaining, but Cochrane takes it to new heights: this autobiography, written in 1865, spends a score of pages reviewing the 1814 testimony of witnesses on whether one stock-fraud participant wore a red or a green coat. Dreary stuff.

Readers who hope to glean some Freudian insight into his psychological make-up, or anyone hoping for a character like Diana Villiers will not enjoy this work. Although Cochrane says of himself, "my life has been one of the most romatic on record", (p.316), it is not the romance a modern reader might think. The section dealing with his marriage comprises three pages. His wife and mother are the only women mentioned, and only in passing.

Once again, a major flaw with this, like other nautical books, is the absence or inadequacy of maps. The action at Basque Roads would be much more comprehensible if the reader knew the position of the British fleet, the French fleet, Isle d'Aix, etc.

This book is a good read to the extent it focuses on Cochrane's naval actions, but that portion of the autobiography that focuses on politics and trials is no more interesting to readers now than it was when it was written. ... Read more

Book Description

There may be no more fascinating historical period than the late fourteenth century in Europe. The Hundred Years' War ravaged the continent, yet gallantry, chivalry, and literary brilliance flourished in the courts of England and elsewhere. Chaucer wrote brilliant satire, lords and ladies invented courtly rituals of love and romance, yet the vast bulk of Europe's population struggled with plague, economic uncertainty, and violence. It was a world in transition, soon to be replaced by the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration -- and John of Gaunt was its central figure. Norman F. Cantor, the best known and most popular historian of the Middle Ages, brings Gaunt to life brilliantly in his newest work, The Last Knight.

John of Gaunt was the richest man in Europe, apart from its monarchs, and he epitomized and surpassed the ideals of the late Middle Ages. From chivalry -- he was taught at a young age to fight on horseback like the knights of old -- to courtly love -- his three marriages included two romantic love-matches -- he was an ideal leader. He created lavish courts, sponsoring Chaucer and proto-Protestant religious thinkers, and he survived the dramatic Peasants' Revolt, during which his sumptuous London residence was burned to the ground. As the head of the Lancastrian Branch of the Plantagenet family, he was the unknowing father of the War of the Roses, for his son Henry Bolingbroke usurped the crown from Gaunt's nephew, Richard II, after Gaunt had died. He passed away just as one great era gave way to the next: His grandson Henry the Navigator launched the Age of Exploration. Gaunt's adventures represent the culture and mores of the Middle Ages as few others' do, and his death is portrayed by Cantor as the end of that fascinating period.

Shakespeare put into Gaunt's mouth the most patriotic speech in the English language: "this sceptre'd isle...This other Eden, demi-paradise." Yet Shakespeare's version of Gaunt is an old and doddering man whose son took center stage. In fact, in Cantor's capable hands, this great man and those fascinating times are ready for their own starring roles. ... Read more

Book Description

Eliot's correspondence from his childhood in St. Louis until he had settled in England and published The Waste Land. Edited and with an Introduction by Valerie Eliot; Index; photographs.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

a poet in his prose
No biography of Eliot could better capture the thoughts and personality of the young poet than these letters. Eliot had a lively correspondence with so many, including family, friends, editors, and partners in verse. Even the short letters -- like the ones in which Eliot simply announces to his correspondent that he's exhausted and doesn't want to write anything -- give a glimpse of how Old Possum acted.

Eliot's poetry is so cerebral and allusive that when reading it, one can feel at his mercy. In his letters he is far less in control, and the contrast is fascinating. ... Read more

Book Description

As a newly commissioned Captain of a veteran Army regiment, MacDonald's first combat was war at its most hellish-the Battle of the Bulge. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

C'mon Yall...Its a Classic!
Before I even start with my opinion...if you don't have this book and you have even the smallest WW2 library than stop right here and pick it up. It is the WW2 Infantry memoir Classic written by a guy who was destined to become the Official Historian of the Army. Macdonald doesn't say anything about his career after the war in this book, nor does he spend half the book talking about his training. He dives right into the War and spends every drop of ink trying to describe what the experience was like. His account of the outpost over the Siegfried and his companies' part in the Bulge are terrifying and ferocious. His position at the head of a company afforded him with the luxury of realizing the big picture while still having contact with the front lines. In fact he had such close contact that he was awarded the Purple Heart for a bullet in the leg during a patrol in the Bulge. There are many interesting stories and a lot of action, my personal favorite part of war memoirs. Get familiar with the part of the 2nd Division though for there are no maps:(... But despite that it is an excellent book...and a requirement for every WW2 library!

A Classic War Memoir
Captain Charles B. MacDonald first commanded I Company, 3-23rd IN, 2nd ID from October 1944 to January 1945 and later G Company, 2-23rd IN from March to May 1945. This memoir was written a few years after the war when recollections were still sharp and resulted in a very detailed account of what it was like to take command of a line infantry company and lead it into battle. This book is a must-read for all army officers who seek to command at company-level and it is also informative for military historians as well.

In comparison to the more recent Band of Brothers, ostensibly a company-level account of E Company, 506th PIR's actions during the same period, Charles MacDonald's book is clearly superior. In fact, Company Commander is everything Band of Brothers is not: accurate, objective and informative. Unlike BOB, MacDonald does not claim that the companies he commanded were anything special or that he demonstrated heroic leadership (he did win the silver star in the Battle of the Bulge). Instead, the author is very honest, admitting his apprehension and anxiety about commanding infantry on the front line. Although there is some tension with battalion and regimental headquarters, mostly about ill-considered orders and creature comforts, there is not the character assassination that is so prevalent in BOB; Macdonald was career army and he wasn't going to make points by ridiculing superiors.

MacDonald arrived as a replacement and took command of I Company just as the unit was conducting a relief-in-place of another US unit in some captured positions in the Siegfried Line in the Ardennes. While civilian readers may find the first 100 pages devoted to this "quiet time" to be dull, military readers will not. MacDonald does a superb job describing the nuts-and-bolts of a relief-in-place in a difficult position that is under enemy observation and then the daily grind to improve the position. Readers who believe that US units in the Ardennes in the fall of 1944 had it easy should reconsider. MacDonald's unit was under constant mortar and sniper fire, poor weather caused much sickness among the troops and supplies were limited. On 17 December 1944, MacDonald's battalion was hastily shifted to blunt the massive German Ardennes offensive but the 12th SS Panzer Division overran his company. Fortunately, losses in MacDonald's company were relatively light and when the unit was reformed it helped to stop the northern German pincer on the Elsenborn Ridge. In January 1945, the author was wounded while participating in the counterattack to retake St. Vith and spent two months recovering.

Returning to the 23rd Infantry in March 1945, MacDonald was given G Company and he led this unit in the final dash across Germany to Leipzig. MacDonald ended the war in Czechoslovakia. The final three weeks of the war seem a bit blurry here, compared to the earlier slow pace in the defense, and this is the only aspect of the author's narrative which is a bit choppy. There is a tremendous amount of combat wisdom in this account, although the author admits mistakes. During the first day of the Bulge, MacDonald's unit - which had very little ammunition, limited fire support and no information on the friendly or enemy situation - was ordered to launch a hasty attack to relieve a trapped US unit. MacDonald's account of his briefing to his lieutenants in the dark with a wet map is striking: "I wondered if I could have drawn any worse conditions under which to issue my first attack order." The attack was cancelled, but then MacDonald's company was ordered to hold off the advance guard of the 12th SS Panzer with only 3 bazooka rounds and no mines. The result was inevitable.

This account offers some tactical points about US ground operations in 1944-5 of interest to historians. First, US units often seemed to move to contact the enemy with minimal regard for reconnaissance and US commanders seemed to prefer hasty over deliberate assaults. Many US losses seemed directly attributable to this tendency to launch hasty, poorly coordinated attacks with inadequate forces. Second, US units often did not make good use of terrain. In the defense, MacDonald's company often had to occupy non-key terrain that lacked cover and concealment. Occupying such exposed positions merely to maintain contact with the enemy resulted in unnecessary casualties. US units would have been better off to occupy key terrain further back from the line of contact and leave only small covering units in direct contact. Interestingly, MacDonald's unit did not use LP/OPs at night. Finally, the decimation of US infantry units in the Second World War as portrayed by modern author's such as Stephen Ambrose is demonstrably false. Although MacDonald's company suffered many wounded and sick during the fall of 1944, he did not have one soldier killed in action in his first two months on the front line. Even in the Battle of the Bulge, the number of infantrymen actually killed in combat was relatively small. Soldiers were far more likely to be wounded or evacuated for pneumonia than to be killed outright, and those men usually returned in weeks or months. American infantry units were never "bled white" by combat losses as some accounts imply by exaggerating the body count. Overall, Company Commander is a class of its own as a memoir, since a capable historian who actually experienced the events described wrote it.

Pretty good, but lacking something...
Mr. MacDonald's book is a good and quick, easy read. It tells the tale fairly well, but for some reason just didn't engage me as much as many other first person accounts of WWII. It is an honest feeling account with out bravado, but for some reason it doesn't convey emotional sensation very well.
Mr. MacDonald was certainly a qualified commander, especially based on the accounts of his relatively few casualties compared to those inflicted by his men. He led from near the front and was wounded by gunfire on one occasion.
This book is certainly worth the effort to read, but it isn't the best of its type.

Something is Rotten in Denmark
This book sells itself as an insight into the command structure during the ETO of WW2.
After reading this novel I had to seriously question the author's integrity, he leaves out huge gaps in action, one minute he's at the Normandy shores the next he's camped in a field having breakfast with his troops. Without anything seeming to happen inbetween Also he consistently refers to the army company's as "company I" or "company C" rather than "Item Company" or "Easy Company" as so many other veterans refer to the units they were apart of. Tho I know nothing about Charles McDonalds personal contribution to the ETO or war history, this coupled with the fact that he seems to have such intricate detail of just about every name of every person he ever came across as well as what he had for breakfast and what the weather was like would almost have you wondering if he was army news reporter, running around with a notepad jotting down everything that might be of interest to possible readers. All of this suggests to me that his front line time was very limited if in fact he saw any action at all. I also found it odd that he makes several references to the other soldiers in his recount as "characters" as tho he was trying to pass of a novel of fiction as a memoir . If your looking for a real WW2 recount it doesn't get any better than "Foot Soldier": by Roscoe C. Blunt

Straightforward, honest account of leadership
Col MacDonald's memoir as a rifle company commander on the line in the ETO is a straightforward, honest account of leadership in combat. His clear and extremely detailed accounts of the day to day life of an infantryman and the bluntness of his comments (his description of the execution of EPWs is no more detailed or explained than his recounting of his first breakfast while at the front) are the elements that make this book valuable and worthwhile reading to those who have both a professional and historical interest in combat leadership. Additionally, the author's development as a leader to include his lack of initial self confidence and fears make this book human, relatable and trustworthy.
If you are searching for a tactical primer for company grade officers than I suggest Erwin Rommel's Attacks and if you are looking for a more well written piece with a broader scope and commentary than of course I suggest any of Stephen Ambrose's works (particularly Pegasus Bridge or Citizen Soldiers). However, Col MacDonald's book is a vivid account, obviously written with a fresh memory and meticulous notes. Company Commander will not disappoint those who are interested in a memoir whose primary purpose is to relate to readers the conditions and nature of life as a rifle company commander. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude.Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward. ... Read more

Reviews (209)

Amazing subject, fascinating story
With "Longitude" Dava Sobel has written a very interesting book about the greatest scientific problem of the 18th century.

As a result of the 1707-shipwreck story (with a loss of 4 out of the 5 ships), the English Parliament offered in 1714 a 20.000 pounds reward to the person that could provide a practicable and useful way of determining longitude. (If you have forgot, longitude is the "lines" that runs from pole to pole). Not being able to determining longitude was a great problem. Ships spent excessive time trying to find its way back to port, or worse men, ship and cargo were lost at sea.

John Harrison (1693-1776) spent his lifetime trying to solve the longitude mystery. Harrison was a son of a countryman, with minimal schooling, and was self-educated in watch making. He made several timepieces, which all qualified for the reward, but the reward was delayed several times by the Longitude committee whom believed that other ways of measuring longitude were the preferred ones. Ultimately after a lot of harassment and trouble, Harrison was given the reward money.

Dava Sobel has done a wonderful job in this book, capturing Harrison's fascinating character, his brilliance, preserving and hard working nature. The author has also managed to strike a perfect balance between technical jargon and personal anecdotes, and she does it in such a way permitting the lay readers of the book to admire the elegance of Harrison's discoveries. I believe it is a sign of excellent quality when an author makes learning so interesting.

I was hooked from the first page of this book and I read it in 50-page gulps at a time.

Highly recommended!

John Harrison--an extraordinary person
John Harrison (1693-1776) spent his lifetime inventing and perfecting a series of timepieces to measure longitude. As Dava Sobel relates in her engaging narrative, "Longitude," until the 18th century sailors navigated by following parallels of latitude and roughly estimating distance traveled east or west. Ships routinely missed their destinations, often taking excessive time to arrive or succumbing to reefs off fogbound shores. Thousands of sailors and tons of cargo were lost.

In 1714, England's Parliament offered £20,000 (the equivalent of about $12 million today) to anyone who provided a "practicable and useful" means of determining longitude. Countless solutions were suggested, some bizarre, some impractical, some workable only on land and others far too complex.

Most astronomers believed the answer lay in the sky, but Harrison, a clockmaker, imagined a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea. By knowing the exact times at the Greenwich meridian and at a ship's position, one could find longitude by calculating the time difference. However, most scientists, including Isaac Newton, discounted a clock because there were too many variables at sea. Changes in temperature, air pressure, humidity and gravity would surely render a watch inaccurate.

Harrison persisted. As Dava Sobel writes, he worked on his timepiece for decades, though he suffered skepticism and ridicule. Even after completing his timepiece, an instrument we now call a chronometer, in 1759, he underwent a long series of unfair trials and demonstrations. Ultimately he triumphed.

Sobel, a science writer who contributes to Audubon, Life, Omni and other magazines, captures John Harrison's extraordinary character: brilliant, persevering and heroic in the face of adversity. He is a man you won't forget.

Brief but enjoyable
This slim volume tells the story of John Harrison who, although untrained, built four revolutionary clocks that changed how ships navigate at sea. It also tells about the political fight Harrison was forced to fight to win recognition for his work.

Written in a easy-to-read, "magazine" tone the tale goes quickly, whole years pass in a couple sentences. I wanted more details and this is where the book disappoints but it may not be the authors fault The book hints that many events weren't recorded and more details just aren't available.

One technical note: I think the font used in this tiny, five by eight inch book is a little small and the page numbers, even smaller, aren't readable at a glance. Or maybe I'm getting old.

Great story, but BEWARE of inaccuracies in this book.
John Harrison completes his first pendulum clock in 1713 before the age of 20. He made the gears for this out of wood which was radical for such a use, but as a carpenter, perhaps not to him---which is a mark of genius, I'd say; to reach beyond accepted norms in this manner. This he did after borrowing a book on math and the laws of motion; which he copied word for word, making his own copy. He incorporated different varieties of wood into his clock for strenth and later invented a bi-metal pendulum to counteract the expansion and compression of various individual metals. He also employed friction-free movements so as to do away with problematic lubricants. When intrigued by the puzzle of time at sea and the issue of longitude he contemplated substituting something not prone to gravity, as a pendulum of course is, to track times passing. In 1737 he creates a cantilevered clock 4 foot square. This the longitude board (which had offered a cash bonus to anyone who could devise a method in which time at sea could be kept) admired. Four years later he returns with an improved model; then starts on a 3rd model, like the previous two, also a fairly large sized clock.But there exists a problem within this book: An artisan freemason by the name of John Jefferys at the Worshipful Company of clockmakers befriends Harrison and then later presents to him a pocket watch in 1753. Then in 1755, while still working on his 3rd model, Harrison says this to the Longitude board: I have..."good reason to think" on the basis of a watch "already executed that such small machines[he's referring to pocketwatches] may be of great service with respect to longitude." He then completes version 3 in 1759. His fourth version appears just a year later, however, and is a 5 inch wide pocketwatch! The obvious inference made by the author is that after he received the pocketwatch from Jeffreys he seemingly put his version #3 on the backburner and soon started on the pocketwatch 4th version. The author does not claim Harrison copied anything from the Jeffreys model, but she certainly phrases this section so as to lend one to believe that this may have been the case; that Jefferys had a hand in the masterstroke invention Harrison eventually produced in version #4. This is not true. Harrison commissioned the watch he received from Jeffreys and was based on Harrison's specifications. It seems that Harrison simply asked Jeffreys to test an idea which he himself hadn't the time to attack just then; as he was still working on his 3rd version of a table-top prototype clock. Hence Harrison's above statement to the board in 1755 whence his ideas were validated by Jeffreys. In addition, the author plays up the part of the Astronomer Royal's part in attempting to impede Harrison from convincing the longitiude board of the efficacy of a time-piece solution to this problem over a celestial answer to this conundrum. The author also jazzes up the issue of whether Harrison received the prize the board promised to pay for a successful solution herein; even though the board supported him for upwards of 20 years as he pursued this quest. It's as if the author intentionally omitted some facts (that the Jefferys was a Harrison commission), and pumped up others (of a rival/foil on the board trying to impede Harrison and the compensation issue; implying that Harrison was jipped) just to make the story more compelling. John Harrison's story, however, is extremely compelling as it is and didn't need this extra spice served up by the author.Do read this (very short) book on how this Mr. Harrison solved the problem of knowing where one is when at sea; and if you're in London, visit the Old Royal Observatory and the Clockmakers museum (in the Guildhall) where you can see Harrison's wonderful creations in person. Enjoy!

The Man who Captured Time so Ships could Navigate Accurately
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Note: This review has been written from a city with the following position on Earth:

LATITUDE: (43 degrees 2 minutes North)
LONGITUDE: (81 degrees 9 minutes West).

In order to understand the significance of this remarkable book by Dava Sobel, the reader has to understand some words and phrases in the book's title and subtitle.

"Longitude" along with Latitude are two numbers along with compass directions that are used to fix the position of anything on the planet Earth (as in the note above). Lines of Latitude are the imaginary, parallel, horizontal lines circling the Earth with the equator (fixed by nature) being the "zero-degree parallel of latitude." Lines of Longitude or "meridians" are the imaginary lines that run top to bottom (north and south), from the Earth's North Pole to its South Pole with the "prime meridian" (established by political means) being the "zero-degree meridian of longitude." (Since the mid-1880s, the prime merdian has passed through Greenwich, England. Before this time, the imaginary line that passed through a ship's home port was usually used as the zero-degree meridian.)

Finding the latitude on land or at sea was easy and eventually a device was invented to make it even easier. But finding longitude, especially at sea on a swaying ship was difficult, a difficulty "that stumped the wisest minds of the world for the better part of human history" and was "the greatest scientific problem" of the 1700s. Ways of determining longitude astronomically were devised, but these proved to be impractical when used at sea.

England's parliament recognized that "the longitude problem" had to be solved practically since many people and valuable cargo were lost at sea when the ship's navigators lost sight of land. Thus, this parliament offered a top monetary prize that's equivalent to many millions of dollars today to anybody who could solve the problem.

Enter "a lone genius" named John Harrison (1693 to 1776). While most thought the solution to the problem was astronomical, Harrison saw time as the solution.

To calculate the longitude using time on a ship at sea, you have to realize these two facts found in this book:

(i) The Earth takes 24 hours of time to spin 360 degrees on its axis from east to west.
(ii) Noon (12:00 PM) is the highest point the sun seems to "travel" in a day.

To learn one's longitude at sea using time, as this book explains, it's necessary to do the following:

(1) Know the time it is aboard ship (local noon was normally used because of fact (ii) above).
(2) At the very same moment, know the time at a known longitude (such as at Greenwich, England).
(3) The difference in time between (1) and (2) is coverted to a longitude reading in degrees and direction (using fact (i) above).

Harrison's solution was the accurate determination of time of (2) above by inventing a reliable timepiece. This timepiece, in this case, would be set to Greenwich time. (Note that, as stated, (1) could be determined using the noon-day sun but this was not always practical. Eventually another timepiece was used to determine the ship's local noon for a particular day.) It has to be realized that this was the "era of pendulum clocks" where, on a deck of a rocking ship, "such clocks would slow down or speed up, or stop running altogether." Harrison was to capture time by building a marine clock or "timekeeper" (eventually called a "chronometer") that could be used on a ship at sea.

This book tells the "true story" of Harrison and his chronometers. (There were five built over a forty-year period. Harrison's first timekeeping device was known as H-1, his second was H-2, and so on.) Sobel uses accuracy (as evidenced by her thirty references), extensive interviews, and an engaging, mostly non-technical narrative (only essential technical detail is included) to convey a story that's filled with suspense, heroism, perfectionism, and villiany. All this in less than 200 pages!!

The only problem I had with this book is that it has hardly any pictures (photographs and illustrations). I would have liked to have seen pictures of the various people involved in this saga, maps showing where ships traveled, more photos of Harrison's amazing timepieces (both interior and exterior), and diagrams that explained important concepts. A diagram that actually showed how longitude, using a simple example, is calculated (using the steps above) would also have been helpful.

Finally, there is a good 1999 movie entitled "Longitude" based on this book. Be aware that even though this book is short, the movie is long (over three hours).

In conclusion, this book documents the exciting "true story" of how "a lone genius" solved "the longitude problem." Sobel states this more eloquently: "With his marine clocks, John Harrison tested the waters of space-time. He succeeded, against all odds, in using the fourth...dimension to link points on a three-dimensional globe. He [took] the world's whereabouts from the stars, and locked [or captured] the secret in a...watch."

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Reviews (7)

Good writing...
But, the story is so tawdry & Jimmy Donahue so scurvy, it's a hard read. The author presents information about his upbringing that tries to make you feel a little sympathy for Donahue but it's hard to feel sympathy for such a loser. The Duke & Duchess of Windsor were wastes of human beings, too. The more you read about them the more discouraged you get. What wasted opportunities! They could have done so much good but were such selfish, self-centered & STUPID people. No wonder the Royal Family can't stand to hear their names mentioned. The book reads kind of like a prolonged Dominick Dunne article in Vanity Fair.

Take it to the beach...
OK, so the author isn't going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for this book. But why should he? It's a book about an affair. A tawdry affair at that.

Initially, I payed attention to the other reviewers and didn't buy the book. But I have a fascination with Wallis and Edward (as vapid as they might have been...)and wanted to know more about Wallis' relationship with Jimmy Donohue. I must have read at least 10 to 15 books about the couple, and despite what the one of the reviewers said, I've only come across a few rare references to him. This book fills in the gaps.

So is it great literature? No. Is it an interesting book? Yes, if you like the subject matter, and know something about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to begin with. I enjoyed the book.

I'd had hopes, but...
This book doesn't do much more than re-hash rumor, gossip and innuendo--and some facts--that I've already read in better-written, more thorough and scholarly biographies of the Windsors. I didn't notice any glaring inaccuracies; on the other hand, I didn't notice that the author broke any new ground. He seems to have relied heavily on previously published biographies of the Duke, the Duchess, and the British Royal Family in general, all of which a serious Windsorite will have already read. Also--let's face it--we read books like this one to be titillated, and the author fails utterly to titillate us. Save your money.

Juicy subject, Pedestrian treatment
You'd think an author couldn't go wrong with this cast of characters, ultra chic jet set locations, and deliciously lewd sex play. But Christopher Wilson took all this potential and and threw it away with the writing style of a schoolboy whose book report was carelessly dashed off before class. Repetitive adjectives, lackluster prose, and unintelligible chapter beginnings and ends - I was hollering for the editor the entire read. I kept saying aloud "OK, that's a start, but now let's unearth some real dish, and show me the proof!" Gossip CAN be transformed into history with proper scholarship. This promising biography of three fascinatingly spoiled and twisted people disappointed me.

Wonderful!
3Dancing With the Devil : The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue2 is a sweeping adventure of scandal and euphoria among glitzy cafe society, adeptly brought to life by biographer Christopher Wilson.

In this case, the name 3Donahue,2 is directly related to a very famous name: Woolworth. When 35 & 102 chainstore mogul Frank Winfield Woolworth died in 1919, he left as part of his substantial legacy great hopes for his cherubic grandchildren. He visualized his heirs evolving into hardworking, benefic, God-fearing, and rational adults. But alas, if he did happen to look down from the heavens years later, I know that several of his descendants would have provoked a disgruntled sigh; including the spendthrift, serial divorcee Barbara Hutton...

But the mischievous, downright extraordinary exploits of his grandson Jimmy Donahue would have sent Woolworth longing for Divine intervention. The fact is that, the only thing Frank Woolworth and his grandson Jimmy shared (other than a notable gene pool) was a compulsion for the spotlight.

That compulsion, along with a host of others (some advantageous, most unsavory) are unveiled in this wonderful, fast-paced book. In Dancing With the Devil, we meet dashing Jimmy Donahue, a man who had entirely too much free time on his hands, and entirely too much money at his disposal. We learn that Jimmy1s access to money, along with his excessive adoration for luxury, his psychological baggage (he even witnessed the suicide of his manic depressive and bisexual father) and the questionable role model Jimmy found in his jetsetting mother --all combined to create an intriguing, complex and colorful personality. Wilson depicts an international playboy who defied reigning sexual taboos and balked at authority, yet was sometimes ridden by deep guilt. Donahue exhibited such random amounts of innocent rakishness and sensual greed; of hearfelt generosity and rash wastefulness-- that even his closest contemporaries were not sure what to think of him.

Wilson expertly peppers his historical accounts with authentic detail, smoothly leading us into post WWII Paris, then sweeping us back to the United States to the playgrounds of Palm Beach and Long Island. Clearly, Wilson did a great deal of research on this book, conducting scores of interviews and tracking down hard to find information.

Of course, Wilson1s readers are also treated to little known details about the odd triangle between Jimmy Donahue and the Windsors, thus providing an interesting account of the last untold episode in their lives.

As in Jimmy Donahue1s life, there is nary a dull moment in Dancing With the Devil. (Do check out the 3Acknowledgments2 which reads like a Who1s Who in and of itself). Definitely recommended! ... Read more

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Reviews (5)

A Destiny at the Service of Imperial Greatness
David Gilmour renders a balanced portrait of George Curzon, a complex imperial statesman. Curzon was born and raised as an aristocrat at a time that the British Empire was at its apex in the decades before WWI. Unlike the rest of his family, Curzon was very ambitious and determined to leave his mark in history. Gilmour makes a judicious use of Curson's writings to show us how extraordinarily well-traveled Curzon was for a man of his time. Curzon had a first-hand knowledge of many foreign issues, his undeniable specialty, unlike such luminaries as Lloyd George, A. J. Balfour, to name a few. Curzon was a work alcoholic, self-centered person who sounded condescending at times and was unable to delegate much because of his very exacting standards. Furthermore, Curzon often did not display much emotional intelligence in his relationship with others, including his own family. Unsurprisingly, Curzon's peers and superiors in politics found him regularly unbearable in Parliament, during his viceroyalty in India and as a member of different cabinets in the last decade of his life. Chirol summarized it very well when he told Hardinge that Curzon had the knack of saying the wrong thing, or even, when he says the right thing, of saying it in the wrong way, is quite extraordinary. I can recall no instance of a man whose personal unpopularity has to the same extent neutralized his immense abilities and his power of rendering great services. Gilmour shows very clearly how Curzon could be well ahead of his time in fields such as foreign policy and protection of old monuments and at the same time be so backward in such areas as women's rights and his attitude to nationalism. Overworked for most of his life, Curzon died prematurely at the age of 66. However, Curzon left some built-to-last monuments to posterity: think for instance about the impressive restoration of at one time decrepit Taj Mahal in India, the negotiation of the Lausanne Treaty that formalized the existence of Modern Turkey or Remembrance Day, a fitting tribute to the Fallen Heroes.

Solid, magisterial biogrphy
Even though I read (on Dec 26, 1976) Superior Person: A Portrait of Curzon and his Circle in late Victorian England, by Kenneth Rose, I figured that was a while ago and I could enjoy another biography of George Curzon (born 11 Jan 1859, Viceroy in India from 1899 to 1905, in Lloyd George's War Cabinet from 1916 to 1919, Foreign Secretary from 1919 to 1924, died 20 March 1925)and I am glad I decided to read it. He was a fantastic and brilliant if difficult person. The book is solidly researched, with ample footnoting, and an interesting bibliography.

An Impressive Work
David Gilmour has written an excellent biography of George Curzon, who, although little known to most Americans, was an important figure in English politics and government from the 1890s until the 1920s. The virtues of Gilmour's biography far outweigh its minor faults: the book is well-written and takes a balanced and comprehensive look at its subject.

That balance is important: Curzon was by all accounts a brilliant but highly difficult man who was often haughty with subordinates and quarrelsome with his peers. Gilmour makes no excuses for Curzon's often indefensible behavior, nor does he gloss over Curzon's regrettable tendencies in this regard.

Gilmour does a very good job overall reviewing Curzon's long life in English public affairs, starting with his career in the House of Commons, moving on to his years as Viceroy in India, then to his years in the House of Lords and then in Cabinet. Nor is Curzon's private life neglected. My sole criticism is that at times Gilmour assumes a relatively high level of background knowledge of English history and politics of the era. For example, many of the references to the passage or defeat of individual bills before Parliament were simply beyond my knowledge. For my part, that level of detail could have been omitted without interrupting the narrative flow. But although those sections were inherently less interesting to me, I still give high marks overall to this work.

Superb biography of driven public servant
George Curzon was born in the Victorian era with an extremely privileged family background. This excellent biography relates the multiple rises / falls in his career - I enjoyed the book because of the insightful account of the timeless contradictions of Curzon's character; he was born to an aristocratic family, yet worked incredibly hard all his life; he inspired great loyalty amongst those who worked with him, but thoughtless offense to other senior political figures contributed to missed opportunities; hopelessly out-dated on issues such as women's rights and empire, his views on foreign policy issues were well ahead of his time. David Gilmour gives a great overview of a life which started at the time of the Great Exhibition and ended just before Britain's humiliations of the Gold Standard in the 1930s. People who enjoyed Titan (Rockefeller) may well enjoy this account of a flawed but dynamically positive man.

An elegant and detailed biography
Lord Curzon was a major figure in British politics at the turn of the century. Immensely accomplished as well as ambitious, he served in several of the highest postions in government, including as Foreign Secretary and Viceroy of India. It is Gilmour's achievement that he manages to convey the complexities of the man, his overweening ambition, his insecurities and also, his tremendous drive to succeed. This a greatly detailed biography, but it is at the same time also very readable. It does not bog down in the minutiae of detail, and keeps a very articulately expressed story-line going. A book of immense interest to those keen on the politics and social and cultural history of that era. ... Read more

Book Description

The amazing true story of the 1920s secret agent who inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

An intelligent explanation of stroke and illlness.
Unlike most books about illness, this is written by and for intelligent people. My husband, much older and sicker than the author, has been inspired and kept going by this book, which he says explains how he feels as an invalid--a stroke victim,"imprisoned in his body" and explains some of the physiological and medical aspects of the problem. I also appreciate the diary comments of his wife, many of which echo my own feelings. Including quotes from other writers, commentary and diaries expands the perspective of the author's voice, and is an excellent device.

Autobiography--Recovering Life After Stroke
MY YEAR OFF, Recovering Life After a Stroke By Robert McCrum

I understand the frustration of Robert McCrum trying to reach a telephone when he succeeded he found that he could barely make himself understood. I went through the same thing, but I was lucky enough that I was with my wife when the stroke occurred and although I couldn't talk I was put in an ambulance, took to the hospital and was under a doctor care within 40 minutes. Robert McCrum's stroke was much more severer that mine. He was hours getting to a doctor with his condition getting worse all the time...

Actually, this book is a very good autobiography of Mr. McCrum's life thought his stroke and recovery; although he is still recovering I am sure. And an interesting life it was and will continue to be. This book will be very useful to the members of my stroke club. Now, I will read the rest of his books. This one is worth five stars to me.

Everything Is Relative
Very insightful book. Referring to the past reviewer who dismissed this book because Mr. McCrum's stroke was not catastrophic enough, I am very sorry to hear of your loved one's difficulties. However this book could be helpful to many who suffer lesser degrees of stroke and eventually recover fairly well. I can understand this book would not be useful to you personally in light of your experiences. I can say though without a doubt, as a stroke survivor, that even a mild stroke is something no person would EVER want to experience. It often strikes like a lightning bolt and even if function is eventually regained it is hard for a person to ever get over being completely paralyzed and helpless even for a short period of time. Books like Mr. McCrum's help the world at large start to realize stroke can affect anyone, even the young. Best wishes and good health to all.

Not helpful if you need info on serious strokes
This was one of a mountain of books I poured over following my father's severe intracerebral hemorragic stroke, which has left him quite disabled both physically and mentally. For persons, such as myself, searching for answers and insight on how to cope with the seriously disabling stroke of a loved one, this is not the right book. Mr. McCrum never lost consciousness, his mental faculties remained intact (indeed, he was keeping a copious and cogent log of his observations from the first days after the stroke), and his physical disabilities were relatively minor (a slowed gait, and weakness on right side). Frankly, the book had a slightly narcissistic tenor, McCrum using every opportunity to name-drop (constantly referring to his many notable visitors), recount his adventures abroad, and demonstrate his command of arcane literature, which he quotes constantly. He discusses how his stroke caused him to rethink his career choices, and feel more committed to his marriage. McCrum's existential crisis, which culminated in his decision to leave his editorial post to become a journalist, left me cold. I think of the thousands of stroke sufferers who cannot put two sentences together, much less write a book. In the end, McCrum's account is less about the consequences of his stroke, and more about the early mid-life crisis it provoked. Mrs. McCrum, on the other hand, wrote extremely candidly and touchingly of her fears and struggles throughout her new husband's recovery. Her passages provide a very real, honest glimpse into the turmoil suffered by the family members of stroke victims, who are often vexed by feelings of helplessness, fear, isolation and sorrow.

My husband has a brain injury.
This is one of the best books I've read about brain injury. It's extremely well-written. I especially appreciated the honesty of the journal entries from Robert's wife. This book showed that brain injury affects the entire family. My husband had a brain aneurysm nearly 9 years ago, resulting in aphasia (a language disability). Like the author, my husband is a well educated, young man, suddenly thrown into the world of brain injury and rehabilitation. I will share this book with others, especially wives of brain injury survivors. ... Read more

Book Description

He returned to London a hero in the autumn of 1898. The city went wild. He was Kitchener of Khartoum: victor of the Battle of Omdurman, destroyer of tyranny, avenger of the massacred General Gordon. Sir Herbert Kitchener had reconquered the Sudan and laid down principles that for sixty years made it one of the most humanely governed lands in the British Empire. Based on the Kitchener Papers and Royal Archives as well as contemporary manuscripts and private letters, this new biography records the military triumphs and peace of reconciliation Kitchener achieved in South Africa; his postings in India as commander in chief and Egypt as proconsul; the strategy that, despite Kitchener's death by enemy action in 1916, guided the Allies to victory in the Great War. Thoroughly researched, too, are the brutality, butchery, and homosexuality that have in recent times clouded Kitchener's reputation. What emerges beyond the iconic public figure who clashed with Lloyd George and Churchill is the man often capable of great compassion and humanitarian vision. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

shows the imperfection and the achievements
I read a review on here and chose not to read this book - boy how stupid I would have been and what I would have missed! I got this book and am beginning the final fourth: this is a comprehensive biography and a competent one. I'll say that again farther down, but this author has done a tremendous job with a remarkable life in an important time, a man at the center of many events and doings forming parts of our world and helping to define the 'our time' of those who came before us, which we inherited.
Firstly, this author devotes an entire appendix to the sexual question, and whether or not a reader agrees with the conclusions the issue is quite addressed.

Now that is remarked, time to move on: one does not have to be a detractor, busting the myths of good deeds of a life, to be a biographer, in fact most have some reason for writing on a person, often a fan or at least appreciating some things that personage did: this author has given us a very full and balanced account of a man who, while far less than perfect, gave what was needed during some difficult and climaxing British times: keen confidence and loyal leadership. K was most certainly not perfect, and Pollock shows how K made many mistakes, sometimes noticing the thing himself and regretting, and sometimes not noticing then hearing a friend point it out, then agreeing and regretting. He was great at deciding and issuing orders yet not remarkable at chatting, no manoeuvering manipulator here; not great at the rubbing elbows and chatting or curbing his tongue in subtle areas; his biggest problem came from errantly speaking his mind then finding himself used by a consumate and macchiavellian politician. K was no brilliant politician and made mistakes; but he came into his own in the Sudan command and knew how to run the India Army, or any army; he also made a huge difference in realizing what the first year of the great war would require and getting that going in the face of great opposition. The man did not lack personal and political courage.

But this author has done the main job of a biographer, showing how this man came to do the achievements and leadership he did at critical times by showing the personality's development and viewpoint: showing from where and how he came, and how those he knew and events he experienced affected and formed him to be the shy yet confident man he became, learning by trial and fire as he went, with flawed facets and yet a rare magnetism and decisiveness others required, enjoyed and benefited from. If I had been a colonel recalled from a field command to plan and slave for some senior potentate, I would have enjoyed doing it for K for the same reasons his staffs appreciated him and were loyal: he earned his colonelcy and his generalship by decisive plans and actions, loyalty to friends and fellows, and a keen mind properly bent to the joint struggles and joint end. I now must go read the other biographies of this author I previously had never heard of, but I can greatly recommend this comprehensive and professionally thorough biography including the hallmarks of a well-done one: just have a read at his tremendous sources, including archives and private letters, a great lot of endnotes, bibliographies including manuscripts and newspapers of the times. Even if you care not for the man, you can get a good view of the critical and shaping times across continents between 1880 and 1916, the year K was killed with his staff upon the mined cruiser traveling to Russia for important allied meetings.

This thing is huge with a ton of primary sources woven into dialog and indented paras to show us not only what they did but how these critically placed people felt about each other: this book tells the events and more, but rather than making me put it down every three pages - I would look up after twenty and realize I'm late for something.

Is this historical writing or fan mail?
Lord Kitchner has an apologist in Mr. Pollock.If you are expecting an objective historical account, I do not recommend this book.The lack of objective thought makes one suspect that the book was written during the Victorian period and not at the start of the twenty-first century.Examples abound, but I will site two as representative.Rumors that Lord K was a homosexual because he never married and was very found of young adjutants are dismissed by Mr. Pollock as a modern bias that would make anyone fond of young men and not a womanizer a homosexual. That is not historical writing from sources, it is the opinion of the author in the nature of conjecture. Secondly, Mr. Pollack dismisses the Murant incident during the Boer war as a subject for "fiction" writers, after admitting that in a suspicious case Kitchner signed the execution papers and then made himself indisposed to appeals for clemency.Why did K do that Mr. Pollock?To answer that, by historical researchis your task as a historian. Instead of research we have evasion of the issue. This blot on Lord Kitchner's reputation cannot be dismissed by an objective historian via relegating it to the dustbin of history, with a comment that the incident is a good one for fiction writers.

A life of enviable adventure.
Though it is now possible to recognise Kitchener as the architect of a British victory that he did not live to see in the Great War, he has often come across as a stiff, remote and unimaginative figure. This first volume of a two-part biography goes far to change that impression and portrays Kitchener as a sensitive man of high intelligence, capable of great affection, loyalty and kindness. His apparent shyness is here revealed to have been a result of chronic eye problems, which he was largely successful in covering up, while a serious facial wound left him with an almost invariably severe impression. A delightful photograph in this book, which is new to this reviewer at least, showing Kitchener beaming as he is reunited in Britain with the Cameron Highlanders who provided his personal escort in South Africa, reveals a totally different side to the conventional picture.

This biography makes for easy reading - and is a suitable companion piece to Mr.Pollock's excellent earlier work on that other great Royal Engineer, Charles Gordon, Kitchener's idol. The life here described is one of enviable adventure, admirable courage and daunting responsibility. Kitchener emerges not just as an ideal engineer and manager, but as a man of considerable daring and initiative, with an uncanny ability to pick up languages quickly, to understand alien cultures, and to evoke loyalty from peoples of widely differing racial and religious backgrounds. His diplomatic skills are also seen to be of a high order, as exemplified by his handling of the Fashoda incident and his efforts to bring the Boer War to a negotiated settlement. Somewhat of a surprise is the extent to which strong but unostentatious religious convictions underpinned his behaviour. A virtue of this biography is that Kitchener is portrayed as a man of his time, and judged as such, without projection of twenty-first century values on him - typical being the manner in which speculations by later biographers as to possible homosexuality are robustly dismissed in an appendix. This is one of those rare biographies that one would have wished to have been considerably longer. One would have welcomed considerably more detail on the more minor battles in the Sudan, such as Firket and Um Diyaykarat. This small gripe apart, this book is a splendid treat for aficionados of the Victorian period and one looks forward with impatience to the second volume. ... Read more

Book Description

Meet history’s hero for humanity.

The pages of history are marked by legacies––some good, some evil––that have changed the shape of the world and the course of humankind. Among the makers of these legacies is a figure often overlooked in classrooms and underestimated by writers of history texts. Yet his influence on modern culture is unparalleled.

You are invited to join author Kevin Belmonte on a journey through the life and times of William Wilberforce. Explore his childhood, his troubled youth, and his departure from Christianity. Learn about his early political ambitions and the process of his reunion with evangelical faith––an inner transformation that prepared Wilberforce to embrace his destiny. Experience his triumphant emergence from a forty-six year battle to abolish the slave trade and, ultimately, slavery itself in Britain. And discover how, in forsaking his own success and living for something greater than himself, Wilberforce bolstered the cause of human dignity amidst the turmoil of war, and impacted the lives of millions across the globe. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Inspiring Page Turner
Belmonte's work, Hero for Humanity, is one of the best works I've picked up in a few years. He traces the life of English statesman William Wilberforce from his boyhood through his career in public life. Along the way, Wilberforce struggles with the subject of faith, finally becoming an evangelical Christian. It is at this point that his worldview changes, and his legislative career in Parliment takes a new turn, as he begins on the long journey of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. Wilberforce becomes a man whose "conscience is held captive by the word of God", and he wrestles with being a Christian in the rough and tumble world of politics. This book is a must read for history buffs, Christians, skeptics, and lovers of a life well lived.

Phenomenal Biography About A Too Little Known Hero
In an age when celebrities are made through self-promotion, selfish excess and even 'reality' television centering on the lowest forms of human behavior, Hero for Humanity is a refreshing look at a man who by his faith, life and commitments, made his country, and indeed his time, better for him having lived.

Kevin Belmonte has been fascinated by William Wilberforce for years, and is determined to have the world rediscover this man, and hopefully follow his example to change their world. Wilberforce was an Englishman of noble birth who was born into a nominal Christian home in 1795. A few years after being elected to Parliament, and with a bright political future ahead of him, the Lord worked in his life to bring him to faith. Counseled by John Newton to continue in Parliament, Wilberforce set his sights on bettering English society. His aim was to abolish the African slave trade (and later slavery itself in England)and to have a 'reformation of manners', meaning moral change in society.

Unlike many modern "Christian" statesmen and politicans, Wilberforce did not need to couch all his ideas in Christian language, nor did he feel that he had to quote Scripture on the floor of Parliament to make his case, but he was clearly and consciously informed by Scriptural principles in all that he did. He had many opponents who ridiculed his faith and attacked his reforms because of it, but he resisted the temptation to 'demonize' his opponents (again, unlike many today) and instead sought to win them over by integrity, honesty, care, and by using his incredible gifts of oration and persuasion. His struggle to eliminate the slave trade and slavery took many years and had many setbacks and defeats. But in the end, he and his group of co-workers achieved their goals.

Belmonte also portrays Wilberforce as a man people just wanted to be around. He could carry on intelligent conversations on almost any topic. He was as home with intellectuals as he was with the working class man. His great gifts were balanced by a genuine humility, knowing that all he had was a gift from God, and all he accomplished was much less than he could have. Belmonte paints a portrait of Wilberforce as a man who you would just want to spend time with. I would urge you to do just that and read this book. It will inspire you to see how you can be used by God in greater ways in whatever sphere of life He has called you to.

His crusade, triumph, and great legacy
Hero For Humanity is the biography of William Wilberforce, who was once called "The Washington of Humanity" by Italian statesmen and who was further praised by Abraham Lincoln and novelist Madame de Stael. Wilberforce was a man who devoted his life to abolishing Britain's slave trade, then struggled further to bring an end to slavery in the British colonies and elsewhere. His crusade, triumph, and great legacy are remembered in this impressive and very highly recommended biography by Kevin Belmonte.

Truly a hero
I found this book inspirational in many ways. Belmonte is clearly deeply immersed in the material and knows his subject well. In fact the book is so packed with direct quotes that even Belmonte's own prose seems at times influenced by Victorian style and cadence. Belmonte's stated purpose was not to write the complete Wilberforce story, but rather a 're-introductory' biography (p.16). This may explain the absence of any criticism of his subject.

One aspect of Wilberforce's life that I had read about before and was gratified to learn more about here was how he came to recognize his calling. After his conversion to evangelical Christianity, he had begun to think of leaving politics and pursuing Christian work of some kind. But fortunately for the welfare of thousands, he received some timely advice to remain in politics and to serve Christ there. Who knows how much longer the slave trade would have persisted if Wilberforce had left politics to become a minister. To my mind this has tremendous relevance today as far too many young Christians seek work in the Christian sphere instead of pursuing a calling to serve Christ in the marketplace at large.

Another aspect of Wilberforce that I already had some familiarity with was that he saw his life's work as "two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade, and the reformation of manners [morals]." I knew that he saw success in the first, but what about the second? Belmonte naturally details how Wilberforce led the accomplishment of the first object. But of fresh interest to me was to learn to what degree he saw success in the second object of reforming the morals of his entire nation/society. How he did it and the perseverance with which he pursued both objects is truly an inspirational story. Belmonte builds a good case that Wilberforce bears significant responsibility for the peaceful golden age that characterized 19th century England. When one labors for spiritual reform, he needs to view his work with a generational timescale.

Why is Wilberforce not more well-known and admired? There is a very moving passage quoted on pages 204-5 from a Benjamin Hughes speech made a few years after Wilberforce's death that provides deep insight. "There is a charm that attracts the admiration of men to their destroyers [such as Napoleon]; a propensity to applaud those very acts that bring misery on the human race; and on the other hand to pass by unheeded, the placid and even tenor of the real benefactors of their species." How tragic it is that we humans ignore our philanthropists (those who love mankind), and adore our conquerors. Perhaps this biography will help us remember the true qualities of heroism.

Wilberforce, truly a Hero for all of Humanity
William Wilberforce may be the most famous person in the world that no one knows. Author Kevin Belmonte has written a wonderfully engaging work that will keep you reading. If you ever wonder if one person can make a difference in the world this book will offer great encouragement. If not for the work of Mr. Wilberforce, slavery would not have been abolished in England so peacefully. If only America could have learned the lesson from the Mother Country. In fact, Wilberforce contributed so much to humanity that it is hard to measure his impact. His life was lived by conviction, even until th