Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Statesman (1996), published by New Statesman, Ltd. on August 8, 1997. The length of the article is 2231 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Jonathan Dimbleby has written biographies of Prince Charles and Chris Patten. Many question the facts in both books which are widely perceived to be one-sided and unscrupulous because Dimbleby is a friend of both celebrities.

Citation Details
Title: His book on his friends Prince Charles and Chris Patten have been hugely successful. But is friendship compatible with journalistic credibility? (an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby)(Interview)
Author: Steve Richards
Publication: New Statesman (1996) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 8, 1997
Publisher: New Statesman, Ltd.
Volume: v126Issue: n4346Page: p10(3)

Article Type: Interview

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Reviews (1)

This is a picture album of a loving family.
This is an extremely outstanding album. All the pictures are captioned, and the album features quotations made by either the Prince or Princess of Wales, a famous author, journalist, or a famous magazine.

Opposite the title page, there is a handsome picture of the Prince and Princess at Highgrove. She is carrying William piggy-back while he if carries Harry on his hip. This picture serves as a theme throughout the book.

The album is divided into sections - A Royal Romance, A Family, Roving Ambassadors, Private Lives, and A Sense of Style. I shall take two or three from each of the section and the quote which accompies it.

A ROYAL ROMANCE: On the left is a full page of Harles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer when they announce their engagment. Beneath the title for this section, the Prince and Princess begin their honeymoon cruise in Gibraltar. This quote is at the bottom of the page, 'I've met all Prince Charles' girlfriends, and you're streets ahead of all of 'em. If he doesn't marry you, he's out of his tiny mind.' ARTHUR EDWARDS

A charming picture of Diana when she was still a kindergarter teacher. 'That enchanting teenager with the chubby cheeks and frilly shirt..." JUDY WADE. A picture of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. 'With Prince Charles beside me I cannot go wrong. LADY DIANA SPENCER. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer after their first official appearance together at Goldsmith Hall in London. 'In Diana's early months of public life the strain of her new-found position as the world's most famous woman told, and only by the enormous iffort of will did she cope with the unbearable attention and lack of privacy.' ALAN HAMILTON

There are two pages devoted to the wedding rehearsal and the wedding - splendid pictures. 'Our wedding was quite extraordinary as far as we're concerned. It made us bother extremely proud to be British.' 'When you marry in my position, you going to marry someone who, perhaps is one day going to be Queen. You've got to choose somebody very carefully, I think, who could fulfill this particular role, and it has got to be somebody pretty unusual.' THE PRINCE OF WALES. 'The cubbly-cheeked blonde hairdo vanished...a more stylish, more confident woman stands by the side of Prince Charles today. It says a lot for her steely determination that she has come through a period of awesome adjestment and emerged more dazzling than ever.' JUDY WADE.

A FAMILY: Under the title A Family is a picture of William and Harry at Highgrove. 'It's an affectionate family under perpetual scrutiny.' SIR ALSTAIR BURNET. Diana is holding William and there is a picture of all three - Charles, Diana, and William - while thay are on tour in Australia. 'The birth of our son has given us both more pleasure than you can imagine. It has made me incredibly proud and somewhat amazed.' PRINCE OF WALES. Rwo pages are devoted to Prince Charles and the two boys. 'He is a doting daddy and does everything perfectly.' THE PRINCESS OF WALES on Charles os a father. The next two pages are great with both parents and bother boys at Highrove.

ROVING EMBASSADORS: Beneath the title for this section are their passports. 'Charles and Diana are mirrors and examples of stalwart British qualities: civility, courtesy, and coziness, with a dash of styles and a bit of fun' TIME. The Prince and Princess of Wales are seated in identical chairs, each of them is smiling, and each of them is wearing the same color. 'To be modern, yet keep the mystique - that is the trick. It is a trick that Charles and Diana have gracefully mastered.' TIME

PRIVATE LIVES: The pictures in this section are very casual. Beneath this caption is a picture of Prince Charles joking with the crowd at polo. This section is devoted to the couple and their boys at Highgrove, on vacation, and at KP. 'Charles and Diana are arguably the most famous, the most glamourous couple in the world.'

A SENSE OF STTLE: This section is devoted almost entirely to Diana who is shown wearing many of the various styles of dresses and hats which she made famous. Pages 94-95 picture the Prince and Princess of Wales together surrounded by photographers. The last picture appears on P. 96 and features both the Prince and Princess walking through the streets of Budapest during a tour of Hungary in 1990. She is wearing a pink suit trimmed in purples, and his shirt and tie complement her outfit.

One must actually see the pictures and read the quotations simultaneously to fully appreciate these beautiful pictures and unique pictures of The Princes and Princess of Wales and their two young princes - William and Harry.

This book is hardcover, contains 96 pages, and measure 83/4x11 inches. ... Read more

Book Description

From vilified government minister to leader of the Republic of Ireland, Charles J. Haughey's controversial rise to power offers insight into modern Irish history, party politics, and the notorious arms trial. This biography describes the Machiavellian posture of Haughey's politics and examines his life through the eyes of his colleagues and opponents, including his personal aides and other prominent Irish leaders. Special attention is given to the Fianna Fáil party and its role in Haughey's political comeback. ... Read more

Book Description

Charles Edward Stuart lives on as a romantic hero for millions of Scottish descent, despite his historical image as a charismatic self-seeker.The author re-examines the life of the Scottish hero whose flawed character and a lack of success in love influenced his relations with the Royal courts of Europe and played an important part in his role in the history of Scotland and England -- perhaps contributing as much to the defeat of the Jacobite cause as "Butcher" Cumberland's musket fire at Culloden.As well as the torrid affair with the young Duchesse de Montbazon in Paris and the tragic tale of Celmentine Walkinshaw, which resulted in a child, the author looks at the Prince's other relationships with women, from the formative on with his mother, to his disastrous late dynastic marriage to Louise de Stolberg, in which he was left a lonely, elderly cuckold. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Appalling
I only finished this book through my own interest in its subject. Its appalling writing - which could have come right out of a school essay by a not particularly good student - should be enough to discourage any reader, but to that there must be added a serious lack of real scholarship, and a complete carelessness and naiveté in jumping to conclusions (whether these be about factual, psychological or historical issues), which became more and more vexing as I plodded through the book.

As if this weren't enough, there are contradictions galore, even in regard to the author's own opinions. For example, Mr. Douglas asserts, on page 170, that "Charles Stuart in love might consider himself a prince, but he certainly was no gentleman". An unremarkable comment in itself, if it weren't for the fact that later on, on page 285, the author tells us that "as a lover, Prince Charlie could be a gentleman, but a gentleman with a sinister, dark side" (???).

There is at least one blatant error of grammatical interpretation, as when, on the first line of page 263, Mr. Douglas explains the word "anyways" as meaning "anyone's", which certainly cannot be the word's meaning on line 7 of the same page. My opinion is that the word means simply "in any way", but that's not the explanation given in the book (wouldn't it have been easier to leave it unexplained, rather than adding that embarrassing little clarification in brackets?).

All in all, a disappointment, and a complete waste of money. I only hope there are better books on Prince Charlie around!!! ... Read more

Book Description

The Habsburg courtier Charles-Joseph Prince de Ligne seduced and symbolized eighteenth-century Europe. Speaking French, the international language of the day, he travelled between Paris and St Petersburg, charming everyone he met. He stayed with Madame du Barry, dined with Frederick the Great and travelled to the Crimea with Catherine the Great. But Ligne was more than a frivolous charmer. He participated in and recorded some of the most important events and movements of his day: the Enlightenment; the struggle for mastery in Germany; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; the birth of German nationalism; and the wars to liberate Europe from Napoleon. He had surprisingly radical views, believing for example in property rights for women, legal rights for Jews and the redistribution of wealth. He was also a highly respected writer and his books on gardens, his letters from the Crimea and his epigrams are considered minor classics of French literature. Though sometimes neglected in Britain, Ligne has remained a popular historical figure in Europe and as the continent moves towards greater integration Mansel has produced a colouful and timely biography of this effortless European, a man for our time. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Hanoverian History Repeats Itself in Prince Charles
Although some may find fault with the author for criticizing Charles more than Diana, frankly Charles is more 'accident prone' so it's beyond me how any even-handed author could write anything about the Charles/Diana events without sounding too pro-Diana.

Though well intentioned at heart, Charles is a product of his breeding--not just the man warped by being surrounded by sycophants but a man who has inherited the Hanover/Windsor genetic faults. First among these is the fact that Charles, like his great-grandfather George V, is not too bright. Unlike George V, he wants to be seen as bright and this is what leads him into trouble. Charles's lack of focus and desire to meddle in politics is a fault he shares with Edward VIII--along with an overly long, dissolute bachelorhood and a penchant for choosing the wrong woman.

Diana has her faults too, but to paraphrase Jane Austen's comment about George IV, "She was bad, but she would not have become as bad as she was if he had not been infinitely worse."

All the author had to do was write from record and let the actions of the man damn him. This is what he did. Charles is his own worst enemy.

Charles will be king in due time, but for the sake of the monarchy, may Elizabeth II live a long time, may Charles gain a better sense of what a British monarch should do before he becomes king and may his reign be a short one.

When will the full analysis be made?
I'm disappointed that this book does not describe in more depth Charles' role as a MODERN king-to-be. Britain was once one of the greatest empires the world had ever seen; in fact, most of its colonies have only been relinquished post-World War II. Yet, there is no sense of Charles as a truly modern man of the late 20th Century. He could be much more than a mere figurehead for England, and yet he has chosen to do no more than his mother does in terms of being a compass for England's winds of change. Charles seems to have absolutely no political, social or economic advisers surrounding him. Could this be because he is, as so many accounts have suggested over the years, a rather dim bulb? After all, the Windsors have never been known for being bright. Tellingly, Charles NEVER has any people of color as friends, or in his entourage. No one from Hong Kong or China or India or Kenya or Nigeria or Barbados or a couple dozen other former colonies of color is ever seen anywhere near the Prince, whether as a friend, confidant, or consultant. And yet there are hundreds of thousands of well-educated men and women of color from the former colonies, who've been educated at Oxbridge (Oxford and/or Cambridge) or the London School of Economics or Britain's other elite learning institutions, who are of an age with the Prince and could certainly fit into the Prince's circle. What an example he could set for an England still going through the pains of post-colonialism! But no. The King-to-be is as stuffy, conventional, and ultimately, as out of touch with the new England as his mother and father. This is the side of the Prince that warrants full examination . . . . . .

Its a sad commentary on Mr. Holden when an American has more
respect for his counrty's monarchy than he does.

I enjoyed reading parts of this biography, however, it does not put His Royal Highness in a good light. That is truely a shame since the PoW has no real peers. How can Mr. Holden judge Prince Charles so harshly, when the closest peer he has is HRH Prince Felipe Of Spain or some other heir to a throne? Besides that, he is heir to the throne by divine right, not public opinion. He should be shown respect at all times. On the other hand, I was LOL at some parts of it because it seems that the PoW does not have any common sense.

The chapter(s) on Charles' love for achitecture is downright BORING! And Poundbury? What was that? That chapter went over my head.

One more thing, does the author know how to write about BOTH sides of the story?

Don't buy this book; you've heard it all before.
I was extremely disappointed with "Charles at Fifty" for three reasons. First, the title is grossly misleading. It implies that most or all of the book will examine the Prince of Wales as he is today (i.e., how he's handling Diana's death; his relationship with his sons and Camilla, his parents, etc.) Instead, almost all of it is a biography of Charles, going back all 50 years. Relatively little focuses on Charles after the divorce. Second, there's very little here that we've not already seen or heard somewhere else. (Readers are forced to sit through yet another rehashing of the Waleses' maital woes.) Third, the book is terribly one-sided. Diana is portrayed as the innocent victim of a cold, heartless, selfish man who used her. Little effort is made at telling his side of the story. Far superior to Holden's book is Penny Junor's "Charles: Villian or Victim;" however, be warned that Junor is VERY pro-Charles.

Don't bother: nothing new, even for the ultimate Royals fan
Really no new info here. Stick with Dimbelby account, even if Charles himself regrets having participated in its production. Far too little about life without Diana; the author may have moved out of Charles's circle by the time of the Paris accident, and his information seems decidedly second-hand. For revelations, however tawdry and perhaps even untrue, save up for Penny Junor's new tome. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

TALLEYRAND: Diplomacy "per excelence"
En el mundo, en su tiempo Talleyrand fue un clásico "animal político" según la definición de Aristóteles. Culto, aristócrata, pero sobre todo con una innata sensibilidad y visión, no permitió que Francia fuese menospreciada por las potencias europeas al término de la aventura napoleónica. Hombre de su tiempo y conocedor profundo de la condición humana sirvió a reyes y gobernantes, pero siempre tuvo como objetivo el salvaguardar los intereses de Francia antes que los de cualquier gobernante. Este es un libro raro y notable con gran valor para estudiosos, investigadores e historiadores y aun cuando fue escrito el siglo pasado, es actual porque la conducta política de hombres y naciones sigue siendo similar a la de la época que refiere. ... Read more

Book Description

Charles, duc d'Orlans, prince and poet, was a captive in England for twenty-five years following the battle of Agincourt. The studies in this volume, by European and American scholars, focus on his life and actions during that time, and show him as a serious and learned reader, a cunning political figure (accomplished in the skills that would impress the English nobility around him), and a masterful poet, innovative, witty, and intensely self-aware. Discussion of his manuscripts, his social and political relationships, his extensive library, and his poetry in two languages reveal him as a shrewd observer of life, which in his poetry he describes in ways not seen again until the Renaissance.Contributors: MICHAEL K. JONES, WILLIAM ASKINS, GILBERT OUY, M. ARN, CLAUDIO GALDERISI, JOHN FOX, R.C. CHOLAKIAN, A.C. SPEARING, DEREK PEARSALL, JANET BACKHOUSE, JEAN-CLAUDE MUHLETHALER, A.E.B. COLDIRON ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Unique item for Charles/Diana book collectors
Whitaker has been chief royal-watcher for several British tabloids, and is well-known to the royals. This dissection of Prince Charles's love life, before and including Diana, is packed with photos and insider info you won't find elsewhere. It has the most thorough coverage of Charles's relationship with Anna Wallace, the one just before Diana, that I've run across. Hard to find now, but an essential item for Di or Charles collectors. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very blunt opinion:
This is a very well illustrated, matter-of-fact volume which presents a picture that we now know never existed of the Royal couple. It is a good reference to know the way a Royal Household is run; the tours, the public events, the planning and the organization of it all. Other than that, the book mostly focuses on the opinions and ideas of Prince Charles at the time, making very brief references to Diana, most of them untrue. One cannot help becoming nostalgic at the sight of so many idyllic pictures of a family life that never was, and it makes one wonder: what would it have been like if Charles and Diana had remained married AND in love? Most likely, the Princess would be alive today, probably with a couple more children and, like a banner in the crowd read on their wedding day - "Charles and Diana will rule U.K.". It is a shame that the Establishment authorizes books like this, so untrue. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Heroic exploits, tragic figure
One has to look at the vicissitudes of life in the great tragic figures of history, Cortes, Columbus, Napoleon, etc., to find precedents in the relatively obscure life of Charles Edward Stuart, "The Great Young Pretender," Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Although towards the latter part of his life he came to stoop very low, he had, as a young man, decades earlier, reached out very high unto the stars with unwavering courage and determination in his conquest of Scotland and England. His defeat at Culloden in 1746 precipitated tragically what can only be described as the genocide of the Scottish Highlanders.

What a life! The life of Bonnie Prince Charlie is a study of human nature at its extreme. Belatedly, devastatingly, he found out the cruel fact that despite his forceful, determined personality, he was not the master of his own destiny. Be that as it may, he came to be vindicated.

This is a magnificent book of a great, albeit obscure, tragic figure of history.

Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D. is Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Sentinel of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), and author of Vandals at the Gates of Medicine (1995) and Medical Warrior: Fighting Corporate Socialized Medicine (1997). ... Read more