I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with reviews from April, May and June.
John Sergeant is ITN's Political Editor and before that spent 30 years at the BBC, latterly as the corporation's Chief Political Correspondent. This memoir takes the reader from his rather curious childhood, as the son of decidedly eccentric parents, to his flirtation with show business as part of the 60s satire boom - he starred in revue with Alan Bennett - and his early years in journalism on the Liverpool Post to his 30 years at the BBC.
This follows the varied parts of his life from growing up as a vicar's son and getting educated based on where his father was. It follows his flirtation with comedy, appearing in a sketch TV series with Alan Bennett and then appearances on popular TV comedy shows later in his career. It is about how as a young man on an American adventure he was there to witness Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech, how he reported from Vietnam near where the most famous photo of the conflict took place. It covers his reporting from war zones like Cyprus when it was invaded and trouble spots like Northern Ireland, and then his political career during the reign of Thatcher, Major and Blair.
I particularly liked the war and political reporting that he did which was the best part of the book for me. This was what I really wanted to read but frankly there wasn't enough of it. I felt it was too heavy on his childhood, covering the life of his grandparents and parents and being a vicar's son and way too much on the comedy side of things. There was a lot of talk about the comedy sketches and all the people he met who went on to be famous, which could have been cut down a fair bit as I didn't get the clever comedy or most of the punchlines. It was a decent read but too much padding and not enough of his journalism career.
Read June 2019
3.5 stars.
2) Suzannah Lipscolm-The King Is Dead A beautifully produced account of the creation, impact and legacy of one of the most important documents of the Tudor period – the last will and testament of Henry VIII. On 28 January 1547, the sickly and obese King Henry VIII died at Whitehall. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped and sealed. The will confirmed the line of succession as Edward, Mary and Elizabeth; and, following them, the Grey and Suffolk families. It also listed bequests to the king’s most trusted councillors and servants.
Henry’s will is one of the most intriguing and contested documents in British history. Historians have disagreed over its intended meaning, its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation. As well as examining the background to the drafting of the will and describing Henry's last days, Suzannah Lipscomb offers her own, illuminating interpretation of one of the most significant constitutional documents of the Tudor period.
First of all, the artwork in this book is stunning, from the beautiful cover to the full size colour recreations of all the portraits of interests of King Henry and his family. There are portraits of his Queens and all the people of interest at his court, which was a helpful addition for me. I'd always wanted a good copy of some of these and was pleased to find them here. There is also the full will of the King to read which is a fascinating document, along with the provisions of the will and useful lists of those who were governing and their positions after the King's death.
The author takes the time to go into the will itself, looking at all the debate about the will either being fake or altered after the King's death. She gives her reasons why it is genuine and backs that up with evidence. She puts in the conflicting opinions of other historians then argues why she doesn't agree with them. It is very in depth and I feel like she really wanted to show the reader why she believed in what she was saying and was setting out her case clearly. The book also looks at the last decade and last year of his life, showing the political and religious situation which is so relevant to what went into his will. This was the first book I read by the author although I have seen TV shows she has done on the Tudors, but I would be interested in reading more of her work as I really enjoyed this unique book.
Read May 2019.
3.5 stars.
In this wonderful and honest book, former press secretary to the royal family Dickie Arbiter reveals the inner-workings of everyday life in side Buckingham Palace, and what it's really like to be on duty with the Queen. With four decades of experience covering royalty as a journalist and as one of Her Majesty's press secretaries, Dickie Arbiter has had unprecedented access to the inner circle of some of the most intriguing news stories over the years, and is the only royal commentator to have witnessed the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and covered her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees.
Appointed a press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, Dickie was immediately catapulted into the media circus surrounding the world s most famous and divisive family. From sailing in the Royal Yacht Britannia, escorting Prince Charles on far-flung trips across the globe and the Commonwealth, and joining Her Majesty for washing-up duties following a picnic in Balmoral Castle, to becoming one of Princess Diana s most trusted confidantes before briefing the world's media of her untimely death, Dickie was at the forefront of the decision-making at the Palace during the most turbulent decade in the monarchy's reign.
This shows in depth exactly what the job of royal correspondants and press officers is like and it is pretty hard work from what I read here. The press spokesman in particular has an early start, has to deal with planning and executing the royal diary each day, planning overseas royal tours and debating with the royals, the Palace and the host country what should or should not be in the tour itinerary. He also had to deal with frequent requests about the state of Charles and Diana's relationship as well as serious breaking news events like the Windsor Castle fire and the death of Diana. I was fascinated by the detail about how he worked during the death and funeral of Diana-the discussions between the families and government, the fights over flying the flag at half mast, the dreadful press coverage aimed at the Queen and the way Tony Blair's government tried to take the credit for everything, which doesn't surprise me.
Don't expect a lot of royal gossip as this man was a loyal servant to the Queen and refuses to discuss gossip about the royal marriage, merely stating how he performed his job during that time. I enjoyed hearing of his minor spats with Diana and the party she threw for his birthday. I liked the story of his first trip to Balmoral and how informal things were with the Queen, washing and drying dishes together. It was an interesting book about royal service and a fairly quick read but certainly enjoyable if you have an interest in Diana and the royal family.
Read May 2019
4 stars.
4) William H Weber-DefianceA month has passed since a deadly virus swept the country killing millions and leaving chaos in its wake. Dale Hardy has managed to weather the storm by hunkering down on his homestead in Arizona. He grows his own crops, generates his own power and draws fresh water from his own deep aquifer. But when a nearby town's water supply dwindles in the searing Arizona heat, Dale's peaceful existence is threatened.
The new mayor and sheriff want what he has and they're willing to do whatever it takes to get it. With a crooked local government conspiring against him, Dale will need to stand in defiance or risk losing everything.
This is the story of one man protecting what he worked hard for when others want to just take it from him. The fued starts when a new mayor and police chief take over the nearby town and want to use all of Dale's resources which starts a conflict. The story itself was ok as apocalypse tales go, with plenty action, betrayal and violence going on as you would expect. It was well enough written but my main issue was with the characters.
Dale is a bit too much of a smart arse for me. He likes to brag about how prepared he is, bragging to Sandy about being clever enough to install his solar panels, bragging to a trained retired sniper about how good his own shooting skills are. He knows better than everyone and orders them about all the time and his attitude does get annoying at times. his daughter Brooke is 22 but of course is a female with no common sense or grasp of the danger they are facing. Dale's brother is a lazy lump who thinks he deserves a share of the family ranch despite getting non stop handouts from his parents while Dale worked for everything and his whiny wife Nicole is annoying. Dale's nephew Colton lives with them, but he is a hotheaded moron who loves starting fights and causing trouble for the family. His father Zach gets out of jail and starts a killing spree as he makes his way home yet the author then tries to set him up as a hero. The man killed an old couple just to steal clothes from their house so how is he a hero? I didn't much like the good guys in this book which made it pretty hard for me to really care what happened to them.
I much preferred the Last Stand series that I read by the author as I at least liked the MCs in it. I plan to continue reading that series but I won't read on with this series.
Read April 2019
2.5/3 stars.
In his hunt for a male heir Henry VIII broke with Rome, instigated the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and acquired six wives successively. Of these, two were executed, a chilling first in English history. From these tumultuous events a surprising number of historic sites linked to the Tudors survive, accessible now through this beautifully illustrated book. The guidebook is arranged by region and covers England and a little of Europe. With directions to each site, along with full details of the Tudor events and personalities linked to them, this guidebook will appeal to all who find visiting an historic site brings life and color to the study of history.
I really hoped for something great from this book but overall I was pretty disappointed. For a 'textbook' of sorts, I disliked the fact that it had a bit too much of the author's opinion on the people and events and lacklustre attempts at humourous comments that fell flat ie 'Henry playing the sugar daddy with a 54 inch waist!' He was obsessed with using ! every possible time and most uses of it were rather inappropriate. I felt that he was a bit obsessed with showing himself and his opinions rather than setting out the background information and it comes across as opinionated and a bit self obsessed.
The inaccuracies were really infuriating. On page 32 he discusses the death of King Louis XII and the return to England of his widow Mary Tudor and her staff. 'Louis died soon after the wedding and Mary (Boleyn) probably returned home with the Dowager Queen..' yet on p63 he says 'The Dowager Queen left France in early 1515 but Mary (Boleyn) stayed on at the Court of the new King Francis I'. Well which is it then??? He also thinks that Katherine Parr's first husband was the son of the elderly gentleman whereas most other historians agree that it was the older man who was her husband. He is also obsessed with Catherine of Aragon being part of a Spanish Conspiracy to not grant Henry the divorce he deserved because they wanted to sell England to Spain but gives no evidence to back up his claim. He talks of Anne Boleyn dying as a Catholic and the Catholic Stephen Gardner as being the one who gave Cranmer the idea for getting theology people to give opinions to get Henry his divorce, which seems beyond belief to me. He has an irritating habit of saying that a woman who achieved something like not being killed by Henry had 'played a blinder'. I disliked the style of the writing and disagreed with a lot of his historical facts.
The part of the book that had the guide to all the sites of interest was also disappointing because most of the photos were tiny black and white images and some of the places of most interest had no photos of what most people would want to see. Overall it was far from what I hoped for and I'd be reluctant to read other books by the author.
Read May 2019
1.5/2 stars.
Ok well, this set isn't as bad and seems like you got some good reading in here so that's a plus! Sorry some were awful.
ReplyDeleteMary
Bit of a mixed bag really...
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