IPhone 3G used's review (Beautiful, Lucious, Clever....Buy It!!!) 『This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever purchased for my daughter! Rich illustrations with clever rhymes and additional text make this a fun but educational adventure with Queen Elizabeth as she goes on "progress" and visits her subjects. Definitely a Caldecott contender!! I have also purchased Celeste Davidson Mannis's other book: "One Leaf Rides The Wind" and was expecting nothing less than excellence (and I was not disappointed).』
(A published rough draft) 『Great idea. Bring the Elizabethan period closer by linking it with an alphabet book and factoids that interest children.
Lovely illustrations.
Now the bad part. Embarrassingly lazy rhymes, from the Moody Blues school of songwriting.
G is for garden, And in it a maze. Through a tangle of hedgerows The queen makes her way
(You could have said, To be lost there for days, Making several ways, With their heads in a daze--so many real rhymes would have worked.)
Unfortunately, many of the "rhymes" are like that. They are awkward but could have easily been made right. The meter is also not quite right, which is too bad, because this has so much to offer.
The book would have worked better without the poems, because the pictures and the historical notes are so good.』
(God Save the Queen!) 『British history nuts will get a kick out of this book. Fun for all ages! My kids love following the adventures of the little dog that appears on almost every page, and soaking up all the incredible detail that Ibatoulline crammed into his exquisite illustrations. There's a lot going on - a visual feast fit for a...Queen! As a certified Anglophile, I'm fascinated by the narrative at the bottom of each page, and the sometimes sassy, sometimes whimsical verse that moves along the 'story within a story'. Very unusual, very good! God Save the Queen!』
(A Regal Book) 『Celest Davidson Mannis and Bagram Ibatoulline combine the genres of alphabet books and historical picture books and take both to new heights.
Each page presents a different letter, with the ornate, scrolly letter taking up most of the page. Clever quatrains about the featured letter are accompanied by a small chunk of text that further explains the significance of what's been described in the quatrain -- for example, X is for xanthus, and though the brief rhymed poem explains what a xanthus is, the prose at the bottom of the page offers historical information that justifies its inclusion in the book.
The illustrations are exquisite. I've been a fan of Ibatoulline's work for some time now, and the pictures in this book are period-perfect, with colors that bring to mind an illuminated manuscript.
It's also fun to go through each picture and try to find the page, the maid, and the dwarf who play important parts in the adventure story that is skillfully woven into the poems and prose.
This book works on so many different levels, older children and adults will find much to learn and enjoy here.』
『Join Queen Elizabeth I on her annual summer procession through the English countryside in this majestically illustrated alphabet. With an A for Adventure, the queen leaves London for an extraordinary holiday among her people. Feast on blackbird pie, join the royal hunting party, and cheer on your favorite knights as they joust for the queen's favor. But watch out! T is for Treason. Traitors trail in the queen's path and it's up to her bravest and most loyal subjects to keep her from harm! Playful, rhyming verse, fascinating notes about each topic, and lavishly detailed pictures make this delightful romp through Elizabethan England a pleasure to read again and again.』
Kakaku：400 saved$4.00
Penguin Classics
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (wise - not wanton) 『I'm a Henry VIII nut. I have quite a few books on him - from the recent historical fiction ones to old library tomes almost too dry to read. And I love historical fiction about England, particularly when the - what's the word I'm looking for? it's eluding me at the moment - their speech is true to form.
This is not quick reading, and yet it seemed like the book was finished in nothing flat. It does for Katherine Howard's reputation what Sharon Kay Penman did for Richard III's and the twins in the tower (the antithesis of shakespear's play.) Who's to say what the truth is? Because history potrays Richard as a power hungry, murdering rogue (except for a sect of people these days who are out to clear his name), and Katherine (except in this book) has always been said to be a wanton and promiscuous woman.
In The Fifth Queen, however, her character is wise and virtuous; but that Henry would have her as his wife, she'd have gone to a nunnery by choice. She believes strongly in the Catholic God and sees it as her mission to return Henry to Rome and to Catholocism and to persuade his daughter to reconcile with him.
But she's too innocent and good-hearted for those at court, who are always thinking of themselves and what's to their best advantage. As restoration of the Catholic faith would re-instate to the church lands and riches previously taken, those who are Lutheran would be left without what they gained when Henry became head of church and state. So Katherine must be dispensed with by whatever means possible.
Thus Ford's quite rational and lucid explanation for history's version of her background.
It's no secret that Henry was "not such a one who {could} stay the wind," as she puts it, and indeed, throughout my readings, that seems the essence of him: big and powerful on the outside, small and unsure on the inside; a man who has the power to get what he wants when he wants it, but best walk softly because he may change his mind tomorrow. Mercurial at best. I wonder if he'd be on prozac these days?
He's under the impression he's saved her and now they'll be together, but he's missed the irony of what he's put forth and arranged. Her speech in the final pages of the book is moving and borne of a wisdom you'd be hard pressed to find today, especially in one so young.
On an entirely different note, she was apparently beautiful. But have you ever noticed the paintings from that era? Check out the paintings of her - and his other wives by various artists. There doesn't seem much difference in the attractiveness of Anne of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn, for instance. And Hans Holbein, who did quite a number of portraits of royal family members, was supposed to be the finest painter - and easy to belive that. His portrait of her is far superior to any of the others (not the miniature that is apparently actually Jane Seymour's sister), and Cromwell and Moore practically jump off the canvas. I dunno. The "beautiful" woman all look rather unattractive, if you ask me.
』
(What Katherine's tragedy was really all about......) 『I saw Ford's THE FIFTH QUEEN recommended on a history discussion board. I must say that I am close to agreeing with the assessment that it is the best historical romance of the twentieth century. It is certainly one of the best. Ford contends that what Katherine's death was really all about is that as a Catholic, she was trying to get Henry VIII to reconcile with the Church of Rome. She was close to succeeding and the reformers did not want that to happen. Her male friends were tortured until they admitted to dilly-dallying with her before marriage and after her marriage. Getting other people to agree with the testimony of the tortured men was no difficult feat. And so Katherine was condemned as a slut and whore.
Ford alludes to the fact that while Katherine may have been violated in some was as a young girl, it is also clear that Henry was aware that she had a Past and he did not care. Ford's Katherine is about 18 years old but Alison Weir says she may actually have been only fifteen. Ford portrays her as witty and bright, which makes sense since Henry was not attracted to stupid women; he enjoyed the repartee with a lively, witty damsel, especially over theological matters. Katherine had the charm of her cousin Anne Boleyn, with a great deal more sweetness; she also had the magnificent red-gold hair of the Plantagenets. Henry was repeatedly drawn to women with such hair, such as all three of his Katherines.
Ford brings Katherine to life as no one else - engaging, impulsive, and valiant. This coincides with what Alison Weir writes about her efforts to help imprisoned Catholics, especially her husband's cousin Bl. Margaret Pole. She is loving to her much older husband, to whom she was genuinely attracted, in Ford's novel. As her tragedy unfolds, she is ready to immolate herself for what she sees as a higher cause. Henry's heartbreak when he sees he must lose her is captured by Ford in a very moving manner. Henry does not believe the charges of adultery (Katherine was never found guilty of breaking her marriage vows) and wants to annull his marriage to her so that she can live as his mistress. Katherine must choose between dishonor in life or dishonor in death.
There seem to be few if any portraits of the fifth queen; what portraits still exist are dubious. Those who destroyed her also tried to destroy all evidence that she had lived, even as the altars of the old religion were being broken and defaced. However, the real Katherine lives in Ford's amazing trilogy, which is as vivid a work of art as any painting.』
(Intrigue and romance in the court of Henry VIII) 『Intrigue and romance in the court of Henry VIII Katherine Howard, armed only with education, wit and honesty, becomes the Fifth Queen, Henry VIII's fifth wife in this amazing historical trilogy. The plot-ridden court comes to vivid life as everyone high and low maneuvers for advantage. Everyone except Katherine Howard, whose unwillingness to scheme will make her queen and defenseless at the same moment. Even knowing the general story this is a fascinating and occasionally shocking novel, with a stunning ending...』
(A New Spin on an Old Queen!) 『Fans of Tudor history will enjoy this meaty volume which delivers a very different take on the life of Queen Katherine Howard...she is hardly the hysterical and promiscuous girl so often depicted. Especially interesting characterizations of "Bloody" Mary Tudor and Henry VIII, as well. Strictly for fans of the subject, however, or otherwise tedious reading.』
(A Parable) 『Ford Madox Ford's "The Fifth Queen" - actually a collection of three separate novels - is a fictionalized account of the fifth wife of England's Henry VIII, Katharine Howard. As A.S. Byatt explains in her Introduction, "This figure bears little relation to what we have about the real Katharine . . ." and thus the reader should be conscious that Ford's Katharine - a young, pretty, pious woman who yearns for a return to Catholicism after Henry's split with Rome - is strictly fictional. That said, the only real failure of this work is that Katharine is the least appealing, least interesting character; we first meet her as a dispossessed ingenue seeking entrance to Henry's court around the time of his disasterous fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves, and it is this description which will follow her throughout the book. Even as she becomes Queen, it is almost by accident, surviving the machinations of Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal and the recklessness of her devoted cousin Culpepper. She is Queen by default. She constantly protests that all she seeks is a Catholic England - the "old ways" - and yet throughout she resigns herself to letting events happen to her, as if she cannot control the consequences of her own life. Indeed, her final speech to Henry where she confesses to an adultery which did not occur, becomes her last fatal act of passivity, for which she pays with her life. She cannot see that there are those who wish to help her and that her naive, narcissistic piety does not have to be her ruin. What holds these novels together is the rich supporting cast: the aforementioned Cromwell, who has his own sovereign Protestant image of England, free from the entanglements of Rome. There is the brooding Princess Mary, Henry's daughter by his first wife, who knows how to carry a grudge for her mother's divorce, the super-spy Throckmorton, the lecherous Magister Udal and more. Ford uses Katharine to show that the blind commitment to an ideal - any ideal - will only result in failure, that this world is more than ideas and faiths, but of people who are imperfect, people who will fail. It is a world five hundred years in the past, but it is also our own.』 『This masterful performance of historical fiction centers on Katharine Howard -- clever, beautiful, and outspoken -- who catches the jaded eye of Henry VIII and becomes his fifth Queen. Corruption and fear pervade the King's court, and the dimly lit corridors vibrate with the intrigues of unscrupulous courtiers hungry for power. Soon Katharine is locked in a vicious battle with Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Privy Seal, as she fights for political and religious change. Ford saw the past as an integral part of the present experience and understanding, and his sharply etched vision of the court of Henry VIII -- first published in 1908 -- echoes aspects of Edwardian England as it explores the pervading influence of power, lies, fear, and anxiety on people's lives.』
Kakaku：766 saved$7.66
Random House
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Armed&Dangerous review) 『Great book. I could not put it down once I started reading it. William Queen is a wonderful retired law enforcement officer with the ATF and has great stories to tell about his career. I highly recommend this book as well as Under&Alone. 』
(Armed and Dangerous) 『If this had been fiction, I would have said it's unbelievable. I couldn't put the book down! That Mark Stevens could grow marijuana fields in the inaccessable San Bernardino Mountains was in itself mind boggling. The ending was absolutely breathtaking! What a tremendous experience it was to meet a man of William Queen's stature and abilities. I breathed a sigh of relieve that he was on our side. Great photos! He touches, too, on a brutal Nazi group. Chilling! In our free democratic society, it is very important that we understand the inner workings of our agencies. In this sense, this book is an education. 5 stars! I wish I could give it more!』
(Good follow-up to Under and Alone) 『William Queen has made a good follow-up to his best seller Under and Alone. Although his first was one of my favorites, this one is very well written and reads easily. Two thumbs up and very recommended.』
(Inflated&Overblown) 『Your first clue that there is not much here is the big type size. Someone tried to stretch this tale into a book, but the material is inadequate. Queen spends page after page building up to the big moment when he defies death and captures some pyscho in the San Bernardino mountains more than 25 years ago. The problem is the arrest was fairly routine. There is a lot of extraneous detail about unrelated investigations leading up to the main case, obviously an effort to stretch the book. I hope Queen has some more substantial stories left in him, or else his best book, about his undercover stint as a Mongol motorcycle gangbanger, may be his only claim to fame as a writer.』
(Not as good as his 1st book) 『I really liked his first book and thought this might be about the same. I was wrong, not even close! The read was quick and the ending was pretty lame. Sometimes the true story is not the best story! I should of waited and got the book from a friend or the library. Sorry!』 『From theNew York Timesbestselling author ofUnder and Alonecomes an intimate and riveting account of federal law-enforcement agent William Queen’s relentless hunt for one of America’s most cold-blooded criminals.
As an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, William Queen must tackle a number of challenging cases, including going undercover to investigate a group of violent skinheads and infiltrating and busting a ring trafficking in high-powered explosives, drugs, and firearms. In the winter of 1985, he faces his toughest mission to date: he must apprehend Mark Stephens, a notorious narcotics trafficker who has been terrorizing the communities around Los Angeles with frequent rampages involving machine guns and hand grenades. A recluse living in the treacherous backwoods outside the city, Stephens is a cunning survivalist. Nobody has been able to catch him, but Queen is determined to take him down. Queen’s unique expertise is not taught in any police academy or ATF training seminar–he honed his outdoorsman abilities as a kid. Stephens may have finally met his match in the unwavering Queen, who is adept at hunting and trapping and living for weeks in the wild. Queen will use these skills–alongwith surveillance, confidential informants, and intelligence gathering–as he doggedly tracks his dangerous quarry, a chase that culminates in a gripping showdown high in the San Bernardino Mountains.
A fascinating look into the daily life of an ATF agent and a taut portrayal of a monthlong manhunt,Armed and Dangerousdepicts a classic race against time–lawman versus outlaw–in a harrowing true story of life-or-death suspense.』
IPhone 3G used's review (A Misplaced Life) 『This is a valuable book that focuses on Mary Stuart as a ruler rather than Mary Stuart as a heroine in a historical romance. It is not a mystery about who killed Lord Darnley. It is a critical analysis of what occurred when someone who was historically ordained to rule, but who possessed none of the qualities to make that rule successful in the dynamic of the sixteenth century, attempted to lead Scotland through the religious and political minefiled of its pre-modern politics. Some writers tend to think that Wormald is too tough on the historical Mary Queen of Scots, but there is good basis for her analysis. The essential question about the Scots Queen in not really whether or not she wrote all or some of the Casket Letters, and whether or not she was a player in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, but whether she faired any better than most of the other Stuart kings who followed her in dealing with the great issues of her day. She clearly did not. While my own review of the letters insofar as they presently exist, the evidence from a variety of sources, and my own experience as a successful prosecutor leads me to believe that I probably could convict her of conspiracy to commit murder , but not as an aider and abettor of murder itself, if she had been less a French queen and more a Scot, had she seen her role more as an obligation to her own historical niche and less a license to behave as if she were answerable to no mortal, her monarchy might have ended quite differently. No one would have cared about Darnley. Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and even Thomas More did not put an end to Henry VIII, Essex did not end Elizabeth I, and the disposal of an unpopular sometimes Papist consort, would not have ended Mary's rule. Her prolonged absence from Scotland during her childhood, her identity with powers that were not in step with the religious and political changes in Scotland, her reliance upon her half-brother and other men to lead her country and usurp her power to make decisions are among teh flaws that are exposed and highlighted in this short but important book.』
(No melodrama - at last!) 『This, at last, is a book that focuses on what MQS actually DID as a queen, and what she didn't do. It measures her against the same stick used to measure other rulers of the same age instead of the usual sturm un drang offered up. She was no marytred saint, yet she was no she demon in velvet skirts. She was charming and lovely, however she was also inadequate. Kind of Queen-Lite, if you will.
I found it very interesting that her much toted tolerance concerning religion is revealed to be otherwise. She demands the right to practice her own religion, but denies that same right to other Catholics. It is hard to hold up the banner of Catholic martyr when she did nothing good for that cause in Scotland, empowering the Protestant at the expense of the Catholic.
And yes, I'm glad that Wormald came down on the side of Mary being involved in the plot against Darnley. Leave MQS some shreds of intelligence. If she didn't know, that makes her and Darnley the only ones in Scotland and Europe who were unaware of the plot. Her actions definitely speak loudly when she lured Darnely out of his family stronghold and brought him back to Edinburgh and death. It was politically astute and necessary. Only her blunders afterward destroyed her reputation. Handled differently, she could very likely have weathered it.
Good read, well written and neither rabid nor fawning.』 『
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was one of history’s romantically tragic figures. Devious, naïve, often highly principled, beautiful, and sexually voracious, this was a woman who secured the Scottish throne and bolstered the position of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Her endless plotting, including a likely involvement in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, eventually led to her flight from Scotland and imprisonment by her equally ambitions cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth of England. And yet when Elizabeth ordered her unpredictable rival and kinswoman to be beheaded in 1587 she did so in resigned frustration rather than as act ofpolitical wrath.Was the beheading of a cousin truly necessary? Did Mary, though churlish, petulant, and often disloyal, really deserve to forfeit the compassion of her cousin, a woman who from childhood had been her friend and playmate? Mary’s fate was to be born to supreme power, but she was totally lacking in the political ability to deal with its responsibilities. This was the tragedy that turned her life into a study in failure. The extraordinary story of Mary, which has inspired the great poets, playwrights, and operatic composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, is one of the most colorful and emotionally searing tales of western history, and is here told by a leading specialist of the 16th century.
Kakaku：2995 saved$29.95
University of California Press
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Mediocre mystery) 『AB&the Queen of Spades is a serviceable but not terribly engrossing mystery--a fast read for the plane if you couldn't find anything better. I picked it up because I love San Francisco in the Gilded Age and I enjoy historical mysteries. After a strong start, I found a surprisingly flat book. Hall doesn't really do much with his setting except describe it, and his characters and plot are weak.
I was unable to get interested in Bierce, who after a vivid first appearance does very little (all of it predictable) until he announces the solution to the assembled cast at the end. Tom Redmond, his idealistic and energetic sidekick, is more intriguing, but his love interest is never a believable character, and there's an lot of heavy-handed dialogue. Too much information about the railroad robber barons also bogs down the story.
A few flashes made me think Hall might once have been a better writer than this book reveals, but he doesn't seem interested in making the events meaningful to the reader or even creating suspense. Midway through I stopped caring about the mystery, but I would have given the book another star if its resolution hadn't been both wildly improbable and a triple-whammy cliché.
The real problem with this book is that others have done it better elsewhere. Karen Joy Fowler's novel Sister Noon brings the same setting to vivid life with a fraction of Hall's they-wear-this-type-of-hat details; her incisive writing brings greater insight to some of the same figures and events (notably the Sharon trial and the infamous Mary Ellen Pleasant), as well as race relations. On the historical mystery front, there are many more satisfying; my bet would be Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January books, set in New Orleans in the 1830s. Hambly uses the cultural clashes between American frontiersmen, an older colonial culture, and a minority underclass to great effect, and makes the question of whether the city's corruption will allow the guilty to be punished as suspenseful as the whodunit--two things Hall has every chance to do and never attempts.
If you're fascinated by Ambrose Bierce, the book would be worth reading, but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone else.』
(MARVELOUS HISTORICAL FICTION) 『Oakley Hall is easily one of the finest authors of historical fiction -- and historical mysteries -- in the publishing world. Too many writers who produce a series based on the same character quickly run out of fresh stories, fresh images, fresh characters. Hall never seems to rush or compromise in the marvelous Ambrose Bierce series, and the Queen of Spades is one of his best. The best mystery writers -- Raymond Chandler, Caleb Carr, Dashiell Hammett, Walter Moseley -- are able to create portraits of a people and an era that are as compelling -- often much more so -- than any historian. Hall's portrayal of Victorian-era San Francisco, its sophistication and barbarity, its charms and horrors, are seamless and masterful. I think he strikes as perfect a balance between history, plot, and character as any writer I have ever read. The use of Ambrose Bierce as the intellectual guide to the series' protagonist and narrator, the ambitious, puglistic young reporter, Tom Redmond, may be the finest coup. I find myself wanting more and more of the brilliant Bierce. The fact that Hall is able to write "Bitter" Bierce with the same acerbic humor and scathing insight with which Bierce himself wrote is an extraordinary achievement. Bravo, Mr. Hall, may Redmond and Bierce continue on their marvelous journeys through one of the most fascinating cities and periods in history.』
(Please don't compare this with The Alienist) 『To start, I liked this book, but not as much as I hoped to like it. It is a nice historical mystery, but it is not in the league of The Alienist, a work to which it is often compared. The narrator, Tom Redmond, is a likeable character, but just as he is confused with the many characters in this mystery, so is the reader.
The story searches for the Morton Street Slasher, but the reader who wants a plot similar to the Alienist (which follows the trail of the killer) will be disappointed to learn that this book is more about mining and railroad politics than the search for a killer. If you are interested in the backroom politics of San Francisco in the 1870's or really love the wit of Ambrose Bierce, then you'll probably love this book ... if you're like me, and you like Ambrose Bierce's dark humor but could do without the smoke-filled rooms, then you'll just find it an interesting diversion.』
(Entertaining, informative hystery\mistory) 『This book tells the story of young Tom Redmond, apprentice to the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Ambrose Bierce. Redmond and Bierce try to track down a Ripper-style killer of prostitutes and unravel a mystery that has ties to the California Gold Rush and the Railroad boom in California. All in all, the history is good (and you'll probably learn a good bit if you know nothing about mining or railroads) and the mysteries provide a nice little puzzle. Despite the title, Bierce is not the main character, Redmond is, and he's quite an interesting, well-developed and sympathetic one. Bierce is kind of a secondary character, although the book is peppered with his acerbic, sarcastic thinking (one of the things I enjoyed most of all, actually). This book is less Holmes-and-Watson than Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, which is a more satisfying arrangement, I think. I enjoyed it and I think most people who like historical mysteries will enjoy it also.』
(Ambrose Bierce, writer, curmudgeon, detective?) 『Using Ambrose Bierce as the detective in this mystery novel set in 1880's San Francisco is a clever concept. Acerbic and fiercely intelligent, Bierce makes a good protagonist. Told from the perspective of a young reporter, Ambrose Bierce and The Queen of Spades may be a bit convoluted as a mystery but as a look at a California that was in the control of the railroad industry it excels. Starting each chapter with a selection of Bierce's Devil's Dictionary sets the tone for the book well, and this a solid addition to the historical mystery genre.』 『The Morton Street Slasher has been leaving the corpses of his victims around San Francisco's Union Square. On the women's naked bodies are spade playing cards. The city's infamous newspaperman, Ambrose Bierce, blames the rash of murders on his old enemy, the Southern Pacific Railroad. A naive reporter at Bierce'sHornetpursues the case, uncovering conspiracy at every turn. In a fast-paced novel that is a combination of murder mystery, historical fiction, and quirky biography, Oakley Hall draws the reader into 1880s San Francisco and the changing world that was California in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Local and state politics, the exploitation of the Chinese, the power of the mining and railroad barons, and San Francisco's colorful history provide a backdrop for this irresistible thriller. The novel's chapters are introduced by appropriate excerpts from Bierce'sThe Devil's Dictionaryand narrated by the young reporter Tom Redmond. Redmond is interested in the murders because of his attraction to a woman threatened by the Slasher, and Bierce encourages him because of his personal vendetta against the Big Four of the Railroad. Bierce's misogyny is an influence as well, which Hall uses to advantage in portraying the enigmatic journalist. Hall knows his territory and his characters well. The sights and smells of late-nineteenth-century California are cleverly evoked, and the story's key players are refreshingly authentic. Bierce brandishes his famed cynicism with all the aplomb of the sharp-eyed, sharp-witted newspaperman he was. Cameo appearances by such California worthies as Ina Coolbrith and Joaquin Miller add to the novel's historical richness. Intelligent, gripping, and often quite funny,Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spadeswill satisfy any reader who craves adventure, mystery, romance, and fine writing.』
Kakaku：290 saved$2.90
Routledge
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (This isn't a biography) 『I'm not sure what Goodman was trying to do here, but it didn't work. I mean, if you're interested in Marie Antoinette as a SYMBOl of women-in-high-places brought down, then this is the book for YOU....But right now I'm wanting to know about her life. Because I can't call this book a biography, an analysis of Marie Antoinette, or a review of the revolution and how it effected her, I can't recommend it. The purpose of the book is a mystery to me, except to place Antoinette in the context of women since the beginning of time. YAWN. Yet, I read it and I find myself rereading parts of it again and again. I think I have to commend it because there is thought behind the writing. The writer does give a bit of insight into Antoinette's daughter, who is the reason I began reading everything I could get my hands on about the queen...Thing is, if you want to read about women who have been scape-goated throughout the years, turn to female writers of the 1960s and early 1970s. In their hands, this book would've burned.』 『Marie-Antoinette is one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in all of French history. Married to the heir to the French throne at age fourteen, Marie-Antoinette was at the center of public attention during the final tumultuous years of the Old Regime and the French Revolution. For a variety of reasons explored in this volume - all of which revolved around her gender - Marie-Antoinette came to represent the monarchy as it came under increasing attack. As both a woman and queen, she became a privileged site of the political contestation and criticism that characterized the end of the eighteenth century in France. Rather than retell the story of her life, the contributors to this volume reveal how crucial political and cultural contests were enacted "on the body of the queen" and on the complex identity of Marie-Antoinette. They explore the difficulties of Marie-Antoinette's position as a woman, a foreigner, and a queen in the final decades of the eighteenth century and help us to understand the waves of pornography and accusations of lesbianism, incest, and treason launched against her. Taken together, these essays suggest that it is precisely because Marie-Antoinette represented the contradictions in the social, political and gender systems of her era that, through her, we can both learn about the French past and shed new light on questions of gender, sexuality, and female power that continue to trouble us today.』
Kakaku：1495 saved$14.95
iUniverse.com
Usually ships in 24 hours 『The Dawson women: Mazzy Dawson, a mulatto sushi chef in southern California, who struggles with the untimely death of her mother and the cloak of mystery that her grandmother keeps her family's history enshrouded in; Kennedy Dawson, a college student who fights heroin addiction and racial tensions at an L. A. County drug detox to bring her unborn child into the world; and Lucy Dawson, a discontented housewife in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, who, during the 1960's, starts to question the racially segregated suburban world around her and ultimately chooses an unconventional and dangerous path for love. In, Raising Warrior Queens, Teresa C. Smith examines the rarely simple, sometimes tumultuous and always loyal mother/daughter dynamic with sharp wit and a tender, yet unwavering eye.』 fetish『 The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II: Her Personal Collection 』
『 Queen's Jewels: The Personal Collection of Elizabeth II 』
『 Jewels of the Tsars: The Romanovs and Imperial Russia 』
『 Famous Jewelry Collectors 』
『 Tiaras - A History of Splendour 』
『 Cartier 』
Leslie Field
Kakaku：2183 saved$21.83
Harry N Abrams
IPhone 3G used's review (Loved This Book) 『If you love royal jewels like me then you need to get this book... the pictures are fabulous. There is not a whole lot of text and explanation about all the pieces you view in the book but there is enough for you to get a general history of most of the pieces. I highly recommend this book!!!!!』
(The Queen's jewels are astounding!) 『"Amazing" is the only word to describe the impressive array of jewels in Her Majesty's collection. Tiaras, bracelets, earrings... all delicately made and intricate in their structure. Whether they are gifts from other heads of state, inheritance, or personal presents from her parents, the Queen's jewels will take your breath away.
Now when you see pictures of the Queen and her female relations - whether on television or in magazines - you'll be able to name the tiara, place the bracelet, identify the earrings, and swoon over the plate-sized gems pinned to dresses. Brilliant!
(Fairly thourough look at an extensive collection) 『A well written guide to QE II's elaborate collection of precious stones. Comes complete with her family tree as a reference, which you may find handy to refer to as the author traces back how most of the pieces came to the Queen through her ancestors. Many pictures, however, there are almost as many of Queen Mary as there are of Queen Elizabeth II! I especially liked the way it was discussed how some older pieces have been taken apart, reset, and reconfigured to make them do duty in the 20th and 21st centuries. A very well researched book that any royal watcher will enjoy. I would love to see the author devote a publication to the jewelry (real and paste) of the late Princess of Wales.』 『A look at Queen Elizabeth II's personal jewelry collection offers a four-hundred-year survey of the monarchy's jewelry, organized by type--from bracelets, to brooches, to necklaces--and discusses their value and history. Original. Lit Guild&Doubleday Alt.』
Kakaku：608 saved$6.08
Devil's Due Publishing
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Golden Age Adventure with a strong female protagonist) 『This Trade Paperback reprints Sheena stories from the Jumbo Comics, using digital reproductions of the actual comic books, and they are very good: the color is vibrant, the linework is well reproduced. Sheena was created before Superman, and though the stories may have outdated attitudes toward African cultures, they have evolved attitudes about women. Sheena is presented as a strong female character, who is courageous, wise, strong, agile, smart, and has a sense of justice. Sheena is beautifully rendered: it is solid "good girl" art, but not exploitative in my view.
Like the old Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan" stories, there are derogatory racial stereotypes, but frankly, the writers of Sheena are not as egregious in this regard as ERB. And after reading so many sickeningly weak female heroes in other golden age and silver age comics, Sheena is a breath of fresh air. What you may lose in racial stereotyping, you gain in the lack of female stereotyping. Sheena is never treated as kidnap bait, tho her "mate" Bob, is often kidnapped and is saved by Sheena.
The stories are good solid adventure most of the time, but they don't achieve much literary quality. The art far outshines the writing. Tho the writing is far more literate in the comic stories than in Steve E. de Souza's Introduction and "Annotations," or the editing by Devil's Due, who published the book.
De Souza's introduction gives us next to no useful information on the stories or the artists and writers that worked on Jumbo Comics, or the Iger Shop that produced those comics. He mostly writes about his adolescent boy purient interest in the comics, and embarrassingly reveals too much about his own pubescent fantasies. His annotations aren't much better. He and the editors make much of Will Eisner's involvement, but Eisner left the Iger shop in 1939, meaning he could have been involved in only one of the stories reprinted. I see de Souza is the current Sheena writer, but since his main goal in reading the original comic was waiting to see if her costume would fall off, I can only imagine how exploitative of women the new comic must be.
The editors chose two stories with similar plots, and placed them right next to each other, even though in the original run of comics there were eleven issues between them. Since that is one of the largest gaps in the reprints, and there were over 150 issues of Jumbo comics, and only 11 stories reprinted, one wonders why they did that? Most of the plots are fairly solid, but one is terrible. I can only imagine that, with all the choices, the story was included because the art was by the great Matt Baker.
The editors claim they tried their best to figure out who worked on all the comics, but had incomplete information. Ironically, they list a number of artists who probably drew the comics, but they leave Ruth Roche's name off the list, who was the main writer at the Iger shop, and it can be assumed - as long as we're assuming - that she wrote at least one of these stories, if not most.
These comics were written before the comics code authority even further lowered the literary quality of comics. The violence is more realistic, the themes more adult. Two versions of one of the stories are included, one a reprint that was edited and republished post-code, which perfectly illustrates why Sheena did not survive long after the code. Once again, the editors seem to revel in their sexism, as Stephen Cristy writes, in his intro to the stories, about the "girl-on-girl" action. I can't figure out what he means by that, unless he's talking about the fight Sheena has with the female antagonist. If Cristy and the Devil's Due comics editors think of a fight between two female characters as "girl-on-girl" action, well, you can see why female comic readership is almost nil these days.
But, the bad editing and text writing can't spoil what is, essentially, a fun batch of comics. If you can ignore the editors sexist crap (de Souza claims that a bikini was added to the art to avoid backlash from Dr. Werther - a ridiculous assertion since even pre-code comics never showed full frontal nudity), you can enjoy one of the few truly strong female characters from the Golden Age of comics, reading exciting adventures in exotic climes. Don't expect high concepts and deep themes, though, these comics are just fun. And as far as the reproductions go, the editors really did a good job.』 『Swing into the Golden Age of comics with this spectacular collection of classic Sheena: Queen of the Jungle! Featuring digitally-remastered, vintage artwork by Will Eisner/Jerry Iger studios and over 10 of the best Sheena stories from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, this collection is a must-have for fans of classic comics!』
Kakaku：848 saved$8.48
University of Illinois Press
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Terrific memoir full of circus history) 『Tiny Kline spent her entire life doing stunts. From youth to middle age, she worked with the circus, her love for which is apparent throughout the pages of her memoir. She continued doing iron jaw stunts, descending inclines at ridiculous speeds suspended only by her teeth, into old age and performed as Tinker Bell at Disneyland when she was in her 70s. By all accounts, Tiny Kline had a fascinating life. She really wrote two memoirs in an attempt to share that life with us. One contained mainly personal anecdotes, related to her work on the circus. The second mainly contained circus history and was stripped of these more intimate details. The editor, Janet M. Davis, combined the two to produce a memoir that is still Tiny's but in a form readers will be more eager to consume.
This book was a very educational experience. Circus history, while an interesting topic, is not something that I've ever learned in school and there don't seem to be many accessible books written on it. There is the fiction bestseller, Water for Elephants, which I read and loved earlier this year, but that's about all I've seen on my book radar. When this popped up on LT Early Reviewers, I knew that I simply must read it. And good choice by me; this is a terrific memoir. The combination of memoirs is brilliantly done and I never noticed a gap between Tiny's two styles of writing. It's fascinating to see how the circus changed over time, the insider's view of circus politics, and just how some performers climbed the career ladder faster than others. Tiny's ambition was tremendous and it's easy to see why she advances so quickly.
The book does read precisely as someone's account of their life. Tiny was not the best writer and it's evident at times that she had little training, but it never hampers this book, just makes the author more real, if that is possible. It reads like a letter written by a friend; conversational, easy tone. There were some nice touches put in by the editor, such as including photographs with Tiny's descriptions of some of her fellow performers, all bringing the circus to life. Tiny admits one lapse in her introduction; she included some fictional romances to make the book more "exciting", even though she never had a romantic interlude after her husband died shortly after their wedding. The fictional parts are obvious and only in one part of the book; I don't count this against it, especially as she admits their existence before the book even begins.
I'd definitely be recommending this book and if you're interested in circus history, you shouldn't miss it. I'm glad that I didn't!』
(The life of Tiny Kline) 『These memoirs, brilliantly edited by Janet M. Davis, Ph.D are a wonderful seldom seen view of circus life, and the important roll that circus played in the 19th and 20th centuries in providing entertainment to the masses. I remember my dad talking about Tiny Kline when she made history in 1932 by crossing Times Square on a strung wire from the Edison Hotel (still there) to the roof of the Palace Theater, suspended by a fine wire with a bite plate attached. Such was her "Iron Jaw" act that she perf
