“The History and Conquests of Ancient Rome”, by Nigel Rodgers

256 pages, Hermes House, ISBN-13: 978-0681103849

The story of Rome is still one of the great tales of human history. This superbly illustrated book offers a fascinating insight into the rise of Rome, which was for six centuries the world's greatest superpower. The people, places and events of this military and political empire comes to life 1500 years after its final decline and fall. The first section of the book shows how Rome grew from a small Iron Age settlement on the hills above the Tiber to the supreme ruler of the known world, a story that fascinated contemporaries as much as it has later generations. Find out about the lives of great Romans from the generals, the emperors and the powerful women behind the throne, to the enemies of Rome and the great military and social historians who recorded scandals and stories of ancient Rome. The second section of the book focuses on the Roman army - how its men were trained and organized, and the legionary infrastructure that permitted the power of Rome to develop. Detailed accounts of all the major wars from Augustus and Trajan to Hadrian and Constantine are interspersed with battle plans and maps showing how Rome extended and maintained her power. Over 470 magnificent photographs, specially commissioned illustrations, family trees, maps, battle plans and time charts build up a colorful panoramic picture of the political strength of Ancient Rome and its ruthless military conquest of the ancient known world.

“The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded”, by Ronald Kessler

432 pages, Grand Central Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0446603843

Ronald Kessler's The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded is a page turner of the first order, not merely for the colorful and bombastic life of Joseph P. Kennedy but, a gut check for those fraught with extreme ambition and a thirst for power. Joseph Kennedy answered the age old question, “How far would you go to achieve ultimate power?” His life's response was, “To the ends of the earth.” That he did and more.

I've often heard stories about the elder Kennedy from people who were around his age and remember him before his bio was spun and the truth of the man hidden. I can see why. He is without a doubt, one of the most despicable, contemptible human beings I've ever read about. The only things sacred to him were power and money. He betrayed his marriage, friendships, lovers, business partners, and never felt an iota of remorse. People who trusted or loved him were quite often and unknowingly stabbed in the back. He used people to climb the ladder and didn't care if they were crushed in the process. When reading bios, I often agree or disagree, like or dislike certain aspects of that persons character. With Mr. Kennedy, I found him to have no redeeming qualities. This book is well worth the time and I commend Mr. Kessler on an in depth job well done.

The Sins of the Father is the potential for greatness and vile we all have within us. The ending words speak volumes to our best and worst: “He did not care about his reputation. What he cared most about was having power. Through the political dynasty that he founded, Joseph P. Kennedy achieved that for generations to come. If he hurt and corrupted others in the process, it was because no one had the courage to challenge him. For that, they only have themselves to blame” (p. 428).

"The Victorians", by A.N. Wilson

752 pages, Arrow Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0099451860

 

Despite his not being a trained historian or academic, Wilson has pulled off an impressive compendium of Victorian history stretching from the 1830s to the 1900s. The book is organised in chronological sections, which greatly facilitates the reader's understanding of the ins and outs of that exceptional era by examining events separately and then weaving them together. Wilson not only deals with political aspects of the age: the Crimean War (1853-56), the struggle to repeal the Corn Laws and the aggressive liberalism of Lord Palmerston, but also tackles literature, painting (the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which he depicts with painstaking accuracy), the birth of new ideas (whether it be Marxism or John Stuart Mill's rejection of intuitionism, or Kingsley's Christian socialism or theories of evolution), religion, etc. Aspects of Queen Victoria's personal rule and life are also given due consideration, although Wilson's account sketches over many elements: the bedchamber crisis, the Kensington system, and so forth.

The style is refreshing, flamboyant and high-colored. This is history in a grand fashion, history as it is seldom produced in this sad age of the sophisters and calculators, to borrow Edmund Burke's words. Wilson frequently takes sides, his erstwhile rejection of Christianity shines through the whole work, also he sometimes toys with religion in an ambivalent way. Since then, he seems to have converted to Christianity for the second time and would probably like to amend some of the views he presents in this book. His acerbic, ironic way of writing is vaguely reminiscent of Charles Dickens' exertions, especially with regards to his ruthless coverage of the police and various Victorian institutions (e.g. the Metropolitan Police Force created to contain the tide of Chartism). Wilson also questions the way tremendous events such as the Great Indian Mutiny (1857-9) have been dealt with in historiography (the apotheosis of the participants in the Lucknow siege, the fierce repression of the uprisings, the very fact historians branded it a "mutiny", etc.). You may sometimes disagree with some of his statements or think he is being a bit unfair, but this a piece which has a soul and a mind of its own. It does not stick to conventional neutrality (it is abundantly clear Wilson profoundly dislikes Disraeli and Palmerston, on the other hand, his admiration for Peel admits of no boundaries).

If you are looking for a bit more than just a history of Victorian politics and diplomacy, then you will probably find this book fits your needs. It stretches across many fields, and is therefore especially relevant to the student of Victorian history (as a compendium to brush up and an accurate summary, although it is a bit weak on the footnote side), as well as to the layman who takes an interest in the topic. It is written as a novel would be, which makes it highly readable and enjoyable.

“La Grande Armee”, by Georges Blond, Translated by Marshall May

544 pages, Arms & Armour Press, ISBN-13: 978-1854092526

In La Grande Armee, Georges Blond takes the reader with Napoleon and his men as they march from Boulogne to Waterloo with a completeness that one would expect from an autobiography. The book describes the day-to-day life and death in the army of the Empereur des Français with all the detail of a conversation with a grizzled veteran at a Parisian café. Mr. Blond provides character sketches of some of the leading historical figures of the time that illustrate motive, desire and fault. His descriptions of the Peninsular War and the retreat from Moscow vividly illustrate the suffering and horrors of war in the Napoleonic era.

The author’s in-depth treatment of the medical services is most enlightening, describing the frightful lot of the wounded in gory detail. The reader cannot avoid having an increased respect for the physicians Rene Desgenettes and Jean Larrey. Touching on the political, personal and military histories of the period, the book provides the reader with a unique vantage point from which they may view battles like Austerlitz and Waterloo in a new light. The descriptions of the campaigns and battles avoid tactical details while providing sweeping descriptions that answer many of the how’s and why’s of the conflicts events.

With the chronology, maps and statistics included in the appendixes, this book will become a valued addition to the library of any student of the Napoleonic era. Blonde has written a superb tour de force in a style which makes one think you are reading a novel and transports you to the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. One learns a plenty of the lot of the common soldier and meets characters such as Murat, Ney and other lesser-knowns. All-in-all a brilliant history without the boring prose of some better known history books!