Helpful votes received on reviews:
91% (86 of 95)
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In My Own Words:
I am a Social Studies teacher in a Georgia high school. History has always been my favorite subject, and I'll read just about anything historically related. My special love is English history, with Russian history a close second. Another great passion is J.R.R. Tolkien. I can quote long sections of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from memory! I am a member of Mensa, love to travel, and bes… Read moreI am a Social Studies teacher in a Georgia high school. History has always been my favorite subject, and I'll read just about anything historically related. My special love is English history, with Russian history a close second. Another great passion is J.R.R. Tolkien. I can quote long sections of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from memory! I am a member of Mensa, love to travel, and besides history I also like to read mysteries, especially Ruth Rendell and Dorothy L. Sayers. Children's literature is another interest, especially the Grahame-Nesbit-Carroll-Barrie golden age period. I am a monarchist at heart and I love the Windsors, the Glucksburgs, the Romanovs, and all their kith and kin. I know this is contradictory, but its the truth: politically speaking I am an ardent Democrat unendingly thankful that the Dark Age of Bush-Cheney has passed at last. The Ring has been destroyed and Barad-dur has been cast down!
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Reviews
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Childhood at Court is an entertaining look at the lives of royal children at the British Court from 1819 to 1914, roughly the lifespan of Queen Victoria and her son Edward VII. There have been innumerable biographies of Queen Victoria and her children, but none that have focussed only on their childhoods. This book therefore fills a gap, and does so with an interesting, fresh style which makes use of plenty of anecdotes, some well known, others more obscure. I was interested to come across some of these stories, because I have read many histories and biographies of the period, and many of Van der Kiste's anecdotes were brand new. Both Queen Victoria and her son Edward VII had childhoods… Read more
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
This is a dual biography, of Genghis Khan the man and of the empire he created. Born Temujin in an obscure branch of an obscure group of nomads in Central Asia, Genghis Khan first gained supreme power over the Mongols, whom he unified and turned into a superb fighting machine, then proceeded to conquer much of Eurasia. Weatherford occasionally has to refute some romantic legends that have grown up around Genghis Khan and his family, but the truth is dynamic enough. Of especial interest is Weatherford's coverage of the after effects of Genghis Khan's empire. The Mongol Empire lasted for only about a century, but its influence lingers on. Cross regional trade tied Europe, Asia, and the… Read more
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Deborah Cadbury has reopened an old mystery: what happened to King Louis XVII, the child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who was born to luxury in Versailles Palace, then became a victim of the French Revolution, moving from palace to prison and losing his parents, sister, aunt, and finally his own life. The book begins with a summary of the main events of the Revolution as they affected young Louis-Charles, the Dauphin, who was only four when the Bastille was stormed. Over the next four years Louis-Charles lost his possessions and his family. He was kept in prison, brutalized by the guards and deprived of the companionship of his older sister. He remembered his mother and… Read more
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