No comments about Elizabeth I: War and Politics, 1588-1603.

No comments about Clans and Tartans Map of Scotland (Collins Pictorial Maps).

5 comments about The Romanovs: Love, Power & Tragedy.

1. This book is too good for words!!!! The pictures are wonderful and the text is just as good. I suggest this book to anyone. It is worth it!!!



2. If you are the type of Romanov buff that really enjoys seeing a good deal of photos of the family as you read, then this is the book you need to get. This book is awsome, the pages are filled with photographs of the family. Some of the pictures take up the entire page. The photographs range from Nicholas's family, to Alexandra's family, and then to the family they made together as the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. Some of the photographs are really rare, that have not been seen in other books. You will really appreciate that when you look through this truly well accomplished book.
   When you have had your fun looking at all the great photographs thats when you should start to sit down and read the book. The text is so rich and well written. The author goes into great detail in describing the life of this wonderful family. Each major event of their life is carefully laid out into a well researched story. It's an easy read that is not at all boring or misleading. The book is not entirely political, which is a big plus to me. If you just want to educate yourself more on this extrodinary family, don't get a book that is completely focused on Russian politics of the period. This book is the one to buy and trust me it is well worth the money.



3. This book is THE best pictorial/essay on the last Romanovs. I am a Russian history buff and probably have most, if not all, books on the Romanov family (up to this last Tsar-Nicholas II) and this book is by far the most interesting and fascinating with many photos that have never been published before. This book remains close at hand since I find that I go back to it to either re-read, or use as a reference as I am reading another book. It definately belongs in your library if you find that this time in history is of interest to you.



4. This wonderful book contains beautiful pictures of the last Romanovs. I own about 50 books related to Tsar Nicholas II, and this one is my favorite!



5. "The Romanovs: Love, Power & Tragedy" is perhaps the best book on the last Imperial Family of Russia. Its aim is to not only tell the story through written text, but also through large, beautiful photographs - some which have never been published elsewhere, and most specially, through the very words of the Imperial Family themselves. It begins with the Tsar's and Tsarina's childhood, to their courtship and marriage, coronation, their family life, the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule, the Great War, and to the Tsar's abdication, his family's imprisonment and later their execution. It is not an ordinary book, but is so lovely and charming and will surely be treasured and cherished.

2 comments about The Golden Age of Burgundy: The Magnificent Dukes and their Courts.

1. Despite being fifty years old, Calmette's short study of the four great Dukes of Burgundy remains the best overall introduction in English to this rich and fascinating subject. His approach is largely narrative and political/dynastic in focus, but cultural and other matters are not ignored.

   Calmette's patriotic French stance on the perfidy of the Burgundian alliance with England seems somewhat surprising until one remembers he was writing very shortly after the War.

   One subject that does show the book's age is 15th century music. Our appreciation of Early Music has grown so much since Calmette's day that we now account the music of Binchois, Dufay, Busnois, Ockeghem and so on as among the greatest ever written and one of the glories of the Burgundian court. In Calmette's book, this topic rates but a solitary footnote.
   
   On final and small point, the back cover translates Charles le Téméraire as 'Charles the Rash', while the text calls him 'Charles the Bold'. Calmette unflinchingly documents the last Duke's repeated blunders which destroyed the superb creation assembled by his three predecessors. Charles the Rash is by far the better description. Let us all vow to use that name in everyday speech until the unmerited title of Charles the Bold fades from our language.




2. The duchy of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries was remarkable - and very fortunate - in having a dynasty of four Valois dukes, one after another, who were superior to most of their peers in intelligence, charisma, political perspicacity, and sheer magnificence. Philip "the Bold" was shrewd and a patron of the arts, John "the Fearless" was almost too ambitious for his own good, Philip "the Good" almost took the throne of France, and Charles "the Rash" went toe-to-toe with Louis XI, the first modern ruler in terms of cold-blooded nationalism. Calmette was a leading authority on this period and he spends some time specifically on the evolution of Burgundy from a weak kingdom to a more powerful duchy and on the problems of dynastic succession. This is arguably the best general study of ducal Burgundy available in English. Be aware, though, that several egregious errors were made in drawing the genealogical charts.

No comments about The Lurie Legacy: The House of Davidic Royal Descent.

5 comments about Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers (None).

1. This book is a compendium of information about parish registersin England -- a vital resource if you are doing genealogical researchin the UK.



2. Contrary to the availablity information provided here, this book is not out of print.

   It is an absolute MUST HAVE if you're doing UK genealogical research! It provides maps to the parish boundaries for each of the counties of England,Wales and now Scotland. Each county map showing parish boundaries for England and Wales is placed next to a historical map for that same county. This provides an excellent opportunity to locate parishes in a historical context.

   The real gem of this book is the information on the location of parish records. For each parish, the extant dates of the records available for that parish are given as well as the location of where those records may be consulted.

   An outstanding reference work for UK genealogy.




3. This book is well worth the price. I started using an older version at a local library, but really needed something for home use. So I ordered the 2003 version and am completely delighted. The newer version added an overall map of the UK at the beginning and has added Scotland. Each map is "pre-1832 parishes and a topographical map from James Bell's A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1834". And for someone doing a lot of work in Yorkshire, they have it divided into the 3 regions, East Riding, West Riding and North Riding. The only thing I would like the next version to include is an index of every little town and village and what parish it is in. Probably would double the price and thickness of the book, but what a treasure that would be.



4. I have found this an amazing tool for tracing my ancestors. I found the County Parish maps pre-1832 a great help. This is a definate must for Genealogy buffs.



5. This is a great book with a detailed look at all the parishes of London. Each county in England is carefully detailed with the years of available church records and maps of exquisite detail. Service in getting the product was very good taking less than two weeks. All in all, an excellent book for the cost.

No comments about At the Bright Hem of God: Radnorshire Pastoral.

No comments about The Murder of Mr. Grebell: Madness and Civility in an English Town.

5 comments about The Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature.

1. This is the definitive book on Scottish achievement. An exhaustive research, but entertainingly written. A must! And a bargain for any one of Scottish blood.



2. Modesty must be an ethnic trait. For centuries no one trumpeted the extraordinary characteristics and achievements of this island race. There were few parades, few national days, few public reflections on our own remarkable "crowd". Now it is done. Bravo Mr. Bruce!



3. I am always leary when I hear about Americans who try to write books about Scotland. Mr Bruce's book is incomplete, inconclusive, innaccurate in many places and, at best, opionated and not entirely factual waffle. Indeed some of the people included in this book have so tenuous a link to Scotland that they patently should not be included as Scots, while at the same time there are some enormous ommissions in both people and events.

   Let me give you some examples from only one page.

   For example, Lawrence Olivier, the great actor, is included in this book of Great Scots simply because as a child he wore a kilt on Sundays. (page 247.) At the same time, Sean Connory, only gets a perfunctory mention in passing in relation to other people.

   Bea Lille ("known as the funniest woman in the world 1894-1989" p247)was born in Canada and had Irish ancestry. However, she gets in the book because a Scotsman managed to get a part in a play about her life. Oh, and by whose criterion was she the funniest woman of the 20th Century?

   And by far, the greatest stupidity of all in this book is it's sporting discussions - stupid because Mr Bruce's misunderstanding about the role sporting life plays in the Scottish culture merely underlines the weaknesses in his book.
   For example, on the one hand American football has a passage only to say that there has been "no evidence that Scottish Americans have made any significant development" whilst soccer, which was invented in Scotland and has been played between villages originally hundreds of years ago gets only the most fundamental treatment. From soccer also came rugby in England and a host of other sports which have made an impact worldwide. Why is this never mentioned?

   His ignorance about Scottish 'soccer' is displayed in his treatment of the historically significant Celtic and Rangers support, which he tries to gloss over merely by a writing a joke. His opinions on other matters cannot be regarded as being as factual and universally agreed as he tries to present them, eg as to the greatest Scots players, and his basis for evaluation of said players are even more ridiculous. For example, Kenny Dalglish gets quoted for winning some domestic competitions but not for his European triumphs, which are far more significant. (ask an American sports fan - the local divisional title or the World Series, and you get my point!!) Please note, my issue is not with his opinions on who were great Scottish stalwarts, but rather on the way in which they were chosen and the way Mr Bruce presents it as though all Scots share the same opinion.

   I could go on at length by his other 'opinions' regarding so many of his choices. As great as he was, Bobby Orr is not the automatic choice of the greatest hockey player ever. Wayne Gretzky is regarded by many as the holder of that title.

   In my opinion, Mr Bruce, an American who doesnt understand the Scottish culture let alone the influence it has on the rest of the world, who has 'padded his book out with people who have the most tenuous links to Scotland, would be better placed moving to Scotland and living there while he does some research!!!!

   What is interesting is how Mr Bruce has tried to back up his book with the proclamations that he is Scottish simply because he has arms from the Lyons Court in Scotland. The Lyons Court is actually nothing more than a small hotel owner in the north of Scotland who calls himself Lord Lyon and for the princely sum of $1.75 million you can buy the 'title' of Barony of Macdonald and apply to the Lyons Court for a personal coat of arms, not too dissimilar to the arms Mr Bruce has.

   If you want a book that accurately reflects the mark of the Scots, try " How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It" by Arthur Herman.

   A MESSAGE FOR MR BRUCE

   When you write about Scotland the next time remember two things.
   1) If it has nothing to do with Scotland then leave it out. We dont need a book on historical influence that focuses on the things that Scottish culture hasnt touched (re examples above on American Football and Lawrence Olivier)
   2) If it has to with Scotland, BE FACTUAL, and if you really must be so opinionated, try and back it up with sound reasoning, or you could actually try talking to some Scots who might give you a flavor about what the Scottish people really think!!




4. This is all we need - yet another book telling us how great we Scots are. Recently, we've had Hermann's "How the Scots Invented the Modern World," Buchan's "Capital of the Mind: How Edinburgh Changed the World," and Lamont's "When Scotland Ruled the World: The Story of the Golden Age of Genius, Creativity and Exploration." Enough already!!!
   
   This pathological need to hear our praises continually sung and to have the sound of our backs being patted forever ringing in our ears is pathetic. Bruce's new book takes this national self-obsession mania to new heights by taking a leaf out of the Scottish Rugby Association's book and granting Scottishness to anyone even remotely related, cobber. Thus we are told to our eternal and insufferable conceit that a fat American pill popper and donut chomper who had a few hits with cover versions was ... gasp! ... Scottish, because his name was Presley. "Awl-right!!!" as Neil Kinnock (another great ersatz Scot) once proclaimed. Oh, and while you're going on about Neil Armstrong of the famous Borders name, what about Louis Armstrong? Or Diana Ross for that matter!?
   
   Instead of burying their noses in a badly compressed pile of laurels, Scots should sit up and look around at their garbage infested streets, grafitti disfigured walls; the constant vandalism, drunkeness, and violence that make their living environment intolerable; and the cozy political cronyism, high taxes, and public service inefficiency that make all these pats on the back sound so damnably hollow.
   
   Scots might have once made a mark in the world, but now Scotland's just a land of obese, junkie, drunken neds, who cannae e'en kick a ba', and their dysfunctional parents and siblings. Pride doesn't even enter into it anymore.



5. Aptly sub-titled "[the Scots] astonishing contributions to History, Science Democracy, Literature and the Arts," in little more than 350 pages, Mr. Bruce presents a well documented, enlightening and enjoyable compendium of Scottish achievement in a fast-paced, rat-a-tat fashion. This is a user-friendly guide to the formidable multi-faceted impact Scottish thought, emotion and effort had on the culture, sciences, and arts in the world. I was surprised at how often I found myself saying "I didn't know that!" during my reading this book.
   
   It's impossible not to be moved by the breadth of Scottish contributions and the many lessons one can learn from them. Regardless of whether you read this book for pleasure or as a starting point for research --its copious footnotes and citations are an excellent starting point-- in the end, you'll find Duncan Bruce's "Mark of the Scots" a worthwhile read. And since the chapters are fairly independent of one another you can read them in any order you like.
   
   The phrase "If it ain't Scottish, it's crap!" has become a cartoon catchphrase. But after reading "The Mark of the Scots", the breadth of Scottish accomplishment will be more than a mocking pop culture reference.

1 comments about Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800.

1. The book give many ideas of where to look for irish anscetery. It gives only a few names and locations but is still informative and gives you web sites and areas to search that I would not have thought of.
   
   Most sites are paid sites, however, but it is directions for which you can continue your family search it you wish.
   
   In all, the book is worth the value of purchase.