5 comments about Diana: Portrait of a Princess.

1. This book is one of my favorite picture books of Diana. The pictures are just gorgeous, like the lady herself. For anyone who is a Diana fan, this book is for you...It really is beautiful.



2. About 95% of DIANA: PORTRAIT OF A PRINCESS is photos, with only minimal narrative. And almost all of the photos were taken by Fincher, who was a royal photographer. The pictures are fantastic -- a couple just take my breath away. How could this exquisite person be gone? (see page 95) Surely, Diana was one of the most photogenic persons who ever lived. Here in the photos we watch her grow up, make fashion choices (not all good!) to find her own image, and create her own life just in time to lose it. Sometimes she looked a bit like a tired, frumpy housewife. In other pictures she's just perfection. The heavy, oversize book is divided into three parts: For Love, For Loyalty, For Liberty. The printing quality of the photos is EXCELLENT. This was a beautiful gift from my beloved niece, who knows me well. I must say, it makes an excellent gift. This book is one to keep and treasure.



3. This was a breathtakingly beautiful tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, but I wish there had been more text to go along with the incredible pictures. If you are a serious collector of Diana memorabilia or just a casual fan, this is one book you should own.



4. TONS and TONS of pictures -lots that aren't common- and interesting but brief stories explaining what she was doing in each photo, like where she was and general background on the situation. Photos by Jayne Fincher, who followed Diana all over the globe ever since she first appeared in on the royal stage in 1980. I love the layout of the photos and captions. Includes photos from her funeral. I own dozens of books on Princess Diana, from between 1981 and 2006, and this is by far my absolute favorite! It's a terrific, beautiful pictorial of her entire life, with just enough text to add some interesting stories as you flip through the thousands of photos.



5. It's very hard to believe that next year will be a whole decade since the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales. What's a shame is the fact that today's teenagers and those in their early-20's probably don't remember her and I'm sure the "Windsors" are in their glory over that.
   
   But Jayne Fincher, royal photographer, has put together a coffee table book that is loaded with rarely published images of the one and only Princess of Wales and it should be a required addition to anyone's royal library.
   
   Ms. Fincher's photographs really brought out Diana's natural charm and inner beauty and that's what makes this volume so special and the scope of the loss even deeper. (It's been hilarious seeing the paparazzi trying to find her replacement ever since 1997 with "winners" such as Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, and Angelina Jolie.)
   
   In any case, this is a beautiful photography book and a tasteful tribute to Diana. - Donna Di Giacomo

5 comments about German-English Genealogical Dictionary.

1. I do a lot of research in German records and I have found this book to be an invaluable aid. I refer to it again and again. German, Latin and other terms found in German records (especially church books) are translated into English. The book even has bit of information about the hard to read German script. It also covers numbers, months, common names and those weird symbols you sometimes find in German records. Highly recommended.



2. I am doing translation work for a family website. Although I am a native German, I bought this book in the hope that it would provide oldfashioned, genealogical and historical terms and titles with which I am not familiar and which are not contained in modern dictionaries. From the description on your website I even mentioned it to some of my fellow translators, offering to test it before recommending it.
   However, I cannot recommend it. I found very few of the terms I was looking for, and I discovered some blatant mistakes. Mr. Thode should have had a German person proofread his work in order to avoid things like confusing diarrhea with compulsion (sic!), dishonest with illegitimate, cupboard with liquor service. These are only three of the mistakes which I found in one hour, and there are probably dozens more. Instead of giving us more legitimate terms, Mr. Thode wastes valuable space on common Christian names which everybody knows.
   I am very disappointed.
   Sincerely,
   Inge Alde
   isa38@yahoo.com



3. Expertly compiled by Ernest Thode and originally published in 1992, this new edition of German-English Genealogical Dictionary is comprised of thousands of German terms defined as single words, symbols, and succinct phrases specifically selected on their relevance to genealogical research. These are words and terms found in German church records, civil registration records, family correspondence, genealogical journals, ships' passenger lists, as well as emigration records. Utilizing German-English Genealogical Dictionary, a simply outstanding and highly recommended translation resource, aspiring American genealogists will be able to decipher and interpret any German document in the course of the genealogical inquiries.



4. This book is a must have for anyone researching their German roots using old German Church records. For me, I find myself reaching for this book more than any other. Easy and comfortable to use. I highly recommend this one!



5. This dictionary contains many useful definitions for current occupations but is somewhat weak in occupations found in prior centuries. The listing of abbreviations is probably worth the cost of the book as these are especially difficult to find.

5 comments about Nicholas And Alexandra.

1. In 2000, there was much talk about the "most important person of the 20th Century." My choice was always Gavrilo Princip, the young Bosnian assassin who killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, igniting World War I, which caused the Russian Revolution, Communism, and the Treaty of Versailles, which led to Naziism, World War II, atomic bombs, and the Cold War.
   
   Of course, there were other factors which formed the tragedy of the twentieth century, and perhaps some of these historical events would have happened anyway. Almost for certain, the Romanov Monarchy would have fallen or been transformed out of recognition without the help of Gavrilo Princip's bullets.
   
   Although the Ottoman Empire was always referred to as "the sick man of Europe," Robert K. Massie illustrates that Russia was not very well either, despite appearances. An obsolescent autocracy, the Russian Empire was mired in time at the dawn of the twentieth century, the great mass of its people existing much as they had 100 years earlier.
   
   Massie's theory, that the hemophilia of Alexis, the young Tsarevich, had an inordinate influence of Russian and subsequent world history, is well thought-out, though perhaps an oversimplification. Yet, it cannot be discounted. The Romanov Dynasty had ruled Russia then for 300 years, and brought the country, by fits and starts, slowly into the orbit of the modern world. Despite this, there is much truth in the observation that "Lenin inherited a nation playing beside a manure pile and Stalin bequeathed a nation playing with an atomic pile." This is not to defend Stalinism, but only to say how little the Romanovs did overall to modernize their State.
   
   When Nicholas II inherited the throne after his father's untimely death, he was woefully unprepared to rule. Dominated for years by archconservative and anti-modernist members of his family, he did little to educate his people, provide health care, build infrastructure, or lift the heavy cloak of official repression that lay over all but ethnic Russians in his realm, or the cloak of cultural repression that lay over the ethnic Russians.
   
   Yet Massie shows us a man and a family of uncommonly kind nature in Nicholas II and his family. His daughter Olga paid personally for the care of a handicapped subject she spied from her carriage one day. The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, despite a reputation as an uncaring woman, herself nursed sick friends before the war and horribly wounded soldiers during the war. The family built hospitals and schools in and around the various cities wherein lay the royal estates. They acted to ameliorate suffering wherever they saw it, without reservation.
   
   Of course, this was the problem. They acted only on what they saw with their own eyes, never recognizing that these sufferings were endemic throughout the realm. Their myopia was part and parcel of the lives of the citified upper classes, completely divorced from the mass of agrarian peasants in the countryside, magnified by the hermetically sealed nature of being an Imperial Family, aided and abetted by sycophants and the self-serving, who kept the real world at a very long arm's length, in order to maintain their own privileged positions. Living in a bubble within a bubble, they were just not aware of conditions in most of Russia.
   
   Nicholas II ruled over the largest domain on earth. Russia today is still the world's largest nation, even shorn of Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, the Ukraine, the Central Asian provinces, and (in 1867) Alaska. Sunset in Vladivostok was dawn in Brest-Litovsk. His hundred million subjects included hundreds of peoples speaking hundreds of languages, linked together by a shockingly small road and rail system. The sensitive Nicholas, had he been really cognizant of the shape of things, could have, by a single order, vastly improved the lives of each and every Russian (of course, as he noted, being an autocrat and giving orders does not ensure that they are carried out properly). His greatest failings, as a ruler, all had to do with his decisions to outwardly maintain his Imperial hautre and his autocracy at all costs in the face of cataclysmic change.
   
   This bubble-within-a-bubble existence however, could not spare them from the fact of the Tsarevich's hemophilia. A genetic disorder inherited through the female line (Alexis' Great-Grandmother was Queen Victoria, whose progeny were ravaged by the disease), it prevents the clotting of the blood. When Alexis was born in 1904, the world was a full lifespan away from the development of a usable clotting factor; most hemophiliacs simply bled out and died. The Tsarevich was protected by a full retinue, but this did not help him, and the boy was often in screaming agony and close to death from what might in another child, be a bad bruise. The Heir, therefore lived in a bubble within a bubble within a bubble.
   
   The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, was a solemn, shy, but deeply emotional and loving woman, nicknamed "Sunny" by her husband. To the world, she presented an aloof exterior, and was extremely unpopular with her subjects. Had they known the sorrows and agonies she suffered through with Alexis, her realm, and history, might have treated her far better. But the Imperial Family decided to keep Alexis' condition a closely guarded secret, fearing the destabilization of the Monarchy and Russia in the face of a physically frail Heir. This may have been the Imperial Family's worst error, as it robbed them of an outpouring of sympathy and support from a passionate populace.
   
   Alexandra turned to religion, and ultimately, to Gregory Rasputin, a filthy, degenerate, sexually perverse and personally dissolute monk of peasant extraction. Although derided by most, and called a charlatan by many, Rasputin was perhaps one of the most charismatic men in history, had a devoted following (largely comprised of Society women he'd seduced), did have the power, somehow, to control Alexis' bleeding episodes, and therefore, had the Empress's full and unwavering support in all things.
   
   The feared and hated Rasputin may have indeed been a seer or had mystical powers of some sort, judging from circumstances. Rasputin was not really political, but as his influence over the Romanovs grew, his power expanded commensurately, and he was able to have Ministers dismissed, Generals reassigned to sinecures, and policies changed according to his own whims (expressed as messages from God) or concerns. Capable Russian leaders, who did not know the basis of Rasputin's power, suspected the worst of Alexandra, and in challenging Rasputin found themselves toppled from power. As World War I dawned, Russia was upside-down, its best men in internal exile, and woefully unprepared for war. Rasputin himself counseled against war, stating that Russia would collapse from within. Nonetheless, the British, German and Russian grandsons of Queen Victoria went to war.In that war, millions died, empires fell, nations were born, ideological political systems triumphed, and the stage was set for a darker and yet bloodier future.
   
   The Tsar and his genteel family were consumed, ending their days against a wall before a Bolshevik firing squad, probably not understanding, until the end, that they had been in the eye of a hurricane that remade the world.



2. I first read Nicholas and Alexandra many years ago as a 14 year old. It was a transformative experience for me, awakening what has been a lifelong passionate interest in royal biography and Russian history. Now that I'm in my early fifties, I recently reread Nicholas and Alexandra for the first time in about twenty years, and it continues to have the same magic.
   
   Robert K. Massie became interested in the last Tsar of Russia because he, like Nicholas, was the father of a hemophiliac boy. Massie spent long hours reading about hemophilia and famous hemophiliacs, and he was fascinated by the way Russian and world twentieth century history turned on a chance genetic defect. Had Tsarevich Alexis not had hemophilia, it is probable that Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra would not have come under the malign influence of Gregory Rasputin, the Siberian faith healer who had a catastrophic effect on the Russian government before and during World War I; leading to the Russian Revolution, the rise of Communism, and the deaths of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children. Its an interesting thesis that still holds up well, though Massie's focus on the inner tragedy of the Tsar's family tends to make him discount the many other problems from which pre-revolutionary Russia suffered. Massie also has a natural tendency to whitewash Nicholas and Alexandra (parents of hemophiliacs have a special bond with those who share their trauma, after all), by barely mentioning such negative traits as the Tsar's anti-Semitism and the Empress' many neuroses.
   
   The book remains an extraordinary work of art. Massie's descriptions of the Russian landscape and his finely drawn character sketches are wonderfully rich and detailed. He is able to explain the political and social complexities of the era colorfully and wittily, even when dealing with such abstractions as the differences between Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries, and Bolsheviks. Most of all, Massie is able to make us weep for the Romanovs: a man who was a bad Tsar but a good husband and father, a woman who destroyed her family while trying to keep her son alive, and five innocent young people who never had a chance to lead happy, productive lives. Every time I read Nicholas and Alexandra I tremble again at the thought of their last awful moments, but I am enriched still more by the chance to read such a magnificent work of art and scholarship.



3. This is an all-encompassing authoritative biography of the last ruling Romanovs, and Massie has compiled a thorough and well-researched insight into the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra. Even forty years after its original publication and long after the fall of the Soviet Union, it is a relevant part of Russian history. Massie is very sympathetic in his presentation of the royal family and addresses pertinent questions about the fall of the monarchy. If Alexis, the heir to the throne, had not had hemophilia, would the influence of Rasputin not have been necessary? And if Rasputin were never in the picture, would the monarchy have suffered such a tarnished reputation?
   
   The book painted a very vivid picture of the Royal Family based on hundreds of sources and letters. Nicholas is an incapable Tsar but a warm-hearted, devoted husband and father. Alexandra seems frantic and ill at ease (and often just ill) in her constant concern over the life of her son. And I love that I felt I got to know each of the children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and Alexis more individually and personally. This made their demise all the more heartbreaking. This book also gave me a greater understanding of the political climate of the time in Russia and a better comprehension of the revolution and the roles of Lenin, Trotsky, and other important players (although I occasionally found some difficulty keeping the various Russian names straight). Overall, this is a captivating book and the saga is all the more intriguing because it's history. I will definitely be interested to read some of the more recent material that Massie presents in The Romanovs: The Last Chapter.



4. Although this is not an historical novel, it almost reads like one. It is an in-depth (character analysis?) of the Romanovs, taking the reader step by step to the events that led to the downfall of the Romanovs. As you're reading, you can almost hear yourself say to the Romanovs, "Don't do that! It will lead to your destruction!" But of course you can't and the rest is history. A well written book, logically flowing to tell you the who's, what's and why's of the Romanovs. Anyone who is a Russian hisotry fan will love this book.



5. Here we have an aggregation of factual stories which effectively summarizes multiple historical events, chiefly of late-period Tsarist Russia, delivered by Robert K. Massie in the artful style of a great novelist.
   
   The principal theme is that of the marriage and family life of Tsar Nicholas [Romanov] II and his wife, the German Princess Alexandra, their privileged fairy tale existence with their five children, and their tragic and sudden fall, (and subsequent murders perpetrated by the Bolsheviks.)
   
   A parallel story craftily unfolds regarding Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk," and how, though a comedy of tragic errors, Rasputin's remarkable and almost mystical influence over the Tsarina Alexandra and her weak husband gave rise to Lenin's successful conversion of the Russian government to that of Bolshevism (Communism.)
   
   A third tale is more medical and genetic than it is historic, that of hemophilia. The Tsarevich (Nicholas II's heir and only son, Alexis) was a hemophiliac, a disease which the child inherited through his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria of England. It was Rasputin who seemed to keep this child alive during times of medical crisis and thus cemented the Tsarina's unswayable belief in his apparently godly powers of healing. Unfortunately for the Tsar, she also fell under Rasputin's phenomenal influence in other realms of opinion, mainly that of how Russia could best be governed during a raging European war.
   
   All these chronicles are woven into one excellent timeline and account of the Russian Monarchy's decline, culminating in tragedy for nearly all involved.
   
   If there is a void in this tale, it's perhaps lacking a Dostoyevsky-ish paradigm on the plight of the Russian people during this turbulent period, a facet which was equally key to the events which transpired. While this actuality is mentioned as a matter of fact, I didn't feel that this important aspect of the legacy was driven home to the reader. Still, supplementary reading of the fiction of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Lyeskov, and other notable Russian masters of period literature can fill in the gaps which Massie apparently felt unable to cover. Granted, such explorations may well have turned this fine history book into a burdensome tome since there is so much to say on the topic of Russian peasant misery.
   
   A superb (if little known) non-fiction work which conveys the plight of the Russian people prior to and during this bleak era was written by Prince Peter Kropotkin in biographical form: Memoirs of a Revolutionist (Collected Works of Peter Kropotkin).
   
   The author, Robert K. Massie, adopts the "linear" view of the sudden fall of the Romanov dynasty. To garner the entirety of what actually transpired during the Russian Revolution(s) [1905 and 1917] in detail, it would perhaps be better to read a text on that specific facet of history: A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924. Figes is a renowned and widely-published authority on Russian history.
   
   The bigger picture of Massie's written legacy is that of the general madness which ultimately consumed most Monarchies from within -- the inevitable end seems nearly always to culminate with the extravagance and opulence on the parts of the royals and the nobility, and their appurtenant obliviousness and hubristic attitude toward the inevitable extreme poverty of the masses. In other words, the royals begin dwelling on their personal belief that they are indeed demi-gods. Throughout the text here, that historically factual concept is plainly conveyed to the reader.
   
   This book was written in 1967 and for that reason, Massie got decoyed by Nicholas Sokolov's somewhat flawed investigation [1919] of the mass murder of the Romanovs. Sokolov's difficult inquiry was generally a good one; however, we now know that his conclusions concerning the final disposition of the corpses of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children was incorrect. They were not tossed down a mine shaft... they were buried in fairly shallow graves.
   
   Due chiefly to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent fall of the Soviet dictatorship, modern investigation teams have now been able to actually recover the remains of most of the Romanovs from their long-secret graves. The primary issue of contention which remains (between two separate teams of investigators) is whether it is Marie or Anastasia who continues to be unrecovered. This question will likely be resolved to the satisfaction of most at some later date. The Tsarevitch's mortal relics also remain missing.
   
   Some would say that the Romanovs got precisely what they deserved while others would assert that their demise was a shameful national tragedy. Thankfully, Massie allows the individual reader to make this determination.
   
   In summary, this is an outstanding book, nicely illustrated with several pages of relevant black-and-white photographs, and I know of no superior choice on the topic which covers all the aspects which this one does -- I highly recommend it. And if you would like to see this fine work brilliantly conveyed through the media of film, then be sure to see the 1974 BBC mini-series production of: Fall of Eagles.

4 comments about Harry's Bar: The Life & Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark.

1. It's hard to believe that its been almost a year since I was in Venice, enjoying a cocktail at Harry's Bar one evening before dinner. This book sheds some light on the history and reputation of the establishment. However, in spite of the title, this book isn't just about Harry's Bar. It also has characteristics of a memoir, describing the author's experiences both in Venice and in New York, where two related establishments have existed at various times. There are also traces of a gossip column in here as well, as the author describes some of the rich and famous who have patronized Harry's Bar over the years.
   
   This is a pleasant read, if a little shallow in content. Perhaps the most interesting element of this book (at least for me, anyway) is the author's views on what constitutes quality service. It is interesting to read an insider's rant against the popular trends in the hospitality industry. I also enjoy the descriptions of Venice, as they provided me with a wonderful chance to reflect on the beauty of that city.



2. In November of 2007 in Harry's Bar, that venerable Venice institution, my friend and I had two small martinis each, and I bought a copy of this book which the wait staff gently push. The bill for the two drinks and the book was $132.00, so we know that Harry's is pricey. Giuseppe Cipriani founded the bar in 1931 with the financial aid of a wealthy American named Harry Pickering who provided the bar with its name. Pickering was a silent partner and within a few years Cipriani bought him out. This book is told by Giuseppe's son, Arrigo. The father apprenticed in every aspect of the hospitality industry and loved it.
   Giuseppe picked out the small fifteen foot by thirty foot space which had been a cordage warehouse at the end of a dead end street on the lagoon right near St. Mark's Square. He espoused three things in his business: quality, a smile, and simplicity.
   This is, of course, a puff piece, a self-serving promotion for the bar and its numerous other restaurants and enterprises. A touching scene is a description of the father's funeral with seven splendid gondolas and the sixteen magnificent gondoliers. The city's vaporini slowed to watch the procession pass.
   Harry's was and is host to the famous of the world. Ernest Hemingway helped make the bar famous as did Orson Welles, Truman Capote, the Aga Khan, Barbara Hutton, and innumerable other celebs. It's a gossipy, kiss and tell-all book. One wishes at times that Arrigo would be more discreet in his stories. It should have been his dictum that what happened in Harry's stayed in Harry's.
   The last half of the book is really well-padded and falls apart as the boastful Arrigo tells about establishing his New York empire. There is a chapter in which workmen natter on about nothing and a long-winded chapter containing what Arrigo thinks is the hilarious correspondence between himself and a customer.
   The pureed peach and champagne cocktail called the Bellini was invented there, and is still the signature drink of the place. Carpaccio was popularized there.
   Arrigo has a sharp tongue and is not afraid to be nasty and sarcastic about certain customers. It's a gotcha piece as well as a puff piece. Having been there several times, I can say that the Venice establishment does have a wonderful ambience, and the help are friendly. Oh, but those exorbitant prices are probably those most memorable feature of the place. But if you can't afford to play, don't suit for the game. May Harry's live forever. Cheers!



3. My dad, Thomas Kelley, like me, and the G.I.s he was with, were the first Americans to enter Harry's Bar, after World War II. My mom shared that story, with me, when I gave her this book. When we were living, in Italy, we'd also go, when we dropped by Venice, where my dad's favorite was a canneloni. All the stories are so real, take you back there, like you were there, but unfortunately, one thing was missing, the delicious food that we read about. Perhaps I can make myself a Bucket List, one day and have Harry's Bar, at the top of my list!?!?!?!



4. This is an easy and enjoyable read that gives you a true look into the world of the Ciprianis. Includes original photos as well!

5 comments about The History of the Knights Templars.

1. This book is full of history of the Order of the Knights Templar. Addison goes into some deep history of the Templars and the Times they lived in right up to the supression of the order. He also sets up a basis for the fact that the Templars did not all 'go away' after thier supression but lived on in countries where Phillip and Pope Clement V could not touch them. This book is great to start on your journey to find the truth about this order of Knights.



2. The text, dating from 1842, is interesting and informative, especially for beginners. The publisher, however, should be embarrassed at the typos, third grade grammar and syntax in the introduction. Makes the bookseem like one published by some wierd fringe group.



3. I am a History buff, and am interested in learning more about little known subjects, such as the Templars, and can enjoy reading any history provided the author can generate reader interest in his subject matter, which Mr. Addison has failed to do for me. The profusion of Latin words & phrases without any attempt at translation deprives the reader of the subjects substance. The subject matter is, or can be, fascinating, however the stultifying and the excessive use of foreign phrases detracts from the narrative. Also, a book of history should include an Index, & a biblioghaphy. This book does not include either!



4. If you are sick of reading the hype and hyperbole about the Knights Templar, and would like to know what they REALLY did then this is the book for you. If you want to hear ficticious accounts about what they 'could have' done then read something like Holy Blood Holy Grail. This is based on Historical documentation and as close to contemporary accounts of the Crusades as possible. Historians would like this book, fantasy fans will find it "tedious". It is a must have in any Templar or Crusade library and a must have reference.



5. Enjoyed this book and it is excellent if you are doing research on the Knights Templar. Most people do not understand exactly what happened to the Templars and this book is very accurate on that account. Reading was interesting and references were easy to research online.

2 comments about Elizabeth: Behind Palace Doors.

1. I bought this book hoping to learn more about the queen's life as she lives it away from the public. Instead I found a poorly written book filled with many untruths. After page 121 I sent the book to the resale shop.
   
   Some of these huge errors are as follows.
   1. That the Home Secretary has been present at every royal birth since the time of James II. Not true. George VI overuled this for the birth of Prince Charles.
   
   2. That the Elizabeth and Phillip spent time at the home of the Duke and Dutchess of Kent in 1946, where the Duke and Dutchess understood their need to be alone. Yes, they did, but the Duke was no longer living. The then duke was a young boy.
   
   3. That Elizabeth and Phillip's wedding night was Nov. 22. Their wedding date is Nov. 20. Huge error.
   
   4.That Prince Charles was born on Nov. 12. He was born on Nov. 14. People from the UK writing such a book should know their dates.
   
   5.That she had never ridden on the underground, made a bed or prepared tea or a meal. Again not true. She rode on the London tube in 1939 to have tea at the YMCA and during her time in Girl Guides did in fact make her bed, wash dishes and prepare meals with the other guides.
   
   So save your money and buy a book about the queen that has been thoroughly researched and has all the facts straight.



2. I agree with the last reviewer (although it was a bit too late for me since I already recieved the book in the mail) and would like to add that I do not consider this a book...it is one huge tabloid!

1 comments about THE WORST STREET IN LONDON.

1. Though largely now plowed under and fogotten, London's Dorset Street, for hundreds of years, was known far and wide. Unfortunately that fame was based on the fact that it was a cesspool of grinding poverty and lawlessness, an area so vile it was nicknamed the 'Most evil street in London. Fiona Rule charts the sordid but fascinating history of Doreste Street in this 2008 volume from Ian Allan Publishing.
   
   Located in the Spitalfields area in London's East End, Dorset Street was a prosperous area with a thriving silk weaving industry in the 1700s. With the decline of the silk industry in the 1830s, Dorset Street began its downward spiral as poverty and crime replaced prosperity. Former businesses and homes were turned into boarding-houses that crammed people into filthy, tremendously overcrowded, structurally unsound hovels. City government made little or no effort to regulate the doss-houses - many of which were, in essence, brothels - nor to crack down on the rampant crime. Powerful landlords like Jack McCarthy, William Crossingham and Jimmy Smith reigned supreme. Crusading journalists and humanitarians worked for government intervention and regulation but the resulting legislation did little to stop Dorset Street's decline. In the late 1880s it gained more notoriety as Jack the Ripper plied his trade in the Dorset Street area. Finally, in the mid-1920s, redevelopment saw the demolition of much of this area and 'the worst street in London' was no more.
   
   Fiona Rule does a marvelous job of relating the rise and fall of Dorset Street. She brings to life the many - often admittedly criminal - personalities that transformed what was once a thriving thoroughfare into a pesthole. Reading THE WORST STREET IN LONDON you can't help but feel for those long-ago Londoners - usually the poorest of the poor - who struggled to exist in appalling conditions. Likewise you feel disgust at the rapacious landlords who were only interested profit. And finally, there were the city fathers who, for decades, basically left Dorset Street and other East Enders to fend for themselves..with truly horrifying results.
   
   In short, THE WORST STREET IN LONDON is a fascinating and insightful social history of life in 'the grand old city.' And it's a great read to boot. Recommended.

5 comments about Dr. Johnson's London: Everyday Life in London in the Mid 18th Century.

1. This book looks deep beneath the surface of London society during the Age of Enlightment and describes in minute detail what life was really like for one and all, from the lowest street urchin to the royal family. The daily struggle for existence by London's residents is covered -- all those unsavory things you probably didn't learn in history class. Overflowing cespits, Orphans apprentenced into professions where an early death from industrial pollutants was a near certainty, bakeries that regularly adulterated their bread with caulk, these are just a few of the many examples found on these pages. No detail is overlooked: What they wore, what they did for fun, the cost of living, the cost of dying, the capricious justice system under which a significant number of lawbreakers managed to avoid punishment, even for murder, while an unlucky few were hanged for crimes that today would draw only a small fine.
   I highly recommend Dr. Johnson's London to anyone who is looking for an in-depth look at Georgian London.



2. New to Liza Picard's writing I so enjoyed this very readable historian I ordered the rest of her titles. The book portrays the lives of the common 'man in the street' as well as many facts of the period.
   As a regular reader of History, I find Liza's slightly lighter approach refreshing - even her footnotes are humorous and enlighten the reader, rather than confuse.
   A fascinating insight to a city I love.



3. 
   I'm enjoying this book! I'm almost done with it and I am finding the information very interesting.
   
   I've always wanted to know what London was like back in the pre-Victorian days and this book attempts to do just that.
   
   Since the excerpts were taken from actual written documentations (eg: Dr. Johnson's diaries,etc.)---in other words, a person that was actually there. Liza Picard was merely the person that compiled all the information for this book.
   Therefore, I'm reading this book by keeping this fact in mind.
   
   The language expressed in this book may sound "old fashioned" because most of the excerpts were written by a pre-Victorian Era person, and also that person lived in London. Thus, there is a difference between reading a book written today in modern English, as opposed to the written English style of a century ago. (I actually enjoyed reading the written "old fashioned" English excerpts).
   
   There are not alot of photos in this book, so if you are looking for a picture book ,then this book may not be of your liking.
   Instead, this book is categorized into various chapters regarding pre-Victorian London (ie:such as the political occurences of the times, or for example the medical view points of a century ago, etc...). Each chapter discusses the aspects of "old" London, as seen through the eyes of the people that were there at that time.



4. Dr. Johnson's London is a remarkable compilation of facts about 18th century London including its oddities and reforms that led to modern London. The book is a series of small paragraphs each describing some aspect of London life, infrastructure, scandals, etc. in the 18th century. The book is organized into categories, each covering some aspect of the great city.
   
   While I found the book entertaining, the lack of any narrative makes it impossible to read straight through and can only be taken in small doses. Essentially, this is a bathroom book for history buffs.



5. If only history was always as informative and interesting in its presentation. This is a book which not only makes you think, it also makes you smile as well at times. Full of colour and detail on what was a fascinating period of English history. Very well researched. I can really recommend this to anyone looking for information or simply for a good read.

No comments about Switzerland: Village History.

1 comments about Josef Heinrich Darchinger: Wirtschaftswunder (German Edition).

1. This photo-documentary proves that when a people are determined to rebuild their lives, they will roll up their sleeves and get to work. The example of the re-birth of West Germany from the ruins and rubble of the Second World War should be thrown in the face of those nations that whine and complain about Western, ie USA Imperialism. Unlike a lot of nations at present who have been receiving billions of dollars in American aid, yet still are backward due to their incessant "perpetual victim" state of mind, the Germans after 1945 realized they had the opportunity for a fresh start, and they "seized the moment". Unfortunately, history does not always repeat itself. There are far too many nations and people at present who blame their backward state on the West, yet are too inept and/or lazy to improve their lot. This book proves the Germans should be commended for what they have accomplished.