From Across the Pond

Book review: "Thermopylae - The Battle that Changed the World"

by Paul Cartledge (link)

I picked up this book recently as it was part of a 3for2 special offer. I previously knew of Paul Cartledge's work from university, where I used him as a source for two separate projects. He is one of the great modern authorities of Classical Sparta, so I thought it would be interesting to see how he viewed this most iconic moment in Sparta's history.

The book is divided into three. The first portion sets the background, to Classical Greece (in particular of course Classical Sparta), the Persian Empire, and the background to the Graeco-Persian wars, including the Ionian revolt and the Battle of Marathon. The second portion is dedicated to the battle of Thermopylae itself, the preparations for the campaign, its initial stages, and then finally the actual battle. The third portion talks about how the battle has been viewed and portrayed, both in ancient times and more recently (up to and including Frank Miller), and also explores a little of the consequences of the battle on world, and especially western, history. The appendices are devoted chiefly - though not entirely - to a discussion of Herodotus as a source, and as a historian.

While undoubtedly a work of popular history, released to coincide with the film release of 300, this is nevertheless a quite scholarly account. Paul Cartledge seems to treat his readers as being intelligent people with a real desire to know more, which is a refreshing change from other works of popular history where one can get the impression of being 'spoken down' to. He is, as might be expected, especially strong when talking about Sparta. His writing seems filled with a great enthusiasm and energy in those passages. However, one must be aware of his general pro-Spartan bias.

A limited, though useful test in Classical Greece to determine someone's prejudices is to ask them which battle was more important - Plataea or Salamis. Pro-spartans or anti-Athenians will usually answer Plataea, while anti-Spartans or pro-Athenians will generally answer Salamis. Paul Cartledge falls into the Spartan camp very firmly. This is not to dismiss what he says - but it is a call to be aware of the perspective from which he approaches things.

What I liked most about this book was undoubtedly the third portion, tracing the historiograhy of the battle. For those chapters alone I would recommend it. The discussion on Herodotus is, while not terribly ground-breaking, also seems to me a useful set of comments for the general reader who is wanting to read 'The Father of History' for the first time.

Verdit: B+

Book review: Babe - The Legend comes to life

by Robert Creamer (link)

I have been looking forward to reading this book for a while, ever since I read Baseball in '41 some time ago. Also, I wanted to know more about this mythical figure that looms over baseball in so many ways. But until I started to follow baseball a few years ago, I had literally no idea who Babe Ruth was. I think I may have heard his name, but with no context.

So, is this book a good introduction to this legendary sportsman? I would say yes. Robert Creamer has a very easygoing style. It is as if he were sitting next to you in a pub, telling a story over a pint of beer. The book seems to assume that the reader may know very little about Babe Ruth himself, though it does presume some basic knowledge of baseball (which is fine, after all who but someone with some interest in baseball would be reading a book on Babe Ruth?). It starts with a chapter on his legend, to place his life in the context of what follows and continues to this day. The next chapter starts with his birth, and sets the scene.

This first portion of the book - which goes from his birth to his trade to the Yankees, including him becoming a professional baseball pitcher and then the switch to a fulltime hitter - was for me the most interesting. This is in part because his exploits as a hitter - the home runs in all their majestic glory - I already know a little about. But his origins and his pitching were virtually unknown to me, so it was just damned interesting to find out more.

The second portion of the book is the main bulk, and is his time at the Yankees, including the separation from his first wife, his relations with the women who would become his second wife after his first wife's death, and also the stormy relationship with his managers, and the showdown he had with Landis - and, of course, all those home runs. What interested me most in this section was not so much Ruth himself, but the other characters that played a part in his story, particularly Gehrig, Huggins, Barrow, and a few others.

The final portion goes from when he left the Yankees to his death, and I found this a little disappointing. Perhaps this is because, in many respects, after Babe left baseball the rest of his life was disappointing. While he played he was a legend, and did great things. After he retired, nothing he did amounted to very much (in this he reminds me, strangely, of Oskar Schindler, who after the war ended also did very little of note). I think part of the problem is that Creamer choose to put the chapter on his legend at the start of his book, and I think I would have preferred it at the end.

This is something of a quibble however. Creamer does an excellent job of painting the pictures of the past on the canvass of the printed page. His does a marvellous job at imaging the characters of his story - of Ruth himself obviously, but also all the others who made up world, with the curious exception of Ruth's first wife Helen. He tells plenty of anecdotes, but is also careful to distinguish from what is probably true, and what is probably exaggerated. On a couple of the most famous episodes - for example the called home run shot - he goes into quite some detail, which in its way is interesting of an example of how a legend can grow.

Ultimately I read through this book swiftly and with great enjoyment. I would recommend it to anyone just starting to explore baseball's past. More seasoned baseball fans may find less in this book as they may already know more things, but I would still recommend it.

Verdit: A-

Book Review: The Shadow Isle

by Katharine Kerr (link)

When I saw this book I was very excited because I thought it would be the final book in the Deverry series. Alas, there is an author's note at the very beginning saying that it is not quite the end, there is one book to come. I have been reading the Deverry books since I was about 16, when there were considerably fewer than there are now! This is the sixth book in the third series of Deverry books (the first two series were both of four books) for a total now of fourteen. Some time ago I read somewhere that this last series was going to be six books long, but it appears as she brings together the threads of her tapestry Katharine Kerr has discovered she cannot do it quite as easily as perhaps she once hoped. Series creep, if you like, is nothing new, but unlike Robert Jordan (for example) I have never had the feeling that Katharine Kerr has lost complete control of her story. Perhaps this is because, as opposed to being one long series, it is really three separate series. A device that helps focus. But enough on the series, onto the book itself.

I enjoyed it. It is written in what is now, for me, a familiar style. It picks up pretty much exactly from where the previous book in the series, The Spirit Stone, left off. As the title might suggest, we finally get to understand a little of what happened to Haen Marn - the mysterious island which disappeared towards the end of the last book of the second series (book eight). Less mysteriously, this book has a subplot which traces Neb's difficulties in coming to terms with his heritage of Nevyn. There is a real sense through the book of things starting to come to a close. For fans of the series it will not be a disappointment. While perhaps not filled with quite the fire and energy of the earliest books (in particular I am thinking Darkspell), it now feels like a mature wine. I eagerly await the finale.

Book review: Off Armageddon Reef

by David Weber (link)

I picked up this book because it was on a 3 for 2 offer at my local Waterstones, and because I have enjoyed what I have read of Weber's Honor Harrington series. Also, the blurb on the back looked interesting.

Essentially, humanity came across an implacable enemy in the stars. As a desperate measure to save their race they sent out a splinter colony, and imbued that colony with a false religion designed to stifle technology, so that it would not produce any emissions to announce its presence to humanity's enemy. But there is a disagreement over how far and deep this deception should go. One of the dissenters leaves an android, a simulcrum of a very dear friend, as the judge of whether to leave the false religion untroubled, or to break its stranglehold. Eight hundred years pass. Humanity prospers on this refuge world, called Safehold, and survives. The religion successfully prevents progress, and therefore prevents anything that could give humanity's refuge away.

The android wakes, and has to make a choice. It chooses to break the religion, to create a sort of Reformation. This is its story as it takes on a human persona, and acts as the judge of a society while unsure of its own condition.

Off Armageddon Reef traces the beginning of this reformation, if you will allow the phrase, as the forces of reaction exert their first attempt to crush the surprisingly innovative land of Charis. This reformation takes the form of technology as much as anything else though. Those people who love naval history will have a great time with this book, as much of the action depends on ships and their ilk, and our android who takes the Merlin essentially overseas the naval revolultion that occurred in our own timeline in the late sixteenth century. It is great fun.

There are those who will interpret the false religion as an attack specifically on the Catholic Church specifically, and Chirstian Churches more generally. I do not think this is the case. This is a manifestly corrupt Church that preachers a constructed religion. It is not the real thing.

This is the first book in what is going to be called the Safehold series. There are currently another two books planned for definite, though it is at the moment open-ended. The next is apparently due out sometime later this year.

Verdict: B

Book Review: Out of Eden - The peopling of the world

by Stephen Oppenheimer (link)

This is the story of modern humans, and how we moved out of Africa to spread throughout nearly every corner of the globe. Although use is made of traditional archeaology, the centrepiece of this book is the expanding knowledge that can be derived from our own genetics. A note of caution: this book is now 5 years old, and it is quite plain that this is a field of human research that is changing rapidly so I would not be surprised if it is not becoming a little dated.

That aside for a moment, this is a compelling popular history about the spread of modern humans from our African origins. The author uses clear language, and is quite good at explaining the concepts that underpin his thoughts, and the genetics that are his particular study. In this regard he has this helpful habit of giving the most important genetic groups names to make them easier to distinguish for the casual reader. He is also quite good at explaining the limitations of the genetic research thus far carried out.

If I have one problem with his style is that he constructs strawmen to argue against. In a later book of his (The Origins of the British) he has as similar habit, of slanting his argument against ideas that have fallen from general favour. I do not find it especially helpful and somewhat tedious, and I find it distracts from otherwise a very good performance.

Overall, a very interesting book, and one I was glad to have purchased. So long as one is aware that it will not be quite 'current' anymore, I am happy to recommend it.

B-

Making Money

by Terry Pratchett (link)

This is the latest Discworld book from Terry Pratchett, and is once again set in Ankh-Morpok. It mostly revolves around the character of Moist von Lipwig, who was the star of Going Postal.

In many respects this is a very similar book to Going Postal - just as that book sent up Royal Mail / The Post Office, this book sends up the Bank of England/The Royal Mint. In this it fits very nicely into the latter series of Discworld books that have quite clear and specific targets.

The style is also very similar to Going Postal, though my own opinion is that it is not quite as strong an outing. There are elements that don't quite click now and then, and the whole book is slightly looser than say Thud! or The Truth. Despite this, it remains a very enjoyable read. The villain is nicely characterised, and there are some nice cameos of the usual suspects, including Vetinari.

Overall, if you want a nice light-hearted read, and a chance to laugh a little, you will not go wrong with this book.

B

Book review "William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-slave Trade Campaigner"

by William Hague (link)

This was a book whose publication coincided with the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. To some extent then it should be seen as a commemoration of the efforts of one of the chief architects of that Act, William Wilberforce. However, this book is not just concerned about Wilberforce's involvement with the campaigns to first outlaw the slave trade, and later on to outlaw slavery altogether; but he also draws attention to some of the other causes that Wilberforce supported and also some of the details of his parliamentary career.

The slave trade trade however is, just as it was in Wilberforce's own life, is the predominant theme. William Hague does not try to claim all the credit for Wilberforce, he acknowledges the work of Thomas Clarkson and others, but he is writing a book on William Wilberforce and not a book on the abolition movement itself, and due to that distinction it is only right that he focuses on one man's work. And the picture that emerges of that one man: if there is one word I would use to describe Wilberforce on the basis of this book it is indefatigable. We are presented wtih a picture of an ardent campaigner, one who perseveres through defeats and disappointments, always seeking a way to try again.

The book also provides a perspective on British parliamentary politics during the generation that squatted aside the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this respect this book, I think, should be seen as the second part of a pair: for William Hague has previously written a book on William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister who in many ways defined the last decades of the eighteenth century and the struggle against revolutionary and Napoleonic France. The two were great friends in life, but had their disagreements (about the war particularly), but they were very different men. Nearly the entirety of William Hague's career was spent in office, and very nearly all of that as Prime Minister. Wilberforce never held office, and tried to steer an independent course through the turbulent waters of his day which, as a result, saw him being allied with Charles Fox over the issue of slavery even though he was opposed to him (and therefore allied to Pitt) in other issues. The two persectives provided in these books on the politics of the day show not just the different focuses of each man, but also provide a better view of the politics in the period which they cover. Indeed, one feels that William Hague should really publish a third book, on Charles Fox, to make complete this trio of parliamentary stars.

William Hague is generally non-critical about Wilberforce, and is often laudatory. He appears to have little patience with certain criticisms of Wilberforce which he refers to at various places of the text. Indeed, the only one he responds to with any seriousness at all is one made by one of Wilberforce's contemporaries (and which I believe has been repeated since). This is the contention that while Wilberforce was seeking freedom for slaves he was wilfully ignoring the plight of the working poor in Britain. It is a contention that I feel has more noise than substance, but I will let others decide that on their own.

In any event I can recommend this book. It is well-written in an easy style. And while it is clear a great deal of research has gone into it it is no academic's book. There is no new bold theory here, rather it is an attempt to introduce people to the extra-ordinary man that was William Wilberforce.

A-

Terry Pratchett diagnosed with Alzheimer's

Well, this news sucks. It appears that Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with a form of early onset Alzheimer's. During my recent illness one of the things I turned to quite regularly (and still do) to lift my mood was one of his wonderfully enjoyable Discworld Books. City Watch books for preference, but pretty much any will do. I can only hope that he responds well to what treatment can be given, and I certainly hope to be enjoying new books from him for some time yet.

Books series review: The Black Magician Trilogy

by Trudi Canavan

The Magicians' Guild / The Novice / The High Lord

This is a very enjoyable trilogy of fantasy books I have read over the last couple of days. I found the story engaging and interesting, enough so that I read the books one after the other without break. The reading itself was nice and easy. All in all I would call them a light entertaining tale.

The tale centres around a young woman - Sonea - and her transition into a powerful magician. She starts off as a street urchin, when a fit of anger reveals her power. She fears the magicians of her city, and the first book deals with her learning about the beginnings of how to use her power, and the process of her entering the Magicians' Guild. The second book deals mostly with her novitiate, and the struggles she has as an ex-slum dweller learning amidst the sons of the nobility. The final book deals with the mysterious High Lord of the Guild, a brooding figure who now comes starkly into focus. There are three other main characters - a thief and friend of Sonea's from her earlier days (Cery), her first tutor in the magical arts (Rothen), and finally a former pupil of this same tutor (Dannyl). It is from these four viewpoints, albeit principally from Sonea's, that the story is mostly told.

The action is mostly based in the city of Imardin, which in parts is very well realised. The Magicians' Quarter is one of these, and the other are the surrounding slums. The author has developed her own slang for these slums, which is an excellent touch and adds nicely to the atmosphere, yet the slang remains accessible so does not become obstructive. The rest of the city between these two extremes is less well described, as very little of the action takes place there. This is fine in and off itself, though it does leave one with a feeling that everything between magic and poverty is somehow empty. But this is a quibble.

The main character - Sonea - is very well formed, and her struggles and developments form the basis of much of the novels. Some may not like these "growing-up" stories, but so long as enough is going on within and without the main plots, I do quite like them, done well, and this one is done well. Of the other primary characters Dannyl is clearly the best formed, and has the more compelling plotlines. The primary non-viewpoint character is the High Lord. He strikes me as being the most difficult character to write, starting off distant and then slowly being brought closer and more familiar. I think the author on the whole pulls this transition off quite well.

The overall story itself is a little predictable in places, or I found it so. Several events I was able to predict a long way in advance - comes from reading so much I guess you sometimes just get to feel the pulse of a particular story. This did not detract from my enjoyment. The story is solidly told.

The writing itself is nothing special, but it is a very effective vehicle. While I may never have slowed down my reading to savour a particular passage, neither did I find my flow broken by a poorly written one.

I bought these books almost eighteen months ago, and I am now glad I have finally read them.

B

Book review: Resurrectionist

by James McGee

Resurrectionist is the second book by James McGee in the life of his detective Matthew Hawkwood. Set in the streets of London at the beginning of the nineteenth century Hawkwood tussles with one of the grisly trades of the day: that of graverobbing for the anatomy schools. There is murder and foul play, but a fair part of the joy of this book (and its predecessor: Ratcatcher) is in the wonderful descriptions of London of that time: a place of gutter foulness if ever there was one. For while Hawkwood occasionally brushes with high society, he works among the seedier sorts who give London so much of its character.

The story moves at a fair pace, but it begins in Bethlehem hospital: otherwise known as Bedlam. Indeed we get quite a tour of the place through the course of the book, and the author does a grand job of weaving a few pieces of history into the narrative.

Unlike the first book we get a fair number of passages coming from one of the antagonists of the story, adding a fair bit of character and shining a bit of light onto one of the central themes: the resurrection men and their macarbre trade.

At the end, a good book to relax into with an increasingly well developed central character and one that, while not demanding too much of the reader, is replete with some interesting historical details and descriptions.