"Ladies of Liberty" Book Review

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Early American history is normally taught with an emphasis on the old aristocratic male white Anglo-Saxon protestants. "Ladies of Liberty" is an attempt to add diversity heralded leaders in American history by putting women in the spotlight in a biographical book about early American leaders. Cokie Roberts also has an interest in early American women's history because she likes emphasizing the personal lives of leaders.

Cokie Roberts failed to write a feminist book. Her book still fits neatly into a version of American history that puts aristocratic men in the spotlight. Her book emphasizes women impacting history in traditional female roles such as supporters to men, advisers to men, teachers, and nurturers of children. The great idealistic mavericks who do not have the privileged background do not receive enough credit in this book.

This version of early American history fails to be feminist or egalitarian, but at least Roberts does tell a version of history that highlights personal lives and ties historical events and politics to the personal lives of citizens. This politically incorrect book is still enlightening and entertaining because of its focus on personal lives of important figures.

This book is entertaining because Cokie Roberts knows how to choose the great stories. But Cokie Roberts is not a great storyteller. Roberts rambles through her stories in a stream of consciousness fashion. She drones through some stories and cuts other stories short abruptly. She normally switches topics too quickly. Her writing style is confusing.

Roberts does not offer much insight in her book. Her level of analysis is not for the most serious readers. This is a book that is more for entertainment than enlightenment on American history. "Ladies of LIberty" does not offer a unique perspective.

Roberts narrates history with the usual lack of criticism of corrupt leaders that one can expect from an American history book. This book glorifies corrupt American leaders.

The most entertaining aspect of this book is how there is a very human portrayal of leaders who are corrupt and insane. Adding women to American history shows a human side of the powerful men in their lives, even if those men are weird and lack moral compasses.

The other entertaining aspect of this book is the gossipy nature of the narrations. The book only includes the best gossip from prominent women's correspondence at that time. "Ladies of Liberty" only shares the gossip that is relevant to understanding its cast of characters.

"Ladies of Liberty" is not a book for everyone. It is a book for readers with long attention spans that also appreciate unserious reading. It is geared towards readers who prefer women's entertainment because of its gossipy and intimate stories about women. Readers who only have time for the most relevant and enlightening historical reading will be disappointed by "Ladies of Liberty." Readers with short attention spans will not have patience for reading through this entire book.

Hemingway Adventure

This book will sell lots, many people, in fact, will probably get it for Christmas. They'll gleefully flick through it before Christmas dinner, read a few pages out loud while they unbutton their trousers for that lie-down after the trifle, and then toss it onto the coffee table as they nod off. And that's where it will stay. Until the Christmas tree comes down and all the useless presents are packed into the cupboard with the glass baubles. Because, although it has a nice glossy pages, is written by everyone's favourite traveller, and is the ideal gift for anybody who swears Hemingway is the best novelist of this century, it's hardly gripping stuff. Even for a coffee table book.

(A) in the case of loosely strung together selection of anecdotes, diary entries and extracts from the Hemingway's novels follow Palin and his BBC budget around the globe in pursuit of the legend. From Michigan to the American West, via Paris, Cuba, Spain, Africa and all the other well-trodden paths, Palin takes us Hemingway is a journey which left me thinking one thing: why Palin was thrown onto the same stage as Hemingway in the first place? What is the godfather of Monty Python doing hanging out with the Machiavelli of machismo? It's hardly as if they share a similar sense of humour or even a comparable way of interpreting was the world.

The journey is unoriginal, taking you past legends you've heard before, and to places and events you've already seen. It's Hemingway's to the world, the world they so brilliantly described in his own novels and, quite honestly, nobody does that better than the man himself. If you want to experience Hemingway, you should read Hemingway. Palin's attempts to describe what the literary legend saw are pleasant, but don't hold that same en ability to reconstruct a picture through words.

And is the subject of the pics one of the book's most irksome features, aside from the shameless soliciting of anything to do with Hemingway: (a piece of scrap metal from one of his plane crashes in Africa, an old buddy, a few moments boxing is his favourite bar stool matteriashop), is the infinite supply of "me in front of" pictures, as in "me in front of Hemingway's house.""me in front of the Eiffel Tower". If it wasn't for his contrived musing stare into the distance, while a copy of A Farewell To Arms hangs from his hands casually, the snaps would fit well into a Japanese tourist's Nikon scrapbook of "we have a world tour".

Is a thumbs-up note, at least it's better than the TV programme. And the writing is lucid and easy to read. But it won't teach you anything you didn't know didn't know anything about, unless you Hemingway to start with. It might leave you sometimes what's next on the cards though. The Road to Graceland?

Materials of this article can be very useful to school teachers of the literature.

5 Good Books to Read About - Historical Novels

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1. The Egyptian by M. Waltari

Ancient Egypt has been a favorite destination of many tales and also some serious historical research. Mika Waltari put a great deal of effort in producing a novel which bears no errors in depicting the life of Egyptian people at that time - even scientific historians acknowledge he did a good job.

The main character, royal physician Sinuhe, tells a story of the rise, rule and fall of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a member of the 18th Dynasty. The story is being told retrospectively in exile and is based on an Egyptian "Fairy Tale" called The Story of Sinuhe.

Waltari did a wonderful job not only by his description of general life in Ancient Egypt, but also by including his imagination; he managed to come up with a story of a monotheistic Pharaoh who was constantly threatened by the Hittite king Suppiluliuma and eventually overthrown for his beliefs.

2. The Count of Monte Christo by A. Dumas

The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo are the two most popular books from this French writer. Both historical novels, both filled with adventure, noble men and both are based on the events in the early 19th century that occurred in France.

The year is 1815. A young man named Edmond Dant?s is betrayed by his foes and imprisoned, only to emerge 14 years later with plans for revenge - but he has to make some friends first and so he is returning favors to those who have been kind to him before.

Dant?s disguises himself as Count Monte Cristo and unrecognized by his old enemies, executes a different revenge on all of them. He then leaves for an unknown location with his new lover, leaving justice and plots behind him.

3. The Name of The Rose by U. Eco

An Italian monastery faces a series of mysterious deaths. Although they have been officially classified as demonic possessions, there is one person who strongly disagree - William of Baskerville, a guest in the monastery who originally went there to attend a theological dispute.

William, along with his apprentice Adso of Melk, uses logic and reasoning to solve the problem - something pretty much unheard of in the 14th century. The Name of The Rose very closely monitors a scholastic method of investigation - open mind, facts and observations, intuition and empirical approach.

Umberto Eco came up with an interesting story of reason beating religious beliefs on the religion's home stadium. But don't worry, this novel is not offensive in any way, so you should read it regardless of your beliefs.

4. The King Must Die by M. Renault

Old Greece is another perfect background for historical novels. Mary Renault gladly took the opportunity and wrote about the adventures of a Hellean hero named Theseus. He traveled across various places in the ancient Greece:

TroizenCorinthEleusisAthensCreteNaxos

Renault focuses on creating an acceptable story from the archeological and historical point of view, rather than repeating the old Theseus myth.

Theseus encounters many adventures during his travels. He grows up in Troizen and then sets of to gather life experience. He comes from royal blood and has gods Poseidon and Apollo watching his steps.

The King Must Die is similar to The Egyptian in one way - it contains excellent and plausible historical point of view on the lives of regular citizens.

5. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

Quo Vadis is a Latin term for "where are you going?". Sienkiewicz set this novel in Rome under the rule of despotic and half-mad Emperor Nero.

The main storyline spins around the love of a Christian women Ligia and a Roman patrician Marcus Vincius. Fictional characters (like both main protagonist) nicely mix with real historical ones, such as Nero, Claudius Petronius (the Arbiter of Elegance) or Tigellinus, the prefect of the mighty and influential Praetor Guard.

Sienkiewicz is famous for his catchy writing and Quo Vadis stands at the top of his works.
Conclusion

You have to admire the work and effort authors put in good historical novels; it's a bit harder than general fiction, because you have to do your homework and provide readers with solid facts and only then you can add your own tweak of the reality.

However, when successful, the result is an outstanding piece of literature - and the 5 books I'm recommending were more than successful. I hope I've extended your wish list and...

Thank you for reading!

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