Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne, by David Starkey, a True Story of Royalty, Intrigue, Romance

AppId is over the quota

Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne, by David Starkey... Whether history class was your most or least favorite in school, you should find this book a fascinating read. David Starkey is not simply a renowned English historian, an expert on Tudor England, he's also a fine writer indeed. In this book, what could be dry-as-dust facts are instead lively stories of real people living real lives in the midst of turbulent times.

Regarding turbulent times, almost anyone who got through school knows about Henry VIII and his six wives, his elder daughter, Mary (also known as Bloody Mary), and his younger daughter, who became the first Queen Elizabeth. But my guess is that few of us, unless we're real history buffs, know much about the extraordinary times in which they lived.

Most books that I have read about Queen Elizabeth I deal with her years as a monarch. Starkey, however, takes us from her birth in 1533 to her accession to the throne in 1558. During those years she led a life that could well be the stuff of fiction. But it was real. In his introduction to Elizabeth, Starkey says that during that period "... she had experienced every vicissitude of fortune and every extreme of condition." As I read the book, I marveled that she survived those years and went on to be the most successful queen England has known.

Her mother was executed by her father, which must have been a terrible blow to the child, but she never spoke of it. She was both princess and intended successor to the throne, then disinherited, then reinstated. She was accused of treason and imprisoned in the Tower by her own sister, facing possible execution. She survived plots and counterplots, threats to her well-being by family as well as foe, during these years of religious persecution. Yet in the midst of all this turmoil, she kept her head-literally and figuratively-and lived to age 70.

And all this happened before she was 25 years old. Starkey has this to say, "But, above all, I never forget that the years of Elizabeth's apprenticeship are a wonderful adventure story. We know they had a happy ending and that she survived and became queen. Elizabeth herself, her friends and enemies, had no such foresight." An exceptional life, with its highs and lows, and little in between.

In reading this book, besides my admiration for her sheer grit and ability to adjust to both wonderful and dreadful circumstances, I learned a great deal more about her as a person than ever before. Most of my earlier reading about her life was about her as Queen Elizabeth. As a child, she was precocious, brilliant even, and throughout all these dangerous and difficult times, she showed a natural instinct for dealing with the type of political chicanery with which she was surrounded. Even her education, conducted of course by private tutors, is astonishing in its depth and breadth; among other subjects, she studied Latin and Greek and was fluent in French.

Starkey writes with humanity and a wry and engaging tone, even when discussing religious persecution or political skullduggery. In one place, he refers to "extravagant characters and madcap schemes."

This is a book to be read, then read again, and for me more times than that. Starkey brings those days to life. And the young queen-to-be is a person you will enjoy getting to know. I recommend it.

Written By Randall Peffer Seahawk Burning

(A) A good Civil War naval story as the ships from the north try to track confederate ships, both trying to destroy the other and all ships they find while searching. The locales stretch from the coast, the inland waters of the United States, South America, Africa, Europe, and points in between. You have to remember in those days there was no way to search for a ship except by word of mouth or accidentally finding that ship while transcending the globe. Also in those days the sailors, as well as their captain, were very rough and crude men that were very likely to kill captured crews from ships, burn the ships after looting all the goods aboard, and turn the few of the captured crew members over to the first possible place on land or sea.

Raphael Semmes was captain of the confederate ship, The USS Alabama. The Alabama was a strong and powerful ship. Semmes would take no quarter from any opposing ship and would kill and/or destroy almost any other ship along with its crew, just to get a "worse" reputation. Seahawk Burning takes you mostly by sea to many areas of the earth to fight others, get provisions, have repairs made, unload the ship crew members who's time was up and find new crew members, while making those stops. Most of all the ships ' officers and crews in those days were not very healthy, some from not eating correctly, drinking far too much alcohol, associating with wild women that gave them more than they bargained for, and of course the normal sailors brawls.

The many areas traversed by the USS Alabama took them through many a bad storm that damaged ships and their crews quite bad. Weather; another item they knew little about and had no idea of what lies ahead. Meanwhile back in Washington, DC, President Lincoln, the various government leaders including the Secretary of the Navy, the Yankee leaders, and all of their cohorts, schemed as to how to capture and destroy this Confederate ship that was wreaking havoc on their ships. Semmes has So far eluded them but the word of mouth was starting to narrow his travel path. The ship that was closest is his trail now was the USS Kearsarge Captained by an ex-shipmate of Semmes, John Winslow, who wanted his former friend and opponent very much. Winslow was not in good health, having only one eye and it pained him much of the time. Semmes had his gal, Maude, constantly has his mind. The Yankee government to obtain information about Semmes was also tracking her. Maude had two babies with her, one white and one black. She loved them both, as did Semmes. She had to keep on the run throughout the eastern United States and through Canada to avoid capture.

The action is great as are the characters, some of which were actually involved in the war and in the leading of our nation. You will learn the history and some facts about some of these men and women as the author brings them in and out of the story. If you like sea of adventure stories intertwined with history, you will love this book, as I did.

Reader review by Cy Hilterman of a book supplied by The Amazon Vine Program

Author Interview With Richard C Geschke and Robert a. Toto

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9116.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with the two authors of the new book, In Our Duffel Bags, Robert Toto and Richard Geschke. Thank you gentlemen for taking your time to join us.

RT: Thank you for allowing us to share our stories

RG: Thank you Mr. Sorkin for giving us the opportunity of this interview.

PBR: Your book, In Our Duffel Bags, is filled with stories of your past Vietnam War experiences. For each of you, writing this book had to dredge up some dramatic memories. Tell us please, how were you able to deal with those strong emotions that were evoked by remembering and bringing to life once again so many thoughts?

RT: My memories about that time were suppressed by me for a long time. I did not realize that I had PTSD, until I started to cry while I was out walking near my home. This book became part of my therapy.

RG: These memories lay dormant in my mind for over forty years. It wasn't until I had a vivid dream of reality about a trip down the Hai Van Pass which occurred forty years ago that the thoughts of not only Vietnam but of my entire army experience came to my foremost thoughts. I immediately put them on paper, starting with the chapter titled "Going My Way" and followed by the chapter titled "Was That Forty-One or Forty-two Rockets?." It was at this point I asked Bob to help me with my memory and he joined in the writing.

PBR: As young men that were drafted into a highly opposed and controversial war what emotions did you each experience the moment you knew you had been drafted?

RG: First of all as officers, we were not drafted, we were appointed commissions by the President of the United States. It was our choice to join ROTC in college knowing full well that during this time period that once we graduated without an ROTC commission, we would have been drafted. So in effect it was our choice to be officers in the army.

RT: Well, we were not drafted, however, at that time there was a draft lottery. My birth date was drawn #11, so I decided to continue ROTC and become an officer.

PBR: How did your family and friends initially react to your being drafted?

RT: Again, we were not drafted. However, my brother David consoled me on the luck of the draft lottery. Friends were in the same position. Most of them joined Reserve outfits, which at that time, had little chance of going to Vietnam.

RG: During this time in history family and friends knew the score. There was a war going on and everyone was subject to serve as citizen soldiers. It's not like today when we have a professional volunteer army where there is no draft. During our day there were protests, draft card burnings and a very lively debate about the merits of the war. Today, because we have an all volunteer army, the regular population is more or less mute on the war. Current debates about the wars are timid in comparison to the Vietnam era.

PBR: In the book you indicate that other civilians treated you rather crudely for your participation in the war due to the sentiments that you were participating in killing innocent women and babies. Did your family and friends treat you differently after returning home from participating in the war because of similar sentiments?

RT: It was difficult being in grad school once I was discharged. The undergraduate students really had no clue of what military life was. I remember that the only person, outside of friends/family, was a RMV official. Most people put Vietnam out of their minds.

RG: Vietnam was a different era altogether, with the protests and the divisive politics of the times. As I mustered out of the army at Fort Lewis, I truly wanted to go home in my civilian clothes. However if I did that, my plane trip would be full price. If I wore my uniform I would fly military standby and receive a huge discount. Once you got home and began to socialize, you didn't tell anyone you were in the army or Vietnam for that matter. My family on the other hand supported and comforted me. When I look back on this it really tells of a shameful time in our country's history. I didn't make military policy, all I did was to serve my country in an honorable way!

PBR: Many soldiers succumbed to the daily stresses of their military lives in the war by abusing drugs and or alcohol, how were you able to manage the stress and not give in to the escapism of drugs and alcohol?

RT: I never took drugs, and since most of my duties were at night, I slept during the day. I became more sensitive to my religious beliefs.

RG: I never took drugs but if you're an infantry officer of the line by-golly you did drink. That was a fact of life! However I wasn't an alcoholic.

PBR: Can you each define your worst moment while serving in the war?

RT: My worst moment was when I was talking to Dick, and told him I was leaving early...I wanted to bite off my arm. Other than that, it was a feeling of failure when I couldn't transform one of my troopers into stopping his drug use...you always remember the one that got away. We shipped him to Japan, paralyzed from the waist down, due to heroin use (he was 19).

RG: There were several things that I would define as worst such as the exploding deuce and a half truck blowing two enlisted men through the front windshield right in front of me. However the worst thing I saw was a sergeant literally kicking a Vietnamese Papa-son on the floor of an army orderly room in front of a senior first sergeant who did nothing to stop it. I had to stop the beating or he would have been killed. I was furious with both sergeants and I told them so in no uncertain terms!

PBR: Can you please explain your best moment while serving in the war?

RT: When I was able to reach seven of my platoon to attend drug amnesty, and stop their addiction. Other than that, it was a fourth grade class that wrote me a Christmas greeting from my home town...I thought of them often.

RG: About a week before Christmas of 1971 in Phu Bai, my unit completed its primary and very critical mission well ahead of schedule. The mission was long and grueling, executed during the heavy rains of the monsoon season in which I led my men with a fractured ankle and a bout of a contaminated water induced stomach virus. When completed, I never have had that sense of completion and satisfaction like that before or since. Through the efforts of my men, I was lucky to have been awarded a Bronze Star for my leadership abilities.

PBR: We all know the expression, hindsight is 20-20. Knowing what you now know about serving in the military during that time, what is there, if anything, that you wish you would have done differently?

RT: I would have pushed harder for a branch transfer. Infantry was not my true calling. However, I met some great people that made it all worthwhile.

RG: Well this is like being a Monday morning quarterback. When I think of myself entering the gates of Fort Benning Georgia as a naive young officer, I wish that I had more experience. In reality I wouldn't change anything, you live and you learn, all be it the hard way at times!

PBR: What advice would you give to any person thinking of enlisting in the military today?

RT: Choose your branch of service carefully, remember your roots, never underestimate your comrades or your enemies, and be prepared for some lonely times.

RG: In today's military if one commits to the service of the arms of the military one must always remember that you will no longer be just an individual, you will be a small part of a large organization in which your dreams and wants are secondary to the wants of the military. Life in the military is like no other life in existence. So when you join such an organization make sure you know the consequences!

PBR: Based on your past experiences with being involved in a war in a foreign country, what advice would you give to this nation's political leaders today about our military presence in foreign countries?

RT: We have to be smarter in whom we support. Today's fighting needs great intelligence, and leadership in small, focused groups. The threats to the USA are real...I saw that in Berlin, when the Wall was still standing, and in Vietnam. Power hungry tyrants still exist; look at the human tragedies in Korea, China, Africa, and South America. We must engage our partners in treaties; we cannot be the world's police force.

RG: You know my thoughts on this because you read our book. Today's political leaders continue to try to solve geo-political problems by using the military as they were used in the 19th and 20th centuries. The wars of the 21st century have to be fought using superior intelligence and a solid economy. In fact this was done without the sounds of guns in the forty-four year Cold War standoff. No Medals of Honor, Silver Stars or Bronze Stars were awarded in which the West was victorious and the celebrations on the streets of Europe were far greater than the end of WWII. We have to use our intelligence without firing the weapons.

PBR: This has all been very interesting, and we wish you the best of success with your new book. Thank you again for taking your time to be with us.

RT: Thank you for allowing us to share our story.

RG: Mr. Sorkin, it's been my pleasure.

Interviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert, Pacific Book Review

http://www.pacificbookreview.com/

Spy and Anti-Spy

AppId is over the quota

Even Cold War is over, spy activities remain active nowadays. One of FBI's jobs is to detect spies among ordinary citizens to secure United States. As a matter of fact, spies are not only related to nations in a broad sense, they also refer to people or activities in our daily lives, like the detectives to follow our spouse in our marriages, the person to steal the company's financial report or the leak of new technology or product's information. As a result, people will find ways to fight back. We may call it anti-spy. Today we will mainly focus on spying.

Spying actually has a long history. Where there is war or competition, there is spy and anti-spy. The most famous movies for this activity are Mr. & Mrs. Smith which is acted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and The Bourne Supremacy by Matt Damon and Brian Cox. We are crazy about the spies' intelligence, quick responses and confidentiality. Some of us may even dream of becoming a spy. This work is mysterious and enchanting. And the spies thus become a favorite topic among people.

Soviet Union has got a reputation for training and taking advantage of spies. The female spies are called Swallows. One of them even let Albert Einstein fell in love with her and as a result, revealed some important science information to her. Apart from this kind of spies, double agents are also belonged to spy rings. This usually makes things complicated and exciting because you will never know if the person you talk to or are familiar with to be your true friend or deadly enemy.

To accomplish the spying job, sure you shall be well-equipped. Spies actually use the most advanced technical equipment, such as interceptors, blasters and monitors. When comes to modern lives, spies of detecting state secrets are not well-known to the public. But we can also apply such kind of devices to prevent thieves or other bad things which may happen to us.

Stuff related to spy is quite hot in these days. You will find them on the online shops or actual entities. The most commonly used one is spy camera. You may find it on a pen, a clock, a glass and a watch and so on. Go to shop and get yourself a spy camera. You will be the next spy too.

If you would like more stories of spies, you can also Google those things happened in Germany and Soviet Union. You will get interested and shocked. As the world marches on, people will become more and more acquainted with spying. Anti-spy is hence kind of self-protection.

Life is difficult, and unfortunately is long!

South East Asia - Time to Learn More Book Review

AppId is over the quota

Today, China is one of our largest trading partners. And there is a lot of controversy going on between South and North Korea. Recently we've seen violence in Burma, and challenges regarding water rights, and civil unrest in these regions. We all know how the United States of America has been involved in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and most of us are aware of the economies of such countries like Thailand. We also realize from Emerging Markets standpoints that Singapore has hit the ball out of the park.

But what else do you personally really know about the South East Asian nations? If you don't know much, perhaps it's time that you studied up a little, and learned a little bit more. There is a lot to know about the cultures, religions, history, and how the last 50-years have changed things, more importantly we must consider the importance of this region in the next 50-years.

Perhaps for this reason there's a very good book I'd like to recommend to you. And I spent some time at the library last week reading through it, taking notes, and was quite pleased with all the information I have gathered. The name of the book is;

"Times Arrow, Times Cycle: Globalization in Southeast Asia Over La Duree" by Peter A. Coclanis, Institute of South East Asian Studies Publishing, Singapore, (2006), 76 pages, ISBN: 981-2303-75-8.

Currently, now in 2011 we are watching the culmination of the expansion of Southeast Asia, the incredible inflation which is now causing havoc. We are watching how many nations are preventing the inflows of capital from the Western world into their banks, to prevent the runaway inflation of food, and other commodities. It's amazing how well this author predicted much of what he saw. In hindsight it's obvious he knew what he was talking about.

Now then, the information in that book is just as important today as it was back in 2006, in fact the history didn't change, it's still there, and still quite accurate. It also helps us understand how we got from there to here, and knowing what we know today from the current events, and the topics we read in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the BBC, and watch on CNN, it is easy to predict the next five years.

Still, you need a base of information understand about the history, culture, economy, and way of life to fully comprehend what's going on, and where we will be going. Please consider all this and I recommend this book.

Lance Winslow is an Online Author, his latest eBook about Boat Detailing is now available in the "Lance Winslow Small Business Series" titled; "How to Start a Boat Cleaning Business" (a Nook Book available at the Barnes and Noble Website). Lance Winslow is semi-retired and Founder of the Online Think Tank http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - You may contact Lance Winslow by email for dialogue, discourse, discussion, or debate on interesting topics.

Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio

AppId is over the quota

The original Chinese name of this book is Liaozhai Zhiyi. It means "Spooky Stories from Teacher Liao's Study." The author's real name is Pu Songling. "Liaozhai" is the pseudonym of writer Pu. According to a record, Pu places a bench in front of his house, prepares a tea and snack, and calls travelers going by to stop for a rest. White the traveler sits and enjoys his tea; Pu asks him if he has strange stories to tell. He must have listened to thousands of travelers. The stories he published number 490.

Most of the stories are of a paranormal or mystical nature. In many Asian countries, in ancient times, people believed that foxes lived more than 100 years develop tails more than two. Then, they acquire a magical power to change themselves into human beings. There are many fox stories in Liaozhai Zhiyi. Another subject is "qui," meaning ghost. In Liaozhai Zhiyi, many ghosts appear and interact with the living. There are stories about spirits, animals other than foxes, and simply unexplainable phenomenon.

Although all the stories focus on paranormal activities, the main themes are love, life, and living. It is well-known that one of Pu's stories became the basis of the world-famous movie "A Chinese Ghost Story". As many may know, this is the story of an ordinary young merchant who falls in love with a beautiful girl ghost. In the process of fulfilling his mission, the girl ghost helps him. With the ghost's help, he accomplished his mission.

My favorite story is about a fox bride. It is the story of a student who wants to pass the examination to be an officer of the Chinese government. Because the student is not rich, he has difficulty continuing his studies.

One day when the student was working on a mountain, he saved a fox that was almost killed by hunters. Despite the fact that he did not have much money, he spent what he did have to buy the fox from the hunters and he then released it into the woods. That night, he was visited by a beautiful girl. She confessed that she was the fox he had saved earlier that day. She said she wanted to help him pass his exam. He gladly accepted her offer. He did not know where she worked, but she went out in the morning and brought him money so that he did not have to work anymore and was able to spend more time studying.

He passed his exam the following year. Then the girl told him that she would leave now since she had finished her task. He asked the girl to marry him. She said that she could not marry him because she was a fox, but he told her that he did not care. He truly wanted to marry her, he said, and he did not hope to marry anybody else, because he knew that he could not have passed the exam without her help. They married and lived happily ever after.

One day, when a visitor arrived at their house, the wife did not have time to hide her tail. This surprised the visitor. Later, she gave birth to two boys, who both had a mysterious power: predicting the future.

The story is supernatural. However, it teaches us about the importance of gratitude. The man and the fox woman built a happy life together because they were grateful to one another.

Shaw Funami is an owner of "zhen international, inc.", known as a mentor for cross cultural relationship called "Fill the Missing Link". You can learn about his profile in Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/shaw.funami. Please feel free to contact him at "hisashi.funami@zhenintl.ws" or visit his website. http://www.squidoo.com/Make-Friends

Flight Deck, Volume 1, First Edition - By, Edward Atkins

AppId is over the quota

"Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all. ~ William Temple"

In Flight Deck: A Pictorial Essay of a Day in the Life of an Airdale (Volume I, Second Edition) Edward Atkins narrates his thoughts to the reader in a humble fashion of wisdom, insight and honesty. In his book which is a monumental achievement to the Navy, he reflects back to his service during 1945 and 1946 aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Antietam (CV-36), honorably named after the Civil War battle that claimed 23,000 casualties, the bloodiest single day in American history.

As a curator in a museum would take patrons throughout the exhibits and add insight resulting in a higher appreciation and understanding, Edward Atkins curates his book of Naval Archive photographs with his personal story, impressions and insight. His words are captivating as it becomes clearly evident to the reader that each and every word, thought and opinion is there for the reader's benefit, not for the author's. As there is just so much time a man has in life, it is important to pass along to others the essence of what has happened; how men have created this world in which we inhabit, and why things are the way they are. From the onset of Edward Atkins' remarks asking "forgiveness" for typographical oversights due to his physical limitations, to his closing salute, "Antietam, Hail and Farewell," the reader is brought into a first-hand diary of how life was upon a ship created for a sole purpose of warfare.

An "Airdale" is crew on the flight deck of a carrier. A lackluster job of perfunctory repetition, moving and securing aircraft; it is as important as any small gear in a machine without which the mechanism would cease to operate. Furthermore, Edward Atkins does not in any way make himself out to be a hero, as clearly in the onset he states that the word "Veteran" applies to those that have been in combat, and his role was "ancillary" to the war effort. Although one never knows if the enemy is just over the horizon, this is not a book of war stories. The focus of the book is dealing with the inner workings of the carrier, along with the task force provided for support and protection.

The photographs depict the carrier in all of its glory, at sea and in port, with the anonymity of the men which bring these metal skeletons of force to life. Almost every photograph has been taken from the National Archives. Most interestingly, Edward Atkins writes a narration for each photograph using two distinct "voices." One being the seasoned gentleman of elder years, with the historical knowledge and wisdom earned through his life's achievements and research. Then one of an impressionable young man of 18 and 19 years of age, serving in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier; a man-made creation of immense design excellence of "form following function." This dichotomy of wisdom and emotion, coupled with the bountiful photographs of exquisite detail, result in an experience one cannot gain nowadays any other way than to read Flight Deck.

This three volume set should be a proud gift to all those entering the military, especially the Navy and Coast Guard, as well as all of the younger generation with an interest in history, technology or warfare. Citizens enjoying the freedom so ardently achieved through the sacrifice and fortitude of those of Edward Atkins' generation have a need-to-know the inner workings of men performing jobs on the deck of ships which have shaped our history. Flight Deck is a tribute to all that served, as we salute you.

Reviewed by: Gary R. Sorkin

Gary R. Sorkin is the Senior Editor for Pacific Book Review. Please visit Pacific Book Review at:

http://www.pacificbookreview.com/