Alice M. Marshall

Riddled with errors

Revisado: 10-04-19

“King James I, a life from beginning to end” is so riddled with errors that were it an appliance it would have to be recalled. In the discussion of the life of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, she is described as having grown up in the palace of Versailles. Versailles was not built until the 17th century. Mary Queen of Scots grew up in the Louvre. Bothwell is listed as one of the conspirators that murdered Rizzio. No other source, not Clarie Ridgway, nor Andrew Lange, nor A. Taylor Innes make any mention of Bothwell in their account of the murder. Jacob Abbott describes Bothwell as being present that night in Holyroodhouse, but had to jump out the window to escape the murderous gang.

This biography of James VI/I alleges that he was jealous of the popularity of eldest son. This is the first I have heard of this and I am very doubtful.

One of the greatest disappointments is the description of the creation of the Authorized Bible, what we call the King James Bible, his greatest achievement. There is no mention of King James meeting with the Puritans carrying the Millenary Petition asking, amongst other things, for a new translation of the Bible. In a famous meeting at Hampton Court King James appointed a committee, consisting of ½ Church of England traditionalists, and ½ Puritans to oversee a new translation, requiring only that it have the “word of God” only and no commentary. This kept the two wings of the Church of England busy for years and out of King James' hair.

There is zero mention of the creation of Ulster Plantation, the tragic legacy of which is still with us. Nor is there any mention of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.

In the discussion of King James' VI/I legacy I it talks about the civil war as being between Catholics and Protestants where as it was famously between Royalists and Parliamentarians. It was about what sort of Protestant Church the Church of England would be and about the power to tax.

It winds up saying that James' descendant, King James VII/II was over thrown by William III of the House of Hanover. Of course William III was of the House of Orange, which explains why he is known to history as William of Orange. The first Hanoverian does not appear until 1715.

Somebody truly just phoned it in on this one. Audible really needs to record one of the actual biographies of James VI/I for those of us who have an actual interest in history.

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sermon built around the life of Calvin

Revisado: 08-26-19

This is not a biography, it is a sermon built around the life of Calvin. If I want the word of God I can read the bible, I was interested in learning about Calvin and this book does not tell you very much.

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Excellent overview of the peasants revolt

Revisado: 08-19-19

Bragg interviews several experts on the uprising of 1381. This is a great introduction for anyone new to the topic. I was sorry that Bragg did not quote Ball’s poetry. But otherwise it is wonderful.

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Disappointing

Revisado: 08-19-19

No mention of the greatest achievement of Wycliffe’s life: the Bible in English. Also, no mention of the peasants revolt. Wycliffe had no role in that but it affected subsequent events. I hope Audible will find a better book on Wycliffe.

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Phenomenal research

Revisado: 08-16-19

This is a book for our times. There is so much here, but my favorite part is the way this books recovers socialist history. If, like myself, you are a child of the Cold War, all the achievements of socialism were air brushed out of your education. Most particularly I was fascinated the the account of American socialists. Between the end of the civil war and World War One, there was a large groups of elected socialists at the municipal level. For that alone this is an important book and recommended to all.

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