Amy

Well written and utterly horrifying

Revisado: 03-19-25

A well written and utterly horrifying account of ordinary people who convinced themselves that the murder of millions was 'necessary,' 'correct,' and 'justified.'

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Excellent!

Revisado: 09-26-24

You'll Do is a well written and comprehensive examination of marriage both historically and in the modern US. I highly enjoyed it, learned a lot, and highly recommend it.

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Fascinating!

Revisado: 09-05-24

Daughters of Chivalry is a fascinating examination of the lives of the five daughters of King Edward I, what their experience actually was for the era in which they lived, and how it was - in a lot of ways - much different than how medieval princesses are popularly portrayed in twenty-first century media. This book was very enjoyable and I learned a lot; Daughters of Chivalry is something that I would highly recommend.

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Talk about a misleading title

Revisado: 07-29-24

The thesis of this book is how Edith Wilson was supposedly the first woman president in secret, but the actual text accounts how she didn't govern and had no intention to govern because - to paraphrase - 'the country wasn't her concern, her husband's health was.' This was a very disappointing and infuriating book; definitely would not recommend.

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Excellent Series

Revisado: 01-11-23

Cycles of American Political Thought is a fascinating and informative lecture series about how liberalism (as defined by the primacy of the average individual - as opposed to the collective, as was the case in the Puritan colony and other early American forms of governance - in political thought and concern) tends to cycle between active state liberalism (the idea that the government should actively intervene to improve actual conditions for the average individual, such as with medicare) and a more laissez-faire liberalism (the idea that the government should intervene as little as possible so the best individuals can make themselves known, such as with laissez-faire economics). The series starts with examining and accounting for British political theory/practice as it would have been the direct precursor and shaper of initial American settlements and their governments (to paraphrase Professor Kobylka: they brought baggage, and not just in the form of stuff); discusses Locke and his influence on all the Revolutionary-era giants, along with their own interpretations of and divergence from his political philosophy; discusses backlash and reorganization in the aftermath of the initial generation's passing; discusses the Civil War era and the genesis of modern active state governance (with Lincoln, who was the idol and influence of later Roosevelts more famous for bringing it to fruition) in the context of the way those not considered to be part of the initial conception of The People (black Americans and women) tried to expand that definition so they could also participate in governance and society more generally; discusses backlash in the form of social darwinism, particularly during the Gilded Age; discusses the Great Depression and the subsequent widespread demands for active state liberal governance; and discusses the backlash in the form of political philosophy most associated with Ronald Reagan.

Key to the lecturer's conception and exploration of liberalism is not just the focus on the individual, but also the concept of apparently limitless space and resources. Professor Kobylka argues that, for a long time and through several cycles, freedom and equality were considered to be interchangeable in an economic sense because freedom to move around and do stuff that would make money was a precursor to and necessary state for equality (ie: prosperity more generally). Implicit in this seems to be the acknowledgement that more recent times (the last hundred and fifty years or so) have seen more pointed and strident criticisms of laissez-faire liberalism because, as there was less and less space/resources not already owned by someone else (to be clear: someone else white; I'll get to that in minute), if there was a problem an individual couldn't just move elsewhere with more plentiful resources (ie: "go west, young man!"). To quote my notes: When you've run out of "free resources/land" (ie: stolen from their indigenous inhabitants, but that's not really a part of this lecture) to throw at citizens you can't just continue to scream 'make something of yourself!' The citizens will look at each other, then at you and respond 'with what?'

All in all, I thought this was a very thorough and educational lecture series. It covered a lot of history from perspectives I hadn't considered before, introduced me to historical figures that I hadn't known about, and caused me to think about the influence of factors I hadn't realized were even part of the equation. This is a lecture series that I would highly recommend.

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Great Installment - More [Doctor]!

Revisado: 05-13-22

I always look forward to The Wandering Inn books when they are released and The Last Light was worth waiting for! This volume went back and visited with Geneva as she tries to find her place as a neutral party of the continent dominated by constant warfare among mercenary companies, the twins as they navigate the King of Destruction's court, Laken as he tries to rebuild Riverfarm and fend off part of the goblin army, and we finally see things come to a head with Az'kerash's pursuit of Ryoka. Also a rare treat, this book spent a while with Niers Astoragon - the famed Titan - as he contemplates retiring to search for his mysterious chess partner. Overall it was a great read, and I'm particularly pleased with the four chapters spent with Geneva and other humans now stranded on Baleros. The two chapters where she was introduced in The Flowers of Esthelm are my favorite in the entire series thus far. They broke my heart into tiny pieces and I was overjoyed when I saw there were Doctor chapters in this book. I can't wait to see what will happen in The General of Izril.

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Hilarious Comfort Read

Revisado: 05-05-22

Heirs of Grace is a book that I stumbled across while browsing, and I am very happy to have found it. While the plot might seem like something out of a only-halfway-decent YA novel (female protagonist unexpectedly inherits an amazing fortune and magic and problems), the thing I like best about the book is that it takes all the inherent problems that the prospective halfway-decent-YA-novel would have and fixes them by having the protagonist deal with those problems in more or less the way that an intelligent adult would. Plus, the writing is hysterical; the sheer amount of sass and sarcasm that saturates the story caused me to break down in laughter at multiple points. Heirs of Grace has become one of my favorite books and it is one that I would happily recommend.

EDIT: Even after my fourth time rereading, I still love this book. Five out of five stars; would enthusiastically recommend.

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Hilarious Spoof

Revisado: 05-05-22

I got this because it came up as an audible daily deal a while ago and I thought it looked interesting. A hilariously entertaining spoof on the superhero genre, Andrea Vernon and The Corporation for Ultrahuman protection mocks everything from genre tropes to capitalism to corporate culture and office politics. It was a fun read, I very much enjoyed it, and am likely to recommend it to others.

EDIT: I just finished rereading this for the third time, and it's still great. I look forward to reading the second book again, as well the most recently released installment in the series.

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Excellent Work

Revisado: 04-17-22

Published by Tudor historian Hayley Nolan, Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies bills itself as an expose on Tudor history. Clearly thoroughly researched, the text delves into the religious upheavals and political factions that would have shaped Anne Boleyn's life and her rise to becoming the second Queen of England during the reign of Henry VIII as his wife. The author argues that Boleyn was a religious activist and savvy political player, both of which would have and did earn her enemies and the author argues that - far from being a love match, as a lot of popular framings would have it - Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII was likely a result of choosing a match that would have allowed her the authority and protection to pursue her ideological agenda of protestant reform. As far as I can tell, the research backing up the various in-text citations is legit and properly represents the source material. Upon finishing the book, I have no problem with her conclusions.

However, upon adding this book to my currently-reading shelf, I noticed that the GoodReads page is positively deluged with reviews that basically boil down 'this is book is longform clickbait and not accurate in the slightest; don't waste your time.' While I do think that Nolan sometimes gets caught up her own rhetoric (disregarding war politics in favor of sex scandal propaganda is bad history, but not censorship), the process and conclusions of the text do seem to be sound and ultimately accurate. Additionally, Nolan isn't wrong to point out the issues with historical fiction as a genre, as it usually ends up being more...historically inspired, shall we say...than historically accurate. She isn't wrong to point out that this is a problem when the vast majority of the general public is familiar with and understands history through the dubiously accurate lens of historical fiction books, movies, and TV shows (and, let's face it, it's mostly TV shows). She isn't wrong to worry about what that means for how the public thinks about historical circumstances and historical figures. Even if you think she goes in a little heavy on the biting sarcasm (she does, though I often found it funny) or the rage-filled mocking (ditto) or think her tone could have been more professional (admittedly yes; though I think that's less important because this isn't an academic work and is clearly meant for a general audience most familiar with Anne Boleyn via her portrayals in popular historical fiction), her concerns are well founded and her ultimate point stands: that when you allow the social screeds and political propaganda of centuries past to become what's commonly thought of as history, you shouldn't be surprised when that history is biased and ultimately inaccurate.

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies is a book that I enjoyed reading, learned a lot from, and would recommend.

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Romantic Framing is a Gross Mischaracterization

Revisado: 04-11-22

Look! It's a bunch of red flags sewn into the shape of a person and brought, Frankenstein-like, to a semblance of life!

Seriously, though, that's pretty much what this book is. The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor: Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen is mostly a biography of Thomas Seymour - brother of Jane Seymour and uncle of King Edward VI - with an emphasis on his supposed 'courting' of Elizabeth Tudor. That makes the title versus the content of the book somewhat confusing, which doesn't help its case but is hardly unforgiveable. What I absolutely HATED about this book, though, is the framing as if it were some romantic almost-interlude between star-crossed loves. Despite the romance-novel-esque title, that is not the case.

Just based on the facts recounted in this book, Thomas Seymour was a borderline abusive, greedy, entitled predator of a man. He began sexually harassing a fourteen year old Elizabeth while she was staying with her stepmother, Dowager Queen Catherine Parr, which Catherine ignored and later blamed Elizabeth for and which Elizabeth couldn't do much about. Seymour was her stepmother's husband, and because of that couldn't be barred from anywhere in the household. Elizabeth herself couldn't leave because she was considered too young to have her own household and didn't have anywhere else to go. Additionally, she likely would have feared offending and alienating the uncle of her brother, the king, who very much adored Thomas Seymour even if she decided to make public how uncomfortable she was with the attention. The latter she was unlikely to do both due to the likelihood of impeding her ability to survive and support herself and due to the likelihood that his attentions would be blamed on her (that she was 'tempting him,' which is exactly what happened when things eventually did come to light). And all of this happened while Elizabeth was considered not yet a woman EVEN BY THE STANDARDS OF THE 1500S. Even after she established her own household and Dowager Queen Catherine died, what comes across clearly in all quotes from Elizabeth herself is 'I'm not interested; leave me alone.' Even when Seymour used rumor to try to force Elizabeth into marrying him to save her reputation, what comes across is sleaze (on his behalf) and politicking (on hers), not love. Despite the author's desperate attempt to frame this as a romance, that is clearly a gross mischaracterization.

All in all, I hated this book. I forced myself to listen to the end so I could review it in good conscience, but it is a book that I did not enjoy, learned little from, am glad I borrowed (and didn't waste money on), and would not recommend. I would offer an anti-recommendation, actually: skip this book. It's not worth it.

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