Danyel Allen

Much Deeper Than I Figured…

Revisado: 06-19-23

Well done- much more insight than other, cursory pieces I’ve read. Narration was solid as well.

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Interesting Take…

Revisado: 04-06-23

Good story- glad I read the official version. I learned a great many things. The Audible recording was not the best quality (very rare), being louder and softer in certain places and muffled considerably in others. Almost sounds like it was recorded in mono vs. stereo. Otherwise it was a fun, fast read.

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Not Much New Here…

Revisado: 04-02-23

I was expecting more deep review and commentary on the three meetings these two had. Rather, it’s largely a short bio of each- in fact, they don’t even meet for the first time until 2/3 the way through. I usually enjoy Kilmeade’s work a LOT, and his Audible performance is great as always… by this one left me a bit flat vs. what the title suggested. Ok for a real novice on the men and the topic.

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Really Good… Except…

Revisado: 03-29-23

Great research here and I learned a lot about the debates raging behind the scenes. My only complaint, there was little insight into the debate at the amendment level- was hoping to hear about debates on the 5th and 2nd amendments, respectively. The book talks extensively about what would become the 1st, but glosses over the rest in a “single paragraph montage”, saying basically “similar debate was had on all the other amendments”. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.

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Great Read!

Revisado: 03-19-23

Fast paced, direct, common sense, and full of “yes! Right?!” moments throughout… this guy is a primary reason my family and I moved from Seattle, WA 9 mos. ago. He is the best argument AGAINST term limits (which he supports) I have seen.

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Exactly What I Was Hoping For

Revisado: 03-16-23

As a novice, and in watching a few shows/movies on Tudor England (most notably The Tudors), I was intrigued by Thomas More and the events that led to his downfall. Similarly to almost all of his books, Ackroyd here does not disappoint. He provides straight facts of the matter and gives very little commentary or personal thoughts, therefore leaving it to the reader to draw conclusions. I liked that as much time was spent on his ascent as his demise and that the massive degree of politics were but a minor footnote in the overall saga of More’s life. The depth of detail on his imprisonment and trial was fantastic as well. If there was one flaw (and I’m reticent to call it this), it would be that More’s execution takes place on the very last page of the book. I’d have loved another few pages on immediate fallout of More’s beheading, and maybe even a small bit on what led to his becoming a saint. Still, the book is titled “The Life of Thomas More” and the author gives us exactly that. Rich. Detailed. Great read for anyone who wants the history, largely separated from the drama.

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PAINFUL

Revisado: 03-04-23

Rarely do I rate books less than 4 stars, and even less frequently do I type an actual review. Here, I make an exception. I could type 1500 words and list 10 reasons why this book is bad, but I will give only two big ones. 1) SO much bias skewed toward Anne- though she says up front she is going to be unbiased, that is laughable within 20 pages. To be fair, it’s RIGHT THERE in the title, and I came in the door leaning a bit toward thinking Anne got a raw deal anyway. But even with my bias, I will say this book was 100% Anne Apologist. The author should decide whether to be a historian or a defense attorney. We are led to believe that Anne’s sole purpose in marrying Henry was due to her wishing to do good for all and her wish to push the Protestant cause. No ambition- NONE. No desire for power. Not wishing ill of Katherine or Mary. The only mistakes Anne seems to make are poorly chosen words from time to time- rubbish. 2) Seeing (and judging) the time through 22nd century eyes. I HATE when historians do this, regardless of the topic. YES, women were treated unfairly. YES, men of nobility were chronically unfaithful. YES, religious persecution was deplorable. But for the love of Pete, MUST the author call it out every single time it happens, reminding us (via hashtags- swear to God), how awful and unfair the time was? Honestly, this book was well-researched, but it was all wasted by being turned into a piece of propaganda. I barely made it through.

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Actually… Boring.

Revisado: 02-27-23

I’ve read all 6 in this series now. This one (which I expected to be the best), was in fact, the worst. Biggest reason: it glances off of most significant historical events of the 20th century and focuses increasingly on cultural aspects of society. It did solid justice to Thatcher-ism and the fallout, but that was the highlight for me.

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Pretty Partisan- Disappointing

Revisado: 03-16-21

Might have been a good read, had the author not paused to remind me every 3 pages that Nixon was lying and the eventuality of being toppled. A few interesting stories, but hard to enjoy through the stench of disdain for the subject.

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Great detail- learned a lot!

Revisado: 01-23-21

The first 1/3 of the book is really dry, laying the background on Roman politics and family histories... hard to follow at times. But the reasoning for the detail makes sense once the main 7-8 characters come to the fore... it helps make the cause/effect of political and warring decisions make a lot of sense in context. It’s a great read overall- my best measuring stick of this is that I now have about 6 other related topics to go learn about (Augustus, Battle of Philippi, Actium, and of course, Julius Caesar). Fortunately, this author has several books on these, of which I’m sure I will buy a few.

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