Bartlett tries to cover practically every aspect of life during his period, from court politics to village religious life to sexual mores. He does a nice jobe of balancing the general and the specific, reinforcing his general conclusions with interesting anecdotes. Some parts are more tedious than others, depending on your tastes - since he deals with so many issues, some are bound to interest the reader more than others.

Anyone familiar with the Cambridge History collection will be familiar with the format of this book. Essentially Bartlett's work is an expansion of an epoch of English history from, roughly, 1066 to 1200 and covers the reigns of William the Conqueror and the generations of Norman and Angevin kings succeeding him on the throne. Like the Cambridge History series, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings dissects the period, examining life from nearly every aspect: military events of each reign, relations between king and nobility, king and commoner and king and heirs, social strata, cost of armaments, land holding and land use, cost of living and inflationary trends, law courts, rise of a merchant middle class, growth of cities, etc. The volume is incredibly thorough in its coverage of the period, and its bibliography is impressive. Original documents are described and cited throughout the book, providing the dedicated reader with primary sources with which to follow up his/her interests. It would be an excellent secondary source book for someone doing research on the period. It is however very deep and detailed and takes considerable time to read. Light reading it isn't, even for the history buff, but it is worth doing for anyone interested in this very active, very complex period.

A lot of photography books are poorly written, but not so this one. Paterson's prose is up to par with his images, which are absolutely gorgeous. Seeing Skye in all four seasons through Paterson's photographs helped me get a much better sense of this wonderful island (I've only visited once). I'm desperate to return--and I'll definitely take this book with me when I do. The routes seem well-planned and thoroughly researched.

All my travel adventures start with a good book. This is definitely The Book for the Isle of Skye. I don't think you have to physically follow David Paterson's 8-day-long path from Armadale (south) to Duntulm (north) to come away with a delicious sense of having been there. The photographs are stunning. But unlike cheesy tourist photography books, A Long Walk is beautifully written, engaging, and memorable. I haven't reread the book yet, but still often think of one of his gloomiest (and windiest) hikes uphill, when in the midst of a good sulk he is surprised by a lark that was guarding a perfect, cozy nest of eggs. I loved this book because Paterson obviously relishes serendipitous moments like that one, as well as the details and history of a fascinating place, good maps, and of course, excellent photography.

Even if Amazon.com doesn't have it in stock, it's worth the wait... or just get yourself to Scotland and buy one there.

I particularly enjoyed this book because it came as a complete surprise to me that it existed and when I stumbled across it in the Christchurch library I couldn't put it down-as I read initially about the family members I knew and then more widely.later I found it also in teh Auckland Public library
I have spotted a few factual errors in book but nothing that outweighs the enormous effort the late Helena Jacobs put in . It is actually one of 3 books on the Jacobs-Norley family and all of them are huge!

If there was one single book that has infuenced my hobby of genealogy it has been teh work of Helena Jacobs who, though I never met her, showed me how family history could be done

It was my privilege to provide some detail for this book, after hearing of the auther from the late Geoffery Meynal Norley, of Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia. A copy is with the Soc. of Gen. in London U.K., but is a must for every Norley, particularly the Kent, branch (Devon, Cheshire, must fit in someplace?) I contributed photos of my Great grandfather and family etc. Having met many Norleys, the family likeness, whether, tall, thin, nordic or short dark stretches across generations sometimes (i.e. 1780 branch off-- Geoff and my father and Uncle, a distant relative in Melbourne via Offham, Kent are all 'from the same mold'. The American pictures show the same family likeness, staring back at you. Pity they cannot speak... then again! I would be interested to know of the authers condition. George Norley.

I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down. The author was frank in his criticisms and flowing in his praise. I thought the descriptions of the tactical battles from the brigade commander's perspective were fascinating. The diagrams of 3 Commando Brigade's major battles were invaluable in digesting the detailed narrative and fully appreciating the enormity of the Brigade's mission. The professionalism and proficiency of this storied unit is given it's just due on these 159 pages. I think the true legacy of this text for me was how it has ignited a curiousity in me to read more about The Battle of the Falklands. Would like to know if there is a companion book out there from the Argentine infantryman's perspective that would shed some light on their actions.

This book is an excellent and readable memoir that anybody with an interest in the Falklands War, or in the Royal Marines, would be well advised to read. It is an easy read, but this doesn't detract from the fact that it is a serious piece of work that will hopefully have enduring value.

A previous reviewer describes the book as "boast and brag" and "accusations and self defence". Any member of the British defence community will tell you that the words "boast and brag" and Major-General Thompson are entirely incompatible. You will find no self-justification here and a refreshing lack of inflated ego.

Julian Thompson's NO PICNIC is an easy to read yet informative account of the 1982 Falklands War. Julian Thompson commanded the 3rd Commando Brigade, the initial assault force, during the Falklands War. From that perspective, he provides a history of the war. Unsurprisingly, the book focuses on the ground aspects, rather than the sea or air aspects of the war. All of the major ground battles are described. Moreover, Thompson gives in-depth insight into the operational level decisionmaking of the war. The book has a scholarly flavor because of Thompson's access to his own correspondence, assessments, and operational reports. In general, NO PICNIC is an instructive account of ground operations in modern warfare.

From mods to rastafarians this books covers the history and social significance of them all. Although heavy at the start the book levels out at a nice factual tempo providing meaning to every subculture youth movent interlinking them and weaving them with the music scene. There are a few gaps, perhaps due to lack of knowledge, which I believe are significant but have been left out. Worth a read if you are intrested in fasion, youth, sociological research or music.

I've read other books in the same vein like Neil Nehring's "Flowers in the Dustbin", but this book deserves respect as one of the first books to deal with punk seriously as a social phenomenon. The last few paragraphs also privide much insight into the mind of a "radical" academic.

This book is fundmentally the the bases for anyone who is studying art theory. This books goes into how subcultures like the punk movement to hip hop and gang cultures got started and why they are important to understanding diverse social structures.

Althought this book is small it is not an easy read. I read this book four or five time before things started to sink in. After finishing this book I felt more prepared for the art going experience.

For years, I have heard about this book. After reading it, I am not that thrilled. I would suggest purchasing the JR Ackerly biography, as opposed to this. It's a bit sanitized for my taste.

Ackerley, a subtle and unassuming writer, has lately been quietly adopted as a "gay" writer. The term seems to have had less meaning in Ackerley's time than in ours. "My Father and Myself" would perhaps have been, at the time it was written, a suspenseful tale; it is constructed almost as a mystery. The modern reader, alert to every faint whiff of suggested homosexuality, will have guessed the memoir's (un-)shattering conclusion well before he has reached the end. No matter: Ackerley could've written elegantly and compellingly about stock-car racing, or peeling paint; his material here--his father's past and his own youth--is of universal interest, and of particular interest to unhappy sons.

The NYRB Classics series pretty much started out with a slew of reprints of the cult writer J.R. Ackerley, including his three memoirs (this, MY DOG TULIP and HINDOO HOLIDAY) and his one novel (WE THINK THE WORLD OF YOU). This, I would say, is easily his finest work. Ackerley's masterful reconstruction of his father's mysterious lovelife (comprising two unwed households and several unexplained longterm "friendships" with wealthy men) and his own conflicted sex life as a gay man in early twentieth-century London. Ackerley's tone always seems extremely honest, and while the narrative never comes to any absolute conclusions about Ackerley's father you're left convinced that these omissions and gaps are meaningful in and of themselves. This is as about a fine and interesting a memoir as I can imagine.

I really enjoyed reading The Holy Kingdom and although I'd be interested to read more about Prince Madoc in America this book acts as a great introduction to the work of Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett's Ancient British Historical Project.

I am heartened that the Holy Kingdom is now available in the USA; this project is of immense significance and if we are to flesh out the history of Madoc and Arthur in America in the sixth Century then we need to know where we're coming from...

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It does indeed seem as if Adrian Gilbert caught on to Wilson and Blackett rather late and had an editorial role, whereas they have done all the meaningful research.

Let's hope this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the publishers and these British historians. Rich in detail, racy in its commentary and sober in its reflection, The Holy Kingdom takes you to the sites of every relevant King Arthur story and even provides a twist in the tale in its debunking of the current Glastonbury hoax...

This is a great book, in so many ways...

Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett have been studying the real history of the two King Arthurs for over 40 years and their research is based only upon hard fact. Their work allows you to access every manuscript, visit every historic site and touch every stone and artefact.

Adrian Gilbert simply wrote up their voluminous research and put it into a more reader friendly style, for which we should be grateful.

No wonder the academics are scared of Wilson and Blackett. By using the ancient British (in the Welsh and Latin language) manuscripts they have been able to conclusively prove the existence of two King Arthurs, the reality of an early Christian church in Wales that predates St. Augustine (597) and, for example, that Southern Wales was the scene for Arthur 2nd's famous battle at Baedan (Mynydd Baedan). Note that modern Ordnance Survey maps omit many of the real and important historical sites. This happened as a result of the authors initial research.

Wilson and Blackett's research shows the deliberate and malicious misdating of ancient monuments and stones by supposed "experts" at the University of Wales, CADW and the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaelogical Trust Ltd, all of whom combined from the early 1980s to shut down the historians' project. Happily, with our full support, they soldier on in true Arthurian style!

The truth has always been that they are 100% correct in their conclusions and even Gilbert, ever the skeptic, has had to admit as much. Hence his late involvement in the Ancient British historical project.

Against the background of political intrigue and state-funded hostility to their work, many of us are eternally grateful that we will be able to pass on the true history of these lands and our people onto our children. We will be able to take them to see places in Wales and the West Midlands and stand in awe at sites where British history was made.

Latterly, we have begun to understand the migration histories of the Khumry-Welsh (wrongly spelled Cymry) who descended from Brutus. The reality of this "invisible kingdom", stretching from Wales through Europe to the middle East, is a remarkable story that logically follows from this important book.

Go out and BUY this book - it'll change your perception and you'll overdose on truth!

A vital book.

The smear of misread manuscripts is not new and one that various powerful interests have tried through the ages. Anhun, or Annhun Nigri, was indeed Arthur lst as the whole picture presented by an understanding of the interlocking Welsh genealogies shows.

Blackett and Wilson have stuck to the ancient record and tried to understand how one Arthur figure could have battled and beaten the Romans at Soissy in 383 and also defeated the Saxons circa 560. Obviously there were two men!

Annhun's story is the same at that of Arthur 1st, whose burial stone Blackett and Wilson discovered several years ago near Atherstone (Arthr's Twyn, or Arthur's burial site?) in the West Midland, within the Old Bury ancient site founded circa 250 AD as the record states. The legend on the stone read Artorius - in other words Arthur. The site is at the heart of an old Welsh kingdom where experts in place names like Margaret Gelling have clearly said "English and Welsh lived together".

Hence we should not be surprised that during a period of Welsh dominance, mistakenly described as the "latter period of Roman domination" (there was no such thing), Welsh place names, burial sites and other artefacts should be discovered in the modern West Midlands within the ancient bishopric of Lichfield.

So Annhun, who died circa 388 and who was a direct descendent of Arthur/Arthwys ll ap Meurig ap Tewdrig, was indeed a vitally important figure within the Khumric dynasty and whose authenticity is not in doubt. We now know that it was Arthur, specifically, due to the discovery of the stone and evidence presented very clearly, and unambiguously, in The Holy Kingdom.

You do not need to rely simply upon one manuscript with Blackett and Wilson; all references are stated and given in copious detail in The Holy Kingdom and are available to see. All Welsh historians dating back to at least 1760 (I have the books here) and back into the 1500s, moreover, (haven't got them!) stated that Arthur was a Welsh king. Their work was based upon manuscript research; many of the authors were theological types based at Oxford University.

Wilson and Blackett have allowed the past to speak and for an Arthurian "renaissance" to take place. They, it turns out, have led this new movement based on ancient and unimpeachable evidence.

This is a massively important book and one that I can only highly recommend. As a Welshman, and welsh speaker, living in Louisville, Kentucky, I understand the issues, the reasons for attacks on the author's work and the powerful interests that would rather this all just went away.

So please purchase the Holy Kingdom from amazon.com today!

Raymond Benson's latest Bond novel literally, has it all! "Never Dream of Dying" is a classic Bond novel in the tradition of "From Russia with Love". The adversaries Bond faces, the evil UNION, are the best group of Bond villians since SPECTRE. And the head of the UNION, Le Gerant, is the most evil, ingenious, and ruthless Bond villian since Blofeld.

While on the trail of Le Gerant, Bond meets beautiful movie star Tylyn Mignonne. James Bond has not had such a genuine romance since Tracy in OHMSS, and it is great to see Bond head-over-heels in love.

You need not be a Bond fan to enjoy this novel. Any John Grisham or Tom Clancy fan will be thrilled by this book as well.

And Bond film producers, if you are out there, this novel MUST be made into a film! It has all the classic elements of the early Bond films.

I read "Never Dream of Dying" in two short days. I couldn't put it down. More than the other "continuation" authors, Raymond Benson captures the spirit of Ian Fleming's James Bond. He doesn't write like Fleming, but somehow he nails Fleming's character. The plot here is a thrilling conclusion to the "Union trilogy" (which began in "High Time to Kill and continued in "Doubleshot") but you don't need to have read those two to enjoy this one. Le Gerant is a great villain, and "Never Dream of Dying" boasts some terrific locations in Cannes and Corsica. It would make a great film, if only EON Productions would wake up and pay attention.

As a long time 007 fan, I have just re-read all of Raymond Benson's Bond novels in the proper order and have some reflections on his entire series through "Never Dream of Dying." First of all, Benson is not Ian Fleming and readers should get past that expectation before beginning. He's not John Gardner, either (thank goodness!). That said, I believe Benson has come the closest to Ian Fleming of all the post-Fleming writers in that he has truly captured the essence of Bond's character and the universe in which 007 operates. It is a fantasy spy world, not based in reality, just as Fleming's was, but like Bond's creator, Benson keeps the main character very human. Benson's Bond makes mistakes, shows fear, feels pain, and is melancholy much of the time. At the same time, Benson has brought in many elements of the Bond film series (I have read an interview with him that states that he and the Ian Fleming Estate agreed that this would be the approach to take). Therefore, Benson's Bond is a mixture of the cinematic and literary Bonds, and for me, this works splendidly. I have seen some fans object to this or that but it seems to me that these fans are not getting past personal expectations. Bond is many things to many people. Benson, a long time Bond scholar and author of the excellent "James Bond Bedside Companion" knows his stuff. He has nailed the Bond character. Some have complained about his writing style. Benson is no Fleming, as stated earlier, but his style is succinct and easy to read. His books flow quickly and are highly entertaining. "ZERO MINUS TEN": Benson's first book has one of his best plots, but it suffers slightly from being a "first novel." His writing is at its weakest here, but that said, ZMT is a wonderful Bond story. It is very Fleming-esque with its Hong Kong location, characters like Guy Thackeray and T. Y. Woo and Li Xu Nan, and its descriptions of food, mahjong, and Triads. When reading ZMT, one is immediately aware that this is a harder-edged and darker Bond than perhaps what we are used to. For a first effort, it is very, very good. "THE FACTS OF DEATH": Benson's second book is more film-like, it feels like an EON Productions movie story. The plot is more "fantastic" in that it deals with a secret criminal organization called the Decada that is run by a crazy mastermind. The writing is improved,though, and in many ways this is a more entertaining book than ZMT. What is especially interesting is Benson's development of the "M" character and her relationship with Bond. "HIGH TIME TO KILL": My personal favorite of the bunch. This is a classic Bond novel in every sense of the word. The first half is fairly predictable cinematic-Bond stuff, except for a very Fleming-esque opening and 2nd chapter golf match. The second half, however, shows Benson hitting his stride and finding his own voice with a truly original departure from what is expected. As Bond and companions climb one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, the action becomes more like an "Into Thin Air"-type story. It's authentic spy-stuff amidst an environment that is cruel and harsh. This is a thrilling, un-put-downable book. "DOUBLESHOT": Another departure from the norm, as Benson appears to be experimenting with the structure of a Bond novel with this one. The first chapter is the ending of the book told from the different perspectives of several characters. The rest of the story begins in the past and catches up to the ending, and by then we are hooked. In this story, Bond is not well, he is injured, he is not working at full capacity, and this is what is interesting. "Doubleshot" is the middle book of a loose trilogy (beginning with "High Time to Kill") and it is darker and more introspective than the others. Some fans apparently didn't get it, but in many ways, this is Benson's most courageous book. "NEVER DREAM OF DYING": Another great one, right up there with "High Time to Kill," in terms of glueing a reader to the page. It's an excellent plot, tying up the trilogy that Benson began in HTTK. In this book, one can see the blending of the cinematic and literary Bonds more than in any other entry-- a lot of the action is very movie-like, while the storyline and characterizations are more like the Fleming novels. The moods and settings are the best that Benson has done, and the love interest is perhaps his strongest. The real stroke of brilliance in the book is what the author has done with the character of Bond's father in law. A very engaging book. My five-star review is based on Benson's series as a whole. Each book may not be a 5-star book on its own, but I don't think any of them are less than 4. Benson has put his mark on the Bond literary series. Fans who don't like him tend to focus on one or two aspects of what he does-- his writing style, his dependence on the cinematic elements, whatever... I feel that they're not seeing the forest for the trees. In my humble opinion, Raymond Benson has brought new life to the series and I hope he continues the books a long, long time.

Knowing that this book was written by Theodore Roosevelt makes it an important book regardless of the actual text. TR's influence on the strategic importance of seapower can be traced back to his feelings as a young author. The book itself was tedious and not very inspiring. It's interesting to glimpse the feelings of the young, strong, post-Civil War American writing the book. As far as a history of the War of 1812, you can do much better elsewhere.

In a time when patriotism is passe, reading this book can redden the stuff in any American's veins. Our Navy's often-victorious battles against a superb and numerically superior foe ranks with the Athenian victory at Marathon in the annals of honor. Roosevelt was a natural storyteller and a first-rate scholar. Like JFK two generations later ("Why England Slept") this work was the product of a young twentysomething Harvard grad (JFK was actually a senior) that commanded serious attention nationally, and presaged a later rise to the summit of public life. Roosevelt's research is exhaustive, but not tedious, thanks to a vigorous prose style that carries the reader through a mass of detail without losing sail. The digression on which nationalities make the best seafarers would no doubt be considered un-PC today, but, as a general characterization of national characteristics, they arguably hold true. The author's final chapter, on the Battle of New Orleans, forshadows future policy, in that his criticism of the unreliability of the militia were embodied in the reforms that fully Federalized the National Guard, as the Dick Act of 1903. (Doubtless, his Spanish-American War experiences contributed to his desire to supplant the 1793 Militia Act, as well.) This book rests on my shelf, next to Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History," and O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin novels - as is fitting for an historical work written in the spirit of high adventure and studded with minute detail. -Lloyd A. Conway

This very well-written account, surprising from a youth of only 23, gives balanced portrayals of most of the major sea battles between the fledgling American navy, and the Lord of the Seas, Great Britain. In it, Roosevelt backs up his praise of American maritime ingenuity and the seaworthiness and discipline of its sailors with proofs, citations and cautious but sound reasoning. In each, diagrams of the engagements are provided, as well as other documented statistics, without overloading the reader with details, yet there are plenty of those. Roosevelt describes the handling of each ship and the actions of its captains with minute detail, without being, to the layman, purely technical. Although Roosevelt beats the patriotic drum, he also swings a corrective switch, against our commanders and our partisan historians, when their actions are faulty and objectionable -- a fact which underscores his fairmindedness and the authenticity of his rendering.

Monroe's done it again, all right. He's packaged pseudo-Celticdrivel into a hack novel and dubbed it Druidic Truth. Anyone who hasthe utter gall to quote DJ Conway as proof of his ridiculous claim that women were not Druids is no expert. He obviously has no idea that a dryad was a Greek tree spirit and not a priestess, else he wouldn't have used such an inaccurate source. His attempted defense of the Charm of Making, aka the plagiarized chant of Merlin in the film Excalibur, is equally weak. His "Druidic Magic" is stolen straight from Thelemic ritual, and poorly at that. I'd give it one star, but telling a good tall tale counts for something. This is one of the tallest I've read since the adventures of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Stay away from this book if you value the truth. Buy it if you want a laugh or are willing to use a mislabeled, misrepresented, mishandled system and call it Celtic.

While historically I believe that Mr. Monroe does not have much factual basis for his claims, I still applauded this book. His use of Jungian psychology is the saving grace of this book. It shows that even though 99.9% of druidic knowledge was destroyed it still lives on as part of the universal subconscious. As a student of history I was greatly pleased to not see fabricated BS that so often accompanies Llewellyn's books. Things like the great holocaust in the 6th century (he called it the destruction of Avalon.) As a magical system I feel that it works quite well. I have assimilated it into my own workings and am absolutely in love with it. For once, something that does not draw heavily from Gardner. This book is a shining light among the filth. I could not recommend this book or its predecessor any higher.

As a practitioner of the Arts for over a decade I give this work 2 thumbs up. For the uninitiated individual who claims Mr. Monroe "stole" the Charm of Making from the movie Excalibur I can only say one thing... Don't knock it till you try it! Hollywood very often uses historians to research details for the use in their films. This most definatly was the case here. I personally have used this "Charm" with suprising results! For anyone interested in authentc Druidsm, rather than the crap commonly passed off as Druidism, this book is for you. I would recommend reading AND sudying his first book before getting into this one.My only peeve is the fact that Llewellyn Publications failed to list Monroe's school address in the work. They did this in his first book as well.