History Books > T History Books > Alison Weir

Advantages: brilliant!
Disadvantages: wanted to know more.

...been interested in history and the Tudor period is my favourite so this book really appealed to me. The reviews on the back cover claimed that the book was an entertaining account of Henry V11’s complicated domestic history, full of interesting detail. It was the promise of interesting detail taken from reliable sources, which persuaded me to buy this book as opposed to other accounts on offer. So heres a brief taster of what this book has to offer, ...
...The content ********** At the front of the book is a really well detailed chronology starting from 1485 when Henry Tudor wins the battle of Bosworth Field and the Tudor Dynasty begins to 1558 when Elizabeth1 comes to the throne. Part 1 of the book is devoted to Katherine of Aragon, Henry’s wife for over 20 years. There is a wealth of excellent data about this queen as she was a princess in her own right. The book charts her life from her early ... Read review

Advantages: Intelligent, accessible writing, great storytelling.
Disadvantages: Hmmm @ Thomas More.

...a damp, dank room in the Tower of London? Or is he the most wrongly maligned figure in English history, blackguarded by the upstart Tudors so that the English people would accept them as rulers? Ask any historian and they will tell you that their job is - for the most part - detection. History is all about finding clues. History is about piecing together tiny shreds of evidence. In this way, the historian hopes to interpret the past. We all like ...
...of popular history than the most famous murder mystery of all; the story of the Princes in the Tower? This double murder has fascinated for over five hundred years. The disappearance – and we assume, death – of the erstwhile Prince of Wales and Duke of York has never, in the public imagination at least, been satisfactorily solved. Did the boys' uncle, Richard III really "do them in"? Or should we look elsewhere, to Henry VII perhaps, or perhaps even ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent account of unprecidented war trial
Disadvantages: Can be hard reading at times

INTRODUCTION After the fall of the Third Reich, the Allies of the United Kingdom, France, The United States and Russia were left with the issue of bringing the Nazi leaders to justice. Whatever they decided would set a precedent; no trial in history had previously been conducted for the top brass of a criminal regime. They understood the importance of any decision they made, as it would hold the key to how war criminals once defeated would ...
...of this ground breaking trial. It is hard to read these kinds of things objectively; for example, my own father served in the British 8th Army during the war, and I would have been a fair way up the regime's hit list, so I can't claim to be in any way neutral. However, I have tried hard to read this book looking from both sides of the trial. It is a great credit to the book that it enables you to do this to a fair degree. Perhaps more fairly that ... Read review

Advantages: Compelling true story, well written.
Disadvantages: None

Highly detailed account of the wartime experiences of a group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne's Easy Company. The book's very accessible style (it even includes maps at the front) and its highly compelling subject matter combine to make this an extremely worthwhile read. The inclusion of photographs in the book helps to remind the reader that this is a TRUE story, rather than just a TV show (which was also excellent). Especially striking is the ...
...though I won't elaborate as it would spoil the book if you haven't read it (or seen the TV series). Personally, I couldn't put this book down. The shattering, heart-rending journey these men go through over the course of 307 pages makes this book (for me) the ultimate page-turner. It left me with a sense of gratitude at the sacrifices and hardships these men went through, whilst feeling inspired that they still retained their friendship and humanity. ... Read review

Advantages: A good read
Disadvantages: none

Operation certain death is written by Damien Lewis and was published in 2004 and is the inside story of the SAS's greatest battles. Damien Lewis is an award winning author and filmmaker whose documentaries have appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 and a host of other networks. Operation certain death is the real life story of eleven Irish Ranger soldiers who where taken hostage in sierra Leone in 1999 by the west side boys after a routine mission to the ...
...a battle plan code named Operation Barras in which they would drop into the middle of the rebel village and all hell would break. This was also a joint operation with the Paratrooper Company 1 Para whose mission was to take out the neighboring rebel village Magbeni and their heavy artillery in case they use them on the SAS during the rescue of the Irish Rangers. This mission was considered to be extremely dangerous and very unlike the SAS who use ... Read review