Gunpowder Green

Book Description

In this second Tea Shop Mystery, shop owner Theodosia Browning knows that something's brewing in the high society of Charleston: murder.

Customer Reviews:

Great Series.......2007-07-04

A very enjoyable story with great characterizations. If anyone wants to read a new cozy series this is it. Take a chance and you won't be disappointed!!

Loving Tea and Mysteries in Texas #1.......2007-05-08

I love tea...I love mysteries...and I love the recipes at the back!

One-Dimensional Writing.......2007-01-29

I've tried to give these books a fair chance. I like the Charleston setting and there are some good recipes in the back of the book if you enjoy tea. However, the writing gets in the way. All of the books in this series contain sentence fragments and don't seem to have been proofread. The characters are one-dimensional. They are not likeable. Theodosia is a busy-body, and comes across as an arrogant know-it-all who really has an issue about competing with the police and obstructing justice. Haley is irritating beyond belief. Drayton seems to be the only regular who is not obnoxious. The plots are silly. I would probably go to the library and page to the back of the book for the recipes but would not waste the time and money reading these

Great Cover, Poorly Written..........2006-05-04

Previous reviewers have already pointed out this book's many shortcomings. Let me add to the list with my biggest beef: about a fourth of the way through the book the author reveals who the murderer was in her previous book, "Death by Darjeeling" - which is a HUGE no-no for mystery writers. Did Childs ever stop to think that maybe someone might, as I did, read the second book before the first? That seems like a real no-brainer to me...

I love a great series with the same "friends" to sleuth along with!.......2006-02-25

I came across this series by accident, but will stick with it! I really enjoy series mysteries where the same charactors appear. In this series, you not only learn about Charleston, SC, antiques and some history, but I never dreamed I would learn so much about tea!
Laura Childs reels you in to her charactors and plots. You feel the sun and fog just as if you were walking through them with Theodosia Browning. The decriptions of teas and food are wonderful. There are recipes for both as well as hints for tea parties.
I was raised in the south, and I LOVE this series!

Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)

Average customer rating:

A Fascinating Overview
Outstanding.
Original thinking and excellent scholarship.
technology and warfare
The title should be: Gunpowder in Renaissance Land Warfare!

Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
Bert S. Hall
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801869943

Amazon.com

Francis Bacon, writing in 1620, remarked that the magnetic compass, the printing press, and gunpowder changed the appearance and state of the whole world. Bert S. Hall focuses closely on the last innovation to examine the effects of changes in military technology on European history in the late Middle Ages and early modern era. Strategists, he writes, first used guns as a means of inducing panic in an enemy. When rival armies gained access to this technology, the psychological use of firearms gave way to their employment as weapons of mass destruction. With increased military power came a transformation in the power of states, allowing greater centralization and force. Military history buffs will find much of interest in these pages.

Book Description

Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe explores the history of gunpowder in Europe from the thirteenth century, when it was first imported from China, to the sixteenth century, as firearms became central to the conduct of war. Bridging the fields of military history and the history of technology -- and challenging past assumptions about Europe's "gunpowder revolution" -- Hall discovers a complex and fascinating story. Military inventors faced a host of challenges, he finds, from Europe's lack of naturally occurring saltpeter -- one of gunpowder's major components -- to the limitations of smooth-bore firearms. Manufacturing cheap, reliable gunpowder proved a difficult feat, as did making firearms that had reasonably predictable performance characteristics. Hall details the efforts of armorers across Europe as they experimented with a variety of gunpowder recipes and gunsmithing techniques, and he examines the integration of new weapons into the existing structure of European warfare.

Customer Reviews:

A Fascinating Overview.......2007-03-19

Bert Hall delves deep into the technological history of Renaissance warfare and demonstrates both how much and how little new technologies have changed the face of battle. It deftly combines both a technical understanding of how those technologies were made with Mr. Hall's detailed understanding of the military history of that period.

The work is primarily focussed on the effects of gunpowder and firearms, but begins in the pre-gunpowder era of the late middle ages. By demonstrating how wars in this period were waged, the author shows the reader just how little the first gunpowder technology changed the way wars were fought. In essence, he shows how commanders faced with the new technology tried to fit it into traditional roles previously occupied by the longbow and crossbow any it did not immediately eclipse those weapons in such roles.

From there, the author goes on to show how the peculiar advantages and disadvantages of the increasingly sophisticated gunpowder technology came to revolutionize strategic and tactical thought.

It is a rare work that considers topics ranging from the way in which the differing "recipes" that existed for gunpowder vastly altered the explosive potential of the substance to the tactical innovations and battles of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. Mr. Hall handles both technological and historical matters with equal ease and effectively demonstrates how deeply the two are intertwined.

It is a tremendously engaging and enlightening work, and very well documented in its more than 800 endnotes. Perhaps surprisingly for an historical work, it was a real page-turner. When forced to set it down, I found myself counting the hours until I could get back to it. I will definitely be looking for additional books by this author.

Outstanding........2003-11-25

1.000 words could be not enough to praise this book. Bert Hall produced a long needed work that will remain a foundation-stone in military technology of the black powder era.

Original thinking and excellent scholarship........2003-01-29

It didn't take long for me to be pleasantly surprised at the high level of scholarship and clearly presented facts, the sort of writing all too often lacking from this area of history. As the author notes, many technology historians, military historians, and arms and armor writers propagate continuing myths and assumptions that can't be supported when the facts are examined closely. Here, Hall does the topic justice and it is clear he did his homework. The chapter discussing the technology of gunpowder was especially interesting, and supports his case for the reasons firearms developed as they did. I recommend a trip to the Metropolitan Museum in New York to have a look at their firearms, where many aspects of his discussion will further illuminate the items on display.

technology and warfare.......2002-06-04

Best treatment of weapons and Renaissance-era warfare !!

The title should be: Gunpowder in Renaissance Land Warfare!.......1999-02-01

This book presents a serious, unbiased and well documented view on gunpowder-technology origins and evolution and its real significance in medieval and Renaissance land warfare. However, only the projectile weapons have a good coverage, and warfare (and use of gunpowder) at sea is almost totally forgotten! If its title reflected its contents this book would get SIX stars from me.

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World

Average customer rating:

Excellent book!
It Entertains and Instructs... who could want for more?
Dane
Excellent overview
Great intro to history, science and technology

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World
Jack Kelly
Manufacturer: Basic Books
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0465037186
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Book Description

From veteran author Jack Kelly, a tour through the turbulent history of one of mankind's most critical inventions-the fiery substance that transformed everything from fireworks in China to warfare in Renaissance Europe and beyond.

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution.

With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book!.......2007-05-03

Finely written, plenty of interesting details, it's a masterpiece not only for those somehow devoted to the field of military history, but also to chemists dealing with the surprising field of energetic materials. Thank you, Jack Kelly!

It Entertains and Instructs... who could want for more?.......2007-01-26

1/25/2007

Jack Kelly, 1949-
Gunpowder -- Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World. / Jack Kelly.
New York: Basic Books, 2005. ISBN 0-465-03722-4 (paperback).

Fire speaks to us, says Jack Kelly. Considering that fire is in all liklihood one of the oldest -- if not the oldest -- of mankind's technological inventions, that's not surprising. Mr. Kelly succeeds admirably in keeping the fire metaphor close at hand throughout all 242 pages of his text, from the explosions of burning bamboo -- intended to frighten away the Chinese semi-human shan -- to our present-day nuclear fire.

Along the way, we're treated to a much larger panorama than most of us ever consider. The Chinese, most people are aware, came up with what we term "gunpowder" in the ninth century. They didn't call it gunpowder, of course -- no such thing as a gun -- but it was used as an elixer designed to render the user immortal; the stuff was made of sulfur, saltpeter, and dried honey. Developments were not quick in the orient, but by the early 1400's, China's military was equipped with cannon and individual firearms of a sort.

Gunpowder was to be widely used in Europe, though. While the "cannon" at Crecy and Agincourt may not have been terribly effective, they sounded the death knell for the armored knight / moated castle feudal system. (True, arrows could penetrate plate armor, but an accomplished archer required a lot of training; a soldier could be taught to use a simple firearm -- a matchlock, say -- relatively quickly.) Most of us have some familiarity with the military changes wrought by gunpowder ant its associated firearms, but how many of us know that:

* Christiaan Huygens attempted to devise an internal-combustion 'moteur a explosion' using gunpowder as the fuel. Only an inability to come up with a way to deliver successive charges to the cylinder prevented the actual fabrication of Huygen's engine.
* The proximate cause of the American Revolution could be considered British General Gates' determination to seize all gunpowder in and near Boston. The fights at Lexington and Concord in 1775 were simply the last of a series of raids. (Hmmm... "gun control" through ammunition control... nothing much seems to have changed, has it? One is permitted to cynically hope that the modern-day controllers are no more successful than General Gates.)
* Fulimates and nitrated hydrocarbons (nitrocelulose -- guncotten, and nitroglycerine) were at first developed as substitutes for gunpowder. Their applications were greatly modified, of course: fulminates into the "primers", and the nitro- compounds as components of so-called smokeless powder.

There's a lot to like in this book, and not much to dislike. The proofreading appears to have been exemplary: there are no glaring spelling arrors, misplaced paragraphs, orphaned sentences, or similar horrors to be found. The illustrations, a mixture of photgraphs, line drawings, and reproductions of what appear to be woodcuts, nicely compliment the text. One point which is at most, a minor annoyance: projectile speeds given in miles per hour jar a bit when one is used to thinking in terms of feet per second. (Yes, it's easy enough to multiply MPH by 1.47 to get FPS; even 1.5 is pretty close.)

The major strength of this volume is, however, the mixture: it's not a technical treatise, nor a chemical text, nor a tactical manual, nor a governmental history, nor yet a philosophical tract. It's all of these; literally, how gunpowder changed the world... the whole world. Jack Kelly has succeeded in fulfilling the promise of his title, and carries us along quite merrily, all the way through to the end. In our present day, he observes that gunpwder, its thousand-year history notwithstanding, has been largely relegated to two of its earliest uses: celebrations and entertainment.

Mr. Kelly thoughtfully supplies an informal "sources consulted" style bibliography, organized by chapter, and a working index, both of which are very welcome, indeed.

Dane.......2005-10-11

The book is informative but lacks foot notes. The author says it is because it is a popular history not a scholarly work. However foot notes would have made this a great book as is it is simply a good starting place.

Excellent overview.......2005-09-01

Jack Kelly has written an easy-to-read overview of the evolution of gunpowder development and use from its invention at the turn of the first millennium until it was replaced by synthetics in the 19th century. In fact, synthetics so thoroughly replaced gunpowder that what was once gunpowder is differentiated from its replacements by the term "black powder" while synthetics have taken over the germ gunpowder.

Beginning with its invention and use by the Chinese, who first used gunpowder in an early version of (ineffective) hand grenades, through its first effective use in bombards in Europe, until it became the staple for small arms in the early modern period of history Kelly presents an interesting narrative history on how gunpowder impacted the world. Although there is a technological deterministic aspect to the book (a natural result of the subject) the book does do a good job of putting gunpowder into context - in some cases gunpowder drives further military developments, in others the refinement of gunpowder is driven by other needs. This book is especially interesting if you have any interest in the concept of "military revolution." It focuses on one type of tool over a 900 year period, which allows you to see how one technology evolved, and was integrated into the transformation of war, over a significant period of time.

Great intro to history, science and technology.......2005-01-22

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, by Jack Kelly, Basic Books, NY, 2004. Kelly had done a very nice job with this crisp, well written history of gunpowder. He covers the subject nicely, in survey fashion, but with some detailed stories. There's history, technology, and science-all in fine factual detail but for the general audience. The chemistry, mathematics, metallurgy, and physics are there, but not in rigorous detail. Just enough to whet the appetite for further study. References are included for each chapter, though footnotes are lacking.

A detailed study of the history of gunpowder and related technologies could have gone on for thousands of pages. The author has selected certain stories for focus. He begins in China, and tells especially the European story, and the use of firearms in battle, on land and at sea. He includes some stories from America including the Revolutionary War, the story of Samuel Colt, and the Dupont story of gunpowder. He ends with development of the A-bomb, but really coverage ends at the beginning of the Twentieth Century with smokeless powder. There is no mention of lead mining or the famous shot towers. Kelly covers the abundance of saltpeter in the warm climate of China, its general shortage in Europe, and the extensive efforts to collect and extract it in Britain and France. But there is no mention of the Nobel Prize winning Borne-Haber process, invented in World War I in Germany, that resolved the nitrate shortage by making synthetic nitric acid from air and fossil fuels (natural gas, naphtha, coal), as is still practiced today.

The book is highly readable and will be appreciated by those interested in history, science, and technology. Index.

Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom: A Challenge to Medieval Society (1956)

Average customer rating:

an excellent analysis of modernization of warfare

Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom: A Challenge to Medieval Society (1956)
David Ayalon
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 071463090X

Book Description

This study of firearms analyzes the employment of such weaponry, dated more than 40 years after use in Europe, towards the close of the 1360s.

Customer Reviews:

an excellent analysis of modernization of warfare.......1999-03-24

This is one of the few books out there that even deals with the effect of the modernization of warfare on the Mamluk kingdom. His sources are excellent and the book even manages to be entertaining!

Average customer rating:

Excellent book, excellent service
A mixed bag

A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder
J. R. Partington
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics

ASIN: 0801859549

Amazon.com Reviews

Warriors have used incendiary weapons from the earliest times. In this comprehensive study, English chemist and historian J.R. Partington traces their origins to Assyrian bas-reliefs from the 9th century, B.C., and even finds hints of them in the Old Testament (see Proverbs 26:18, for instance). Firearms technology took a great leap forward with the advent of so-called Greek fire, used by the Byzantine fleet to defend Constantinople against Arab attackers in the 7th century, and then later versus the Crusaders. One of history's first secret weapons, Greek fire is poorly understood today. Contemporary accounts describe nozzles spouting a fiery liquid that would burn even on the surface of the sea. Experts have tried to determine the exact nature of the substance--the recipe has been lost--but without reaching any definitive conclusions. Partington offers his own theories about one of the great mysteries of premodern warfare. He also describes the advent of gunpowder, exploring the legend of supposed inventor Black Berthold (a mythic figure, says Parrington) and examining the development of firearms in Europe, the Middle East, and China. First published in 1960, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder is a classic work on the development of military technology. A number of illustrations embellish the text, written in workmanlike prose that is at once scholarly and accessible to serious readers. --John J. Miller

Book Description

For nearly 600 years, from the battles of the early fourteenth century to the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, firearms derived from gunpowder and other chemicals defined the frightful extent of war. The apparatus and materials used in World War I would have been familiar to our remote ancestors. In this classic work, first published in 1960, James Riddick Partington provides a worldwide survey of the evolution of incendiary devices, Greek fire, and gunpowder.

Greek fire, a composition Partington believes was made of a distilled petroleum fraction and other ingredients (but not saltpetre), was most famously used in the sieges of Constantinople and the Crusades. Partington moves from its antecedents--other incendiaries used in ancient warfare--to European gunpowder recipe books (The Latin Book of Fire, Bellifortis, and Feuerwerkbuch) and the history of infernal machines, mines, canon, small arms, and artillery. His book includes chapters on gunpowder and weapons in Muslim lands, India, and China--including fire books, the use of gunpowder as a propellant, the artillery of the Mughal Emperors, and the use of saltpetre in explosives. He traces the development of gunpowder to eleventh-century China and cites the first known mention and picture of a firearm in 1326.

"The history of gunpowder and firearms has attracted many authors with varying interests. The general historian must take account of major inventions effecting revolutions in the life of nations. The historian of science is concerned mostly with the invention of gunpowder. The historian of technology examines the development in the manufacture of explosives and weapons, and the way in which gunpowder has found applications in the peaceful arts. The military historian deals mainly with the use of gunpowder as an explosive and a propellant... and the development of firearms and their use in warfare. No recent book in English (or for that matter in any language) has attempted a concise survey of the subject."--from the Preface

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book, excellent service.......2006-11-08

The book was delivered in a very short time, by the way, it's an excellent book.

A mixed bag.......2003-08-03

[At the beginning, I must point out that the book I read was the 1960 hardbound edition, and some of what I have to say might not apply to later editions.]

This large book is filled with interesting information on the origins of incendiaries and gunpowder, from ancient Assyria, up to around 1500 A.D. The first chapter looks at incendiaries, and includes a marvelous investigation into the ingredients of Greek Fire. After that, the book turns to the origins of gunpowder in the West, and the evolution of its use in warfare. The next two chapters are quite fascinating, focusing on firearms and pyrotechnics in Muslim lands and China. The final chapter is a quick look at saltpeter.

I must admit to having found this book to being quite a mixed bag. F.E. Morgan's (1960) introduction bemoans the development of military technology, and seems quite out of place in this book. As for the text itself, the author wrote this book for a scholarly audience, and it shows it. That is to say, it is written in a dry, even turgid manner that is bound to put the casual reader to sleep.

The articles themselves contain information that ranges from the absolutely fascinating to the dull, overly drawn out look at obscure points. That said, though, this book is a wonderful resource, that contains a goldmine of information for anyone interested in Greek Fire or the early use of gunpowder. I give this book a somewhat guarded recommendation.

Average customer rating:

Like watching a movie about the "Titanic"

Overcoming the Terror of the Unforeseen

The terror of religion: Gunpowder and God in the 16th Century

And Excellent Book about Doomed People

God's Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot

God's Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot
Alice Hogge
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Edmund Campion

ASIN: 0060542276
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Customer Reviews:

Like watching a movie about the "Titanic".......2006-12-12

You know the ship is going to sink, yet the story is still riveting. You know the Catholic mission in England is doomed to failure, yet this was an equally riveting book.

I must confess I was expecting a wholly different book. As a Catholic who is regularly irked by how frequently the Catholic Church is slandered in the mainstream media, I was actually hoping for a book that would turn the tables and portray the English Protestants as inhuman savages. Shame on me.

For my own edification, I am glad the book was far from that. The author did an astounding job of impartially covering the social, political and even theological complexities involving the Catholic-Protestant struggle in England during the sixteenth and and early seventeenth centuries. The author's evenhandedness is most evident in her treatment of Fr. John Garnet and his alleged role in the Gunpowder Plot. After reading this book, one can see that the evidence can be weighted equally towards his guilt or innocence. I personally can't decide.

Although she describes in detail the persecution of Catholics, she does so in a non-judgemental fashion and also makes clear that there were legitimate reasons to fear Catholics being a Fifth Column: the Northern Rebellion, the Ridolfi and Babington plots, and finally the Gunpowder Plot itself. One can only wonder how different history might have been if Pope Pius V had not issued the bull of deposition. Although subsequent Popes rescinded that bull and clearly instructed that Catholics were not to participate in acts of sedition, the damage to Catholic credibility was irreparable.

Having said that, by the time of the Northern Rebellion (which really was started by nobles for whom religion was unimportant but who were disgruntled over Elizabeth's gentry upstarts), England's Catholics had been repressed by Elizabeth for over 10 years. I think most readers will be shocked to find just how devastating were the tribulations suffered by English Catholics. You probably will not read about this anywhere else.

Finally, she concludes her book with a commentary about our present times and the lessons which we must learn from that tragic conflict. Every human being on Earth should read this final chapter.

Overcoming the Terror of the Unforeseen.......2006-09-18

Alice Hogge has written, in her first book, a masterpiece of history, not only in the modern familiar sense of a brilliant artifact but also in the original sense of a "work by which a craftsman achieves the rank of a master". (from Online Etymology)

The earlier reviewers in this space have done such a fine job of recapitulating the book's main themes and events that any specific comments of mine would seem to be superfluous. I would, however, like to offer a few general observations in support of my enthusiasm.

God's Secret Agents is an examination of the clash between political necessity and religious belief in Elizabethan England. No - that sounds too dry and dutiful for such a fun and suspenseful read, a marvelous recreation of a momentous period. Ms. Hogge's prose is beautiful, her narrative flowing, and her analysis incisive. She is scrupulously faithful to the sources and spirit of the time, and yet manages to illuminate the concerns of our present. Her book is a two way mirror on the past.

Philip Roth once said that "the terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides." It is a tribute to the quality of Alice Hogge's historical imagination that her rendering of the facts has enabled the reader to appreciate the significance of events while experiencing a bit of their original terror.

The terror of religion: Gunpowder and God in the 16th Century.......2006-08-20

A well-written, if occasionally dry, account of religious terrorism in the 16th century.

This is the story of the battle to try to return England to the Catholic Church. A battle being fought by stealth and by argument by Jesuit priests, where the might of Spain (the Spanish Armada) had failed.

Many of the priests, and the English Catholics who gave them refuge, demonstrated incredible courage in a battle over faith that - from this distance - was always doomed to fail.

Their mission was ultimately shattered by the actions of the Gunpowder Plotters.

While the book is about the religious battle, it is equally about the building of a nation.

Highly recommended to those who want more knowledge about the development of the English Church, as well as to those interested in exploring the links between politics and religion.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

And Excellent Book about Doomed People.......2006-07-06

Alice Hogge's book is about more than English policies against Catholics in sixteenth century England. Ultimately her book is about the doomed Catholics of England, their lives, their beliefs, their incredible courage and how they rankled the Protestant proto-totalitarians by their very existence.

Hogge's book also contains some fascinating photos of priest-holes (the hiding places of Catholic priests, many of which were ingeniously built by an Oxford carpenter named Nicholas Owen).

Just to read the barest of details about Henry Walpole's life after his conversion to his forefather's faith at the execution of St. Edmund Campion is worth the price of the book. Walpole as a largely disinterested Anglican when he stood in the mud of Tyburn fields to watch the execution of Jesuit Fr. Edmund Campion on Dec. 1, 1581. What was Campion's crime? He was Catholic. He had also horribly embarrassed Anglican divines by crushing them in theological debates even though he was denied the use of books, and had been tortured for months. When his entrails were cut from his abdomen and thrown into a boiling cauldron blood splattered onto the shirt of Henry Walpole. Instantly he was converted. He knew he could not remain a Protestant. He left England to become a Jesuit priest. He returned to be martyred. His brother, Michael, and his cousin, Edward, also became Jesuits (or at least priests).

God's Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot.......2006-04-14

Captivating read about Catholic priests' determination to restore Catholicism to England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. As a result of reading Alice Hogge's book, I now have a better understanding of the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics during that period of time and a better understanding of religious fanaticism today.

I found the following four factors especially fascinating:

1. The hideouts of Catholic priests conducting illegal masses

Nicholas Owen, a master builder, constructed hideouts in homes across England. As proof of his skill, after discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, it took a large group of determined men, appointed by James I, searching one home for nine days to find eleven hideouts. Owen was one the individuals caught, but even under extreme torture, he revealed no information on other hideouts.

2. The religious devotion of Catholics

A Catholic, when caught, could save himself from punishment (drawn, hanged, beheaded, quartered) by pleading allegiance to the Anglican Church. However, in the face of such torture, only a few Catholics were convinced to switch religions.

3. The religious fanaticism of Catholics

In their zeal to restore Catholicism in England, Catholics plotted to overthrow the government. Their plans included murders, assassinations, and terrorist acts such as the infamous Gunpowder Plot, which was an attempt to blow up Parliament and the entire royal family and peerage.

4. Parallels to the present

The information in this book confirms the adage, "History repeats itself." Distinct parallels can be drawn between the religious terrorists of sixteenth and seventeenth century England and those of today. In order to effectively deal with contemporary issues, leaders of today should be well versed in history.

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot

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Explosive look at Traditional English Attitude toward Catholics
Methodical, measured history of haphazard, incompetent yet notorious plot
All there is to know on the subject!
Timely History
Great book!

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot
Antonia Fraser
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Remember, Remember: A Cultural History of Guy Fawkes Day
God's Secret Agents : Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot
Cromwell
The Warrior Queens (Women in History)
Marie Antoinette: The Journey

ASIN: 0385471904
Release Date: 1997-10-13

Amazon.com

Our term "guy," slang for any man, comes from the name of Guy Fawkes, the alleged ringleader of the bungled plot to blow up King James I and the subject of Bonfire Night, the odd English holiday celebrated on November 5 by burning the execrable Guy in effigy. This and other facts tumble from the pages of this fascinating account of the Gunpowder Plot, written by the distinguished novelist and historian Antonia Fraser. Fraser delves into English religious history to show the harsh persecution of Roman Catholics under Jacobean rule and how James I disappointed those Catholics who hoped for a more liberal reign.

Book Description

In England, November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day, when fireworks displays commemorate the shocking moment in 1605 when government authorities uncovered a secret plan to blow up the House of Parliament--and King James I along with it. A group of English Catholics, seeking to unseat the king and reintroduce Catholicism as the state religion, daringly placed thirty-six barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the Palace of Westminster. Their aim was to ignite the gunpowder at the opening of the Parliamentary session. Though the charismatic Catholic, Robert Catesby, was the group's leader, it was the devout Guy Fawkes who emerged as its most famous member, as he was the one who was captured and who revealed under torture the names of his fellow plotters. In the aftermath of their arrests, conditions grew worse for English Catholics, as legal penalties against them were stiffened and public sentiment became rabidly intolerant.

In a narrative that reads like a gripping detective story, Antonia Fraser has untangled the web of religion, politics, and personalities that surrounded that fateful night of November 5. And, in examining the lengths to which individuals will go for their faith, she finds in this long-ago event a reflection of the religion-inspired terrorism that has produced gunpowder plots of our own time.

Customer Reviews:

Explosive look at Traditional English Attitude toward Catholics.......2007-10-07

Guy Fawkes Day is still celebrated in England with fireworks and mock burnings of him in effigy. I wondered about this celebration and this book was recommended. I find Tudor and Stuart England absolutely fascinating and this book shed light on an incident that is little known and not taught in the States. English recalcitrant Catholics hoped James I's reign would usher in more tolerance. However, it was abundantly clear that tolerance would not be forthcoming from the King and Parliament continuing the oppression from Elizabeth's reign. The Catholics did themselves no favor in trying to blow up Parliament and kill the king. The immediate consequences were severe - there are details about what hung, drawn, and quartered really means - and an even deeper distrust of Catholics was ingrained into the English psyche. This is a great read!

Methodical, measured history of haphazard, incompetent yet notorious plot.......2006-11-09

Antonia Fraser may be an odd choice at first for writing about the infamous Gunpowder Plot. After all, among "popular" historians (a term I use with affection), Fraser is known for her judiciousness and fair-mindedness. This makes her almost unique in all the historiography of the Plot, which has been dominated by emotional tirades and a-historical screeds on all sides for centuries. Some place blame for "Satan's policy" on the entire Catholic faith, whereas apologists for the plotters claim this was a set-up masterminded by the King's intelligence services.

Fraser, fortunately for us, tries to tell the straight story. She goes to great lengths to show the surprisingly wide-spread anti-Catholic sentiment in England during the last years of Queen Elizebeth's reign. (I say surprising because, to modern eyes, Elizabeth is often held up as a paragon of religious tolerance.) In the England of the coronation of King James I, it was a crime to be Catholic, and being caught with a rosary was enough for whopping fines and jail time. The Catholics prayed that James I would be their deliverer - probably not to a fully-Catholic England, but at least to an era of tolerance.

Fraser also goes to great lengths to show the devoted support provided the plotters by the women in their lives. Far from being a sex-filled cauldron of sin, the plotters and their women often enjoyed deeply spiritual relationships, and these relationships provide "Faith and Treason" with some of its most moving passages.

And while Fraser considers the plotters to be "terrorists," she also refuses to place some blame at the feet of the King's men. For various reasons, Lords Coke and Salisbury and their cohorts bring many innocent - or at the very least only loosely-connected - men and women to misery as they "bring down the plot." The Gunpowder Plot may have been stymied by the King's agents, but they do not emerge with clean hands.

While at times "Faith and Treason" can get bogged down in the who's who of the era, in general Fraser keeps the story going with a fair amount of zest, and the reader's interest will only flag on rare occasions. While not a "Great History," (there are only a few of those) this is a well-balanced, highly readable, well-reasoned take on an event that, if you will pardon the pun, has been blown out of all proportion by most previous historians. Well worth a look.

All there is to know on the subject!.......2006-11-05

Antinia Fraser writes a comprehensive history of teh Gunpowder plot and spends a few chapters on the history of Elizabeth I and what lead up to the Plot taking places under James I, Elizabeth's successor. Ms. Fraser has a tendency to be a bit dry and load you with facts. However, on the whole, it certainly covers a subject I knew next to nothing about and I was very satisfied in the end. A slow read, but an interesting one.

Timely History.......2006-09-06

Antonia Fraser is one of the handful of historians who is also a great storyteller. While she is not quite in the league of Jonathan Spence or Barbara Tuchman, Fraser can take interesting characters and episodes from history and mold them into compelling, readable books. Fraser has done as much for the wives of Henry VIII and with her book Warrior Queens, and I think Faith and Treason is even better.

In short, Faith and Treason is Fraser's attempt at a thorough narrative of the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt in 1605 by militant Catholics to blow up the House of Lords, with King James I and most of the royal family present. The Plot was foiled by the English government on 5 November 1605, and the bonfires lit in thanksgiving for the sparing of the royal family morphed into Guy Faulkes Day and Bonfire Night. While I did not check her sources, Fraser combines her storytelling skills with what appears to be thorough research and a careful referencing of her sources -- and clear disclosure of the points in her narrative in which she admits to educated guessing. This is especially important when writing a history of something as controversial as the Gunpowder Plot, which has been characterized as everything from a Jesuit-orchestrated attempted regicide to a fiction manufactured by a rabidly anti-Catholic English government looking for an excuse to murder more priests and confiscate more Catholic property.

Writing a careful, balanced history is also important given Fraser's main themes, which are the motivations for acts of terrorism and the methods of governments in conflict with foes from within their own citizenry. One can substitute Muslims for Catholics, the U.S. for England, the Middle East for the Low Countries, and Guantanamo Bay for the Tower of London and see the obvious parallels between the current "War on Terror" and England's repression of Catholics 400 years ago. That Fraser wrote her work in the mid-1990's, before the 9/11 tragedy, makes this book all the more prescient and remarkable. Had the Gunpowder Plot succeeded, the public reaction likely would have been quite comparable to how most of us felt when the World Trade Center was destroyed. As it was, the unsuccessful attempt at mass murder in 1605 horrified the public and resulted in bloody reprisals by the English government.

Fraser's focus on the Jesuit priests involved is the real heart of her story and what makes this book an especially interesting and timely read. The efforts that they and their lay helpers undertook to keep the practice of Catholicism alive in England were heroic and make people like Father Garnet and Nicholas Owen the most sympathetic and interesting characters in this book. The Protestant English government desperately wanted to implicate priests as the leaders of the Plot, despite strong evidence that the very few priests who knew anything about the Plot tried to talk the plotters out of it. History taught in American schools tends to depict Tudor and Stuart England favorably, yet it is jarring to learn that the same nation that gave us William Shakespeare was -- at the very same time -- using torture at will to obtain whatever confessions that the government wanted and then using those tainted confessions at trial as if they were legitimate evidence. The government wanted Catholicism itself to be the villain, rather than a group of extremists who ignored the tenets of their own faith in planning mass murder. People were tortured until the Jesuit priests were implicated. Yet the English government also did not want to offend Catholic Spain in its prosecution, much as the United States carefully avoids implicating Saudi Arabia, despite the obvious support for acts of terrorism provided by citizens of the U.S.'s supposed ally. Stuart England was as much a complicated mess as we find ourselves in today.

In the end, if Fraser has a bias in her telling of the Gunpowder Plot, it is in favor of the repressed and the innocent who were punished. She makes no apologies for the evil of what the would-be Catholic terrorists attempted to do. Her heroes are the peaceful Catholic priests and lay helpers who were equally horrified by the Plot and who unfairly suffered for it. Learning about these people made this book thoroughly worthwhile.

Great book!.......2006-05-17

I just finished Faith and Treason (due to seeing V for Vendetta and wanting to know more about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot) and it is a very very good book. I learned so much and found the whole book interesting. My only complaint(though it's not really a complaint) is that I like some other readers had a hard time remembering names of people and who they where related or married to. But I highly recommend this book and opens your eyes more toward religious struggles and other things. It is very well written with great facts about that fateful day.

Gunpowder Plot: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries)

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NANCY DREW FOR GROWN UPS!
The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple does it again
a very enjoyable read
wonderful historical English mystery

Gunpowder Plot: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries)
Carola Dunn
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Historical | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0312349890
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

In the winter of 1924, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher travels to a school friend's house to witness the estate's famous Guy Fawkes celebration. But she gets more than a quiet weekend at the quaint family manse that she was originally hoping for. The home is the site of some severe family tension - the Viscount and head of family is a strict and unyielding sort, insisting that everyone - especially his children - meet his own unreasonable expectations. On the evening of the Guy Fawkes celebration, the Viscount is found dead on the floor of his study, killed by his own hand. What's more, he apparently first killed a guest- a married woman visiting England from Australia - before turning the gun on himself. Now it's up to Alec Fletcher, Daisy's husband and a DCI of Scotland Yard, to unravel the mystery and the long held family secrets that led to this state of affairs before anyone else can fall prey to the tragic cycle of events. A solution that will require, perhaps, more than a little help from Daisy herself.

Customer Reviews:

NANCY DREW FOR GROWN UPS!.......2007-03-04

I discovered Daisy Dalrymple mysteries while at home with a virus...wanted to read a book that was NOT substantive and did NOT require deep thought. Daisy is a delight. The Daisy books take me back to the pleasure I remember reading Nancy Drew books in the 1960s! The GunPower Plot reviews history, takes us to a "stately home" in the Cotswalds...and provides interesting characters via Dolly, her Scotland Yard husband, Alec... and extended family and friends. So enjoyable a mystery that after reading GUNPOWDER PLOT (the newest of the series) I am going through all the Daisy books, one by one. Excellent character development, plots that hold attention...a good dose of history...great for those of us who grew up with Nancy...and great for those of us given to being Anglophiles.

The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple does it again.......2007-01-12

This 15th installment in adventures of the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple continues the light breezy style of this delightful series. Daisy is a houseguest at a country manor, invited to observe a traditional Guy Fawkes celebration. Her intent is to write an article about the festivities, but when the host and an unexpected guest are shot dead, Daisy is once again inadvertently involved in a murder investigation. The plot line is reasonable. The author's efforts to distract the reader's attention from the culprit are a bit heavy-handed, but this slight failing is amply counter-balanced by a supporting cast of quirky characters who are even more amusing than usual for the series. All in all, this is a highly enjoyable book.

a very enjoyable read.......2006-10-02

If you enjoy mystery novels set in post W.W.I England, and ones that are engaging, polished and well written, you definitely want to read Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple mystery series, and the latest installment in particular, "Gunpowder Plot."

Gwen Tyndall's (an old school chum of Daisy's) family has been celebrating Guy Fawkes in a big way since 1606, and realising that this would make an excellent article for her magazine, Daisy has decided to travel to Gwen's home in Didmarsh-under-the-Edge in order to observe these celebrations. Daisy soon senses however, that there may be another story in the making at the Tyndall's ancestral home and one that has nothing to do with the festivities at hand. Gwen's father, Sir Harold Tyndall, an autocratic bully, who wants his children to do exactly as he wishes, and is especially displeased right now because his only son, Jack, seems more keen to join an aeronautical company than to run the family estate and farm. Never mind the fact that his eldest daughter, Barbara, has been successfully running things all this while! Also adding to Sir Harold's displeasure is the fact that Gwen seems to be attracted to the very man who is trying to steal his son away from him. All in all, the atmosphere at the Tyndall home isn't turning out to be quite as festive as Daisy had expected it to be. The last things she expected though was that things would end with murder, and that once again she and Alec (her "Scotland Yard" husband) would be in the middle of another murder investigation...

The Daisy Dalrymple mysteries may not be great brain teasers, but they are diverting and intriguing puzzlers in their own right. Carola Dunn does a fantastic job of getting the feel and charm of the period; and Ms Dunn also does a first rate job of maintaining a light and (almost) cheerful tone throughout, even though these mysteries usually center on murder and all the sobering emotions that go with it. Swiftly paced and carefully plotted, "Gunpowder Plot" was a wonderfully absorbing and entertaining read. I especially liked how the author juxtaposed the investigation that Alec his team conducted, with what Daisy discovered all her own -- it gave one a clearer and more complete picture of what was going on. All in all, I spent a very pleasant afternoon pouring over "Gunpowder Plot" -- it was well written and delightful, and very, very absorbing to boot.

wonderful historical English mystery .......2006-09-24

In 1924 pregnant Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher visits her friend Gwen Tyndall at their family's Cotswolds estate, Edge Manor where a Guy Fawkes gala will be celebrated. Daisy quickly realizes that the Tyndall family is at odds with one another. Iron fisted patriarch Sir Harold demands his son Jack take over the running of Edge Manor from his sister Barbara as Babs being a female has to be incompetent. Harold also has problems with the nerve of aeronautical engineer Martin Miller wanting Jack to join his firm though he seems to ignore that his youngest daughter Gwen and Miller are an entry. Starting with squib, Daisy finds she is under assault from the young sons of the third sister Adelaide.

During the Gunpowder Plot celebration someone murders Sir Harold and the wife of Jack's Australian guest Mr. Gooch. Daisy's husband, DCI Alec Fletcher investigates the two homicides with motive being the key leading to either Gooch killing his spouse and her lover or Jack knowing his dad's will is being changed to remove him from inheriting anything. Alec follows the money so bets are on Jack while his wife believes otherwise and begins to snoop.

The GUNPOWDER PLOT is a wonderful historical English mystery that fans of the intrepid Daisy will fully enjoy as she investigates while refusing to allow her delicate condition to get in her way. Interwoven little tidbits bring to life the era like Daisy informing Gwen she plans to learn to drive, a rarity for females in 1924 (but then again this is not the "Victorian Dark Ages"). The whodunit is fun but as always with this series it is the cast especially the heroine who makes the novels a Dunn deal to read as soon as possible for delighted loyal fans.

Harriet Klausner

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Galleys and More
Probably the best.
One of the best
A classic work
histoire a clef

Gunpowder and Galleys
John Francis Guilmartin
Manufacturer: Conway Maritime Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0851779514

Book Description

Lauded as one of the finest books in the field of naval history, this comprehensive account of sixteenth-century galley warfare includes detailed descriptions of all major actions in the Mediterranean and around the Arabian peninsula. First published in 1974 and recently revised, the work is packed with technological insights into the strategy and tactics of galley warfare between the Ottoman Empire and its Spanish and Portuguese opponents. Among the many facets author John Guilmartin discusses are how the strategic considerations in galley warfare are substantially different from those in campaigns involving galleons or ships of the line, why the 1571 victory at Lepanto failed to have any long-term strategic consequences, and how the arquebus and musket, proved more suitable for action aboard ship than the crossbow or Turkish composite bow. This updated edition also includes new research into the orders of battle and ballistics, gunnery, and cannon founding. 17 photographs. 20 line drawings. 6 x 9 inches.

Customer Reviews:

Galleys and More.......2005-12-26

I received Gunpowders and Galleys as a Christmas present and I am immensely pleased. This book deserves its reputation as not only a topnotch work of naval history, but history, period. The depth of scholarship, originality, good sense, readable style, and careful interweaving of multiple sources of information makes it a superb book that ought to provoke thought outside of the narrow field of galley warfare.

In particular, his insistence that the galley is intrinsically bound up with the economic, cultural, political, geographic, technical, tactical, strategic, and religious context is a powerful antidote to narrower and more regimented approaches to the study of history. Not to mention, it also helps to shed light on current events. Our current dilemma in Iraq would benefit from adopting Guilmartin's approach by broadening our sources of information and deepening our understanding; failure to do so runs the risk of winning the war and failing to achieve our goals.

In short, Guilmartin's book not only teaches us about its topic, but provokes us to think holistically about many historical and modern events.

Probably the best........2004-05-13

Probably the best in its field. No other work contains so much important information on galleys and naval power in the age of gunpowder and on the history of Mediterranean warfare of the period. It is also a must for anybody interested in the modern struggle between Islam and Western World. Just like now when only the modern Empire (USA) can save our civilisation, so in the 16° century only the superior Venetian technology at Lepanto saved Europe from the same barbarians.
Indeed an outstanding book.

One of the best.......2004-02-04

I've read the older printing more than once. Author John Keegan once described it as one of the best 2 or 3 military history books he'd read. This research didn't become popular until years after the printer was done. I've seen used copies selling for $150 or more. Since Prof. Guilmartin wrote this, more reserchers have produced quality work on galley warfare, but this original needed very little improvement. I still get benefit every time I read it. There's just so much thinking in here, even passing remarks expose me to new trains of thought. Even if you're not greatly interested in galley warfare, I think you can be exposed to a lot of potentially valuable analysis in historical work. Gunpowder and Galleys examines 16th century Mediterranean warfare. This period saw a climax in fighting between the Moslem Ottoman Empire and countries of Catholic Christian Europe. If you ever thought the Battle of Lepanto was a simple brawl between violent armed men at sea, you'll learn a more intersting tale here. The Christians won, but very narrowly. Much of the arguing and complaining after the action can provide a vehicle for appreciating the skill and nerve that the flotilla commanders provided. For example, Gian Andrea Doria (a Genoese mercenary in the Spanish fleet) earned much criticism for his conduct in the battle. However, I tend to think he placed victory in Don John's hand by keeping Ottoman admiral Uluj Ali out of the fight just long enough. If you read this, there's much opportunity to learn about a fascinating period of history. (Information: Guilmartin was kind enough to mention me in his introduction)

A classic work.......2003-01-27

Guilmartin's book offers an excellent fusion of military history and history of science. His wide-ranging work of course offers a thought provoking argument about the adaptability of traditional Mediterranean galley based naval warfare to gunpowder weapons,(which he finds initially effective but ultimately a technological dead end).
But there's a lot more to the book than that. His work challenges traditional thinking in a variety of areas,ranging from bronze metal cannon-casting, to the applicability of Mahanian ideas about sea power to the Mediterranean world,to the passing of the Asiatic horse archer. Although Guilmartin's conclusions have been challenged, Gunpowder and Galleys remains an outstanding work, which sets the bar very high. It's a pity that it is no longer in print.

histoire a clef.......2001-12-06

For this reader, Gunpowder and Galleys is as much about the American Failure in Vietnam as it is about the 16th century. Read between the lines and you'll see.

Book Description

Jeremy Solter is a teenager growing up in the late 21st century. During the school year, his family lives in Southern California-but during the summer the whole family lives and works in the city of Polisso, on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Not the Roman Empire that fell centuries ago, but a Roman Empire that never fell.For we now have the technology to move between timelines, and to exploit the untapped resources of those timelines that are hospitable to human life. So we send traders and businesspeople-but as whole-family groups, in order to keep the secret of Crosstime Traffic to ourselves.But when Jeremy ducks back home for emergency medical treatment, the gateways stop working. So do all the communication links. Jeremy and his sister are on their own, Polisso is suddenly under siege, and there's only so much you can do when cannonballs are crashing through your roof....

Customer Reviews:

A bit disappointing.......2007-09-07

If you've read and loved Turtledove's other series as I have, you will probably be disappointed with this take on alternate reality. There is none of the gritty tooth and nail conflicts that made his other works, The Worldwar Saga and The Great War books just to name a few, totally immerse you in their plots. I got the distinct feeling that I was being talked down to and perhaps this is the crux of the issue.
Not far into the book I came to realize that this was written for a juvenile audience. Looking at it from that point of view, the characters which were not fleshed out as they usually are and the more simplistic storyline became far more palatable to me. I believe that this would be a great book for young people who are just exploring the genre. Two teens trapped in an alien environment with no adults for support. It is unquestionably written with great talent, just don't expect the raw, real world environs so predominant his other books.

Teen Angst in Rome.......2006-04-27

Jeremy and Amanda Solter live and go to school in L.A., but they spend their summers working with their parents in an alternate timeline, one where the Roman Empire never fell. When a medical emergency calls their parents away, the teens are suddenly on their own. Then the transmissions from home stop and an invading army is at the city gates.

Predictable plot aimed at teens, only interesting aspect is the look at how Romans lived day-to-day compared to modern society.

Working Too Hard.......2006-04-01

Being a lover of H. Beam. Piper's Paratime Patrol-related books (especially Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen) I hoped for something similar from Turtledove. Alas, I found I just didn't care enough about the characters to look forward to reading what was coming up next in their story. Turtledove seems to try to make them interesting but there are plot eccentricities that jar. Why would anyone sell gaudy wrist-watches and Swiss Army knives in a Roman time line that also has developed a hyper-bureaucracy that keeps track of every little thing that stands out from the bland norm? Or take payment only in grain when buyers offer gold? Or "go for a walk" when there's a Lithuanian army coming to invest the town?
Turtledove could stand a refresher re-reading Piper, or, for authors whose characters I care about: Connie Willis whose plague-year story "Doomsday Book" is searing and wonderful; and Lois Bujold whose Miles Vorkosigan stories are, well, great.

Beware, Turtledove fans!.......2005-10-09

An alternate history where the Roman Empire survives into and past our own time would make for a fascinating read if researched and written well, and Harry Turtledove would be one author who could probably do it. If so, he needs to try again, and a little harder.

Nowhere on the book jacket or cover blurbs or inside this $25 book is there are warning/indication that this is a book for children and maybe (very) young teenagers, but what is what it is. Since it is sold as standard science fiction/alternative history, and the author is well-known for that kind of standard fare for adults, it strikes me as a little cynical to just let the adult reader find this out for himself after buying the book.

Unfortunately, even as a youth-oriented adventure story that happens to be set in another "timeline," it falls short. JK Rowling need not fear this entry into her market.

It seems a little churlish to quibble about details in a kids' story, but kids are smart enough to pick up on this stuff, and Turtledove is smart enough to know better. So here are some of my personal quibbles.

The thing is set in the 2090s, and science has made interdimensional travel possible. Here, it seems to be used primarily for plundering oil and foodstuffs from the other worlds and bringing the goods back home, in exchange for slum trinkets like Swiss army knives and gaudy Japanese watches. Despite the "current" year being some 80 to 90 years ahead of us, very little besides this inter-dimensional trick has changed. Kids are still obsessed with TV and CDs, they shop at WalMart and Home Depot, use a PowerBook computer, and all of the gadgets in common use were in use in our time, 2005. They also speak English. Given the speed at which current fashions and customs have changed in the last 100 years, this is ridiculous. Only one SERIOUS change has occurred, and that is implied by the comment, "Guys in Los Angeles usually weren't so crude." Now that would signify massive change!

Sadly, the kids are too perfect by half, being politically correct to a mind-numbing and eye-rolling extent. Their physical revulsion at the concept of slavery is mentioned dozens and dozens of times, they abhor the idea of personal valor and even question the morality of self-defense, and they also seem to have a very strange aversion, again regularly bringing them to the verge (and beyond) of vomiting, when confronted with the custom of people wearing furs. Most odd, coming from kids wearing and using leather all the time, and craving a good burger and lamb vindaloo. Their precious and unwavering moral rectitude almost had me reaching for the airsickness bag myself at times.

Turtledove presents the Roman Empire roughly as it was in AD 150, adds the invention though not perfection of early gunpowder weapons, and at that point stops all progress. This seems way overly simplistic (and way too easy on an ambitious author). The Byzantine (East Roman) Empire outlasted the Western Empire by 1000 years, and there was significant progress made in that time in every field of knowledge. Why nothing new in 2000 years in this timeline? Why use time-dates at all; it would have been easier to say that the children went back in time itself. They don't need an alternate world for this.

Finally, every sf and alt/hist reader will be familiar with various logical and time-honored conventions concerning the genre. These are either absent or unevenly applied in this case. For example, they are prevented from interfering with the civilization as they find it...but are permitted (and encouraged) to trade goods technologically far advanced. And ultimately they negotiate with an enemy's king, free a slave, etc. This is non-interference? Better to allow them to actively interfere and deal imaginatively with the fall-out. Even the idea of essentially looting all the available food from a culture only slightly above subsistence level is pretty questionable for people who consider themselves moral paragons.

I can't recommend this book to either juvenile adventure readers (it is fairly dull and overly simply plotted) nor to Turtledove fans (way below his form).

Easy to read but boring.......2005-05-29

I like juvenile sci fi. This was poorly done. It reminded me of watching a Magic School Bus episode on tv, except without any plot. Turtledove seems to have wanted to talk about the Roman Empire. He stuck a couple kids in his discussion of an alternate Roman Empire. Hmmmn -- here's a better comparison. Remember those kids books where a kid would go back in time to watch Paul Revere's ride, or some other historic event? Well, this is kind of like that, except without the event.

These kids are in a siege where it is only luck that they haven't been killed and where there is every chance that they will wind up conquered and turned into slaves. In a normal kids book, the kids would use the knowledge they have from their home world to aid the city, thus saving them from this fate. That's what most fun fiction is about -- there's a hero and the hero accomplishes things. The hero doesn't sit around selling trinkets while his world is falling apart -- especially not when we know very well the hero might be able to prevent the world from falling apart. Instead they contemplate how horrible it will be if they have to stay forever in this world and consider how they might become slaves or die. And do nothing.

I also think Turtledove must have done this all in one draft -- how many times did he start a section with something along the lines of "She liked to visit the town fountain from time to time, even though they didn't need the water. But that was where the women gossiped about what was going on in town -- women of all stations coming together to gossip. Now that I think of it -- why was that banker's wife picking up her own water, when surely that kind of heavy lifting should have been the work of her slave? And with all the complaining about grinding the flour, I found myself wondering why one couldn't simply pay someone to do it. Or buy some bread at a bakery with all that money they were getting selling beads to the natives...

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