When this started, I was a bit annoyed at the idea that I'd have to listen to all the stuff about the author's personal life. That turned out to be boWhen this started, I was a bit annoyed at the idea that I'd have to listen to all the stuff about the author's personal life. That turned out to be both relevant and interesting, so I'm glad it was included....more
This was very interesting and a subject that I'd never considered before, but really should have because it seems like such an obvious thing in hindsiThis was very interesting and a subject that I'd never considered before, but really should have because it seems like such an obvious thing in hindsight....more
I don't know enough about the Habsburgs to appreciate this fully, but I found it very interesting.I don't know enough about the Habsburgs to appreciate this fully, but I found it very interesting....more
Very much a product of its time, with all the horrendous racial and religious prejudice that entails. I found it hilarious that the author held other Very much a product of its time, with all the horrendous racial and religious prejudice that entails. I found it hilarious that the author held other works in disdain due to their bias....more
Got a bit boring towards the end. I know it's highly relevant to the topic but the ins and outs of a century of personality politics is not something Got a bit boring towards the end. I know it's highly relevant to the topic but the ins and outs of a century of personality politics is not something I'm interested in....more
This was not as bad as I expected, yet somehow exponentially worse. I assume there was a ghostwriter, because the tone varies enough to be jarring. ItThis was not as bad as I expected, yet somehow exponentially worse. I assume there was a ghostwriter, because the tone varies enough to be jarring. It's not impossible for one person to write in such different styles, of course, but it usually doesn't happen in a single work. It felt as if the one author was trying to do their best to show everything in the best light possible, but the other was actively inserting juvenile, irrelevant drivel. It read like someone had taken a professionally-written biography and inserted chatty blog posts.
There's a definite sense of school-boy humour. Which suggests to me that Harry's family completely failed him and he needed serious and intensive therapy to deal with his mother's death when it happened. And his obvious anger management issues. It's not just the sense that he never stopped being that almost-13-year-old. He's clearly obsessed with the media and with his mother. To a disturbing degree. It's as if he completely fails to understand that his mother is a human who had faults and failings, along with all her better aspects.
Given he makes such a big deal of his shoddy memory you'd think someone would have fact checked the book. Especially since they must have known the type of scrutiny it would get. Either his ghostwriter/editorial/publishing team sabotaged it to make him seem more of a deluded paranoiac, or they're the only reason it's remotely attached to reality. There may be other options (I'm sure there are, in fact) but I can't be bothered to think of them right now.
Given all the publicity it's had, I expected the bit about how many people he killed to be far more egregious. Granted, I'm sure there are many who consider me cold and unfeeling, but war is a dirty business and he (or his ghostwriter) explained it in a measured way, and I particularly liked the part about him wanting to know when he killed a person. Of course, saying that the army taught him accountability would be more believable if it was demonstrated anywhere else.
Implying that the only thing he regrets is that he couldn't kill more people ... should never have been included. The entire section should not have been allowed. Because I'm cynical, I incline to the point of view that Harry insisted on including it, because he knew that it would endanger himself and his family, and he's hoping to leverage that into the security detail he's so desperate to have. And considering that his relationships with his bodyguards are actually discussed in more realistic terms than the relationships with his family, I think those relationships are probably the most 'adult' he has and probably grounded him.
Not that my opinion means anything, but it's just as likely to be right as any other random human.
The entire thing was summed up by Harry somewhere in the middle (the end of chapter 65 if you want to know): "...if you like reading pure bollocks then royal biographies are just your thing."...more
A very good way to structure a book and an interesting way of considering history. With such a wide expanse under discussion there must have been a grA very good way to structure a book and an interesting way of considering history. With such a wide expanse under discussion there must have been a great deal of research involved. The fact that it is nowhere near as long as Gibbon Edward's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire suggests that many difficult decisions were made about what to exclude.
This is a very interesting book that manages to not be entirely Eurocentric, though there is a large focus on the European side of the Mediterranean....more
This started out depressing and got steadily worse as it went on. Economics is a lie, money isn't real, the world is awful.
Seriously though, this is aThis started out depressing and got steadily worse as it went on. Economics is a lie, money isn't real, the world is awful.
Seriously though, this is a fascinating account of the way money has been used through history, how the creation of markets has affected that, the impact of slavery (and on slavery), and how it has affected people's lives. The fact that credit and virtual money has such a long history is something that a great many more people should know....more
This was a more recent history than I expected, or would usually choose, but it was one of the few interesting options in a buy-one-get-second-free deThis was a more recent history than I expected, or would usually choose, but it was one of the few interesting options in a buy-one-get-second-free deal, and I'm glad I picked it. It provides a great deal of context to contemporary politics, as well as providing me with a greater understanding of things I only had a vague understanding of (the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution in particular). It'll definitely get a few more listens....more
My Mayan phase was very short and sandwiched between two Egyptian phases near the beginning of high school, so this is an area that I know very littleMy Mayan phase was very short and sandwiched between two Egyptian phases near the beginning of high school, so this is an area that I know very little about. This was very interesting and I'm definitely going to want another listen or two in order to fully connect everything in my mind....more
This was really interesting. I was vaguely aware that the Normans had something to do with Sicily, but really if it wasn't Normandy or England, I didnThis was really interesting. I was vaguely aware that the Normans had something to do with Sicily, but really if it wasn't Normandy or England, I didn't actually know about it....more
This book pretty much skips entirely over prehistory, but since it's a history, which generally requires written records of some kind, I'm not going tThis book pretty much skips entirely over prehistory, but since it's a history, which generally requires written records of some kind, I'm not going to hold that against it. I really liked the way that this moved across the Old World, giving a clearer idea of what things were happening at pretty much the same time in different places. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series....more
I really wanted to enjoy this but I just couldn't handle the detailed descriptions of battle, it was both tedious and unpleasant.I really wanted to enjoy this but I just couldn't handle the detailed descriptions of battle, it was both tedious and unpleasant....more
This is the kind of book I usually enjoy, but I just couldn't get into it.This is the kind of book I usually enjoy, but I just couldn't get into it....more
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