Elizabeth the Queen, by Sally Bedell Smith

Elizabeth the Queen:The Life of a Modern Monarch
Sally Bedell Smith
Original Publication Date: 2011
Edition 2012,
ISBN 1400067898
Random House 688 pages






Sally Bedell Smith presents a comprehensive picture of Queen Elizabeth II. What makes this such a compelling read is the information and candid picture the reader will visualize from this biography. As an American, the image of Queen Elizabeth is often vague and remote. Perhaps that is how our president appears to other countries, but without experiencing Parliament and the British Monarchy first hand, one can’t help but feel unconnected and distanced. Yet, after reading Smith’s book for the Early Reviewer program at Library Thing, a clearer more human and genuinely warm image of the Queen is more likely probable. This biography depicts the Queen as a mother, who believes in the sacrifice of her role as the monarch above all. The love for her family is no less important, but her dedication to the British people will often cause limitations and conflict. The reader will identify with her positive inspirational spirit. This biography is a kind and gentle history of the Queen up to this current Diamond Jubilee Year. It is not just about the Queen, but about it encompasses her life, her extended family and her long and steady reign. I can’t judge how candid this biography really is. For example, does the author paint a pellucid portrait of the Queen? As with any popular public figure, the paparazzi, the press and the world will try and judge her. Draw your own conclusion by reading this enchanting biography, Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch. Did you know she has a Facebook page? How special would it be to actually friend this mighty yet petite techno savvy sovereign. Sally Bedell Smith’s biography is a noteworthy addition to the existing archives about the House of Windsor. Happy Diamond Jubilee : “Long Live the Queen!”

Disclosure: Early Reviewers(Library Thing)sent a free ARC for review.


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2012].

Across Many Mountains, A Memoir by Yangzom Brauen

ACROSS MANY MOUNTAINS
A Tibetan Family's Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom
Yangzom Brauen
St. Martin's Press
978-0-312-60013-6
October, 2011-304 pp









 ACROSS MANY MOUNTAINS is the journey of three women, grandmother, mother and daughter from March 10, 1959, the day marked as Tibetan Uprising Day (considered the day when the Tibetan turmoil began).  This memoir is written from the point of view of the daughter, Yangzom Brauen.  It is a multigenerational approach that begins with the author’s grandmother and ends with her own story today. It is an astonishing narrative that provides the reader with the gripping history of her family, Tibet, Buddhism and the Dalai Lama. It is an eye opening read that delivers a message of determination, strength and understanding. As the Tibetan people and the government of China continue to clash, the Dalai Lama provides spiritual wisdom and hope from India.  The author skillfully assumes the persona of mother and grandmother to testify on their behalf. ACROSS MANY MOUNTAINS just might tempt the reader to pursue further reading about Tibet and Buddhism as it did for this reviewer. I applaud Yangzom Brauen for telling this remarkable family history.

This book was sent to me for review by Library Thing/  Early Reviewers.  My review is my candid and unbiased opinion of this memoir.


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].

Sunday Salon-Review, Scramble for Africa.. By Steven Fake and Kevin Funk

Yesterday my little Mystery slipped on some ice and injured her back leg. She's walking on it, but tentatively. I guess today it's off to the vet for an x-ray. She is a little greyhound and very brave, but I think it must be sprained. I spent most of my time this weekend with her. I am in the middle of reading Canvey Island for Library Thing, it finally arrived from the November picks. Up next on the nightstand is Mrs. Lincoln, and The Rose of Sebastopol.

The Scramble for Africa
Darfur-Intervention and the USA

By Steven Fake and Kevin Funk
Black Rose Books
$19.99/£13.99
301 pages, pb.


You may have seen the signs Save Darfur Now, and many other organizations all with good intentions aimed at helping to bring awareness, gain support in Washington, and raise money all to benefit the refugees of Darfur. In Steven Fake and Kevin Funk’s book The Scramble for Africa they will provide research and show why none of this money reaches the people of Darfur. They will show why the US government is more interested in their own self interests, the war on terrorism and oil than “humanitarian intervention.”

China is in this race to commercialize Africa and gain control of oil. So if the US doesn’t enter the race, some other country will. The US also has a stake in Africa since 911, and their interest in Africa is also in fighting terrorism.

The authors kindle many questions as you read the book as your mind becomes a muddled mass of gray matter. For example, Why aren’t we concerned about the Iraq war and the need for humanitarian intervention there. As of August 2007 they claim 1.2 million people have been killed, with several million refugees. The troubles in the Congo have taken more lives than any since WWII, more than 5 million people. Even more amazing is that since 2002 they are still loosing 45,000 people, mostly children each month, primarily from disease. So why are we not advocating action for humanitarian intervention there?

When you read The Scramble for Africa, there is a sense of foreboding and failure throughout, but we can’t keep hiding behind untruths. Can we? We can’t keep ignoring the newspapers and believe what editorial opinion offers. Can we? We can’t and shouldn’t keep throwing away money for causes we think are helping when they are creating more harm. Can we? Is the conflict and killing in Darfur defined as genocide in the global community? Is the discovery of oil truly driving the race?

Difficult questions have no affable answers as the authors offer convincing data, past historical events, professional articles, primary documents and a plethora of publications to support their arguments. Bold gutsy writing with a clear purpose this is an intellectually decisive work about Darfur and the US, missing from libraries until now.
What I found most amazing was their ability to clearly delineate these complex problems in a fascinating compelling style. A requisite read for anyone who wants a clearer understanding about Darfur, Intervention, and the US involvement in Africa. Make sure this is not left out of your TBR list this year.

Review-The History of Now by Daniel Klein

I was selected to review The History of Now as an Early Reviewer for Library Thing. Thanks to Library Thing and The Permanent Press for the bound galley copy.

The History of Now by Daniel Klein

Permanent Press
March 1, 2009, HC, 296 pages
ISBN 1579621813
$28.00


Have you ever thought your life was so average that no one would want to read about it? Daniel Klein dispels that myth in his new book,The History of Now as he tells the story of a somewhat typical family living in Grandville, Massachusetts. The town is the quintessential image of bucolic New England. As the story unfolds you quickly become enmeshed in the ordinary yet extraordinary sequence of events that are destined to become Now.

Wendel deVries is a 65 year old divorcee who runs the projector at the local Phoenix theater. Before his divorce he had a daughter Franny. His daughter Franny, suffers from a lack of self-esteem and confidence. Her daughter Lila, is a recalcitrant pot smoking lazy high school teen coupled with a strained mother daughter relationship. Since Lila has never known her father, grandfather Wendel is the closest to a father she has had. Wendel moves on with his life and surprisingly one day meets someone and they fall in love.

Meanwhile, somewhere in South America a young boy named Hector flees to Miami with hopes of starting a new life. One day in class, Lila learns that years ago, nineteenth century, there were deVries in Grandville who were African American. With impish amusement she questions her grandfather hoping to discover the validity of her teacher’s historical findings. Were there slaves in her family tree? Could she have black relatives and possibly relatives who owned slaves?

Klein’s novel is the story of the lives of these people and how they will ultimately connect. Philosophically, who cares? Well, the story would be no story if the lives of many people did not happen before those who live now. Sound confusing? It is a cause and effect model shaped in the beliefs of David Hume. Now is now because it was destined to happen because of the history that came before it.

The orchestral piece Bolero comes to mind as I read this book. The novel begins with a diminutive and simple opening and as each person, each layer, each cause to the effect is added the pulse slowly builds, gradually increasing in complexity. Discord and a cacophony of drama comes together toward the middle as each person becomes more conscious of their life and their actions. The past is revealed through a series of flashbacks, but still, like the composer Ravel, the author Klein, carefully scaffolds the story to a perfect climax and then conclusion.

This book presents philosophical questions disguised as a small town family drama. One caution I have is the description of the day-workers and confrontation that ensued in the town of Danbury, CT. I realize this is a work of fiction, however, the scene described I believe, knowing the town, is grossly exaggerated.

What I enjoyed about this book was that it is so ordinary, so believable, that anyone wanting to write their story can visualize their own chronology of history a book. It is also idiosyncratic as you reflect upon the author’s philosophical dogma, making this a noteworthy novel of Now. Let’s hope there is a short wait for book two in this trilogy.

Wisteria Leigh

Permanent Press Website