by Jonathan Harris
This is a book which covers the history of Constantinople, primarily in the period 1200 to 1453 when the Ottoman's defeated the Byzantine's.
The book suggests that the city may have existed as early as 500 BCE. However, its dominant position seems to have started in 300 AD when Constantine chose it as the site for the head of his Roman Empire. The city had a long and glorious history. It had great wealth, strong defences, lots of Christian relics and the strong belief that the Emperor was a chosen representative of God and that the Virgin Mary protected the city.
The city withstood many sieges partly because of its strong wall fortifications, the strong currents in the oceans and the underground cisterns. While the city withstood invaders rulers were not so lucky, many were overthrown during the centuries, some by people who were able to get through the gates by bribing guards. I was amazed to learn that they had hospitals which offered services for the poor and other assitance for homeless or people suffering after periods of drought or who were escaping batttles. Apparently they had set prices for fish in the nmarket and government controlled prices for liquour in taverns and regulated sizes for the glasses used to serve alcohol.
The city is reported to have been spectacularly beautiful until in the 1200's when one emperor was being overthrown and battles that ensued damaged many buildings and set fire to others. Foreigners living in the city, e.g. Venetians, raided a lot of the relics and beautiful art objects and these were later transferred to many European locations, especially Venice. The author suggests that if one would like to know what Constantinople would have looked like in the Byzantine period, to look at the architecture of Venice. The city never seemed to recover from this destruction until the Ottomans took over.
The book ends with the conquest of the city by the Ottomans.
I found the book interesting but a bit hard to read, the author seemed to jump around between different time periods so it was hard to follow at times.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Friday, 23 March 2012
Where the Serpent Lives
by Ruth Padel
This is a very powerful book about a woman who is wallowing in an unhappy marriage. Her husband, a music promoter, claims her loves her, but keeps having affairs. The story also includes the woman whose father studies snakes in India and how he abused her psychologically as a child. The woman's best friend is married to a man who is also working in India studying snakes, this man thinks he loves the main character and often has fantasies about her. The scientists are in awe of the power and beauty of the snakes, they are frustrated about the lack of government action against poachersm, corruption and the destruction of forests in india all of which are threatening the animal populations in the country.
The woman's friend thinks that it would do the woman good to take a holiday to India to get away from her husband and "find herself". She almost has sex with the scientist who has the crush on her but the report of the attempted suicide by her son saves her from making that mistake.
The book ends with the woman's husband being killed in a car crash, her finding a police detective to love, her friend who thought he loved her realizes he really does love his wife and the woman is reconciled with her father.... so most people live happily.... this doesn't seem to happen much in books today.
The story was interesting but it included many graphic scenes of the brutality humans inflict (poaching) on animals and the brutality in the animal kingdom, those were hard to take. But it also portrays the great devotion animials have to their offspring and the lengths they will go to defend them.. It seemed that the animals were much more caring and concerned for their offsping and families than humans are.
Is the snake imagery supposed to make us think of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve discovering sin and evil?
This is a very powerful book about a woman who is wallowing in an unhappy marriage. Her husband, a music promoter, claims her loves her, but keeps having affairs. The story also includes the woman whose father studies snakes in India and how he abused her psychologically as a child. The woman's best friend is married to a man who is also working in India studying snakes, this man thinks he loves the main character and often has fantasies about her. The scientists are in awe of the power and beauty of the snakes, they are frustrated about the lack of government action against poachersm, corruption and the destruction of forests in india all of which are threatening the animal populations in the country.
The woman's friend thinks that it would do the woman good to take a holiday to India to get away from her husband and "find herself". She almost has sex with the scientist who has the crush on her but the report of the attempted suicide by her son saves her from making that mistake.
The book ends with the woman's husband being killed in a car crash, her finding a police detective to love, her friend who thought he loved her realizes he really does love his wife and the woman is reconciled with her father.... so most people live happily.... this doesn't seem to happen much in books today.
The story was interesting but it included many graphic scenes of the brutality humans inflict (poaching) on animals and the brutality in the animal kingdom, those were hard to take. But it also portrays the great devotion animials have to their offspring and the lengths they will go to defend them.. It seemed that the animals were much more caring and concerned for their offsping and families than humans are.
Is the snake imagery supposed to make us think of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve discovering sin and evil?
A Spoonful of Poison
by M.C. Beaton
I have never read any books by this author about her private detective Agatha Raisin, I wasn't sure what to expect. The main character is a successful business person who after a couple different careers decides to settle down in rural England to start a detective agency. She builds a successful company but is not entirely happy as she is feeling her age (jealous of the youth of her young protege) and looking for a many to love, possibly getting distracted from her work in her search for a good man.
In this story she is asked to help promote a church fundraiser that will be taking place in a nearby town. She has been asked to help because of her prior PR experience. She succeeds in getting a celebrity singer to appear and good media attention and it looks like the event will be a success until two people die, one of them jumping off the room of the church..... did someone drug the jam samples in the jam contest with LSD? And who stole the money the church raised? and who murdered the accountant?
Agatha is particulary suspicious of the Vicar's young vivacious wife but her friends and colleagues keep telling her she is being unfair. She develops an interest in a man from the village where the fair took place only to find out he is a cad. She outs him in the media and then fears he may come after her.
It turns out her suspicions of the vixen were justified. Agatha is quite self-centred but she is also very generous, she has bought an apartment for her young protege to help her get established.
It was an entertaining read but I am not sure I will be interested in reading any others in the series.
I have never read any books by this author about her private detective Agatha Raisin, I wasn't sure what to expect. The main character is a successful business person who after a couple different careers decides to settle down in rural England to start a detective agency. She builds a successful company but is not entirely happy as she is feeling her age (jealous of the youth of her young protege) and looking for a many to love, possibly getting distracted from her work in her search for a good man.
In this story she is asked to help promote a church fundraiser that will be taking place in a nearby town. She has been asked to help because of her prior PR experience. She succeeds in getting a celebrity singer to appear and good media attention and it looks like the event will be a success until two people die, one of them jumping off the room of the church..... did someone drug the jam samples in the jam contest with LSD? And who stole the money the church raised? and who murdered the accountant?
Agatha is particulary suspicious of the Vicar's young vivacious wife but her friends and colleagues keep telling her she is being unfair. She develops an interest in a man from the village where the fair took place only to find out he is a cad. She outs him in the media and then fears he may come after her.
It turns out her suspicions of the vixen were justified. Agatha is quite self-centred but she is also very generous, she has bought an apartment for her young protege to help her get established.
It was an entertaining read but I am not sure I will be interested in reading any others in the series.
Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Arms and Aid
by Samantha Nutt, MD.
This is a very thought provoking books about world conflict, aid, the roles of government agencies and NGOs and why some current practices are not achieving positive outcomes.
The author has worked in a variety of world conflict zones and has witnessed horrible tragedies and abuses.
She is really speaking from experience. The stories she relates about her experiences are hair raising and the arguments she puts forward about reducing military expenditures in favour of aid and support of community resources in the field are well thought out. Her suggestions that more money needs to be directed directly to community groups rather than large multinational organizations make sense.
She is a strong proponent of the value of education for women, and I agree with her..
Quotes:
"Nadya.... after everything you hve been through has any of this helped you:?".... When, leaning forward from her mat, she placed her finger in the sand and gently wrote her name...When she was finished she turned to me and said, "Now that I know how to write my own name, I'm going to learn how to write my son's name".
"Aid is wasted without improvements to women's education. Even the most effective humanitariam interventions are stymied by high rates of female illiteracy.in such countries as Afghanistan and Somalia, where girls' education is often seen as antithetical to religious and social norms. Under such conditions the value of educating girls is recognized the moment her mother is able to read and write...the cycle of violence and despair that plagues beleaguered nations will not end so long as women remain marginalized by illiteracy and are catastrophically poor."
This is a very thought provoking books about world conflict, aid, the roles of government agencies and NGOs and why some current practices are not achieving positive outcomes.
The author has worked in a variety of world conflict zones and has witnessed horrible tragedies and abuses.
She is really speaking from experience. The stories she relates about her experiences are hair raising and the arguments she puts forward about reducing military expenditures in favour of aid and support of community resources in the field are well thought out. Her suggestions that more money needs to be directed directly to community groups rather than large multinational organizations make sense.
She is a strong proponent of the value of education for women, and I agree with her..
Quotes:
"Nadya.... after everything you hve been through has any of this helped you:?".... When, leaning forward from her mat, she placed her finger in the sand and gently wrote her name...When she was finished she turned to me and said, "Now that I know how to write my own name, I'm going to learn how to write my son's name".
"Aid is wasted without improvements to women's education. Even the most effective humanitariam interventions are stymied by high rates of female illiteracy.in such countries as Afghanistan and Somalia, where girls' education is often seen as antithetical to religious and social norms. Under such conditions the value of educating girls is recognized the moment her mother is able to read and write...the cycle of violence and despair that plagues beleaguered nations will not end so long as women remain marginalized by illiteracy and are catastrophically poor."
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Thirty-Three Teeth
a Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery, by Colin Cotterill
This is the second book in this series. I enjoyed the first one very much with its quirky Septegenarian Loatian Coroner, who would rather be retired, but there is no retirement in communist Laos.
This story was not as good, it involved spirits of the dead in puppets (Dr. Siri has ghosts who speak to him -- that I can take), shamans, and a crazy man who thinks he is a "were-tiger". I found this one a little bit too far-fetched. I guess it is good to include these kinds of things if they are part of the culture in Laos.
The author paints a colourful picture of daily life in Loas. The Doctor still has his devoted staff and friends and his complaints about bureaucrats. But it just wasn't as engaging as the first book. I doubt I will read any more in the series.
This is the second book in this series. I enjoyed the first one very much with its quirky Septegenarian Loatian Coroner, who would rather be retired, but there is no retirement in communist Laos.
This story was not as good, it involved spirits of the dead in puppets (Dr. Siri has ghosts who speak to him -- that I can take), shamans, and a crazy man who thinks he is a "were-tiger". I found this one a little bit too far-fetched. I guess it is good to include these kinds of things if they are part of the culture in Laos.
The author paints a colourful picture of daily life in Loas. The Doctor still has his devoted staff and friends and his complaints about bureaucrats. But it just wasn't as engaging as the first book. I doubt I will read any more in the series.
Friday, 9 March 2012
The Borrower
by Rebecca Makkai
A disgruntled children's Librarian runs away with one of her library patrons who is running away from home. As a retired Librarian I found this book hilarious, the author certainly knew how to describe libraries, overprotective parents and precocious children. She has created an interesting, funny and bittersweet story.
The runaway boy is from a fundamentalist Christian family who are sending him to a special religious group because they fear he has gay tendancies; the Librarian's father, who assists her on her escape, may or may not be part of a Russian mafia in America, the Librarian is struggling in her relationships with two men in her life and then, who is it that is following them? Should them make a break for Canada?
The book, while it trys to be light and funny, does touch on some important issues, freedom to read, homophobia, what is one's true family history and do we really want to know the truth? will the situation be even worse for the boy when he returns home? The Librarian figures out a devious plan for continuing his exposure to literature to broaden ones mind. Will this help him be strong and be able to think for himself and cope with his family situation?
I really enjoyed the book and all the antics and crazy characters. The one thing I found disappointing was that the Librarian ends up in another, perhaps even worse, dead-end library job. I would have thought that she should have learned something about pursuing self-fulfillment from her adventures with the boy.
A disgruntled children's Librarian runs away with one of her library patrons who is running away from home. As a retired Librarian I found this book hilarious, the author certainly knew how to describe libraries, overprotective parents and precocious children. She has created an interesting, funny and bittersweet story.
The runaway boy is from a fundamentalist Christian family who are sending him to a special religious group because they fear he has gay tendancies; the Librarian's father, who assists her on her escape, may or may not be part of a Russian mafia in America, the Librarian is struggling in her relationships with two men in her life and then, who is it that is following them? Should them make a break for Canada?
The book, while it trys to be light and funny, does touch on some important issues, freedom to read, homophobia, what is one's true family history and do we really want to know the truth? will the situation be even worse for the boy when he returns home? The Librarian figures out a devious plan for continuing his exposure to literature to broaden ones mind. Will this help him be strong and be able to think for himself and cope with his family situation?
I really enjoyed the book and all the antics and crazy characters. The one thing I found disappointing was that the Librarian ends up in another, perhaps even worse, dead-end library job. I would have thought that she should have learned something about pursuing self-fulfillment from her adventures with the boy.
The Sheen on the Silk
by Anne Perry
Arriving in Constantinople in 1273, Anna Zarides vows to prove the innocence of her twin brother, Justinian, who has been exiled to the desert for conspiring to kill a nobleman. Disguising herself as a eunuch named Anastasius, and offering services as a Doctor, Anna moves freely about in society.
The story takes place at the time that the Roman Catholic Church is trying to force the Orthodox Church in Turkey to join the RC's as one church, under threat of another crusade if they don't comply.
The book describes the intrigues within the church, numerous popes, Venetian and Roman officials who are sent to Istanbul to try to convice the Emperor or guage the level of opposition to the Catholic Church. While the story had several story lines and numerous characters (perhaps too many characters), it was a fascinating story. Most of the characters are very self-centered and willing to do whatever they have to to get what they want, including murder. One character murders a man she loves for a crime against the church that his family committed 100 years previously. The main character Anna, is one of the only people who seems willing to treat everyone with respect, even if it hinders her goal of freeing her brother and even threatens her life.
The author does a wonderful job of portraying the life and scenery in the various cities, Istanbul, Venic, and Sicily. Interestingly, two characters, one from Rome and one from Venice, seem to be sympathetic to the Turks and their faith and culture.
There is irony in the story in that, while the Turks want to preseve their independence and seem to do this in this book the threat of Islamic invasion is mentioned and eventually they will be invaded and subjugated once again.
This was a very enjoying read, having been to Turkey I could "see" some of the locations she mentioned in the book. Now I want to do a bit more research about the history of Istanbul and Turkey. Constanine brought Christianity to Constantinople (Istanbul), but how/when did the orthodox faith spilt from the Roman rite? When did Islam take over in Turkey?
Arriving in Constantinople in 1273, Anna Zarides vows to prove the innocence of her twin brother, Justinian, who has been exiled to the desert for conspiring to kill a nobleman. Disguising herself as a eunuch named Anastasius, and offering services as a Doctor, Anna moves freely about in society.
The story takes place at the time that the Roman Catholic Church is trying to force the Orthodox Church in Turkey to join the RC's as one church, under threat of another crusade if they don't comply.
The book describes the intrigues within the church, numerous popes, Venetian and Roman officials who are sent to Istanbul to try to convice the Emperor or guage the level of opposition to the Catholic Church. While the story had several story lines and numerous characters (perhaps too many characters), it was a fascinating story. Most of the characters are very self-centered and willing to do whatever they have to to get what they want, including murder. One character murders a man she loves for a crime against the church that his family committed 100 years previously. The main character Anna, is one of the only people who seems willing to treat everyone with respect, even if it hinders her goal of freeing her brother and even threatens her life.
The author does a wonderful job of portraying the life and scenery in the various cities, Istanbul, Venic, and Sicily. Interestingly, two characters, one from Rome and one from Venice, seem to be sympathetic to the Turks and their faith and culture.
There is irony in the story in that, while the Turks want to preseve their independence and seem to do this in this book the threat of Islamic invasion is mentioned and eventually they will be invaded and subjugated once again.
This was a very enjoying read, having been to Turkey I could "see" some of the locations she mentioned in the book. Now I want to do a bit more research about the history of Istanbul and Turkey. Constanine brought Christianity to Constantinople (Istanbul), but how/when did the orthodox faith spilt from the Roman rite? When did Islam take over in Turkey?
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Fleet Street Murders
by Charles Finch
This is the third book in the series involving amateur detective Charles Lenox. In this book Charles is busy because he is planning his wedding to Lady Jane, he is running for Parliament and his best friend's wife has just had a miscarriage.
Two reporters have been murdered and Lenox is urged to help investigate by his protege who is convinced that one of the men arrested is innocent. But Charles needs to be in north England campaigning in a by-election. He tries his hardest but is defeated by a local somewhat unscrupulous businessman.
He returns to London where one of the men arrested has been murdered as has the Chief Detective.
Lenox leaves no stone unturned and finds a few clues that might implicate a wealthy man whom Charles dislikes and is suspicious of. The plot thickens when it appears that man has left the country.
Lenox figures things out once again in time to nab the culprit. But while he is working on these crimes a friend in north England determines that the election voting was fraudulent and Lenox becomes an M.P. like his brother.
This book, like the others in the series is a quick, light read, but entertaining. It leaves you guessing til the end.
This is the third book in the series involving amateur detective Charles Lenox. In this book Charles is busy because he is planning his wedding to Lady Jane, he is running for Parliament and his best friend's wife has just had a miscarriage.
Two reporters have been murdered and Lenox is urged to help investigate by his protege who is convinced that one of the men arrested is innocent. But Charles needs to be in north England campaigning in a by-election. He tries his hardest but is defeated by a local somewhat unscrupulous businessman.
He returns to London where one of the men arrested has been murdered as has the Chief Detective.
Lenox leaves no stone unturned and finds a few clues that might implicate a wealthy man whom Charles dislikes and is suspicious of. The plot thickens when it appears that man has left the country.
Lenox figures things out once again in time to nab the culprit. But while he is working on these crimes a friend in north England determines that the election voting was fraudulent and Lenox becomes an M.P. like his brother.
This book, like the others in the series is a quick, light read, but entertaining. It leaves you guessing til the end.
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