The Empire Books

European history, as I was taught it at school in Australia 25 years ago, was one in which Byzantium was written out. The standard historical text "Europe in Transition" by Ferguson stated:
"It is now recognised that the capture of Byzantine capital [by the Turks in 1453] did not alter the practical situation in any such drastic way. The Greek refugees came to Italy too late to do more than assist a classic revival already reaching its peak. As Voltaire remarked, the Greeks could teach the Italians nothing but Greek, and, one might add, even for that they were no longer essential." p. 407

Geanakoplos' book is indispensable in understanding the contribution of the Greeks to learning, both in their bringing manuscripts which would otherwise have been lost to Italy (& the west), and to helping the Italians understand the subtleties of Greek philosophy which had been corrupted by Arabist and mediaeval Catholic misunderstandings.

Geanakoplos explains it best in his own words:
"It was not until the Italian Renaissance that the complete range of Greek writings... came to the West... for the first time all the philosophical writings of Platonism, the remainder - much more than we realize - of Aristotle...Greek Stoicism and Epicurianism... the tragedians ... and the epic poems of Hesiod and especially Homer, as well as the great Greek historians... In rhetoric the entire Byzantine corpus was brought [to Italy]. p. 31

In his book "Leonardo da Vinci: flights of the mind" by Charles Nicholl we learn that Leonardo Da Vinci attended the lectures of John Argyropoulos. To understand who Argyropoulos was and his significance is impossible without Geanakoplos' book. Argyropoulos was the leading Byzantine expert on Greek philosophy and of Greek mechanical literature (eg the pseudo-Mechanica of Aristotle); the entire edifice of western engineering is based on the transmission of Greek manuscripts on engineering which entered Italy at this time.

It is only when it is realised that the Medici, and their sponsorship of the arts was a direct result of their encounter with the Greeks from Byzantium that the importance of this period is best appreciated. Again it is Argyropoulos who became friends with Cosimo de Medici. It was under Cosimo's patronage that Argyropoulos taught in Florence and it was Argyropoulos who Cosimo chose to be the tutor of his grandson Lorenzo de Medici, who has come to be known to us as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" and under whose reign the Renaissance bloomed in Florence.

It is only when it is realised that the Medici and their encouragement of intellect was founded on these Greek émigrés (Gemistos Plethon, Argyropoulos & others) that the contribution of Byzantine Greeks to the Italian Renaissance can ever be properly appreciated. The Greeks, rather than being irrelevant to the West were the foundation upon which was built the pursuit of knowledge which ended the closed mediaeval mindset of the west European dark ages that had prevailed until then.

The British cherish their popular historians. We in the United States forget them. And of all our forgotten popular historians from the early to mid-twentieth century, Harold Lamb may well be the best of the bunch. He was immensely successful and popular as both a fiction and non fiction writer. Lamb was absolutely prolific with major screenplays to his credit, magazine articles in the best journals running into the hundreds along with thirty to forty odd books. To find this title in Amazon run a search in books for "Harold Lamb - Constantinople," and you will find all the available used offerings. Ultimately, however, the question is how does this book stand up to critical scrutiny as accurate, informative history? And the short answer is far better than G. P. Baker's biography of Justinian, and I rated that at four stars. By all means, if Justinian the Great is of interest to you, you will enjoy this book and probably learn a great deal.

As with all of his histories, Lamb's grasp of his subject verges on the encyclopedic. This man had the money and time to research his projects. It is obvious that the author spent substantial time in the near east and at Ravenna and Venice researching this book. This rewards the reader with vivid descriptions and insights into both Byzantine art and architecture. All aspects of Justinian's career are well covered. The important interactions of the principal players are presented with a marvelous wealth of detail and insightful analysis. Justinian and Theodora, Narses, Belisarius, John of Cappadocia, Peter the Patrician and the rest of the cast of characters integral to the Age of Justinian are all fully developed. The major issues of the era are at least handled competently or better. The overwhelming importance of religion in all aspects of sixth century Byzantine existence is amply demonstrated. Authors such as Glanville Downey may show more depth and deeper analytical powers in regard to these matters, but Lamb provides a fascinating read that is factually almost spot on.

An interesting first chapter indicates both the strengths and weaknesses of this book. It represents a prelude to the material to be covered in the bulk of the text. It is loaded with conclusory assumptions about the fall of the western Roman empire. It is also replete with translated quotes of contemporary sources and loads of factual material to support these suppositions. Also, expect some invented conversations, this is popular history after all. There may be one or two anachronistic references I can identify. Expect as well a vivid narrative history that conforms to known historical facts 99% of the time along with ample illumination of the larger issues. A summation of Lamb's thoughts on Justinian and his era is supplied in an afterword, and most interestingly a final section on "the illusion of history" closes the book. In this short closing chapter, many of the classical interpretations of the Age of Justinian are glossed. And, I find that I am far closer to agreeing with Lamb's assessment of Justinian the Great than I am with Gibbon, Toynbee, Bury, Voltaire or the other scholars cited. This book is highly recommended both as a fun and informative read and an enlightening encounter with an almost forgotten author.

My only real complaint relates to something entirely outside the author's control: the price. Put simply, this book is darned expensive. But my recommendation to potential readers is: bite the bullet and shell out the dollars. THE BOOK IS WORTH IT!

Professor Ballard (who used to be a colleague in my own institution, but is now in the US again, I'm told) has based his book on a solid bedrock of French primary sources, few of them consulted by scholars before, and all of them used responsibly and creatively by Ballard.

Ballard's analysis is consequently sound and very convincing. I learned a great deal about life in revolutionary and Napoleonic France, and gained many unique insights into the way an 'ordinary' literate and cultivated Frenchman -- who just wanted to get on with life despite the chaos and instability that plagued his nation before Napoleon took power and the far greater degree of governmental interference after he did -- saw and understood the turmultuous events of his era.

The book's uniqueness lies in the fact that, by tracing one man's life throughout the entire period, it demonstrates the constantly evolving nature of the ideas, policies and practices that emerged and shaped French society.

The prose is clear and engaging, and helps to enliven what might at first glance seem an unimportant story about a man of no great repute. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it without reservation to all readers, including French history specialists and the "lay" readers like myself.

In this a cat-and-mouse tale of "French Connection" proportions, and set during the same timeframe, the author gives a riveting account of how the tables were turned when the long-tolerated process of "winking" at the shuttling of contraband from "North-to-South" was reversed, allowing large quantities of heroin to sneak into the U.S. and Canada.

In the late 60s and early 70s, the "South-to-North Contra-banditos" -- centered in Paraguay, a poor nation surrounded by hungry consumers in Argentina and Brazil -- became a virtual nightmare for U.S. drug enforcement. Under the tutelage of a skilled and sophisticated French criminal, the previously innocent contraband process was reversed with devastating effect on U.S. society.

Basically, this is the story of the rise and fall of Auguste Joseph Ricord: Corsican pimp and petty criminal, who parlayed his skills as a criminal, soldier of fortune and Nazi collaborator into the Kingpin of South America's most sophisticated and lucrative heroin organization.

The story tells of how the U.S. drug enforcement agency during Richard Nixon's tenure had to ramp up its game to keep up with, and then eventually, in an international "full-court press" called "Operation Condor," eventually overtook and "rolled up" the Ricord organization.

The declining demand for the most profitable north-south contraband, whisky and cigarettes, helped create new opportunities for narcotics to trickle back north on the return flights from contraband shuttles. But the trickle, under Ricord's management, soon became a torrent. The same countries along the contraband trail that "winked" when whiskey, jeans, perfume and cigarettes were flowing South, with a little mordida, learned to do the same when marijuana, cocaine and heroin flowed the other way.

But it was the sophistication of Ricord's operation that shocked U.S. DEA agents to their core and to a new quantum level of dealing with drug smuggling. They were unprepared to discover that Ricord's operation had become not just a static top-down organization, but a "dynamic smuggling operation."

In addition to the normal greasing of palms (mordida), Ricord's organization retained on its payroll as a standard part of its operating procedures teams of: mules (couriers), idea men, bribers (constantly on the prowl with large sums of money), document specialists, controllers, bodyguards, bankers, money launderers, lawyers, jailbreak-out artists, "honey traps," teams of pilots, and arsenals of weapons. It operated as a pyramid structure, reminiscent of an intelligence agency in which higher-ups were always insulated from the dirty details at the operational levels. But the sophistication did not end there. It was thought by DEA at the time that the French-Corsicans were a tightly knit, insulated all but incestuous group. However, DEA was amazed to discover that the Corsicans "out-sourced" many of these tasks to Italians, Latins, Chinese, or to whomever and wherever across the globe they could find reliable talent.

To ramp up their game the DEA learned to view the smuggling operation, not as a series of separate incidents, but as a tapestry emanating from a single point of origin. Through careful collation and cataloguing of names, pictures, family connections, and dates, DEA was able to create a multidimensional map across time, and regions, that revealed exploitable patterns of activity that repeatedly yielded telltale clues that allowed them to snag lower level operatives who were compromised and turned -- allowing law enforcement to work its way up the pyramid to Ricord.

A great story that shows a positive side of Richard Nixon's war against drugs. It too should have become a movie. Five stars

From the famous Time-Life series, includes dishes from soup to dessert. Some of the recipes are: Cold sour cherry soup, liver dumplings, fish Dalmation style, Anchovy butter sauce, Hunter's stew, Transylvanian goulash (Okay, where's my copy of Dracula?), Lemon and sour cream salad dressing, and of course desserts like Emperor's pancake, Chocolate cream slices, and Spanish Wind cake.
With spiral binding, to lay perfectly flat. Yum.

A fascinating story of conquest, greed, and betrayal, written in a clear, fast-moving fashion. I've always wondered how a few Spaniards could conquer the massive Aztec empire, and now it makes sense to me.

The first book in this series of three showed how in the future there will be Government, of various sorts. The second examined the conflict between the types of government, with Republics fighting Empires. Third in the series, this book does drag a little at times, but details how and why future empires are likely to fall.

No, they do not fall lightly or easily, with the sole exception of the graceful fall of the British Empire, and when they do fall, civilization tends to revert to barbarism.

What would make an empire fall? Many factors, each self correctable to the unbaised observer, but with those in power never being or listening to said observer.

One of the essays, on the Vietnam War, does drag a little, and that is the only thing that slows down what is otherwise an excellent read.

This is the only book on the 7 years war you need.
Well written, packed with details and information!

Singer and Langdon, both university professors, reassess French imperialism; which along with the imperialism of other Western nations, has been negatively portrayed in the colonial and postcolonial studies of recent decades. They do so through biographical and historical studies of key French proconsuls in French colonies in Africa and Asia. They do not try to make the simplistic point that French imperialism and colonialism was good, or even desirable. But they aim to balance the picture of this colonialism, and by extension all Western colonialism. While not trying to gloss over brutalities and atrocities committed by colonial masters, the authors note that colonialism also worked to "reduce feudal inequalities, abolish serfdom, establish constitutions, build roads...and extend educational opportunities." This was seen by France--and other colonial powers--as "civilizing backward peoples." But it could also be seen as raising the living standards of the inhabitants of the colonies. Shedding a light on French colonialism by biographically and analytically looking at the specific colonial officials of Thomas Robert Bugeaud of Algeria, Louis-Hubert-Gonzalve Lyautey of Southeast Asia, and others, the authors inject a human dimension, with all of its aspirations and faults, into the subject. This is a scholarly work which reads almost like history for the general reader for dealing with historical characters and seeing historical issues in terms of their personalities and actions. With its balanced, broader view of French colonialism, "Cultured Force" restores an ambiguity to its subject, thus making it a subject of true history and human enterprise rather than an ideological or myopic one.

I found this book by accident, although I had read other Mason novels. It was a delight, painting a compelling portrait of both the man and the times in which he lived. The detail was well-researched and thorough. In my opinion this is a much superior portrayal than Michener's in "Caribbean," in which Morgan is just passed off as the bad pirate that sacked Panama. I have learned that John Steinbeck's first novel, "Cup of Gold," was also about Morgan and hope to read that as well.