United Kingdom Books

Richard Reddie's book is a well-researched and broad in scope history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade which existed for 276 years. He explores the events leading up to the slave trade, painting a picture of a cultured and learned Africa which became a point in the triangular trade route - from Europe firearms, alcohol, brass, copper and manufactured goods were transported to Africa; slaves were taken in Africa and transported by the `Middle Passage' to the West Indies and America; then sugar, tobacco, rum and molasses from America were transported to Europe. Research suggests up to 15 million enslaved Africans died because of this trade and their treatment by the Europeans makes very sobering reading - especially as Christians weren't only those trying to abolish the trade but were often those who participated and benefited from it.

William Wilberforce and the other abolitionists, such as John Newton, Thomas Clarkson and the freed slave Olaudah Equiano are shown as people who worked tirelessly against the slave trade but also as people who were fallible and whose 19th century view of Africans unable to determine their own lives feels rather uncomfortable to us today. The book is an informative and yet sobering read about an alternative holocaust, one in which many Christians colluded and whose revenues founded some of our largest institutions. It makes for uncomfortable reading but it is an aspect of our history which must not be ignored.

Lee's thesis - that the increased medicalization of women's reproductive lives has lead to a tendency to describe and explain such experiences with reference to mental illness and disease - is unique, and she argues it well and convincingly. In doing so, she exposes the similarities between the arguments of the antiabortion lobby and the arguments put forward by those who claim that giving birth can harm women's mental health, i.e. that both experiences - birth and abortion - can bring on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Lee goes so far as to say that motherhood is now regarded as the more problematized choice.

Fascinating book, well-written and definitely worth a read.

An Abundance Of Witches: The Great Scottish Witch-Hunt is a detailed history of witch-hunting and persecution in Scotland from approximately 1658-1662, an era generally thought to be the high point of a turbulent history of violence and hatred for accused witches. The turmoil of political history, Scotland's previous time as an English province, and the revived fervor of Calvinist religion in the Scottish Church accentuated the internal conflict. An Abundance Of Witches does not shy from sometimes horrifying details, including calculated tallies of men and women strangled or burned alive at the stake, fees paid to those involved in hunting, capturing, and executing witches; materials, components, and implements of torture used for such purposes, a search for the psychological motivations behind the slaughter, and more. An excellent and scholarly contribution to Scottish and European history shelves.

perfect chapters on the exploration, development and production costs. need to develop the section for joint operations accounting. i gained much from the chapter on DDA calculation. the publisher is not currently planning to print this book. hard to obtain a copy.

This book should be back in print.

I used it prior to an MBA course and I could have passed the Core Financial Analysis class on day one.

UK-centric though!!

I cannot think of another Briton who has had more written about them for as long a time as Nelson. Now we are approaching the 200 year anniversary of his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. And we are hearing again of his famous signal 'England expects every man will do his duty.' And his famous last words 'Thank God I have done my duty.'

In this new book, nine noted historians contributed articles. Each views Nelson's life and legacy in a different light. In Part 1 of the book the subjects are Seamanship, leadership, orgiginality, Friendship, Freemasonry, Fraternity, Manliness, patriotism and body politics.

Of particular interest was Kate Williams article Nelson and Women which discusses how Nelson was marketed to the female consumer of the time. This included romance novels, fantasies about how sailors whould behave, and various consumer items offered for sale. This is a view of early nineteenth century England not seen before.

Part 2 of the book goes into the Nelson legacy. This legacy didn't just happen, it was carefully constructed by the British Navy, Government and others. They did a good job, the legacy has now lasted for 200 years and shows no sign of dimenishing.

A most interesting book that discusses parts about Nelson that haven't been emphasized.

Our design technology teacher requested this, for IB DP students. He says it is an excellent book, and highly recommended.

I made the mistake of beginning this book after 9:00 P.M. I was still reading tenaciously when dawn broke, and I reluctantly had to put it down from sheer exhaustion.

Faster paced than any novel, this gripping story, ripped from the headlines of the 1960s, tells how an affable, gregarious, handsome, and unconventional man, who was both a gifted osteopath and a talented artist, and who had many friends in London society (and one in the Soviet Embassy), became swept up in the tumultuous events of history only to be sucked down into the vortiginous sinkhole of politics.

Knightley and Kennedy not only narrate the tragic life and death of Stephen Ward, but they also relate the history of the rise of tabloid journalism, which--with tales of women wielding whips, naked masked men waiting tables, orgies in Stately Homes and other titillating tidbits of gossip--is ever ready to sustain the public's prurient and seemingly insatiable appetites for such trash. (The combination of sex and politics in this book makes one wonder whether that marvelously wicked British DVD "House of Cards" might not be a forerunner to reality TV!)

"An Affair of State" is also the heartbreaking story of a rather naive man who put his faith in his friends, in his country, and in the British system of jurisprudence. In the end, he was abandoned by all but a few of his friends and betrayed by both country and British justice. In other words, he was made a scapegoat, according to Knightley and Kennedy, to the interests of the Conservative party and the hypocrisy of the establishment after the resignation in disgrace of John Profumo, Britain's dapper and dandy Minister of War.

As one who read those headines and stories avidly in 1963, and could not wait for the next sensational revelation of Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, I am sufficiently chastened to discover that Stephen Ward's conviction was based upon what proved to be perjured evidence and an outrageous frameup that led to his suicide. Perhaps, at the time, as far as the public was concerned, the scandal represented an antidote to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 (one of the most frightening times through which I have ever lived, wondering whether there would be a tomorrow), but while the attention of the world was being diverted by the sexual antics of the rich and powerful (the salacious details of which were meticulously reported in a U.K. government report), other more sinister events were unfolding, which came to their climax on November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated.

One might draw a parallel with a similar obsession with sex and politics, fueled by the media, that not only produced another lengthy official x-rated report but also occupied the public and diverted the attention of Congress in the months preceding 9/11. Is there, perhaps, a lesson to be learned here?

Um, I'm not sure if this author is aware of how she is betraying both Women and minorities in this book. Working class individuals who are Women, as well as minorities, are suffering from the white male paradigms of selfishness like never before. This book won't state the obvious: that white male sexism and racism are preventing the creation of a fair and just society.

This book provides details on what followed the Parliamentary Act on Abolition of the Slave Trade signed by the King of England on 25 March 1807. It is good summary of events with good background material.