United Kingdom Books

Filled with color pictures. These series and Brassey's are the best for uniforms.

One of the best resource for Uniforms of the British army on the Napoleonic Wars, fully illustrated with color photograph of Re-enactors of the Wellington's Army, recreating the everyday life of the infantry, cavalry, artillery and staff. Great description of the photos by Mr. Neil Leonard, the book is only 95 pages but you would find the most famous redcoat regiments(the 95th "rifle" regiment) plus the German Units(only two photos)

I would prefer to see one book for the Infantry and another for Cavalry and Artillery but may be in another publication, also another title dedicated to the Victorian Soldier. Too small for my taste but many beautiful color photos. Wellington's Legendary Army faithfully reconstructed¡¡¡¡¡¡ GREAT BUY, sadly out print.There are more book on the Europa Militaria Specials series dedicated to the Napoleonic Army;

Napoleon's Line Infantry and Artillery
Napoleon's Imperial Guard
Napoleon's Line Cavalry
German Napoleonic Armies

You'll enjoy the details of weapons, equipment and uniforms. After reading it you would want to join one of this regiment for sure. Highly recommended¡¡¡ For those interested in researching deeper look for the Philip Haythornthwaite "Wellington's Army: The Uniforms of the British Soldier, 1812-1815" and the Osprey Men-at-Arms series, look for the new titles dedicated to the Peninsular War "Wellington's Peninsula Regiments" by Mike Chappell.

William Hay's work THE WHIG REVIVAL: 1808-1832 is a well-written political monograph. Hay chronicles the numerous setbacks faced by the Whig Party during the time period 1808-1832, including such things as public skepticism about the party's views on the war in France and uncertainty as to the stability of party leaders. He ably demonstrates how, despite the numerous setbacks faced by the party, and numerous defeats, the Whig Party eventually does come to power.

Democrats and Republicans both would do well to pay attention to the tenacity shown by Brougham and the Whigs. Anyone looking for a strong political history; a history of England in the late Georgian period; or a terrific treatment of Henry Brougham's career should read this book. As an aside, I have to echo other reviewers in their wish for Hay to write a biography of Brougham. Hay's attention to detail and mastery of writing will serve well in bringing this interesting character to life once again.

Will Hay has produced an elegantly crafted and diligently researched study of the shaping of the Whig Party after the Napoleonic Wars into a modern political organization. What he has done is to pick a point and personality in British parliamentary history that have been largely overlooked in studies of this kind. And he has presented his arguments in the context of a much broader discussion of the evolution of British parliamentary government, from the first decade of the nineteenth century into the Whig ascendancy of the 1830s.

Cahill has written a thorough and penetrating review of the scandalous lack of transparency on who owns land in Britain.His explanation of the historical reasons behind why it is that the largest (often aristocratic) landowners continue to hide the true size of their land banks is to be particularily commended.

This is a remarkable and original survey of landownership in Britain and Ireland, detailed county by county.

For Britain, Cahill analyses this landownership, showing how a tiny minority exploits British society. 160,000 families, 0.3% of the population, own 37 million acres, two thirds of Britain, 230 acres each. Just 1,252 of them own 57% of Scotland. They pay no land tax. Instead every government gives them £2.3 billion a year and the EU gives them a further £2 billion. Each family gets £26,875.

By contrast, 57.5 million of us pay £10 billion a year in council tax, a land tax, £550 per household. We live in 24 million homes on about four million acres. 65% of homes are privately owned, so 16 million of us own just 2.8 million acres, an average 0.18 acres each.

The top landowners are the Forestry Commission, 2.6 million acres, the Ministry of Defence 750,000, the royal family 670,000 (including the Crown Estate 400,000 and the Duchy of Cornwall 141,000), the National Trust 550,000, insurance companies 500,000, the utility companies 500,000, the Duke of Buccleuch 270,700, the National Trust for Scotland 176,287, the Dukedom of Atholl 148,000, the Duke of Westminster 140,000 and the Church of England 135,000.

The Forestry Commission, Britain's biggest single landowner, runs its holdings conservatively and secretively. We could expand the forest estate by a million acres a year, producing rural jobs, getting profits from the sale of wood and pulp (cutting our balance of payments deficit) and reducing the output of greenhouse gases. This would cost between £588 million and £750 million.

Through the 18th century enclosures, the landowning class stole eight million acres from the people. They still hide their crimes and their takings. The 1872 Return of Owners of Land was made, but then hidden and never updated. Shares have to be registered; land doesn't. The Land Registry does not know who owns between 30 and 50% of land.

Cahill compares Britain with other countries where revolutions have ended the feudal tenure of land. Denmark redistributed its land to the peasantry in 1800. In Ireland, in 1876, 616 landowners owned 80% of the country. By 1930, 13 million acres of Ireland's 20 million acres had been sold to owner-occupiers. Now, there are no landlords - home ownership is 82%, Ireland's 149,500 farms are 97% owner-occupied and owner-farmed, there is no poll tax, water is free and pensioners get free transport, TV and glasses.

Cahill claims that Blair's reform of the House of Lords "definitively cut the permanent link between power and the landowners." But just as in 1872, the state is defending landed capital by making it less visible. Class power does not depend on sitting in the House of Lords, but on private ownership of the means of production, protected and subsidised by a capitalist state. The Greens, like the heritage lobby, shield the landowners against public ownership of the land.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says its mission is to shift EU subsidies from food production to land management, but the EU already does this, with its £2 billion annual subsidy to the landowners, not to working farmers. We need to produce our own food: food production is in our national strategic interest. It is a national security issue that must not be determined either by the EU or by the market.

Landowners' wealth is a parasite on Britain, the least productive part of the economy, with the most state support. Their wealth comes not from farming, nor even from renting, but from trickling land onto the urban housing market. They sell land to property developers, at an average price per acre of £404,000 in 1999. The clearing banks and building societies strip our industries of investment capital, then support their clients the landowners by running the rigged and overpriced land market.

Britain needs land reform. "Windfall gains on development land should be made subject to windfall taxes." We should also tax land and stop the owners avoiding tax through offshore trusts; this could raise £17 billion. The European Convention of Human Rights says there should be no confiscation without compensation. Haven't landowners had enough compensation already? We need more land for housing. This would cut land prices, free more to invest in good quality, spacious homes and gardens, and revive the building industry.

If you are into swing, this book on the English swing bands is a must have. So, toss an LP/CD on the player, grab the book and just groove for a bit. Hotcha!!

Really the only recomendation this book needs is that the author adheres to the standard he set in "Who's Who in Jazz - Storyville to Swing Street." If you have read this book and have any interest in British Jazz, Swing and/or Dance Music this book is your next purchase.

There's not much that can be said about Wilfred Owen that shouldn't have already been said. Yet the life of this brilliant poet, which was cut short just before the armistice that ended World War I, remains unknown to far too many. Wilfred Owen is referred to as a "soldier-poet" of WWI, which includes him in the company of such literary standards as Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon. But, as perhaps the greatest poet among the three, he is the least known. Dominic Hibberd's new biography will hopefully set that to rights.

I first fell in love with Wilfred Owen's poetry when I read "Dulce et Decorum est." I found his imagery real and terrifying as it spoke to the true brutality and horrors of "modern" warfare. (The poem is a description of a soldier dying in a gas attack.) Throughout the years I have read much on WWI and on the soldier-poets, but nothing has come as close to so vividly portraying the life of one of them as Hibberd's new biography.

Hibberd begins his very thorough telling of Owen's life, starting with his familial background and youth, and working his way through Owen's years as a parish assistant and his numerous attempts to gain a university education. It seems a long time before we are to encounter Wilfred as a soldier, but Hibberd builds a solid base that explains Wilfred's personality and his attitude towards poetry. Owen's devoutly Evangelical mother had wished her son to enter the service of the church, but after his time in Dunsden, Owen found it increasingly hard to reconcile his Christian faith with his love of literature, finding the two to oppose each other. His one desire in life was to be a poet, and upon entering the English army, he probably had no idea that his voice would come through war. Only a few of Owen's poems (five) were published in his lifetime and after his untimely death, his poetry was collected and published in the 20s and 30s. Afterwards, he seems to disappear entirely from the literary map until a renewed interest in his work arose in the 1960s; an appropriate time since another "war to end all wars" was being fought in Vietnam.

The one area of dicord I take with this biography concerns Owen's sexuality. In the book jacket, and several times throughout the book, Hibberd states that Owen was a homosexual. This is evidently shown through his connections with various personages who were homosexuals, including his friend and mentor, fellow soldier and poet, Siegfried Sassoon. While I don't doubt that this was the truth regarding Owen's sexuality, Hibberd seems a little over-insistent with too little to back it up. Yet perhaps this is due to the inconsistencies that exist in the mystery surrounding Wilfred Owen. Hibberd makes it known that much was done by Owen's brother Harold to paint his brother (as well as himself and the family name) in a better light. As curator of his brother's letters, Harold took great pains to destroy any references that could be suspicious, which must include references to Owen's sexual preferences. As seemingly complete as this biography is, Hibberd himself points out in his epilogue that there are facts about Owen's life that we may never know.

This book is an engaging read for any fan of World War I or any fan of poetry. The literary world is much indebted to Owen, whose poetry spoke the truth in a time or darkness, and whose innovations with style and technique were revered by the very poets he once emulated. If only the literary world was aware of this. Perhaps Dominic Hibberd's book will finally grant Owen his distinguished place and well-deserved fame in modern literature.

Following up on "beckahi" ... You may feel that Hibberd, in discussing Owen's sexuality, "seems a little over-insistent with too little to back it up," but this only reflects your unwillingness to admit the obvious. Owen's gayness is undisputed, except perhaps, as you say, by his brother Harold who was motivated by a misguided desire to "enshrine" Wilfrid's legend and effectively clean up the details he didn't like.

Owen's and Sassoon's romantic relationship has been well documented, but the proof is in the pudding! Owen *himself* writes about his feelings toward men, both in his private correspondence and, most significantly, in the poetry. Several poems (such as "Arms and the Boy" and "Sonnet To My Friend - With an Identity Disc") have heavy homoerotic content, and one ("To Eros") makes a crystal clear reference to the gender of his beloved. Credit should be given to Hibberd for discussing all this in the light of day.

As for the renewed interest Owen's poetry received in the 1960s, this is mostly due to it being masterfully set by Benjamin Britten in his 1962 "War Requiem". And let's just say that Britten's pacifism was not the only reason he felt a deep kinship toward Owen! ;-)

I used to buy art books only from bargain shelves and tables, sometimes from bookstores that were only selling bargain books. Amazon.com has both varieties of books, and it would be unfair for me to review one book when I really think you should buy the other (bargain) variety. There should not be much confusion between two 304 page books with the title WILLIAM BLAKE when the books are actually the same, but the contents are of such variety, listing Peter Ackroyd, Marilyn Butler, Robin Hamlyn, and Michael Phillips as authors of the exhibition guide for the exhibition at Tate Britain, London, 9 November 2000 - 11 February 2001, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29 March - 24 June 2001, so it might be possible for someone who was looking to see if the listing in two places was identical to discover differences in the information given, though I believe both books are published in 2001 by Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, New York (Printed and bound in Great Britain).

If you just want pictures, some of which seem quite large, this book has 250 illustrations, including 240 plates in full color. If you like descriptions of pictures, you might find yourself jumping around in the book. A large picture on page 10 is labeled: `Opposite: `Newton' 1795/c. 1805 (no. 249, detail) on page 11. After the Index on pages 296-298 is a Checklist of Works Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on pages 299-304 provide a variety of numbers, including a catalogue number in brackets as follows:

129 [249] Newton 1795/c. 1805 Color print finished in pen and ink and watercolor 46 x 60 (18 1/8 x 23 5/8) on paper approx. 54.5 x 76 (21 1/2 x 30) Tate; presented by W. Graham Robertson 1939

The full picture is shown on page 213 with a tiny number 249 in the corner by the top margin and a description on page 212 that includes more information than above about "Signed `1795 WB inv [in monogram]' and the inscription. It is possible that the detail page 10 is about full size, showing the lower 30 cm. of a picture that is 46 cm. tall. Catalogue number 248, Sketch for Newton c. 1795 described on page 212 as being on a paper slightly smaller than standard typing paper, might not appear in this book at all. Turning back the page from 212 to pages 210-211 reveals a gigantic crawling Nebuchadnezzar 1795/c. 1805 (no. 247, detail) which is a 30 x 46 cm. (almost 12 inch by 18 inch) enlargement of less than half of a picture that was even larger 44.6 x 62 (17 5/8 x 24 3/8) originally. Pages 210-211 is almost lifesize, with a nose 2 inches long and 5 inches from the bottom of Nebuchadnezzar's lower lip to the part in his hair just above his forehead.

It is difficult to tell how many numbered pictures are not in this book. The final catalogue number 303 described as `Jerusalem. The Emanation of the Giant Albion 1804 - c. 1820' on page 282 is a general reference used to cover paintings of Jerusalem plate 97 (detail) (p. 283), Plate 1 (p. 284), Plate 2 (p. 285), Plates 3, 4, 9, and 11 (p. 287), Plate 12, Plate 26 (p. 289), Plates 51, 69, 70, 84 (p. 291), Plates 92, 97, 99 (p. 293), and pages describing these 15 plates describe 7 plates from Jerusalem that are not shown.

People who are interested in reading interpretations of Blake's works will find a sponsor's forward by Stephen Deuchar on page 7, Acknowledgements and Preface by Robin Hamlyn, Christine Riding and Elizabeth Barker on pages 8-9, `William Blake: The Man' by Peter Ackroyd on pages 11-13, `Blake in His Time' by Marilyn Butler on pages 15-25, a Chronology on pages 26-28 and initials of 10 individuals indicating other authorship on page 29.

`One of the Gothic Artists' on pages 32-97 describes items up to catalogue number 96, `The Queen of Heaven in Glory.' `The Furnace of Lambeth's Vale' on pages 100-171 starts with a description of Blake's Printmaking Studio and various techniques, including a detail on page 111 shown more than 5 times the original size of the small print no. 107 There is No Natural Religion 1788/1795 Copy L shown on page 110. There is in this part a political section called "Lambeth and the Terror" on pages 152-167 which mention items of `Rex vs. Blake' catalogue numbers 208 through 210, items that are not shown. Perhaps we learn more by merely seeing no. 212, The Accusers c. 1804 Copy E on page 167, "A Scene in the Last Judgment."

Pictures are generally clear enough for the lettering by William Blake to be legible, where it is not too small, but pages have been selected without regard to the continuity of the original text. For example, Blake's comments on Swedenborg in his book THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL, Catalogue no. 127, pages 132-135, include Plate 21 and Plate 24 but not the pages between to and from which the thoughts carry over.

`Chambers of the Imagination' on pages 174-257 includes items numbered from 219 to 297 The Ancient of Days 1824? `Many Formidable Works' on pages 258-293 concludes with many plates from a few of Blake's works. No. 298 Plate 42 `The Tyger' on page 269 (upper left) is lightly colored, "Shown in profile beneath the pale blue bark of a tree trunk," (p. 268) while no. 163 Plate 42 Copy G c. 1793-1794 on page 155 shows a tree and tyger with much darker colors.

Anyone who plans to enjoy looking at the pictures more than anything else could start with this book. People who seriously study WILLIAM BLAKE must have their own reasons. Because his writings cover so much, most people could gain some knowledge of bits and pieces from a work like this.

The works of Blake are represented here on wonderful gloss paper with large images to fully appreciate the artistic genius of William Blake. This book is also intersperesed with essays that explain his life, his writing, and his art. through his various images you can see his complex and troubled life come into view. A must have for anyone who loves Blake and Extremely helpful for anyone who wants to know him and his work.

This book should not intimidate. It provides lots of historical information in a way that is easily grasped and easily visualized.

Maxwell-Stuart's writings are clear and takes you very easily back and forth through accounts of "witchcraft" and "sabbats".

This a book for a serious student of the history of witch hunting and the societies in Europe that it affected.

If witches were supposed to look and sound like everyone else, how could they be detected, in Salem days? WITCH HUNTERS is the first history of the careers of those said to be able to identify a witch, charting the claims and backgrounds of zealots, professional folks and others who perceived evil and sought to expose it. History lecturer Maxwell-Stuart provides a lively survey which uses source material quotes to back cultural and biographical insights.

In Women, Revolution, And The Novels Of The 1790s, Linda Lang-Peralta draws upon the scholarly contributions of Barbara M. Benedict, Katherine Binhammer, Catherine H. Decker, Carl Fisher, Shawn Lisa Maurer, Clara D. McLean, Glynis Ridley, and Eleanor Ty in a collection of essays focusing on sub-genres of the novel form that evolved during the end of the 18th century. These were novels (frequently written by women) that reflected the intersections between literature and popular culture. Using representative readings of theses works and current academic thinking on gender and class, the contributors offer a new and challenging perspective on the novels of the 1790s. Women, Revolution, And The Novels Of The 1790s is highly recommended reading for students of women's literature, women's studies, and the influence of literature upon popular culture.

Lang-Peralta points out that novels of the 1790s have extravagant and marvelous shapes. Many of these novels are only now being treated to scholarly editions (and expanded readership). The contributors to this collection support the broad goal of understanding the political and polemical dimensions of the novels of the period by reading them as cultural documents and approaching them armed with the theories of Bakhtin, Althasser, Foucalt, Bourdieu, et al. Especially strong are Catherine Decker's treatment of women and public space--which decodes seven ideological positions to realign understanding of the legal, moral, and social contexts of women in fiction--and Barbara Benedict's "Radcliffe, Godwin, and Self-Possession in the 1790's"--a fascinating analysis of curiosity and identity in The Mysteries of Udolpho and Caleb Williams. Carl Fisher and Glynis Ridley also analyze Caleb Williams, focusing on power relations in the novel's justice/injustice drama. Katherine Binhammer shows how Charlotte Smith underscored the public and private divide of sexuality and politics in Desmond. Clara McLean provides an ingenious analysis of the act of reading as emblematic of the unknown. And Eleanor Ty (author of Unsex'd Revolutionaries, CH. Mar '94) provides a moving reading of Mary May's The Victim of Prejudice. A substantive, innovative collection for upper-division undergraduates and above. -- Virginia Commonwealth University

I will echo the positive comments and reviews I have seen of this book here and elsewhere. You can see the table of contents here on Amazon; each service's uniform is discussed in all its permutations including hats, shoes, and other accessories. For the collector, there are closeups of labels and helpful information on development for trying to date an item. For the re-enactor, there are notes on the circumstances in which each uniform would have been worn as well as the common non-regulations modifications made by many of the servicewomen. There is even a photo suggesting the contents of one woman's purse! Be aware that there is no detailed discussion of insignia or rank, which I don't think detracts from the book. The text blocks are brief, informative, and focused. The modeling is overwhelmingly good although there are perhaps a couple of instances of awkwardness in the photos. Good use is made of vintage photos as illustrations.

One small note: there is a section in the table of contents labeled "Documents". This is a single page with some photos of various original documents, such as a pay book, leave passes, and a driver's manual. I found the selection of items to be a little odd, however, and certainly not as comprehensive or useful as the rest of the book. Also, there is no 'further reading' or bibliography, although the book really is meant for people who already have some background.

Overall it is an excellent book, everything it promises to be and just as good as I had heard!

Large excellent photographs in color of what must surely be every uniform item worn by British women during WWII including shoes, pyjamas and underwear (not sexy but "sensible" as my mother would say!). This neat little reference volume covers army, navy, airforce, and nursing dress/service uniforms modeled by modern women with 1940's makeup and hairstyles (along with a few original B/W photos) that gives a real impression of the time. A great companion to men's uniform reference books.

It's an excellent resource, particularly in ESL, where writing theory and pedagogy is so poorly documented and researched. I'm sorry that it's out of print.

A must-have volume for the second language writing teacher