United Kingdom Books

"'Black Justice' casts new light on the centrality of race in contemporary British society. It critically examines a unique black voluntary organisation working with black people who are detained by the police and reveals how dependent the organisation is on the police's co-operation and support. It also reveals the strategies adopted by the police to undermine or subvert this voluntary service, while at the same time asserting their support for it and claiming to be operating according to equal opportunities directives.
"The author reports on the ways that volunteers from diverse backgrounds were able to co-operate in the voluntary services they provided, notwithstanding the practical and analytical difficulties inherent in using the term 'black' to embrace any racialised group. The book provides valuable models to other voluntary organisations, while demonstrating the far-reaching consequences of race in sustaining key social divisions. It will be essential reading in the voluntary sector and should be required reading for all those working in the criminal justice system and particularly the police."

A just too tough act to follow.Only 16 at the time of Crecy 1346,the Black Prince (son of Edward III)distinguishes himself during the defeat of the allied French forces.The book focuses heavily on Edward,the Black Prince's military campaigns,which were mainly in western Europe with no Crusade to the middle east despite the Pope's (machiavellian?)urgings.
Edward is called the Back Prince according to Barber because of the color of his armour and discredits other interpretations of the prince's name.Some interpretations describe him as dark and swarthy and others as having a dark demeanor when engaged in combat.Was the paint on his armour a lead based black?(my observation)If so there could be another interpretation of his "black moods" to be discredited.Barber uses the Froissart source alot for his information but uses an abundance of primary sources as well.
The prince comes off in Barbers' book as a "son of honor",no plots here to usurp the throne of Edward his father or discredit any of his brothers or sisters.The Black Prince is just having too good a time at crushing Englands enemies.He seems naive insisting that his father,Edward the third, is also the rightful "King of France".The Crecy and Poitier campaigns are covered with some small maps and some of his lesser known military exploits are also covered.In his last European campaign he is carried into danger by a litter due to dystentary(or black paint chips?).(my own misinterpretation).At 46 he is literally dead in the saddle,an act never to be repeated on this planet.Whether you praise him as a heroic figure or curse him as another mad warhound,this book describes him well.Either way I'm sure his mother was proud of him.The Prince married at 31 and his first born was sacrificed to the wars in Europe.
Like a retired number of a superstar sports hero,maybe the title "Prince of Wales" needs to be retired.Who would want that burden? Also there is a few pages devoted to the military order,"The Order of the Garter" which was founded by the Prince's father Edward the third.I had always thought the garter was not a ladies garter but something lost in translation.I was wrong.It is actually a ladies garter,could it be a dare?"I dare you strike me after all I'm wearing a ladies garter?Try your luck.Anyways The Garter is on of those"English things",you get it or you don't.

The book meets my expectations. It is one of the recommended text for my studies in the LLB programme with London University. I was very thrilled to have received the book less than 40 hours from order. Keep up the good work. I will order most of my texts from Amazon.com.

Ignatius Evans
St. Lucia

"The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England", edited by Lapidge, Blair, Keynes and Scragg, is a collection of 700 articles by 150 different scholars, covering almost every conceivable aspect of political and social life between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest.

The articles cover subjects in political, social, economic and ecclesiastical history, linguistics, literature, archaeology, historiography, and even science (for example the article on Astronomy). The material is not heavy-going either: each piece is concisely written, covering on average less than half a page (although some extend to as much as two), which is long enough to provide an introduction to a topic without being overloaded with detail. In addition, every topic is followed by its own mini-bibliography, which opens up possibilities for further research - although this may be more of use for students than the lay reader, since many of the references point to academic journals rather than general texts.

Context is provided by a comprehensive and highly useful list of the rulers of the English kingdoms, as well as four pages of maps demonstrating the changes in England's political landscape over these centuries. The Encyclopaedia is organised in alphabetical format, making navigation easy, and all the articles are extensively cross-referenced. A further useful feature is the index, which classifies all 700 pieces by subject, so that it is possible at a glance to find all articles on, for example, art and architecture, or language, or kings and queens.

All in all, the "The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England" is a tremendous resource. For students it will prove an excellent first port of call when engaging with the academic literature, as I found out when studying at university. For the casual reader with an interest in the period, there is much that can be learnt simply by dipping into the material, although for someone approaching Anglo-Saxon history for the first time, it might be more worthwhile beginning with a conventional narrative account of the period - such as John Blair's "The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction", or Frank Stenton's "Anglo-Saxon England".

This is a 1996 book covering the same subject as The Deluge: British Society and the First World War, by Arthur Marwick (read by me with much appreciation 20 Oct 1985), and anyone interested in Britain at home during the Great War will be caught up by this book. Especially worthwhile to me was Chapter 14, entitled "The Dead, the Living, and the Living Dead" which considers memorials and observances of the men who served in the War. An especially attractive feature of DeGroot's style is his frequent quoting from wartime poetry. For instance, I was struck by these evocative lines quoted from Ivor Gurney:

He's gone, and all our plans
Are useless indeed;
We'll walk no more on Cotswold
Where the sheep feed
Quietly and take no heed.

There is an excellent bibliography and I counted 24 books therein which I have read. But of course there are books therein which I would like to read, if I live long enough--as is always true in a good bibliography in a book on a fascinating subject such as the subject of this book.

I have all three in the set. The pictures and info are out of this world. volume two is my personal favorite but all three are great.

Blood Feud by Harry Potter is a great book of the 16th century family rivalry between the Stewarts and the Gordons. More specifically, the Earls of Moray and Earls of Huntly are the focus of the book. Mr. Potter shows how the Highlands have always been a turbulent region of struggles between families for power, money and land.

He starts out with the 4th Earl of Huntly and 1st Earl of Moray, the good regent who were both grandsons of King James IV. They both vied for control of the realm during Queen Mary of Scots reign. The Gordons were Catholic and the Earl of Moray was a champion of the reformed faith otherwise known as the Protestant faith. Then we see the continuation between the 5th Earl of Huntly and the regent.

The meat of the book surrounds the 6th Earl of Huntly and the 2nd Earl of Moray. This chapter of the feud leads to the murder of the 2nd Earl of Moray who is immortalized in the Scottish ballad of the murder of "the Bonny Earl of Moray". We see that George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly is a staunch supporter of the monarchy, now King James VI, and practically a vice regent in the Scottish Highlands but still Catholic. He collides with the upstart James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray. James Stewart is Earl of Moray in right of his wife, Elizabeth daughter of the Good Regent. James Stewart is from a lesser branch of the Stewarts descended from the Albany Stewarts. James proves to be a far less of an Earl and Stewart then his famous Father-in-Law. Despite this he is still the King's kin and a protestant. His family is relentless in seeking to avenge his murder. King James must mediate this long term family feud between his family and his friend to keep it from interfering with his accession to the English throne.

In the end the Earl of Huntly is created a Marquis but looses much of his former power and glory due to the murder and his keeping with the Catholic faith. The 3rd Earl of Moray and son of the murdered James becomes Lieutenant of the North of Scotland and marries the Earl of Huntly's daughter, thus ending the feud for good.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see a side of Scottish history that previously had been shadowed by Queen Mary's troubled life and King James accession to the English throne. It was nice to stay focused in Scotland for a change when most of the attention shifts to London's stage at this time in history.

Blood Feud is a must for the Scottish History enthusiasts.

As a PHD student in history I found this book appealing. First, I hate modern history, and I dispise gender history. I am an early modenrist (1500-1789). However, Gullace does a spectacular job grabbing my attention. She analyzed the use of gender in war propaganda in England before and during world war I. She does a superb job analyzing the issues of gender constructs concerning the military, and how old views began to crumble when women showed their strength during the war. If you are a gendr historian, I would suggest this book. If you are not a historian or a history student but find world war I and propaganda interesting I would also suggest this book. It is not difficult to read, and in many ways this is Gullace's strength as she produced a work for a broader population.

Buy and enjoy!!!


P.S. The fact I was able to read a gender history and walk away pleased with my lunch in my stomach--well that catapults this work very high.

I'm a big fan of the forensic programs on Court TV, and I always check the date of the featured crime (almost always murder and/or rape) to see if it occurred before or after DNA testing became common in the United States. If it occurred after 1992, the perp is usually doomed. Even decades-old cases can be solved if blood/semen/saliva samples were properly stored from the crime scene. According to a prophecy in the weekly "New Scientist," there will soon be kits available that will allow police to process DNA samples in less than two hours.

In "The Blooding," former policeman, Joseph Wambaugh writes about the first serial killer who was caught and convicted through the use of DNA testing: two teenage girls in the English village of Narborough were brutally raped and murdered in 1983 and 1986, and it took four years, a scientific breakthrough, and the blood of 5,000 men to capture the killer, Colin Pitchfork. DNA testing also freed the suspect who police had already jailed for the crime.

On September 10, 1984, at nearby Leicester University, Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Sir Alec) discovered that each human being (except for identical twins) has a unique genetic profile. At first, his DNA profiling technique was used to sort out immigration cases. Then the Leicestershire constabulary became familiar with DNA 'fingerprinting' and collected blood from over 5,000 men in the ultimately successful search for their murderer.

(By 2004, the UK had a national database of 2.5 million genetic profiles from convicted criminals. Statistics show that 38% of all crimes are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the UK national database, compared with a 24% detection rate overall. And 48% of burglaries are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the database, compared with a 14% detection rate for burglaries overall.

Nowadays, even British bus drivers are issued DNA testing kits to help catch passengers who spit at them.)

Wambaugh does not spend much time exploring the scientific aspects of the Narborough Village murders. He tells the interwoven stories of the victims, their families, the murderer, and most especially the policemen who were involved in the hunt.

From the shadowy paths that wound past the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital to the ancient, smoke-filled pubs where the villagers spent their free hours, this author will have you living and breathing the horror of these crimes. There are a few of the patented Wambaugh belly laughs as the Leicestershire police invent their own techniques for 'blooding' the local men. One of my favorite scenes takes place after Colin Pitchfork is apprehended, and he insists on telling his bored interrogators his whole life story before he will confess to his crimes.

Everyone comes to life in a Wambaugh story, but most especially the policemen.

I have never been able to pick up one of this author's books without reading it through to the end, and "The Blooding" is no exception.

anyone interested in the bloomsbury group - vanessa bell & duncan grant should definitely add it to their collection