February 2023 MBR The Biography Shelf

The Biography Shelf

Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen
Paul Kendall
Frontline Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399018357, $49.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Elizabeth-Life-Legacy-Virgin/dp/1399018353

Synopsis: The forty-four-year reign of Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the last Tudor monarch, was considered a golden age. It saw the emergence of the great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, while the exploits of Sir Francis Drake and other 'sea-dogs' helped establish England's position among the great maritime powers.

With the publication of "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen", historian and biographer Paul Kendall looks at Elizabeth's life through some of the many artifacts, buildings, documents and institutions that survive to this day. From the execution of her mother, Ann Boleyn, when she was just two-and-a-half-years-old, to her imprisonment on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, Elizabeth's early life was a turbulent one, but her accession to the throne ushered in a period of stability.

During her reign, England's wealth and prestige grew through her patronage of seafaring privateers such as Drake, John Hawkins and Walter Raleigh. She encouraged the exploration and colonization of North America, marking the birth of the British Empire and the establishment of British trade routes. Elizabeth was responsible for expanding the English Navy, its defeat of the Spanish Armada being considered one of England's greatest military victories.

In this magnificently illustrated volume we see her birthplace at Greenwich Palace, her childhood homes, her prison in the Tower of London, the palaces she lived in, ruins of stately homes she visited, such as Gorhambury House, Kenilworth House, Upnor Castle and the Elizabethan town walls at Berwick, the many fortifications built during her reign to defend her realm, through to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey.

Also found in this fascinating study are books that she presented to her father and step-mother, Katherine Parr, with the binding embroidered by Elizabeth, her clothes, letters she wrote in her own hand, her coronation chair, her coat of arms asserting her title as Governor of the Church of England and her signature signing the death warrant of her cousin, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. This book is not just a journey back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I, but also a tour across the country to visit the sites which still evoke that golden era of the Virgin Queen.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, a seven page Bibliography, and a four page Index, "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen" is an impressive contribution to the study of Elizabethan England in general, and Quen Elizabeth I in particular. Particularly and strongly recommended for community, college, and university library Historical English Royalty Biography collections, it should be noted for students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the life and times of Queen Elizabeth I that "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49).

Editorial Note: Educated at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, where he also served as an Honorary Midshipman with the University of London Royal Naval Unit, Paul Kendall (https://www.paul-kendall.co.uk) is a military historian and author from Kent specializing in the First World War.

The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu
Constantin Manolache, author
Diana Livesay, translator
Center for Romanian Studies
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592111695, $29.99, HC, 386pp

https://www.amazon.com/Scintillating-Life-Iulia-Hasdeu/dp/1592111696

Synopsis: Ably translated into English by Diana Livesay, with the publication of "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu", biographer Constantin Manolache presents the life and literary works of the Romanian child genius of the 19th century.

Iulia Hasdeu (14 November 1869 - 29 September 1888) was the daughter of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, one of the greatest literary and political figures in modern Romanian history. Iulia started reading at two years old and she wrote her first historical study at the age of six. At eight years old she was fluent in French, German, and English. She graduated from the Bucharest Conservatory at eleven with excellent accomplishments in piano and canto, after which she left for Paris and started studying at Sevigne College. She was the first Romanian woman to be accepted at Sorbonne University.

During her short life, before she was ultimately taken by an incurable illness, Iulia wrote countless poems, short stories, and plays. Her drawings and her letters also survived the passing of time, allowing us a glimpse into her tragic childhood and adolescence, her emotions, and her most intimate thoughts. "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" is a premiere introduction of a remarkably gifted Romanian woman for international readers.

Critique: In addition to being an informative and well written biography, "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" contains English translations for many of her works and letters making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Literary Biography & Poetry collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note #1: Constantin Manolache (14 February 1883 - 21 January 1954) was a military prosecutor, chief of military justice, and professor at the University of Bucharest. (https://generals.dk/general/Manolache/Constantin/Romania.html)

Editorial Note #2: Diana Livesay is a journalist translator from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. (https://ro.linkedin.com/in/diana-livesay-2187b319b)

From the Battlefield to the Stage
Norman S. Poser
McGill-Queen's University Press
www.mqup.ca
9780228014539, $37.95, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Stage-Lives-General-Burgoyne/dp/0228014530

Synopsis: Primarily known today chiefly for his surrender to the American forces at Saratoga, New York, in 1777, General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 - 4 August 1792) was one of the most interesting and extraordinary figures of the eighteenth century.

With the publication of "From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne" Norman Poser (Professor Emeritus at Brooklyn Law School and the author of "Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason") provides a rounded biography, covering not only the Saratoga campaign but also elements of Burgoyne's eventful life that have never been adequately explored.

At the age of twenty-eight, Burgoyne eloped with Charlotte Stanley, the daughter of the immensely wealthy and influential Earl of Derby. Though initially furious, the earl, convinced of the young officer's good character, eventually forgave the couple, and the Stanley family became a major influence in Burgoyne's life and career.

He was a socialite, welcome in London's fashionable drawing rooms, a high-stakes gambler in its elite clubs, and a playwright whose social comedies were successfully performed on the London stage. As a member of Parliament for thirty years, Burgoyne supported the rule of law, fought the corruption of the East India Company, and advocated religious tolerance.

"From the Battlefield to the Stage" paints a vivid portrait of General John Burgoyne, remembering him not only for his role in one of Britain's worst military disasters but also as a brave, talented, humane man.

Critique: An impressive work of definitively informative scholarship, "From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne" is exceptionally well researched, organized and presented, making it an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library 18th Century Biography collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "From the Battlefield to the Stage" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $36.05).

To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent
Lewis M. Simons
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.rowman.com
9781538173169, $35.00, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Truth-Life-Foreign-Correspondent/dp/1538173166

Synopsis: With the publication of "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent", Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Lewis M. Simons's recollects his 50 years as a foreign correspondent, one whose powerful stories contributed to transforming Asia from Vietnam War-era basket case to a global boomtown that today rivals the United States.

Simons's investigative work led to the toppling of a dictator in the Philippines. He covered the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, bloody coups in Thailand, attempted genocide and societal collapse in Cambodia, and economic advance, decline and rebirth in Japan. He was expelled from India for his exclusive reporting on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's political misuse of the armed forces. Breaking his own strict rule against becoming personally involved with people whose stories he covered, he saved the life of a dying teenaged Tibetan Buddhist monk.

Simons molds the narrative of his lengthy, action-packed career from foxhole mud and backroom dirt. Layered with moments of tenderness and humor, as his camp-following family often accompanies him, the result is a masterful chronicle of war and murder; extreme poverty and suffering alongside repellent wealth and indulgence; wholesale larceny and ruling-class corruption -- much of which escaped the scrutiny of other journalists. Readers who appreciate real-life historic drama will be enthralled.

Critique: A skillfully written, organized and presented memoir that will be of special appeal to readers with an interest in journalism, "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" is an impressively informative and persona/professional account of the career and adventures of a war correspondent and a journalist investigating corruption and the tensions between the wealthy and the poor in various hot spots around the world. An informative and fascinating read, "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" will prove a welcome addition to community, college, and university library American Biography and Journalism Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists of journalism students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.00).

Editorial Note: Lewis M. Simons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Simons) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent on foreign affairs throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

My Three Dads: Patriarchy on the Great Plains
Jessa Crispin
University of Chicago Press
1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
www.press.uchicago.edu
9780226820101, $19.00, PB, 236pp

https://www.amazon.com/My-Three-Dads-Patriarchy-Plains/dp/0226820106

Synopsis: For many Americans, Kansas represents a vision of Midwestern life that is good and wholesome and evokes the American ideals of god, home, and country. But for those like Jessa Crispin who have grown up in Kansas, the realities are much harsher. She argues that the Midwestern values we cling to cover up a long history of oppression and control over Native Americans, women, and the economically disadvantaged.

Blending personal narrative with social commentary, with the publication of "My Three Dads: Patriarchy on the Great Plains" Crispin meditates on why the American Midwest still enjoys an esteemed position in our country's mythic self-image. Ranging from The Wizard of Oz to race, from chastity to rape, from radical militias and recent terrorist plots to Utopian communities, "My Three Dads" opens on a comic scene in a Kansas rent house the author shares with a (masculine) ghost. This prompts Crispin to think about her intellectual fathers, her spiritual fathers, and her literal fathers. She is curious to understand what she has learned from them and what she needs to unlearn about how a person should be in a family, as a citizen, and as a child of god -- ideals, Crispin argues, that have been established and reproduced in service to hierarchy, oppression, and wealth.

Written in Crispin's well-honed voice (smart, assured, comfortable with darkness) "My Three Dads" offers a kind of bleak redemption, the insight that no matter where you go, no matter how far from home you roam, the place you came from is always with you, "like it or not."

Critique: A fascinating and compelling memoir laced throughout with keen social commentary and thought-provoking analysis, "My Three Dads: Patriarchy on the Great Plains" is an extraordinary and memorable read that is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "My Three Dads: Patriarchy on the Great Plains" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.05).

Editorial Note: Jessa Crispin (http://www.jessacrispin.com) is also the author of Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto and The Dead Ladies Project, the latter also published by the University of Chicago Press. She has written for the New York Times, Guardian, and Spectator, among other publications.

Frank & Marilyn
Edward Z. Epstein
Post Hill Press
www.posthillpress.com
9781637585863, $30.00, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Marilyn-Fascinating-Relationship-Sinatra/dp/1637585861

Synopsis: Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, with the publication of "Frank & Marilyn: The Lives, the Loves, and the Fascinating Relationship of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe", celebrity biographer Edward Z. Epstein brings together for the first time these two all-American icons. Their friendship and on-and-off intimate relationship, kept secret because of powerful others in their lives, spanned seven tumultuous years. At one point, he even proposed marriage.

"Frank & Marilyn" follows Sinatra and Monroe from one explosive relationship to another, their marriages and love affairs eventually leading to a tangled relationship with each other, sparking a nasty rivalry between Frank and Marilyn's ex-husband (and one-time friend of Frank), Joe DiMaggio.

Frank and Marilyn's ultimately disastrous relationship with John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and their often ruthless family was a fatal move for Marilyn. Her death remains a controversial topic to the present day.

Dedicated biographer and entertainment world insider Edward Z. Epstein has spoken with many people who were familiar with the pair, all of whom talked about the Frank and Marilyn they knew -- and the dangers they faced. This is a fascinating, largely untold story that's usually glossed over -- but not with "Frank & Marilyn: The Lives, the Loves, and the Fascinating Relationship of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe".

Critique: Exhaustively researched, exceptionally well written, impressively informative, organized and presented, "Frank & Marilyn: The Lives, the Loves, and the Fascinating Relationship of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe" is a fully compelling and inherently fascinating read from cover to cover. While unreservedly recommended for community library biography collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of the legions of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe fans that "Frank & Marily" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).

Editorial Note: Edward Z. Epstein (https://www.edwardzepstein.com) was formerly a long-time media contact for MCA/Universal Pictures in New York. He is the author or co-author of nineteen books, most recently Audrey and Bill: A Romantic Biography of Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, currently under option for a film. Other books include Paul and Joanne, a biography of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and the original full-scale biography of Clara Bow, The "It" Girl: The Incredible Story of Clara Bow. Mia, his biography of Mia Farrow, was the basis for a two-part Fox miniseries. He has written articles on Ava Gardner and Natalie Wood for Cosmopolitan magazine, and, a former figure skating champion, he writes regularly for The ITNY (Ice Theatre of New York) Benefit Journal, and is a recipient of the organization's Ice Angel Award.

Playing the Long Game: A Memoir
Christine Sinclair, author
Stephen Brunt, author
Random House Canada
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca
9781039004603, $25.00, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Long-Game-Christine-Sinclair/dp/1039004601

Synopsis: Christine Sinclair is one of the world's most respected and admired athletes. Not only is she the player who has scored the most goals on the international soccer stage, male or female, but more than two decades into her career, she is the heart of any team she plays on, the captain of both Canada's national team and the top-ranked Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League.

Working with sportswriter Stephen Brunt (who has followed her career for decades), with the publication of "Playing the Long Game: A Memoir", the intensely private Sinclair shares her reflections on the significant moments and turning points in her life and career, the big wins and losses survived, not only on the pitch. Her extraordinary journey, combined with her candour, commitment and decency, will inspire and empower her fans and admirers, and girls and women everywhere.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Playing the Long Game: A Memoir" is an extraordinary memoir that will prove of immense interest to her legions of ans and anyone else on the subject of soccer. While available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), "Playing the Long Game: A Memoir" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community library Sports Biography/Memoir collections.

Editorial Note: Stephen Brunt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Brunt) is an award-winning writer and broadcaster with Rogers Sportsnet and the author of many bestselling books including Facing Ali, Searching for Bobby Orr and Gretzky's Tears. Two of his most recent books are Jordin Tootoo's All the Way and the hockey memoir from Brian Burke, Burke's Law, which became a #1 bestseller. He is the co-founder and artistic director of the Writers at Woody Point festival.

Leaving Faith, Finding Meaning
Lynne Renoir
Lynne Renoir Publishing
www.lynnerenoir.com
9780648304364, $14.95 Paper/$9.95 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Faith-Finding-Meaning-Preachers/dp/0648304361

"God punishes those who fall below his standard of perfection."

Leaving Faith, Finding Meaning: A Preacher's Daughter's Search for God is a memoir that recounts Lynne Renoir's upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian family, headed by a preacher who also was an abuser. Backed by the Bible, the Word of God, and a belief system that seemed to condone his acts and status as a family man, leader, and a firm Christian believer, Lynne's father ruled his household with an iron hand that mete out justice and love with equal strength. Punishment was engrained in Renoir's identity -- so much so that her isolated world in rural Australia in the 1940s seemed destined never to change. This was as much due to the equation between God, belief, and punishment as to Renoir's father's heavy hand.

In order to realize freedom, she would not only have to break the chains of oppression at home, but would have to entirely reinvent her concept of and relationship to God. This complex journey is the heart of her ultimately uplifting story, which should be in any spiritual reader's collection. Anyone who finds that they are undertaking the momentous task of revising life and belief itself will find much that resonates in Renoir's memoir.

From the legacy of violence that passes between generations to Renoir's ultimate moves away from these engrained patterns, readers will relish the progression of hope and faith. It leads to a powerful story of escape and a return to a more loving belief system that embraces God in a different way. In some ways, her story of escaping abuse is familiar and akin to others raised in turbulent family waters. But the additional challenge of finding meaning outside of the form of faith she was raised in creates a powerful additional layer of complexity that results in a delightfully unexpected journey.

Libraries looking for powerful memoirs that examine the roots of Christian belief, patriarchal family structures, abuse, and redemption will find Leaving Faith, Finding Meaning a potent story holding much fodder for discussion for several kinds of reading groups: faith-based circles, and book clubs looking at memoirs of abuse, escape, and spiritual freedom.

The Man Behind the General
Tom Sarmento, author
Marty Turner, author
Dorrance Publishing Company
585 Alpha Drive, Suite 103, Pittsburgh, PA 15238
www.dorrancepublishing.com
9798886830347, $28.00, HC, 212pp

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Behind-General-Tom-Sarmento/dp/B0BL2S1T7W

Synopsis: "The Man Behind the General" is the fascinating and personal story of Tom Sarmento's life as a son, a father and a grandfather. For seven seasons, Tom and his team built and maintained those fantastic cars (all named The General) that were so much a part of iconic Dukes of Hazzard television series. All those memorable tales are what comprises "The Man Behind the General". Even though it was only a small but significant part of Tom's life and career, with many of the show's fans, Tom Sarmento continues to entertain to this very today.

Critique: Of special and particular interest to its legions of fans, The Dukes of Hazard series featuring a stunt car that was continually having to be replaced several times each season of the show, "The Man Behind the General" is illustrated throughout with black/white photography and highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library American Biography/Memoir and 20th Century American Television History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "The Man Behind the General" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $23.00).

Editorial Note #1: Tom Sarmento (https://scottky.wixsite.com/tomsarmento) worked at the Universal & Burbank Studios on several movies and television shows, before working for The Dukes of Hazzard for seven seasons. His stunt career started on The Fall Guy and lasted ten years as a Screen Actors' Guild member. Tom was a producer for Payback in 1990. He continued to do stunt work and build stunt cars for Hazzard Fests from 2002-09 around the United States, Canada and Europe.

A Parthenon on our Roof: Adventures of an Anglo Greek Marriage
Peter Barber, author
Charly Fuller, illustrator
UK Book Publishing
https://ukbookpublishing.com
9781915338204, $9.99, PB, 309pp

https://www.amazon.com/Parthenon-our-roof-Adventures-Marriage/dp/1915338204

Synopsis: A laugh out loud romantic comedy of a memoir by Peter Barber (and featuring occasional illustrations by Charly Fuller), "A Parthenon on our Roof: Adventures of an Anglo Greek Marriage" is the story about Peter's Anglo Greek marriage to his Alexandra his fiery Greek wife.

What could go wrong on marital journey into the heart of his adopted Athenian family!

Critique: Laced throughout with anecdotal humor, love, and well observed cultural descriptions and insights, all mixed with the beauty of Greece and the Greek islands, Peter Barber's "A Parthenon on our Roof: Adventures of an Anglo Greek Marriage" is a fun read from cover to cover. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists that "A Parthenon on our Roof: Adventures of an Anglo Greek Marriage" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note: Peter Barber (https://peterbarberbooks.co.uk) is a British-born author who now lives between England and Greece. Peter is married to his Greek wife Alexandra. Peters' books are non-fiction humour and based on true life experiences and musings. Peter is a member of the UK's Society of Authors and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/peter.barber.771

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