Who Lost America?

O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson.  The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American
        Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire.  New Haven: Yale UP, 2013.  ISBN: 978-0-300-19107-3

This title provides an interesting take on the War for American Independence by providing a collective biography of all the major players on the British side in this debacle  that nearly lead to the destruction of the British Empire.

 Starting at top with King George III and working his way down through government officials (Lord North, Lord Germain, and the Earl of Sandwich) to generals (Howe, Burgoyne, Clinton, and Cornwallis) and admirals (Howe and Rodney), O'Shaughnessy provides a brief life story of each man  placing their life in context before concentrating on the role each played in the war.  He also provides information regarding what happened to each person after the war.

By the end of this well documented and illustrated book, the reader has more understanding of the role each British leader played in the conflict and sympathy for their difficulties during the War for American Independence than one would think possible out of one book.

Not just another Arthur book

Halsall, Guy.  Worlds of Arthur: Facts and Fictions of the Dark Ages.  Oxford: Oxford UP, 
      2013.  ISBN: 9780199658176

 Guy Halsall sets out to provide a cure-all for the books that purport to reveal "new" knowledge about King Arthur.  Since the medieval times, tales and stories of Arthur has grown until he is a cult figure starring in numerous books, movies and legends.  But what is actually know is minimal.  The sources from close to his time period provide little concrete information and, as Guy Halsall points out, are not the most credible of witness.

The book presents four worlds of Arthur.  Part I is the world of post-Roman Britain leading into Anglo-Saxon Britain looking at the medieval sources that form so much a part of "pseudo-histories" of Arthur.  Part II is a look at the present knowledge that scholars have of the medieval sources and archeological evidence of the period.  Part II is an examination of how the writers of the "pseudo-histories" seek to avoid the evidence of scholars.  Part IV is Guy Halsall using the evidence currently available to provide his take on Arthur.

Overall, Guy Halsall provides a scholarly, readable look at what is currently known about 5th century Britain.  The book is recommended for academic and public libraries as well as for all readers wanting more than the latest pseudo-history on Arthur.

What is a librarian to do?

What is a librarian to do whose ambition (at least one of his ambitions) is to have book reviews published in academic review sources?

Well, that has been one of my goal listed in my annual review for several years.  Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.  But I keep trying.  Now review source editors want to know what a possible reviewer has done in the past, so a want-to-be reviewer had better have material to share.   So my blog here is in part place for my practice reviews. 

So where can you get the books to review?  Well, there is always the local library, but those are already published, so reviews already exist.  Conundrum, conundrum, what to do?  These days, sites such as NetGallery allow many the opportunity to read and review forthcoming titles. So that is my source for the reviews found on this site.  I hope you will read, enjoy and join in any conversation that may ensue.