The Black Death by Hourly History - Book Review

This is a brief summary by Hourly History of the plague that ravaged Europe and several other parts of the world during the 14th century; known for wiping out an estimated 450 million people, much higher than both World Wars combined.

The book starts with the origin of the plague; which happens to be Central Asia, contrary to the popular notion that it was a European problem. The book talked about the fleas originating from modern day Kyrgyzstan moving and how it entered the European continent through Marseille in south west France. The book then went on to talk about the symptoms of the disease and how, nearly every family had a victim to the plague. It also talked about how the society tried to deal with it, mainly through religious means and appointing people known as plague doctors, who attempted to heal the sick; though, the flaw was that appointment required no knowledge on medicine and most of them used to deploy random techniques, including certain brutal means such as flagellation of the sick as they considered that it was happening owing to their sins. It also touched upon the other perceptions of the society back then, such as blaming the plague on the Jews and leading to their widespread persecution (six centuries before Hitler). The book then talked about how this talked about how literature flourished during this period, including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which touches upon the devastation caused by the plague in some of its stories. The book ends on how despite the tragedy of the plague, Europe needed the tragedy to come out of the Dark Age which eventually led to the renaissance as society began to realise that religion was not the solution to all their problems.

I enjoyed reading the book because I knew very little about the event barring the fact that it was caused by rodents carrying fleas and wiped out nearly 50% of the European population (in fact, didn't even know that it had impact in Africa and Asia). Moreover, the book also brought out several interesting aspects such as the plague doctors and in fact, the fact that the French seer Nostradamus himself was a plague doctor during a much later period in time and in fact, his solutions were scientifically most viable to the problem. I also liked it how the book chose to highlight the positive aspects that emerged out of the tragedy such as the improvement in literature and also the eventual Renaissance, which has brought Europe where she is today.

The only worrying fact that the book brought out is perhaps the fact that these diseases still exist to this day, mainly in Africa and despite all innovations in medicine, if contacted with the disease, the probability of survival is very low.

I had very low expectations when I started reading the book since, I am not the best when it comes to reading about such extreme tragedy but then, despite the expectations, the book turned out to be highly informative and I really am amazed at how the book managed to squeeze in so much information in a very short book. On the whole, I would award the book an eight on ten.

Rating - 8/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Titanic by Hourly History - Book Review

This is about the tragic maritime accident in the Atlantic Ocean during the early 20th Century summarised by Hourly History. The wreckage of Titanic was long shrouded in mystery and till date, there is no conclusive evidence as to why it happened as, during the past, several other ships have survived ice berg accidents. However, despite there being so many similar maritime accidents in history, this was made popular by the Oscar winning movie of James Cameron.

The book starts with the building of Titanic by the White Star Line company who wished to build the best luxury ships ever created; including the third class deck, which was better than the standard third class decks of the other ships of its time. The book then goes on to dispel the myths about the Titanic being; the White Star Line company never claimed it to be unsinkable and that it was more of a public perception and also the fact that the ship did have life boats enough to satisfy the government regulations back then. The book then goes on describing the famous personalities on board the ship and also, the eventual drowning, deaths and the rescue operation and with a conclusion on how though this event was tragic, it led to development of a lot of more stringent maritime safety regulations reducing the number of accidents.

I liked the fact that the book dispelled myths, considering, it is still widely believed that the company believed the ships to be unsinkable and thus, they didn't have sufficient life boats on board. Additionally, I also liked how the book described the various activities and pastimes in the ship. The book also commented on how this incident improved the future of maritime travel and also talked certain interesting personalities such as Margaret Brown who forced to redirect her lifeboat to save the people from the location of the debris. 

While this was hardly the fault of the book, I felt too many personalities were introduced; and beyond a point, I started losing track since there was so much details about various business persons who travelled on board.

On the whole, I felt this was a good read, especially considering the amount of myths that it dispelled. I would award the book a rating of seven.

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy 

Che Guevara: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History - Book Review

This is a short biography on the well known Latin American revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara by Hourly History. Most of us would have heard of Guevara, if not for his revolution, definitely because of the merchandises around; such as t-shirts, bags,etc. with his face. At least, that was how I got to know about him first.

So, this book starts with how Che Guevara's life as a student of medicine in Buenos Aires and then, the break he took to tour the poorest areas of Latin America which made him very convinced about Communist and left wing ideologies. It then elaborated on how his journey led him to support a revolution in Guatemala against the incumbent dictator Arbenz and the eventual victory of the revolutionaries. The book then talks about the meeting between Raul Castro (Fidel's brother and current head of state of Cuba) and Guevara which led to the meeting with Fidel and beginning of the revolution against the Batista government in Cuba and suppression of the American aided Bay of Pigs Invasion the success of which led to the consolidation of power by Castro and Guevara. The book then talks about his skills as a diplomat in Cuba - striking alliances with Soviet Union, later on with China and also touches upon his travels around Africa and Asia. Eventually, the book focuses on his fallout with Fidel Castro, leading to his exile in Bolivia and eventual downfall.

The book covered nearly every aspect of Guevara, the origins of how he became a revolutionary, his personal life, his skills as a diplomat and final days as a guerilla warrior in Bolivia. The book was also concise and delivered on the promise of giving his biography in an hour.

However, with that said, this has the usual fallout of an Hourly History biography; wherein they try to completely glorify the person involved that the negative aspects of the person whom they have chosen are never brought out. In fact, the book hardly talks about his gruesome killings (despite being a doctor himself), suppression of dissent in Cuba (despite claiming to be a liberal himself), his opposition to foreign presence in Cuba, despite his pursuit of Chinese and Soviet investment in Cuba and ironically, Guevara not being native to Cuba himself, his endorsement of dictators despite his opposition to imperialist suppression. None of these contradictions in Guevara were brought out. However, the book did bring out saying that while people would debate Guevara's legacy; nobody can deny his passion to fight for his convictions; nonetheless, passion is not an excuse for all the things that Guevara did.

However, this book is still a good read for those who wish to know why he has become such a cult figure all over the world as this does tell largely about all the positive aspects of the revolutionary. On the whole, I would award the book a five on ten.

Rating - 5/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

American History in 50 Events by Hourly History - Book Review

This is a book by hourly history covering the history of the United States with a short summary of fifty major events.

This book starts with the Viking discovery of the North American lands and then, directly shifts to the European settlers arriving during the late 17th and 18th Centuries. From thereon, the book covers every major event, such as the war of independence, the election of the first President, moving on to the expansion of US; the eventual Civil War and then the modern era where the United States emerged as a superpower.

I felt the selection of the 50 events were good; that it covered most of the major events, and to my knowledge, I am not able to recall any very significant misses. The book was also very concise in bringing out the historical details as it covered how the government and systems were first established, how the territory expanded, the wars that the US fought and the origins of two of the major corporates in US; being Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company and Andrew Carnegie's Steel Company. The book could be very useful for young Americans who wish to know about their country in an hour and as an addendum to that statement, this book does satisfy the objective of narrating history of the United States in under an hour.

However, what I felt was that while it dedicated segments to corporates, there could have been at least a small segment on the sporting achievements such as hosting of the Olympics in Los Angeles and Atlanta and also; while events were dedicated to the two early corporates, the Silicon Valley boom could have also been touched upon in the last segment of the book.

This is an excellent, short and concise read on American history and would be useful for anyone who wish to know the background of the country they keep hearing about all the time.

I would award the book a rating of seven.

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy 

French and Indian War by Hourly History - Book Review

This is a short summary of the war between the British and the French during the late 18th Century (part of the Seven years war) for control over North America; with Native Americans choosing whom to back depending on their own strategic interests.

The book starts with the background to the war and the events leading up to it; how the French initially had an upper hand because of the strategic support by some of the native American tribes; the differences of opinion between the French generals Montcalm and Marquis Vanderuil which started the downfall of the French in the war. It goes on to describe the strategies employed by William Pitt, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain and how his relentless pursuit to retain colonies in the New World led to the success of the British forces. The book ends with how this war was the beginning of the movement for American independence owing to the taxes imposed on the settlers by the British to recover the costs of war.

This book was structured very well and focused on both, the French and the British side equally and brought out the reasons for the initial success of the French, the reason for the resurgence of the British and the role of the Native American tribes in the war. I also liked it as to how the author went on to describe the consequences of this war to the British Empire. The book also gave considerable information on the personalities involved in the war, such as Montcalm, Vanderuil, Dieskau, Abercromby, Washington and Amherst.

However, I would have liked it if there was some more content on the Native American involvement and on what basis each chose their side; for the book ended it in one line stating that the Natives had to choose a side in order to protect their own strategic interests. Additionally, I have the same point to make again; what I had made earlier in my review of British History in 50 events by Hourly History; wherein, the book continues to refer to the country as England even though the war took place during the 1750s, nearly five decades after the Act of Union, 1707.

I felt the content of the book was good, for I got to know a lot about a topic which I didn't know about earlier and to be frank, when I first read the title; I imagined that this book was going to be about the Carnatic Wars; while I was aware of the war in the Americas because of a painting by Benjamin West (given below) and the eventual British victory but that was all I knew about it.

Depiction of William Johnson saving Dieskau's life after the Battle of Lake George

On the whole, I would award the book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Woodrow Wilson: A Life from Beginning to End by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a short biography on the American war time president, Woodrow Wilson, often said as one of the greatest presidents to have occupied the Oval Office. I had known about Woodrow Wilson only for a few things; popular president, president during First World War and floated the idea of The League of Nations, and of course, a beneficiary of the Taft-Roosevelt struggle in the Republican Party.

The book starts with Wilson’s background; born in the Southern States with his father being a supporter of the Confederate regime during the American Civil War. It then goes on to talk about his academic accomplishments and his career as an academic and the reforms he introduced at the university now known as Princeton. It also talked about his progressive stance on various issues including his absolute belief in democracy and the need to liberate people (ironically, it took him a long time to support the women’s suffrage movement and endorse their right to vote). The book also talks about his family and how, during the days when he was ill, his wife, Edith had de facto (debated) control over the Oval Office. The book also touches upon how Wilson was forced into war, though; he was against war himself and talks about his forming of The League of Nations (where, ironically, US didn’t join because of Senate opposition).

I was glad that I picked up the book on Wilson so that I have some knowledge on the person touted to be one of the greatest presidents of US and I felt the book did a good job in summarising his entire life in a short biography (to be honest, it took me more than an hour). Wilson’s policies and convictions were brought out well during the book and the period of his sickness where the allegation of the First Lady running the government was also elaborated in fair detail.

My only possible problem with the book was the introduction; I believe the book was launched on 27^th January, 2017 since that is the date I received it from Hourly History; however the book talked about potential of a woman becoming the President for the first time in 2016 election; seven days after Trump had taken the oath of office; the least that could have been done was to edit that part.

On the whole, for a detailed summary in a short book, I would award the book an eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Napoleon: A Life from Beginning to End by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a short biography by Hourly History on the famous French emperor of the late 18^th and 19^th Century - Napoleon Bonaparte. Most of us have heard of him for being the person who made France a superpower and nearly achieved his dream of conquering Europe.

It starts with Napoleon’s early life; the fact that he wasn’t even French but in fact, Corsican (island to the south of Sardinia, Italy) and is from a family where his father’s aim was to achieve Corsican independence from France. It then goes on to his interactions with the French elite when he attended school in the mainland and how his political opinions developed; eventually going on to become the face of the French revolution and emerging as the President of the republic (subsequently crowned the Emperor). The book also talks about his military pursuits, his Napoleonic code and also on his ambitious plans to attack Britain. It then touches upon his eventual downfall and retirement to Elba and St Helena where he breathed his last.

The book, like any other Hourly History book delivered on the promise of giving the biography in an hour. I liked it that the book touched about his less known Italian heritage and his link to Corsica considering, Napoleon is the very person people think of when they think of France but he himself was often ridiculed for his accent of French. The book also covered all significant events in his life, be it his rise to power, his European conquests, his conquest of Egypt and its eventual failure owing to the sabotage by the British Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Napoleon has always been a controversial figure on whom I am yet to take a side; for he is definitely warmongering but at the same time; his views on society and the reforms he brought in were way beyond his time. The disappointment was that this book failed to convince me to take either side or provide sufficient information for me to take a side; for I know about his wars and military expertise, but I would have liked it if the book had written a little more about the reforms that Napoleon brought into the supposed conquered / liberated territories (he preferred to use the latter).

On the whole, I would award the book a six on ten.

Rating - 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy