A consistently engaging comparison-contrast look at the mechanics of empire.
A sweeping survey of the evolution of the role of the emperor in terms of geopolitical leadership, empire building, and diplomacy.
Moving chronologically from ancient times in Mesopotamia to the present, Lieven, a former professor of Russian studies at the London School of Economics and winner of the Wolfson History Prize, focuses on memorable monarchs as they evolved in their roles. Dynasties such as the Chinese, Mughal, and Ottoman were never efficient or meritocratic, yet despite the “self-evidently flawed system” of hereditary monarchy, it managed to survive as “by far the most prevalent type of polity in history.” As the author delineates, the “sacred monarchies” of the Near East—e.g., in ancient Egypt—were most closely aligned with divinity, while for subsequent empires (Persia, Rome), the rulers had to demonstrate exemplary military and political skills—e.g., Alexander and Hadrian. The enduring blueprint of dynastic style, notes Lieven, dictated that the ruler was backed by an inner circle of sycophantic functionaries dependent on his largesse—and willing to tell him what he wanted to hear. (Though largely focused on men, the book includes a few women leaders as well as those wielding power behind the throne.) Particularly appealing are the author’s significant discussions of the Chinese emperors, who were first endowed with a sense of the so-called “Mandate of Heaven.” These rulers relied heavily on both secrecy and ritual, the latter manifested especially via the three primary schools of thought—Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism—that influenced Chinese leaders across centuries. In contract, the monarchies of modern Europe (see: Louis XIV and countless English kings) were fashioned for public display and lavish ceremony. Regardless of ruling style, the right type of emperor could be hugely influential, especially regarding religion: Ashoka (Buddhism), Constantine (Christianity), and the Safavid shahs (Shi’i Islam). In addition to illuminating analyses of political, social, and cultural matters, Lieven also includes a number of helpful maps to situate readers.
A consistently engaging comparison-contrast look at the mechanics of empire.Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-735-22219-9
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
