An authoritative portrait of the tempestuous but impressive Cleopatra dynasty.
A new look at the legendary queen and her equally legendary family.
The iconic female figure of the ancient world, Queen Cleopatra has caught the attention of luminaries from Plutarch to Shakespeare to Elizabeth Taylor, as well as a steady stream of biographers, but even history buffs may be surprised to learn that there were seven Egyptian queens with that name. Llewellyn-Jones, the chair in ancient history at Cardiff University and author of Persians, reminds readers that upon the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., his massive conquests broke up into three parts: Macedonia, the Seleucid Empire, and Egypt, each ruled by a former Alexandrine general. Ptolemy I Soter and his successors ruled Egypt. The author passes quickly over the first century of what is now known as the Hellenistic era until 192 B.C. when the Seleucid emperor sent his daughter to marry Ptolemy V of Egypt to seal a diplomatic agreement. She became Cleopatra I and gave birth to Cleopatra II, ancestor of the remaining Cleopatras, all of whom married Ptolemies. Llewellyn-Jones agrees that the last Cleopatra deserves her prominence, but her predecessors were no slouches. He adds that the 150 years after 192 was a golden age for royal women in Egypt, when queens transcended traditional gender roles. Readers seeking to learn about Hellenistic people and culture will have chosen the wrong book. This is traditional great-men-and-politics history, although one in which the great men’s wives were as powerful as—and often more competent than—their husbands. Generous with family trees, Llewellyn-Jones works hard and often successfully to distinguish between a plethora of Cleopatras and Ptolemies and a dizzying series of wars, intrigues, and deadly family quarrels that ended only when Rome, always a looming power, took over in 30 B.C.
An authoritative portrait of the tempestuous but impressive Cleopatra dynasty.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781541602922
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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