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

This is a book part of the Hourly History series capturing the significant events of the life of the American Civil War hero and two time president, Ulysses S. Grant.

The book starts with Ulysses S. Grant’s ordinary beginning; someone who was too timid and had no special skill but for his knowledge about animals and horse riding; eventually ends up in the military in exchange for free college education who eventually quit after the US – Mexico war. The book then talks about Grant’s failed ventures; be it farming or business. However, with the Southern States launching a rebellion in order to retain their right to keep slaves; little did the country expect to find an able general in Ulysses Grant whose success in the Civil War and keeping the Union together made him a national hero. The book ends with a short note on his presidency.

The book followed the typical pattern the Hourly History series usually follows in case of covering a personality; that is, events being arranged chronologically and also covering every significant event. The book also gave a sufficient background to the Civil War and also focused a little on Grant’s personal views which were towards abolition of slavery. I have always found Grant’s rise interesting considering, the honour of leading the Union could’ve well gone to the opponent considering it was the Confederate General Robert E. Lee who was offered it first but chose to lead the Confederates since his home state Virginia joined the Confederates. How Grant managed to maintain the Union was also something captured well, as to how he offered Lee rather liberal terms of surrender which ensured a peaceful post war transition.

However, I felt the book could have concentrated a little more on his presidency, considering that his political career was scandal ridden but then, the book just touches upon them in barely a paragraph and I actually wished to know a little more about them but then, I guess I would have to rely on other sources to know more about them.

Alas, it is ironic that I am reviewing about Ulysses S. Grant, the person who first gave voting rights to all regardless of ethnicity on the same day when Donald J. Trump is going to swear-in as the 45^th President of the United States (in less than an hour from the time of this post, to be precise); a person who just seems too keen on dividing the country along ethnic lines.

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

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Mayan Civilization by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a review of the book on Mayan Civilization released by Hourly History. Many would have heard of them because of their calendar by which there was a widespread belief that the world would end by the end of 2012 (there was even a movie with the same theme) for the Mayan calendar did not have beyond December, 2012. Some others, including myself, would have heard of them because of Age of Empires.

For the rest, the Mayans were an ancient civilisation who inhabited much of the modern day Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and parts of Southern Mexico (north of which, I believe were the Aztecs). They are known for the complex pyramids and other structures that they constructed; the most notable being the Chichen Itza; a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apart from that, they are also noted for the sophisticated cities they built and their contributions to astronomy and number system.

The book touched upon all these aspects; starting with the origins of the civilisation and how they lived along with the other Mesoamerican civilisations. It then moved on to their first contact with Europeans (expeditions of Columbus) and eventually, the eventual conquest by Hernan Cortez. It also focused on the various traditions and how their rituals played a key part in maintaining order, be it in daily life or securing alliances or running a kingdom. The book also dispelled notions that the Mayans were a homogenous group of people and in fact, had various city states and internal strife and also the fact that war and human sacrifice (usually of the defeated) was critical to please their gods. It concluded with the attempts being made by present day North Americans to revive their traditions and form a hybrid Christian – Mayan culture.

I felt the book gave an excellent insight into the history but then, I also felt that it touched upon personalities who built the civilisations very little; for instance, when talking about Aztecs, one could immediately visualise Montezuma or Chuahtemoc and similarly, if there was some focus on Mayan personalities of the past, the book could have been better.

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

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Celtic Mythology by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a book on Celtic Mythology as part of the Hourly History series going about the origins of the myths and then moving on to the various gods and subsequently as to how some of those traditions even have a bearing today, in Ireland.

To be honest, I am not sure as to how qualified I am to review the book considering I knew very little about Celtic mythology prior to reading the book and in fact; even though I knew that Celts primarily included the Scots, Irish and the Welsh, I always thought that the world Celtic had more to do with the Scots than Irish and I realised I was wrong, when I read the book.

Moving on, the book starts with the arrival of the Tuatha de Danann, the natives of Eire from the North and how they built their civilisation, their various practices, gods, superstitions, etc. I am unable to go into detail because I really couldn’t get a hang of the names mentioned except for the word Taoiseach meaning chief; only because, till date, the Prime Minister of Ireland is addressed by that title. However, I also found it interesting to know that the etymology for the river Danube in Central Europe in fact comes from the Celtic goddess Danu, referred to as the flowing one. I also liked it where the author, when not in a position to bring out the details of a battle / origin of a tribe, gives a brief introduction and then gives a link for further reading on the subject.

The only aspect I possibly missed was that there was no mention of one of the more famous Celtic mythical creatures, being Leprechaun. While I am not sure while making this statement, but considering the importance of the Unicorn in Scottish culture, I assumed it to be a Celtic creation and I was disappointed to not find a mention of it in this book.

Considering my experience and the knowledge I gained out of the book (barring the traditional Celtic names which I couldn’t pronounce), I would award the book a six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

English Civil War by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a book part of the Hourly History series explaining the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists during the 17^th Century post the Union of Crowns following the House of Stuart from Scotland ascending the throne in England.

The book starts with the events that led to the Civil War; such as the disappointment of King James I (James VI of Scotland) over the Parliament’s extreme control over the affairs of the country which was taken up by his successor Charles I who dissolved the parliament which eventually led to a bloody Civil War between those who supported the parliamentarians and those who supported the royals; not just in England, but throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

The book was ordered chronologically and the factors that determined the allegiance of the society was explained well (primarily religion). The focus on how each side tried to raise funds and gain support for the war was also covered well and I also liked the fact that the book, at the end of the day, managed to cover the English Civil War briefly over an hour.

The only aspect which I probably missed was that I felt that the most prominent figure of the war (and also post the war); the Parliamentarian Oliver Cromwell, who went on to become the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland after the war; his role was barely covered in the book and also, I felt that the author could have added a paragraph on Cromwell’s subsequent rule post the war in the conclusion.

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

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life from Beginning to End by Hourly History - Book Review

This is a book on the person best known as a painter from Florence; Leonardo da Vinci. The book is from Hourly History series; where a short summary / biography is written about the subject covered and this book too; seeks to achieve the objective of imparting the knowledge to the reader in an hour.

The book starts by describing about Leonardo da Vinci's humble origins considering that he was an illegitimate child back in the medieval times and how he never had formal education. It then focused on how da Vinci excelled during his apprenticeship with various famous painters and how he eventually started creating masterpieces revered by all. After his life as a painter, the book starts focusing on the less known aspects of da Vinci such as his contributions to science, be it in anatomy or in optics and how his journal containing all his observations helped in a lot of future observations.

I too, didn't know much about da Vinci before reading the book; I had the knowledge that most would have; that da Vinci was a famous painter who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. It gave me good insight into da Vinci's contributions to science and yes; it also tells us as to how a lot of things could be learnt by mere observation and subsequently thinking and analysing the subject. However, I would have liked it more if the book had touched upon a little more on how scientists in future used his hypotheses (I agree, the book did mention about the bridge in Norway from Oslo to Bergen) considering, this is the shortest Hourly History book I have read so far where it took me just under half an hour to complete the book.

On the whole, I would say that I knew a lot more after spending the time on this book than before and I would award the book a seven on ten.

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

The Ottoman Empire by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a book about the Ottoman Empire as part of the concise Hourly History series. This book starts with the establishment of the empire by the Turkic tribes led by Osman which eventually overthrows the Byzantine Empire and takes over the city of Constantinople (present day Istabanbul) and establishes the Ottoman Empire; a realm which at its height expanded from Belgrade to Baghdad.

The book started with the establishment of the empire, the eventual expansion to the Balkans and Arabia, how the empire embraced pluralism and the influence exerted by the Jews and the Armenians (till the genocide), broad description of various critical battles during the course of the Ottoman Empire such as the Battle of Lepanto (against the Holy League) and the Crimean war against Russia. It eventually went on describing the role of the Empire in the First World War; the defeat which led to the dissolution of the Empire leading to the Treaty of Sevres subsequently overwritten by the Treaty of Lausanne thereby ending the Ottoman Empire and forming the secular Turkish republic.

The book was effective in bringing about the lifestyle and the system of guilds, the role of religion in the society and also touched upon some of the important events throughout the course of the existence of the empire. However, I was surprised to see certain misses, such as the sanjak system which was effective in controlling such vast diverse territory or about the ruthless janissary battalions or as to how the Ottomans expanded to Greece and how the Sultan actually made efforts to incorporate Greece as a part of Turkey by actually shifting base to Greece and I might have perhaps liked it if there was at least a mention of conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque after the Ottoman takeover. However, not all these could have been covered in an hour but certain compromises could have been done to the highly elaborate description on guilds and instead, one of these could have been incorporated.

On the whole, the book satisfied the objective of passing on a lot of information in an hour and I guess it has served its purpose. I would award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating - 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

British History in 50 Events by Hourly History – Book Review

British History in 50 Events is a book in the Hourly History series. The book was offered to me for free on Kindle on the last page of my copy of Adolf Hitler: A Life from Beginning to End by Hourly History and out of curiosity, I just continued with the series and read this book.

The book starts from the time of Stonehenge till the 2012 London Olympics and the events are arranged in Chronological order. At least a paragraph is dedicated to nearly every major event in British history, such as Battle of Hastings, Armada, Industrial Revolution, Gunpowder treason, the Battle of Waterloo, Battle of Britain, etc. The book has done a good job of compressing nearly 3000 years into around 50 pages touching upon several significant events.

But then, I have used the phrase ‘several significant events’ because a lot of important events were given a miss (the surprise miss being the lack of mention of Horatio Nelson). I also felt the author tried too hard to not show Britain in a bad light throughout the book such as; while the book tried to project the Hundred Years War as a status quo ante bellum, for all practical purposes, it was a defeat for the English considering the French managed to push them to a corner in Calais while managing to secure their kingdom and crown their king; the British exploits in their colonies also didn’t receive any mention and some of it even had a bearing on the Isles; the Iraq war was also conveniently given a miss and these are just a few that I could think of. Additionally, I also couldn’t avoid noticing that the author continued to refer to the country as England even for events after the Act of Union (example: the author refers to Falkland War as a war between England and Argentina) that beyond a point, I felt that I was reading something written by someone from the far right English Democrats Party. That is also perhaps the reason why there was absolutely no mention of Harold MacMillan, Tony Blair or Gordon Brown. 

Despite the shortcomings that I have mentioned, I wouldn’t say that the book was so bad to warrant a four rating from me but I would award it a neutral five considering that it did manage to tell me the brief history of Britain in an hour.

Rating – 5/10

Have a nice day,

Andy