Stephen Coote

This small paperback presents a delightful collection of poems with a gay theme. I like occasionally delving into it to savor poetic interpretations of male love.

Coote's book contains an interesting discussion of the way in which the Victorians edited the history of Drake to conform with their need for heroic early founders of the British empire.

He makes clear that the current accepted account (which dates from Victorian times) is very selective, and he convincingly puts this right while respecting Drake's tremendous achievements in for example circumnavigating the globe and mapping the Pacific coast of South America.

The author shows that Drake had show more a giant ego, not permiting anyone to stand in his way, and resulting in one case in the murder (with the thinnest veneer of legality) of his gentleman companion Thomas Doughty on a beach in Patagonia, or for example, ignoring the vital direct order of queen Elizabeth I to destroy the regrouped Armada in Santander, preferring as always to pursue piratery and looting Spanish and Portuguese ports for personal gain. Even in the famous battle with Armada he dropped out to loot an enemy ship, much to Frobisher's disgust.

Overall a balanced and readable account of the prototype 16th century English pirate seaman. show less

This biography provided a good overview of the Merry Monarch's life and reign, but no biography of a king as fascinating as Charles II should be as dry as this book was. That said, Charles' life is interesting enough that this biography isn't too bad to get through. I did appreciate the author's insights into Charles' early years before he was restored to the throne in 1660, but I did feel this book adhered to the traditional narrative of Charles and the figures who surrounded him at court, show more rather than questioning and re-examining some of these figures. Overall, a decent enough read and a good introduction to Charles as a monarch. show less

Although this purports to concern itself with the Waterloo Campaign, it's really just a once-over-lightly on Napoleon's life and empire by an author who is a good storyteller. He rambles on about this-n-that for over 100 pages before he even gets to 1814, let alone 1815. The half of the book which actually deals with the Hundred Days is best on the politics and diplomacy of the days preceding, and, especially, following, the battle of Waterloo. Like most British authors, Coote is totally show more unfair to the Emperor; almost every French character who appears is portrayed as a malevolent boob; between this bias and the rather facile yarn-spinning, it's difficult to recommend this book among a crowded field. show less