The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431-1519

This was really a fantastic book, and I really enjoyed it.
Compared with some of the other histories I have read, this one had a nice personable tone, and injected excerpts from relevant correspondence and works of the era to really give you not just dull facts, but the actual feelings and impressions that the contemporaries had.

In contrast to the dicey cover, Hibbert's book is a straight forward, fairly well documented narrative of Rodrigo Borgia's eleven year reign as Pope Alexander VI and his use of the papacy to elevate his children Cesare and Lucrezia into the aristocracy. It provides a good overview but is lacking in analysis. While Alexander and Cesare's greed and corruption are amply documented the author does not examine the impact of his papacy on the church or the people it served.

Great subject matter handled a little too matter-of-factly.

Full of colorful characters, fascinating intrigue and skull-duggery, and the selection of events and pacing are both fine. I just felt, as a popular history, this could have been more lively and interesting; perhaps more interpretation or specualtion on the Borgia figures would have brought them them more to life.

I read Hibbert's book on the Medici family. This was equally informative and fascinating. What a wild and strange period this was in Europe. In some ways, it was very gracious and refined, but in so many other ways it was violent, nasty, depraved and cruel. It was certainly never short on drama.

This book provides a good introduction to the Borgias and their activities in Renaissance Italy, France, and Spain. The book itself is well-written and interesting, although Hibbert doesn't always go into as much depth as he could. But be warned: The Borgias were a nasty bunch and there are a couple sections where I wish Hibbert hadn't given quite so much detail.

Handling & Tema : 3/5
Karaktärerna: 3/5
Miljöbeskrivning: 2/5
Språk och berättarkonst 2/5

Svag 3/5 i helhetsbetyg : Denna bok är främst en historie bok än historieroman och med detmenar jag att visa historiska böcker kan kännas som en roman fast allt i dessa böcker är korrekt men författaren lyckas berätta historien på ett sådant spännande att man fastnar som i vilken roman som helst. Lärorik och spännande.
Tyvärr hade denna bok för lite spänning på grund av författaren sätt att skriva för själva historien var hur spännande som helt om den hade skrivits på rätt sätt . Svårt att hålla reda på alla namn och personer, synd att man inte dick lära känna personerna mer.

Being fascinated by all things Borgia so,I picked up this work by renowned historian and biographer, Christopher Hibbert with great eagerness. I won’t say that I was disappointed; histories of the Borgias are too few and far between not to give any one of them the benefit of the doubt. The problem really lies in the book’s brevity, skimming as it does over events and personalities that deserve more detailed consideration, if only to make them comprehensible. Hibbert also wrote an examination of the Medicis that offered more detail and generally succeeded better in conveying that family’s impact on the world. Why he did not do the same for the Borgias is a mystery. If you’re looking for a quick introduction to the Borgias, this show more is a good place to start but keep in mind that it is an oversimplification of a complex and fascinating family. show less