FEATURED AUTHOR - Art Blegen is the author of “The Adventures of Kris”, a series of early middle-grade chapter books for young readers from six to ten years old. Each child is important, and each family matters to Art. He is an advocate for educating children and their parents to ensure they have a healthy balance of positive examples in their lives. Wholesome stories and a healthy imagination can lay the foundation they will use for the rest of their lives. Whether playing with his grandchildren or coaching…
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Recent comments: User reviews
Howard's historical fiction is what he should be known more for than Conan.
It could never be written today as some non-white characters are villainous (you can only have white badguys these days) but it is actually balanced.
the only problem is a very dumb twist at the end that feels tacked on and defeats the moral questions raised, but it can and should be ignored.
Worth reading if just to see the mental gymnastics Henty tries to pull to make the Protestants innocent, like when they cast the Catholic ministers out the window (defenstration) they were only just getting them some fresh air, not trying to murder them.
Most repetition of battle facts and numbers.
At one point, an English character says without a hint of irony. "Well, we just have to conquer Scotland to keep them in line."
Yeah, sure. Conquering a nation will get them to like you.
Pointless Henty tripe. Should be skipped.
Its about a poor Christian girl who falls in love with a rich jew and the attempts by both of their societies to keep them apart.
that makes it sound more interesting than it is. The book starts with them already in love and you get no sense of their courtship or why they are interested in each other. While it was intended to be progressive, it just feels slow. And I enjoy slow books.
An important book as it inspired the famous motion picture "Birth of a Nation"by DW Griffith (which I haven't seen, so I can't comment on how similar they are).
The books feels spilt into two sections, the first being about Andrew Johnson's impeachment and the angry northern politicians planning revenge on the South for the Civil war. The second part details the former slaves taking advantage of the defeated south and being defeated by the Ku Klux Klan.
The word propaganda is going to be bandied about with this type of book. If you divorce it from its intentions and the racial implications, its still not a good book. it presents a view of the South that I don't know enough about to comment on. But it certainly does a good job of demonising Northern politicians who are trying to enforce equality (hypocritically, according to the author).
It often references Haiti to show the problems of black rulers and it fades out just before one of the characters is violated by a group of ex-slaves. Im sure it instigated anger in its target audience.
All in all, its probably a good book to read to get a feel for how a certain segment of people viewed certain events. just be prepared for some very uncomfortable descriptions of black people. Don't read it if that type of thing makes you uncomfortable.