Jacob Kamenir

Hagiography, not Biography

Revisado: 12-17-24

This is not a biography. This is a hagiography written in adulatory, reverential language that gets so worshipful in places that it becomes almost embarrassing to read. It’s more like reading a latter Ken Follett novel than a work of nonfiction. FDR is presented as the undisputed and indisputable hero, and everyone who disagrees with him is a nefarious villain. Everything is utterly one-sided with nothing within hailing distance of criticism or reflection presented.

If you are looking for an exceptionally long love letter to FDR, this book is for you. If you’re looking for a biography, it is not.

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Excellent!

Revisado: 03-19-24

One of the best lecture series from The Teaching Company. The professor is a polished presenter and, more importantly, excellent at tying together different themes and events into a unified story. For Dan Carlin fans, I think this is a perfect bookend to his "in the trenches" "you are there" series about life on the front.

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Not an authoritative history of the Crusades.

Revisado: 07-28-22

This is not the authoritative story of anything. The author finds space to describe lurid details, such as that Frankish prostitutes were supposed to have advertised their skills by lifting their silver anklets to their golden earrings, but covers the entire capture of Constantinople in a few short paragraphs.

If you are looking for a book that covers the minutia of internecine plots and politics of various Islamic courts during this period, you may enjoy this book. If you are looking for a good history of the Crusades, authoritative or otherwise, you will probably be disappointed.

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Powerful, even if already familiar with the events

Revisado: 07-06-22

The topic covered in this book is part of a narrative that, at best, runs parallel to the historical events themselves. This book is unflinching in the way the material—the horror of intentional mass murder on an industrial scale—is presented and analyzed, providing a strong framework to start reconning what the author calls memory to historical reality.

One suggestion I would make is that you listen to the last three sections (Conclusion: Humanity, Afterward to the Second Paperback Edition, and Numbers and Terms) first. This will create a better context for what the book itself.

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