The Emperor’s exile contained fewer fireworks than the years when he shook up the world, but no period in his life was dull....
A jaundiced look at the traditional account of Napoleon’s final years on St. Helena.
The usual history of this period begins with the Emperor’s abdication (his second) after Waterloo. A month later, he presented himself to the captain of a British frigate blockading Rochfort, hoping for a comfortable retirement in England. Instead, the government transported him and his retinue to an isolated island in the South Atlantic. Placed in charge was Major-General Sir Hudson Lowe, a mean-spirited officer who subjected his prisoner to six years of petty harassment and deprivation. Not only historians but historical figures from the Duke of Wellington to Charles de Gaulle have agreed Lowe was unfit for his job. English journalist Giles (The Locust Years: The Story of the Fourth French Republic, 1994, etc.) is not so sure. He points out that Napoleon was an impossibly difficult person: arrogant, demanding, constantly complaining. But he had plenty to complain about, as Lowe’s superiors had given orders that guaranteed friction. For example, he was forbidden to address the prisoner as “Emperor.” Letters, gifts, and even book dedications containing this title were confiscated. A more sophisticated governor would have interpreted his duties more liberally, but Lowe was excessively conscientious. Napoleon took an instant dislike to him, refusing to see him during the final four years. A torrent of complaints from Napoleon and his suite poured into Britain (France, under the restored Bourbons, was uninterested), producing much debate in newspapers and parliament. Lowe’s superiors, however, remained supportive. Always admired by a minority of the English, Napoleon grew even more popular after his death. Biographies quickly appeared, all portraying the governor as Napoleon’s tormenter. Lowe’s career stagnated, and he died a bitter man.
The Emperor’s exile contained fewer fireworks than the years when he shook up the world, but no period in his life was dull. This is a lively, readable account, and its revisionist view rings true.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7867-0906-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.
A study of swimming as sport, survival method, basis for community, and route to physical and mental well-being.
For Bay Area writer Tsui (American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, 2009), swimming is in her blood. As she recounts, her parents met in a Hong Kong swimming pool, and she often visited the beach as a child and competed on a swim team in high school. Midway through the engaging narrative, the author explains how she rejoined the team at age 40, just as her 6-year-old was signing up for the first time. Chronicling her interviews with scientists and swimmers alike, Tsui notes the many health benefits of swimming, some of which are mental. Swimmers often achieve the “flow” state and get their best ideas while in the water. Her travels took her from the California coast, where she dove for abalone and swam from Alcatraz back to San Francisco, to Tokyo, where she heard about the “samurai swimming” martial arts tradition. In Iceland, she met Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, a local celebrity who, in 1984, survived six hours in a winter sea after his fishing vessel capsized, earning him the nickname “the human seal.” Although humans are generally adapted to life on land, the author discovered that some have extra advantages in the water. The Bajau people of Indonesia, for instance, can do 10-minute free dives while hunting because their spleens are 50% larger than average. For most, though, it’s simply a matter of practice. Tsui discussed swimming with Dara Torres, who became the oldest Olympic swimmer at age 41, and swam with Kim Chambers, one of the few people to complete the daunting Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge. Drawing on personal experience, history, biology, and social science, the author conveys the appeal of “an unflinching giving-over to an element” and makes a convincing case for broader access to swimming education (372,000 people still drown annually).
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61620-786-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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