History as it should be: informative but also lively, thrilling, and hugely entertaining.
A vivid, dramatic account of conspiracy and murder in 15th-century Florence.
One of the most illustrious dynasties of the Renaissance, the Medici began their ascension in a city-state reeling from debt and high taxes after years of expensive warfare. Within three generations, they had established a merchant bank and a commodities empire that made them the richest family in Florence. Through brilliant political machinations—Machiavelli is generally supposed to have been inspired by them when he wrote The Prince—they became the leaders of the so-called Florentine republic. The Medici dynasty culminated in Lorenzo the Magnificent; aggressive and ruthless, he was also a brilliant poet and a lavish patron who commissioned works from great artists and composers of the day. Lorenzo’s tyranny inevitably fostered discontent and cabal. Members of the Pazzi, an older Florentine family resentful of the parvenu Medici, attempted to assassinate Lorenzo in the city’s cathedral on an April Sunday in 1478. They failed but managed to kill his younger brother Giuliano. An enraged Lorenzo struck back, and through a virtuoso admixture of murder and legislation virtually eliminated the Pazzi’s existence. Renaissance historian Martines (Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy, not reviewed) tells the story with a breathless enthusiasm that is infectious. He has walked the Florentine streets and buildings many times, conveying the agreeable impression of a personal tour. This story is not for the squeamish, however. It was a hideously violent era, and Martines does not flinch when describing the gruesome punishments meted out to the Pazzi conspirators and their innocent relatives. The only minor flaw occurs in the chapter describing the attempted assassination, where the unnecessary reintroduction of the main players suggests that the author originally intended it as the first chapter.
History as it should be: informative but also lively, thrilling, and hugely entertaining.Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-19-515295-6
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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