I’M NOW A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

Cover image of my new book Innovation, Greed and a Long, Long Twilight: A History of New Zealand Crown Mines Co. Ltd. (1883-1994)

Those of my readers who have been around this blog for any length of time, will be aware that I have a certain interest in the history of underground (Hard-rock) gold-mining, specifically the mines of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula. there were many such mines, especially during the late Nineteenth Century, and of them all one very specific mine; the New Zealand Crown Mines Co. Ltd., located at Karangahake (Car-ang-uh-hah-key) (at the South end of the Peninsula) is a personal favourite, to the extent that this blog is named after it, for reasons made evident when the blog was started. The ‘Crown has also been the subject of my on-going research over many years, and has been influential in my gaining various academic qualifications. But what to do with all that information that I found? What else but to write and publish a book about the Company and here, at last, it is!

So ‘Tarah’, may I present for your delectation and enjoyment my new volume Innovation, Greed and a Long, Long Twilight: A History of New Zealand Crown Mines Co. Ltd. (1883-1994)

But what is it about?

The easiest way to answer that is to quote from an Abstract that I wrote when preparing publicity material for various perceived purchasers. it says…

The New Zealand Crown Mines Co. Ltd. was a large, British-funded, underground gold-mining company formed to exploit ore-deposits located at Karangahake, New Zealand. It achieved international fame by introducing Potassium Cyanide into the international hard-rock gold mining industry, and was for several decades one of New Zealand’s largest gold producers.

This volume examines the NZCML’s activities in both New Zealand and Great Britain, and although the majority of the book is concerned with its New Zealand operations, company activities after leaving New Zealand are also detailed. The result is a unique perspective on the activities of that now-extinct entity; the large, British-funded, hard-rock gold mining company.

The volume’s Foreword was contributed by internationally-recognised Mining Historian Dr Phillip Hart (MA. PhD. Research Associate: University of Waikato). It includes the following quotes:

Keith has focussed very specifically on one company in one [gold] field; a major company in a major field. He has exhaustively researched the company even beyond the time when it abandoned both mining and New Zealand…This is a very detailed year by year account of one company and the technology it used to extract, transport and treat its ore.

The volume comprises 860 pages, is case-bound and A4-sized. It has 114 Chapters and 14 Appendices, together with 103 photographs, 84 Graphs, 46 Illustrations and Diagrams, 11 Maps and 3 Plans. A Glossary, Bibliography, Index and numerous Footnotes are included’.

An abstract of course, only a summary, so should you, Dear Reader, wish to know more and perhaps even wish to buy a copy), a note to that effect at my usual email address will provide the necessary information.

Thank you.

Until next time…

_____________________________________

I’M BACK!!!

Firstly, my apologies to all my fans who may have wondered where I went. Without going into detail, it has been a case of ‘Life’, COVID-19 and unforeseen events/ circumstances getting in the way of writing / blogging and as a result the blog has suffered. This was not intentional, but the Virus DOES have a lot to answer for…

But I’m back, so where-to from here?

For a variety of Virus-related reasons, I am unlikely to be able to continue posting the book reviews which have been a staple of this blog for several years, , so am unsure how this will effect that development of this blog. As a result, and to help me know what you (my readers) would like me to write about, I WOULD appreciate feedback (either in the comments below or via my Gmail address. I can, of course, rabbit-on about a variety of subjects, but because that could be terribly boring, your (polite) comments/ suggestions would be appreciated.

Finally, it is my intention to try and make this blog a weekly-one, but there will be times when this may not occur- invariably because I have nothing to say and don’t want to bore you all by proving that that is the case, so should there be ‘silence’ please don’t be concerned.

The past has ‘passed’, the future is ahead, so let’s enjoy the ‘Present’ and see where this blog goes.

It could be fun…

Thank you. 🙂

MY FIRST ‘BIRTHDAY’

A year ago today (17 April 2019), I had a Quadruple Heart By-pass operation.

A year later, thanks to Father God, the prayers and help of my beautuful and incredible Wife and Children and the support of amazing Friends, I am still alive and in excellent health.

So, to celebrate,  I drew myself a ‘Birthday Cake’.

😉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME 😉

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Catastrophe at Spithead: The Sinking of the Royal George’

 

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title:  Catastrophe at Spithead: The Sinking of the Royal George

Author:  Hilary R Rubinstein

Total Number of Pages: 288

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 8

______________________________

The inexplicable sinking of the HMS Royal George and the simultaneous loss (by drowning) of its Commanding Officer (Rear-Admiral Kempenfeldt) at Spithead on 29 August 1782 was a national tragedy for the United Kingdom. Despite a subsequent enquiry to determine blame, according to this volume’s dustjacket, this book is ‘…The first comprehensive account of that calamity and is based on new research of a wide variety of contemporary sources…’ It is a reasonable precis of what is to follow.

An Introduction placed after the volume’s Contents page opens the volume. The section simultaneously summarises the life of Rear-Admiral Kempenfeldt and publicly acknowledges those who assisted the author in the volumes’ creation. The ten Chapters which form the largest section of the work now follow. Within these, two narrative-streams exist in parallel; that of the life of Rear-Admiral Kempenfeldt (Chapters One to Four) and, to a lesser-extent although simultaneously, events relating to the construction, operational service and subsequent loss of HMS Royal George. Unsurprisingly, the two narratives come together in Chapter Five (Into the Vortex), a description of the actual sinking and Kempenfeldt’s death, and remain intertwined to the volume’s final pages. Also unsurprisingly (and as the actual event was [and is] controversial), Chapters Six to Ten concentrate on the causes and effects of the events detailed in Chapter Five. Where necessary, the volume uses End-note citations to provide additional source material. These are Chapter-specific and numerical in sequence; the relevant references appearing in a designated Notes section placed after Chapter Ten (The Fate of Survivors). Due to the numerous Notes appearing within the volume, this specific section is 29 pages in length. A Bibliography placed after the Notes section lists the written material (both manuscript and published) used during the preparation of the volume. The section is followed by the book’s Index: it is its’ final section. The volume contains an eight-page long and all-colour ‘Plates’ (images) section. This contains portraits, plans, maps, landscapes and illustrations relevant to the narrative. These come from a variety of sources and are accompanied by informative captions and appropriate source citations, their existence being dignified by the statement ‘Colour plates section between pages 80 and 81 which appears at the foot of the Contents page. This is however, the volume’s only reference to their existence. Additional monochrome images, engravings, advertisements and plans also appear within the pages of the volume itself.  Although these also come from a variety of sources, a majority carry the credit citation Author despite being very evidently not by her hand, those appearing on pages 200 and 201 being but two examples of this practice. Why this should be the case is unknown. Neither the Contents page nor the Index carried reference to their existence. The volume also contains numerous Quotes. These vary in length with many carrying no authenticating and supporting source citations, with those appearing on pages 126-128 being somewhat-lengthy examples of the practice. The sheer quantity of such quotes and their lack of authenticating citations inevitably raised questions concerning their authority, ‘genuine-ness’, and usefulness as bonafide historical records.  In the absence of the necessary verification, the questions are reasonable ones. The volume contains only one Map (correctly a Chart), this carrying the caption ‘A chart of Spithead and the Solent, dated 1791, clearly showing the position of the wreck of the Royal George’. While adequate for purpose (Although perhaps the location of the hulk could have been made more obvious), an Ordnance Survey Map of at least Southern England and the Isle of Wight would have been useful to put the events and location in context. For those unfamiliar with the area, this would have been of great assistance.

While this volume is very well researched, written and readable, for this reviewer it was ‘Let down by the details’; the small things which when combined have a large effect. While the paucity of support for many of the Quotes and Images has already been alluded-to, it was the lack of entries in the Index that proved most problematical.  The section could best be described as being ‘Patchy’ with random searching finding items mentioned in the text being omitted for unknown reasons.  Examples of this practice included a lack of Index references to Gibraltar (pages 9 and 170), Kempenfeldt Bay (p.235) and Sir Edward Codrington (page 211), while several examples were found where Index entries were incomplete or inaccurate. An example (but one of several), of this latter practice was in relation to an Index entry for Horn, Betty and John. In this instance, and despite being mentioned en volume on pages 103 and 223 (but not on page 123) Horn, Betty and John received an Index entry for pages 103, and 123 (the latter being spurious) while an actual entry on page 223 was omitted completely. As already noted, there were other, similar, examples. Such discoveries did nothing to engender confidence in the accuracy of the narrative.

Although let down by the ‘technicalities’ notated above, this is a well-written and informative volume which is begs fair to become a Standard Work of Reference on its subject. It is likely to have wide appeal to Historians of several persuasions (Naval, Military, Social), and to members of the public with an interest in ‘England’s Wooden Walls’ and the Royal Navy of the ‘Nelson Era’. Modellers with an interest in the Men o’ War of Britain’s ‘Sailing Navy’ may also find the volume’s plans of interest.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent), I have given this volume an 8.

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Gurkha Odyssey: Campaigning for the Crown’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title:  Gurkha Odyssey: Campaigning for the Crown

Author: Peter Duffell

Total Number of Pages: 290

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent):8

______________________________

When explaining the reasons for writing this volume, the author states that, having ‘…Travelled with Gurkha soldiers in various guises for over fifty years….I thought I might be able to express a personal and distinctive view about the qualities and character of the Gurkha soldier and his service to the British Crown; as…one way of recognizing the generous people with whom I…so happily soldiered and led through a long military career’. It is an admirable sentiment and has resulted in a delightful book that is both a history lesson and an autobiography, and by being (to again quote the author) ‘…For the general reader’ is also largely free from the monotonous repetition of dry details which tend to be hallmarks of military memoirs.

The volume opens with a Dedication titled For all Goorkhas under-which a singularly-appropriate verse from Shakespeare’s King Henry V appears. This is followed in turn by the book’s Contents page and a page titled List of Maps; the title of the latter being self-explanatory. An Acknowledgements section follows. This is three and a quarter pages in length and thanks those who have contributed to the completed work. The twelve Chapters which form the bulk of the volume now appear. Within these, the reader is regaled with a well-written and eminently-readable mixture of both personal reminiscences and Gurkha-related military history. The emphasis is, of course, on the author’s military career and events there-in, but as would be expected the activities of ‘The Regiment’ forms a backdrop to these; a backdrop that is necessary but which is not intrusive or overpowering. The result is both educational and entertaining. Where necessary within each Chapter, subsections are used to provide additional information about a specific subject mentioned within the larger narrative. The volume’s Index (its final section) appears after Chapter 12 (Into the Future), the title of the latter being self-explanatory. Two photographic sections appear within the volume. Curiously, the larger of these (16 pages in length) while containing numerous illustrations of both the author and Gurkha military activities, is exclusively monochrome in format; the smaller (Eight page) section, while also showing a similar content, being equally composed of only coloured images. The reasons for the disparity are unknown. The images are informatively captioned, although not all carry source-citations. Neither Contents nor Index sections carry references to the image’s existence.  The title page of each Chapter is also graced by images of both serving and retired Gurkha servicemen. Although originally created in a variety of media, these have been reproduced as monochrome images within the volume and help to ‘Humanise’ the narrative. As already implied (List of Maps), the volume contains several maps (actually eight). These appear in narrative-appropriate locations throughout the book and relate to specific locations / military actions that are important in Gurkha history.

While this volume is well-written and eminently-readable, it is not without fault and this reviewer found several areas of concern. Of these, the most obvious is in relation to the Index. While several single-word ommissions from the Index were found during initial random searching (that of for Peninsula War on page 12 being but one example of several encountered), the subsequent discovery that Index entries for Mesopotamia, Persia and Bolsheviks (all on page 122) were also missing raises questions concerning what other, similar, ommissions that might exist. There is no way to know.  It was also noted that despite the volume containing numerous examples of military rank (both Ghurkha and British Army) the lack of a Table of Equivalents renders such rankings unintelligible to the average reader. What, (for example) is a Jemadar, what does he do and what is his British Army equivalent? The lack of a Glossary of Terms also renders such words as Badged (page 12), Padang (page 162) and Sangars (page 198) meaningless. Quotes, where used within the volume, carry no authenticating citations, those on pages 58 and 219 being but two examples. In their absence there is no way of verifying their accuracy; they might just as well be imagined. A small number of spelling mistakes were also noted.

As previously-noted, this is a delightful book that is both a history lesson and an autobiography. The ‘imperfections’ noted above notwithstanding, it may appeal to a variety of readers. Historians with an interest in ‘Things Military’, ‘International Geopolitics’ and ‘British Imperial History’ may find it informative, as might readers with an interest in both British Military history in general and the Gurkhas in particular. Military modellers might find the uniforms illustrated in the coloured images section to be of interest, while a reader wishing for a militarily-flavoured autobiographical volume may also find it worthy of their attention.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this volume an 8.

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Art & Making of Fantasy Miniatures’

 

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: The Art & Making of Fantasy Miniatures

Author: Jamie Kendall

Total Number of Printed Pages: 238

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 8

_________________________

The author, when writing in the volume’s Introduction, notes that ‘…You should view this [volume] as an art museum exhibit in book form. You move through the gallery peering at the…figures in their display cases…and standing next to them, providing commentary and insight into their creation are your tour guides – the creators themselves’. It is an admirable precis’ of what is to follow.

The aforementioned Introduction is placed immediately behind the Contents page. As indicated by its full title (Introduction: Standing on the shoulders of (Miniature) Giants) what  the reader is about to view is based on what has gone before, a fact alluded-to within the section; the author referencing earlier games and figure creations as being the precursors of what is about to be revealed. The nine Chapters which form the main part of the book now appear, with each of these being dedicated to a specific fantasy-miniature manufacturer / game. In arrangement, the Chapters tend to follow a standard format; a Title page, followed by a second page listing the important individuals within each organisation, while a  third page of text provides a short company history and methods employed in the creation of the figures the organisation manufactures. Chapters IV (Guild Ball) and VII (Rumbleslam) do however carry additional pages of text, these being specifically-related to the creation and printing of 3-D models. With the credentials of the organisation thus-established, the pages of text are followed by the Chapter’s pictorial section. This is essentially a catalogue of the statuary and machinery that the individual organisation produces, with each group of models being sequentially numbered and  accompanied by a faux-parchment side-panel giving names to the numbers, and, if necessary, providing additional information about specific items or the series they are part of. Where appropriate to the narrative, concept drawings and art works of various sizes also appear. These are variously monochrome or coloured images and provide supporting and background visual effects to the models, while also placing them in context within the games for-which they were created. It must be noted however, that many of the images are of the ‘Blood and Guts and Gore’ genre which is seemingly de rigueur for the Fantasy Wargamer community, and as such may render the volume unsuitable for younger readers.  The volume’s final page (Acknowledgments and Additional Image Credits) is placed after Chapter XI (Kings of War (Mantic Games)). Its’ title is self-explanatory. Despite the numerous and varied miniatures with the volume, no Index is provided for either these, the games they represent or the organisations that manufacture them.

This reviewer found the volume’s lack of an Index frustrating and severely limiting, forcing him to search through its’ every page in pursuit of a figurine with a title possibly incorrectly recalled. In a work attempting to be a ‘Work of Reference’ it was a serious ommission and reduces its usefulness and ‘accessibility’.

This is a well-written, informative and visually-outstanding book which, despite its lack of an Index, may well find favour amongst the Fantasy-gaming community. Non-gamers may also find the art work and figurines etc. of interest, the previously-mentioned rider concerning image-suitability for younger readers notwithstanding.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent: I have given this volume an 8.

__________________________________

 

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Wreck Hunter: Battle of Britain & The Blitz’

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: The Wreck Hunter: Battle of Britain & The Blitz

Author: Melody Foreman

Total Number of Printed Pages: 217

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 7

______________________________

When writing in this volume’s Foreword, Edward McManus (Historian and Committee Member Battle of Britain Monument London) states that ‘Probably the first person known to have embarked on researching and executing ‘digs’ is Terry Parsons’ and that ‘This book documents a selection of his most interesting…excavations over the years and the personalities , living and dead, that were drawn in’. It is an excellent summary of what is to follow.

The afore-mentioned Foreword is placed immediately behind the volume’s Contents page, and is followed by the book’s Introduction. Within this, the author details the both historical background to the wrecks described within the narrative and the current Governmental policies of care and protection which apply to both these unique items and their contents, with particular reference (in the latter case), to the human remains which are frequently found within such sites. The fourteen Chapters which comprise the largest part of the volume now appear. Chapter 1’s title (The First Wreck Hunters), while largely self-explanatory, does introduce the reader to the history of the recovery of crashed military aircraft (An ‘occupation’ dating back to World War I). It also introduces the volume’s ‘Hero’; Terry Parsons, and records the formative World War II events of his childhood; events which subsequently significantly affected his later life.  In Chapter 2 (Boy of the Battle) Terry Parsons himself elaborates on these events, while simultaneously using actual Air Combat Reports and reminiscences to provide authority and background to the events that he was personally effected by. Chapters 3 (My First Dig) to 14 (Flying Heroes and the Giant Teapot), while following a similar format, are autobiographical in nature (although with added eye-witness accounts which led to that particular aircraft excavation), and were (according to the author’s note on page 208) taken directly from Mr Parson’s personal notes and diaries. This gives them an immediacy which takes the reader into the at-times complex world of aircraft wreck recovery. An Acknowledgements section follows Chapter 14.Within this, the author thanks those who contributed towards its creation. A small (thirteen-entry) Bibliography section follows, and this is in turn followed by the book’s final section; its’ Index. The volume contains numerous Quotes, Reminiscences and reproductions of newspaper clippings, letters and various official documents in supportive of the narrative. As these items do not however carry any supporting citations, their authenticity inevitably comes into question. Each Chapter is accompanied by supporting Photographs.  These are monochrome in format and informatively captioned, but again, with only five exceptions, do not carry source citations. Neither the Contents Page nor the Index mentions the photographs’ existence. The volume contains no Maps.

For this reviewer, this was a ‘Muddle’ of a book; a volume trying to be several things at once and succeeding at none of them. It is simultaneously a biography, an autobiography, a reference work and (as shown in the first four sentences of Paragraph Four of Page 7), a work of uncritical adoration.  The Index is problematical, and could most politely be described as being ‘Patchy’ in its content. Random searching produced many examples where terms used within the  text were not to be found in the Index, those of Operation Nightingale, Richard Osgood, Stephen Macaulay and West Blatchington (all on page xiv) being but four examples. Curiously, the names of Harold Penketh and Vince Holyoak on the same page were accorded Index entries. The reasons for this contradiction on a single page is unknown, and as numerous other such ommissions were also found, the authority and veracity of the Index inevitably came into question. The already-noted lack of Source Citations for the numerous Quotes, Reminiscences, Letters and Official Documents together-with the book’s lack of Maps, further served to undermine such authority as the volume may have had. Is what is presented ‘true’, or imagined? In the absence of documentation to the contrary, there is no way to know! The caption A scene from Biggin Hill airfield in 1940 attached to the aircraft-related photograph appearing on page 22 also did nothing for the volume’s cause, the aircraft concerned being later model Spitfires and, on the presumption that the image is actually a genuine World War II image (rather than from a movie set) is one that was taken sometime after June 1944 (rather than as per the caption) as evidenced by the D-Day recognition stripes carried by the central machine. While it is possible that the original photograph might have been incorrectly captioned (and that a mistake made as a result), this discovery reduced confidence in the narrative still further. The author’s very-evident hero-worship and lack of objectivity was also unhelpful.

Despite its lack of authenticating documentation (Which diminishes its historical value substantially), this volume may be of interest to Archaeologists of all persuasions and aviation and military Historians, Readers with an interest in the Royal Air Force, the Battle of Britain and general military history and aviation, may also find it worthy of their attention. Despite the photographs being monochrome in format, aircraft modellers may find some of these useful for reference purposes.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this volume a 7.

________________________________________

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Flight Through The Ages: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to the Guild of Aviation Artists’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: Flight Through The Ages: A 50^th Anniversary Tribute to the Guild of Aviation Artists

Author: Guild of Aviation Artists

Total Number of Printed Pages: 218

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): Photographs: 9, Text: 2

________________

A note appearing on this volume’s dustjacket states ‘This book celebrates 50 years of exhibitions [by the Guild of Aviation Artists] and includes paintings by…Guild artists, past and present, depicting aircraft from the earliest airborne activities through to the present day’. It is an accurate summary.

Within the volume itself, a section titled Introduction and Acknowledgements follows its’ Contents page. The title is self-explanatory. The section is in turn followed by a Foreword (by Michael Turner, President of the Guild of Aviation Artists), within-which a precis of the organisation’s history is presented. A five-page section titled The Guild of Aviation Artists follows. Within-this, sub-sections elaborate on the Guild’s aims its exhibitions, origins, history and current state. The Images section now follows. This comprises 195 pages and is divided into 13 Sections, these being analogous to Chapters. With the exception of Section 12 (Portraits) and 13 (Producing an Aviation Painting), each Section covers a specific era in aviation, from Early Aviation, Balloons, Airships (Section One) to Second World War (Section Four), Civil Aviation (Section Eight) and Museums (Section 11). With the exception of page 198 (Guild Sketching Days – Guild Artists at Work) which contains five small images), Sections 1-12 follow a similar format; namely a single (usually full-page) coloured image of a specific aircraft or aviation-themed event relating to the era being presented. Each image is accompanied by a caption which gives the work’s title, the aircraft or event which it depicts, the artist, and the medium used in its creation. Section 13 (Producing An Aviation Painting) does however follow a different format. It is the volume’s final section and as will ascertained from its title, takes the reader through the processes required to turn an original monochrome image into a full-coloured painting, taking eight pages to do so. The process is informative and uses both monochrome and coloured images to chart the development of a painting to meet a specific end result.

While this volume is full of beautiful and highly-coloured images, for this reviewer it was badly let down by the lack of an Index. According to its’ dustjacket, the book contains ‘…Some 200 illustrations…’ a fact which pre-supposes works by many different artists. In the absence of an Index, a reader seeking a specific artist has no choice but to laboriously peruse every page’s captions in the (perhaps forlorn) hope that they might somehow find the name of the individual they are seeking.

The same criticism can be levelled concerning the aircraft types and locations portrayed and for the same reasons; again, how can a specific aircraft type or location be found without having to view the whole volume. A significant failing! In addition, the paucity of caption information was such that this reviewer eventually started randomly counting the words of each caption to see how many words they contained; the shortest found was three, the longest, nine. Brevity has its place, but for this reviewer, this volume was not one of those places. It was also regrettable that an interpretive Glossary was not included within the wok; what (for example) do the letters GAvA, FGAvA, AGM or IWM mean? To a non-aviation, (possibly non-artistic) reader, they are meaningless. In addition, the absence of any biographical details about the contributing artists effectively dehumanises them, reducing them to mere names on a page, rather than providing possibly-inspirational details concerning their artistic-development and backgrounds.

Ultimately, this volume is a collection of pretty pictures of aeroplanes doing all sorts of interesting things. On that basis, buyers wanting beautiful pictures of all sorts of (mainly British) aeroplanes are likely to be well-pleased with this volume. However, readers seeking ‘technical’ details about said machines, or even how the individual images were created (Section 13 notwithstanding), will be disappointed by their lack, the book’s emphasis / focus being on the completed image rather than the ‘things technical / mechanical’ that got it to that stage.

That this volume contains spectacular artworks of beautiful aeroplanes and lighter than air machines is undeniable, but for this reviewer it lacks what he considers to be the most basic of items, the Index being but one of these. It is on this basis that he has given it the rating appearing below:

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given the Photographs: 9, the Text: 2.

It should have been higher.

__________________________________

 

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Grimy 1800s: Waste, Sewage & Sanitation In The Nineteenth Century’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: The Grimy 1800s: Waste, Sewage & Sanitation In The Nineteenth Century

Author: Andre’ Gren

Number of Pages: 117

Rating Scale (1: Very poor, 10 Excellent): 4

_____________________

When writing in this volume’s Introduction, the author notes that ‘Thus book does not attempt to offer an authoritative account of the reasons for the growth in  Britain’s population in the nineteenth century [sic] but concentrates instead on the consequences of that growth and the increasing need for what was called ‘nuisance control’. The result is a ‘…Series of snapshots from Britain, which was struggling to cope with rampant population growth and urbanization…’ It is a fair summary of what is to follow.

Within the volume, an Acknowledgements section placed immediately behind the Contents pages thanks those individuals and organisations who assisted in this book’s creation. The volume’s Introduction follows and précis the 14 Chapters which form its largest section. These now appear. With the exception of Chapter 1 (Nuisance Control and Removal in Nineteenth–Century Britain), which provides a general background concerning the legislation which is about to be discussed, each of these is devoted to a specific subject. The subjects are diverse and range from Grime: Wells, Drains and Discharges (Chapter 3), to Human Waste: Water Closets and Shrimps (Chapter 8) to Burial Grounds (Chapter 14). Essentially, if it involved ‘Dirt’ in any form it will be discussed. The Chapters themselves follow an interesting format, and, for this reviewer, reveal a major flaw.  In respect of the format, within each Chapter, several specific Bills relevant to the subject under discussion are presented. These relate to specific locations. As part of the legislative process, the sites to which specific Bill related were visited by a Committee of Review; the intention being to obtain local feedback to what was proposed by the legislation. The volume is essentially a collection of the responses by local officials to that process. A small Table placed below each Bill subheading, shows the population growth of the area concerned. A section titled Conclusion follows Chapter 14 (Burial Grounds), and as the title suggests, acts as a summary of what has gone before. This is followed by three Appendices. These are variously of Table and Column format and cover Population Growth (Appendix 1), Occupations of  the Witnesses (Appendix 2) and Locations to Which the Evidence Secessions Relate (Appendix 3). Appendix 3 is followed by the Index; the volume’s last section. Eight pages of images appear in a dedicated section in the centre of the volume. These are monochrome in format and accompanied by informative captions. None carry Source Citations, although the author does note (On the Acknowledgements page) that ‘The selection of illustrations was eased by assistance from Rav Gopal at Newbury Library’.  neither the Contents nor Index sections carry reference to the existence of these images. The volume contains neither Maps or Bibliography, and where Quotes appear within the work, they are not supported by authenticating citations. They might just as well be imagined.

Although this volume is well-written and easy to read, for this reviewer the complete lack of authenticating and supporting documentation in the form of Citations and reference material raises severe concerns about its authority. Put simply, there is no way of knowing if what is presented as ‘fact’ is actually ‘true’ and an authentic record, or just a convenient ‘imagining’ to fit a predetermined narrative. For a volume purporting to be a ‘Work of historical significance’ this is a major failing, and on that basis (the complete lack of any authenticating documentation), this reviewer found it difficult to not conclude that the result is, at best, a highly-imaginative work of fiction. Failings in the volume’s Index only serve to compound the problem, with random checking finding numerous situations where items appearing within the narrative were not accorded the courtesy of an Index entry. The discovery that (for example) there were no  Index entries for Playfair, Museum of Geology, Liverpool Corporation Waterworks Bill, House of Commons and Department of Woods and Forests (all on page 37) raised additional questions about what else may have been omitted from the Index, and, inter alia, about its authority and veracity. There is no way to know, but as subsequent random checking for other entries produced a similar result, the problem would seem to be widespread.  The above, when combined with the previously-noted lack of verification for the Quotes appearing within the work, has resulted in what could at best be described as ‘A collection of interesting stories.’

As previously-noted, this volume is well-written and easy to read. As a result, it may well appeal to readers who are seeking a ‘once over lightly’ view of life in Nineteenth-Century Britain\, with the qualification that there  is no way of knowing if any of what is written is actually true or accurate. This complete lack of supporting, authenticating, citations also means that, for Historians, the work has little value and is very definitely not to be considered ‘Authoritative’ in any way.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very poor, 10 Excellent, I have given this volume a 4.

Were that that was not the case.

_________________________________

 

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Spanish Flu Epidemic And Its Influence on History: Stories from the 1918-1920 global flu pandemic’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: The Spanish Flu Epidemic And Its Influence on History: Stories from the 1918-1920 global flu pandemic

Author: Jaime Breitnauer

Total Number of Printed Pages: 136

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 6

____________________________

When writing in the volume’s Author’s preface, the author states that what follows is ‘A creative re-telling of the experiences of real people, giving an authentic face to the many tragedies that unfolded’. While an admirable concept, the end result may not be as the author intended.

Within the book itself, the previously mentioned Authors Preface, follows the Contents page and is in turn followed by a section titled Prologue: the month before war. Within this the author attempts to detail the political situation which led to the advent of World War 1, and the appearance of what subsequently became known as The Spanish Flu’. She does largely through the use of the Stream of Consciousness narrative technique (a method used more commonly used in works of fiction). This technique takes the reader into the mind of a specific individual and attempts to explain their actions by means of an imagined narrative of their thoughts. The individual chosen in this instance is Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian anarcho-nationalist who’s assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (of which Serbia was then a region) ultimately started World War I, the reader being privy to that individual’s thoughts immediately prior to the assassination. That what is related is fictional is not mentioned.   The 11 Chapters and Epilogue which form the bulk of the volume now follow. These are divided into four sections (termed Parts) and cover the origins, effects and decline of the Spanish Influenza pandemic from 1914 to 1920. Within each Part, individual Chapters cover specific aspects of the disease and its effects on local populations, regions and economies. Each Chapter follows a similar format and starts with a ‘Retelling of the experiences of real people’ (as indicated by the author in her Author’s preface). Again the Stream of Consciousness technique is used for the purpose. Where necessary,(and to fit the prevailing narrative), additional and similar Stream of Consciousness-embroidered ‘Tales’ may also appear within the individual Chapter. These ‘Retellings’ are intertwined with detailed  (and presumably ‘true’ and ‘accurate’; in many instances there is no way to know) accounts of what is known about the origins of the disease within the specific geographical specific area, the medical and political individuals involved and the preventative measures (or the lack of) taken in response to its onset. Where additional information is required, End-note–type citations are used. These are Chapter-specific and numeric in sequence, with the relevant citations appearing in a dedicated Notes section placed towards the back of the book. Unlike its companions, Part 4 (Secrets in the Snow: What Have we Learned in 100 years) and its subsections (Chapter 11 Peace In the Time of Influenza…) and the volume’s Epilogue (Northern Exposure…) deal with the post-pandemic world and subsequent scientific research into the causes of the original outbreak, the chances of a recurrence, and the medical and social options available should the disease reappear. A section titled About the Author follows the Epilogue. Its’ title is self-explanatory, and is in turn followed by the books’ Notes section, this being the repository for the previously-mentioned End-note-type Citations which appear throughout the volume.  A seven-page-long Bibliography follows.  This section lists the Books, Periodicals/ Articles and Websites used in the volume’s preparation. The Volume’s Index now appears. It is its final section. The book contains 16 pages of Images. These are monochrome in format, and cover a variety of subjects from viruses to advertisements. While they are informatively captioned, it was noted that several carried no supporting citations. The existence of the images is not mentioned in either Index or on the Contents page. The volume contains no Maps.

As previously-noted, the author states that what she has written is ‘A creative re-telling of the experiences of real people, giving an authentic face to the many tragedies that unfolded’. In support of that statement this reviewer expected to find such tales accompanied by authenticating citations and that the volume itself would be awash with the associated End-note type numbers. Such was not the case. Who (for example) were Messers. Clark, Da Cunha, or Lewis (page 19)? Did they actually even exist? Certainly reference is made to the ‘…Diaries of military chaplain Ed Clark’ but without any authenticating citations, how can a reader know if these documents, or even the individuals so-named are anything but mythical? The author’s use of the term ‘creative’ in her statement only serves to add to the possibility, such a term traditionally implying an ‘active’ imagination and ‘inventiveness’ on the part of whichever author uses it. The combination of ‘creative’ and lack of citations gave this reviewer no confidence in the authenticity of the narrative. The use of the Stream of Consciousness ‘imagined dialogue’ writing form further compounds the problem, as that writing-style has no verifiable basis of fact. Its use in a volume purporting to be a Serious Historical Record is immediately suspect, diluting and cheapening the narrative and its possible historical value. Statistics, where given, are equally unsupported. The statement (for example, and on page 44) that ‘In Uppsala…a record 5,000 cases were recorded in just one month…’ is meaningless in the absence of supporting, verifying and (most importantly) AUTHENTICATING documentation. In addition, the Index is best described as being ‘Patchy’; with random checking finding numerous ommissions; those of NHS (p.viii) and Pioneer Health Services (page 36) being but two of many. This reviewer was also surprised to find that countries such as New Zealand, Japan and Australia were missing from the Index; this despite having entire sections written about them. The reasons for such significant omissions are unknown.

Although this volume is well-written and intentioned, the lack of supporting citations, use of the Stream of Consciousness writing style, and poor indexing has resulted in a book best–described as ‘imagined’ history. It does not conform to historical-writing ‘best practice’ and as a result cannot and should not, be considered to be a true and accurate record. It might just as well be a novel.

Although, due to the previously-noted ‘failings’ it cannot be considered to be an ‘Authoritative Source’ this volume may be of interest to Sociologists and Historians of various persuasions. Readers with an interest in unusual ‘Medical’ events might also find it of interest, as might those with an interest in their national histories and the impact that the ‘Flu had on their countries. The information it contains however, should be taken with considerable caution.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this book a 6.

It could have been so much better.

_________________________________