Tea at Trianon: Can't Wait to Read It.....

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, July 23, 2007

Can't Wait to Read It.....

Thomas Woods' latest book, reviewed here. To quote:

Tom Woods’ new best-seller, 33 Questions About American History You’re Not Supposed to Ask, is a blockbuster. Here, the author of such works as The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History underscores his burgeoning status as the cleanup hitter of popular libertarian writing.

For those familiar with Woods’ work, the encyclopedic knowledge and rapier wit on display here will come as no surprise. How fresh, invigorating, and just plain fun it is, however, to see him turn his gifts to some of the reigning misconceptions, distortions, and just plain idiocies pock-marking popular (and, in many cases, scholarly) understanding of the past.

Kimberly said...: Same here! I'm using Mr. Woods to enhance our coverage of American History, this year. He is quite the "wit"...; July 24, 2007 at 8:25:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I so enjoy his articles; I think that there are few people writing today that have his grasp of history.; July 24, 2007 at 8:58:00 AM EDT