Catherine The Great by Robert Massie

Over the Christmas holidays I read Robert Massie's Catherine the Great using my Kindle app. That was a smart choice, since the book is a tome, weighing in at 574 pages!

I first read a biography of Catherine the Great as a young girl from a series called Landmark that offered biographies and histories for young readers.  Needless to say, it offered a sanitized version Catherine's private life and her 12 lovers.  Years later I read another full biography of her life, but can't remember the name or author. But it wasn't aimed at young readers, and neither is Massie's book.

This biography is well-researched and well-written. I think it could have used a more discerning editor because occasionally the narrative became lost in the weeds of the author's intensive research and I found myself skimming the text hoping to get to the point more quickly. Sometimes the point was so minor that it added little to the reader's (or maybe I should say "this reader's" understanding of the subject.

That said, Catherine the Great should appeal to both academic and interested lay readers. Catherine began life as a minor German princess who moved to Russia after her betrothal and marriage to Peter, the heir to the throne of Russia who was the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Because Peter refused his marital duty to her, probably because of impotence,  she suffered for many years as the childless wife until the Empress insisted she choose a lover from two options presented to her and get about the business of producing an heir. Once the heir is produced, the Empress takes him away from her and raises him herself, setting the stage for another generation of dysfunctional relationships.

Massie documents 12 lovers of Catherine over her long life, and produces some evidence that she did marry one of them,  Gregory Potemkin, who remained the most influential man in her life until his death. The lovers were sequential and it seems that Catherine used most of them to provide some semblance of family that she never was able to achieve in the conventional fashion. Although she had a second child, Anna, who died very young, it's interesting to speculate on how she avoided more pregnancies during her child-bearing years, something Massie does not address.

The story of how Catherine managed to wrest the throne from her feckless and emotionally disturbed husband and then go on to institute many progressive and wise reforms for the Russian people and nation is even more fascinating and important. Massie does an excellent job of describing how the neglected and oppressed young wife sought refuge in books, educated herself, ultimately took her place among the leading intellectuals of the day, and became regarded in western Europe as the model of enlightened despotism.

In summary, Catherine the Great is not light reading but worth the effort. Several of my Facebook friends are reading it now, so I hope they will add their own comments to this review when they are finished.

Rome and Jerusalem by Martin Goodman

Our recent trip to Israel piqued my interest in reading more about the country. One of the books recommended to us by our guide was Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations by Martin Goodman.

When you read the New Testament you are aware that the power and influence of Rome surrounded Jesus, the disciples, Paul and the early church. But a trip around Israel, with numerous Roman ruins and relics, makes the Roman presence very real.

At 624 pages, Rome and Jerusalem is not light reading--in both senses of that adjective! So I am glad that I read it on my IPad instead of in hardcover.

Goodman covers the period between the  first and fourth centuries A.D. The destruction of the temple and the expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem in 70 AD is, of course, the focus of the book. For most of the period prior to the destruction of the temple Rome allowed the Jews much religious freedom because they respected the antiquity of their religion. Why this relatively benevolent attitude changed is attributed by Goodman to the foundational differences between Roman and Jewish culture, religion and practices.

Comparing and contrasting Roman and Jewish lifestyles, politics, identities, communities and perspectives, Goodman reveals the distinct and unreconcilable differences between these two civilizations that ultimately led to the destruction of the ancient Jewish state. The author makes a persuasive case for his theory that the origins of anti-semitism can be found in the Roman response to this clash and the attempt to wipe out the Jewish nation.

I found the book fascinating and informative and recommend it to anyone with an interest in the world where Jesus lived and in which His church formed and grew. It certainly has enriched my understanding of the New Testament.

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

It's taken me a month to finish reading Ron Chernow's highly acclaimed (and rightfully so) new biography of George Washington.

The hard copy of the book is over 900 pages long, but I read it via IBooks on my IPad, which made it much easier to handle a work of this size and scope. In the process I learned how to highlight, bookmark and make footnotes digitally, and became quite comfortable with those techniques. Hooray for IBooks!

Chernow set out to explore every facet of Washington's complex character and brilliantly succeeds in bringing the reader to appreciate both the greatness and the shortcomings of the man recognized as the "Father of our country". I did not realize the vast collection of documents, letters and other papers that were available to historians because Washington was acutely aware of his future place in history and carefully saved virtually every scrap of paper that documented his life and career. His influence on the creation of our country, government, the capital and even our way of life is so pervasive that only a monumental biography like this one can begin to uncover it.

This biography is so extensive and well-documented that it is hard to know how to write a review in the relatively short format of a blog. There are so many things I learned in the course of reading it that I would love to share, but in the interest of keeping my readers with me, I am going to focus in this review on Washington the slaveholder and Washington the man of faith.

It seems fitting to reflect on the slavery issue as I am writing this review on January 16, now a national holiday celebrating the birth of a descendant of slaves, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Washington held two types of "slave property"--those he owned outright and those that were "dower slaves". Although Washington owned outright about 100 slaves at his death, most of the slaves he held were dower slaves. These Dower slaves were given to Martha as gifts when she married her first husband. Under the law of the day, dower slaves would pass to Martha's children by her first marriage and therefore George had no legal authority to free them.

Over the course of his life Washington became more and more convinced that slavery must end or else ultimately would be the destruction of the republic. He decided he would not purchase slaves nor would he sell them away from their families. The resulting growth in the slave population on his Mount Vernon plantation and other properties came to be one of the causes of economic strain in the latter part of his life. 

Chernow recounts that 47 slaves were documented as runaways from the Washingtons. George Washington did attempt to reclaim them, despite his stated aversion to slavery. 

A memorable incident recounted by Chernow involves the case of the slave Oney  "Ona" Judge. Ona, Martha's personal maid, was the mulatto daughter of a slave and an indentured servant at Mount Vernon. She fled from the President's residence in Philadelphia to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after learning that Martha Washington had promised her as a wedding gift to her  temperamental granddaughter, Eliza Custis, upon their return to Virginia.

President Washington advertised a reward for her capture and return and furtively attempted to arrange her kidnap from the free state of New Hampshire. Ona later wrote that the Washingtons never taught her to read or write or gave her any "moral education." When Washington's stated ideals about slavery conflicted with his financial interest his ideals were ignored and his actions hypocritical.

In the last year of his life Washington secretly wrote a new will giving the slaves he owned outright to his wife Martha, but providing that upon her death, they would have their freedom.   An unforseen consequence was that his widow became fearful for her safety because the other slaves knew that they would be free upon her death, so she freed the remainder of these slaves the following year.

Chernow points out that Washington was the only one of the Founding Fathers who actually freed his slaves, albeit posthumously.

There has been a lot of sentimentalization about Washington's faith by later generations. Washington was a regular in his attendance of an Anglican church in Virginia, but his statements about faith seem formal and stilted to the modern reader. This does not mean he did not have it, but rather that his ways of expressing it are very different from what is viewed as "authentic" today. 

Washington did believe in religious toleration and carefully attended worship at churches in other denominations to set an example for others.

I highly recommend Washington: A Life. It is well worth the effort I put into reading it. I'm buying a hard copy for El Jefe, who still isn't onboard with digital books.

Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman

Sitting in the waiting room of the hospital ICU and at home by the phone waiting for news of my nephew (who ultimately died of injuries suffered in an auto accident) , I did a lot of reading in October and November. However, I didn't have the concentration necessary to post any reviews during that time. 

Much of the reading was pure escapist stuff: re-reading of some old favorites and reading of medieval mystery stories. 

However one of the books I read was Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman. I have always had a keen interest in British history of the Tudor period and particularly the great Gloriana--Queen Elizabeth I. 

Elizabeth's Women is a well-researched history of the women who influenced and surrounded the queen. This is an unusual approach to writing about Elizabeth I because most historians and authors emphasize her relationships with the men around her whether they were her advisors, relatives, friends or "favorites" (presumed lovers).

The author writes about these women in chronological order, beginning with Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, executed by order of her father King Henry VIII, and ending with her life-long friend the Countess of Warwick who was with her on her deathbed.

Elizabeth lived her personal life surrounded by female attendants who literally were with her every waking and sleeping hour, as was the custom of the time. The most influential woman in her life was her governess, Katherine ("Kat") Champernowne Astley, who was her surrogate mother.

Borman covers Elizabeth's complicated relationships with her older sister Mary and her cousin (whom she never met!) Mary Stuart of Scotland. The experiences of  her stepmothers Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard reinforced Elizabeth's fear of loosing power and control through marriage while her close relationship with her father's last wife and widow, Katherine Parr, was fractured by the inappropriate attentions of Parr's husband the roue' Thomas Seymour.

One of the many interesting themes of the book is the evolution of Elizabeth's attitude toward the marriages of her ladies-in-waiting which became quite hostile by the end of her life. Another major theme is the conflict with her female relatives, the surviving Gray sisters and later, Arabella Stuart, who had competing claims to her throne which sometimes threatened her.

Tracy Borman's book is a great addition to any Tudorphile's library. Highly recommended!

America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler

I'm a fan of Bruce Feiler, the prolific journalist and author whose recent books Walking The Bible, Abraham, and Where God Was Born reveal his increasing knowledge and commitment to writing about the roots of his Jewish faith and culture. So I happily accepted the invitation to read and review his newest book for the TLC virtual book tour.

His latest work, America's Prophet is a meticulously researched and well written survey of the adoption by America of the story of Moses from the early days of the first Pilgrim settlers to the Revolution, to the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, the eastern European migrations of the end of the nineteenth century, and on to the civil rights movement of the mid to late twentieth century. America's Prophet is written in a more academic style than Feiler's other popular books.

Feiler reveals how this Moses metaphor was invoked by the early Pilgrims and explicitly used to describe the most revered figures of American history such as Washington, Harriet Tubman, Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Feiler reminds me of Lee Strobel (author of The Case For Christ among other books). Both writers use the journalistic tool of interviewing experts on the subjects they are writing about as well as engaging in personal explorations of their own. For example, Feiler records his observations and emotions while re-enacting the escape of slaves across the Ohio river along the Underground Railroad to safety in Ridley. Then he interviews the curator of the home of an abolitionist who was a conductor of the Underground Railroad and assisted many slaves to freedom.

Feiler covers not only history, but also cultural icons that were influenced by the story of Moses. These include the inscription on the Liberty Bell, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Superman, and the 10 commandment monuments in statehouses across the country (which have become the subject of lawsuits) were placed as a marketing tool by the producer of the movie The Ten Commandments.

 One of the sub-texts of the book is Feiler's attempt to  compare the influence of Jesus and the influence of Moses on this country's development. He takes this issue to Professor Allen Guelzo, who teaches Civil War history at Gettysburg College: " I would have thought Jesus was a much more influential figure in America. But I'm starting to believe the themes of Moses may echo more."

Guelzo's response is that the question is not why Christ is so attractive, but "how did Moses get on the stage and why is he still here?" His conclusion is that it is because Moses represents deliverance and Jesus represents redemption. In other words, Moses is a political figure while Jesus is a spiritual one.

As Feiler concludes his book, he says that although he expected to find the themes of Moses' life in America's history, he did not expect to find the extent to which the Exodus story permeates the American experience as Moses has been invoked from the earliest days of the colonies to the present by American political leaders.

Who will be our next Moses? Feiler asks towards the end of the book. I don't know the answer to that, but the next Moses can expect to lead his people into something new and better, to persevere despite complaining from them, and to pave the way forward into the Promised Land but not entering it himself or herself.

America's Prophet is a challenging but worthwhile and thought-provoking. It gave me a whole new perspective on American history and the development of American culture.  I could see it becoming required reading in college courses on American civilization. The book would also make be a good choice for a book club or church adult study group that is interested in tracing the influence of Biblical themes on American history and modern culture.