After Queen Victoria's death, her youngest daughter Beatrice (at Victoria's own request) edited all her journals and destroyed the originals. However, the letters between Victoria and her eldest daughter, Empress Frederick of Germany, were kept elsewhere and remained intact.

This series provides an invaluable, candid look at Victoria's intimate feelings and private opinions. Forget the dour old monarch intoning "We are not amused"; here you encounter a mother sharing her thoughts, hopes, fears and opinions with her daughter.

This book is a follow-up to the multi-volume series by Roger Fulford (Your Dear Letter, Dearest Mama, Dearest Child, etc). Fulford's work as an editor was superior in my opinion. If you are seriously interested in finding out what Queen Victoria and Vicky (Empress Frederick) were like as people, I'd recommend looking for the Roger Fulford series in a good library or through used booksellers.

This book is still very enjoyable, and definitely worth reading for Victoriana buffs. But some may have difficulty keeping track of historical events and figures.

This is an excellent book, but not for the beginner. If you know very little about German or English history, this book might be confusing at times. For those with some background it is an absolutely delightful glimpse into the lives of two outstanding characters. A "must have" for fans of Queen Victoria or the Kaiserin Friedrich!

I loved reading these letters! Behind the cold royal facade are two very likeable women who truly understand each other. It is fun to see these two (a Queen and Crown Princess) relate to each other in the same way most mothers and daughters do. "Keep your back straight, brush your teeth, don't eat too much or laugh too loud"

their desolation over the deaths of Albert, Victoria's beloved husband and Vicky's dad and of Alice, Vicky's sister, is so real and palpable.

there are other books in this series, I've read them as well and they're delightful.

For the most part, this book could have been written a hundred years ago.

To give it its due, it is quite readable and provides a clear, lengthy, detailed narrative of Frederick's diplomatic activities and military campaigns. (There is some virtue to making the reader spend a few hours on the Seven Years War, rather than whipping through it in a few pages. Part of its dynamic and importance is that it was a very long war.)

I'm not sure who will really enjoy this book, though. Casual readers will find it way too long. Serious historians will be very disappointed by its narrow focus and its inattention to the massive body of scholarship on Frederick and Prussia during his reign. (The bibilography is grossly inadequate.) Even military buffs will want to know more about the organization of the various combatants and the important battles fought by Frederick's armies (including those of his allies and those he did not personally participate in).

The treatment of military and diplomatic matters lacks meaningful context. The military history is battles and campaigns; diplomatic history is Frederick's letters to his ambassadors and his fellow rulers and relatives. There really is no broader understanding of the larger context of how diplomacy and warfare related to the society within which it was located, how they affected the relationship between that society and the state that governed it. This is creaky old diplomatic history as a chess game played by monarchs.

I did a lot of 18th-century European history in college, so much
of this was a story I've heard before, and one that I like. For some newcomers, it might be overwhelming; for others it will seem relatively pointless.

"It wasn't the army that protected Prussia for seven years: It was Frederick the Great." - Napoleon.

Frederick the Great is undoubtedly one of the most elusive characters of the 18th century: like Napoleon, historians and biographers will have to duke it out for a few more centuries before we can accurately assess who he was and what kind of ruler, and man, he was. Unlike Napoleon, he doesn't get a whole lot of attention (oddly enough, because hes been overshadowed by Napoleon). Who was Frederick? A philospher-prince, a diplomatic genius of the Enlightenment -- or a monster, an aggressor who tore apart continental Europe for his own ambitions on no legality other than "... he could" ? Obviously, the answer is likely neither. Since German unification under the Great Elector, Frederick has been seen, most unfairly, as the root of militarist Germany that dominated Europe in the period of 1870-1945. Most modern biographies focus heavily on rehabilitating his reputation, as this one does.

This isn't a very good biography in most regards: it is highly readable and written well, but it lacks in greater research and insight. Sir David Fraser, himself a military man, writes most uncritically about a man he clearly regards very highly. The account is bordering on obsequious. Nevertheless, we can be blessed that, because the biography is so old-fashioned, it spairs us the sensationalism of "psychological speculation," limiting the discussion of Frederick's sexuality and the other rumors of the period to a few pages.

I give this biography four stars for its outstanding military edge. With helpful maps of key battles, Fraser explains the events with the clarity that only an old military man could write with. Military administration is also handled extremely well. No small thing, the biography is well worth the read for this alone.

Not a great biography, but it has its strengths.

Frederick, King of Prussia, indisputably the greatest general/statesman of the eighteenth century, is also in many ways a more attractive warlord than some of his peers. Unlike Napoleon, he actually left his country in much better shape when he departed office than when he assumed it. Unlike Alexander - and numerous others of that ilk - he didn't murder folks he didn't like. Unlike Gustavus, he isn't associated with Protestant militarism. He was artistic, well-read and reasonably tolerant, by the standards of the day, and a sometime friend of Voltaire. In many ways his military and diplomatic expertise was self-taught - he could be said to be the last of the great "amateurs." Such is the portrait painted by Lord Fraser, who sidesteps discussion of the more intriguing questions about Frederick's private life, and struggles gallantly to excuse the great crime of Alter Fritz's career, the Partitions of Poland. And for all the German-language dropouts among us, a final consolation: Frederick's first tongue was French, and he hardly ever spoke German, a language he greatly disdained.

This book is one of those I refer to as a bathroom book. It is 175 pages of short stories, quotes, quips and speeches of and by the Great Communicator, which makes for perfect reading when you are ,' well, you get the idea.


A beautiful and loving introduction by one of America's finest First Ladies, Nancy Reagan, sets the tone for this insight to the former first family, whose love for country was only eclipsed for their love for one another. The book concludes with a devoted after word by Peggy Noonan. Everything in between is pure Ronnie.
If you admire Ronald Reagan, and since you are visiting the Junto, chances are, you do, you'll want to add this book to your collection. Get to know the personal side of this great man.

Okay- This is what is aptly dubbed a coffee table book... It isn't a thorough biography, but rather a concise biographical pictorial of the Reagan Presidency. As a fan of Reagan, I've already got quite a few books on the Gipper from an American Life to Dutch. It is a nice addition to my library, and recaptures the nostaligia of the 1980's with its vivid pictures. However, if you're looking for substance and informational content than I'd recommend Ronald Reagan by Dinesh D'Souza or Ronald Reagan's autobiography, An American Life.

This 160-page book provides coverage of the history and uniforms of each of Frederick's 13 Cuirassier, 12 Dragoon, and 10 Hussar regiments. Though the title states "1756-1763", this book, like its companion (The Infantry Regiments of Frederick the Great), covers the entire history of the units - in this case c. 1656-1807. Each regiment has two pages of history and organizational details, along with two color plates of its uniform and standard, makings it useful for all wargamers and armchair historians.

I was thrilled to read the title of this anthology as it related to my research. However, it did not include the American focus that I was looking for. While it did offer essential information, its American focus concentrates mainly on the collector Samuel Bancroft. However, it is still a solid resource for Pre-Raphaelite studies. It also offers good information about the movement's patrons. On plus note, it includes some of the foremost scholars on the area of Pre-Raphaelitism. While the title did not fully indicate its contents, I found it a worthwhile book. It makes a great compliment to Susan Casteras' book about Pre-Raphaelitism in 19th-century America.

This is a great book, I saw it in a law office and wanted it for myself. It gives you a smal history on some of the most famous trials throughout history. A must have.

Frederick P. Wensley's account of a lifetime in law enforcement spans the age from Jack the Ripper to pre-World War II England. The book was written in 1931. It is a superb, laconic record of famous cases and vivid memories, a true memoir, written without resort to intricate detail or self-imposed research.
Wensley entered police service as a "rookie cop", getting beat up by London toughs and gaining his experience through time, trial and error. He became a master of his territory, knowing his jurisdiction by wrote and memory and relying on the same life-long experience of his colleagues.
Inspirational pages include the loss of Wensley's two sons in World War I, the youngest contracting influenze from which he died, on the day the Armistice was signed.
This is wonderful history, written without exaggeration or spleen against the criminals Wensley apprehended. Case in point, this good-will note from a felon, "Dear Mr. W., I feel I must join with all other criminals and old lags in sincerely wishing you years of happiness and a complete rest."
Those were the days.

Three warnings about this book: 1.) It is an abbreviated translation of the 1983 work in German and leaves out key Chapters, for example on Frederick's place in history, and Frederick and his contemporaries. 2.) Worse, it leaves out the Critical Apparatus, both Footnotes and Bibliography, of the German Edition completely, substituting this with a "Further Reading" List. 3.) It does not concentrate enoughm in my opinion, on the Military side of Frederick the Great. If you are expecting, or interested in this, seek out Christopher Duffy's work instead. These reservations aside, the book provides an ample introduction to the remarkable life of Frederick the Great and Prussia. Not much new on Frederick's youth, but the discussion of his Court is of interest, particularly the presumed reason why he produced no heir. Discussion of the Army, the Officer Corps and the Middle Classes are also good. Not much is mentioned about the lot of the Prussian Peasantry, which was of course dismal. Prussia's relations with its neighbors, Austria and Russia are also covered amply. A final Chapter on Frederick as "Philosopher king" will surely be of interest. As a whole, this book is well researched and written, and is a good introduction, though it would have been much more useful in its unabridged form. What is really needed is a new thorough scholarly Biography.

This book is not overly analytic, but I thought it was good reading. His account of Frederick the Great's 14 great battles (Mollutz, Chotusity, Hohenfriedberg, Soor, Lobositz, Prague, Kolin, Rossbach, Leuthen, Zorndorf, hochkirch, Kunersdorf, Liegnitz, and Torgau)are very well done. This is a fun book to read.

An excellent source of reference material, either for general knowledge or foruse in the world of military modelling. I will try the other titles in the range when money allows