On March 31, 1621, Philip III, third Habsburg ruler of Spain, met a premature death, reportedly clutching in panic at the same crucifix his father and grandfather had held on their deathbeds generations before. His son and heir, the sixteen-year-old Philip IV, succeeded to what is now known collectively as the Spanish Empire - a vast conglomeration of lands and people whose progressive decline as a political entity has long remained a basic assumption amongst twentieth century historians and yet whose cultural vitality has given its period the title of "The Golden Age of Spanish Art." The accession of Philip IV seemed to inaugurate a new era of reform after the previous regime's mindless inactivity and self-interested grandee domination. As the contemporary playwright Tirso de Molina remarked, "New architects acceded with the new king."

This premise serves as the central metaphor in A Palace for a King. Elliott, a historian, and Brown, an art historian, examine both the literal and political architecture of the reign, charting the complicated, often surprising interrelation between art and politics. The palace of the title is the Buen Retiro - an intended recreational center built for Philip IV with astonishing speed during the years 1630-33, left largely in neglect after the 1640's, and finally decimated by French and English troops during the Napoleonic wars. In reconstructing the circumstances surrounding its construction and initial occupation, Brown and Elliott attempt to furnish the reader with a "total" history of the Spanish Habsburg court during its penultimate representative's first twenty years of rule.

The scope of the book is immense. In a prose that is precise and elegant, if at times monotonous, it describes the political and economic issues of the day as well as the relationship between the continuously vacillating king and his powerful minister, the Count-Duke of Olivares, who until 1643 held the true control over Spanish government. It then goes on to analyze the palace of the Buen Retiro itself, exploring the process of palace-building and the symbolism of the palace as a repository of the values of the ruling class. Simultaneously, it looks at Spanish baroque painting, theater, and architecture and their inextricable connection to the court at Madrid, which, itself, was in so many ways like a giant theater. Elliott's inquiry and interpretation of the troubles besetting the institution that was then called the monarquía española and of the role played by Olivares makes for particularly rewarding reading.

The book appears to be extremely well-researched and provides an abundance of evidence from primary sources as varied as confidential memoranda, secret expense accounts and drawings of architectural plans; the endnotes alone constitute twenty of its almost three hundred pages. However, it is its very wealth of references and information that also lies at the core of its greatest weakness. Too often, the text becomes bogged down in statistics, where apparently meaningless figures about who paid whom and whose plot of land was where replace any real insights. The authors seem to become trapped in unneeded details, losing track of the larger picture that they originally intended to convey. As a result, in certain chapters, more attention than necessary is devoted to the actual logistics of building the palace and, consequently, not enough to the palace's political, social, and economic implications.

Still, aside from these slightly irritating flaws, Brown and Elliott's work remains a highly absorptive and very informative look at subject that has thus far remained sadly underrepresented amongst the scientific community. The sheer extent of the information to be found makes this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the period, while the distressing lack of similar studies makes it absolutely essential for those at all curious about Spain's architectural history. It is, in my mind, a fascinating complement and worthy companion to R.A. Stradling's landmark Philip IV and the Government of Spain.

This book is one of those rarities that can delight passionate history buffs, professional historians, serious field explorers, and armchair travelelers alike. The authors have skillfully drawn on nearly every worthwhile source on King Philip's War to create a fascinating and readable text. What's really great, though, is the photos, maps, and place descriptions. You might live over 350 years later and most of a continent away but they still give you a strong sense of "being there" during one of the greatest white-Indian showdowns of American history.

I read the book. Then I read Mr. O'Keefe from Denver's review. The only thing I can think is that Mr. O'Keefe's edition was missing the first 80 pages. Those pages contain the best, most concise and "logical" history of the war available. After that the book becomes a travelogue (Mr. O'Keefe: a "collage") structured geographically that the Boston Globe raved about. All of the "detail" Mr. O'Keefe complained about allowed me to visit a half dozen of the sites that I would never have been able to find otherwise. If you want an unstructured collage beyond most amateur historians, read Lepore's book. If you want to understand King Philip's War, I would recommend this book (Schultz/Tougias) highly.

In living King Philip's war through the words of the author, this book put articulate reality into an historical time while capturing my interest from page 1. This book was well researched and written with a vision that portrayed places and events of no other book I have read. I highly recommend this book - FIVE STARS

This is a well written historical novel and the facts are woven into the story along with actual characters of the Massachusetts Bay Colony era.

Great book for female or male readers who like history.

The novel shows the feelings of the settlers as well as the Indians of King Phillip's War 1675-1676.......both sides loved and lost family members and friends.

The tension is constant and the book is "too soon finished".

A Historical novel with the emphasis on history. Mike Tougias brings to life our first great Indian war by following the actions of two protagonists: One is "King Philip's" most trusted warrior and friend, the other a colonist from outlying Medfield, Mass. The scene is 50 years after Massasoit welcomed the Pilgrims to Plymouth, when his son Metacom (known to the colonists as Philip) instigates a last ditch war to oust the English colonists. The novel is adept at illuminating the way of life of the Wompanoags and other Algonquin tribes of Southern New England, and illustrates the difficulty of the task they felt compelled to undertake. Historical accuracy is Tougias' watchword, but he still manages to turn out a fast-paced compelling story. Although the author is more naturalist than novelist, it is hard to tell here as the characters, especially the Wompanoag ones, gain a depth throughout the story.

Mass. readers will get a lot of local color out of it - such as the events that led to the naming of Turner's Falls, but all readers will get a gripping story of a war whose basic themes would be repeated over and over for the next 200 years.

This is a fantastic book! Great story! Accurate historical facts! Well written. Enjoyed it very much!!!

This little volume is quite a helpful survey of the findings of archaeology which relate to these eight century prophets of Israel. King combines his understanding of archaeology with a sensitivity to the biblical narrative to provide the reader with helpful background information for understanding these books. In general, the reader will learn a great deal of Old Testament times from reading this book. Just a little out of date now but a book worth reading.