Author M. Young pulls together the evidence concerning James I's alleged sodomy and leaves it to the reader to decide.

one letter, by King James himself to Robert Carr in 1615, complains about a number of issues, including: "I leave out of this reckoning your long creeping back and withdrawing yourself from lying in my chamber, notwithstanding my many hundred times earnestly soliciting you to the contrary." (Young, p. 43)

Villiers, on anticipating his return to England from his Spanish posting, told King James: "I cannot now think of giving thanks for friend, wife, or child; my thoughts are only bent on having my dear Dad and Master's legs soon in my arms." (Young, p. 47)

while King James did write about sodomy as a "horrible" crime in his Basilikon Doron, "Sex with subordinates was a prereogative of patriarchy, and James was the chief patriach of the whole realm." (Young, p. 48) "James could have been perfectly earnest in condemning sodomy while simultaneously engaging in what we today would call homosexual behaviour" (Young, p. 49)--because the "legal definition [of sodomy] was extremely narrow. It specified only one sex act between men, anal intercourse, and excluded all other genital sex acts." Furthermore, as James is said to be "a notorious hypocrite where swearing and drinking were concerned; he could simply have been the same where sodomy was concerned." (Young, p. 50)

Did James play the hypocrite, preaching one thing fr one side of his face while whispering something else to his favourites? Perhaps no one will ever know on this side of heaven. It won't hurt to read Young's arguments and decide for yourself.

This is a really great book, entertaining and readable, yet also informative and educational.
It discusses both the personal history of King James (of the King James Bible fame) and public perception of homosexuality during 16th and 17th Century England.

For readers not already well acquainted with King James, such as myself, the opening chapter establishes his history. And it does a good job -- not only did it enable me to follow the rest of the book, but subsequent histories I've read of King James didn't add anything surprising, meaning it was sufficiently thorough.

The next chapters examine the evidence that James had sex with his male favorites, what the court and subjects thought about it, along with the various terms, codes and historical analogies that James' contemporaries could discourse about sex between males.
Subsequent chapters discuss the relationship between homosexuality, effeminacy and pacifism vs. heterosexuality, masculinity and war, how James's homosexuality affected the reign of his son, Charles, and what contemporary and later writers said about James's sexuality, concluding with comments on the general history of homosexuality.

Fascinating book. It has an element of the tabloid (with juicy excerpts from James' love letters) while also very thought-provoking. I have purely a layman's interest in the subject, and I had no trouble following the author's language or arguments. For more serious historians and researchers, everything is very thoroughly footnoted and annotated.

I *HIGHLY* recommend it.

Enjoyed the book so much. A quiick read, page turner.... hope there is a "next" book that will continue the story. Please Mrs. Layng, hurry with the next one.

Letters from James is an awesome story of Jenny, and James in during the first world war. It is so real that it feels like you know the charachters yourself, and that you are there with them going through the happy, and sad times. As you read the book it makes you want to turn the next page. It is one of those books that you just can't put down because it is so good. Will they ever meet?

Purdy's novel "Malcolm" is a humorous journey about a young boy found by an astrologer on a park bench. The story is writtem mainly through Malcolm's interaction with the characters he meets through the astrologer (Mr. Cox). But enough plot summery, from the opening paragraphs one sees Purdy's gift for a sort of heightened clarity that he writes with, which, when pulled together with the dialog between the rather inept and hilarious characters offers a unique experience.
The novel is written in a more naturalist tone (think a modern Dickens) but don't let that fool you, Purdy is a gifted writer, with an amazing imagination, and excelent sense of irony. the reason i say it is not for all of you is that if you are looking for "ground-breaking" or "experimental" liturature, or if you find you get bored when not being assulted by an author you shouldn't buy it. But for those with an open mind i believe you shall enjoy it as well as nearly all of Purdy's work.

One of the most poised yet hilarious books I have ever read. A shame the man has never received the literary recognition he deserves.

You can best judge a person by the company he keeps; and in Clyde Wilson's case he has been keeping very good company indeed.

In this book, the editor of the papers of John Calhoun tells the story of one of the defenders of Calhoun's principles, James Johnston Pettigrew. The portrait is of a man who is engaging and noble.

When you visit Gettysburg, stand at the North Carolina monument and gaze across the field at the copse of trees; you will be standing at the spot where Pettigrew and his men began their march to glory. As Wilson's portrait of Pettigrew makes clear, and as any serious and honest student of the struggle for Southern independence should know, these were men who fought for a variety of reasons. In Pettigrew's case, it was to preserve a substantial measure of the world that America had inherited from Europe against a foe bent on destroying that world in the name of an abstract principle.

These were not, in short and contrary to the simplistic explanations of the conflict that dominate public discourse today, men who marched into the cannon's mouth with dreams of masters whipping slaves in their hearts. On the contrary, they were men who believed fervently that they were resisting the tyranny of a government that was fighting to keep them where they would rather not be; and in this, they, not Lincoln and his generals, were the real heirs of the American Revolution.

It is through reading the work of scholars like Professor Wilson that we can honestly approximate the reasons for this last (on the Confederate side) just as well as necessary war in America's story. For unlike this rather partisan review, the book is soberly written and the story unfolds in the measured tones of a man who has absorbed the lessons of his heroes.

One of the most overlooked sons of the South,whose early death is overshadowed his brilliant career, and what could have been, some said he could have been president ,nothing was impossible, this little book gives a good impression of a man worthy of much more attention than been given, i can only recommend it, and hope that you will bring it home and treasure it for many years to come.Christian (Denmark)

Jane Austen's 1811 novel, her first published, "Sense and Sensibility," receives a grand treatment in this Broadview Literary Texts edition, edited by Kathleen James-Cavan. Anyone who knows me knows how I doat on Jane Austen, and for the first time reading her in a Broadview edition, I find myself doating excessively. "Sense and Sensibility" was the first public exposure of Austen's masterful characterization, plotting, and satire to reach the reading public of the Romantic Era. Austen thrives on what I like to call 'the middle of the book,' writing the situations that complicate the lives of her characters, better than almost anyone - almost, it seems, preferring getting her characters and readers in a position to learn from their mistakes, than actually getting them out.

"Sense and Sensibility" begins with the illogic of early 19th century British inheritance law. The hereditary owner of Norland Park is on his deathbed, and invites the heirs of his estate, the Dashwood family, to reside at Norland. The Dashwood's and their three daughters come to live there, but are put into jeopardy soon after by the demise of both Mr. Dashwoods - bringing the next male heir (and the girls' half-brother), John Dashwood and his manipulative wife, Fanny to Norland. Greedy as they are, John and his wife soon drive their half-sisters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, along with their mother, out of Norland, Sussex, to the Devonshire countryside. Here in Devonshire, in a small cottage, and at a considerably reduced income, the Dashwood sisters and their mother struggle to rebuild their life, while the two eldest daughters, Elinor, 19, and Marianne, 17, try to deal with life and love in the English countryside.

Like the well-known "Pride (Darcy) and Prejudice (Bennet)," "Sense and Sensibility"s title can be seen to refer to the character traits that mark its two principle characters - Sense on the side of the Enlightenment-influenced, almost certainly emotionally-repressed Elinor, and the overfine Sensibility of Marianne, a great admirer of dead leaves and the dirty ground. As opposed to the former novel, Austen does not really disparage either, except when carried to excess, as each young woman does, instead seeking, as was popular during the period, to reconcile, or strike a balance between rational logic and emotional response. In their love affairs, Elinor's with a distant cousin, the diffident and somewhat mysterious 24-year old Edward Ferrars, and Marianne's with a younger, and very handsome rogue John Willoughby, the young ladies' moral, social, and aesthetic principles are put to the test. While Elinor and Marianne are two of the most cultured, educated, and refined characters in the novel, and while Austen certainly privileges the country over the London metropolis, she makes clear that the ladies' limited interaction with society at large leaves them in a kind of sheltered ignorance which they must come to terms with, both for their sakes and for the sake of their lovers.

Austen always does a great job with her minor characters, especially those who serve in comic relief roles - or as the butts of her satire, and "Sense and Sensibility" is no different. In their avarice and greed, John and Fanny Dashwood are the epitome of wholly uncultured social climbers and mindless landowners. In her less than refined, but wholly maternal attitudes toward the Miss Dashwoods, Mrs. Jennings (mother of the neglected, but ever cheerful wife Charlotte Palmer and the reticent to a fault Lady Middleton) is as amusing a character, and as warm a mother as one will find in Austen. Colonel Brandon is a fit counterpart to Mrs. Jennings, in his reserved melancholy, while caring just as much about those around him as Mrs. Jennings. The comic pairings of Mr. Palmer and Sir John Middleton with their wives is absolute genius, both being the mirror opposite in style and attitude to their wives - and in particular the relationship between the Palmers, including the continual laughing of Charlotte at the fact that Mr. Palmer "never listens to me" and "never tells me anything," is both highly entertaining, and at the same time, one of the most troubling relationships in the novel.

I've praised James-Cavan's handling of this Broadview edition, and now may be a good time to say some more on that head. Broadview and its editors, like the people who put together the Norton Critical Editions, concern themselves with really presenting literary texts in a solid foundation of cultural, theoretical, and critical contexts. "Sense and Sensibility" contains a real treasure trove of such material - the two contemporary reviews of Austen's novel from 1812, generous selections of essays from the late 1700's and early 1800's on contemporary debates on the meanings of the words "sense" and "sensibility," and on the cult of sensibility and the picturesque. Also included are exerpts from poems referenced by Marianne throughout the novel, illustrations of the vehicles they travel in, and a map of the character's London residences. James-Cavan's excellent introduction also lays out the novel's issues in their contemporary, cultural, critical, and theoretical contexts, none more obtrusive than any other, and all quite helpful. Altogether, the Broadview "Sense and Sensibility" is a tremendous edition for Austen scholars and casual Janeites alike.

Jane Austen's 1811 novel, her first published, "Sense and Sensibility," receives a grand treatment in this Broadview Literary Texts edition, edited by Kathleen James-Cavan. Anyone who knows me knows how I doat on Jane Austen, and for the first time reading her in a Broadview edition, I find myself doating excessively. "Sense and Sensibility" was the first public exposure of Austen's masterful characterization, plotting, and satire to reach the reading public of the Romantic Era. Austen thrives on what I like to call 'the middle of the book,' writing the situations that complicate the lives of her characters, better than almost anyone - almost, it seems, preferring getting her characters and readers in a position to learn from their mistakes, than actually getting them out.

"Sense and Sensibility" begins with the illogic of early 19th century British inheritance law. The hereditary owner of Norland Park is on his deathbed, and invites the heirs of his estate, the Dashwood family, to reside at Norland. The Dashwood's and their three daughters come to live there, but are put into jeopardy soon after by the demise of both Mr. Dashwoods - bringing the next male heir (and the girls' half-brother), John Dashwood and his manipulative wife, Fanny to Norland. Greedy as they are, John and his wife soon drive their half-sisters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, along with their mother, out of Norland, Sussex, to the Devonshire countryside. Here in Devonshire, in a small cottage, and at a considerably reduced income, the Dashwood sisters and their mother struggle to rebuild their life, while the two eldest daughters, Elinor, 19, and Marianne, 17, try to deal with life and love in the English countryside.

Like the well-known "Pride (Darcy) and Prejudice (Bennet)," "Sense and Sensibility"s title can be seen to refer to the character traits that mark its two principle characters - Sense on the side of the Enlightenment-influenced, almost certainly emotionally-repressed Elinor, and the overfine Sensibility of Marianne, a great admirer of "dead leaves" and the "picturesque." As opposed to the former novel, Austen does not really disparage either, except when carried to excess, as each young woman does, instead seeking, as was popular during the period, to reconcile, or strike a balance between rational logic and emotional response. In their love affairs, Elinor's with a distant cousin, the diffident and somewhat mysterious 24-year old Edward Ferrars, and Marianne's with a younger, and very handsome rogue John Willoughby, the young ladies' moral, social, and aesthetic principles are put to the test. While Elinor and Marianne are two of the most cultured, educated, and refined characters in the novel, and while Austen certainly privileges the country over the London metropolis, she makes clear that the ladies' limited interaction with society at large leaves them in a kind of sheltered ignorance which they must come to terms with, both for their sakes and for the sake of their lovers.

Austen always does a great job with her minor characters, especially those who serve in comic relief roles - or as the butts of her satire, and "Sense and Sensibility" is no different. In their avarice and greed, John and Fanny Dashwood are the epitome of wholly uncultured social climbers and mindless landowners. In her less than refined, but wholly maternal attitudes toward the Miss Dashwoods, Mrs. Jennings (mother of the neglected, but ever cheerful wife Charlotte Palmer and the reticent to a fault Lady Middleton) is as amusing a character, and as warm a mother as one will find in Austen. Colonel Brandon is a fit counterpart to Mrs. Jennings, in his reserved melancholy, while caring just as much about those around him as Mrs. Jennings. The comic pairings of Mr. Palmer and Sir John Middleton with their wives is absolute genius, both being the mirror opposite in style and attitude to their wives - and in particular the relationship between the Palmers, including the continual laughing of Charlotte at the fact that Mr. Palmer "never listens to me" and "never tells me anything," is both highly entertaining, and at the same time, one of the most troubling relationships in the novel.

I've praised James-Cavan's handling of this Broadview edition, and now may be a good time to say some more on that head. Broadview and its editors, like the people who put together the Norton Critical Editions, concern themselves with really presenting literary texts in a solid foundation of cultural, theoretical, and critical contexts. "Sense and Sensibility" contains a real treasure trove of such material - the two contemporary reviews of Austen's novel from 1812, generous selections of essays from the late 1700's and early 1800's on contemporary debates on the meanings of the words "sense" and "sensibility," and on the cult of sensibility and the picturesque. Also included are exerpts from poems referenced by Marianne throughout the novel, illustrations of the vehicles they travel in, and a map of the character's London residences. James-Cavan's excellent introduction also lays out the novel's issues in their contemporary, cultural, critical, and theoretical contexts, none more obtrusive than any other, and all quite helpful. Altogether, the Broadview "Sense and Sensibility" is a tremendous edition for Austen scholars and casual Janeites alike.

With a gift of writing like the author has, I can't emagine why he isn't writing at least one new book each year!

The book was written so that the characters were easy for me to visualize and the plot was one that built up enough suspense that one didn't have to keep looking back to put the pieces together to make sense, Well written and a fine piece of Christian literature...didn't have to worry about sex and violence to get a good story across. Loved the good "twist" ending!! Ana Bailey

I found this book to be informative and educational, allowing adults as well as junior-high students to benefit from the author's vast knowledge of the environmental and political points associated with finding, isolating and cleaning up hazardous waste.

I am MOST impressed with the author's coverage of various topics related to the political, ethical, moral, and sociological aspects of pollution and waste management. Everyone, from middle school through educated adult, should read it and learn about these above-mentioned aspects of our waste management story, including the history of Superfund and other important environmental legislation.

If you need reassurance that there are still people among uswho are committed to spiritual, moral, and ecological renewal, thenVoices of Hope is the perfect book for you. Hope and Young'sdescriptions of how activists around the world are living out theirFaith and their yearning for a better world gave me a strong sense ofenergy and hope; this book will surely provide sustenance to otherreaders who are trying to live their lives centered in Simplicity,Awareness and Love -- in a world that feels increasingly at odds withsuch endeavours.

Voices Of Hope In The Struggle To Save The Planet reveals the lives of individual men and women engaged presenting a renewed vision of our relationship to the earth, describing actions by faith-based environmental groups to nurture and protect the environment. Included are the lives and ideas of spiritual leaders and activists drawn from Judaism, Western and Eastern Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and the faiths of indigenous peoples. Each chapter includes a brief analysis of a particular faith's ecological teachings and description of the environmental problems of the country where a particular activist is living. Voices Of Hope In The Struggle To Save The Planet is compelling, informative, challenging, motivating, and very highly recommended reading for environmental studies, activists, policy makers, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in religion and environmental issues.

Dr. Dobson does it once again...I'm always astounded by his ability to say exactly what needs to be said, the way it needs to be addressed. 38 Values to Live By appears at first to be a typical coffee-table "saying-of-the-day" book, but once opened and read it becomes so much more. Avoiding the anecdotal short phrases of knowledge that leave the reader open to any interpretation or distortion, Dobson draws from the main areas of everyone's life--whether you be a parent or student--and gives deep and insightful wisdom that has true spiritual substance to it. The values are usually at most a paragraph in length, but one must give credit to the way the words are arranged about pages filled with beautiful and therapeutic pictures of people and breath-taking scenery. As a person, it will give you practical guidance with the capability of changing your life-view, and as a coffee-table book it will probably leave some unsuspecting guest speechless. I highly recommend it.

Addresses to Young Men is a work designed to aid the problems of the teen-ager growing into manhood yet conveys solid advice that could be directed toward an adult audience just as well. The auther seems to sit down with the reader in a quiet study to explore the nature and duties of life with the reader--pointing time and time again to the discipline of biblical truth in morality and piety (two words whose meaning has soured in a post-modern world). The book is well written and has a smooth flow of language and ideas. I particularly enjoyed the many solid aphorisms to be found from cover to cover. For example: "Piety and sound morality are a nations strength, more than it's armies and it's navies; its wealth more than it's commerce; and it's glory, more than it's literature, science, and victories" (p. 31). This and hundreds more. I would recommend this book to all who want to examine the true meaning of "success" and "happiness" in this world who also have an eye toward the world to come.