Picture it. You find yourself on in a life or death situation where you have no access to Wikipedia and need to know everything there is to know about Queen Elizabeth II to ensure your survival. (Yes, it could happen).
Sure you could wade through the latest tabloid or the dozens of biographies of Queen Elizabeth II, some with varying degrees of factual accuracy, but that would be a waste of precious time. No. You need a solution. Stat!
Enter Queen Elizabeth II (pocket GIANTS) by noted royal commentator, Victoria Arbiter. Published by History Press, Pocket Giants is a series of 128-page short biographies of notable individuals including John Paul II, Henry V, Winston Churchill, John Lennon, Nelson Mandela, Henry Ford, Buddha and many more. It was only a matter of time before the well respected Queen Elizabeth II joined the ranks. It is a challenge to condense the life of someone who has lived as long as the Queen has. While we may have glimpses of her officially, we will never truly know what makes her tick on a personal level. The Queen's life, from her birth to the present day has largely been distilled for the public by unofficial biographers. As the author herself writes: 'her likes, dislikes, opinions and political leanings can only be speculated upon'.
This biography is a condensed version of the Queen's life to date. If you follow her life in any detail, all of the significant moments are covered with no surprises or controversial revelations. My only criticism would be that the author spends too much time on the death of Diana. Diana's life deserves a Pocket Giant of its own - if it doesn't have one already. (Note to self: Pitch to History Press).
Queen Elizabeth II is a nice book to pass the time at airports and is chock full of information sure to impress your dinner guests. It may even save your life (but probably not).
© Marilyn Braun 2016
Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.
2 comments:
I really respect Victoria's opinion and her expertise in presenting information on our Royal Family. Thank you for reviewing her Pocket Giant. I will have to see if I can find it somewhere in Canada?
I like Victoria too. I definitely trust the things she says over some other royal commentators.
I'm in Canada and ordered it on amazon.ca. Would presume that it will eventually make it to Chapters. :)
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