Great Feuds In History - Ten Struggles That Shaped The World

by Colin Evans

Book Overview

Praise for Great Feuds in History "Everyone loves a good fight, especially on the world stage, and Evans calls these contests with skill and flair." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Evans captures... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760778124
• ISBN13: 9780760778128
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great Read!

Great read. Went through this book in one sitting. At this risk of sounding cliched, "it really brings history to life." And it shows the not-so-highminded sides of famous historical figures.

A lot of information in a small volume

Colin Evans has brought together ten of the more interesting relationships in the history of the world. The earliest, between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, could have changed the course of history had Mary prevailed. Although the two queens never met, their antipathy for each other is legendary. Evans then takes a look at the English Civil War and the hatred between Charles I and Parliament, particularly Cromwell. In early America, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton fought a duel in which one died and the other was ruined. The famous Hatfields and McCoys feud that crossed state lines. In Russia, Stalin and Trotsky struggled against each other for control of the new communist regime. One of the saddest feuds was that between Amundsen and Scott in their race to the South Pole. It cost several men their lives and in the end, the winner lost more than he ever thought. Then, the bitterness between the Duchess of Windsor, wife of the former King Edward VIII, and the Queen Mother, wife of George V, gradually dissipated. It was the only feud that truly ended before the two protagonists died. It came as something of a surprise to learn that Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy were such enemies. And last but not least, J. Edgar Hoover's hatred for Martin Luther King. Sometimes we think we know everything there is to know about historical figures, then we're surprised to find out facts that had previously been unknown. Books like this often present those facts. In this case, the stories are readable, short, yet very informative. It's well worth reading.

Some feuds that changed history.

This is a nice easy read. Each feud is roughly twenty pages long and makes for some nice light reading. Some I wouldn't rate as world changing, but they are interesting. I did not know much about any one one dispute--except perhaps Montgomery and Patton. The McCoy-Hatfield feud was also very interesting and I can't remember that much written about that from other sources. This is an interesting bit of history, and perhaps there are some other feuds that may rate higher than what the author selected (Shah versus Khomeni). This book is a nice weekend or beach read. The reader will be amazed at the hatred these feuds generated. Evans does a nice job of detailing these pointed conflicts in this book.

Mayhem 101

The author chose ten feuds of history and describes them in condensed but well researched detail. There is not much here that is new, but it can be interesting for somebody who would like to more about them. Some of these feuds are more slander and ping pong verbal aggression than actual mayhem, There isn't much blood flowing.It is the author's choice of course, to select the ten feuds he wants to write about. But I wish he had selected more truly drag-out fights like Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa. Or, in modern times, Harry Truman going after General MacArthur.