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Disraeli

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Disraeli

Hardcover: 819 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Second Printing edition (January 1, 1966)

ASIN: B0039VQCX6

Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #122 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Presidents & Heads of State > U.K. Prime Ministers

After having read the other reviews of Blake's work, I was unprepared for the challenge that awaited me in reading this masterful biography. It is brilliantly written and quite comprehensive. Though I have read many biographies over the years, I think this one may be the most challenging I have ever undertaken. Anyone who plans to read this book must understand that Blake assumes a significant amount of knowledge of English history, both political and religous. I learned a great deal by reading this book, but I felf it was a near herculean effort, due to the amount of outside research and reading I needed to do in order to comprehend a good amount of what Blake was discussing. A few examples come to mind - Chartists, Puseyism, the Oxford Movement, Benthamites, the High Church, the Low Church, etc. There are probably 50 other such examples in the book. Blake also assumes the reader possesses knowledge of arcane political concepts from 19th century England - like pocket burough, rotten burough, etc. I just completed the book, and overall I enjoyed it greatly and learned a great deal, but anyone planning on reading this book must understand the challenges ahead.In my view, only the most committed, and those with prior significant knowledge of the period, its politics, etc. will complete this book. For those who persist, you will be richly rewarded, but you will feel drained at the end! Lsstly, and not to cavil, the book could use a bit more editing. In some areas Blake simply goes into much greater detail than is necessary, making parts of the book quite challenging, but not so interesting, to read. Details of certain tax legislation from when Disraeli was Chancellor of the Exchequer come to mind as painful examples.Overall I give this book 4 stars.

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