William the Silent - now 'the Silenced', 08 Nov 2005
A small, but eloquently written study, dealing with the assassination of William, Prince of Orange. Many of you may expect to read about the birth and evolution of the wheel-lock pistol, others - extremely detailed information about the day of the "red herrings", as Albert Finney (in his role as Hercule Puarot) calls the day of murder. Don't want to spoil it for you, but on the evolution of the "dag" the information is not very detailed. There are a few paragraphs speaking about the pistoleers and the change of tactics, but its mostly about the diplomatic background and the diplomatic gains and losses of the "potentati" of the period. A large part of the book deals with the impact of the Prince's violent death on the English society and diplomacy, and also gives an overview of the English intervention in the Netherlands.

The account of the killing itself is not very extended, yet it doesn't seem to lack anything important to the common reader. A small part is dedicated to the assassin himself, but personally I would like to read a more detailed analysis of the man's character, psychology, ideology, of his connections, political, religious... (maybe what lacks here is an overview of the depositions, of the witnesses, of the inquisitorial proceedings).

On technical issues... The language was clear and easy to read. The scholar will find it perhaps a little complicated where structure is concerned. To me it appeared that there was no clear division between the chapters, with the exception of the one that deals with the killing itself. This of course is a strictly personal opinion.

The general impression is that this book is more about the diplomatic "game" around the killing and especially its aftermath and its results on the English policies in the Netherlands. Not a lot of information on the Spanish though, nor indeed on the French. The pistol (the wheel-lock "dag" specifically) is treated more as a revolutionary new tool of the potential assassin than a new weapon which played a part in the transformation of the way of war and tactics. The structure is a bit without a system, but its not very damaging to the contents of the book.

In all a rather pleasant read; educative; not boring; in most cases very informative; but lacks information which even if it is less crucial, would be very useful. In two words: not bad. In another three: could be better.

Interesting approach,, 03 Nov 2005
Though the approach of this book, focussing on the assassination and its effects, is interesting, it is worked out in a way that suits those that have no knowledge of the subject before starting to read this. Those that are familiar with William of Orange's life, the rebellion and the Dutch Republic, this book is mainly a missed opportunity. The chapters on William's life can be skipped, because we buy this book to read about his death. The chapter about handguns is interesting but doesn't add that much. The most interesting is the part about the earlier failed attempt at his life, and this is rather brief. This part does motivate to go and look for more books on that specific topic, if these exist. Basically, I would have preferred to see this topic worked out in a different way. As the Spectator said: there is much that is good in there. I agree, but there is little excellent in it and though the assassination was very important historically, the book fails to convince why the fact that it was done with a handgun is so significant. It's a nice read for a rainy Sunday afternoon and evening, but not a valuable historical study.

William the Silent - now 'the Silenced', 08 Nov 2005
A small, but eloquently written study, dealing with the assassination of William, Prince of Orange. Many of you may expect to read about the birth and evolution of the wheel-lock pistol, others - extremely detailed information about the day of the "red herrings", as Albert Finney (in his role as Hercule Puarot) calls the day of murder. Don't want to spoil it for you, but on the evolution of the "dag" the information is not very detailed. There are a few paragraphs speaking about the pistoleers and the change of tactics, but its mostly about the diplomatic background and the diplomatic gains and losses of the "potentati" of the period. A large part of the book deals with the impact of the Prince's violent death on the English society and diplomacy, and also gives an overview of the English intervention in the Netherlands.

The account of the killing itself is not very extended, yet it doesn't seem to lack anything important to the common reader. A small part is dedicated to the assassin himself, but personally I would like to read a more detailed analysis of the man's character, psychology, ideology, of his connections, political, religious... (maybe what lacks here is an overview of the depositions, of the witnesses, of the inquisitorial proceedings).

On technical issues... The language was clear and easy to read. The scholar will find it perhaps a little complicated where structure is concerned. To me it appeared that there was no clear division between the chapters, with the exception of the one that deals with the killing itself. This of course is a strictly personal opinion.

The general impression is that this book is more about the diplomatic "game" around the killing and especially its aftermath and its results on the English policies in the Netherlands. Not a lot of information on the Spanish though, nor indeed on the French. The pistol (the wheel-lock "dag" specifically) is treated more as a revolutionary new tool of the potential assassin than a new weapon which played a part in the transformation of the way of war and tactics. The structure is a bit without a system, but its not very damaging to the contents of the book.

In all a rather pleasant read; educative; not boring; in most cases very informative; but lacks information which even if it is less crucial, would be very useful. In two words: not bad. In another three: could be better.

Interesting approach,, 03 Nov 2005
Though the approach of this book, focussing on the assassination and its effects, is interesting, it is worked out in a way that suits those that have no knowledge of the subject before starting to read this. Those that are familiar with William of Orange's life, the rebellion and the Dutch Republic, this book is mainly a missed opportunity. The chapters on William's life can be skipped, because we buy this book to read about his death. The chapter about handguns is interesting but doesn't add that much. The most interesting is the part about the earlier failed attempt at his life, and this is rather brief. This part does motivate to go and look for more books on that specific topic, if these exist. Basically, I would have preferred to see this topic worked out in a different way. As the Spectator said: there is much that is good in there. I agree, but there is little excellent in it and though the assassination was very important historically, the book fails to convince why the fact that it was done with a handgun is so significant. It's a nice read for a rainy Sunday afternoon and evening, but not a valuable historical study.

William the Silent - now 'the Silenced', 08 Nov 2005
A small, but eloquently written study, dealing with the assassination of William, Prince of Orange. Many of you may expect to read about the birth and evolution of the wheel-lock pistol, others - extremely detailed information about the day of the "red herrings", as Albert Finney (in his role as Hercule Puarot) calls the day of murder. Don't want to spoil it for you, but on the evolution of the "dag" the information is not very detailed. There are a few paragraphs speaking about the pistoleers and the change of tactics, but its mostly about the diplomatic background and the diplomatic gains and losses of the "potentati" of the period. A large part of the book deals with the impact of the Prince's violent death on the English society and diplomacy, and also gives an overview of the English intervention in the Netherlands.

The account of the killing itself is not very extended, yet it doesn't seem to lack anything important to the common reader. A small part is dedicated to the assassin himself, but personally I would like to read a more detailed analysis of the man's character, psychology, ideology, of his connections, political, religious... (maybe what lacks here is an overview of the depositions, of the witnesses, of the inquisitorial proceedings).

On technical issues... The language was clear and easy to read. The scholar will find it perhaps a little complicated where structure is concerned. To me it appeared that there was no clear division between the chapters, with the exception of the one that deals with the killing itself. This of course is a strictly personal opinion.

The general impression is that this book is more about the diplomatic "game" around the killing and especially its aftermath and its results on the English policies in the Netherlands. Not a lot of information on the Spanish though, nor indeed on the French. The pistol (the wheel-lock "dag" specifically) is treated more as a revolutionary new tool of the potential assassin than a new weapon which played a part in the transformation of the way of war and tactics. The structure is a bit without a system, but its not very damaging to the contents of the book.

In all a rather pleasant read; educative; not boring; in most cases very informative; but lacks information which even if it is less crucial, would be very useful. In two words: not bad. In another three: could be better.

Interesting approach,, 03 Nov 2005
Though the approach of this book, focussing on the assassination and its effects, is interesting, it is worked out in a way that suits those that have no knowledge of the subject before starting to read this. Those that are familiar with William of Orange's life, the rebellion and the Dutch Republic, this book is mainly a missed opportunity. The chapters on William's life can be skipped, because we buy this book to read about his death. The chapter about handguns is interesting but doesn't add that much. The most interesting is the part about the earlier failed attempt at his life, and this is rather brief. This part does motivate to go and look for more books on that specific topic, if these exist. Basically, I would have preferred to see this topic worked out in a different way. As the Spectator said: there is much that is good in there. I agree, but there is little excellent in it and though the assassination was very important historically, the book fails to convince why the fact that it was done with a handgun is so significant. It's a nice read for a rainy Sunday afternoon and evening, but not a valuable historical study.