Cardinal Richelieu: And the Making of France
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.18 (888 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 078670778X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-09-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
In an extraordinary drama sweeping across seventeenth-century France, this probing biography of Cardinal Richelieu explores how a man of steely intelligence and ruthless ambition not only fulfilled his dreams of social prestige, personal wealth, and political power but at the same time realized his vision of a France unified as much by its culture as by its king.
"Poor history mixed with faux scholasticism" according to A Customer. Levi divides this book into two parts. The first half is history in the "in 1Poor history mixed with faux scholasticism A Customer Levi divides this book into two parts. The first half is history in the "in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue" style that went out years ago. It is a numbing recital of: "in 16xx ABC did this; in 16xx DEF did that; and in 16xx so did GHI". This half of the book is poorly organized. Often Levi is forced to double back 1. 92 Columbus sailed the ocean blue" style that went out years ago. It is a numbing recital of: "in 16xx ABC did this; in 16xx DEF did that; and in 16xx so did GHI". This half of the book is poorly organized. Often Levi is forced to double back 1. The "real" Cardinal Richelieu Frank J. Konopka I believe that most contemporary folks only know of Cardinal Richelieu from two sources: 1. As the scheming villain of countless "Three Musketeers" films, or 2. As the surprise witness at the parking ticket trial in the famous Monthy Python sketch. Both these portrayals, of course, are incorrect, and the author of this f. "a bit of everything brings a little something" according to LuelCanyon. I agree with another reviewer that a lot of unnecessary wandering in the wilderness makes this book a tiring effort to enjoy, but some of the reviews seem to miss utterly the author's intense perspective which is nothing less than a fervent glance at Richelieu unscourged. Levi's historical take is often speculative, or i
Levi's recurrent idea is that Richelieu aspired to the creation of national unity as much through cultural symbolism (creating, for instance, the French Academy and initiating a great art collection) as through strictly political means. Levi's account provides plentiful grounds to suspect why Richelieu destroyed huge volumes of private documents, as well as a little Norman village. This is a sophisticated narrative, perfectly accessible yet pervaded by gravitas and alert to the complexities of the Catholic revival movement which followed the internecine Wars of