The Plantagenets

Philippa Gregory is known for her historical fiction. Many people know about her because of “The Other Boleyn Girl” a book that became a movie, but she found her nitch in the historical fiction arena, with a focus on English monarchs, more accurately, the women behind the crown.

In The White Queen, Gregory explores the Plantagenet’s, an extended family of English royals and wanna be royals who fought for the crown for years on end, brother against brother and cousin against cousin. In these civil wars known as the War of the Roses, the Lancasters, the red rose, and the Yorks, the white rose, both claimed their family should inherit the throne. Thus begins a war for power.

The White Queen refers to Elizabeth Woodville, a widow who becomes the queen of England by marrying Edward of York. Elizabeth is a descendant of a water goddess, Melusina, and the story weaves this tale throughout it. The magic and Sight that Elizabeth and her mother have are a big part of who they are and their power. It makes for two very independent, for the time, intriguing women. At a time when being called a witch could easily get you killed, Elizabeth, the queen, was proud of her magical lineage and her mother was a proclaimed witch. These are some ballsy women! If you don’t know the myth/legend of Melusina, there are some interesting poems and stories about this mermaid-esque woman who gave up her magic and essence for a mortal man she fell in love with, and this story makes a beautiful juxtaposition with Elizabeth's story.

Elizabeth is a strong woman willing to fight for the man she loves, her family, and her children’s inheritance. Throughout the book you see her grow in ambition and courage, even while she loses and is shamed.

Plots, murder, and war are central to the story. The reader gets a sense of the unease and rockiness of the time period when family cannot be trusted and even in times of peace and harmony, someone is plotting to overthrow the king.

Gregory is a historian. She does her research and weaves as much of the “reality” of the situations in with her own style. Seeing as these events took place over 600 years ago, the records are a bit hazy and there isn’t much information. Gregory admits that she fictionalized a lot of it, but based many of the plots, overthrows, and speculations off of popular theory and what records indicate.

I dove into this book with gusto. The storytelling is beautifully done and engaging. Gregory writes healthy sized books (400 pages), which can be intimidating to me, but I enjoyed reading about the drama and plots. However, I found that around page 300, I started slacking a bit. The plotting, overthrow, and instability during this period becamet overwhelming. Why can’t we all just be friends!? The ending left the book open for sequels, and guess what, there are currently four books in what has come to be called, "The Cousins’ War" series. I look forward to reading the next book, The Red Queen, but think I’ll give myself some time in between.

If you are into historical fiction, you should certainly check out Philippa Gregory. She has made a name for herself with this genre and for good reason. 

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

When does education mean the difference between life and death? Well...in life or death situations. The education system has its problems at all different levels and factions, but sans formal education, the learning curve is a lot steeper when you're holding another's life in your hands. At the same time there's no equivalent to hands on experience. The big question becomes how much can formal education prepare you before experience takes its toll?

Throughout his memoir, Craig Mullaney explores the education he received to become a U.S. Army Captain and lead an infantry platoon. The book is split into three sections: (1) student (2) soldier (3) veteran. Mullaney is a West Point graduate. His recap of his college years is quite different than the 'traditional' university education. 6am runs followed by class, wrestling, drills, being harassed by upperclassmen, studying, target practice, etc., etc., etc. This is a system strictly meant for vocational work i.e. soldiering (yes, I may have invented a verb). The critical thinking skills Mullaney learns in his history classes and as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford help him have a more critical mind and analyze at a deeper level. Although given test after test in school, in field training, and in Ranger school, Mullaney unfortunately learns that when the unforgiving minute comes and the bullets are real, training only goes so far.

As a soldier, Mullaney is sent to Afghanistan to lead a platoon. There he fights boredom, sand, routine, and chaos. While sweeping an area, Mullaney's men land upon surprised terrorists. It is in this instance that all the education and training should assist him, but in his first battle, Mullaney freezes for a bit. What do you do? How do you react when the blood is real? When you're not firing at a piece of paper, but at a person? It's on Losano Ridge that Mullaney loses a soldier. At this point, Craig begins to question what his training has done for him and what mistakes he made. In the end he figures out that maybe there was nothing he could have done and fate took hold. One of the lessons the war teaches him is "combat was both the ultimate test of courage and its classroom".

As a veteran, Mullaney begins teaching at the Naval Academy. Here he hopes to impart the critical thinking skills that aided him in the battlefield and eventually he uses his own experience to try and teach his students how to help themselves when their moment comes.

This book is a pleasure to read. Craig Mullaney is both a warrior and a scholar. His story is well written and easily accessible. It marries personal details with his upbringing as a soldier. I enjoyed the vulnerability that Craig showed throughout the book. Soldiers are viewed as men-men (another term coined by yours truly) across the world, so it's nice to see that under the Kevlar vests there are emotions, fears, doubts, and regrets. Here is a great glimpse into the making of a soldier and the memoir of a man's toughest story to tell.