Book Reviews

Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott is a new book focused on the life of Mary Queen of Scots, primarily during her period of incarceration in England by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Even...

On a large scale, the book covers the history of Egypt from Alexander's conquest until the death of Cleopatra VII. It chronicles the beginnings of Greek rule over Egypt and the ways that the Ptolemaic dynasty attempted to bend their new kingdom...

The book opens with a brief overview of Cleopatra’s life and the historical context of Ptolemaic Egypt. Author Lindsay Powell examines Cleopatra’s career and personality, describing how her life was gradually twisted into legend by later...

The nine-tailed fox, one of the most iconic folklore creatures in traditional Chinese mythology, often carries a derogatory connotation, as it has been historically used as an icon referring to sexually active or seductive women who would...

Jamaican Art: Then and Now is a captivating exploration of Jamaica's artistic journey, offering readers an expansive look at how the island's artistic journey has evolved over the years. Co-authored by the late Petrine Archer-Straw and Kim...

Discovering forgotten or overlooked sources is always exciting. Jonathan D. S. Schroeder recently rediscovered John Swanson Jacobs’s narrative The United States Governed by Six Hundred Thousand Despots: A True Story of Slavery. Jacobs’s narrative...

The Flavian dynasty has often been portrayed in a positive light except for its final emperor, Domitian. The legacy of Emperor Augustus, according to Marks and Mogetta, was evident during the Flavian rule of Rome. “Vespasian’s other son...

Gone Viking III: The Holy Grail by Bill Arnott is a travel writing narrative with not just insight but also quirkiness gifted by the author. General enthusiasts and armchair adventurers are its target audience. While not a traditional scholarly...

In her groundbreaking book, Fluid Geographies: Water, Science, and Settler Colonialism in New Mexico, K. Maria D. Lane delves deeply into the battle between American legal and historical processes against traditional Indigenous knowledge...

The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330: Their Lives, Power, and Legacy by Caroline Wilhelmsson is a compelling examination of the significant royal women in Sweden during the late Viking Age and early medieval period. This textbook...