Customer Reviews

God Save the Queen?: Monarchy and the Truth about the Windsors

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I laughed so hard my gut ached when I read this book. It is a witty, extremely well-researched investigation into the monarchy, both intellectually stimuling and filled with gossip. The reviews were right. This is a must-read.

Original, funny, a brilliant book by a brilliant journalist. It's been praised by people as wildly different as Janet Street-Porter, Christopher Hitchens, Julie Burchill, Victor Lewis-Smith and AN Wilson. They're right!

This book is hilarious and a joy. The other reviewer is pretty obviosuly just bitter, Harri has been very successful very young, but on the evidence of this book and his writing in the Independent he seems to genuinely deserve it.

I purchased this book in the hopes that I might learn more about some of the contemporary issues/public opinion surrounding the monarchy of the United Kingdom. I was horribly disappointed. Quotes taken out of context, unattributed quotes, and silly gossip form the basis for a nasty polemic. This is the kind of distortion one probably should expect from an acolyte for republicanism. It is not the kind of book, however, that anyone interested in serious discussion about the monarchy would want to waste his/her money on. It is so unbalanced a perspective, that even those few positive contributions the author feels forced to cite during his diatribe are attributed not to generosity of spirit but to psychological disorder. It is sad that this kind of royal character asassination does not still carry a penalty of some time in the Tower.

Derivative and unimaginative this book adds little to the debate about the monarchy. Reading like an extended undergraduate essay, it relies too heavily on secondary material and exposes Hari to the allegation that he has only written it to advance his career in journalism.
There are simply better books to read on the subject and should you feel an urge to explore Hari's opinion on the subject he has repeated it in both The Independent and The New Statesman (both articles were in fact almost verbatim copies of each other).
No wonder that John Pilger referred to him as a "non-journalist"

This book is very well written. It is like he is talking to me in person. He is, I feel, a little bit too harsh on the Queen but right on about Philip, Charles and the Queen Mother and Margaret. A good book.

Johann Hari is one of Britain's most distinguished journalists and has won loads of awards - all deserved! This book shows why he is so acclaimed. I loved its mix of gossip, political wisdom, and intellect. I cannot imagine anybody but the most crazy monarchist disliking it (and even they would have to admit there's some great anecdotes here...)

(by the way, the other commenters here on this book seem to be slightly insane. An EU coup in Britain? Uh... yeah...)

Derivative and unimaginative this book adds little to the debate about the monarchy. Reading like an extended undergraduate essay, it relies too heavily on secondary material and exposes Hari to the allegation that he has only written it to advance his career in journalism.
There are simply better books to read on the subject and should you feel an urge to explore Hari's opinion about the monarchy it may be worth noting that he has repeated it in both The Independent and The New Statesman (both articles were in fact almost verbatim copies of each other).
When John Pilger referred to Hari as a "non-journalist" he did so with good reason.

Mr Hari is inded a 'non-journalist', as John Pilger describes him. He is arrogant, ignorant and pompous beyond his years. It's no surprise that the reactionary Trotskyite and Bush-loving fool Christopher Hitchens likes him. This damns them both! Hari hates the British royal family and wants to get rid of them in order to make it easier for Tony Blair to abolish Britain's sovereignty and make us a province of a new undemocratic state called Europe. This would open the door for Blair to become President not just of Britain but of Europe. A new Pope, indeed!