Great Feuds in History: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever (Paperback)

by Colin Evans (Author) "In 1517, a thousand years of spiritual certainty were thrown out the window when a disaffected German friar named Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses,..." (more)
Key Phrases: versus kennedy, New York, Lyndon Johnson, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In the tradition of its successful forebears, Hal Hellman's Great Feuds in Science (Forecasts, Feb. 26) and Great Feuds in Medicine, this new collection showcases 10 feuds between some of the world's most enigmatic personalities, with an emphasis on the global issues often at stake and how, for better or worse, the feuds changed history. Evans (Casebook of Forensic Detection) captures all the drama and controversy in these streamlined accounts brimming with invigorated, well-paced prose. History and human nature collide as revenge is taken to the extreme between strangers and within families. Amundsen and Scott race to the South Pole. Patton and Montgomery, "two armor-plated egos," battle the Germans while vying with each other for the title of supreme Allied general in WWII. The Hatfields and the McCoys, the modern-day synonyms for feuding parties, meet in a succession of bloody showdowns, while Burr and Hamilton's legacy is determined by one fatal duel. Not surprisingly, royalty is well-represented, including the bitter verbal fireworks between Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Politicians are also major players with larger-than-life personalities like Stalin, Trotsky and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Even though the outcomes of the notorious feuds Evans explores are common knowledge, he skillfully maintains suspense by teasing readers with some of the little-known facts and mysteries that surround them. What stands out in each fascinating case is how hate clouds common sense, how losers sometimes win and winners often lose and, as Evans observes, "history isn't always written by the winners." Agent, Ed Knappman.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
Arguments that got murderously out of hand, sometimes literally so, zestfully captured here by Evans.

The squabbles in these pages were for potatoes both big and small-the divine right of kings, say, or the Hatfield theft of a McCoy hog-yet they had staying power because they were balanced fights: The contestants fought at the same weight. Otherwise, the fighting would have been over before the first bell and if there is one thing that links these feuds together it is longevity. The author knows how to write a lively narrative, swiftly paced but always clearly directed. Everywhere there are consequences to pay, both for the victor and the vanquished: Moldy old Queen Elizabeth doesn't stand a chance against Mary, Queen of Scots, on the popularity front (but that didn't keep the redhead's melon attached to her neck). Aaron Burr's good aim killed more than Alexander Hamilton-it assassinated his own public reputation, as well. Equally malignant was the battle between the Hatfields and the McCoys, which all started with a pig and ended generations later in the Supreme Court. There are the creepy turf wars of Patton and Montgomery that may have directly led to the death of thousands of troops, the ugly little tiff between LBJ and RFK that sent both down in flames, and Hoover's grotesqueries in his struggle to subdue Martin Luther King Jr. The match between Stalin and Trotsky best sums up the ruinous and tawdry nature of these affairs-the real prize sought by such elephantine egos (i.e. power beyond the scope of all adversaries) was simply too big to be wielded with decency, much less greatness.

Everyone loves a good fight, especially on the world stage, and Evans calls these contests with skill and flair.
--Kirkus Reviews

In the tradition of its successful forebears, Hal Hellman's Great Feuds in Science (Forecasts, Feb. 26) and Great Feuds in Medicine, this new collection showcases 10 feuds between some of the world's most enigmatic personalities, with an emphasis on the global issues often at stake and how, for better or worse, the feuds changed history. Evans (Casebook of Forensic Detection) captures all the dram and controversy in these streamlined accounts brimming with invigorated, well-paced prose. History and human nature collide as revenge is taken to the extreme between strangers and within families. Amundsen and Scott race to the South Pole. Patton and Montgomery, "two armor-plated egos," battle the Germans while vying with each other for the title of supreme Allied general in WWII. The Hatfields and the McCoys, the modern-day synonyms for feuding parties, meet in a succession of bloody showdowns, while Burr and Hamilton's legacy is determined by one fatal duel. Not suprisingly, royalty is well-represented, including the bitter verbal fireworks between Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Politicians are also major players with larger-than-life personalities like Stalin, Trotsky and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Even though the outcomes of the notorious feuds Evans explores are common knowledge, he skillfully maintains suspense by teasing readers with some of the little-know facts and mysteries that surround them. What stands out in each fascinating case is how hate clouds common sense, how losers sometimes win and winners often lose and, as Evan observes, "history isn't always written by the winner." Agent, Ed Knappman.
--Publisher's Weekly --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471225886
• ISBN-13: 978-0471225881
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,183,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mayhem 101, January 30, 2002

By	lvkleydorff (CT. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Feuds in History: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever (Hardcover)

The author chose ten feuds of history and describes them in condensed but well researched detail. There is not much here that is new, but it can be interesting for somebody who would like to more about them. Some of these feuds are more slander and ping pong verbal aggression than actual mayhem, There isn't much blood flowing.

It is the author's choice of course, to select the ten feuds he wants to write about. But I wish he had selected more truly drag-out fights like Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa. Or, in modern times, Harry Truman going after General MacArthur.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for some mindless history..., July 18, 2002

By	Courtney Goodwin (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Not a bad book, you could be reading something completely devoid of content. However, I am very concerned about not only the content in this book ("Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy"???) but also the way is presented. At various points throughout my reading, I felt as if my intelligence were being insulted. Perhaps this book is aimed more at a non-history lover kind of audience and is written in a "verbal-candy" kind of way. At any rate, if you can't get the middle name of one of your main subjects right (it's Robert FRANCIS Kennedy for anyone not in the loop), then what about all of the other details? I am left wondering how much of the content was historically accurate and how much is there purely for entertainment. If books were newspapers, this one would be somewhere between the New York Post and Star (the tabloid).

4.0 out of 5 stars Some feuds that changed history., January 8, 2007

By	Kevin M Quigg (Carol Stream, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is a nice easy read. Each feud is roughly twenty pages long and makes for some nice light reading. Some I wouldn't rate as world changing, but they are interesting. I did not know much about any one one dispute--except perhaps Montgomery and Patton. The McCoy-Hatfield feud was also very interesting and I can't remember that much written about that from other sources. This is an interesting bit of history, and perhaps there are some other feuds that may rate higher than what the author selected (Shah versus Khomeni).

This book is a nice weekend or beach read. The reader will be amazed at the hatred these feuds generated. Evans does a nice job of detailing these pointed conflicts in this book.