Customer Reviews

The Swan King: Ludwig II of Bavaria

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

 

 

The book is a result of extensive research so it's packed with information and, unlike many histories, this one reads like a novel. I not only learned what Ludwig contributed to Bavaria, but felt I knew him as a person.It's a well-written book on a fascinating topic. I plan to go to Munich Germany next year to see Ludwig's castles firsthand. My only complaint about this is with the publisher. The print is so small, older people, over 55, may have a problem reading it.

I've been a tour guide to Neuschwanstein for several years now and explained Ludwig II's life to hundreds of tourists each year. This is the book that I have found most useful in my tours. If you only read one book on King Ludwig II of Bavaria, this is it.

I've read many books on the subject (as explaining Ludwig II's life is my job), and this is the only one I recommend.

As the other reviewers have said, the print is regrettably small... which is a shame, because this is a very detailed, well-researched biography of a truly fascinating man.

I would heartily recommend this as a starting place for research on Ludwig. It evenly covers both his personal and private life with much detail-- perhaps a bit too much for a true beginner. Still, the writing style is easy to read, and each chapter breaks down a particular time or incident in Ludwig's life very well and covers it thoroughly.

Again, I would definitely recommend this for the casual reader interested in Ludwig. While it is very detailed, it is also written in a very readable style, without coming off like a textbook.

The author views Ludwig sympathetically, but relatively objectively and with a good knowledge of the time period. He perhaps glosses over the question of Ludwig's sexuality, but also explains why he does so.

All in all, a very-well reasearched and well-written book that is very readable on an intriguing man.

I have always been fascinated by this fabulous King, and found this book very enjoyable to read. I liked the entertaining little stories of random things he had done in his life--my favorites were the story of how as a child, he stopped a man to ask for a few coins to give to a woman who was poor, and also how a woman who wanted his attention (when he was older) jumped over the side of a boat they were in, hoping Ludwig would rescue her, but instead he called one of his men to dive in for her. I also liked how it was packed with facts about him, including things that I had not known about. And, it was nice how the book was written like a novel rather than a history book type of thing.

My two complaints about it though, was that it would have been more correct to refer to him as bisexual considering the book mentioned quite a few ladies he was fond of to some degree or another, and I doubt the idea of him never being with any of them in an intimate way. Also, to make the book more correct, the fact that it came out that he was murdered should have been mentioned rather than just the suicide idea. A half a century after his death it was discovered that the coat he wore the night of his death had two bullet holes in the back (easily explaining why he had blood trickling from his mouth) but the coat was later destroyed in a fire.

Ludwig II of Bavaria has spawned such a mass of legend, fiction, romantic twaddle and misinformation that it is difficult to find a decent book that deals strictly with the facts, deeds, failures, and death of this basically tragic figure. This book, short and to the point, is such a history.

McIntosh has done a fair amount of research, and is able to present Ludwig in the context of his upbringing, his nation, his contemporaries, and the times. We witness his rather strict, but typical for the times, family upbringing, his education and training for the kingship, and his somewhat stunted and unusual personality, even when young. He is thrust into the kingship clearly before he is ready. His relations with women are ephermeral, brief and lead to little except in the case of his one engagement, something of a mistimed dance of mutual embarrassment. His relations with his court, his government, and others is not much more smooth. Ludwig should be an artist, but is forced to be kind.

Aside from the fairy tale castle building he embarked upon later in his rule, his most impressive impact in concrete terms was likely his profound relationship with Richard Wagner, covered and analysed in depth in the book. It could well be said that his sponsorship of Wagner made the Ring (and, left-handedly, Bayreuth as Wagner's stage city) possible, but the relationship, while deep and mutually important and satisfying, was often uneasy and rough.

On a more mundane level, Ludwig II of course reigned at the time of Bismarck's great project, the unification of the German states, including of course Bavaria, into the Second Reich, under the Prussian Wilhelm I as German Emperor. Ludwig was loathe to give up a particle of Bavarian national rights and independence; evidence points to some conspiracy among the courtiers instigated by Bismarck, and the annual payments of cash by Prussia to Bavaria in subsequent years up until Ludwig's death raises questions as well. In 1873 Ludwig has no special need for more cash; ten years later, he certainly did.

Finally, there is good coverage of Ludwig's overthrow by his ministers, ostensibly for madness but more practically also because of Bavaria's financial crisis, and the death of the king immediately following. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident?

The author gives us a good deal of sober information, as well as some considered opinions. This may not be the final word on Ludwig II, but it is excellent for a way to get acquainted with a unique figure in European history, more interesting than the myths.

Having visited Linderhof with a guide, my wife and I wanted to know more about Ludwig II. We chose this book in Amazon because it was both recent and seemed complete.
I read the book during my holidays and was not disappointed. I appreciated that the author is sticking to the facts and inviting the reader to draw his own conclusions without speculating too much beyond the obvious reasons for Ludwig's behaviour.
Ludwig lived during an important period for the stability of Europe. Until I had read this book I did not quite realize how the unification of Germany under Bismark sowed the seeds that would ultimately result into the two World Wars.

McIntosh does an excellent job of providing an easily readable beginning spot to anyone interested in the life of the "Swan King." The book provides insight into his family life, motives, and gives personal details that help one understand his actions and story a little bit better. The book is not so introductory, however, that readers with knowledge about his life will find it boring or tedious. The author did an excellent job with his investigation, and even provides information about monetary values. The bibliography is comprehensive and the book, overall, is well researched.

I had read previous reviews that this was one of the best biographies on Ludwig II. While the information is quite thorough and it gives some good insight to Ludwig's character (such as why a grown man would have commissioned such beautiful, fairy-tale like castles complete with pictures from such stories), it was a bit dry to read. I think the subject matter and research is very complete, I just wished it was presented in a more fluid style.

I was very pleased with the item and the speed in which I received it. I would buy from this person again, and again.

I was really disappointed in this book. I really want to read about this topic, but the typeset is so small in this book that it makes it really uncomfortable to read. A few days after I put the book down, I think that it can't have been that bad, and I pick up the book again -- but only for a few minutes.