
Imprudent King
A New Life of Philip II
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Narrated by:
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Nigel Patterson
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By:
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Geoffrey Parker
About this listen
Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later launched the Spanish Armada against her sister Elizabeth I. This compelling biography of the most powerful European monarch of his day begins with his conception (1526) and ends with his ascent to Paradise (1603), two occurrences surprisingly well documented by contemporaries. Eminent historian Geoffrey Parker draws on four decades of research on Philip as well as a recent, extraordinary archival discovery - a trove of 3,000 documents in the vaults of the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, unread since crossing Philip's own desk more than four centuries ago. Many of them change significantly what we know about the king.
The book examines Philip's long apprenticeship; his three principal interests (work, play, and religion); and the major political, military, and personal challenges he faced during his long reign. Parker offers fresh insights into the causes of Philip's leadership failures: was his empire simply too big to manage, or would a monarch with different talents and temperament have fared better?
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Critic reviews
"He is at pains to know Philip through the testimony of his friends, foes, courtiers and his own words and this authoritative, intelligently revisionist biography must stand now as the primary reference." (Iain Finlayson, Times [UK])
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Good read
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It would have been better if it was all knit together in order. That way you could see while one marriage may have been awful, what he was dealing with in his kingdom. How these separate parts may have affected each other is lost by separation.
In all, it is very good, if awkwardly ordered. The narration was superb. I definitely recommend this book.
Great, but I jumbled
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TOO JUMBLED UP TO FOLLOW
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A revealing portrait of King Philip the Second
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Narrator was very capable and I thought fits quite well with the attitude that characterizes the book.
I started with this one for some reason, now I am looking forward to picking up the author's biography of Philip's father Charles.
Enjoyable and Educational
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Fascinating Man and Era
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Informative but disjointed
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Full History of Phillip I
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Most biographers seem to be captured by their subject, and British historians of Spain go out of their way to purge any traces of a black legend perspective, so Parker‘s deep sympathy for Philip is to be expected. Unsympathetic biographies Seldom teach us much. That said, I wish Parker showed more skepticism and balance. His thesis of Philip’s “imprudence“ is not criticism but roundabout admiration for a statesman who was not Machiavellian but deeply principled and disarmingly self reflective. Parker occasionally acknowledges Philip’s cruelty and deceit, but tends to avert his eyes from the uglier parts of the story.
The text is as full of Philip’s own voice as any modern figure’s biography would be. Listeners who don’t know the sources may not realize how hard that was to achieve: Parker‘s quotations come from deciphering difficult paleography in far-flung archival documents, on scraps of paper or in the margins of reports.
Nigel Patterson‘s narration is excellent, above all his Castillion pronunciation. Foreign language pronunciation is the weak link in most well read audiobooks, but Patterson’s is a pleasure to listen to.
The best modern biography
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Excellent history, Super interesting.
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