This is not my first Alice Roosevelt book. I have to admit, I am drawn to books about this quirky White house daughter, the rebel badass, and, despite the fact that I once considered Eleanor the best of the Roosevelts, I have to think that Alice was the most true to herself. In previous books I’ve read about her though, she was depicted as a spirited girl bent on hijinks—with no particular care for the lives of those around her. This book added a depth to her character that I didn’t feel before, and considered the compromises she made in love and life, going beyond the typical scandals that are recalled when Alice is the topic. I was moved by the story of the years following her mother’s death, her relationship with her father, and the idea that America’s Sweetheart seemed so unlucky in her choices for love. Regardless of that, Alice lived the life she wanted to live, her unequivocal independence and life of the mind so contrary to the prevailing norms, and an example still, of how to get the very most out of life.

 

Alice Roosevelt is a force to be reckoned with. From the moment her father took office, Alice knew that she would make a mark on the world. However, impressing Theodore Roosevelt is a monumental task. Alice lives according to her own rules and the beliefs that her father has instilled upon her. Alice makes waves in Washington from her teenage years through adulthood, even when a Roosevelt is not in office. Alice would love to find love, but that aspect of her life seems to continuously fall through the cracks. As Alice survives the years and the ups and downs of Washington, she make friends and enemies but is respected by all.

I love learning about lesser known historical figures. I of course knew about Theodore Roosevelt and the many things that he had accomplished while in office. I have even visited the site where the book begins. However, I have not heard much about Alice except for a few quotes. From the moment the Roosevelt's find out that Theodore will be President, I knew that I would like Alice. Her character has immeasurable strength and conviction that is paired with a wildness that makes everything more exciting. I was surprised at the many things that Alice was able to accomplish both large and small- from having a color named after her to helping her father with international relations, Alice was influential in both the social and political spheres. While Alice's public life was filled with escapades, her personal life was just as engrossing. Her relationship with Nicholas Longworth would be fodder for every tabloid if she were alive today. I was endeared by Alice's quest to please her father. Written with careful detail to historical records, American Princess creates a rich and riveting story of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a woman who earned the title of Princess and The Other Washington Monument throughout her life. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I'm sure no book quite like this has ever been written before.

"I still carry the curse I once warned you of," [Borte] finally said. "Would you bring a storm of death onto the steppes?"

Temujin shrugged. "My strength in battle has already been tested. With you as my wife I will become a great and powerful khan, and our children will multiply and rule from the Great Lake to the Great Dry Sea."

Tiger Queens is a historical epic that stretches almost eighty years from 1171 C.E. to 1248 C.E. Timeline wise, the one that most of us are most familiar with anyway, this starts with the future nine-year-old Genghis Khan and ends with the crowning of his grandson Mongke Khan, placed three years earlier than the historical date for plot purposes.

But first and foremost, this story is one that belongs to the women. Which is why I read it (duh). They say that behind every great man is a great woman, and if this book isn't a splendid homage to that then I don't know what is.

Four perspectives placed one after another in succession: Borte Ujin, Genghis's empress; Alaqai, their youngest daughter; Fatima, a Persian captive; and Sorkhokhtani, Borte's daughter-in-law and mother of Mongke and Kublai Khan. The overarching plot driver is Genghis himself--who against all odds, survives his childhood, defeats his rival Jamuka, and unites the steppes before looking outward for civilizations to bring under his rule. But at home, it is the women who make sure his kingdom stays intact, and band together to rescue it when his male successors find themselves at each others' throats for the throne of the Mongol Empire.

The scope necessarily makes it an extremely fast-moving book, which is part of the appeal. The passage of time literally almost feels like the wind, quite appropriate considering how quickly the Mongol Empire consolidated itself from a group of scattered nomad clans to the largest contiguous empire in history. Time is especially condensed towards the last third of the book during Fatima's perspective. As the only foreigner in the group of four, her view is important because it's such an emotionally transitional one: as a new captive she's repulsed by the Mongols' barbarian savagery, before years and years pass and her thirst for revenge changes to the loyalty of a sisterhood.

Childless, and without a mother, father, or husband, I had no one in this world. Yet Toregene had been by my side for half my life, a sister not of blood, but of circumstance.

Second to Fatima, the most fascinating perspective for me was the first one, Borte's. I'm quite intrigued by Thornton's use of prophecy as an accurate plot predictor of death and destruction. It's definitely not enough to call it a fantastical element, but it's so eerily woven into the structure of the plot. Blessed with the gift of foresight, Borte sees that she'll precipitate a bloody war on the steppes, and this does indeed come true with Genghis's conflict with his blood brother Jamuka. Borte's POV also gives the largest coverage on the theme of sexuality, dynamics of gender, and the astonishing cruelty inflicted on women of defeated clans. With every conquest of her husband, there is looting and there is rape. Men are killed while women are absorbed, some whose new families extinguish the desire for revenge, some whose marriages give them newfound power comparable to that of their husbands'.

Alaqai's and Sorkhokhtani's stories are mainly ones of survival--the last ones standing. I should give a warning as Sorkhokhtani's section is surprisingly short, only taking up the last 60 pages or so compared to the hundreds of pages devoted to the three other women. It's no less important for that, in part because it was such a momentous point in history, and everything I'd ever assumed about Mongke and Kublai Khan as historical figures gets turned upside down when I realize that there was a mother behind the scenes biding her time and pulling strings. Thornton's author note at the end provides additional information. I'm more convinced than ever of Thornton's central principle--that the great men of history could never have accomplished what they did on their own without the help of women.

In sum, if Borte Ujin, Alaqai, Fatima, Sorkhokhtani, and Genghis Khan themselves were to time-travel to the present and read this book, I'm certain they'd be nodding their heads in enthusiastic approval.

This isn’t an era I know much about and for some reason I’ve never been very interested in Alexander. But I’ve heard so much good about Thornton’s books that I jumped at this. And good thing that I did!

The story is told from four points of views: his sister Thessalonike, his friend and sometime lover Hephaestion and wives Roxana and Drypetis, Everyone is very different so we get 4 interesting perspectives. These were strong women who knew what they wanted and were ready to fight for it, by any means necessary. And then there was Alexander’s mother Olympias who sadly wasn’t POV character. She was ruthless, calculating and ready to do anything to get Alexander into power. It would have been great to know her motives for doing things she did.

We don’t get Alexander in a very good view but we see better side of him through Thessalonike’s eyes. But Roxana I loathed. She was the only character I hated and kept hoping something bad happens to her… My favourite was Hephaestion and I might have had a bit of a crush on him… I don’t care to imagine how much more destruction Alexander might have done without Hephaestion holding him back and trying to be a voice of reason.

This was amazing book and it definitely won’t be the last! I need to move Daughter of the Gods up my TBR list.