MY WORD IS MY BOND by Roger Moore, 2008.
Good readable memoir by the oldest actor (born 1927) ever to play James Bond 007. Moore discusses his childhood in England, especially during wartime, his schooling, how he entered the world of show business, etc., all with a light touch and with some quite humorous anecdotes. He writes very honestly about his interactions with various actors he worked with on stage, screen, and TV--Kenneth More, David Niven, Tony Curtis, Joan Collins, Lois Chiles, Susannah York, Gregory Peck, Lee J. Cobb, Grace Jones, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, etc.--as well as people from other aspects of show business. He peppers his ruminations of his life with funny stories and observations and asides, supplying plenty of entertainment without being malicious or gossipy. He provides an excellent amount of material concerning his experiences on and off the set during his involvement with the Bond films, including his longstanding relationships with producer "Cubby" Broccoli and director John Glen. He interweaves his narrative with information about his four marriages and his children, other business related projects, and his rewarding work as an ambassador for UNICEF (recruited by actress Audrey Hepburn). Although a few times Moore seemed a bit full of himself, overall I found this a genuinely interesting, entertaining, and honestly written memoir.

ANNE OF CLEVES: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride by Elizabeth Norton, 2009.

When I was shelving bios the other day I found this title, shocked that I did not even know a recent biography of Anne of Cleves had been published. She has always been my favorite of Henry's multiple wives--not sure why--Because she was German? Not so pretty as the others? Somewhat socially awkward? She kept her head? I don't really know the reason, but I've always admired her in that she managed to survive her marriage to Henry and to outlive him and all the other wives as well, living long enough to ride along in her stepdaughter Mary Tudor's triumphant procession into London as Queen.
   Evidently, according to a promo in the back of this volume, Elizabeth Norton is writing a biography of each of Henry VIII's wives. If this account is any example, they should be fine for popular reading. In writing this biography of Anne of Cleves, Norton has used a number of primary sources, especially published state papers, and her secondary sources include works by scholars Retha Warnicke, Antonia Fraser, David Loades, and Alison Weir.
   How Anne became Queen of England is well known: Henry VIII, after Jane Seymour's death, began casting about Europe for a fourth wife, and after much looking around and due to political expediency, settled on Anne, a daughter of the Duke of Cleves. Unfortunately, the marriage was not a success for various reasons, almost all on Henry's side. Anne, for her part, realizing her frightening situation as the wife of such a king, agreed to a divorce and was able to live out her days as the "King's sister," receiving the largest divorce settlement in English history. I found the author's section concerning Anne's genealogical connections (especially to Henry VIII--they were distant cousins through the Plantagenets) and Anne's early family life interesting, but I was even more intrigued by what her life was actually like after Henry VIII died. Norton includes accurate details of Anne's relationships with her stepchildren, with Henry's last two wives, Catherine Howard and Katharine Parr, and her somewhat troubled financial situation (especially during Edward VI's brief reign). The idea that she might possibly remarry or move back to her native Cleves made for interesting reading, especially since I had always read that she wanted to remain in England and had no desire to return to Cleves. A helpful genealogical chart, notes, and index are included, and the insert of photographs added tremendously to the text. Agreeably written and fairly brief, I would recommend this as a good introduction to Anne's life. Anne of Cleves deserves a serious and extensive biography, but until that appears, this work is certainly adequate for most readers.

LIVIA, EMPRESS OF ROME by Matthew Dennison, 2010.

If you are expecting to read about the scheming and malevolent Livia made famous by Robert Graves' novel or the TV miniseries "I, Claudius," you will be disappointed in this biography. Author Dennison has taken the available sources concerning the Julio-Claudian rulers of Rome, carefully sifted through the details, and fashioned a portrait of Livia that is somewhat revisionist (but perhaps more truthful). The book definitely gives the reader the impression that she was not necessarily a malicious, manipulative person with which we are most familiar, but someone who played the role of supporter her husband desired, who made herself indispensable to him, and who used her gifts of intelligence and organization to simply further her family's ambitions. The author is skeptical of sources like Tacitus and others who had an axe to grind against Livia, or who wrote many years after the events they describe. His narrative is smooth and readable, covering Livia's early years (as much as is known); her marriages to Tiberius Claudius Nero and then to Augustus; her life as Augustus' wife and helpmate during the time Rome moved from being a republic to an empire; her tangled and tumultuous familial relationships with her sister-in-law Octavia, her daughter-in-law Antonia, her sons Tiberius and Drusus, her stepdaughter Julia, etc.; her relations with certain Roman political figures; and her pursuit and use of power over eight decades. The author's view is that Livia's crime was not murder, but her scheming and maneuvering tactics to gain power for herself and for her son Tiberius, who became the emperor after Augustus' death. I agree this is surely a more balanced portrait of Livia and it has provided more facets of her life besides the many murders and other wickedness that has been laid at her doorstep. She most likely was over-maligned and accused of horrendous crimes that were not of her doing, but the possibility exists that Livia was behind at least some of them--consider Marcellus' death, Julia's banishment for sexual promiscuity--these events especially were of benefit to Livia or her son, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that she had something to do with them. My one complaint with the book is the author's tendency to whitewash or discount things that he doesn't like or to claim that a source is unreliable in some details but reliable in others that support his claims. However, in the main, Dennison has provided a very readable, interesting account of a truly formidable female who lived during a dangerous and disturbing period in Rome's history, who was able to find and secure her role in its society, to be actively involved in events and maintain her position, and survive to become the matriarch of what was probably Rome's most notorious dynasty.

MARY BOLEYN: THE MISTRESS OF KINGS by Alison Weir, 2011.

Historian Weir has deftly sifted through available material to create this very readable biographical treatment of the "other Boleyn girl":  Anne Boleyn's sister Mary. Not much is truly known about Mary--not even a documented portrait or a good description of what she looked like--there's even disagreement over her birth year and whether she was the elder or younger sister of the more famous Anne. Called "a great and infamous whore" by some writers (but not until years later), because of her brief relationships with Francis I and Henry VIII, Weir disputes that reputation, and does a credible job of putting together bits and pieces to give a better picture of the course of Mary's life. Unfortunately, because there is so little written documentation, Weir's narrative is full of speculation and what ifs and maybes. Sources disagree as to events and personalities and dates, and Weir is forced to make decisions based on actual proof and logic, drawing her own conclusions, disregarding sources that are considered unreliable or prejudiced. One longs for a contemporary's diary or journal to turn up and shed some light here! Advertised as the first full biography of Mary, it is a worthy achievement: the author has done much research on the Tudors and her times and is able to place Mary firmly within that context; she adds new information concerning both of Mary's husbands, William Carey and William Stafford; she clears up several misconceptions about Mary's life at the courts of the Netherlands and France; she gives plausible theories as to Mary's life during undocumented times after she left the English court; and she provides an interesting theory concerning the parentage of Mary's two surviving children, Henry and Katherine. Her appendixes concerning Mary's descendants and the portrait identification issues are fascinating and thought-provoking. It is somehow gratifying to know that the oft-maligned and misunderstood Mary's notable descendants include Charles Darwin, Sir Winston Churchill, Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla Parker Bowles, and Prince William of Wales. I have enjoyed other works by this author, and overall, this was a good read, and the family charts, illustrations and notes that were included in this volume were much appreciated, even by this Tudor fan. Weir gets high marks for her effort here, but in the end, Mary Boleyn as a historical figure is still very much in shadow.

THE REAL WIZARD OF OZ: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF L. FRANK BAUM by Rebecca Loncraine, 2009.

An articulate account of a quite fascinating and lively American writer, the creator of the Wizard of Oz stories. Born and raised in New York State, but resided in such far flung areas as South Dakota, Chicago, and Hollywood, Lyman Frank Baum was one of a large and somewhat unconventional family. This biography, by an English scholar, pulls together the varied facets of Baum's life as an actor, playwright, storekeeper, oilman, salesman, and author--a life of failures and successes, fortunes and bankruptcy--and presents them in an easy to follow narrative. She has taken available research and made use of several special collections of Baum material in writing this account, and manages to show how different pieces of Baum's life truly affected his writing of the Oz stories as well as other works--he wrote other series and novels under at least half a dozen other names in the course of his career. His marriage to Maud Gage, daughter of a prominent feminist, and the raising of the four sons is covered in depth. The author is very good with her descriptions of  major influences on Baum--the bleak Dakota prairies, the Native American troubles of the West (Wounded Knee took place during Baum's residence in Dakota), family issues with various siblings and relatives, the Civil War veterans, and how he incorporated many of these things into his stories. Loncraine also dispels several of the myths concerning Baum--for instance, the name "Oz" was not taken from his filing cabinet as has been told before, but actually sprang from his own imagination during the writing of the original story.
  I would recommend this for anyone who's a fan of the Oz series or movie, or as simply a good popular biography of a fascinating individual who in fact created the first wholly American fairy tale.

Just finished reading ABIGAIL ADAMS: A LIFE by Woody Holton, 2009.

This biography of Abigail Adams is quite interesting and well written and readable. The author sheds light on an aspect of her life not well known before now: her financial savvy--for one thing, she was really into buying bonds big time, even though John wanted more real estate. Abigail had an uncle, Cotton Tufts, who acted as her agent/trustee, signed for her and advised her, but at the same time, she had great instinct concerning financial investments. Holton also discusses her belief in education and women's rights (especially as concerned owning property), her feelings on slavery, etc. He does much to illuminate her personal relationships with her mother (whom she considered overprotective), her siblings (especially her sisters), and with John, as well as her interactions with such notables as Mercy Otis Warren, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and others. Her relationship with Phoebe Abdee, one of her father's former slaves, is recounted in some detail over a period of years. Is there lots of new information here? Probably not, except for the financial stuff, but Holton writes so well and has utilized Abigail's own voluminous correspondence, other letters and papers and materials in such a way that this fascinating woman you may think you know all about is revealed in a different way. A very thorough and worthwhile bio.

Finished reading on 3/12/09:

MISTRESS OF THE MONARCHY: THE LIFE OF KATHERINE SWYNFORD, DUCHESS OF LANCASTER, by Alison Weir, 2009.

A good readable biography about Katherine Swynford, the woman who became the mistress of John of Gaunt (son of Edward III), bore him 4 children, married him as his third wife, and became an ancestress of all British monarchs beginning with the Tudors. Most of what I'd known about her before was from the novel Katherine, by Anya Seton. Good details of life in 14th century England; but facts about her seem so skimpy that there's lots of perhaps and probably and maybe used, which bugged me after a while. Good illustrations, family charts have some typos, notes, etc.