Reviews for A systematic guide to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights

The average rating for A systematic guide to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-10-29 00:00:00 Foad Hsggdf December 2009 I think I may be a glutton for punishment--bookwise, that is, and at least where nonfiction is concerned. I seem to be developing a habit of picking up interesting-looking books that later turn out to be bad, unreadable, or merely uninteresting. It happened with Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost its Empire and the West Lost the World by Patrick Buchanan: despite the obvious subtitle, despite the author (that Pat Buchanan), despite the warning bells that went off during the introduction, I read the freakin’ book anyway. It did not go well. Lesson learned: don’t read anything by Patrick Buchanan. Another lesson should have been: Pay attention to the book jacket. Because it happened again. I did not choose a book wisely. This time, it was the cover that pulled me in. Just the cover. I mean, look at it--look at him! It’s Theodore Roosevelt! Teddy Goddamn Roosevelt! President! Fighter! Man! Charged up San Juan Hill, singlehandedly built the Panama Canal, killed lions and robots and bears, got shot on the campaign trail but still gave a speech with the bullet lodged in his mighty chest. That last bit is actually true. Hell, even if you knew none of that, you still remember one thing: Teddy Roosevelt was the most awesome president ever. It's in your blood, part of some barely-conscious shared memory binding the American race together. Even now your intimidated sperm cowers in fear (or your ovaries quiver with joy) whenever you read His Name: THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Did you feel that? He was just that awesome. How could you not want to read this book? I got some bad news: It's a trap! Roosevelt, awesome? Not so, according to H. W. Brands. Brands--whose sperm is not intimidated, whose ovaries do not quiver--doesn't like Roosevelt. Brands isn't impressed. According to Brands, Teddy Goddamn Roosevelt was a petulant, childish man-boy with daddy issues, a weakling who could barely hold his family together, whose accomplishments as a man and as a politician were accidental and whose mistakes were all his fault. Even more so, Roosevelt was--according to Brands--boring. It could be true--I'm not entirely certain--but I can't help but wonder if Edmund Morris's two three-volume treatment of Roosvelt might be a little more fair--at the very least, not nearly as unpleasant and negative. The worst part about all this? It said it all on the freakin' jacket cover. Brands made it abundantly clear in the blurb what he thought of Roosevelt, and I still read the dang book. I blame the cover. It's so deceptive. Look at it: Roosevelt looks so jovial and charming with that smile, how could you not help but like him? Go on, smile back. Pick up the book. Go on. Pay no attention to the jacket cover. Just start reading it. Go ahead. You like Theodore Roosevelt, yes you do. You want to read this book... IT'S A TRAP!

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-07 00:00:00 Tramaine Thomas “T.R.: The Last Romantic” is H.W. Brands’s 1997 biography of Theodore Roosevelt. Brands is a professor at the University of Texas, a prolific author and a two-time Pulitzer finalist. He has written nearly thirty books on a wide range of historical topics including biographies of Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Aaron Burr and FDR. His most recent biography “Reagan: A Life” will be released in May. Brands’s biography is lengthy (with just over 800 pages) but also comprehensive, well-researched and detailed. His writing style, always straightforward and exceptionally readable, lacks the descriptive touches of many authors. As a result, this book does not engage the reader with spectacular scene-setting as do some biographies, and rarely presents the world as seen through Roosevelt’s eyes. But Brands maintains a keen, insightful and penetrating frame of reference and provides a comparatively serious and sophisticated journey through Roosevelt’s life. Brands also does an admirable job providing historical context throughout the text. His colorful description of the grubby underside to life in New York City (which Roosevelt encountered as a young, enthusiastic police commissioner) is but one early example. For such a comprehensive and thorough biography, however, there are surprisingly few threads tying together the various phases of Roosevelt’s life. Only the notion of Roosevelt as a “romantic” pervades the biography (in a philosophical, not amorous, sense). And although Brands works diligently to link Roosevelt with that theme, it is not overwhelmingly convincing or compelling. Curiously, Brands chooses to underemphasize Roosevelt’s efforts in the area of wilderness preservation as well as his productive literary career. If I hadn’t already read several biographies of Roosevelt I would hardly appreciate what he accomplished with his authorship of The Naval War of 1812 (started when he was just a college student). On the other hand, topics on which Brands chooses to focus are usually well-executed such as his description of Roosevelt’s involvement in the Panama Canal project. “The Last Romantic” is frequently criticized for being unfairly critical of Roosevelt – a charge that seems heavy-handed in the book’s early chapters. Brands is certainly not as breathless in his praise of the young Roosevelt as are most biographers, but at worst his coverage seems ruthlessly objective. As the book wears on, however, Brands’s tone becomes increasingly tepid and his observations more consistently disparaging. Once Roosevelt becomes president he seems unable to do anything to merit the author’s praise; the benefit of the doubt never accrues to this Rough Rider. And while Brands undoubtedly performs a public service in showing both sides of Roosevelt’s coin, the sense of imbalance becomes distracting. The criticism is rarely obtuse or heavy-handed, but if it is somewhat subtle it is also unrelenting. Fortunately, the final chapter serves as a useful and perceptive review of Roosevelt’s character and legacy. But by now the biography’s momentum and enthusiasm have been dissipated. Judged as two separate books, the first half would score among the best presidential biographies I’ve read. As for the second half… Overall, H.W. Brands’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt is informative, detailed and thought-provoking. It seems to revere his early enthusiasm for justice and reform, but challenges the conventional wisdom placing TR among the greatest of America’s presidents. Brands’s biography of Teddy Roosevelt is interesting and often meritorious, but seems to go a step too far in tearing the man off his pedestal. Overall rating: 3¾ stars