Review: Sixty Glorious Years by Victoria Murphy

Title: Sixty Glorious Years
Author: Victoria Murphy
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Haynes Publishing
Publish Date: May 15, 2012
Source: Library

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a non-fiction fan.
• You're a history buff.
• You're a royalty fan.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Since Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne sixty years ago Britain has seen huge social, political and economic change. As her people have celebrated the highs and mourned the lows, she has remained a constant and stable figure at the head of the world's most famous Royal Family. Through 12 Prime Ministers, four recessions, wars and a technological revolution, the Queen's determination to carry out her duties and to connect with the public has not faltered. Sixty Glorious Years celebrates her extraordinary ability to have secured a place in the hearts of generations of Britons. With rarely seen pictures, this book offers an unparalleled look at the life and work of the woman who looks set to become Britain's longest surviving sovereign."

My Two Cents:

This book is a collection of photographs from Queen Elizabeth II's life from the archives of the Daily Mail, the famous London newspaper. Queen Elizabeth was never supposed to be queen. When she was born, she was third in line to the throne and her uncle was to be king. Then he abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. So Queen Elizabeth's father became king. When he died, Queen Elizabeth became well... Queen Elizabeth.

The Daily Mail obviously followed the Queen very closely. This book is filled with a ton of great pictures. Some of them that I've never seen before. Each chapter covers several years in the life of the Queen with a little blurb about what was going on during that time period. The blurbs are great for context.

This is a great photo collection to celebrate the Queen's 60 years of reign!

Bottom line: Royal watchers will love this book!