Mistress of the Elgin Marbles or At the Center of the Storm

Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin

Author: Susan Nagel

The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary's own letters, scholar Susan Nagel tells Mary's enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail.

Publishers Weekly

The lively and sharp-witted Scottish heiress Mary Nisbet (1778-1855) shone as the wife of Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin and Ambassador Extraordinaire to the Ottoman Empire-whose name became associated with the Parthenon friezes brought to England. In the earliest years of marriage, Mary was her husband's staunchest ally and participant in his diplomatic work, as her diaries and letters reveal. As Nagel shows, following Elgin's incarceration under Napoleon and after the tragic loss of their only son as an infant, Mary's feelings for Elgin began to cool. She resisted his demand for another heir, and their relationship collapsed when Elgin discovered Mary's affair with his best friend. The glamorous couple's marriage ended in scandal and a humiliating public divorce. Nagel, who has written for the stage, screen and scholarly journals, creates a sympathetic and emotionally charged portrait of Mary, tracing in vivid detail the couple's travels, the diplomatic challenges they faced and their growing marital tensions. Elgin's acquisition of the notorious "Elgin marbles" makes for dramatic reading, but the biography's chief merit is its wealth of domestic and intimate detail and Nagel's ability to chart the course of an elite marriage with insight and compassion yet without sentimentality. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Agent, Tina Bennett. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Perceptive biography of an aristocrat Scottish lady who broke social, political, and diplomatic ground. With a clarity graced by a trove of surviving letters, ably selected and deciphered, Nagel (Humanities/Marymount Manhattan College) follows her subject's rise and fall. Born late in the 18th century into the wealthiest family in Scotland, Mary Nisbet did not have unlimited access to her monies. So she married Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, a dashing, intelligent striver perennially short of funds. Though her husband is now better known than she, thanks to the marbles he famously (or infamously, depending on your point of view) removed from the Parthenon and transported to Britain, Mary actually had an equally strong-and more positive-impact than Thomas during their lifetimes. In Constantinople, where he was first posted as ambassador, Mary won the hearts of the sultan, Captain Pasha, and the Grand Vizier with her ample supply of brio and dash. In Athens, shocked to see how greatly the Parthenon had suffered from Alaric the Visigoth to the Venetians-it had been used for target practice and as a public toilet; vandalized hunks of the temple had been carted off to every corner of Europe-Ambassador Elgin used the British passion for Hellenistic antiquities to open purse strings back in England and finance the marbles' relocation. Nagel suggests that Elgin believed "he was rescuing history . . . instead of leaving them to wither and disintegrate," but his act was not roundly applauded; not only the Greeks but Lord Byron himself thought it scandalous. While her husband was increasingly away from home, involved in one diplomatic imbroglio after another, Mary found herself caught in theaffections of Robert Ferguson, a close family friend. When uncovered by Elgin, the affair resulted in Mary losing custody of her children and Elgin losing his bankroll, devastating blows for each. A unique life related with animation, admiration, and affection, but also faithfully and unfancifully. (16-page b&w photo insert, not seen)Agent: Tina Bennett/Janklow & Nesbit

Book review: Stratégie D'information D'entreprise et Direction :Texte et Cas

At the Center of the Storm

Author: George Tenet

In the whirlwind of accusations and recriminations that has attended the post-9/11 world, one man's vital testimony has been conspicuously absent. Candid and compelling, AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM is George Tenet's memoir of his life at the CIA -- a revelatory look at the inner workings of America's top intelligence agency and its dealings with national leaders at home and abroad. With unparalleled knowledge and breadth, Tenet illuminates how the country was prepared -- and not prepared -- to deal with a world full of new and deadly threats.

Beginning with his installation as Director of Central Intelligence in 1997, Tenet unfolds the momentous events that led up to 9/11: his declaration of war on Al Qaeda in 1998, CIA operations inside Afghanistan, the worldwide operational plan to fight terror, his warnings to White House officials in the spring and summer of 2001, and the plan for a response laid down just six days after the attack. Tenet also reveals the CIA's efforts since 9/11 to hunt down the fugitive members of Al Qaeda's leadership.

In his gripping narration of the run-up to the war in Iraq, Tenet provides fresh insights and background, including a privileged account of how the famous "sixteen words" made it into the President's State of the Union speech, the real context of his own now-famous "slam-dunk" comment, and the CIA's views of the rise of an Iraqi insurgency.

Finally, in addition to the backstage story of the headline events, Tenet will offer his thoughts on the future of U.S. intelligence and its role in foreign-policy decisions, setting forth an informed plan for how we can forge a more secure world.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

Alternately withholding and aggrieved, earnest and disingenuous, At the Center of the Storm is interesting less for any stunning new revelations than for fleshing out a portrait of the Bush White House already sketched by reporters and former administration members. Mr. Tenet depicts an administration riven by factional fighting between the State and Defense Departments, hard-liners and more pragmatic realists, an administration given to out-of-channels policymaking, and ad hoc, improvisatory decision-making.

Publishers Weekly

Former CIA director Tenet leaves the main vocal duties for this audio in the capable hands of Conger (who also recently narrated The Reagan Diaries). Yet in reading both the brief introduction and lengthy-but highly compelling-afterword, Tenet demonstrates a command of the spoken word that makes one wonder why he did not handle his own narration. However, the two men project a compatible style and tone, conveying deeply personal emotion within the boundaries of professionalism and decorum. Tenet does not shy away from acknowledging his own responsibility in controversies involving terrorism and the Iraq War, but he also takes several key political leaders to task for scapegoating the intelligence community in the wake of unpopular policy. The musical interludes at the start and end of each CD serve to maintain the cloak and dagger ambience. Those who prefer to skim the surface of news events may find the length taxing, but listeners ready to move beyond the headlines and into a wider world of nuanced complexity will be more than satisfied. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover. (July)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Library Journal

Talk about an insider's account. Head of the CIA from 1997 to 2004, Tenet ushers us inside the agency before and after 9/11. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

Principal Characters     ix
Preface     xxv
Part I
The Towpath     3
The Burning Platform     19
Shot Out of a Cannon     43
Waging Peace     80
Beyond Wye     112
Arafat     132
Part II
Gathering Storm     149
"They're Coming Here"     201
9/11     246
"We're at War"     268
Missed Opportunities     291
Into the Sanctuary     314
Threat Matrix     346
They Want to Change History     393
The Merchant of Death and the Colonel     428
Part III
Casus Belli     457
"The One Issue That Everyone Could Agree On"     487
No Authority, Direction, or Control     516
Slam Dunk     545
Taking "the Case" Public     558
Diplomacy by Other Means     582
The Hunt for WMD     606
Mission Not Accomplished     630
Sixteen Words     680
Going     722
Afterword     739
Glossary     769
Acknowledgments     779
Index     787