Read the reviews...
Praise for De Vere as Shakespeare
"Many, many congratulations on a fascinating and definitive contribution to the Oxfordian cause. Your book is quite riveting, the research involved, stunning, and conclusions, inescapable! Thank you for a wonderful read."
~ Sir Derek Jacobi
Actor
"An invaluable source of insights and arguments in the great Shakespeare/Oxford debate."
~ Michael York
Actor
"Regardless of one's authorship allegiances, Mr. Farina makes a strong case for the Oxfordians in his passionate, entertaining book. Whether we choose to believe that De Vere was Shakespeare or not, anyone with an interest in Shakespeare the man, or in his works, will benefit from Farina's research."
~ Jeff Christian
Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Project of Chicago
"Bill Farina's De Vere as Shakespeare provides, at last, full backgrounds to each of Shakespeare's canonical works, with precise attention to sources and how they would have been available to the poet/playwright, and without ignoring material just because it does not fit the Stratfordian paradigm. Farina is fair to the speculative connections between the works and Will Shakspere's sketchy life records, but it becomes abundantly clear, once again, that Oxford is Shakespeare. Every published edition of each Shakespeare work should now replace its introductory essay with the appropriate Farina chapter."
~ Michael E. Delahoyde, Ph.D.
Professor of English, Washington State University
Read Entire RMMLA Review
"William Farina's De Vere as Shakespeare is an enlightening study of solid evidence that gives credibility to the theory that Edward De Vere might well be the author of the Shakespeare canon. In contrast to the would haves, might haves, or probably dids that lace the biographical studies of Shakespeare of Stratford, Farina provides scrupulously documented details from De Vere's life that link him to not just some, but all of the works credited to Shakespeare. It is a huge task that the author undertakes, and his lucid style, in addition to his careful scholarship, add to the value of this important book."
~ Sheila Scott, English Instructor
Trinity College Prep High School, River Forest, Illinois
"De Vere as Shakespeare is the perfect resource for teachers who want to pique their students' interest in Edward De Vere as the likely great Elizabethan Bard. Because William Farina has organized his book into chapters that each focus on one of the Shakespeare plays, it is easy for teachers and students to discuss the authorship question as it relates to the play they've studied. The impressive research in the Hamlet chapter alone was enough to convince my Advanced Placement English students that De Vere must not be dismissed."
~ Kathryn Hutchinson, Teacher
Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Praise for Ulysses S. Grant, 1861-1864
“It’s careful and crafted … indispensable and then unbeatable, like the General himself .... [A] gentle, accessible read, with engaging style and a welcome wit .... The focus is a tale told well … deep research coupled with accessibility.”
~ Paul Hughes,
Civil War News
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Entire Review
"A lively narrative tightly focused on Grant’s amazing generalship in the west. Farina’s account is a model of clarity and precision."
~ Jean Edward Smith
Professor of History, Marshall University and author of the award-winning biography
Grant
"…[Y]our wonderful presentation … was so interesting … the audience was very drawn in the by the topic."
~ Laura Dudnik
Head of Readers’ Services,
Evanston Public Library
" … It is a fascinating book …"
~ Alex Coleman
Co-host of Live at 9,WREG-TV, Memphis
"The best book about me that I didn't write."
~ U.S. Grant
(a/k/a University of Memphis Professor and Civil War re-enactment expert Phillip T. Kolbe, who portrays the general when he presents
his corporate training seminar “Executive Leadership Lessons from General Ulysses S. Grant.”)
Praise for Perpetua of Carthage: Portrait of A Third-Century Martyr
"…wonderful…a very well-written and readable book...exceedingly entertaining and deeply inspiring."
~ Georgie Anne Geyer
Syndicated columnist and author of
Tunisia: The Story of a Country That Works
"…William Farina's study is wide-ranging. The first chapter of each of the book's four parts deals with the varieties of translations of the Latin text; these are followed by looking at what can be known of Perpetua and the world she lived in, and how her story has been viewed over the centuries."
~ Dorothy Disse
Editor,
Other Women's Voices
Praise for Chrétien de Troyes and the Dawn of Arthurian Romance
“I love your book! Almost as soon as it arrived, I got caught up in it. Fascinating subject…writing is lucid. Also like the way you organized it: poet, knight, cleric."
~ Dr. Felicia Hardison Londré
Curators’ Professor of Theatre
University of Missouri – Kansas City
Dean Elect of the American Theatre College of Fellows
“Kudos to William Farina for an impressive achievement. Farina organizes his material well and provides a structure that readers will find useful (literary themes, historical themes, religious themes). His prose is clear, his explanations interesting, his case for Chrétien de Troyes compelling. Farina adds a helpful timeline and chapter notes. In all, this book is an important resource for anyone curious about Arthurian romance and its French-Norman roots.”
~ Dr. Ren Draya
Professor of English & American Literature
Blackburn College