Mad King, The-Ludwig II

The Mad King is a wonderful book. I had heard many things about this king but the book gives you a better perspective of him and his life.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Poor Ludwig, even when you feel irritated by his childish immaturity when it came to matters of governing his kingdom, you still can't help feeling fond of him and his limitless enthusiasm for beauty! While others rejected his decisions to pour fortunes into art and architecture, the world is a better place for the jewels he left us. If Walt Disney did any research on the life of Ludwig II, he surely was paying homage to his very essence by modeling the Disney Castle after Neuschwanstein and creating another fantasy world where Ludwig would have thrived!

I would highly recommend this book -it is well-written, remarkably documented and presents varied and much interesting facts and circumstances about the tragic life of Ludwig II. I truly enjoyed reading it. A must for anyone interested in the King, the Wittelsbach house or Richard Wagner.

As a big fan of the Bavarian King Ludwig II, I have read several books about the "Swan King", including the remainders of his secret diary. Still, I was quite charmed by this biography by Greg King. I was touched by his description how awkward the relation between Ludwig and his parents was. They felt hopelessly awkward in their children's presence and knew nothing of their interests and could never make more than the most shallow conversation with them.In Chapter 30, "The King's Friendships", Greg King poses a theory that the Catholic Ludwig struggled with his homosexuality and that he hid himself in his artificial world in a desperate attempt to fight against his longings. Through repeated pledges and vows to remain chaste in his secret diary, he tried to appease his troubled soul. Chapter 34, "The King's Illness", is about Ludwig's eccentricity, describing Ludwig's brother Otto, their aunts and other eccentric and insane relatives. He concludes the chapter with: "The question of his alleged insanity [..] should be one of degrees of eccentricity rather than complete mental illness."In the final chapter, "The Crime", Greg King poses his own theory of Ludwig's mysterious death. The hard cover contains some black-and-white pictures and a simple family tree. Of all books I have read about Ludwig, I would recommend this one. It gave me some interesting, new insights into Ludwig's private live. It is well-written and fun to read!

This book is the most absorbing biography I've ever read. From beginning to end, I couldn't put it down. I really recommend it to everyone, even if you know nothing about the person of Ludwig II, ESPECIALLY if you know nothing about him. It's really worth it. Incredibly entertaining is an appropriate description of it