Larry's comments (member since Nov 12, 2007)

Larry's comments from the Our History group.

I love it all too. I used to concentrate very heavily on American history from 1492 to the early 1800s. However, after reading Guns, Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond) and 1491 (by Charles Mann), I have widened my scope.

I am just now finishing In Search of the Trojan War (by Michael Wood) and find myself fascinated by the prehistory of the eastern Mediterranean and NW Anatolia.

Gordon Wood, James Flexner (great bio of George Washington), Philip McFarland, Craig Nelson.

Actually I CAN relate to one of the aforementioned books. The Name Of The Rose is excellent.

Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations is an excellent biography. And although not a true biography in the classic sense The Brave Bostonians is also excellent. It follows three colonialists (they weren't really Americans yet) in London and how their activities affected, and were affected by, the tides that led to the outbreak of the American Revolution. Both of these are outstanding reads and good historical studies. I don't think many serious historians would allow their disdain to affect their appreciation of these books.

Also, Gordon Wood, an outstanding historian at Brown, wrote The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, another terrific bio.

Erin,

I can't relate this to any of the aforementioned books, but try The Devil in the White City. It takes place in the 1890s, is true, but is written as a novel. it's really very good.