Good history should read like fiction and this book certainly does. At center are the two main characters: Livingstone, the epic explorer missionary ...moreGood history should read like fiction and this book certainly does. At center are the two main characters: Livingstone, the epic explorer missionary who, through traversing the African continent, rose from humble beginnings to become the most famous person in England besides the queen a fellow of the aristocratic Royal Geographical Society, and who gets swallowed up by Africa while attemping to find the source of the Nile, and Stanley, the "American" ne'er do well who as a journalist for the New York Herald leads a 236 day expedition of 975 miles days thru torrents, disease, wild animals, hostile and rapacious natives, rebellious underlings and war, and finally rescues Livingstone.
It is hard to believe that less than 150 years ago, Africa outside of the coasts was unmapped and unknown. There were no roads and the terrain extremely difficult. As seen from the above figures, Stanley's pace was less than five miles a day. When Stanley found Livingstone in November 1871, the latter had been on his last expedition for more than five years. The slave trade, though outlawed in Europe and America, was still thriving among Arab traders. In addition to the great characterizations, this book conveys how different from our world was the Africa of that not too distant past.
A little dated, but very clearly states why markets are better at promoting socioeconomic prosperity than governments.
For those of you who...moreA little dated, but very clearly states why markets are better at promoting socioeconomic prosperity than governments.
For those of you who believe markets are not perfect -- yes you are right. But can you suggest a better mechanism for aggregating all those decisions we make as to what we want or at what cost businesses think they can produce at. Central planning a la USSR? Even if the idiots in Congress or running for president where twenty times smarter than they are and not always conflicted by special interests, this would be a hard problem. As is, its impossible. Let the market let you express yourself.(less)
Don't believe what they teach you in high school about FDR's New Deal. Contrary to the popular belief that activist government rescued the US economy...moreDon't believe what they teach you in high school about FDR's New Deal. Contrary to the popular belief that activist government rescued the US economy from the ravages of unbridled markets, this book makes the case that policy failure was a major contributor to the depth of the downturn and that government intervention snuffed out the recovery by preventing the self-correcting mechanisms of the market to work.(less)
Brilliant exposition of a world about to fall apart. Separate vignettes on: the transition in Britain from gov't dominated by aristocrats to the rise...moreBrilliant exposition of a world about to fall apart. Separate vignettes on: the transition in Britain from gov't dominated by aristocrats to the rise of industrialists and the Labour party; Thomas Reed's failed struggle to maintain America's anti-imperialist republican values; Richard Strauss's Germany and France ripped apart by the Dreyfuss affair as their inevitable struggle looms.(less)
Epic! And great prose. Can't get any better than stuff like:
"Yet calm, enticing calm, oh, whale! thou glidest on, to all who for the...moreEpic! And great prose. Can't get any better than stuff like:
"Yet calm, enticing calm, oh, whale! thou glidest on, to all who for the first time eye thee, no matter how many in that same way thou may'st have bejuggled and destroyed before."
My personal experience with the book was colored by a huge ordeal I underwent while reading it. It was just as the dot.com boom was settling into fevered pitch. I was sure names like Amazon and Yahoo were way overvalued, and they were, but the markets work in mysterious ways. As Amazon heaved then settled down for a time, and I, in my madness, thought I could smell its demise and shorted the stock. Then when placing a Christmas order on their site I had a moment of clarity and almost sailed away, but it languished and reeled me in. And then it rose upward, upward, upward! And I knew I had found my white whale and could feel Ahab's madness welling up within me. Luckily I lacked his resolve. Though badly savaged, I survived to ride the market down in triumph the next year.
So there you have it. Great book. Some tedious chapters, such as the ones describing the physical details of whales, but great characters, great prose and great story.(less)
How the West was won and lost. Tells the remarkable story of Kit Carson, life in the West (mainly around Santa Fe) before and after the Mexican War, ...moreHow the West was won and lost. Tells the remarkable story of Kit Carson, life in the West (mainly around Santa Fe) before and after the Mexican War, and the demise of Navajo independence. (less)
As the title says, describes how Shaka forged a nation out of the soup of Bantu tribes in Southern Africa.
Great descriptions of the catast...moreAs the title says, describes how Shaka forged a nation out of the soup of Bantu tribes in Southern Africa.
Great descriptions of the catastrophic battle of Isandlwana and the defense Rourke's Drift. In the former, 20,000 Zulus overwhelmed a British force of about 550 regulars and the same number of native and European levies. In the latter, 139 British soldiers held off 4-5000 Zulu warriors.
Well-written but covers several decades and one sometimes loses track of who is who.
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This book reads like a spy novel, which indeed it is, only true and as gripping as anything fictional I've read.
It describes how English int...moreThis book reads like a spy novel, which indeed it is, only true and as gripping as anything fictional I've read.
It describes how English intelligence broke the German code and finally uncovered the Zimmerman Telegram (an offer by the Germans to aid Mexico in recapturing territory lost to the US) which finally brought America into the WWI. Intertwined in the story are drunken Mexican dictators, Eastern European spy networks (hated the Germans), fears of Japanese intervention in Mexico almost 30 years before Pearl Harbor, suitcases stolen on subway trains, and the (illicit) affairs of ambassadors. (less)
Most everything by Barbara Tuchman is good. She really brings characters and events to life.
This book covers the events leading up to WWI...moreMost everything by Barbara Tuchman is good. She really brings characters and events to life.
This book covers the events leading up to WWI and the first month of combat. It delves into the emotional fragility of the extended family (including the Kaiser, the Czar, and the King of England) ruling over Europe, as well as the collective incompetence of them and their advisers. It shows the fog of war descending on the painstaking plans of the armies of Europe and how some late heroics saved France from the pounding they would get three decades later.
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