Kay,
Welcome to the club, so to speak. For reasons I cannot fathom, I always loved History and always saw it as basically a story of the past.
One of the reasons I like good historical fiction is that you get a great story along with well-researched history. ]]>
Susanna wrote: "That reminds me of my biggest problem with Sean Wilentz' The Rise of American Democracy Jefferson to Lincoln - he idolizes Jackson and tries to paint the Trail of Tears as not really..."
Wilentz obviously wasn't on it. It was horrible for the Indians. Taken out of their forests and moved to the Oklahoma plains. I wouldn't want to live in Oklahoma today, much less 200 years ago.
What is even more tragic is that the Cherokees were one of the most "civilized" Indian tribes with an alphabet and a somewhat agricultural society.
Shame! Shame! Shame!
I shudder to think of the Karma we white folks earned with our treatment of the American Indians. ]]>
Hayes wrote: "I think Ed wants to leave it elastic... in the sense that: the topic is WWI, but there are no set books; there will be some discussion questions and everyone will come to the discussion from a diff..."
You are right, Hayes. I will post some questions late in December that hopefully will get the juices flowing and kick start the discussion.
As I said in my posting about "Theme of the Month":
I think the way we are going is that we will pick a theme and suggest books that could be read on that theme.
At the end of the month I will pose some questions related to the theme and members can respond based on what they have read or what they already know.
For example, if WW I is the theme and I've already read the The Guns of August, I can comment based on that or some other book I've read or just based on my general knowledge of the period.
No need to commit to read any book that you would not read anyway. ]]>
Silvana wrote: "have a safe journey! should I have the chance, I may come visit you in HK, other than it's Disneyland and historical sites obviously"
Do it! Would love to be your tour guide for a day. ]]>
The Guns of Navarone was written by Alistair MacLean. A number of his books were made into movies: Ice Station Zebra, Puppet on a Chain, Force 10 from Navarone, Breakheart Pass, Where Eagles Dare, etc.
His books translate well into film because his focus is on plot and action not character.
The movie, "The Thin Red Line", I thought was disappointing. "From Here to Eternity: is one of the top 50 films of all time IMHO. ]]>
bookshelves: reviewed, spy-political-thriller
I was hoping for Mitch Rapp, Flynn's usual hero, instead I got Congressman Michael O'Rourke.
The story revolves around two assassination plots, one by the "good" guys killing evil politicians, hoping to force needed changes in the government and one by the "bad" guys, hoping to consolidate their power.
The biggest failing of the novel is Flynn's cardboard characters, the weak President, the petulant Chief of staff, the slimy National Security Advisor, the brave congressman, the beautiful reporter, the beleaguered but honorable FBI, CIA and Secret Service personnel, etc.
The plot is the strongest part of the story and carries the reader along right up to the last 100 pages or so when, in an attempt to tie up all the loose ends, Flynn comes up with a number of impossible and unbelievable scenarios.
Fortunately, I was traveling so I zipped through the first 75% of the book before I realized I had a clunker on my hands. I read the last 100 pages after arriving and by that time was driven by my usual obsession to finish any book I start.
If you are able to suspend your disbelief, this could be a fun read. I prefer the Mitch Rapp books because my expectations are so much lower.
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bookshelves: historical-fiction, reviewed
This may be the best book I've read in the entire series and most of them were pretty terrific.
I've read accounts of the Battle of Waterloo but none of them were as complete or as clear as this one. Plus, Cornwell's description of the fighting is as compelling as in any of the other books.
Sharpe is called back to the army to serve under the Prince of Orange, Sweet William, an arrogant commander who creates unnecessary casualties with his brainstorms. Patrick Harper, his fighting partner, joins Sharpe as a civilian.
A sub-plot involving Sharpe's estranged wife and her lover actually adds to the story as Cornwell weaves it into the historical narrative.
Sharpe somehow gets involved in the center of the action
The epilogue wraps up a number of loose ends. Even the Historical Notes are fascinating. ]]>
Ed
said "maybe" to attending the event: THE HISTORY BOOK CLUB - NEW SPOTLIGHTED BOOK DISCUSSION BEGINS.
date: February 21, 2010 08:00AM
location: The United States
description: The History Book Club currently has as its spotlighted book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front to World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This event notification is, however, for the next Spotlighted book discussion beginning February 21, 2010 titled The First World War by Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan OBE.
PW said that the book was a "riveting narrative that puts diaries, letters and action reports to good use, British military historian Keegan ...more
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