War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Orlando Figes (Introduction), Anthony Briggs (Translator)

It is hard to shelve this book. After 958 pages I have come to regard Tolstoy, his thoughts and perspectives as threads in the fabric of my daily life. What better example of History, his zeal for a true understanding of the past and how it shapes our present and future, than to rely on his voice, so clear and poignant over a century after his death? To find his message both through story and discussion, a lens for understanding our lives today in relation to the past and our hopes for the future, our desire for the Essence of Life a function of our perception of Freewill, and our constraints of Inevitability? Like a good Italian nona in the kitchen, a little of this, a little of that, it is in the mixture, the pot, the dynamic or flux of life's events that we find happiness, the true Essence of Life we all desire.

Why study history?
Why care about the past, people and events long ago?
Why read War and Peace?

Because we can.
Because we can learn.
Because we can learn how to be our best.
Because we can learn to be our best and be happy.

One life.
That's all you have. Why not?
Un-shelve the book.
Change your life.
Make History.