The History Book Club > Polls

John Adams - PRESIDENTIAL SERIES

This poll will examine the choices for the John Adams upcoming reading selection which will be the next President covered in the Presidential Series (after Madison). The order for the Presidents selected was determined by the group membership in a recently completed poll. The results are posted.

This selection will begin in 2018 and will continue for three - four months - depending upon the length of the selection. Some selections will take a long time so rather than begin this selection around Christmas or other important religious or family holidays, we are waiting until 2018 to begin the John Adams selection and we will have completed the Madison book by then.

We have added all of the books nominated on the John Adams thread and a few others. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll or you can write it in - but make sure that you select from the list the correct book and author. Also make sure that it is not already listed. If I find a duplicate, I will delete it.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the John Adams's books deal with only a certain period of his life, some may be multi-volume (if that is ever the case - I always add both separately), some deal with other topics too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in Adam's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself and some may be about other relationships or focused on specific issues during his life or presidency or even his wife and first lady - Abigail Adams. Others deal with some of the other founding fathers as well. So select wisely.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

Note: Be careful when making your selection: a great many of these books have the same title (John Adams) so be careful to make the right choice.

Around the World with our Reading Challenges

Our members have participated in challenges on the Middle East, India and we are in the midst of challenges for Ireland and Japan. Our next destination will be the Koreas (North and South) - but we need your input as to which country's literature, authors, locations, history, iconic figures and/or events you would like to read and challenge yourself with next.

We are looking for all 14,000+ members to participate in this poll. That will help us plan successfully.

You may select any of the choices below or write in your choice - the only options that are NOT viable candidates are India, Middle East as a geographic area, Japan and Ireland because we have completed these challenges or are in the midst of these challenges. Also, the Koreas will be next so that is off the table as well.

So select a country below or write in your own favorite if we missed it.

Regarding the Presidents' Series: - Starting new poll since we have scheduled two of the presidents with the most votes already for later in the year - so you have a brand new chance to vote again

Which president are you most interested in reading about and discussing next? Select one.

To make this poll clearer - we have updated the reading order of the presidents in the past few months and we have scheduled the top vote getters (Washington and Madison) and we want to update the list for the next selected presidents.

We are reading a book about each of the presidents and discussing each president as part of a series we call the Presidential Series for all folks new to the History Book Club - it is just one of the Series and offerings that we have which are on-going. One reason is that the goodreads polls themselves have not been working for large groups so that the moderator could select group and all to alert group members that there was even a poll to vote on like we had done before - they still are not working that way or the way they used to.

We have already read and discussed books or have an upcoming book slated on all of the following presidents so we have not included them in the list of presidents that we have not covered to date

List of Presidents covered either in prior, current or upcoming scheduled discussions - therefore you will not find them on the voting list:

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) (multiple books)
6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) (multiple books and one upcoming on the first lady)
7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
11. James K. Polk (1845-1849)
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) (multiple books)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) (multiple books and Unreasonable Men discussion going on now)
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) (multiple books)
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961 (multiple books and one just recently)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) (multiple books)
37. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
1. George Washington (1789-1797) is now scheduled and slated
4. James Madison (1809-1817) is now scheduled and slated

If you do not recognize some of the names on the voting list - there were 14 presidents of the United States before George Washington and before the Constitution was ratified and we were asked to include them by the membership - here is a link which might help you identify who these folks were - http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/03/0...

Note: This is President Series Poll Five - We have 13,000+ members and one of the guidelines is that all members vote in polls and respond to event notifications (yes, maybe, no) - either or both of these take 1 second tops. Please vote and respond - that is what continues to make a community of readers timely and great and helps us with the planning which you enjoy reading. Thanks to all members.

If you would like to see a list of all of the presidents of the United States and their vice presidents after the Constitution was ratified - here is that link:

http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvpli...

Regarding the Presidents' Series:

Which president are you most interested in reading about and discussing next? Select one.

To make this poll clearer - we have not updated the reading order of the presidents for three years and we want to update the list now. We are reading a book about each of the presidents and discussing each president as part of a series we call the Presidential Series for all folks new to the History Book Club - it is just one of the Series and offerings that we have which are on-going. One reason is that the goodreads polls themselves have not been working for large groups so that the moderator could select group and all to alert group members that there was even a poll to vote on like we had done before - they still are not working that way or the way they used to.

We have already read and discussed books or have an upcoming book slated on all of the following presidents so we have not included them in the list of presidents that we have not covered to date

List of Presidents covered either in prior, current or upcoming scheduled discussions - therefore you will not find them on the voting list:

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) (multiple books)
6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) (multiple books and one upcoming on the first lady)
7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
11. James K. Polk (1845-1849)
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) (multiple books)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) (multiple books and Unreasonable Men discussion going on now)
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) (multiple books)
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961 (multiple books and one just recently)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) (multiple books)
37. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
1. George Washington (1789-1797) is now scheduled and slated
4. James Madison (1809-1817) is now scheduled and slated

Note: We did do Logan Beirne's book on George Washington - Blood of Tyrants but folks felt they wanted to know more about the Presidency itself beyond the founding father's perspective and of course we want to please all group members - the discussion of Blood of Tyrants was an extremely lively discussion enjoyed by everyone so we have added George Washington to the list of presidents to select from and he seems to be doing quite well (smile)

If you do not recognize some of the names on the voting list - there were 14 presidents of the United States before George Washington and before the Constitution was ratified and we were asked to include them by the membership - here is a link which might help you identify who these folks were - http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/03/0...

Note: This is President Series Poll Four - We have 11,000+ members and one of the guidelines is that all members vote in polls and respond to event notifications (yes, maybe, no) - either or both of these take 1 second tops. Please vote and respond - that is what continues to make a community of readers timely and great and helps us with the planning which you enjoy reading. Thanks to all members.

If you would like to see a list of all of the presidents of the United States and their vice presidents after the Constitution was ratified - here is that link:

http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvpli...

Around the World and Where shall we go!

Our members have traveled to the Middle East and to India through reading - where shall our group go for its next book challenge?

All History Book Club members should vote in this poll - It takes less than a minute.

Bon Voyage

When are you accessing the History Book Club the most?

Regarding the Presidents' Series: Which president are you most interested in reading about next? Select one. (Note: Jackson, Lincoln and FDR, LBJ, Grant, Clinton, John Quincy Adams, Polk, Wilson, Jefferson, TR are omitted from this survey since we have read selections regarding them or about to read about them; Grover Cleveland is only listed once)- We thought we would shake things up a bit since the last poll was some time ago and we have many more new members - President Series Poll Three

American Civil War - Military Series Selection




Recently, the History Book Club conducted a Military Series Poll. The reason that we did this was because we are launching a Military Series of book discussions similar to how we conduct the Presidential Series at the HBC.

The American Civil War received the most votes from the group membership. Therefore, the first Military Series discussion will focus on the American Civil War.

Therefore we are now voting for the first Military Series selection from books which were all nominated by group members. Killer Angels was already completed by the group so that book was not added to the list for voting purposes. Just as an FYI: this poll took me forever to put together because there were so many group member suggestions and recommendations. We wanted to make sure that we included "all of them". That is why this poll is so long.

So take your time and make sure to vote; because if a book does not get at least one vote; it will be relegated to the bottom of the list. The book which garners the most votes and comes out on top will be discussed beginning in February 2012. Bryan Craig will be the Assisting Moderator leading this book discussion.

Choose and vote for one book. Vote as soon as possible because the first book will be launched in February. Don't lose out.

Note:

If you do not see your favorite book about the American Civil War on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. There are some books which have been nominated by the same author; however, skip over those if the particular author does not suit you and vote for your favorite or for one you or others might want to read.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in or you think others would be; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

And if you do not see your favorite, just contact me and I will add it to the poll.

Regards,

Bentley

Military Series -Poll One

Please select one of the following wars or conflicts listed..

Background:

The History Book Club will be offering two to three military selections per year for a group discussion similar to the way we run the Presidential Series selections.

First we needed to nominate the most interesting conflicts allowing our group members the ability to nominate their choice which we did. These nominations are now being placed in this poll so that we can order and prioritize the ones which have the most interest down to those that have the least interest.

Once these votes are tallied; we will select the highest vote getter and nominate various books about that conflict and have group members polled so that they can vote for their favorite.

That selection will be scheduled for a group military read.

So please make sure to vote.

Thank you,

Bentley

Spotlighted Book Discussion Poll I - October 26, 2011

This is a poll that adds other books to our listing of potential non fiction books to discuss and also helps the moderators determine which one or ones are the most popular. Since we have many more group members than when we first started; voting in the polls is very important. There will be a series of polls. Many of these books have been recommended by group members but were either not selected before nor voted upon before.

Vote for the book that you would most like to read and/or is the book that you believe that would appeal to the most group members.

Note:

We have added some of the books nominated thus far but we have more to add to other polls. However, this poll was getting quite large.

However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. There are some books which have been nominated by the same author; however, skip over those if the particular author does not suit you and vote for your favorite or for one you or others might want to read.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in or you think others would be; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

And if you do not see your favorite, just contact me and I will add it to the poll.

John Quincy Adams

This poll will examine the choices for the John Quincy Adams reading selection which will be the next President covered in the Presidential Series. The order for the Presidents selected was determined by the group membership.

This selection will begin January 9, 2012 and will continue for three - four months - depending upon the length of the selection. The Bill Clinton selection will take a long time so rather than begin this selection around Christmas or other important religious or family holidays, we are waiting until January 9, 2012 to begin the John Quincy Adams selection.

This discussion will be led by Bryan. Bryan has an extraordinary background and will be a great moderator to lead this discussion. He has assumed the responsibilities for the Presidential Series reads and will be leading these book discussions.

We have added all of the books nominated on the John Quincy Adams thread and a few others. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the John Quincy Adams's books deal with only a certain period of his life, some may be multi-volume (if that is ever the case - I always add both separately), some deal with other topics too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in Quincy Adam's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself and some may be about other relationships or focused on specific issues during his life or presidency.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

Note: Be careful when making your selection: a great many of these books have the same title (John Quincy Adams) so be careful to make the right choice.

William Jefferson Clinton

This poll will examine the choices for the William Jefferson Clinton reading selection which will be the next President covered in the Presidential Series. The order for the Presidents selected was determined by the group membership.

This selection will begin on June 13th and will continue for three - four months - depending upon the length of the selection.

This discussion will be led by Bryan. Bryan has an extraordinary background and will be a great moderator to lead this discussion. He has assumed the responsibilities for the Presidential Series reads and will be leading these book discussions.

We have added all of the books nominated on the William Jefferson Clinton thread and a few others. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the Clinton books deal with only a certain period of his life, some may be multi-volume (if that is ever the case - I always add both separately), some deal with other topics too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in Clinton's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself and some are about Hillary.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

Revote on Next Group of Presidents (THIS IS A TIE BREAKER VOTE)

The Presidential Series conducted a poll awhile back to determine which presidents the group members were interested in reading about and in which order.

Because of that selection process, the group has had discussions and completed books on FDR, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Jackson, Lincoln, and we are currently engaged in a discussion about Ulysses S. Grant. Our next president after Grant will be Polk and we just completed voting on that selection. After Polk will be Clinton.

The first group of presidents are those that received the most votes. These presidents were selected with the highest vote getter going first and so on.

Now we have to determine the order for a second grouping. The following presidents have only one vote at this time; there is also no special order in the listing below.

Since there is a one vote tie between all of these presidents in this group we need to conduct a run-off to break that tie and determine the order for this next group.

The reason we are having this revote is that if there is a tie between a large number of items where there is only one vote for each or the same number of votes for each; our group always has a run off.

The more people that vote the bigger will be the spread and we should be able to break the log jam; hopefully without another revote.

So please cast your vote for your favorite.

If you would like to find out a bit more before voting you can check the short White House Biographies. Here is the link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presi...

Bentley

James K. Polk Poll

This poll will examine the choices for the James K. Polk reading selection which will be the next President covered in the Presidential Series. The order for the Presidents selected was determined by the group membership.

This selection will begin on February 7, 2011 and will continue for three months (February, March and April). This discussion will be led by Bryan who is the Assisting Moderator - Presidential Series.

We have added all of the books nominated on the James K. Polk thread and a few others. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the Polk books deal with only a certain period of his life, some may be multi-volume (if so- I have added both separately), some deal with other topics too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in Polk's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

One other thing: reading some of Polk's diaries and papers would be a great thing; but are these volumes available easily and readily for you. Check to make sure that this is a selection that you can obtain easily.

Bentley

Ulysses S. Grant Poll

This poll will examine the choices for the Ulysses S. Grant reading selection which will be the next President covered in the Presidential Series. The order for the Presidents selected was determined by the group membership.

This selection will begin on October 4, 2010 and will continue for three months (October, November and December). This discussion will be led by Bryan. Bryan has an extraordinary background and will be a great moderator to lead this discussion. He has assumed the responsibilities for the Presidential Series reads and will be leading these book discussions.

We have added all of the books nominated on the Ulysses S. Grant thread and a few others. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the Grant books deal with only a certain period of his life, some may be multi-volume (if so- I have added both separately), some deal with other topics too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in Grant's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

Presidential Series Run-Off Poll

There are three presidents who were tied for third place after Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. We need to discover which of the three the group would like to read after Theodore Roosevelt and we need to prioritize this next batch of three. Please select one.

This is only a one week poll; so make your selection now.

Theodore Roosevelt Poll:

It appears that by the end of the President's Poll that Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt were tied. Then somehow after we had voted on the Thomas Jefferson book, Teddy pulled ahead!!

So now we have to make it up to all of the Theodore Roosevelt voters and a book by or about Theodore Roosevelt will be our next Presidential Series selection.

This selection will begin on June 1, 2010 and will continue for three months (June, July and August). This discussion will be led by Bryan. Bryan has an extraordinary background and will be a great moderator to lead this discussion. He and Joe now share the responsibilities for the Presidential Series reads and will be alternating book discussions. They are both Assisting Moderators for the Presidential Series.

We have added all of the books nominated on the Theodore Roosevelt thread. However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the TR books deal with only a certain period of his life, one is multi-volume (the Morris books - I have added both separately), some deal with other founding fathers too; some are all encompassing, others deal with specific events in TR's life or presidency and others are by the man, himself.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

OPEN COURSEWARE POLL

JP, one of our members, has volunteered to be Assisting Moderator - Open Courseware. But first, before we kick off this kind of additional learning experience, we wanted to poll the group to see if there was some interest. What we envision is that an Open Courseware program of study such as those offered FREE at Yale could be studied and discussed together. We could have a poll and list some of the potential courses and take a vote for interest discovering which ones are the most popular with our group members. After selecting a specific course, then we could listen to the first lecture in the course; (individually of course) and then discuss that lecture etc. among ourselves for a week before going on to the next lecture in the course program. It sounds like an interesting concept and would allow interested parties to participate in a meaningful active learning scenario. We would open up a thread per lecture so that folks could discuss all of the concepts and ideas with each other and within the group. This actually sounds like a lot of fun and the courses are FREE. Let us know how you feel about this.

These course study discussion sessions would be handled much as we handle a book syllabus. There would be a schedule and there would be a start and finish date.

HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "C"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests. You will only receive one notification per poll. There will be simultaneous polls so please make sure to vote in each one.

HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "D"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests. You will only receive one notification per poll. There will be simultaneous polls so please make sure to vote in each one.

HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "B"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests. You will only receive one notification per poll. There will be simultaneous polls so please make sure to vote in each one.

HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "A"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests.

Regarding the Presidents' Series: Which president are you most interested in reading about next? Select one. (Note: Jackson, Lincoln and FDR are omitted from this survey since we have read selections regarding them; Grover Cleveland is only listed once) - President Series Poll One

Thomas Jefferson Poll:

It appears that Thomas Jefferson will be in the top three: therefore, I am putting together a poll of prospective books regarding TJ to be voted upon for our February 1st read.

First, if TJ does not come out on top, then I will put up another poll for the winner with their prospective books. When we get to Jefferson, then we will already have a selection choice slated.

However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll. You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. Some of the Jefferson books deal with only a certain period of his life, one is multi-volume (we chose volume 1), some deal with other founding fathers too; some are all encompassing.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

Bentley

Please make one selection from the Reading List collection of titles below. This is Poll VI (V) on book selection).