History is Not Boring discussion
What are you reading?
I've been reading Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Matthew Stewart. It's incredible. Not recommended for people that believe that Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, George Washington, et al, set up the US as a "Christian" nation. However, it's a fascinating presentation of what spiritual and philosophical life was like back then. It's also a National Book Award nominee.
Kirsten wrote: "I've been reading Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Matthew Stewart. It's incredible. Not recommended for people that believe that Thoma..."Sounds great - thanks for the post - I'm adding it to my reading list!
Oh my gosh. This is a work of fiction but if you're interested in the way the POWs were treated as slaves by the Japanese during World War II, read The Narrow Road to the Deep North. It's beautifully written but the horrors are painful to read. I just finished reading it and it's like a punch in the gut.
Saving Lincoln by Robert KresgeMayflower Murders by Ben Hopkin
If your like a powerful modern thriller with a historical core in the Scandinavian style of many separate threads which eventually come together, Purple Killing will grip you.It is my latest book and a companion to Hitler's First Lady, but in a very different style. Set equally in the US and UK. Available now on Amazon worldwide in Paperback and Kindle.
Feedback welcome!
The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Lleveen
I'm reading War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love. Although it deals a lot with Iraq and Afghanistan, the book tells about dogs throughout human history, including small boy and wolf tracks, side by side, in a cave from prehistoric times.
Linda wrote: "I'm reading War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love. Although it deals a lot with Iraq and Afghanistan, the book tells about dogs throughout human history, including small boy and wolf..."That sounds very unique. It must be interesting!
Emily wrote: "Linda wrote: "I'm reading War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love. Although it deals a lot with Iraq and Afghanistan, the book tells about dogs throughout human history, including smal..."It is interesting, but some of it is sad. In the Vietnam war most of the American war dogs were left behind or euthanized. A sad ending for dogs that saved so many soldiers' lives.
I found an older memoir (published 1970 but written soon after WWII), "The Political Play of the Winter War - Days and Nights of the Chief of the Political Department at the Foreign Office". It's quite topical actually, 75th anniversary of the Winter War is in 2.5 weeks. But anyway, I've been skimming it a bit and found a couple of anecdotes funny.He mentions how one general, the head of the Border Guard, called him on Nov. 30th just to check that surely our military doesn't have to abide to the orders of the "border peace agreement" from 1922. He found it moving how loyal the military leadership was when it came to honouring agreements. After all the country was under attack...
Also they, and more importantly Marshall Mannerheim, were surprised by the "new" Russian mentality: their unwillingness to surrender. (He had served in the Tsarist Army for 30 years.) If they climbed up a tree, they would stay there. It was useless to try to convince them that they would not be harmed. Mannerheim then called some of his old Russian acquaintances from Paris as experts to help them with that.
A few days after the peace was made in March, the future president Paasikivi, upfront as usual, had said to the author that "it was against the Finnish legislation that the peace agreement came into effect immediately". The reason was that the parliament should have been asked to approve the (possible) peace agreement but there simply wasn't enough time for that. Also in the beginning of the war he contacted Swedes at night, sent by the government that wasn't even formed until the next day. It is sometimes difficult to lead a democratic country in a time of war... (But in the next war they used that to our advantage when they tricked Germany. And probably had done the same earlier, with the Russian Empire... And later with the Soviet Union...)
But it is interesting to read what kind of political manoeuvring went on, and especially written by a non-politician. The book starts from about 1938 and I think things start to get even more "interesting" during the spring of 1939. I probably won't read it from cover to cover, it's so very political, but some parts anyway.
Comic History of the United States by Bill NyeShades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War
I finished Saving Lincoln - just an FYI - don't bother. Thoroughly disappointed. That's why I'm reading the Bill Nye book. I need something to lighten my mood!
I am not reading this currently. Actually I haven't even received a copy of it but I want to read "For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice" by Howard Schultz.I found out of it mentioned for a Parade article. I have a feeling the veteran mentioned isn't in the book but at least it's a good example of someone who served that has when the person came back hasn't stopped doing a duty to the country.
David Oclander decided to be a teacher and resign from his military duty after serving many times in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though he had no credentials or experience he longed to help the community when he found out more citizens of Chicago died than people from the U.S. who were slain in Afghanistan. So creating a difference for his love of this country he reached out to students and helped guide and change their lives. It was a great article.
I am reading Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Matthew Stewart. So far, fascinating.
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Asian Elephants can poop 200 pounds a day! If you were reading, Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II, you would know fascinating elephant facts, too.I'm only 15% into the book and I'm already wishing I could work with a herd of elephants. I do believe that elephants feel the same emotions that humans feel, including love.
This book is by Vicki Constantine Croke
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Shellii wrote: "Most intrigued by how little I knew the years leading to The Civil War."It's almost 100 years from our civil war and we still haven't decided on the name for it yet...
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Appalachia Inside Out - Compilation of worksBefore Bethlehem - Peter Flerlage
Harbored Secrets - Marie Martin
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "Battle Cry of Freedom is the best single-volume history of the Civil War era that I've ever read."IMO, McPherson is hands-down the most amazing Civil War author and historian alive today.
Tytti wrote: "Shellii wrote: "Most intrigued by how little I knew the years leading to The Civil War."It's almost 100 years from our civil war and we still haven't decided on the name for it yet..."
"The Civil War" seems to be a good name; as used by England, the US, I think Spain...
Of course, that then confuses international tourists and such, but "The Civil War" is just so apropos!
Emily wrote: ""The Civil War" seems to be a good name"Yes but we generally speak Finnish here... and even for that one term there are two different translations.
Some of you may like to try one of these.Hitler's First Lady by Malcolm Blair-Robinson
Purple Killing by Malcolm Blair-Robinson
Hess Enigma by Tor Raven (pen name)
Best info on my Amazon Author Pages
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Malcolm-Blair...
http://www.amazon.com/Malcolm-Blair-R...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tor-Raven/e/B...
http://www.amazon.com/Tor-Raven/e/B00...
Happy to answer any questions or engage in discussion.
Speaking of American Civil War books, I just finished reading Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy. It's about four women spies and what they did during the war. Two Northern spies and two Southern.
Thanks Linda, that looks interesting. Have added to my want to read shelf.
I really want to read Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.I finished The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan last night, and started on Dreaming the Eagle this morning.
I just finished listening to Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. It is faithful history, based on letters, but reads like historical fiction: moving, fascinating, illuminating its characters and times.
CJ wrote: "I am not reading this currently. Actually I haven't even received a copy of it but I want to read "For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice" by ..."Speaking as one of the above-mentioned population, I can say that, "Never volunteer!" is, regardless of the historical period, the first and most important lesson I could teach.
For Christmas I got:Liar Temptress Soldier Spy and The Devil Made Me Do It Crime and Punishment in Early New England
I got my grandmother South With the Sun and she is enjoying it very much. She's been to northern Norway and seen the statue of Admundsen.
Travels in Alaska - John MuirButterflies in November - Giveaway win
I have been given Germany, Memories of a Nation, by Neil MacGregor. A weighty six hundred page hardback crammed with both text and illustrations. If you are interested in the past of the greatest power in Europe this is a gripping read.
To Melissa and Qnpoohbear: I'm so happy to be living in an era when people are digging up the history of powerful but forgotten women. My historical novel, Queen of the Jews, follows the turbulent life of Queen Salome Alexandra (Shalom-Zion), who ruled Judea in the first century BCE and, with her brother, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetakh, established the schools that shaped Jews into the People of the Book.
I bought in the summer but have yet to read The Bloody Shirt subtitled Terror After The Civil War. Has anyone read it?
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Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "If it's the book by Budiansky, no; but I've read something else of his (on Walsingham), which was pretty good. Is it this? The Bloody Shirt: Terror After Appomattox"Yes it is but the UK edition has a revised title as people are not so familiar with Civil War events.
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The Luck of the Weissensteins by Christoph FischerBrain Injury Survival Kit by Cheryle Sullivan
I'm readingLiar Temptress Soldier Spy and the author is constantly speculating "She said sotto voce..." "she left in a stomp of boots and swirl of petticoats" kind of thing and the lack of footnotes drives me crazy. I'm not used to popular history I guess. I was in academia too long. The subject matter is interesting. I've heard of all 4 women, read two fictional books about Elizabeth Van Lew and YA novels about female soldiers.
The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking by Mark Bauerlein is a compilation of essays by some of the best & most interesting writers about the web & how it is affecting our lives. Well read. It was a bit long & dated, but well worth reading. Here's my 4 star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just started If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home by Lucy Worsley.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I've really been looking forward to this one. :)
I'm trying to get over my reading slump by reading about a life of an American-Finn Soviet spy Kerttu Nuorteva. She was caught in 1942 but also spent both before and after WWII some time in Gulag. She also knew Hella Wuolijoki who was sentenced for helping her and Arvo Tuominen who had been her father's friend and told her what had happened to his other friends breaking her mentally.
I just finished a fiction book but, oh boy, did it describe the horrors of war for both civilians and soldiers. So much genius lost. The book is All the Light We Cannot See. It is so descriptive and beautifully written.
Linda wrote: "I just finished a fiction book but, oh boy, did it describe the horrors of war for both civilians and soldiers. So much genius lost. The book is All the Light We Cannot See. It is so descriptive an..."I am half way through
and agree that it is a great read.
I started listening to The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon, but it wasn't what I expected. I should have paid more attention to the audience (YA) & the publishing date (1921). I may go back to it. Is anyone else familiar with it?I'm currently listening to Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronovitch. I'm only 45 minutes in, but it's good so far.
I recently finished I Shall Be Near to You
Historical fiction inspired by the letters written by Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, who disguised herself as a man in order to serve as a soldier beside her husband during the American Civil War. I had no idea so many women actually did this!
L.F. wrote: "I recently finished I Shall Be Near to YouHistorical fiction inspired by the letters written by Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, who disguised he..."
You should read the book I'm reading Liar Temptress Soldier Spy. Part of the book covers Emma "Frank" Thompson who disguised herself as a man.
History is Not Boring
Books mentioned in this topic
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Quite Ready To Be Sent Somewhere: The Civil War Letters Of Aldace Freeman Walker (other topics)
A Land Remembered (other topics)
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Thomas Ayres (other topics)John Steinbeck (other topics)
Walt Whitman (other topics)
Robert Wallace (other topics)
Eddie V. Rickenbacker (other topics)
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As an avid Austen fan, maybe if I read that book I'd finally understand economics :)