ARCHIVE ONE: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF ~ Showing 1,001-1,050 of 6,553

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

I see AJ...glad to have you with us..and of course we are here to help all newcomers...so don't hesitate to ask us for any help you might need.

[Alisa]

Welcome A.J.! Law school, when on earth do you have time to read anything else? If you are in your third year maybe you have hit the 'bored to death' part. Regardless, it's great to have you here among us other history afficionados. There are lots of discussion threads, some of course relate to law such as the new SCOTUS thread. Jump in wherever you have an interest, there is plenty to choose from.

[Manuela]

Hello to everyone who joined in the past month or so and welcome!

I look forward to reading you!

[Christopher]

Hello everyone, my name is Chris. I am 36 years old and live in Northern Arkansas. I've lived around the South but finally came back home after many years. Ive always had a passion for history and reading in general so I loved it when I found this group. I've made the plunge back into the college world after a decade of being away but the opportunity to learn is too tempting for me.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Hello Chris,

Welcome to the History Book Club. We are glad to have you with us.

You are quite courageous to venture back to the college world...good for you.

Below are some links that will help you navigate the History Book Club and show you what our requirements are:

Guidelines

and

Orientation

We look forward to reading your posts in the not so near future.

Bentley

[Alisa]

Chris, nice to have you join the group and am glad you found us. Interest in history is what we all share out here and plenty of topic threads to keep you busy so join in as you please. Reentry into college, sounds like a great challenge - good for you.

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Chris, welcome to the History Book Club, hope to chat with you soon about some great books.

[Bryan]

Welcome, Chris, glad you found us.

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome to Nina, A. J., and Chris! Good to see more history lovers joining the ranks. There is always something interesting going on here, so enjoy!

[Don]

My name is A.J. and I've been interested in history for almost as long as I can remember. Seriously, when I was 3 I asked my Mom if she voted for Hitler. I graduated with a major in history and political science and I'm currently a law student, which I enjoy much less than I enjoyed being a history student. My favorite history book are the Lyndon Johnson biographies by Robert Caro.

I'm was interested to find this group. My main history interest is the politics of civil war era and then I generally extended it back to the revolution. Occasionally I will branch out to Japan or China.

I've already read American Sphinx. I read Master and Commander several years ago and that led me into that entire series, which is my favorite fiction series.

Don

[Don]

MAJOR OOPS! I copied part of someone else's post into the first part of mine. Please ignore the first paragraph. (Though I too have read Lyndon Johnson by Caro).

DON

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Hi Don,

Just curious how come you have the first paragraph of A.J's intro as yours...it starts out with the same paragraph as AJ from Alabama has in his intro.

I think you are interested in the civil war era and Japanese and Chinese history - correct???

Well I hope you jump in to the Sphinx conversation since you have read that book and when Elizabeth S. begins the Master and Commander book next month...I hope you join in on that too.

We also have an American Civil War section and I know that Aussie Rick would love to converse with you.

I am assuming that your name is Don and not AJ (smile)

Welcome to the group.

Also when citing any books we add the book cover, the author's photo when available and the author's link so the two you cited would look like this:

Bentley

Joseph J. Ellis

Patrick O'Brian

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Don, welcome to the group and as Bentley has already mentioned I'd be happy to discuss some good US Civil War books with you in the military history thread.

[Alisa]

Hi Don, welcome! Lots of discussion threads to join, we are glad to have you.

[Bryan]

Welcome Don. Feel free to talk about Jefferson and everything else about history! Plenty of opportunities.

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome, Don. I've never read Master and Commander before, but I'm getting into it now. I've heard such good things from so many people that I know I should have tried to earlier. I hope you do join in the discussion starting next month.

And, of course, there is always lots of other good stuff in this group. Hope you find good discussions to get into in the meantime.

by

[Bobbi]

Hi - My name is Bobbi and I'm just joining this group. I'm one of those people who had a horrible history teacher in high school and one who was not much better in college so that dampened my interest in history fir many years. My husband, however, was a history major and with his help, I've discovered a whole new world. I love memoirs and nonfiction as well and know I'll enjoy being a part of this group.

Having spent some time in Africa, I've read quite a few books about it's history. The most recent one is "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. While telling the story of a surgeon in Ethiopia, it incorporates the struggles the country went through during the 20th century. A fascinating read.

I'm looking forward to joining all of you.

[Bryan]

Welcome, Bobbi. So glad you could join us and get excited again in history. Welcome back to a wonderful world. Your Africa experiences sound interesting. My sister in law spent time there (Kenya).

Just some housekeeping: Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. (There is a link on the top right of the reply box.) It makes things so much easier for people to see your book recommendations, because they can see the cover and the links to the author. And it helps the goodreads software connect books with groups that talk about them. This is how the book you've mentioned should look:

Abraham Verghese

More information:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Take a few moments to read our policies:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

and our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us moderators. I look forward to your postings and welcome again.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

First Welcome Bobbi and secondly thank you Bryan,

As Bryan noted there are quite a few areas where you can jump right in including our thread on Africa.

Hopefully your experience with history now will be more enjoyable.

Bentley

[Alisa]

Bobbi, nice to have you in the group. How is it there can be so many boring history teachers, or maybe they just get an unusually bum rap? There is a lot to choose from and this group has broad and varied interests and perspectives so I think you will enjoy it much more than high school. :-) Look forward to your posts.

[Harvey]

Hi Bobbi! My Public School Master (does not translate well into American for US folks) sent me to sleep, though I actually liked the chap. He was the CO of the officer training corps too. Maybe I was at that time not ready for the corn laws of the early 19th century. I am older and wiser now and got past that and have, since birth almost a passion for history. Welcome and you will find a lovely community here.

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Bobbi, welcome to the group and I'm sure you'll have a great time here discussing good books & history.

[Bobbi]

Such a wonderful welcome from all of you! I have so many things to explore in this group, I don't know where to start; like a kid in a candy store as they say. Thanks for the tip about adding the book and for the guidelines and policies. So, I'll get started quickly. I'm currently researching the history of schooners as my great grandfather and all of his ancestors since 1626 fished out of Gloucester, MA. I've been to Gloucester many times and am always looking for books on the New England fishermen and their schooners. Any suggestions?

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Hello Bobbi,

It is best for you to make that request for books on this thread called I am looking for a book on?

Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

You will get a lot of help there. This thread is just reserved for intros and welcomes.

It sounds like you have a wonderful ancestry to research. And you are most welcome here.

Bentley

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome, Bobbi. The nice thing about being a kid in a candy store is that no matter what you try, it'll taste good. And what is even better with The History Book Club is that none of the "candy" (i.e. discussions) goes away! So dive in anywhere and enjoy!

[Bobbi]

Well, I'm off and running. Thanks.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Good for you Bobbi (smile)

[Fabian]

Hi history lovers,

My name is Fabian. I am 21 years old and I reside in southern California with my girlfriend and our two cats. My areas of interest are Latin American history, Russian history and WWII history. I am a full-time student and it is a bit difficult reading every day but I still try to get at least a chapter done a day.

I picked up Joseph J. Ellis and John Keegan from the library and will start them today.

I look forward to having great discussions with you all.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Welcome to the group Fabian.

We are glad to have you.

Great job with adding the book covers, author links like we require.

Bentley

[Alisa]

Fabian, we are glad to have you join. I am sure you will find plenty of topics to discuss.

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome, Fabian. Glad to have you join us other history-lovers. It is hard to get a lot of reading done when you are a student, good luck with it. Hope you find some good discussions here to join in.

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Fabian, welcome to the group and I look forward to discussing a few good books with you in the WW2 thread one day soon.

[Bryan]

Welcome Fabian, glad you could join us!

[Bryan]

Welcome Michael.

[Michael]

Hello everybody,

I'm an avid reader of non-fiction, specifically biographies, history, economics, and politics, though I do read fiction as well.

I noticed you are currently discussing Ellis' American Sphinx which I hope to read soon for research I am doing.

While I am not trained as a historian, I hope I can bring some knowledge and insight to some of the discussions.

Michael Newton

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Michael, many thanks for your cooperation and when you get some time take a look at the Mechanics thread too; it will help you with some of the nitty gritty like how to cite books and authors.

Just as an FYI, we add the book cover, the author's photo if available and the author's link (and whenever mentioning a book or author) - we always add both like we did in the example below.

Joseph J. Ellis

Once you get acclimated to the group, I know you will enjoy it here.

All best,

Bentley

[Alisa]

Hi Michael, welcome to the group. We look forward to your participation. Lots to choose from out here.

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Micheal, welcome to the group and I hope to chat with you soon about some great history books.

[Michael]

Aussie Rick brought up chatting about great history books. I should have written in my introduction about what periods/areas of history I read up.

I absolutely love the US Revolutionary war period. I read bios of our Founding Fathers (Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is my favorite) and books about the founding (Federalist Papers; Liberty, Order, & Justice).

Ron Chernow
James McClellan

I've also been reading a lot of books on socialism, communism, and fascism in the first half of the 20th century. And I've been reading ancient histories of Greece and Rome.

So I have quite a few interests, political economy being another (I am proud to say I read The Wealth of Nations cover to cover), but there are even more topics that I know nothing or little about.

Adam Smith

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Hello Michael,

First great job with your citations, you have them just right and all great books too.

We have threads where discussion on all of these books can take place and I know Aussie Rick will enjoy talking to you about them in the Military Folder for instance.

Here is the link to the thread for a discussion of the US Revolutionary War:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Here is a link to the threads related to the founding fathers. Feel free to add books to any of these threads:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

We do have an on going discussion on The Federalist Papers which will start up again in May:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

We have an Ancient History Folder:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

We also have a Current Events folder which you may be interested in:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

Since this thread is reserved for introductions and welcomes, I would suggest just jumping right into some of the discussions on any of these threads.

Additionally we have a bunch of fun conversational threads as well found in the following folder: (Coffee, Tea and Conversation)

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

There is a thread for discussing what you are reading now:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

There are now on-going discussions regarding The First World War and on Jefferson (The American Sphinx) so we are a busy group. If you are interested in the US Supreme Court - we have a discussion on-going:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

Michael, it certainly looks like you will be a tremendous asset to the group and I am sure you will find many interest areas worth pursuing.

Bentley

John Keegan

Alexander Hamilton

Joseph J. Ellis

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome, Michael. Glad to have you aboard. Sounds like you have a lot of interests that match up with great discussions going on here. Hope you enjoy!

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Micheal, been happy to chat further with you about some decent US Revolutionary War books, Bentley has already added the link the appropriate thread. Chat with you more soon I hope.

[Steven]

Hi Everyone,
A belated introduction, for which I apologize. My name is Steve, I'm a former high school history teacher who still loves to read history and biography (other loves are fantasy, humor, and hard boiled mystery, also pulp fiction from the 20's through the 50's).
If I had to pick a favorite historical era to read about, it is probably a tie between the middle ages and US political history. When I was younger it was ancient history hands down though.
I tend to sometimes overreach when trying to become involved in groups and / or set reading goals, but I'll definitely try to become involved ever so often in the group, as I love the subject and appreciate the civil way everyone seems to discuss and debate on the postings.
Best wishes,
Steven

['Aussie Rick']

Hi Steven, Good to see you join us. Below are some links that will help you navigate the History Book Club and what our requirements are:

Policies & Practices
(this one is helpful for when you want to add book covers and author's photo's/links)

and:

Orientation & Roadmap

I'm also interested in ancient history so I will look forward to discussing a few good books with you in that history thread.

[Steven]

Forgot to mention, some of my favorite historians are Norman Cantor, James McPherson, Barbara Tuchman, Leon Litwack and George Kennan. I'm of an age where I've pretty much formed my biases and they tend to be left of center (they were further right in my youth) but I still enjoy reading good history writers even when their political bent is different from mine. Some favorite "conservative" historians would be Paul Johnson and Diane Ravitch.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Hello Steven,

Welcome to the History Book Club. We really work hard at maintaining civility and respect for each other and the subject matter. Sometimes it is not easy when you have a public group; but we have a very good group here and folks really love the subject matter.

It is terrific that you have posted an introduction; we ask everyone to do that so that folks know the member when they post for the first time on the site. It is part of our guidelines because we as moderators in addition to our group members want to feel comfortable when conversing with a member too.

You certainly must also be a Raymond Chandler fan:

Raymond Chandler

Just take a look around and get involved when you can; we would love to have you post in our discussions.

Bentley

[Bryan]

Welcome Steven, I'm sure you will find many things to discuss.

[Elizabeth S]

Welcome, Steve. I know what you mean about sometimes over-extending yourself. It is so easy to do when there are so many things of interest to give time to. Hopefully you enjoy your time here enough to keep coming back. :)

[Alisa]

Hi Steve! Welcome to the group. With your interests and enthusiasm I am sure you will find many conversations to distract you. It is a very respectful group (the guidelines help I think) but it's part of what makes it a robust experience for us all, and makes the debate more fun too.

[Scott]

Hello everyone! My name is Scott and I'm a married 37 year old with two small kids (4 and 1). I live near San Diego and I make software for a living, working from my home.

This looks like a very nice group; it seems very well-managed. I am most interested in the discussion of the Federalist Papers. I started them on my own about 18 months ago after reading Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton, but decided that it would be much better with a book club or class. I stopped at #10 because I couldn't convince anyone to read along with me and there's just too much to talk about. So I'm excited to see the discussion here.

The icing on the cake was that Gibbon's book is coming up next. Ancient Rome is a favorite of mine and this book has been on my "someday" list for a while. I'm not sure my someday will start this May, but maybe. We'll see. ;-)

I look forward to talking more on the discussion boards. Thanks!