The History Book Club discussion
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ARCHIVE
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ARCHIVE ONE: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF ~


Awesome, Mike, thanks for sharing. It sounds similar to the international movement of the League of Nations. I look forward to your posts and recommendations!

I am a recent graduate from Massage school in Seattle Washington, with a drive to gain knowledge of all sorts. I'm looking to expand my reading list to include new interests and new foci.
I look forward to the new connections that each new book may bring.
Like Jane, I'm new to goodreads.com, just having joined today.
~Raffi


I live in SE Florida. Currently working for a direct mail company but worked at a public library for 6 1/2 years. I'm going back to college full-time this fall to get degrees in history and either political science or geography, with the goal of getting some kind of history-related career.

Hello Raffi, hope you get involved in some of our discussions and find some threads of interest to you.
Josh, sounds like you have a wonderful plan. I think you will like the type of books we are reading in this group. And we hope that you will participate in our discussions.
Bentley
Josh, sounds like you have a wonderful plan. I think you will like the type of books we are reading in this group. And we hope that you will participate in our discussions.
Bentley

Welcome to the group, I look forward with chatting to you more about some of your favourite military history books, a subject close to my heart :)

I'm an amateur historian...meaning no degrees, but tons of research and reading in my favorite periods...primarily Late Roman Antiquity. I blog about "History in the News", write book reviews about historical non-fiction and fiction, do "reel vs. real" analysis of T.V. and movie historical fiction. I live in a historic landmarked home "The Suffragette House" in Brooklyn, NY with my husband, daughter and several cats. (Trying to type now, one-handed with a cat on my lap!) I'm new to GR and looking forward to "meeting" you all in the threads!

Please have a look at message 2061 above as it outlines some requirements of the group, enjoy and have fun :)

Hello everyone,
My name is Mitch, I am a recent graduate of the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in Emergency Administration and Planning with a focus on National/Homeland Security issues.
One of my goals this year is to read more non-fiction, history being my preferred topic. I mostly enjoy aviation and WWII works, but I also dabble in US presidents from time to time.
So far this seems like a well thought-out and managed group, glad I found you!
My name is Mitch, I am a recent graduate of the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in Emergency Administration and Planning with a focus on National/Homeland Security issues.
One of my goals this year is to read more non-fiction, history being my preferred topic. I mostly enjoy aviation and WWII works, but I also dabble in US presidents from time to time.
So far this seems like a well thought-out and managed group, glad I found you!
Hello Faith and welcome to the group. It sounds like you live in a very interesting home. If the walls could talk.
Mitchel welcome...we do our best and thank you for the kind words. If your goal is to read more non fiction then you have come to the right spot.
Mitchel welcome...we do our best and thank you for the kind words. If your goal is to read more non fiction then you have come to the right spot.




You are welcome Bill. We also have a folder on the world religions as well as one on the Second World War.
We look forward to reading your posts.
Bentley
We look forward to reading your posts.
Bentley



I obtained my undergraduate degree in History from Grand Valley College in Michigan and my graduate degrees from Wayne State University, also in Michigan. Before moving to Maryland, I taught American History courses at several South East Michigan institutions.
I am also currently employed as a full-time librarian at a local county library system.
When not at work, my wife and I participate in local Colonial/American Revolution War events as reanactors in Maryland and Virginia.
When not working or reenacting I can be found riding on one of my two bicycles, playing with our 2 cats and reading books, mainly American History (of course), mystery and fantasy.
Tom
Hi Tom,
Welcome to the History Book Club. It sounds like you have a wonderful background for this group and we look forward to your posts.
Bentley
Welcome to the History Book Club. It sounds like you have a wonderful background for this group and we look forward to your posts.
Bentley



Also love fantasy.
I teach mathematics (Statistics and Algebra) at a local high school here in Idaho.


But - and that's the reason why I'm here - I am very interested in History of the United States too. I have read a lot on the subject:
- A History of the American People (Paul Jhonson)
- The Penguin History of the USA (Hogh Brogan)
- America the last best hope (William J. Bennet)
- Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power (John Steele Gordon)
And some more about more specific historic episodes of USA History (roaring twenties, 50's, from 60s to 70's).
On my bookshelves there is as well People history of United States (Howard Zinn) that looks like a "must"; I've never found a bookstore across USA without a copy of this book. But I do not manage to read it as I feel it too left oriented.
For opposite reason I didn't like Paul Jhonson: too conservative; besides I noticed that in his book there is no word (and when I say no it means NO at all) about the Italians who made USA. I mean USA is a melting pot and every people gave a contribution. Besides I am often very over critic towards my fellow citizen, but this way to ignore Italians hurt me.
Patriot History of United States will probably be my next USA History book (Larry Schweikart) even though title and reviews state this book as definetly conservative.
Actually what I'm looking is something like The Penguin History of USA, the book I like the most.Very very balanced, even when it talks about the most recent events.
In a way I am quite puzzled about the little number of books about history of USA; I am not looking for some "best seller" but for something authoritative... I mean in Italy we have tons and tons of great book about history of my contry, and I'm not talking about our whole history, but just the last two centuries. I could provide you with some other titles if you are interested.
By the way, can someone suggest me some good reading about the subject?
Thank you everybody
Hello Andrea - a big welcome to you. You have given us a lot of information in the welcome section. There are many threads where you can discuss all of the books above and your reviews of them and also how you feel about the author's point of view.
Here is a thread where you might want to start. This is a thread titled what is everybody reading now:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
This thread belongs to a folder called Me and My Books and there may be other threads where you might like to post your interests.
But please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you are ready to cite a book. (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.
More information:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Take a few moments to read our policies:
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.
For the books and authors that you cited; always remember that when you cite a book and/or an author; that we do have rules for citations here; so the books that you cited should look like the following:
How Your Book Citations Should Look:
Sergio Romano
Note: I did not find the book in Italian that you posted by this author; there are many other books that have been cited by others in goodreads by him but not the one you cited. You may want to notify goodreads and possibly they can add this book for you. However, in the case of this book I did cite, the bookcover was available, the author's photo was not, but then I was able to add the author's link which is the author's name in linkable text.
Paul Johnson
The Johnson book had all three elements available and shows above how the citation should look. I am sorry that Johnson disappointed you when he did not include some of the stories of the Italian immigrants who came to America; sometimes authors in their books are not able to include everything they would like.
Hugh Brogan
With the Brogan book, only the book cover and the author's link were available. I noticed you liked Brogan's approach and style.
William J. Bennett
Here with the Bennett book; we had all three elements available which are our guidelines for citations.
John Steele Gordon
With the Gordon book above, the author's photo was not available but the bookcover and the author's link were. This shows you how this book needs to be cited when mentioning it.
Howard Zinn
The above shows you how the Zinn book and author should be cited according to our guidelines. I think if you gave Zinn a chance; you might like his book and it is always beneficial to read folks who have differing opinions and points of view so that you can make up your mind for yourself and maybe learn a little about why they feel the way they do. I think sometimes it helps our understanding polarizing viewpoints or ones that we feel are polarizing.
Larry Schweikart
I hope you enjoy Schweikart's book when you read it. But remember when discussing it on any thread here to cite it like we did above.
If you are looking for books, we do have a thread where you can get some assistance. It is called I am Looking for a Book On...:
Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
If you would like to discuss books that you have recently acquired. Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
We have some folders which discuss various aspects of American History and the Presidents which you may be interested in:
Here are the links for those folders:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
There is a lot here so I hope the above links help you get started. This thread is only for introductions and welcomes so discussions of the books themselves should take place on one of the subject matter threads.
We have members from around the world so I know that you will find friends here and folks who like to discuss good books of history.
Hello Kathy from Idaho. I hope the above links and guidelines that I provided for Andrea will help you as well. We are glad to also have you with us. I almost missed your introduction so I wanted to add a belated welcome. If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to one of the moderators.
Enjoy and welcome,
Bentley
Here is a thread where you might want to start. This is a thread titled what is everybody reading now:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
This thread belongs to a folder called Me and My Books and there may be other threads where you might like to post your interests.
But please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you are ready to cite a book. (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.
More information:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Take a few moments to read our policies:
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.
For the books and authors that you cited; always remember that when you cite a book and/or an author; that we do have rules for citations here; so the books that you cited should look like the following:
How Your Book Citations Should Look:

Note: I did not find the book in Italian that you posted by this author; there are many other books that have been cited by others in goodreads by him but not the one you cited. You may want to notify goodreads and possibly they can add this book for you. However, in the case of this book I did cite, the bookcover was available, the author's photo was not, but then I was able to add the author's link which is the author's name in linkable text.


The Johnson book had all three elements available and shows above how the citation should look. I am sorry that Johnson disappointed you when he did not include some of the stories of the Italian immigrants who came to America; sometimes authors in their books are not able to include everything they would like.

With the Brogan book, only the book cover and the author's link were available. I noticed you liked Brogan's approach and style.


Here with the Bennett book; we had all three elements available which are our guidelines for citations.

With the Gordon book above, the author's photo was not available but the bookcover and the author's link were. This shows you how this book needs to be cited when mentioning it.


The above shows you how the Zinn book and author should be cited according to our guidelines. I think if you gave Zinn a chance; you might like his book and it is always beneficial to read folks who have differing opinions and points of view so that you can make up your mind for yourself and maybe learn a little about why they feel the way they do. I think sometimes it helps our understanding polarizing viewpoints or ones that we feel are polarizing.

I hope you enjoy Schweikart's book when you read it. But remember when discussing it on any thread here to cite it like we did above.
If you are looking for books, we do have a thread where you can get some assistance. It is called I am Looking for a Book On...:
Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
If you would like to discuss books that you have recently acquired. Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
We have some folders which discuss various aspects of American History and the Presidents which you may be interested in:
Here are the links for those folders:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
There is a lot here so I hope the above links help you get started. This thread is only for introductions and welcomes so discussions of the books themselves should take place on one of the subject matter threads.
We have members from around the world so I know that you will find friends here and folks who like to discuss good books of history.
Hello Kathy from Idaho. I hope the above links and guidelines that I provided for Andrea will help you as well. We are glad to also have you with us. I almost missed your introduction so I wanted to add a belated welcome. If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to one of the moderators.
Enjoy and welcome,
Bentley

Thank you very much for your reply. I have a lot of stuff to study and consider.... Probably there has been too much haste on my side. I should have read those links BEFORE writing my introduction. I apologize.
No apologies necessary Andrea; I hope the links help you and we are glad to have you with us. And just jump right in and post because that is the way you get acclimated and by using the guidelines they become second nature to you and take no time at all.
Bentley
Bentley





Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you are ready to cite a book. (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.
More information:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
Take a few moments to read our policies:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us moderators. I look forward to your postings.
Thank you Bryan for giving new member Keith some helpful advice and links.
Welcome Keith, we are glad to have you join us. Good for you in terms of your immediate goals. And we are very enthusiastic to have you discover some of the great things going on. Find some threads that you are interested in and/or join one of our upcoming discussions.
Welcome Keith, we are glad to have you join us. Good for you in terms of your immediate goals. And we are very enthusiastic to have you discover some of the great things going on. Find some threads that you are interested in and/or join one of our upcoming discussions.
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