The History Book Club discussion

My name is James Gluc. I majored in history, Cornell 1979. I am a major history and politics junkie, and in my spare time a practicing lawyer. I also follow weather and weather history.

I feel that people need to understand history if they are to understand the current times and the future. Most people who believe, for example, in climate change have not read books about the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars, where they would learn that conditions then were similar to conditions now. Or if one reads about the Vikings they would know that things are sharply milder.

A review of my "shelves" gives a good clue to my interests, beliefs and inclinations.

Oh did I forget that I read a fair amount of Judaica as well?

Hi everyone, I'm Shaymaa Saad from Egypt, I like Islamic History, and I love Reading so much :)

Hi, my name is Igor Despot. I am from Croatia and I am a history teacher in elementary scholl. Except that I am a profesional historian too. I wrote a book about the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) which was publish in USA and a number of papers published in Croatia and abroad. My main interest is Balkan in 19 and 20 century.

Hi , my name is Wim
I am 24 years old and live in a town near Antwerp ,Belgium.
I have studied history for a while at the university of Ghent , i work at an IT firm now .


I have had a passion for history my whole life , my main interest is european and classical history but now i have been looking for some books on American or Asian history .

Thank you for accepting me.

Hello! I'm Andrew and I've been interested in history since studying it in school. I'm particularly interested in military history (especially the Eastern Front in WWII), and medieval history. I'm looking forward to learning more about other members' interests and favourite reads.

Hello,

My name is Sam and I'm a SF Bay Area native. I studied history at UC Berkeley where I fell in love with it. I love learning about all history in general but 20th century US History in particular and I look forward to being part of a community that shares my interests!

-Sam

Hi! I'm Laney, I live in NW Oklahoma and am interested in many different historical periods. Finally getting around to using Goodreads to help me find books, and looking forward to being part of the community!

Hello, I'm Mark, a Britisher now living in the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta, Canada.

I developed an interest in Military Aviation at a young age, following a school visit to the local library.

In the years following, this interest has broadened into more mainstream Military History, most specifically the European theater of WW2, and more recently the American Civil War.

I very much enjoy learning about the commanders and their strategies (hence why I'm really looking forward to the upcoming book read on FDR.)

I joined this fine group as I feel I achieve greater clarity in my understanding during conversation with interested peers, the likes of which I unfortunately find hard to come by in my regular life.

I hope to meet other like-minded, curious people and share in the expansion of our knowledge.

History is much more interesting to read than fiction, especially when written by one of the many fine historians that write for general audiences. Here are my list of favorite history writers:

Cornellius Ryan
William Manchester
David McCullough
Nathanial Philbrick
William Shirer
Laura Hillenbrand
James McPherson
James Bradley
Walter Isaacson
Stephen Ambrose
Walter Lord

If you share an interest in these authors, I invite you to send me a Goodreads friend request.

I'm John from Davis, California working in IT. I'm interested primarily in ancient history especially Rome, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Israel/Judah, and any other Bronze Age cultures including Asian, African, and pre-Columbian New World. I prefer social and cultural history; not too interested in military.

Welcome Wim, Andrew, Samuel, Laney, Mark, and John! We are glad to have you as a member.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Jeffrey Toobin

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks and glad you joined us.

Don wrote: "History is much more interesting to read than fiction, especially when written by one of the many fine historians that write for general audiences. Here are my list of favorite history writers:

Co..."

Hello Don, that is quite the list. I am sure you saw the hello from Alisa one of our Assisting Moderators (message 287). She showed you how to do the citations for books but we also need to cite author's when we mention them. For the author you would have to add the author's photo if available and the author's link which is the author's name in linkable text.

Here is how you would cite the authors you listed:

Walter Lord

Stephen Ambrose (no photo)

Walter Isaacson

James Bradley (no photo)

Laura Hillenbrand

William Shirer (no photo)

Nathanial Philbrick (no photo)

David McCullough

William Manchester (no photo)

We feel the same way you do about non fiction and I hope you enjoy the group. Make sure to check out the Mechanics of the Board thread so you are comfortable with the citations. You can actually practice on that thread and we are here to help you.

Welcome Don, we are glad to have you as a member.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Jeffrey Toobin

In the case of mentioning authors only as you have done above, your post would look like this:

Cornelius Ryan
William Manchester (no photo)
David McCullough
Nathaniel Philbrick
William Shirer (no photo)
Laura Hillenbrand
James Bradley (no photo)
Walter Isaacson
Stephen Ambrose (no photo)
Walter Lord

That is quite a list of favorites and you are sure to find other fans on these threads!

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks and glad you joined us.

Hello! My name is Lise Petrauskas. I am an artist. I live in Portland, Oregon. I love to read all kinds of things. Recently I've been more interested in history than in the past. Though I've always been curious, I haven't taken a methodical approach. I think it all started when I read
The Unknown Matisse, 1869-1908 and
Matisse the Master: The Conquest of Colour, 1909-1954 by
Hilary Spurling.
Matisse has long been one of my favorite artists. I found myself completely absorbed in the history of the Franco-Prussian war, which was going on when he was an infant, The Great War, and World War II in a way that I had never been before. That has since led to my reading more and more history and, the rest, is....history! Ha. Sorry, couldn't resist.

My dad got his MA in history from The University of Washington in the early 70's and though he didn't continue in the field, he is still an avid reader of history and the person with whom I'm usually gabbing! He happens to be blind and right now I'm reading aloud with him once a week
The Charterhouse of Parma by
Stendhal and taking breaks to brush up on the history of the time.

I'm interested in all areas of history, probably with a preference for biography, but by no means exclusively. I am woefully ignorant and wish I could read ALL THE BOOKS! Europe in general, France, Portugal, and India are particular interests of mine, but I'm very excited to be participating in the Middle East Safari.

I'm glad to be here. I can't post as often as I'd like due to the group's strict posting rules (which I understand), so I will stop in once a week or so and try to catch up on discussions. (I usually use my phone for my activity on Goodreads and I don't like using the web browser on my phone as much as the GR app.)

Welcome Lise, we are glad to have you as a member. Very good effort on the citations. You are close - it is just the book cover, author photo, and author link. Once you do it a few times it becomes second nature.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how the books you mentioned should look:

and by Hilary Spurling
by Stendhal

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks and glad you joined us.

Well, hello, my name is Pieter van Woerkom. I am an online bookseller, and passionate about history - especially the history of ideas, classical history and the history of the age of discoveries, though I can be tempted to read much else besides.

Hi Kees - or is it Pieter (both sound very Dutch by the way) and all the other newbies, welcome to the group.

For this club as you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment.
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.

When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post. Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post.

This is how the book you mentioned should look:

by Richard Holbrooke

More information can be found here:

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Apart from all the fascinating discussions on history we also have quite a few fine threads on music - all kinds from all places.
Come and take a look/listen if you like.

If you have any questions feel free to ask any of the moderators.
Best wishes,

André

André wrote: "Hi Kees - or is it Pieter (both sound very Dutch by the way) and all the other newbies, welcome to the group.

For this club as you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the..."

Dutch definitely, but British as well and raised bilingual. Live in the UK now.

Hello,
I really have nothing much to say. I'm an ordinary person who likes to read when I find time. I prefer non-fiction and am currently interested in Germany and the US between the 20th century world wars. I'm also interested in the intellectual history of the United States. I am presently curious about the Ottoman empire, as well.
Please do not make comments in reply or make a fuss about the little bit that I have shared. Thank you.

My name is Quinn. I graduated from Allegheny College in 2012 as a History Major, and have continued that passion since. I am big on American history, specifically post WWII to the 1980s with JFK being a specific fascination of mine. I enjoy the discussion group access here, and the community of fellow history lovers who can help me widen my understanding.

Cheers,
Quinn

Hi all- bit of a long time lurker but first time poster. My main historical interest would have to be the First World War and interwar history- with a focus on culture, gender and sexuality which is probably reflected in my fictional reading. Looking forward to some interesting discussions!

Lauren

Hi everyone

I am a Paris-based political economist who has lived in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Central America too. I think knowing your history is essential for anyone working in public policy as I do. History is also simply great fun. I currently tend to be interested in the 1930s and in 20th-Century history and obviously in economic history. My approach to history books is that they needn't always be formal history books written by academics - for example a good novel written at a given time sometimes does a better job at conveying knowledge and understanding of a period. Best, Iana

Hello,

My name is Raoul Revers and I'm from the Netherlands.
I have enjoyed history since high school. My main area of interest is European history, although I'm open to other fields, just haven't had the time to dig in to other areas. I also really like science history and in particular stories about whacky scientists.

Some of my favorite history authors include Barbara W. Tuchman and John Julius Norwich

Cheers!

Raoul

Hi Everyone. My name is Mary. I am very interested in history especially biography and genealogy.

Hello, all! As a lurker in this group since I joined in 2012, I can't remember if I've introduced myself before, so I'll do it again. I'm an editor who works in public relations at a university in Connecticut. Growing up in New England as I did, and with deep family roots in the area (roots that stretch back to 1627, when my mother's family first arrived in Boston) has left me with an appreciation and fascination for U.S. history. I also love reading about ancient Rome and Greece (no doubt the result of too many years of Latin classes in high school and college!)

As for reading material, I recently finished by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Just this weekend I started by [no photo] David Pietrusza

Welcome to our new members, Amber,Quinn, Lauren, Iana, Raoul, Mary Catherine and Amy. We are so glad you joined us here at "history central"!
Great job with the citations, Amy!!... but as you will see in the guidelines below, all book citations go at the bottom of the text.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Anthony Shadid

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5......

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1......

If you have any questions, ask any of the moderators and most of all.....enjoy!

Hi everyone-

my name is Alexus. I am a professor of philosophy in Ohio, and my interests in history are pretty varied. My academic specialization is ancient Chinese philosophy and history. I read in pretty much every area of history in which I can find material, but my main historical interests are East and South Asian history (esp. China and India, through about the 18th century), history of astronomy (although material on this is surprisingly hard to find), early American history (Pre-Colonial through Reconstruction era), and ancient and medieval European and African history. Glad to be a part of the group- I've already discovered some new and interesting material in the short time I've been here!

Hey guys!

My name is Todd and I live in US. I've been in this group for a while, but haven't posted anything. I always like seeing what you guys are reading.

I love history for a couple of reasons. 1.) I like seeing how we've ended up where we are. I like learning about all the different runs of people in the past who have helped form the world where we live. 2.) It's so easy to learn from history when we see that we're not the first people to experience different things. That throughout history people have had to deal with the same fears, hopes, and challenges we do today (at least in a general sense.)

I love American history, especially pre - revolutionary war.

I'm excited to see what other books are started in this group. Even if I don't get to read along with you guys, it always sparks my interest.

Thanks!

Todd

Hello,
I've been in the group for a while, but didn't know I had to introduce myself. I'm not all that interesting really. I love history of all kinds and how history and prehistory and natural history have intertwined to bring us to where we are today. I am an archaeologist by training, but have been out of the field since my children were born - yes, I know that's outside the definition of "history" but if it happened in the past and had an impact on our world today, I'm interested. Thanks for having me.

Welcome, Todd, Alexus and Denise. Glad you could join us.

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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link at the very bottom of the post after your text. Because it is on the bottom, it calls the reader's attention to the book/author and increases the readability of your posts.

This is how the books should look:

by Robert A. Caro

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

Take a few moments to read the orientation:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

And our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

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

Normally it is one or two people I say hello to, but we got a bunch of new people, so here it goes.

Hello Dana, Steve, Alex, Kim, Sofia, Chanel, Rob, Richard, Josh, Ellie, Mandy, Lorna, Theresa, Hunter, Brianna, Maitrey, Sean, Niki, Emre, Charles, Richelle, Christine, Kyra, Mark, Shaymaa, Igor, Wim, Andrew, Sam, Laney, Mark, Dan, John, Lise, Pieter, Amber, Quinn, Lauren, Lana, Raoul, Mary, Amy, Philip, and Alexus.

I'm glad you took some moments to introduce yourself and I hope you find the group rewarding.

My name is Kevin. I'm an attorney from St. Louis, MO. I am a political science and history undergraduate. I enjoy military history, European history, the history of Abe Lincoln and am currently on a quest to read a biography on every U.S. President.

Welcome Kevin, we are glad to have you as a member. We have a presidential series thread and there are lots of recommendations there if you need any ideas.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Jeffrey Toobin

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

We look forward to your posts. Thanks and glad you joined us.

Hi everyone! My name is Peggy. I am a former teacher and now raise chickens. I love to travel and hope to do more in the coming years. I have loved to read all my life but in the last couple of years find myself turning more and more to History. I started with books about WW1 because I never understood what the reasons were for such a devestating war. I also love anything about British History in any era.

Welcome, Peggy. Glad you could join us. I had a neighbor that raised chickens.

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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link at the very bottom of the post after your text. Because it is on the bottom, it calls the reader's attention to the book/author and increases the readability of your posts.

This is how the books should look:

by Robert A. Caro

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

Take a few moments to read the orientation:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

And our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

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

Welcome Kevin, glad you introduced yourself.

Kevin, Peggy, Todd, Denise, Alexus, welcome to the group.

Peggy, welcome to the group we are glad to have you here. Please join in the discussions.

Hello all. My name's Philip White and I'm a writer based on Olathe, Kansas. I'm interested in all periods of history, particularly the World War II and Cold War eras. Looking forward to being an active part of this group.

Howdy everyone! My name is Marianne and go to school at Oklahoma State but am from Dallas, Texas. I am a science major but I have always loved reading and studying history. I love many periods and times, but have recently gotten really into Russian history, and World War II is always an interesting time to study.

I'm always up for suggestions and have really enjoyed reading some of the topics of this group!

Welcome Philip, we are glad to have you as a member.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Jeffrey Toobin

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks and glad you joined us.

Hello, my name is Steve. I live in the Philadelphia area and have worked as a journalist and a high school English teacher. Currently work as the senior copywriter for a large international company in their creative department.

Have always loved reading and writing. My area of particular interest in ancient Greek history. Must have over 500 books in my house devoted to the subject. Have been to Greece twice to climb among the ruins. Still remember reading through Fodor's Travel Guide on the plane over and coming across the line, "No one goes to Greece for the food." That's true. It's all about the history (and the islands).

Welcome, Stephen. Glad you could join us.

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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link at the very bottom of the post after your text. Because it is on the bottom, it calls the reader's attention to the book/author and increases the readability of your posts.

This is how the book you've mentioned should look:

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc.

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

Take a few moments to read the orientation:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

And our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

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

Welcome Marianne and Philip. Glad you found us.

Stephen, Philip, Marianne, welcome to the group.

Welcome, Mohamed. Glad you could join us. I had a neighbor that raised chickens.

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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link at the very bottom of the post after your text. Because it is on the bottom, it calls the reader's attention to the book/author and increases the readability of your posts.

This is how the books should look:

by Robert A. Caro

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

Take a few moments to read the orientation:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

And our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

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

I live in Alaska. I'm especially interested in American history of the late 19th and early 20th century, and in particular the Klondike Gold Rush. I'm also interested in the history of the indigenous people of North America.

Welcome, Deb. I would like to visit Alaska one day. Glad you could join us here.

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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link at the very bottom of the post after your text. Because it is on the bottom, it calls the reader's attention to the book/author and increases the readability of your posts.

This is how the books should look:

by Robert A. Caro

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

Take a few moments to read the orientation:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

And our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

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

Hi folks. I have a lifelong interest in history and history books and look forward to lurking and learning from all your discussions and recommendations. My interests are pretty broad and include ancient Egypt, US history (colonial, Rev War, Civil War, Old West), WWII (esp u-boat warfare), the Age of Sail, medieval history, and space exploration.

Welcome Jim, we are glad to have you as a member. With your interests you will fit right in and have plenty to explore here. We look forward to your posts.

As you get started please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the "add book/author" feature when you comment. 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. When citing a book and/or author, please put the book cover, author's photo and author's link after all of the text of your post at the bottom of the post . Placement at the bottom of the post calls the reader's attention to the book and/or author and increases the readability of your post. This is how books you mention should look:

by Jeffrey Toobin

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

Take a moment to read our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and the orientation to get you started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks and glad you joined us.