The History Book Club discussion

Hello! My name is Amy and I'm a nonfiction book dragon. I'm generally all over the place with what I read, because why would I stick with one topic when there's way too much I don't know about? I try to read on average 50 books a year, and I've been doing that for 12 years now. I own 1,100+ books and you could classify a bit more than half of them being about different periods of history.

Amy, a warm welcome to you from all of us at the History Book Club. Your eclectic choice of reading is admirable as is your collection of books. You should find many different periods of history discussed here. I'm looking forward to your posts.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

Might have to bare with me, groups kind of confuse me on Goodreads. I'm one of those that was kicked off of Shelfari.com. :)

That is pretty hard to do Amy - Vicki will be along soon and will post the long welcome to you and that will have all of the rules and guidelines and the orientation and that will steer you in the right direction. We are here to help you.

Hello Amy and welcome to HBC. I feel the same way about my reading choices. You might find some interesting recommendations here. I look forward to hearing your discussions.

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History

Alejandro - although we welcome you - we allow no self promotion whatsoever. You will be hearing from one of our administrators who will assist you in our rules and guidelines and what you need to do to repost. Any and all self promotion and spam is deleted immediately.

Glad you joined us, Amy. This is the place for the avid history buff.

I suggest you check out our homepage and see what we have to offer. You can access it through this link:

History Book Club main page

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 comment 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 books that you mention should look:

by Adrian Goldsworthy

More information:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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

And our guidelines:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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

Vicki
Assisting Moderator – Ancient Roman History

Amy wrote: "Hello! My name is Amy and I'm a nonfiction book dragon. I'm generally all over the place with what I read, because why would I stick with one topic when there's way too much I don't know about?"

Welcome, Amy! I'm new here also. I'm curious, what are a few of the books that you have read recently? Where are you from? Is there any reason for your interest in history? Are there any specific areas that you especially enjoy?

Talk soon!

Hello everyone. This is Firat from Antalya, Turkey. I am 34 years old. I love reading history. I try to read on Ottoman, Middle East and Modern Turkey history in particular. Hot days for our country and the region, so i try to get a grip on events, looking for clues in the past. It is fascinating to see the echoes of today's debates in history. I also read stuff on economic history since i am an economics graduate and finding out how just a political conflict on the surface have a deep economical background is an enlightening experience. I will try to follow the discussions and recommendations as much as i can. See you :)

Okay, I got confused at where the add book/author was because I was on my phone and it's not available on that.

by Matthew Hart by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

by Peter Carlson by Andrew Nikiforuk

These are the last history related books I've read. I'm from Tennessee originally but I live in Chicagoland now.

I was taken out of school after 3rd grade and my mom got too sick to teach me, so I taught myself. My parents took me to plenty of museums and historical reenactments when I was growing up, and they encouraged to learn about history. So I'm sort of ahead in the literature and history department but behind in the math and sciences. It took awhile for me to get back into college because in my first semester I had double pneumonia and kept associating college with being sick. But once I did start back when I was 24, I couldn't take too many classes at a time. While everyone typically has enough background to get ahead, I didn't. So, my college experience is half catching up from not having been to high school and half getting my associates degree in science. My major is physics, unless I totally fail at it. The backup major is history, in case I fail at science in general.

I started a project where I read a few books on every president and the events surrounding them. I decided to add the founding fathers to the mix, so I have 40 books lined up before John Adams. Otherwise I'm literally all over the place.

Hello Firat. You make a great point about using the past to get insights on the present. We all could do a bit more of that. The history of Turkey and the Ottomans are wonderful topics to get immersed in. Welcome to the HBC.

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History

Welcome Firat (from beautiful and ancient Turkey) - I always get confused as to what is the first and last name. At first I thought that Firat was your last name or family name and Tan was your first name - so much for what I know.

Three or four years ago I was in Istanbul, Turkey over the holidays and loved the city. Loved the Byzantine Mosaics at the Hagia Sophia and all of the other historical elements of such a beautiful and ancient city. The people and the food were also exceptional. I stayed in the Old part of the city to embrace all of the historical elements and I could not have been more impressed.

I realize that lately as you aptly describe the "hot" and intense times and current situations. Hopefully things will improve and get less turbulent. Turkey was always admired as one of the most democratic in that area and such impressive achievements and advancements were made accordingly.

It is a pleasure to have you join us and we do hope that you will enjoy your time with us. One of the admins will post the long welcome to you later with some helpful links that will guide you on your journey here.

Regards,
Bentley
Group Founder

Hi, Amy. Good try at the citations, but here's a few notes. Hit return after each one so they appear on separate lines. Also, if there isn't a photo for the author, add the author's link, then "(no photo)". It should look like this:
by Matthew Hart (no photo)

Firat, a warm welcome to you from all of us at the History Book Club. Thank you for your interesting introduction. I agree that there are echoes in the events of today in history. You should find many different periods of history here including the Ottoman, the Middle East and Turkey. I look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

Hello. My name is Levan Ramishvili. I'm from Tbilisi, Georgia. I work as a journalist and also teach at university. Glad to join your group.

Levan - many warm welcomes to you from Tbilisi, Georgia. We are delighted to have you join us. Enjoy your time here.

Here is a photo and map for all of our members of your beautiful city:





One of our assisting moderators will be along soon to post some helpful hints and guidelines to get you off on the right foot.

Namun we are happy that you have joined us - Could you share with us from what part of the world you are from - like Levan did or more general if you like - We are a global community and it is so much fun to learn about all of our friends from all over the world. We have 171 countries represented so far in our group's membership. Where are you from?

Hi My name is Shuai Li. I loving reading, for the knowledge condensed in the books, and also for the relaxation. History has been my favorite genres. I am a Chinese, and I am disappointed at my country on various issues --- environmental issues, food safety, inequality, degradation of morality, autocracy etc, and somehow also at the world at whole --- liberalism seems to be dying, e.g. America has Trump as their president. So I look into history books to find why things come into this state, or is there a better time in the history when things are good? The answer up to now feels like all nations/states live in certain equilibrium. New people are born, they need to be educated. If several generations has been wiped out, civilization stalls. Old infrastructure needs rebuilding. If left unattended, society starts to crumble. To be a autocratic regime, or a democratic one largely depends how people and the infrastructure. Technology has been the cornerstone for the renewal of people and infrastructure, and has enabled civilization to progress from feudal states to democratic nations. The solution to my disappointment, at least the first one, seems only to be time. Let the people get educated over time, and let the infrastructure built over time, so we can approach the time when liberty, equality, fraternity is possible. So I try to work on technology that contributes to the process. All seems to be fine, but I feel so alone, sometimes lonely, since most people surrounding cares only about a comfortable life, money, status, and does not care (or gives up caring) about these issues. I try to find like-minded people. Happy to find so many people interested in history. I am not sure how the group works, and how we are supposed to interact, but I want to learn more about you, and what you are interested. I am reading At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot CocktailsbySarah Bakewell to learn about the history of Existentialism now.

Hello! My name is Stevi and I am I high school social studies teacher from Texas. I am an avid fan of historical fiction and am currently enthralled with the Kingbridge series by Ken Follett. The Middle Ages and Renassaince era are my favorites to study and teach but I would integrate a wider variety of authors and cultures as well for my classroom curriculum and personal bookshelf! Thanks for the time and I look forward to being a member!

Stevi412 wrote: "Hello! My name is Stevi and I am I high school social studies teacher from Texas. I am an avid fan of historical fiction and am currently enthralled with the Kingbridge series by Ken Follett. The M..."

Welcome to the book club! I new and still making friends. Good to have you. They are a friendly, helpful group!

Hello Levan, from Tbilisi, Georgia. We are very happy to welcome you to the History Book Club. Please take time to look around as there should be many areas of discussion to interest you. I look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

Hello my name is James. I am glad to be a member of this group. I love history, my main interests is 18th and 19th century British history and early American history.

Hello James - welcome - what country and city are you from? We are delighted to have you join us. One of the other assisting moderators will be along to do the long welcome which will help you with a roadmap of how thing are done and to get you off to a great start.

Andrew wrote: "Stevi412 wrote: "Hello! My name is Stevi and I am I high school social studies teacher from Texas. I am an avid fan of historical fiction and am currently enthralled with the Kingbridge series by K..."

Thank you Andrew for being so kind and jumping in to say hello to new members - that is what we want all members to do and you are doing it so graciously.

Hi Amy, and welcome to the History Book Club! We're so happy you've joined us! I am envious of your ability to read so many books each year. And how wonderful to have such an impressive book collection! Please make yourself at home. I am sure you will find many interesting discussions to participate in.

Betty
Admin (T) - Health - Medicine - Science

Hello Stevi - what part of Texas are you from. We have a lot of fellow Texans in the group. One of our assisting moderators will be along soon to help you out with the guidelines and to give you a roadmap to find your way around.

Shuai Li - so many welcomes to you. Where in China are you from? The world is a complex place right now and there seem to be many problems everywhere so do not be sad. I agree that we should be worried about climate change and how to protect our environment and the food we eat and the water we drink. You might think that things are bad where you are but then we have Trump and many of us were not counting on that either. You have to be prepared for the unsuspected. Many Trump voters might be happy with him but most of us are not terribly pleased so far either. What kind of technological advances do you work on. That must be exciting. I spent a lot of time in China and wonder if I ever visited where you are from. We are so glad that you found our group. Welcome to you from far away China. One of the assisting moderators will be along soon and will provide a roadmap for you. We are always here.

Bentley wrote: "Shuai Li - so many welcomes to you. Where in China are you from? The world is a complex place right now and there seem to be many problems everywhere so do not be sad. I agree that we should be wor..."

Hi Bentley:

I lived in Sichuan, Hebei, Anhui for some years, and in Hong Kong now. Will leave here shortly I guess, not sure which is the next step, perhaps Beijing. It is such a warm welcome. Thanks so much. I am working on Artificial Intelligence, and think this is a disruptive technology that will profoundly shape our societies. Hope to help make it a good force.

Namun, a warm welcome to you from all of us at the History Book Club. We are pleased that you have joined us. You will find many threads here pertaining to the history of Europe, Asia-China and Japan. I look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

A warm welcome to you Shuai Li.. We at the History Book Club are happy to have you join us. You raise a lot of interesting questions. Please feel free to look around as we have many areas of history for you to explore. There are also group discussions of many diverse books. I look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

So for our members ShawnLeeZx - this is a map of the provinces and you use to live to the South of Beijing were I have actually visited and spent time there.

I think this shows Anhui - am I correct?



Anhui is an eastern Chinese province known for its Huangshan Mountains. Their low-hanging clouds, distinctive granite rocks and twisted pines have been subjects of many classical paintings and poems. Trails and aerial cable cars provide access to Huangshan peaks (1,864m Lian Hua Feng is the highest). The gateway Tunxi district and surrounding villages preserve examples of the Huizhou regional architectural style.



How beautiful.

And now Hong Kong:





I understand how you feel about artificial intelligence - it is like every other technology - huge potential for both good and bad. How come you have moved around so much? I liked Hong Kong and I liked Beijing but one is on water and one is inland. Which is your preference?

You are here and you are posting just fine. Great. The Peoples Republic of Virginia - well we like Virginians (smile).

We are delighted to have you and you sound like you are quite the character with a great sense of humor. Welcome.

Do you want to tell us the city in Virginia and we will post a photo.

Hello Stevi from Texas. A warm welcome to you from all of us at the History Book Club. I too am a Ken Follett fan with my favorite being his first historical fiction in the series. There are a lot of interesting history threads for you to explore and we look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

by Ken Follett

Welcome James, we are happy that you have joined us in the History Book Club. I am sure that you will find much information pertaining to your interests in 18th and 19th century history and early American History. I look forward to your participation.

Lorna
Admin (T) - Civil Rights and Supreme Court

Bentley wrote: "And now Hong Kong:



I understand how you feel about artificial intelligence - it is like every other technology - huge potential for both good and bad. How come you have moved around so much? I l..."

Thanks for the nice background intro. Which aspect of Hong Kong do you like? Same question for Bejing :). I moved around mostly for family reasons, and for study. I am just twenty something now. It has not been good in recent years in Hong Kong. Some best people I know left after several years' effort in veil to promote democracy here. Technologically wise, Hong Kong has been left behind due to high friction in the system, and a leadership without long term vision, but short term benefits. Relatively, Beijing is better in these two aspects. Culturally, Beijing is the cultural center of China, there will be many people love history and reading there ;). Also, many of friends are there. So mostly, it is not for the natural environment.

Yes! you are correct abut Anhui. How about sharing your experience in China? I always do some kind of comparative study among cultures, and am also considering moving to Bay Area, partly for this reason (partly for technology). US was once a kind of promising land for me, where you have American Dream, Democracy, Liberty etc. But as I learn more, I feel they are more like each other than other wise. They both have their problems to solve (and China is some dozens of years behind), and such problems in someway are of the same nature.

A close family member was living in Shanghai first. We traveled and spent a great deal of time in Shanghai, Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo, Hong Kong, Qingdao.

I thought that Beijing was where I felt that I had the most authentic experience in China. Shanghai I loved but it is very cosmopolitan as is Hong Kong.

I liked the Peak - and I liked the harbor. Beijing - I liked the history - the Great Wall - the hidden Starbucks within the Forbidden City, the Forbidden City, and a host of other things and really including the ambience and culture. Shanghai - I liked the Bund and I liked the French area. I liked the tea ceremonies and tea houses.

PS: I also visited all of the temples, gardens, museums, river trips, caves, etc. - I was pretty busy as well as the fabulous Terra Cotta Warriors

Elizabeth wrote: "Currently experiencing all sorts of posting problems.
I am currently reading "

Your previous post was A-OK

Bentley wrote: "Welcome Firat (from beautiful and ancient Turkey) - I always get confused as to what is the first and last name. At first I thought that Firat was your last name or family name and Tan was your fir..."

Actually it is my mistake since i am not using my full name here it seems. I need to figure it out. My name is Tan Firat Yilmaz. So Tan is my first name, Firat middle and Yilmaz is my surname. I use Firat mostly. So your logic was correct :)

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.
Glad to join this multinational, multicultural community.

Stevi412 wrote: "Hello! My name is Stevi and I am I high school social studies teacher from Texas. I am an avid fan of historical fiction and am currently enthralled with the Kingbridge series by Ken Follett. The M..."

Welcome. Will have to look up the Kingbridge series. Never heard of it, but sounds interesting.

Hello, grateful to join this book club
I am from Peru, hope to learn new things about history here

Hi, my name is Reem .. I am 44 years old who is addicted to books ..
I love to read about every thing but mostly history . Happy to join your group .

Reem wrote: "Hi, my name is Reem .. I am 44 years old who is addicted to books ..
I love to read about every thing but mostly history . Happy to join your group ."
Welcome!

So you are Tan (smile) - but we call you Firat or Tan most likely.

We are glad to have you here too.

trepidus wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Namun we are happy that you have joined us - Could you share with us from what part of the world you are from - like Levan did or more general if you like - We are a global community..."


Very good - welcome to you from beautiful Thailand - I have also visited your country.

Hello Levan. It's wonderful to have you join us and expand our global presence. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time with us.

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History

Welcome James to our group. I bet I'll see you in some of the British and American history discussions. There's plenty to enjoy.

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History

Hello Elizabeth. What wonderful interests you have. The great part about being a history buff is the limitless exploration. Welcome to HBC!

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History

Namun - hello and welcome to our group. I'm currently deep into an Ancient History audiobook to give me some needed perspective on everything else I read. I look forward to having you participate in our discussions.

Mary
Admin (T) - Russia and Russian History