The History Book Club discussion

Just started by Jim Rasenberger

Don't forget you book citations, Jim. if you need help with the process,please visit the following link:

http://goodreads.com/topic/show/287892

by Ian W. Toll

I'm revisiting Vincent Sherman's autobiography, "Studio Affairs." If you are interested in the New York theater during the 1930s (including The Federal Theater) and Hollywood during the 1940's and 1950s (including the Hollywood Black List), I recommend this straight forward, personal account of those years.



by Vincent Sherman

Reading Frank Merry Stenton for a new project I am working on - nothing but dark age reading for me over the coming months. Although it was written over half a century ago, it is still a great, highly informed work.

Good effort Janis - just switch around the bookcover and the author's link - like so:

by Frank Merry Stenton (no photo)

This looks like a some dense reading for awhile but also informative.

As usual I've got 3 books going:

in paper format:
1. by Peter H. Wilson
This is a pretty straightforward accounting of an horrendous time of war - a physically very well-presented book.

on the Kindle:
2. by Peter Carey
Contemporary fiction by a great story-teller. Delves into the 19th century Black Forest area and times of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

and listening to:
3. by Camilla Läckberg
#3 in a Scandinavian crime series -

Also, I just finished and would like to highly recommend:
by Laurent BinetLaurent Binet
This is a fictionalization of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (a Nazi leader) told in an extraordinary way.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

I just started this last night. Looks very interesting. I haven't read any of the others in the series.

by Will Durant

Becky wrote: "As usual I've got 3 books going:

in paper format:
1. by Peter H. Wilson
This is a pretty straightforward..."

Can anyone recommend a book on the thirty years war that isn't so long?

Being that it was a long war - I guess that is why the book is so long (smile) - only kidding Frank.

It is a worthwhile endeavor - and you have a year to finish it - just one chapter at a time.

There are some free books on line that are audio books but they are longer.

Here is a goodreads listopia list which may contain books of interest for you on the subject matter:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17...

Bentley wrote: "Being that it was a long war - I guess that is why the book is so long (smile) - only kidding Frank.

It is a worthwhile endeavor - and you have a year to finish it - just one chapter at a time.
..."

Bentley, I see you rated the first five books on the list, which would you say is the easiest to read.

Frank wrote: "Becky wrote: "As usual I've got 3 books going:

in paper format:
1. by Peter H. Wilson
This is a pretty s..."

Wedgewood wrote a decent history and its a bit shorter.

by C.V.Wedgewood

Gentian wrote: "Currently reading

Henryk Sienkiewicz

I know next to nothing about this period of Polish/Eastern European History so have been enjoyin..."

Great stuff. Sienkiewicz was quite prolific and a great writer.

Frank wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Being that it was a long war - I guess that is why the book is so long (smile) - only kidding Frank.

It is a worthwhile endeavor - and you have a year to finish it - just one cha..."

I think the one we are doing. I am not sure Frank why you are so hung up on the length of the book versus the quality of it. There are quite a few short videos on line which will give you the highlights if that is all you are looking for. But this conflict was very involved and there were a lot of causal relationships and all sorts of underlying issues. Short is not necessarily better. The list was put together by another group member; I simply gave my input on some of the better books and none of them are short.

"Can anyone recommend a book on the thirty years war that isn't so long?"

I haven't read the one by Wilson yet, but I did think highly of Wedgwood's book.

by Peter H. Wilson

Cicely Veronica Wedgwood

Erskine, both of the above books are very good. One is 900+ pages and the other is 550+ pages.

Bentley wrote: "Frank wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Being that it was a long war - I guess that is why the book is so long (smile) - only kidding Frank.

It is a worthwhile endeavor - and you have a year to finish it ..."

I didn't mean shorter, I meant fast reads as a posed to tedious. Not as in long or short. I'm going to the library and see which one they have. I'm leaning towards Cicely Veronica Wedgwood I liked the reviews.

Whichever one you choose is the right one for you.

I see you have a discussion going on the Wilson book. That makes more sense about why you said I had a year to read it.

Frank, we tried something new with the Wilson book (don't forget to do the citation) - it is a thread called a buddy read and we are doing it over the course of a year. Buddy reads are single thread discussions.

by Peter H. Wilson

I am currently listening to Life After Life, which could be classified as historical fiction since it covers both WW1 and WW2. I like Kate Atkinson's writing, but it takes absolute concentration because it not only hops all over the place in time but also gives different versions. The question is: what if you could live your life over time and time again. Would you/ could you ever get it right? Anyhow, it is well written even if difficult to follow! Good mental gymnastics!

by Kate Atkinson

Beautiful post Chrissie and so well done. Thank you for posting it and taking the time.

:0)

Downloaded this to read when traveling and am pretty sure there will be tears flowing by the time I am done, based on what I have read so far.

by Antwone Quenton Fisher

The problem is along the way your reading would exponentially lead to many more books. Great choices. I use to love sci fi, Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury. But somehow I started gravitating more to non fiction and of course mysteries are still thrown into the mix.

I like that hard-boiled genre myself. And love Hammett. (don't forget to add author "stuff" when mentioning one - photo if available and always author's link)

Dashiell Hammett

Bentley, I didn't know you were an old sci-fi fan. Cool. Taste sometimes change over time.

Yes it did in my case - were you or are you?

I will confess I even remember the Dune series and sitting through the movie in awe.

by Frank Herbert

It was a phase I went through although in my book cases I have all of the old sci fi books and sometimes I pick them up for another whirl.

Bentley wrote: "Yes it did in my case - were you or are you?"

I am still a fan. I have to be in the mood for it, though, so I tend to read more non-fiction. Horror and scifi are my fiction "go to" genre. I also dabble in historical fiction, though, but not as much as the two others.

Interesting - I have sort of drifted towards mysteries/thrillers/hard-boiled when I want a change of pace from non fiction. Reality (non fiction) somehow has gotten much more exciting for me (smile)

Haven't posted in a while, been reading some fiction myself. I'm back to nonfiction now with Daniel Okrent it's full of interesting things I didn't know about the period. It's kind of dry reading and a little redundant but I think it will be worth plowing through

I am currently reading two books, although one is an audiobook:


by Neela Vaswani

and

by Ron Chernow

The former is autobiographical. Neela Vaswani was born to an Irish-Catholic mother and an Sindh-Indian father. The book begins with Partition of British India in 1947 (and all its horrors). It follows the experiences of the parents and grandparents as immigrants in New York. You learn about traditions and beliefs and experiences of the disparate cultural groups, and what it is like to be a mix of the two. It is written rather poetically, a mixture of philosophical pondering and straight facts. Lots of photos.

The second is of course about George Washington, from his birth, through the Revolutionary War, his presidencies and finally his death. It is interesting to compare Chernow's style of presentation in comparison to John McCullough's, having recently completed:

by David McCullough

Chernow's writing is in my opinion more subjective and wordy, even if his writing is clearly very informative and worth reading.

Thanks, Chrissie, you have two great writers there.

I am just getting ready to start this book which I think some of you have already read. I'm looking forward to it.


The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War

by James Bradley

Bryan, do you find McCullough and Chernow equally good? If they both wrote a book on the same subject, which would you choose first?

ETA: Ooops, are these necessary here too?!
Ron Chernow
John McCullough

Chrissie wrote: "Bryan, do you find McCullough and Chernow equally good? If they both wrote a book on the same subject, which would you choose first?"

I do, but I think Chernow brings more detail, a little less story-telling style. If I was faced with the two authors, I'd go with Chernow. Just a personal choice.

David McCullough

Ron Chernow

Bryan wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Bryan, do you find McCullough and Chernow equally good? If they both wrote a book on the same subject, which would you choose first?"

I do, but I think Chernow brings more detail,..."

Hmm, I find Chernow less objective. More details, but the details do not always prove what he is trying to say. That is just what I find myself thinking.

Ron Chernow

Jill I have that somewhere in my stash but have not read it yet. I am sure someone in our membership has read it? Looking forward to your review.

by James Bradley

I haven't read it but enjoyed
James Bradley good writer

Recently finished the excellent book by Stanley Weintraub and am now starting by S.M. Plokhy

Jill wrote: "I am just getting ready to start this book which I think some of you have already read. I'm looking forward to it.


The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War

[bookcover:The Imperial..."


I have only just started this book and am already fascinated. The author is no fan of Teddy Roosevelt or any of the government of the time but I think he is writing without bias. I really enjoy his style. Looks like I made a good choice.

I am currently reading

by Harlan Coben.


I like Harlan Coben, and in the past few days I keep thinking about the genre of crime mystery. If anybody knows any really good crime novels, or non-fiction, I would love to hear about it. Thank you.

Excellent Danna - great job - you are a quick learner.

I just finished this one on FDR and his battles with the Supreme Court on the New Deal

by James F. Simon (no photo)

Synopis:
An excellent look at the fight between the Supreme Court led by Justice Hughes and the President in '35/'36 and FDR's efforts to "stack" the court in the aftermath.
Simon writes a biographical sketch of both men and the court fight doesn't start until a little more than half way thru the book. IMO Hughes comes off as a much better person than FDR and almost as good a politician
I gave it 4 stars and would recommend it.

The author was on BookTV last year and the subject caught my interest

Nice, I will see if it is on the FDR topic, happy, great. This was a serious blunder by FDR.

Thnx Bryan - I didn't see an FDR thread, feel free to move it where ever you think it might fit

I'm doing a lot of research right now so some of my books are:


by Joseph Kinsey Howard (no photo)

by Michael P. Malone (no photo)

And several other obscure Montana books that aren't in the listings here.

Great job on the citations, Greg. Well done, thank you so much.

Yes thank you Greg for doing the posts in the Ancient History folder and for taking the time to get the citations down.

Hello All,

I am currently reading "Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink" by Randy Mosher. So far, it is pretty interesting. It not only goes into tasting variations of the brew, but the historical and cultural elements as well.

I also just started "The Metaphysical Club" the History Book Club is reading now. I just started so I don't have much to say other than I am excited to read history about Cambridge, MA because I am from Massachusetts and work in Cambridge! Definitely looking forward to discussing it further in the future!

by Randy Mosher

by