History: Actual, Fictional and Legendary discussion

I thought about it a little, and I think I end up more in favor of the wild ricochet anyway. Looking forward to Rome, one of my favorite periods.

Hi
I was wondering, would anyone like to have a napoleonic war discussion thread opened sometime this year?

I'd be down for that as a theme, dude who shares my name. I know zero about Napoleon; that period's one I've been planning to learn more about anyway.

Alex wrote: "I'd be down for that as a theme, dude who shares my name. I know zero about Napoleon; that period's one I've been planning to learn more about anyway."

If you add up all the books written in the U.S. and Europe, both factual and fictional, I believe that more stuff has been written about the Napoleonic wars than any other conflict in history.

Yeah, there's a lot of good historical stuff out there on Napoleon, including some first-rate stuff from the French (naturally), which in this case has actually been translated, due to general interest in the subject.

Napoleon, like the American Civil War or World War 2, sells.

Thanks for your support Alex and Susanna.

Unless, I hear differently, in the next couple months, we will most likely got to the Napoleonic Wars next.

Alrighty.

Am I the only one adding books I've read on the current topic to the bookshelf?

Thanks Ed :)

Susanna wrote: "Am I the only one adding books I've read on the current topic to the bookshelf?"

Not anymore :D

To tell you the truth, I often forget to add books in any groups I join in GR.

There seems to be an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm for the "Roman Empire" theme.

Perhaps I jumped to a false conclusion in choosing it.

Personally, I'm reading Steven Saylor's Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome which is a fictional history of Rome up to the Empire. It is fascinating and provides background to many of the discussion points in the Roman Empire Folder.

I would like to hear from people, here under the Theme of the Month Topic Heading if you would like to change the theme from The Western Roman Empire to something else. Please nominate a theme you would like and I'll create a poll so we can select a topic that is of interest to more members.

Thanks for your help,

Ed

Personally, I'm interested in the topic, but have been busy reading other books that are not relevant to the discussion. I read fiction books and books that I have at home first, unfortunatly there are currently no historical novels about ancient Rome in my TBR pile as I've yet to find an author I like. I will join in discussion when I've read relevant stuff recently.

I personally find the Romans very interesting; I just don't have any books about them that I haven't already read!

I'm going to the library tomorrow, though, so I can remedy that, perhaps.

Susanna wrote: "I personally find the Romans very interesting; I just don't have any books about them that I haven't already read!

I'm going to the library tomorrow, though, so I can remedy that, perhaps."

Great, Susanna. Thanks!

Ed wrote: "There seems to be an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm for the "Roman Empire" theme.

Perhaps I jumped to a false conclusion in choosing it. ..."

Ed, I'm still working on Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I'll probably pause at A.D. 395. For a light weight reader like me, it is a big bite. Still. it is a wonderful piece of writing. Without this group, I never would have started it.

David wrote: "Ed, I'm still working on Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I'll probably pause at A.D. 395. For a light weight reader like me, it is a big bite. Still. it is a wonderful piece of writing. Without this group, I never would have started it."

David,

Good on you! I never had the courage to take Gibbons on since I tried and failed when I studied Roman History as an undergrad. It was suggested reading not required. Shame on me.

I suspect you would like Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor, a guaranteed lighter read than Gibbons and will give you information and insights from your Gibbon's reading. It covers Rome from 1000 BC to Augustus.

Sorry, I knew when the topic was brought up I wouldn't have much to add. The Napoleonic Wars will likely be the same. So I didn't weigh in on the subject.

I am new to actually having any interest in history and my scope is still closer to home, but I was hoping to gain new insight from the discussion. I'm too overwhelmed to take on some what-appears-to-be heavy history right now, so the timing is just bad for me.

Re: Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire-

Ed wrote: "It was suggested reading not required. Shame on me."

Ed, no shame on anyone. It is great writing.
But all that killing and torture is depressing. Fortunately, for my own peace of mind, I came across a remarkable essay - The Decline of War by Loren Cobb.
http://tqe.quaker.org/2007/TQE159-EN-...

Kay wrote: "Sorry, I knew when the topic was brought up I wouldn't have much to add. The Napoleonic Wars will likely be the same. So I didn't weigh in on the subject.

I am new to actually having any inte..."

Kay,

There are no wrong answers. One way you can contribute also is to ask questions about stuff you would like to know more about or don't quite understand.

What historical periods or events are you interested in?

I've been bummed that thanks to bad timing, I missed this theme; I set off to learn Western civilization starting with Gilgamesh a year ago, and now I'm almost to the end of the Middle Ages. This theme and my plan missed each other by about four months - which sucks, because four months ago I was dying to find people to talk to about Rome, but I didn't want to backtrack now.

For what it's worth, I plan to get into the Renaissance in about a month, after I tie up some loose ends. (Boccaccio and, randomly and out of order, Anna Karenina.)

I'm reading Civilization: A New History of the Western World by Roger Osborne now; anyone read that? I'm surprisingly impressed by it so far. I'm generally suspicious of any book that covers a huge expanse of time, but Osborne's doing kindof a nice job.

Alex wrote: "I've been bummed that thanks to bad timing, I missed this theme; I set off to learn Western civilization starting with Gilgamesh a year ago, and now I'm almost to the end of the Middle Ages. This ..."

Alex,

What would you like for us to take up as the next topic?

Also please don't restrain yourself from commenting on the Roman Empire stuff. We need someone like you to keep us all straight.

Ed wrote: "Unless, I hear differently, in the next couple months, we will most likely go to the Napoleonic Wars next."

That sounds good.
Compared to the Roman Empire, it should be a quick read. (grin)

Alex wrote: "I'm reading Civilization: A New History of the Western World by Roger Osborne now; anyone read that? I'm surprisingly impressed by it so far. I'm generally suspicious of any book that covers a huge expanse of time, but Osborne's doing kindof a nice job."

Just put it on my bottomless TBR list.

David wrote: "Ed wrote: "Unless, I hear differently, in the next couple months, we will most likely go to the Napoleonic Wars next."

That sounds good.
Compared to the Roman Empire, it should be a quick read..."

I decided to do a poll instead. The Napoleonic Wars will be one of the choices.

Yeah, do a poll! I love polls. I'm pretty booked through April, unfortunately, so I'm not sure I'll be able to participate terribly soon.

I like polls.

Polls always add an element of anticipation.

The Napoleonic Wars sounds good.
I am also interested with the Crusades.

I'm interested in the Crusades too, for what it's worth. I plan to read Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades as soon as I can. New book, read a good review of it somewhere. Again, I'm not sure how reliable I am right now with the Decameron and Anna Karenina on my reading list, but that theme is intriguing to me.

Denise wrote: "Hello Everyone,

I just joined Good Reads yesterday (hence the single book on my home page), and was delighted to discover this group today. Already I find that I must add a suggestion for the Them..."

Hi Denise,

Welcome to Goodreads and welcome to our group.

I've added your suggestion to my TBR list. Unfortunately, we are already discussing the Roman Empire so we won't be adding it as a new theme but please comment on any of the sub-topics now on the site.

The current "theme of the month" poll has 20 votes out of a possible 132 members. Come on, we can do better. The poll is at the bottom of this group's main page. In keeping with history - "Vote early and vote often"

I guess the Crusades topic is the winner? :D

I'm pretty psyched to read Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades, which has gotten great reviews and, unlike Tyerman's apparently magisterial God's War: A New History of the Crusades, isn't a thousand pages long. (Not to seem like a wuss, but...a thousand pages?! If you got that many pages, you better be able to prove you're a better writer than Tolstoy.)

Silvana wrote: "I guess the Crusades topic is the winner? :D"

Soory for the delay. I am enroute from U.s. TO hONG kONG. wILL ANNOUNCE WINNER AND SET UP tOPICS AS SOON AS i CAN THIS WEEK.

eD

have a nice trip, Ed!

Many happy returns, Ed!

Just wondering if we have a topic set for the summer read...the poll says the Crusades won but only 13 voters?

James wrote: "Just wondering if we have a topic set for the summer read...the poll says the Crusades won but only 13 voters?"

Yeah, few voters. Some sent their votes to my mailbox by mistake so there were actually 17 voters. I put the total in the comments dialogue box.

Some people just don't care or lose interest or don't access the site for a while.

Actually, ironically, more people voted in the tie-breaker than in the original poll.

This Crusades discussion will run through Mid July. We'll do another poll and start the late summer discussion in August.

I've given up crusading for the crusades. I'm now open to suggestions for the next topic. One of the choices will be The U.S. Civil War which came in a close second to the spurned crusades. (grin)

Y'know, Ed, in the other groups I'm on here, the same thing tends to happen; people are all psyched to vote and talk about what to read, and then it seems like no one actually does it. The thread about what to read will have, like, 300 posts and the thread about the book we eventually decide on has 5. I have no idea why that happens.

(Well, actually, I do have an idea. Book people love to talk about books, but when it comes to reading them, they have their own agendas and they might be caught up in their own reading lists.)

Frustrating sometimes, but on the other hand, talking about books is fun.

Alex wrote: "Y'know, Ed, in the other groups I'm on here, the same thing tends to happen; people are all psyched to vote and talk about what to read, and then it seems like no one actually does it. The thread ..."

I believe you are right but I somehow thought that by including any sources the contributor chose to use, present or past, that I would take away the schoolmaster, "reading list" aspect. I've kind of pulled away from the History Book Club group because of the moderator's insistence on limiting discussion to the chapter of the week.

It actually worked fine with WW I. There were many fine discussions. I think The Crusades just don't carry enough emotional weight in spite of their current tie-in by radical Muslims.

I still think there's a place for a free floating kind of History-oriented site but I also know a discussion needs an initial focus hence the theme of the month idea.

I suspect the topic must strike a chord in people's hearts as well as minds to generate a spirited discussion.

Perhaps the next theme will do the job.

Yeah, you're probably right. As jazzed as I was personally, big dogs like the big US wars are probably going to be more successful for more people.

I really do like the free-floating nature of this group. Like you, I think the HBC is a terrific resource but they're really structured - a little too much so for me to participate in the reads.

Currently watching World Cup, where the camera just flashed to several young women dressed as Templars. So, that happened.

Poor England.

I just find it hard to get inspired by this particular topic! Finding the Oxford Illustrated somewhat boring (on the up side, handy when I have insomnia).

I think part of the problem this time was that I really did not want to read another non-fiction on the subject, and had a hard time finding a historical novel on the topic that looked interesting.

I'm in the middle of reading some Civil War books that have been languishing on my shelves for ages. So I'm going to vote for the Civil War discussion.

Will we be allowed to talk about the Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter novel? ^_~ That book was far too much fun to read.

Moony wrote: "I'm in the middle of reading some Civil War books that have been languishing on my shelves for ages. So I'm going to vote for the Civil War discussion.

Will we be allowed to talk about the Abraham..."

You can talk about whatever you want. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the recent spate of vampire books and have not read any of them.

I'd be interested in what the Lincoln book was about, though. i just don't want to read it.

There are some Lincoln books that have been meaning to get around to. Maybe this will be my excuse to do so!

I vote for Napoleonic Wars. At least I'll have the chance to read the two books from the Aubrey Maturin series left unread in my shelf.

Silvana wrote: "I vote for Napoleonic Wars. At least I'll have the chance to read the two books from the Aubrey Maturin series left unread in my shelf."

A great reason. They are still,IMHO, the best historical fiction series ever written.

I want to finish some of the books I'm currently reading before starting another, but have been wanting to read Shelby Foote's The Civil War for quite some time. So for this theme I guess I'll start with the first volume. Probably will be able to start it sometime next week.