The History Book Club discussion

Welcome to Vivian, Paul, Eric, and Bill. There is always a lot going on here. Good books and nice people make for interesting conversations. Hope you enjoy yourselves here!

Welcome Patrick I love New Orleans, it is one of my favorite places:-)

I think I missed welcoming Fran. I think many people who love history start with the picture of history as a story. Hope you find many new things through the group.

If we have missed welcoming anyone.it is not intentional..and welcome Fran.

Hi to all the new members of the History Book Club, hope you have an enjoyable time discussing books with all the great people here. I hang out at the military section if anyone has an interest in that area :)

Hi, I'm Susan. I became enamored with history while teaching in a private school. I've written all my life, but only recently got around to trying to publish a book. My first book came out this week! Yeah! And it's historical fiction (700+BC).

I enjoy hiking, reading (of course), vegan food, having friends over, and a thousand other things like old churches, train whistles and chocolate. I do not like malls, hatchbacks, or packaged dinners.

If I could live anywhere it would be a town on the back side of the Teton Mts. and over the pass from Jackson Hole, called Victor. Now there's a name that could give a town visions of grandeur...

Good for you Susan...just be careful because we do not allow any self promotion on this site. If your publication is in goodreads, please send me a PM and I will make sure to add it on the moderator's author's site. Just be mindful of this.

Writing is a wonderful past time and an excellent way to come both mind and spirit.

It sounds like you might live in the western part of the country. And I have to agree with the sound of Victor as a great sounding town name.

If there is anything that we can do to help you out...this is a very friendly group and everyone gives a helping hand.

Bentley

oops sorry, just being excited.

Welcome to the group, Susan.
We all hope you feel welcome here, and feel free to participate in any of our discussion topics.

Thanks again for joining our group.
Joe

Paul wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Thanks Paul..glad to welcome you to the History Book Club. You will find that we have folks from around the world.

A love of history is all you need here.

Bentley"

Tha..."

Hi Paul, Do you have a favourite area or period of history that you enjoy reading about more than others?

I'm Lynda. I'm a data and government information librarian in North Carolina. My specialty is political science, but I have European and Russian studies minors. I'm a huge history buff, but I've mostly read in European history. I joined this group so I could diversify my reading a bit more. It looks like you have some good picks!

Welcome to the group, Lynda.

Yes, we have some great reads in progress and on the way. Join in on any discussion that interests you, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need any help.

Thanks again,
Joe

Glad to have you, Lynda. Hope you enjoy reading and discussing the books with us.

Hello Lynda,

Welcome to the History Book Club. We are glad to have you with us and we look forward to your posts.

Bentley

Lynda wrote: "I'm Lynda. I'm a data and government information librarian in North Carolina. My specialty is political science, but I have European and Russian studies minors. I'm a huge history buff, but I've mo..."

Hi Lynda, welcome to the group and I'm looking forward to some ideas for great books covering your field on interest in European history.

Susan wrote: "Lynda, could you reccomend something about King Alfred the Great?"


Hello Susan,

This thread is only for the use of introductions and welcomes. We have an Off Topic thread where you could pose this question to Lynda. Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Also, we have a thread titled I am looking for a book on....

Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I will move your request to the thread where folks are looking for specific books on particular topics. I am sure that some folks will be able to help you there.

Regards,

Bentley

Hi everyone! My name is Mick and I live in Texas. I am in my mid 50's (I know, really old for a book club) and love history. I am excited to read the opinions of others on different subjects. I don't interact well (usually just a lurker)but will try to interject when the call arises.

Welcome to the group, Mick.
Please don't hesitate to give your opinion, or book recommendations. I'm sure we all here would be happy to read your posts.

Thanks again,
Joe

Yes Mick welcome from the great state of Texas. Nobody is too old..in fact if you were twelve you would be too young for goodreads so think on the bright side.

Don't know what you mean about not interacting well...as long as you are polite and civil and respectful of others..you should do just fine.

Let us know how we can help you and don't be afraid to post.

Bentley

Hi Mick, glad to see you join the History Book Club, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun discussing good books and great moments in history, Texas has a few of those I'm sure.

Glad to have you Mick. And this is the best group to join if you are worried about age. We think the older you are the more history you've lived. :)

That is so funny Elizabeth.

Mick, welcome! In your 50s? We LOVE the youngsters.

Mick wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Mick and I live in Texas. I am in my mid 50's (I know, really old for a book club) and love history. I am excited to read the opinions of others on different subjects. I don..."

Hi Mick

Vince here - just turned 66 -

Welcome to the group

Vince

Everyone is so friendly! This should be fun and I'm very excited to get started. Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.

You are very welcome..see how young you feel.

Hello everyone!
My name is Martin. I am 18 and I have just enlisted in the Army. I am finishing up my senior year in high school. I have always exceled in history. I can spend ages reading up on history, especially military history. I enjoy reading books about World War II and the military of today. I do not like to post about topics I am unfamiliar with, but I am sure I'll find something that I am interested in.

See you all in the discussions.
-Martin

Hello Martin,

Welcome to the History Book Club. You certainly have my admiration for making such a noble choice in terms of career. I think you will enjoy this site because we have a very active military history section. Of course, we have a whole lot more that you might want to explore as well. I am sure that you will make the acquaintance of our Assisting Moderator - Military History (our own Aussie Rick).

Maybe you would like to tackle one of the on going book discussions and we do have a discussion beginning February 21st on The First World War by John Keegan which may be of interest to you.

All best,

Bentley

John Keegan

Martin wrote: "Hello everyone!
My name is Martin. I am 18 and I have just enlisted in the Army. I am finishing up my senior year in high school. I have always exceled in history. I can spend ages reading up ..."

Hi Martin, Nice to see you here and I hope to catch up with you for a chat about your favourite books some time soon. I joined the Army when I was 18 as well but that was a loooong time ago :)

Martin wrote: "Hello everyone!
My name is Martin. I am 18 and I have just enlisted in the Army. I am finishing up my senior year in high school. I have always exceled in history. I can spend ages reading up ..."

Hi Martin, welcome to the club. Let me say "Thank you" twice. First, for serving our country. I admire you for that and wish you only the best. Second, for joining the club. It should be really fun.

Welcome, Martin. Glad to have you with us. Like Mick said, also many thanks for serving our country. There is lots of good stuff going on. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I look forward to talking with you.

Welcome to the group, Martin.
We are all delighted to have you with us. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions, if you have any, and you can feel welcome here. There is a lot going on, and I'm sure you will find something that interests you.

We are all looking forward to reading your posts.
Joe

I am 48 and live in Columbia, SC. I enjoy reading American History and especially American Presidential biographies. Although, I recently finished War and Peace and know I would enjoy reading more about Napoleon and World History. I am looking forward to joining in the Group’s discussions.

Thank-you for joining the group, Bryan.

We are currently reading a Thomas Jefferson biography in the Presidential Series, and we would be happy to read your comments about it. I hope to see you over there.

But there is a lot going on here at the History Book Club, so you should fit right in where ever you decide to contribute.

Joe

Bryan, welcome to the group! Lots of Presidential history interest among the members, you will be right at home.

Bryan wrote: "I am 48 and live in Columbia, SC. I enjoy reading American History and especially American Presidential biographies. Although, I recently finished War and Peace and know I would enjoy reading more ..."

Hi Bryan, Welcome to the group. At long last some one I can discuss some Napoleonic battles with! I usually hang out in the military history section, hope to see you over there one day soon.

Hi Bryan,

Welcome to the History Book Club. I think you will find exactly what you are looking for here.

Glad to have you. It sounds like you are going to make two of my Assisting Moderators very happy.

Bentley

Welcome to all the new folks, and good on you, Martin! Do you know yet in which occupational specialty you'll be serving?
You've probably gotten a lot of advice on preparing, but in case no one's added this yet, it will serve you well to get in as much running as you can before boot camp, and when you go, take a pair of well-broken-in-but-still-pretty-new running shoes. Stamina's what it's all about. Other than that, lots of pushups, pullups, and crunches.
I enlisted in the Marines at 17 in 1976 with a guarantee of a combat arms MOS and landed in the infantry - planned on one enlistment and ended up staying 20 years, went in as a private with a high school diploma and retired as a captain with three degrees, and almost every bit of the way it was one of those "I can't believe I get to do this and get paid too" experiences. I'm 51 now and 14 years into a second career in a completely different field as a psychotherapist, which is also very fulfilling - but my military time shaped me, and I'm much the better for it.
Good luck, and Semper Fi.

Hello everybody in the History bookclub,

I am Jan,a dutch citizen, 58 years old. Until yesterday I did not know about Goodreads but now I do and I think it is a fabulous site. I would like to participate in the History Bookclub, beginning with Keegan's The first world war.
I studied history at Leiden university in the Netherlands and became a history teacher at a grammar school in Groenlo,a small historical town in the east of my country,afterwards. I still enjoy teaching history. Apart from reading history and fiction my biggest hobby is listening to classical music. My wife (for 36 years)teaches English. We have 3 children. I am looking forward to exchange views with the other members on a variety of history books.

Greetings,
Jan Verschoor.

Glad to have you Jan and welcome to the History Book Club.

I look forward to your joining the Keegan discussion beginning February 21st.

It is apparent that your background will fit in quite nicely with the group. I look foward to reading your posts.

Regards,
Bentley

Well, Jan, We are delighted to have you.

With your teaching background, I'm sure we all will be reading your posts with anticipation.

Thanks for joining us.
Joe

Hi Jan, I'd also like to say hi and welcome to the group, I am sure you will have a good time discussing great books with everyone here.

Welcome, Jan! Looking forward to comparing thoughts with you here; Keegan is one of my favorite historians, along with Barbara Tuchman. The conversation on 'The First World War' will be good, no doubt, and it will enrich it to have the participation of someone living where some of the events of that war occurred.

Hi James,
Thank you.I'am also looking forward to the discussion. My position will be somewhat detached:sure I am a European and I visited important World War I- places in Belgium and France but my country was neutral in the war.

James wrote: "Welcome, Jan! Looking forward to comparing thoughts with you here; Keegan is one of my favorite historians, along with Barbara Tuchman. The conversation on 'The First World War' will be good, no d..."

Ah, that would seem to make for a bit more detachment. For me the closest parallel was when I was stationed in Virginia and had the chance to visit several battlefields of the American Civil War - Manassas, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, the Wilderness, and Gettysburg up in Pennsylvania. I'd been reading about, even studying, those armies and those battles since about age 12, and it felt surreal to see those places' names on highway exit signs.

Surreal is the right word when you visit the trenches, the endless crosses of the graveyards and the ossuaria. When you are in the northern part of France, for instance Sedan,you also stumble on the remains of the Franco-German war of 1870-1871 not long after the American civil war. It surely makes you thinking about humanity....

Hi Jan and James,

This is an absoluting fascinating conversation. But we try to reserve the welcome thread for just the introductions. We do have some great threads where even more discussion on World War I, the American Civil War can take place. We even have an Off Topic Cafe where expansive discussions can take place.

Here are links to the World War I thread and I know that Aussie Rick who is the Assisting Moderator - Military History would be very happy to greet you:

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

There is also an American Civil War folder which we are building up right now so you should find something of interest there:

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

And here is the link to the Off Topic Cafe where expansive conversation can also take place on any subject:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I hope this helps you get started Jan and find your way around.

If there is anything that we can do to help you navigate the site, please let us know.

Bentley

Welcome Bryan and Jan! Sorry to be so behind on my welcomes. Always glad to have people like you join up. Hope you are enjoying it so far.