The History Book Club discussion

Dear Liz:

My Grandfather used to listen to Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats" from his home in Cuba...he felt the same way.

chaz mena

Hello Liz,

Welcome to the History Book Club. Your interest in genealogy like you correctly stated is shared by a few of us. You will always find someplace to post here even if it is the Off Topic Cafe in the section called Coffee, Tea and Conversation.

We always have a spotlighted book which is being read. And you can join in on any of the conversations as they take place.

In mid October we will be starting No Ordinary Time; we will be glad to have you with us on that journey too. My grandfather used to listen to Roosevelt too and I just recently took a trip to Hyde Park and visited the Presidential Library and the Roosevelt's family home. Mid July I was in DC and went to the FDR Memorial which is a beautifully constructed open air memorial to FDR commemorating his different terms as president. It was quite artfully done with many beautiful sculptures and water.

We are glad to have you on the journey with us.

Bentley

Hello Gypsy; glad that you posted your intro...What got you interested in the Victorian era?

We look forward to your posts regarding American and Victorian History; please feel free to comment on any of the threads, we can all learn from each other.

Welcome to the group.

All best,

Bentley

Gypsy wrote: "Bentley, thank you for your kind welcome to this group. I've read lots of Victorian fiction, and I always liked studying their actual daily lives; the appliances they used, their facilities for eat..."

That is very interesting Gypsy; you are almost taking an anthropological view of their culture and everyday existence.

Bentley

Gypsy, that is very interesting. I look forward to reading your comments and posts. I think your interest in the personal side of the everyday lives of people will give an interesting slant to what we read. So often in reading history we focus on the events and circumstances or causes and their effects and we do not delve into what made everyday living palatable for that day and age or the circumstances of their existence.

Hi folks

I am Vince -

A reader of both ficiton & non-fiction and have been for along time.

I am 65 and work in the Steel business - live and work in CT but spent most of my life in New York City

Currently readng American Lion which I see is on your list for later on.

So I have had a shifting towards non ficiton starting with a real liking with the books of Stephen Ambrose -
sorry I missed the beginning of Dawn to Decadence _ i have it but never got very far.

I am also a walker/hiker as my primary passtime

Hello Vince,

First welcome, glad to have you with us. Please feel free to jump in on any of the threads. You are on the East Coast as are a few of the folks in the group; although this group is also quite global in membership.

We have already started American Lion so please feel free to jump in on the discussions. We are reading AL (two months) - August and September.

We always have a spotlighted book which is a leisurely read so that folks can maintain the pace and you are correct; we are reading From Dawn to Decadence (a dense but worthwhile book). Possibly you can revisit where you were in Barzun's book and pop in on the discussions when and where you feel comfortable.

In October we will be starting the FDR book: No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.

Also, in October we will starting a very slow paced discussion of the Federalist Papers. We try to have something for everyone here and try to balance the focus of our discussions between World/Global History, People and Events and US based topics. We also are very concerned that we cover various periods in history as well as different genres.

Your walking interest sounds like fun; do you compete as a power-walker or in 5 and 10K meets?

All best,

Bentley

Hi Bentley

I am trying still to figure out how this works

My daughter intro duced me to Goodreads and I could only find this again by going to the original e mail I received about the message.

I used to run - two knee surgeries ago - and sind then about 40 lbs ago too. Not really run - jog - I competed only with myself - althouhgt I still have lots of NYRRC (New York Road Runner Club) tee shirts.

My walking is primarily hiking but last year we, my wife & I walked the lenght of Hadrian's wall in England. A fantastic walk - six days - I think 73 ir 74 miles.

I will try to pick up the thread for the American Lion but ay be delayed a bit as on Saturdya we leave for a week vacation with no computer etc -

I like Kearns - read Team of Rivals this year and will plan to follow with that book - so will plan to read the the Franklin & Eleanor book with you - just recently finished Jonathan Alter's the Defining Moment on Roosevelts beginning - and have to read Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here" referred to by Alter in the book. - Hopefully I catch up on vacation.

Vince

Hello Vince,

See if your daughter can add a bookmark for The History Book Club page in goodreads and then you will be able to just click and load the page.

Good for you..we have quite a few English members so they are probably very familiar with that walk. Are you an AVA member or a volksmarcher...that sounds like one of the British Walking Associations type of walks too.

Jump into The American Lion discussion as you can and when you return. I would love to have some company on the journey.

There is a Moderator's Corner thread where you can find out what's new, what' different etc; we have a suggestions thread too and if you want to add books to the reading list just shoot me a note and I will add as many as you want. All of the recommendations are put on a huge list of contributions and we vote on a segment of these submissions for each poll. Each poll seems to help us weed out those books that are only really interesting to one or two members. We of course, will keep them on our list but all of the polls help us prioritize the upcoming reading schedule for our spotlighted threads which is for our leisurely reads. The other genre specific groups have the faster reads

I like Kearns too and I am looking forward to the Franklin and Eleanor book; if you do not mind I will add the Alter book to the list and you can add the book with the cover by simply clicking on that choice above; putting in the title in the search box and then simply adding to the post. It is a nice feature of goodreads because then prospective readers can click on your reference and read a synopsis about the book and any reviews.

Have a good vacation and we are very glad to hear from you.

Bentley

Hi Bentley
Much of my and then our away walking is with hiking groups. IN the States most often is AMC (appalachain Mountain Club) and Sierra Club.
More organized backpacks and base camps with /sierra club west of the Mississippi.
With AMC on many day and week end and longer domestic trips and several times to Europe.
Currently walking in england & Europe with Ramblers or HF Holidays mostly.

PS - did you mention somewhere that you live in or near NYC? if yes do you ever go to the NY HIstorical Society - Meacham was there discussing American Lion for example I am pretty sure.

Vin

I was actually sent a book to review from the Lincoln Society and NY Historical Society awhile back on Lincoln no less. And I used to live and work in NYC; now I live elsewhere but close enough to avail myself of the museums, etc. I have not gone to any of the NY Historical Society presentations however.

Backpacking...I give you alot of credit. Sounds terrific.

Dear Liz

Well if you like to walk in England we have found that Ramblers make it easy as, it seems, do HF Holidays - at reasonable prices - and on the continent.

They are on the internet - if you get interested let me know & I will make shat I think would be consturctive comments.

During ths past year, the year of Lincoln and Darwin, there has been much of interest at the NYHS - Holzer & McPhearson several times, Lou Lehrman, and a wide array - I think it continues after September when some renovations will be compete at the museum.

I do believe the big exhibit for the fall is Lincoln in New York - not positive.

Good Day to All,

This is Alexis, an executive in a financial services company based in CT with a degree in History. I, too, am a big fan of Kearns and McPhearson and have done some study of the Federalist Papers and read several works on the time of our American Revolution.

I have joined with encouragement of my father, Vince. Though I cannot guaranty I can keep up with the readings, as I am presently about to embark on a religious study course which is chock full of religious and historical text. (Catholic Bible School) Also, we often pass books to one another, so I will have to visit the library to get a copy of what the club is currently reading, since I will not be able to borrow (or take) his.

While I have "walked" a bit with Dad in the past - I find it much more rewarding that we share such an interest in books, often the same subjects as well.

I am currently preparing for the study course I mentioned above, as well as participating in a "live" book club reading Eat, Pray, Love. I am also preparing to lead a 8 month long youth book club on the Chronicles of Narnia with children in 5th to 8th grades (any suggestions are welcome).

Best to all, and I look forward to the readings and discussions.

Hello Alexis,

Welcome to the History Book Club. Do not know about you but the weather has really gotten everybody down. Hot, hot, hot.

We are always glad to have new members and we hope that you can join in and/or initiate some discussions on your own or participate on existing threads.

I am glad your father encouraged you to join, and also good luck with the Catholic Bible School. From Dawn to Decadence has been around for awhile so it should be fairly easy to get ahold of a copy. The American Lion is more recent and probably more popular which may make it more difficult to get ahold of right away.

The Federalist Papers are on line free as are most of the charter documents; I have always listed an available url to obtain these easily.

Your Dad sounds like he is an avid walker so keeping up with him on the trail must take an awful lot of effort.

It sounds like you have a lot of fun activities surrounding books planned. If you are interested in moderating one of the upcoming books; I would certainly like to spread some of the activities so that the club can be able to do more at the same time.

We look forward to your being a part of the group.

Bentley

Vince wrote: "During ths past year, the year of Lincoln and Darwin, there has been much of interest at the NYHS - Holzer & McPhearson several times, Lou Lehrman, and a wide array - I think it continues after Sep..."

Vince, will have to look into it. Sounds interesting.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Lydia, I'm 21 years old,I live in Memphis, Tennessee, and I am a student. I enjoy history but not US History as much. I guess I haven't found the right books that interest me. I'm more into Ancient Egypt, Greece, Roman, etc. Also European history. I'm hoping that this group will help me broaden my history selections. I'm very excited and can't wait to discuss the next books with everyone.

Lydia

Lydia, welcome.

We are a group which does read non fiction and books of history (all genres, world, British, medieval, and US history too). We have read two books by Winston Churchill , The Histories by Herodotus and we are currently reading From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun as well as The American Lion. The spotlighted books are group selected and there will be specific interest areas as well so you should find what you are interested in.

I look forward to your posts. Please feel free to chime in on any of the threads; we even have some conversation threads open as well where we can discuss books that other group members are reading and/or just good discussion on a variety of subjects. Glad to have you with us.

Also, please scroll down to the bottom of the group page, there is a poll that we are conducting on a group of books from the recommended reading list; we will have a series of polls to weed out those books that folks are most enamored with. All of the books recommended come from group members. This is one way you have some input in what we read.

Bentley

Hi all,

Lisa here, in the North Carolina boonies. Prior to living the country life, I was a Chicago gal, born and raised. I worked at the Chicago Public Library for eighteen years and loved it. You might think it's a great place for a bibliophile, but the truth is, I was too swamped to read!

No worries, I'm planning on catching up now. Sadly, my local public library doesn't cater to history or literature fans. Your reading lists won't overlap with their collection, unless you suddenly start read bodice rippers, but I'm looking forward to your recommendations and perhaps I'll order a few through the pricey Inter-Library Loan program we have down here.

I requested a few items today from the main branch, am brewing a pot of coffee and just dusted off my personal copy of "A Distant Mirror" by Tuchman. Time to give it the attention it deserves.

Happy reading and a safe weekend to all! Can't wait to meet you.
Lisa

Hello Lisa,

Loving dogs myself, I love your avatar..the boy is having one great snooze. (lol)

Your intro is making me laugh; we haven't read any bodice rippers yet in our spotlighted thread. Where in North Carolina are you? If you are in the Outer Banks I am jealous. I took a vacation there earlier in the year and the place really grew on me; I also was finally able to find some good coffee there as well so things were perfect. Absolutely love the Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island and would go back in a heart beat.

It is so sad about your local public library; and coming from the Chicago Public Library..it must be a librarian type of culture shock.

If you are dusting off the Tuchman book; you have a good selection to muse over for awhile.

How did you make the jump from Chicago (being a city gal) to the country?

And how are you enjoying it overall?

We look forward to reading all of your posts and we are glad to have you with us. Don't be shy; just jump right in on any of the discussions.

Bentley

Morning Bentley,

Our little family is located in Oxford, don't let the name FOOL you. It's the antithesis of "Oxford", as you probably think of it. lol My husband was able to get a great job down here, so we moved. He's a country boy so there were plenty of "Green Acres" jokes bandied about. Over all, the transition hasn't been bad. We made a brief, six month stop, in suburban Durham, before the true country jump.

Carolina is beautiful. I really like rural life, but honestly, there are times when it's frustrating. There are things, I now realize, I took for granted; public transportation, LIBRARIES, sidewalks, trash collection, store with hours later than 6pm. or banks open on Saturdays. Did I mention LIBRARIES? lol

We'd tackled "A Distant Mirror" as one of our Classic Book Club selections, back in Chicago, but found that it promoted more, shall we call them, "side trips to learning", as we progressed and no one managed to complete the actual book. Everyone learned lots about the time period, we just didn't finish the assigned book! hahaahahaha

Thank you for the welcome, Bentley. Can't wait to hear what YOU'RE reading!

Now, I'm off to my coffee and book. Cleaning can wait until later!

;o) Lisa

Hello Lisa,

Well I have my hands full because I am simultaneously reading "From Dawn to Decadence" by Barzun which is the spotlighted book (selected by the group), "The American Lion" by Jon Meacham, reviewing the Constitution and the Articles of Federation and trying to complete "Time full of Trial" by Click which I picked up when I was vacationing in your parts. So you can see the problem; I have too much to read. On top of that I completed "Netherland" (fiction) along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed "Netherland" by the way. I have "Suite Francaise" on the pile too (lol).

Now that you are in rural NC; you probably have more time to do "A Distant Mirror" justice.

It sounds like you are a bit more rural than you thought you it would be; I guess everything has its ups and downs. One thing I bet you have found is that you are not out so late any more (smile).

If you would like to take side trips of learning, just pick up the Barzun book; that will keep you going for awhile.

Have fun reading and we look forward to more of your posts.

Bentley

Hello! My name is rachel, but as you can probably tell from my profile, I work for a publisher – Unbridled Books. Don't worry, I have no intention of spamming! My MA degree is in History, and my focus was on Eastern European Jewish history (my thesis was about the Jewish Legion that served as part of the British Army during WWI). My interest in history is genuine! Hmmm... what else? I'm American but I live in Europe. I'm married and have a 16 month old son. I also do freelance work as a copy editor. My main hobbies are reading, photography, and traveling. Glad to be here!

And we are glad to have you here too. At first, I was a little worried - I have to admit..there has been a fair amount of spamming on Goodreads.

Your background is spot on for this group in terms of your interests and studies. I would love to hear more about your thesis which sounds fascinating. I wish you had been with us when we were discussing Churchill's Second World War.

I am planning once I get the Presidential Series on its way; to also open up a Military history section as well as a British History area. We have actually read two books by Churchill and The Histories by Herodotus so our focus is not simply American History; but all of the other historical genres too.

Are you married to a European? You must have your hands full with a 16 month old son. Being a copy editor must keep you close to the books you love.

Being in Europe must give you a great opportunity to travel freely and often.

And we are likewise very glad to meet you Rachel and look forward to all of your posts.

Best,

Bentley

Rachel,

I think a military history section would appeal to a lot of history readers; one fear that I have is that we might not rotate among all of the historical genres and we do not want to get set on just one flavor of history. We are also open to ideas as well.

Not that we can implement them all right away; but we keep them in view on our radar.

You must be taking your vacation right now if you are visiting all of those wonderful spots. For some reason, I am assuming you are resident now in the UK; but I have been wrong before (smile).

Things will still be here when you get back.

I am sure some of the members wish they could be packed and go along. Have a great trip.

Bentley

Hi Liz,

I missed your post over here..sorry. The group will continually evolve so that hopefully we have a number of different interest areas and genres. We will always have the leisurely reads on our spotlighted threads allowing everyone to challenge themselves with some books that maybe they have been wanting to tackle for some time.

I am glad that you like the new Presidential series and in the next few months you will see the Military History section up and running. Thank you for your input and kind words.

Bentley

Hey!
Our library system actually HAS Barzun's "From dawn to decadence : 500 years of western cultural triumph and defeat, 1500 to the present" you mentioned, Bentley. I'm going to add it to my "to read" list and order it as soon as I near the end of the last book I pick up today! I have a Algernon Blackwood's "The Centaur", "Stiff" by Roach, and "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Truss on the hold shelf.

Thank you for the Barzun recommendation!!!

:o) Lisa

You are very welcome Lisa. The threads for the Barzun spotlighted discussion will still be open; they will be moved to an archive location but can still be posted to. So you have time to complete Barzun if you choose and you can read all of the threads as well.

However, we will be starting the next group spotlighted read on October 18th which is the FDR book by Doris Kearns Goodwin titled No Ordinary Time.

I am glad that you were able to get the book through the library. Because I mark up the books that I am moderating; no library would allow me to do that so I purchase them :-)

Hello Joe,

Welcome to the History Book Club.

We are glad to have you join us. Where in England are you from originally; we have a few folks who are from the UK.

I am jealous of you living and studying in Italy. I love Italy so much. I am not sure there is much not to like; wonderful museums; art history; a living and vibrant culture with warm and friendly people, beautiful scenery and wonderful food and wine.

We are an international group so you should fit right in. There are a few discussions going on right now including "From Dawn to Decadence" and "The American Lion" plus there are numerous special interest threads and we are opening up new ones every day in order to keep the group new and fresh.

I am delighted that you will be joining us for The Federalist Papers. I look forward to reading your posts.

If you have any questions regarding navigation of the group's topics and threads or anything else regarding the workings of the group itself, please do not hesitate to ask me by shooting me a PM.

All best,

Bentley

You are most welcome Joe.

The threads of the current books are always kept open so you might be able to catch up; but it is of course up to you.

If not, then we look forward to your posts for the upcoming books.

Bentley

Joe wrote: "Thanks for the welcome, Bentley!

I'm from Bristol originally, but I've lived all over - from Bristol to Bath to Bradford to Derry/Londonderry.

I'll see if I can find copies of "From Dawn to Decad..."

Hi Joe

Just visited Bath in June as part of a visit to England - choose England over Italy this year - next year though Italy is in our vacation sights

Welcome

Vince

If you get back to Bath, Vince...a great place to stay was Apsley House.

http://www.apsley-house.co.uk/

I've just joined this reading group and wish to introduce myself. My name is Debra. I haven't read a lot of history (I read fiction almost exclusively) but I want to change that. I think that the syllabus style set up of this group is exactly what I need.

I've mostly been interested in European history but find, as I age, I'm becoming more and more interested in American history and Ancient history. I look forward to reading books about many different eras.

My plan is to begin with October's book, No Ordinary Time. I'm a bit shy when it comes to posting opinions, but I'll do my best to join in.

Hello Deb...

Where are you from? We have folks in the group from all over the United States (coast to coast), North America to South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the land of the Pyramids, Africa...don't think we have anyone from Antarctica yet but you never know...that might happen some day (smile).

We are glad to have you with us on the FDR journey and please do not be shy. There really are no right or wrong answers here; just folks who want to discuss and challenge each other in respectful ways; so that we can all learn in the process from each other and broaden our horizons. So this should be a great spot for you.

I am glad that you like the syllabus style approach; we have both long reads (our spotlighted books) and in terms of time (shorter durations); so you can always choose what you would like to get involved in ahead of time.

We hope to select books from a variety of different genres. And at any time you can recommend other non fiction books that we can add to our potential list.

So jump right in when you feel comfortable..and enjoy the experience..we are thrilled that you are one of our new members.

Bentley

Joe wrote: "Hi, Deb!

I'm a brand new member myself, so you won't be the only new member reading in October! Welcome to the group!

American history is completely new to me too, as I usually stick almost exclu..."


Joe..glad to have you with us on the FDR book..isn't Amazon wonderful?

Thanks Bentley and Joe for the welcome.

I'm from Boston, Massachusetts (surrounded by American history, eh?)

I can't wait to start reading.

New England...my old stomping grounds. We look forward to your posts. Deb, I was actually hoping for Antartica (smile).

Boston is a great location to be from!

Deb, I agree that the syllabus style is very helpful. I've read much more fiction than non-fiction in my life. As an adult I've learned to do some of both, and I think it makes both more enjoyable for me.

Can we pretend you are from Antartica? It is always good to keep our moderator happy, since Bentley does so much work to keep the group together.

Hi Elizabeth..I got a chuckle..yup looking for an Antartica person to join so we have someone from each continent. What do you call a person from Antartica...an Antartican???

Deb is from Boston which is a great place to be from. Happy to have any and all Bostonians interested in joining us. We are only kidding Deb.

Thanks Elizabeth for the kudos. Very funny comment.

Okay, in all seriousness, I loved my trip to Boston a few years back. Unfortunately I had a conference all day long for most days, but in the evenings we'd walk around and see so much history. And I loved the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues in the park! I had one day off, and went down to Hingham to see my aunt. She fed me lobster for the first time and took me out to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. Amazing. Especially for someone like me who has seen much more of the Western US than the East, it was a great trip. I hope to come again sometime and do the walking tours, etc. Great place to live, Deb.

Elizabeth..if you get back to Boston..do the Freedom Trail walk and stop into the National Park Service locations at the Old State House; also get out to Quincy to see the John Adams house and you could always visit the JFK library too. Salem is always interesting. You are right there is so much to do.

Deb we are jealous. Welcome.

I'm Gene. I'm 22 and currently homebound with debilitating anxiety. On the positive side, I have all the time in the world to read. I've always had an interest in history (as a child, the History Channel was my favorite channel to watch), but I'll be honest, most of the books I read these days are usually science textbooks and popular science books. However, I plan to change that by incorporating more history books to my reading list. At the moment I'm interested in learning more about the Middle East.

Has anyone ever taken a Big History course?

Welcome Gene! I like how you look on the positive side of things--all the time to read probably helps make life bearable.

I enjoy reading science books too. My favorite are the arm-chair physics type books. Probably because I minored in physics in college.

The Middle East is certainly an interesting place. Most of what I know comes from when my grandparents lived there for 3 years in the late 80s. Haven't kept up much since then. But I did enjoy reading From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman and O Jerusalem by Dominique Lapierre. It looks like Beirut has a newer, revised edition than when I read it.

Never taken a Big History course. Thanks for putting in the link, because I wasn't familiar with the term. Sounds interesting to look at history that way.

Here's picture-links of the books I mentioned:

Gene wrote: "I'm Gene. I'm 22 and currently homebound with debilitating anxiety. On the positive side, I have all the time in the world to read. I've always had an interest in history (as a child, the History C..."

Gene, we are glad to have you. I also read Elizabeth's and Joe's warm welcomes too and they made some very good suggestions and points. Thomas Friedman's books are quite good as Elizabeth suggests.

If there is anything that I can do to help you navigate the site; please let me know.

The Teaching Company has some great courses that are also available as downloads. Joe made some great suggestions.

Try to get some of our upcoming books and just jump right into our discussions; do not be shy.

All best,

Bentley

HI New Folks

I am also new - since August a member and the Roosevelt book will be my first venture together withthe club.

Regarding the Teaching Company - which I find generally good - they are sometimes availabel form local libraries - our library carries many of them - and Gene maybe a friend can check for you if you cannot get out.

So welcome new folks

Reciprocated greetings, Jen!

It is always nice to have a book group read a book you wanted to read anyway. Good luck for us, too! I'm excited to learn more about the Roosevelts and American life during WW2.

Hello Jen...glad that you are joining us. I join in welcoming you with Joe and Elizabeth.

I am glad that the upcoming title is one that you have wanted to read. I think we all want to learn more about the Roosevelts, and I think "No Ordinary Time" should be a fun read.

Bentley

Hi all,

My name is Ed Hahn. I've been living in Hong Kong since 1992. I was a History major at the University of Wisconsin in the 50's and early 60's, the same time [Author: Steven Ambrose] was there but we never met that I can remember.

My favorite period to read about and study is from 1918 - 1952 or so, the period between the World Wars, WW II and its immediate aftermath.

I read tons of historical fiction but less real history than I suspect most of the members here do. My last effort was Undaunted Courage and that was in June.

In the fictional realm I've finished the O'Brian series and am three volumes from finishing the Richard Sharpe series by [Author: Bernard Cornwell]. I like Cornwell, a lot and have read many of his other offerings.

My favorite, though, is [Author: Colleen McCullough], particularly her 6 book series covering the last days of the Roman Republic.

Perhaps, I will now be motivated to, at least, read whatever is on the current list for discussion. I hate paying the prices for hardcover books, here in Hong Kong, though - usually 125-150% of the cover price.

I look forward to the discussions and becoming an active member of this group.

Liz wrote: "Welcome Ed! How did you like Undaunted Courage? I have that as a book on tape. I'd love to take a very long trip retracing the steps of Lewis and Clarke and detouring to all the wonderful Nationa..."

I loved Undaunted Courage. Rather than wait until retirement, skip everything up to Great Falls Montana and go West from there. Then if you have time go East from there. A good portion of their trek was through prairie lands which are now BORING, even though they may not have been in 1805!

Read Ambrose's Introduction where he talks about what he and his family did starting in 1976.

I am 72 YOA and here to tell you waiting to do anything until retirement is risky. Do it in chunks. I have a friend of a friend who traversed the entire U.S. on an old re-built motorcycle. He did it in two week chunks, took him many years but he made it.

I can get many Used Books through Bookmooch and the used book outlets here in Hong Kong. It's the new books that are so expensive. Any savings gained by ordering from Amazon or whomever are eaten up by shipping. The USPS has eliminated Int'l surface mail, thereby creating a situation where it is very, very expensive to ship one book from the U.S.

Multiple books are more do-able if one gets creative.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Ed wrote: "I was a History major at the University of Wisconsin in the 50's and early 60's, the same time [Author: Steven Ambrose] was ..."

Wow, to say you may have brushed shoulders with one of the greats. I only discovered Ambrose a couple of years ago, reading
Band of Brothers E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Amazing book. I liked how he gave the military history, but also a feel for what it was like to be in the time, and why people made the decisions they did.

I read a different Lewis and Clark book, The Way to the Western Sea. Amazing trek. I like the idea of retracing portions of their trek.

Good luck finding books cheaply enough, and welcome to the group.