The History Book Club discussion

Tess wrote: "Hi, this is my first post here. It's nice to see so much interest and activity about history. I enjoy reading most non-fiction subjects and biographies.

I have been reading some WWII books since..."

Hi Tess,

'Aussie Rick' here and I'm relatively new here as well but having alot of fun so far so I hope you have an enjoyable time as well. I'd love to learn to play a musical instrument, maybe in a few years time. What good books have you recently read on WW2?

Harvey wrote: "Harvey..I never had Batalsa wine? How would you describe it? I am assuming it is a white wine because you are eating it with fish?

Yes.... a dry white. The label says 'Vin de Ptolomeys' but is kno..."

Harvey...the label sounds exotic and historic at the same time. I wonder if they have that label in the states. Thank you for the explanation.

Harvey wrote: "Harvey..I never had Batalsa wine? How would you describe it? I am assuming it is a white wine because you are eating it with fish?

Yes.... a dry white. The label says 'Vin de Ptolomeys' but is kno..."

Hi Harvey, by chance have you read "The Spanish Ulcer" by David Gates? Maybe we can discuss a few good books over at the Napoleonic War thread that Bentley has kindly added to the History Book Club.
David Gates

Available in the States? I don't know. Since the entire industry was denationalised a few years ago there is better chance of export. http://www.jancisrobinson.com/article...
is an interesting link you may like to follow up.....

Thank you Harvey for the link. Appreciate it.

Tess,

Love your musical interests. Impressive to pick up the violin while still raising kids, and taking classes. It is a balancing act, isn't it. After being self-taught most of my life, I started piano lessons when my son did about 2 years ago. Love, love it. When the kids are all in school, I'm hoping to take a music history and/or theory class somewhere, so it is good to hear you enjoy yours.

I look forward to discussing history with you and all the other new people! It is great to see so many join the ranks.

Welcome, Tess. I think it's funny how those stolen minutes can eventually add up to hours. I have gotten in so much good reading when my kids are at music lessons! I admire your learning the violin. I don't play the violin, but my son does and what I like about it is the ease with which one can play familiar music by ear. It's a great instrument for traveling, recalling melodies one has heard etc. Piano(only instrument I play) is not like that at all.

Hello everyone,

My name is Vincent. I am new to GoodReads. I joined this club because recently, I have been very interested in The American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, the roaring 20's, and the Great Depression, amongst other American History subjects.

Bentley wrote: "Erick, welcome to the History Book Club. We are glad to have you with us.

There are a lot of discussions on going right now; so get ahold of any of these books (some are available on line free)..."

Bentley,
Thank-you for the welcome. I live in the Tampa area of Florida although I am from Maine originally (yes, I love the Florida weather). I have also lived in Panama for a number of years. I am currently reading a biography of Peter the Great by Robert Massie but I am looking forward to joining in the discussions.

Regards,
Erick

It's great to have you, Vincent. We have started Ronald White's A. Lincoln, and we'd be thrilled to have your input. I also have the same interests as yourself, and look forward to your comments.

Welcome aboard.
Joe

Tess wrote: "Hi, this is my first post here. It's nice to see so much interest and activity about history. I enjoy reading most non-fiction subjects and biographies.

I have been reading some WWII books since..."

Welcome to the History Book Club, Tess.
Please feel free to jump right into the discussion. We are so lucky to have people from so many different backgrounds, such as yours.

Again, welcome aboard.
Joe

Vincent and Erick, welcome to the History Book Club.

Vincent, you should find a lot about your interest areas here; let me know if there are any interest area threads that you would like for me to set up for you.

We look forward to reading your posts.

Erick...you are welcome.

So a Maine person who ended up in Florida. Well I was born in Maine, love the state but have been in the metro NYC area for quite a long time now. I do get back to New England often.

Please use the goodreads feature called add book/author. We always add the book cover and the author so folks can get the book, read about it, research more about it or find out more about the author. It establishes quick links like this:

Robert K. Massie

Where in Maine were you from originally? I absolutely love the place but the winters can be quite long, cold and icy. Spring, Autumn and Summer are glorious.

I think a lot of former Mainers love the sunny weather so I do not think that you are a turncoat (smile). Panama...now that is probably another interesting sidebar.


Really glad to have you and Vincent with us and I know you will enjoy the group.

If I can be of any help to either one of you, please do not hesitate to ask; also the group members are the best and are very willing to pitch in and help make suggestions too.

Thank you for all the warm welcomes! It's comforting to find friends who have similar interests.

Bentley...you do an amazing job of keeping everything organized on the forum. It has to be a huge task.

Aussie Rick...by chance I watched the movie, The Pianist, over my Christmas holiday last year. I had not seen it before. I was so moved by the movie I watched it three more times. Then, I read the book. From there I have read books by Elie Wiesel, 'Night' and 'The Drowned and the Saved' by Primo Levi. Also, by Saul Friedlander, 'Nazi Germany and The Jews, vol 1.

As you can see, my interest is in how the Jew's were dehumanized and thus so easily exterminated. The next book club book on WWI is exactly the direction I was taking with my study of the Holocaust. Hitler used the humiliation of WWI to rally his party and justify his action's in WWII. I want to understand what happened with WWI.

Elizabeth...how wonderful that you are learning the piano. I do not play it myself but wish I did. Next fall I will start the music theory courses and piano proficiency is required so I will start piano lessons then. Worried about how I will find time to practice two instruments but I'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Andrea...my four kids have all played instruments so I too spend a lot of time each week at their lessons. Indeed, the piano is not a very portable instrument! One of my daughter's plays the cello...another difficult instrument to fit in a vehicle.

Vincent...I'm a Lincoln fan also. Have you read the book, 'Lincoln's Sword'? His communication skills were what made him a great man.

Joe...thanks for the welcome. I'm looking forward to being part of this group.

Thank you very much Joe and Bentley!

Tess...I try valiantly; but it is a lot of work..I am sure that once everything is set up; it will get easier.

I love that you are citing books already.

Please use the goodreads feature called add book/author. We always add the book cover and the author so folks can get the book, read about it, research more about it or find out more about the author. It establishes quick links like this:





Saul Friedländer

I am glad that are finding what interests you here. We did do a reading of Anne Frank's diary and we have a thread on the Holocaust which you may be able to assist us with. It is in the Military History folder and has its own thread...make sure to see it by selecting view all.

Douglas L. Wilson

Both Joe and Vince will be delighted to have an additional Lincoln fan on board.

Glad to have you with us.

Bentley

Dear Friends and Bibliophiles,

Hello! I am very excited to have found this group. My name is Danielle and I am a 30-year-old Floridian. I currently design educational programming for a historical house museum, as well as supervise the volunteer docents who give guided tours. The house was built in 1902 and last year I started a book club with the docents to learn more about America's Gilded Age and Progressive Era. I love learning about this time period but I am now anxious to open myself up to studying other times in history, especially North American. It seems like this is a great place to start doing that! I am also glad to see that there is a historical fiction thread. I used to teach high school English and I loved designing cross-curricular lesson plans that examined the authenticity of historical fiction. I have many great suggestions in that category. Happy Readings!

Greetings: (As Uncle Sam used to say)

I'm retired from Boeing. I have a degree in history (many years ago) and still read a lot of history. I read mostly US and Modern Europe. Special interests have widened from Civil War and World War II to include religious history and the history of science. I do not like ebooks and I still subscribe to a daily newspaper. Glad to join fellow history readers.

Hello Danielle,

Welcome to the History Book Club. Glad to have you. Your job sounds so exciting and ever changing. There must always be something new.

We welcome any and all suggestions that you might have for the historical fiction category. We are primarily a non fiction book club...but historical fiction also appeals to a wide cross section of the group so we decided to branch out and develop an historical fiction component. We have a folder dedicated to historical fiction now and buddy reads for that component. Currently Elizabeth is doing a great job getting folks involved with Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy.



America's Gilded Age and Progressive Era sounds like a great interest thread for the group.

There are many other folders with interest areas dedicated to our presidents, our charters and documents as well as British and Military History.

Plus there are on going book discussions on the Federalist Papers, FDR and Lincoln.

We are excited that you have joined the group and look forward to reading your posts.

Bentley

Liz...yes the violin is a very challenging instrument. I'm hoping in another year to be playing well enough to audition for the local community orchestra. If you enjoyed playing you should definitely pick it back up again.

Danielle...my dream job would be to host the HGTV program, "If Walls Could Talk". I love visiting old homes and historic places of interest. It's great that you started the book club with your co-workers.

John...cute cat. Religious history and science are both fields I have a great interest in also. Studying music history goes hand-in-hand with the history of religion. The Black Plague is a favorite subject of mine. Do you have a special area of interest in science?

John wrote: "Greetings: (As Uncle Sam used to say)

I'm retired from Boeing. I have a degree in history (many years ago) and still read a lot of history. I read mostly US and Modern Europe. Special interests ..."

Welcome John,

Glad to have you join us. We are a growing group which started out as a small private membership.

Are you from Washington (the state)?

Our membership is global and we have folks from many diverse backgrounds which makes the group interesting. I am sure that you will find fellow members who are also interested in the Civil War and World War II. Religious history and the history of science are two areas which we covered with the cultural history book written by Jacques Barzon (From Dawn to Decadence). Very deep but very worthwhile. It is an educational curriculum all by itself. The threads are still open and you can always find someone to discuss it with you if you are so inclined. I do recommend it highly.



Just jump right in when you are ready and we look forward to reading your posts.

Bentley

Thank you for that book recommendation, Bentley. It will be on my shelf soon.

I had to pass up on Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence. It sounded too much like a rejection of science and a load of nostalgia. I was reminded of Monty Python's dead parrot "pining for the old country."

My interest in science is deep but my understanding is shallow. I love to be awed by cosmology and spend a lot of time on the intersection of science and religion. Since I can't understand either it is still interesting.

I'll head off to the threads now.

Oh, the kitten is Maxwell (of electromagnatism and the Beatles) and yes I live in Washington State on the wet side of the mountains.

You are welcome Tess. If you are referring to the Barzun book, it is like a semester long course (terrific but with so many educational detours).

John wrote: "I had to pass up on Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence. It sounded too much like a rejection of science and a load of nostalgia. I was reminded of Monty Python's dead parrot "pining for the old countr..."

Gee...I think that Barzun is very opinionated but I enjoyed in the reading disagreeing with him. I like reading and making up my own mind so I thought he was very challenging and engaging. But I can understand your viewpoint. I loved it for what it was; but it was a book which did take you on a journey through a number of centuries (a lot of ground covered).

Well let us know when one of those books does wow you and why...it is great getting our membership to tell us when a book has moved them or changed their thinking.

How did you know that I was going to ask about Maxwell (very much a gentleman from what I could see and cute too). Yes, Boeing and Washington sort of go together. It is always interesting for me to find out the regions of the world everybody is from. Such a great thing - the internet and goodreads.

We look forward to reading your posts.

Bentley

Tess wrote: "Thank you for all the warm welcomes! It's comforting to find friends who have similar interests.

Bentley...you do an amazing job of keeping everything organized on the forum. It has to be a hu..."

Hi Tess, I love that movie and the music. I listen to the CD a lot when I'm in my library and I'm a great fan of Chopin. I have mentioned a few books covering the holocaust in the thread that Bentley has set up in the Historical section. I'd be interested if you have ready any of those that I have mentioned and what you thought.

Sorry I missed the above.

Bentley wrote: "Gee...I think that Barzun is very opinionated but I enjoyed in the reading disagreeing with him. I like reading and making up my own mind so I thought he was very challenging and engaging...."

Amen. It was funny looking through the notes I made in the margins as I read. Sometimes I was writing, "Yes! Exactly!" and lots of times I was writing, "Uh, I don't think so." It was an amazing, thought provoking book.

It really was.sometimes I was laughing at his sarcasm...sometimes I was muttering a derogatory remark about his age..but all in all I enjoyed the experience of really thinking about what he was saying and coming up with my own opinions and judgements. He was good natured about it; didn't apologize for his beliefs but seemed to be the kind of person who would allow you to have yours.

I even wrote once or twice...what is this guy thinking? But I even enjoyed those parts and those moments. I felt he really made you dig deep.

Bentley,
I grew up in Lewiston, how about you? I agree that those three months; spring, summer and fall are beautiful. I certainly found my time in Panama interesting.

Home of Bates (a good school) - born in Southern Maine (by Portland) but grew up actually in the Boston area. Family still has a summer spot in the area and family still abounds there.

Hi, My name is Tricia and I live in Wisconsin. Working but really looking forward to retirement. I was browsing groups and saw you were going to be reading WW1 book and a T Jefferson. Both are passions of mine.

Has anyone read the Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear? Very tied up in the aftermath of that horrendous war.

Hi All

Hello Tricia,

Welcome to the History Book Club. Wisconsin...land of the Green Bay Packers - one of my grandfather's favorite teams alongwith Notre Dame of course.

Yes, we are going to start The First World War by Keegan and the Thomas Jefferson book - The American Sphinx

John Keegan



You should be right at home then when we start both of the above. Currently we have some good discussions going on with our FDR selection, the Federalist Papers and our book on Lincoln. Those are all of our non fiction reads. Then for those who are interested in historical fiction..we are discussing The Agony and the Ecstasy.





Ronald C. White Jr.



Please if you can..don't wait until February...just jump into any of the on going discussions that are going on right now.

One thing that we try to do is that when we mention a book...we always post the cover of the book and a link to the author's page with the author's photo and/or if one is not available simply a link. We use the add book/author feature a lot. We also make sure to indicate whether the book is fiction or non fiction. Since we are primarily a non fiction group..it is important to our members to know the difference..however, we have a lot of folks who are thoroughly interested in historical fiction so we note both.

I took the liberty of adding the Maisie Dobb book and the author Winspear.


(historical fiction)

The above is how the recommendations should look. We also are heavy users of the preview button because we frequently don't get it right.

I hope you also get a chance to sample the current events folder, the Off Topic Conversation threads, the British and World History folders as well as our new Military History folder which has become instantly popular.

There is a bunch of interesting "stuff" here and I do not want you to become overwhelmed. Just take your time and get acclimated to where everything is. If you need any assistance, we are all here to help.

We look forward to your posts when you feel you are ready and thank you for introducing yourself. It is always important for folks to get to say hello and welcome.

Bentley

I must admit that Jefferson is someone I think I would have loved to have known (I think the 18th Cent. was a kind of 'golden era' in many ways). Any further recommendations on reading matter about him are welcome

Harvey..we actually did a poll on Jefferson and if you look at the results of the poll you will see some good alternate selections.

These were the top vote getters:

THOMAS JEFFERSON POLL

1. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis - 12 votes

2. The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 by Richard Zachs - 3 votes

3. Undaunted Courage: Meriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose - 2 votes

4. Jefferson's Demons: Portrait of a Restless Mind by Michael Knox Beran - 2 votes

5. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis - 2 votes

6. Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson by Alan Pell Crawford - 1 vote

As of October 20, 2009
Poll Open

The number 1 choice was already mentioned in message 434. But the others were:

Alan Pell Crawford



Michael Knox Beran



If you check the old group polls, you will see quite a few of the others.
I am setting up interest areas as fast as I can; but a Jefferson one is overdue.

Bentley

Thanks! The History Book Club is SUCH a small site!! LOL

I know...there is a lot out there (smile)

I have read Maisie Dobbs and really enjoyed it.

Thank you for all the information, Bentley. I am looking forward to jumping in.

I missed welcoming Danielle a while back. I have trouble keeping up with this! But I think the idea of having students compare historical fiction to history fascinating. So often my kids h.s. teachers seem to treat historical fiction as actual history. I think it's easier for the kids to read than a textbook, but assuming that one author's view of the period is all a complete history is thin ice (even with history textbooks).

Patricia, welcome to you also. I read the first Maisie Dobbs book, but I just couldn't get comfortable with her idea that the protagonist was using some kind of psychic means to solve mysteries. I'm an Agatha Christie/Dorothy Sayers fan and I want my clues succinct, factual and pointed:). Maybe since both you and Susanna enjoy them I should give one another try. I've got a Thanksgiving car trip coming up and will need a couple of audio books.

True Andrea..but this group is primarily focused on non fiction because at least the authors claim to be telling the truth (smile). The historical fiction has a nice story line and spicy details but for the most part has an escape clause automatically attached with the designation of the book being historical fiction.

We understand preferences so we allow both to be posted and discussed and we have set up the historical fiction folder. I think that high school teachers who are treating historical fiction as the gospel truth should have the record set straight by someone.

I also agree that one should read a variety of sources on any historical subject because no matter how neutral a historian is and/or how many sources they cite; they are the ones determining which citations they include and which ones they leave out

Agatha Christie

Dorothy L. Sayers

You know who I like for a delightful quick read: Donna Leon. Her books are set in Italy (Venice I believe) - mysteries, whodunits; I love Commissario Brunetti.


Donna Leon

Hi Harvey and Tricia.

Harvey, I would recommend the book, 'Undaunted Courage'. I've read it and greatly enjoyed it. I would also suggest if you are a Jefferson fan to read, 'The Journals of Lewis & Clark'.



The Journals of Lewis and Clark

That is where I first became familiar with Thomas Jefferson. The Lewis & Clark journals are an absolute must read for anyone who enjoys learning about the development of the United States.

I'm skeptical about reading the Jefferson book that is coming up in the forum...I hold TJ on a pretty high pedestal and I don't want to learn any ugly truths. He was a man who was a life-long learner and that endears him to me. *grin*

Bentley,
I want to show you I finally learned to add a link! Anyway, on the earlier topic, I wonder if some would be interested in Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrongwhich I found very enlightening.

I'm going to be buried in books with all the great suggestion's that are on the forum! My nightstand is already overflowing with stacks of books waiting to be read...where do we stop the madness?!!

Bentley, the linking system on the site is awesome. Great job to the librarians, Elizabeth.

Great Andrea -

If you check cover at the bottom versus link you will get this and then just add the author beside it.



It does seem to be an enlightening book; but on the same subject with a different analogy...personally - I like my news straight..I am not interested in being entertained or in having talking heads yelling at each other on cable or being told how or what I should believe to be true. I like making up my own mind. In fact, I also like PBS and the Newshour...cannot stand the entertainment news like fox or msnbc. There is a lot of slant in every book of history (non fiction or historical fiction); but you can at least hold the author's and editor's feet to the fire with non fiction. Not much you can do with historical fiction etc. I hope I got the cover right and author.

A great book from way back when is:

Vance Packard

Textbooks are not perfect; just think of the textbooks that are purposely created to be biased in many countries or politically correct. I think often our classrooms get the latter.

Tess wrote: "Hi Harvey and Tricia.

Harvey, I would recommend the book, 'Undaunted Courage'. I've read it and greatly enjoyed it. I would also suggest if you are a Jefferson fan to read, 'The Journals of Lewi..."

Hi Tess,

Please include the cover and the author's photo and link together. I am going to post the directions for newbies.






Meriwether Lewis

Just as an FYI....this thread is really for introductions...I will try to clean up periodically and move posts and books to the appropriate threads. However, I have been a bit busy lately. All good.

However, most importantly a big warm welcome to everyone new. We are thrilled to have all of you and thank you for sharing a little about yourself with the group.

If I can help you in any way, please PM me.

Bentley

Thank you for the clarification for referencing books, Bentley. Will take the off-topic conversation's to the other threads. :-)

Tess wrote: "I'm going to be buried in books with all the great suggestion's that are on the forum! My nightstand is already overflowing with stacks of books waiting to be read...where do we stop the madness?!..."



Yes, if you utilize the add book/author feature which I respectfully request everyone does...everything seems to fit together and everything is linked - fab tool.

Tess wrote: "I'm going to be buried in books with all the great suggestion's that are on the forum! My nightstand is already overflowing with stacks of books waiting to be read...where do we stop the madness?!..."

There is no end to the madness. My to-read list just gets longer, and longer, and longer... and I read a lot! Luckily it is fun madness. :)

Tess wrote: "Hi Harvey and Tricia.

Harvey, I would recommend the book, 'Undaunted Courage'. I've read it and greatly enjoyed it. I would also suggest if you are a Jefferson fan to read, 'The Journals of Lewi..."

Thanks for the recommendation Tess... I can understand that you hold TJ on a pedestal and the fact he was a life-long learner and polymath with a quick and inventive mind is what attracts him, as someone one should know, to me. While we never want our heroes sullied as it were, a historian wants to know one's subject 'warts and all!'.