Tag: History
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An Incomplete Education
Review: Found this little gem at a used book store some years ago and just got to it now. Glad I did as this was a winner. Published in 1987 by Jones and Wilson and many other contributors from of all things, Esquire Magazine. I shouldn’t be so surprised by that when I consider that… Read more
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The Fire and the Darkness
Review: Dresden. Kurt Vonnegut made the name part of popular consciousness with the publication of Slaughterhouse Five. But for historians this is a minefield that most choose not to navigate. How to balance the remembrance with politics and the war. Like with Hiroshima, it’s difficult to discuss or write about without taking a side or… Read more
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Weimar Germany, Promise and Tragedy
Review: A surprisingly engaging yet still scholarly history of Weimar Republic Germany. A rare bird indeed in the history book genre. You either get the tiktok quick read version or the omg did we need a whole chapter on the development of tweed trousers one. This was engaging from the first paragraph and while it… Read more
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Not Under 40
Review: I really enjoyed this, and I wasn’t confident that I would when starting out. This was one of the last books published by Willa Cather and it was later in her life, in 1936. So many times I find that the early stuff and the late stuff from any author is not as good… Read more
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Great Uncle Harry
Review: This was excellent, a really engaging and enjoyable read. Imagine finding out about a great uncle that you had no idea really existed and then resolving to find out who this man was and what his life was like. Michael Palin did exactly that with his Great Uncle Harry. Researched his life from his… Read more
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Chasing Bright Medusas
Review: Being a Willa Cather enthusiast and a member of the National Willa Cather Center every new biography is pretty much required reading. So I pre-ordered this volume and eagerly awaited it. Well, I got it and I read it, and I’m very disappointed. First of all this slim volume is, a slim volume. 154… Read more
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History Year by Year
Review: This was excellent. A long tour through the whole of human history, from Australopithecus to the smart phone. Fully illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams on every beautiful page. The timeline runs through the entire volume but every few pages there is a deep dive on a particular area of interest, like life in… Read more
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
Review: I get more solid information our of young readers books than I can from a stack of textbooks. They’re uncluttered and in plain language. 1421 to 1521, from Henry the Navigator through to Magellan. Just 100 years from sailing within sight of shore to a complete circumnavigation of the globe. Nothing short of incredible.… Read more
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The World’s Most Dangerous Place
Review: A fascinating look deep inside the world’s most dangerous outlaw country: Somalia. The book was great, well written, tight and journalistic. It’s like this: Great book but so difficult to read. Heartbreaking. Somalia is the asshole of the universe and I can’t see it getting any better, ever. This book made me want to:… Read more
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The Math Book
Review: This was tough, but I learned a lot of interesting new things. Pascal, Fermat, LaGrange – all were names known to me but now I have learned about the men behind the names. Merseen primes, Pi, Euler’s number… this stuff is fascinating if almost completely beyond the ken of most mortals. This book made… Read more