Reading 2012

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Reading 2012

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1Jestak
mrt 24, 2012, 3:48 pm

How have we gotten to March with no new topic started.

I have just started Mad as Hell by Dominic Sandbrook and recently finished The Age of Lincoln by Orville Burton.

2jztemple
mrt 26, 2012, 10:55 am

3Jestak
apr 16, 2012, 12:20 am

I'm now reading The Oil Kings by Andrew Scott Cooper, which is excellent. The book by Dominic Sandbrook is very good as well.

4duanedonecker
mei 1, 2012, 10:12 am

I am currently reading and almost finished with Gentleman Boss The Life Of Chester Alan Arthur. Great biography, I find I have a hard time putting it down. Ever try to walk down the street trying to read a book that has almost all of your attention. It's dangerous and needs to be outlawed but until they do you should watch out for me walking the sidewalks. Good thing I don't drive!!!!

5EduardoT
mei 1, 2012, 10:54 am

I'm about to finish A night to remember by Walter Lord, great inside on the titanic disaster but want to finish this to jump into Anthony Summers Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon and later Margaret MacMillan's Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World

6Jestak
mei 1, 2012, 5:43 pm

I've recently finished Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer and am reading Yellow Dirt by Judy Pasternak.

7morryb
mei 1, 2012, 10:36 pm

I am about to finish The Imperial Cruise. While it has been a fast read, it has been a very disappointing one. I loved Flags of our Fathers. Bradley's whole premise is to prove Theodore Roosevelt is responsible for World War 2. It has been just one long bitter distribe and anything pertinent that he has to say is lost in this bitter attack.

8Jestak
mei 6, 2012, 8:14 pm

I've also recently started Lone Star Nation by H. W. Brands--very good, as are all of Brands' books which I've read so far.

9TRIPLEHHH
mei 22, 2012, 4:42 am

I am reading Billy the Kid The Endless Ride.

10jztemple
mei 22, 2012, 4:22 pm

Just finished A World On Fire by Amanda Foreman. A very, very good book, although very, very long ;)

11Jestak
mei 22, 2012, 6:40 pm

13torrey23
Bewerkt: mei 23, 2012, 7:06 pm

I have finished The American Revolution and Revolutionary Characters, both by Gordon S. Wood. I also finished The Pirates Laffite by William C. Davis. I am almost finished with Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen. I am currently reading Invisible Ink by John A. Nagy.

14jztemple
mei 24, 2012, 12:40 am

>13 torrey23: Let us know what you think about Invisible Ink. It sounds like an interesting subject but the reviews on Amazon have made me cautious.

15torrey23
mei 28, 2012, 9:55 am

14-
I found this to be an interesting book. It is more of an explanation of what forms of spycraft wereused, as opposed to a history with spycraft being emphasized. The book was organized by category, which I found to make the concepts more difficult to follow. Rather than give a history of spycraft, that is, the revolution followed through spycraft, it provides just the spycraft. This holds true until the final chapter. This could be why I enjoyed the final chapter most. There are some difficult things about this book, but I still learned much about the Revolutionary War. I have read numerous books on the Revolutionary War, but this provided a lot of information that I was ignorant of before. I would recommend reading it if you are interested in the Revolutionary War.

16torrey23
mei 28, 2012, 10:33 am

17Schneider
mei 29, 2012, 11:28 am

Hey Torrey23, I think you will find that Carley's book a nice quick overview. Obviously by its size you can tell it does not go into much depth, but it is written well and you come away with a nice review of the subject. Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux and Through Dakota Eyes are two titles that will complement the Carley title. I have not read them yet, but Dakota Dawn and Over the Earth I Come: The Great Sioux Uprising of 1862 have great reputations and are on my wish lists. If you are interested in the the Dakota/Sioux of this time period these may be something you might want to look into.

18torrey23
mei 29, 2012, 5:12 pm

I have Dakota Dawn. I may read it next. I only recently became interested in this topic. I moved, and now I live only 7 miles from Fort Ridgely. I am smack dab in the middle of where everything happened. I look forward to learning more about it.

19jztemple
mei 31, 2012, 7:47 pm

Just finished The Murder of Jim Fisk for the Love of Josie Mansfield: A Tragedy of the Gilded Age by H. W. Brands. A rather short book and frankly not very satisfying. Not enough meat to it, so to speak.

Oh, and I finished The Physics of Baseball, which has a small amount of relevance to this subject.

20Jestak
jun 25, 2012, 4:43 pm

I've started Nixon and Kissinger by Robert Dallek.

21jztemple
jun 30, 2012, 5:29 pm

Just finished Forth to the Wilderness by Dale Van Every. Rather a florid, prosaic narrative history, but I learned a lot from it, which is my criteria for enjoyment. I have the other three books of the series and I'm looking forward to reading them.

22jztemple
jul 3, 2012, 5:37 pm

Just finished Last Train to Paradise, very good book.

23Jestak
jul 31, 2012, 12:57 am

Finally finished with the Nixon/Kissinger book, and I've now started Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne.

24jztemple
aug 1, 2012, 8:02 pm

Haven't posted for a while, so let's catch up!

Finished:
The Guns that Won the West: Firearms on the American Frontier, 1848-1898 by John Walter - Very,very dry. Gobi Desert dry. And unfortunately not very interesting.

Shorty and the Radio Men by Myron Sutton - A more unusual WW2 memoir, well written and highly enjoyable.

Virtue, Valor, and Vanity: The Founding Fathers and the Pursuit of Fame by Eric Burns - Interesting concept, if a bit long-winded. Still, worth the trouble if you are interested in the period.

Ledyard: In Search of the First America Explorer by Bill Gifford - Unfortunately this book is part history, part travelogue, and it's the latter where the book falls down.

The Wire That Fenced the West by Henry D. McCallum and Frances T. McCallum - An interesting history of barbed wire, full of great details about the American West of the later nineteenth century.

In progress:
Niagara: A History of the Falls by Pierre Berton - A third of the way through and so far very enjoyable.

25Jestak
aug 15, 2012, 2:26 am

I'm just started on Railroaded by Richard White.

27wildbill
aug 23, 2012, 8:59 am

Reading Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and Causes of the Civil War. Fascinating primary sources from a son of the South.

28wildbill
aug 28, 2012, 8:33 pm

Finished 1776 by David McCullough and Washington's Crossing.

29Jestak
aug 28, 2012, 9:14 pm

Still reading Railroaded and I recently read The Long Road to Antietam by Richard Slotkin.

30jztemple
aug 31, 2012, 2:18 pm

Just finished Washington's Crossing, a superb book with the excellent history of the American Revolution, focused on Washington's army from the Battle of Long Island through the fighting in New Jersey in the winter of 1776/77. Also just as interesting is the almost hundred pages of appendices, ranging from Orders of Battle throughout the period to casualties calculations and ending with several excellent essays regarding the various slants and styles of historical writing since the time of the battles up through the present day. It's made me interested in delving deeper into the individual campaigns of the Revolution, as I didn't know how little I actually knew about the Battles of Trenton and Princeton till I read this book.

31Jestak
sep 1, 2012, 5:54 pm

>30 jztemple:

I fully agree with your evaluation of Washington's Crossing, which I read earlier this year; if you haven't read the same author's Paul Revere's Ride, it is equally worth reading.

I am still working my way through Railroaded and have also started Roosevelt's Secret War by Joseph Persico.

32jztemple
sep 3, 2012, 12:06 pm

Just finished The Last Camel Charge: The Untold Story of America's Desert Military Experiment by Forrest Bryant Johnson. Fairly good, although there just isn't that much about the camels to write about, so there's a lot of somewhat related story lines. Primarily it's about the opening of the Mojave Trail, and about the Mormons, and a bit of this and that. Still, it's worth the read if you're interested in the history of the American West.

33morryb
sep 7, 2012, 4:27 pm

I finished the Korean War by Max Hastings

34Billhere
sep 8, 2012, 7:30 am

35TLCrawford
sep 8, 2012, 11:07 am

#34, What did you think of the book? Was there much coverage of Harrison's time in Cincinnati?

36caleath
sep 8, 2012, 12:39 pm

I know this is supposed to be about the books we are reading...and I am reading a few....blood of heroes, is just one. Any one have a suggestion for a good book about Dwight D. Eisenhower?

39doomjesse
sep 10, 2012, 12:48 am

Reading Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's a long haul but it's definitely got some fascinating material. A definite recommendation but not for the faint of heart or time concious...

40caleath
Bewerkt: sep 11, 2012, 2:27 pm

thanks morryb, on my list for my next order to HPB.

41jztemple
okt 20, 2012, 3:17 pm

Finished a couple of books...

Phil Sheridan and His Army by Paul Andrew Hutton - This is about Sheridan and his commands post-Civil War. Unfortunately rather dry and dull.

The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret by Kent Hartman - Good book, although more about the people than the process.

42Jestak
okt 20, 2012, 3:40 pm

I'm now reading Honor in the Dust by Gregg Jones.

43Schneider
Bewerkt: okt 23, 2012, 11:16 am

Am reading In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson which leaves me wondering why it took me so long to get to it.

44southernbooklady
okt 23, 2012, 12:13 pm

I just finished Washington's Crossing, which was phenomenal -- hands down the best account of the early part of the American Revolution from a military perspective I have ever read. I'm now reading, because I've never done so in its entirety, de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and I have to say, I'm having a wonderful time with it.

45jztemple
okt 30, 2012, 4:02 pm

Finished Seeking Pleasure in the Old West by David Dary which was interesting although lacked a bit in readability. Also finished The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman which was excellent.

47Jestak
nov 4, 2012, 8:58 pm

I've moved on to the excellent Wilderness at Dawn by Ted Morgan and have also started Patton: A Genius for War by Carlo D'Este.

48LamSon
nov 5, 2012, 11:54 am

47
I would recommend Morgan's A Shovel of Stars if you haven't read it yet.

49jztemple
nov 16, 2012, 9:17 pm

Finished Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem and the Birth of the Indy 500 by Charles Leerhsen. I only slogged my way through the author's snarky, sometimes snobby, writing style because I really wanted to find out what actually happened at the first Indy 500. However, I don't recommend this book to anyone else. It's a shame, his first book Crazy Good, wasn't bad.

50jztemple
nov 19, 2012, 2:04 pm

Finished Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral: The Adventures of the Cowboy Who Conquered the Sky by Garry Jenkins. A very well written, fascinating story. Highly recommended.

51caleath
nov 21, 2012, 1:41 pm

I am reading The Midnight War very good so far. Way to many places and names to remember thought. A good period map would be a great help.

52jztemple
dec 12, 2012, 10:17 pm

Finished Nuts and Bolts of the Past: A History of American Technology, 1776-1860 by David Freeman Hawke. Interesting at times, however there are many small chapters and the the various subjects of them are covered in a fairly cursory way. Still, a good overview of the changes to technology during this period.

53jztemple
dec 12, 2012, 11:59 pm

Ah, the advantages of being retired! One of which is being able to spend the days reading... I just finished my review of Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. Excellent book, very much recommended. Fair warning however; it's a pretty sizable book and very, very rich in detail, not for those looking for some casual reading.

54morryb
dec 14, 2012, 10:13 pm

I am finishing up Killing Kennedy. It is a quick read and informative and yet not extremely detailed. I think it is a good place to start and may peak your interest to find more detailed work.

55jztemple
dec 21, 2012, 3:50 pm

Just finished Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln by Jason Emerson. Very well written, very enjoyable, although a bit more scholastic than some people might like. Still, very readable and fascinating.

56Jestak
dec 21, 2012, 5:19 pm

I'm still reading the Patton bio, recently completed A Matter of Justice by David A. Nichols and have started Empire of Liberty by Gordon Wood.

57caleath
dec 21, 2012, 5:44 pm

I finished First Great Triumph excellent book. Not sure what I am going to read next. I got Washingtons Crossing in the mail this week.

58southernbooklady
dec 22, 2012, 11:19 am

I loved Washington's Crossing. I'm reading Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power which I am enjoying, but the author has a way of making statements of opinion sound like statements of fact.

59Vic33
dec 28, 2012, 10:52 am

I just finished reading The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898 by G.J.A. O'Toole. It was a good, informative read about a mostly forgot war. The author liberally sprinkles firsthand quotes throughout the book.

60caleath
Bewerkt: dec 28, 2012, 2:58 pm

I am reading The Red Badge of Courage . I didnt have to read it in school so I thought I would give it a shot.