Me? I’m working my way through Niall Ferguson’s Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire. I’m also stalled halfway through Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer.
American Lion by Jon Meacham…sorry to say, I find it very slow going as it’s not a novel but an historical expose of Andrew Jackson which contains far too many (for my taste) quotes in the words of yesteryear, a language which we do not, today, speak. Meacham is no doubt a very talented writer but history books are boring, this one, in it’s minute detail of those times, is no exception. Truly this volume will likely end up on my book shelf half read like the last, a little known novel by Jimmie Carter “The Hornet’s Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War”. Informative though it may be, particularly to an old yankee brought up on tales of the Battle of Saratoga, it is boring in it’s minute detail. So it is with this volume by Meacham.
Typically this is true. It’s not always the case, however. I read a fascinating series of books on Nazi Germany recently that was anything but boring. May I recommend (if you have an interest in that era and subject) these books by Cambridge historian Richard Evans:
1. The Coming of the Third Reich
2. The Third Reich in Power
3. The Third Reich at War
I’ve read many books on this (including The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich), but none have been as absorbing (if depressing) as these. Each volume is rather lengthy but once you’re into them, it is hard to put them down.
Typically this is true. It’s not always the case, however. I read a fascinating series of books on Nazi Germany recently that was anything but boring. May I recommend (if you have an interest in that era and subject) these books by Cambridge historian Richard Evans:
1. The Coming of the Third Reich
2. The Third Reich in Power
3. The Third Reich at War
I’ve read many books on this (including The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich), but none have been as absorbing (if depressing) as these. Each volume is rather lengthy but once you’re into them, it is hard to put them down.
I’ve read these and you’re absolutely right. I was riveted.
Typically this is true. It’s not always the case, however. I read a fascinating series of books on Nazi Germany recently that was anything but boring. May I recommend (if you have an interest in that era and subject) these books by Cambridge historian Richard Evans:
1. The Coming of the Third Reich
2. The Third Reich in Power
3. The Third Reich at War
I’ve read many books on this (including The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich), but none have been as absorbing (if depressing) as these. Each volume is rather lengthy but once you’re into them, it is hard to put them down.
I’ve read these and you’re absolutely right. I was riveted.
Bobaloo, if you were riveted by these titles, you might want to check this one out:
I’m currently alternating between Jiang Rong’s “Wolf Totem” and Christopher Moore’s “Lamb: the Gospel according to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.” When the former gets difficult, I switch to the latter for humor and history.
