Red Bank Public Library Virtual Book Club discussion

Over the past few weeks I have read a few books that I would recommend. Ironically three of them relate to the period of WWII. First was Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict. This was a novel from the point of view of Winston Churchill's wife.
To verify some of the information, I read Jon Meachem's book, Franklin and Winston. This book describes the relationship between these two leaders of WWII.
Third was The King's Justice by Susan MacNeal. This is part of the Maggie Hope series about an American who becomes involved in the spying for the British during the war.
My non-WWII book was the Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry. His books combine history and a spy thriller. I might have enjoyed this more than usual because it describes places in Poland that I had visited.

Sounds good!

Kathy wrote: "Over the past few weeks I have read a few books that I would recommend. Ironically three of them relate to the period of WWII. First was Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict. This was a novel from the..."
You have been busy! WWII is the most popular subject in both fiction and non-fiction. Just can't keep the stuff on the shelf.

I went through a period of time where it seemed like all I was watching was the history channel. And when I started having opinions about what was the most important battle or weapon, it really seemed to me like I should start learning about something else!

The historic period of time that I've done the most reading about is WW I -- because I realized I had no idea what that war was about. I can recommend some good books, but I suspect that WW I will always lose out to WW II in popularity.

I would love to know what you read on WWI. Quite awhile ago, I read To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara. His books are listed as novels but they are well researched and you get the perspective of the people involved. For mysteries I have been reading Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series. She is a nurse during the war. He also has an Inspector Rutledge series about the same time period.

Not All Bastards Are From Vienna by Andrea Molesini is a novel about the Italian front in WWI. We are most familiar with what was going on in France but the Italians really struggled to hold back the Austrians and then the Germans at the Piave River. It is the story of one family whose villa was appropriated by the invading army.

I'm pretty sure the first book was All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. You can borrow it at rive.com/elibrarynj-middlesex/content...

Then I read The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman and I was hooked. You can listen to that one via https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib...

I'm not sure about the order of the other books but A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway was in there. The library has that one too: https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib...

Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey is a memoir of life in the trenches. I think you can get a free copy from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008478XB4/...

Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings is a good non-fiction history/overview of the actual war. Tuchman's book is the non-fiction account of everything that happened before the war to set everything in motion. (https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib... and https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib...)

And speaking of what came before, Tuchman's The Proud Tower paints a vivid picture of what the world looked like in the decade or two before. I believe she argues that the war could have been started several times before -- like dry forest brush with heat lighting all around.

I tried to listen to Audible's Christmas Eve 1914 but I don't think I succeeded. It was like being at a movie with just the audio soundtrack -- lots of sounds and different voices. It was probably good just not for me.

I don't remember much about The Lost History of 1914.

The War to End All Wars was good quick overview I think -- maybe a lower reading level than Tuchman's books.

The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark was also a good history but a little fuzzy in my mind. You can borrow it at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008478XB4/...

I tried to read Westpoint 1915 but that one was a bit too dull. Disappointing though because that class included many men who went on to people our history books.

It seems that my curiosity about the war was pretty well sated by then. I'm sorry I don't have more novels in there to recommend to you.

Our library has audio and text versions of Pat Barker's Toby's Room (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008478XB4/... and https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib...) .

Our library also has text and audio copies of Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson.

The library has The Last of the Doughboys by Richard Rubin in audio format. (https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/elib...)

And then there's Dead Wake by Erik Larson. Text and audio copies are available. It's about the sinking of the Lusitania.

Things I really enjoyed about reading those books in a concentrated fashion: 1) You get a much more nuanced view when you revisit the topic from multiple angles and perspectives 2) I can remember it all better when the exposure is multiple times and not just a one shot 3) There are so many cultural references that are not well connected (in my mind) and this kind of reading helped to pull them together (for example Lawrence of Arabia and the Lusitania and how they are part of WW I history)

I hope this was helpful and maybe others can chime in with some other good books (and more novels).

Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson is a great non-fiction choice. While all eyes were on the Western Front, a bunch of young opportunists were carving up the Ottoman Empire for Britain, France, Russia, and the USA.

Cool. Thanks for the recommendation!

M mentioned All Quiet on the Western Front. That was probably the first book on WWI that I read and amazingly it was because I had read a few chapters in German in my high school German class. I decided to go back and read the entire book in English. I will have to revisit it again -English not German!

Interesting ... I've been thinking that reading a book in another language would be a good way to learn/practice. Maybe I should look for a copy in German. I took French in HS so German is on my to do list.

I found a series of books by Brian Smith that have German on one page and English on the opposite. The first one is Easy German Reader and it covers the 500 basic words. I have gone through the two beginning ones and am working on the pre-itermediate one to review my German skills. This might be something to consider if you want to try learning German.

Very cool. What is the title of book 1?

The book is called Easy German Reader by Brian Smith. I got it on Amazon.

Thanks!

M wrote: "Thanks!" I've picked it up!

Good luck learning a different language.

Thanks! I really like that there's audio at the website. The beginning is simple but I think that's for the best. Thank you again for the recommendation.

I know that you will do well. If you want a grammar introduction, I can recommend a book called Speak German in 90 Days by Kevin Marx. It breaks down the grammar using basic sentences. I also got it on Amazon. I have been using these to refresh my knowledge of the language. I had hoped to put it into practice on a trip to Germany this summer but that is not happening now. Will keep practicing because I know I will get there eventually.

Sounds good! I will check out Kevin's book. And I hope you get to take your trip (sooner or later).

This may or may not be of interest but Chirp Book is selling Fluent Forever for $2.99 from today until today + 28 (27?) days. The reviews looked good and I picked up a copy as it seemed to be a good adjunct to my German self study.

https://www.chirpbooks.com/search?q=F...

Thanks. I will check it out.