The History Book Club discussion

Andrea, this is your thread for 2020. I have included the link to the required format thread and an example. If you had a 2019 thread - it will be archived so when you get the opportunity move over your completed books and formats to the 2020 thread - but we will allow time for you to do that.

Please follow the standard required format below - I hope you enjoy your reading in 2020. Here is also a link for assistance with the required guidelines:

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2020
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

IMPORTANT - THE REVIEW SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET - THERE ARE NO LINKS OF ANY KIND IN THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ALLOWED. NONE. DO NOT REFER TO ANY OTHER BOOK IN YOUR BRIEF REVIEW. THE ONLY BOOK CITED IN YOUR REVIEW IS THE ONE YOU ARE REVIEWING - NO OTHERS. ALL LINKS TO OTHER THREADS OR REVIEWS ARE DELETED IMMEDIATELY - THERE WILL BE NO WARNING. WE CONSIDER THIS SELF PROMOTION AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED AND IS IN VIOLATION OF OUR RULES AND GUIDELINES

Andrea, you are ready to go for 2020. We now have a special perk where we can list the books we want to read for the 50 Books Read in 2020. You also now have a Personal Reading List thread where you can keep track of what you want to read; and/or what you have completed etc for the challenge. These of course can be carried over to the next year's personal reading list if you do not complete your 2020 To Be Read list. You would simply do an edit, copy and paste.

Have fun with your two threads. Sample formats are included; but there is room for some personal preferences on the Personal Reading Lists. Have fun.

JANUARY

1. by Margaret Leslie Davis (no photo)
Finish date: January 10, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: C
Review: History of the specific Gutenberg Bible 45 tracked through four wealthy owners: 3rd Earl of Gosford, Lord Amherst of Hackney, Dyson Perkins, and finally Estelle Doheny of Southern California

FEBRUARY

2. by Lewis E. Lehrman (no photo)
Finish date: February 1, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: Comparison of the two statesmen, Abraham Lincoln and Sir Winston Churchill, both of whom led their respective countries during a terrible war

3. by Westheider, Ortrud (no photo)
Finish date: February 5, 2020
Genre: Art History
Rating: A
Review: A scholarly exploration of Picasso’s late works from the post-war period until his death in 1973

4. by Barry Wittenstein
Finish date: February 7, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: This book tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for the younger set ... beautifully illustrated by Jerry Pinckney

5. by Philippe Büttner (no photo)
Finish date: February 20, 2020
Genre: Art History
Rating: A
Review: Color catalogue from the exhibition entitled “Felix Vallotton: Painter of Disquiet” held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London from 30 June to 29 September 2019 ... Vallotton, a Swiss-born artist working in Paris and linked with the Nabis

MARCH

6. by Karen Karbo
Finish date: March 2, 2020
Genre: History/Biography
Rating: B
Review: A selection of 29 mini-biographies of amazing women who broke with the stereotypes of their time

7. by Julie Kavanagh
Finish date: March 5, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: Part scandalous gossip-fest, part serious dance biography, Kavanagh’s book details the life of the immensely talented defector, Rudolf Nureyev

8. by Richard H. Minear (no photo)
Finish date: March 6, 2020
Genre: Art History
Rating: B
Review: The career of Dr. Seuss as a political cartoonist was news to me ... his gentle, whimsical approach to Hitler and the Axis belies his genuine, populist roots ... fascinating illustrations

9. by Allen C. Guelzo
Finish date: March 8, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: A highly introspective Biography of Abraham Lincoln ... detailing how he was shaped by his Whig politics and admiration for Henry Clay, molded by his responses to the Abolitionists and later the Radical Republicans, and motivated by his Calvinist belief in the overarching Providence of God ... do you need to read another Lincoln biography ... yes, you do

10. by Erik Larson
Finish date: March 14, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: TBA
Review: TBA

I was happy to see your good review of The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. This is a book I am considering reading next year.

by Erik Larson

11. by Hayley Nolan (no photo)
Finish date: March 22, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: Nolan’s spirited and pugnacious defense of Anne Boleyn presents convincing evidence of her subject’s importance and innocence ... her conclusions are ably documented ... unfortunately, at times her tone is somewhat shrill

12. by Thomas Merton
Finish date: March 30,2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: A+
Review: This eloquent autobiography of Thomas Merton tells of his very worldly life, then his conversion to Catholicism in his late 20’s ... subsequently he entered a Trappist monastery and became a powerful writer on spirituality ... he died in 1968 ... magnificent

APRIL

13. by Liza Picard
Finish date: April 3,2020
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: A sociological history of the professions represented by the pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales ... told with an historian’s eye for the telling detail ... it’s amazing what we know about the late 1300’s

14. by Anne Glenconner (no photo)
Finish date: April 7, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: An autobiography by Lady Glenconner relating her adventures as a lady-in-waiting to the late Princess Margaret ... also included are some details of her 54-year-old marriage to the mercurial Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner

15. by Smithsonian Institution (no photo)
Finish date: April 11, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: Absolutely fabulous read for anyone interested in the women of America ... The title says it all: Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection ...

Connie, if you like Churchill and FDR, and if you enjoy Erik Larson’s writing style, you will eat this book up with a spoon!
Regards,
Andrea

Erik Larson

16. by W. Caleb McDaniel
Finish date: April 16, 2020
Genre: History/Biography
Rating: A+
Review: The historian as Sherlock Holmes ... McDaniel tracked down the story of former slave Henrietta Wood, who received her freedom in 1848, was kidnapped, re-enslaved, and sold down the river ... But Wood fought back: she sued her abductor, Zebulon Ward, after the Civil War for $20,000.00 in restitution

Brilliant - you have it up to standard.

Wow, Henrietta Wood sounds like a strong, fascinating woman. It's great that the stories of these neglected heroines are coming out.

by W. Caleb McDaniel

Connie, as a slave, Henrietta Wood was illiterate; she did all this without being able to read or write! On legal papers, she would just sign with her mark, an “x!”
Regards,
Andrea
by W. Caleb McDaniel

MAY

17. by Marie Benedict
Finish date: May 8, 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B
Review: So many World War II histories focus on Sir Winston Churchill ... however, his wife Clementine was very instrumental in his success, at least according to this fictionalised autobiography ... well-researched, and dependent on extant letters between the pair collected by their youngest daughter, Mary ... intriguing ...

Andrea, good job. Sometimes you cannot tell accurately but make sure that you have just one skipped blank line underneath the month and before you put in your citation (message 24). Otherwise , everything looks goods.

I agree - I am sure she put up with a lot - since he was not the easiest of an individual.

Bentley, it is simply amazing to me that they managed to stay married to one another. And, faithfully, I might add.
Regards,
Andrea

Yes, and if you ever visited Chartwell - they had a lovely home together too.

Bentley, unfortunately I have never made it to Chartwell. However, I have visited the underground War Command Post near Horseguards Parade ... it gave me claustrophobia ... I don’t know how Churchill and his staff stood it ... of course, if bombs were dropping out of the sky, I might have felt differently ...
Regards,
Andrea

We had the opportunity to visit Chartwell, and it still remains one of the highlights of our visits to England. The grounds were magnificent, but I remember that beautiful library as well as all of the maps spread out. Andrea, I’m looking forward to reading the book.

Yes, I have been there too and the Churchill Museum adjacent - they stood it because they had no choice

http://public.media.smithsonianmag.co...

https://www.britannica.com/event/the-...

During the Blitz 32,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured. Two million houses (60 per cent of these in London) were destroyed in the Blitz.

Can you imagine that happening in New York City or LA or anywhere for that matter?

Bentley, there’s a marvellous book out about the effect of the blitz on certain writers. It’s called The Love-Charm of Bombs: Restless Lives in the Second World War by Lara Feigel. Have you read it?
Regards,
Andrea

by Lara Feigel (no photo)

No, I have not - I will add it to my already long list.

Thank you.

18. by Jeremy Black
Finish date: May 9, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: Riveting account interpreting English History during the Elizabethan Age through the lens of Shakespeare’s Plays ... Although focusing on the History Plays, primarily from Richard II through Richard III, everything from tragedy (such as Hamlet, or Romeo & Juliet) to comedy (such as Twelfth Night or Midsummer Night’s Dream) is referenced ... magnificent analysis ...

19. by G. K. Chesterton. (no photo)
Finish date: May 10, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: Wielding paradoxes as though they were sabers, G. K. Chesterton attacks his contemporaries George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, etc. ... He brings the doctrine of Catholic Christianity to the fore by placing all other doctrines in the shade of untruth ... amazing, even though something of a period piece ...

Great adds Andrea.

20. by C.J. Sansom
Finish date: May 13, 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Well-researched murder mystery set during the final years of Henry VIII’s reign. Matthew Shardlake, hunchbacked lawyer featured in six earlier works, is commandeered by the powerful Parr family to aid Henry’s last Queen, Katherine Parr (1512-1548), a Reformer being hounded by the traditionalist, Proto-Catholic faction. Very atmospheric ...

21. by Various (no photo)
Finish date: May 14, 2020
Genre: Historical Documents
Rating: B
Review: Eclectic collection of speech texts, ranging from Pharaoh Merneptah of Ancient Egypt to Barack Obama’s First Inaugural Address in 2009 ... each text is prefaced by a brief introduction to the speaker and the occasion ... a brilliant way to teach history ...

22. by Mary McAuliffe
Finish date: May 16, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: Part name-dropping gossip, part insightful cultural history, this portrayal of Paris from November 11, 1918 to the Stock Mardet Crash in October of 1929 covers the art, architecture, music, fashion, and literature of the Crazy Years, “les Annees folles” ... everyone from Picasso to Stravinsky, Proust to Hemingway, Coco Chanel to Josephine Baker makes an appearance ...

23. by Susan Ware (no photo)
Finish date: May 19, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: C+
Review: Biographical sketches of nineteen women who contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote ... based on artifacts and documents in the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University ...

24. by Willa Cather
Finish date: May 21, 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: Fictional account of young Jim Burden’s growing up on the Mid-Western prairie and later in small-town Nebraska ... Centers on his friendship with Antonia, an immigrant from Eastern Europe during the late nineteenth century.

My Ántonia is one of my favorites too. I liked it when I first read it in high school, and appreciated it even more as an adult.

by Willa Cather

Connie, this is one of three novels Cather set in Nebraska during this time period ... The Song of the Lark I can highly recommend ... the other is O, Pioneers, which I have yet to read.
Regards,
Andrea

by Willa Cather
by Willa Cather

25. by Henri Loyrette (no photo)
Finish date: May 22, 2020
Genre: Art History
Rating: A+
Review: Beautifully illustrated survey of Degas’ dancers, executed in oils, pastel, charcoal, and monotype ... located not in the Palais Garnier (still standing) but in the old Opera on Rue Le Pelletier (destroyed by fire in 1873) ... working, then, primarily from memory, Degas created the world of the French ballerinas ... includes several intriguing essays by various authors ...

26. by Craig Fehrman
Finish date: May 23, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: Fehrman presents the literary side of America’s Presidents ... from the Campaign Biography to the post-presidential Legacy Book ...reminding us that John Wilkes Booth deprived us of what might have been the most well-thought-out presidential autobiography, if not the most popular ...

JUNE

27. by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Finish date: June 2, 2020
Genre: Biography
Rating: B
Review: Short biographies of women the world over who have played an important part in changing the status of women through their courageous actions.

Good progress

Thank you, Bentley, but there are still so many books deserving to be read immediately ...

28. by Zachary D. Carter (no photo)
Finish date: June 4, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: Covers the past hundred years of American economic policy as influenced by the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes and his disciples (notably John Kenneth Galbraith).

29. by Jon Meacham
Finish date: June 10, 2020
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: Short history of the United States as told through the popular songs of America from the Revolution to the present day ... all that’s missing is a soundtrack ...