The History Book Club discussion

Jerome, here is your new thread in 2015. Happy reading in the new year.

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: March 2008
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.

JANUARY

1. by Dominic Lieven (no photo)
Finish date: January 15, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: A superb book on Russia during the Napoleonic era. I have only ever read one book on these wars, but I think this would be perfect for anyone regardless of their background in this era. Military operations, internal politics, and diplomacy are all given excellent treatment.

I was just thinking of you. Great choice. Format pitch perfect.

I am going to add this one to my list. Thanks!

I'm glad you are doing this, Jerome, you pick great books. Thanks.

Great to hear from Jerome more with this thread and his thoughts about some of these books.

2. by Louis P. Masur (no photo)
Finish date: January 17, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: A through, academic/scholarly study of Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. Masur provides all of the necessary detail on Lincoln's thinking, reservations, and motives regarding the preliminary and final proclamations (there were 100 days between them, hence the title). Masur thoroughly covers all of the relevant issues, such as the border states, the role of the public and the media, and Lincoln's awareness of the limits of his own "war powers" (a concept he had invented).

Might add that to my TBR pile, Jerome, awesome.

3. by Anthony S. Pitch (no photo)
Finish date: January 22, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: Although this isn't the first book I've read on the Washington-Baltimore campaign, Pitch's book is great for a lot of reasons: good pacing, gripping writing, solid research, and of course, the sheer drama of the events described. I have yet to read a book on the subject that I find dull, and can definitely recommend it.

Thanks, Jerome. I have the book and it is now moving up on my TBR list.

It is a great book, I highly recommend it, too.

4. by Allen C. Guelzo (no photo)
Finish date: January 23, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: Another good book on the Emancipation Proclamation. Guelzo thoroughly covers all of the issues related to this event: the courts, the border states, Lincoln's colonization proposal, etc. Like all historians writing on the issue, Guelzo debunks the many myths perpetrated by both the Proclamation's supporters and critics. A great book on the subject, if only one of many.

5. by Mark Millar
Finish date: January 30, 2015
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: A+
Review: This is the first volume of The Ultimates, which puts the classic Avengers into a grittier modern setting. Some of the classic Marvel elements remain: Captain America being frozen in ice in World War Two and waking up in the 21st century, for example, and Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk (as a result of attempting to replicate the super-soldier serum that made Steve Rogers Captain America). Great artwork, a solid story, and hilarious dialogue make this one a winner. If you enjoy the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially Joss Whedon's movie The Avengers, this is a must read.

Good progress Jerome

FEBRUARY

6. by Adam Goodheart (no photo)
Finish date: February 12, 2015
Genre: History
Reating: A+
Review: An informative and insightful history of 1861, covering all of the dramatic events of this pivotal year, and based around a compelling cast of historical figures. Goodheart's writing is clear and the narrative is smooth and dramatic.

Good add Jerome

7. by Mark Millar
Finish date: February 13, 2015
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: A-
Review: Another good Ultimates volume, with a great if somewhat cheesy plot. Characterization is good, dialogue is witty, and Hitch's artwork is still great. The only negative is that the Chitauri plotline is just too cheesy, but, in all, the story is great.

8. by Frederick Taylor (no photo)
Finish date: February 15, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A great, well-paced history of the Berlin Wall from its construction to its collapse, with good coverage of all the related political and diplomatic issues. The narrative transitions smoothly from high-level maneuvering to the stories of ordinary people living near (or escaping through) the border between the two Germanys. The only drawback is the clumsy writing, but this is fairly good for the most part.

9. by Barry S. Strauss (no photo)
Finish date: February 17, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: A readable and well-written history of the Trojan War. Strauss treats the Iliad as a work of history and proceeds accordingly. He does his best to separate fact from fiction, and explores the many possibilities of how the Trojan War might really have happened. The writing is a little breezy, and one weakness is the lack of real historical sources available, but Strauss does his best anyway.

It looks very interesting.

10. by Charles Royster (no photo)
Finish date: February 18, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: The stated aim of Royster's book is to examine how the Civil War transformed into a destructive conflict, and he argues that Sherman and Jackson best personify this transformation. In the end, however, this is basically just a dual biography of Sherman and Jackson. It's an interesting book, even if the writing is a little dull and the argument is ill-defined and sketchily presented.

Looks like another good one.

I'm glad you are doing the 50 books this year. You got some good ones.

Very good adds and I echo Bryan's sentiments.

11. by Brooks D. Simpson (no photo)
Finish date: February 21, 2015
Genre: Biography
Rating: A-
Review: A readable, well-written and balanced biography of Ulysses Grant, covering Grant's life from 1822-1865 (this was supposed to have been the first of two volumes, but the second has yet to be published). Simpson fully captures Grant's character, complexity, and humanity. Although the writing is somewhat dull at times, this is still a great book on the subject.

Good

12. by James G. Cusick (no photo)
Finish date: February 23, 2015
Genre:History
Rating: A-
Review: A fine history of American intervention in the Spanish Floridas during the War of 1812, and the history recounted is actually quite interesting despite the dry, academic writing. Cusick thoroughly describes all of the relevant background, the war itself, and its consequences.

Good you might want to add that book to the War of 1812 thread if you have not done so already

13. by Alexander Watson (no photo)
Finish date: February 27, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: A comprehensive and well-written history of World War One from the perspective of Austria-Hungary and Germany. Watson smoothly moves from the perspective of the Central Powers' statesmen to its generals, soldiers, and civilians, while exploring many issues overlooked in other histories, such as how they administered conquered territory and how the population responded to inept leadership, among others. Highly recommended.

Jerome, you might want to add this to the appropriate World War I thread as well.

Oooh, that goes on my tbr list, Jerome.

It's a great book, Jill, I can definitely recommend it.

MARCH

14. by Ian Ousby (no photo)
Finish date: March 17, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: A curious history of the Battle of Verdun, Ousby's book moves beyond a conventional military narrative and instead addresses a variety of issues related to sociology, questions of "why," the psychological state of the combatants, and the political and military background. At times, this can be interesting, at other times slow and dry, although he does a fine job illuminating a variety of issues that are often overlooked.

Good progress

15. by Jim Lacey (no photo)
Finish date: March 19, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: A lively and well-paced history of the Battle of Marathon, Lacey does great job describing the battle's context and the history of Greco-Persian enmity. His description of the battle is vivid and his command of the subject matter and source material is easy and authoritative, even if his argument is somewhat incoherent and not always well-supported.

16. by Peter Hart
Finish date: March 20, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A well-written and insightful history of the Battle of the Somme, Hart's book does a fine job putting the battle into its proper context. He largely eschews what he calls the "crude sentimental approach" adopted by many historians and poets of the war, arguing that the way the battle was fought was due more to the new technology of war and its steep learning curve rather than the stupidity of Douglas Haig (although Hart is still critical of Haig in other respects).

Sounds interesting. Another book for my list. Thanks!

17. (no image) Rehearsal for Conflict: The War with Mexico, 1846-1848 by Alfred Hoyt Bill (no photo)
Finish date: March 25, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: Although quite dated at this point, Bill's history of the Mexican war is for the most part well-written, with solid, vivid portraits of the participants and events. The book is readable, even if the typos are annoying and his arguments are not always well supported. One of the book's biggest problems is the lack of citations (even though it has a bibliography), but the narrative of the war seems consistent with other studies for the most part. A fine book on the war, but not essential.

18. by Ray W. Irwin (no photo)
Finish date: March 28, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A brief history of America’s relations with the Barbary States from 1776 (actually more like 1786) to 1815. Irwin describes the various incidents and crises of the time period, and he does a fine job bringing all of this history together; most books on the subject deal with only certain phases such as the war with Tripoli under Jefferson or the war with Algiers in 1815. The book is well-written and the author has a good grasp of the subject matter and the source material (although US Navy records and diplomatic correspondence from other nations are curiously absent).

Well-written and informative, with a smooth, clear narrative.

APRIL

19. by Timothy D. Johnson (no photo)
Finish date: April 2, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: An excellent, analytical study of Winfield Scott’s campaign for Mexico City during the US-Mexican War. Johnson’s book is well written and dramatic. He gives us vivid portraits of Winfield Scott and his officers (such as Lee and Grant), making good use of primary source material. Johnson provides a good, balanced portrait of Scott, and does a good job showing how Scott dealt with matters ranging from logistics to planning to how to deal with the local population. Johnson’s analysis is pretty thorough. Unfortunately, Johnson makes little effort to cover the campaign from Mexico’s perspective, which leaves the reader puzzled as to how Scott’s numerically inferior force managed to win so many victories. Also, the maps are too small and poorly produced. Still, the book deserves kudos for its strong narrative, thorough analysis, and attention to detail.

20. by Brendan Simms (no photo)
Finish date: April 14, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A solid, well-written history of what Simms calls the "first" British empire. Simms describes in detail British foreign and colonial policy during the years 1714-1783, with the main events being the Wars of the Spanish and Austrian Secessions, the Seven Years' War, and the American Revolutionary War. Of these, the first two were the most unfamiliar to me, but Simms does a fine job covering these in the right amount of detail for both the layman and the enthusiast. One of Simms' main arguments is that Europe was the most important object of British strategy at the time, rather than North America and the colonies, and while interesting, this can get a little tiresome since Simms gets quite repetitive on this point and doesn't always support it well. But, still, a very enjoyable and interesting history.

Great progress Jerome

21. by Michael Burleigh
Finish date: April 16, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A readable and interesting history of the various armed conflicts, big and small, that defined the postwar world from 1945 to 1965. Burleigh describes the various figures that defined this era, and is quite critical of all of them (Eisenhower comes off the lightest). While short on analysis, Burleigh describes the various wars that followed but does not dwell on those postwar examples of "de-colonization" that went relatively smoothly. While not always well-written or cohesive, Burleigh's book is certainly interesting and enjoyable, and should be fine introduction for those readers not well acquainted with some of these wars.

Sounds like a good book, Jerome. You might like this one too....I thought it was especially good and written by one of my favorite historians.

by Byron Farwell(no photo)

A very interesting topic, thanks, Jill.

22. by Felice Flanery Lewis (no photo)
Finish date: April 21, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: A thorough and interesting history of Taylor's campaigns in northern Mexico, notable for their success and for the role played by many future Civil War commanders. While many historians view the war as a "training ground" for these commanders, Lewis argues that this was not the case and that there are really no concrete examples of Civil War generals applying any "lessons learned" from their Mexican experience. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in the Mexican-American War.

MAY

23. by Leon Panetta (no photo)
Finish date: May 14, 2015
Genre: Memoir
Rating: B+
Review: Panetta's memoir is interesting enough, but rather short on insight. The book's organization is somewhat distracting, and reads like a collection of longer stories, with short discussions of the various events and controversies, not told in any sort of chronological or topical order. Panetta is somewhat evasive when it comes to controversy, although he does argue that the CIA's controversial use of torture has been distorted by both its proponents and its critics. At times the book is dull and unemotional, but most of the time it succeeds in holding your interest,although one ends up learning more about Panetta's colleagues than Panetta himself.

24. by Chris DeRose
Finish date: May 16, 2015
Genre: History:
Rating: A-
Review: A dense but interesting book on a rather broad topic. DeRose does a fine job weaving the Civil War experiences of Lincoln and six ex-presidents into a fascinating story. DeRose’s narrative is interesting and the story is well-paced. However, the story can be little hard to read; the chapters are quite short and have the effect of making the story somewhat disjointed. There is also little discussion of these presidents’ postwar views or legacies. But, in all, a well-written, thorough, and engaging book.

25. by Douglas R. Cubbison (no photo)
Finish date: May 17, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: A readable history of Amherst’s campaign against Montreal. Cubbison is sympathetic to Amherst, and writes that his coordination of the campaign was a remarkable achievement for the time period, and even for today. He looks at the final offensives following Quebec, although mainly from the British perspective. Many previous histories have criticized Amherst for being too slow, but Cubbison argues that this has been exaggerated, and his portrait of Amherst is largely favorable.

26. by Kenneth J. Conboy (no photo)
Finish date: May 18, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: A slim but interesting and well-researched history of the Agency’s operations against Sukarno. The story is not always easy to follow, mainly due to the geography of the region.The authors do a fine job presenting the history of the operation, although they never really critique the rationale behind the operation or its impact on later events.