U.S. History Reading Group discussion

Hi everyone!

Thanks for your interest in joining this group. If you're anything like me, you read a lot of thought-provoking history and enjoy talking about it with your fellow nerds. I hope this can be a venue for that.

In order to make this the best group possible, I thought it would be good to have a place for introductions. So tell everyone about yourself and the areas of U.S. history that you find particularly interesting.

I'm Mike and I work as a copy editor for an ad agency in NYC. I have a crazy commute to work, so I get a chance to read A LOT. My long-time interest has been the Civil War era, but I'm also very interested in political history, especially the post-WWII era and its connections to the present moment.

Some of my favorite books: Shelby Foote's "The Civil War Volume One," Rick Perlstein's "Before the Storm" and "Nixonland," and David McCullough's "John Adams."

Looking forward to talking to you and learning more about your interests!

Hi all,

Pretty excited to join this group. I also joined the History Book Club, which is enormous, so it is nice to have a smaller group as well.

I was a history major in college, then later went back to become a teacher. I teach U.S. and World history in Illinois.

Here are some of my favorites in U.S. History That I've read recently.

Hey Will!

I'm excited to have you join us! I had a similar feeling with the History Book club. It just seemed too daunting to get into so I started this (and joined the Presidential Biography Challenge, which is another great small group!)

I don't know if you want to jump into the book I'm currently reading or if you want to wait until the next one, but feel free to do whatever suits you. And if you have any recommendations based on books you plan to read, please share them.

Thanks again!

I actually just checked out The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, so I plan on participating. I'm just waiting on your breakdown.

Hello!

Like Will, I also joined the History Club and it is so large, I have a hard time keeping up with anything on there! So I'm glad I found this one. I am a polisci major so I have always had a thing for american history. I just recently embarked on a life-long quest to read Presidential Biographies in chronological order (and I see theres a challenge group, I'll probably join that too after I'm done writing this).

Since I just started Jon Meacham's "Jefferson: The Art of Power" I might wait until the next book. I'll see :)

I actually found this at a good will and got it for like $2 (super bargain) anywyas, so far its been my favorite!

Thanks for joining, Belen! I'm glad you found us and look forward to hearing your thoughts. You should definitely also join the Presidential Bios group since we're doing the same thing. We're currently up to Madison, but I'm sure you can catch up!

And considering how amazing "John Adams" is, $2 is an amazing bargain! Nicely done!

Hey Will and everyone else! I just posted the three different threads for our discussion of "The First Tycoon." Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on a truly interesting individual!

Hi, I am not a history reader and I didn't really put any effort into history in school. I just got tired of being ignorant so I started reading the biographies of the presidents. The first one was kind of like reading a repair manual for a superconductor. I had no context, no memory of the time period and it was boring. Fortunately John Adams was much more interesting and now that I have reached Madison, its like reading about old friends. I was excited to find the President book club since none of my family is all that interested in talking about the biographies I have been reading. I am looking forward to this group and learning about and discussing other historic people and events.

Hello,

Like several of you I found the History Group to large and when I saw this group I was happy to join. I have served for 14 years as both an army infantryman in Iraq and now as a maintenance crew chief on KC-135 tankers in the air force. As such my focus on history is mainly military. Here are a few books that I have read recently.The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966 The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier The Eve of the Revolution: A Chronicle of the Breach with England
The Passing of the Night: My Seven Years as a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese

Elizabeth, I have the same problem with my family (and friends) not really being interested in history, or at least not history I am interested in.

Steve, glad you joined, I am looking forward to you outlook, particularly on modern military history.

Greetings, everyone. My name is Brooke C. Stoddard. I live in northern Virginia, very close to Washington, D. C., two wonderful places for being interested in U. S. History. My special fields are the early Republic, Civil War, Reconstruction, Depression, WW2, and early Rock&Roll.

Hi guys!

My name's Ellen. Mike roped me in from twitter where I was heart-broken to discover that he really ISN'T Walt Whitman. I thought it was Walt Whitman being cheeky.

I live in Chicago. I work at a housing non-profit that transitions homeless families and individuals out of the shelter system and into homes. I love to read. Slightly less than I like to watch our current golden age of television, but still enough to be in a book club I THINK?!

In "history" I'm a sucker for books on failed movements engaged in social unrest, civil rights, women's history, intellectual history, and any sweeping epic that promises to fully educate me about a "big" topic area.

Favorites include Taylor Branch's MLK trilogy, The Metaphysical Club, The Age of Wonder, the recent Margaret Fuller bio, The Warmth of Other Suns.

I look forward to getting to know you all and discussing...The Americans. Have you guys seen that show? You have to it's so amazing. I mean books. Obviously books!

Hi everyone,

My name is Rey. I stumbled upon this group thanks to some great Twitter action from Not Walt Whitman. My favorite topics in "U.S. history" would have to be the War of 1812 and the Barbary Wars. I'm a political science major focusing on international relations so this will be a great place for me to beef up my US history knowledge. Looking forward to some great reading and lively discussions!

My name is Jane and I live in the Chicago area. I recently retired, so now I finally have time to read. I have only recently joined Goodreads and decided to look for discussions to join for book ideas. I enjoy reading broadly -- I don't exclusively read history. I read to learn and I read just for pleasure. I love a good mystery, a great novel or classic -- and I always have a book on theology in my current reading corner. I am a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and am currently working on documenting my ancestry to a patriot who spent 8 months as a prisoner in Quebec in the failed battle led by Benedict Arnold and Gen Robt Montgomery. I'm humbled to think a few drops of such patriots run somewhere in my veins... since I'm not brave at all! Documenting ancestry requires working "backwards" and along the way I've found many fascinating stories of early pioneers and strength of character against impossible odds. American genealogy for me is the ultimate mystery/history tour as I track down clues from various sources. This year I plan to actually read through several of the early county history books I've collected, rather than just pick through them for facts. Looking forward to gleaning ideas and great books from this group!

Hi all. My reading interests are all over the map - some ancient history, some modern, classics and fiction. Stumbled across this group while looking for a little inspiration. Decided to jump in and download The Great Bridge since I enjoyed 1776 a few years ago.

My most recent non-fiction reads were Herodotus and Goodwin's The Bully Pulpit.

Hi, I'm Dan Allosso. I'm a farmer, author, and historian. Currently finishing up a PhD dissertation at UMass/Amherst, where I teach American Environmental History. My other historical interests include Early America, Latin America, economic history (especially the history of wealth inequality), and the history of freethought and secularism in the Americas and Great Britain.

I notice you don't seem to have an Environmental History discussion going yet. If there's any interest in starting one, I'd be happy to help out.

Hi, Bill from Indianapolis. While I am an avid reader it wasn't until Ken Burns Civil War presentation in 91 that I was hooked into history. I had to drive through the south frequently and listened to all three of Shelby Foote's books. This was when you still listened on cassette tapes. After finishing my speech had slowed down considerably.

While I love the Civil War I love almost anything in history.

Greetings all! Vince from San Antonio. I've joined several reading/discussion groups recently - to include this one. As a previous member noted on this thread, I too tend to be all over the map with my reading - can't really pin myself down to one genre over another. That said, I tend to be an avid reader of US military history (and historical fiction) more than any other genre. i think it all started when I was (much) younger and was really introduced to US military history in John Toland's "Battle: the Story of the Bulge." That was the first of many books related to US history that I've read over the past several decades. Currently reading Stephen Ambrose's "Crazy Horse and Custer" - partly inspired by recent visit to the Smithsonian's Museum of Native American Cultures.

I look forward to reading some of your reviews and seeing recommendations.

Here’s a big hello to the group from Mark in North Carolina. My first 5 years of life were in Lexington, Mass. and I attended Sunday school directly across from Lexington Green where the British opened fire on April 19, 1775. I later graduated from high school in historic Concord, Mass. where the “shot heard round’ the world” was fired at the Old North Bridge igniting the Revolutionary War. I learned to swim in Thoreau’s Walden Pond. There were Emerson’s in our school hallways and one student who lived in the original “Concord grape” house. My major and career is in business but on the side I appreciate history, especially American history and much of my reading pleasure comes from autobiographies, memoirs and biographies of those who made the United States a great nation. Marine Corps World War I history totally captivates me.

I look forward to participating from time to time.

Hi everyone! My name is Stacie. I have never had an interest in history until now. I don't think I even paid attention in school. My main interest is US history but I do like other histories as well.

Hello everyone!

I am (obviously) a US History lover and have been since I was a little girl (made my poor father watch Gettysburg every weekend and reenact Pickett's Charge at the playground). My interest tends to lean towards American Military History, with focus on the Civil War and World War II. I am also interested in American environmental history. I look forward to joining in the discussions from time to time and hoping finding out some further reading suggestions!

Welcome Sophie! My daughter "inherited" a love of history from me and her grandfather. She's completing her history/education degree this year ... So I know where you're coming from!

Vince wrote: "Welcome Sophie! My daughter "inherited" a love of history from me and her grandfather. She's completing her history/education degree this year ... So I know where you're coming from!"

Thanks! It was definitely inherited/natural inclination for me. My father couldn't be prouder since I got my degrees!