This book addresses all aspects of death from the vantage point of the U.S. War Between the States, a massive orgy of carnage that took place on U.S. soil between 1861 and 1865.
All in History
David E. Hoffman's THE DEAD HAND: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE COLD WAR ARMS RACE AND ITS DANGEROUS LEGACY
In the mood to read something scary? This book will make your hair stand on end.
Barrett Tillman's “WHIRLWIND: THE AIR WAR AGAINST JAPAN, 1942-1945”
The author provides a very good overview of the role of aircraft in bludgeoning Japan into submission. While never minimizing the role of seapower in strangling Japan’s WWII economy, Stillman documents Allied land and sea originated aair war efforts, the centerpiece being the role of the Boeing B-29.
Max Hastings' RETRIBUTION: THE BATTLE FOR JAPAN, 1944-45
Hastings tells the story of the final year of the Pacific War from multiple perspectives, much of which will be new to people whose awareness of Chinese, British, and Russian action against the Japanese is low.
Richard Holmes' THE AGE OF WONDER: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
This book covers the development of British science from the time of Cook’s famous voyage (which stopped at Tahiti) up to Darwin’s Beagle voyage. It concentrates on a few key luminaries (the Herschels, Davy, Mungo Park, Farady, Banks) and at the same time explores the relationship, sometimes synergistic, between art and science.
Bernard Cornwell's AZINCOURT
Nick Hook is an archer in Henry V’s army. The events in this novel go from 1413 to 1415 and follow Hook as Henry’s army invades France to assert his claim to the French throne.
Len Fisher's WEIGHING THE SOUL: THE EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC BELIEFS
The theme of this book is that scientists do sometimes believe things that seem opposed to reality or common sense.
Conor Cruise O’Brien's FIRST IN PEACE: HOW GEORGE WASHINGTON SET THE COURSE FOR AMERICA
This little book is organized around George Washington’s first and second terms as U.S. President. The first chapter concentrates on the relationship between Washington and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson. The second focuses on the visit to the U.S. by Edmond-Charles Genêt, also known as “Citizen Genêt,” whose job it was to secure support from the American people for the French Revolution.
Herman Wouk's THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS
At first I thought this book was both meandering and annoying. It wasn’t till page 69 (out of only 183) that I finally figured out what it’s about.
Andrew Williams' THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
This war history book about the U-boat war in the Atlantic during World War II has one of the best balances of strategy, tactics, and firsthand experience that I’ve read.
Guy Delisle's BURMA CHRONICLES
This comic strip depiction of Delisle’s year in Burma as a “house-dad” while accompanying his Doctors Without Borders wife is simultaneously touching, funny, and scary.
Osamu Tezuka's BUDDHA (volumes 1-8)
My knowledge of Buddhism and the Buddha is minimal. I approached this 8-volume manga series purely out of curiosity when I saw it sitting on the shelf in the graphic novels section of the Alexandria Public Library.
Richard Corfield's THE SILENT LANDSCAPE: THE SCIENTIFIC VOYAGE OF HMS CHALLENGER
In 1872 the HMS Challenger left England on a two year voyage of scientific discovery.
Chiara Frugoni's A DAY IN A MEDIEVAL CITY
If all you know about the Middle Ages consists of warfare, popes, and kings, and you want to know what daily life was really like, this is the book for you.
Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar's CODE-NAME DOWNFALL: THE SECRET PLAN TO INVADE JAPAN AND WHY TRUMAN DROPPED THE BOMB
Allen and Polmar convincingly demonstrate Truman’s justification for dropping the atom bomb on Japan to end World War II.
Oliver Sacks' SEEING VOICES: A JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF THE DEAF
This 3-part book by Oliver Sacks from 1989 reviews the history of deaf education and language, the neurological underpinnings of language acquisition and deafness, and the student uprising at Gallaudet College in 1988.
Anthony Lewis' FREEDOM FOR THE THOUGHT THAT WE HATE: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
This little volume is packed with an amazing amount of readable information about the history of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, libel, privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
Helen Nicholson's THE CRUSADES
I assigned three tags to this book review:
Lisa Jardine's INGENIOUS PURSUITS: BUILDING THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Late 17th Century London and the Royal Society provide the setting for this book. It concentrates on the “great men” who created modern Western science.
Shelby Foote's “SHILOH”
This novel follows several Confederate and Union solders during the two days of the 1862 battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.