Hey guys, I'm looking for an interesting book in the history department...any time period is acceptable, just looking for a good read. Anyone have any recommendations?
The next book I'm going to pick up is Polio: An American Story. The author is a history professor at UT and he won the Pulitzer in 2006 for this book.
Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare Hitler is the most infamous when it comes talks of genocide. Pol Pot ranks up there with him as ultimate scum of society but doesn't get any of the "recognition".
By the way, if anyone else is looking for a good book - I picked up Charlie Wilson's War because I was interested by the movie trailer....GREAT book. It's fascinating.
Ooh! I've always wanted to read this but for some reason I've always put it off...thanks for reminding me, I think this will be my choice.
ha, glad i can help, the author gets pretty deep into biology to prove his argument. My recommendation is that you skip some of the technical details (since most of us would understand anyways), and look for the main arguments, which are very brilliant in my opinion.
duel of eagles - about the battle of the alamo and the texas revolution - does alot to dispel alot of the myths about the heroes of the alamo and doesnt shy away from discussing the brutality. bowie and his bros were illegally running slaves and working w/ the pirate jean laffiette. travis was a 21 year old arrogant hot-head who was not very well liked. houston and santa anna were both opium addicts. it really puts the battle for texas independence in the context of u.s. and mexican history - tells the story from both sides - you get accounts from mexican troops too. they should really make a movie out of this book. ive probably read this book 6 or 7 times. http://www.amazon.com/Duel-Eagles-Jeffery-Long/dp/0688109675
A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign by Larson
I was just about to say... Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Think geographic determinism. Also Storming Heaven about the history of LSD and its role in the 60's that went beyond just the drug culture. Not just in art but in the medical community. Never tried LSD myself, but it sounds like an interesting phenomenon from a history standpoint. Wilderness at Dawn by Ted Morgan is a look at the early American frontier. Who doesn't like Cowboys and Indians? Not the teams. They suck and no one likes them except for people in Dallas or Cleveland... which brings us to our first book about geographic determinism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evolution_of_Physics http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-Fertility/dp/0340128755 http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304/ref=pd_sim_b
I'm pretty sure National Geographic made it into a documentary not too long ago. It was pretty watered down from what I remember, but hey, it is TV.
Yeah, that book is fantastic. I think I owe Zac_D credit for that recommendation a while ago in the chat and it was incredible. There's also a pretty good book on Ghengis Khan that I read a while ago that was pretty enlightening...does anyone remember the title of that book?
