What books have you been reading?

bb721

bb721

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I'm re-reading James Michener's "Chesapeake". It's 1024 pages and I wish it was even longer. First read it many moons ago when I was 17 and on a Michener kick at the time including reading Hawaii, Space, Alaska etc. all great books.
 
Trouty

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bb721 said:
I'm re-reading James Michener's "Chesapeake". It's 1024 pages and I wish it was even longer. First read it many moons ago when I was 17 and on a Michener kick at the time including reading Hawaii, Space, Alaska etc. all great books.
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Alaska has been on my list for years. Can't wait to delve into some of Michener's works. He's a gift to the American Letters, no doubt.
 
bb721

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Trouty said:
Alaska has been on my list for years. Can't wait to delve into some of Michener's works. He's a gift to the American Letters, no doubt.
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I loved Alaska. It's so hard for me to pick a favorite among his many great books. Have you read Space?
 
Trouty

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bb721 said:
Non at all. Educate me......
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The Master of the biography. Two Pulitzers. His biography of John Adams is sensational, as is his book of brief biographies, titled Brave Companions, which tells the stories of people and places that influenced the growth of early America. His two Pulitzers were for the aforementioned John Adams, and for Truman. John Adams was adapted into a fantastic 8-part mini series for HBO that starred the fantastic Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Still, the book was so much better, and that is such an understatement.

What makes him special is his way of making a real life person (non-fiction, obviously) develop into a character, almost as if you're reading a work of contemporary fiction. His pacing is perfect due to meticulous and tireless research. No gaps, no bouncing around or misdirection. He sticks to 100% factual evidence, never devaluing his work with fillers.

His words flow like a sonnet, just a master wordsmith and stylist. Not too high-brow, but not dumbed down in any sense.

He's magnificent. An American treasure, like Michener.
 
bb721

bb721

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Trouty said:
The Master of the biography.
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Thanks so much for all of the info. My wife has read 1776 and always recommended it but we've never really discussed it in much detail. I've seen the HBO mini series on John Adams and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for opening my eyes, I'll have to check him out further.
 
Trouty

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bb721 said:
Thanks so much for all of the info. My wife has read 1776 and always recommended it but we've never really discussed it in much detail. I've seen the HBO mini series on John Adams and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for opening my eyes, I'll have to check him out further.
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Happy to do so, BB. :)

Btw, if that's your pup in your avatar, what a cutie. Boston Terrier?
 
bb721

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Trouty said:
Happy to do so, BB. :)

Btw, if that's your pup in your avatar, what a cutie. Boston Terrier?
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Yep that's Sam our Boston Terrier. We've also got a Dachshund (Nathan, think about it...) and a Jack Russell mix named Lucy. There's another thread in the Off Topic Zone about pets where I was going to post their pic but the pic has to be online rather than saved locally so I didn't get around to it.
 
jobberone

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Reading a book on the Crusades but I'm leary of most of them. I don't want a filter just factual. I have my own ideas about the First Crusade but it needs a lot of honing. Also reading here and there on Islam. Anyone know of something historically correct without all the BS one way of the other?
 
Trouty

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jobberone said:
Reading a book on the Crusades but I'm leary of most of them. I don't want a filter just factual. I have my own ideas about the First Crusade but it needs a lot of honing. Also reading here and there on Islam. Anyone know of something historically correct without all the BS one way of the other?
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I imagine it would be hard to track down a lengthy purely-accurate historical work of literature on the crusades, Doc, due to how long ago they occurred. A lot of those records were lost in time. Especially the first. Even for literature on ancient Islam, the same, most likely.

Still, there's people who's whole lives and livelihood are devoted to those events. My best guess for you would to look up colleges that specialize in those fields (i.e. have departments devoted to those particular parts of world history) and see if you can get access to their library. Often times you can, you'll just have to read it through a computer, and pay a small fee. You may also check to see if any dissertations from eventual Masters students/Doctors working in the field of those subjects were published from said colleges. Ask professors, etc.

Good luck, Doc!
 
jobberone

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Trouty said:
I imagine it would be hard to track down a lengthy purely-accurate historical work of literature on the crusades, Doc, due to how long ago they occurred. A lot of those records were lost in time. Especially the first. Even for literature on ancient Islam, the same, most likely.

Still, there's people who's whole lives and livelihood are devoted to those events. My best guess for you would to look up colleges that specialize in those fields (i.e. have departments devoted to those particular parts of world history) and see if you can get access to their library. Often times you can, you'll just have to read it through a computer, and pay a small fee. You may also check to see if any dissertations from eventual Masters students/Doctors working in the field of those subjects were published from said colleges. Ask professors, etc.

Good luck, Doc!
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Thanks. I think I'll exhaust looking at the literature before going there but it's a great idea.
 
maxdogg

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jobberone said:
Reading a book on the Crusades but I'm leary of most of them. I don't want a filter just factual. I have my own ideas about the First Crusade but it needs a lot of honing. Also reading here and there on Islam. Anyone know of something historically correct without all the BS one way of the other?
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A good book on the Crusades that I have read is" A History The Crusades" by Jonathan Riley Smith.
Very factual and unbiased also a good read.
 
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