The History Book Club discussion

Michele, this is your thread for 2017. I have included the link to the required format thread and an example. If you had a 2016 thread - it is archived - but you can still add books to it for the last few days of December.

Please follow the standard required format below - I hope you enjoy your reading in 2017. Here is also a link for assistance with the required guidelines:

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2017
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.

IMPORTANT - THE REVIEW SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET - THERE ARE NO LINKS OF ANY KIND IN THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ALLOWED. NONE. DO NOT REFER TO ANY OTHER BOOK IN YOUR BRIEF REVIEW. THE ONLY BOOK CITED IN YOUR REVIEW IS THE ONE YOU ARE REVIEWING - NO OTHERS. ALL LINKS TO OTHER THREADS OR REVIEWS ARE DELETED IMMEDIATELY - THERE WILL BE NO WARNING. WE CONSIDER THIS SELF PROMOTION AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED AND IS IN VIOLATION OF OUR RULES AND GUIDELINES.

Happy New Year!

JANUARY

1. by Nicholas Clapp (no photo)
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: native americans, spiritual, california, nevada, shaman
Rating: A
Review: An immense amount of work must have gone into this book. It uses the folklore and interviews of a dozen or so tribes as it builds a diverse picture of the desert shaman's world, from dreamscape and tribal interactions to desert and mountain landscapes and their influence upon the overall approach of shaman ceremonies.

Gorgeous photographs in this book! Photos of landscapes, along with photos of relics and early recorded shaman imagery (petroglyps), pair with discussions that blend history and folklore with an analysis of the spiritual belief systems of the desert shaman.

Great job

2. by Colin Dickey (no photo)
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: history, paranormal, travel
Rating: B
Review: Read the ebook version because it seemed like it might be a good read. What I thought would be a juicy read on spooks was instead a thoughtful psychological, cultural and anthropological study of locations and their "haunts". It was smart and well-researched. I found myself looking up a lot as I read because the book made me want to know more. I do wish, though, that the author would have used more humor, because if you're going to debunk ghost stories, at least you should be able to laugh about it. That's the only real problem with the book though, and I do recommend that you read it.

3. by HeatherAsh Amara
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: spiritual, self-help
Rating: B
Review: Parts of this book spoke to me, others parts, not so much. That's not to say that the information and suggestions weren't useful, but certain chapters felt more applicable to me in this moment than other chapters.

I will hold onto this book and reread it in the future. Maybe the other areas will be more useful to me then.

4. by Israel Finkelstein
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: bible, archaeology, palestine, history
Rating: B
Review: Finkelstein and Silberman take a realistic look at what may or may not have been a 'United Monarchy' of the early Iron Age II in the Land of Israel. While it is true that there is absolutely no archaeological evidence of a massive Davidic empire that had gold, spices and peacocks from Sheba (or even the Queen), the reality is perhaps even more fascinating. A pair of tiny hill-country chiefdoms (Were Judah and Israel united? Probably not!) lay the basis for stories and legends that will live on through the millennia.

I've added this to my to-read list. They hinted at their conclusions in The Bible Unearthed, and I found the implications fascinating – and much more in line with how politics and empires tend to work.

by Israel Finkelstein

Thanks Michelle for the add and review

Paul

by Israel Finkelstein is fascinating read, especially after reading
by Richard Elliott Friedman (no photo) last year.

It was easier to see the where the layers of J, E, P, DTR1 , DTR 2 in what we call the Old Testament, came from, after reading both books. Given the "political" situation, at the time, for both RJE (redactor J & E - the guy who put those together) and R (later redactor who put the whole thing together) made the choices they did and wrote what they did.

Great

5. by Victoria Finlay
Finish date: Jan. 2016
Genre: art history, color
Rating: A
Review: I picked up this book, because, Hello, COLORS! This is a great book to get to know the history of how different color pigments came about over the centuries. Book goes through all the different colors and discusses their origins, where they were originally used, how they were created, and how they were used in art. It also contains a LOT of pictures so you can place the colors and techniques in a visual manner. I also love the tidbits and factoids in side notes as well.

Good Michelle

Looks fascinating.

6. by Robert A. Kaster (no photo)
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: history, travel, Rome
Rating: B+
Review: Good book about traveling what's left of the Appian way. Got this whole book read today, while I was waiting for a friend to get out of surgery.

Michele wrote: "6. by Robert A. Kaster (no photo)
Finish Date: Jan. 2017
Genre: history, travel, Rome
Rating: B+
Review: Good book ab..."

GMTA! I just finished it myself today and liked it.

LOL.. too funny.. GMTA indeed!

7. by Paulette Jiles
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This is an engaging tale, with endearing characters and clever dialogue. The story illuminates a moment in history, the state of Texas in the uncertain years following the civil war.

I have that on my to-read list, and on reserve at the library. Looks really interesting!

I don't know how you've managed to read seven books already. I'm still slogging through No. 3... :-P

The last few have been smaller books and one I got read while waiting for my friend to get out of surgery. I suspect a reading break is coming up..

8. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: mystery
Rating: -A
Review: I can't understand how I missed reading this Agatha Christie but I did. The mystery is fairly well constructed here, it built up at a good pace, slowly at first, then picking up and the ending, was both surprising and not. Intricate yet so simple and logical that you shake your head in disbelief at the end.

9. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: mystery
Rating: B
Review: Book contains all of Agatha Christie's short stories staring Miss Marple. Overall, I enjoyed the stories, and found some to be better than others.

These were integrally bundled ? Awesome...

Yes, Dimitri! All the short stories in one book.

Hi Michele! You are doing fabulous so far! I wish I'd read half as many books in January. And I see you are an Agatha Christie fan, as am I :)

I am popping into your thread to provide you with a little help with your format and citations. You are doing really great so far. There is just one small thing to change, to get everything formatted correctly.

Here is an example of how the book citations should look:

9. by Agatha Christie
Finish Date:

You will want to be sure to add your Finish Date, just below the citation.

In order to make this fix, you will simply select the small "edit" link at the bottom right of every post.

Please try editing message 21, and I will be here to provide any help you need.

Betty
Admin (T) - Health - Medicine - Science

I just forgot to add the finish date. Thanks for pointing that out, Betty. Fixed it.

10. by David George Gordon (no photo)
Finish date: Jan. 2017
Genre: Hikeing, Sasquatch
Rating: B+
Review: Cute, small book that is easy to read. Kinda fun too.

FEBRUARY

11. by by David Wood
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: war, morality, usa, psychology
Rating: A-
Review: David Wood does outstanding work addressing the "moral injury" of our combat soldiers and Marines in our country's longest wars. Incredibly well researched, written and useful. I would highly recommend this book to everyone in Congress to consider the affects of war before they commit to "boots on the ground". It's easy to commit troops but they need to take to heart the impact on a warrior's soul and our culture. One has to always ask, is the mission worth the cost knowing that the combat servicemen and women will never be the same.

I'm spreading the word by recommendation on this to all my buddies over at the WWII group !

Cool Dimitri! There is mention, in the book, of one WWII incident.

12. by James Joyce
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: fiction, Ireland, short stories
Rating: -A
Review: Most stories were good, a couple I didn't like. Will not comment any more that this as some people are still buddy reading it.

Hey, Michele! You put the wrong author's link. Thank you for not giving away any spoiler-ish info.

Opps. Fixed the author link.... Thanks for spotting that, Samanta!

Michele wrote: "Opps. Fixed the author link.... Thanks for spotting that, Samanta!"


No problem!! :)

13. by Abigail Tucker (no photo)
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: cats, animals
Rating: C+
Review: Overall, it’s well written and very amusing. There are some interesting (even fascinating) and accurate nuggets of information in this book.

Bu, there are numerous factual errors, and more importantly key omissions of data. These damage the credibility of the book overall, and dropped my rating down. Here is a few points to consider:

1) The author emphatically made the case that no cat breeders have ever tried to breed cats for temperament. Only for physical appearance. The history of the “Ragdoll” is a critical omission here.

2) When talking about why cats are now kept indoors vs. outside, the emphasis is placed on factors of human convenience. Deemphasized, was the biggest driver for cats becoming indoor animals — at least according to shelters and vets, which is: for the safety of the cat.

3) Correlating cat ownership with human mental illness via Toxoplasma. Toxoplasma is a risk to unborn & infants, young children and immunocompromised adults. But, it can't be contracted by a human (mother) who already has antibodies for it or from a cat who already has antibodies for it. What's important to know - in the context of this book - is that antivirals, not antibacterials are showing the most promise for the treatment of adult-onset schizophrenia and psychotic mental illness. Without a balanced discussion contrasting the potential causality of viruses (specifically Herpesviridae) and mental illness, the author's case for Toxoplasma in adult mental illness is exaggerated at best. At worst, it's another example of lying by omission.

14. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: mystery
Rating: -A
Review: Another classic Christie with a slow build up and a good ending.

15. by Dennis M. Powers (no photo)
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: history, disaster, tsunami
Rating: C+
Review: A interesting account of one of the worst Tsunamis to ever hit the mainland USA. Does suffer from being too repetitive, each account sounding exactly like the previous and gets bogged down in technical details.

16. by Máire de Paor (no photo)
Finish date: Feb. 2017
Genre: history, Ireland, Christianity
Rating: B
Review: Being published in 1958, is book is now dated so I would not use this as my sole source on Early Christian Ireland. However, this is one of the earliest books on the subject, and as such, has made a large impact.

MARCH

17. by Scott Zesch (no photo)
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: history, biography
Rating: B
Review: The story of Cynthia Ann Parker has long interested me, and I've been curious about other captives. This book tells the stories of these often conflicted people. Life was hard with the Indians but it wasn't without benefits. Most of these children were used to the regimented life of the farm while the Indians allowed running and playing and eating almost at will. Real love and loyalty developed between the captive children and their Indian kidnappers. Those who were returned found it difficult to reconnect with their white families and white society. By the early 1900's, they found themselves left behind, a relict of a lost era.

Good progress Michelle

18. by William Wright
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: health, science, medicine
Rating: A-
Review: This is a slim volume but it is exactly what it claims to be -'a simple guide to figuring it' out if you have dizziness or vertigo. Everything within the book is very clearly laid out and easy to understand so the reader can flip through the pages and see if there is a condition that matches their symptoms. It is a very useful little reference book.

19. by Simon Winchester
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: geology, history
Rating: D
Review: I'm struggling with the rating, as so much of the book had nothing to do with the San Fran quake of 1906. I have to admit, I skimmed chunks of this book. It took nearly to the end for the author to finally get to the quake.

Some people love this book, I am not among them. Ugh.

Guess he missed the mark

It was miss for me. I was ok with the geology, but didn't need the history of the US western expansion. Just didn't need it.

20. by Marguerite Sprague (no photo)
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: History, California, Gold mining
Rating: B+
Review: A well written, well researched and illustrated history of this old California gold mining town in the eastern Sierras. Bodie is now a state park.

21. by A. Scott Berg (no photo)
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: History, Aviation, Biography
Rating: A
Review: This book is well-deserving of its Pulitzer.

22. by Douglas Preston
Finish date: March 2017
Genre: History, Travel, Archaeology
Rating: B+
Review: A chronicle of what many archaeologists would consider the greatest of adventures, the discovery of a long lost but fabled City deep in the central American jungle. Yes, such places are still to be found; yes, National Geographic was involved; yes, the location may well be compromised and attacked by looters - and so on - the archaeological purists found these and other reasons to attack the entire project and the book. And the entire reason for doing so, in reality, was that they were not involved. Yeah. This also inclues, the deadliest snakes in the southern hemisphere, the jaguars, the incessant howler monkeys, the never ending rain - and the bugs. Ever hear of Leishmaniasis? Neither have I. Neither did the members of this discovery team. But they found out by getting it. I looked it up. File that under "OH HELL, NO". Its passed on to us by Sand Flies. Break out the DEET.

TBR; thx.

APRIL

23. by Eugene Cernan
Finish date: April 2017
Genre: Space race, history, biography
Rating: B+
Review: Gene Cernan's perspective and insights are a great read. 50 years after the clean cut image days, we can see the drive to excel. There are candid remarks about the missions and the astronauts being the best of pals, great anecdotes and, in spite of Cernan wishing he were a poet to better share his experiences with all those taxpayers and engineers and technicians who put him on the moon, he gets the point across that the experience was beyond comprehension and articulation.

24. by Priscilla Royal
Finish date: April 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction and Mystery
Rating: B+
Review: Never realized that there were religious orders with both men and women in the same "house." Good mystery. (Finished during a read-a-thon)

25.
Finish date: April 2017
Genre: Insomnia, Cognitive therapy
Rating: B
Review: Good review on the best way to beat your insomnia Lots of strategies on how to get good night's sleep.
(Finished during a read-a-thon)