The History Book Club discussion

Don, 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.

JANUARY

1. by Mike Carey
Finish date: January 2017
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: B+
Review: This book is not your typical super-hero comic fare. On display here is a deep dark mystery. This volume drops you right in the middle of the action, and reveals a few tidbits of what's really going on. But for every question that is answered, two more are asked and I'm anxious to see where the story goes.

2. by Meredith Maran
Finish date: January 2017
Genre: Nonfiction/writing
Rating: A-
Review: I'm fascinated by the creative process. This book profiles and interviews 20 different authors of various genres and differing degrees of success. The first question every author answers is "Why I Write". I love how there is a common thread that runs through most of the author's answers, but the further you pry into what makes a particular writer tick, the more you see there are as many differences as there are similarities. It offers a fascinating insight into the minds of some highly successful creative individuals. I find it incredibly inspiring.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more than 20 author profiles or that there was a followup book that asks the same questions to a different set of 20 authors.

Pretty good out of the gate Don.

One nit - so it stands out - capitalize JANUARY LIKE THIS - it stands out more - also you only need one blank line underneath the month - not two - and remember you only have to add the month once before the first book completed in each of the following months. So if you read ten books in February - you only have to add FEBRUARY before the first book completed in that month.

Woops, sorry about that. I actually noticed I didn't capitalize January when I was reviewing my post, I just forgot to go back and edit it. I'll change it now.

I tried so hard to get it 100% right on my first post :) Oh well.

Well you did extremely well _ I was impressed

3. by John McPhee
Finish date: January 14 2017
Genre: nonfiction
Rating: B
Review: I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It's about one of my favorite subjects - man vs nature - and it's by one of the most respected authors of non fiction - John McPhee.

To be sure, this guy can write. There's plenty of highlighted passages in my copy. But there's something about the flow of the book that didn't grab me. I've heard McPhee described as a creative non-fiction writer. I generally read non-fiction for enlightenment, and on the whole I don't feel like I got that with this book.

Good job

4. by Carl Safina
Finish date: January 29 2017
Genre: non-fiction, nature
Rating: A++
Review: What is sure to be one of my favorite books of the year, *Beyond Words* is a beautifully written and enlightening book about the animal kingdom and our relationship with it. Broken up into three sections - one on elephants, one on wolves, and one on killer whales - each chapter is almost a self-contained essay covering one aspect of animal consciousness, awareness, and feelings.

There are more questions than answers, but that's because we don't have many of the answers. Carl Safina has mustered up the courage to ask the questions that most of the scientific community hasn't dared to ponder. It's really only in the last few decades have we really scratched the surface of our understanding of animal behavior. Clearly, we have a long way to go, but this book takes an important step in that direction.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It took me so long to read it because I spent as much time highlighting passages and taking notes as I did actually reading the words.

FEBRUARY

5. by Kevin Zraly (no photo)
Finish date: February 1 2017
Genre: non fiction, food & drink
Rating: B+
Review: This isn't the book to get if you're looking how to taste wine, but if you want to know about the different regions, how to read the various labels, and what makes each region unique, this is a fantastic book. Great information, great overall design, and the end of the book has a handy list of great values wines under $30.

6. by Alastair Reynolds
Finish date: February 7 2017
Genre: science fiction
Rating: B-
Review: A big space opera science fiction book with some interesting idea, but fell a bit flat for me as a whole.

Good progress Don

7. by Carol Tavris
Finish date: February 17 2017
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: B+
Review: Written slightly before things got really crazy in American politics, I feel that this book couldn't be more timely. As the title suggests, mistakes were (and will continue to be) made, but there are some good lessons in here on how we might be able to get past our mistakes and difference. Covering many spheres of life - from the very public political life, to the most ordinary marriage - this book sheds a light on a some fundamental aspects of human nature. Understanding our nature is a step towards bettering it.

8. by Nathaniel Philbrick
Finish date: February 26 2017
Genre: nonfiction, history
Rating: A-
Review: The story of Custer's Last Stand is one I knew of by name only and I've always considered this a hole in my understanding of American history. Philbrick has put together a first-rate historical account of the events surrounding this mythic event and the legendary figure at the center of it. This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love to study history so much.

Great progress Don

TBR'ed it.

MARCH

9. by Charles Wheelan
Finish date: March 8 2017
Genre: nonfiction, economics
Rating: A+
Review: "A book on economics? How boring!" you say. "Not so!" I reply. This is one of the most interesting books I've read. That's the hallmark of a good author - any subject can become interesting. This is one of those books that, after having read it, you feel like you have a better understanding of how the world works. It's an economics primer, but still surprisingly insightful and covers a lot of topics that I wouldn't have immediately thought of when thinking of economics. If you don't know much about the topic, and want to know more, this is a great place to start. After all, whether we like it or not, economics is a subject that impacts each and ever one of us in profound ways.

10. by Jeff VanderMeer
Finish date: March 12 2017
Genre: nonfiction, writing
Rating: A++
Review: A beautiful book about creative writing, with an emphasis on fantasy and science fiction. It's full of fantastically weird artwork and excellent writing advice. This book has both form AND function, and is one of my favorite books in my personal library.

Don good job

Be prepared for snow coming your way real soon and a lot of it - I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee right now and the day is beautiful but not for long.

Thanks Bentley. March can be a real cruel month. Just when we thought the snow was done and nicer weather was arriving, BOOM - big storm! This one looks like the real deal.

I fixed the capitalization in my post. Another thing I noticed is the location in my thread - I'm no longer in Rochester. I need to updated my profile here on Goodreads to fix that. I'm in Madbury NH now. If you're willing and able to correct my thread title that would be nice. Otherwise no big deal, it's still close enough :)

Done - Madbury - more cool sounding than Rochester (lol) - thx for the quick update. Get prepared!

Thank you! Yes, Madbury is much cooler than Rochester in almost every aspect :) Except cost!

11. by Ann Leckie
Finish date: March 18 2017
Genre: fiction, sci-fi
Rating: C+
Review: A grand space opera of a sci-fi book. There were some really fascinating concepts that I usually eat right up, but there was something in the writing style that I can't quite put my finger on that turned me off. I had high hopes for this book but was ultimately disappointed.

12. by Peter Atkins
Finish date: March 26 2017
Genre: nonfiction, science
Rating: B+
Review: A short - and surprisingly entertaining - book on thermodynamics. Peter Atkins does an admirable job at presenting the four laws (yes four!) of thermodynamics in an understandable manner. There are funny passages - the kind of jokes your old physics professor would have told. Still, it's a challenging subject and cannot be adequately explained without a hefty dose of math. But if you're interested in spending a little time in better understanding how the universe works, this is a good place to start.

13. by Sy Montgomery
Finish date: March 28 2017
Genre: nonfiction, science
Rating: B
Review: This is a lovingly written book accounting the authors time spent with octopuses at the New England Aquarium and various dive spots around the world. Sy writes with an infectious passion that this world needs more of. My biggest quibble is that the book was a little light on the "exploration of consciousness" as the subtitle would suggest. I was hoping for a bit less journalism and a bit more of a probing look at what I consider an interesting and important topic - what is the nature of consciousness in all living beings.

This is the second of three books I'll be reading this year on this topic. So far this is the weaker of the two.

APRIL

14. by Mike Carey
Finish date: April 1 2017
Genre: fiction, comics
Rating: A-
Review: This is a lesser-known sibling to The Sandman series, but the quality is right there with it. Aside from some sub-standard art for the first chapter, rest of the book looks great, and Mike Carey writes strong characters and wonderfully interesting stories. I'm glad to know this was a long running series because I plan on reading the rest of the volumes.

15. by Leonard Mlodinow
Finish date: April 6 2017
Genre: non-fiction, science
Rating: A-
Review: What a fascinating book! It's about how our unconscious mind works and how it impacts our lives. That hidden half of our brains is a much bigger player than we give it credit for. This is a worthy addition to the "understanding human nature" shelf in my library.

16. by Alan Moore
Finish date: April 14 2017
Genre: fiction, horror, comics
Rating: A+
Review: "The black soil is rich in foul decay... yet glorious life springs from it. But however dazzling the flourishes of life... in the end... all decays to the same black humus."

This is the fourth of the sixth book of Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. The tone is a bit different than the prior volumes, but it's still up to the art and writing standards that you would expect. This remains one of my favorite series in comics!

MAY

17. by Robert Greene
Finish date: May 9 2017
Genre: nonfiction
Rating: A-
Review: Robert Greene writes interesting books. He uses anecdotes from history to draw lessons about human nature and the nature of power. This book is about acquiring, recognizing, and/or combating power, drawn from powerful figures from all walks of life and all eras of human history. You don't have to be a power-hungry tyrant to learn some valuable lessons from this book.

Put together in an interesting package with a lot of interesting sidenotes, quotes, and visual flourishes, this book is a lengthy but enlightening read.

18. by Austin Kleon
Finish date: May 12 2017
Genre: non fiction
Rating: A-
Review: "... we can embrace influence instead of running away from it".

A short little book on creativity. As the title states, the main conceit is that any creative work is built off past influence. In ten short chapters, the author gives advice and exercises to embrace this notion to tap into your inner creative self. I really enjoyed this book and see myself rereading it regularly when I need a boost of motivation and inspiration.

19. by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn (no photo)
Finish date: May 20 2017
Genre: science, non-fiction
Rating: B+
Review: Telomeres are base pairs of genes at the end of your chromosomes and are vital to cell health. Telomeres shorten with age and are a vital indicator of how well we age. Everyone has naturally different lengths of their telomeres, but there are also lifestyle choices that can impact your telomere length.

The first part of this book covers the science in easy detail and the remainder of the book looks at the lifestyle changes we can make to improve our telomeres. The good news is most of the common wellness advice floating around today lines up nicely with telomere health, so nothing too earth shattering was covered here (exercise, eat natural foods, eliminate stress from your life, etc).

Written by two PhDs, one with a Nobel Prize, this book is easy to read and offers lots of practical advice to maintaining your telomeres.

20. by Steven Pressfield
Finish date: May 26 2017
Genre: non-fiction, creativity, self-help
Rating: A-
Review: A classic book for those wanting to lead a creative life. Learn what the Resistance is and how you can fight it. The book is short and broken up into easily digestible chapters, it's easy to dip in and out of it at will, and will probably be something I return to over time for inspiration.

Good progress Don

JUNE

21. by Robert Moor (no photo)
Finish date: June 3 2017
Genre: non-fiction, nature
Rating: A
Review:
"... a trail is a tactful reduction of options. The freedom of the trail is riverine, not oceanic."

Like any good trail, this book is a meandering, scenic, winding exploration of the territory. It's part science and history, part philosophy, and part memoir. Robert Moor is a fantastic writer and he covers a lot of fascinating ground here. I enjoyed every moment of this hike.

Thank you for following the rules and guidelines

Glad to oblige :) I always triple-check everything before submitting, but sometimes I still goof up.

No problem at all Don - everything is OK.

22. by Paulette Jiles
Finish date: June 7 2017
Genre: fiction
Rating: A-
Review: A short beautifully crafted western. It's 1870, and an old civil war captain has agreed to bring a rescued young girl to her relatives in San Antonio. All the elements of facing the dangers of the open road in Texas in this time period are present, but the book really shines in its portrayal of a girl who was an Indian captive struggling to assimilate back into European civilization. It's a thoughtful and heartfelt portrayal of the relationship these two characters develop.

23. by Janna Levin
Finish date: June 14 2017
Genre: non-fiction, science
Rating: A-
Review: "The sound traveled to us from 1.4 billion light-years away. One billion four hundred million light-years. A few hours before the wave hits the Earth, LHO is locked. An hour before the wave hits, LLO is locked."

It's astonishing to know that mere hours after the LIGO detectors went live they observed the gravitational waves from two black holes that collided 1.4 billion years ago. The LIGO detectors were 50 years in the making, and most predictions had the first detection of gravitational waves years later. This book is about that story and the people that made it possible. Big science projects don't come cheap, fast, or easy and it's good to put a face to the scientists - fallible humans just like the rest of us - behind them.

JULY

24. by David Quammen
Finish date: July 10 2017
Genre: non-fiction, science, nature
Rating: A
Review: "In particular, the evolution of strange species on islands is a process that, once illuminated, casts a light onto its dark double, which is the ultimate subject of this book: the extinction of species in a world that has been hacked to pieces."

Evolution and extinction is the theme of this book, told through the lens of island biogeography. At over 600 dense pages, it's hard to imagine such a niche topic being interesting over so many words. But David Quammen is a master storyteller and this reads like a really long National Geographic article rather than a nerdy biology text. There's so much going on in this book: history, science, memoir, adventure; with only a passing interest in science and nature writing there is something in here for you.

It is a commitment though, so be wary putting this book on your list if you're trying to complete this 50-book challenge!

Don wrote: "24. by David Quammen
Finish date: July 10 2017
Genre: non-fict..."

This sounds fantastic. Added it to my list.

AUGUST

25. by Rick Atkinson
Finish date: August 6 2017
Genre: nonfiction, WWII, history
Rating: A-
Review: No twenty-first century reader can understand the ultimate triumph of the Allied powers in World War II in 1945 without a graph of the large drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943.

An Army At Dawn is the first book in a trilogy of the history of the Allied liberation of Western Europe from the Axis powers in World War II. This book covers the oft-overlooked campaign that took place in Northern Africa. I’ll admit, this is a facet of WWII history that I had only a passing knowledge and understanding of.

This is a long comprehensive book and it took me almost three weeks to finish. I was constantly pausing to highlight, take notes, or just absorb the material. (It also marks the second book in a row that’s taken me weeks to finish and probably killed any chance I had of actually finishing 50 books for this challenge). It covers the material from broad strategic strokes down to tactical on-the-ground fighting. Rick also spends a bit of time painting fascinating (and often unflattering) portraits of the many generals and commanders that lead this conflict.

My only quibble is the sometimes jarring shifts in perspective when trying to follow the action. I sometimes got lost in what was happening and why, but it was always brought back to a level that drove the main narrative forward.

None of this takes away from what this book accomplished. It’s a monumental task for any writer to add another comprehensive book that adds something meaningful to the pantheon of WWII books available, but Atkinson has succeeded with this one and has a Pulitzer to show for it.

26. by Darwyn Cooke
Finish date: August 6 2017
Genre: comics
Rating: A-
Review: Darwyne Cooke - who is no longer with us - has written an exquisite standalone story that puts DCs most memorable characters in one of Americas most memorable eras, the early days of the cold war. Except these superheroes are not fighting commies. This modern work harkens back to a time known as the Silver Age of comics, when most of these heroes were being introduced to the world for the first time.

Cooke is one of those rare comics creators that is as adept writing a story as he is illustrating it. These are my favorite comics creators because there is a synergy between the two forms. But Darwyne is something special. The 50’s come alive with his wonderfully expressive lines and action-packed compositions. The coloring - done by Dave Stewart - breathes the final bit of life into the page.

My edition is a hardbound collection of the 6-issue series is one of more attractive books in my library. It’s beautiful to look at with a fun, classic superhero story.

27. by Terry Tempest Williams
Finish date: August 18 2017
Genre: nonfiction, nature, essay
Rating: B+
Review: Perhaps this is what our national parks hold for us: stories, of who we have been and who we might become - a reminder that as human beings out histories harbor both darkness and light. To live in the United States of America and tell only one story, from one point of view, diminishes all of us.

This book, The Hour Of Land was published in 2016 to coincide with the centennial of the National Park Service. Each chapter focuses on a different national park, monument, or historical site. Rather than praise the beauty and wonder of the most famous national parks, the author uses of some of the more minor locations as a backdrop for an essay. The essays range in topics from challenging the notion of States Right’s as a cause of the Civil War (Gettysburg National Military Park), to fighting energy development around a park (Theodore Roosevelt National Park), to a harrowing family experience with a forest fire (Glacier National Park), and a collection of letters she wrote urging political activism (Canyonlands National Park).

There is still plenty of waxing poetical about the beauty of nature and how important our National Park system is. But this book is not about patting ourselves on the back for preserving these wonderful locations, but a call to arms to continue to preserve them and to fight powerful institutions that would see these protected federal lands for only their economic value.

Is it useful to take along on a National Park tour?

I wouldn't consider it a guide in any way, so if you're looking for maps and "things to do" in a NP then this is the wrong book. But if you are visiting a lesser known park, and want to see for yourself what the oil drilling rigs look like just outside the boundaries of Roosevelt NP, for example, then the book will serve better.

SEPTEMBER

28. by Frans de Waal
Finish date: September 1 2017
Genre: nonfiction, science, nature
Rating: A-
Review: Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are? is a smart book with a clever title. The author spoils the answer to this question in the introduction. Yes, he believes we are smart enough. But not because humans are so vastly superior in every cognitive capacity; rather, he argues, intelligence operates on a vast continuum and the “us vs them” comparison is problematic.

This book is as much about man’s perception of animal intelligence as it is about animal intelligence itself. De Waal persuasively argues that science has taken a dim view of animal intelligence for most of its history and only recently have we come to reframe some of our assumptions and are getting better at setting up experiments to understand animal cognition.

Recommended for the general science reader and anyone with a love for animals.

29. by Chuck Palahniuk
Finish date: September 3 2017
Genre: fiction, short story, adult coloring
Rating: A-
Review: Bait is a short story collection by Chuck Palahniuk. Each story contains drawings by various guest artists for coloring. In case you’re not familiar with Chuck, this is not a kids book.

I suspect this book exists due to the adult coloring book craze over the past few years. But I don’t care, these are some fantastically bizarre and creepy stories with maybe a only few dozen pages dedicated to an illustration that’s meant to be colored. I was only directly familiar with Palahniuk’s work through the movie Fight Club, but I knew of his reputation for writing depraved, surreal stories. Some of the stories in this collection were hit or miss - I found the cadence a bit off putting at times - but the last half of the collection finished strong. Enough so that I’m interested in checking out some of the author’s full-length novels.

I haven’t colored any of the illustrations yet. But I can envision a lazy Sunday, months from now when the snow is flying, where it seems like the perfect activity for hibernation.

30. by Nina MacLaughlin
Finish date: September 9 2017
Genre: nonfiction, memoir
Rating: B+
Review: In Hammer Head, Nina MacLaughlin tells us the story of her transition from journalist to carpenter. She worked at The Boston Phoenix and was burnt out from spending all day in front of a computer, mousing and clicking her way through a career. She longed to work with her hands and leave a physical presence in the world. The transition from white collar work into the blue collar world is uncommon, even more remarkable that she went into a field that is 97% male dominated.

Should could have made this into a feminist manifesto, or a philosophical treatise on the value of working with your hands. She discusses these, but it’s really just her own personal story on how she overcame her fear and insecurities and began a new career as a carpenter, one in which she had no prior experience.

Fortunately she hasn’t lost her writing ability and was able to write this book while still working as a carpenter. As far as I can tell she’s still at it. There’s something in here that many of us in the white collar world of office work, spending our days in front of a computer, can relate to.

31. by David Allen (no photo)
Finish date: September 21, 2017
Genre: nonfiction, productivity
Rating: B+
Review: The main conceit behind the system detailed in this book is to free your mind of all the stuff that is occupying your brain so you can focus free and clear on the task in front of you. I’ve known about Getting Things Done (GTD) for years, but it took reading this book to appreciate how comprehensive the system truly is. The author stresses quite strongly that to get the most out of it you need to implement the whole thing. That requires a hefty initial investment. I’m not quite ready to make that investment, but I’m hoping some of the steps in the system can be utilized to make even minor improvements in my own productivity.