Reading 2016

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Reading 2016

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1jztemple
Ene 5, 2016, 10:41 pm

3Vic33
Ene 8, 2016, 2:46 pm

I just finished Truman by David McCullough. It's a big book and I started it a while ago. It was a fantastic read. I always enjoy McCullough's stuff.

4jztemple
Ene 8, 2016, 2:59 pm

>3 Vic33: I enjoyed it too and found it very interesting because I knew so little about Truman. I can also recommend (very highly!) The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara.

5jztemple
Ene 11, 2016, 11:00 pm

Finished The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz. Excellent history that really explains how film making worked in this era, not so much down at the nuts and bolts level as much as at the creative level, both artistic and financial. Very readable and enjoyable.

6jztemple
Ene 13, 2016, 7:47 pm

Finished The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. Excellent!

7jztemple
Ene 20, 2016, 6:10 pm

Finished an excellent book, Drawing the Line : How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America by Edwin Danson. Rather more technical than I thought it would be, which made me enjoy it even more.

8Jestak
Ene 21, 2016, 6:40 pm

>5 jztemple: I read Schatz's book some time back and I agree, it is excellent.

I finished the Rauchway book and have started Those Angry Days by Lynne Olson.

10jztemple
Ene 27, 2016, 11:27 pm

11jztemple
Feb 1, 2016, 3:19 pm

Finished the excellent and rather impressively large The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915-1935 by James Layton and David Pierce.

12Jestak
Feb 14, 2016, 4:34 pm

I have started Empire Statesman by Robert Slayton and finished American Dreamers by Michael Kazin.

13jztemple
Feb 15, 2016, 6:06 pm

14jztemple
Feb 19, 2016, 4:03 pm

Finished Wondrous Times on the Frontier by Dee Brown. Very fun to read.

15jztemple
Feb 20, 2016, 1:00 pm

Completed David Belasco: Naturalism in the American Theatre by Lise-Lone Marker. Very interesting look at an icon of the American stage.

16jztemple
Editado: Feb 20, 2016, 1:00 pm

Este mensaje fue borrado por su autor.

18jztemple
Feb 26, 2016, 12:44 am

Completed West of Wichita: Settling the High Plains of Kansas, 1865-1890 by Craig Miner. Mostly an enjoyable read, but being more of an academic study it did drag at times. However, very recommended for those with an interest in the subject.

21jztemple
Mar 6, 2016, 5:03 pm

Finished an interesting but somewhat stylized and hard to read San Francisco: A Pageant by Charles Caldwell Dobie.

22jztemple
Mar 11, 2016, 11:13 pm

Just finished Western Mining by Otis E. Young Jr.. I'm a retired engineer so I already have a technical interest, plus last fall we toured part of Colorado, including visiting Silverton and making a trip to Cripple Creek, where we when down over 900 feet to take a tour of the Mollie Kathleen gold mine:

http://goldminetours.com/goldminetours.com/Home.html

23jztemple
Mar 18, 2016, 12:45 am

Finished a pretty old yet very interesting (and wonderfully illustrated) Tin Lizzie: The Story of the Fabulous Model T Ford by Philip Van Doren Stern.

24Jestak
Mar 18, 2016, 2:01 am

I'm now reading American-Made by Nick Taylor, which is quite good.

25jztemple
Mar 18, 2016, 6:51 pm

Finished World of Laughter: The Motion Picture Comedy Short, 1910 - 1930 by Kalton C. Lahue.

26jztemple
Mar 28, 2016, 5:08 pm

Finished the excellent Henry Clay: The Essential American by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. Very highly recommended.

28Jestak
Editado: Mar 30, 2016, 2:07 am

>26 jztemple: I would second your recommendation of the Heidler's biography of Henry Clay.

I have just started Fulbright: A Biography by Randall Woods.

30jztemple
Abr 13, 2016, 12:27 pm

31jztemple
Abr 16, 2016, 5:00 pm

Finished a very interesting Death of a Gunfighter: The Quest for Jack Slade, The West's Most Elusive Legend by Dan Rottenberg. The title is a bit misleading (and probably picked by the publisher), Slade wasn't really a gunfighter, but instead a much more interesting and complex character. A soldier in the Mexican-American War, he became a freighter in the West when that was a very dangerous occupation and then became one of the top field managers for the overland stage and mail lines. The author writes not only about Slade (of whom we really don't know that much about) but really (and enjoyably) goes in-depth on many major aspects of the West in the 1850s and early 1860's. Those inclined to verify the author's facts will be happy to peruse the ninety pages of notes and a large biography. Highly recommended.

33jztemple
Abr 30, 2016, 2:12 am

35jztemple
mayo 13, 2016, 11:01 pm

36Jestak
mayo 15, 2016, 6:12 pm

37jztemple
mayo 17, 2016, 12:14 am

Completed the short but interesting The Charles W. Morgan by John F. Leavitt.

41Jestak
Jun 7, 2016, 12:26 am

I've started Republic of Spin by David Greenberg.

42rocketjk
Jun 8, 2016, 5:32 pm

I'm now reading a Civil War history, The Guns of Cedar Creek by Thomas A. Lewis. I've read the first 45 pages or so, and the book seems to be very well written.

44jztemple
Jun 25, 2016, 12:19 am

Finished a very interesting Douglas Fairbanks by Jeffrey Vance. Rather than a strict biography, it's a combination of bio plus an appreciation of his stage career and films. Very well researched and written, I highly recommend it, but it would help if you are interested in the history of American films.

45Jestak
Jun 25, 2016, 2:22 am

>44 jztemple: Thanks for the mention of the Fairbanks bio; it sounds terrific.

In addition to the Greenberg book, I am reading Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S. C. Gwynne.

48jztemple
Jul 5, 2016, 5:33 pm

50Jestak
Jul 29, 2016, 2:14 pm

I am reading These United States: A Nation in the Making by Glenda Gilmore and Thomas Sugrue.

53jztemple
Ago 11, 2016, 5:06 pm

Completed America's Victory: The Heroic Story of a Team of Ordinary Americans-- and How They Won the Greatest Yacht Race Ever by David W. Shaw.

54Schatkoffer
Ago 21, 2016, 5:24 am

Hello, I live in Europe and would like to visit the USA next year; I would like start reading on American history. I have read already on Indian Wars and Civil War, but I'm interested in especially the early history of the first colonies and the war of independence. Any suggestions? Thank you! Sorry if I am in the wrong thread, I am new here in these groups.

55varielle
Ago 22, 2016, 7:40 pm

Wow, that's a lot of territory to cover. There's not many that give a good overview that aren't dry as dirt. I'll give it some thought and try to get back to you tomorrow.

56Jestak
Ago 23, 2016, 1:34 am

57varielle
Ago 23, 2016, 6:03 pm

>54 Schatkoffer: Schatkoffer, these two were recommended as some good ones - The Idealogical Origins of the American Revolution and The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Also some biographies John Adams and The Sage of Monticello. If you want a sampling of everything try A Concise History of the United States of America.

58jztemple
Ago 30, 2016, 4:51 pm

Finished an interesting The Dawn's Early Light by Walter Lord, about the end of the War of 1812 including the burning of Washington, the defense of Baltimore and the defeat of the British at New Orleans.

59jztemple
Ago 31, 2016, 4:45 pm

Completed a very interesting and well written Will Rogers: A Biography by Ben Yagoda.

60jztemple
Sep 3, 2016, 5:53 pm

Finished an outstanding Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse by Eric Jay Dolin. I think Dolin is on his way to becoming the next generation's David McCollough

61jztemple
Sep 20, 2016, 1:11 am

Finished an interesting (but since published in 1957, rather out of date) San Francisco Bay by Harold Gilliam.

62jztemple
Sep 26, 2016, 11:18 pm

Finished Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater, and the New York He Left Behind by Richard J. Tofel. Not very good as it really was more about New York politics, scandal and corruption and not that much about Crater.

63jztemple
Oct 25, 2016, 11:18 am

Finished an excellent Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. Very readable and quite well researched.

64jztemple
Oct 26, 2016, 9:31 pm

65jztemple
Nov 1, 2016, 5:47 pm

I finished an interesting and very readable yet informative Col. William N. Selig, the Man Who Invented Hollywood by Andrew A. Erish.

66KatrinaRusski
Nov 7, 2016, 9:07 pm

Just finished Last Voyage of the Hornet by Kristin Krause. Its a rare American history book for teens that is very readable.

67jztemple
Nov 17, 2016, 4:44 pm

Finished The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City: Spectacle and Assassination at the 1901 World's Fair by Margaret Creighton. Not all that good. Very little information on the planning, financing and building of the fair. Also the tone got a bit preachy towards the end.

68jztemple
Nov 28, 2016, 4:42 pm

Completed an excellent Grant by Jean Edward Smith.

69mpstaples
Editado: Nov 30, 2016, 3:44 pm

Hi all. I recently completed my memoir which is a story about the impact a traumatic childhood can have on the way in which a life unfolds, called Focusing Emptiness.

A large part of my book is about my experience in the Vietnam War as a eighteen-year-old, working in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), disarming explosive munitions in the field. With the context of Vietnam, San Francisco in the 60's. I later go on to explore some of the history of martial arts in San Francisco and how I interviewed the first Chinese kung fu experts to leave communist China.

Great for history buffs and those looking for something with a little self-exploration.

If you want to check out my book Focusing Emptiness and give an honest review, I can send you a free copy.

https://www.amazon.com/Focusing-Emptiness-Mytho-Poetic-Journey-Child/dp/09976600...

70jztemple
Dic 8, 2016, 12:51 am

Finished a fascinating Januarius Macgahan: The Life and Campaigns of an American War Correspondent by Dale L. Walker. I had no knowledge at all of this remarkable man.

71jztemple
Dic 22, 2016, 6:30 pm

I finished Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitfield. Fairly interesting, but the last third of the book is rather depressing, as was Pickford's last half of her life. Nothing against the book and author, just rather sad.

72rocketjk
Dic 22, 2016, 9:40 pm

I finished up the moving Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.

73rocketjk
Dic 29, 2016, 5:18 pm

One more for 2016. I finished My Folks Don't Want Me to Talk About Slavery: Twenty-One Oral Histories of Former North Carolina Slaves edited by Belinda Hurmence. Short but very powerful.