Introduce Yourself

[wburns_kh]

Welcome! So would you recommend The Cousins' Wars?

[ucdgoldfish]

Looking forward to your book on cross-Atlantic history. I just picked up a copy of Robert and Isabelle Tombs book, That Sweet Enemy which covers the relationship of "The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present". I was primarily interested in the sections covering the two nations as they related to US especially during the 16th and 17th century. Quick browse shows it to be worthwhile, but obviously broadening the topic to Atlantic nations would be more on point. That is if I understand the scope of your book correctly.

[SCWillson]

Yes, I would recommend The Cousin's Wars highly. Although I don't consider it a difficult read, it does help to have a bit of knowledge of these historical periods beforehand.

It was particularly interesting for me to learn that hundreds of Americans (then being English citizens themselves) went back to England to fight in the English Civil War and that most histories of the American Revolution gloss over or outright ignore the civil war aspects of it. Pitched battles between Tories and Rebels were common, often without a single British soldier in sight. Nor do most histories pay attention to the strong support for America by many British subjects, including many lords, senior military officers, and members of Parliament. (General William Howe and his brother, an admiral, were very pro-American even though both were charged with suppressing the rebellion.)

Is there a list of upcoming titles which will be discussed? I probably won't be able to read the next one due to financial constraints. Hopefully we sometimes discuss books which are available in trade paperback?

[SCWillson]

Never mind; I see it was just released in trade paperback last month. Maybe I can still get in on this discussion.

It's less expensive at Amazon.com, BTW. Of course, their free delivery takes forever.

[mmafan]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm looking forward to some good discussions. I'd like to offer a current events book recommendation (although the book was first published in 2004): "The Sling and The Stone" by Colonel Thomas X. Hammes. Whether you are for or against the Iraq war (I'm against) this is must reading to understand modern warfare.

[MartySandler]

Hi: Thanks for asking about the book I'm writing on the making of the Atlantic world. Basicly it gets its impetus from the fact that when you and I studied American history or British history or French history etc. in school, it was presented to us in isolation. But the truth of the matter is that we really can't understand the social, political, economic, or any other aspect of any of the nations that border the Atlantic, without understanding their relationship with each other, how that relationship has profoundly influenced its development and how, for example we in America are part of an Atlantic world. The book will encompass everything from exploration to colonization,to slavery to political and industrial revolution to immgration to the role of the Atlantic in modern times. I'm really enjoying researching and writing it. Thanks for asking.

[MartySandler]

Hi: I too have always been fascinated by the number of American colonistswho remained loyal to the "mother country" throughout the American Revolutionary period. During my research for RESOLUTE I came across many stories of families living in both England and Newfoundland that after fleeing America because of their loyalist beliefs were forced to build yet another new life for themselves. Thanks for checking in.

[MartySandler]

I'm delighted that you are a "nonfiction bigot" There is no question that nonfiction done well is far more interesting than anything fiction has to offer. It;s real and it really happened. That, of course is what attracted me to the RESOLUTE story. Thanks for checking in.

[MartySandler]

I too have always been fascinated by the Shackleton story. As one who has written several books on the history of photography, I am particularly taken with the photographs that were taken during that incredible adventure. Interestinly enough, after 1850, the expeditions sent in search of John Franklin carried cameras. But the conditions were too harsh for these early cameras to be effective. On the other hand, each of the 33 expeditions in search of the passage and the 44 expeditions in search of Franklin had artists aboard and that's why we have so many extraordinary firsthand
paintings of these expeditions. Thanks for writing.

[Bastet]

Hi~

I love that phrase "non fiction bigot." I think it is fantastic, and although I won't call myself purely a non fiction bigot, I will definitely call myself a history bigot. I almost exclusively read history books. In fact, I was so proud of myself because I read two fiction novels, Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" and Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle," recently, which was a huge break from the steady stream of history books I read. However, I have returned to my true love and I'm currently reading "Thunderstruck" by Erik Larson. Has anyone else read this one yet? I am loving the novel-esque feel to the book, and it is so fascinating to read about something that I had never really considered before: the development of wireless telegraphy. How's that for a history topic? =)

Rachel

[Bastet]

Hi Marty~

Wow! Your next book sounds absolutely fascinating! I remember that exact isolation you refer to in your comments in history lessons, as a number of my history classes were taught like that, and some of the professors even admitted to it! They often did it, so they said, because it is just impossible to get so detailed as to examine every event and it's impact. However, it still remains that alot of history subjects do seem to be taught like they occurred in a vacuum. A good example is the Titanic tragedy. Alot of the history books and information on Titanic tend to revolve just around the maiden voyage and the sinking. Very few actually focus on the effect Titanic had on the rest of the world. So, I cannot wait to see when your next book comes out and see exactly how major events we have studied as individual segments in time have affected other times and other worlds. Do you know when your book will be published?

Thanks!
Rachel

[SCWillson]

While I haven't read Thunderstruck yet, I've been eying it already because I really enjoyed his book The Devil in the White City.

[batwoman]

I have been perusing the different groups available on B&N and am still looking for my "niche." This club is called "History and Current Events," but it appears to be more history than current events. Would it be out of your realm to read social topics books like Barbarah Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch or Jonathon Kozol's education reform type books? History interests me, too, but do you alternate your selections so that you stay current as well?

[MartySandler]

Hi: I'm taken with your admiration of the "novel-esque" feel of a good nonfiction book. That's exactly what I tried to accomplish in RESOLUTE, and I've been so gratified by the fact that many reviewers and readers have commented that "it reads like a novel" I must admit that the Resolute story in itself has an identifiable beginning, middle, and end which, as a nonfiction offer makes it much easier to attain a "novel-esque quality" than those nonfiction subjects which, by their very nature have no such linear flow. Thanks for your comments.

[MartySandler]

Rachel: I've been enjoying all your postings. I'm into the last stages of my writing THE MAKING OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD. 100,000 words, 500 illustrations -WHEW! I imagine it will be published in the fall of 2008. Thanks for asking.

[StarJockey]

I am new to this B&N Book Club and am trying to find the areas of the Website that are in common with my interests.

History is certainly one of my interests and it appears that this club area is strong on history. But I also like current event books and don't see much discussion here about that. It almost seems to me that the two subjects should be covered as individual clubs.

For instance two recent books I have read are: "Positively American" by N.Y. Senator C. Shumer, and "Culture Warrior" by Bill O'Reilly of Fox news channel.

Others read last year are: "Three Billion New Capitalists" by Clyde Prestowitz and "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman of the N.Y. Times newspaper.

[batwoman]

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StarJockey wrote:
I am new to this B&N Book Club and am trying to find the areas of the Website that are in common with my interests.

History is certainly one of my interests and it appears that this club area is strong on history. But I also like current event books and don't see much discussion here about that. It almost seems to me that the two subjects should be covered as individual clubs.

For instance two recent books I have read are: "Positively American" by N.Y. Senator C. Shumer, and "Culture Warrior" by Bill O'Reilly of Fox news channel.

Others read last year are: "Three Billion New Capitalists" by Clyde Prestowitz and "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman of the N.Y. Times newspaper.

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I'm totally with you on that, Starjockey. It seems as if these two categories should be two different discussion groups. I ditto the recommendation for The World Is Flat although we probably part ways regarding the O'Reilly book.

Also in Phoenix. :-)

[StarJockey]

Batwoman, I read books from both sides of the aisle - following the philosophy of "Know Your Enemy".

[batwoman]

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StarJockey wrote:
Batwoman, I read books from both sides of the aisle - following the philosophy of "Know Your Enemy".

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Ahhh. Yes. That makes sense. Hopefully we will be engaging in some lively discussion regarding one of these types of books sometime soon.

[Bastet]

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SCWillson wrote:
While I haven't read Thunderstruck yet, I've been eying it already because I really enjoyed his book The Devil in the White City.

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Hi SC Wilson~

I bet you would enjoy "Thunderstruck" as well. I finished it a few days ago and it was incredibly fascinating. I am very intrigued by that period in history (the late 19th and early 20th century, before WWI) so it was interesting to read about events that took place at that time and connect them with other events I have read about elsewhere. For example, one of the investigators who is trying to solve the murder mystery (I'll let you read the book for details on the murder) (*wink*), was one of the key investigators in the Jack the Ripper case! It harkens back to what Marty Sandler was talking about when he mentioned his newest book he is working on, and how events in history tie in together.

Anyway, if you read "Thunderstruck," I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It was especially fun to see how Larson tied in the two stories he was telling concurrently through the entire book.

Rachel