Preferably, history or biography.

With the Old Breed.



http://ww2db.com/read.php?read_id=21

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_the_Old_Breed

Too broad a request. If you want history or biography, what are your primary subjects of interest?

Fascinating reading.

Way to be helpful Taft.

If you don't mind it being an audiobook. Bruce Carlson does a fantastic (non-partisan) podcast about how history relates to current political debates called "My History Can Beat Up Your Politics". He's written a book mainly taken from podcast material that predicts who is going to be elected based on some really interesting historical trends. There is so much about political history I didn't know before I listened to this.

Honestly, it's meant to be broad. I want to spend this summer reading as much non-fiction as possible. If I were to get specific, probably Presidential history, non-celebrity biographies, non-partisan military histories (Todd's first suggestion looks good), etc.

History. Title says it all. Enjoyable and right up your alley.



A good Ambrose read without the bulk of his D-Day and Citizen Soldier volumes. Very ground-level, about the men, not the strategy.



Another Ambrose. This is on Lewis & Clark. Fascinating.



Title says it all.



You will never again look at film the same way after reading Lumet's brilliant book.



Excellent bio of the first great American.

See? All of those sound cool. Thanks, Taft! (and DAC and Todd - though I'll probably skip the Skeptical Environmentalist since science isn't my strong suit).

If I were to rec. an order based on subject matter and readability, I'd go with Lies, Making Movies, First American, Undaunted Courage, Band of Brothers, and History of God. Easy to slip Band of Brothers up in the lead, though. It's a slim volume and a quick read.

I like Ambrose's books, and dont really care that he was a plagiarist. HE made the stories accessible, and compelling. I have read the bulk of his work, and would definitely recommend Band of Brothers along side With the Old Breed, since one is a first person narrative and the other a synthesis of accounts.

I agree. It seems that Ambrose had a research problem, failing to properly credit his sources -- but at the end of the day it's not just the information he imparts, but the way in which he brings you the information, that makes his books a great experience.

And damnit, I forgot my favorite book on the Colonial period, an absolute must read for anyone who likes American history and wants a compelling insight into who the founding fathers were:



The final chapter on the Adams/Jefferson friendship brought tears to my eye. Ellis had a scandal of his own, claiming military service he did not have, but it does not taint this amazingly personal portrait of the founding fathers and of this period in American history. Highly recommended.

The Devil in the White City

Amazing book. Incredibly well written and compelling. Here's the Amazon blurb:

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

Read this one a couple of years ago and loved it. Have you read his follow up, Thunderstruck, yet?

The works of Daniel J. Boorstin, particularly The Discoverers, The Creators and The Searchers are all good.

I also love the stuff by James Burke, like Connections and The Day The Universe Changed (there are also DVD sets of the PBS series based on those two books that Burke narrates, and he's very entertaining).

Ooooh, very nice. I just read the Amazon blurbs and instantly dropped the first and third books on my wish list. These look like they hit my sweet spot.

I have not. Should I?

I've Read The Discoverers. Many years ago. I remember really digging it. Don't think I was aware at the the time that there were follow-up books. The Searchers looks like it might be a good read.

I did not know Larson's book was nonfiction. I thought it was fiction set in a real time, place and event.

Huh. I may need to rethink reading that one.

Do yourself a favor and give it a go. It's difficult to choose who's story is the more compelling one in the book. I need to re-read this one in fact. Soon. It's that good.