What have you read lately?

[Ethereal]

@Ethereal I am set to finish Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy tomorrow. We have discussed our perspectives on Roman imperialism several times. His specialty is ancient Rome and I've read some of his opther works so I thought I'd give this a try. I think you'd like it. He leans more toward my side but he provides a very interesting examination of what life was really like living under Roman rule. One thing he made me reconsider was the extent to which your average person was aware of Roman power. i have often stated that Roman rule was remote but he argues Rome made its presence felt everywhere. At the end of the day, everyone knew who really called the shots. OTOH, local communities were allowed to live by their own customs and laws and were also required to pull their own weight in terms of policing etc. Anyway, I think you woudl like it.

I'm browsing some books on Amazon right now and I'm going to preview Pax Romana. I will probably end up buying it. But right now I'm trying to decide between Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire by James Romm and A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Something tells me I will end up buying them all. I just cannot help myself.

P.S. - Just read Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. Finished it in one day. Really great book. Would strongly recommend.

[resister]

Fossiling in Florida by Mark Renz. A great read

[Evmetro]

A Patriots History of the United States

Paperback and heavy version. Age is finally catching up with me, since I need reading glasses now, in order to read the old fashioned way.

[Adelaide]

I have to read 5 or 6 books on stem cell research over the next few days for a paper I am writing for bioethics. Should be interesting though since 2 of the books come from religious perspectives and one includes a collection of essays by leading ethicists/bioethicists across the world. I also have to re-read 2 books on epigenetics. Should be fun!

Last few weeks been wasting my time on trashy romance novels. They help me turn my brain off.

[Mister D]

I'm browsing some books on Amazon right now and I'm going to preview Pax Romana. I will probably end up buying it. But right now I'm trying to decide between Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire by James Romm and A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Something tells me I will end up buying them all. I just cannot help myself.

P.S. - Just read Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. Finished it in one day. Really great book. Would strongly recommend.

The period of the Diadochi or the so called successor states is one I really don't know much about. That does sound interesting. As for Tuchman, I tend to avoid popular histories. I got about 60 pages into The Guns of August before I had to set it down never to touch it again. Same thing happened with Sailing the Wine Dark Sea and A World Lit Only by Fire. I wanted to read both of those books when I first heard about them but I found both of them unreadable. I've learned my lesson. Never again will I spend my money on popular history.

[Mister D]

Also, it's funny you enjoyed that hillbilly title because I once read a history of the banjo and truly enjoyed it.

[Ethereal]

The period of the Diadochi or the so called successor states is one I really don't know much about. That does sound interesting. As for Tuchman, I tend to avoid popular histories. I got about 60 pages into The Guns of August before I had to set it down never to touch it again. Same thing happened with Sailing the Wine Dark Sea and A World Lit Only by Fire. I wanted to read both of those books when I first heard about them but I found both of them unreadable. I've learned my lesson. Never again will I spend my money on popular history.

I'm rather enjoying her style. I like a lively prose at times, so long as everything is historically accurate. I'll probably end up getting the one about Alexander's empire first and then getting the next one after that.

[Green Arrow]

The period of the Diadochi or the so called successor states is one I really don't know much about. That does sound interesting. As for Tuchman, I tend to avoid popular histories. I got about 60 pages into The Guns of August before I had to set it down never to touch it again. Same thing happened with Sailing the Wine Dark Sea and A World Lit Only by Fire. I wanted to read both of those books when I first heard about them but I found both of them unreadable. I've learned my lesson. Never again will I spend my money on popular history.

I generally avoid popular history myself, but Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough are popular history authors that are actually pretty good. I don't know about Tuchman yet.

[AeonPax]

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The Bloody Stump by Rusty Zipper.

[Mister D]

I'm rather enjoying her style. I like a lively prose at times, so long as everything is historically accurate. I'll probably end up getting the one about Alexander's empire first and then getting the next one after that.

I find it irritating. It's like I'm reading an op ed by Maureen Dowd. I certainly don't mean to give the impression that I like dry prose. I love a good narrative but it's precisely because popular histories take too many liberties in terms of the facts and their interpretation that I avoid them. Scholarly caution, an effort at detachment and good style are often seen together but, in my (albeit limited) experience, never in a work of popular history.