Help! I'm up against the wall for book club suggestions

I was thinking of suggesting "In Search of Virginia Dare", but the author is too moony and the Virginia Dare part is lost.

I enjoy reading early American history and suggesting it for our book club. HOWEVER, I try hard to break out of the mold of the recent rash of popular books like "American Sphinx", "Duel", etc. (in main part because I don't necessarily trust the authors, many of whom are connected to the Federalist Society, American Enterprise Institute, etc., not to slant the past with their right wing tilt).

The book we read last year from my list was "Island in the Center of the World", which was voted the group's favorite that year, though it's a bit too pop history for my own personal tastes (however, I am picking for a group). The other choice I managed to get through a few years ago was "The Devil in Massassachusetts", so I don't think they'll be up for another Salem Witchcraft trial book.

I want something that's not too long, is available, preferably put out by a university press, and yet is readable for people who don't read a lot of history. It doesn't HAVE to be early American history, though I am currently in that mode.

Now that I've effectively eliminated all probable suggestions, anyone got anything?

Hee!

I knew it was you the second I saw the suggestion!!!! LOLOL.

And is historical.

Loves me some Sarah Vowell.

You can't go wrong with any of her books, IMO.

My other book club read a book called "Stiff" and I literally couldn't read it.

But my son raved about The Kite Runner

I was actually looking for non-fiction, though.

1491

Excellent book. Corrects many misundersatnding about early American history (north and south).

From Amazon

1491 is not so much the story of a year, as of what that year stands for: the long-debated (and often-dismissed) question of what human civilization in the Americas was like before the Europeans crashed the party. The history books most Americans were (and still are) raised on describe the continents before Columbus as a vast, underused territory, sparsely populated by primitives whose cultures would inevitably bow before the advanced technologies of the Europeans. For decades, though, among the archaeologists, anthropologists, paleolinguists, and others whose discoveries Charles C. Mann brings together in 1491, different stories have been emerging. Among the revelations: the first Americans may not have come over the Bering land bridge around 12,000 B.C. but by boat along the Pacific coast 10 or even 20 thousand years earlier; the Americas were a far more urban, more populated, and more technologically advanced region than generally assumed; and the Indians, rather than living in static harmony with nature, radically engineered the landscape across the continents, to the point that even "timeless" natural features like the Amazon rainforest can be seen as products of human intervention.

Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates is necessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretation and precise scientific measurements that often end up being radically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of his eye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: the stories of early American-European contact. To many of those who were there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting of equals than one of natural domination. And those who came later and found an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mann argues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchanging state of the native American, but the evidence of a sudden calamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic in human history, the smallpox and other diseases introduced inadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, which swept through the Americas faster than the explorers who brought it, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only a shadow of the thriving cultures that it had sustained for centuries before. --Tom Nissley

I'll add it to my list. I have the book and have read a few pages of it. The only thing working against it might be length (since most of them don't read history on a regular basis) but I think that's a good idea.

"PATRIOTIC FIRE" by Winston Groom

Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the battle of New Orleans

Published - 2006

A note of interest, Winston Groom wrote Forrest Gump.

Thanks.

I thought you were going to suggest "The Storied History of SEC Football".

work about the old SWC conference but since every school in the conference in the state of Texas was run by criminals and cheaters the conference had to disband. At that time, the SEC jumped on the opportunity to upgrade by begging the Hogs (the only SWC team not in Texas) to move east. The rest, as they say, is history. Get it? History?

And besides, wouldn't a Storied History of the SEC be more like a book of several months club item?

Since I don't think anyone else in my book club would touch it with a ten foot pole!

OTOH, this is the kind of book my father might enjoy reading.

and touching. About how to make life beautiful no matter what travesties and trials befall you.

by Thom Hartmann

excerpts at link: http://www.we-the-people-book.com/


Written in comic book fashion, it is a quick read. Thom covers what our founding fathers hoped for & feared, the robber baron times, corporate personhood & why we are in danger of becoming a 21 century feudalistic state.

My right wing mother describes Thom as "very reasonable" & she actually read this entire book - something she has not done with the other books I've given her. There were a few points she didn't agree with (calling Rush Limbaugh's show hate radio), but overall, she said she learned a few things, most importantly, the concept of corporate personhood & how it is affecting our government.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

His new book, "Screwed: The Undeclared War on the Middle Class" is also excellent, although not written in comic book fashion! ;)
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/1732677.php

I'm quickly compiling a good list of books for myself, if nothing else. I love Thom Hartmann, and his books should be available in my area (Seattle), though I've never read his writing - just listen to him.

...both excellent and readable. "Storm" is not too long, either.

I guess I don't really consider it history, per se - more social history. The author is from Seattle. Someone else I know is in a book club where they won a dinner with him as an auction item, and he came and spoke to their group.

:shrug:

Also great (but long): "1776" by David McCullough. :thumbsup:

The Island at the Center of the World:
The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America
by Russell Shorto

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781400078677&itm=1

There's also a good one on the Bowery, but I can't seem to find it from work.

Another one that's a bit lurid is:

White Gold:
The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and Islam's One Million White Slaves
by Giles Milton

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780312425296&itm=1

Giles Milton is an excellent popular historian. I've read some of his other stuff on the history of European exploration.

and it went over well. That is definitely the time period I'm going after, though I have received some very intriguing suggestions here.

Didn't think that many people had read the book. An ancestor of mine was part of the Dutch settlement, which is what attracted me.

Although it's a related subject, here's that book on the Bowery which I thought was good:

Five Points:
The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became The World's Most Notorious Slum
by Tyler G. Anbinder

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=five+points&z=y&cds2Pid=9481

There was also a fascinating book on Christianity vs paganism in the late Roman Empire and surrounding areas. Will have to find it.

I thought it was a really fun book, though unfortunately, some of the stuff that stuck with me was really inconsequential in the scheme of things - like the Knicks wear the colors of the Dutch flag, Wall Street is where the sea wall was, etc.

he was the third secretary of New Amsterdam under Peter Stuyvesant and the first under British New York. Apparently, the Bristish eventually fired him for refusing to learn English. In that role, I guess he was responsible for the records that Shorto used as material. I was hoping his name would appear in the book but it didn't.

Because of the two popular "revolts" against the Dutch West India Company described in the book, I'm a lot more curious now to learn the circumstances of his coming there and his relations with the Dutch and English. His descendents remained mostly in the New York/New Jersey area and were small businessmen, farmers, and town officials. For example, my grandfather had an early radio station and an industial locker company in Newark; his brother was paymaster for the Newark post office. Along the way, the name "Nevius" evolved into dozens of variations, mostly because my ancestors were illiterate and did not know to spell their own names.

A lot of the inconsequential stuff was really interesting, too, including the relations between the Dutch and the English in Boston and New Haven (where I also used to live), and with the Swedes in Delaware. The descriptions of Manhattan, Long Island, the Bronx, and northern New Jersey in its wild state were pretty interesting, too. Thanks for asking.

Book Description
The arson attacks in 2006 on a number of small Baptist churches in rural Alabama recall the rash of burnings at predominantly black houses of worship that damaged or destroyed dozens of southern churches in the mid-1990s. One of the churches struck by probable arson in 1996 was Little Zion Baptist Church in Boligee, Alabama. This book draws on the voices and memories of church members to share a previously undocumented history of Little Zion, from its beginnings as a brush arbor around the time of emancipation, to its key role in the civil rights movement, to its burning and rebuilding with the help of volunteers from around the world.

Folklorist Shelly O'Foran, a Quaker who went to Boligee as a volunteer in the church rebuilding effort, describes Little Zion as always having been much more than the building itself. She shows how the spiritual and social traditions that the residents of Boligee practice and teach their children have assured the continued vitality of the church and community. Little Zion also explores the power of oral narrative, through thoughtful fieldwork and presentation, to promote understanding between those inside and outside the church community. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs, this volume is both a celebration of Little Zion's history and an invitation to share in its long life story.

just read "The Root of Wild Madder" by Brian Murphy.

Amazingly, the author traveled in and around iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan etc. AFTER the war(s) started in his quest for the plant which produces the natural reds in the fabled carpets of the region. Extensive sections on regional history and philosophy to round out his search for the plant and the carpet makers amongst various tribal groups.

Our rules - the book must be either related to natural or human history and relate to exhibits in our museum so we can have a short tour by the discussion leader after the discussion. Also, it must be available at a modest price via used book sites or in paperback.

We had a very lively discussion and learned a lot about the region and the industry. His insights were definitely anti-interventionist, though cloaked within his encounters with "real" people. Neede a bit of editing, but a minor quibble given its unique nature.

We also read "The Botany of Desire" which was loved by all and also showed the value of science. The chapter on Marijuana was hilarious and illuminating. The chapter on Potatoes was instrumental in the discussion of genetically engineered foods and the political/environmental impacts of same.

Have fun

McKinley through Wilson

I don't agree with her lesbian agenda, but it doesn't get in the way.

The book reads like fiction.

Give it a try.

My group just read "1000 White Women." It tells an awful lot about the Indian nations. Was quite an eyeopener. Some of it is hard to read--lots of violence. But it did provoke good discussion.

and that's an excellent choice. I found it very interesting.

Well you don't HAVE to, but we'd like to know. :hi:

I'm going to go with Assassination Vacation. I think it's something that will be a good book club book.

My second choice would be the one about vampires.

Of all the many great books proposed, I was glad to see that we'd read three of them already, so we're in synch with many people here.

1491 and the one about New Orleans both sounded really great. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else chose 1491. The one about New Orleans is not out in paper yet, which isn't necessarily a consideration for our group but is for me, since I have too many books already and not enough room for them.

I would like to thank EVERYONE. I plan to buy and read some of those I did not pick.

Assassination Vacation is a great read.

That's always an issue with book club books. You can choose a fabulous book and then the discussion falls flat. Or, sometimes the book can be just awful, but the discussion is so much fun, who cares?

Want to read McCulloch's book on the Panama Canal next.

Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Devil in the White City--Erik Larson
Mountains Beyond Mountains--Tracy Kidder

These are a few of the non-fiction books the clubs are reading in my area.

"No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kerns Goodwin - we talked a lot about flawed leaders (Churchill in particular) Many of us hated Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation", but it was one of our better discussions (most of our dads are/were of that era)

"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich and "A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League" by Ron Suskind opened the eyes of some of our members who were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Not all the way, mind you, but even a glimmer of light is an improvement.

Surprisinly, "Friday Night Lights" by Buzz Bissinger was popular, because it led to a great discussion of education vs. sports and priorities in our country. An all-woman group, but we enjoyed it. We also loved "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing - can't remember what we talked about, but it was good. (The group hated "Seabiscuit", but it was my favorite)

The Children's Blizzard is a great read, but don't know where the discussion would go -- that's what happened when someone pushed "Devil in the White City" --- not a bad read, but the discussion lasted about 5 minutes, and then we got into an unproductive discussion about Bush's incompetence, with me not gaining any popularity points when I pointed out "well, you idiots voted for him."