The Tyranny of Change: America in the Progressive Era, 1900-1917   John Whiteclay Chambers
More of a survey than a primary-source history, Chambers covers these years in broad strokes. American society changed dramatically because of massive immigration from southern and eastern Europe, rapid urbanization, and sweeping industrialization. He gives a glancing account of the Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson presidencies, but  much detail about what is generally referred to as the progressive movement that resulted from all the change. Also, America’s shift from isolationist to interventionist foreign policy. Pretty good introduction to the first two decades of the 20^th century. Overall, worthwhile, especially since I had trouble finding histories about these two decades.

The Universe in a Nutshell   Stephen Hawking
A lavishly illustrated sequel to Hawking’s unbelievably popular A Brief History of Time. A little too rudimentary, and about 15 years out of date. Good, clear explanations of concepts that are, however, basically incomprehensible in any practical sense, like real time and imaginary time. All that matters in understanding the universe is whether the math works. Ok, I guess.

The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World   Sean Carroll
Interesting, lucid, and up-to-date book about the “God particle.” Fascinated by the idea that there are no such things as particles, everything is really a field, and what we call particles are really vibrations or fluctuations in a field. Good background on particle physics, the history of colliders and what they do, and the LHC experiments. An excellent history of the development of “Higgs” theory. Very helpful diagrams and photographs. Good book for me, learned a lot.

Providential Accidents   Geza Vermes
Deeply interesting autobiography of one of the world’s foremost scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the historical Jesus.. He is chatty, gracious, and a little emotionally distant. Would have been nice to know what it was like for him to go from lifelong celibacy to falling in love and getting married. I loved his discussions of his life of scholarship. I’ve always enjoyed books like this, and I really liked this one.

American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work   Susan Cheever
Gossipy rather than scholarly, admittedly very repetitive, account of the interplay of the lives of some of the greatest writers and thinkers in American history, all congregated in Concord, Massachusetts in the middle of the 19^th century. While Cheever acknowledges their genius, she is disparaging of the men, but always sympathetic to the women. The book is like an exposé, it became very tedious. Deeply disappointing. Too bad.

The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science   Richard Holmes
Beautifully written, fascinating intellectual history of the English “second scientific revolution” that occurred between the 1760s and 1831, when Darwin began his voyage on H.M.S. Beagle. Never heard of Joseph Banks before, but what a profound effect he had on the development of the sum of human knowledge. Really enjoyed the sections on Banks, on the Herschels, the science of Frankenstein. Informative and very enjoyable.

Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War   Fred Kaplan
Almost exclusively a tedious recounting of the political development of cyber security policy, players, and meetings. Covers the bureaucrats and organization charts of U.S. government cyber security and action, but there’s no theoretical or technical information. Very disappointing, waste of my time.

Trying Conclusions: New and Selected Poems, 1961-1991   Howard Nemerov
I first encountered Nemerov in the stacks of my high school library back in the 60s, and I have liked his poetry very much ever since. “To A Scholar in the Stacks” is a good example of what I love about his work, beautiful and intellectual. Some of the earliest poems in this collection seemed dated, and the newest poems reflect a world without depth. For national poetry month.

Midnight Sun   Jo Nesbø
Interesting novel about a man hiding from a drug dealer’s assassin in the remote arctic area of Norway. Pretty good, but the ending was kind of unbelievably positive and lovely. Whole thing was kind of a fantasy. What happened to the Joe of the Harry Hole novels. Not bad though, no regrets.

America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T, and the Making of a Modern Nation   Jim Rasenberger
Well-written, engaging history of the year in United States history. Unfortunately, the subjects are more what would be considered for sensationalist journalism than social history, such as the sordid Shaw murder trial, the around-the-world auto race. But the other points of focus were highly relevant to where the U.S. was then and how it would develop throughout the 20^th Century. Pretty good.

Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written about the Game   Nanae Tamura, Cor van den Heuvel
A collection of 200 haiku about baseball, some average, some pretty good, all entertaining. The editors admit that the form doesn’t really work in English, so many of the English poems don’t have the structure, and the translations of the Japanese poems can’t retain the syllable structure, but, in my opinion, haiku does seem to go well with the subject of baseball. Glad I read it, especially in April.

The Wright Brothers   David McCullough
Well-written, fascinating, and detailed account of their aerial achievement. As usual, McCullough is not interested in tearing down the images, and in this case that seems appropriate. Gained a profound respect for the brothers’ thrilling and monumental achievement and the way they accomplished it. Very engaging and enjoyable history of something I have always loved. Really liked it.

Quarry’s Vote   Max Allan Collins
1987 addition to the Quarry series. This time he is happily married and living a retired and contented life until everything goes bad, big surprise. He proceeds to track down the people who did him wrong. While this book follows the formula of the other books, pretty much identically, I didn’t find it as interesting, got kind of slow. Same clear, effective prose.

The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War   James Bradley
An account of the cruise in 1904-1905 to cement U.S. colonies in Asia with in-depth background to it. Completely undermines Teddy Roosevelt’s manly image. Good description of the powerful racism everywhere in American culture, especially in Roosevelt’s policies toward Asia, the depth of Roosevelt’s personal racism is staggering. Astonishing how Roosevelt and Taft completely bungled policy toward Asia. Bradley does a pretty good job of showing how their policies led to our involvement in World War II in the Pacific. Found Alice to be kind of interesting. Informative and mostly convincing.

The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898   Evan Thomas
Informative, well-written, and useful history of the push to continue American expansion beyond our borders once the frontier was closed. Really enjoyed the focus on the people and not just what they did. William James turns out to be a hero, to me, by not being swept along. Teddy Roosevelt, notwithstanding his later reformist work, was an egotistical, malevolent jerk. Unsurprisingly, Hearst was an evil, unfeeling manipulator. Learned a lot. Good bridge into the twentieth, American, century.

The Jackal’s Share   Christopher Morgan Jones
Beautifully written, intelligent, and entertaining novel about the investigation of a man who wants to be proven above reproach. Not even close. The investigator gets into violent confrontations and political intrigue with the Iranian secret police. While the bad guy needed more development, this was an entertaining and rewarding read. Really enjoyed it.

Banquet at Delmonico's: The Gilded Age and the Triumph of Evolution in America   Barry Werth
Engaging and informative intellectual history of the general adoption of the concept of Spencer’s notion of “the survival of the fittest” in the United States. Follows the lives and intellectual development of the eminent thinkers and personalities who spoke at the late-1882 banquet, as well as Spencer himself. Good history of the period as well as the influence of the concept. Excellent read.

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn  

Nathaniel Philbrick
At turns compelling and stuffed with useless facts, Philbrick explores the epic imagery and facts of Custer’s fateful battle on the Little Big Horn river. I was much more interested in the Amer-Indian histories than the military rivalries and infighting, but both are well documented. I think Philbrick’s proposed reconstruction of the demise of Custer’s command is plausible. Found Sitting Bull a much better man and leader than Custer. Pretty good book.

Quarry’s Cut   Max Allan Collins
Brief, entertaining 1977 novel about the hit man turned killer of hit men. This time Quarry is snowbound in a mostly-abandoned hotel with the small crew of a porn shoot. Some twists, some skin, violence, and a little sex. Collins’s clean, crisp style and Quarry’s no-nonsense pursuit made it worthwhile. Pretty good distraction.

Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America, 1865-1900   Jack Beatty
Very well written (e.g., “the Populists sought to pull the New Deal through the sleeve of time”), well-researched, highly intelligent, and erudite history of the United States in the last third of the 19^th century. Interesting emphasis on Tom Scott’s unacknowledged place in financial and political corruption. Gripping accounts of the horrors of southern “redemption,” the Great Railroad and Homestead strikes, and the People’s Party juxtaposed against the conspicuous and disgusting opulence of the moneyed class. Really enjoyed the uncompromising, accurate point of view. This is a very good book.

Chomsky for Beginners   David Cogswell
Introduction to Chomsky’s intellectual contributions to linguistics and political analysis of American politics. Enjoyed the valuable introduction to Chomsky’s linguistics ideas, but the analysis of Chomsky’s theories about the media and politics seemed strained and out of date, especially media. Maybe it’s because I’ve already read several books by Chomsky himself. Not very good, too bad.

American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900   H.W. Brands
Economic history describing the explosion of American capitalism through the gilded age to the end of the 19^th century. Excellent distilled explanation of the attempts at economic reconstruction of the south after the Civil War, and the economics of the conquering of the peoples and spaces of the great plains. Interesting accounts of the waves of immigration, the complete corruption of the political system by all the money, the urges to imperialism, and the ongoing conflict between capitalism and democracy during this period. Very good.

Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877   Eric Foner
Extremely-detailed, scholarly, highly-intelligent history of the attempts to reconstruct the defeated confederacy as part of the greater United States and create a new social order with Negro equality in the conquered states. The failure to do so, caused by racism, in the north as well as the south, incompetence, greed, political infighting, and economic depression, spawned the deeply depressing and revolting institutionalization of illegitimate white supremacy that lasted a century. Very good, essential but depressing read.

After Lincoln: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace   A. J. Langguth
Very readable overview of the mismanagement of the post Civil War period from 1865-1877. As with his other books, Langguth uses the main players for the framework of the history. Very informative for me especially about Andrew Johnson’s corrupt mismanagement of Reconstruction and racist policies that led to the Jim Crow south. Reinforces the point that the failure of Reconstruction wasn’t the unsuccessful reconstruction of the union, it was the betrayal of the negroes by allowing the construction of a social order in the south almost as brutal and discriminatory as slavery. Deeply tragic.

The Stainless Steel Kimono   Elliot Chaze
A collection of short stories set in occupied Japan shortly after the end of World War II. Chaze’s tone and descriptions capture the sordid, pathetic, and uncomfortable relationships between the U.S. soldiers themselves and with the Japanese civilians. Very well written in clear, straightforward, readable prose. Very good, too bad he is not well known.

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 3: Red River to Appomattox   Shelby Foote
Incredibly detailed, very beautifully written, 1000+ page “narrative” of the last 18 months or so of the Civil War. Impressive use of primary sources, though nothing is footnoted. I guess that’s why it’s a narrative. Even though I read other books before and simultaneously, I really learned a lot from it. Many powerful images from the narrative are stuck in my mind. Really enjoyed reading about the North’s victory and the destruction of the elitist, racist society of the South. Very, very good, notwithstanding the inappropriately reverential eulogizing of Jefferson Davis at the end.

Quarry’s Deal   Max Allan Collins
Another of Collins’ generally entertaining Quarry novels about the ex-hitman who now kills only other hitmen. This time she’s beautiful and he starts falling for her. Even though there’s plenty of sex, this iteration lacks the intelligence and violence that made others in the series more fun and interesting, it was just a little boring. Too bad. Good thing the style still made it a quick, easy read.

The New York Times: Complete Civil War, 1861-1865   Harold Holzer, Craig Symonds
Original news articles covering the war. Disappointed that they are not produced as facsimiles, but I understand that that wouldn’t have worked spatially. Also, the included DVD was useless, didn’t work in either of my computers, too bad. That having been said, this is an invaluable historical source, well organized, well presented. Thoughtful and helpful annotations, inclusion of interesting drawings and photographs from the published editions. Also includes dispatches from other papers, even from the south. Many of the histories I’ve read and learned so much from use the same accounts assembled here. Excellent to have these original accounts compiled together.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass   Frederick Douglass
Deeply troubling and well-written brief firsthand account of Douglass’s life as a slave in Maryland. As bad as I thought slavery was, this account portrays it as worse than I imagined even though Douglass’s tone isn’t bitter or incendiary. The ugliness, violence, and hypocrisy of slaveholders is astonishing and sickening. I wish I could have read how he escaped, but I fully understand why he could not record it. My view of our history is changed, and it is nauseating that ¼ of U.S. presidents have owned slaves. Everyone should read this.

Borderline   Lawrence Block
Reprinted 1958 novel about people in El Paso and Juarez exploring sex and committing psychotic violence. I’ve really enjoyed several books by Block in the past, but this one, perhaps because it was early in his career, didn’t have his usual clean style, and it just seemed sordid rather than anything else. Not bad, just didn’t like as much as others.

Battle Pieces   Herman Melville
After people stopped reading Melville’s increasingly difficult novels, he decided to become a poet. So he produced, among others, these brilliant, highly-structured, and sometimes difficult poems based on Civil War battles (Antietam, Vicksburg, The Wilderness, etc.). Just as much of an achievement as his novels, they help prove Melville’s literary genius. Stylistically, pretty much the opposite of Whitman’s. Very good.

The Book of Dead Philosophers   Simon Critchley
A history of philosophers rather than a history of philosophy. Short, some very short, essays about philosophers and their deaths. Very engagingly written. Covers more than just European philosophers, some Arabs, some Chinese, and more than just philosophers, some scientists and some religious writers. Many very obscure thinkers as well. I was moved by Critchley’s account of Gadamer and his death because I had the privilege to spend a day with him back in the 80s. Really enjoyable. Didn’t want it to end.

 

Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea   Noah Andre Trudeau
Incredibly detailed, sometimes excruciatingly so, well-written account of each day, November 15, 1864 – January 21, 1865 of Sherman’s march from Atlanta to Savannah, and it’s occupation. Outstanding research, relies primarily on first-hand accounts. Another excellent book by a “non-professional historian.” Ends with an outstanding summary analysis. For me, this was an excellent book, informative and well done.

Drum Taps  Walt Whitman Whitman’s poems about the Civil War. His usual beautiful rhythms and powerful images, especially in poems such as “The Wound Dresser.” Also read his poems about President Lincoln. Makes me very sad. Excellent additions to my Civil War reading.

Silken Prey   John Sandford
2013 Lucas Davenport police procedural about political very-dirty tricks during a Minnesota senatorial campaign. Really enjoyed the appearances of Kidd and Lauren, and Virgil Flowers’ cameo. Unfortunately, the bad guys, one senatorial candidate and her two security people, were completely unconvincing. Also, the dénouement was weak. But, Camp’s prose, and what action there was, were good enough to be a satisfactory distraction.

War Like the Thunderbolt: The Battle and Burning of Atlanta   Russell S. Bonds
Well-written, detailed history of Sherman’s campaign to take Atlanta and its aftermath. Excellent, extensive  use of primary sources for everything. Though Bonds is not a “professional historian,” this is a very good history of events that I find deeply interesting. Sherman is my namesake, and the more I learn about him, the more I like and admire him. I really liked the afterward. Well done and very interesting.

Pinball 1973   Haruki Murakami
Surreal novel about a man’s life and involvement with playing pinball, and his buddy The Rat. Strangely, their narratives are completely separate, and, to be honest, make no sense, at least, none that is explained. Even though his style is again very readable, probably like this least of all the Murakami I’ve read.

Atlas of the Civil War: A Complete Guide to the Tactics and Terrain of Battle   Stephen Hyslop
Outstanding collection of maps related to the Civil War battles. Also, great photographs, good text and descriptions and narrative. Really helped understanding what happened in each battle, amazingly lucid descriptions of the tactics and battles. Invaluable accompaniment to any reading of Civil War history. Really useful.

 

Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era   James M. McPherson
Well-written, thorough, especially for a single volume, account of the American “Civil War Era,” as the subtitle states. Many details about political party internal struggles and voter demographics, and financial foundations for the war, all necessary, but tedious. Excellent detail and analysis of most battles, and all of the important ones, amazingly lucid descriptions of the tactics and movements. Disappointing, truncated ending and  epilogue which deals with nothing is a haze of unanswered questions. Overall, very valuable.

Disunion: Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation   The New York Times, Ted Widmer
Interesting, somewhat out of the mainstream, essays about the Civil War by scholars writing today. Read most of them when they appeared in The New York Times. Because of the historical perspective and the short length, quite a few new intricacies I at least, was unaware of. Very valuable.

The Disagreement   Nick Taylor
Novel about a young Virginia man who goes to medical school during the civil war. Though it is very nicely written in prose something like that period, I found that I disliked the protagonist more as the narrative developed, none of the characters were of any real interest, there was really nothing about the war, it is only a plot device, and I felt almost nothing when I finished it. Too bad.

Gathering Prey   John Sandford
Latest Lucas Davenport police procedural about a Manson-like group of killers traveling to Juggaloe gatherings. As usual, excellent, spare prose propels the interesting plot right along. Good addition of more of Davenport’s daughter Letty, an interesting character. Enjoyed it, good entertainment even though I don’t really like Davenport that much, definitely less than Virgil Flowers. Fun.

The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861   David M. Potter
History of the period leading up to the beginning of civil war. Written in florid, sometimes almost pompous prose, with too many asides for the reader and comments about what other historians have done, would have preferred “just the facts, ma’m.” And it didn’t really provide information I wasn’t already getting from other, better sources. Disappointing.

The Promise   Robert Crais
Latest highly-entertaining Elvis Cole novel. Also includes Joe Pike and Jon Stone, as usual, two excellent additions, as well as Maggie, a German shepherd, and her handler. Fast-paced plot rendered in Crais’ usual crisp, clean prose, a little of Cole’s famous sarcasm, and just enough emotion. A lot of fun, and a nice distraction. Couldn’t put it down.

Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan   Mizuki Shigeru
Fourth volume of Mizuki’s brilliant manga history of the Showa period (1926-1989) of Japanese history. This volume covers events he thinks were important as well as Mizuki’s postwar struggles to make a living, establish his manga career, have a family, and find happiness. Once again, fascinated by every frame. Couldn’t put it down. Mizuki died late last year, that’s how I heard about this history. Now that I’ve finished it, I feel sad, like I’ve lost a friend.

A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age   William Manchester
Beautifully written history of the transition from the Medieval to Renaissance worldview in Europe. Some of Manchester’s sources seem a little suspect, like Will Durant, but the detail is good, and the narrative is gripping. Love this mixture of intellectual and social history. Couldn’t put it down.

Religion and Sexuality: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community   Lawrence Foster
Interesting history of these three religions’ sexual ideologies. All three blossomed during the early decades of the 19^th Century, thus my historical interest. Though it reads like a Ph.D. dissertation, it is filled with good research and insights. Interesting to me that each movement Foster documents perfectly reflects the sexual desires of the founder, though of course, they all say it’s from God. Good distinction between polygamy of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Enjoyed it.

Saturn Run   John Sandford and Ctein
Entertaining and interesting science fiction novel about a race between American and Chinese spaceships to contact aliens in the rings of Saturn. Well-written with plausible science and plot. A little weak on the alien encounter, but fun and diverting. Enjoyed it.

Driven West: Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears to the Civil War   A. J. Langguth
Horrifying, difficult to read, history of the forced expulsion of the five “civilized” Amerindian tribes, especially the Cherokees, from the United States for only two simple reasons: greed and racism. Andrew Jackson is an even worse figure than I thought he was. As usual, Langguth’s prose is engaging, and this time his history is more thorough and less episodic. Learned a lot about the Cherokees. Very informative about a tragic, and shameful American history. Really liked it.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex   Nathaniel Philbrick
Another pretty interesting, though bloated, history of a single event, this time the sinking of an American whaleship by an enraged sperm whale in 1819. It captured Americans’ interest so much that both Poe and Melville wrote novels about it. Some interesting facts such as the information about Nantucket society, that 4/5ths of all whaling was done by American ships. Didn’t really like it that much.


What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848   Daniel Walker Howe
Detailed, thorough, over 800-page history of crucial decades in the development of the United States as a nation. Not as interested in the extensive details about political maneuvering and religious intensity, but they were, indeed, part of the time. Strange final chapter on the beginnings of feminism that seemed like a current academic requirement rather than an actual history of the period. Even with the stiff, rather lifeless prose, a lot of good information. Really glad I read it.

Genesis   Bernard Beckett
Quick, pretty enjoyable science fiction novel about a young scholar’s entrance examination for The Academy in a far future society. Even though it is well-written in excellent prose, the narrative format got a little tedious. The twist at the end is the only thing that saved it.

Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson   David S. Reynolds
Interesting, well-written history of the United States from 1815-1848. Reynolds covers all the main topics, economy, religion, society, and even intellectual and artistic development, with all the culprits and heroes. Very good survey of the period. Enjoyed it.

Gene Mapper   Taiyo Fujii
Entertaining and highly intelligent science fiction novel about bio-terrorism in a future with distilled crops. A lot of detailed information about the technology, especially genetics and the ubiquitous augmented reality. The plot is really secondary, and the relationships of the characters are very Japanese, felt like an anime at the end. Enjoyed it.

Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan   Mizuki Shigeru
Third volume of Mizuki’s brilliant manga history of the Showa period of Japanese history. This volume covers Mizuki’s incredible survival of the war and his postwar struggles to survive at home and find a profession. What an interesting life in a period I already knew a lot about, fascinated by every frame. Couldn’t put it down.

Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan   Mizuki Shigeru
Second volume of Mizuki’s brilliant manga history of the Showa period of Japanese history. Framed on his autobiography as well. Covers the Pacific war and his action in it. Deeply horrifying and sad. Really good, liked getting a Japanese perspective on the battles. On to the next one.

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815   Gordon S. Wood
Another outstanding work of history writing by Wood. Filled with immense amounts of information about the crucial beginning 26 years of the American republic’s politics, economics, law, religion, society. Highly intelligent analysis, very well written, well presented. This is what all history writing should be like. Really learned a lot. Loved it.

Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan   Mizuki Shigeru
Mizuki’s brilliant manga history of the Showa period of Japanese history. Framed on his autobiography as well. Graphics range from cartoonish simplicity to complex historical realism. Tone is forthright and cynical. Deeply enjoyable and informative. Loved it. On to the next one.

Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence   A. J. Langguth
Engaging and informative history of the war of 1812. Like Langguth’s other histories, it is very well written. At times, I couldn’t put it down. Covers enough of the causes and circumstances leading up to war to be very useful. Also liked the very interesting chapter on the war’s aftermath.

Unidentified Woman #15   David Housewright
Latest of Housewright’s McKenzie novels, an entertaining thriller set in these Twin Cities about a ring of shoplifters who get involved in blackmail and murder. Liked the opening, some characterization, pretty good plot with a tiny twist, and invisible prose that moves nicely. Easy, fairly good escape. Not sure whether I’ll read another in the series, or not.

Field of Prey   John Sandford
Enjoyable Lucas Davenport police procedural about the search for a serial killer in tiny Holbein, Minnesota. As always, Sandford’s prose pulls you right along, unconstrained by characterization or reflection, all plot, with some good cop banter, and gruesome and graphic violence to season it. I stopped reading this series after about the first 10 because I no longer liked Davenport, but liked this one enough that I might read the next one. Adequate escape.

“Negro President”: Jefferson and the Slave Power   Garry Wills
A deeply disturbing history of the “slave power” that dominated American politics until the Civil War. The title comes from Timothy Pickering’s appellation for Jefferson who was elected in 1800 solely because of the federal ratio, slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for voting. For me, there is too much about Pickering, and a little too much banter aimed at other historians who have gotten it wrong. But I learned a lot about the influence of slavery in American history, all of it horrible. For example, ¼ of all U. S. presidents owned slaves, and the war with Mexico was fought, and the annexation of Mexican territory occurred, to provide new slave states. Wills does an excellent job discussing really ugly history.

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West   Stephen E. Ambrose
Ambrose’s very engaging, at times exciting, account of Meriwether Lewis’s involvement in the great expedition through the Louisiana Purchase. Though Ambrose seems to idolize Lewis, he is also clear-eyed about his mistakes. Sad about his suicide. Good, helpful maps. Enjoyed this history very much, learned a lot.

Hemingway In Love: His Own Story   A. E. Hotchner
Hotchner’s account of conversations, in Hemingway’s last days, in which Hemingway recounts the breakup of his first marriage to Hadley, as well as brief glimpses of subsequently being unhappy with Pauline. Stupid and sad and indulgent, but fairly interesting insight into how he used specific personal experiences for stories. Also read one of his stories, “A Canary for One” based on an episode of the breakup. Still love his prose.

Sartre: Romantic Rationalist   Iris Murdoch
An excellent, instructive analysis of Sartre’s philosophy from his novels and plays. Very clear, well-reasoned, and well-written. Second philosophy book I’ve read of Murdoch’s, and both were very good, learned a lot and enjoyed them. One of the great tragedies that she developed severe Alzheimer’s. Breaks my heart, she was very intelligent and gifted.

Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans   Joyce Appleby
Interesting and informative social history of the new United States of America from 1776-1820s. Full of good primary sources and statistics, and many believable generalizations based on them. Captures convincingly the population, economic, social, and religious explosions that filled the void left by the dissolution of the colonial monarchical structures. Works as a good transition into the 19^th century.

The Radicalism of the American Revolution   Gordon S. Wood
Excellent history of the severing of the monarchical “ligaments” that held together colonial society. The result was not only radical, it was contrary to what the founding fathers wanted, a commerce-based political and social democracy. As usual, Wood is detailed and highly intelligent. Very well written with emphasis on primary sources. Really, really good.

Make Me   Lee Child
Another deeply entertaining Reacher thriller. As usual, the narrative is propelled by Child’s clean, crisp prose and filled with intelligence and convincing detail. Though there still isn’t much characterization as such, this time, Reacher shows some vulnerability, getting hurt and falling in love. This series is my favorite of contemporary thrillers. Very good, didn’t really want it to end.

Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800   John Ferling
Very good, very well-written history of the epochal election of 1800. Excellent backgrounds on the four participants, and an important overview of the preceding, crucial, decade of American political history. While I was familiar with the framework of these events from Ferling’s A Leap in the Dark, this book provides much more detail. On a personal political note, it’s really a good thing Jefferson won.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web, A Lisbeth Salander Novel   David Lagercrantz
An attempt to continue the magnificent series by Stieg Larsen. Disappointing that Lisbeth herself is, until the very end, just a minor character. Many characters, somewhat convoluted and interesting plot, and well-enough written, but there isn’t the power of Lisbeth’s personality or Larsen’s original narratives. But enjoyable enough. Glad I read it, even glad Lagercrantz is doing a series.

A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic   John Ferling
Outstanding single-volume history of the American Revolution from 1754-1800. It’s amazing that Ferling could cram so much useful information, covering so many crucial years, into a well-written, compelling narrative. This is a very good book. Really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex   Mary Roach
I read this book because years ago I saw a very entertaining Ted Talk by Roach on the same subject. I didn’t find any of this book nearly as interesting, or maybe there was just too much of it. She loves the nitty-gritty of experimentation, even participating as a subject. I’m much more interested in what we can understand from it. It all got kind of tedious for me, even her delight in much of the apparent absurdity of it all. Too bad.

Complexity: A Guided Tour   Melanie Mitchell
Interesting book about complex systems even though the author is unable to come up with a definition of complexity or even a way to measure it. She says, though, that “modern complex systems science is… still not a unified whole but rather a collection of disparate parts with some overlapping concepts”, at least as of 2009 when the book was published. Found the fact that human metabolism and the immune system are complex, self-organizing systems most fascinating. Really enjoyed the sections on networks and evo-devo (evolutionary development). Found the idea fascinating. Overall, good, glad I read it.

Marx's Das Kapital: A Biography   Francis Wheen
Outstanding overview of one of the most important and influential books of western culture. Very well written, very well organized, packed with insights, thoughtful analysis, and lucid history. More and more, it is clear to me that Marx was a genius. A very good introduction. Really enjoyed it.

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic   Joseph J. Ellis
Problematic popular history of the creation of the United States from 1776 – 1803. After claiming that it would be a mistake to view the founders and what they did through the socio-political lens of the 21^st Century, Ellis proceeds to do just that. He is especially disparaging of Jefferson. Good information about attempts to deal with native American populations in the territory acquired in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, and the intrigues of the Louisiana Purchase. Tone and self-referential disingenuousness disturbing.

Pump Six and Other Stories   Paolo Bacigalupi
A wonderful, beautifully-written collection of stories that take place primarily in brutal, harsh future dystopias destroyed by climate, disease, and human despair. Completely convincing. I am still haunted by “Pop Squad” about policemen who exterminate illegal human children. Powerful, unforgettable, and very, very good.

The American Revolution: A History   Gordon S. Wood
Another excellent analysis of the American Revolution. Like his other books, Wood is writing political history, discussing the arguments and ideas that propelled British colonies from the 1740s into a full-blown republic by the late 1780s. Little about the war or society, much about the political mutations that occurred. Very good, very readable.

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different   Gordon S. Wood
Much more a discussion and analysis of the political ideas of the founders than history or biography. Most interested in Jefferson, Madison, and Burr. As usual with Wood, highly intelligent, thorough, and insightful. Some of the intricacies of their political arguments got a little tedious, but an excellent work. Very good.

The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence   Jack N. Rakove
Nice volume that contains copies of the two founding documents of the United States with facing-page, paragraph-by-paragraph commentary. Having just read several histories about the creation of both, I didn’t need the annotations, but very well done. Great review.

The American Revolution: A Concise History Robert J. Allison
Concise indeed, but full of useful information. Filled in gaps for me about the southern campaign of the Revolutionary War, and provided a good introduction to the postwar struggles for statehood, a constitution, and against the Amerindians in the western territories the Americans wanted. Nicely written. Very glad I read it.

The Historical Atlas of the American Revolution   Ian Barnes
Outstanding narrative and collection of maps and diagrams, showing the social, political, and military causes and issues of the revolution and war. Found the descriptions of the battles especially useful. Filled in gaps in other narratives. A lot of really good information about areas of the war outside North America, and native American involvement, as well. Very, very informative.

Timeline of the Revolutionary War   Charlie Samuels
Brief, but very useful outline of the main points of the Revolutionary War from the causes to the aftermath. It includes some good narrative, as well. Very helpful in seeing the sequence of the major battles.

Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution   A. J. Langguth
Excellent narrative history of the origins and progress of the American Revolution through the treaty of Paris in 1783. While there must be gaps in a book only a little over 600 pages that covers such a complicated subject, there is a lot of good information. Very well written in a clean, simple style. For me, it was like reading an engrossing novel. Very useful, really liked it.

Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence   Joseph J. Ellis
Well-written and interesting history of the summer of 1776 as the war of independence heated up and the continental congress wrote and published the Declaration of Independence. The battles are covered in less detail than in McCullough’s 1776, but the information about the congress filled in gaps for me. Focuses on Adams, Washington, Jefferson, and the Howe brothers. Very profitable and enjoyable.

Common Sense, the Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution   Thomas Paine
Common Sense is the pamphlet that influenced pretty much everyone who helped bring about American independence and was read by hundreds of thousands of common people. Embarrassed to say I had not read it until now. Especially interesting to read The Crisis issues as I read about the events Paine, who was fighting with the colonial army at the time, discusses. One of the founding intellectual documents of the United States.

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution   Bernard Bailyn
Outstanding examination and history of the ideas that caused, and were, the American Revolution. As usual with Bailyn, very well written and highly intelligent. Details the development of ideas (e.g., logic of rebellion, representation and rights, sovereignty, sources of power, the contagion of liberty) and the reasoned arguments, primarily through the omnipresent pamphlets of the time, that helped develop them. Highlights the reasoned and highly intelligent thinking, one of the things about this period of history that I like so much. Excellent, couldn’t put it down.

1776   David McCullough
Wonderful history of probably the key year of the American Revolution when Americans declared what was already essentially a fact and came within a hair’s breadth of losing it. Well written, thorough, non-mythical, I especially liked that it relied very heavily on primary, first-hand accounts such as diaries and letters. Fascinating and full of good information. Loved it.

Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution   Nathaniel Philbrick
Disappointing “popular history” of the first pitched battle of the American War of Independence. Huge amounts of extraneous information that I consider irrelevant. Tone, and specific statements, disparage the patriots without justification. Only a couple of chapters with information about the actual battle, though that information, and the information about the siege, is good. Expected it to be better. Too bad.

Slide   Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
Fast-paced novel about the further adventures of the nasty characters, Max and Angela, introduced in Bust. Murder, drugs, prostitution, and tons of sex. These are two really despicable characters that I am tired of. Hard case crime indeed. Glad it was a quick read.

1775: A Good Year for Revolution   Kevin Phillips
Well written history of the beginning year of the American Revolution. Demythologizes 1776 as the crucial year by examining the social, religious, and economic demographics and causes of the revolution, as well as the political, in well-researched detail. While stating that there was no religious cause of the revolution, he wastes a lot of time identifying religious demographics, which are really only ethnic, and his claim of the unbroken connection to the English civil war of the 17^th century, is an unconvincing waste of time. Otherwise, a lot of really good information. Nicely done, very useful.

Unmanned   Dan Fesperman
Entertaining and deeply disturbing thriller about the drone wars and the conflicting loyalties of the wholly corrupt military industrial complex. The main character is a pilot destroyed by them. He tries to get his life back through the help of some journalists. Well written, fast paced, and plausible until the slightly sentimental ending. Enjoyable distraction.

The Lady from Zagreb   Philip Kerr
Latest entertaining Bernie Gunther historical thriller. This time Bernie is working for Joseph Goebbels, falling in love with the lady of the title, and avoiding death at every turn. A few too many plot twists, and it gets a little unjustifiably sentimental at the end, but enjoyable as usual.

Leaves of Grass   Walt Whitman
Happily re-read maybe the greatest American poetry, especially Song of Myself and I Sing the Body Electric. This time I was again struck by the earthiness of the imagery, and how the rhythm is perfect in every phrase. Loved it again.

Small Wars   Lee Child
Another deeply entertaining story about Jack Reacher. This time it’s 1989 and he is solving a murder on a Georgia military base. The usual quick, lean prose and high intelligence. Really enjoyed it.

Burning Down George Orwell's House   Andrew Ervin
Disappointing novel about a man who gives up his life in Chicago for 6 months in the house in which George Orwell wrote 1984 on the island of Jura in Scotland to try to find himself. The prose is adequate, but the protagonist seems adolescent, and the other characters are sitcom-level eccentrics. Found Pitcairn senior to be completely unbelievable, the plot became slapstick, and the concerns shallow. Too bad.

Vanishing Games   Roger Hobbs
Ghostman hooks up with his former partner, who vanished six years previously, to scam a triad boss and mercenary out of cash and jewels. Not nearly as intelligent and entertaining as the previous book. This time, the details just got in the way of the action. Also, I was unconvinced by the resolution, and the woman. Too bad.

Aeneid   Virgil
Virgil’s epic poem about the mythic founding of the roman empire by Trojan survivors of the Trojan war. Very beautiful poetry, so I can understand why Dante had Virgil guide him through hell, but all the detailed battle descriptions and heroic bombast got really tedious. Not as great as Homer,, who it imitates, but still a great work of human literature. Fagles’ translation is superb.

Ghostman   Roger Hobbs
Very entertaining, well-written novel about a high-end bank robber whose profession now is to help people disappear. In this case he has to find money and a robber who have disappeared after a casino heist gone wrong. Violent, intelligent, and fast paced narrative clips right along. A great escape.

The Shot Heard Round the World: The Battles of Lexington and Concord   Nancy Whitelaw
Though a children’s book, a good overview of the military encounter that started the American Revolution. Much more content about the years and causes that precipitated the conflict than expected. A good, quick, intelligent read surprisingly filled with information.

The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord   Ray Raphael
Fascinating account of how the people of the Massachusetts Bay colony rose up in 1774 and overthrew British rule, in particular response to the Massachusetts Government Act. Does an excellent job of setting the stage for Lexington and Concord that triggered the full revolution. Very readable and informative, if a little ideological, which I didn’t mind. Really enjoyed it.

Introducing Chaos   Ziauddin Sardar and Iwona Abrams
Excellent, brief introduction and overview of Chaos in mathematics and science. Much broader than generally understood, for example in population, economics, cities, and the human body. Very interested in the relationship to complexity and complex systems, as well. Very good.

Consciousness Explained   Daniel C. Dennett
Very well written, serious, and rigorous philosophy/science book about the nature of human consciousness and how it functions. Relies more on scientific and psychological experimentation data than philosophical reasoning to make his points: hetero-phenomenology, the multiple drafts theory from a pandemonium, the discussion of the origins and nature of the self, and he makes his case very well. I think he makes a mistake thinking of the self as a thing. Good book, very glad I worked through it.

Our Souls at Night   Kent Haruf
Beautiful, sweet, and sad novel about two neighbors who decide to have a relationship late in their lives, just so they aren’t alone. Beautiful prose, pretty good characterizations, and a believable story line. Loved every word.

The Buried   Brett Battles
Entertaining thriller about Quinn, a cleaner, who discovers women imprisoned in a basement. The prose is pretty clumsy, there is little characterization, and the final 2/3rds of the plot is basically just a chase-scene, but it was exciting enough that I wanted to find out what all the trouble was about. Not too bad. Not like it’s the first book I’ve read by him.

The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America   Colin G. Calloway
Another excellent and fascinating history. This one concentrates on the social upheavals caused by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 that ended the Seven Years War. Britain, France, and Spain blithely exchanged territory and people they didn’t really own, and caused more havoc than they ended, particularly the destruction of thousands of years of American Indian nations and the beginnings of the American Revolution. Well researched and engagingly written, couldn’t put it down.