Manifest Destiny: American Expansion and the Empire of Right by Anders Stephanson is a short book, but don’t be deceived. It is incredibly dense. Nonetheless, if you really want to know more about the origins of manifest destiny and America exceptionalism, this is a perfect starting point. Read more at my blog …
On Race, Revolution, and Vertically-Challenged Corsicans
Alexandre Dumas, father of the famous French novelist, was born into a noble Norman family. He was generally acknowledged to be the strongest man in the French army. He commanded armies, fought on two continents, and successfully invaded Italy. Not only was he personally known to Napoleon, but Napoleon hated his guts. Dumas managed to survive enemy action, prolonged imprisonment, personal betrayal, and the Terror. His was a life of almost picaresque scope and wonder. Oh, and he was also the mixed-race son of a […]
Reading about Ordinary Days, Looking for Extraordinary Times
Sometimes it’s tough to read a historical monograph and keep my own training out of the mix. I’m simultaneously a professional historian, and not. I do not hold advanced degrees in History, but I work at bringing history alive for visitors at my museum job. I spend the winter reading and researching various topics to prepare for the oncoming season of programs. This year my main research thrust is immigration and domestic servants. That led me to reading Ordinary Days, Extraordinary Times: Morristown New Jersey’s […]
Guns and Germs and Steel- Oh My!
Guns, Germs, and Steel has been in my queue for several years. I remember seeing it a Barnes and Noble a long time ago and wanting to read it. I can only assume that was a result of the Pulitzer Prize Winner sticker on the cover. The book is most certainly non-fiction but it isn’t a story. It is a very long research paper. The author states his very clear and concise thesis up front. The book will examine what led certain civilizations to conquer […]
Who Wants to Live Forever?
I first saw this book at a digital library last year and it seemed interesting. Recently, a friend of mine who is studying genetic counseling, recommended it and that bumped it up the queue. I knew very little of the premise before starting the book. I love that the author used a two-fold approach, writing the biographies of both Henrietta Lacks and her cells. It seems that the cells would easily be the star of the book but the Lacks family is incredibly interesting in […]
Movie is coming out? Better read it quick!
I read (listened) this book because I wanted to watch the movie. I do not like watching movies before reading books on which they are based. I am active duty military but this is not the type of book I normally read. I like to leave work at work so reading military novels, both fiction and non-fiction, is something I avoid. I thoroughly expected to not really like Lone Survivor. That said, I loved this book. Lone Survivor was written by Marcus Luttrell but I […]
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