An excellent history -- the best I have ever read about ...
933414
An excellent history -- the best I have ever read about the great crash and the crazy decade leading up to it.  A must read for anyone interested in learning what the stock bubble and crash were all about.  There are many lessons for today.
2627751
Michael White has done it again and this is his very best yet! His research was excellent. His characters are well defined and seem to truly represent their time in history. I've especially enjoyed Augustus Cain. He seems real - flaws and good points. In spite of the fact that I've read hundreds of books about this period and the Old West - I had to 'Google' Loco foco. And what a great definition I found! From Wikipedia - "The Locofocos were a radical faction of the Democratic Party that existed from 1835 until the mid-1840s. The faction was created in New York City as a protest against that city's regular Democratic organization ("Tammany Hall"), and contained a mixture of anti-Tammany Democrats and labor union veterans of the Working Men's Party. They were vigorous advocates of laissez-faire and opponents of monopoly. Their leading intellectual was editorial writer William Leggett.

The term "Locofoco" comes from the hall where the group met, which used lanterns lit with matches, or "loco focos" (a Spanish language phrase meaning "crazy lights"), a new invention.

In the 1840 election, the term "Locofoco" was applied to the entire Democratic Party by its Whig opponents, both because Democratic presidential candidate Martin Van Buren had incorporated many Locofoco ideas into his economic policy, and because Whigs considered the term to be derogatory."

Anyone who has an interest in events leading to the Civil War will really enjoy this book.
3215480
I have previously read a number of excellent books on Acadian History, including the excellent book, "The Great and Noble Scheme",which gives a thoroughly researced history of the Acadians.  I  found "The Acadian - Jacques" to be an excellent follow-up.  "The Acadian" followed Jacques and his family all the way through the Expulsion; it brought to life the dry history.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
2103706
I hesitated to read this book, given the subject matter: a 19th century all-too-true massacre. But peeking into it, I was gripped. The writing is so extraordinary, and the author's affection/respect for the characters, based on her own family, so strong, that I easily entered the flow of the story. This is history at its finest, and I look forward to reading Tademy's other books. I strongly recommend it to those seeking to better understand American history, as well as any readers who simply bask in fine writing.
2255911
While the overall size of this volume might be daunting for some, this is undoubtedly one of the best history books I've ever read.  Exhaustively researched and touching on nearly all aspects of Europe's long history, Norman Davies manages to pace and propel the story in a very readable way, while being cognizant to show history from nearly all angles ('winners' and 'losers').  This is a book I could reccomend to students and history buffs alike and each would find value and entertainment.
1910646
I LOVE this book, and I honestly can't say enough good things about it. It is easy to read and comprehensive in both the breadth and depth of its subject matter. That said, it is not a casual read. This was fine by me since I was motivated to actually learn the history and not some fairy-tale, romanticized version of it. The prose is clear, and the author does a tremendous job or helping you put aside your own prejudices on the subject prior to reading the book and puts you in the mind of our fellow citizens at that time and place. WONDERFUL!
1660714
This is an excellent book.  It is an extraordinarily ambitious project to go through the entire human history--starting from the Persian Empire in 559BC to today's USA--looking at the rise and fall of hyperpowers that had/have attained global dominance.  And the author has succeeded admirably in producing a piece of work that is academically rigorous yet gripping to the general reader.

The comprehensiveness and depth of the author's research over the entire span of recorded human history is impressive.  She shows us how history has repeated itself time and again.  More importantly, she offers excellent insight in identifying a thread--the most important single factor--that connects the rise and fall of all the hyperpowers throughout human history.  With the eloquence of the Yale Professor that she is, the author presents a convincing case that tolerance has been a most important and necessary condition in the rise of a hyperpower in each and every case, and the lack of tolerance an evident contributing factor to decline.

I would recommend this book highly to anyone who is interested in learning from history.  This is particularly true in today's context when the United States dominates the world militarily and economically.  The lesson in history is too important to be ignored.
1517556
This is one of the best books, fiction or non-fiction, that I have ever read.  Oates' writing style is most enjoyable and his analysis most insightful.  As a history student I have found no better biography of Pres.  Lincoln and doubt I ever will.  I cannot recommend it enough.
3897267
This is an excellent book. It is well researched, well written, and very informative. Although I consider myself knowledgeable of the events discussed in this book, I learned many new things that I had never read before. I highly recommend this book not only to those who consider themselves experts on Richard Nixon, but also to those who have not yet taken the time to learn about one of the most interesting characters in American history.
399915
This is probably the best book on any period of American history I've ever read. It's engrossing, illuminating, meticulously researched, and the writing is phenomenal. I can't recommend it highly enough.
4716403
I won't get into a lengthy analysis as to why this book was excellent. Plenty of other reviewers have already done a fine job of that. I will simply say that for ME, it was an EXCELLENT book. Well written with plenty of FACTS. A very educational book which I believe belongs in EVERY school & library in this nation.

Note: I was a lifelong "Republican" who voted for both Bush's.

The time is long past that Americans like myself stop being fed ONE side of the story. It's time to educate ourselves and get "the rest of the story".

For those who are honestly seeking to learn the truth about WHO is really in control of the U.S. government and it's military, research WHO is in control of our MONEY. It isn't Muslims. It isn't Muslims who are hellbent on creating a deceptive "new world order".

Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world. Henry Kissenger

The powers that be keep the masses in a state of ignorance with Zionist-controlled newsprint. And we lap it up, thinking it's the truth

"A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks." -- John C. Calhoun, American statesman, June 27, 1836

Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerceand when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate
President James A. Garfield, 1881
1662688
This is the most interesting and educational analysis of our Christian religion and historical review that I have ever had the pleasure to read.  Also, I appreciate the author's candor and his honesty regarding his conservative philosophical perspective on this most controversial of historical and cultural topic.  His historical review is expansive and I found the book totally engrossing. I read the entire book in one sitting, which, as a result, kept me busy all night and then some. It was worth the time invested. I now have a much better understanding of my Christian faith, and his arguments did Not destroy my beliefs, but I have to agree with much of his perspective.  I plan to buy hard back copies to give to family members for Christmas. This is one of the best books I have ever had the good fortune to read on the topic of Christianity.
2637702
An excellent read.

While Fischer's unabashedly pro-American slant may trigger PTSD in certain west-coast hipsters, he presents an accurate, well-documented, informative, and extremely readable account of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Not only that, he gives an excellent sense of popular opinions of the Revolution, the daily thoughts and priorities of the average pre-American citizen, and how these two interacted... thoroughly shattering the modern pseudo-intellectual myth that the American Revolution was the pet project of a small group of wealthy colonial elites who resented the restraining influence of the British crown.

While it is very clear that the author approves of the Revolution, the work maintains a healthy sense of objectivity and does not stray in propaganda (however justified it might be if it had). The British regular forces and their officers are treated not as a faceless enemy, but as historical and personal figures who are to be understood not only in terms of their actions, but with thought and analysis given to the motivations and beliefs behind them (in fact, it is revealed that a fair number of these were decidedly pro-colonial and Whigish in their private sentiments).

While thick with historical data, and very well referenced and supported, this work nonetheless manages to be not only an easy, but a positively enjoyable, read for the layman.

I recommend it highly.
4428354
I love this book. Despite the 1000+ pages, I have read it twice, and will probably read it again. Kenneth Roberts is such a fabulous historian, and what he did with this book is truly remarkable. As a history major I can honestly say that until I read this book I do not believe I had even begun to glimpse what really happened during the American Revolution. By telling his story through the eyes of a few staunch royalists, he somehow manages to show the less heroic (but realistic) side of the revolution, while highlighting the series of amazingly illogical events that led to England's loss of this country.

Unlike another reader, I do not think it is necessary to read all four of Roberts books in order to fully appreciate this one. The other books are also great reads, but the themes and perspectives of them deal with more well-known aspects of the Revolution, while this book introduces facts and ideas that most Americans have never been introduced to.

The characters are wonderful (Thomas Buel is probably one of the best characters I have ever read in any book) and the story is incredibly entertaining for such a long and detailed historical novel. Great book, I highly recommend it - especially if you think you know all there is to know about the American Revolution.
1776194
Professor Stanley Payne has written that rare type of book reserved for those scholars who can say with truth that they have earned the right to do so: A broad, sweeping and, at times, personal history of Spain.  Spain: A Unique History caps the career of the most distinguished historian of Spain in the 20th and 21st centuries.  Payne's history begins with a brief and wistful remembrance of how it came to be that he studied the history of Spain.  After 50 years there are many memories, and Payne dutifully points out the many instances in which key individuals went out of their way to help a young historian get his footing in academia.

For anyone who has read Payne's significant output of books, there will not necessarily be anything strikingly new or different, but this book is unique indeed because for the first time Payne surveys and analyzes Spain's history in a pithy format (2000 years in under 300 pages) and finds a great deal of continuity in law, art, architecture and religion--in short, national identity.  Payne discusses in the first half of the book Spain and the Visigoths, Spain and Islam/Reconquest, and the rise and fall of the empire, then focuses the second half on the political, cultural and military issues that affected Spain from the 18th century on, ending in 2008.

It is my belief that any student of Spanish history will gain much from reading Spain: A Unique History.  Someone who is just beginning to study the rich history of Spain will get a nice overview and the more experienced student will note some of the more subtle themes that weave their way throughout Spain's history.

As usual, Payne's writing is superb: clean, sober, efficient, even witty.  The end notes (why, in this era of wonderful technology, is it seemingly impossible to have footnotes?) are quite useful--Payne knows how to use notes to inform the reader much more than simply a source citation.

Finally, Payne tees up the most controversial issue, namely, the role and motives of the Left before and during the Civil War, and elegantly refutes the lies of Leftist historians and journalists in their treatment of the SCW for the past 70 years. Without giving away too much, let's just say that he does not buy the lie that the Left had any desire to promote "democracy" and, in a superb insight, notes on page 235 that "the military rebellion that began the Civil War ... was probably more eagerly desired by its opponents than any other military revolt in Spanish history."  Try that one out the next time you are discussing the SCW with a liberal.

My recommendation is to buy this book.  You will not be disappointed.
1985518
Without repeating what other reviewers have said about the content and composition of this book, I do want to reiterate that it is an excellent and fascinating study of life in Restoration England. (For newbies, that refers to the reign of Charles II.) While there are some problems with readability that the original author (Charles Melville, in the 1928 edition) did not fully resolve, such as smoothly incorporating all of his quotes into the text--it is nevertheless a greatly enjoyable book. As much of it comes from diaries and correspondence that were contemporary to the time, the reader is treated to the uncensored opinions that people only write privately, or at most, to one or two other people--usually--but we get to "eavesdrop" as it were. Rich, gossipy, full of small details that delight--it's a painless history lesson. You learn about the period, the monarch, and the mistresses (many of them, at any rate) by people who were there. It is not a scholarly book, which I mention as encouragement for the casual reader; but it is a fabulous introduction to the time, and to a great many amazing characters that you will find yourself wanting to know even more about, afterwards. That's what I call history at its best! Many thanks to Victorian Heritage Press for publishing this valuable work.
2243497
This is absolutely one of the most interesting history books I have ever read. After living in Texas for fifteen years, I have become very interested in the history of this area and have read several books pertaining to Texas history. Empire of the Summer Moon was recommended by several people as the best to read, and I now agree with their finding. Mr. Gwynne did an unbelievable job of research and also of delivering his material in a relaxed conversational manner. I loved it!