History Is Personality
922784
Makes you wish that more novelists would interest themselves in history.

The complaints about history are: 1) it's just a lot of dates; and 2) It's got nothing to do with us anyway.

But it's not so much a question of years, as a question of sequence: Elizabeth's execution of Mary Stuart made it easier for the English Parliament to get rid of Charles I, which made it easier for the French to remove Louis XVI's head from his shoulders.

And history is relevant to us because (as Holland proves) events arise from personality: jealousy, ambition, generosity, arrogance, parsimony. History would be irrelevant only if these qualities were not still with us.

Note: for STAR TREK fans, the chapter on the Spartan military culture is required reading. Nothing in fiction is invented. Klingon culture is not a twist on the Japanese samurai. Klingons are Spartans: right down to the long hair.
3721448
I found the historical input and psychological reactions of individuals in this book the best bits,.but worth a read.
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421999
Elizabeth Lowell manages to teach us things about history and the land at the same time she entertains.  Personalities make sense with their histories.
4197871
Well I truly enjoy history, times past and how many lives found the courage and resources to live within it to build a life that reaches out and touches the lives around them for good.
This book does that!
4923154
The story is well thought out and follows a logical path.  History shows that this path is a historical fact.
2601599
Clear message applies to today in a fascinating historical read.
1072040
Our human nature drives us to want to know the "real story" behind great historical personalities.  Much like "People" or "Us" magazine, Suetonious gives his readers back curtain access to the lives of the rich and famous.  No salacious story nor tantalizing scandal is ignored.  While many of his portaits are interesting, most of the biographical sketches are ultimately mere fluff.  Enjoyable but disjointed if you do not know your Roman history.  Finally, the great British actor Derek Jacobi's audio performance really lifts what is really a three star book.
253914
Television, movies, computers, even video games have changed the way we look at history. Recently written books on history are now in a style that gives the reader a greater understanding of what our founding father's and 19th century pioneer's daily lives were like.
Everything, it seems, is three dimensional today. Try visiting an American History museum - it's not your father's museum, that's for sure!
In her book, "Past Into Present," Ms. Roth just about covers every aspect of presenting history in all its glory and gore by using the process known as 1st person. First person brings the folks from the distant past back to life by having a re-enactor or a museum docent dress in period clothing, doing a job or a chore from the past, and speaking as if they actually ARE that long-dead person, alive again, here to share their knowlegde of times gone by. I, myself,  impose a 1st person technique for my civilian impression in the 21st Michigan Civil War reenactors, and I must say that "Past into Present" truly helped me understand the importance of what I am representing while doing my impression. Through her book Ms. Roth also helped me see the pros and cons of being a 1st person living historian as well - how to stay in character, for instance, without jumping back and forth between first and third person.
From what I have seen at some re-enactments - and even at a museum - some living historians do not give the past the justice it deserves.  They are the ones who should own this book as well. I've learned to give the reverence these folks from the past that we are emulating the respect they so deserve.
The writer can get a bit wordy (so can I, can't you tell?) but if you are one who is a bit more passionate about the past and would rather get deeper involved in history than the average person, then I would suggest you taking a gander at this book and read how you can become one from the past into the present at your next reenactment.
2658041
This is the type of history I enjoy.  In school, I learned the big pieces of history, but now, I want to know the stories behind the stories.  I want to know the whys and other causes for events that were neglected intentionally or unintentionally.  This book takes a big step for me to learn and understand the past, so I can better understand the present and anticipate the future.
2209039
If you have children, if you have an interest in history, if you have an intellectual curiosity, if you have an interest in relationships and human interaction then you will like this book.
3315301
If history was this interesting in school, I would have gotten better grades.
There is so much humor in history, especially with the benefit of hindsight.
One of my kids comes home with stories his teacher tells in which she relates stories from her own life experiences.  My son remembers those stories and thus learns.
650567
Okay, so it isn't that humorous.  I bought this a couple of days ago, figuring the good reviews it got on Amazon.com.  Needless to say, I enjoyed it.  There are some parts in the book that have sexual implications but nonetheless, everything was fun, interesting, and witty.  As a history major, I recommend this to all my fellow history buffs as well as anyone who finds history to be boring.  After reading this book, history shouldn't be boring anymore!
4218770
I love history, and American history is of course first pick. Piecing together what I seem to remember from school days with the story told here
truly is entertainment to me.
4317681
This historical novel operates at a very personal, behavioral level. You come to know the characters intimately. Through them, you know this era in our collective past in a way we need to know it.
2168074
Anyone fascinated  by royal families and how they influenced history will enjoy this look into their power struggles and machinations.  It's a reminder that politics and personalities control the direction of human history.
924348
I like history.  I really like Christian History.  Just take one glance around my office and you will notice that most of the books on my shelves were written by dead guys (actually they wrote the books and then they died).  You might also notice a long shelve filled with biographies and still another shelf filled with volumes of Church history.  You will also notice a magazine stack of Christian History Magazines.  I'm a history guy.  I'm a Christian history guy.

So when On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes came up for review, I jumped at the chance to review it.  And I wasn't disappointed.  There are so many things that I like about this book and  it is hard to summarize in just a few words, so let me say this... it's the perfect gift for a guy like me.  I can also see it being a great read for someone who is interested in getting a glimps at the people and events of Christian history.

The stories are generally inspiring.  There is a scripture verse at the bottom of the page that brings relevance and meaning to the previously read story.  There is a fascinating topic index in the back of the book allowing readers to look up stories according to topic. Over all it does a great job at achieving its purpose (a bite sized reading of what happened in Christian history on a particular day) in a way that encourages readers to stay engaged in the book.  I dare you to just read one day's history when you get the book.

I  highly recommend On This Day in Christian History to anyone interested in Christian history.  To beginners its an easy read, small commitment book that will give you a broad spectrum view of Christian History.  To well educated history nerds like myself it will allow you to pull out of a narrowed genre of Church history (I find myself often in the Reformation and the Puritan Eras)  to appreciate a broader scope of history in a way that doesn't take a lot of time.  Plus, everyone wants to know what happened in Christian history on your birthday.

  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
2825611
I'm sorry there are so many history books written now only because we are compelled to think we have to keep up with the most recent. As if it mattered. No, there will be histories of histories  but it won't change now to then in reality. There will always be a separation. So, the insatiably hopeful reader, like me, has to realize that he/she ought to be reading only the best, regardless of subject, since our time is limited. Barbara Tuchman had a Shakespearean comprehensiveness and sympathy for her subjects. She seemed to understand in a general way how things work: how this having happened, this must follow. She had a keen sense of character. The shadowy hero of this book, Enguerrand de Coucy, is shown to be virtuous by implication, by contrast with his boorish contemporaries. It's great stuff. It's history taught in equal parts of intuitive intelligence and intellectual intelligence.
At the time she wrote this the calamitous 14th century seemed more of a reflection of our world than it does at present. So the distant mirror aspect may or may not prove relevant, it is nevertheless a superb example of what history should be and fascinating in and of itself.