The other side of History
919241
Wow ! I can't say enough good things about this book ! It was logically presented with many instances of stories on how seemingly insignificant events had a bearing on historical events. I was fascinated by the story of Nicaragua and how a postage stamp helped shape the fate/failure of the Inter ocean canal. The purview of the book covered periods of time from the US involvement in  Hawaii; up to the present including the conflict in Afghanistan. It was a fascinating compilation of stories that almost read like fiction. I quickly realized how little I knew about foreign affairs and am anxious to explore similar books. This was a great book that is worthy of an immediate read. I hope that some of our politicians who are responsible for foreign affairs and policies have taken the time to read this book. It should be mandatory reading for everyone in the state department.
1710013
In this country, we generally only get the Isreali version of the conflict.  This book gives the other side of the story.
2247232
Humans are so arrogant that they write histories  -- and current events-- as if they alone are responsible for what happens.  They ignore the incredible contributions that dogs, and later, horses, have made to the sweep of history.  Without them, history as we know it, wouldn't have occurred. That is easy enough to prove, but this book considers other animals as well, such as cattle and pigs.  I was astonished to discover that so much of the colonists' and later Americans' treatment of Native Americans hinged upon the differing attitudes of each culture to domesticated animals. Also, Native Americans were often displaced because of the settlers' needs for grazing their herds.  This book is very interesting and provides an original perspective on the settlement of The New World and its concomitant destruction of the Native peoples that the Europeans found here.
4903078
This is a useful way to view history--parallel and simultaneous events in France, Russia, and the US, showing the similarities and interactions.  Winik has discovered tidbits of history which are left out in most history books.  I ran several of them down, and he's right!  Not quite infallible:  Marat's affliction was not scrofula, and I am not satisfied with the treatment of the Second Coalition.
4217045
This is a great book if you like to learn about other places and a dark past.
1052446
Excellent!  It is so nice to read the other side of history.  We did some awful things to Indians and this book sheds light on just a few.  Highly recommend.
886820
History through the eyes of a child, yet with the wider view of an adult who understands World War II's place in history. A wonderful memoir of a difficult time in world history, and a delicate recounting of one family's struggle to a place in that world torn apart by forces beyond their own control. History can be bogged down by the whens/whats and wheres/whys. But it's the stories of those stories of those who lived through it that make history so important to understand all the other aspects. This book gives us a look into how this global war impacted and changed five people's lives, and how family was the bond that saw them through it.
317797
It gives an overall perspective to history, not just a one sided on of what we typically learn in school.  It is good to look at both sides of the story and how our decisions affect others. It is getting the cobwebs out of my brain as it has been awhile since I have studied history.  Includes very good references.
3972889
This was a very exciting view of history.  I am recommending it for my grandchildren to help them get a view of history.  There is a lot that went on that led up to the American revolution.  It didn't start with us, but with our ancestors.  We need to have a longer view and to know what took place in the West.
715806
A very enlightening view of history, different from what you may have been taught in college or high school. He begins by discussing the pros and cons of the large ancient empires, such as Egypt, Persia and Babylon. He continues by highlighting what distinguished the Greeks, and what made them fall. Same with the Romans. Things that I remember are that almost the entire populace of the ancient empires were in a state very close to serfdom, and had very little interest in their own productivity. The Greeks had a larger self interest in their own land and a much higher level of freedom than that of anywhere else in the world at that time, despite the non participation of women and slaves in the democracy. Their Achilles heel was slavery, which killed innovation. Same with the Romans, who primarily built roads to collect taxes. He partly supports this by showing that the northern "barbarians" had water wheels and better plows, both of which were unnecessary when such a large pool of essentially free slave labor was available. He continues to argue that the dark ages never really happened, and that the fall of Western Rome opened up the floodgates of innovation for the following hundreds of years.

This is just a small taste of what this book has to offer, as it continues to offer new insights in history that most people probably either never considered or were never able to completely support.

I certainly think that this book should be required reading to give our students a new twist on alternative explanations of why the world turned into what it is today.
3753746
Another strong addition to this alternative history series.
3416627
Like Lynne Olson's other books, this one illuminates a fascinating corner of history that deserves to be more familiar.  Be warned: if you are inclined to think of FDR as a visionary leader, this book is likely to cause you to see him in a different light.
3125614
Very interesting.  This one is not so much points of depature, but examinations of the human reaction to warfare; and how the men on the ground, and in WWI they were men, prosecute the war.  Two stories examine the effect of individuals on the flow of history and come to different conclusions.
429431
this was a great read and I referred it to a number of others. An excellent historical perspective. One that you don't really read much about, but fascinating.
967786
I enjoy history but I'm not a professor or historian.  So from my perspective I did appreciate that the introductory material of this book discussed the modern view of history through alternate sources and archaeological record.  It provided an interesting contrast between what they believed in the 1000s versus what we believe today, and why.
3244866
A wonderful look behind the scenes at some of the events that don't always make it into the mainstream history books. A thoroughly informative and delightful read!
3346278
A great combination of history/fiction/non-fiction.