Fascinating, broadly painted picture of the world events coinciding ...
342557
Fascinating,broadly painted picture of the  world events coinciding with the Civil War. I never knew so many in Europe were counting on the the US to fall apart and pave the way back again to monarchy.  A very unsettled world in the 1860's!!!
2115342
This is a wonderful unfolding of our fascination with the Civil War.  Tony Horowitz spends two years crawling around the South after some Civil War re-enactors show up on his lawn one day.  He spends time with those re-enactors, and also visits a number of famous, infamous, and obscure Civil War sites.  He talks to Civil War historians like Shelby Foote, and also visits small-town museums and memorials.  What emerges isn't a single story, but a web of interlaced tales each with its own viewpoint.  We're introduced to the revered and the crackpots, the expert and the ignorant.  Horowitz' journey is something we might all daydream of doing after stopping at a roadside attraction or an historical marker that piques our interest about something.  The story that emerges is complex yet fascinating.  He explores the emotional as well as the factual side to people, places, and events associated with the war.  Sometimes humorous, sometime tragic, the result is a fascinating book that may provoke more questions than it supplies answers but leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of the mark the Civil War left on us all.
4020674
Clever use of characters from various countries to show points of view regarding how individuals and governments all over the world are affected by World War I, from beginning to end. Worth reading -- and the kind of book you might want to hold onto and someday read again.
4851164
At first glance, this book with its lists of events might appear a little dry, but as you begin reading the events' descriptions, you'll soon discover pages filled with interesting historical anecdotes.
Among the events covered are institutional foundings (such as churches, hospitals, schools, theatres and newspapers), technical and medical achievements, the various floodings and freezings of the Thames, bridge and tunnel collapses, executions, assassinations, hangings, murders, fires, and more.
Even the smallest events have interesting details... such as the blowing down of Fairlop Oak in Hainault Forest in 1820. The tree is described as having branches that spread 116 ft and it is noted: "Around it took place the annual Fairlop Fair -- an event which helped to shorten the tree's life, because visitors would use the inside of the trunk to light fires for cooking."
Another entry that appears earlier in 1741 mentions the opening of St. George's Chapel in  Curzon Street by a Reverend Alexander Keith who "scandalized the clergy by his readiness to perform marriages without too many questions."
Many event descriptions run for a few paragraphs and some have illustrations. My only gripe with this book is that the font size for the print is very small. (The print would be much easier to read if it was just another 2 points larger.)  Aside from that, I'm sure this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in London history.
477335
Personally, Ive been to many of the towns and areas Simon Winder writes about. While there, I tried to picture what living at the time of its heyday would be like. What would have I liked and what would be repugnant? I tried to learn what happened in history there that was important and how did it influence the overall state of affairs. This also seems to be Simons mindset as he traveled and reports in the book what he experienced and what its significance was.

Danubia differs from a pure history narrative in that Winder tells a story that incorporates both history and the personal impact on him as a 21st century person. Not all of his commentary was interesting to me because I have interests that he does not share. And like me, you may disagree on some of his conclusions. For example, he thought St. Florin on the outskirts of Linz, Austria was awe-inspiring and breath-taking. Had he gone about the same distance to Wilhering, I think he would have needed CPR. And he does not hold Rudolph II in the high esteem I do for his promotion and love of the decorative arts.

As Simon Winder described locations we have both been to, his description is very close to mine. I liked his narrative of individual Habsburgs- both their achievements and their failures- and put them into the context of their time. This is missing from a lot of history books.

The long reign of the Habsburgs is full of plot twists- both individuals and events. Winder does a credible job in detailing how humans swing from one extreme to the other over time. He explains that the border clashes with the Ottoman Empire and internal civil wars resulted in depopulating vast areas. Immigrants moved in who did not have the same tribal background, language, or religion. This minority chafed under the rule of the victor. Eventually these regions sought independence. Persecution, war, and ethnic cleansing followed. Its still happening worldwide today. Diversity ultimately has always led to cleansing. What is remarkable (and the answer sought by Winder) is how long the Habsburgs and the Ottomans kept a diverse population subservient.

This book provides a different perspective from which to create a mental picture of history and how todays situations have come about.
4798962
Historica is a wonderful, large-format romp through the past 1000 years of world history in 500 pages.  Each page has two or three high-quality illustrations and lively, journalistic-style text. It is a treasure trove for trivia buffs.

The book is broken down into time segments of 100 years from year 1000 to year 1500, 50-year segments 1500 to 1800, 25-year segments from 1800-1900, and 10-year segments from 1900-2000, plus a 2000-2005 segment.

For each time segment, there are four separate streams of four pages each:
  Milestones - politics, rulers, exploration, wars, disasters, etc.
  Science & Technology - invention and discovery
  The Arts - painting, literature, music, dance, architecture, etc.
  Lifestyle - fashion, food, entertainment, leisure, sport, etc.

The format is similar to "Chronicle of the 20th century," but with higher-quality paper and illustrations, and much more interesting articles.  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in browsing through history.
2636192
superb snapshot of a major moment in world history. Over the past decade I've watched as the explosion of growth in India has generated cross-currents of culture, economics and social mores that are fascinating and consequential. DasGupta writes more like a literary intellectual than a journalist, and the result is pure pleasure.
4916915
A facinating and alternative perspective on a critical day in European history.
4837630
Creatively written. Fascinating view of a very different world, with it's own religions, prophecies, customs, etc.
3552507
A very interesting, seldom thought of, perspective on one of the greatest events in world history.
1858020
Professor Wiesner-Hanks provides a Witty and compelling interpretation of world history for general readers and students.  Her use of social and gendered examples of changes and continuities over time in relevant parts of the world lead to a nuanced view of tour pasts.
4054275
This is a completely wonderful creation!  Ostensibly about New York, but actually a celebration of the lives of so many great individuals, not only scientists, but also writers, doctors, travelers and others who have contributed so much to modern life and understanding. Many names I have known since childhood, but also so many new figures I had not encountered before.

Each person is illustrated with an interesting biography, often completed with a more personal anecdote about their life, rendering them in a much more human light than a dry description of their discoveries and work might do.  The accompanying photographs are splendid.  For the historical figures, these are often statues or cameos on walls (or gargoyles!), but for more contemporary characters, the photos are of the individuals themselves.  The Hargittais seem to have met everyone!

This being an account of a single city, many of the players overlapped with one another, attending (or founding) the same schools or universities, tutoring one another, or simply sharing a building.  These interconnections are fascinating.  Some of the group photos are a complete 'who's who' of the foundations of science.  There is the recurring thread of academics escaping Germany and eastern Europe.  One gets the feeling of the ongoing tradition of scientific and academic excellence and of a city that is a melting pot of ideas.

Greatly recommended!
3281254
Author John North likens the title of the well-known National Gallery painting, "The Ambassadors" to calling a scene of the Christmas nativity, "Joseph and Mary".  Indeed Holbein the Younger's 1533 painting of two French ambassadors at the English court of Henry VIII inspires thinking of symbolism immediately due to the array of scientific instruments depicted between the two subjects and the distorted scull placed below them.  North exhaustively examines each item in the scene and ties each to themes dominating the politics of the day such as the growing friction between Henry VIII and Rome and the overall fascination of royal courts with science, alchemy, astrology, and astronomy.  Several lines through the work are examined for their thematic relevance of the objects they connect and bisect, and other elements such as horoscopes are overlaid on the work for analysis.  Included in the analysis is the setting of the exact time of the "sitting" to 4pm on Good Friday.  It is clear that North came upon this subject from his past work investigating similar devices employed in the written works of Chaucer, and he presents a convincing argument here as well though his work is heavy of background information that tends to distract from the thesis rather than to support it in many ways.  An interesting read, and true "fans" will be interested to know that Good Friday 2008 will mark the 25th 19-year Easter cycle since 1533.  Is that some sort of silver jubilee?
1045219
When DK and Smithsonian team up on a publishing enterprise, certain expectations of quality are activated, and this book doesn't disappoint. It is a large format coffee table book of about 450 pages, that is chock-full of fascinating stories and stunning illustrations. It features many of history's most famous travelers, like Marco Polo and Captain Cook, along with many who are less-known, including many courageous women who risked their lives in some cases to pursue their curiosity and document exotic or unknown places.

While organized roughly in a chronological/historical manner, beginning with the ancient world and the Minoans of 3000 B.C., this survey of travel doesn't try to weave a single narrative. Its approach is much more episodic and dips in an out of many cultures and the stories of particular individuals. Also as part of its exploration, it focuses on technological developments (such as the railroads) and social/economic changes (such as the invention of the "Grand Hotel") to explain the changes to travel over the centuries.

This is a fun book to dip into, read a mini-feature or two, and put down until next time. It's also a great way to explore travel with children who may have an interest in faraway places.
2123109
This book presents fascinating details of life in Spain as it writhed with the dynamic of change, much of it seemingly self induced. In many parts the narrative glitters with assembled insight that surely exists nowhere else. In some (to me) it seems to get bogged down in detail that may or may not amuse particular readers. This is not necessarily a problem: Throughout the book, the details are so rich that even if only a quarter of them amuse, the book easily justifies its price-tag. And if time or attention span is an issue, just skip over a section until you find another vein to explore. Highly recommended.
2067742
This is a fascinating look at a series of attemtps, most bungled, at stealing Rembrandts, one painting which was stolen a record four times.  Mashberg is a sure-handed writer and this compelling book moves along swiftly.
2084015
This is a book about the world from the 'all-seeing' point of view. The title is a pun, meaning (among other things) 'creating stories', 'stories that build (in sequence)', 'stories that build (character)' and 'the stories as told by a building'. In tone and theme it reminds me of Kieslowski's 'Decalogue' series, which was itself inspired by the security cameras on Communist Poland - that sense of recording everything objectively is present in Ware's work, also. The artwork is not only strong, it fits, in each case, the message and theme of each individual piece. The random arrangement of stories is more than a mere gimmick - it enhances the sense of moral pity. One immediately empathizes with Ware's characters, even (and perhaps especially), Branford, The Best Bee In The World. The work is full of insight, beauty and fun.