American History

[Bob]

Good Evening thanatopsy

Here's Emory University's  report on Bellisiles/

Now I'll go back and lookl at your link.   I assume its the new one on J Edgar and Bobbie Kennedy?

[Bob]

OOOPPPSS!!!   It's about Melvin Purvis....I think that might be a  more interesting subject as it covers a lesser known figure and differentr aspect of history--Crime in the 20'sand 30's and  how J Edgar solidified his position after the Palmer Raids.

[thanatopsy]

ACH!!! I had forgotten that we discussed the possibility of reading a book about a prominent American woman or women such as,

http://www.historybookclub.com/doc/full_site_enrollment/detail/fse_product_detail.jhtml?repositoryId=782404B205

Thoughts?

[thanatopsy]

Hi RW!

Hope your evening has gone well and that your weekend will be splendid.

That American History book club sounds like a fascinating group. If it were not for the fact that we are engaged in our reading (which, of course, is exceedingly interesting) I would join that club.

[Bob]

You are right---and I just saw a good one in the local library--there's a book out on Carrie Chapman. But aside form that, let me look up what's available and  see what I can come up with.

Do you have any suggestions?

[Bob]

Drat, Drat--now I can't find the Carrie Chapman Catt book, but I'll see if its still in the lbrary tomorrow. In the meanwhile, here's a book I read last year which was really fascinating----about Victoria Woodhull....this one you won't put down...http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780060953324&itm=1

[Bob]

Now I know why I couldn't find the Carrie Chapman Catt book----because it wasn't the book I saw.....The one I saw is about Belva Lockwod--its expensive, but here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Belva-Lockwood-Woman-Would-President/dp/0814758347

[thanatopsy]

The Woodhull book sounds just a bit more interesting.

Thoughts on the Peabody sisters?

[weezo]

I have recently read:

Theodore Roosevelt by Nathan Miller (on the recommendation of a reviewer when I was going to get his autobiography - this book is great although only a half a page was devoted to the event I was writing a story about)

1421 - The Year the Chinese Discovered America by Gavom Menzies, which I understand was previously discussed. It is rather more speculative history than established history.

Into the American Woods by James H. Merrill which is a very good history of the interactions between Native Americans and the Pennsylvania colonists, with a whole lot about Conrad Weiser (I may consider getting a biography of him).

The First Emancipator by Andrew Levy - the story of a man of Jefferson and Washington's time who felt the need to free all of his more than 400 slaves at a time when it was said, by historians, to be improvident to do so.

The Farfarers by Farley Mowat - a speculative history that explains the likelihood that the Albans (British-Scotts) were the first Europeans to settle in North American.

Blue Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Robert Shaw Gouls - edited by Russell Duncan which is a great insight into the life of a New England Abolutionist turned soldier who died for his cause.

The Invasion of America by Francis Jennings - an older book about the Americas before the Europeans arrived and the havoc they wrecked. This is a pivotal book to understanding more recent works on the size of Native American population and the extent of their civilization before the Europeans declared them all savages and ravaged their numbers with microbes and metal.

With the exception of the last two books which have been on my bookshelves for years waiting to be read, the other books have all been recommended to me recently. All are worthy of a read and discussion. Sorry, there are no women in the collection, but I've got a few books on Pocahontas that were under consideration before the Shakespeare Riots.

And, as some of you may know, I am currently reading the American Colonies by Alan Taylor. It is again, a good basic book for up-to-date historial information for those who, like me, are coming back to history later in life.

[Dzimas]

Any consensus emerging here?  I see the administration set up "vote" forums for all the reading groups, although it seems it makes more sense to vote in the forum.  Even though I would prefer a book on Truman or more specifically his doctrine, The Farfareres or 1421 would be fine by me.

[weezo]

Seems to me that the easiest way to "vote" would be in a poll, and that's what I expected to find on the "vote" forums. I was a bit disappointed that they were only discussion.

[liquidsilver]

Tell you what, I really don't read these book boards much and I've offered to post polls if people send me a private message, why don't I just make you a Poll Manager of this forum and you can post the poll.

[weezo]

Liquid,

I appreciate the opportunity to serve the Book Forums, and am starting to compile a list of the recommended books for this, the American History forum.

I will include the poll directly on the forum, so that one does not have to search for it around the board.

The poll will be done so that if there is more than a single preference (highly likely), I will let the original poll run for a week (2 weeks?) and then compile a smaller poll of the favorite, for a run-off poll. That should get us down to 1-2 books that someone can take the leadership to choose among.

I will attempt to create a list now, by going back through the posts here, and will then post a list to the thread, so that if I have overlooked any, they can be added before I create the poll. Barring any unforseen circumstances, I hope to have the poll ready for voting by tomorrow.

If anyone has any suggestion, please let me know.

[liquidsilver]

Great, let me know if you have any problems. Thanks again

[weezo]

So far, going back through the past 3 pages, I have the following suggestions for reading. It is a long list. Should I include it all, or how to cull it?


1.   1421-The Year The Chinese Discovered America by Gavin Menzies
2.   Teddy Roosevelt – A Life by Nathan Miller
3.   The American Colonies by Alan Taylor
4.   The Farfarers by Farley Mowat
5.   Into The American Woods by James H. Merrill
6.   The Barbary Wars by Frank Lambert
7.   Ten Tortured Words by Mansfield
8.   Arming America by Bellisiles
9.   Armed America by Clayton Cramer
10.   The Vendetta by Alston Purvis and Alex Tresniowski
11.   The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall
12.   Other Powers by Barbara Goldsmith
13.   Belva Lockwood: The Woman who Would Be President by Jill Norgren
14.   No Left Turns: The FBI in Peace and War by Joseph L. Schott
15.   The First Emacipator by Andrew Levy
16.   The Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune-Civil War Letter of Robert Gould Shaw edited by Russell Duncan
17.   The Invasion of America by Francis Jennings
18.   Beneath the American Renaissance by David S. Reynolds
19.   The Most Famous Man in America a Biography of Henry Ward Beecher by Debbie Applegate
20.   Great River :The Rio Grande in North American History (Vol1 & 2)  by Paul Horgan
21.   Of America East & West: Selections of the Writings of Paul Horgan by Paul Horgan
22.   Tammany Hall by M. R. Werner
23.   Tweed’s New York by Leo Herschkowitz
24.   “Boss Tweed” The Story of a Grim Generation by  Denis Tilden Lynch
25.   Boss Tweed –The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived The Soul of Modern New York by  I. D. Ackerman
26.   Boss Tweed’s New York by Seymour J. Mandelbaum
27.   Gangs of Old New York by Asbury
28.   Misery and Mysteries of New York by Buntline
29.   Margaret Sanger by???
30.   Truman or Doctrine: Title??? By???
31.   Young J. Edgar by
32.   The Burning of New York by