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473 reviews
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
4.75
My first foray into Larson was well worth it - a vivid and perhaps timely look at the chaotic months in between the 1860 election and the firing on Fort Sumter, and how a country on the brink fell apart and into the throes of war. While he doesn't hit you over the head with symbolism, the 1/6 mention at the beginning is perhaps a bit too fitting for how relevant these topics remain.
Cocaine and Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette by Tyler Mahan Coe
5.0
Season 2 of the Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast is one of the best historical pieces on music from the last decade. Of course the print adaptation was going to be good. But don't treat this as an eye-for-an-eye substitute for hearing the original audio version of this story - because even if this book hadn't been forced to trim itself down a bit for narrative/size purposes, there is no substitute for the aural storytelling of the original.
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
4.25
You know you've written an effective piece of social commentary when it pisses off everybody upon release and still possesses a broader relevance, with regards to generation tensions and social revolution vs. conservatism, to this day.
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
4.5
Lincoln Bio Trek, Vol. III: The best volume yet, well-paced and perceptive of the president's own world while acknowledging wider social and cultural happenings and contrasting Lincoln's successes and failures in keeping up with both (nodding to Lincoln's ignorance and failure in dealing with Native American policy and unrest, for instance).
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
4.75
Some of the darkest moments in any Dickens novel, mixed with arguably his most touching scenes ever. If it's not his finest achievement, it's right up there.
With Malice Toward None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen B. Oates
3.25
Brevity works in this book's favor - extremely viable, plausible plagiarism accusations do not.
Silas Marner by George Eliot
3.5
A fairly pleasant story that doesn't quite reach the levels of "profound" for me, but its straight-forward approach makes it a simple enough read.
Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years by Carl Sandburg
3.75
Full of prose and gorgeous language, somewhat light on historical rigor and heavy on anecdotes instead.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson
4.75
You could have fooled me into thinking this was written 5 years ago as opposed to almost 40 - brilliantly well-done history.