They Knew They Were Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty by John G. Turner
Professor John Turner has written a comprehensive historical account of the early American settlers commonly called the Pilgrims. He begins with the formation of certain separatist groups in England which later moved to Leiden, Holland, to pursue freedom to worship according to their convictions. Not content in Leiden, a minority left for the American Colonies […]
Apostate, the Men who Destroyed the Christian West by Kevin Swanson
Author Kevin Swanson is attempting to trace the philosophical and literary threads that have shaped our modern Western civilization. He believes that the ideas created by certain influential thinkers and authors are responsible for the destruction of the Christian West. These ideas are now being popularized by influencial forms of media and entertainers and absorbed […]
Renaissance People, Lives that Shaped the Modern Age by Robert C. Davis and Beth Lindsmith
In this beautiful volume, almost one third of which is reprints of original Renaissance art and portraits, the authors introduce the reader to short biographies of 94 of the most important people of the European Renaissance era (1450-1550). Excellent articles are included on everything from popes to prostitutes, kings to jesters, artists to explorers, Reformation […]
Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
This is a most wonderful account of the Lewis and Clark expedition focusing primarily on Meriwether Lewis. The book, which reads like a novel, is just overflowing with information and details including a few maps and pictures. It would be hard to imagine a better rendering of this famous American adventure. For those who enjoy […]
The Meaning of History by Ronald H. Nash
This is an excellent book, for the most part, not on history itself but on the philosophy of history. Nash details the major views of history held by historians, theologians, and philosophers which he lumps into three basic categories: the linear pattern in which history has a goal toward which it is advancing; the cyclical […]
The Greeks, Crucible of Civilization by Paul Cartledge
Greek history has always fascinated me, so when I stumbled across an intriguing PBS documentary by the above title, I just had to have the accompanying book. Unfortunately this is one of those rare cases when the movie is better than the book, although not by much. Actually the book is very interesting, full of […]
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
That the autobiography of a relatively obscure individual would be considered perhaps the greatest of all autobiographies (by many critics) was intriguing to me. I thought that I might give it a read. What I found surprised me. Henry Adams, a grandson of John Quincy Adams, was a brilliant man who lived a long time, […]
Patriots, the Men Who Started the American Revolution by A. J. Langguth
There have been countless books written on the American Revolution, but they tend to fall into two categories: rather boring textbooks or centered around the life of a single event or personality such as Washington or Jefferson. Langguth felt, “There seemed to be a place for a book that approached the revolution as a story, […]
Endurance, Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
A well written historical account beats fiction just about any time — in my estimation, and Endurance is just such a historical account. It is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to cross the Antarctic overland. Unfortunately, his ship was trapped and crushed by ice, forcing him and his men to attempt to […]