Joshua Frank’s Atomic Days: the Untold story of the most toxic place in America describes the history of and the ongoing efforts to clean up the Hanford nuclear site in the state of Washington. As someone who had never heard of Hanford until a few years ago, I think the history of Hanford and what… Continue reading Reviewing Atomic Days
Tag: history
Reviewing Midnight Rising
Tony Horwitz’s Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War is one of the most important books on history I have ever read.
Reviewing Hitler’s Children
Gerald Posner’s Hitler’s Children: Sons and daughters of the Third Reich is one of the most interesting books I have ever read about Nazi Germany. By focussing on children of some of the most infamous Nazi figures, Posner tells a unique story.
Reviewing Only the Ball was White
Robert Peterson’s Only the Ball was White is a must read for anyone interested in baseball and the negro leagues.
Reviewing the Nazzi Menace
Benjamin Carter Hett’s The Nazi Menace: Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin and the road to war paints interesting pictures of what was happening in all four nations in the years leading ups to World War II.
Reviewing The Death of Democracy
Benjamin Carter Hett’s The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic isn’t the first book I have read trying to explain how Hitler came to power, but it’s the best. Reading it as too many Americans pretend that Biden’s victory saved American democracy was particularly sobering.
Reviewing the Edge of Anarchy
Jack Kelly’s The Edge of Anarchy: the Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America tell the story of the Pullman strike of 1894. This is another of those books that shows exactly how little progress has been made in America over the last 127 years. Reading it in the context… Continue reading Reviewing the Edge of Anarchy
Reviewing A People’s History of the United States
Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States is the best book I have read about American history. While it’s not perfect, I love the way Zinn acknowledges his own biases and attempts to explain a much accurate version of American history than is almost ever shared.
Reviewing the First Three Books in the Penn Cage Series
More than a decade ago, a good friend recommended The Quiet Game by Greg Iles. She informed me I would enjoy the history and characters in the story. A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for a new fiction series to begin as a break from politics. I saw The Quiet Game on a… Continue reading Reviewing the First Three Books in the Penn Cage Series
Reviewing Fordlandia
Greg Grandin’s Fordlandia is reported to describe the rise and fall of Henry Ford’s Brazilian rubber plantation. In reality, Fordlandia is another striking example of the destruction and exploitation brought by capitalism.