Stuff you should know about this page: I read nonfiction books with increasing infrequency. I've read four or five or the past four or five years. I just decided to make this page to house those I have read in the past years. As such, for some of them I don't have an accurate recollection. Therefore, none of the books I've read more than a year ago have ratings, only comments. Anything I've read after making this page will have a rating (promise!) but I just wouldn't feel right rating those books I've read so long ago. That said, here are my nonfiction offerings!
Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the
Lost Colony
by: Lee Miller
Completed: July 15, 2002 (no rating)
Corey's Review:
I simply adored this book. This was my first positive experience was nonfiction
books. This book was crafted in a way to make it feel like you weren't reading
some dry history, rather you were reading an exciting mystery with twists and
turns and villains and all the right things. What's more, it was wonderfully
researched and Miller brings remarkable liveliness to the account. My only complains
were as follows: first of all she went down unncessary roads, so to speak. She
would spend an entire chaper explaining some historial triviality and then,
just when you think she's building to a brilliant conclusion, end the chapter
with something like "But that's not what happened." She spent a similiarly
unnecessary chapter discussing London in the 1500s. Also, the account seemed
a wee bit over dramatized. I loved the way it was written, but the book did
sarcrifice some of it's credibility at the altar of accessibility. So, to sum
up, this was a wonderful book that I recommend to people who don't even like
nonfiction.
Jane Austen and Her World
Completed: October 20, 2002 (no rating)
I have no recollection of this book as being good or otherwise. I have no idea who the author was so I can't give that to you either. I used this book for a French research project so it wasn't really a nonfiction I chose anyway. I'm sure it was lovely.
The Cartoon History of the World:
Volumes 1 - 3
By: Larry Gonick
Volume 1 Completed: February 8, 2003 (no rating)
Volume 2 Completed: April 19, 2003 (no rating)
Volume 3 Completed: June 21, 2004 (no rating)
Amazon.com link (to the first volume)
Corey's Review:
These wonderful books were recommended to me by a history
professor at the Univeristy at Buffalo and I proceeded to adore them. They mix
just the right amount of historical accuracy with humor making all of them a
wonderful read. I liked the first two best although this might be because I
was still new to them. Admittedly, I only read the third out of sheer boredom
during exam week but it was still a good book. I know some might consider these
nonfictiom but they certainly don't fit in anywhere else so here they are! Obviously,
if you don't like nonfiction, these just might be the perfect mix for you.
By the Sword:
A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions
By: Richard Cohen
Completed: July 5, 2003 (no rating)
Corey's Review:
This was during a period of fencing obsession in my life during which I enrolled in classes, read this book and watching swashbuckler movies to my heart's content. It was a good time. But, let's remain on subject, shall we? (And by "we" I mean "me.") Anyway, this was a really interesting book on the history of sword play around the world. There was, to my joy, a chapter on swashbucklers and the greatest swashbuckler of them all (Errol Flynn) was in fact mentioned. That alone made this book worth it for me. Like I said, it was an extremely well-worth-it read and not dry at all. (I say this because one might very well suspect a book on fencing written by an old British sword-master to be dry. However, I reiterate, it was not.) Good book! Read it!
Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality
of Life among the Pirates
By: David Cordingly
Completed: July 23, 2003 (no rating)
Corey's Review:
This was also during my fencing/swashbuckling phase. This was an amazing book.
As simple as that sounds, it really was. I don't remember many of the particulars,
but this was really an wonderfully written book. I mean, come on, pirates are
pretty interesting no matter how you present them so Mr. Cordingly didn't really
have a difficult task before him but he grabs your attention and far surpasses
anything you were expecting. Such a good book! If you have any inclination towards
pirates (or not, I suppose) you should really go and find this book!
1066 and All That
By: W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman
Completed: August 5, 2003 (no rating)
Corey's Review:
My copy of this book has been borrowed by a high school friend (that should
just tell you the odds of me getting it back) so I have nothing to say really.
It was a vaguely amusing book but not as much as one could have wished. I was
expected hilarity and I what I got was a bit flat. And with such a good title...!
But seriously, if you want humorous European history, either watch Eddie Izzard,
read the Horrible History series or pick up any one of the Cartoon History of
the Universe books.
Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium
By: Elizabeth Peters (editor) and Kristen Whitbread
Completed: November 2003
Corey's Review: 4
Okay, I am very aware of my obsession with Ms. Peters (and Ms. Peabody for that
matter) and therefore realize that perhaps this is not a book for everyone.
However, it was an extremely interesting chronicle of Victorian Egypt with chapters
on everything from the British precense in the country to women's fashion to
a look at the Muslims of the time. I found it to be interesting if dry at times.
Since it is a compendium, there are numerous different authors and some are
just easier to take than others. Honestly, this is quite possibly the most scholarly
work on the page despite it's deceptive title. On the whole it was extremely
enjoyable and a lot less reading than one would assume judging from it's considerable
bulk.
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude
Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
By: Janet Wallach
Completed: July 6, 2004
Corey's Review: 4 1/2
Like I mentioned above, I'm a bit of an Amelia Peabody fanatic and this sort
of led over to this book. My mother gratiously purchased it for me a few years
back and it proceeded to sit on the aforementioned mother's shelf in her room
for those intervening few years. The inevitable boredom of July prompted me
to go about the house browsing for things to read and this immediately presented
itself. I flipped it open and lethargically started reading the first page.
Before I knew it, it was hours later and I was completely enveloped in the story
and stunning life of Miss Gertrude Bell. I am still awed by the things she accomplished
and saddened by her eventual and premature demise (I won't ruin the surprise
for you). This woman is absolutely amazing and I wish I was brave enough to
live such a life. She is, in all seriousness, an inspiration even in these wildly
different times and I whole-heartedly recommend this book to just about anyone
in the world.
The Riddle and the Knight: In Search of Sir John
Mandeville, the World's Greatest Traveller
By: Giles Milton
Completed: November 21, 2004
Corey's Review: 4
This book had a very interesting subject but as the book wore on, I got the
distinct feeling that perhaps this elusive Sir John Mandeville wasn't quite
as important as the author was making him out to be. I also wondered at the
relevance of the author's traveling to exotic locales in search of Sir John.
The book was extremely interesting (and even amusing at points) with respects
to the author's various travel escapades but the whole Sir John angle almost
seemed unncessary. It was a nice little flair, but he really seemed superfluous.
Of course, I wouldn't have found the book without it's reference to Sir John
(I was in the medieval history section, what can I say?) so I supose it's all
for the best that Mandeville is the subject. Anyway, it was an excellently written
book with wonderful stories on every page. The author, rather than Sir John,
came out as the hero in my opinion and I loved every moment of it. Unfortunately,
there was very little closure at the end so I was still left in some degree
of confusion regarding who this Sir John Mandeville bloke was and why I had
just read an entire book supposedly about him, but it was a good read nonetheless.
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts
By: Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman
Completed: March 29, 2005
Corey's Review: 3.8
This was an interesting book on a very interesting subject. Not only that, it was well-written
and easy to understand. However, something was decidedly lacking since I tended to space out after
reading if for any extended period of time. I suggest reading it in 30 minute bits and that way it should
stay fresh and interesting. Perhaps I just had other things I my mind, who knows. At any rate, it was
a wonderful book, slightly controversial, I suppose, if you take offense at people pointing out all the
places where the Bible isn't true but that didn't bother me at all. (I rather like it when people do that
so this was a good book for me.)
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