The author is a proud, patriotic, card-carrying Arab, deeply immersed in the brilliant cultural achievements of medieval Islamic civilization, and he argues persuasively that without the Arab contribution what we call Western Civilization would never have progressed beyond the Dark Ages. There are a few statements in this book that reveal how dated it is…”Lebanon …
Category: History
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/02/11/history-of-the-arabs-by-philip-hitti/
Dec 22 2010
Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow
Considered to be the definitive book on the Vietnam War. I had read this book many years ago, but I’m glad that taking the Vietnam War course at LSU forced me to reread it. Despite my professor’s hawkish pronouncements, after rereading this book I don’t see any way we could have won in Vietnam, short …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/12/22/vietnam-a-history-by-stanley-karnow/
Nov 11 2010
Four Hours in My Lai by Michael Bilton
My instructor assigned this book, but he mostly glossed over it in class. This is not a book to gloss over. The professor sees My Lai as an aberration, an exceptional case, but I think the lesson to take home from it is that under the right circumstances even decent and honorable people can become …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/11/11/four-hours-in-my-lai-by-michael-bilton/
Nov 04 2010
The Soul of China by Amaury De Riencourt
My exposure to Chinese history has mostly been disappointing thus far–but this book was FASCINATING. The author writes in the colorful and subjective style that today’s politically correct historians are afraid to write in. He is not afraid of making judgments, which is refreshing given that modern academicians are steeped in relativism. The core theme …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/11/04/the-soul-of-china-by-amaury-de-riencourt/
Jun 03 2010
Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox
All historians have heroes, and Alexander is clearly the author’s hero. He offers contrived explanations for what might be perceived as Alexander’s misdeeds, and he conveniently dismisses as fictitious any source that might cast his hero in a negative light. This was not the most objective biography, but to a great extent I share Fox’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/06/03/alexander-the-great-by-robin-lane-fox/
May 02 2010
Madame de Stael by Francine du Plessix Gray
The subject of this book is an extraordinary individual, yet I find myself disliking her. Mme de Stael was brilliantly eloquent, audaciously spirited, and a gifted writer, yet there is an overwhelmingly histrionic side to her personality that makes it impossible for me to take her seriously. There is much in her that seems to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/05/02/madame-de-stael-by-francine-du-plessix-gray/
Apr 12 2010
A History of Europe by J.M. Roberts
This is a big book, but not quite big enough to adequately cover 3000 years of history. Ancient Greece is covered in twenty pages, the Roman Empire in forty. However, the later chapters on the hegemonic years of Europe, when Europe was the center of power, culture, and civilization in the world, are quite interesting. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/04/12/a-history-of-europe-by-j-m-roberts/
Mar 28 2010
Mugabe: Teacher, Revolutionary, and Tyrant by Andrew Norman
This book reminds me that biographies are often the best source of history. I recently read a book on the history of Zimbabwe, but it wasn’t nearly as informative as this book. The arc of Mugabe’s life reads almost like a Greek tragedy. He had very promising beginnings indeed. A brilliant scholar, a dedicated teacher, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/03/28/mugabe-teacher-revolutionary-and-tyrant-by-andrew-norman/
Feb 21 2010
Truman by David McCullough
This book is a case study in how extraordinary an ordinary man can be. Unlike his predecessor in the White House, Harry Truman was not a brilliant man, but he possessed character and fortitude that ultimately made him a successful president. At times the author seems to revel a little too much in how ordinary …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/02/21/truman-by-david-mccullough/
Jan 27 2010
The Discovery of France by Graham Robb
Mostly in lieu of a proper review, excerpts from The Discovery of France by Graham Robb, the best non-fiction book I read in 2009. (Tough competition, too: In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century by Geert Mak, Gold and Iron by Fritz Stern and To the Castle and Back by Vaclav Havel were all top …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/01/27/the-discovery-of-france-by-graham-robb/
Al Singh
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The Shire