by History 500 | Dec 27, 2023 | Welcome
Vietnam: A New Historical Perspective
Triumph Forsaken overturns most of the historical orthodoxy on the Vietnam War and shows that South Vietnam was a vital interest of the U.S. Mark Moyer's revealing "Triumph Forsaken" provides many new insights into the unnecessary overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. The coup negated the South Vietnamese government's tremendous, and hitherto unappreciated, military and political gains between 1954 and 1963.LBJ's subsequent troop buildup was instituted as the result of faulty assumptions and inadequate intelligence, making such a buildup the only means of saving the country.
Top Recommendation for December
Triumph Forsaken, by Mark Moyar ( 2006 - 512 pp)
Alternative view of Vietnam as vital to U.S. interests and Diem as a savvy, wise and effective leader who had done much to improve conditions in Vietnam.
by History 500 | Nov 29, 2023 | Welcome
Vietnam: The Making of an Epic American Disaster
A Vietnam classic! From the first incursion of the French in Indochina during the 1800's to the final mortar rounds at the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Neil Sheehan weaves the tragic history of America's involvement in Vietnam. In "A Bright Shining Lie", Sheehan describes how the French built its empire in the Far East in the 1800's and then lost it to the Japanese in the 1940's. Along the way, he introduces the great Ho Chi Mihn and those who, played such a massive part in the vast, tragic deception that took place. All Ho Chi Minh wanted for Vietnam from the beginning was simple independence.
Top Recommendation for November
A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan (1989 - 986 pp)
Pulitzer Prize winning historical fiction about patriotic U.S. Lt Col John Paul Vann in 1962 Vietnam and the tragedy that destroyed the country, the lives of countless Americans and thousands of Vietnamese.
by History 500 | Oct 3, 2023 | Welcome
FDR and The Birth of the Liberal Idea in America
Where did 'Liberalism' and the assortment of liberal ideas that exist in the U.S. today come from? From the Alphabet soup of acronyms like the WPA, the AAA and the NIRA, David Pietrusza paints a picture of America during the Great Depression that brings FDR int focus for all. In "Roosevelt Sweeps the Nation", Pietrusza introduces the entire panoply of FDR's appointees, their foibles and fine points, and weaves in one famous famous FDR quote after another. Hated by many, loved by millions FDR started as a conservative and became the father of liberalism in America. He tried one new program after another until he found the combination that worked
Top Recommendation for September
Roosevelt Sweeps the Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Idea, by David Pietrusza (2022 - 450pp)
This is a book worth reading twice. In beautifully written prose, David Pitrusza captures the essence of FDR as he was coming into the Presidency in 1938. His character as a man with two sides...a totally charming personality that could capture the hearts and minds of Americans during the Great Depression.
by History 500 | Mar 16, 2023 | Welcome
In the Heart of th4e Sea - The Tragedy of the Whaleshi9p Essex
On November 20, 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry whale. Within minutes, the twenty-one-man crew, including the fourteen-year-old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, found themselves stranded in three leaky boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with barely any supplies and little hope. Three months later, two of the boats were rescued 4,500 miles away, off the coast of South America. Of the twenty-one castaways, only eight survived, including young Thomas. Author Nathaniel Philbrick provides a vivid account of how the crew survived at sea and the aftermath when they returned to Nantucket. Island.
Top Recommendation for March
In the Heart of the Sea, the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick(1999-288 pp)
The true 1819 story that inspired Moby Dick. An unforgettable tale of endurance and survival for 3 months in open whale boats, 2000 miles offshore in the Pacific.end
by History 500 | Feb 24, 2023 | Welcome
Rowing and the Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics
The sport of rowing comes to life in this spectacular history of the sport. Daniel James Brown's "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics", In 1936 the World was on the cusp of a world war. Daniel Brown brings together several threads, the sport of rowing in the U.S., young men growing up in the Depression, Hitler's film maker, Leni Riefenstahl, and of course the great competition in the U.S. that made it all possible.
Top Recommendation for February
The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel Brown (2013 - 416 pp)
Marvelous, inspiring story of the U-Washington coach and crew at Hitler's 1936 Olympics and their quest for gold against a heavily favored Nazi machine.
by History 500 | Jan 29, 2023 | Welcome
The Modern World of Energy, Politics and Power
Dan Yergin continues to tell his story of the greatest saga of our times - about the world intersection of oil, gas, politics and energy. In " The New Map: Energy, Politics and the Clash of Nations, Yergin gives a crash course on the way the wold now works, from seismic changes in the prices of oil and gas to the search for new sources of energy in nuclear, solar and wind . The "New Map" is a valuable history lesson for anyone interested in how these forces work together, with particular relevance to Russia and the Ukraine.
Top Recommendation for January
The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations, by Daniel Yergin (2022 - 520 pp)
Daniel Yergin is one of America's foremost experts on energy and energy policy. He has already written two great books on the history of oil, The Prize and The Quest. The New Map is an education on the geopolitics of oil and gas in the world over the past 10 years and is an invaluable step toward bringing us all up to speed on new technologies such as wind and solar.
by History 500 | Dec 27, 2022 | Welcome
Valor in the Pacific - A Marine's Miraculous Escape
Lt Bill Harris led the escape of a few good Marines from the Japanese and the Bataan Death March. Surviving in the jungles of the Philippines they made their way to the Sulu Sea and southward. In "Valor: The Astonishing WW II Saga of Defiance against the Japanese", Dan Hampton's paints a picture of starvation, escape and capture by the Japanese ending with imprisonment on Honshu at the notorious Ogaku-Sojii prison camp where the jailers held sway over their lives.Their release in 1941 was nothing short of a miracle.
Top Recommendation for December
Valor: The Astonishing WW II Saga of One Man's Defiance and Indomitable Spirit, by Dan Hampton (2022 - 341 pp).
When Lt Bill Harris joined the Marines in 1939, it was to fight. Instead, he spent the next 5 years escaping from the Japanese in the Philippines, finally sailing to Morotai in New Guinea. Ultimately, betrayed and captured, he spent the last 6 month of the War in a Japanese prison camp on Honshu. This excellent book, captures the historic moments of WW II in the Pacific and tells the story of one man's desire to be free and re-enter the war as a combat soldier.
by History 500 | Nov 17, 2022 | Welcome
The Code Breakers of WW II - America's Great Secret Weapon
The code breakers of WW II ultimately were the ones who helped most to win the war both in the Pacific and Europe. Elizabeth Friedman was a key part of the American code breaking team. In "The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A true Story of Love, Spies and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, "Jason Fagone weaves a mesmerizing story of this young American and her amazing skills in dealing first with smugglers on the high seas, the Japanese JN-25 code and ultimately Germany's Enigma.
Top Recommendation for November
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, by Jason Fagone (2018 - 482 pp)
Elizabeth Friedman was 24 when she left Iowa to find work in Chicago. Her life transformed when she took a job first as a young code breaker in the 1920's tracking bootleggers for the US Coast Guard and blossomed into a career breaking codes for the US during World War II. With her husband, an equally gifted code breaker, the two cracked the Japanese codes and help the Brits with Enigma.
by History 500 | Oct 31, 2022 | Welcome
The Devil Dogs - The US Marines Finest Hour
World War II in the Pacific gave the US Marines one of their finest moments to shine on the world stage. Due to the short time for planning, the landing of the Devil Dogs on Guadalcanal was a superhuman feat on the part of Admiral King in Washington. And, many of the great battles of the Pacific raged around them, turning the tide of the war in America's favor. One Japanese general commented after their retreat, Guadalcanal "was the graveyard of the Japanese army". The "Devil Dogs" went on to fight on Bougainville, New Britain and Peleleau
Top Recommendation for October
Devil Dogs: King Company, 5th Marines; From Guadalcanal to the Shores of Japan, By Saul David (2022 - 628 pp)
Saul David's masterful account of the 5th Marines in WW II is an easy to read account of their many heroic conflicts from Guadalcanal to Bougainville and New Britain. Great description of the unbelievably short planning window (5 weeks) from inception to invasion at Guadalcanal, the impact of the famous Goettge Patrol, and Japanese Colonel Ishiki's humiliating assault at the Tenaru River.
by History 500 | Sep 29, 2022 | Welcome
Yellowstone - Saving America's Greatest Natural Wonder
Yellowstone was the world's first national park, created during the Presidency of Ullyses S. Grant and popularized throughout the world. In "Saving Yellowstone, Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America, Megan Nelson weaves the history of Yellowstone with the politics of reconstruction during 1870's America and gives a fascinating glimpse into some of the great characters of the times, Ferdinand Hayden who led the first survey team, Jay Cooke, the famous investor who built the Northern Pacific and many others.
Top Recommendation for September
Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America, by Megan Nelson (Mar, 2022 - 252 pp)
A wonderfully written, entertaining history of the discovery and exploration of Yellowstone, the first government expeditions to expand our knowledge, plus the financing of the Great Pacific Northern Railroad by entrepreneur Jay Gould, The Great Northern greatly expanded westward expansion opportunities and brought the railroad to within 50 miles of Yellowstone.
