I read this book for two reasons. The secondary reason was because my Western Civilization (in the 1970’s we still focused primarily on Western history) professor at the College of Idaho – Franklin Specht – made the Reformation come alive. There I was, my first year in college, wet behind the years at 18, having no real idea of how history shaped our culture or why I should care. Thanks to Professor Specht, I learned about impacts of events like the Reformation and the French Revolution.
Category: Reading
How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson has the ability of great historians to say “see these events today?” and write a compelling narrative to explain how it started hundreds of years ago and continued to the current day. This book clearly spells out how the suppression and demonization of Blacks by 17th century southern land owners continued to be a successful way of the rich and powerful dominating the 21st century. Read the book, subscribe to her newsletter, or both.
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Ride With Me, Mariah Montana by Ivan Doig
This is the final book of the Ivan Doig’s Montana trilogy. It focuses on the 1989 centennial celebration; In the second book – though first in the fiction timeline – Montana’s statehood was celebrated.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The number one rule for writers is to write what you know. Douglas Stuart knows exactly what he is writing about and it’s amazing he escaped his childhood. Set in the 1980’s Glasgow Scotland recession, Shuggie Bain is a young boy who tries to navigate life with an alcoholic mother who is both destructive and self-destructive.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
When I was young I shied away from this story because I thought I knew it all from the movies and I thought Tiny Tim was sappy. But for the past couple of decades I have re-read this beautiful little book almost every Christmas and everytime I come away with a new insight; sometimes small, sometimes big.
It’s not too late to read it for Christmas this year. It’s a short book and can easily be read in an evening. When our kids were young we read it a once or twice in the lead up to Christmas; reading 1 chapter a night. The kids are all grown up now so I read it on my own.
