I'll have to say mine is Lone Star Nation by HW Brand. Really, anything written by him is worth reading.

"A conservative is a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
--- Ambrose Bierce

i made it halfway through "1776" and it was really good...don't have time to read for fun with all the reading i have to do for school

Trying is the first step towards failure.
-Homer Simpson

The "What If?" series has had me hooked. It's prominent historians writing a series of articles on how things could have turned out. There's a great one on key moments in American history.

"The Discoverers" by Daniel Boorstin
A great read from start to end, covers world history through the aspect of discovery from creation of the calender up to modern times.

"Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond
This one really puts it all together as to the factors of why some races developed differently. (Why white Europeans developed technology at a much faster rates than say, Native Americans)

"The First Crusade: A New History" by Thomas Asbridge and "1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the clash of Islam and the West" by Rodger Crowley are two fairly recent reads that I have also enjoyed. Should be required reading given today's current events.

"The Civil War" by Bruce Catton. It's a broad summary of the civil war, but very readable.

"Patton, a Genius for War" by Carlo D'Este. THE book to read for those interested in the greatest general since Stonewall Jackson.

"Theodore Rex" by Edmund Morris. By far my favorite historical figure and my favorite book about him.

"The Price of Admiralty"

"Modern Times"

That's a must read if you're interested in the genesis of modern geopolitics.

At Dawn We Slept if a favorite--and Miracle at Midway.

Also am in the middle of reading Isaac's Storm. It is gripping.

Ambrose's Undaunted Courage about the Lewis & Clark expedition.

Horses Don't Fly - A WWI memoir, really good book.

I'm going to have to second Lone Star Nation. I'm currently reading it, and can not seem to put it down. Heck, I even missed my favorite TV show (Earl) last night to keep reading.

third for Lone Star Nation here. Love it.

Texian Illiad

the bruce catton trilogy:
the coming fury
terrible swift sword
never call retreat

Civl War narrative by Shelby Foote.

I'll vote for Lone Star Nation as well. Killer Angels, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure aren't bad.

Isn't H.W. Brand now a history professor at A&M?

My son raves about this professor, told me he was on the History Channel's "Presidents" series.
But, I didn't know he was a Texas History guy, so it might not be the same one.

I've always wondered about Lone Star Nation, but I'm not the Texas History buff many of you are.

"Undaunted Courage" would have to be at the top of my list, along with "Flags of our Fathers" and of course "Band of Brothers". I love the story of Lewis and Clark, and the entire Westward Expansion.

I like Flags also. I am also much more interested in American history than Texas history. I think I overdosed on it growing up. My mom was highly active in the local hisorical society, even did the newsletter and went to state wide competitions and such.

Plus she worked with the local group to get those historical markers put up all over everywhere, and yes, anytime we travelled we had to stop and read every one we could have driven past..
Actually now that I think about it... I miss my mom.


Although like I said Isaac's storm is really a good read.

[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 4/22/2006 9:09a).]

[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 4/22/2006 9:10a).]

Darn it, it kept getting mentioned on the B&P Board and now over here, I guess I'm just going to have to go buy "Lone Star Nation". Texas history is one of my favorite subjects in the world, and I absolutely cannot get enough of it.

If you'll allow it to qualify, and due to the depth of research and the historical accuracy of it, I'll submit Michener's "Texas".

I'm a big fan of the Texas Rangers (both the team and the lawmen, but the lawmen in this case), and I liked Mike Cox's "Texas Rangers Tales" books. I got Robert Utley's "Lone Star Justice", but haven't been had time to read it yet.

"Texas Politicians Good 'n' Bad" is a quite interesting read about folks like LBJ, Jim Hogg, Ross Sterling, the Fergusons, etc. who shaped our state's politics for better or worse.

I could probably go on for days, so I'll just stop right now with those books I've read fairly recently.

janag,

Brand used to be at A&M but now he is in Austin. He was my senior seminar teacher and probably one of the three best professors I had at A&M. He has books about TR, Franklin, Gold Rush, and a new one about Jackson. Those are just to name a few. He writes in a way that is very readable and enjoyable.

"A conservative is a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
--- Ambrose Bierce

try titan's book, folks. it's a damned good book and will really round out your knowledge of Midway.

The Da Vinci Code

really explains alot

I have so many favorites.... I am in the process of reading Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy.... it is quite good. Ditto anything by Ambrose or Brands. McCulloch is a great writer too. His biography of John Adams was fabulous!

RedAgs:

quote:

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Brand used to be at A&M but now he is in Austin. He was my senior seminar teacher and probably one of the three best professors I had at A&M. He has books about TR, Franklin, Gold Rush, and a new one about Jackson. Those are just to name a few. He writes in a way that is very readable and enjoyable.

---

My son told me such great stories about his class, that I wanted to go back and take a grad level class with him. He sounded terrific. DANG, why is he back in Austin?

Austin has better research opportunities than CS.

"A conservative is a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
--- Ambrose Bierce

Makes sense, RedAgs. Thanks.

Back to the topic (sorry I digressed), there is a terrific book about the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette's life with Louis XVI and the events of her youth leading up to her marriage. It's called "To the Scaffold" by Carolly Erickson.

You see her mother, Maria Theresa of Austrian Hapsburg fame in a totally different light (and it's not that favorable) than the way historians paint her. But, mostly you see Marie Antoinette's totally CLUELESS behavior reflect the deep divide between the 1st and 3rd Estates.

[This message has been edited by janag81 (edited 4/23/2006 12:45a).]

[This message has been edited by aggie111 (edited 4/23/2006 12:09p).]

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?cid=54554&PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD_ID=1120132&fp=F&siteID=Rh1TyiEJmA0-Z._f.i.hyOKhhcnv7.1pGA&cid=60488&fp=F

For those interested, new paperback Lone Star Nation $11.87 shipped at Overstock. Just picked one up for myself and the Mrs.

Lone Star Nation is the book that came to mind when I saw the thread title. I keep it in the car and pretty much read it year round. I think I've read it twice in the last 3 years or so.

Great book.

This is more of a historical fiction book than anything else (with MUCH emphasis on the fiction part), but Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books. It takes place in the 12/13th century in England, and centers around the building of a cathedral and dynamics with King Stephen and Queen Maud. Its a great page turner and I've read it three times (and I DO NOT read most books more than once)!!!

If you like alternative history fiction, read Fatherland or my favorite, Resurrection Day. Resurrection Day is set in the 1970's after the Cuban Missle Crisis had become a shooting war.

"A conservative is a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
--- Ambrose Bierce

quote:

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"Patton, a Genius for War" by Carlo D'Este. THE book to read for those interested in the greatest general since Stonewall Jackson.

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I LOVE this book! One of my favorites.

I also enjoyed a book called "Baa Baa Black Sheep" by "Pappy" Boyington. He was a fighter pilot in the Pacific during WW2 and also a member of the Flying Tigers.

quote:

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The Da Vinci Code

really explains alot

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Really?

No "A Rumor of War" mentions yet?

All the ones above are good. A couple of other mentions:

"The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman. Who would think the greatest WWI book would be written by a woman. But it's true.

"Is Paris Burning"

"Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet."