Saturday, January 5, 2019

Best Reads of 2018 - History/Biography



I recently looked at my blog and noticed my last post was in June.  Ouch!  I knew it had been a while, but I did not think it had been that long.  And only 5 posts in all of 2018!  Chalk it up to having a toddler in the house again, I guess.

I may be delinquent in updating my blog, but I don’t want to be too delinquent in getting out my “best of” books list for 2018.  As in past years, I have grouped them into three categories – history/biography, fiction and Christian living/ministry.  I highlight the handful of books I consider the best of the year and then list the others as very good or somewhat disappointing.

First, the best history/biography books I read this year.

Marlborough:  His Life and Times by Winston S. Churchill.  Yes, that Winston Churchill.  At almost 1000 pages, this is an abridged version of his magnificent biography of his ancestor, John Churchill, the Earl of Marlborough. (The original version is 4 volumes!) Once the reader gets past Winston Churchill’s somewhat florid and very English prose, you will find a brilliantly written portrait of the man who very possibly was the greatest general the English have ever produced.

The Bonanza King:  John Mackay and the Battle over the Greatest Riches in the American West by Gregory Crouch.  This was the best history book I read this year.  It combines Western history, the thrill and suspense of mining discovery and the rags to riches story of John Mackay who came to control much of what we now know as the Comstock Lode of silver mines in Nevada.

The Madman and the Butcher:  The Sensational Wars of Sam Hughes and General Arthur Currie by Tim Cook.  Chalk this one up to the Canadian history I did not get in high school in Winnipeg.  Cook’s book is a fascinating dual biography of the relationship between two famous Canadians, Sam Hughes, the intemperate and probably crazy Minister of Defense during World War 1, and Arthur Currie, Canada’s greatest World War 1 general.

Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic.  Indianapolis is the story of one of the great, forgotten tragedies of World War 2.  The cruiser Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese sub during the last months of the war and most of the crew lost their lives.  The tragedy was compounded by the fact that it was completely avoidable and that those truly guilty got off with their reputation and military careers intact.

Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  I enjoy Goodwin’s writing and try to read everything she releases.  When I first saw this book, I was somewhat skeptical of finding anything new, since Goodwin had written books on all four of the presidents portrayed here.  I was happy to be proven wrong.  The book is a focused portrait of the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lynden Johnson.

On Desperate Ground:  The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides.  Sides is another author that writes excellent history and On Desperate Ground does not disappoint.  The grim story of the Marines at Chosin Reservoir is well told here, shedding new light on one of the greatest struggles of the Cold War.

Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-75 by Max Hastings.  Many Vietnam history books are very limited, either in scope or their bias toward one side or the other.  Hastings’ book is comprehensive, starting with the French in Vietnam and ending at the North’s final victory over the South.  It is also balanced – no one comes out of this conflict looking good, and Hastings is not afraid to criticize any and all of the parties involved, including the American media for their bias toward the Communist North.


2nd Tier Reads, still very good, recommended:

No Better Place to Die:  The Battle of Stones River by Peter Cozzens
Mosby’s Rangers by Jeffry D. Wert
American Heiress:  The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin
Our Finest Hour:  Canada Fights the Second World War by David J. Bercuson
Blood on the Hills:  The Canadian army in the Korean War by David J. Bercuson
Blood Moon:  An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation by John Sedgwick
Killers of the Flower Moon:  The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Terrible Victory:  First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign: September 13-Novermber 6, 1944 by Mark Zuehlke
The Soul of Battle:  From Ancient Times to the Present Day, how Three great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny by Victor Davis Hanson
The King and the Cowboy:  Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners by David Fromkin
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S. Wood
The Day of the Panzer:  A Story of American Heroism and Sacrifice in Southern France by Jeff Danby
Vimy:  The Battle and the Legend by Tim Cook
Rogue Heroes by Ben MacIntyre
Pacific Alamo:  The Battle for Wake Island by John Wukovits
Road to Disaster:  A New History of America’s Descent into Vietnam by Brian VanDeMark
The Battle of Arnhem:  The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War 2 by Anthony Beevor.
Valley Forge by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin


3rd Tier Reads, somewhat disappointing:

The Inheritance of Rome:  Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham
Jefferson's Great Gamble: The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and the Men behind the Louisiana Purchase by Charles Cerami

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