I have already been asked by a few people, “Jeff, where is your list of best books for 2019?” I admit, I am a bit behind. Having a 2-year old in your house will do that to you….
This is the first of three blog articles about the best
books I read in 2019. I typically divide
my reading into three broad categories – fiction, ministry related and
history/biography. Here are the
history/biography books I read that stood out as exceptional, in the past year,
as well as a list of the others I had the privilege of reading.
Hoover: An
Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte. This book was hands-down the best biography I
read this year, perhaps the best I have read in a number of years. I did not know much about Hoover before reading
this book – I knew he had fed Europe after World War I, had been president at
the beginning of the Great Depression and I had heard about the “Hoovervilles”
during the Depression. But I had no idea
how accomplished or fascinating his life was before his Presidency and even
after his Presidency. Excellent book on
one of the more interesting American presidents.
Sword and Scimitar:
Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West by Raymond
Ibrahim. Ibrahim, who is an Arab
Christian, surveys 8 pivotal battles between Islam and the “Christian”
West. There is no political correctness
in this book – he tells it like it is.
There is also no attempt to whitewash history and portray Islam as a
“religion of peace.” Don’t get me wrong
– the Christians are not always the heroes here, often there are no
heroes. But this is necessary history
for every Christian to know and absorb.
Rampage:
MacArthur, Yamashita and the Battle of Manila by James M.
Scott. This is a grim, grim book. Read it at your own risk. Scott paints a powerful portrait of one of
the last episodes of World War 2 in the Pacific, the American assault on the
Philippine capital of Manila. The
fanaticism and brutality of the Japanese forces is obvious. MacArthur does not come off well either. The only heroes are the ordinary American
soldiers who endured and ultimately conquered and liberated a ruined city.
Churchill: Walking
with Destiny by Andrew Roberts.
Roberts is one of the great biographers of our time, and his one volume
biography of Winston Churchill does not disappoint. While Churchill was one of the great leaders
of the 20th century, Roberts does not shy away from his faults. All in all, a great, even-handed portrayal of
a fascinating man.
Midnight in Chernobyl:
The Untold Story of the Worlds Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam
Higginbotham. Another grim book,
displaying the power and control of Soviet totalitarianism. When the Chernobyl meltdown happened, the
Soviet response was a mix of ignorance, denial and then desperation. The ordinary people of Russia were merely
pawns to be used to prop up the Soviet regime.
Accidental Presidents:
Eight Men who Changed America by Jared Cohen. This one surprised me. I was not expecting much from this book, but
it is excellent. The book is a
collection of 8 brief biographies of the men who, as vice-presidents, succeeded
to office when the president died. Some
of these men are well-known, like Theodore Roosevelt, others are rather
obscure, like Chester B. Arthur, but all of the stories are fascinating.
The British are Coming:
The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick
Atkinson. Atkinson is a Pulitzer Prize
winning author and historian whose Liberation Trilogy about the American army
in World War 2 Europe is excellent. In
this new series, he turns his attentions to the American War of
Independence. I look forward to the next
volumes in what promises to be another excellent set of books by Atkinson.
Prisoner of the Vatican: the Popes, the Kings and
Garibaldi’s Rebels in the Struggle to Rule Modern Italy by David I.
Kertzer. This book surprised me as
well. Kertzer’s expertise is on the
history of the Popes in the last two centuries.
This book tells the amazing story of how the Pope lost his country (the
Papal States), but more importantly, how he moved from being a political and
spiritual ruler to being a spiritual ruler only. Also recommended – The Pope who would be
King and The Pope and Mussolini by the same author.
2nd Tier reads – still very good and recommended
The Spy and
the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage
Story of the Cold War by Ben MacIntyre
Frederick
Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by
David W. Blight
Heirs of the
Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry
Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, The Second Generation of American Giants
by H. W. Brands
John
Marshall: The Man who made the Supreme
Court by Richard Brookhiser
Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy and a
Collision of Lives in World War 2 by Adam Makos
American
Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great
Space Race by Douglas Brinkley
The
Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the
Settlers who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
The Cinderella
Campaign: First Canadian Army and the
Battles for the Channel Ports by Mark Zuehlke
The Pope and
Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI
and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer
Fire and
Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific
War, 1941-43 by John C. McManus
The Pope who
Would be King: The Exile of Pius IX and
the Emergence of Modern Europe by David I. Kertzer
African
Kaiser: General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck
and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918 by Robert Gaudi
The Aleppo
Codex: In Pursuit of One of the World’s
Most Coveted, Sacred and Mysterious Books by Matti Friedman
The Last
Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Dehli,
1857 by William Dalrymple
3rd
Tier reads – somewhat disappointing
Theodore
Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom
Battle to Save his Legacy by Dan Abrams and David Fisher
Edison by
Edmund Morris
Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by
Tony Horowitz
No comments:
Post a Comment