| 1. |  | Endurance
from Blackstone Audio Inc.
Customer Review:
Like almost every other reviewer here, I regard Shackleton's odyssey has one of the most incredible tales of human endurance...ever. His men...survive months of exposure to the Antarctic cold, on the floating, shifting ice pack...and nobody dies. If it weren't thoroughly documented it would be an... more info | 4.5 / 5.0
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| 2. |  | The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Price: $16.38
Customer Review:
This is a really good book, but I was disappointed that there are no color plates. Also, even though there are a lot of black & white reproductions and really interesting historical photos, the printing quality is not especially good. This is a shame, because the author spends a lot of time... more info | 5.0 / 5.0
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| 3. |  | Killing Hitler: The Plots, The Assassins, and the Dictator Who Cheated Death
from Bantam
Price: $11.20
Customer Review:
This is an OK read for those wanting to know who wanted Hitler killed. Obviously, Stalin, the British government, German generals, and other assorted opposition personnel wanted to kill the dictator. Some of them were simply stalkers as with the case of the Swiss theology student. Others were more... more info | 5.0 / 5.0
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| 4. |  | The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
from Oxford University Press, USA
Customer Review:
Author convincingly details the many issues surrounding the decline of Rome, especially the western empire, with the pivotal year noted as 476 AD (or CE). As detailed in the book's last chapter, it was not so much the external forces of invading barbarians, but the unparalleled aggression and... more info | 4.5 / 5.0
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| 5. |  | A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
from Ballantine Books
Price: $12.89
Customer Review:
'A Distant Mirror' has been my most satisfying read in years. Ms Tuchman lays out the events of the 14th century in rich but comprehensible detail. She paints a truly convincing picture of the age and one comes away with a remarkable understanding of the flawed mediaeval age. The writing is flawless... more info | 4.5 / 5.0
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| 6. |  | Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
from Bantam
Price: $19.80
Customer Review:
This book changed my image of both men. I belive it removed the polish and made them human. Their strength was in the fact that both men could fall so far down and climb back to the top over and over again. | 4.0 / 5.0
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| 7. |  | The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
from W. W. Norton & Company
Price: $12.89
Customer Review:
I am struck by how a "respected" author can resort to flagrant bigotry of other cultures, specifically Arab-Muslim culture, e.g. reference to boys having "golden penises". It is crass, uncouth, and resorts to anti-Arab stereotypes. Would such crass stereotypes be made of other ethnicities, the book... more info | 3.5 / 5.0
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| 8. |  | The Triumph of Music: The Rise of Composers, Musicians and Their Art
from Belknap Press
Price: $19.77
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| 9. | ![]() | Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
from Belknap Press
Price: $13.57
Customer Review:
I read a lot of history books, but I don't review very many. In fact, I think this is only my second review of a history text. I think it's because I don't want to come across looking like an idiot since I'm only an amateur historian. :D
However, Iron Kingdom was so good that it inspired me to... more info | 4.5 / 5.0
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| 10. |  | From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present
from Harper Perennial
Price: $13.60
Customer Review:
In as few words as possible, this is an excellent cultural history of the West. The author shares his capital of what amounts to nearly a century of lived experience and impressive erudition with anyone lucky enough to have opened the pages of this book. Barzun's writing is top notch and highly... more info | 4.0 / 5.0
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