Posted on 06/27/2014 8:33:15 AM PDT by Tax-chick
They are both available at my library which one would you recommend?
I was impressed with both series. Children can relate but as the problems become more complex to solve, the child is a year older and able to understand more. Like, growing with the story.
I can’t remember which one I read! I *think* it was “Commodore,” because that title would have caught my eye on the “new nonfiction” shelf more than the other.
Just read the book on Babi Yar. The others are strong recommendations that I read some time back.
The Riddle of Babi Yar
Excellent, moving, frightening true story of the massacre of over 100,000 at Babi Yar written by a survivor.
Ghost Soldiers
Non-fiction about the rescue of about 300 survivors of the Bataan Death March prior to McArthur’s return to the Phillipines
Killer Angels by Shaara,
novel, but fact-based, on Battle of Gettysburg
Second Opinion by Theodore Dalrymple
Non fiction commentary by doctor who worked in East End London - very germane and painfully close to America now and where we are heading.
I think one reason for the outstanding success of both series is the recognition that teenagers (or younger) can face complex and demanding challenges and rise to the occasion. Pioneer generations knew this, but it’s been lost in the larger culture, I think. Their choices are, “Do good in school,” “Do good in sports,” or “Failure,” with only a few exceptions.
I think it’s a great loss to humanity. What could (or couldn’t!) Tom do, with his brain and his strength and his practically mythical power over small children, if he were thrown into one of these fantasy milieux?
I’ve read “Killer Angels” several times, listened to “Ghost Soldiers.” Unfortunately, the other two aren’t in my library. Unnngh!
I have “Life at the Bottom” by Theodore Dalrymple, and I reread it often.
Haha-isn’t that the truth-Roman history alone provides enough real stuff-like the “Masters of Rome” books-another favorite...
Tacitus, Livy, Suetonius, Horace, Juvenal. The original sources.
Finishing the Myth Adventures series, which I grew up on but lost touch with. As I get closer to the day Bob died the books get kind of depressing, not in content, just in knowledge.
Tacitus in particular was interesting when I was young-and Caesar’s military strategies-says a lot about the person as well as the general.
I started reading those when they were new. That was a long time ago!
Yes, we have Caesar’s “Gallic War” on the shelf, too. Our local used book outlet, “The Book Lady,” gets in a good selection of Greek and Roman authors in inexpensive (even when new) paperbacks.
Thank you. I’ll bet there’s a lot of information, aside from Murrow, that would shed light on events of his time. It’s always like that, one reason reading is so fun.
I just added “Signature in the Cell,” being the earlier publication, to my library list. I’m not a Darwinist, myself.
Tom would rule for sure! Clever and mesmerizing and a champion for the underdogs.
And really big.
If Tom is a demigod, I wonder who his divine parent would be ... knowing I’m his real mother and all ... somebody snarky, like Hades in the “Hercules” series, probably!
we introduced our sons to Louis L'Amour while they were very young... 4 and 7 years old... and they continue to read him... this book, Education of a Wandering Man, is actually a type of memoir about his education--unconventional education... he dropped out of school at 15 and traveled extensively--while working on ships and such... he talks of his avid reading, and pretty much how he educated himself... as a homeschooler, i find it both fascinating and inviting... :)
I have lots of time on my hands now.
You’re welcome. Congratulations on your retirement as well as your many years of hard work. I hope you find some useful reading suggestions here.
As I said in the original post, there used to be a quarterly thread on this topic. I don’t remember who originated it, but it hasn’t been done in a quite a while, and I just decided it was time.
I got four library requests out of it, and there would have been more if the library had them.
he certainly is! i am captivated by his story in Education of a Wandering Man... honestly, i would not mind it at all if my sons led the kind of life LL did... he considered himself an autodidact... as a homeschooler, i am all for alternative education... :)
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