From experience at other sites, seems like a What are you reading thread would be good. Probably lots of fantastic books cycling through the membership.
Currently, I’m reading Gomorrah. True Story of organized crime factions in Naples, Italy . Fascinating read so far. It isn’t a mafia book which at first glance seemed surprising but it’s definitely a gangster book.
How good is the series one might ask. Well I sat though the whole first season, watching and listening in Italian because I was so fascinated I forgot to flip to English. That’s never happened before. In anycase, be warned series is graphic.
Currently nothing which is unusual for me. My girls gave me Hitler’s American Gamble by Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman(Brits)for Christmas. It’s revisionist history. They trace Hitler’s decision to declare war on the US from December 7 to December 11. They also discuss the considerable uncertainty of whether the US would declare war o Germany after Pearl Harbor. Contrary to the popular notion that Hitler’s declaration of war on the US was a knee jerk reaction they argue that it was a calculated gamble. Very interesting read. Tied up in this is also the fate of Western and Central European Jews and Lend Lease to both Britain and Russia. Lots of different threads that they are able to weave together to tell and interesting and rather convincing story.
Again not something I have read recently but anyone interested in Winston Churchill would do well to read William Manchester’s three volume biography The Last Lion. very well written and meticulously researched. I found the first volume particularly illuminating as it dealt with Churchill’s early childhood and upbringing and education. Each volume is well over 500 pages but very readable.
Last year, I finished Ghosts Of Gold Mountain, The Epic story of the Chinese who built the transcontinental railroad. This book covers the building of the railroad by the Chinese who worked for the CPRR, Central Pacific Railroad, through the California Sierras, Nevada, Utah, and to the Golden Spike.
Looks like one I need to pick up. Know some about it through railroad histories, and more from Ambroses’ Nothing Like It In The World, which gave me more of an appreciation.
. Fascinating read so far. It isn’t a mafia book which at first glance seemed surprising but it’s definitely a gangster book.
