Xymog (Mike Toot)
06-20-2002, 05:36 PM
Me and the Mrs. got back from a trip to D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston. While there I learned far more than I ever did in high school history about the remarkable way the US of A got started.
Naturally, I want to read a lot more about it and I'm looking for recommendations on biographies. I'm pretty well educated and have a good background in politics and law, so I'd appreciate something that falls between middle-America attention span theatre and erudite, subtly written 10-volume snoozefests. Here is my mini-list of books I think I might like reading; let me know if you read them, liked / disliked them, or can recommend others that you enjoyed.
Mapp, Alf J. Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity
Mapp, Alf J. Thomas Jefferson: Passionate Pilgrim
Brands, W. The First American: The Life And Times of Benjamin Franklin
Flexner, James T. Washington: The Indispensable Man
McCullough, David. John Adams (wife has this, read it, liked it)
I'd be tempted to add more McCullough (e.g., American Sphinx), but there are some questions about his scholarship and his "fudging" details in his research. While I'm not a purist about storytelling, I'd rather not get all my info about the time period from one author.
Incidentally, for those of you who dig history, I urge you to catch Clay Jenkinson either live or on a local PBS channel when he is in your area. He does some incredible presentations as Thomas Jefferson, Merriweather Lewis, and Robert Oppenheimer. I've only seen him on our local cable TV station (courtesy of Seattle Public Library) but I encourage you to watch. The man *is* Thomas Jefferson and a joy to behold. You can also visit his <a href="http://www.th-jefferson.org/" target="_blank">web site</a> for more info if you're interested.
--Xymog
Naturally, I want to read a lot more about it and I'm looking for recommendations on biographies. I'm pretty well educated and have a good background in politics and law, so I'd appreciate something that falls between middle-America attention span theatre and erudite, subtly written 10-volume snoozefests. Here is my mini-list of books I think I might like reading; let me know if you read them, liked / disliked them, or can recommend others that you enjoyed.
Mapp, Alf J. Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity
Mapp, Alf J. Thomas Jefferson: Passionate Pilgrim
Brands, W. The First American: The Life And Times of Benjamin Franklin
Flexner, James T. Washington: The Indispensable Man
McCullough, David. John Adams (wife has this, read it, liked it)
I'd be tempted to add more McCullough (e.g., American Sphinx), but there are some questions about his scholarship and his "fudging" details in his research. While I'm not a purist about storytelling, I'd rather not get all my info about the time period from one author.
Incidentally, for those of you who dig history, I urge you to catch Clay Jenkinson either live or on a local PBS channel when he is in your area. He does some incredible presentations as Thomas Jefferson, Merriweather Lewis, and Robert Oppenheimer. I've only seen him on our local cable TV station (courtesy of Seattle Public Library) but I encourage you to watch. The man *is* Thomas Jefferson and a joy to behold. You can also visit his <a href="http://www.th-jefferson.org/" target="_blank">web site</a> for more info if you're interested.
--Xymog