I continue to enjoy Suzanne Massie’s Land of the Firebird, especially when I’m teaching a Russian course or leading a tour to Russia, because it has so much useful information and is a delight to read.
In preparing for our new course in Early Sacred Music, I began searching for interesting histories of the Middle Ages. I found Millennium in a book store at Heathrow Airport as I was waiting to board a flight back to Dallas. I was riveted by the Introduction before the plane left the tarmac. Tom Holland’s writing style is very engaging.
Becoming Charlemagne by Jeff Sypeck is a relatively quick read and an engaging one. I turned to it in anticipation of a brief trip to Aachen, a cultural treasure I finally was able to experience. Now that was a real eye-opener.
Land of Giants by Ken Follett. A fellow-lecturer on a recent Transatlantic crossing recommended this to me. Reading it takes a little time. Somehow I’d missed Follett’s tetrology (Land of Giants is Part I). Thank you, Jacques. Your book on Ancient Cultures is at the top of my list and I’ll be sharing my thoughts about it soon.
Atlantic by Simon Winchester. Again related to crossing the Atlantic, I have read this beautiful “history” of the Atlantic twice. Winchester covers everything from geological history to poetry and opera. The eBook form is particularly fun, for it includes videos of him “at sea” summarizing various topics.
Rome and Jerusalem by Martin Goodman. Sorting out these two ancient cultures is a tough task, but Goodman really helps. His suspenseful, lyrical style got my attention from the first paragraph. He frames his discussion with the question: “How did these two esteemed cultures co-exist so well, for so long, only to come into a fatal clash in the first century A.D?”