Nicholas Bruner
Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Young Adult Author
Tag: history
What I’m Reading: Loserville
Loserville, by Clayton Trutor, is about the history of Atlanta’s relationship with major league sports. The book covers from the 1950s, when ownership groups first tried to lure major league baseball and football teams to the city, through the 1966-1971 years, when the city… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Loserville”
What I’m Reading: In Pursuit of Gotham: Culture and Commerce in New York
In Pursuit of Gotham: Culture and Commerce in New York is a 1992 collection of ten scholarly essays by William A. Taylor, a cultural historian. The essays examine the culture of New York from about 1890 to 1930, when, according to Taylor, America had… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: In Pursuit of Gotham: Culture and Commerce in New York”
What I’m Reading: Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West
Nature’s Metroplis: Chicago and the Great West, by William Cronon, is a thorough, detailed book about the history of Chicago. Yet it doesn’t give an account of the labor movement, the ward system, mayors or aldermen, or the elevated trains, and only the barest… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West”
What I’m Reading: Blood, Iron, and Gold
Blood, Iron, and Gold, by Christian Wolmar, is a straightforward history of the railroad. It’s thorough and clear, with a minimum of editorializing, content to be simply a lucid survey of a somewhat niche subject. I know right now that not a lot of… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Blood, Iron, and Gold”
What I’m Reading: The Authentic Adam Smith
The Authentic Adam Smith: His Life and Ideas by James Buchan is an erudite but straightforward biography of Adam Smith. I was a bit worried at first that it would be partisan and revisionist, because the book cover claims Smith and his theories have… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: The Authentic Adam Smith”
What I’m Reading: Albion’s Seed
I did not fully understand American History until I read this book, especially colonial history. Isn’t that crazy? With a year of AP US History in high school, and as a frequent reader of history as an adult (just click on the “History” tag… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Albion’s Seed”
What I’m Reading: 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War
Charles Emmerson’s book about 1913 is exactly what the title promises: an exploration of the world on the eve of World War I. Rather than proceeding according to, say, a calendar of the year, or a survey of personalities or events, Emmerson has chosen… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War”
What I’m Reading: Setting the East Ablaze
Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin’s Dream of an Empire in Asia is a thoroughly-research book from 1984 by Peter Hopkirk. It covers the efforts of Communist Russia from 1918 to the beginning of World War II to spread its gospel of communism, by persuasion… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Setting the East Ablaze”
