The link below is to an article reporting on seven books important to history – in some way. There’s a fair chance that you won’t agree with a lot of the selections.
For more visit:
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/14/7-tiny-books-that-packed-a-big-punch/
This book is for history enthusiasts and concerns what has come down to us as the ‘Boston Massacre.’ The Boston Massacre was an important incident that led up to the American War of Independence. This book contains an account of the incident, as well as information on the town of Boston, the trial of the soldiers involved in the incident and a number of unpublished documents attributed to John Adams (who would become the second president of the United States) who defended the British troops
in their trial.
The book is some 320 pages long and can be downloaded as a pdf, as well as a number of other formats as shown on the page linked to.
To Download the pdf version of the book, visit:
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924076622731
I have been reading the five volume work of Washington Irving on the ‘Life of George Washington’ over the last little while. Currently I am in the middle of the second volume. Though I am only reading two to ten pages a day and don’t view this reading exercise as particularly pressing, I am enjoying my reading experience very much. It is an easy to read book, with chapters divided into very manageable portions. As a whole, the five volumes make up about 2000 pages.
This work by Washington Irving on the life of George Washington covers the life of the first president of the United States, shedding much light on the life and times of Washington. Thus far I have covered the period of Washington’s early life, through the war against the French and Indians (in which Washington played an important role) and into the American War Of Independence (in which Washington led the fledgling nation’s army against the British). This biographical work seems to be an excellent life of George Washington, but also provides an insight into the players and the history of the times.
In short, this five volume work on Washington is excellent and I would highly recommend reading the entire work on an important person in, and period of, American history. The work is available at the Internet Archive and I have links to the five volumes on my website at:
Yes, I have finally managed to put up another post on this Blog – been quite a while I know. I apologise for that – been very busy with other pursuits.
Today’s book review is on ‘Edmund Barton,’ by John Reynolds. This book is the first in a series on Australia’s Prime Ministers by Bookman Press. The Bookman Press series sought to re-publish the best biographies on each of the Australian Prime Ministers to coincide with the centenary of Australian Federation. ‘Edmund Barton,’ by John Reynolds, was first published in 1948.
This book, though about Edmund Barton, is also a good introduction to the process of Australia becoming a federation of colonies to form the modern day nation of Australia. A biography of Barton must be a study of the beginning of Federation as Barton was probably one of the most important players in bringing Federation to pass, which also meant the creation of Australia as one nation. It is a fascinating introduction to just how a modern Australia was born from the federation of the various colonies that were then situated on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania.
As far as reading goes, I found the book to contain much that interested me, as I have not read or studied a lot on the federation of Australia and the process by which it was achieved. For me this has been an important addition to my understanding of Australian history in an area in which my understanding was quite poor. Having said that, I do not think the book is necessarily an easy read, but requires discipline to keep at it.
I have now read this book and have found my earlier thoughts sadly confirmed. My first comments on this book on this Blog at:
So I not only agree with my earlier thoughts on the book, but have even more to say about it. The illustrations (cartoons) I found to be completely inappropriate and the attempts by the author to justify them as irrelevant. There is just no place for the comical depictions of God given in the book.
The treatment of Calvin’s life is disappointing, with not enough detail given to it and some of the important events/incidents in his life are not treated or merely glossed over. It would have been better to have settled on the summary of the Institutes or do a full biography of John Calvin.
I also found the conclusions toward the end of the book disappointing and would suspect Calvin to be turning in the grave as a result of them.
The summary of the Institutes was probably not too bad, but I would have been better served to have read the Institutes rather than this book.
In summary – a very disappointing book that I would not recommend to anyone else to read.
Today’s suggestion is probably one that most people wouldn’t think a great deal about these days. In the Western World, the issue of AIDS is probably somewhat on the backburner so to speak, though that would depend on the community you live within or deal with on a daily basis.
Though AIDS remains a major health threat in Western countries, the real frontline is in the Third World, where entire countries are under serious threat from AIDS/HIV and/or the consequences of the disease on the economy, the community, the family, etc.
So helping to prevent AIDS and to assist in the provision of treatment for AIDS/HIV, as well as caring for those left in it’s wake are all very important.
Some web sites with valuable information:
A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton
I never expected to agree with everything that ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton, suggested. So it comes as no surprise to me to find a suggestion with which I have an issue – so to speak.
The suggestion for today is about buying Palestinian olive oil as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their plight. However, I am loathe to do this.
Why? Is it because I support the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians? No, I do not support the oppression of the Palestinian people. But neither do I support the anti-Israel rhetoric that seems to be continually doing the rounds.
I would love to see an end to the occupation of lands captured during the 1967 war and do not support Israeli settlements in these areas. However, one does need to remember the fact that Israel did not start that 1967 war and the surrounding nations have largely set an agenda since the birth of the modern Israeli state to crush it. There has also been an unending campaign of terror against the Israeli state and Israel has a right to defend itself.
It would be great to see lasting peace in Palestine and for that to happen both sides need to address the important issues I have mentioned here and others. But it is both sides that need to do it – not just Israel and not just the Palestinian people. It is both sides. That is what I support here.
A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton
Today’s suggestion for changing the world was to get involved in Foundations for change. The suggestion was to set up a foundation or to try and get involved in one, perhaps by becoming a trustee/board member.
Hmmm, there are of course many foundations that one could possibly get involved in. You have a very wide choice, from environmental causes, to health and medical foundations, educational foundations, etc.
I have a very personal reason to get involved in a foundation and that in relation to diabetes research. My most important friend has severe diabetes and died very young. I have a small online memorial set up for here at:
http://respectance.com/Rebecca_Therese_Morris
I have a strong desire to set up some sort of foundation to help raise funds for diabetes research. I have no idea if this desire will ever eventuate into a reality – but it is something I will never forget about wanting to do at the very least.
Some day – some how – some time. That is what I want to achieve here.
For another foundation type idea have a look at this site:
This seems like a good idea – doesn’t appear to be such a thing in Australia.
A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton
The first book I will be reviewing for Thomas Nelson is called ‘The Noticer,’ by New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews. It is actually an ebook that I have.
The hardcopy book is available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785229213/thomasnelsoni-20
There is an online web site associated with the book called ‘The Noticer Project’ at:
http://www.thenoticerproject.com/
I haven’t started to read the book yet, but will be doing so today. Certainly the web site looks interesting. The site encourages visitors to think of 1 to 5 people who have played an important role in their lives. You then post a message sharing your thoughts about these people on the site and an email is also sent to those people. The message is meant to be an inspiration and encouragement to others who visit the site.
A quote from the site will perhaps help:
"The Noticer Project is a worldwide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life! Noticing those five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to your Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as you choose, but the movement is meant to encourage us to step outside our busy schedules and avoid waiting until a wedding, graduation or even a funeral to take notice of the special, influential people in our lives. By noticing those who have made a difference for you, you not only acknowledge their contribution, but you may gain a new perspective on your own journey. If you are noticed, you are encouraged to continue the movement by ‘noticing’ five people in your life!"
There is also a Facebook Group that can be joined and ‘The Noticer’ can be followed on Twitter.
The web site has a number of suggestions as to how you can ‘notice’ that important person in your life, be it from writing a private letter, making a donation to a charity in the name of that person, etc.
The site encourages you to notice a person before a birthday or funeral.
Overall, I quite like the concept of noticing others. It certainly has you thinking in a more ‘other-centred’ manner and encourages you to not be so ‘self-centred.’ I wouldn’t try and blend what is a secular concept into a Christian one, but the project does warrant comparisons with many Christian virtues.
Visit the web site by clicking on the banner below:
At the BookShelf 