A monograph I picked up when we went to see my son at Stratford Hall in Virginia. "Birthplace of the Nation: A Story Worth Telling, Leedstown, Westmoreland and the Northern Neck" by Carl F. Flemer Jr. and Jenni Brockman. Three of our first five Presidents were born on the Northern Neck of Virginia(Washington, Monroe & Madison). Also John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It was a very interesting read.
I had to shelve "The Man Who Would Not Be Washington" by Jonathan Horn. I tried it but just couldn't get into it at all. Now I'm about 200 pages into "Grant Moves South" by Bruce Catton. Terrific book so far.
I just started "Empire of the Summer Moon" by S.C. Gwynne. It is a complete history of the Comanche Nation. Excellent so far..........
I'm close to finishing "Grant Moves South" by Bruce Catton. I'll finish it today or tomorrow. I brought some choices along on this trip to follow the Catton. I have "Rogue Republic" and "Duel of the First Ironclads" both by William C. Davis, and "Henry Adams and the Making of America" by Garry Wills. Don't know which one I'll choose! I really like both of those authors and have really enjoyed "Grant Moves South".
THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Antony Beevor I sore I'd wouldn't read another book about WWII again. But after watching interviews with the author on YouTube I picked up this book from the local library. Glad I did! Damn this historian can write.
Slowly and with effort reading Fatale Zonden ("Deadly Sins" in Dutch). And Silence (the book) by Endo (in English). I've temporarily put on hold Het Achterhuis ("The Annex" (loosely translated) in Dutch. AKA: The Diary of Ann Frank).
Finished the Zelazny Amber series (fourth time, I think) - now picking up with 3rd book in The Destroyer series by Rex Murphy. Nice cheesy 70's action series that embraces it's cheesiness. Nice easy summer reading Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
I chose The Rogue Republic by William C. Davis but had to shelve it. Wasn't that interesting. Then I went by my favorite used book store while in Mobile, Alabama and picked up a dozen books. Now I'm starting The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley.
Good on ya - I should try that some time, I grew up with Dutch speaking parents, although I did not at all embrace the language as a kid. Picked it up some without trying though but now wish I'd embraced it more. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the encouragement. I have no Dutch background at all. but, I decided I was going to teach myself starting a little over year ago. I haven't done much speaking or composing, but my reading is coming along nicely.
You picked a pretty obscure language then - the Dutch barely even "sprake Nederlands" anymore. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
It's kind of a long story... I have a Canadian friend who's parents are Dutch and raised him bilingual. I took a couple years of German back in the old days of High School and have always has "a thing" for languages altho the only foreign one that I'm even passable at is Italian. So then @RyX posted this thread (nsfw and possibly offensive depending how much Dutch you understand) http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/lost-in-translation.50871/ En de rest is geschiedenis.... with help from my friend, duolingo, and a couple books And lots of credit to @macaronus for his help too! And it turns out that we have a couple Dutch members here and they're even willing to put up with my horrible attempts at communication.
In my defense, that was before I became a Mod. I used to look for the edges of the envelope though I'm careful not to push too far. The language is obscure enough that no sensitive snowflakes were triggered so I didn't have to delete my own thread. There's another video clip that illustrated the hazards of cross cultural ignorance, a Soesman language training commercial that instructs adult Dutch students in the English language. The lyrics of the song on the car radio wouldn't get passed the censors here in the U.S.
No need to defend yourself. Apparently the Dutch are quite liberal with their allowed on-air cursing, even on TV. Way more than would ever get past our FCC in a million years. Plus, you inspired some learning on my part. So... it all ended well. Plus, the bad words are important to know when you hear them, tho I wouldn't be using them.
Working with folks that joined our melting pot society I've picked up a bit of Spanish & Russian. Being part Cajun there's that antique French, too. Unfortunately it requires using, else losing. I can mimic but the meaning of the words doesn't stick.
