The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874-1965 William Manchester and Paul Reid Little, Brown and Company (6 November 2012) Publisher's page What's it about?: A trilogy of biographies covering the life of Winston Churchill, British statesman, solider, and writer. The first two volumes were published in the 1980s. Author William Manchester passed away while working … Continue reading The Last Lion (3 Volumes) →

Napoleon's Military Maxims by Napoleon Bonaparte Skyhorse (12 January 2016) Publisher's page What's it about?: The knowledge and intuition of Napoleon Bonaparte, French emperor and military commander who rose to prominence during the French Revolution. My opinion: Napoleon was a sociopath who restored slavery, abandoned his own army (twice), posed as a revolutionary while working … Continue reading Napoleon’s Military Maxims →

Lancelot: A Novel by Walker Percy St. Martin's Press (4 September 1999) Publisher's page What's it about?: Walker Percy's fourth novel. It is the story of a man -- Lancelot Lamar -- driven insane by the decadence of the world that is, to the point where he is institutionalised. My opinion: A fascinating read. I … Continue reading Lancelot →

The Age of Caesar: Five Roman Lives by Plutarch (translated by Pamela Mensch) Norton (5 February 2018) Publisher's page What's It About?: Plutarch's biographies of five Roman statesmen: Pompey, Julius Caesar, Cicero, Brutus, and Mark Antony. Selected from the Parallel Lives, these works address the question as to how a republic can be protected from … Continue reading The Age of Caesar →

Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters by Scott Rosenberg Three Rivers Press (1 June 2010) Publisher's page What's it about?: This is basically a history of blogging as an overall process, and its impact on the media, politics, business, and our personal lives. My opinion: A very concise history … Continue reading Say Everything →

Gorbachev: The Path to Power by Christian Schmidt-Hauer I.B. Taurus (11 July 1986) Where to find it What's it about?: Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, former Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union, from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991. Looking at his life and career, it was published in 1986. … Continue reading Gorbachev →

Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by William Shakespeare Penguin (27 October 1994) Publisher's link What's it about?: Four of Shakespeare's tragedies, with notes, introductions, background and sources, and other additional materials to accompany each text. My opinion: It's Shakespeare. How can one go wrong? Let's just leave it at that. Kidding... sort of. … Continue reading Four Tragedies →

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel (with Blake Masters) Virgin (1 June 2015) Publisher's Link What's It About?: Startups, at least as the word is currently defined in the Silicon Valley sense, and how to test ideas and get your company moving. It challenges readers to … Continue reading Zero to One →

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (translated by Rex Warner) Penguin (31 December 1963) Publisher's link What It's About?: Thucydides' historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). The author served as an Athenian general during the war, a … Continue reading History of the Peloponnesian War →

My Pilgrim's Progress: Media Studies, 1950-1998 by George W. S. Trow Vintage (2 May 2000) Publisher's link What It's About?: A study of the media culture of the United States, how television came to dominate media consumption in the 1950s, and how things continued to evolve towards the end of the twentieth-century. George W. S. … Continue reading My Pilgrim’s Progress →