Newer Historical Books

It blows my mind how a well-written 800-page book like this can go for only $2. It is interesting how more recent books on historical figures have a different viewpoint compared to older books, for various reasons. Apparently, there were 1,500 people who knew Napoleon and left writings about him, and there is so much to discern from these writings because of different viewpoints, biases, various intentions, including from Napoleon’s own writings, it is difficult to figure out where the truth lies. Which is why newer books by good authors (presumably) can uncover what older books can’t. In the case of Soviet topics, Russia has vast archives which are limited, if allowed at all, to an author. Many things have never been released, and those that have give newer works a different result from older books.

Still, I like reading the older books and they all aren’t rendered obsolete by newer ones. “The Guns of August” (World War I) by Barbara W. Tuchman, and “Adolf Hilter: The Definitive Biography” by John Toland, for example, are still highly regarded even though they are both around fifty years old. It is a shame more people don’t pick up on such great reading, it isn’t as if it is too expensive to get into. And the stories are for the most part, real.

My favorite form of history book however are the first-hand accounts, those are never outdated by newly released material.

V: The Original Miniseries Soundtrack

After spending a lot of time attempting to find some information on the intro track for “V”, I fired off an email to the creator and director of “V”, Kenneth Johnson. I knew he had a web site, so, I might as well. I had a response within the hour, and he said he’d just send me a copy of the soundtrack! Very cool.

And, just for reference, the original four-hour miniseries is an outstanding piece of work. The second miniseries is really good, aside from one plot-line. The weekly series was a goofy joke, due to NBC interference and massive budget cuts. The 2009 re-boot lost the spirit of the original and I’ll never watch it again, very disappointing. Kenneth Johnson was only involved in the first miniseries, and it shows.

Garage Sale Find: Complete Folio Society Set • History of England

They were asking $125 for this entire set, two of which are on eBay for $250. My dad got them down to $60 and bought them for me. The second day of a garage sale makes the sellers more open to lowering prices, they had a lot of older books that didn’t seem to be moving, unfortunately. I almost bought a really good book on the Boer War that I already had, so, my list continues to pay off! The Folio Society makes great books, so this was a really good deal.