The Long View: History

John's History index: everything from Thomas More to Black Hawk Down. I haven't even scratched the surfaces of John's many book reviews and essays. There are a lot of good ones here.

The Life of Thomas More made an impression on me when I read this review. Thomas More is also St. Thomas More, but we cannot forget he was also a skilled politician, and was involved in the execution of Protestant dissenters before his own execution. More was a complex and fascinating man, and this is a good capsule biography of him.

It was John that prompted me to read Black Hawk Down. A first-rate piece of war reporting, on par with We were Soldiers Once, and Young. Bowden tells the story of the Battle of Mogadishu through the eyes of those who were there. I suspect this will later be seen as an early part of the Global War on Terror that the United States still finds itself waging 13 years after 9-11.

History

This subject can include the whole world, and I am afraid that I have done little to narrow the scope of the matter. I am particularly interested in three classes of history: models of history (theories that explain how history is supposed to work), world history (with particular relevance to international politics), and national histories, especially those of America and China. This just about covers everything.