November 2009

  • Dark Continent

    By roskopp on 11/12/09 8:15am
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    Dark ContinentDark ContinentYou may imagine that the name Dark Continent refers to Africa but this disturbing and insightful history book concerns itself with Europe. Emerging from the First World War with borders redrawn and a grim determination to avoid anymore bloodshed on such a terrifying scale the growth of powerful ideologies nevertheless led us into an even more horrifying conflict. Mark Mazower masterfully weaves his way through the 20th century revealing a history often untold in a witty and extremely readable style. This falls somewhere between textbook and popular history and it proves to be a valiant attempt to explain the path Europe has taken.

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  • Eric Marcus Making Gay History: The Half-Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights

    By lisala on 11/6/09 11:14am
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    Marcus' Making Gay History:

     

    Eric Marcus. Making Gay History: The Half-Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights. HarperPerrenial, 2002.
    ISBN: 978-0060933913.

    The Half-Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights really is a collection of interviews, beginning with the formation of the Mattachine Society and The Daughter's of Bilitis, right through the era of Mcarthyism (when it was worse to be queer than communist), the sixties and Stonewall, the seventies and marches, with the people who were the principles in these historic events. Marcus conducted in depth interviews, then organized hundreds of inter

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  • Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

    By akgoemans on 11/6/09 6:50am
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    Guns, Germs and SteelGuns, Germs and Steel

    I came across Guns, Germs and Steel as required reading for one of my classes and I must say that it soon became one of my favorite non-fiction books. Written by Jared Diamond, this book explores an interesting question – why some societies like the Eurasian ones have risen to become powerful whilst others have struggled to reach that position. Plus, as the author attempts to answer this question, he also throws in a lot of historical details about various civilizations and their different contributions to the world. And that is the beauty of this book.

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