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Oct. 17th, 2004 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsosOkay, so here's the books I have that I'm willing to give away. They're pretty much all my disaster books, but that's okay because I've read them a lot and I know that some of you guys might be interested. Like I said, I probably won't be able to send them out until the end of this week. I'd rather not send them all to one person (obviously -- share the love, guys), but if you want any, go ahead and call dibs.
The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough: It takes a good hundred pages of backstory before the dam actually breaks, but once it does, it's a nice, fast-paced read. It's got a good selection of photos, although the quality is admittedly questionable in the long shots, what with it being 1889.
Triangle, by David von Drehle: It does tend to deal a lot more with the influence the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire had on workplace regulations and stuff like that, but still, not bad.
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, by Diana Preston: Very good and very detailed when it comes to the sinking itself, but it's equally intriguing in regards to the sinking's relation to World War I. Before you get to the sinking, there's a lot of stuff about European politics and the way the American government reacted to the war, and it might be a little dry if you're not a great big history dork like me.
A Treasury of Great American Scandals and A Treasury of Royal Scandals, by Michael Farquhar: Hee! If you like laughing and/or rolling your eyes at politicians and royalty, these are a lot of fun to read.
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson: I adore this book so much. I've got to give the book props, because I thoroughly expected the stuff about Dr. Holmes to intrigue me, since I'm fascinated by this creepy, prolific serial killer who just managed to get away with it for so freaking long, but the author actually managed to sweep me up with describing the Chicago World's Fair and how they built it. I mean, it's building a fair, for crying out loud. I kept expecting to mentally say, "Get back to the murderer, damn it!" But I liked both stories, so there you go. :)
The Circus Fire, by Stewart O'Nan: GREAT book. Lots of detail, very well researched, so many creepy little anecdotes, and plus, so many people and journalists brought their cameras to the circus in Hartford that day that there are dozens of photos in the book.
Day of Infamy, by Walter Lord: Walter Lord is my favorite screaming-and-Muppet-arms historical writer. (If you can say you like reading this disaster stuff and you haven't read A Night to Remember ... damn it, it's a really short book, just go and read it!) He gets very detailed and very personal so that you really feel like you're there at Pearl Harbor.
Hiroshima, by John Hersey: Short and to the point, but everything you might want to know about the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftereffects is right there.
The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough: It takes a good hundred pages of backstory before the dam actually breaks, but once it does, it's a nice, fast-paced read. It's got a good selection of photos, although the quality is admittedly questionable in the long shots, what with it being 1889.
Triangle, by David von Drehle: It does tend to deal a lot more with the influence the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire had on workplace regulations and stuff like that, but still, not bad.
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, by Diana Preston: Very good and very detailed when it comes to the sinking itself, but it's equally intriguing in regards to the sinking's relation to World War I. Before you get to the sinking, there's a lot of stuff about European politics and the way the American government reacted to the war, and it might be a little dry if you're not a great big history dork like me.
A Treasury of Great American Scandals and A Treasury of Royal Scandals, by Michael Farquhar: Hee! If you like laughing and/or rolling your eyes at politicians and royalty, these are a lot of fun to read.
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson: I adore this book so much. I've got to give the book props, because I thoroughly expected the stuff about Dr. Holmes to intrigue me, since I'm fascinated by this creepy, prolific serial killer who just managed to get away with it for so freaking long, but the author actually managed to sweep me up with describing the Chicago World's Fair and how they built it. I mean, it's building a fair, for crying out loud. I kept expecting to mentally say, "Get back to the murderer, damn it!" But I liked both stories, so there you go. :)
The Circus Fire, by Stewart O'Nan: GREAT book. Lots of detail, very well researched, so many creepy little anecdotes, and plus, so many people and journalists brought their cameras to the circus in Hartford that day that there are dozens of photos in the book.
Day of Infamy, by Walter Lord: Walter Lord is my favorite screaming-and-Muppet-arms historical writer. (If you can say you like reading this disaster stuff and you haven't read A Night to Remember ... damn it, it's a really short book, just go and read it!) He gets very detailed and very personal so that you really feel like you're there at Pearl Harbor.
Hiroshima, by John Hersey: Short and to the point, but everything you might want to know about the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftereffects is right there.
