Literature
I read a lot, generally science-fiction or fantasy mixed with non-fiction historical biographies and natural history. Lately I've been soaking up Civil War history. My spouse recommends my opinions be taken with a grain of salt: she finds my collection of Alan Burt Akers' Dray Prescott series indicative of congenital literary taste deficiencies! Here's my recent reading along with my all time favorites...
Civil War Works
A Higher Duty: Desertion among Georgia Troops during the Civil War, by Mark A. Weitz (2000). I found this a fascinating look at the problems that Georgia (and the Confederacy) faced trying to keep large bodies of troops in the field. Terrific material on what life was like for the families left behind in different regions of Georgia. Well worth reading!
Secession Debated: Georgia's Showdown in 1860. Edited by William W. Freehling and Craig M. Simpson (1992). A great book on the politics of secession in Georgia, detailing the wide range of opinion on secession and some of the irregularities of the secession votes. If you want to understand Georgia's secession, read this book! Really makes the blood boil! Well worth the time!
Enemies of the Country: New Perspectives on Unionists in the Civil War South. Edited by John C. Inscoe and Robert C. Kenzer (2001). Good collection of essays on the experiences of Unionists in the South, highlighting the differences in sentiment and treatment from state to state and region to region. I found most of the collected essays useful in understanding the depths of the polarization between neighbors in the South. Good reading.
The Cause Lost: Myths and Realities of the Confederacy. By William C. Davis (1996). I had hoped for a more detailed work examining the information and disinformation 'popularly' held about the Confederacy and the Civil War. While much of the writing was interesting, the book tended to ramble, and did not always back up assertions adequately. Worth reading just for the discussion of myth vs. reality if a bit hard to get through.
Plain Folks in a Rich Man's War: Class and Dissent in Confederate Georgia. By David Williams, Teresa Williams, and David Carlson (2002). I enjoyed this book! It was well-written and examined the condition and attitudes of Georgia's soldiers, soldier's families, and exemptees in different regions of the state. Also examined the problems facing the government of Georgia during the war, and its successes and failures. Very good reading!
The Stillwell Letters. Edited by Ronald S. Mosely (2002). When looking at history, I like to immerse myself in the newspapers and letters of the period. You get much more of the flavor of life going to primary materials! I was looking for a collection of letters from a Georgia soldier, and I found them here. Gives a great deal of insight into the war from the standpoint of an enlisted man, as well as a perspective on the families they left behind. Excellent reading.
The Civil War: An Illustrated History. By Geoffrey C. Ward, Ric Burns, and Ken Burns (1990). The companion book to the PBS series, this is an excellent work. It does not plumb great depths, but is still an amazing compendium of Civil War information - particularly quotes! Well worth reading!
Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Georgia in the Civil War. By Anne J. Bailey and Walter J. Fraser, Jr. (1996). A neat compilation of photographs of Georgia soldiers, families, encampments, etc. with brief bios on those pictures that have been identified. A great resource for researching the authentic uniforms of Georgia troops. Preponderance of 4th Georgia photographs, but many units are represented from many different areas. Quite compelling!
Lee, the Last Years. By Charles Flood (1980). Well-written examination of the life of Robert E. Lee from Appomattox to his death five years later. Interesting look at his life as he dealt with defeat, the loss of Arlington, and his relationships to Grant and others. A must for anyone interested in understanding Lee!
Children's Classics (from the late 19th century)
Frank on a Gunboat. By Harry Castlemon (1864). This was a fun book to read! I actually couldn't put it down! Title pretty much tells the story, although a lot of the escapades are on dry land (sort-of). While the plot and writing reminded me of a rather stilted Hardy Boys book, it gives a fine feel-for-the-times - at least for folks north of the Ohio!
The Soldier Boy. By Oliver Optic (1864). I found this book interesting, if heavy going. I'm really not sure how a child (probably young adolescent) could have digested it. While the story works, the thickness of the language is daunting. Definitely follows early 19th century language conventions - I was reminded of Melville, although the author was not in his league.
The Young Volunteer. By Joseph E. Crowell (1906). I enjoyed this one. It's pretty hefty at nearly 500 pages, but in many ways it shows its 20th century origins. Feels much more like a modern adventure novel in language and layout than the older works above. This was probably never really intended for children by my thinking, seems much more appropriate to teens and young adults. The illustrations were very good, if inaccurate - I found the nurses attire and shoes in one picture to be rather amusing. Much more appropriate to 1906 than 1864! But I'm nit-picking! This is a good yarn written (if not illustrated) by an author who experienced the war. Well worth the time!
Recent Non-fiction Reading
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan - Nice exploration of evolutionary theory and quite thought-provoking. Reaches a bit in places, but a marvelous book to read.
Language and Species by Derek Bickerton - Very heavy going if you're not a linguist, but has some very interesting sections relating to the development of human cognition and language. Examines closely communication in animals, and covers the theories on how human language capabilities may have evolved.
Recent Fiction Reading
Uller Uprising by H. Beam Piper - Enjoyable book by a science-fiction master who passed before his time. Many of his other works are well-worth reading as well, but may be hard to find in print.
Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny - Very, very weird imagery written in a very weird style. Very fun though, with temporal combats that will make your head spin.
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer by Douglas C. Jones - A great what-if book involving a Custer who survives the Little Bighorn. Good historical fiction with greatly-appreciated attention to detail. Not for Custer-lovers!
This Immortal by Roger Zelazny - Fun book with the feel of his Amber series, but with a deeper protagonist and a unique cast of secondary characters.
Lensman series by E. E. "Doc" Smith - Very early (1937) science fiction still fun to read despite outdated terminology. Some very period commentary on the proper roles of men and women that my daughters rolled their eyes at!
The Belgariad by David Eddings - Long fantasy cycle that I found quite enjoyable. Some parts a little slow, but a fine read none-the-less.
Julian Mays Pleistocene Exile cycle. Wonderful books with incredible imagery!
Ru Emerson's The Princess of Flames. I enjoyed this book. It's not as polished as her later Night-Thread cycle, but something about it holds your attention. The woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a warrior archbishop bit was pretty good!
Alan Burt Akers 'Dray Prescott' series. I really enjoy these books! They are out of print as his heirs apparently have not had his works republished. Akers was incredibly prolific, and his stories have always reminded me of the golden age of pulp fiction. Think Burroughs but with more arms, legs, heads, tentacles, etc. I'm still short about a dozen books - contact me if you've got some you'd like to sell!!!
All Time Favorites
The Oracle's Queen series by Lynn Flewelling. I'd gotten a bit jaded on fantasy, and then I read this trilogy. Definitely not the same old, same old! Like the Lion in Winter rewritten by Poe. Magic, demon spirits, and terrific characters make this a must read!
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - Outstanding reading about a somewhat unwilling Siddartha of the future, trying to overthrow the rule of a colonization ship's crew turned gods. A complex plot, paranormal powers, body-swapping, and terrific imagery make this my favorite fiction book.
The Uplift War by David Brin - My favorite book from the Progenitor's series, and good, solid reading. Hard to put down, and very sweeping in scope.
The Infernal Device by Michael Kurland - Terrific fantasy/mystery book about a criminal but not amoral James Moriarty forced to work with Sherlock Holmes to avoid a world war. Out of print and hard to find, but well worth the trouble.
and of course...
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - Wonderful books well worth anyone's reading, and which everyone should read at least once. Much better than the movies!!!
