I prefer “historical books” to “history books.” That is to say I want first hand accounts of the times being described and thus be drawn as fully as possible into that time period. By reading first hand accounts I am able to connect with the feelings, the mindset, the zeitgeist of the times, whereas history…… Continue reading Hildreth’s “Japan as it was and is”- My Notes and Thoughts
Category: Books
My notes on books I’ve read.
Lapham’s Quarterly – Technology
For the past two years I’ve not been very good about reading my Lapham’s Quarterly in a timely manner. With kids free time is at a premium and any reading time that does appear is often devoted to books on my reading list. I am trying to more time for this periodical for the same…… Continue reading Lapham’s Quarterly – Technology
Something Strange Across the River – Nagai Kafū
I am fascinated by history. This hasn’t always been so but has been a growing interest that began when I first went overseas in 1997. I studied abroad in Toledo, Spain a medieval city founded by the Romans. Instead of simply reading about historical events in a history book, I was physically in the same…… Continue reading Something Strange Across the River – Nagai Kafū
History of Tokyo 1867 – 1989 From EDO to SHOWA: The Emergence of the World’s Greatest City
Tokyo is part of my past, my present and my future. I lived in Mejiro from 2002 – 2004 and attended Waseda university just a few stations south near the fun to say Takadanobaba. My family returns to Japan for the summers and I spend a few days on my own in Tokyo drinking beer,…… Continue reading History of Tokyo 1867 – 1989 From EDO to SHOWA: The Emergence of the World’s Greatest City
Time Life Books – The Trailblazers
I fly quite a bit between San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio. Everytime I do I’m fascinated by the vastness of the country and amazed at how quickly non-Native people spread and populated the land. I think about how the Pilgrims arrived in 1620 and how everything to the west of the Atlantic shore was terra…… Continue reading Time Life Books – The Trailblazers
Time Life Books – The Great Chiefs
I’ve just finished another book in the Time Life series on the Old West. I found them at an estate sale and bought three of them as I remembered them from the ’80s. I wish I would have bought the entire set because these books are fantastic. I am fascinated when I think of the…… Continue reading Time Life Books – The Great Chiefs
The Pocket Stoic
I learned of stoicism after being introduced to Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations which I read and posted quotes about back in 2017. I am still fascinated by this wonderful philosophy and am amazed that the ancients seem so much more enlightened 2000 years ago than we are today. The masses today are taught how to think…… Continue reading The Pocket Stoic
The Spanish West – Time Life Books
The more I travel and learn the more I realize people of every nation do not know their own history. It is not necessarily their own fault but that of the elementary and secondary schools which teach a ‘happy’ and patriotic version while diminishing or completely ignoring anything which could paint the country in a…… Continue reading The Spanish West – Time Life Books