One of the really interesting reading experiences I’ve had is when I have read several books about the same period/event and gotten very different perspectives on it – often by accident. One example is reading West with the Night by Beryl Markham, White Mischief by James Fox and Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen – all about the same group of Englishmen and women in Kenya at the same time. Very different views of what was happening.
But my historical novel – at least the first one – will be Dennis Lehane’s new book Live by Night which is a follow up to The Given Day – this one set during prohibition and it is – by his description – his gangster book.
I’ll be reading The Big Burn (Tim Egan) about Teddy Roosevelt and the National Park Service. Someone at our discussion mentioned Nathaniel Philbrick’s book about McKinley called Destiny of the Republic, so I’m going to try that too. If anyone knows a book about Harrison, I could learn about all the neighborhood streets!
OK – so I said I would be reading Live by NIght (and I will) but I got sidetracked by David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas which has been sitting on my to read shelf for a while. He is one of my favorite authors and while this doesn’t exactly fit the historical category, I think I can squeeze it in. It begins on the Chatham Islands in the 1800’s and continues through the future after “the fall”. Reminds me in structure of his book Ghostwritten in that it is a series of loosely connected stories. He is also the author of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet which is set in Japan in the 1800’s when it was a closed society trying to keep outsiders and change out of Japan. That was my favorite the year it came out and does fit nicely into the historical category.
Here are a list of some books based on history both fiction and non-fiction
*Snow in August Pete Hamill
*Forever Pete Hamill
*In the Fall Jeffrey Lent
At Some Disputed Barricade Anne Perry
We Shall Not Sleep Anne Perry
*Any book by Tracy Kidder, Latest is Strength in What Remains, Non-fiction
The Air We Breathe Andrea Barrett
Skeletons at the Feast Chris Bohjalian
*America, America Ethan Canin
*Stones From the River Ursula Helgi
*Bird Song, Charlotte Gray, Girl at the Lion D’or, Human Traces Sebastian Faulks
*The Given Day Dennis Lehane
*In the Heart of the Sea Nathaniel Philbrick (non-fiction); the best of his books
*The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million Daniel Mendelsohn (non-fiction)
Marching Home Kevin Coyne (non-fiction)
Sarah’s Key Tatiana de Rosnay
Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides (non-fiction)
*The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Annie Barrows
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Slacks Rebecca Skloot, non-fiction
*The Cellist of Sarajevo Steven Galloway
The Invisible Bridge Julie Orringer
*Thunderstruck Erik Larson non-fiction (any book by Erik)
* Russian Winter Daphne Kalotay
*The Hare With Amber Eyes Edmund de Waal (non-fiction)
*Unbroken Lauren Hillenbrand (non-fiction), also wrote Seabiscuit
The Boy Dan Porat (non-fiction)
Leaving Van Gogh Carol Wallace
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love Lisa See
People of the Book, Year of Wonders Geraldine Brooks
*The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson (non-fiction; quite an achievement)
A Fierce Radiance Lauren Belfer
*Mayflower Nathaniel Philbrick (non-fiction)
*Lost in Shangri-La Mitchell Zuckoff (non-fiction)
The Man from Saigon Marti Leimbach
Bitter Tide Anne Stamos
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze Maaza Mengiste
*Caleb’s Crossing Geraldine Brooks
A Secret Kept Tatiana de Rosnay
Those who save us Jenna Blum
Hotel on the Corner of Bittter and Sweet Jamie Ford
*Thirteeen Moons Charles Frazier
*The Girl with the Blue Beret Bobbie Ann Mason
*In the Garden of the Beasts Erik Larsen and his other books (non-fiction)
*The Unlikely Spy Daniel Silva
*22 Britannia Road Anna Hodgkinson
*Rin Tin Tin Susan Orlean, non-fiction
The Things We Cherished Pam Jenoff
The Kommandant’s Girl Pam Jenoff
*Destiny of the Republic Candice Millard (non-fiction)
The Dovekeepers Alice Hoffman
The Jewel of St. Petersburg Kate Furnivall
The Russian Concubine Kate Furnivall
The Girl from Junchow Kate Furnivall
The Paris Wife Paula McLain
My Name is Mary Sutter Robin Oliveira
*The Time in Between Maria Duenas
*The State of Wonder Ann Patchett
*A Walk Across the Sun Corban Addison
The Little Russian Susan Sherman
The Madonnas of Leningrad Debra Dean
The Whisperer Donato Carrisi
*A Good American Alex George
The Invisible Ones Stef Penney
*The Art of Hearing Heartbeats Jan-Phillipp Sendker
The Lost Wife Alyson Richman
The Beautiful Cigar Girl Daniel Stashower
The Dressmaker Kate Alcott
*Claude & Camille Stephanie Cowell
*TheLady in Gold:the extraordinary tale of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece portrait of Adele Bloch_Bauer Ann-Marie O’Connor (non-fiction)
Forgotten Country Catherine Chung
Marrying Mozart Stephanie Cowell
*Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper Harriet Scott Chessman
*The Last Good Man A.J.Kazinski
Trapeze Simon Mawer
The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb Melanie Benjamin
The Neruda Case Robert Ampuero
The Orphanmaster Jean Zimmerman
In the Shadow of the Banyan Vaddey Ratner
The Secrets of Mary Bowser Lois Leveen
City of Women David R. Gillmam
The Glass Room Simon Mawer
*Sutton J.R. Moehringer
*Live by Night Dennis Lehane
*Garden of Evening Mist Tan Twan Eng
The Winds of War, War and Remembrance Herman Wouk
The Hope, The Glory Herman Wouk
Winter of the World Ken Follet
Fall of Giants Ken Follet
Yellow Birds Kevin Powers
*Citizens of London Lynne Olson (non-fiction)