doris kearns goodwin

Obama Book Club – Doris Kearns Goodwin

Standard

For most of the past Mondays, I’ve shared with you some of President Obama’s book recommendations as outlined and discussed in this Entertainment Weekly Article.

I’ve tried to share books that I am somewhat familiar with. I am currently listening to the audiobook of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I am slightly distracted by the voice of the narrator, Richard Thomas, known in my childhood as John-Boy on the the popular show from the 1970s, The Waltons. He is the perfect voice to read anything related to the Civil War or this, a biography of Abraham Lincoln and his Administration, his team of rivals.
I’ve been reading a lot of history and biographies lately. Part of that I believe is to show myself how far we’ve fallen but also to be reminded of how much potential we have as a country. We can come back from anything. After all, we came back from the Civil War.We came back from 9/11. We can come back from the Trump Administration.

President Trump could learn a lot from Lincoln and how he worked with his oppositional party. It’s the only way our country can flourish; by coming together for the betterment of all.

The idea of an Obama Book Club was mentioned with humor in an article I read, probably that one I’ve linked to above, and I thought it was a great idea to recommend books that President Obama reads and recommends.

In the following weeks, I will share other “book clubs”, beginning with Emma Watson in one week’s time.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing inside our former president’s mind, a man who reads for work, for context, and for pleasure, all good reasons to read and to emulate.

History and Historical Fiction

Standard

One of my favorite genres is history and historical fiction, the more realistic, the better. My version of history includes mythology, current events, politics, and religion in its historical sense. Two of my absolutely favorite authors in historical fiction are Sharon Kay Penman and Bernard Cornwell.

The first book I read of Penman’s was Here Be Dragons. Not only did it feed my love of medieval history it started my life long infatuation with Wales, the homeland of my soul. The one thing that amazes me about Penman was the amount of research she does. When I did my own research I was stunned at what was true, like the Princess of Wales being kidnapped by pirates, and Prince of Wales, Llywelyn Fawr’s firstborn son as part of the Magna Carta.

Bernard Cornwell’s The Winter King was recommended to me years before I actually read it. I was afraid it would change my outlook on King Arthur, and it did, but it was well worth it. The guest series I read if his were the Sharpe books. Sharpe takes place during the Napoleonic wars, a time period I was never interested in until Cornwell.

For history, I’d encourage you to read Jon Meacham, Ken Burns, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Douglas Brinkley, and Isabel Wilkerson.

I’d also add these to the list that I’ve read recently:

The Presidents’ War: Six Presidents and the Civil War that Divided Them by Chris DeRose
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
The Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee’s Civil War and His Decision That Changed American History by Jonathan Horn
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon by Victoria Vantoch