Book Reviews

I like to read; mostly for entertainment. But there are those rare occasions when I do read something educational. Recently my "serious" reading has been mostly history. Here are some of these books I've liked:

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford.

This book is a history of the Mongol conquests of Asia & Europe during the 1200's. It is an excellent look at many of the modern issues in international relations, but from the historic perspective of the Mongol Empire. The Mongols ruled over a very diverse set of cultures and peoples. Their rule was characterized by many institutions and practices we associate with the modern world. They were strong proponents of free trade, for example. The book is well-written and is a fun read.

Basilica, The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s, by R. A. Scotti

An enthralling account of the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome during the renaissance. The challenges of Bramante’s initial vision of putting the dome of the pantheon on top of the Basilica of Maxentius nearly bankrupt the church in Rome. This lead to increased sale of indulgences and ultimately to the Protestant reformation. The book is a fascinating recounting of the politics of renaissance Europe and the powerful personalities of the popes and architects who worked on the basilica. It is also an interesting description of the technical challenges and how they were overcome.

New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann

Almost everything you learned in school about the Americas before Columbus is wrong. For example, the Americas were not sparsely populated. Indeed, there were probably more people living here than in Europe. Civilization (i.e. city dwelling) was well established in the Americas before the pyramids were built. Native Americans in the Amazon “farmed” the rain forest for centuries and sustained huge populations while doing so. The huge herds of buffalo roaming the plains that white explorers encountered as they travelled west were probably not the “natural” state of the land. European diseases preceded the Europeans themselves and wiped out huge portions of the human population. This left the buffalo woth no check on their population and the herds increased dramatically in size. This book is very well written and quite thought provoking.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, by Tim Weiner

A very interesting rundown of the history of the CIA and some of its more colorful personalities. Wiener shows in example after example how the agency bumbled and bungled almost every facet of intelligence from its formation to its call of WMD in Iraq. Almost from the begining the CIA violated its charter to be a supplier of information and placed a much stronger emphasis on covert operations, most of which failed. Presidents tended to become quickly disillusioned with the advice and analysis they got from the CIA, particularly if it was in conflict with their preconceived view of the world. This often led the agency to tailor the information it sent to the president to conform to his views in order to avoid having the CIA marginalized. Weiner is often critical of presidents for ignoring the intelligence the CIA provided them, but this seems a bit unfair given the large number of intelligence failures he documents. An interesting, but somewhat depressing read.