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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Nathaniel Philbrick
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007
The best Hollywood scriptwriters couldn't improve on this story
A real page turner--how does a religious group band with a group of entrepreneurs and enter a world they have very little information on? Think Star Trek on steroids--only this story really happened!
This isn't the usual historical story--the drama of being near ...
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The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, Book 5)
Eoin Colfer
Miramax, 2006
Lost in Time
What is left for a teenage criminal mastermind to do? Only save the world from certain destruction, help the fairy world avoid detection once again, and outsmart an even younger genius who thinks too much like himself. Artemis Fowl certainly has his plate full in ...
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Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27)
Mary Pope Osborne
Random House Books for Young Readers, 2002
MY BOY LOVES READING IT
My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books ...
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Old Man's War
John Scalzi
Tor Science Fiction, 2007
Unique and enjoyable read
Scalzi has produced a great blend of science fiction and action while keeping the people at the forefront of the story.
For me, the human aspect really makes the story as 75 year old from earth leave their lives behind for a vague notion of war and youth. The ...
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The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped ...
Russell Shorto
Vintage, 2005
Reads like a novel
The is one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. Russell Shorto brings to life the history and the characters of the period. I have already given this book to several people as a gift. They have all thanked me for it. A truly enjoyable read.
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The United States of Atlantis
Harry Turtledove
Roc Hardcover, 2008
engaging alternate historical fantasy
The war with France is over as England has defeated the French; forcing them out of Atlantis. King George sends troops to solidify his control even as the Atlanteans are already upset over no representation in Parliament.
When the Redcoats turn the eastern seaports ...
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Artemis Fowl: Lost Colony, The
Eoin Colfer
Miramax, 2008
The Lost Colony!
The Lost Colony is an epic journey through time and space. Artemis Fowl, the criminal master mind who is only 14 years old, travels through time encountering many gnomes and elfs. Some who help him and some who dont help him. Artemis Fowl along with his body guard, ...
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The Last Colony
John Scalzi
Tor Science Fiction, 2008
Every bit as good as OLD MANS WAR
If you plan to read the this book, then start with the first book OLD MANS WAR. Last Colony stands alone well as a critical analysis of humanity and a fun look at a possible future, but I think it is best when read where it belongs as the last in the series.
Last ...
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The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997
Piers Brendon
Knopf, 2008
Empires inevitably fall; but leave legacies
The message of Piers Brendon's magnificent history of the British Empire is that its fall was inevitable and that that is the fate of all other empires, past and future. Because empires are founded on brutality and illegitimacy, says Brendon, their fault lines in the ...
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From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 (Oxford History of the United States)
George C. Herring
Oxford University Press, USA, 2008
NOT JUST FOR HISTORY BUFFS BUT FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO UNDERSTAND THE U.S. AND ITS PLACE IN THE WORLD
The best history books bring the past to life with immediacy and relevancy, and George C. Herring's "From Colony to Superpower" practically jumps off the page with topical ideas and arguments. Starting from a central premise that "the enduring idea of an isolationist ...
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The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped ...
Russell Shorto
Doubleday, 2004
Another Window on the New World
There is no doubt that the victors write the histories and, as a consequence, the contributions of the Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam to the development of New York City as a world commercial hub, and of the United States as a haven for diverse oppressed and ...
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Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving
Ann Mcgovern
Scholastic Paperbacks, 1993
My opinion doesn't matter - the kids love it
While I can appreciate the criticism some readers have offered on this book, I say the bottom line matters: my children love it. The simple text and nice pictures make the subject accessible for young ones. They take it off the shelf even when Thanksgiving is months ...
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The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding
Robert Hughes
Vintage Books, 1988
A magnificent achievement
Robert Hughes has written a towering account of the years during which Britain transported convicts to Australia, thereby beginning the colonization of a continent that would one day hold a place among the world's free nations. Hughes's fascinating text covers the ...
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The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon
Grove Press, 2005
Understand the Psychology of Violent Revolt
This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. Frantz Fanon (July 20, 1925 - December 6, 1961) was a Martinique-born French author and essayist. He was perhaps the preeminent thinker of the 20th century on the issue of decolonization and the ...
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Dragonriders of Pern
Anne McCaffrey
Del Rey, 1988
There be Dragons!
I have had a lifelong love of all things dragon and have long been a fan of Anne McCaffrey and her Dragonriders of Pern series. Such a fan, that I've read my paperback versions again and again until the only thing holding them together were rubber bands! Thus began my ...
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