The Devils's Element

December 30, 2025

Dan Egan, The Devils's Element, (New York, 2024). This book is about the essential element phosophorous for food production and how it is produced and some of the bad effects of pollution by phosophorous in fertilizer.

The World of Late Antiquity

December 30, 2025

Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity, (London, 1971). This book covers the period centered about 500 AD for several hundred years, with empasis on the conversion of paganism to Christianity and the religion of Islam. It has a lot of color plates of ancient art.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

December 30, 2025

Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edited and abridged by David Wormersly, (London, 1788; abridged, 2001). I had many years ago read a different abridged version. This version was different in that it did not abridge each chapter, but included some of the chapters as they were written and some just a brief summary.

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1473-1541.

December 30, 2025

Hazel Pierce, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1473-1541, (Cardiff, 2003). During my genealogy research I contacted Hazel Pierce to look for some reccords in Wales. Afterwards I saw she had written a book, so I read it. I was not familiar with the subject matter, but was interested that Margaret and more importantly her son Reginald were central figures in politics during the reigh of Henry VIII, and appeared in the historical drama Wolf Hall.

The Return of Lafayette

June 21, 2025

Marian Klamkin, The Return of Lafayette, 1824-1825, (New York, 1975). Earlier this year I visited historic Halifax and there is an historical marker there about his stay there, so I read this book about his tour.

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

June 21, 2025

William Henry Hoyt, The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. A Study of Evidence Showing that the Alleged Early Declaration of Independence by Mecklenburg County , North Carolina, on May 20th, 1775 is Spurious, (New York, 1907). This book studies the evidence that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was an actual document declaring independence from England. The original was lost by fire and reconstructed years later from memory. Some old newpapers from that time do show a similar resolution but the date is off by 11 days and it does not call for independence but just a suspension of British rule.

Napoleons's Buttons

June 28, 2025

Peny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson, Napoleon's Buttons - 17 Molecuiles That Changed History, (New York, 2004). As the title suggests there are 17 chapters each about a molecule that produced important products.

Conquerors

June 28, 2025

Roger Crowley, Conquerors, How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire, (New York, 2015). History book about how Portugal discovered the sea route to the Indian Ocean and the early years of conquest of India.