# Whatcha Readin' July 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121 "2010-06-30T21:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/141 "2010-07-29T19:43:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’d be glad to recommend some other McCullough books (he went to my high school, long before me), or other history books generally, if you like. Yes, if you don’t mind, and thank you. My most recent books I’ve read are the aforementioned _John Adams_, _Team Of Rivals_ by Doris Goodwin (which is awesome, btw), _American Caeser_ by William Manchester (about Douglas MacArthur, also quite good) and _Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History_ by Fawn Brodie. Just so, you know, don’t recommend ones I just read. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/142 "2010-07-31T21:20:33Z")
_The Photograph_ by Penelope Lively, from the library. I had her confused with Margot Livesey, who wrote the wonderful _Margot Moves the Furniture_. It’s about a widower who finds a photo of his late wife. She’s holding hands with her sister’s husband, and a note accompanying the photo convinces the widower that they were having an affair. Even though his wife has been dead for years, he’s determined to find out what happened. The book started slowly, and I didn’t like the husband at all, but I stayed up until 3 a.m. to finish. I suppose the moral of the story is don’t take people at face value, and that you never really know another person. In this guy’s case, he didn’t try very hard to know his wife when she was alive, but I still got something from the story. Next up is _Bad_ by John Connolly, then something by Greg Iles, and then _Sunnyside_ by Glenn David Gold. Anyone read that one? I’ve been advised to skip the Russia stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kilmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kilmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilmore)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/143 "2010-07-31T23:10:22Z")
Recently finished **Fool** by Christopher Moore and **Carpe Jugulum** by Terry Pratchett, which gets me a little closer to making it all the way through Discworld. Just started the **Dresden Files** by Jim Butcher. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/144 "2010-07-31T23:41:18Z")
**Elendils Heir** , where are those recco’s? We need a broken promise smiley… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/145 "2010-08-01T17:24:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > **Elendils Heir** , where are those recco’s? > > We need a broken promise smiley… > 🙂 My apologies. I’ve been very busy. Several of these are Pulitzer winners, and richly deserved them: Joseph Ellis, _Founding Brothers_ - A great look at the Framers of the Constitution and their relationships - sometimes friendly, sometimes not, always competitive - with each other. Garry Wills, _Lincoln at Gettysburg_ - Disassembles and explains the Gettysburg Address - literate, classy and insightful. James McPherson, _Battle Cry of Freedom_ - One of the best one-volume histories of the Civil War out there, IMHO. Geoffrey Ward et al., _The Civil War_ - Ditto. David McCullough, _Truman_ - A great bio of a long-unappreciated leader. Having just read Manchester’s book on MacArthur, you’ll appreciate the view from the White House on his firing (including a very funny joke memo, not meant for circulation outside of the West Wing, about MacArthur’s triumphant return to the capital). James Flexner, _Washington: The Indispensable Man_ - Also a great bio. Read this to see just why Washington was so vital to the cause of American independence, and then how he practically invented the Presidency. Ron Chernow, _Alexander Hamilton_ - A magnificent, highly readable profile of the brilliant but deeply flawed man who did more than anyone else to lay the groundwork for generations of American prosperity. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/146 "2010-08-01T17:41:40Z")
Awesome! Time to dust off the library card…thank you! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/147 "2010-08-02T14:35:31Z")
August thread? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/148 "2010-08-02T15:00:18Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > August thread? Wow, I am really slipping! My apologies. Work has been nuts lately, and since it looks like we might go under, I am feeling the pressure even more… In any case, here is the new thread for [August](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12754504#post12754504). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/149 "2010-08-02T15:42:23Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Awesome! Time to dust off the library card…thank you! > 🆒 Glad to help. If there are particular people, places or events that interest you, let me know, and I may be able to suggest something. I loves me some history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121.md?page=7)