History Book Club

Previous Books

August 12, 2008: North Korean leaders Kim Ill Sung and Kim Jong Il. Suggested reading:
Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader, by Dae-Sook Suh. 443 pages. Scholarly, thorough look at how Kim Il Sung took over Korea, and passed it on to his son.
Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea Under the Kim Clan, by Bertil Lintner. 274 pages. How the Kims manage to control and finance the country.
Comrades and Strangers: Behind the Closed Doors of North Korea, by Michael Harrold. 432 pages. Life in North Korea described by an English translator who lived there for seven years.
Rouge Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea, by Jasper Becker. 328 pages. The Orwellian control and nuclear threat of Kim Jong Il.

July 8, 2008: The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Suggested reading:
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry. 546 pages. Public health, epidemic disease, and political expediency in 1918.
Flu: the Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic by Gina Kolata. 352 pages. The quest to find out what caused the epidemic, and could it happen again.
America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 by Alfred W. Crosby. 352 pages. How could America forget the deadliest epidemic in history?

June 10, 2008: Saddam Hussein, discussion led by Lola Beatlebrox. Suggested reading:
Brighter than the Baghdad Sun: Saddam Hussein's threat to the United States by Shyam Bhatia, Daniel McGrory.
Saddam Hussein: a Political Biography by Efraim Karsh and Inari Rautsi. Published after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait--one of the earlier books about Saddam.
The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein by Sandra Mackey.
Saddam: King of Terror by Con Coughlin. Drawn from intelligence reports and interviews with defectors.
Between two worlds: escape from tyranny--growing up in the shadow of Saddam by Salbi Zainab and Laurie Becklund. A woman's story of Saddam's Iraq.

May 13: Margaret Thatcher, discussion led by Ben Field. Suggested reading:
• One of Us: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher, by Hugo Young.
• The Downing Street Years, by Margaret Thatcher.
• The Path to Power, by Margaret Thatcher.
• Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage, by Nicholas Wapshott.
• Iron Lady, by Hugo Young.
• Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, by Margaret Thatcher.

April 8, 2008: Desert Queen: the Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell--Adventurer, Advisor to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia, by Janet Wallach.

March 11, 2008: Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends, by Lonnie R. Johnson. Discussion leader, Strike Fongeallaz.

February 12, 2008: Lords of the Rim, by Sterling Seagrave. Discussion leader, Ben Field.

December 11, 2007: Hosteen Klah, Navaho Medicine Man and Sand Painter, by Franc Newcomb.

November 13, 2007: Blood and Thunder, an Epic of the American West, by Hampton Sides (Kit Carson & the decimation of the Navajo).

October 9, 2007: Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans, by James C. Chatters.

September 11, 2007: United Nations: Blue-print for World Control, by Myron Fagan, Craig Dunn and Tom Wood. (Dr. Craig Dunn will be our discussion leader)

August 14, 2007: Conservatives without Conscience, by John Dean

July 10, 2007: Believing History: Latter-Day Saint Essays, by Richard Bushman and others.

June 12, 2007: Forgotten Kingdom: the Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, by David L. Bigler.

May 8, 2007: 1421: The Year China Discovered America, Gavin Menzies

April 10, 2007: When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433, Louise Levathes

March 13, 2007: 1776, David McCullough

February 13, 2007: American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, Kevin Phillips

January 9, 2007: Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America, Stephen G. Bloom.

December 12, 2006: The Saints and the Union: Utah Territory During the Civil War, E. B. Long

Forgotten kingdom: the Mormon theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, David L. Bigler.

November 14, 2006: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann.

October 10, 2006: The Knights Templar, by Sean Martin.

September 12, 2006: Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages., by Frances & Joseph Gies.

August 8, 2006: Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, by Bruce Feiler.

July 11, 2006: Night, by Elie Wiesel.

June 13, 2006: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Where, by Bart D. Ehrman

Upcoming Schedule