- Best recent history I read was A Nervous Splendor about Vienna in 1882-83
Posted by DT
on July 9, 2026, 15:00:51, in reply to "Fun Summer Reads go here!"
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Sound super-niche, but the writing is excellent and it gives a great picture of a society where a lot of the trends that later coalesced into modernism were percolating. I also read The River and the Gauntlet by SLA Marshall which was a really low level narrative of the US 8th army experience during the initial Chinese counterattack in Korea. Was good, but very intentionally down in the weeds (literally), with chapters covering events mostly at the small unit level. Worked since this battle was so fragmented due to terrain and lack of communication. Also read Thinking, Fast and Slow, which was excellent, about how the human brain actually works, and all the shortcuts your mind takes to interpret things and form judgments.  Previous MessageI've recently been enjoying this light little page-turner that's made a lot of Non-fiction bests of 2026 so far. Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945 No idea how much Goebbels banned dancing, then allowed it, then banned it, then allowed it only on Tues-Thurs, then banned it again....it was like the pastor in Footloose but significantly more evil. |