As I said in the previous post I used my blog’s dashboard to transfer my old reading list which stopped at 2017 to Microsoft Word to update it.
I’ve been meaning to do it since 2018 when my old website Snowbizz.com became impossible for me to update. I’ve mostly brought it up to date by researching “Book” posts here, my book shelves, my Kindle Books and Audible book lists. I’m sure I’m missing some but I’ve added 42 more books to the list only three of which are fiction Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Nickle Boys and the Oppermanns. AH! HERE’S AN ADDITION I JUST THOUGHT OF ON MY MINNESOTA BOOKSHELF – The 21st Ballot by David Lebedoff. I would have read it about the time I was researching the politics of the Don Boyd Era.
Here’s the list as it stands now not including books from before 1979. You will not some changes in formatting:
My Reading list since 1979
1979
The Hobbit J.R. Tolkien
Hawaii James Mitchner
Fellowship of the Ring J.R. Tolkien
Two Towers J.R. Tolkien
Return of the King J.R. Tolkien
Plain Speaking an Oral History Merle Miller
A lauditory, but partly fraudulent, book about Harry Truman
Giants in the Earth Rölvaag
Campaigning for President Weisbord
Stories of various American presidential campaigns
Birth of Britain Winston Churchill
A florid account of England’s early history, first in a series of four volumes
Republican Roosevelt Morton Blum
Roman Republic Isaac Asimov
Brave New World Aldous Huxley
Dragons of Eden Carl Sagan
Napoleon ?
Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane
The Greeks Isaac Asimov
Roman Empire Isaac Asimov
Dark Ages Isaac Asimov
The Egyptians Isaac Asimov
The Near East Isaac Asimov
The Challenge and Rejection Julius Pratt
Perhaps about Woodrow Wilson or American Diplomatic History
The Religions of Man Huston Smith
a survey on all the major religions
Ascent of Man Jacob Bronkowski
a humanist’s view of the development of civilization
Dawn of African History Roland Oliver
A History of Asia Bingham, Conroy, Iklé
Medieval Europe Hollister
The New Archaeology Wilson
The Land of Caanan Isaac Asimov
The Shaping of England Isaac Asimov
The Forgotten Empire Isaac Asimov
History of the Byzantine Empire
( I read thirty books in 1979. I’d never done anything like this before and I haven’t done it since. Books in red are fiction. Books in Green are science related)
1980
The History of England John Borke
The 100 Michael H Hart
one man’s list of the 100 most influential people in history
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
Shogan James Clavell
Minnesota Theodore Blegen
a history
Alexander Hamilton ?
A Child is Born ?
for new parents
What Every Mother Should Know about Having a Baby ?
Ditto
1981
All Quiet on the Western Front Maria Remarck
influential anti-war novel about WW1 that helped turn America to isolationism
Times Atlas of World History London Times
Half maps, half history, I read it cover to cover
Fathers and Sons Turgenev
Broca’s Brain Carl Sagan
Science and social history
This Hallowed Ground Bruce Catton
Civil War History
Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl
Holocaust survivor’s account and psychological insights in inner strength
Runaway Horses Yukio Mishima
a novel by a Japanese nationalist who later committed seppuku as a moral example for a nonmilitant generation of Japanese
Latin American History Wilgus & D´eca
Barron’s Essentials of American History Nelson Klose
1982
The World According to Garp John Irving
Clan of the Cave Bear Jean Auel
1983
Dune 1st of Trilogy Frank Herbert
Dune 2nd of Trilogy Frank Herbert
Path to Power Robert Caro
Lyndon Johnson Bio the early years, highly regarded its sequel was panned
Valley of the Horses Jean Auel
The Murder of Napoleon Ben Weider, David Hapgood
Gorky Park Martin Cruz Smith
1984-86
Polar Star Martin Cruz Smith
The Read Aloud Handbook Jim Trelease
my bible on reading out loud to kids with a great bibliography of kid’s lit.
( I either stopped reading or stopped keeping track of the books read for these years or perhaps both)
1987
Washington, The Indispensable Man J.T. Flexner
1988
The Romance of Bible Scripts & Scholars John Reumann
a history of different versions and translations of the Bible borrowed from Glen Avon Church library
Plagues and People William H. McNeill
a history of the effects of pandemics on world history
The Laughing Savior John Dart
a history of Gnostic Christianity
1989
The Bad Popes E.R. Chamberlin
a history about some really bad popes
Washington Goes to War David Brinkley
a reminiscence from one of America’s preeminent journalists about Washington DC’s growth as America entered WWII
From Harlem to the Rhine Arthur Little
a history of the all black 369th Infantry, raised in Harlem, NY which fought in WW1 and to which my grandfather George Robb was assigned as an officer. In the racist US Army of that era black troops were mostly commanded by white officers.
Hot Blooded Dinosaurs A. Desmond
Dinosaur Heresies Robert Bakker
1990
Parting the Waters Taylor Branch
a remarkable history of the modern Civil Rights movement
The Emperor, Downfall of an Autocrat Ryszard Kapuscinski
an idiosyncratic, patched together narrative of the fall of Ethiopia’s Emperor for Life, Haile Selassie, written my a communist journalist who was given remarkable freedom to chronicle unflattering things about the non-communist world.
Twelve Parables of Jesus Maxie Dunnam
a Sunday school study guide
Surrender or Starve Robert D Kaplan
the story about the intentional starvation of the Ethiopian people
Catcher in the Rye J D Salinger
read for the second time
Hannibal Harold Lamb
Hiroshima John Hersey
an account of the dropping of the bomb from the viewpoint of the people on the ground
The Trial of Socrates I F Stone
From Beirut to Jerusalem Thomas Friedman
current events
1991
More Like Us James Fallows
a writer’s thoughtful analysis of what makes American’s Americans
Wonderful Life Stephen Jay Gould
about the explosion of new life found in precambrian fossil shale deposits
Decision in Philadelphia Chris & James Lincoln Collier
the creation of the US Constitution
1992
Lincoln and his Generals T. Harry Williams
Is Paris Burning Collins & LaPierre
How Paris was spared destruction in WWII
Confucius and the Chinese Way H G Creel
1993
Forgotten Scripts Cyrus Gordon
The story of the decipherment of lost languages
Who Wrote the Bible Richard Friedman
Analysis of the Old Testament’s authorship
Jurassic Park Michael Crichton
Zealous Intruders Naomi Shepherd
The rediscovery of the Holy Land by western tourists in the 17 and 1800s
The African Slave Trade Basil Davidson
explains how the slave trade unraveled African society and culture
Vanished Library Canfora
The destruction of the great library of Alexandria
The Man in the Roman Street Garret Mattingly
Everyday life in ancient Rome
The Persians Time Life, ed. by Jim Hicks
a history
1933 Philip Metcalfe
five people’s experiences in Germany the year Adolph Hitler became Chancellor
The Christians as the Romans Saw Them Robert Wilkin
1994
The Learning Gap Stigler & Stevensen
gap between rich and poor in education or something like that
King of Pontus Alfred Doggan
Biography of Mithradates enemy of Rome
Aaron Burr The Great Am Rascal Philip Vail
Balkan Ghosts Robert Kaplan
Balkan History
Pilgrims in their Own Land Martin Marty
History of American Christianity
1995
The Great Triumvirate Merrill Peterson
Biography of Webster, Calhoun and Henry Clay
Profiles in Courage John F Kennedy
rereading
The Armada Garrett Mattingly
Spanish Armada
1996
Bob Dole Richard Ben Cramer
The Time Before History Colin Tudge
Human Prehistory
1066 The Year of the Conquest David Howarth
(audio book) the last successful invasion of England
The Last Best Hope on Earth Mark E Neely Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
No Ordinary Time Doris Kearns Goodwin
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the coming of war
1997
The Celts – First Masters of Europe New Horizons
Undaunted Courage Stephen Ambrose
Journey of Lewis & Clark
Longitude Dava Sobel
History of mastering of navigation technology
How the Irish Saved Civilization Thomas Cahill
transmission of ancient classical texts
1998
American Sphinx John Ellis
Bio of Thomas Jefferson
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Le
rereading
Japanese Destroyer Captain T Hara
war memoir
1999
One Hundred Days Alan Schon
Napoleon from Elba to Waterloo
The Rape of Nanking Iris Chang
2000
King Leopold’s Ghost A Hochschil
The Rape of the Congo by King Leopold
Guns Germs and Steel Jared Diamond
How latitude, geography and environment have determined history’s winners and losers
The Lynchings in Duluth Michael Fedo
2001
Day of Deceit Robert Stinnett FDR’s conspiracy to provoke a Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor – supports the theory
April 1865 the Month that Saved America John Winik
The last month of the Civil War
A Short History of Reconstruction Eric Foner
Frederick Douglass William S. McFeely
The Professor and the Madman Simon Winchester
The history of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary
Taliban – Militant Islam, Oil,
Fundamentalism in Central Asia Ahmed Rashid
2002
Founding Brothers Joseph J. Ellis
The Revolutionary Generation
Libraries in the Ancient World Lionel Casson
The Hidden Hitler Lothar Machtan
E=mc² …the World’s Most Famous Equation David Bodanis
Confederates in the Attic Tony Horowitz
travelogue of the modern “Confederate” South by a Pulitzer winner
Ulysses S. Grant Soldier & President Geoffrey Perret
2003
The River Congo Peter Forbath
The White Headhunter Nigel Randell
Impact of Europeans on Melanesian Society
The Map that Changed the World Simon Winchester
Wm. Smith, makes sense of English stratigraphy and gives birth to the science of geology
Life of Pi Yann Martel
I read this out loud to my wife. It’s wonderful!
Tuxedo Park Jennet Conant
A wall street millionaire’s obsession with science leads to discoveries that will win WW2
2004
The Miraculous Fever Tree Fiammetta Rocco
History of the drug Quinine which is still the world’s most reliable cure for Malaria
God’s Secretaries Adam Nicolson
on making the King James Bible
“We are Lincoln Men” David Herbert Donald
Wine & War Don & Petie Kladstrup
French vintners roll in W W II
Paris 1919 Six Months that Changed the World Margaret MacMillan
Cicero Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Pol Anthony Everitt
The Good Women of China Xinran
Wrenching stories of the pain endured by Chinese women since 1949
The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder
2005
1912 – Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs
Election that changed the Country James Chace
Lincoln at Cooper Union the speech that made A. Lincoln President Harold Holzer
Lincoln Gore Vidal
Stalin, The Court of the Red Tsar Simon S Montefiore
Animal Farm George Orwell
Naked David Sedaris
Wall St. Journal Guide to Wine Gaiter & Brecher
The Devil’s Disciples – Hitler’s Inner Circle Anthony Read
2006
1812 The War that Forged a Nation Walter R. Borneman
2007
Master of the Senate Robert A Caro
Dial M The Murder of Carol Thompson William Swanson
2008
2009 …….For two years I was so wrapped up in a political project that I read no books from cover to cover.
2010
Sunburnt Country Bill Bryson
A humorist’s Australian Travelogue
Thunderbolt Kid Bill Bryson
A humorist’s Iowa Childhood memoir
Lincoln, The biography of a writer Fred Kaplan
1776 Washington crosses the Delaware David McCullough
The Diary of Anne Frank (Definitive edition) Anne Frank
Nature’s Building Blocks A-Z guide to Elements John Emsley
In Tasmania Nicholas Shakespeare
The Fatal Shore THE one volume Australian Robert Hughes
History (Began reading it 20 years earlier)
2011
Searching for Aboriginal Languages R.M.W. Dixon
A History of New Zealand Keith Sinclair
Carnivorous Nights (Trail of Taz Tiger) Mittelbach & Crewdson
New Zealand Wildlife BRADT travel guide Julian Fitter
Australian Wildlife BRADT ditto Stella Martin
The Last of the Nomads W J Peasley
True account of the hunt for the last Aborigines to relive the traditional nomad life in the 1970’s after the fled to the inhospitable Outback for breaking a tribal taboo
The Original Australians Aborigines History Josephine Flood
2012
Walter Mondale, The Good Fight Walter Mondale
Hubert Humphrey a Biography Carl Solberg
Lyndon Johnson The Passage of Power Robert Caro
The Political Career of Floyd B. Olson George H. Mayer
Bio about MN’s Depression Era Governor
The Swerve, How the World became Modern Stephen Greenblatt
Consequences of the Renaissance discovery of an ancient poem by Lucretius
Lincoln, Team of Rivals Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Devil in the White City Erik Larson
Account of a prodigious solo mass murderer operating during Chicago’s World Fair
Thaddeus Stevens 19th Century Egalitarian Hans L. Trefousse,
Bio of the leading Civil War Radical Republican
2013
Black Sea Neal Ascherson
Discursive History of the region
The Book Thief Markus Zusak
Unreliable Memoirs Clive James
by Australian Born British movie reviewer
The Barbarous Years Bernard Bailyn
The first hundred years of 13 British colonies
Life on the Mississippi Mark Twain
Polk, the Man who Transformed the Presidency and America Walter R. Borneman
The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson
History of black migration out of South from 1915 to 70’s
2014
One Summer America 1927 Bill Bryson
Fascinating weaving of many events
Zealot, Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Reza Alsan
Practical non biblical analysis of the times of Jesus
The Bully Pulpit Doris Kearns Goodwin
Teddy Roosevelt and his buddy Wm Taft
Lincoln’s Boys Joshua Zeitz
How his two secretaries rewrote his Pres. Bio and elevated his reputation from saintly bumbler to the most canny of Presidents
The Color of Water James McBride
The story of a black reporter’s discovery of his Jewish Mother’s remarkable beginnings
The Narrow Road to the Deep North Richard Flanagan
Man Booker winner about an Australian POW’s life before and after being interned in hell
The President’s War – 5 living Presidents Chris DeRose
who mostly disagree with their successor Lincoln and his conduct of the War
Orphan Train Kristina Baker Kline
2015
Dead Wake Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson
Wild Swans Jung Chang
Three Generations of Chinese women from the Warlord period through the Cultural Revolution
My Promised Land Ari Shavit
Israel’s history 1897 – 2013
Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War Sammons & Morrow
2016
The Wright Brothers (audio version) David McCullough
In the Garden of the Beasts Erik Larson
A Bell for Adano John Hershey
Empires of the Sea Roger Crowley
Christendom stops Turkish Advance
Dark Horse a Bio. of Wendell Willkie Steve Neal
American Rose A Nation Laid Bare Karen Abbott
2017
The Old Testament NRSV Moses et al
Bleeding Kansas Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era Nicole Etcheson
Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory Peter Hessler
1920 The Year of the Six Presidents David Pietrusza
Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and
Faith in the New China Evan Osnos
Mr. Speaker the Man who Broke the Filibuster James Grant
Destiny of the Republic (Garfield Assassination) Candice Millard
The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me William Allen White
Minnesota Rag (Landmark Supreme Court ruling) Fred W. Friendly
Mao Tse-Tung and I Were Beggars Siao-Yu
Born a Crime (audio book) Trevor Noah
Last Hope Island Lynne Olson
Britain home of refugees in WW II
2018
From about 2007 -2017 I was barely able to post on my original website www.snowbizz.com Over that decade where my political and other commentary was uploaded to my blog: www.lincolndemocrat.com I managed to post new pictures of my snow sculptures and new books to this one as I completed them. I wanted but neglected to keep track of books from this date although I kept many of them on my bookshelves and mentioned them in blog posts. What follows is an imperfect list of books I’ve completed gleaned from the blog, memory and by perusing my shelves. Some dates are best guesses.
The Last of the Doughboys Richard Rubin
Fierce Patriot (Wm. Tecumseh Sherman) Robert. O’Connell
The Road from the Past Ina Caro
Five Nights in Paris John Baxter
Is Paris Burning (rereading) Collins & Lapierre
Napoleon Paul Johnson
2019
Red Summer Cameron McWhirter
white riots after the war
A Year in Provence Peter Mayle
2020
Americans in Paris David McCullough
Imperfect Union Steve Inskeep
Jesse and John C. Fremont
Caste Isabell Wilkerson
2021
Jesus and John Wayne Kristen Kobes Dellez
Travels with George Nathaniel Philbrick
38 Nooses Scott W. Berg
Lincoln, Little Crow and the Beginning of the Frontier’s End
2022
The Kidnapping Club Jonathan Daniel Wells
Wallstreet slavery and resistance on the eve of the Civil War
Ways and Means Roger Levenstein
Unworthy Republic The Dispossession and the road to Indian Terr. Claudio Saunt
Tecumseh & the Prophet Peter Cozzens
Heroic Struggle for America’s Heartland
The Oppermanns Lion Feuchtwanger
2023
A Waiter in Paris Edward Chisholm
Adventure in the dark heart of the city
The Revolutionary Samuel Adams Stacy Schiff
Into Thin Air Jonathan Krakauer
The Triumph of William McKinley Karl Rove
The Story of Kansas Bliss Isely
Empire of the Summer Moon (audio) S.C. Gwynne
Quanah Parker and the Commache Empire
Neither Dog nor Wolf Kent Newburn
Differ We Must an (Audio) Steve Inskeep
2024
Time spent collecting my own NYURepublican
The Demon of Unrest (Audio) Eric Larson
The Splendid and the Vile (audio) Eric Larson
Same territory as book “1933”
A Choice of Weapons (rereading) Gordon Parks
The Nickle boys (audio?) Colson Whitehead
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel (audio) Douglas Brunt
The Wager (audio) David Grann
James Baldwin Notes of a Native Son James Baldwin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beacher Stowe
2025
Driven Out Jean Pfaelzer
The Wide Sea Fateful Voyage of Captain Cook (audio) Hampton Sides
Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Edge of the World (audio) Laurence Bergen
Native Nations (Audio) Kathleen DuVal
The Teacher Wars Dana Goldstein
The Great Influenza John M Barry
The Luck of Nineveh Arnold C. Brackman
Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow
Assignment to Hell Timothy M. Gay
Of Mice and Men (in French and English) John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby (in French and English) F. Scott Fitzgerald
Everyone who is gone is here(listened to on Audible) Jonathan Blitzer
Deadwood (listened to on Audible) Peter Cozzens
The British are Coming (listened to on Audible) Rick Atkinson
Three more addition on 8/14/2025
