Highlighting Historical Reads

How the Crusades Changed History by Philip Daileader | Read in 2024

Not technically a book, however, it is available on audible as are a lot of The Great Courses. Many of them will be featured on here at some point. It is great to see an overview of all of the crusades, even the lesser known ones that seem less impactful. Especially in history, it is nice to see overarching themes that help to get clear pictures and relevant context and information instead of just picking stories and events out of time. This course helps to do that by going over a long period of time and showing how each crusade was similar and differed and also how it affected the world, then and now. It is definitely a recommended listen for anyone interested in history.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz | Read in 2023

This was an interesting read. A lot of it was to be expected in regards to how they feel about America as a country and the history that has brought us here. I think history is always multifaceted and cannot be seen fully from one side. No one ever knows the whole story by themselves. It is important to get multiple views and opinions when researching history to get a full picture. After all, the winners write the history books. One of the most interesting things from this book was that while the U.S. paid for several purchases of land from Spain, France, and Britain, they also made subsequent payments to the Natives on the land for it as well. In many respects the U.S. has been paid for not just with wars but money and in many cases more than once for the same areas.

The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time by Will Durant | Read in 2023

Quaint little read. Nothing too expanded on just a list with short summaries of the mind or idea. It is something to read in passing for an easy read. It would be a good reference to find books about each person and idea in it to be able to understand them in depth.