A Biography of Cao Cao
Rafe de Crespigny is an Australian sinologist, now aged 90. He specialises in the history of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. His…
A daring air raids
17 Sep 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the daring paratroopers’ air raid on the city of Arnhem during World War Two. It was a…
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Unsatisfying read – Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince’s Tour of India, 1875-6
This book merits 4 stars only as it could have been more comprehensive to do justice to the unprecedented 4-month tour of the Indian subcontinent…
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Scholarly book – The Boxers, China, and the World
This book is a compilation of 10 of the papers presented for a conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies in 2001, to…
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A gem – Bruegel
A book that has all the paintings of this great Flemish painter at an affordable price. The reproductions are vivid and of a decent size.…
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Infectious – Why Read Moby-Dick?
I am posting this review here as I note that the hundreds of reviews linked to this book {the kindle version} are actually on the…
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Coffee table book – Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Edition: Voyage of Discovery
I first read this in 2004 for the bicentennial celebration of the voyage. The Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery {May 1804 to Dec 1806}…
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Light reading – Jefferson’s America: The President, the Purchase, and the Explorers Who Transformed a Nation
This is not an easy book to read. The flow is rather disjointed. One can’t get to grip with the stories on the 6 explorers…
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Adventure – Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West
I first read in 2013 this excellent narrative of the famous Lewis and Clark exploration for an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean by sailing…
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A gem – The English and their History
Awesome. A wonderfully written history of England from its birth to 2014. Written by a Professor of History from Cambridge University this 1000-page book is…
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The most theological
The Gospel of John is the most theological of the 4 Gospels. It begins with this most mesmerising of verses – In the beginning, was…
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