Your favourite person in History [Archive] - Literature Forums at Literature Junction

Frieda

12-09-2004, 10:52 AM

What, you mean I have to pick one?! :shock: Ummhh... Well, I currently have a book about Leonardo Da Vinci in my To Be Read-pile, and I definitely think he's an interresting character, but my favourite? Hmm...

At one point I would've answered Catherine the Great without a moment's hesitation, and I still think she was one of the greatest figures in history. I read Henri Troyat's book about her some years ago, not really what you'd expect a 14-year-old to be reading, especially considering Troyat's style and all that...

I'm really not that good in naming any favourite person in history, I'm more of a history-in-general kind of girl... Though, I don't think I could name a favourite period in history either... Huh. What was the question again?

oceanflower

12-09-2004, 11:46 AM

I've read everything I could find on the last Tsarina of Russia, Alexandra Feoderovna Romanov. A fascinating, complex, and often misunderstood woman. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, authors writing about the Romanovs have had access to heretofore unaccessable information about the Tsarina, and several interesting and thought-provoking books have recently been written about her and her family.

StormSpirit

12-09-2004, 12:42 PM

Yes its very difficult to name just one...I'll rather refrase the question..who in history is your current obsession? :D

I'm at work now so I dont know the autor of the book i'm reading about rasputin. So will post it later. I also have a book about the tsar from the same author and a book about the letters that nicholas and alexandra wrote to each other...havent gotten to reading it yet :(

NaderiaBonita

12-09-2004, 01:29 PM

Ahhhhh, gotta love history! :D I loved loved loved The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone. Biographical *novel*, I know, but it's still great! lol. Michelangelo... what's not to love?

Also, John Keats. His life was very very interesting and tragic. He dies of tuberculosis at the age of only 25, after a life of great loss and financial turmoil. Here's a great site, because I know you all are interested about him!
http://englishhistory.net/keats/life.html

Other than that... anyone and everyone else! lol.

eflo

12-09-2004, 01:54 PM

I don't think I have a favourite person in history. There are so many people I would like to find out more about though. I have a biography of Rudyard Kipling waiting to be read, I'd like to learn more about Pink Floyd, Al Capone, etc. But as far as a favourite person goes, I don't have anybody in history that I'm dying to learn about...

NaderiaBonita

12-09-2004, 04:04 PM

Oh, Clara Bow is fascinating as well! lol.

Moonlight

12-09-2004, 09:18 PM

Almost all the European Monarchs between 1000 A.D. and 1800 A.D.

Narrowing it down... I've always had a thing for Henry VIII and his wives. So much scandal and sex! What's not to love? The Medicis are also pretty interesting. I also have a taste for Holocaust books. I'm just fascinated and horrified at the same time that people could do that to their fellow human beings. Hitler was so terrible, and so complex.

NaderiaBonita

12-10-2004, 03:50 AM

I love the Medicis! How about them Bonapartes? lol. Good stuff, that. Ah, the list goes on and on. I just need to stop posting in this thread; I'll be adding a name here and a name there forever! :D

Star_Anise

12-12-2004, 10:44 AM

I've always had a thing for Henry VIII and his wives. So much scandal and sex! What's not to love?

My little historical obsession would have to be the Tudors...I've been fascinated by them since I was about 10 years old. Henry VIII and his six wives are really interesting, but most of all, I've read everything I can find on Lady Jane Grey, otherwise known as the Nine Days Queen. She got sucked into a plot to make her queen on Edward's death, ousting Mary. You can imagine how pissed off everyone was by this...so she was queen for nine days before Mary took back the throne and then executed Jane. All so that England wouldn't fall back into Catholic hands.

I've read one historical novel based on her life (although it was aimed at a younger audience), a biography, and any little snippets I could get my obsessive little hands on. And I still don't know why I'm fascinated by her.

Pitseleh

12-13-2004, 02:42 AM

Hector Berlioz and S. Dali. Stormspirit, who's bio did you read on rasputin?

StormSpirit

01-02-2005, 12:41 PM

The book I read by of Rasputin was written by; Edvard Radzinsky. He wrote a book about the last Tsar aswell

PS Sorry took so long to respond.

follow_me_around

01-13-2005, 08:01 AM

Well I don't have any fav person in history so far. But after watching Schindler's list, I feel impressed with what he did to the Jews. So I think Oswald Schindler is quite a special to me.

Cheers

Sisyphis

01-16-2005, 12:05 AM

Nietzche is fascinating, died insane and all that. Picasso, Che Guevara (despite the T-Shirts), Robert Kennedy, Darwin (perhaps the most important), Newton (not a nice man) and Captain William Bligh (demonized). Caligula and Socrates, Goethe and Robespierre.

Mercurial

01-17-2005, 02:49 AM

Gottfried Wilhelm Liebniz. Much overlooked in my opinion. Napoleon. Louis XIV had his shiz-dizzle together. And the Medicis are quite interesting as well.

Ygraine

01-18-2005, 11:38 AM

Currently doing a history project on Elizabeth I, who is a fascinating lady

Mercurial

01-20-2005, 06:35 PM

She was kinda cute as well. ;)

Ygraine

01-20-2005, 08:13 PM

If you go in for be-wigged ladies with their faces painted with lead, then yes, I suppose she was :p

Mercurial

01-25-2005, 10:03 PM

She wasn't too bad really. She had nice bone structure.

oceanflower

01-26-2005, 04:42 AM

She was kinda cute as well. ;)

I read that, according to the standards of her day, she was not an attractive woman. But, hey, power is potent aphrodesiac. ;)

Star_Anise

01-30-2005, 10:49 AM

I read that, according to the standards of her day, she was not an attractive woman. But, hey, power is potent aphrodesiac. ;)

Well, red hair certainly wasn't your ticket to the world of beautiful people, but she had the pale skin that was so prized. Yet she did what she could to be attractive by their standards... including plucking her hair from her forehead (large foreheads were considered a symbol of intelligence. Yes, intelligent women were sexy...still are). By the end of her life, she was bald, toothless, and with terrible skin from all that lead powder. It was also fashionable to use bella donna, a poison, to dilate the pupils, which eventually caused blindness. I don't know if Elizabeth ever did this. I'm sure the farthingale skirts and horsehair wigs were enough for her.

And I'm sure the *cough* virgin queen had her pick of lovers anyway.

oceanflower

01-30-2005, 11:29 PM

Well, red hair certainly wasn't your ticket to the world of beautiful people, but she had the pale skin that was so prized. Yet she did what she could to be attractive by their standards... including plucking her hair from her forehead (large foreheads were considered a symbol of intelligence. Yes, intelligent women were sexy...still are). By the end of her life, she was bald, toothless, and with terrible skin from all that lead powder. It was also fashionable to use bella donna, a poison, to dilate the pupils, which eventually caused blindness. I don't know if Elizabeth ever did this. I'm sure the farthingale skirts and horsehair wigs were enough for her.

And I'm sure the *cough* virgin queen had her pick of lovers anyway.

I saw a program on tv that explained that the folks in Elizabethan times all had fleas, which was the purpose of lap-dogs (i.e. to attract the fleas away from the human). Blek! :o

Morty

02-07-2005, 07:22 PM

If we're talking favorite person within the subject of history, at the top of my head, I'll go with Winston Churchill.

oceanflower

02-08-2005, 03:15 AM

If we're talking favorite person within the subject of history, at the top of my head, I'll go with Winston Churchill.

Yes, he was a fascinating and incredibly important man in the annals of history. Have you red any biographies of him? I read Young Winston many years ago, and found it to be a fascinating story of Winston's formative years.

ArthurDent

02-09-2005, 12:16 AM

That would be Neil Young - Shakey is probably the best biography I read. Then again, I didn't read that many :)

Anyways, Young is such a complex person and since I am a huge fan I am probably bias, but I completely "Drowned" in this book.

He is not exactly my favourite person in History, but the biographies written about Ytzhak Rabin (Who is) just don't cut it.

Unregistered

02-09-2005, 02:02 PM

If we're talking favorite person within the subject of history, at the top of my head, I'll go with Winston Churchill.

Why Morty? I have a bit of a bias against him, I have to admit, since he was responsible for sending Australian troops off to the shores of Turkey, based largely on what seems to have been a family fetish, to be systematically killed as a result of incompetent command (English). Many Australians consider that ritual and sensless slaughter to be our nation-building moment. I happen to agree, but with a different type of nation in mind... Many, many lives were lost with no gain other than that found in the morale-building propaganda relating to how Australian and New Zealand troops died admirably, trying to invade a nation in a war between equal evils...

sis

oceanflower

02-11-2005, 02:34 AM

Why Morty? I have a bit of a bias against him, I have to admit, since he was responsible for sending Australian troops off to the shores of Turkey, based largely on what seems to have been a family fetish, to be systematically killed as a result of incompetent command (English). Many Australians consider that ritual and sensless slaughter to be our nation-building moment. I happen to agree, but with a different type of nation in mind... Many, many lives were lost with no gain other than that found in the morale-building propaganda relating to how Australian and New Zealand troops died admirably, trying to invade a nation in a war between equal evils...

sis

One can find a person in history interesting, even if one finds them offensive (I'm not referring to Churchhill necessarily, or to Morty's opinion of him). The study of history and the understanding of historical figures is important in order to learn by the mistakes and successes of the past.

creme_ala_creme78

02-11-2005, 02:36 AM

i would say cleopatra...i wish i could get a guy to give me a rose, much less a whole country!!

oceanflower

02-11-2005, 04:03 AM

i would say cleopatra...i wish i could get a guy to give me a rose, much less a whole country!!

Yeah...she must have been some kind of honey! Of course, power is an aphrodisiac. ;)

Up Country

02-16-2005, 05:33 AM

oceanflower

02-17-2005, 04:37 AM

The last Czar or Tsar of Russia: Nicholas II. I found the biography: Nicolas and Alexandria by Robert Massie to be the best, and he even mentions the role of Rasputin. Now I didn't necessarily admire Nicholas, but he was definitely caught up in a most disturbing part of Russian history.

I think I've read just about everything that's out there on the Romanovs. My favorite book about the Tsar is The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II by Edvard Radzinsky. Radzinsky had access to Communist archives not available before the fall of the Soviet Union, and many new facts emerge about the Tsar and his family and the events surrounding and leading up to their tragic deaths. Radzinsky also wrote a fascinating book about Rasputin called The Rasputin File. Have you read either of these, Up Country?

Up Country

02-17-2005, 05:13 AM

Oceanflower,

I am afraid I am not acquainted with either of these two works, although not being acquainted is a good thing and one of the major factors for joining this forum--expanding my reading interests.

Rasputin is definitely one of those historical figures who fascinated me from that turbulent time. I can remember vividly that my father did his graduate thesis on Rasputin and would often marvel and tell me about this mystic.

The Massie work on Nicholas was good, but if the Radzinsky's work on Nicholas includes info from the disclosed communist files, I venture to say, it's probably more accurate than Massie's.

I will make a point of checking out Radzinsky's work!

oceanflower

02-18-2005, 05:41 AM

Azrael26

02-19-2005, 10:02 PM

I quite like "eccentrics" and I have read a biography of Aleister Crowley, called
A Magick Life A Biography Of Aleister Crowley, by Martin Booth.
Crowley, in his time, was nicknamed "the wickedest man in the world", but the underground press hailed him as "the unsung hero of the hippies"
On the album cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , among others such as The Marquis de Sade, Bob Dylan or Tony Curtis was Aleister Crowley.

Jimmy Page the famous guitarist, ,soloist from Led Zeppelin, purchased Boleskine, once Crowley's house, in Scotland. Page was fascinated by Crowley and now possesses what is considered "the most comprehensive privately owned Crowley archive."
Black Sabbath, led by Ozzy Osbourne (yes , the one you can see with his silly family on TV) owes more than a passing debt to Crowley. Because Crowley was said to be a devil-worshipper. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law was his credo.
No wonder the Flower Children loved him so much. :)

Io.

02-20-2005, 12:23 PM

Leonardo da Vinci.

Io.

Morty

03-16-2005, 04:34 AM

Why Morty? I have a bit of a bias against him, I have to admit, since he was responsible for sending Australian troops off to the shores of Turkey, based largely on what seems to have been a family fetish, to be systematically killed as a result of incompetent command (English). Many Australians consider that ritual and sensless slaughter to be our nation-building moment. I happen to agree, but with a different type of nation in mind... Many, many lives were lost with no gain other than that found in the morale-building propaganda relating to how Australian and New Zealand troops died admirably, trying to invade a nation in a war between equal evils...

sis
This from a man who likes Che Geuevara- the t-shirt terrorist.

I'd also like to nominate Charles Monteusqieu, David Hume, John Locke, and the other Enlightment thinkers.

Unregistered

03-18-2005, 08:20 AM

This from a man who likes Che Geuevara- the t-shirt terrorist.

I'd also like to nominate Charles Monteusqieu, David Hume, John Locke, and the other Enlightment thinkers.

Ha! Yes the t-shirts are awful, but the man was great. To call him a terrorist is just mind-numbingly crude, but it is what he would have expected so I guess there is nothing wrong with it. One thing is for certain - compared to Churchill he was at least prepared to accompany his troops to whatever doom that they risked. Not to mention the fact that he fought for a noble cause whereas, in WW1, Churchill would have been hard pressed to find one.
I like Locke and Hume also; they're fun to read... but I've only read a little of Montesqieu so I can't comment.

My new nomination: Heidegger. Controversial I know.

skye

03-18-2005, 09:02 AM

We have a book about Cleopatra at home. I read it when I was in 5 (6?) grade. It was the first biography I ever read and probably that's the reason why Cleopatra is still one of my favourite persons in history.

Ygraine

03-18-2005, 09:21 PM

Not to mention the fact that he fought for a noble cause whereas, in WW1, Churchill would have been hard pressed to find one.

Churchill was WWII and how can putting an end to Nazism not be considered "a noble cause" if anything else can?

oceanflower

03-18-2005, 10:10 PM

Churchill was WWII and how can putting an end to Nazism not be considered "a noble cause" if anything else can?

Exactly. :good:

musi

03-21-2005, 09:54 AM

Marylin Monroe..
stupid blond-sex bomb with hardly a talent for drama acting...
but i just can´t help loving her!!!
the innocence she had about her is touching, though surely it was just an act..
but for me she is a really beautiful woman..

Morty

03-24-2005, 02:14 PM

Churchill was WWII and how can putting an end to Nazism not be considered "a noble cause" if anything else can?
When you bask in the shadow of Sartre, sympathize with terrorists and express nothing but hardcore anti-Americanism, it's easy not to consider Churchill's cause noble.

mazarane

03-24-2005, 04:18 PM

beware jumping to conclusions all:

Churchill as Prime Minister during the fight against Nazism during World War II = righteous cause, I would agree.

but
he fought for a noble cause whereas, in WW1, Churchill would have been hard pressed to find one

Churchill was very much involved in World War I as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911-1915.

This meant he was responsible for urging and planning the catastrophic assault by UK and ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps I believe) on Gallipoli, which Sis was saying reduced his opinion of the man, and commenting that there was less of a clear distinction between the opposing nations. No comment on World War II or the Nazis was made.

Ygraine

03-25-2005, 04:26 PM

Ah, thanks for setting me straight on that one :)

mazarane

03-25-2005, 11:14 PM

No problem :)
I learnt a fair few things I didn't know when checking my facts- he resigned his post after the disaster at Gallipoli, apparently also believing his political career was finished (he had pushed it as a way to win the war quickly), and indeed joined the army fighting in Europe as a major.

There is the counter view that suggests this makes his later achievements all the more impressive- personally I'm not too interested on trying to judge him as a man, but it makes interesting reading.

Morty

03-27-2005, 12:45 AM

Regardless of his past mistakes or failures, Winston Churchill remains as one of the greatest men to walk the face of this earth in the 20th century.

I like Locke and Hume also; they're fun to read... but I've only read a little of Montesqieu so I can't comment.

My new nomination: Heidegger. Controversial I know.
Funny how Locke, Hume and also Popper seem to amuse you. Heidegger, too, must've been a sufficient laugh?

Io.

04-06-2005, 09:53 PM

Out of interest I think many Allied troops in WWI felt a 'noble cause.' Read Brooke, Kipling and Asquith in 1914, not only in their minds was the war justifiable to defend another European country they whole-heartedly believed that God supported them- also read about the Angels of Mons, etc. It was only later, and particularly after the Battle of the Somme in 1916 when disillusionment really kicked in, read Sorley's To Germany for instance, and it became apparent that often the common soliders had more in common with their enemy than their officers and the people who remained at home.

I'll nominate, Aristotle, Michelangelo, Beethoven and Galileo.

Io.

TurinTurambar

05-26-2005, 03:26 PM

I love Thomas Paine. Sadly forgotten, especially in the country of his birth.

oceanflower

05-27-2005, 05:26 AM

I love Thomas Paine. Sadly forgotten, especially in the country of his birth.

He was a brilliant thinker. I have a copy of his pro-independence book, Common Sense.

TariNumenesse

05-27-2005, 09:47 AM

I surprise myself in that I hadn't discovered this thread earlier.
I have three at the moment, and I think that the first two will remain my favourites for a long time.
Michaelangelo - on the lookout for his book of letters and poetry. Maybe I'll find it one day. I can keep comfort in knowing that it exists.
Joseph II - sadly I cannot find any current books on him. They all seem to have gone out of print years ago, and no local libraries have copies. I am beginning to see large holes in my libraries' collections...
Hatshepsut - She intrigues me so much, but so does all of Ancient Egypt.

TurinTurambar

05-28-2005, 07:42 PM

He was a brilliant thinker. I have a copy of his pro-independence book, Common Sense.

He was a great thinker and writer. But he was also endearingly mad. He built the first ever iron bridge IIRC.

oceanflower

05-30-2005, 03:42 AM

He was a great thinker and writer. But he was also endearingly mad. He built the first ever iron bridge IIRC.

He also worked on the develpopment of the steam engine. An amazing man!

StormSpirit

06-07-2005, 06:01 AM

After your comments about de medici, I bought a book about catherine de medici cant wait to start reading it, it sounds quite interesting.

StormSpirit

06-13-2005, 07:13 AM

What books about de medici would you guys recommend?

incka

06-24-2005, 03:49 PM

Have I answered this?

If not I'll say Clement Attlee.

Goldfishies

07-07-2005, 05:17 PM

oceanflower

07-07-2005, 11:04 PM

I'm currently reading up on Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Romanov Tsar Nicholas II, who supposedly survived the execution of the royal family. http://www.alexanderpalace.org/anastasia/ Its very intriguing! Do you think the woman (Anna Anderson) who turned up decades later was really Anastasia?

Anna Anderson has died and her DNA has been tested, the results of which proved that she was absoulutely no relation to anyone in the Romanov family. Since the fall of the Soviet Union new and revealing documents have been released concerning the death of the Tsar and his family and the subsequebt disposal of their bodies. These suggest that all but two of the bodies were buried; two were burned. The remains of the Romanovs and the entourage murdered with them have been discovered and their DNA tested. The results conclude that all but two of the Romanovs remains were present. The missing bodies are believed to be those that were burned, and are believed to be those of Alexei and Olga, Anastasia's sister.

For an excellent book about the Romanov's I rcommend The Last Tsar; The Life and Death of Nicholas II by Edvard Radzinsky. Radzinsky had access to the newly- released documents about the Romanovs, and interviewed a man who was present at the execution of the family.

P Glew

07-08-2005, 09:56 AM

Definately Winston Churchill

Phil

Winifred

09-03-2005, 02:52 AM

I admire Renaissance-type personalities and /or people, great or unknown, who work to make the world better. I keep stumbling over new ones. Da Vinci was great, but also Avicenna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna#Early_life) Galileo, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Albert Schweitzer, Richard Burton ( the explorer and translator), George Eliot, George Washington Carver, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Zora Neal Hurston, Jacques Cousteau, Jimmy Carter, Jane Goodall, Michael Fay. I read Naturalist by E O Wilson, and added him to the list.
I want to find out more about: Ibn Battuta, Zhang We, Luca Turin (currently reading The Emperor of Scent ), Stephen Hawkings, Mencius, Benjamin Banneker, Imhotep, etc, etc.
Life is short….Oh, and I think that maintaining this forum definitely makes the world a better place, thanks for being here!

oceanflower

09-03-2005, 01:05 PM

Oh, and I think that maintaining this forum definitely makes the world a better place, thanks for being here!

Thanks, Winifred! And thanks to each and every member who makes the Lit. Forums a fun, educational, interesting place to visit. :)

craig.melson

08-20-2006, 08:44 PM

im an ancient history student so id go for augustus

Hyacinth Girl

08-21-2006, 06:54 PM

Personally, I've always been fascinated by Elizabeth I. . .I just finished Elizabeth, The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey, which deals mostly with her early life before taking the reins of England. I also read Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame by Benita Eisler recently, and I have to say that it was the best bio of that rapscallion that I have read.

vierdreieins

08-23-2006, 12:50 AM

Lord Byron. Even if it's a cheesy vampire novel like Lord of the Dead.

Hyacinth Girl

08-23-2006, 05:41 PM

Lord Byron. Even if it's a cheesy vampire novel like Lord of the Dead.

Have you read the Eisler bio on him? If so, what did you think?

vierdreieins

08-24-2006, 03:33 AM

Have you read the Eisler bio on him? If so, what did you think?
Eisler... I don't think I have. Must go look it up.

Nope, never heard of that one. (Ironically, it's an Oprah book, and was probably everywhere at one point. I live in my own little Oprah-less world.) But I'm definitely going to check it out next time I'm at the library.

Also, I forgot one: Richard I, an obsession brought on by Ivanhoe a couple years ago. Stronger than Lord Byron.

Hyacinth Girl

08-24-2006, 04:14 PM

(Ironically, it's an Oprah book, and was probably everywhere at one point. I live in my own little Oprah-less world.)

Oh dear heavens, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! :o I would like to put in the disclaimer that it was NOT an Oprah book at the time I bought it. :p

Well, if you do brave the big "O" and read it, feel free to let me know what you think. :)

vierdreieins

08-24-2006, 04:24 PM

Oh dear heavens, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! :o I would like to put in the disclaimer that it was NOT an Oprah book at the time I bought it. :p

Well, if you do brave the big "O" and read it, feel free to let me know what you think. :)
I wasn't implying that it was an Oprah book when you got it! That's a massive insult, and I wouldn't do that. :p

I'll let you know what I think about it. I'm going to the library website to order it right now. :)

apostasy

08-24-2006, 05:55 PM

I wasn't implying that it was an Oprah book when you got it! That's a massive insult, and I wouldn't do that. :p

Well, let's not fly off the handle at the OBC (sounds so much more impressive in abbreviated form. Leads nicely to: with so much drama in the OBC...it's hard being Oprah Winfrey), remember that she selected The Sound and the Fury one month. That must have generated some substantial brow furrows across the lands.

vierdreieins

08-24-2006, 06:35 PM

Well, let's not fly off the handle at the OBC (sounds so much more impressive in abbreviated form. Leads nicely to: with so much drama in the OBC...it's hard being Oprah Winfrey), remember that she selected The Sound and the Fury one month. That must have generated some substantial brow furrows across the lands.
That wouldn't give her much credit in my eyes, because I don't like Faulkner. :p I'm mostly joking, though. She chose Ellen Foster one month, and I enjoyed that one enough to read twice.

Marlow

08-24-2006, 06:43 PM

im an ancient history student so id go for augustus
I have a casual fascination with classical history, especially Roman. Why Augustus, by the way? There are other great Romans I can think of, such as Scipio Afracanus, Julius Ceasar, Cicero, or Trajan. Augustus is a worthy choice, don't get me wrong, perhpas the most worthy choice. I just like to understand your reasoning.

vierdreieins

08-24-2006, 06:45 PM

I have a casual fascination with classical history, especially Roman. Why Augustus, by the way? There are other great Romans I can think of, such as Scipio Afracanus, Julius Ceasar, Cicero, or Trajan. Augustus is a worthy choice, don't get me wrong, perhpas the most worthy choice. I just like to understand your reasoning.
Don't forget Marcus Aurelius. :p

Marlow

08-24-2006, 06:48 PM

Oh dear heavens, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! :o I would like to put in the disclaimer that it was NOT an Oprah book at the time I bought it. :p

Well, if you do brave the big "O" and read it, feel free to let me know what you think. :)
What's wrong with Oprah's Book Club? Now I haven't read any of those books because Oprah selected them, but from what I gather they seem like worthy choices. It seems like because Oprah uses her popular name for a series people have to poo-poo it. I don't find (although I'm sure I've missed most of them) her picks to be wrong headed.

vierdreieins

08-24-2006, 06:52 PM

What's wrong with Oprah's Book Club? Now I haven't read any of those books because Oprah selected them, but from what I gather they seem like worthy choices. It seems like because Oprah uses her popular name for a series people have to poo-poo it. I don't find (although I'm sure I've missed most of them) her picks to be wrong headed.
Nothing, really. It's just that people start freaking out about certain books simply because Oprah has read them. (Or deemed them worthy of reading--not sure if she actually reads them, no idea how she'd have the time.)

OneHotPrice

08-24-2006, 08:16 PM

Don't forget Marcus Aurelius. :p

Marcus Aurelius was a man possessed. You can read any one of his meditations and glean meaning and enjoyment from it. I've been looking around for a suitable collection of his for some time now, ever since I read one of his writings on "Death". :good:

Hyacinth Girl

08-24-2006, 08:32 PM

What's wrong with Oprah's Book Club? Now I haven't read any of those books because Oprah selected them, but from what I gather they seem like worthy choices. It seems like because Oprah uses her popular name for a series people have to poo-poo it.

Actually, a lot of the books she endorses: Sound and Fury, East of Eden, etc. are wonderful. For me, I think it is sad that books have to be endorsed by such an icon in our culture in order for people to attempt to read them, and thus I joke about it. It is me railing against a non-literary culture that follows the advice of a talk show host when choosing a book. On the other hand, if it gets people to read them, that is a wonderful thing, so I should just shut my mouth and quit complaining. :D

Another reason I believe the OBC lost cache lies in the James Frey fiasco. Granted, it wasn't Oprah's fault the lines between fiction/autobio got blurred or misrepresented, depending upon your interpretation of events, but it definitely caused people to lose some respect.

OneHotPrice

08-24-2006, 08:39 PM

Actually, a lot of the books she endorses: Sound and Fury, East of Eden, etc. are wonderful. For me, I think it is sad that books have to be endorsed by such an icon in our culture in order for people to attempt to read them, and thus I joke about it. It is me railing against a non-literary culture that follows the advice of a talk show host when choosing a book. On the other hand, if it gets people to read them, that is a wonderful thing, so I should just shut my mouth and quit complaining. :D

Agree, agree, agree, and then disagree! Complaining is just fine. :D

Would you guess, Hyacinth Girl, that East of Eden's reprinting by Oprah constituted a sort of "rediscovery" of it for a lot of people?

The question is, does the good that her book club does offset her horrendous covers? :D

Jezebel

08-24-2006, 08:56 PM

We actually have a long OBC thread already over here http://www.literatureforums.net/vb3/showthread.php?t=3938&highlight=oprah

Hyacinth Girl

08-24-2006, 10:00 PM

We actually have a long OBC thread already over here http://www.literatureforums.net/vb3/showthread.php?t=3938&highlight=oprah

Thanks, Jezebel. Point well taken, and will quit hijacking the thread :)

Jezebel

08-24-2006, 11:39 PM

:) You're welcome

Marlow

08-24-2006, 11:52 PM

Don't forget Marcus Aurelius. :p
Point taken. But he was more famous as a philosopher than as statesman. I do like his Meditations. Here's a particular passage on his father that I enjoy:

In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and perseverance; and a readiness to listen to those who had anything to propose for the common weal; and undeviating firmness in giving to every man according to his deserts; and a knowledge derived from experience of the occasions for vigorous action and for remission. And I observed that he had overcome all passion for boys; and he considered himself no more than any other citizen; and he released his friends from all obligation to sup with him or to attend him of necessity when he went abroad, and those who had failed to accompany him, by reason of any urgent circumstances, always found him the same. I observed too his habit of careful inquiry in all matters of deliberation, and his persistency, and that he never stopped his investigation through being satisfied with appearances which first present themselves; and that his disposition was to keep his friends, and not to be soon tired of them, nor yet to be extravagant in his affection; and to be satisfied on all occasions, and cheerful; and to foresee things a long way off, and to provide for the smallest without display; and to check immediately popular applause and all flattery; and to be ever watchful over the things which were necessary for the administration of the empire, and to be a good manager of the expenditure, and patiently to endure the blame which he got for such conduct; and he was neither superstitious with respect to the gods, nor did he court men by gifts or by trying to please them, or by flattering the populace; but he showed sobriety in all things and firmness, and never any mean thoughts or action, nor love of novelty. And the things which conduce in any way to the commodity of life, and of which fortune gives an abundant supply, he used without arrogance and without excusing himself; so that when he had them, he enjoyed them without affectation, and when he had them not, he did not want them.

plainjane

09-18-2006, 10:40 PM

Thanks for that quote Marlow. Very enjoyable.
Among my favorites are Marcus Cicero, I just purchased Anthony Everitt's Cicero, The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician and look forward to reading it. Many years ago I read Taylor Caldwell's Pillar of Iron a fictionalized account of his life. The dialogue was however taken she said from letters between Cicero and Caesar and various persons including his publisher Atticus.
For some reason Ancient History had a fascination for me at quite an early age and I've never quite recovered. :)
Also I found Hannibal Barca to be a most interesting historical figure to follow. I read Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham last year, as I'd always been interested in the just plain stubborness of Hannibal, and his life was even more harrowing than I'd imagined!
Of course Henry VIII and "family".:rolleyes:

Someone above wondered why Augustus was so interesting to read about, well, I think it has to be on account of his transitional time ***** in history. Everything changed then.
That's all I can think of at the moment.

Marlow

09-25-2006, 11:58 AM

plainjane

09-25-2006, 05:41 PM

I don't know too much about Scipio Africanus, but he is someone I will have to follow up on one of these days.

What I found so fascinating about the Hannibal Barca and his family, was the way the Carthaginians fought. The way they brought in the various segments to fight each in their own unique way. On an even playing field, the Romans would not have stood a chance.
Of course I'd heard of HB before, but to read a basically blow by blow account of the hardships the troops went through was heartrending. But on a personal level, I could not warm to HB at all. Didn't "like" him one bit.

Now Cicero....I like very much. As much as you can like a historical figure from reading about them. :) More to the point I admire him.