Quote Originally Posted by cajunscot
As someone with a degree in history, who teaches history in the classroom and at a Civil War battlefield, and participates in historical activities for fun, I strongly disagree wi' this statement, Alan. ;)

T.
LOLOLOL!!!

I take it that you like your job? *grin*

Todd, I was discussing a wonderful history book the other day with a friend and it occurs to me that you'd probably really like it. The author is Hendrik Van Loon, which you certainly will recognize as the author of "The Story of Mankind".

Hee's a link to a Hendrik Van Loon biolgraphy:

http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/article...emvanloon.html

Well, near the end of his life, Van Loon wrote a book called "Lives". It was written in the opening years of WWII, and it is filled with anti-Nazi language. However, that aside (no matter how you feel about the Nazi's) it's a fabulously entertaining book, though certainly some of the details are sketchy and hypothetical, and the *scholarshhip* must be taken with a grain of salt. However, from a purely entertaining and educational and thought-provoking perspective, it is absolutely fabulous, especially for bright teenagers.. The premise is this:


Van Loon and his housekeeper (or wife, I don't quite recall) and a family friend are granted a favor by the Almighty. The favor is this: they can invite anyone they want from the past, to dinner. They can have them over for 4-5 hours, have dinner and relax after dinner with them. Hendrik sets up each meeting, describing the food, the drink, what the person wore, all sorts of fascinating details about the encounter that he can imagine and are historically valid.

Imagine having dinner with Queen Elizabeth AND Cleopatra on the same night! What would an after-dinner dance with Cleopatra, who's had a few drinks, as have you, be like?

They invite the inventor of the wheel, arguably the most insightful inventor ever to walk the planet, to dinner. Guess what happens?

Here's a review:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acad...2/rev1046.html

I highly recommend it.