No Picnic on Mount Kenya, by Felice Benuzzi. Felice Benuzzi is a Italian prisoner of war, being held in a British camp in Africa when he decides to escape and climb Mt. Kenya.

Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of Yellowstone by George Black

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford

And a Bottle of Rum: a History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis

I read this over the summer and was blown away by the quality of the story telling, the quality of the history presented, and the fact that this isn't required history for US students.

I would be up for an on-line book group. I am flexible re books, but no horror, smile.

Starting with two people is enough for me though.

I'm not sure who the moderators are, but this should be stickied and voted on from a few candidates, and then we could all discuss it each month, whoever wanted to participate...kind of like this: http://www.chow.com/cookbook_of_the_month_archive

It would give this sub-forum a central activity that we could keep coming back to...

I'll read it, and if anyone wants to read with me, that's what we'll do.