Readable History Book Club Allen, Texas

Our September 11, 2008 selection is The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchmann(440 pages). Since we're taking the month of August off, we'll read a book that is a little longer than our usual selections. This one is well worth it. It's a Pulizer Prize winning, classic account of how the European powers blundered their way into WW1. According to Robert Kennedy's 13 Days, JFK quoted this book frequently during the Cuban Missile Crisis with the comment that he did not want another such book written called "The Missiles of October."

Our October, 2008 selection is Barn Burning Barn Building : Tales of a Political Life, From LBJ to George W. Bush and Beyond by by Ben F. Barnes, with Lisa Dickey and a forward by Robert Strauss. Ben Barnes is a former Lieutenant Governor of Texas. and served as Speaker of the House in Texas from 1965-1969 following his election to the House in 1960 at age 21. This book chronicles key events in Texas political history since the 1960s from an insider's point of view. It's 247 pages, and based on my reading of the first 2 chapters, a very entertaining and informative read.

Our November and December selections are A History of Islam by Karen Armstrong(230 pages)for November and All the Shah's Men : An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer(288 pages)for December