History

The Case for Colonialism  by Bruce Gilley, New English Review Press, 2023.

The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding  by Robert Hughes, Vintage, 1988.  Transportation The increase in the urban population due to the Industrial Revolution, and the presence of many unemployed poor people caused the crime rate to rise. In the 18th century, Britain dealt with its criminal element not by imprisoning them, but by transporting them to its colonies. The authorities wanted to remove the criminal element, so that they would not pollute the morals of th

Conquests and Cultures: An International History by Thomas Sowell, Basic Books, 1999.

Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties  by Paul Johnson, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1992.  Summary This is a history of the Twentieth Century that is particularly good on Germany and Japan. This is a description of world history from the 1920s to the 1980s.  Moral Relativism The author favors universal moral standards, applicable to all peoples, all places and all times in history. He also favors the Judeo-Christian ethics. He opposes

Migrations And Cultures: A World View by Thomas Sowell, Basic Books, 1996.  The Ubiquity of Inequality Inequality ha been the norm throughout history and in every continent. Sowell documents that there has never been equality betweeeen different ethnic groups, whether within a single country, or between different countries. Forms of Inequality professions they chose, their level of literacy, their ability to start busineesses, how much land they owned, the skills they had, t

Race and Culture: A World View by Thomas Sowell, Basic Books, 1995.  Clear Thinker Thomas Sowell again champions clarity of thought. He says that the term racism has been misapplied to situations whether the distinction between groups is primarily cultural, rather than genetic. Of course, it is impossible to completely disentangle genetic and cultural influences. Since this book was written, the meaning of the word racist has expanded so much that criticism of Islam has been

Salt: A World History  August 27, 1883 by Mark Kurlansky, Penguin Books, 2003.  First of all, salt is needed by humans to live. And not just people, but also domesticated animals need salt. Secondly, salt has been used for thousands of years to preserve food. Salt prevents decay. Salted food keeps without spoiling, over time and distance. Foods protected with salt: fish (sardines are salted fish from Sardinia), red herring, shrimp, cheese, pickles, sauerkraut, ham, corned bee

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed  by Eric H. Cline, Princeton University Press, 2014. [New edition in 2021!] Metals Different periods of ancient history are named for the main metals and metal alloys they used. The Bronze Age was named for bronze. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Cyprus was a good source of copper, but in was harder to come by. Causes The book is mainly about the Bronze Age Collapse, where civilization was followed by a less advanced dark ages.

1917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder   by Arthur Herman, Harper Perennial, 2017.  Before World War I, nations were motivated by selfish, pragmatic national interests. After 1917, some national leaders were motivated by utopian ideals. In particular, Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Lenin were both influenced by Hegel; Lenin via Karl Marx. Both Wilson and Lenin believed in statism. Wilson believed in the German Historical School, which held that what was rig

Bury the Chains: Prophets & Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves  by Adam Hochschild, Mariner Books, Reprint, 2006. The movement to abolish slavery was started by the Quaker Sect (Society of Friends) of  Great Britain. When Parliament signed onto this agenda, it used the Royal Navy to enforce the abolition of the slave trade. Not only the slave trade to British colonies, but also the slave trade to all European colonies.